So You Children of the World, Listen to What I Say

“What do we want?”
“The Shuffle!”
“When do we want it?”
“Now!”



“Children of the Grave,” Black Sabbath
When I was a kid, I found Ozzy Osbourne very strange. But who would have thought that nearly a quarter century later he’d be starring in a very warped (Master of?) reality TV series with his family? Now, that was disturbing! With its menacing riff “Children of the Grave” was not your father’s anti-war song! Here’s Sabbath live in 1974, with Ozzy’s signature maniacal clapping. And listen to the song alongside Blondie’s “Call Me.” You won’t be disappointed.

“Boplicity,” Miles Davis
Finally, jazz makes its first appearance on the Shuffle. To me, Miles Davis is the avatar of cool. In fact, this tune is from the 1949 sessions that were called The Birth of the Cool. It marked a new chapter in the history of jazz. The so-called “Cool School” wasn’t as aggressive as bebop, which was the dominant form at the time. On these sessions, Davis played with a nonet which included Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz and Max Roach. Gil Evans served as arranger. Here he is, over 40 years later, playing "Boplicity" at the Montreux Jazz Festival, with Quincy Jones conducting the orchestra. Davis was dead less than three months later.

“Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” (Witmark demo), Bob Dylan
From Volume 7 of the Bootleg Series, “No Direction Home.” Genius.

“War,” Bob Marley & The Wailers
Another anti-war song, this time in a Rastafarian vein. The source for the lyrics is part of a speech given by Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia to the U.N. in 1963. The song is both a call for basic human rights and a tribute to Selassie, who was revered by Rastafarians and referred to as The Lion.

“Memory Lane,” Elliott Smith
Another in a long line of artists who have “What if…” as part of their legacy. This is from From a Basement On a Hill, released a year after his death.