Stewart Copeland on 5 Songs About the Upside of Sin
Former Police drummer Stewart Copeland just released the debut LP by his funky new art-rock band Gizmodrome, which features King Crimson’s Adrian Belew on guitar. Here he chooses his favorite songs about indulgence and abandon, and tells us what he loves about each.
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Captain Beefheart, “Tropical Hot Dog Night”
This sounds like a large band gone mad. He couldn’t get real Brecker Brothers–type players, so the result is creativity rather than chops.
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Dr. John, “I Walk on Guilded Splinters”
This has a dark, echoey, Cajun atmosphere. But it has that atmosphere from the wrong side of midnight.
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Martha and the Vandellas, “Dancing in the Street”
It’s about wild abandon. When you hear this song, you know it’s going on down in the street. Let’s get down there.
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Jimi Hendrix, “Spanish Castle Magic”
This is one of the more explosive Hendrix tracks, where the drums are thrashing nonstop and his riff just doesn’t quit.
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Kendrick Lamar, “For Sale? (Interlude)”
At last, after a half-century of domination by guitar, bass and drums, everything has been turned upside down. It’s a revolution.