Mister Trend's Random 10

For all the love Lou Reed (generally deservedly) gets for his lyrics, I feel that, at his best moments, John Cale at worst matches and often is a better wordsmith than Reed. "Guts," off Cale's 1975 album Slow Dazzle, is a great example of this. It probably has my favorite opening lines of any song ever: "The bugger in the short sleeves fucked my wife. Did it quick, then split." The song's title comes from the fact that somebody (presumably the narrator) killed the guy, leaving him and his guts "all over the living room floor Like parrot shit, parrot spit, parrot shit was shot." Cale remains as cool as a cucumber throughout the cinematic portrayal of the events (the shotgun "operatic in its self disgust), until the end, when he realizes what's happened, becoming more frantic with the realizations that "the waster and the wasted get to look the same in the end." To match it all, his backing band is as rocking and dark as the lyrical content. It's just a great, great song on a great album.

1. "Shimenawa" - Bjork
2. "In a Silent Way (rehearsal)" - Miles Davis
3. "Defeito 3: Politicar" - Tom Ze
4. "Alone for a Long Time" - Charles Caldwell
5. "Stay Sweet" - Young People
6. "Untitled" - Panda Bear
7. "Guts" - John Cale
8. "Untitled 2" - Sigur Ros
9. "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" - Bob Dylan
10. "I Cover the Waterfront" - Billie Holiday