When we asked blues-rock guitarist David Gogo to put his iPod on shuffle and tell us about the first 10 songs to play out, his playlist required some editing. “I listen to a lot of funny stuff on the road,” says Gogo. “Marc Maron, Jim Gaffigan, Greg Giraldo, Mitch Hedberg to name a few.”
Barring the plethora of comedy podcasts on his iPod, here are 10 random selections – and one great “Roxy Roller” related embarrassing moment – courtesy of Gogo’s iPod.
1. “Baby Weemus” 
Nino Tempo & April Stevens
“Oh, no! A guilty pleasure up first! This is a bizarre song from the early ’60s that I heard on Red Robinson's oldies show while driving my son to his soccer tournament in Port Alberni. We could only get reception for one station and when we heard this we were gobsmacked!”
2. “You Better, You Bet”
The Who
“I love the Who and this was probably their last charting single. Great lyrics and it features an epic bridge, which seems to be a Townshend trademark. Great bass lines from the Ox!”
3. “Dress Sexy for my Funeral”
Smog
“Another artist that I got hip to from listening to the radio, in this case CHLY in Nanaimo. My son and I dug the song “Strayed” and phoned the station to find out who it was. We immediately went to Fascinating Rhythm – our local record shop – and sourced it and bought it. I encourage more people to do this.”
4. “Hold On”
John Lennon
“This is from the excellent Plastic Ono Band album, my favourite solo Lennon release. A beautiful song featuring really cool R&B-style guitar from John and his inexplicable uttering of ‘cookie’ in full Cookie Monster voice during an instrumental break.”
5. “Call it a Day”
The Raconteurs
“I think my 12-year-old loaded this one on the iPod, though it is my album. Good release by Jack White and Brendan Benson's side project. I felt this was the stronger of the two albums they put out. I'm very curious to hear Jack's latest.”
6. “Oh, You Pretty Things”
David Bowie
“Classic Bowie, this will always remind me of touring Europe with my Ottawa band and watching this song on an Old Grey Whistle Test DVD I picked up in England. We had just recorded at the BBC Maida Vale Studios, which was a favourite of Bowie's, and went shopping for ascots at Camden Market later in the day. It became our theme song for the trip.”
7. “Make Glad”
The Black Crowes
“This is from their Cabin Fever release, which is also a DVD concert/documentary of them writing and recording at Levon Helm's studio/bar/venue/home – some really great songs and musicianship.”
8. “Roxy Roller”
Nick Gilder
“Another guilty pleasure! I remember my uncle catching me singing this in our backyard while playing with my toy cars by our smokehouse when I was a kid. I was so embarrassed. Great glam era tune. Very camp, lots of fun!”
9. “Sun King/Mean Mister Mustard”
Booker T. & the M.G.s
“This is from the album where they did an instrumental version of the Beatles’ Abbey Road. Very brave, but who else could pull it off? I went to Macon, Ga., last year for a celebration of Otis Redding's 70th birthday and got to meet Steve Cropper, one of the great thrills of my life!”
10. “Thirty Days in the Hole”
Humble Pie
“Oh yeah, great ’70s rock with Steve Marriott on vocals. One of the truly unsung rock and rollers of all time! Rocking track with cheeky lyrics, very catchy!”
Did Gogo’s playlist drum up some old memories, or new discoveries? Let us know in the comments.
Related links:
Q&A: Soundscapes, Facinating Rythum on Record Store Day
Notes from the Road: David Gogo packs for the Junos