Playlist, 19/10/08

The Show FEATURED ARTIST: Neal Hefti This evening we celebrated the life and work of the great Neal Hefti who sadly left us this week. Most famous for composing the theme to the original Batman TV series, Hefti was responsible for composing many other fine soundtracks and we dipped into some of these on the show this evening. The Music 1. The Herbaliser - Goldrush (Very Mercenary, 1999) 2. Yusef Lateef - Eastern Market Eastern & Hip 1969) Following the news that Ringo Starr has had enough of fan mail, it gave us the ideal opportunity to once again play you what might have happened if Ringo Starr had got the gig to compose the theme to Goldfinger: 3. Peter Serafinowicz/Matt Berry - Goldfingo 4. Henry Mancini & His Orchestra - Here's Looking At You Kid (The Pink Panther OST, 2005) Then it was time to kick off the tribute to Neal Hefti with a "version" of the Batman theme and a Batman-inspired tune by arch-twangers The Ventures: 5. Sun Ra and the Blues Project - Batman Theme (Batman and Robin, 1966) 6. The Ventures - Zocko! (Batman Theme & TV Themes) And then a track from the man himself from one of the first movies for which he composed the soundtrack: 7. Neal Hefti - Vikki (Boeing Boeing OST, 1965) 8. Gillian Hills - Ne Crois Surtout Pas (Vue Intégrale, (1961) MC Zirconium brought to our attention a wonderful video on YouTube of the "Kazookelele" which has to be seen to be believed. We played an excerpt on the show: 9. Pockets - The Final Countdown (on Kazookelele) Followed by another track from the great new album by the Moon Wiring Club: 10. Moon Wiring Club - Bewitching Cattle (Shoes Off And Chairs Away, 2008) Another band brought to our attention by MC Zirconium is the wonderful Japanese duo Lullatone who make music from toy instruments and instruments they construct themselves: 11. Lullatone - bushman's samba 12. Johnny Hawksworth - The Whistler (Luke Vibert's Further Nuggets, 2002) Time for more from this week's featured artist: 13. Neal Hefti - Jervis (Batman Theme & 11 Hefti Bat Songs / Hefti in Gotham City, 1966) 14. Neal Hefti - Metropole (The Odd Couple OST, 1968) Our London correspondent, Jeff, informed us of the new Stereolab tour single so we played it on the show - could this be a UK radio exclusive? 15. Stereolab - Explosante Fixe (2008 Tour Single, 2008) Stereolab are on tour at the moment, coming to Glasgow on 16 December. Get your tickets here. A great documentary has been airing on BBC Four telling the life story of living legend, Les Paul, who still plays a set at the Iridium club in New York City every Monday night. And he's in his 90s! 16. Les Paul - Caravan (The Very Best of Les Paul & Mary Ford 1950/2008) Two very hard to find CD reissues (yes, hard-to-find *reissues*) which have been out of print for a few years are getting a welcome re-pressing in this, the 50th anniversary year of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop: 17. John Baker - Quiz Time (BBC Radiophonic Music, 1968/2008) Nearing the end of the show, it was time to play some more by our featured artist this week, the recently departed legend Mr Neal Hefti: 18. Neal Hefti - Bathtub / Saturday Night (Harlow OST, 1965) 19. Neal Hefti - This is Mother (Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet & I'm Feelin' So Sad OST, 1967) Next up a track from the recent reissue of some great Keith Mansfield tunes: 19. Keith Mansfield - Soul Thing (All You Need Is ...) And we closed the show with a version of one of Neal Hefti's most loved theme tunes, namely The Odd Couple: 20. The Button Down Brass Band - The Odd Couple (This Is Easy) We will miss you, sir... The News

• iStylophone
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• Ringo Starr tells his fans to get knotted
• Colin "why don't we invade Iraq, here's some stuff I made up" Powell Dances and also via Metro and the BBC.
• US judge rejects lawsuit against God
• Walking iPhone Robot
• UPDATE: The smell of space now identified
• Audio Desk trimmer makes your CDs even rounder