LVII

The big 5-7!

Finally. This giddy and somewhat abrasive podcast is dedicated to the most underrated of numbers. As Wikipedia boasts, “57 is a Blum integer…a 20-gonal number”—not that it likes to brag. 57 is modest. It even has a sense of humour: “although 57 is not prime, it is jokingly known as the ‘Grothendieck prime’ after a story in which Grothendieck advances it as an example of a particular prime number.” Hilarious! It is also, of course, the atomic number of Lanthanum, the most desirable of all silvery white metallic elements. (Eat shit, Vanadium.)

I could go on about how the number is attracted to greatness time and time again, as I have at many social functions—like how there are exactly 57 movie references in Scream; how when Arnold Schwarzenegger needed a pier to resolve the plot of Eraser, only Pier 57 would do; how Doc from Doctor Who was Passenger 57 on the Titanic that one time; or how Bruce Springsteen, the fucking Boss, has two songs with 57 in the title, most notably on Human Touch (1992). And, now, there’s this podcast.

So, with thanks to the gracious artists and labels involved, enjoy:

Download mp3 (192kbps)

[59:14]

1. Zu: “Carbon”

• (0:01 – 4:23)
• from Carboniferous (Ipecac; 2009)

2. Double Dagger: “The Lie/The Truth”

• (4:24 – 7:19)
• from More (Thrill Jockey; 2009)

3. Akron/Family: “MBF”

• (7:20 – 10:21)
• from Set ‘Em Wild Set ‘Em Free (Dead Oceans; 2009)

4. Sleepy Sun: “Red/Black”

• (10:22 – 12:39)
• from Embrace (ATP; 2009)

5. Shogun Kunitoki: “Ratalintu”

• (12:40 – 15:17)
• from Vinonaamakasio (Fonal; 2009)

6. Oneida: “What’s Up, Jackal?”

• (15:18 – 17:56)
• from Rated O (Jagjaguwar; 2009)

7. Think About Life: “Sweet Sixteen”

• (17:57 – 21:37)
• from Family (Alien8; 2009)

8. Clark: “Totem Crackerjack”

• (21:38 – 27:02)
• from Totems Flare (Warp; 2009)

9. BLK JKS: “Lakeside”

• (27:03 – 31:08)
• from After Robots (Secretly Canadian; 2009)

10. Tinariwen: “Lulla (Lulla)”

• (31:09 – 34:55)
• from Imidiwan: Companions (Independiente; 2009)

11. Dirty Projectors: “Stillness is the Move”

• (34:56 – 40:11)
• from Bitte Orca (Domino; 2009)

12. Mulatu Astathke & the Heliocentrics: “Dewel”

• (40:01 – 43:53)
• from Inspiration Information 3 (Strut; 2009)

13. J Dilla: “Coming Back”

• (45:10 – 46:22)
• from Jay Stay Paid (Nature Sounds; 2009)

14. Lee Fields & the Expressions: “Money I$ King”

• (46:23 – 49:38)
• from My World (Truth & Soul; 2009)

15. Budos Band: “The Proposition”

• (49:39 – 52:29)
• from Budos Band EP (Daptone; 2009)

16. Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens: “What Have You Done”

• (52:30 – 56:10)
• from What Have You Done, My Brother? (Daptone; 2009)

17. El Michels Affair: “C.R.E.A.M.”

• (56:11 – 59:14)
• from Enter the 37th Chamber (Truth & Soul; 2009)