Lee Kaplan Playlist
- Text by Lee Kaplan
- Photography by Lou Mora
My background before starting the bookstore was actually in music, and the vast majority of the selections are rooted in those “formative years”. I didn’t want to be purposefully obscure, so these are ten primarily populist, perennial favourites that are for me always energising and mood-elevating. I have listed them in chronological order, and am amused to realise the most recent one is still over twenty-five years old! So old, that only one has a music video online to go with it…
Charles Mingus – Haitian Fight Song (1957)
Pink Floyd – Lucifer Sam (1967)
Jimi Hendrix – Driving South (BBC Sessions – 1967)
Cream – Swlabr (1967)
The Kinks – Days (1968)
Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band – Big Eyed Beans from Venus (1972)
Miles Davis – Black Satin (1972)
Wire – Map Ref. 41°N 93°W (1979)
The Replacements – Alex Chilton (1987)
Sonic Youth – Teen Age Riot (1988)
Read a full profile of Lee Kaplan and and Arcana books in Huck 45 – The Ed Templeton Curated Issue. Get it now on our web shop or subscribe to make sure you don’t miss another issue this year.
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