Monday, August 11, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
New additions
Hey kids,
A bit of site news: Please join us in welcoming the newest writer for TMITM, The Ursine Calamity, aka Bear. Bear blogs (and eloquently so) over at The Ursine Calamity, and will be a regular contributor around these parts. So please, raise your glasses, tip your hats, whatever it is you do.
Welcome aboard.
----------------
Now playing: The Kills - Dead Road 7
via FoxyTunes
A bit of site news: Please join us in welcoming the newest writer for TMITM, The Ursine Calamity, aka Bear. Bear blogs (and eloquently so) over at The Ursine Calamity, and will be a regular contributor around these parts. So please, raise your glasses, tip your hats, whatever it is you do.
Welcome aboard.
----------------
Now playing: The Kills - Dead Road 7
via FoxyTunes
Friday, August 8, 2008
I'm Certainly Not Stoned
Tomorrow marks the 13-year anniversary of when Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead died, and put an end to the aimless travel of stinky, tie-dye making hippies until they discovered Phish. Eh, maybe I’m just jealous. Right.I haven’t seen it here yet, but I don’t really think many of the writers here are “jam band” fans. I dunno, maybe Kelsi is a moe. fan, but I doubt it.
I think you either love jam bands or hate them. Maybe you could like a jam band for their records but totally hate the noodling they do during a live show. I mean, I dig that song “Off the Record” by My Morning Jacket (did they totally rip off the riff from "Hawaii Five-O" on that, or what?), but if they went into a prolonged jam at the end of the song, sort of like they do on the studio recording, I’d be going to the bathroom or getting another beer.
Let’s face it folks, masturbation is an act preferably performed alone. It shouldn’t be done in front of a crowd of people, and that’s what “noodling” or jamming is.
“I got a recording of the Dead from their ’74 tour at the Fillmore East. Jerry did a 14-minute guitar solo in the middle of ‘Ripple’!” Whoo-wee! Sign me up for that suckfest!
I’m not alone in my feelings about the Dead. So let’s have a party with somewhat of a theme of celebrating Jerry Garcia’s life through my eyes with the understanding that the real reason we’re celebrating is to drink cold beverages and get shitty. Here's a muxtape to go along with the session.
The Coolies – “Talkin’ Bout Doug”
The first song of the album Doug that takes a satirical look at the 1970’s genre referred to as "the rock opera." I totally recommend this album for a couple of listens. It's never gonna be in your Top 5, but the concept is great, and the rip-off of the Who in "Cookbook" is fabulous. A very compelling, dark and hilarious story of Doug the street punk who steals a crack recipe from a cross-dresser and goes from rags to riches to rags again. Gem lyrics from the above song: Had the pledge of allegiance tattooed on his head, always talked about finding and killing the Grateful Dead.
NOFX – “August 8th”
You want a band that absolutely hates jam bands? Look no further than this ditty by punk rockers, NOFX. The song gets the date wrong, but the tune is straight up about the Day Jerry Died.
Not that it has anything to do with the song, other than the message, but I was in a band called Total Passover. Before we were Total Passover, the other three fellas in the band were called Sham Rock Shakes. Every year at Iowa State, around Earth Day, they would have bands play in the arboretum, this big open meadow that sloped up. Sham Rock Shakes played around 10:00 a.m. that day. Think about college, and 10:00 a.m. on a Saturday. I was just getting going around that time, if anything. So here are all these hungover (mostly) hippies listening to a 2-minute, 3-chord punk rock band. I think I woke up at 8:00 a.m. so I could shower, eat breakfast and witness the spectacle. The in-between song banter between Tom Meehan and Andy Levy was funny. "Tom, this next song is called 'Le Toi Se Moi' (okay, sue me, I don't know French. It means, I Am The State). What does that mean?" Meehan was being his surly self and said, "It means FUCK YOU!" Later Andy went into a rant about music and ended it by saying, "Jerry Garcia is dead and I killed him." Of course, this was 1989, so he wasn't dead, yet. Which brings us to the next song...
Olive Lawn – “Hate”
Not necessarily about Jerry Garcia, or about hippies, but just an overall heavy, negative vibe in this one that will get you going if you’re in the mood. Actually, this is not recommended for playing at parties. I’m thinking if this song comes over the stereo at a party, you’re either in Seattle circa 1992 or someone is about to get their skull cracked. Great sample in the beginning from the movie, “Gimme Shelter.”
Cracker – “Loser”
Let’s just set the record straight: I’m not saying that the Dead didn’t have some good songs. A friend let me borrow “American Beauty” years ago, and I listened to it once, and it was decent enough, but still, I don’t think I could name one song off it for certain. I could guess, but then that would just be the game show side of me coming out. The whole reason my friend let me borrow that CD was because we were discussing the cover of “Loser” on Cracker’s Medicine Hat CD. Cool lyrics, mellow vibe. I dig it.
The Modern Lovers – “I’m Straight”
Pretty much, just to sum this up, is this fine tune from Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. Only, he wasn’t selling the band with his name in front of it at the time this piece o’ wax hit our consciousness.
I’ll admit that I’m a beer drinker, but that’s pretty much it. I do have an occasional home made margarita, because my wife makes a damn good one, but I do not partake of drugs. I’m not judgmental about it, either. I don’t give a damn if someone wants to smoke pot, or what have you. I tried it (um, a few times, in college - Hey! It was the 90s!), and that shit is not for me. So, I don’t know. I kind of think I’m “straight” when it comes to that whole drinking/drug thing, but I could be wrong since alcohol is a drug, too.
That’s Jonathan’s main message in this song:
Now I've watched you walk around here.
I've watched you meet theseboyfriends,
I know, and you tell me how they're deep.
Look but, if these guys, if they're really so great,
tell me, why can't they at least take this place
and take it straight?
Why always stoned,like hippie Johnny is?
I'm straight and I want to take his place.
I’m with Jonathan. I like him, too, I like hippie Johnny, but I’m straight.
So, anyway, there’s my “party list.” As you can see, it’s not easy for me to pile on too much grief, but I thought it was interesting enough to know that there’s a contention out there putting that feeling to music and lyrics.
I put a couple more Coolie songs on the muxtape for your listening pleasure. Those are my two faves of that album. Have a great weekend everybody!
This post best enjoyed with Rogue Dead Guy Ale.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Feel like a good cry?
Depression is a serious thing that’s hard to explain to someone who’s never experienced it themselves. I’ve never been clinically diagnosed with depression, mainly due to my aversion to doctors, but one doesn’t have to be a genius to see it pop out once in a while within my personality. These songs explain every emotion depression can show when simple words can’t.
Just a Thought – Gnarls Barkley “I’ve tried everything but suicide/But it’s crossed my mind.”
Does He Love You – Rilo Kiley “All the immediate unknowns are better than knowing this tired and lonely fate.”
The Scientist – Coldplay “Nobody said it was easy/No one ever said it would be this hard/Oh, take me back to the start.”
Personal – Stars “Twenty-eight and bored/Grieving over loss/Sorry to be heavy/But heavy is the cost.”
Why – Annie Lennox “Some things are better left unsaid/But they still turn me inside out.”
Cheers Darlin – Damien Rice “And I die when you mention his name/And I lied, I should have kissed you/When we were running the reins.”
Just a Thought – Gnarls Barkley “I’ve tried everything but suicide/But it’s crossed my mind.”
Does He Love You – Rilo Kiley “All the immediate unknowns are better than knowing this tired and lonely fate.”
The Scientist – Coldplay “Nobody said it was easy/No one ever said it would be this hard/Oh, take me back to the start.”
Personal – Stars “Twenty-eight and bored/Grieving over loss/Sorry to be heavy/But heavy is the cost.”
Why – Annie Lennox “Some things are better left unsaid/But they still turn me inside out.”
Cheers Darlin – Damien Rice “And I die when you mention his name/And I lied, I should have kissed you/When we were running the reins.”
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
space may be the final frontier, but it's made in a hollywood basement
i'm a cali girl, born and bred, and i can talk about my home state and why i love it until the cows come home. and according to the california dairy board, they're gonna be some haaaaaaappy cows. (you have a stoner voice. apply it there.)
california. it's the promised land. it's god's country. it's governed by the
terminator. it's beautiful. it's full of people trying to escape. it's going to break off in an earthquake and become an island.
it's fucking weird.
i've always felt like there's a giant spiritual sieve for humanity, and everyone who doesn't fit in somewhere else gets shaken to the bottom and ends up in california. ok, so that metaphor didn't work out so well. sue me. (also a california pastime!)
i suppose, then, that's why i love it so. and why there are so many songs on my 'pod that evoke my home state is so many different ways.
what follows is but a sampling of the songs that are my california, through and through. there are many, of course, that didn't make the cut. paradise city. (dude. gnr is so los angeles, it's almost impossible to think about without creating a black hole.) l.a. song. (sorry, beth hart, no whining today!) i remember california. (i have no idea why not. r.e.m. still makes me smile, and i'm not (too) ashamed to admit it.)
even so, i think this list will manage to paint a picture for you, and maybe remind you of why you love a couple of artists... who you might be pretending not to love.
los angeles is burning - bad religion
you could put almost any bad religion song in this list and it would be los angeles to me. however, this is the musical embodiment of one of the great southern california experiences - when half the state is burning and there's ash on your car and areas the size of eastern states are charred to nothingness - when the hills of los angeles are burning. every californian - especially southern - knows it very, very well. orange skies, and weather reports that include such phrases as "hot and smoky." (as a side note, i missed seeing bad religion during namm two years ago because i had brain surgery. i've been resentful ever since: the brain surgery surely could have waited? no?)
california stars - wilco
someone who doesn't now and hasn't ever lived in california put this on a cd for me, thereby completely stealing my heart. woody guthrie's words and wilco's music... well, it's a match made in the central valley, that's for sure. (this is definitely music to listen to while driving down the grapevine.)
do re mi - woody guthrie
woody guthrie wrote so many songs of place. new york, the dust bowl, oregon, the south... he was a consummate wanderer - and i'm always glad for the songs he did about california. somehow, they're a little more clear-thinking than we actually deserved.
seriously. we can all fantasize about living in california. the weather is wonderful. there's space, frontier space, and you can spread out and dig in.
as long as you can pay for it, that is.
hollywood freaks - beck
i'm a tiny bit obsessed with the scientologists. horrified and obsessed. when i learned of beck's scientology love, it caused a serious hiccup in my love for the tiny dirty man from los angeles.
scientology, now, is a california phenomenon. the church of scientology is a major landowner in the county of los angeles - second to the county itself, if some sources are to be believed. (citation? needed!)
but then, after midnite vultures, i also realized that there was nothing he could really do to stop me from loving him. or his music, anyway. so we just don't talk about the believing-in-space-walruses thing, and it works out just fine. because despite the scientology, he's a future-brained, over the top genius with a musical sense that just. won't. quit.
long december - counting crows
i know, i know. we all got rid of all our counting crows music years ago.
or did we?
it's that kind of guilty pop that somehow manages to stay on my pod... even when i feel like smacking myself for having such a weak spot. but there's something about this song - haunting, hopeful - if you think you might come to california... i think you should. (there's a link in case you can't summon up this whole song in your head. but i feel like, given the amount of radio play that song has received over the years, you probably don't need the link.)
californication - red hot chili peppers
oh, flea. oh, anthony. oh, my adolescence.
oh, skateboarding, oh, hackey sack, oh, all the names for maryjane.
you've heard it a hundred thousand times. maybe even literally.
and yet.
oakland stroke - tower of power
what do you think when you think of oakland? you should look into making it sound a whole lot funkier, methinks. tower of power is the shit. recognize.
hey pretty (remix) - poe
i could (and probably will, at some point) write a whole entry about poe, about the range and strangeness of her music and why you should own, like, three copies of haunted. but if you don't already love her, this quirky, freaky little video should do the trick. the words are from my favorite book in the world, which you should also go out and acquire immediately. then set aside six months to be paranoid.
an honorable mention to a song i can't find on the internet:
mendo - loose change
loose change is another band from ukiah, including one of the boys who went on to be a part of afi. ukiah is the small town that serves as the county seat for where i grew up. in a county roughly the size of connecticut, there are fewer than 100,000 people, probably a quarter of whom are stoned out of their minds at any given moment.
songs about mendocino are awesome. this one is particularly awesome.
now enjoy your pinot grigio and spliff and we can all pretend that none of this ever happened.
california. it's the promised land. it's god's country. it's governed by the
terminator. it's beautiful. it's full of people trying to escape. it's going to break off in an earthquake and become an island.
it's fucking weird.
i've always felt like there's a giant spiritual sieve for humanity, and everyone who doesn't fit in somewhere else gets shaken to the bottom and ends up in california. ok, so that metaphor didn't work out so well. sue me. (also a california pastime!)
i suppose, then, that's why i love it so. and why there are so many songs on my 'pod that evoke my home state is so many different ways.
what follows is but a sampling of the songs that are my california, through and through. there are many, of course, that didn't make the cut. paradise city. (dude. gnr is so los angeles, it's almost impossible to think about without creating a black hole.) l.a. song. (sorry, beth hart, no whining today!) i remember california. (i have no idea why not. r.e.m. still makes me smile, and i'm not (too) ashamed to admit it.)
even so, i think this list will manage to paint a picture for you, and maybe remind you of why you love a couple of artists... who you might be pretending not to love.
los angeles is burning - bad religion
you could put almost any bad religion song in this list and it would be los angeles to me. however, this is the musical embodiment of one of the great southern california experiences - when half the state is burning and there's ash on your car and areas the size of eastern states are charred to nothingness - when the hills of los angeles are burning. every californian - especially southern - knows it very, very well. orange skies, and weather reports that include such phrases as "hot and smoky." (as a side note, i missed seeing bad religion during namm two years ago because i had brain surgery. i've been resentful ever since: the brain surgery surely could have waited? no?)
california stars - wilco
someone who doesn't now and hasn't ever lived in california put this on a cd for me, thereby completely stealing my heart. woody guthrie's words and wilco's music... well, it's a match made in the central valley, that's for sure. (this is definitely music to listen to while driving down the grapevine.)
do re mi - woody guthrie
woody guthrie wrote so many songs of place. new york, the dust bowl, oregon, the south... he was a consummate wanderer - and i'm always glad for the songs he did about california. somehow, they're a little more clear-thinking than we actually deserved.
seriously. we can all fantasize about living in california. the weather is wonderful. there's space, frontier space, and you can spread out and dig in.
as long as you can pay for it, that is.
hollywood freaks - beck
i'm a tiny bit obsessed with the scientologists. horrified and obsessed. when i learned of beck's scientology love, it caused a serious hiccup in my love for the tiny dirty man from los angeles.
scientology, now, is a california phenomenon. the church of scientology is a major landowner in the county of los angeles - second to the county itself, if some sources are to be believed. (citation? needed!)
but then, after midnite vultures, i also realized that there was nothing he could really do to stop me from loving him. or his music, anyway. so we just don't talk about the believing-in-space-walruses thing, and it works out just fine. because despite the scientology, he's a future-brained, over the top genius with a musical sense that just. won't. quit.
long december - counting crows
i know, i know. we all got rid of all our counting crows music years ago.
or did we?
it's that kind of guilty pop that somehow manages to stay on my pod... even when i feel like smacking myself for having such a weak spot. but there's something about this song - haunting, hopeful - if you think you might come to california... i think you should. (there's a link in case you can't summon up this whole song in your head. but i feel like, given the amount of radio play that song has received over the years, you probably don't need the link.)
californication - red hot chili peppers
oh, flea. oh, anthony. oh, my adolescence.
oh, skateboarding, oh, hackey sack, oh, all the names for maryjane.
you've heard it a hundred thousand times. maybe even literally.
and yet.
oakland stroke - tower of power
what do you think when you think of oakland? you should look into making it sound a whole lot funkier, methinks. tower of power is the shit. recognize.
hey pretty (remix) - poe
i could (and probably will, at some point) write a whole entry about poe, about the range and strangeness of her music and why you should own, like, three copies of haunted. but if you don't already love her, this quirky, freaky little video should do the trick. the words are from my favorite book in the world, which you should also go out and acquire immediately. then set aside six months to be paranoid.
an honorable mention to a song i can't find on the internet:
mendo - loose change
loose change is another band from ukiah, including one of the boys who went on to be a part of afi. ukiah is the small town that serves as the county seat for where i grew up. in a county roughly the size of connecticut, there are fewer than 100,000 people, probably a quarter of whom are stoned out of their minds at any given moment.
songs about mendocino are awesome. this one is particularly awesome.
now enjoy your pinot grigio and spliff and we can all pretend that none of this ever happened.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
"I don't even know what the hell that means"
In the quest for compelling new music, sooner or later you're going to find yourself bored. It inevitably happens. I don't know how many times I've stood in front of my CD shelves, or perused my music hard drive, looking at thousands and thousands of songs and thought to myself, "I don't want to listen to any of this."
It's hard to figure, but eventually it led me to finding music from other cultures, and more specifically, music in other languages. It's a strange idea, listening to music in a foreign tongue. I'm one of those people with absolutely zero affinity for language. I've studied four, not counting English, and can read, write and speak exactly zero. Yet I love some of the music I've discovered.
I used to not bother - my thinking was, music in another language would be the equivalent of watching a foreign film... without the subtitles. But there is a beautiful mystery to it. The obvious, immediate appeal is the music, the instrumental arrangement, which is frequently very different from what I'm used to. Yet I also find myself riveted to the vocals - in some cases, even singing along - taking the "Excuse me while I kiss this guy" concept to the nth degree.
Anyway, to make a short story long, here is my list of songs that I love... that I have absolutely no idea what they're saying.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - A native of Pakistan and a master of Qawwali music, Nusrat had one of the most captivating voices I've ever heard. Here's "Intoxicated."
Bebel Gilberto - Brazilian singer of incredible grace and sensuality, Bebel is not to be missed. As an added bonus, she does have some songs in English - but I love this one, "Momento."
Queen Ida and the Bon Temps Zydeco Band - Zydeco is one of those genres that makes you immediately grin and start stomping your feet. It's perfect party music. Here's "Rosa Majeur."
CéU - OK, so clearly I have a thing for female Brazilian singers. But seriously, she's incredible. This is "Malemolencia."
Federico Aubele - So, there's a guy who decided to start mixing dub, ambient, hip hop beats with some tango (among others) thrown in for good measure. Hailing from Argentina, Federico Aubele is the definition of "genre-bending." Here's "Postales."
Panjabi MC - Indian hip hop? Fuck yes. With some Knight Rider thrown in for good measure, here's "Mundian To Bach Ke (Knight Rider Remix)."
In honor of my homeland, we'll close out with some South African artists:
Most people are already familiar with Ladysmith Black Mambazo. If you're not, you should be (and not just their "Graceland" stuff). They probably have the greatest sense of timing and harmony you're likely to see.
Here they are again with South African diva and vocalist extraordinaire Miriam Makeba, as well as a little of the trumpet great Hugh Masekela (please ignore Paul Simon). This is "N'Kosi Sikelel' Africa," the South African national anthem (which used to be a song of resistance and the anthem of the ANC back in the Apartheid years), a song that always has and always will make me cry a little. The lyrics are in Xhosa.
Finally, to completely change gears, here is Zola, a hip hop, "Kwaito" performer. This is the new blood music of townships and urban South Africa. The lyrics are mostly in Zulu. This is "Mdlwembe." Feel free to shake your ass.
As you can see, I tend to skew towards India, Pakistan, South Africa and South America. So any and all recommendations are, as always, very welcome.
It's hard to figure, but eventually it led me to finding music from other cultures, and more specifically, music in other languages. It's a strange idea, listening to music in a foreign tongue. I'm one of those people with absolutely zero affinity for language. I've studied four, not counting English, and can read, write and speak exactly zero. Yet I love some of the music I've discovered.
I used to not bother - my thinking was, music in another language would be the equivalent of watching a foreign film... without the subtitles. But there is a beautiful mystery to it. The obvious, immediate appeal is the music, the instrumental arrangement, which is frequently very different from what I'm used to. Yet I also find myself riveted to the vocals - in some cases, even singing along - taking the "Excuse me while I kiss this guy" concept to the nth degree.
Anyway, to make a short story long, here is my list of songs that I love... that I have absolutely no idea what they're saying.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - A native of Pakistan and a master of Qawwali music, Nusrat had one of the most captivating voices I've ever heard. Here's "Intoxicated."
Bebel Gilberto - Brazilian singer of incredible grace and sensuality, Bebel is not to be missed. As an added bonus, she does have some songs in English - but I love this one, "Momento."
Queen Ida and the Bon Temps Zydeco Band - Zydeco is one of those genres that makes you immediately grin and start stomping your feet. It's perfect party music. Here's "Rosa Majeur."
CéU - OK, so clearly I have a thing for female Brazilian singers. But seriously, she's incredible. This is "Malemolencia."
Federico Aubele - So, there's a guy who decided to start mixing dub, ambient, hip hop beats with some tango (among others) thrown in for good measure. Hailing from Argentina, Federico Aubele is the definition of "genre-bending." Here's "Postales."
Panjabi MC - Indian hip hop? Fuck yes. With some Knight Rider thrown in for good measure, here's "Mundian To Bach Ke (Knight Rider Remix)."
In honor of my homeland, we'll close out with some South African artists:
Most people are already familiar with Ladysmith Black Mambazo. If you're not, you should be (and not just their "Graceland" stuff). They probably have the greatest sense of timing and harmony you're likely to see.
Here they are again with South African diva and vocalist extraordinaire Miriam Makeba, as well as a little of the trumpet great Hugh Masekela (please ignore Paul Simon). This is "N'Kosi Sikelel' Africa," the South African national anthem (which used to be a song of resistance and the anthem of the ANC back in the Apartheid years), a song that always has and always will make me cry a little. The lyrics are in Xhosa.
Finally, to completely change gears, here is Zola, a hip hop, "Kwaito" performer. This is the new blood music of townships and urban South Africa. The lyrics are mostly in Zulu. This is "Mdlwembe." Feel free to shake your ass.
As you can see, I tend to skew towards India, Pakistan, South Africa and South America. So any and all recommendations are, as always, very welcome.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
