rooting for

Hi Annemieke!

2008-01-17T22:16:00.000-05:00

DEoes anyone else read this? Did you remember you gave me ACCESS to this thing? We can write and simultaneously publish our correspondance (sp?) like George Bernard Shaw and that lady, like Heloise and Abelard for the modern age! Just kid- ding. I saw some movies too recently. Sweenie Todd was boring but Grandma's Boy has one or two funny parts.

"LURVE"
annie

fro-j

2007-11-28T01:09:00.000-05:00

i went to see the darjeeling limited with my brother this weekend. it was surprisingly good, based on the preview; not surprisingly good based on wes anderson's scorecard with pretentious upper class young people like me n bro. i really did love rushmore.

and again, wes proved his ability to ace a soundtrack. A new favorite featured in this movie is peter sarstedt, a british hit-machine with only one real hit way back in 1969: where do you go to my lovely. but hey, i found another. it has to do with love, and rescue, and of course frozen orange juice.

PETER SARSTEDT:WHERE DO YOU GO TO MY LOVELY

PETER SARSTEDT:FROZEN ORANGE JUICE

more of the same

2007-11-21T00:38:00.000-05:00

i had a discussion with a canadian friend recently about the difference between their music and ours. non-mainstream groups like final fantasy and patrick watson sound like they're playing a music you wouldn't hear coming from the us (grizzly bear might be the closest statesider?). their polaris prizewinners don't have any apparent inclination to make something that might break into general pop. unfortunately, i can't articulate music well enough to explain why.

the canadian maintained that canada's music falls short; i disagree. this song is beautiful. the horns.

SANDRO PERRI:FAMILY TREE

i remember liking the broken west some time last year, but collectively not as much as this song (originally done by tegan and sara).

2007-11-19T02:03:00.000-05:00

THE BROKEN WEST:BACK IN YOUR HEAD

carly, you really hit a high note with this one

2007-11-12T21:33:00.000-05:00

CARLY SIMON:NOBODY DOES IT BETTER.mp3

the content and imagery here arent related. for gods sake get over it.

i dont have time for anything but scanning class doodles. and maybe eating cheez doodles.

2007-11-10T18:07:00.000-05:00

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE:UNDERDOG

FUCK YOU ELVIS FUCK YOU CAROL KING FUCK YOU BEACH BOYS

2007-07-25T11:36:00.000-05:00

Now I love Elvis actually , and I will send you a postcard from Graceland when I go there this week if you texty me your address.

BUT THAT JACKASS STOLE IT ALL FROM THE BLACK PEOPLE

It's true. I know this not only because Public Enemy told me so but also just because I have listened to Chuck Berry and I just know. See also "Surfin USA" if you want to hear a much worser version of a Chuck Berry song. The reason this is all so fresh in my mind is because staying with my mom means that I listen to 1410AM Seawinds Jersey Shore Oldies all the time. I love the Oldies so I am happy but since I have listened to them so much I decided to do some research and I found out that Little Eva had to clean houses in the 70s and that Ronnie Spector never made any money from "Be My Baby." Do you know who else is poor? Bo Diddley. COME ON. Meanwhile I'm watching Cribs and the kid from Fall Out Boy just throws his hoodies out and buys new ones when they are dirty. MEANWHILE the mermaid from AQUAMARINE has 3 cars or something. This country sucks. Fuck you Carol King. I would give Phil Spector a big fuck you too but it seems like ever since he produced that one Leonard Cohen album/ killed that girl his luck has been pretty poor. Anyway, there is always this, to show where the white people really belong (IN THE BACK):

Hi

2007-06-20T22:24:00.002-05:00

Hi.
Annemieke added me to her BLOGTEAM because I was the only person who ever left her comment.
I saw PANDA BEAR at bowery ballroom on Monday. This is a music blog right?
He was so good. One little cute guy; lots of big sound.

Rusty Santos opened. He looks 100 percent exactly like anthony michael hall

before him the opener was kria brekken. actual image

i guess she sings with avery tare a lot. she could play the piano really beautifully but her singing was like someone told joanna newsome to try to sound more like tinkerbell. i couldnt stop laughing so jess made me leave and get more beer. then i still couldnt not laugh at her.
UPDATE: ok more investigation revealed THAT sugarbabyvoice spice is panda bear's WIFE which makes me feel bad for not liking her but also even more annoyed that she opened.

anyway, panda boy is really worth his rep and knows how to work his little switchboard and also had a great video show with clips of girls crying and climbing fences to get near the beatles.

anyway nice to meet you

Basements are west coast

2007-05-25T11:29:00.000-05:00

There's no internet or TV in my beautiful new apartment, and found myself playing ukulele last night and trying to figure out the chords to a song from a band (see below) that I've been listening to a lot. This activity kicked watching TV's ass. (1.5 hours per week for Entourage and Lost excluded.)

That said, some people seem to be able to get a lot out of TV. For example, quoting from funny movies is usually a good conversational skill. Also, some people seem able to turn an episode of Family Guy into a personal connection with another TV-watcher. This is why I hate Family Guy on principle, although I have enjoyed watching it on occasion: because friendships based on TV shows are dumb, and so are the shows that spur said friendships. Family Guy is the worst offender.

Anyway, limited luck with the chords. But I did realize that Wilco's new album, which I was listening to a lot prior to this when in a slow music mood, did not make me want to sing or play along. Don't listen to the new Wilco Album unless it reminds you of Guatemala. Listen to this. Ray fills the void that Wilco-post-Yankee-Hotel has left in my slow music heart. That's not nothing.

There are four songs that I have been able to collect on my ipod from Ray's Vast Basement. A fifth, which I don't like, was recently deleted. Here are two, but you can find more on elbo.ws and you probably should go right now and do just that.

Ray's Vast Basement "How Through Sacrifice Danny's Friend Gave A Party"
Ray's Vast Basement "Black Cotton"

nice day in the hood

2007-05-16T10:19:00.000-05:00

one thing that is nice about park slope is slopers' willingness to not be as snobby as they appear. they mostly wear glasses and button ups and look like they go home to this:

let's be clear that these cats nor their contemporaries can be found on MY floor. i do like the fatty in the back of the conga line though.

but surprise! there are many dog owners in park slope too. and together, many of these dog or cat owners are nice behind their acrylic-framed glasses. this is most evident in the springtime, when leisure-inclined freelancers get fancy brewskis at outdoor bars and turn social. plus, you can run into all your old friends. bottom line - there are nice things about spring in dope slope.

this is a free association about park slope music.
i know this to be a local fave:
ola podrida "run off the road"
which makes me think of this:
department of eagles "no one"
which is so nice but sometimes it makes you want to listen to this on repeat:
lcd soundsystem "north american scum"
and never play this p.s. classic again (sorry alana):
TMBG "why does the sun shine?"

ps. there's a new song "hey girl" on figurines' myspace page. it's fine.

pps. which of the transients moving through 3f over a year ago stole my stevie wonder "songs in the key of life" cd (part 1)? its time to return it.

Free-esque means it sounds like that one song by Free

2007-05-09T18:42:00.000-05:00

I don't think the Raspberries ever achieved major critical success back in the 70's, I had never heard of them until i was introduced to this song. For the most part, they aren't heralded as power-pop OG's like contemporaries, Big Star. But I have a theory. If they could have just spread out all the fucking awesome parts of this one song into an album instead of packing them into this one track, they might have hit the big time. That being said, I hope they can look back fondly on this classic rock power-pop Frankenstein they have created. The song unfolds like an abridged history of teenage rebellious rock- the opening Slade riff and the Who part and the Free-esque clap-along guitar solo at the 3 minute mark - all sutured together by lead singer Eric Carmens' enthusiastic Paul McCartney impression and enough gut-driven "UH's" and "OOH's" to make you wish it was still OK to do that shit.

The Raspberries "Ecstasy"

A much newer band, Baby Teeth, has employed a similar trick with "The Simp" having created a song that consists exclusively of best parts of any given anthem from the late 60's and 70's. These guys just pile on the build ups and breakdowns and top it all off with nonsensical but totally appropriate lyrics - something about phones ringing, kids singing, and some sort of rock & roll-induced suicide. Of course I also just like any band that sounds sort of like Queen.

Baby Teeth "The Simp"

*Side Note
Lead singer, Eric Carmen DID go on to achieve commercial success as a solo artist, unfortunately by selling his soul to the AOR satan and recording gross hits like Hungry Eyes and All By Myself. And while I'm the last person to give 70s and 80s soft rock a hard time (All By Myself is actually a great song), it just seems kinda sad in this case that such a energetic and rebellious songwriter moved on to such bogus pastures.

Nice work, you

2007-05-02T13:56:00.000-05:00

Here are some things I learned yesterday:
1. The country with the most coastline. It's not the US and it's not Australia.
2. Red Hunter was indeed functionally compromised at his last NYC Peter and the Wolf show. (I believe. It was at CMJ in October or something. At least it was the last and only other time that I saw him.)

Thank you, Peter and the Wolf, for pulling it together last night. I don't know if I've posted Safe Travels before, but since it's so great, and some of you friends are lazy, here it is again. And another one that I like but it's not my 2nd favorite. That I'm saving.

Peter and the Wolf "Safe Travels"
Peter and the Wolf "Sayonara Suckers"

I would now recommend with a star that you go see Peter and the Wolf when they play again. There was a really sweet stage presence between the two on stage - Red and a lady friend whose soft voice can't fairly be called backup.

Then it started to pour on the way home and I was treated to falling asleep to thunder. Seattle girls love that.

Club soda unbridled

2007-05-01T11:04:00.000-05:00

This post on Joseph Plunkett & The Weight today on An Aquarium Drunkard listens a lot like David Berman/Silver Jews. So being that I happen to have some spare time at work, I set up a hefty playlist of the "original" honest manvoice singer to lull me through to lunchtime.

Dave's and Joe's voices aren't spitting sounds of each other, but have the same degree of enunciation, and I want them both singing me to sleep. On alternate evenings. Without listening to the words (I never do the first time a song plays) there's still the message sounds the same. Silver Jews is probably the closest to a downer band that doesn't get me down. Musical cozy zone with a moment of rocking out.

So, happy Mayday, and bring on the summer, listen to this Silver Jews cover my Mountain Goats, and one (nope, it became 2) of my favorites by the original.

Mountain Goats "Pet Politics" (Silver Jews Cover)
Silver Jews "Sometimes A Pony Gets Depressed"
Silver Jews "Tennessee"

fire up the grill

2007-04-23T11:17:00.000-05:00

this summer is going to be fantastic. seeing as how there's still some time before the season starts up (officially starts june 21st), bands have the opportunity to step up their game in anticipation of making summertime rock to their own kicky beats.

summer music should be danceable. from bands who have fun recording and pop out shows that take the fun and zoom in to 500%. we shouldn't even be able to focus we're having such a good time. wont even sip a milkshake except to the beat. not resist washing off the city grime while lathering in tempo. unwittingly wiggle in time with the music while tanning. only walk with a lot of speedy unnecessary motion (spiraling arms, tuck jumps, air-splits).

here's some models that kicked up my commute this am.
professor murder "champion"
white rabbits "kid on my shoulders"

cam'ron "hey ma"

2007-03-31T20:01:00.001-05:00

what's up with dj's? like, some of them get paid a ton of money, and
all they done is choose which song to play next? i guess if you're paul
oakenfold or carl cox, there's some sort of artifice behind whatever
they do with the turntables to change the music, but i don't really get
what makes it good or why they get paid so much money or even how
you can differentiate between them. that's my 3rd grade, 4 line analysis
of electronic music.

when i was living in williamsburg,
this kid named kuku sublet for a few months. when i asked him what
kind of music he liked, he said, "oh, you know, trance, trance hop,
progressive trance, trip hop, jungle house, progressive jungle, house
trance" yadda yadda yadda. the wikipedia entry for "Techno_Music"
adds this nuggest of clarification.

The term "techno" is derived from "technology". Music journalists
and fans of the genre are generally selective in their use of the term,
careful not to conflate it with related but distinct genres (i.e. house,
trance, hardcore). At the same time, the term "techno" is commonly
generalized to refer to all forms of electronic music.

anyway, so i'll take dj shadow and i guess lcd soundsystem and !!!, but aside
from that, i don't know what the hell is going on. hipster dj's just pick songs
from their ipods, and that's fine by me, but then why do steve aoki and james
iha dj every single party? was my decision to go from a long-haired asian guy
to a short-haired asian guy the only reason why i'm not a dj too?

i'll tell you what, if i was a dj at the birthday party of a girl whose name started
with "L", i would play "hey ma" by cam'ron. then during the "yo l, what up?"
part, everyone could point to her and say "what up" and then cheer. damn
i wish i was a girl whose name started with "L".*

Cam'ron - Hey Ma

as a side note, cam'ron was a short lived nickname for my friend cameron cole.
after i'd call her that, we'd discuss how much we liked this song. honestly, i don't
know any other cam'ron songs so i'm sure the conversation ended there. the big
news though, is that "cam'ron" the nickname soon gave way to "town", which in
my opinion is one of the best nicknames i've ever given. cameron > c-town > town
was the progression there. also http://www.ctown.com looks like the dumbest
website ever.

* I just listened to the song and it seems as if "L" is actually a man Cam'ron is
what up'ing. Nonetheless, it'd be awkward if everyone what up'd and pointed
at some dude named Leo.

From the Q train to you

2007-03-20T15:08:00.000-05:00

Tandemoro "For A While"
(another one too: Tandemoro "Lock Your Doors")
Tandemoro's website has their whole "Lock Your Doors" EP for download. It's nice like driving in the summer with the windows down.

Bring Your Son to Work Day

2007-03-13T21:00:00.000-05:00

Things Albert Hammond Jr. Inherited from his father.

-Wardrobe
-Hobo Clown Appearance
-Ability to write instantly enjoyable pop songs

Albert Hammond Jr.'s solo offering "Yours to Keep" goes down pretty smooth. I love it. Nothing in there to really object to or wonder about. No sonic experiments or dark poetry or initially jarring but eventually rewarding 8 minute tracks. Just instantly likable (if ultimately dispensable) pop songs.

His Dad must be proud. Albert Hammond Sr. made a name for himself by writing 3 minute chunks of California AM gold in the early 70's and this post is more about my love of him. He's pretty much written songs for everyone.

Juniors solo album is more than just a consolation prize for the awkward "First Impressions of the Earth." For me it feels like a subtle nod to a tradition of since-dismissed 70's AM radio music; warm, cozy, perfectly produced, and instantly recognizable. Albert Hammond Sr. sings his sunshine blues about how it doesn't rain in California - it pours, while Junior gleefully mopes about how hard it is to live in New York City. So what if we don't really buy it? That was never the point anyway.

Albert Hammond Jr. - Call An Ambulance
Bonus points for the ukulele
Albert Hammond Jr. - Hard to Live (in the City)
Albert Hammond -It Never Rains In Southern California
Albert Hammond - The Free Electric Band
Bonus points for giving up that Berkley girl for the Free Electric Band
Albert Hammond - The Air That I Breathe

Tiger Tunes

2007-03-13T10:09:00.000-05:00

There's a lot to like about Tiger Tunes. Their beats are up. They're not serious. They're Danish. They're mysteriously "on hiatus," which amps up the desperation and love for their songs. Hearing a Tiger Tune is much more fulfilling than sighting a Stroke in the East Village. It's like going to Starbucks and finding that they've reissued your favorite limited edition treat (which is, of course, the pumpkin scone).

This song reminds me of that scene in Rushmore where Bill Murray and Jason S. have teamed up and they're running down the hall with grenade launchers or something, and they're swinging their legs out with every step. They're too cool not to choreograph their every move. Also Masked Potato is a nice title.

Tiger Tunes "Masked Potato"

A lot of free songs at their super nice website.

Something that irritates me: this video, in my opinion, is only ok. Same with the song. Just because it features animals does not make it "very cute." Can we try NOT to jump to cuteness conclusions and rudely bait fans with promises to pull heartstrings. Whatever heartstrings are.

Dogs and Burgers

2007-02-28T11:36:00.000-05:00

As a kid, I tried to convince my mom that I had the sideshow talent of predicting the next note in any song I was hearing for the first time. A devotee of KBSG, the Seattle oldies station, I should have known that that's mostly true, but not for Beatles songs (except that you rarely hear one for the first time after the age of 3.5). Had Dr. Dog been old enough to stand in front of a mic, and my mom been schooled on the crossover bands that are Fader favorites and Philly exports, she could have thrown some of their songs in my face. I can't predict these melodies. And the music sounds nice too.

Fresh and antique faves from the DD repertoire:
Dr. Dog "Easy Beat"
Dr. Dog "My Old Ways" (from We All Belong)
ps the video for this is unsettling.

new Dr. Dog album for buying
free Daytrotter songs for downloading
shakey shack burgers for anticipating

Post Blur

2007-02-27T10:47:00.000-05:00

Although this song lacks a serious payoff, I've found myself enjoying it all the way through. It's found a nice place between slow and fast that translates well to several settings. So far I know that it sounds good when I'm in the shower, and in front of the produce at the grocery store. Maybe if it kept playing all the time, my enjoyment of everything would just go a little up. Doing laundry? Not so bad anymore. Walking? I'd love to. Making cookies? Let's bake em with a whale, thank you.

The Good, The Bad, and the Queen, "Northern Whale"

Also, The National have announced a new album for May and some shows too at the Bowery Ballroom.

Sea town, jump on it

2007-02-22T23:41:00.000-05:00

There was a time when Seattle had a firm hold on music, on flannel, and on morning lattes. Now the whole entire world has Starbucks, old Miss Starbucks cleaned up (and covered up) for the publicity, flannels are on their way back, and Portland is the official music scene capital of the Pacific Northwest. Although Sir Mix-a-lot is long gone, we can breath easy that Grey's Anatomy hasn't moved out. Thank you lord.

Portland Band The Shaky Hands:
The Shaky Hands "Summer's Life"

Two summer songs because, bare legs and iced coffee, I am READY! (these are some of last summer's favorites, neither of which are from Seattle):
Tapes 'n Tapes "The Iliad"
Voxtrot "The Start of Something"

deep thoughts

2007-02-21T14:59:00.000-05:00

sometimes i see a commercial for 'save the children' or other struthersy charities on tv, showing little starving children from like nigeria or africa and it makes me really sad. on one hand, i'm so lucky to have been born into a well-off family in a first world country. but on the other hand, i'm really unlucky because i have to live in a world where hunger, famine and starvation are all major problems.

i always want to give money, but then i have heard that a lot of the money you donate goes to administrative costs, and i just wish i could reach across the oceans myself and help them plant an apple, banana or coconut tree.

another thing that makes me sad about africans is that there is an education gap. not only are their schools very poor and run down, but if they do go to school, arts education is undoubtedly a very low priority. gregory hines and sidney poitier are two examples of very talented africans that overcame these odds, but one of them is dead now, and i don't know how to save the music there. if anyone has any ideas, please e-mail me and maybe we can start a project.

i don't mean to get you guys down!! but if i could give the african children one thing, it'd be this song, from my favorite musical of all time, Rent. it's about the seasons of love.

Rent - Seasons of Love

Bulwinkle, Molson, and other import goods

2007-02-12T16:41:00.000-05:00

A friend asked me to translate a Malajube song into English, and the results were mildly shocking. I raised a brow. Here they are, sounding so charming, singing all en francais. But the lyrics are about pilles and prostitutes and ejacule, which is not very croissant and Perrier of them. I guess it's because they're Montrealians, not Frenchies. Canadians are naturally cruder and more into tap water and Bryan Adams.

It seems like Malajube's just out for a good time, a quality I've appreciated from Canadians ever since I spent New Year's Eve at an a-frame ski cabin that flew straight out of the Canadian 1970's and into my American heart. They have shows this week that I recommend: two are sold out at the Mercury Lounge BUT tickets are still available for next Monday at Southpaw in lovely Sparkle Slope. I'll be there dancing mes pantalons off (but not mes sous-vetements, no matter what anyone says to me in French), and you should come too.

Malajube "Montréal -40°C"
Malajube "Pâte Filo"

The video for Montréal -40°C is also more or less fantastique:

Malajube on myspace
Buy anything but the Beatles at Sound Fix in my ex-hood.

it's only fair to tell you now

2007-02-09T16:04:00.000-05:00

I just wrote this post about 69 Love Songs that wasn't really saying much, but have just now remembered that I really like this song Stephen Merritt did for Pieces of April, a Katie Holmes movie I know nothing about. Actually the whole soundtrack is him but this song, "All I Want to Know" is good and I suppose also pretty 69 Love Songs-ish. Also here are the two links leftover from my logostasis.

Rick Moody's article "Thirty-One Love Songs" in The Believer
Dave Eggers' introduction to the 10th anniversary of Infinite Jest

Stephen Merritt - All I Want to Know (from Pieces of April soundtrack)

The Magnetic Fields - Fido, Your Leash is Too Long (from 69 Love Songs)
The Magnetic Fields - Washington D.C. (from 69 Love Songs)

BONUS: I don't know when I uploaded this song, but Tegan and Sara made an album of covers called Songs for Christoff and I haven't heard much of it except their cover of Bruce's Dancing in the Dark, and it's pretty good.

Tegan and Sara - Dancing in the Dark (from Songs for Christoff)

Mr. and Mrs. Big

2007-02-07T00:16:00.000-05:00

This is an impulse post! I just heard Irene yesterday, stumbling upon them when searching for a Mr. Big song. It looks like they also have a song called "To be with You". Wow, these guys are fun. Nothing to write home about I guess, but worth rooting for. Maybe its because I want jangly fun pop that hasn't already been crammed down my throat this past year (read: Jens Lekman, Camera Obscura) or maybe its the 2 minute limit they put on their songs or maybe i just love their anapologetic use of Cooper Black. Why am i saying maybe? Those are definately the reasons.

Irene "Stardust"

Irene "Little Things (That Tear Us Apart)"

I didn't hear the Irene song of the same name, I can only hope that it is a cover song.

Mr. Big "To Be With You"

not overkill

2007-02-05T21:58:00.000-05:00

i know next to nothing about okkervil river. what i do know:

1. i know that a friend's friend runs a company called fluffwheels that takes bands on tour in europe. that is, they drive the band and their gear to all their shows, but are not affiliated with the band, their label, etc. kind of a neat idea. michal, the friend of a friend, recently came over to the US to take okkervil river on tour in this fashion.

2. i think they are on the saddle creek label, also believed to be the home of bright eyes.

3. my old roommate chris liked both bright eyes and okkervil river, and my annoyance at the former made me assume that the latter was also quite bad. full dislosure: for the most part, my qualm with bright eyes was very shallow and had little to do with his music. i've heard more since and like a lot of it.

4. i thought the band was named "overkill river" for a long time. this fact did not play a big part in my like/dislike for them, but it did make me get the big eyes the first time i read [what i thought was] their name.

in conclusion: chris is fond of the lyrics to okkervil river's song "red", particularly the following:

Yes is my favorite answer. I took a dancer home. She felt so alone. We stayed up all night in the kitchen doing my dishes on and on til the dawn. She said I know it's easy to have me, but I have seen some things that I cannot even tell to my family pictures and I'm full of fictions and fucking addictions and I miss my mother.

at first, i didn't like "red" very much at all, but after leaving it on repeat for about half an hour, it was stuck in my head, and i can enjoy it now.

Okkervil River - Red (from Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See)

on the other hand, i liked "westfall" the first time i listened to it.

Okkervil River - Westfall (from Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See)

Just Pretending to be Japanese

2007-02-05T15:40:00.000-05:00

The lyrics in Fujiya and Miyagi's songs are sometimes ridiculous, and enunciated enough so that even the least lyric-oriented listeners (I know thats me and maybe it's you too) can understand them. Okay, that's fine though, because this stuff still sounds nice to listen to. It does a good job at landing in the no-man's land between pop and dance. Like Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (on my top ten of the moment list), I think.

These guys are British. They like pretending to be Japanese (listen to Photocopier on their myspace page). They're playing at Mercury Lounge and at Barnard in March. So it seems they've found their way to the no-man's land in New York too.

Fujiya and Miyagi "Ankle Injuries"
Fujiya and Miyagi "Collarbone"

Since...

2007-02-01T12:54:00.000-05:00

it's gotta be said:

Go dance for a minute or two at one or both of Harlem Shakes Burning Birthdays EP release parties:
Part 1: Tonight, the Canal Room at Canal and W. Broadway, 8pm.
Part 2: Tomorrow, Union Pool (which has a killer photo booth and root beer on tap if you're on the wagon), 8pm.

(Here's a sample of what you got coming to you. There may be a future post equating HS with Jesus. Hopefully* these songs aren't the ones that that post intended to use in support of this claim.)
Harlem Shakes "Eighteen"
Harlem Shakes "A Night"

Check out their myspace, or just get out there. Call in sick tomorrow. It'll be fun. Promise.

*Grammatical error intended.

Buy Me

2007-01-30T23:15:00.000-05:00

At some point, everyone works a shit job. Personally, the term shit job incorporates any place of employment where you must be the entertainment at bar mitzvahs, where you must clean other people (or up after them), at Hot Dog on a Stick, or at a women's clothing store.

The following four songs are notable for their high quality and presence on clothing store "soundtracks." These songs say "you look young at heart in that cardigan." These songs have not sold out despite this.

Match the A+ quality song with the store in which it has played. There may be a prize for correct guesses.

1. The Boy Least Likely To "Be Gentle With Me"
2. Justin Timberlake "Sexy Back"
3. Stevie Wonder "Sir Duke" (link to be fixed)
4. The Thrills "Say It Ain't So"
5. Blur "Boys & Girls"

a. Monk vintage clothing store on MacDougall
b. The Gap
c. Anthropologie
d. J. Crew
e. Forever 21

If you're sitting on your hands, read:
The New Yorker on the death of Musak
SF Gate on selling a lifestyle, because who wants a musak lifestyle these days?

Gangsta's Paradise

2007-01-27T22:04:00.000-05:00

1982, a significant year for non-cinematic reasons, included the release of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High," a film still as appealing as any individual aged 24.

Luckily for America, director Amy Heckerling had a few more tricks up her sleeve - namely the first two of the "Look Who's Talking" series: both regular and "...Too!" (Bruce Willis and Roseanne Barr as baby voices are indisputably frightening; not the point of this post.) Then, finally, Clueless.

Thank you, Amy, for returning to high-school movies. Clueless is still a blast. You directed Brittany Murphy to the best performance pre-8mm, including one profoundly tone-def rendition of Coolio's "Rollin With My Homies" after getting clocked in the head with a flying shoe at a valley party. Good scene. Great song. Too bad it doen't work out with Tai and El-on, but high school's a rough place.

Coolio "Rollin With My Homies"

ps Clueless also marked Donald Faison's introduction to showbiz as Dionne's sweet not-quite-a-scrub boyfriend. While Tai's singing to stay conscious in the next room, he's just "keepin it real" by getting his head shaved at the valley party mentioned above. Thanks for the good times, and keep up the good work, Turk.

Make it!

2007-01-25T17:17:00.000-05:00

There will come a day when everything will change for you. When, after years of finely tuning your cynicism and sarcasm and disinterest, you will feel like you are falling apart. Something will probably set it off. Maybe you'll see horses and wonder what it means to be truly free. Maybe you'll watch the movie Tombstone and it will cause you to question the authenticity of your own existence. But you'll slowly realize that your list of things you dislike is a lot longer than the list of things you do like. You'll start to notice that its easier to pick something apart than to praise it. You will see how casual conversation effortlessly turns cynical and sarcastic and it always has but it never bothered you before but now it makes you feel kind of sick. But then, when you feel like you are going to bust, something will happen. Your heart will start beating so hard you'll remember that you have one and you'll grab your chest because you'll feel like you have to. You will be delivered. Old ideas will be fresh and tired advice will come back to life and food will even taste better for some reason and you'll see it all through these huge new eyes. You'll stop dissecting everything and start taking everything at face value. And when that finally happens, this is the song you'll listen to.

Mama Cass Elliot "Make Your Own Kind of Music"

A Secret History of the 20th Century

2007-01-25T02:52:00.001-05:00

Over dinner a few days ago, Matt and I briefly debated the foibles of A People's History of the United States, my thoughts on which are essentially that it would make a very good supplementary text in a classroom setting, but otherwise its arguments are often convoluted and substantially misrepresent a lot of history [I pretty much think this: Michael Kazin on Zinn]. Anyway, I eventually got frustrated with Matt and sent him an e-mail that said, "I hope that you die, and your death will come soon, and all the money you made will never buy back your soul." [a misquote from Masters of War.]

Moving along here, I like Bob Dylan; evidence of this can be found in the above paragraph. The Basement Tapes, in my opinion, is not Bob Dylan's best album nor the Band's best album, but it is really great. My appreciation for the album was at first cursory and then was significantly informed by my reading of Greil Marcus' book The Old, Weird America: The World of Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes, which concerns itself with an expanded 5-disc version of the album and an old anthology of American folk music.

That all being said, here are two songs from standard issue of The Basement Tapes. Both are upbeat Bob songs; there are also subdued Bob songs, as well as songs that are much more The Band-y, and are neither really 'upbeat' nor 'subdued', just The Band-y. The album begins with some looser songs and then moves into more introspective territory; that is, you get to know the slower songs by hearing the faster ones first. Here we go:

Bob Dylan & the Band - Million Dollar Bash (from The Basement Tapes, 1975)
Bob Dylan & the Band - Please, Mrs. Henry (from The Basement Tapes, 1975)

heads up wednesday

2007-01-24T11:05:00.000-05:00

please check out jason hare's "mellow gold" gem. this week's song is amazing, but also check out the archives - he features a new softie every wednesday.

tap that

2007-01-23T10:29:00.000-05:00

(these are so nice. sold out.)

it might be a fun game to count how many other indie bands sound just like tap tap. it's a lot. arcade fire and man man and clap your hands and whatever else. they're not the most original thing since van gogh sent homegirl his ear. more enjoyable though.

when you're done frowning about how derivative bands are these days, notice that tap tap are sneakily catchy. the kind of band that every time you hear them, you wonder who this good band is (they sound familiar...), and then feel sheepish because you know exactly who it is, and you've heard the song several times, and they're featured on your playlist entitled "hella fresh hitzz." tap tap is not an acquired taste. they're the guy you meet at a party that's surprisingly easy to talk to right off the bat. that's not a bad thing.

probably the catchiest song (among those recently jacked from other blogs).
tap tap "100,000 thoughts"

this one is pretty conservative in terms of the lyrics. needless to say, "boy" must have done something pretty special.
tap tap "way to go boy"

you'll want one more. last but not least.
tap tap "the reason i'm here"

all tracks are from "lanzafame." i can't read this but i gather the author of this blog finds lanzafame the best cd of 2006.

ps for melissa and alex and anyone else who travels to music festivals, coachella looks really good. worth not taking a shower for (or was that bonnaroo?).

do you have a pulse

2007-01-22T00:11:00.000-05:00

I started listening to Sleater-Kinney after stealing a burned copy of Dig Me Out from one of my roommates, a girl who worked at Other Music and would always complain that they'd tell her to shut up and make her work the register. I imagine Other Music to be a kind of cartoony place where everyone is jaded and annoyed but I've only been in there once. With Chris obviously. Anyway, I loved all of Dig Me Out right away, all the way through and lots of times every day, but my favorite song on the album was Dance Song '97. Listening to the album now, I like 2 or 3 other songs better, but good ol Dance Song will always have a special place in my heart.

Sleater-Kinney - Dance Song '97 (from Dig Me Out, 1997)

I call Sleater-Kinney my favorite band now, and this is my favorite song of theirs at the moment.

Sleater Kinney - "One Beat" (from One Beat, 2002)

I bought Morphine's The Night because it had a great cover and because I remembered reading the obituary for the band's lead singer and bassist, Mark Sandman, in Rolling Stone. My favorite band in high school was Soul Coughing, and I had read that Morphine opened for them on a tour once, so I came into the band wanting to like them. "The Night" is the first track on the album, and Sandman's voice is so low and moody and I want to be friends with him.

Morphine - The Night (from The Night, 2000)

soundtrack star

2007-01-21T13:24:00.000-05:00

good soundtracks are so exciting, because they can go so wrong. obvi wes anderson does a great job, and it's can be nice when a good band goes all out for a soundtrack (simon and g-funkel for the graduate, cat stevens for harold and maude, belle and sebastian for storytelling, etc.). no example of a horrible soundtrack pops into my mind - the worst are usually part of bad movies, so the soundtrack becomes part of the whole unfortunate experience.

sometimes, and this really only happens in new york, the song on your ipod corresponds exactly to what you are doing as if it were made for the movie that is your life. like if james taylor's "walking man" were playing as you hoofed it to the subway, but more subtle. after watching bridget jones' diary, *a friend* would listen to that craig david song "fantastic bombastic" or something like that and really rock the sassy walk. anyway.

these two songs seem like they belong on soundtracks. come n get em, wes.

earlimart is notable for being obsessively compared to elliot smith. maybe, but there's something so much more personal about elliot's music, and elliot just packs more of a punch. that said, this song is on earlimart's upcoming cd and those violins rock. more can be found on pitchfork.

earlimart "don't think about me"

when countries submit their best movie for the foreign picture category in the oscars, there's so much - a whole country's cinematic production - riding on that film. it's charming, and probably the u.s. likes passing judgment on the art of albania based on one film. canada loves this band like their best nomination. it's a little philip glassish. it's not something you'll listen to all the time, but it might illustrate a scene where you're deciding between froot loops and peanut butter puffins (organic but damn they're good) at the grocery store.

final fantasy "he poos clouds"

“I'm dealing in rock'n'roll. I'm, like, I'm not a bona fide human being.”

2007-01-20T03:09:00.000-05:00

Oh, Phil Spector, remember when you threatened to quit the music
business if we didnt all agree that this was the best song you'd ever
produced? Remember how much time and money you spent on this song?
Remember what you put Tina through? Even Ike thought it was excessive.
But you didn't care, you knew this song was your crowning achievement
and it was going to be the one that knocked all those bratty British
kids off the charts. And then remember when it didnt even break the
top 50? You closed your studio, Phil. We're sorry, Phil. It's
not your fault, we were just really excited about the Beatles.

Even without the British Invasion dominating the music charts, I can
still see why this song wouldn't be a pop hit. Even today, it sounds
like its from fucking outer space. Phil Spector's production never
had the urgency it has in this song. The wall of sound was never this
thick. Even Tina Turner gets swallowed by the insanity at times.
Everyone involved sounds like they are playing with a gun to their
head, which is entirely possible given Spector's history.

Ike & Tina Turner "River Deep - Mountain High.mp3

thank heaven

2007-01-17T23:41:00.000-05:00

there's something really perfect about being a 20-something with a blog right now. it allows the writer the illusion of being heard out and maybe understood by a huge anonymous audience. you can cry and know nobody's laughing at you, make bad jokes and pretend everyone is now laughing, and generally get really into yourself. really, really into yourself.

before blogs, people had babies. but it's not really approp to be self-indulgent and morose in your twenties when you've got a bun in the oven or one thats freshly baked. so some people, thinking out of the box, adopted cats. more time to explore the emotions from the teenage years without having to be responsible or purchase creamed foods. even better, just write about yourself as a hobby. my point being that a blog is a modern version of a baby. this one's mine.

ps even hilary knows it takes a village to raise a child. if you want to write about music, talk to me please.

casiotone for the painfully alone was introduced to me recently. mr. tone writes the kind of sad music that you don't have to be sad to appreciate. this song sounds like when a kid hammers on the lowest keys of the piano and realizes that it sounds depressing and that this sound goes with the color blue (both conventions, no?). please listen to and read about casiotone's cover of graceland on said the gramophone. first listen to this.

casiotone for the painfully alone "i love creedence"

herman dune has been a favorite for a solid six months. that's one 20th of my 20s. his folk-y take on the doldrums (i cant come up with a more modern word) makes him sound like the kind of guy that doesn't get hung up on much. so he got dumped. so he's getting old. ok, whatever. he also wears unique hats, which you may choose to explore during your free time on youtube. herman is great; this song is nice, too. (or maybe you n dom agree.)

herman dune "not on top"