Happy Furry Puppy Story Time with Norbizness

The Super Furry Animals are so fucking awesome it's not even funny. They played Golden Retriever in concert about a year before that album came out, but I was too new to them at the time to realize it was a new song. I was only familiar with Rings Around the World at that point. I've heard the live version a few times since, and I kind of like it better than the album version.

FWIW, I never really got a T-Rex vibe from that song. Certainly not as much as from Supergrass' last album (they have a new one too, btw). But Phantom Power was one of the best albums of 2003, in my opinion. The new one, Love Kraft, is different, and didn't grab me as immediately, but it's seriously growing on me. If you're going track by track, I'd suggest listening to Zoom, Ohio Heat, Lazer Beam, and Back on a Roll.

New Echo and the Bunnymen out too. Sounds a lot like the old gray album, with Lips Like Sugar.

And the original RBI was awesome. I liked replaying that '86 series with the Angels, as I've been a halo die-hard since birth.

I are a lurker, but are not an alcoholic or a captioneer.

No, I are a 47 year old father of 2 youngsters, and have never heard of 90% of your Friday groups. Do you have any Beach Boys, Springsteen, Steely Dan, Bonnie Raitt, Talking Heads, Grateful Dead, or Cream on your ipod?

(With your gracious invitation, how could I resist?)

Norbizness, I've been thinking about getting Yahoo music, it seems to be the best deal. What device do you have? The iRiver seems good, but the latest greatest 40GB seems unfindable.

Well damn, but if that isn't the warmest hill country invite to comment I've seen so far. :-)

I read happy furry puppy story time infrequently--about once or twice a month.

I originally came for the bingo and crystal meth, but now that I'm freebasing again, I don't dig the regular friday freak show.

I'm from Brooklyn, lived in El Paso for a couple of years, and moved on to San Francisco a few years ago.

When I visit HFPSTw/NB, I link in via a trackback from another blog. I haven't yet directly come to the blog to read.

Once I'm here, I usually just read the linked post (which is invariably a political one), but on occasion will read your music and film posts.

As for not commenting, you want to know the real truth? I'm too goddamn exhausted to do it. Though I don't cruise the blogosphere very often (maybe once or twice a week--I do work two jobs), there's just too much to read, digest, and remark upon what with the thirty or so blogs I try to keep up with--plus the e-mail, non-blog web sites, newsgroups, etc. I have no fucking idea how you blogorrheacs eat, sleep, work, fuck, _and_ blog with only 168 hours in a week.

But that's a weak ass excuse for sucking up your bandwidth. I'll try to come up with something better next time--and yes, I'll bring my own crack pipe.

I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in.

Well, I'll jump in with my audit. We'll see how it goes.

1. Sarah McLachlan, "Black and White" - Wow. Way to start off strong. 2/10.

2. Jimmy Eat World, "Hear You Me" - Pretty bland emo ballad about the touring life of a band. 3/10.

3. Beck, "Hollywood Freaks" - I hated this song when I first heard it, but it's grown on me like a fungus. It sounds... well, Christ, I've no idea how to categorize it. Which makes it SUPER COOL! 9/10.

4. Ani DiFranco, "Glass House" - Gets the obligatory Ani DiFranco 6. 6/10.

5. Liz Phair, "Big Tall Man" - whitechocolatespaceegg was not her best effort by far, but it's still pre-sellout Liz Phair. 6/10.

6. Remy Zero, "Fair" - I really like this song, but realize Remy Zero just ain't that cool. 5/10.

7. Semisonic, "She Spreads Her Wings" - I like Semisonic, hate this song, and realize Semisonic ain't cool. 3/10.

8. Bjork, "Hunter" - Classic Bjork. 8/10.

9. Weezer, "Hash Pipe" - Oy. This is where Weezer started going downhill fast. 5/10.

10. Bonnie Somerville, "Winding Road" - Lovely little tune off the Garden State soundtrack. 7/10.

11. Nirvana, "Blew" - Off of Bleach, so it's got the real chunky guitars that they abandoned with Nevermind. Plus, this is the cool Nirvana album to have - before they blew up. 8/10.

12. Death Cab for Cutie, "Bad Reputation" - This is a remarkably faithful cover of the Freedy Johnston song. I got it by purchasing the album through iTunes - it's not on the album available in brick-and-mortar stores, as far as I know - so I don't know if that makes it really cool or really not. I'll settle for 6/10.

Aggregate: 5.67.

And it's confirmed. I'm still just not that cool.

Happy to be of service. Of course, now I have Adam Green's 'Carolina' stuck in my head and am going to get in trouble later when someone catches me singing to myself, "Car-o-lina, she's from Texas. Red bricks drop from her vagina"...

mmmmm cream!

Is this where we "de-lurk"?

What can I say, I love the site, I even take notes on the music audits. I'm just not half as clever as most of the commenters, or a quarter as hip.

I work for poot at a reactionary southern college.

I'll go back to my corner now.

'Cause ... you make me laugh?

Wow, I know few people who feel the way you do about The PiL-- I couldn't agree more. The whole album Happy? pretty much rocks.

lurking's lure-
1)unable to settle on a handle or gravatar.
2)anti-social & paranoid.
3)'working' & bored.
4)prone to...
4a)alliteration (see above)
4b)limericks & lyrics
4c)bad puns (see current handle)
4d)same ol' profanity
4e)pointless pop culture references
4f)misspellngs.
5)We're not worthy, We're not worthy (see 4e).
4g)ellipses(see 4)
4h)poor html skills and formatting.

Hey, Weird Al Yankovic was my first favorite artist too. I think the Dare to Be Stupid album was the CD I ever bought. The video is pretty funny too.

I must agree with Seitz...Super Furry Animals are indeed both excellent and eclectic. Ok, enough rambing, here's my list:

Total Trash - Sonic Youth
I Found A Reason - Cat Power
De Camino a La Vereda - Buena Vista Social Club
Pressed Rat and Warthog - Cream
19th Nervous Breakdown - The Rolling Stones
Face Down - Jawbreaker
Easy/Lucky/Free - Bright Eyes
Growth - India.Arie
Allure - DJ Danger Mouse (Beatles + Jay Z)
Still In Love - The Stills

So, Norbizness, keep us up to date on the new music, ok?

Alright, norbizness, damn you to hell. I'll de-lurk JUST THIS ONCE. I might get fired now, you know. Sitting around reading blogs all day is one thing, commenting on them quite another.

Anyhow, I just want to say, a) You're not being fair to the Hives, dude. Listen to "B is for Brutus" or something. Plus, I hear they're a great live band. Two snooty local musicians (Denver, if you must know) told me it was the best rock show they'd ever seen.

b) I'm a big fan of Built To Spill. I like the Old 97's a lot, especially Satellite Rides.

c) I really enjoy reading and assembling Pitchfork's Top 50 singles list every year. It requires file-sharing, which is illegal, immoral and makes baby Jesus cry though.

d) I'm very fond of Boulder's college radio station, http://www.radio1190.org. They have a live feed and they list all the songs/artists on their website too. It's teh cool. I imagine Austin has something as good or better. Just sayin'.

Thanks for putting up such an enjoyable and funny blog. You da man.

"Primitive Painters," Felt -- Wonderful guitarist, good songwriter, lousy "singer." 8/10

"Da Mystery of Chessboxin'," Wu Tang Clan -- "Rappenin' is what's happenin'." I love how they all pronounce the "W" in sword. RIP ODB. 8/10

"Glycerine Queen," Suzi Quatro & Smokie -- Off-brand glam is kind of cool, isn't it? (Not as much as you'd think, actually.) 4/10

"You Wear It Well," Rod Stewart -- I've long subscribed to the theory that Rod Stewart sold his sould to Satan in return for unending popularity and a ceaseless supply of much-younger women who closely resemble him. His popularity is inversely proportionate to his suckitude, as illustrated the ubiquity of those albums where he warbles Cole Porter songs and the like. You can buy great versions of those songs without ever going to a record store. They're available at any Starbucks and practically any store at any mall. Why Rod Stewart? Why??? This song, however, is pretty top-notch. 6/10

"Bata Motel," Crass -- They make Rage Against The Machine look like Mötley Crüe. I'm disturbed, exhilarated and empowered, all at the same time, and I'm not even a woman. That shit's the shit right there. 10/10

"Tiny Bubbles," Don Ho -- Wait, let me explain, my friend had this -- ah, fuck it. 2/10

"People Are Strange," The Doors -- God, I hate the Doors. Especially this song. 3/10

"Baby, Please Come Home," U2 -- By the time I remember to check off all the Christmas songs in my iTunes so they won't play unless I want them to, it'll be Christmastime. There's nothing more annoying than to be sittin' in the bathtub with your special lady on a Saturday morning in July, drinking champagne, and hearing the opening chorale of the full, 20-minute version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas. That fucking sucks, y'all. (Subject to seasonal availability)

"I Want It All," Bruce Nicolai -- This song, from the soundtrack to an old Italian movie, has the same rhythm as sexual calisthenics. I'm out of breath just listening to it. (8/10)

"Sluta Följa Efter," Dungen -- The guitar line in this song sounds like the theme music to some Nintendo game I can't quite place. The dungeon in Zelda? I don't know. My little brother was into video games more than me. This album is some high-quality psychedelia, by the way, and sung in Swedish. 8/10

"That's The Joint," Funky Four Plus One -- They're right: This is the joint. And you know that! 9/10

"Haïti," The Arcade Fire -- That marks four uses of the umlaut in this comment. That's got to be some sort of North American record. 8/10

Aggregate coolness: 6.72 (Big ups to the umlauts.)

I'm a local lurker right on the other side of 35 from the emporium. I'll be by this afternoon for a tiger's blood and an oil change. On to the audit.

Black Crowes - Soul Singing - 6/10
Johnny Cash - Wreck of the old '97 - 9/10
Bob Dylan - Just like a woman - 6/10
Asylum Street Spankers - Interlude - 0/10
Beck - Scarecrow - 7/10
Radiohead - Ideoteque - 7/10
Loretta Lynn - Miss Being Mrs. - 6/10
Widespread Panic - Tortured Artist - 2/10
Flaming Lips - Turn it On - 6/10
The White Stripes - Stop Breaking Down - 8/10
Kings of Leon - Milk - 8/10
The White Stripes - This Protector - 5/10
Bob Schneider - Madeline - 7/10
The White Stripes - No Faith in Medicine - 8/10
Doug Sahm - I Don't Want to Go Home - 9/10
Don Williams - Love is on a Roll - 1/10
5.93 overall

I love split lip rayfield! Been listening to them for over ten years when they started playing in Wichita, KS at Kirby's Beer Store. And did ya know that instead of a stand up bass, Jeff Eaton plays a gas tank with one weed-whacker string on it? Damn, those were the good 'ol days. Yee-haw!

My audit

(I post everywhere else, here is some love)

(yeah, you deserve it)

The mystic spell of "Atlantis" has caused me to de-lurk. Whaddaya expect, given that it comes from an album called "Barabajagal" (also a strong contender in the "WTF Is *That* About" sweepstakes). Whizzed in one day on a link from who knows where and just kept coming back looking for more mystical Sky Fairy lore.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Yo La Tengo. Best thing to come out of Hoboken since Francis Albert Sinatra.

Plus, Norb, I'm sure you'll appreciate a band that named a song after a Troy McClure-hosted telethon -- "Let's Save Tony Orlando's House." Great title, and an even better song. In fact, probably my favorite.

I've commented a time or two...but I am a regular, enthusiastic reader. HFPST makes my day every day, but only right after Rude Pundit. Even though I am a hip college student (in Lubbock, from Albuquerque), I too know very little of the music you site on Fridays. My audit would be about 60% Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Rush, and Rage Against the Machine. Yeah, Aerosmith, you bastard.

i live in canada, i like blue, but green is pretty good too. and i use up your bandwith because you're too damn funny not to read every day...and i'm too damn inarticulate to have anything to say. oh, and your knowledge of movies makes me feel incredibly inadequate.

Why do we sit here sucking up your bandwidth, saying nothing? C'mon, Norb, isn't is obvious -- all us lurkers have nothing to add to your meth-inspired comic genius. That, and in my case, Friday random 10 would be a major letdown. Here, I'll prove it:

1. Bad Religion, "The Answer." Off to a good start here, but that's not too hard when I have about 200 Bad Religion songs on my iPod. This song is actually pretty average for Generator, but that was one of their best albums. 7/10.

2. 1000 Homo DJs, "Supernaut." Obviously a Black Sabbath cover, from the Nativity in Black tribute album. Most of the stuff on there is crap, but I think I like this version better than the original. 7/10.

3. Incubus, "Blood on the Ground." Meh. Decent... for Incubus. Could be worse, I suppose. 5/10.

4. Weezer, "My Name Is Jonas." First song on their first album, which gives it the most distance from their crappy green album. I don't like Weezer all that much anyway, but I like this song. 7/10.

5. Alice In Chains, "I Stay Away." Uhm, how much of a hit does this take for extreme over-play? Call it 6/10?

6. Bad Religion, "I Want To Conquer The World." Surprisingly, this song isn't about warmongers. Doesn't have Brett Gurewitz's backup vocals, but still a great rant against everyone fucking up the world. 8/10.

7. Dead Kennedys, "Police Truck." Is it even possible to give DKs less than 7? 9/10 -- duh.

8. Faith No More, "War Pigs." Know how I was saying most of those Black Sabbath covers suck? Other than the instrumental opening, this live version is proof. I was wondering where my bad music was. 2/10.

9. Bad Religion, "Kyoto Now!" "You might not think there's any wisdom in a fucked-up punk rock song." Alright, this makes up for the last song. I'm almost tempted to dock it a point for being the third from the same band in one random 10, but that's bound to happen with 1 in 5 songs in the iPod being from them. 8/10.

10. Beck, "Nobody's Fault But My Own." This is off the folksy Mutations, and is actually not that bad. Still, you probably have to be pretty stoned to enjoy it without getting bored. 6/10.

11. Pearl Jam, "Spin the Black Circle." Alright, so Pearl Jam totally sucks now (and has ever since Vs.), but I thought Vitalogy, and this song in particular, was pretty good - just a step down from Ten. Yeah, so it's about heroin, but so is just about every other Pearl Jam song at that point, at least in part. 7/10.

12. Linkin Park, "Pushing Me Away." Call me on my massive grade inflation if you will, but I'll echo the same sentiment Andy had for his Aerosmith music: I like it, you bastard! 7/10.

Average: 6.58/10. So I was wrong about my music audit; it's a fluke - I swear.

Adam Green was in my early audit, too -- but for "Jessica," his admonishment to the pneumatic Miz Simpson. And glad you found love for Le Tigre.

I'm a lurker, although this is not the first time I've commented. However, I am always out of funny by the time I get here, so I don't even try to keep up with y'all.

I don't have an iPod or any other sort of device like that, so I can't randomly measure my cool factor, either. But right now I'm listening to a Canadian folk song called Johnny Saucepan, as sung by my daughter's high school jazz choir, so give me a 3.

I am a grade-A lurker and a daily bandwidth-eater. I've been doing it here for... quite some time. One request, if I may: more posts about Texas. I'm an ex-pat, and I miss the insanity. Virginia has its charms, but you just can't compare the two.

Audit:

1. The Boo Radleys - "Wilder" - There is a lot of stuff in my mp3 player that I've never listened to before. This is one such song. Given that it is a song by a semi-obscure British shoegaze-band-turned-Britpop-band (kind of), and is off of an out-of-print album... and that I don't really like what I've heard of it so far... 7/10.

2. Death Cab for Cutie - "This Charming Man" - According to my mp3 player, I've listened to this song 29 times; 27 of these were on the same day. Death Cab screws up the lyrics really badly, and yes the original Smiths version is infinitely better, but... I love this song. I have to give it 8/10.

3. The Lemonheads - My Drug Buddy - a.k.a. "Buddy" on the sanitized version of "It's a Shame About Ray". I'm not sure whether, strictly speaking, the Lemonheads are "cool", but this is a really slow, soulful song, and they're pretty obscure if you discount their cover of "Mrs. Robinson", so let's give it a 7/10.

4. Beck - Farewell Ride - I don't actually like Beck that much. I find him immensely overrated. Maybe I'll change my mind one of these days. 5/10

5. Ikara Colt - May B 1 Day - Too bad these guys broke up; they are completely insane. Spastic punk with a lot of electronic undertones; very highly rated by the British press a few years ago (which takes off a few points). 6/10

6. Tilly & the Wall - Perfect Fit - Oh, Tilly and the Wall. They have a tap dancer as percussion on a lot of their songs, and... well, that's all you really need to know. Quirky pop with lots of harmonies. 6/10

7. Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie - Nearness - Off of a live album at Carnegie Hall. Decent bop, but the album itself is false advertising; Bird only appears on 5 of the tracks, and the rest is just Dizzy's band. Fairly obscure, though; 8/10.

8. Elliott Smith - Southern Belle - Thou shalt not speak badly of the dead. Not that it would be necessary on this song; it's already great. 9/10

9. Public Enemy - Terminator X to the Edge of Panic - DJ-driven PE. Kind of sub-par compared to the rest of the album (it's no "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos"), but it's Public Enemy. 7/10

10. The Beatles - You Know My Name (Look Up the Number) - This song gets really irritating really fast. 4/10

11. Cocteau Twins - Fotzepolitic - 10/10 without question. One of my favorite albums of all time (Heaven or Las Vegas), and I can state with some confidence that the Cocteau Twins rate fairly high on the Obscure-o-meter. Elizabeth Fraser's vocals are unimpeachable.

12. Radiohead - Bones - One of the lesser moments on The Bends. 6/10

Overall: 6.92. I've noticed that it's nearly impossible to break 7. Ah well. I suppose that's about right.

Why don't I post? I feel guilty if I spend too much time, but I still need to drop by and get a fix of lovely, lovely bitterness. The post with the born-again dad stumbling to explain god through a hallmarky tree metaphor was hilarious. I should concentrate on reading on-line lit mags (check out Pindeldyboz or The Beat) or finishing my novel. You're just too damn funny.

Plus, I'm a mooch. Free ice cream!

Flaming Groovies rock! And add some Billy Childish to your playlist, do! (Nothing against your playlist, I post that everywhere I go)