December 02, 2005
"Just Count Calories And Manufacture Allergies"
You can shatter roses with this guitar work!
It's Friday, and time to make sure that you gauge your worth as a human being on this planet via the Musical Audit (check previous editions in the Musique Non-Stop category for examples). Fire up the jukebox, don't skip over anything, and take the first eleven that pop up. As for the post title, I would ask you to guess its source, but it appears exactly once in a Google search, so forget it.
(1) Central Park West (John Coltrane) One of my great musical blind spots is a real appreciation for jazz, which is the complete antithesis of my preferred genre, Krautrock. I'm trying, though. I'm not sure out of which Coltrane era this comes, but it's very sleepy and actually doesn't have a lot of saxophone in it until the last minute and a half. 4/10.
(2) Hangin' With Howard Marks (Super Furry Animals.. a bonus, they have their site in Welsh) One of my favorite bands from the last ten years, responsible for one of the more bizarre and entertaining live shows I saw a few years back at the Parrish, although it was called something different then. However, this song is a little turgid and late-80s sounding. 5/10.
(3) Don't Lose Your Cool (Albert Collins) My two-week binge on finding a lot of country- and Texas blues pays off as Leona, Texas' own Iceman shows up with his patented absolute-zero guitar work for a nice blues shuffle. 7.5/10.
(4) The Horror (RJD2) I'm not sure who this guy is, but he mixes hip-hop beats and interesting samples a lot like the Propellerheads. I think this track is supposed to approximate the background for a Hammer Studios horror film, although it comes out like the stage boss theme for some video game I haven't played. 7/10.
(5) I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (U2) Hey, it's my 1989 class song from high school! MAJOR NEGATIVE POINTS! 2/10.
(6) Smokey Joe's Cafe (The Coasters) The most consistently entertaining R & B group of the 1950s, mainly due to their expert delivery of Lieber & Stoller's brilliant and subversive lyrics. This song is no exception, with great interplay between all the vocalists and an interesting time shift and sax solo in the middle. 8/10.
(7) Seeland (Neu!) Hey, it's Krautrock! With an exclamation point! A little more airy and ambient than their cousins in Kraftwerk, this sounds a little like a lost Brian Eno track. Their more upbeat offering definitely presage New Wave and my favorite current band, Stereolab. 6/10.
(8) Pistolgrip Pump (Rage Against The Machine) A cover of a song I've never heard by a band I've never heard of (Volume 10) that appeared on a soundtrack to a movie I've never seen (Things to do in Denver When You're Dead). Guaranteed to make you discover sets you never knew you had to wave in the air. 8/10.
(9) Turn A Square (The Shins) I'm not sure, but I think that I heard an accordion in there. I think they want me to pay attention to the lyrics, but I tried that for about 10 seconds, and didn't like it. Pretty good pop song in the tradition of Split Enz or Squeeze, otherwise. 6/10.
(10) Free To Go (Folk Implosion) Sebadoh used to be one of the bands who concerts at Liberty Lunch I dreaded going to just to hang out with some out-of-towners, but Lou Barlow turned it around with this project. This song may very well be a Matthew Sweet outtake, but it's all good for the dancer inside of the emocore weenie inside of all of us. No offense if you're not all of us. 7/10.
(11) Wrap It Up (Sam & Dave) Exactly 15.9 times better than the Fabulous Thunderbirds cover. 9.5/10. Trust me, I have the little calculator that comes with Windows.
It's always a 6.4/10, which means I fail thanks to those U2 wankers. If only I had had access to the bonus twelfth track, When Smokey Sings by ABC. Yeah, right.
Any Sam and Dave fan should also have the complete collection of Bill Withers tunes. Especially "Use Me". Wow, that's a song.
Stereolab, eh?
You might want to give a try to McCarthy, Tim Gane's (and, for about 5 minutes, Laetitia Saedier's) pre-SL band. Very different sound, though. Manic Street Preachers covered their 'We Are All Bourgeois Now'.
Posted by: Mrs Tilton at December 2, 2005 03:11 AMhmmm... I thought I had made a comment about MC Paul Barman, figured it would make you feel good if someone was getting your references. anyways, if it posts twice, tough shit. i saw paul barman in gainesville at...fuck, i can't remember the name of the place, whatever. anyways, I saw him about 3 or 4 years ago, it was a fantastic show, but the crowd was so goddamn lame. bunch of nerds, no one knew whether to dance, or jump around, no one knew the lyrics, it seemed like most of the people there were just out because they had heard there was some sort of concert or something at their frat. Barman put on a fucking great show, but you could tell he was bummed out looking out on about 25 nerds standing there with their arms crossed, sorta bobbing their heads. good choice though Norbizness. Hey, I figured I'd drop you aline since i've been reading the blog for a while, i enjoy it, and give you a few new band suggestions from the B section of my itunes. check out beulah for some fantastic west coast pop. it may take a few listens to get used to the (at first) lame-ass horns in their first few cds, but damn, they are fantastic. you also gotta get the blatz/filth cd the shit split from lookout records. you can throw away the filth cd, but blatz is the punkest motherfucking band you'll ever listen to, you'll love it, then go out and kill and rape some people (in that order), and for a little variety, try to dig up some brainpower. he's a dutch rapper. seriously. hes awesome. try the songs wiet of niet, wat een jinx is, dansplaat, voel de vibe, and de vierde kaart to get started. those should spice up the music audits a bit.
Posted by: mat at December 2, 2005 04:46 AMToo numb this morning for an audit, but here's my list:
- Granny Cool - Sugar
- Los Angeles - X
- Geek USA - Smashing Pumpkins
- So Danco Samba - Stan Getz
- Who'll Follow Me - ZIP
- Mind Tempest - Proper Grounds
- Spanish Caravan - The Doors
- Cinderella's Big Score - Sonic Youth
- One - Aimee Mann
- Does She Talk? - Matthew Sweet
But, I promise to include liner-esque notes with my Christmas CDs this year.
Posted by: Roxanne at December 2, 2005 07:59 AM"Central Park West" is one of the most comped tunes in Coltrane's catalog, probably because it's one of the prettiest, sort of like Ravel and his Pavane. comes from his Atlantic period in the very early 60's, right before he went to Impulse and history. not from a one of his better known albums, though, so extra points in order!
Posted by: paperpusher at December 2, 2005 08:23 AMLooking for a little help here. Am I right in not allowing the other guy I work with not to play his ipod in my pressence?
1)"Back in Black"- ACDC the 'remixed' version from whatever the fuck box set this came from.
2)"My Own Worst Enemy"- Lit
3)"Cowboy"- Kid Rock
4)"You May Be Right"- Billy Joel
5)"That's Life"- Pepper's Ghost -One of the members of the band worked here for awhile.
6)"Never Say Goodbye"- Bon Jovi
7)"I Will Always Love You"- Whitney Houston
8)"Unforgiven"- Metallica
9)"I Get Wet"- Andrew W.K.
10) The Theme from 'Good Times'
11)"Love in Elevator"- Aerosmith
They didn't show up but he has the entire Peter Cetera(sp?)/Cher album on here. As well as just about every Eminem song ever written.
Posted by: Stash at December 2, 2005 08:41 AMBroke my music audit cherry. My first offering is over here.
Posted by: Montag at December 2, 2005 08:49 AMIf only I had had access to the bonus twelfth track, When Smokey Sings by ABC. Yeah, right.
I believe the full title is, 'When Smokey Sings (It Makes Martin Fry Sound Pathetic.'
Posted by: Gavin M. at December 2, 2005 10:26 AM1. "Battery" - Metallica
Kicks off my favorite Metallica album. It's been years since I played this one. 8
2. "Against the 70s" - Mike Watt
I had high hopes for this CD when it came out. fIREHOSE main man goes solo and taps every badass in the early 90s to record with him. Result? About 4 or 5 good songs out of like 16 and an unwieldy case that won't fit in any CD rack...Eddie Vedder sings this one. 6
3. "Royal Station 4/16" - Melissa Etheridge
Album back-fill. It's not "Brave and Crazy" or "Let Me Go," but it's good. 7
4. "Up on the Sun" - Meat Puppets
Old school Puppets. I'm pretty sure the Kirkwoods were playing guitar on that Watt track... 7
5. "Lay Your Hands On Me" - Peter Gabriel
The second-best song off his second-best album 8
6. "Mighty Joe Moon'" - Grant Lee Buffalo
Title track from a tremendous album. Not the best song, but a good one. 7
7. "Take It Easy" - Bright Eyes
The only track I have (or have heard). Off a CMJ or Paste disc. Not seeing the hype here... 5
8. "Anna" - Pure
Canadian band that never really went anywhere. This was the single off their second album. She's a speed freak... 7
9. "Tunnel of Love" - Dire Straits
"Making Movies" is a really good album—leaps and bounds better than anything that followed it—but not quite as good as the first album, which I only have on vinyl and haven't heard in eons. 8
10. "Tantrum" - Ned's Atomic Dustbin
Customers who bought albums by Ned's Atomic Dustbin also bought: The Farm, Soup Dragons, Jesus Jones 7
7.0 average. Not a high-scoring random ten, but good in terms of pleasant surprises.
Posted by: Mr Furious at December 2, 2005 11:07 AM"Map of the City," Royal Trux -- I'm not sure which line is more startling: "A sailor has to masturbate until the ship ends" or "I knew right then I could love her forever, even when her breast's all rotted with cancer." 7/10
"Love Me, Please Love Me," Michael Polnareff -- This would make a good album cut for Can I Borrow A Feeling. (I secretly love this attention-starved pup of a torch song.) 0/10
"Digital," Joy Division -- Impervious to overrating. 9/10
"20th Century Boy," T. Rex -- MTV used to run a really cool commercial where some faggy-looking teenager walks around his high school listening to this on a Walkman, looking all, like, above it all. This song just never gets old. 10/10
"Galore," Naum -- Yet another airtight record on Kompakt. All of their stuff ranks a solid 8/10, except the stuff that's higher.
"Chase the Sun," Planet Funk -- I should've added this to the trash heap 10 from a couple of weeks ago. Delete, please. 0/10
"Love Will Be Right Here," SWV -- This sunny little number reminds me of two-tone denim shorts and that week I sold gold jewelry door-to-door. 3/10
"New Coat of Paint," Tom Waits -- My friend Kelly killed this album for me sophomore year of college. 6/10
"Bowery Mood," Vladimir Cosma -- I suddenly feel like leading a car chase. 7/10
"Outside," The Primitives -- I wish I could say I listened to Black Flag in high school, but I was listening to this. 4/10
Bonus: "Daytona 500 (Panzah Zandahz 'My Iron Lung' remix)," Ghostface -- Basically a mash-up between Ghostface and Radiohead. Kind of underwhelming, though. 7/10
Aggregate: 5.55 (Not bad, considering the double zeros.)
Posted by: TravisG at December 2, 2005 12:09 PMDoes anyone besides me remember Albert Collins' cameo in "Adventures in Babysitting"?
Posted by: sw at December 2, 2005 01:02 PMDoes anyone besides me remember Albert Collins' cameo in "Adventures in Babysitting"?
[raising hand]
Posted by: Mr Furious at December 2, 2005 01:17 PMSecond the Beulah recommendation, although, depending on what album you listen to, your tolerance level for happy, upbeat pop may be severely challenged. I love them though; saw them live, and it was the best damn thing ever.
1. Pavement - Summer Babe (Winter Version): In my snarkier moments, I wonder where the original version of this song is (although who knows what Malkmus has in his vaults...) Strong first song; Pavement will always have a special place in my heart, and they're still a great band to namedrop. Half point off because it's not "Trigger Cut". 9.5/10
2. The Violent Femmes - Gimme the Car: Everyone's favorite Milwaukee-ite ex-buskers sound really creepy. Not as good as "Please Do Not Go" or "Kiss Off", but Gano is still one of the most bizarre, unique vocalists of the 80s. 6/10
3. Brendan Benson - I bought this album because I really liked "Spit It Out" and "Cold Hands, Warm Heart". Sadly, those were really the only two good songs on the album, but this one is OK, I guess. 5/10
4. Elliott Smith - Condor Ave.: Will's Theory of Hipster Hyper-Coolness states that the most overlooked album (or most panned; see: Metal Machine Music) by an artist should always be stated as your favorite album. In that vein, this is the best song off of Smith's best album. 10/10
5. Portishead - Undenied: I never saw the big deal about Dummy, really, but then, I heard this album first. Fantastic trip-hop; Beth Orton is a vocalist for the ages. Creepy, breathy and longing, all in the same song. See: "All Mine", "Cowboys", "Only You". 9/10
6. The New Pornographers - Stacked Crooked: Off of the brand-new Twin Cinema. I'm still not sure if it's as good as The Electric Version (their previous effort), but it's pretty good. Power pop with lots and lots of reverb, and lots and lots of Neko Case. 7/10
7. The Pernice Brothers - 7:30: The Pernice Brothers are one of the most consistently overlooked bands of the past 10 years. Joe Pernice knows melancholy pop like the back of his very own hand, and this is one of his more stunning songs. Highly, highly recommended. 9.5/10
8. Rilo Kiley - Accidntel Deth [sic]: I think the lowdown on this song is that Dntel (get it? get it? "Accidntel"?) made the music for it. Eh. He's the guy behind the Postal Service (right?), and I hate the Postal Service. I'll take one of RK's more organic numbers, please. 3/10
9. The Go-Betweens - Apples in Bed: An outtake from 16 Lovers Lane (for you hype fans out there, it's "the indie Rumours", which is pretty high praise in my book). Still-relatively-obscure Australian band makes classic album about falling-apart relationships, in short. As for the song, it's actually damned good, especially for an outtake. 6/10
10. The Beatles - Martha, My Dear: I think I've had this one in a Friday entry before, because I seem to remember describing it as having "'Paul' written all over it". I stand by that, and I also stand by my previous assertion that it is one of the best damned songs on The White Album. 9.5/10
11. Fountains of Wayne - Red Dragon: Next on "Before They Sold Out"- The Little Power Pop Band That Could, with one of the best fucking songs ever. One in an endless succesion of FOW songs about a hopeless geek trying to get a girl out of his league (see: "Leave the Biker"), this time by getting a (you guessed it) red dragon tattoo. Fantastich. (Also, one of the best lyrics ever: "Will you stop pretending I've never been born?/Now I look a little more like that guy from Korn") 10/10
Bonus: Queens of the Stone Age - Broken Box: Eh. I've never been a big QOTSA fan; I downloaded this album for kicks, and I was pretty unimpressed.
Total: 7.7... wow, I did well this week. No "99 Luftballons" or anything! Hooray! (I do love that song... shh, don't tell)
Posted by: wilhelm at December 2, 2005 03:01 PMI'd point and laugh about the U2, but I'm pretty sure I have some of their CDs lurking around here. Ah fuck it.
HA HA!
Posted by: Amanda Marcotte at December 2, 2005 07:15 PM1)I'm Still Alive (Pearl Jam) 9/10 Jeebus, that voice still rocks my world.
2)Strange Brew (Cream) 10/10 I'm glad he got sober and all but there was a time when the drugs did work.
3)2AM (Teddy Pendergrass) 2/10 Not one of his better ones.
4)Oboe Concerto In D Minor (Bach) 10/10
5)No Matter What You Are (Badfinger) 4/10 The Beatles with some balls, which isn't saying much.
6)Big Boss Man (BB King) 10/10 Michael Jackson so ripped this song for Billie Jean.
7)Born Under A Bad Sign (Buddy Miles) 8/10 Way over produced but still kicks ass.
8)Start Me Up (Rolling Stones)(0/10) No excuse for this thing.
9)Honey Bee (Stevie Ray Vaughn)7/10 Pedestrian Chicago blues tune done really, really well.
10 Muthaship (Danny Gatton)0/10 Uh, less technique and more soul, please.
A really mixed mess, eh?
Posted by: vachon at December 2, 2005 08:28 PMAfter reading many of your friday lists, I think you might enjoy ADULT. (adultperiod.com). Try their first two albums; the most recent loses entirely Nicola's (the vocal half of the group) glorious monotone vocals. If the music isn't to your liking, Nicola's photography is fucking fabulous.