Friday, February 25, 2005

eight miles high and some

You all will have to thank my buddy Owen for this one, he suggested this song off the Big Lebowski soundtrack. And it is fitting...somewhat, considering I will be taking a trip soon, just not the same kind as Kenny here. I'm gonna be driving up north tomorrow, and probably won't post at all next week as I'll be on spring break...and yes, there is snow on the ground, the UMW does what it wants! Anyways, I'll be back next week with more music.

Kenny Rogers and the First Edition - Just Dropped In (to See What Condition My Condition Was In)

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

blown speakers, blown mind

This song from Skywave's latest album Synthstatic, performs well as a narrative for my state of mind right now. Careening through decaying surf riffs and leaving pieces of melody all over the place, "Here She Comes", is my anthem for a long day of tests and waiting for the caffeine jitters to burn off. Skywave is a band actually from Fredericksburg, (even though I haven't seen them play), and their guitar player has his own line of effects pedals as well. Thats all the random facts for today, hurry up and play the song again before your hearing comes back.

Skywave - Here She Comes

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

must kill school

Sorry...the posts will suffer this week. This song is from an operatic interpretation of the story of Jane of Arc. The cello is amazing.

Anonymous Four - Pater Noster

Monday, February 21, 2005

you think greenday ever listened to them?

Yep. This pretty much sums it all up.

The Dickies - I've Got a Splitting Hedachi

Friday, February 18, 2005

if only i smoked weed...

Ok. No nostalgic mumblings today. Too worn out from this week. I think I'll just listen to this song a couple times in a row and lay on my bed. From Led Zeppelin 4, this is my favorite song of theirs and has been sampled by the Beastie Boys, Dr. Dre, Coldcut, and Coldplay. You can almost hear the beginnings of stoner metal inbetween the sludgy slowed down drums and trudging bass line. Apparently, because the drums were recorded and slowed down and then the rest of the song was recorded to get the wanted effect it was almost impossible to play live and they only tried twice. Anyways, maybe I'll just go buy some incense...

Led Zeppelin - When the Levee Breaks

Thursday, February 17, 2005

take me to your eerie heights above

Here's an old favorite of mine, this song is from the first proper album by the Microphones called Tests. When I was first learning about indie bands about 4 years ago I was at my friends house in Connecticut for a couple days who had a fast connection and Audiogalaxy. I spent a good amount of that time going through Pitchfork's best of the 90's list, (the first edition), and downloaded everything that my tiny budget had previously rendered unavailable. This song perfectly captures the nostalgic summer aesthetic for me and sends me right back to lazy car trips with the windows down on the beltway.

Microphones - Oh Anna!

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

and the last shall be the first...

Thought I'd post a little of a band that was very important to me in high school. I used to listen to Underoath after school on the days that my head just needed a little clearing out. If my day had been long or frustrating, I would put Cries of the Past in my cd player and turn my headphones up and just focus my metal chi. You should try it sometime. This song was the first song on that album, their second. I never really understood the direction they took after Cries of the Past though, they lost most of the members and went from death metal to a strange metal/emo hybrid. I'm all for experimenting with styles, but that combination never seemed very strong to me. This song they played when I saw them 4 years ago, and I banged my head so hard this guy told me to take it easy with a concerned look on his face. Kind of embarassing...anyways here it is, and go ahead and headbang, I won't tell.

Underoath - The Last

Monday, February 14, 2005

It's a Lemonheads Monday!

Okay...well I'm just going to fill up what tiny server space I have with Lemonheads songs today. In middle school I listened to Its a Shame About Ray pretty much every day for a couple months, until I discovered punk and got rid of the tape. I got another copy of the album last summer and gave it another chance and realized how much I liked it even after all these years. (Unbeknownst to me, the Lemonheads were way ahead of me anyway in punk cred, having covered the Misfits "I Want Your Skull"...oh well." Unfortunately Evan Dando's drug-riddled reputation, and the "Mrs. Robinson" cover will probably rule in the minds of most people when they think of the Lemonheads, but hopefully a few of them will hear these songs. "Brian Damage" is technically a Blake Babies song, but since Evan Dando wrote it, I'm including it here. (And since Juliana Hatfield sings on pretty much every other song on Its a Shame About Ray, it might as well be the Lemonheads.) The rest of the songs are from that very album that got me through those dark days of middle school, so without further ado:

The Lemonheads - Alison's Starting to Happen
The Lemonheads - Ceiling Fan in my Spoon
The Lemonheads - My Drug Buddy
The Lemonheads - Bit Part
The Blake Babies - Brain Damage

Friday, February 11, 2005

synthesized bagpipes?

That's right this song features a synthesized bagpipe solo and it still doesn't suck, in fact I really like it. I heard this song a lot on the radio when I was younger, but never really listened closely to it until I saw Donnie Darko. I actually bought the album Starfish two or three years ago...and I think I have more fingers than the times I have listened to it. No matter, its still great when I remember to listen to it.

The Church - Under The Milky Way

Thursday, February 10, 2005

And Now For Something Completely Different...

From Zao's Self-Titled album, this song is fairly obvious in its intent, it is a break-up song, and yes it borders on melodramatic. However, who doesn't indulge in a little emotional extravagance here and there? Even without the lyrics, I could love this song purely for its mind-erasing breakdown at the end. When I saw Zao play last November, this was their closing song and it was hard to hear Daniel over the roar of the crowd repeating these words with him, very powerful indeed.

Zao - Five Year Winter

Wednesday, February 09, 2005

Let it fall

This song is from Radiohead's No Surprises single. It struck me the first time I heard it because it was so much more peaceful than many of their songs, even now when I listen to it a sense of sleepy calm comes over me. This may have to do with the fact that Thom Yorke recorded it a little drunk one afternoon at his house, (the background noises are his girlfriend putting away groceries), but it definitely works.

Radiohead - How I Made My Millions

the name!

We got a pig over christmas, and my mom took a picture of it in the snow. I root around so much on the web gobbling up mp3s, it seemed somehow appropriate.

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

ok, here it goes...

Welcome to my mp3 blog!

I'm going to start from the begining, and in the begining was Paul Simon. Graceland was the first tape I personally took around with me in my little walkman. The warm voices of Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the sunny guitar and bass conversing with each other still make me smile.

Paul Simon - Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes