Pig in the Snow

in return

2009-04-15T08:00:00.001-07:00

I seem to be reaching the end of my metal listening hiatus, which has lasted a surprising 3 or 4 months. While the general "metalness" of Torche could probably be debated, they lie at least on the heavier end of whatever spectrum you're using. It's probably best for me to stick with posting music in this range anyway, because I doubt the 5 people that read this are deeply invested in the arms race of extreme-ness that metal conversations inevitably polarize to.

If there were an extreme this song approaches, it wouldn't be aggression or really even heaviness. Among the cross pollinated shoegaze guitars and rolling floor tom thunder, a kind of acquiescent beauty emerges. This song is a white flag, post frustration, 5th step on the Kübler-Ross model blaze of emotion. I recognize linking to the 5 stages of grief is melodramatic, but I think we can all agree small psychic storms occur from time to time and as the Red Hot Chili Peppers so eloquently phrased, "music is my aeroplane." So maybe the next time the world begins to wear on you, you can find some palliative comfort here.

~~Torche - Bring Me Home~~

here's to you, kilgore trout

2009-04-06T18:03:00.000-07:00

Time is a funny thing, we can follow our daily routines for weeks, even years; caught up in complex patterns of behavior that for the most part map out our experience of "time," but those moments still come when the concept of time passing just doesn't make sense. We see the world around us aging, our own bodies changing, fairly concrete examples of this experience - but everyone also knows the strange flash of realization that the month is over or the year is over, and for some reason it doesn't feel like thats completely possible. Einstein elegantly distilled one explanation of this experience, by presenting time as relative to the speed of light; though my favorite illustration of it was a documentary I saw on TV, where natives of Papua New Guinea were filmed talking about an upcoming soccer game. The game was to be played by people on teams from opposite sides of the island, one side had been converted to Catholicism and wore western clothes and lived in white framed houses. The other side still lived in the jungle, were practically naked, and the calendar someone had scratched out on the jungle floor to show them how many days it was until the game had some of them doubling over in laughter. I was a little jealous then of their outside perspective, to see the hilarity in our struggle to divide up our whole existence so neatly.

Having said that, now a word about this Bob Dylan song. Its from a bootleg called Deeds of Mercy that I picked up somewhere, including songs from around when Oh Mercy was released. This particular song was actually officially released on Under the Red Sky, but that version I find pretty unsatisfying, (see for yourself). Anyways, the bootleg version has a much more introspective atmosphere and the lyrics are much better in my opinion. This song is one that can trancend nosalgia under the right circumstances; such as when I listened to it last night, driving my truck under the haloed moon through silver fields of new grass, time actually seemed thinner. The night sky could have easily been the one I gazed at when I was seven or fourteen or anywhere in between.

So here is your soundtrack to becoming a little looser in time, enjoy!

~~Bob Dylan - Born In Time~~

turned into machines

2009-03-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

This is the kind of music they invented those visualizers on mp3 playing programs for. From the new Röyksopp album, Junior, this song is pure synth over-stimulation. The main synth line takes me back to messing around with the WASP plugin on FruityLoops in high school and man, that tasty sweet and sour buzz weaving in and out of the drum loop is just so ridiculously catchy. My friend DJing at a party a couple weeks ago recommended playing rap until, "people got drunk enough to realize they actually liked electronic music," but I say don't wait until then - enjoy this now!

~~Röyksopp - Vision One~~

the lake was wet

2009-03-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

This weather always reminds me of early to mid 90's alternative rock, with dozens of albums and music videos depicting sunny thrift store dreams, vintage cars and picnics with sunglasses. I listened to my Lemonheads tape on repeat while mowing still damp neighbor's grass, the glare and burn of the summer sun hinting, but not yet fully realized amidst the cool breeze of early spring. The power of nostalgia lies in the ability of pop culture to make deep impressions while your still developing ability to critically assess said culture is not yet fully functional. Therefore, I can listen to It's a Shame About Ray anytime of the year and still be transported to these antediluvian days.

~~The Lemonheads - Rudderless~~

it's gonna come to you

2009-03-01T18:53:00.000-08:00

Here is some perennially good advice in the form of great Nigerian pop music to bring in the new month. Foolish February is over, so let's celebrate the coming of spring with a burst of syncopated snare hits and melodic keyboard peals. Also, you should check out this cool write up on the band.

~~Apostles - Don't Huzzle For Love~~

soul of saigon

2009-02-17T08:50:00.000-08:00

In Chinoiseries, French-Vietnamese DJ Onra channels J-Dilla with his own particular twist, sampling vintage pop records collected from flea markets in Vietnam. The crackle and hiss of the old vinyl weaves together the sparkling warbles of resurrected melodies with solid snare and bass beats creating a sound at once nostalgic and original. I am so tempted to make a Donuts - Phonuts pun, but due to the uncooperative phonetics of the delicious Vietnamese staple, I will instead leave you with this anecdote regarding the first of the songs below.

~~Onra - The Anthem~~

~~Onra - Smoking Buddha~~

~~Onra - Live from Hue~~

~~Onra - One Day~~

wonder when

2009-02-04T06:04:00.000-08:00

Alright, and now to balance out the optimism of the last post, here is my favorite song by The Wipers. Probably known best for Kurt Cobain talking them up as well as covering them, this band still remains relatively obscure; likely due to the difficulty in categorizing their sound and their Fugazi-like adherence to creative control. Ostensibly a punk band, The Wipers sprawled into heavily rhythmic, sometimes psychedelic sounds, yet always maintained a melodic core. Their ability to cultivate songs simultaneously ominous and catchy in just the right doses is precisely demonstrated in this song.

~~The Wipers - When it's Over~~

can't complain

2009-01-29T06:56:00.000-08:00

Like the song says, it's gonna be a good year.

I've posted on Witchdoctor before, and I have been glad to see him getting a little more attention recently. He was one of the original Dungeon Family rappers along with Outkast and Goodie Mob, that came through in the mid-90's, but never really saw much mainstream success aside from a song on the Bullworth soundtrack. This has probably profited him integrity-wise, it's not likely he's going to drop a World Party anytime soon or attempt Idlewild-style cinematic blowout, but it would be nice to live in a world where artists are recognized proportionally to their accomplishments.

That said, this song isn't heavy on lyrical acrobatics or complex concepts, it's just a optimistic ode to a new year, which I am feeling.

~~Witchdoctor - Best Year~~

before i write you

2009-01-22T05:35:00.000-08:00

I happened to catch part of Exit Clov's set when they opened up for Cloud Cult last spring and was only half paying attention; but one song they played stuck in my head for days after. I ended up looking it up and became mildly infatuated with it for a while.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, when a friend put another of their songs on a mix and I immediately recognized the voices from somewhere. The distinctive dual female harmonies rang out, and while the tone of the song is completely different than MK Ultra, I knew it was them. I'm really into the reverby 1950's guitar sound, it's the perfect song for sitting late at a diner somewhere contemplating the realized and unrealized permutations of love, (see also "Sleepwalking").

~~Exit Clov – For Abednego~~

worth two in the bush

2009-01-09T10:15:00.000-08:00

The weirdest and most beautiful song on an album already superlatively weird and beautiful, "Bird in Hand", comes out of the speakers like a smoky spell from another time. It's impressive to consider that Lee "Scratch" Perry pulled off this song using only a 4 track, and potential witness to his claim, "It was only four tracks written on the machine, but I was picking up 20 from the extra terrestrial squad. I am the dub shepherd."

The lyrics I first assumed were sung by Perry in a language possibly from the same extra terrestrials assisting him on the boards, or some African dialect, but after some research I discovered this interesting article. The song is sung by collaborator Sam Carty, and the lyrics were taken from the Hindi love song, "Milte Hi Aankhein", from a 1950 Bollywood movie. I have reposted the lyrics and their translation below:

Milte hi aankhein dil hua deewana kissi ka
Afsana mera ban gaya afsana kissi ka
Puchho na mohabbat ka asar, haay na puchho
Dam bhara mein koyi ho gaya, parwaana kisika
Afsaana mera ban gaya, afsaana kisika

As soon as our eyes met, somebody's heart went mad
My tale has happened, somebody's tale
Don't ask me love's effect, oh, don't ask
I took a breath and somebody happened, somebody's lover

~~Lee "Scratch" Perry & The Upsetters - Bird in Hand~~

failure

2009-01-05T20:09:00.000-08:00

I'll spare the obligatory hand-wringing over the definition of "emo" and its present self-clowning incarnation, and I will even spare you the lecture about how late 80's Dischord was really the only true embodiment of the genre. What I won't spare you is exposure to the delicious self-flagellation of this song. When I really want to feel good about not liking myself, this song does the trick every time. For bonus points I can reminisce about the one time I met Ian Mackaye and made an ass of myself by asking him what he thought about some kid wearing a NOFX shirt at his show; and being subjected to probably the 2,342,345,325,345th time he chewed someone out for bugging him about his relation to straight edge.

~~Embrace - Building~~

the band in heaven plays my favorite song

2008-12-30T08:05:00.000-08:00

This song came on the radio in my truck a couple of weeks ago and I was immediately struck by its subdued strength. After the first minute of afro-Fripp noodling, the song locks into a groove where the singer and lead guitar converse via call and response, creating an easygoing but solid rhythm. Along with the entrancing benga beat, I also picked up something melancholy in the vocals. In reading about the band, I found out the singer had become sick and was recounting his experience in going back to his village, where he was nursed by his parents. The people in his village collected money in his name, but ended up spending it on beer rather than giving it to his family. The singer, Otieno Jagwasi has since passed away, and knowledge of that only adds to the haunting quality of this song. The beauty and resignation in this song remind me tangentially of Eddie Hazel's memorial to his mother, Maggot Brain; another musical transcendence of grief into calm.

~~Extra Golden - Ilando Gima Onge~~

the pig's back

2008-12-16T18:52:00.000-08:00

I never thought I would resurrect this thing but here we are. To kick things off, a poem:

In Orbit

I remember falling.
These days,
terminal velocity lulls me.

Time is measured
in arcing planetary plunges,
I never hit the ground.

Bipolar chiaroscuro
burns then cools
my gravitational cocoon.

all the things I forgot to say

2006-06-15T17:42:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess there has a been a bit of a dry spell in these parts. It's summer and I move a bit slower I suppose. That's my excuse, however lame. This post is dedicated to my old friend Andrew, from whom I first heard this song years ago. We used to pull some pretty ridiculous stunts racing each other back in the protohistory of state driving licensure, and that our own antics didn't end up more along the lines of the lyrics of this song is a wonder of it's own.

~~Radiohead - Killer Cars~~

you can't be beat

2006-05-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

Ok I am back on a stable broadband connection again. The tunes will should flow a bit better now. Enjoy the Zappa.

~~The Mothers Of Invention - Wowie Zowie~~

justified by insanity

2006-05-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

The music of Sigh is often abbreiviated to simply "Japanese black metal," but anyone who has heard their music, they know that that only begins to describe the sound this band produces. Imaginary Sonicscape contains references to almost every kind of music at one point or another, but their musical vison is so strong that it forces all of these different components into the razor sharp sound they maintain. Music in general, and metal even more so tends to get bloated the more you add varying styles to it, but Sigh in their omnivorous exuberance, (also shared by many other Japanese bands), is happy to mix in classical music, dub, psychedelic, and even one song that sounds like radio pop interpreted by some frost bearded inhabitant of the cold north (Sunset Song). Either way, Sigh represents the possibilities inherent in the genre of metal given an open mind, (albeit some assistance from certain chemicals.)

~~Sigh - Corpsecry Angelfall~~

a modern batuque

2006-04-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

Today's song comes from an artist named Manuel Lopes Andrade or Tcheka who comes from the Caribbean island archipelago Cape Verde. The people on his island are usually of Portuguese and African descent, and many traditions are carried over from African culture. Included in this is a musical style called the "batuque" which is a specific beat played while the members of a community sit in a circle and sing about the things happening in their town after working in the fields all day. In the past few decades this tradition has been eroding and the batuque style is losing its spot in the culture. Artists such as Tcheka are interested in reinstating this facet of their culture and thus his music features this beat. The album this song is from, Nu Monda, is an excellent progression from his debut which featured some obligatory sounding session music on it. That is gone from this album and his more traditional style cuts right through the speakers.

~~Tcheka - Satanaz~~

i love questions

2006-04-20T11:13:00.000-07:00

Continuing my Cee-Lo thread from last post, the very same raspy sweet voiced individual is featured the on this track from an album by a fellow Dungeon Family member - Witchdoctor. I only recently found out about this album, and from what I can tell many other people are not familiar with it either. Noz lists this along with ATLiens and Soul Food as his favorite DF releases and I have to thank him for mentioning A SWAT Healin' Ritual because it was the first I heard about it. This album has a very strong and unique atmosphere, representing the South in a similar fashion to how Wu-Tang's first couple albums represented Staten Island. The power of skilled rappers, (along with excellent production), to paint a portrait of their environment so that it becomes something else, a realm based in reality but drenched in bewitching visions is what I love most about the art form. Witchdoctor does this, inhabiting landscapes of sound stained with dark sepia and sunlight conjuring verses in compelling encantations. I highly recommend this album.

~~Witchdoctor - 7th Floor/The Serengetti~~

tomorrow is takin too long

2006-04-11T14:11:00.000-07:00

With the Gnarls Barkely album coming out so soon I have been filling in the cracks in my Cee-Lo collection...aka both his albums I didn't previously have. Anyways, I was always sure I liked his stuff I just never really gotten around to getting it for one reason or another. I have been making up for lost time in the past couple weeks though with his music taking up roughly about 50% of what I have been listening to. This song is from his first album, Cee-Lo Green And His Perfect Imperfections, an album joyfully spanning all sorts of styles including but not limited to hip-hop, soul and funk. "Under Tha Influence" is an excellent exmple of how Cee-Lo brings it all together in such an irresistably fun and easy manner.

~~Cee-Lo - Under Tha Influence (Follow Me)~~

she spoke just like a baroness

2006-04-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

My friend Patrick introduced me to this band as one he knew personally and really enjoyed but for some reason I didn't give them my whole attention until more recently. Not too well-known, (yet), Baroness plays an excellent blend of metal styles seamlessly with some almost crusty sounding vocals. This song from their first release, called appropriately First, kind of sounds like if Catharsis played Tetris while Iron Maiden blared in the background. Fantastic artwork to boot.

~~Baroness - Coeur~~

From their website:

Baroness - Rise

all the times we ever tried

2006-03-27T15:50:00.000-08:00

Sure, emo is easy to make fun of, it's even a blast if done right. But few movements in music are entirely failures, there will always be members who excel undeniably regardless of how much their associates tediously wail away. Such is the case for Elliot, whose majestic album False Cathedrals proves their ability to take a pidgeon-holed form of music and get it to rise above such status and exist as simply essential music. This, the song featured today which led me to the purchase of this album was first presented to me in a compilation back in 2000, about the time of the release. As soon as I could find the album and buy it, I did, and honestly I was a little disappointed at first. "Drive On To Me" is everyone's favorite song, almost uncanny in it's beautiful melody that barrels along taking your ears with it. The rest of the album seemed flat in comparison. This was one of my first experiences with a totally different kind of album. Previously, I fed myself on mainly punk and hardcore compilations, albums with easily definable attributes and spoon-fed hooks. False Cathedrals played hard to get, but when I did get it, it was worth it. Soaring is probably a correct word to use in description of the album, regardless of how trite it sounds. Anyways, it was a transitional album for me in terms of listening to more challenging music. If you think emo is best relegated to clever Shadows Fall shirts and hilarious button pins at Hot Topic, then at least give this a try. If you like it, get the whole album and you won't regret it.

~~Elliot - Drive On To Me~~

mogwai fear pelican

2006-03-21T20:43:00.000-08:00

Whoever Gary Weber is, he has a great song written in his memory. I got this album a while ago and really didn't listen to it too much, but this weekend while I was in the studio painting it came up. It isn't often that I get instrumental music stuck in my head, generally Pelican, Isis, Neurosis, GYBE, Mogwai, and the like play music that I can let kind of wash over me, but not directly engage with 100% of the time. This song, perhaps due to it's shortness just inhabits my mind fully. As my title might suggest, it's reminiscent of Mogwai, specifically to me, "Yes! I am a long way from home!" Maybe it's something in that persistent, high-hat smeared drumbeat and splayed guitars creating a canopy of melody hanging in your head. Anyway, I upon having heard the new Mogwai noticed that they are not only influencing bands like Pelican and Isis, but they are letting themselves be influenced as well, "Glasgow Mega-Snake" for example would not have been too out of place on Oceanic, if you asked me. But this is Pelican we are focusing on now, so take a moment and take in this heavy and beautiful track.

~~Pelican - GW~~

certain fads

2006-03-18T13:37:00.000-08:00

I changed my mind about Andrew Bird. I have heard a half dozen or so of his songs in the last year and thought they were ok, but overwrought with effort and kind of dry. Until last week when this girl was singing the violin line from the song, and it reminded me of some Bollywood song that had been stuck in my mind for at least a week. I was pretty excited because I thought she had just freed me from the frustrating problem of not knowing this song playing over and over in my mind, but when she told me it was and Andrew Bird song I was a little dissapointed. I was alot less dissapointed when I heard this song though, which does have a really nice Indian-sounding melody to it, and I was pleasantly surprised to be enjoying a song by an artist I thought I had written off. So if you too thought you didn't like Andrew Bird, give this song a listen, maybe it will change your mind too. Also, if you are somehow in the universe of possibilities reminded of a Bollywood song, (it's sung by a woman if that helps), don't hesitate to tell me, as I am still hunting.

~~Andrew Bird - Fake Palindromes~~

what'd you have to do that for?

2006-03-17T14:32:00.001-08:00

(Today's entry comes from my friend Randall)

I'll admit it. When I first heard this song, off the Shudder to Think's major label debut Pony Express Record, I was unimpressed. Long being a fan of the "Dischord" sound and math-rock in general, I had heard about the band and their influence on the DC underground for years. But despite feeling almost obligated to like the guys for all these reasons, my first experience with them grated on me. The lyrics are completely non-sensical and the song's structure is barely there. Even the title of the song screams "pretentious art-rock," and vocalist Craig Wedren's gloating trill dares you to take him half as seriously as he takes himself. No thanks, I thought.

A few days later, half-asleep on a bus, the song shuffled up again on my brother's iPod and I let it run. For some reason, it made perfect sense. Not the lyrics - they are still beyond me - but the shaky structure and irregular melody seemed somehow stronger for their lack of cohesion. After the erratic, mathy pop of the intro, the song suddenly shifts into an impressive vocal refrain at the 1:20 mark that carries it through to the end. Wedren's naked warble evolves into a defiant, operatic proclamation complete with some really cool, almost unsettling backing harmonies, while basic power chords are overtaken by intertwining guitar lines. The song's climax fits (stylistically and chronologically) somewhere between Rush and the Dismemberment Plan, and I mean that as a good thing. Pretty innovative stuff for 1994.

Special thanks to Peter for sharing the Pigblog space with me this week.

~~Shudder To Think - X-French T-Shirt~~

it's been a long time

2006-03-11T21:13:00.000-08:00

Well I guess I kind of dropped the ball there for about two weeks, midterms and apathy got to me I suppose, however I fully intend to be updating more regularly from here. This is from the Kleptones Night At The Hip Hopera, where I am not generally a fan of mash-ups, or Queen for that matter I have really enjoyed this album. For anyone unfortunate enough not to already be familar with it, it is a collection of Queen songs with vocals from pre-existing rap placed over it. Some obviously work better than others, such as this amalgam of Queen's "I Want To Break Free" and several Beastie Boy tracks including,"Shake Your Rump," "Intergalactic," and"Root Down" which stands perfectly well as it's own excellent song.

~~The Kleptones - Break~~

missing one inside of me

2006-02-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

I guess I have been doing alot of covers lately, but whatever. Here is Evan Dando's version of "Fade To Black," surely a depressing song when played by Metallica, but I do believe that the ex-Lemonhead is channeling true hopelessness where in the original the sweet guitar solo kind of cuts the degree of abjection down to an appreciative level. Dando I am sure knows what he is talking about here as he struggled throughout the 90's with various drug addictions, having started the decade the doe-eyed slacker starlet and finished it washed up and out of the limelight.

Evan Dando - Fade To Black

a thousand apologies

2006-02-16T11:05:00.000-08:00

I know I was supposed to like The Shape Of Punk To Come, which aside from it's incredibly pompous title was pretty boring. But everyone seems to disagree with me on that, so I probably just didn't get it. Seems like I'm not the only one to miscalculate though, considering Dennis Lyxzen's next "effort", The (International) Noise Conspiracy probably is listed in the dictionary under "missed the point". That however does not take away from my appreciation of their previous album, Songs To Fan The Flames Of Discontent, a cleanly aggressive example of hardcore music being played right. There are no superfluous crowd noises, "we like jazz too" intros, or "maybe techno will save punk" interludes. Punk rock doesn't need to be saved or changed, all it needs is for people to play it well, which they already did before they tried to re-invent it and subsequently keel over. These two songs are some of my favorites from their second, unfortunately underrated album so check them out and enjoy the shape of some actual lean and mean punk.

~~Refused - It's not OK...~~

~~Refused - Crusader Of Hopelessness~~

ziggy played guitar

2006-02-10T08:34:00.000-08:00

Somehow I managed to hear the cover of this song before I heard the original, when freshman year of high school a kid on the bus had And Such Is Progress and let me borrow it. I have posted on this album before, so I'll spare you the same spiel on the album and such, but I always thought this song really stood out. It has a different tone to it, a tinge of sweet vintage nostalgia I'm sure exists mainly in the instantly recognizable Ronson riff. It maybe that I just enjoy heavier bands takes on older songs, (see two posts down...), so maybe it's time to break out the Converge cover songs, but we'll see. Give this one a few listens, and if you don't already have the original, enjoy the Bowie glam gem as well.

~~Grade - Ziggy Stardust~~

~~David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust~~

what i'm seein' is hauntin'

2006-02-07T09:31:00.000-08:00

As a follow up to my post a couple days ago concerning the Bob Marley song about Zimbabwe, here is his son's video from Welcome To Jamrock, where Nas directly refers to Mugabe. I had heard this song a couple times, but when I was listening to it today I heard the line, "President Mugabe holding guns to innocent bodies/in Zimbabwe," which pretty much means no one I know in Zimbabwe will ever hear this song.

been so down lately

2006-02-06T12:24:00.002-08:00

Of all the heart wrenching songs that are out there, few convey the raw recession of emotion so terribly as this song. In fact when I am down, I have to be careful to not let myself invest too much in songs like this, because it reinforces negative attitudes in such haunting tones of resplendent regret. It doesn't help that the music is pretty likely to get stuck in my head on account of the subversively catchy bass line. I have also included a cover of the song by hardcore band Give Up The Ghost, who do a pretty effective take of it with some nice screwdriver guitar around 1:25 and cleaner production. I think the Archers' dirtier production emphasizes the broken nature of the song, but it's nice to hear a different perspective on old familiar songs as well.

~~Archers Of Loaf - You And Me~~

~~Give Up The Ghost - You And Me~~

P.S. - Go get Icky Mettle now.

it's black history month

2006-02-01T07:04:00.001-08:00

Can you remember a time when this city was
A great place for architects and debutantes
A nice place for midwives and crossing guards
And on, and on...

Hold on children
Your mother and father are leaving

Do you remember a time when this pool was
A great place for waterwings and cannonballs
A nice place for astrologists and blow up dolls
And on, and on...

Hold on children
Your best friend's parents are leaving

~~Death From Above 1979 - Black History Month [Josh Homme Remix]~~

the battle's just begun

2006-01-29T14:48:00.000-08:00

This is from Outkast's 1994 album ATLiens, the title track of which has that line, "now throw your hands in the air/and wave 'em like you just don't care" which would get stuck in my 9 year old mind all day. Not that I was a major fan of Outkast at 9, I probably couldn't have told you whose song it was then. 11 years later, it's still a great song, but lately I have been paying more attention to the rest of the album. "Babylon" is an interesting song both musically and lyrically. The lyrics deal with conflicts and contradictions implicit in acting on lust and living faithful to God. The title itself is a reference to the city of the bible where sex was part of the pagan worship there. As much as the topic of sex comes up in hip hop, the amount of self-examination in this song is much less frequent. The music itself is reflective of this same spiritual introspection, with a chant like loop for the verse and a gospel chorus for the hook inbetween dark beats and shimmering hi-hat.

~~Outkast - Babylon~~

brother, you're right

2006-01-26T11:48:00.000-08:00

I don't know if it's the extremely cold weather we have had of late, or simply my mind wandering, but I have been missing Africa lately. I actually had never heard this song until about this time last year, when I told my friend that I would be there this summer and he played this song for me. But the people there were definitely familar with it. The people there are still crazy about Bob Marley, his face and music is obiquitous. Regardless of the fact that the revolutionary regime that he came to support in 1980 and sang about in this song has turned on the people it freed and is systematically destroying the lives of Zimbabweans, his popularity has not wavered. I am certain he would be horrified to see what has become of Mugabe's government if he were still alive today.

~~Bob Marley - Zimbabwe~~

and now a thousand years between

2006-01-22T13:50:00.000-08:00

Led Zeppelin is a band I often write off as having heard all of their songs ad nauseam and don't ususally expect the little spark such as I got when randomly listening to this song a couple weeks ago. "Tangerine" is from Led Zeppelin III, an album criticized for having a lot of acoustic tracks, and I suppose that reaction stems from people liking their heavier side, and understandably so. However good they were when they played heavy, this song is just as effective sans distortion and drum bombast. The heartsick lyrics go so well with the citrus-sweet guitar and when the drum and bass appear for the chorus the emotional content of the song takes on an almost palpable presence. A few interesting things I have gleaned from the internet regarding this song: "Tangerine" was originally a song worked on by Jimmy Page while he was in the Yardbirds, and there is some consternation as to the actual author, (not the first song with this problem either). Also, the little false start- sounding thing at the begining is supposedly the best song written by Page and Plant, but it was erased - and they threw the little bit left in the begining of "Tangerine". Lastly, if you listen closely as the song starts, you can hear Bonham counting the beats. Great, thats enough trivia, now play the song.

~~Led Zeppelin - Tangerine~~

the pig is back

2006-01-18T17:52:00.000-08:00

That's right, serving up another semester of musical heterogeneous genius, (wokka wokka). And here to celebrate with us is Scarface, the Tupac of the South. I don't know if I'm actually qualified to make that statement, but let's roll with it. This song, while a little out of place on the album, which has more of a southern sound too it, is still quite good. Elite rapper Jay-Z gets a run for his money next to Scarface who proves outshine Hova maybe just a little on this song. Also, Kanye West mostly stays where he does best, behind the production boards, and the result is a bouncing, shiny bit of ear candy, and not the crappy fun size either.

~~Scarface - Guess Who's Back~~

and these are gonna be some of my last days here

2005-12-15T10:24:00.001-08:00

Yeah, finished my last exam this morning, so these are going to be my last days here...for a while. Don't know how much posting action is going to occur over winter break, although there is talk at home of getting a new computer and just maybe taking advantage of the Wi-Fi cloud that hangs over Waterford. Might get a job as a substitute teacher over break at my old high school, which would be a cool $100 a day. Also might update the pig in the snow picture, she's gotten a little bigger since last year this time. Back to the music at hand though, here's some local greats Pentagram. There are obvious stylistic comparisions to Black Sabbath, however they have been around since about the same time and don't suck yet.

~~Pentagram - Last Days Here (Live)~~

~~Pentagram - Buzzsaw~~

zoo eyed

2005-12-10T13:59:00.000-08:00

I have to thank Something I Learned Today for raising my awareness of this band, due to his posting on them a couple months ago. Not often do I hear a band and right away know that they are going to be one of my favorites, but such was the case with The Testors. An earlier punk band from the 1970's, they never really released any albums because they were obviously way too busy being punk. However it's fortunate for anyone not born before the 60's that Swami Records has released the double-disc The Testors Complete Recordings 1976-79. If you like the Dead Boys, Rocket From the Tombs or basically anything that rocks you should check this out.

~~The Testors - Let's Get Zooed Out~~

~~The Testors - Together~~

cause if it isn't making dollars/then it isn't making sense

2005-12-07T11:43:00.000-08:00

The Pedro The Lion song on my last post reinspired me to listen to his stuff again, thus I have been listening to this song off of 2002's Control quite alot lately. For a long time I avoided Pedro The Lion mainly because I associated him with bitter high schoolers sitting in their rooms writing ponderous lyrics about their feelings. When I did give him more of a listen, I found I wasn't off by much, but those ponderous lyrics are sugar coated. There's even what sounds like a U2 reference about a minute in, (not that that is any kind of catchiness barometer - but I kind of like it). Anyways, I hope you enjoy it.

~~Pedro The Lion - Penetration~~

*Recently ripped my copy of Abbey Road onto my computer, and thus I am putting up a song from that as well. Probably everyone has heard this or has an opinion of it by now, but whatever...I am just a sucker for that mellow bassline.

~~The Beatles - Sun King~~

**more sun king here

strange you never knew

2005-12-04T16:30:00.000-08:00

Heavy weekend, but good.

~~Mazzy Star - Fade Into You~~

~~Pedro the Lion - Fade Into You (Live)~~

blue water in my blood

2005-12-01T21:16:00.000-08:00

(Haiti Cherie)
woy...blue water in my blood
woy...this border in my blood
woy...broken shackle in my blood
woy...occupation in my blood
and the long black guns
and here the slave traders come
with their long black ships
and here the missionaries come
with their long black robes
and here the sacred side comes
on the hills with their drums
and here the soldiers soldiers come
with their long black guns

who's got their hands on the long black guns?
who's got their backs to the long black guns?
who's got their tongues in the dark rum?
who's got their backs to the long black guns?

If I had legs, I'd get up and move
If I had arms, I'd get up and fight

~~Black Eyes - On The Sacred Side~~

this is an unregistered version...

2005-11-29T19:48:00.000-08:00

My friend Math handed me a CD today of some mixes he did, and it's kind of the aural equivalent of You're The Man Now Dog. Give it a few listens to let the subliminal messages to soak in.

~~No Sunlite For The Media - Weed No More~~

~~No Sunlite For The Media - Sinister Poofiness~~

~~No Sunlite For The Media - Gunshot~~

~~No Sunlite For The Media - Seven...........Free Downloads~~

~~No Sunlite For The Media - Waspgrinder~~

~~No Sunlite For The Media - There Ain't No Sunlight Thats Bright Enuff~~

a little respect

2005-11-28T00:35:00.000-08:00

I never have liked the Aretha Franklin version of this song, I have always found it kind of frustrating. The last person that I want to give respect to is someone shoving it down my throat, and that's how her delivery of the song hits me. I am aware that it wouldn't be the ultra-popular song that it is today however if the mobs of karaoke crazy people belting this song out didn't disagree with me. So someone obviously is okay with Franklin's version, but for me I prefer the Otis Redding original, sung in a fashion that I can actually believe it's respect he's after.

~~Otis Redding - Respect~~

happy friday!

2005-11-18T15:12:00.000-08:00

Man it got cold these last couple days! Therefore I'm posting some music to set your guitar on fire and kneel in front of to. This is from Funkadelic's second album, Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow, which was interestingly shortened to just Free Your Mind... for the reissue, (which seems silly to me because they didn't change the song named the same as the original album title). Whatever, Funkadelic has never been about the nit picking. I guess unless you consider that George Clinton doesn't really do anything except do really tripped out, low voice things on some of the songs and tell everyone else what to do, apparently he's quite a control freak. Funkadelic made one album without him in the late 70's though and it was terrible so I suppose his autonomy has its benefits. In other news, I saw this awful band perform last night at a battle of the bands, apparently they thought the 7 freshman girls drunkenly swaying in front of them consituted them Bonnaroo funk fusion gods. They immediately reminded me of that band in Ghost World who plays "the blues" in such a way that causes Steve Buscemi to look like humanity has failed him for the last time. If only the Mothership could have landed and reminded everyone what being knee deep in funk is really about.

~~Funkadelic - Friday Night, August 14th~~

scratch the surface, looking for blood

2005-11-17T16:08:00.000-08:00

Nother short post kids. This is a really fun track I think I might have gotten from Vinyl Mine a while back. It came up randomly on my itunes last week and it has been climbing the top 50 most played. So here it is, in all its AFI/Misfits/MSI influenced glory.

~~Punish The Atom - Filthy Boy~~

beyond all time and space

2005-11-15T14:12:00.000-08:00

All-nighter last night, and two tests back to back this morning and I am whipped. Enjoy this great song.

~~George Harrison - Apple Scruffs~~

lessons in chessboxin

2005-11-11T11:52:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Razorblade Runner for posting on the new GZA/DJ Muggs album the other day, which is excellent. When DJ Muggs worked with GZA on The Legend of the Liquid Sword for the song "Luminal" it was one of my favorite tracks on the album, so when I heard about this collaboration I was really looking forward to it. The album called Grandmasters has a chess theme which is evident in the song title of one of the tracks posted here, (you even get advice for your own game if you listen close). The theme works well for GZA whose past albums have had themes heavy on the intellectual side of fighting, and DJ Muggs' dark tinged production does well to color the tracks with grim style.

~~DJ Muggs Vs Gza - Advance Pawns (Royal) Ft. Rza & Raekwon~~

~~DJ Muggs Vs Gza - Illusory Protection (War Drumz)~~

when is the big discovery

2005-11-09T17:36:00.000-08:00

I guess before fall is gone I should do at least one post having to do with music I like to listen to in autumn. This song is from an album I so associate with fall I even think of the album cover when someone mentions the season. I know I have been going through alot of music that I used to listen to, but it just occurred to me to get the album again since my previous copy was so scratched it was barely playable. I had a really difficult time choosing what song to post, I'd post the entire album if I could, but alas. The songs on this album are such a great mix of hardcore, metal, punk and emo that it's unbelieveable that the current trend of bands playing that mix screw it up so terribly. I guess it must be easy though considering everything Grade did after this was pretty downhill. There are those who contend that the album right after this, Separate the Magnets is their best due to the better production and musicianship but I think And Such Is Progress executes exactly the kind of emotional rawness that Sunny Day Real Estate only sung about. The edges are ragged, and therefore they can still cut as opposed to the slick sheen applied to such much of the "emo" out there, even the heavier stuff. The sound of the album is pretty unique in my opinion, and maybe that's because I never really pursued any more Canadian screamo, but it sounds like fall in audio form to me. The bite of the screamed vocals stings like approaching frigid weather and the warm guitar is reminiscent of the sun still coming through the cooling trees. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

~~Grade - And Such Is Progress~~

~~Grade - Bedhead~~

i write this for the loveless/and the risks we take

2005-11-07T19:42:00.000-08:00

I don't know about "loveless" but I took a risk this weekend and paid for it, $20 to be exact. I just bought a sweet new pocket knife last week, and had it on me when I went to a show on Saturday. Big mistake apparently, I forgot they take those things, I guess it makes sense, they don't want anyone getting stabbed. But if I was actually serious about hurting someone there are about a hundred ways I could have snuck something deadly in, rather than keep it in my pocket where they'd obviously look. Whatever. The show was probably worth it. Darkest Hour and Converge were the headlining bands and Ringworm and The Red Chord opened. The opening bands were pretty boring, Ringworm, whatever Jacob Bannon says about them being his favorite band were pretty generic sounding and their bad jokes about dogs and sex didn't really help anything. The Red Chord were a little better, they had a better sense of humor at least, they just didn't really seem to have a cohesive sound. They screwed around alot, but there was some decent grindage in there somewhere. Darkest Hour was next and they really put on an excellent show. It is probably true that the crowd makes a big part of the concert experience, and this crowd did not shirk any duties. The whole place was a frenzy of flying bodies, water, probably some beer and the sound of a band working as one brilliant explosive unit. Converge played last, and it was pretty gratifying to see a band whom I respect alot artistically and whose album Jane Doe is important to me personally. They played a good mix of older songs and newer ones, with Jacob Bannon reminding everyone that throwing up on stage can actually look cool if done correctly. Ok, maybe cool isn't the word but it didn't take away from the performance at least. I know I have posted on Converge recently, so I apologize I guess if you don't like them.

Darkest Hour - For The Soul Of The Savior

Converge - The Broken Vow

*Sorry if you are disappointed that I have no bad digital pictures of the show, I didn't have my camera...although they probably would have found a reason to take that too.

how about a slower one?

2005-11-02T00:59:00.000-08:00

This song is by an artist that came to my school last week for a benefit concert to raise funds for the radio station. I showed up expecting to see the usual group of people doing their open mic night routines, and for the most part I wasn't that disappointed. Not that it was bad, one group's rendition of "Okie from Muskogee" was pretty fun. But then there was the obligatory guy that had his own fan club who went on way too long, only to the praise of the clumped group near the left of the stage. But the last person that played really was impressive, I had never heard of her but my friend knew her and had said she was good. I don't know how much justice this mp3 will do, but it's what I have. Arum Rae plays a style of blues with minimal guitar and an appreciable focus on her voice, which she uses with just the right amounts of restraint and enticing power. Even though she was tired and her guitar wasn't tuning exactly right, she was able to hold everyone captive for her set. This mp3 is from a radio broadcast she did in her native town of Lexington, Va.

~~Arum Rae - Didn't I?~~

~~Photo of the concert~~ (Who needs photoshop when your crappy camera makes the pictures artsy automatically?)

Arum Rae's website

catch a triptychnosis/if you ever try to smoke this

2005-10-31T15:40:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween everyone! This is my holiday special, and I should have a little something for everyone.

This song is from the end of the first Final Destination, normally I wouldn't find a song this tame appropriate for a Halloween post. But that is just it, the song sounds just like a mid 90's alt-rock radio tune, but the lyrics are actually pretty morbid. It was orginally done by Laura Nyro in the 60's, but I have never heard that version. Nor have I heard anything else done by Joe 90, that would violate my automatic bias against bands with retarded names.

~~Joe 90 - And When I Die~~

This is just a short bit of the Gravediggaz, and I know that I have posted on them before, but they are so perfect for Halloween I couldn't resist. A tongue-in-cheek take on Funkadelic's "Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?" this song actually has my favorite beat on the album along with a quick verse from each rapper in the group.

~~Gravediggaz - Mommy, What's A Gravedigga?~~

Now here's the real Halloween right here. This band plays a genre of music known as gore-grind, the lyrics of which probably wouldn't actually offend anyone less knowlegable than a graduate anatomy student but the sound pretty much lays it out for everyone else. The Brazilian Lymphatic Phlegm plays almost hypnotic music that you will either really hate or really love, but listen before you decide.

~~Lympahtic Phlegm - Happy Sickness Of Life (Exulceration)~~

~~Lympahtic Phlegm - Tuberculous Degeneration of the Lymphatic Ganglions Aroused by the Outcoming Bacillus from Blood and Lymph~~

he wages war with the devil

2005-10-30T22:20:00.000-08:00

I heard this song the other morning while in the shower, my suitemate was playing it over his stereo which has one of it's speakers in the bathroom. I was pretty bleary, but there was something about this song that I immediately paid attention too. Maybe it was the bizarre lyrics about Jesus with "a pistol by his side" or maybe it was the sweet dark piano lines that punctuated them. Whatever it was, I asked him later and he told me it was from the Elizabethtown soundtrack. He was half-right, the song is on the soundtrack, but it's the version the Hollies did. I haven't heard the Hollies' version past the clip that Amazon has, but I think I like the original better if only for the piano. Either way, it's a good song, so enjoy.

~~Judee Still - Jesus Was A Crossmaker~~

all my friends are ghosts

2005-10-28T17:57:00.000-07:00

Been digging through some music I haven't listened to in a while, so that will probably be reflected in the next couple of posts. Two songs for this fine friday afternoon, both punkish bands that I listened to around the start of high school frequently. The first song that shares a title with this post is a great little punk song, with lyrics addressing disillusionment among friends and the depressing side of living repetitive lives. Not the brightest subject, but it's catchy bassline, buzzing guitar and faint organ really go well with the classic punk vocals. The second song is a slightly more poppy and positive song about wanting a girlfriend. Not really breaking any new ground in lyrical subjects obviously, but I probably like this song the most out of MxPx's catalouge. It just hums along and leaves you with the same nostalgic puppy love-like feeling after watching a John Hughes movie or some sort. I don't know if that is an appealing or deterring description, but hopefully you'll like at least one of these songs.

~~Scared of Chaka - All My Friends Are Ghosts~~

~~MxPx - Let It Happen~~

heavy metal

2005-10-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

Wow, this song started it all for me. Before this, hardcore was the heaviest music I listened to, and it was melodic at that. I heard this band on a compilation called Fools Rush In Where Angels Dare Not Tread, put out on Takehold Records, which is now sadly defunct. Even sadder though is the state of the band, who pulled a musical turn-around for the worse harder than any other band I know of, (I have heard people refer to the Cave In in a similar way, but I never really listened to them). When I first heard Underoath, it scared me honestly, but at the same time I could not stop listening to it. Their music was something pure and gloriously defiant to everything that was wrong with the world I was getting to know in more disillousioned fashion thanks to adolescence. It was them, and a few others who gave me a window into seeing that I could still be Christian, but in a way that I respected. Their songs not only took a very agressive stance against things like rape, (google the lyrics for this song), and suicide, but they also challenged stale fellow Christians to walk their talk. The album this song is from, Act of Depression and the subsequent Cries of the Past were and still are albums that mean very much to me because of their combination of lucid, meaningful lyrics and the considerable quality of the music itself, (I think, and many agree that Cries of the Past is one of the best unknown metal albums - I posted on it here). They are so important to me that I'm not even going to sell them on ebay, where the original CD's are going for $50, and I am broke as a joke. They even influenced how I like to play guitar, this song was the first that I taught myself, and I still tremolo pick all over the place, (more prominent on the second album though). Ok, enough talk, more rock.

~~Underoath - Innocence Stolen~~

i got beat by weather

2005-10-24T23:09:00.000-07:00

Yes indeed, everyone's getting beat by weather around here. At least that's what the AIM away message consensus is. This is actually the first song I ever heard by Pavement back when Terror Twilight came out. It was on a new music program on WHFS, back when WHFS was not a spanish music station and they actually played a good indie song once in a while. I taped the program that this song was on, but somehow missed the DJ announcing name and the artist. So I had this on a tape that I listened to alot, and whenever it came to this song it always bothered me that I didn't know who it was. So imagine my glee when I was filling in the gaps in my Pavement collection, and this gem was at the end of it! I got so excited, I forgot to tell my friend who was driving at the time what the deal was. So, maybe, just maybe you also had this on a mixtape and always wondered what this bright little song had for a name. And if that is not the case, no loss, you still can laugh with us at the line: "Don't waste your precious breath /explaining that you are worthwhile," and enjoy the sound of one of the great bands of the 90's exiting with a wink and a smile.

~~Pavement - ...And Carrot Rope~~

*By the way, the Acid Mothers Temple show was fantastic. Here is a pic of the show, courtesy of my "artistic" (read: crappy) digital camera.

~~MAXIMUM!~~ (the only english heard from them, instructing the sound guy on volume control)

Acid Mothers Temple - Atomic Rotary Grinding God (excerpt)

just one more poorly thought out post

2005-10-20T01:51:00.000-07:00

Uh, I apologize for the rambling of the last post. I wrote what I thought was something good, and then firefox went and crashed on me. (Say what you will about IE, but it never crashed on me like that, oh well firefox has me hooked with the tabbed browsing.) Anyways, I tried to remember what I had written previously, and kind half-way did, and it ended up what you see below. I decided to do tomorrow's, (today's...), post at 2 in the morning because I think I probably won't feel like it tomorrow. It's quick and simple. Some Neurosis songs dedicated to the girl I saw wearing a Neurosis shirt the other day at my old high school. I wish Neurosis shirt girl had gone there when I did. That is all. Goodnight.

Neurosis - Children Of The Grave

Neurosis - Enemy Of The Sun

Neurosis - Sovereign

Neurosis - Suspended In Light

Neurosis - Resistance To Skin

the heat goes on

2005-10-19T23:07:00.000-07:00

Nice little fall break there. Now it's back to school, although I'm going up to Philly to see Acid Mothers Temple tomorrow night. Which will be awesome. The song that I have for today is on the longer side, so maybe it will make up for the lack of updating that will result from this shorter week. I forgot my external hard drive cord at home anyway, so I wouldn't have much music on hand to post either way. All I have at the moment are my CD's and those will become obsolete shortly...ha, not really. And even if that is so, the album this song is from is an integral part of my stranded in my truck on I-95 for days collection. This along with Liquid Swords, Cries of the Past, and Surfer Rosa, obsolete or not, they are the first CD's I reach for if I need music I can count on. The album, Remain in Light, is one I am sure the majority of you all have heard of by now, it was produced by Brian Eno, yadda yadda, you can see what other more established critics have to say about the masterpiece. For me, the album doesn't get any better than the first track, it's rhythm is so thick you almost feel full, like after satisfying meal even as the razor's edge of trebled guitar and tight drumming spins dangerously close to slicing anything in audible proximity. The rest of the album is excellent as well, with the much better known, "Once In A Lifetime" smack in the middle. Still, I don't think anything matches David Byrne and Co.'s rallying cry that builds up through the song, the heat does go on, and no it's nothing new. And a little heat is always easier to take when you're stepping to some excellent brain funk.

~~Talking Heads - Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)~~

angels on ariels in leather and chrome

2005-10-13T16:42:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon all. Fall break this weekend, and I am looking forward to going home. My brother got this sweet black little 110 cc dirtbike and I look forward to ripping around on that some. And while we are on the subject of black motorbikes, I present today's post. My art teacher in high school exposed me to some great music that he would play while we worked, and this was one song that we heard alot. I asked him to make a cd of some of his songs for me before I left, from which this song is from. Since then I have gotten other Richard Thompson, but I still love this song the most.

~~Richard Thompson - Vincent Black Lightning~~

fools and kings decide ways to live your life

2005-10-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

I generally consider myself able to manage my own life, sometimes I need some help, yes, but I think mostly I am capable of my 20 year-old existence. This is not a view held by everyone though, and even though I try to forget it, people like my napolenic RA find great ways to remind me. Getting back to school today, I opened my email to find one from him announcing his campaign to have a meeting next Tuesday. I was made aware that this was only the first reminder email, there would be more to come, along with physical signs posted throughout the dorm. He even defined "Manditory" for me, in case my poor LD ravaged brain couldn't conjure it up. "Manditory means that I will be taking role, and giving it to the HR." The content of the meeting is still a mystery, not unlike the pyramid-scheme "work from your computer" TV ads that never actually tell you what the work is, but apparently the meeting will "go over a range of things." Oh boy, maybe this range of things will include how to correctly dress myself without assistance, because last meeting was all about how to operate the washing machine.

Sorry to complain, I don't plan on doing this much here, but Guided By Voices was exactly the right thing to be listening to as I checked my email today. It made me laugh when the line from "A Good Flying Bird" that I used for the title of this post came on as I was reading email. Robert Pollard's unaffected musings over the unmistakeable snoring during "Ex-Supermodel" is the best antidote for dorm-life inspired angst. And hey, it sounds just as good whatever your mood, so enjoy.

~~Guided By Voices - A Good Flying Bird~~

~~Guided By Voices - Ex-Supermodel~~

~~Guided By Voices - Little Whirl~~

he wear his beard like a frizzly haired grizzly

2005-10-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

I don't tend to be one of the mp3 bloggers that posts recent music, in fact I'm not sure if I have done this previously, but hey...why not? This song has appeared on some other blogs, I think I probably got it from Moistworks, (where there are some other great RZA tracks posted as well, including one of my favorites, the Gravediggaz). So, if it's breaking some mp3 blog code to post the same song later, or if it's just lame, I'm sorry. It's just that I really like this song, even if the guy I got it from didn't think of it that highly. Call it what you will, RZA-dominated promotional gimmick, whatever... check it out if you haven't yet, and I think you'll enjoy it. And if you don't we can both at least witness a certain rapper claim he will shoot Satan, and don't tell me that isn't entertaining.

~~MF Doom & RZA - Biochemical Equation~~

i been dirt and i don't care

2005-10-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, if you're in school, I hope midterms are going well. The pile of work I had seems to be diminishing in a haze of caffeine and 5-hour nights, and all is well again for the moment. I hadn't listened to the song I posted today for a long time, but over the last few days, the base line just randomly surfaced in my head. Its drowsy stomp just echos on and on, like the dumber but brawny brother of "When the Levee Breaks". You can almost see Iggy Pop mumbling about burning dirt after a week-long heroin bender.

~~The Stooges - Dirt~~

*Bonus! Just found out about this band recently, a good new death metal band from Virginia, no less, check them out:

Arsis - The Face of My Innocence

Arsis - Return

awesome cover art

yeah i listen to techno, so what!

2005-10-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm not sure whether these songs qualify as techno, IDM, or some electronic sub-genre that I don't care to find out. Either way, the title for this post comes from a one of my brother's friends about 6 years ago. They were all into being punk/metal, and he yelled it loudly and exited the room quickly when some credibility destroying pop-electronic music was found on his computer. That action indirectly correlates with the title of the M83 track posted today, ironically enough. Today I thought that I would just post two songs of the digital flavor, both are from the respective artists' latest albums. The M83 track is probably not the best on the album, but it gets stuck in my head a lot, and I think the afore-mentioned title is kind of interesting in relation to how the song sounds. The Vitalic song similarly sounds innocuous, but works its own little way into your consciousness, and you find yourself thinking of the melody that could seemingly be from anywhere in your memory. (See, you always get rewarded by mental metaphysical meandering if you just wait until the end of the post...)

~~M83 - Teen Angst~~

~~Vitalic - U and I~~

i love the sound of glass when it smashes

2005-09-29T01:16:00.000-07:00

Here's one from the vault, I have enjoyed this song for a long time. It was on In-Flight Program, a compliation put out by Revelation records in the late 90's, and one of my first CDs. I was still a pretty inexperienced indie music listener when I first heard this song, I hadn't even heard the Pixies yet, (who were in fact major influences on this band). I eventually got the whole album containing this song, Liquid Glass, and still listen to it once in a while; it's interesting to go back to the days when emo hadn't fully crystallized into the caricature that it is today. That said, this isn't really a deep song or anything, but it is a fun song to listen to on beautiful days like today.

~~Whirlpool - Wasteland~~

I am speaking of course, of the three great Alabama icons.

2005-09-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

For a long time, I ignored when people talked about the Drive-By Truckers, even passed up several of their cds for cheap in the used bin at CD Cellar. I don't really know why, I think something about their name seemed silly to me. But then, one day I read a post on Stereogum, and ended up downloading the Drive-By Truckers songs posted for that day. I still didn't really listen to them, but they ended up on my iPod, and while on shuffle on the plane to Zimbabwe, "The Three Great Alabama Icons" came on and blew me away. When I got back from Zimbabwe, I bought their Southern Rock Opera album, and was not disappointed at all, (see - sharing mp3's does promote buying of music.) The album just grows on you, from the desolate guitar of the opening track, to the straight-up rock songs, to the beautiful and bittersweet ballads. Since then, everyone that I have played the song for has really appreciated it, and my brother asked me to play it in my truck every time he rode with me for a month. So I suggest you listen to it as well, and don't waste all the time getting around to it that I did.

~~The Drive-By Truckers - The Three Great Alabama Icons~~

*From their website:

Here's a little more traditional song of theirs, off their latest album, The Dirty South:

The Drive-By Truckers - Carl Perkin's Cadillac

And a really nice slide show of the band set to another excellent song of theirs:

Slideshow

just sleep, girl

2005-09-22T01:52:00.000-07:00

And now, in direct musical contrast to my last post, today's song comes from one of my all time favorite groups. Converge is an extremely talented and influential band in the metal scene, starting in the early 90's and is still putting out albums today. The song I chose for this post os from 2002's Jane Doe, a concept album based on a girl's life that I really think is their best work. This album has no song on it that doesn't fit, or takes away from the cumulative blast of cathartic musical carnage. I really like this quote from Pitchfork's review, "Naturally, you can't follow a single word but the vox bleed into the furious guitars and it's all acidic corrosion. With the emphasis lately on Fennesz and the pixilated laptop set, it's easy to forget that there's whole realms of sound to be found in the lethal decay of metal guitar's radioactive isotopes." And I remember hearing those first shredded sounds coming out of the speakers at Smash Records in DC the first time I heard the album, and loved it, never having heard something like it before. Since then, the album has been one of the most consistently played in my collection, and I am still not tired of it.

~~Converge - Hell To Pay~~

*Other cool Converge stuff:

Vocalist Jacob Banning's Art

Converge Videos (Check out Concubine/Fault And Fracture)

because you cared

2005-09-19T00:31:00.000-07:00

They sang this song at my church the other week, and it's been in my head since then. I found this version here, and it carried some of the original feeling that I got when I heard it performed. There are some slightly cheesy chimey things going on and such, but when the chorus still kicks in, it is powerful. The lead singer sounds a little like Al Green, and that doesn't hurt either. In my previous post, I talked about how rare it is that lyrics matter to me, but this song is a definite exception. In this case, I am reminded in a beautiful way how much He does care. When you listen to this, I hope that you get some of the same impression.

~~The Standford Gospel Choir - Jesus, I Love You~~

hey dad

2005-09-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

I don't usually listen to the lyrics of songs, which is ironic because I have so much music and listen to it quite often. Once in a while though, I find the lyrics surprise me and I really appreciate the song even more. This is true for a song that I have loved for years, and only recently made the effort to find out what Dave Grohl was yelling about. I thought up until the other day that he was saying, "Hey Dad!" maybe some kind of "Hi Mom!" variant. But I found out that he was saying, "I hate it!", which when in context of the rest of the song was pretty cool I thought.

Since I’m putting down all of the true things around, but I like it
I handed down the crown, given the jewels and the answers of may
The thought of being ousted comes and goes
When I think about it the wind blows
I hate it

Run me out of town, somewhere a move might intended a gown at
Pissed at all the bowels, always the blues and a delicate smile
Missed all of the sideways, gull and noun
Chills and petty band-aids, wrapped around
I hate it

Good grief

I really don't know what Dave was thinking about when he wrote this song, but to me it is a perfect catharsis for the days when nothing goes easy. You wake up too late, smack your head on something, drop your breakfast, and fail an exam.

~~Foo Fighters - Good Grief~~

last dose

2005-09-13T00:56:00.000-07:00

Some days ago, when my roommate looked up at me and said, "Man! New Orleans is getting pounded!" I thought he was simply referring to a sports game on the TV. Later that day when I saw images of the devestation caused by Katrina, I was suddenly aware of what the word "pounded" could mean. People, myself included, use hyperbole when describing things that they think are heavy, metal music for instance. It's always shocking when those words are actually used to describe something truly massive.

Crowbar, and their friends and family in New Orleans have now experienced the some of the full extension of what "heaviness" can be, along with the rest of the the nation being reminded by the images in the media. Fortunately, it sounds like they have fared well, considering, according to posts on this forum.

This song is off of Crowbar's 2001 Sonic Excess In Its Purest Form, and opens the album stretching and effortlessly flexing musical muscle.

~~Crowbar - The Lasting Dose~~

when morning comes twice a day or not at all

2005-09-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone...sorry about the delay in posting, I am still pathetically adjusting to the few responsibilites required by school. It's always harder than I remember to shift gears into class schedules, assignments, blah blah blah. I am also under the employ of two different jobs, which, because of lucrative summer employment, is something that I in previous years didn't have to deal with. Instead this summer, I was on a mission trip to Zimbabwe, of which I have posted a few more pictures.

~~Preacher Man~~

~~My Baby~~

~~The Family~~

Yep, so that's them pictures...onto the music. I read an interesting article a while ago that studied the correlation between country music play time on the radio, and the white suicide rate in said area. Seems plausible to me, considering the crap that is considered contemporary country music. Seriously though, Ithink it's an interesting concept to explore. (There is a country, alt-country, whatever, song at the end of this post, so if you are worried about the effects of this music on your psychological well-being, just look at the pretty pictures again and head over to some of the links on the left.) For the rest of you, secure in your love of life, the song is one from Uncle Tupelo's 1991 album, Still Feel Gone, and, yes it's moderately depressing. I thought of them again when Pitchfork mentioned Jay Farrar had done an interview about his band's dissolution, giving more understanding as to why the relationships within the band could have produced some sourly tinged music, if not still beautiful.

~~Uncle Tupelo - Still Be Around~~

The sound...of a brand-new world.

2005-09-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

Just watched True Stories this weekend, which I have been meaning to do since I found the soundtrack on vinyl at the thrift store freshman year of high school. I have always liked the Talking Heads to some degree, I remember my aunt playing the Stop Making Sensevideo for me when I was young, but listening to this album was when I first realized how set apart this band was from the denizens of other 80's bands I grew up hearing on the radio. Just as with the True Stories movie, David Byrne had such a clear vision of what he wanted to convey with his art. Under his direction, the Talking Heads maintained a playful but stern critique of modern life all the while producing visionary and influential, (one very successful, and likewise influential British band took their name from this song), music that was still very tangible. And hey, the movies are great too! Ok, enough talk...

~~Talking Heads - Radio Head~~

basic instructions before leaving earth

2005-09-01T14:53:00.000-07:00

I am not going to pretend to know a whole lot about Wu-Tang, other than that their output especially during the 1990's was impressive and influential. RZA set the standard for hip-hip production, took part in many side projects including the Gravediggaz, who I have posted on previously. His razor-sharp production along with GZA's lyrics that are intelligent, "The white image of Christ is really Cesare Borgia/N' uh, the second son of Pope Alexander," and funny, " Lyrics are weak, like clock radio speakers." This all adds up to an incredibly well-put together album replete with crazy kung-fu movie quotes. If someone didn't know hip-hop, I wouldn't think twice about suggesting this classic album. The mp3 posted is the last track on the album, and for record consisting of a mostly dark atmosphere, it makes for a sweet ending

~~GZA - B.I.B.L.E (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)~~

no tap dancing this week

2005-08-29T23:43:00.000-07:00

And thus, the new school year begins...and what better way than with a blast of classic swedish death metal? At the Gates is indisputably one of the most definitive bands of the melodic death metal genre, being one of the orginators of the "Gothenburg" sound, named for the swedish city they recorded in. Even though by the time the album this song is on was released, Slaughter of the Soul, the hard-core fans of the death metal movement had derided the band for "selling out", there is still alot to like about this album. There is also no doubt about the level of influence At the Gates has had on subsequent bands. Their sound has been incorporated into newer bands such as As I Lay Dying and The Black Dahlia Murder.

~~At the Gates - Suicide Nation~~

And...I do have some pictures from Africa, only 2 for now. They really don't have much to do with the mission trip, but it's my blog. I went to a school the people I stayed at's daughter goes to, and that's where the disappointing news about tap dancing was recieved. The other is of me jumping from a bridge.

~~Photo 1~~

~~Photo 2~~

So there you are, some music and some pictures. And just because you stayed this long through the post...you get a bonus mp3! This is a song that I first heard in a movie called Tarnation, and it's pretty cool.

The Cocteau Twins - Ice Pulse

and the livin's easy...

2005-05-03T15:29:00.001-07:00

Alright, guys I am out of school for the summer now and that means no more ethernet connection, so posts will be sporatic until I am once again under the loving care of the University. The fact that I will be in Zimbabwe for most of it will definitely keep the posts down, however I am inclined to put up some pictures when I return, so use the handy comment thing and let me know if that would be cool. Until next time, here is a sweet summertime song brought to you by none other than 60's psych-rock greats Blue Cheer. I hope you enjoy it.

~~Blue Cheer - Summer Time Blues~~

I don't know how to say this...but here's Roky Erickson

2005-04-28T12:13:00.001-07:00

Ok, well I couldn't finish out this year without a Roky post so here it is. I had an extremely hard time deciding which of his many awesome songs to to post here, but I finally narrowed it down to these two. I think that these songs pretty well show Roky's different sides, a catchy rocking song about imagining demons and a quiet and heartfelt love song. It's kind of amazing that the same person could be so sincere about both subjects, and pull it off convincingly. When you consider what Roky has been through, being in the foremost psychedelic band in the 1960's, going to an asylum for drug rehab, dealing with schizophrenia, and then having his record label trying to screw him at every turn, its definitely amazing. If you have never heard Roky before, I envy the experience you're about to have. Learn more about Roky here.

~~Roky Erickson - I Think of Demons~~

~~Roky Erickson - I Love the Living You~~

examining the link between suicide and mandolin use

2005-04-26T15:20:00.000-07:00

Today's songs are a little out of order, I actually heard the cover before I heard the original, but it seems after doing some reading on the internerd that that's how most people came across it as well. Superchunk's cover of 100,000 fireflies was included in their Incidental Music 1991-95 b-side collection, which was a cd I listened to countless times in high school. The original song was one of Stephen Merritt's first acclaimed successes in defining himself as a musician, and is still quite popular. The chiming minimalist track perfectly complements the lyrics dealing with lonliness in a endearing and humorous way.

~~Superchunk - 100,000 Fireflies~~

~~Magnetic Fields - 100,000 Fireflies~~

stealing from enya? come on guys...that's low.

2005-04-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

I am sure that most of you will know this song, it was all over the radio when The Score came out. I heard it too, but never really listened to it much until last year, when for some reason I became strangely infatuated with it. I really liked the beat alot, and listened to it over and over. I procured the instrumental version of it at some point and listened to it just as much. Then one day I searched for the song, wondering what sample they had used, and to my chagrin found out that it was Enya. Yes, the same Enya that provides aural relaxation for strip mall illuminati while searching for energy leaks in their psychic awareness. Oh well, strike two for music credibilty. The funny part about the whole thing was that they took the sample from Enya's song without asking, her daughter heard it on the radio and recognized it. Apparently she didn't sue, which is cool because suuing is wack. Anyways, here are all the ways you can listen to this song:

~~The Fugees - Ready or Not~~

~~The Fugees - Ready or Not (Instrumental)~~

~~Enya - Boadicea~~

death's ebon dart

2005-04-22T01:00:00.000-07:00

Here is my favorite song by this doom-metal band, which is funny because this isn't a metal song at all. The song is a beautiful composition of strings and spoken word. As I'm sure you can perceive by the title, the song is about the death of a lover. The lyrics are slightly melodramatic, it's kind of apparent that these guys like being sad and actually work at it, but hey practice makes perfect. Or whatever. Anyway, I don't really listen to the lyrics as much, I just like the deep drone of the singer's voice against the flowing accompaniment. This song is perfect to listen to late in the night, as the shapeless darkness around you fills with layers of melancholic brilliance.

~~My Dying Bride - For My Fallen Angel~~

gateway music

2005-04-20T11:46:00.000-07:00

Even though I don't personally smoke, that doesn't mean I don't have an immense appreciation for smoking-related music, some of which I would like to share.

~~Black Sabbath - Sweet Leaf~~

Gotta start with the basics, this is probably my favorite Sabbath song of all time as well.

~~The Beatles - Got To Get You Into My Life~~

I read an interview somewhere where Paul said that he wrote this song about marijuana.

Dead Meadow - Sleepy Silver Door

Local masters of psychedelic riffing, fantastic song.

High on Fire - Eyes and Teeth

Slow starting opening track from Surrounded By Thieves, this song is a perfect example of why these guys are so well respected, they have massive groove. I saw them last January and my ears rang for the next day.

Valkyrie - Endless Crusade

Saw these guys from Shenandoah Valley play in town a week ago, very friendly guys and very talented.

Dub Sweet Leaf

Ummm...definitely worth a listen.

crimson flames tied through my ears

2005-04-19T06:36:00.000-07:00

Beautiful weather folks, which in turn, (turn, turn ha ha get it? ahhhhh), calls for a beautiful song! This Dylan cover done by the Byrds fits the bill most definitely with it's warm harmonies and cheerful guitar jangle. The lyrics aren't too bad either, Dylan was reflecting on the purist tendencies of his audience and the motivations behind the begining of his career in a very poetic and articulate way. It's funny the way that when Dylan wrote songs they were more prophetic about the way the culture in the 60's was going, and when the Byrds got around to covering them the songs were actually descriptive of the time. They did a good job covering his songs too, as this one was a top 20 hit for them and others were quite popular as well. Everytime that I have listened to this song recently, I keep thinking that it was in a movie I have seen...anyone know the one I'm trying to think of?

~~The Byrds - My Back Pages~~

nothing seems to phase me and this one still survives

2005-04-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

This is the first song by the Ramones that I actually liked, and I probably still like it the most. My brother and I shared a room in high school and he would always get to his cd player first in the morning, and play the Ramones or the Misfits every freakin day. So, as a result, I hated both bands, not because of their inherent musical ability but because I was forced to listen to them. Anyways, this is the first song that I liked by the Ramones, I think my brother and I were driving somewhere and he had it on a CD, for some reason it just hit me the right way. Since then, I have gained quite an appreciation for both bands, all thanks to this song!

~~The Ramones - Poison Heart~~

where are we now?

2005-04-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

Alright, as some of you have probably guessed the last song for Allison week is indeed the Pixies' most exellent song, Allison. Not only is this the best song, in my opinion, but it's the only one spelled with a double l, which I think looks better. Those are picky details though, mainly the song rocks. I love the lyrics, "and when the planet hit the sun / i saw the face of allison," I'm guessing that it's a reference to a solar eclipse, or it could be the destruction of the solar system. Either one would encapsulate the odd brilliance that the Pixies so effortlessly and charismatically infused into their music.

~~The Pixies - Allison~~

P.S. - Does anyone else also feel strange not hearing the next notes of "Is She Weird" rambling in after playing just this song?

i guess she's out there somewhere

2005-04-14T00:23:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon! Today's song about Alison comes to you from the happily hazed out Slowdive, off of their seminal shoegazer album Souvlaki. If there is any song that could convince you that it was a good idea to have a drug addict for a girlfriend, I am sure this would be it. Hey, I'm half convinced myself! But, maybe I'll just listen to this song a couple times and leave it at that...less commitment and cheaper. And it is a beautiful song no doubt, I can almost see the spinning TV covered walls glowing as Neil Halstead murmurs along blithely.

~~Slowdive - Alison~~

well elvis, that sucks

2005-04-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Moving right along for Alison week, we have today Elvis Costello's sad tale about a girl named Alison. Chock full of his famous witty wordplay, this song definitely one of his best. For you who don't know, the line "my aim is true" was also the title of his debut album from which this song comes. When I first heard this song, I wasn't entirely impressed, but it really took root in my mind and I think you will also admit that it is rather subversively catchy.

~~Elvis Costello - Alison~~

alison week's starting to happen!

2005-04-12T10:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is exciting! My first theme week in the snow. Every song this week has Allison in it. This here song is by the Lemonheads, and it's from their 1992 album It's a Shame About Ray, probably their most well-known release because of the cover of "Mrs. Robinson" that was added on, (against their wishes), by the record company. Anyways this song is a perfect example of Evan Dando's ability to write awesome little pop ditties, when he was on, he was on.

~~The Lemonheads - Alison's Starting to Happen~~

wait until darkness

2005-04-07T16:58:00.000-07:00

I first heard this song in the movie Waking the Dead, which also features an amazing original soundtrack done by tomandandy. Unfortunately, they never released it, because they couldn't pay the royalties, which is horrible because it's hauntingly beautiful music. This song fits the movie very well, it kind of inhabits that area between your consciousness and everything else. I never thought very much of Peter Gabriel before I heard this song, and most of his other songs don't really affect me at all, so it's funny that I like this one so much. Go here for a very complete analysis of the song, and its' intriuging inspiration.

~~Peter Gabriel - Mercy Street~~

surfer girl

2005-04-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

The song today comes from the Pixies third proper album, Bossanova. This album for me is less of another group of songs that I know well, and more of a place that I go. So far I haven't posted much music from bands that mean a lot to me, I have posted single songs that stand out. However, with the Pixies, I wish that I could just post up their entire catalouge and talk about each song in detail, but that would just be turgid. So instead I am posting this song, and I hope you like it. The glimmering melody rocks back and forth while Frank Black blissfully articulates his acrostic poem:
She's my fave
Undressing in the sun
Return to sea - bye
Forgetting everyone
Eleven high
Ride a wave
Apparently, Black thought that this was an anagram, thus the name...but it's an acrostic poem, I guess "acros" isn't quite as good a name for the song. Either way, here's the song already.

~~The Pixies - Ana~~

the clock is slow

2005-04-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

I am not going to lie, I have only known about this song for a couple of days...so subtract what music credibility points you will. Ok, my friend told me about this song, apparently she was named for it when she was younger. I was intrigued, finding out about a part of Dave Grohl's catalouge that I hadn't heard so I procured this copy of it, compliments of Google. The song was written and sung by Dave Grohl, (go to songmeanings.com for an inane debate over the instrumentation), and was a b-side for the Heart Shaped Box single. It really is a beautiful song, and it has been stuck in the back of my mind for the last few days. Fun fact, apparently that weird noise toward the begining of the song is a chair moving.

Nirvana - Marigold

i have tasted the maggots in the mind of the universe, and i was not offended...

2005-03-31T11:03:00.000-08:00

Maggot Brain was the opening track to the 1971 album of the same name by Funkadelic. Having been recorded in one take, the song was the result of George Clinton telling Eddie Hazel to play while thinking of the saddest thing he could, the death of his mother. Clinton liked Hazel's genius performance so much that he faded the rest of the band out, making it one of the most powerful guitar instrumentals in the history of rock'n'roll. The song itself is beautifully melancholic piece that shifts from rising fierce and terrifying to lulling and lamenting interludes. Definitely one to turn the speakers up and sit back and completely take in.

~~Funkadelic - Maggot Brain~~

Feast for a Linguist's Ears

2005-03-29T17:35:00.000-08:00

Ok, so today's excellent post comes from my friend Anna:

I could spend hours analyzing Solomons Pijin, the language of the Melanesian Brotherhood. An Anglican community based in the Solomon Islands, their music is a beautiful goosebump-inspiring chant. If it sounds familiar, you've probably seen The Thin Red Line, a film that used a whole CD's worth of their songs. A translation of the title of this song is Jesus You Hold My Hand.

~~Choir of All Saints - Jisas yu holem hand blong mi~~

(Sorry Anna, I would have posted this earlier, but Blogger was giving me crap...Also, if anyone else wants to do a post, you're more than welcome!)

give my umbrella to the rain dogs

2005-03-28T11:52:00.000-08:00

Good morning. Betcha can't guess how I chose the song for today! Isn't correlating weather and song titles fun? I have a very off and on relationship with Mr. Waits. There are days when his music rattles right past my ears, and then there are sleep-deprived days that lurch and creak along and Tom and I inhabit them with miscreant gusto. Shuffling to class through the grey leaky campus seems somehow rectified in light of the announcement "For I am a raindog too!" Tom always has just the right words for these occasions.

~~Tom Waits - Raindogs~~

abba dabba doo

2005-03-25T11:22:00.000-08:00

haha. happy friday everyone.

Redd Kross - Dancing Queen

fight or flight

2005-03-23T20:24:00.000-08:00

Yes, those are the options everyone, so choose wisely. The genetics quiz, genetics lab quiz, class from 8 - 4:30 on 5 hours of sleep, lab going an hour over, and the early christian thought research paper due tomorrow have forced me into this position.

Option #1: Let the comforting warm, pleasant baritone of Krishna Das help you transcend this world of deadlines, paperwork and $100 for not-guaranteed parking passes.

~~Krishna Das - Mere Gurudev~~
Option #2: Show them you mean business. Pour gasoline down the hole of bureaucracy and let 'em have it with clip after clip of double bass as the hordes of previously droning automatons run in fear leaving transparencies and class notes to the flames.

~~Carcass - Heartwork~~

glad you made it home

2005-03-21T10:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, time for some audio-visual action today. The song for today is from a movie that Friendly Static showed me last week, which is located here. The film is fascinating to watch, and it was almost as interesting to learn how they made it. As good of a job as they did making the video though, the soundtrack is essential and stands completely on it's own as a song. It was actually made for another film by a composer named Greg Hale Jones. Jones's work consists of old 1930's folk recordings mixed with modern instrumentation, a combination that he was very talented in mixing. Unfortunately Jones recently died, so we will never get to hear what more he might have made. "Boll Weevil" is a testament to that potential, as the glistening melody prompts a sense of wistful yearning in between the harmonies of the vocals and banjo and the sauntering percussion.

~~Greg Hale Jones - Boll Weevil~~ (removed on request)

this boy is exhausted

2005-03-18T11:16:00.000-08:00

I was driving back from Virginia Tech last year at around one in the morning and I was listening to an mp3 cd I had made with about 300 songs on it, and this song came on. I had only a couple My Morning Jacket songs at that point, and wasn't all that familar with them so I didn't even recognize it as them. I actually thought it was a random live Modest Mouse song or something, (it was one in the morning), but regardless, the song immediately affected me. There was something about the slightly out of tune acquiescence of the song that made me feel like Jim Jones knew all about the big angsty burden on my back, but it didn't matter anymore. There aren't many songs like this, so enjoy the last half-hour of daylight and have a seat on the porch while MMJ put away those old september blues.

~~My Morning Jacket - Old September Blues~~

machine gun etiquette

2005-03-16T22:18:00.000-08:00

see you walking and i know shes my friend, again
just the weight of the water drags me down, again
guess i'll think of the water its my friend, oh yea
it's just the way that the water makes me feel again

son of sheba i saw him drown
son of yellow i saw him drown
it's all i need yeah

~~Slowdive - Machine Gun~~

the new smile

2005-03-15T07:13:00.000-08:00

Here is a track from The Cure's American debut, Boys Don't Cry. I bought this album on an impulse over Christmas break and since have been glad that I did. Before The Cure got all moany they wrote some quite excellent poppy new wave songs like this one here.

~~The Cure - Jumping Somene Else's Train~~

this song is only here to impress you

2005-03-13T23:45:00.000-08:00

Here is a song from my small collection of classical music that I like. It is from Vivaldi's Four Seasons, something my mother played alot for me when I was very young, so there is probably a nostalgic element to it. That aside though, this piece is very engaging to me with the violins manically vacillating all over the scale and the powerful lower end of cellos, (or whatever), keeping a satisfying rhythm going throughout the song. Some songs I can just see in my head, and the kinetic flow of the notes eddying at parts and whipping at breakneck speed in others during this song make it so much fun to listen to. (Also if anyone knows of other music similar to this, please let me know.)

~~Vivaldi - L'estate Presto~~

i don't like reggae

2005-03-10T17:17:00.000-08:00

My friend Beth sent me this song the other day, and I don't like it...I love it. Ok that was lame. But its my blog and I can do what I want. In other news, my buddy has just today started his own mp3 blog, so all y'all should go post disparaging comments there. I suppose you could be nice though if you felt like it, he actually put a real nice song up. But its nothing to compare to white british reggae from the 70's. You might recognize it from the Snatch soundtrack.

~~10cc - Dreadlock Holiday~~

Stomp!

2005-03-09T20:45:00.000-08:00

I cannot stop listening to this song. It is so catchy. I randomly picked this song from my mp3's this morning to listen to on my iriver during art, and I probably listened to it six times in a row. George and Louis Johnson, (played bass on Thriller), make up the core of this group, that started in the early 1970's. They have played with Bobby Womack and the Supremes and have done extensive work with Quincy Jones. They put out Stomp in 1980. Ok, enough already, just listen to the song.

~~The Brothers Johnson - Stomp~~

G to the R to the A to the V, E to the D to the I to the G, G to the A to the zigzag-Z

2005-03-08T10:37:00.000-08:00

Yeah, so I'm going to be real original today and post a track by the Gravediggaz, even though Evigan Funk did a week or so ago. Well, I justify it because he has stopped doing that blog now and has moved onto another. Anyways, he posted 1-800 Suicide and Pass the Shovel by this entertaining and extremely talented Misfits of hip-hop, which I loved and bought the album over break, (see RIAA...I have some honor!). I'm not going to try and pretend that I know alot about the members involved and the history of the group, I'll let this dude fill you in if'n you're interested. All I can say is that 6 Feet Deep, which this track is from does not have one crap track. The song that I chose to post here I think other than 1-800 Sucide does a pretty good job of summarizing what I like about the album. The completely unhinged guitar loop sliding in and out of the death-rattle high-hat and a back beat stomping to it's own otherworldly rhythm combine with each rapper's individual abilities to paint the dark portrait of the grim and smoggy world the Gravediggaz inhabit.

~~Gravediggaz - Defective Trip (Trippin)~~

cheers

2005-03-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

Okay. I am back. Break was good, saw the gates in N.Y., drove alot and of course chilled with the pig. I just re-watched Shaun of the Dead last night with my brother and I liked it every bit as much as the first time I saw it. I think that everything important in life can be distilled down to how you behave during a zombie invasion, and that movie I think points this out in style. My favorite scene was where Shaun and Liz are forced to leave Ed to wait for the zombies alone due to his injuries and he jovially says "cheers!"as he smokes his last cigarette. I only wish that I was so blithe in accepting my gory fate if I ever found myself in that situation. It might be easier if I had this song playing as I unloaded my 3 last bullets into the encroaching horde.

~~Type O Negative - My Girlfriend's Girlfriend~~