this site is fucking driving me crazy. I've got a post written and songs ready, but it won't let me get them on here right now. stay tuned.

oh right.

on another note, I think I figured out a new place to host these songs so i won't have to keep setting up YSI links. We'll see.

Oh, and I'm probably not gonna post anything tomorrow so I can go outside during the day for once. until then, suckers.

That fucking Omen kid is creepy.

I woke up this morning to some story about how this day is feared by many to be the end of the world and mark of the beast and blah blah blah. If you think that this is the case you're a fucking idiot. I've read umpteen news stories and seen a few specials on all things macabre (including the lady who induced labor because she didn't want her neighbors to know her baby was born on 6/6/06 - what the fuck?) and while I'm not sick of it, I think the reasons for making today Halloween II are ridiculous and unfounded. It's like burning pop records because you think some horny middle-aged Jewish men are going to convert your child into sacrificing dogs or some such crap. By the same token, hey metalheads, you lost your right to pretend that satanism is scary around the same time as Motley Crue. sorry, but most Satanists look a lot more like hippie parents than Anton LaVey. Give it a fucking rest.
Death is such a strange topic in this country and is avoided (and adversely celebrated) so much more here than in other places, where it's just generally accepted as what happens. It would be so there could be a holiday about death that wasn't littered with hockey masks and snakes and shit that could take place around here (see, Día de Muertos). Oh well. The point is, today isn't cataclysm, today is a fucking tuesday. Give it up. Go look up some demons or something.

I was flipping through some old books of CDs (don't ever put you music in CD books. it's just gonna piss you off when you can't remember which book something's in later) and came across this gem that I pretty much had forgotten I'd owned.

Kleenex Girl Wonder is made up of one Graham Smith. I coulda sworn he was forced to change the name because of copyright infringement, but his website is still the same so who knows. I think there's some free downloads on his site. He's got a knack for funny song titles (though he's got a ways to go to catch up with Don Cab) and an obsession with rap that is downright annoying, as evidenced by the second song here. Seriously. It's so cucking annoying. Instead of just ending the song he just shows up and starts pseudorapping. If at all possible, cut the last 1:10 of this song or program your mp3 player to do it or something. You'll thank me later. It's a damned shame, too, because it's such a nice little song.

"No Melody" - Kleenex Girl Wonder (YSI link)

"The Intentional Fallacy" - Kleenex Girl Wonder (YSI link)

Buy After Mathematics here

oh, what the hell, here's a bunch of yinzers screaming along with Magnolia Electric Co. as they play "Runnin With the Devil" (YSI link). Yes, it sounds like that when you sing along, too. No matter how drunk you are. I love you guys, but you're crazy.



on a much sadder note, Billy Preston just died. Show some damned respect.

Who doesn't like Furries? oh...

Grrrtings and Salutations to everyone this crappy monday. I woke up feeling like a bucket of turd and couldn't bring myself to run and promised myself I'd do it tonight. I won't, and judging by the pound of fruit I just ate, I probably won't break a brisk walk for the rest of the day. Enough about that crap though.
I've got a hell of a busy month ahead of me, though I guess June is always like that for everyone.

Wth a lof of artists, they really don't feel confident in their playing until they get some highly regarded piece of equipment, and they refuse to record a note unless it's with a premiere piece of eqipment. I can't really blame them, what with the lineage that you can trace yourself back to by playing a Pre-CBS Stratocaster or an original Les Paul, or even to a lesser extent a Flying V or SG just to be an all around badass. But still, I find it endearing when an artist sticks with the piece of crap model guitar or whatever they're playing not only out of a sense of loyalty to the instrument they cut their chops on (I can't believe I just wrote that), but also because it's worked for them so far, so what the hell. The two most notable instances I can think of here are Johnny Ramone's Mosrite guitars and Hound Dog Taylor's Kingston. Hound dog Taylor is probably among my 3 favorite blues artists in history. He's not the most talented slide guitar player, and he tended to repeat himself sometimes verbatim on different songs, but that doesn't make a difference as soon as you hear he and his band just rip into shit. The Houserocker's were a 3 piece (including Taylor) comprising of 2 guitars and a drum kit, but they have the sort of sound that could fill a crowded bar and even overpower the rowdy drunks and raucous shouting that this music surely attracted (or caused).
His sound-made from using a sawed-off table leg and his tiny Japanese guitar- is one of the most grating, distinctive sounds on the planet, and it meshes well with the more subdued sound of Brewer Phillips' Telecaster. Sometimes they would swith off on lead and rhythm (as all great guitar duos do, and as heard here on "Phillips Screwdriver"), but there's absolutely no mistaking on who the leader of the band is. That holler alone tells you that, and just thinking about how he could get such a frenetic sound out of his guitar wile sitting down (he had notoriously bad feet) amazes me. After all, Alligator Records was started just for the purpose of recording this band.
I can't seem to dins my copy of "Give Me Back My Wig", so I'm gonna post "Gonna Send You Back to Georgia" which is essentially the same exact song with slightly modified lyrics. I wanted to post "All Down the Line" by the Stones (just as a slide guitar trifecta), but I forgot to bring it in today so maybe I'll get to update that tonight.

"Phillips Screwdriver" - Hound Dog Taylor & the HouseRockers (YSI link)

"Gonna Send You Back to Georgia" - Hound Dog Taylor & the HouseRockers (YSI link)

Buy his first S/T album here

FREE $$$$ (not really)

I just found an old check in my desk at work for $60. and the PA treasury just contacted me about money that's still owed to me from one of my jobs in college. how boss is that? I probably made a whopping total of $120 today, but damned if I haven't worked for either in months, so it's all jake with me.
It's muggy as hell today. Seriously, I've formed the opinion lately that hell (or at least my private version of it) is probably an extremely crowded and muggy shopping mall with the Eagles playing nonstop over the PA at a deafening volume. yikes.
I had all these great songs and things to say to post today, but I've been kicked off my computer while some IT guy is here so I'm pretty limited to what I can work with. And I forget what I thought was such a great thing to write about. So I'm not gonna bore you with any of the mundane crap, other than I'm going to a 90th birthday party tomorrow night for my grandmother, who is startlingly like the lady above in both demeanor and blood alcohol level. So it should be pretty interesting. I'm gonna see a lot of family I never see, too, which is promising. for disaster.

But I digress...

I've got a weird thing about John Frusciante. I think he's one of the most original and talented guitarists out there, and the fact that he's also in one of the biggest bands in the world right now doesn't seem to bother me either. I can't think of many people I can say that about. Anyways, I remember buying his Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt (which he pretty much doesn't remember recording and did so only for heroing money, if I remember correctly), and just being freaked the fuck out by it. It's nice to see that he's cleaned up without becoming a total fucking bore (this is a terrible thing to say, but it's happened with a plenty of others - see Done With Mirrors). Anywho, I just found a disc of his I forgot I owned, and thought I'd throw 2 tracks up from. That's Omar Rodriguez (from At the Drive-In and Mars Volta fame) playing the slide guitar on the second track. It makes sense, I guess.

"Omisison" - John Frusciante (YSI link)

"Chances" - John Frusciante (YSI link)

Buy Shadows Collide With People here

I don't know much of nything about this King Biscuit Time song, other than that it's on their most recent album, which forced Steve Mason (of the late, great Beta Band) to freak out and disappear. It's not out here yet, but since he's apparently working as a carpenter now, I don't know if he'll mind much. Anyways, here's:

"Paperhead" - King Biscuit Time (YSI link)

Buy No Style here

I know these aren't the most rockin' friday tunes ever, but I'm not in the most rockin' of friday moods, so what can ya do? Have a great weekend, gang.

Born to Run, (then walk and clutch my kidneys, the jog, then run the rest of the way)

am I a man of action or what? Not only did I read the shit out my book last night (yes, I actually did just type that), but I went running this morning and worked out at lunch. Sadly, though, I am sitting inside on my lunch right now and haven't drank any water since I woke up. 4 cups of coffee, though. rowr. I better cool this shit out or I might get genuinely healthy, which I actually don't want. Anyways, I feel like my legs are about crawl away from me on their own and die underneath a radiator or something. and I would probably let them. The point is, I'm not nearly as chipper as my man Furilla up there. Sorry, but i's made me laugh all morning and I couldn't find a shot of the kid running in Meatballs.

Since I'm sitting in my office right now freezing my ass off in the air conditioning, I thought I would put up some Summer songs. Both of these songs remind me of summer, though I sincerely think they should remind me of something much, much colder. Moving on, The Robot Ate Me is pretty much one guy from Anacortes, Washington (which is further from my sister than I initially thought) who has been putting out records for awhile now. His most recent one was sort of out there, especially following what could be deemed his most commercial effort to date. This song is the title track off the first album, and has a nice feel to it. and some cussin'. which is always nice.

"They Ate Themselves" - The Robot Ate Me (direct link)
check out the rest of that page, though, because there's some other free songs on there.

buy They Ate Themselves here at their site.

For some reason I thought Broadcast were German. I have no idea why other than I must think they sound like the Notwist, even though they don't. At all. They do, however, sound a lot like Stereoloab and Saloon, the latter being one of my favorite bands and the former beingone of Ricky's. This song is from HaHa Sound, their second album. this might've been the single off that album, I don't remember, but it reminds me of driving with sunbeams darting around the interior of the car. It's a nice feeling. They have a newer album I haven't heard yet.

"Before We Begin" - Broadcast (YSI link)

Buy HaHa Sound here

I just realized that both of these records were releasedd in 2003, which is putting me right about on the curve of being hopelessly behind. sweet.

on an entirely unrelated note, that Thom Yorke album has leaked and I can't bring myself to listen to it. I have no idea why.

Resolutions

So, it was somewhere halfway through the Ratt Behind the Music (I wish I was kidding) last night that I cam to the conclusion that TV is pretty much dead to me for the rest of the summer outside of sunday nights. This is fine by me, but I forgot how much extra time people seem to have in the summertime, and I figured it's a good a time as any to impose some resolutions on my ass. Sure, I could've done this for the new year, but damnit that's stupid. Nobody wants to change themselves in the middle of winter, regardless of what some 16th century Italian doctor says about it. It's a chance of season NOW, and I've got more time and daylight on my hands, so this is where I'm making my stand. Anyways, my summer reolutions 2006:

1: Drink more water
This is something I've been meaning to do for awhile, and it's more because I like the idea of it than anything else. I pretty much stopped drinking soda awhile ago, and while I can drink Vitamin Water forever, that shit gets expensive. Also, the whole hangover thing is a lot easier to cope with.
2: Exercise more
Since I refuse to change my diet (which consists almost entirely of cereal, Mexican, Chinese, and pizza), this is my way of countering that. I started some crappy daily regimen about 6 months ago and it's helping, but I'm seriously considering going running for a couple of miles each morning before work. Mainly because it would probably help with the insomnia and sluggish mornings, but also because I don't think I have that sort of discipline in me.

3: write more
This is always a resolution of mine, but with 3 separate projects in the works and 2 seperate friends riding my ass to get them done, I have more motivation than ever.

4: Read more
this sort of counteracts #3, but I've been reading a lot lately, and for the first time I feel like it's not really hindering my writing. This is big and could turn into something.

5: spend at least one lunch a week outside.
This one is gonna be tricky, since this blog is run enirely from my lunch breaks, but I think i've been a bit gung ho about this lately anyway. Maybe I can convince homeboy to write this on wednesdays or something.

6: Use more terms like "Gangbusters"
you know, the stuff that makes zero sense. like "cat's pajamas" or "on the trolley"

I brought yogurt to work with me today for lunch, and I was actually sort of excited for it -I eat yogurt like once a year for some reason- and of course the spoon I have here doesn't fit in the mouth of the canister. damnit.

I just recently discovered this band and they've been kicking my ass. It seems like their albums are pretty hard to find, but if you can find this one at all I'm telling you it's worth it. Also, it's apt for my post today.

"Resolution (Resolution)" - White Hassle (YSI link)
buy Death of Song here

Nirvana is one of those bands that I totally underappreciate (for me to underappreciate any left is strange), but tends to click a lot when other people play their songs. This just adds something (about a minute) to the original that I never caught. I was doing dishes the other day when it totally caught up with me. Probably the female backing vocals. Anyway, this is live. I haven't heard their most recent album, but people seem to be going gangbusters (+1) over it, so I'm sure it's good.

"On a Plain" - Rogue Wave (YSI link)
Buy Descended Like Vultures here

Special Ed. I shouldn't have to back this up, but it seems like his debut album might've gone out of print, so who knows. Regardless, this was recorded when he was 16. I wanted to put up "Taxing", but that file's gone screwy on me, so you'll have to make due.

"Hoedown" - Special Ed (YSI link)
buy Youngest In Charge here



If you're wondering about the Herculoids up top, Alex Toth died over the weekend. The man was a pioneer in his medium and created the Herculoids and Space Ghost as well as working on countless comic books and other animated TV shows. Thanks, bud.

The Greatest Chocolate Ever Told

The weekend's finally over and I'm back at my desk, trying to work on some stuff I really don't feel like looking at. at all. regardless, I'm psyched because I just found out that they sell aero bars at the acme up the street from my house. Which means no more having to order them in bulk fom Candy Direct. If you've never had one, it's a Nestle bar that tastes about 100 times better than anything they sell in the States, which can be said for lots of Canadian candy. So yeah, that's effing awesome. Now all we need is a resurgence of the greatest sport ever conceived and we'll have a damned aero renaissance on our hands.
In old news, everyone's still talking about how Obama might run for the president in '08. Stop. Seriously, he won't have a chance in hell if he runs this early in his career and he needs a lot more experience in the senate. I know everyone wants to get a frontrunner that isn't Hillary, but you're just fucking it up for this man. Not great news on the tails that Gore doesn't seem to be running, but seriously, this pales in comparison to the coming apocalypse that would be known as Governor Nuge.
I'm assuming everyone's heard about the Haditha massacre allegations by now. I don't wanna go on about this (I owe a dollar to whoever just mumbled "too late" to themselves), but this just made our "war" a hall of a lot longer. Thanks to these sadistic fucks (who will probably get the Calley punishment, we've just pissed off that many more people and convinced them that we truly are a barbaric nation of hate. Thanks, assbags. Even worse (though it sound forgiving, one has to remember the incredible amounts of stress and duress these men are under -this isn't a justification, these men should be shot- but men snap under lesser conditions) is that it's pretty much accepted that this was covered up from every possible angle. It's just miserable. okay, enough depressing stuff for now.

The songs today are both pretty mellow and probably carry the "Singer/Songwriter" tag, though I generally tend to hate things that fall under that umbrella. apologies to John Darnielle. From what I can tell, the Long Winters started as primarily John Roderick and some pals that are in other bands, but they've grown more into a group for this EP. This song is incredible, and you should totally hop on over the their website to download some more free stuff.

"Ultimatum" - The Long Winters (YSI link)

buy the Ultimatum EP here

There isn't much you're gonna learn about Cat Power from me. I love her stuff, but I tend to tire of it pretty quickly (exceptions being Moon Pix and her most recent album The Greatest). I was making a long-ass mix for a dear friend of mine, though, and this song fir nicely in between two others. So much so that it became my favorite song on said mix. so here that song is. I'm pretty sure it's live, and I probably got it off some other blog months ago but don't remember where. I have no idea what album it's on, but I can't find it anywhere, so buy her new great album, The Greatest. see what I did there?

"Leopard and the Lamb"(Live) - Cat Power (YSI link)

buy The Greatest here

EDIT: I just found out this song was actually cut from You Are Free, which is a shame since I like this song better than most of that album. Buy it here. Also, I found this on the stellar blog Said the Gramaphone. I'm an ass.

oh, by the way, tim and eric are comedy geniuses. They were just on The Sound of Young America, which everyone should be listening to anyway.


It's freakin' link central around here.

Grillmasters: The Conclusion.

And then it was whittled down to this. I’m pretty pissed, actually, because I could’ve sworn I left the house this morning with a completely different set of discs than the ones that are sitting in front of me right now. For insteance, “Lady Don’t Tek No” by Latyrx might be one of the greatest outdoor jams ever conceived (complete with handclaps), but I grabbed the first Quannum disc instead. I wanted to put some Augustus Pablo up, and I walked with the Pioneers. And lastly, I wanted to put up some Hound Dog Taylor, and I have Koko Taylor. Granted, these discs are all similar to each other in both sound and alphabetic placement, but still I have no idea how this happened. I guess it doesn’t really matter. Blame the metal I’ve been soaking up this week.

Also, RIP Desmond Dekker. The man was a genius and deserves a fully stocked cloud with fixtures and everything.

Anyways, I’m looking forward to this weekend with great expectations. Not that I should be, it will more than likely turn out to be just like every Memorial Day Weekend I have (small town on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake, drinking a lot of beer with old friends, bonfires on the beach…and heavy grilling), but a) it’s the first vacation I’ve had since New Year’s day and b) that’s exactly what I want to do, so buzz off. I’m still weighing the Ween show on Sunday vs. Soul Position vs. a party at a friend’s in Delaware. I’m leaning towards the middle, but who knows.
Moving on, I had a big spiel about the AWESOME movie “Over the Edge” that I wanted to get into today, but I’m busy as hell and I wanna get this thing posted so someone actually sees it before leaving for the weekend, so maybe later.
This song is from said Pioneers disc that I accidentally brought in. It’s a great song and uplifting enough that I’m comfortable with the mixup.

“Let Your Yeah Be Yeah” – The Pioneers (YSI link)

buy Long Shot Kick De Bucket: The Best of the Pioneers here

This song is an old cover played very fast and remarkable upbeat. It’s a great “getting ready to hit the weekend running” song. It was on a mix that someone I don’t really know gave me a few years ago, and it’s pretty much remained a staple of my preferred listening since then. Hope you like it. I’ve never heard anything else by this band, but if this track is any indication it’s probably worth picking up.

“Stormy Weather” – Reigning Sound (YSI link)

buy Time Bomb High School here

I’m not gonna mention doing anything without finding a Louis Prima song to go with. This song (a duet with Keely Smith) is just the right mix of swinging (not that swinging, jerk) flirtatiousness and hip-shaking that it’s hard not to subscribe to anything that isn’t puppy-slaying or mourning.

“Hey Boy, Hey Girl” – Louis Prima (YSI link)

Buy Capitol Collector's Series here

Finally, I wanted to close the deluxxe grill master series with a track from the album that inspire me to do it. This is James Brown at the utter peak of his game, with the greatest backing band ever assembled (I’m pretty sure I said this a few weeks ago about some other band on this very blog) just stoking the fire. I remember reading somewhere that Catfish Collins’ greatest gift was that he played the guitar like it was a drum. It didn’t make sense to me at the time, but hearing the solos he whelps out it all clicks together. It’s a rhythmic instrument in his hands, when so few other guitarists would ever thinkg to even consider it as such. Anyways, this is the version of the JBs that pretty much abandoned him to follow George Clinton soon after this recording. I can’t even imagine how pissed James was at the time, but it seems everything worked out in the end.

“It’s a New Day” – James Brown (YSI link)

Buy Love, Power, Peace here

Well, you've now gor a soundtrack for firing up the grill and cold beers. Use it wisely. Apologies to the The Poets of Rhythm, Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd, the Skatalites, Langhorne Slim, Augustus Pablo, Latyrx, Dave Brubek and all of the other artists that join me at grillside so often, we’ll set something up later for y’all. Have a great weekend, everyone, and don’t take any wooden nickels.

Kiss the Crook

no, no Stryper today, I've just been listening to metal all morning and thought this picture was funnyenough to get a laugh. a very, very cheap laugh. Also, it appears they stil print Kerrang magazine and there's a site that examines all of Axl Rose's relationships. Well, hopefully not all.. who'd have thought?

I’m a little late today, I know, but I’ve been trying to figure out what the hell happened during lost last night for awhile, and oh, I have actual work to do as well. I don’t have much to say today, either. I know, it’s sloppy bookkeeping, but I seriously am just trying to get a lot of shit done before the weekend and I haven’t had much chance to be ruminating as much as I’d like to. I think I’m falling in love with Arundhati Roy , which is kind of odd. She’s a gutsy lady, though, and surely it’s a healthier love than the one I held for an 8 year-old cartoon character. Who’s also a gutsy lady.
So, there’s all sorts of confusion about this first song, which shares a title with one of LL’s greatest known hits. This is not the song that’s on his debut album. My understanding of it is (and my understanding of the inter-office politics at Dej Jam in the mid 80s is about as deep as a bird bath) that LL recorded this song, but due to the fact that Run DMC had just recorded “Peter Piper” (another bell-heavy track), LL was pressured by the label to rerecord the song. And he did, recording the famous song that slays into Madonna and Springsteen and pretty much announced to the world that LL was here. This explains why there’s no bells on the famous version of “Rock the Bells”. It doesn’t explain why this song was kept off an album until ’89 or so when Def Jam put together a comp album. This song is bangin’, and bear in mind that he was 17 when this song was made, if not a little younger. It’s so easy to forget that LL Cool J wasn’t always the muscly dude in shitty movies. I think my favorite story is about when he was in what was then the highest profile rap battle ever with Kool Moe Dee. They’d been going back and forth for awhile, and at some point their tours crisscrossed somewhere in the midwest (St. Louis?) and LL showed up at Dee’s concert, got on stage, and started blowing kisses to the audience. I don’t know why, but that whole image just cracks me the fuck up. Anyways, Rock the Bells:

“Rock the Bells (Non-album version) – LL Cool J (YSI link)

Buy Def Jam Classics, Vol. 1 here

The Beatnuts’ “Watch Out Now” remains one of my favorite hip-hop singles of all time. Pretty much everything they do is gold, but this song is just untouchable. The beat has been sampled all over the place (most notably by J-Lo a few years ago) and I’m still not sure if it’s too soon to post this song since I feel like I’m not ready to bring it back, but goddamnit this is for enjoying yourself. So here it is. Oh, and I just realized that this song is also in The Chocolate Tour. Yeah, I’m a dick, but I promise you that unless I post “Make ‘Em Say Ugh” and half the Rushmore soundtrack I promise you this’ll be the last you’ll hear from that movie in quite awhile.

“Watch Out Now” – The Beatnuts (YSI link)

Buy Musical Massacre here

The last song is also a few years old (what, did you think I was gonna post something remotely current?) and really reinstated my faith in hip-hop at the time I heard it, much like that first Jurassic 5 EP. Unlike J5, though, I haven’t given up entirely on Self Scientific, since they just put out a new album recently and what I’ve heard of it was great. If you’re a J5 fan I apologize, but they’ve really caught the suck since their first full-length. Or IO might just still be lashing out at Cut Chemist for scolding me in Pittsburgh 5 years ago. Moving on, though, this song is “Return”, and it’s just that. Enjoy.

"Return" - Self Scientific (YSI link)

Buy The Self Science here

A Stir of Ekos

This morning I woke up after one of those weirdass dreams where you're sure it was real, and you actually spend time thinking "seriously, how did I end up in bed?" In true idiot's fashion, I promply forgot every part of the dream except that at some point I exclaimed "I knew it! I knew we were in Tacoma, WA!" Don't ask me how I knew or even what the hell I was doing there, but there I wasn't.
It's a busy-ass day today, so I'm just gonna throw an extra song up today and hope that's enough. 2 quick notes:
1)TV in Japan is my new favorite website

2)The season finale of lost is on tonight. It's 2 hours long and I'm totally counting -nay, depending- on having my mind blown clean out the back of my skull. Oh yes, it better be that good.

So today's songs are kind of all over the place, but here's some back story:
In 1992 or whatever year the film Backbeat came out, people were freaking out at the supergroup (featuring a veritable who's who of the alt. rock universe at the time) that was assembled to play a bunch of the covers that were played by the Beatles in their early Hamburg days. I remember it as being received that highly, and I bought it off ebay for $2 last week. The thing is though, It's still a bunch of guys taking a break and playing some of the greatest songs ever written and having a blast doing it. Well, maybe not Don Fleming, I seem to remember he was disgrunteld about not being able to sing the John Lennon parts or something. Anyway, it's probably more of a driving song than a grilling song, but it's my mix so shut up. On a side note I always forget that Mike Mills from R.E.M. sang this track. Remember, this is circa "Shiny Happy People", and it was so hard for me not to think of how hopelessly nerdy he was in that era, and here he is singing with the strut and swagger of a total badass. Good for him.

"Roadrunner" - the Backbeat band (YSI link)

But the Backbeat OST here

Do Ineed to explain the next song? I shouldn't. Anyways, it reminds me of living in Maryland for some odd reason. Probably the fish fry thing.

"Saturday Night Fish Fry" - Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five (YSI link)

Buy The Best of Louis Jordan here

and here's a Lily Allen track, since I made a habit ofmentioning her here a few weeks ago. This song really makes me look forward to summer.

"LDN" - Lily Allen (YSI link)

Listen to more stuff of hers here

Tomorrow: the Hip Hop.

Sirs Freddie + Stanley = ADD THE MESQUITE

I’m more than aware that my bleating about politics does not make for an interesting read, and I apologize for that, I really do. It’s not that I wake up with an agenda to talk about this sort of thing, it’s just that I’m trapped in this mindset of devouring news and politics in the morning so that by the time I sit down to write this little bastard on my lunch break it’s had time to stew in my wee brain.
So I’ve been thinking about the Baby Boomers a lot lately, how different my (our?) generation has such a completely different situation then theirs, yet constant comparisons are still being made. The one thing it makes me think of, though, is the scene in Freaks and Geeks when President Bush I was visiting their school and Lindsay is selected to ask the then-president a question from the student population. Her hippie guidance counselor convinces her to do it right before having a crisis of political faith, accurately described here by Television Without Pity:

Lindsay wanders up and asks what he's doing. Evidently, Lindsay's is a case where book-smarts and street-smarts diverge, which is essentially what Mr. Rosso's response indicates. She offers to help him, and he defensively tells her he can handle it. Stung, she makes to leave, but he calls her back to tell her that "Bush's people rejected [her] question, so they've written one for [her]." He hands her a slip of paper, from which she reads, "What is your favourite place to eat in the state of Michigan?" She demands to know what happened, and he tells her that the Bush people (of the Kalahari?) found the question she wrote to be "too sophisticated." She contemptuously asks what that's supposed to mean, and Mr. Rosso grumbles, "That's code for 'Nice try, but this is a glorified photo opportunity.'" Lindsay scoffs non-verbally, and Mr. Rosso says that he's disappointed, too, but that she should try to keep a positive perspective, bitterly informing her, "You actually get to interact with the Vice-President of the United States. That's historic." Sarcastically, Lindsay whines, "Ooh, maybe if I'm lucky he'll tell me which steak house has the best prime rib!" Mr. Rosso expresses his disillusionment that there will be no real political dialogue, and that "you can't win with these people. You know what all my protesting accomplished in the sixties, at Berkeley? Sixteen scars on my head from a tear-gas canister. We tried to get them to stop the war. They stopped the war when they felt like it. And now all my compatriots are gettin' rich workin' Wall Street, and I can't get my keys out of my mother's car!" Lindsay, in turn, expresses her disillusionment that Mr. Rosso is apparently giving up so easily: "Come on, there's nothing we can do?" Mr. Rosso mutters, "Yeah, there's something you can do. You can go get Brooksie the janitor to come out here and help me." Lindsay stares at him, heartbroken.

I guess it’s a lot funnier to watch than it is to read, especially since Dave “Gruber” Allen is the comedic genius hippie that he is (seriously, IMDB him. He’s popped up in everything). Regardless, I like to think of that fictional scene when I’m all pissed off and feel like making a difference is impossible, because the most of the time it is, but it still shouldn’t stop people from trying. Nothing would ever get done if people weren’t always trying.
But enough of that. Back to the grill thing.
Freddie King was a blues guitarist from Texas, and probably the least well known of blues’ “3 Kings” made up of himself, Albert and B.B. There’s something about the way his guitar sounds on this track, though, that puts him in a place high above either of those legends. I usually try to avoid using hack cliché words like “mercurial”, but damned if that’s not the first word that springs to mind. It’s the sort of work that you might even catch yourself making faces to without even realizing it. My favorite part, though, is the little “whaow” he lets out in the background 2 or 3 times throughout the song. Listen for it, it really does make everything even out.

“Going Down” – Freddie King (YSI link)

Buy Freddie King’s Ultimate Collection here

A Couple of years ago, this tiny label put out a compilation called Chains & Black Exhaust, which might be the greatest assemblage of black rock from the 70s that’s ever been assembled. It was hastily packaged, received little press, and I have never actually seen it for sale. It didn’t have any credit notes either, so I’m not actually sure this is Sir Stanley singing, but it doesn’t matter because half a minute in you won’t care either. That said, if fucking rocks and this song in particular is unspeakably awesome for enjoying nice weather and moving your ass a little bit.

“I Believe I’ve Found Myself” – Sir Stanley (YSI link)

If you can find this record for sale anywhere let me know, because my copy's pretty much dead.


so that's it for today. I just realized that the second track is an m4a, which might give some of you trouble. Just let me know if that's the case. Also, looking up "Black Chains Exhaust" on eBay yields nothing but crappy hot topic merch. Also, that guy at the top is not the same Sir Stanley.

Statute of Liberty + Top soup

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

So, we’re probably due for taking this down about now, right?

I’m not gonna go off on this today, but I just want to state that ALL of the current immigration bills are completely retarded for everyone involved. I’m so tired of these people telling me what Americans want, because I don’t see anyone wanting 11 Million Felons to immediately appear in this country. Nor does anyone want priests and social workers to become criminals. And we should probably try to put indentured servitude behind us. You know, because it’s INHERENTLY WRONG. Seriously, is “stoic shrug” really the best reaction I can expect to have in international non-sporting news for the rest of my life? Ugh.

Anyways, what with the holiday weekend coming up, I’ve decided to keep up the grilling motif for this week. It should probably be noted that most of my favorite music is good for grilling, but I’m going to be trying especially hard this week to give you the makings of a total GRILL MIX to use at your own discretion throughout the approaching grill season.
AC/DC. Oh how I wish there were a little lightning-bolt key on my keyboard, because I feel that this impromptu spelling of the band’s name does them a great disservice. Anyways, if you’re reading this and don’t know AC/DC, you should get the hell out of here and go buy some damn records. If you can’t read this, well, you probably know who they are. This band gets shit on a lot, largely because they play big dumb rock, their fans are assholes, and all their songs sound the same. I’ll address those with some points.
1) Big rock is supposed to be dumb. With the exception of the Hold Steady, pretty much all of it is. If it isn’t it’s something stupid like Yes. And nobody likes yes.
2) Find me one band whose fans you don’t dislike almost as a rule. Radiohead? Eff that. the air of pretension is just as bad as the air of stupidity.
3) There’s no argument here, a lot of their songs sound the same. As do many other bands. It’s a successful formula. Why does everyone love Morrissey so much when he’s pretty much made the same album for almost 20 years now? At least this song rocks ass.

So yeah, I’m a fan. I think they’ve recorded just as many timeless songs as the Zeppelins and Doors of the world, so lay off them. You know how it was the hot shit a few years ago to be wearing an MC5 or Motorhead t-shirt around Hollywood or wherever those famous people hang out? Yes, it pissed me off as much as anyone, but if it had been AC/DC shirts everyone was wearing I’d at least be comfortable knowing that they’ve heard more than one song by the band (or, in the case of the MC5, owns the same record that everyone else doesn’t listen to), and to buy Angus a new uniform. So this song is notable for the kickass bagpipe solo (I know, even typing it made me chuckle a little, but seriously) courtesy of Bon Scott who –in addition to being a complete lunatic- was a champion bagpipe player. I don’t think it can rock any harder than that. Grilling music at its best.

“It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock n’ Roll)” – AC/DC (YSI Link)

Buy High Voltage here

If I were to make a top secret poll of my favorite songs of all time using criteria that I actually care about (the “how many times I’ve heard it: whether or not I’ve ever gotten sick of it” ratio, how it affects my driving, good memories associated with it, etc…) this song would probably reside right near the top. It makes me think of living in Savannah on cheap beer and good friends. It also make me think of the most reckless driving in history, but that’s a whole other post for a whole other…ever. I love Cornershop because it puts me in a great mood and it’s hard to sit still when it’s playing. These are both qualities that make this track so awesome, and certainly part of my grilling experience. I’m gonna put up another song, a single they put out a few years ago that works just as well with me. It’s called “Topknot”, and is a summer tune sung in what I’m assuming to be Punjabi. Tjinder Singh, who normally handles all the vocals, turns it over to newcomer Bubbley Kaur who does a great job. Now I miss Savannah.

I know these aren’t the most out of the way tracks ever, so tomorrow I’ll try and get something a tad more obscure for your enjoyment. We’ll see if I pull it off.

“Heavy Soup” – Cornershop (YSI Link)

“Topknot” – Cornershop (YSI link)

Buy Handcream for a Generation here

Music To Grill By

Well, I’m not even sure what to write about today. I woke up with several ideas, but they’ve been changing, along with the weather, every fifteen minutes. At some point I decided “I’m going to write about the forst 2 songs that pop up on my ipod. Which in theory was a pretty good idea.
Well, it wasn’t. The first 2 songs (“Sorry” by the Paddingtons and “I Hate I Walked Away” by Syl Johnson) were both songs I just put on mixes for people a few months ago, and I’m trying not to repeat myself just so early in this game. So the next song after that was “Do You Believe in the Rapture” by Sonic Youth. Which is awesome, but not released yet, and that’s not really fair either. This went on for about twenty minutes before I gave up and decded to put up some failsafe grilling music, since that’s what my plans entail for the evening.
Then it started raining.
And now it’s sunny again. The point is, I have no idea what the hell is going on anymore.

Some things I do know, however:
1) I love to grill, and the greatest album ever made for grilling is the live James Brown show from the Olympia in Paris, 1972. This is probably the greatest album ever to do anything, but we’ll start with grilling.
2) I can buy Vat 69 right over the border in Delaware. Field trip after work.
3) This Beth Orton track is remized by Four Tet. The overall result is an eleven minute song that feels like a 4 minute song, and embodies a lot of what I think Summer is in the Winter. Does that make sense? When it’s freexing cold out and wintery and you’re hoofing it over snow dunes, you think of Summer, and it’s this blinding sun (even though the sun is just as blinding if not moreso in the snow), a girl in a dress, and a lot of green, green grass. This either was lifted completely from a shot of Lux in The Virgin suicides movie, or an eerily similar presentation. Anyways, this song is a pretty great parallel to that feeling, and I think of throwing the disc around, grilling with friends, and having 19 beers.
4)This Grandaddy song is the only song of theirs I couldn’t delete off my ipod during the great Grandaddy purge of early 2005. I still can’t get rid of it because it’s such a warm track and reminds me of being in college despite the fact that I never heard this song until I was out of college and I wasn’t a science major like the protagonist in this song. Nonetheless, it’s a nice little tune, and it makes me think of living in Savannah. On an interesting sidenote, every time I hear the intro to that Moby song “We Are All Made of Stars”, I think it’s this song by mistake.
5)This song I drudged up out of my surprisingly exhaustive collection of turntablism that I amassed in the late 90s. Lots of stuff has gone missing, including most of the imported stuff I got at the time, but my trusty Bomb Hip Hop 4 disc collection rmains in my collection, barely listened to since the day I bought it (I had most of the tracks I wanted off it and I was already getting sick of the genre as a whole). One of the few people that I listened to a lot of back then that still manage to blow me away is DJ Radar. While his partner Z-Trip has been hamming it up at Maxim parties and hanging out with Paul Oakenfold, Radar has been laying low, pretty much disappearing since creating a written notation for turntablism and performing a concerto with the ASU orchestra. I think this guy has one of the most distinct sounds ever, and I’m still waiting for him to drop some new recording to blow everyone away.

“Carmella” (Fout Tet Remix) – Beth Orton (YSI link)

buy The Other Side of Daybreak here

“Our Dying Brains” (live) – Grandaddy (YSI link)

buy Just Like the Fambly Cat here

“Private Parts” – Z-Trip and Radar (YSI link)

buy the Bomb Anniversary Collection here

Thatis it for me today, I'm off to Delaware. Somebody drop me a line of something if these links don't work...

Leaving Crack

I was gonna put up this awesome shot of Eric Koston flying over something or other, but this was too tempting to pass up. What the hell is Shaq wearing? Did they meet in a temple?


It's kind of a slow day here, I'm pretty much trying to figure out the nearest place to buy Vat 69 and why the PA liquor Control Board shows no love. Looks like I've got a trip to scenic Delaware coming up. Anyways, today's songs are an olf Motown cover courtesy of the Who, and a hip hop track from the greatest skate video ever made: The Chocolate Tour (buy it here).
The first one captures everything that is great about the early Who. If you don't know what makes early Who recordings great, then you should really go back and take another listen, because shit that bad was great.
I don't know a damned thing aboiut Andre Nickatina other than that he's from LA and that he did this song. Still, this is a great song and really makes me wish I could skateboard. or film skateboarders. I don't know where I'm going with this.


"Leaving Here" - The Who (YSI link)

Buy Odds n' Sods here

"Crack Raider Razor" - Andre Nickatina (YSI link)

Buy Raven In My Eyes here.

Judy Miller, please just go to hell.

Palm Trees, Road Rage, Bananas & Blow

This morning on a poll they found Philadelphia’s drivers to have the tenth worst road rage in the country (Miami and Phoenix were the worst). I was thinking about that for awhile, because I used to be very prone to road rage until a little thing called Purple Rain came along. It’s physically impossible to get road rage when listening to that album. That’s my trick, people. Give a copy of that album to your psycho–behind-the-wheel friends, and we’ll all save some lives.
Anyways, I checked up on it later and it was only a survey of 22 cities. We chances are we’re probably substantially lower than tenth, and, considering it’s Philly we’re talking about here I’m damned impressed. Way to go, people.
Moving on, I’ve been reading a bunch of books from the Fletch series lately. If you’ve never read them before and you want something that you can read in a night and still enjoy I highly recommend any of the twelve or whatever number that have been written. Anyways, I can’t for the life of me figure out the connection my brain makes between Fletch books and Warren Zevon. Maybe I was listening to a lot of him when I started reading them awhile back. Maybe it’s that both are Los Angeles-based and tend to have a lot of the same type of characters – ex-wives, the depraved, the depressed, the gamblers and the ones just there to take it all in. shit, I don’t know.
Anyways, I was about twelve when I found a Warren Zevon record with some friends in a dad’s record collection. I knew a song off it (“Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner”) and figured there were probably some other songs about machine gun-toting corpses and revenge. Remember, I was twelve. Anyways, I didn’t find any songs like that, but I did find plenty of necrophiliacs, werewolves, revolutionaries, heartbroken wrecks, and the like. It instantly became my favorite record. I still throw it on every once in awhile, and I still think that as a songwriter, he is criminally underrated, but that’s another story for another day. Reading this book the other night just planted that seed, though, and I decided to post a few of his songs from a live show he did for the Record Plant in Sausalito in July of 1978. This is the man at his peak, and with arguably one of the best backing bands in history that wasn’t playing on the R&B/Soul circuit at that time. You can download the entire show at this page, and I wholeheartedly recommend that you do. There's also less giant files for these songs.

“Johnny Strikes Up the Band” – Warren Zevon (direct link)

“Poor, Pitiful Me” – Warren Zevon (direct link)

buy Warren Zevon albums here

oh, and while I’m hitting up the Live Internet Music Archive, here’s the Ween track I’ve been rocking out to this afternoon. I’m trying to decide if I want to see them in a few weeks. I haven’t missed them live since 1997 or so (they’re really that entertaining live), but the show here is at the end of a festival, a seemingly hippier festival than I’d like, though I’d love to see the Secret Machines again. Anyways, here’s a song from the new tour.

"She Wanted to Leave"(live) - Ween (direct link)

"You Fucked Up" (live) - Ween (direct link)

buy Ween tickets here

Primaries Day

The Primary Elections are today in PA. I get a lot of shit for mentioning this to my friends but seriously this is the day when everyone should be out voting, because this is when your vote actually counts. Of course, I don't get to vote today, but that doesn't give you an excuse. My morning went as such:

Polling Lady: Hello
Me: Hi, (last name)
Polling Lady: okay... now is that...
Me: (last name)
Polling Lady: hmm. can you...?
Me: (last name)
Polling Lady: Okay...here we are. oh. (she turns to hippie ponytail polling man next to her). GR?
Me: Ma'am, I'm registered with the green party. I know I don't get to vote for any candidates today, but I was wondering if there are any ballot questions r referendums I get to weigh in on.
Hippie Ponytail Man: You don't get to vote
Me: I understand that, but I was wondering if there were...
Polling Lady: You don't get to vote.
Me: Thank you both for explaining that to me. Are there any ballot questions today? (Hippie Ponytail man glares at me)
Hippie Ponytail Man: No. You don't get to vote on anything today.
(at this point I'm confused. Figured HPM would down with a member of the Green party, since those are the only assholes that ever are. he is not. So I shuffle back towards the exit of the polling place, literally waiting waiting in the doorway for a minute).
Second Polling Lady: SIR, ARE YOU VOTING?
Me: No, I'm not allowed to. I'm waiting for someone.
Second Polling Lady: YOU NEED TO GET OUT.
Me: I'M WAITING FOR MY LADY FRIEND. AND IT'S RAINING.
Second Polling Lady: YOU NEED TO LEAVE, SIR.

so yeah, I had a real fun time with that this morning. I have no qualms about my political party, but it's both a source of great frustration and pride. Anyways, I hope anyone in PA gets off to the ballots today, it takes 5 minutes and you can put in the word for Rick "man-on-dog" Santorum.

In other, totally more badass news, Home Movies Season 4 comes out today. It might be the funniest season of a TV show ever made* Seriously, this show has the most hilarious dialogue and moments of awesome comedy that it should be mandatory viewing here at HDF.

So here's some of the music from that show. It's goofy, but it will stick in your head and possible make you laugh giddily. Here are the most succinct telling of Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis" ever told in Rock Opera form. Also, a medley form the musical "Bye Bye Greasy", both of which will probably seem kinda dumb if you're not already a fan of the show. But then this should be a sign more than anything that all the cool kids love that show and so should you. There's also a bunch of more dowloads at the wite of the show's creator www.brendonsmall.com.

Kafka Musical, pt. 1 - Home Movies (YSI Link)
Kafka Musical, pt. 2 - Home Movies (YSI Link)
Kafka Musical, pt. 3 - Home Movies (YSI Link)

Bye Bye Greasy Musical Medley - Home Movies (YSI Link)

Buy all of the Home Movies sets

*Apologies to Seasons 2-4 of Mr. Show, Season 3 of Newsradio, Season 1 of Sealab 2021, Seasons1-3 of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Seasons 3-10 of The Simpsons, and any upcoming seasons of The Boondocks



oh, and here's the most terrifying article you could read today. I'm buying this book as soon as I pick up the Home Movies set.

here's an mp3 of the author talking (linked from the above link)

uh-oh

I hit a rabbit with my car yesterday. I don't know if I killed him or just confused the shit out of him, but I feel terrible nonetheless. Sorry, little guy. Not much else going on with me today, other than I am kicking the crap out of my siblings in the runnings for favorite child/grandchild. It will take me about 2 weeks to screw it up. And now, here's a pissed off Gil Scott-Heron:

"Whitey's On the Moon" - Gil Scott-Heron (YSI Link)

But The Revolution Will Not Be Televised here

Say you prayers for sweet Charlemagne.

What's the protocol on takeout from places with a salsa bar. Can I just load my shit up and take off? I just picked up a stellar cubano sandwich, and I'm really sort of let down I didn't load up some tortillas and pice de gallo to go with. If anyone can let me know on that, seriously, do that.
Anyways, I've been talking with an esteemed colleague and old friend about hopping on board this site, because he's got great taste in music and he's on the other side of the country so he hears about all those west coast bands that I'm always late to catching. Also thinking about renaming the page, since I'm worried I'm gonna get a bunch of people thinking I have hot dogs for fingers, or that this is a medical oddities page or something like that. I was leaning towards "Cobra-La", but my apartment has recently earned that name (don't ask), so anyone with suggestions let's hear 'em. Anyways, today's a special day here because I'm in a great mood after last night's Mogwai debacle (also don't ask), and I'm goin to see the hilarious Eugene Mirman tomorrow night. This ties in to today's post since the last time I saw him he was playing on what might be the greatest bill I've ever seen with Langhorne Slim and The Hold Steady.
Seriously, in additionn to being very, very drunk, it was one of those shows that you actually rock so hard it hurts, and you end up at home in a sweaty, pummeled mess just loving the feeling that just ripped through you. This isn't entirely uncommon, but the only band that came that close to just beating the shit out of me was the late, great Mclusky. Anyways, the Hold Steady get a lot of "Springsteen meets AC/DC" type descriptions of their sound, which definitely isn't far off. Craig Finn has the sort of lyrics that immediately conjure up the Boss. They paint pictures of kids drinking on playgrounds at night, and people finding seedy redemption at rock bottom. I don't know, the sort of lyrics that are mythical in stature and really make you want to follow these people's stories. I've heard a lot of people say they can't get into his voice, but that's a stupid line of thinking. His voice goes from a deadpan delivery to outright shouting, and it's perfect for the music that accompanies him. The band's sound is definitely on par with an classic rock radio sound (I've heard them describe their sound as "Classic Rock with a little 'c'"), but not in a lame-ass retread sort of way. Lead Guitarist Tad Kubler was the bassist in he and Finn's previous band, Lifter Puller, which only makes his skills that much more impressive. I don't know what he learned to play first or if he just picked up the bass in LP because it was an open slot, but THE MAN FUCKING JAMS. I kid you not, go out any buy their last album, because it will destroy you and make you give a shit about rock music again. Fuck that, buy both of their albums, because they're both incredible, though noticeably different (my favorite song of theirs "Knuckles", has blown out 2 seperate sets of speakers in my car) in a progressive, linear sort of way.
The track I'm posting here is a live accoustic version of "You Gotta Dance (With Who You Came To the Dance With)", a short song the band recorded for Craig's Crisp Music project. Anyways, I can't recommend the studio version enough (you can find it on iTunes), because it's 2 minutes of outright fucking rock, complete with handclaps, a harmonica, and what is currently my favorite fucking guitar solo ever.
This version is 5 seconds shorter, and a bit toned down, though it definitely has it's charms. Franz Nicolay's piano and harmonica take a much more prominent place, and Craig's delivery is almost casual, not having to compete with the amps.

"You Gotta Gance (With Who You Came To the Dance With)" (accoustic) - The Hold Steady (YSI LInk)

Buy all of the Hold Steady's albums here




So I can't make all this guitar praise without even a slight nod to the person who I'd probably be inclined to call my favorite person ever in music. Sterling Morrison wasn't the most technically proficient or prolific guy (his playing is never differentiated from Lou Reed's in all the VU credits), but I love his style. Compound that with what can only be described as a really fucking interesting life (after the Velvet Underground broke up, he taught English at UT Austin, and later worked as a tugboat captain). He and Mo Tucker were in the middle of the infamous Reed/Cale squabbling, and he put up with one of the most difficult personalities in music for a while before succumbing to non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma right after the Velvet Underground reunited to play in Europe. It's sad to think he never got to play the states again with his old band, bt at least we got to hear him play again.
I'm not gonna post a VU track, just because a)you should already have them and b)this song is fucking incredible. His non VU output is varied (Nico and Moe Tucker's albums, most notably), but this track, recorded in 1993 or 4, is just incredible, and adds so much to the track (anyone who's seen Luna play this song live can back me up). The lead guitar he plays in this song is just so awesome I can't put it into words. He's just got such a fluid sound it's impossible not to get into. I first heard this record in July 1995 from a guy who I was living with working as a camp counselor. It's odd, because I distinctly remember all the music I picked up from this guy and this album is the only one I still listen to with any joy at all, the rest just seems so cheerfully outdated. Anyways, like I said, I loved this record for years and it's really tied in to a specific window of my life. That's all I'm really gonna say about that. I hope you all enjoy it.

"Friendly Advice" - Luna (YSI Link)

buy Bewitched here

BLIND MAN

Wow. Today was one of those mornings that I get into work and, about 18 minutes of checking up on the news, I’m outright disgusted with the way my country conducts its shit. So far today, I’ve learned about my tax dollars paying for:

1. spying on my friends and neighbors
2. an effort to prevent me finding out about us getting spied on
3. supporting warlords in Somalia
4. 200,000 AK-47s for people that want me dead
5. torture, torture, torture

Seriously, what the fuck? Considering how badly I got assreamed by taxes this year, I’m really thinking I shoulda just not paid them out of conscientious opposition to policy.
Does anyone think that’s gonna work? Me neither. Still, it’s better than trying to sleep at night and thinking of where my money goes. Speaking of which, tax cuts! We’ve got a national debt of $8,362,624,566,417.26. And we’re making tax cuts? That will ostensibly help billionaires? I know that’s an essentially glib interpretation of this bill, but seriously, are you fucking kidding me? If I had to pay off my 28 grand right now, I’d probably be reduced to flinging poo with my bare hands at bill collectors. You don’t want me to turn into an ape, do you? DO YOU !!????

Anyways, I’m feeling especially morbid today for these reasons and more, and sinc I’m going to see Mogwai tonight (and will probably have my hearing destroyed by them, rendering it impossible for me to post songs tomorrow), I thought I’d throw some apocalyptic sounding doom up here. And some dessert.

The Fall is the type of band that is criminally overrated and overlooked at the same time. They’ve got about 700 albums, but a LOT of them pretty much suck. They’re a great story, and the are more John Peel approved than anyone, but this doesn’t erase the fact that Mark E. Smith is a dick.
Anyways, if you’ve ridden in the car with me or walked down the street listening to headphones with me (GET OUT OF MY HEAD) in the last 7 months or so, you’re probably sick to death of this song, beacause I’ve been playing it pretty much ad nauseam since finding this version of it on Spoilt Victorian Child. I actually went out and bought the whopping Complete Peel Sessions box set because of it. I love the version on Fall Heads Roll, but this one just contains so much more of that sense of…utter destruction I feel when listening to this song. This song makes me think of the end of pretty much everything. Buildings fall into themselves, raining concrete on the street; the streets that I love crumble into gaping holes, swallowing cars and spitting fire from the ruptured gas mains; you know, end of the world shit.
Oddly enough, this song brings me nothing but complete joy. The backbeat that kicks off the track, the churning bass, the feedback that sounds like it could strip paint…and yes, a cranky old man just yelling shit seemingly out of nowhere. It’s all here. I'm pretty sure I put this up somewhere else but I can't remember. If so, apologies, but it's that good of a song.

“Blindness” (Peel Session) – The Fall (YSI link)

Buy The Complete Fall Peel Sessions here

I’m going to see Mogwai tonight. This is my favorite song off the new album. This isn’t rocket science, people. Their sound gets described as "apocalyptic" a lot as well. I can see it, but "really fucking loud instrumentals" works just as well.

“Glasgow Mega-Snake” – Mogwai (YSI link)

Buy Mr. Beast here

And to calm me down for the drive home from the show, Mr. Richard Hawley. Richard Hawley is a touring member of Pulp and also plays in Relaxed Muscle with Jarvis Cocker. Neither of these gigs though have anything to do with his solo career, which seems steeped entirely in early American Rock and Roll (think Roy Orbison and early Elvis, not Bill Haley or Chuck Berry). His album from last year, Coles Corner, was a shot out of nowhere for me and it’s probably the most soothing and heartfelt music I’ve come across in awhile. Anyways, here’s a track from that album, which is named after a spot in his hometown. Also, his website has at least a half-dozen free tracks on it so if you like this one head over there and check it out.

“Wading Through the Water” – Richard Hawley (YSI link)

Buy Cole’s Corner here