Dang!
Almost forgot to do the Friday Random Ten!
Incidentally, that title was the working title for the SOTU address.
And since my 3 1/3 readers know that the best schedule for my blog is to check in on the following schedule:
Monday: late morning. The Friday News dump has usually been simmering in my head.
Tuesday. Skip it. If there's a post, it's usually kind of a link dump.
Wednesday. Afternoon. Some new travesty by the administration has surfaced. Like the election of Boehner as House GOP leader. Have you seen this guy? He's never seen an exclusionary religious mandate he doesn't fully support. Welcome to Gilead, people! Hey, moderate conservatives, even if you're not going to do anything about our country's veer into right wing religious authoritarianism, let's at least document the atrocities.
Thursday. Meatspace requirements loom. No time. Skip it
Friday. Friday Random Ten Musical Festival and Related Ranting about Vaguely Associated Trivia. Which is where we are today. So Let's Go, Cowpokes!
Desktop iTunes, 60.82 gigs - 41.5 days of music, 15,249 songs
1. Driving Sideways from the album “Bachelor No. 2” by Aimee Mann Did I mention that we went to see her and her husband, Michael Penn, on NYE? Wonderful. Although, I would remark to the World Cafe fans, Penn was the more dynamic of the two performers. One of the musicians made a smart ass crack about the atmosphere at their house. One drunk in the audience was wounded by a slight dig at President Bush. Man, the Right are thin-skinned, aren't they? One remark, one t-shirt, and they have to call in the National Guard and lawyer up. I'm giving this one a 10.
2. Sink to the Bottom from the album “Fountains of Wayne” by Fountains of Wayne. Didja know that Adam Schlessinger, the songwriter for this band wrote “That Thing You Do” for the Tom Hanks movie of the same name? There's a brain bending hook. Try getting that out of your head today.
3.That's When I Reach For My Revolver from the album “Animal Rights” by Moby Remake of an old Mission of Burma punk song. Moby does a nice punky version of it. Saw him last year at SFest. He was very good, and had a local girl singing backup with him. I'd like to meet him sometime- I get the impression that he'd be fun to talk to. we could have a burger together. Definitely a ten.
4. Backslide from the album “Life Won't Wait” by Rancid Rancid gets a lot of shit for being derivative of The Clash. well, where's the problem with that? The Clash were one of the best rock bands, and if you're going to emulate someone (or steal from them) why not pick the best? Would it be better if they were derivative of Corey Hart? Anyways, on this album, they stretched, adding multiple layers of instruments and vocals. Even horns on this song. I still give it a ten.
5. I Got Laid On James Joyce's Grave from the album “On Fire [Live]” by Black 47 One of my favorite bands, period. The live shows are amazing, cathartic, and usually feature the Trinity Irish dancers when they're here n Milwaukee. Unashamedly political band, who also like to sing about drinking and sex. Did I mention that the leader, Larry Kirwan, is Irish? Definitely a ten.
6. Never Talking To You Again from the album “Zen Arcade” by Hüsker Dü Recently read the Wikipedia entry for Umlauts (otherwise known as 'Rock Dots'. I love that. Rock Dots. RockDots. RokDotz). Found that Husker Du was a non-gratuitous use of the umlaut. What a relief. They get a ten for non-gratuitous umlaut usage.
Also from Wikipedia: Einsturzende Neubaten means collapsing new buildings in German. That's great.
7.. Meltdown from the album “Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today” by Slobberbone See last week's entry. I'd give em a nine, because they broke up. But they get a one point bonus for the album title. 10.
8. Away from the album “Up On The Sun (Reissue)” by Meat Puppets Also see last week's comments on the Pups. I heard them say Meat Puppet on Mythbusters this week, but they were referring to the pig skull they were using to try and catch a bullet. Here's what Wiki has to say:
Unsatisfied with the result, the band spent plenty of time in the studio before the release of 1983's Meat Puppets II. The band's exciting experimentation with psychedelia, acid rock, and quieter tunes on top of a core western-style thrash sound, gave them their one acknowledged classic, and propelled the record to legendary status.I'd call it a ten, wouldn't you?
The Meat Puppets burgeoning musicality led to more intricate and melodic efforts on 1985's Up On the Sun, which was a cohesive collage of songs that further demonstrated their abilities to capture a sound that had all of the wonder of the desert. The album granted them their first major mainstream exposure, and many fans still consider it to be their masterpiece.
9. Rent Day Blues from the album “Dance The Devil...” by The Frames This song includes a background vocal line from 'Celebrate' You know, the part that goes “Celebrate good times. Come On!” You know it if you've been to a wedding in the last thirty years. The song itself though, is a somber piece, with a bit of banjo giving it a bittersweet texture. The Celebrate part is kind of a jarring bit of counterpoint. Brilliant, really. 10.
10. The Lost Soul from the album “For A Decade Of Sin: 11 Years Of Bloodshot Records” by The Handsome Family wow. this is a heavy ender. The Handsome Family normally sing about inbred mutants, death, crime and general misanthropy. So this fits right in! Quite the picker upper. Someone kill me now. 10.
Bonus 2.5:
11. Just Like Anyone from the album “Let Your Dim Light Shine” by Soul Asylum Contemporaries of The Replacements and Husker Du in Minneapolis. Must have been an exciting time to be a frozen punk. I didn't know Karl Mueller had died. That's really depressing. Although it sounds like there's a new album, recorded before his death, in the offing. A ten for Karl. His harmony vocals made Dave Pirner sound like an angel on a bender.
12. Thought I Knew You from the album “Girlfriend” by Matthew Sweet See last week's comments, yet again. Although this time, the track is actually FROM Girlfriend. It's a ten, of course.
12.5 It's A Night For Beautiful Girls from the album “Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits Of The '80s, Vol. 3” by Fools The Fools also did a parody of 'Psycho Killer' Called 'Psycho Chicken'. This song was the single off the album, and Psycho Chicken was included as a yellow plastic 45. Does anybody remember any of this stuff? Anyways, my copy got all melty and wavy. Call this one a 9.995.
so, that's it for this week. Looks like we made a... let's see, carry the 2...well, we'll just round that up.... Hey, it's another 10.
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