Hold My Life

Took the plunge a few days ago and downloaded iTunes. Despite my brutally slow dial-up connection (give me a break, I'm still working on paying my mortgage - no fancypants DSL in my budget) I'm hooked. The real impetus for my foray into the world of online music was my recent jonesing for the music of my past. I've got hundreds of great records on tape ("records on tape"?), but very few of them on CD. I want to put together my own mix of the music that sustained me during my high school and college years. And for that, my friends, I need your help.

After downloading "No New Tale to Tell", by Love and Rockets, and "The Lovecats", by the Cure, I started combing through my CDs to add to the iTunes library. I've got some Smiths and some Midnight Oil, a little bit of Pogues and a dash of Connells. I can remember lots of stuff, but not all of it - so that's where you come in. What the hell did I listen to from 1985 or so to 1993? Or, what did you listen to during that alcohol- and angst-sodden period of your lives? The best memories go on my playlist, coming to a CD-R near you.

(Edit: Well, I was high on iTunes, until it crapped itself in the final stages of downloading Social Distortion's "Ball and Chain". That's a song that defines a 3-month era of my life - an era spent in pursuit of cheesy mall bargains, cheap alcohol, and the secret to Phillip Michael Thomas' ouevre.)

They Might Be Geeks . . .

. . . but I dig 'em. I know I said I didn't think They Might Be Giants' new album was top-shelf, but they've done great stuff over the years. Excellent live shows, and a wealth of two-minute songs to enjoy on each record. (The Ramones & TMBG, two of a kind.) Best TMBG songs, thought up right here and now off the top o' the noggin':

"Hits" (ha):
- Ana Ng
- They'll Need a Crane
- Don't Let's Start
- Istanbul
- Snail Shell
- Why Does the Sun Shine? (live)
- Boss of Me

Digging Deeper:
- She's an Angel
- Dinner Bell
- Twisting
- Mr. Me
- Meet James Ensor
- Thermostat
- AKA Driver
- and, of course, Shoehorn With Teeth, if only for the line "people should get beat up for statin' their beliefs" -- meaning the world of blogs like this one would have a lot of shiners

Just as the song "James K. Polk" led Ethan to a greater knowledge of the president, because of "Meet James Ensor" I dragged D-Pave Pellicane into the James Ensor exhibit at the Belgian National Art Museum in Brussels a couple of years ago, and it was well worth the stroll through the paintings. Lots of strange works involving scary masks. Weird dude.

For anyone with even a mild interest in the band, They came out with a brilliant documentary a couple of years ago, "Gigantic." Rock 'N' Russell and I saw it in the theater, and it's highly recommended. Also, listen to their random odds and ends at www.dialasong.com.

Unrelated drivel: has anyone seen the movie "They Might Be Giants" from thich this band took their name? Its cast is intriguing: George C. Scott, Mrs. Paul Newman, Grandpa Munster, the slutty Golden Girl, Bentley from "The Jeffersons," Fletch's Dr. Jellyfinger, Marty McFly's principal, and Solieri.

......

a couple of things, Oxford Mississippi style (with atrocious spelling).

1. Cake has sucked (not really sucked I guess, but certainly hasn't been as good) since Dave Brown left after fashion nugget - has anyone ever listened, really listened, to his shit on Stick Shifts and Safety Belts? excelente my friends, excelente.

2. If you've been waiting for the White Stripes for your dose of heavy metal cracker-blues then you missed the (John Spencer) Blues Explosion back in the early nineties. Good thing for you that they're still around - check them out. You might also like My Morning Jacket - Kentucky's latest hard rockers (was Nashville Pussy really that hick state's last entry into this catergory?).

3. They Might Be Giants, I thought only plastic-glasses wearing literary types from Brooklyn liked them. Who are they and why are they both named John - is that some sort of "joke" that I don't get? Is James K. Polk one of the best songs ever and doesn't it make you wish that your high school history teacher was cool enough to have played that tune on the first day of class so that you'd have been inspired to actually care about history at that early point in your intellectual life?

4. 2004, let's see. I bought Brian Wilson's Smile but haven't decided if I actually like it yet. I also bought Ray LaMontange's Trouble and think it's the best folk/rock I've heard since Ben Harper's Fight For Your Mind. Al Green's I Can't Stop is groovy in that Al Green sort of way, it's nice. And The Black Eyed Peas Elephunk is certainly funky, and naughty. I feel a little funny when I listen to it while working on my house - lest my neighbors hear me listening to music that is sexually explicit. My son Hudson has become a samba freak and we therefore listen to a lot of Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto and Tom Jobim, all of which we've been enjoying in our whitebread sort of way. Been diggin the Beatle's Revolver quite a bit. And Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, not a new realease anymore, has been getting significant playtime on the old iPod.

5. My main listening continues to be done on the radio. Locally, WMNF rocks it commercial-free with a dose a radical politics, just like me. At work I listen to KEXP from Seattle (polished, diverse and commercial-free), and WFUV (my first love, in the Bronx). At night, if I'm at the confuser on a weekday, I listen to Eric Jackson on WGBH in Boston - the best jazz show I've ever heard. All of these stations either stream in mp3 (iTunes, shoutcast), windows media player format whatever the hell that is, or RealAudio (Real Player).

6. I've still got to send whit some ryan adams (or maybe some ray lamontagne disguised as ryan adams) tunes- I haven't forgot ye whit.


hope you all had a good holiday that you all have a great 2005.

herb

Best of 2004

Since we've been dormant here for a month, I figured nobody'd mind (or even notice) if I jump-started this place with something trite: the year-end best-of list. Here are 10 albums that came out in 2004 that struck my fancy.

10. Final Straw by Snow Patrol - Average Jimmy set me up with this one. A good listen. Favorite Song: "Run"
9. Hot Fuss by The Killers - One of a few albums I enjoyed that the "kids today" are listening to, bought on a whim. Favorite Song: "Somebody Told Me"
8. Antics by Interpol - Grew on me with each listen. Favorite Song: "Evil"
7. Drag It Up by Old 97's - The fact that a new album from my favorite band comes in at #7 illustrates my mild disappointment in the record, but it's still better than 99% of new music. Favorite Song: "The New Kid"
6. Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand - More tunes that defied the odds by getting airtime and not sucking. Favorite Song: "Take Me Out"
5. 11 by Random Idiots - The comeback album nobody was praying for. It features the new sound, described by Herb as "mid-fi," with a fixation on beach songs. Oh, and the band has approved all piracy, so anyone wanting a free copy, let me know. Favorite Song: "House of the Martha Wood"
4. 20,000 Streets Under The Sky by Marah - A surprising favorite from the Bruce-ish youngsters. Favorite Song: "East" or "Going Thru the Motions"
3. American Idiot by Green Day - Rob's already mega-touted this one, but it's that good. Favorite Song: "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"
2. Good News for People Who Love Bad News by Modest Mouse - Last month someone in a bar called me a rock snob and proved it by saying, "Oh, I bet you liked Modest Mouse before they were cool." Dead on. I grabbed a copy of this as soon as it was out, and loved it. The best songs are the ones on the radio, but it's solid alt-rock throughout. Favorite Song: "Float On"
1. New Roman Times by Camper van Beethoven - More evidence of snoberry, to be sure, and perhaps this album doesn't top the others in overall greatness -- it may just be that their resumption of business as usual after 15 years pleased me that much. If you always hated CVB, you still will, but if you dug them way back when, it's more of the same. Lowery's rough vocals, violins as major instruments, and even a little backwards recordings for old times' sake. Favorite Song: "Might Makes Right"

Albums that didn't make the cut included new records by the Beastie Boys (nothing revelatory), Wilco (slipping away, sadly), 7 Mary 3 (unfortunately), u2 (because I didn't get it yet), They Might Be Giants (not reviewed very positively), and Jimmy Buffett (reviewed on this site previously).

5 Great Compilations / Re-Issues

5. Rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991-2003 by Pearl Jam - A 2-disc compilation replete with great stuff -- listening to it made me realize I'd forgotten how many good songs they had.
4. Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits by John Cougar Mellencamp Ditto, Ditto, Ditto to everything about #5.
3. Doctors, Professors, Kings and Queens: The Big Ol' Box of New Orleans by Various Artists - a 4-disc set of all things Big Easy, from the earliest blues recordings to new rock outfits. Blues, jazz, brass bands, zydeco, rock, and much, much more. The jumbled-up sequence makes it just like walking around the fairgrounds at JazzFest.
2. Join the Dots: B-Sides & Rarities, 1978-2001 by The Cure - Back in the 80's, The Cure released their first compilation on one extended play cassette and included all of the B-sides on . . . the B-side. These songs were almost as good as the A-material. It took nearly 20 years, but they finally remastered and re-released these tracks, and a bunch more rarities from their career.
1. London Calling: 25th Anniversary by The Clash - Everybody has (or dammit, man, should have) London Calling, but this re-issue packaged in the lost demo tapes found by Mick Jones when he recently moved. It also has a DVD of the recording sessions; it's all very cool if you're a huge Clash fan.

3 Best Live Shows I Saw in '04:
Old 97's in January at the 9:30 Club, Ween at the same venue in June, and the Pixies in December at Constitution Hall. All fantastic, as I'd expected them to be.

I am curious what others found to be most listenable in the last year, whether it was new stuff or older works. Happy '05 to all.