Kansas City (Hey Hey Hey Hey)

The wife and I are driving to Kansas City later today for a gig, and it influences my ponderances...

So, I've never been a big fan of songs about towns (at least, songs about towns that mention the name of that town specifically in the title). "Kansas City" as recorded by Little Richard (and later the Beatles) is an exception, but ultimately I think by a certain point in history this mode of songwriting had been worn through, and efforts along these lines should have ceased.

It would probably be unwise to try and convince some of my friends in Folk Alliance that this is the case, however.

Even R.E.M., though, one of my favorite bands on the planet, has had less than stellar luck writing songs about specific towns (or referencing specific towns), especially lately. "Leaving New York" from their unfortunate "Around the Sun" album was iffy at best, and "Houston" from their most recent album "Accelerate" was quite possibly my least favorite track on the album. There is something to this, I think.

Maybe I'd feel differently if there was a song about Oklahoma City in particular that was worth a damn (I say "worth a damn" as if there are several lackluster songs about my fair town out there that somehow didn't cut the mustard...there are not). Oklahoma City, of course, did get a shout out in Huey Lewis' "The Heart of Rock & Roll", which, depending on your disposition, is either an utterly worthless piece of 80's crap OR, as I like to think, a mildly fun, non-offensive (musically) song that manages to transcend the decade in which it was created just enough to still enjoy.

Of course, it helps that my wife put it on a mix CD for me the first year we were dating (it was actually on a trilogy of mix CDs she made me all at once, to try and "catch up" for the fact that I had already made her 3 or 4 by that point and she had managed to only scrape together one). These CDs were a masterpiece of sentiment and content, if only because they almost refused to apologize for a cheesy selection, or a seemingly outmoded selection (the Huey Lewis track being just one example). I also continue to allege that these CDs ultimately (whether through conscious or unconscious intention) conveyed the message that this woman who would become my wife wanted to be with me forever, deep down, and that any conflict about this that she showed on the surface would eventually be resolved in my favor. My wife, of course, says that she has no idea what I am talking about, and that she was just trying to make some good CDs. Whatever.

At some point this month, I might share the tracklisting for these mix CDs, so that you can all experience the grandeur of them as well.

I suppose what all of this proves (watch me tie this together, or try valiantly) is that context again ultimately rules the day. I mostly like "The Heart of Rock & Roll" because of the context it exists in for me (a pleasant, guilty-pleasure style surprise in the middle of a 3 CD tour de force created by the woman I love most in the world just for me), but if I hear another folk singer sing some song about some Texas town that treated him bad (or good) I might shoot him.

Then again, if I analyze this further, that could all turn out to be a bunch of crap.

It's going to be an interesting month.

The Mixtape Pants Radio Hour, 10/6

Here's the playlist from last night's Mixtape Pants Radio Hour. Haven't listened? Tune into our blip channel (http://www.blip.fm/drpants) Tuesday nights, 9pm central. Right now things are too busy to do every Tuesday, but most Tuesdays I'll be doing it.

IT WON'T BE LONG-THE BEATLES
KING OF ROCK-RUN-D.M.C.
ONE OF THESE DAYS-CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN
ERICA'S WORD-GAME THEORY
MUSIC IS MY RADAR-BLUR
STUART-THE DEAD MILKMEN
FUNKY DAYS ARE BACK AGAIN-CORNERSHOP
MOUTH TO MOUTH-FAITH NO MORE
BREAK MY STRIDE-MATTHEW WILDER
SOUL OF A MAN-BECK
SAFE EUROPEAN HOME-THE CLASH
EX-LION TAMER-WIRE
WASTED-BLACK FLAG
POOR POOR PITIFUL ME-WARREN ZEVON
THE LATE GREATS (LIVE VERSION)-WILCO
WHEN MY TIME COMES-DAWES
SCOOTER GIRL-CRACKER & COCHISE

Hope everyone will tune in next week. More blog entries coming soon.

My First iMix

So, how many of you have explored iTunes' iMix feature? I have recently attempted to start playing with it, but mostly as a promotional tool for Dr. Pants and K.C. Clifford (I might make some iMixes for fun, too, but we'll see). Using it as a promotional tool involves making an iMix that has a bunch of artists that I deem to be similar to Dr. Pants or K.C., and putting one of our songs in it as well. Then, if people start to rate it highly, my iMix will show up on the artist pages for some of the other artists on the iMix, and then some of their fans might download it and hear Dr. Pants or K.C. for the first time.

The only thing I don't like about that idea is that the iMix tends to be kind of homogenous (at least, homogenous by my standards). For instance, if I decide I want to put "Sarsaparilla Girl" on an iMix, I'm going to surround it with songs that all have a more power poppy feel to them. That being said, I think this iMix turned out pretty well. I titled it (for pedestrian promotional reasons) Great Power Pop. You can click that and go rate it/buy it on iTunes. Please comment and tell me what you think:



TIRED OF SEX-WEEZER
NEVER SAY NEVER-THAT DOG
TRANSDERMAL CELEBRATION-WEEN
JESSIE'S GIRL-RICK SPRINGFIELD
CONFETTI-THE LEMONHEADS
ADVENTURE ROCKET SHIP-ROBYN HITCHCOCK
TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP-THE ROMANTICS
TWO TOGETHER-STEADMAN
SARSAPARILLA GIRL-DR. PANTS
WHAT YOU DO TO ME-TEENAGE FANCLUB
SURRENDER (LIVE)-CHEAP TRICK
LATE IN THE DAY-SUPERGRASS
YESTERDAY GIRL-THE SMITHEREENS
LEAVE THE BIKER-FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE
STAR 69-R.E.M.
GLAD GIRLS-GUIDED BY VOICES
HERE COMES YOUR MAN-THE PIXIES
ANNIE WAITS-BEN FOLDS
TRAIN IN VAIN-THE CLASH
THANK YOU FRIENDS-BIG STAR
TWIN CINEMA-THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
U.S. MUSTARD COMPANY-ROBERT POLLARD

Here's the description I wrote for iTunes:

"So yeah, not everything on this iMix is probably considered to be "power pop" by most aficionados of the genre. I do think, however, that the genre could be broader than most people think, and that it doesn't begin and end with Big Star and Cheap Trick. Weezer is a power pop band, like it or not (they are certainly a LOT closer to power pop than they are to anything that could be called "emo") and artists with more diverse catalogues (like Ween or Robyn Hitchcock) have certainly dabbled in the genre. You may think the Clash are a punk band, but "Train In Vain" is a power pop song. Also, he may not have guitars, but Ben Folds can kick a high-gear, rocking, hummable melody as well as anyone in the genre. Consider this a treatise not on what power pop IS, but what it COULD be."

Funny, now that I go back and read that again, there are a couple of things I would edit, but I'm learning. Anyway, if you're on iTunes, go rate the iMix.

Perhaps I'll make some iMixes in the future just for fun, where I can fulfill my utopian mixtape agenda more sufficiently (Prince, the Residents AND Cheap Trick! Woohoo!). We'll see. Meanwhile, hope you enjoy this one...

iTunes Genius

Okay, so if you've downloaded the latest version of iTunes (and being a good little program, it should be prompting you to do so regularly if you haven't), you may have noticed the little item under your "playlists" heading that says "Genius" (with a graphic next to it of an atom). Basically, Genius is a feature that 1) generates playlists for you and 2) recommends music to you from the iTunes store based on what you already listen to and enjoy.

I really didn't even give the recommendation part a chance, primarily because I'm in a bit of a spending freeze in terms of music at the moment (I even quit Emusic, which is a waaaay better deal than iTunes to begin with). But the playlist thing intrigued me. Basically, all you do is select a song in your library and hit the Genius button (in the bottom right corner of the iTunes interface), and it generates a playlist of 25 songs (minimum; you can up it to 50, 75, 100...) that it thinks "go well together" based on your selection (the song you select becomes track 1 of the playlist). I basically went through my library finding the most diverse, random songs possible and hitting the Genius button just to see what it came up with. Some results were intriguing, some were frustrating, and some were disappointing.

Most frustrating is the fact that if the song is not something that is sold in the iTunes Store, or is by an independent artist, more than likely the Genius will just balk at it. For instance, if I select something really obscure and avant-garde (like "Industrial Ambients" by Laibach, from a compilation entitled "An Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music Volume 2), I get a message that says: "Genius is unavailable for the song "Industrial Ambients"." The same thing happens when I select a Dr. Pants song, or even a song by Abi Tapia, an up and coming songwriter in the folk scene (for the record, Genius doesn't work on K.C. Clifford, either).

The "disappointing" element mostly has to do with the stylistically narrow vision of the Genius, especially when it comes to music in genres primarily populated by African-American artists. For instance, I could tell it to generate a playlist based on a Marvin Gaye song, a Sly Stone song, or a Prince song, and I'd get an entire list of r&b stuff. Why, if I select "Little Red Corvette", do I not get some additional 80's hits that happened to be by white people? Why do I only get a list of all the other black folks in my collection? When it come to genres like this (r&b, hip hop, jazz, and even electronica), the Genius assumes that when I select a certain song (like, say, "South Side" by Moby) that I want an entire playlist of things that are in the same genre (a whole crapload of electronic stuff).

Interestingly enough, the Genius becomes most adventurous when operating in the exceptionally broad genre of "rock" (what on earth does that even mean anymore?). However, the Genius tends to select certain songs over and over again, regardless of what else is in the playlist ("Cars" by Gary Numan seems to be the Genius' favorite song in my entire library). I saved 23 of the playlists Genius generated for me that first day, and "Cars" is in 6 of them. It was in a whole bunch of other ones that I didn't save, too. My iTunes library has 9,192 songs in it, and it can't find another song to put in there instead? Seriously?

It did have some very intriguing results as well, though. Here are a couple of playlists that genuinely impressed me:

Playlist Based On "I Don't Wanna Grow Up" by Tom Waits:

I DON'T WANNA GROW UP-TOM WAITS
IT'S A MOTHERFUCKER-EELS
SEE NO EVIL-TELEVISION
YOUR LITTLE HOODRAT FRIEND-THE HOLD STEADY
I AM WAITING-THE ROLLING STONES
BOB DYLAN'S 49TH BEARD-WILCO
SONG AGAINST SEX-NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL
PASSENGER SIDE-WILCO
HOLD ON-TOM WAITS
LORD ONLY KNOWS-BECK
IT'S A HIT-RILO KILEY
DRUNKEN ANGEL-LUCINDA WILLIAMS
LOW SELF-OPINION-ROLLINS BAND (When does Rollins Band EVER follow Lucinda??? That's AWESOME!!)
START A WAR-THE NATIONAL
100%-SONIC YOUTH
LETTER FROM AN OCCUPANT-THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
CALIFORNIA GIRLS-MAGNETIC FIELDS
PABLO PICASSO-THE MODERN LOVERS
RAILROAD MAN-EELS
HELL IS CHROME-WILCO
GHOST-NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL
YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL-YO LA TENGO
BACK IN THE HIGH LIFE AGAIN-WARREN ZEVON
EARTH DIED SCREAMING-TOM WAITS
TALKING WORLD WAR III BLUES-BOB DYLAN

If you know a good portion of those songs, then I don't have to tell you that it's a mix of the exciting and the bewildering. Also, I don't like the fact that whatever artist you ask it to base the playlist on, it will invariably include at least 3 of that artist's songs in the playlist. Here is my absolute favorite, though. I asked it to create a playlist based on the song "Bustin' Surfboards" by the Tornadoes (featured on the soundtrack to "Pulp Fiction"). THIS is what I got:

BUSTIN' SURFBOARDS-THE TORNADOES
EVERYBODY'S GONNA BE HAPPY-THE KINKS
FOOLS GOLD-THE STONE ROSES
DERELICT-BECK
WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW IS LOVE-JACKIE DESHANNON
FLYSWATTER-EELS
STARMAN-DAVID BOWIE
PICTURES OF LILY-THE WHO
DIGITAL-JOY DIVISION
EVERY FALLEN IN LOVE?-THE BUZZCOCKS
WAVE OF MUTILATION-THE PIXIES
BEETLEBUM-BLUR
DAYS-THE KINKS
BELA LUGOSI'S DEAD-BAUHAUS
SWEETNESS FOLLOWS-R.E.M.
LIAR, LIAR-THE CASTAWAYS
MOTHER'S LITTLE HELPER-THE ROLLING STONES
WALK ON THE WILD SIDE-LOU REED
JACK-ASS-BECK
CARS-GARY NUMAN (there it is again...)
LET'S SEE ACTION-THE WHO
TIRED OF WAITING FOR YOU-THE KINKS
ON YOUR OWN-BLUR
IMITATION OF LIFE-R.E.M.
(WHITE MAN) IN HAMMERSMITH PALAIS-THE CLASH

There are portions of this that melt my brain. First of all WHAT ON EARTH does "Bela Lugosi's Dead" have in common with "Bustin' Surfboards"? And THEN it follows that up with "Sweetness Follows" by R.E.M.?? Truly inspired. I mean, that moment almost made me weep with joy. Not all the playlists were this adventurous by any means...It's really interesting to see how inconsistent this thing is.

So, perhaps for a certain brand of listener, iTunes Genius could be construed as brilliantly smart (or some other adjective combination suggested by its name). I'm not convinced. Leave the Genius playlist making to we humans who have practiced it since our adolescence. I want Frank Zappa, Prince, R.E.M and Sly Stone all on the same playlist, and the Genius ain't gonna do that for me.

Soundtrack Spotlight: 1989

So, this is volume one of the Soundtrack Spotlight series, where I pick a year of my life and create a new mixtape of some of the things I was listening to that year. We're starting with 1989.

This is NOT a mixtape strictly of things that were released in 1989...A lot of it is, but my listening has never followed that strict of a trajectory. These are all songs that I listened to a lot in 1989.

I chose to start with 1989 because I tend to view it as a sort of "golden age" in terms of my musical tastes. It may seem odd, but I miss the innocence I felt during this time, discovering some classic rock and "alternative" music for the first time, but still being very much of the opinion that the top 40 and butt rock on the radio was worthwhile. Granted, I was starting to get pickier about which top 40 songs I liked and was willing to sit through (the radio in the car never stayed on a particular station for long), but there were still some that I just couldn't resist (within a year, top 40 radio would go so far downhill that I would declare myself finished with it forever...a stance I've maintained to this day). Hip-hop was really starting to become un-ignorable, and from about sixth grade onward it was a fixture of my record collection. I also was a huge fan of the Dr. Demento show, which not only permanently impacted the aesthetic I use in my own music to this day, but also introduced me to some pivotal artists as well (The Dead Milkmen, They Might Be Giants, Camper Van Beethoven, Frank Zappa). Many of the listening habits I formed in 1989 continue to be prevalent in my approach to music now; there's no one category of music (see previous entry "Freedom..." to hear more about my opinion of "categories") that I really am 100% loyal to, or that I am a fan of in particular. There's genius to be found in every musical genre, every radio format, but it is in very short supply in each individual context (this is my opinion, mind you...most people are more forgiving than I am). Classic rock radio ceased to be anything I wanted to participate in around 1991 or so...They didn't play enough of the bands that I liked, and too much of the bands that I didn't (not enough Zeppelin, Who, Beatles, Stones, Jethro Tull, too much Styx, Foreigner, Bob Seger, Lynyrd Skynyrd). This problem seemed more severe once I moved back to Oklahoma City from my one and only year living in the DC area...Oklahoma folks like their American 70's rock. God knows why. Add to this scenario the continual discovery of exciting artists outside the radio spectrum, and you have the beginnings of a journey into music geekdom, rock snobbery, whatever you want to call it. I just call it being obedient to my own damn taste. If I don't like something, I'll let you know, and I'll let you know WHY NOT.

All that being said, the 1989 mixtape has 3 sides (yeah, I know...I tried to keep it to 2, but couldn't, and wasn't able to stretch it to 4, either). YOU get to make the 4th side...Leave comments including what would be on YOUR 1989 mixtape. You can just leave one song, or create a whole 45-minute side yourself. How about that?

Side 1



Wild Wild West-The Escape Club
Fish Heads-Barnes & Barnes
Beats To the Rhyme-Run-DMC
Mr. Brownstone-Guns N' Roses
Mercedes Boy-Pebbles
Turning Japanese-The Vapors
Beds Are Burning-Midnight Oil
Houses Of The Holy-Led Zeppelin
Why Don't We Do It In The Road?-The Beatles
Smokin' Banana Peels-The Dead Milkmen
Polka Dot Undies-Bowser & Blue
Once Bitten Twice Shy-Great White

Side 2



Detroit Rock City-Kiss
Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin's Revenge)-De La Soul
I Won't Back Down-Tom Petty
Eye Of The Beholder-Metallica
Boyz-N-The-Hood (Remix)-Eazy-E
Watching, Waiting-Extreme
Square Dance Rap-Sir Mix-A-Lot
Orange Crush-R.E.M.
My Sharona-The Knack
Open Letter (To A Landlord)-Living Colour

Side 3



One Of These Days-Pink Floyd
Dig A Pony-The Beatles
Purple Toupee-They Might Be Giants
Baba O'Riley-The Who
Werewolves Of London-Warren Zevon
Teacher-Jethro Tull
Maybe I'm Amazed-Paul McCartney
Should I Stay Or Should I Go-The Clash
Dig It-The Beatles
Ten Years Gone-Led Zeppelin
In Your Eyes-Peter Gabriel

Side 1
Wild Wild West-In retrospect, not really that good a song at all. But at least these guys played guitars, or acted like it. It was just quirky enough to hold my attention at the time. This probably came out in 1988, but leading into 1989 it was a song that consistently didn't make me want to change the station.
Fish Heads-This is an all-time Dr. Demento classic, in case you aren't aware. The minimal, absurd arrangement is genius all in itself, before you even consider the lyrics or vocals.
Beats To The Rhyme-By the time the "Tougher Than Leather" album came out in 1988, Run-DMC's big moment was over for most people. I was still loyal, though, and I think this song shows why.
Mr. Brownstone-Hands down, far and away the BEST Guns N' Roses song ever. Totally embodied their attitude and swagger in a way a lot of their other songs did not.
Mercedes Boy-I don't know if I really can explain this one. Couldn't get enough of this song at the time.
Turning Japanese-Totally wasn't aware of this song in the early 80's when it was originally released...Dr. Demento turned me on to it later. Can anyone out there listen to this and tell me it doesn't kick ass?
Beds Are Burning-Another one that I think was 1988, but I had to include it simply because I remember feeling when it came out that it was like a window into another musical world, where good songs were the most important thing, that having big hair or a drum machine weren't important at all. Ground zero for my own personal alternative revolution?
Houses Of The Holy-I remember buying the "Physical Graffiti" album and feeling like it was almost too big to handle...Single Led Zeppelin albums took a lot of getting used to for my top 40 addled mind, and a DOUBLE album seemed much more daunting. I latched on to this song first, since it was so catchy, and I was fascinated by the fact that it had been left off the album that shared its title.
Why Don't We Do It In The Road?-I had been listening to the Beatles since I was 3 years old, but did not hear the White Album until I was in 7th or 8th grade. I borrowed a friend's vinyl copy and taped it...It pretty much blew my mind, and still does. The White Album is one of those records that opens musical doors for you...It supplies a context, or a framework for most other musical experiences to live in, whether it's jazz, folk, sound collage (would I have heard musique concrete the same way in college if it hadn't been for "Revolution 9"??), or whatever. The White Album is, in some ways, where it all begins.
Smokin' Banana Peels-Again, one of the most underrated bands of all time. I'm serious.
Polka Dot Undies-Another Dr. Demento treasure. I really didn't even get that it was a Bob Dylan parody at the time...The implied profane rhymes were really my reason for being there.
Once Bitten Twice Shy-This song was everywhere, and it really doesn't suck nearly as bad as some of the other butt rock from that year. It probably helps that it's an Ian Hunter song.

Side 2
Detroit Rock City-I had never heard a single Kiss song before 8th grade (with the possible exception of "Rock & Roll All Nite"). Exploring the roots of butt rock led me to "Destroyer", and this opening track.
Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin's Revenge)-De La Soul showed me what hip-hop could be, what it could aspire to artistically. Still a masterpiece (both the song and the album from whence it came).
I Won't Back Down-Tom Petty was like a gift from heaven...I can't explain it any better. He was another piece in the puzzle that helped me understand what my personal definition of "good music" was.
Eye Of The Beholder-Metallica felt like a really extreme thing to be listening to at the time...I had a hard time sitting through a whole album of theirs, but my penchant for purchasing cassette singles (anybody remember those? little cardboard sleeve...YEAH!) helped me avoid that eventuality for a while.
Boyz-N-The-Hood (Remix)-This is, of course, not the original version from NWA's first album, but the remix that Eazy-E included on his "Eazy-Duz-It" album. THIS was extreme as well, and was one of a number of things I taped from a friend and (of course) NEVER let my parents hear. I didn't really follow gangsta rap after 1989...Once the novelty/controversy wore off for me, it failed to hold my interest.
Watching, Waiting-So remember "More Than Words"? Same band, but they had an album before the one with the big hit; that's why the second one was called "EXTREME II: PORNOGRAFFITI". This is a great little butt rock ballad about Christ being crucified...
Square Dance Rap-Most of you know Sir Mix-A-Lot from "Baby Got Back", but his TRUE moment of genius was "SWASS", his first record. There has been much debate whether this high pitched guy rapping on this song is Mix-A-Lot's protoge, Kid Sensation, or just Mix-A-Lot himself with his voice sped up. Either way, this is one of the most ridiculous/brilliant things I have ever heard.
Orange Crush-My obsession with R.E.M. wouldn't truly begin until about 1991, but the "Green" album was definitely one of my first flirtations with music that existed somewhere (even if not very far) outside the mainstream.
My Sharona-I was aware of this song growing up, I think, but didn't really get into it until the year in question. It helped that I heard a parody of it on Dr. Demento entitled "Nine Coronas".
Open Letter (To A Landlord)-Living Colour embodied a lot of what I remember to be great about 1989...starting to break out of boxes and so forth. They were an incredibly talented band...1988-1990 or so was their moment, though; sonically, they would have required a complete overhaul to continue after that.

Whew...only side 3 to go...I'm getting tired...Feel like I say the same damn thing about every song...

One Of These Days-"...I'm going to cut you into little pieces." Still one of my favorite Pink Floyd songs. The "Meddle" album was really my introduction to the band...before any of the more famous records.
Dig A Pony-"Let It Be" is an album I remember listening to constantly after we arrived in DC. I think my brother and I were kind of obsessed with it.
Purple Toupee-I happened to see the video for this song on a late night local PBS rock video show called "Video Spin". The moments in life where one feels he/she has experienced art that truly speaks to him/her are rare...This was one of those moments. Never the same again. Aesthetic doors blown wide open.
Baba O'Riley-If I had heard this song and NOT liked it, there would have been something wrong with me.
Werewolves Of London-My true love of Warren Zevon would not manifest until many years later (when I do a spotlight entry for 1996 we'll talk more about that), but his biggest hit had me from the get go.
Teacher-Jethro Tull only have about half a dozen really great songs, but this is one of them.
Maybe I'm Amazed-This is one of McCartney's best love songs...I purchased a vinyl copy of "McCartney" for 50 cents at a church bazaar, along with a copy of "Thick As a Brick" by Jethro Tull, complete with the newspaper on the inside. Still have that one.
Should I Stay Or Should I Go-This kind of fits into the same category as "My Sharona"...A friend bought "Combat Rock" on cassette and loaned it to me and I fell in love.
Dig It-One minute of the most brilliant gobbledygook ever committed to tape.
Ten Years Gone-This is one of my favorite Zeppelin songs ever. As I explored "Physical Graffiti", I kept coming back to this song, drawn in by its beautiful sense of longing for things past. It became all the more poignant when we moved back to OKC in the summer of 1990.
In Your Eyes-It doesn't really matter what year I discovered this song...If it had been any other year, it would be on a spotlight mix for that year instead. Quite simply one of the most beautiful pieces of music from the 80's, period.

Okay, done. Fill in your own side 4 in the comments. No, really, I really want you to. Looking forward to it.

Clam Snout

So, the most recent mixtape that I made was just one for myself, with some jams on it I have been enjoying recently. For some reason, I decided to title it "Clam Snout", which I suppose follows in my long standing tradition of giving mixtapes really random and bizarre names ("Flying Tree No. 6", "Snert", "Slimy (Oh Yeah)", etc.). Here's the track list:

Side 1

SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT-PAT BENATAR

STRANGERS-THE KINKS

THE STALLION, PT. 5-WEEN

WEIRD LITTLE BOY-TOWER OF DUDES

WHITE HORSE-LAID BACK

LAYIN' IT ON THE LINE-JEFFERSON STARSHIP

TROUBLED TIMES-FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE

BIG JILM (LIVE AT STUBB'S VERSION)-WEEN

SHUT EM DOWN-PUBLIC ENEMY

TOUR DE FRANCE-KRAFTWERK

THE MESOPOTAMIANS-THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS

Side 2

SOMEONE KEEPS MOVING MY CHAIR-THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS

UNDER PRESSURE-QUEEN & DAVID BOWIE

TRANSDERMAL CELEBRATION-WEEN

I AM THE WALRUS-THE DEAD MILKMEN

STARMAN-DAVID BOWIE

THE ENEMY-GUIDED BY VOICES

AFTERNIGHT-TRANS AM

LIVIN' ON A PRAYER-BON JOVI

SHINING IN THE MOONLIGHT-JEFFERSON STARSHIP

TALKING IN YOUR SLEEP-THE ROMANTICS

I SAW HER STANDING THERE-THE BEATLES

YOUR PARTY-WEEN

"Shadows of the Night" was a song I remembered hearing maybe only once or twice in my childhood, and when I heard it for the first time since then and realized I remembered it in a frighteningly accurate manner, I decided I should just download it from iTunes and rock out. It's lost a little bit of luster for me since then, but I am intrigued by the "arena rock" sound that it has; most of Pat Benatar's other hits don't really have that vibe.

"Strangers" is probably my favorite Kinks song right now...I am on an ongoing journey with the Kinks, getting closer to them every day. I still do not have the passion for them that many have, and I have hope that I'll arrive there at some point. This song is, of course, a Dave Davies composition, not a Ray Davies one, but I don't think it can really be denied how fantastic a song it is. Used to great effect in "The Darjeeling Limited" as well.

"The Stallion, Pt. 5" may be my favorite of all Ween's "Stallion" series. It certainly rocks the hardest. If you can find a copy of their "All Request Live" CD, that's the place to get it.

"Weird Little Boy"...I discovered these guys doing reviews on Garageband.com. This wasn't the song I reviewed...I found this song after my review was done and I went to their page. This song is so brilliant to me...probably because it is absolutely ludicrous. The lyrics are juvenile, but the vocal delivery is eerily awesome. Anyone who's willing to use the word "spaz" in a song is alright by me.

"White Horse" is the quintessential electro jam of the 80's. Period. I've heard that Juicyfruit Jenkins got a lot of inspiration just from this one song. "Bitch". More songs should have that one word sung by itself in a low-pitched voice, because it's hilarious.

"Layin' It On the Line" is from "Nuclear Furniture", the finest Jefferson Starship album of the Mickey Thomas era. It was the last one before they became simply Starship, and has been a favorite record of mine since childhood. Is it a record that is appreciated on a large scale in the music community? No, of course not, but it is a fascinating listen. Not only does it have these Mickey Thomas/Craig Chaquico butt-rock style jams on it, but Paul Kantner was still trying to do some quasi-sci-fi stuff and "make a statement" at the same time. Find a used vinyl copy somewhere and treat yourself.

"Troubled Times"...If you're in a relationship that has been successful and continues to be so, listen to this song and be thankful that it's not about you. Works for me every time.

"Big Jilm"...This version kicks serious ass. See, here's where this gets challenging. I so badly want you to seek out THIS version of this song and find out why it's so awesome. I fear that's the only way you'll understand. Some musical experiences cannot be put into words.

"Shut Em Down" is my favorite Public Enemy song. Hands down. I know, it's not from either one of their true CLASSIC albums ("Nation Of Millions", "Fear Of a Black Planet"), but it is so slammin'. I can't recall off the top of my head who did the production for this track, but it shares all the good qualities of the best industrial music; heavy beat, vaguely machine-like sounds, great scratching, all with Chuck D dropping some serious shit on top. Hell yes.

"Tour De France" was a song I heard during childhood as well, except the version I heard was credited to 10 Speed. This is another example of the kind of randomness that I'm incredibly entertained by. I love the way he says "tour de France, tour de France", I love the silly synth riff and the fake slap-bass sound. I love the cheesy bicycle sound effects...

"The Mesopotamians" is my favorite jam from the newest TMBG album. It's in the upper echelon of their canon, for sure. It reminds me of when Dr. Pants were on Buzz Born & Bred (a radio show here in OKC), and I was talking about our "fake" story of where our name came from (that Dr. Pants was the name of an ancient scientist who studied the effects of rock on the human brain). I commented that there wasn't rock & roll in ancient times, and Lacey, the host, said, "That we KNOW of!"

"Someone Keeps Moving My Chair"...Okay, so I totally broke a mixtape rule and opened side 2 with the same band that ended side 1. I don't do it often. I just couldn't find a way around it this time. This song is definitely in a renaissance with me. It wasn't really ever one of my favorites from "Flood" until recently. I think the melody (and the way the words rest in it) is so incredible, especially the last part of the verse form ("would it be okay with you if we wrote a reminder..."). Oh my weasel! Who writes melodic phrases like that? There's a genius there that is rare, indeed.

"Under Pressure" is still the jam. The form is fantastic. There's not really a clear-cut verse or chorus. The bass part is really the only real hook, and yet it's still poppy, still catchy, still freakin' awesome. Sheesh.

"Transdermal Celebration"...The best song from "Quebec", Ween's misfire from back in 2003 or so. The guitar solo is soooo dope. Especially the last phrase. I convulse with pleasure every time I hear it.

"I Am The Walrus"...The Dead Milkmen are one of the most under-appreciated bands of ALL TIME (see, that's the kind of statement that obviously discredits any claim of objectivity). They wrote twisted, hilarious, groovy, rockin' songs and utterly failed to be commercial in any way. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when they came up with some of this stuff...What on earth were they thinking? It makes me think of Ira Glass talking about "Meet James Ensor" in the They Might Be Giants documentary: "It shouldn't even BE a song."

"Starman"...I am finally catching on to "Ziggy Stardust", the album. Took a while. This is certainly enough to make anyone take a second look. What a gorgeous melody.

"The Enemy" has been one of my favorite songs for a while. It's a good one to listen to right before a gig to get psyched up. I have already made a couple of pretty blatant attempts at duplicating the effect that the outro section has...it is one of the most rocking moments ever captured on record.

"Afternight"..."TA" wasn't their best album, but this is definitely the best track on it. Trans Am continue to fascinate after all these years.

"Livin' On a Prayer"...Don't front like you don't like this song. It's so awesome. I would have never guessed ten years ago that I would consider this and "Wanted Dead or Alive" to be classic songs, but they are.

"Shining In The Moonlight" is another selection from "Nuclear Furniture". One of my earliest air guitar experiences.

"Talking In Your Sleep"...I almost wish that "What I Like About You" wasn't by the Romantics, just so that this song could get its due as the masterpiece that it is. Jangle-pop didn't ever sound this sinister or dark ever again. The arranging is just brilliant.

"I Saw Her Standing There" is quite simply one of the greatest, straight-ahead rock & roll songs of all time. Paul's vocal performance on this song IS rock & roll.

"Your Party" is the most brilliant Ween song in recent memory. You can picture every image he describes...it's one of those songs that totally embodies what the band is about. When you listen to this song, you gain an understanding of what it is that Ween does.

Whoo...That was a lot longer and more involved than I anticipated. We'll see if these entries get any briefer.