Filed under: MIA, Monday Morning, Radiohead, Talib Kweli, alaska, anberlin, environment, more fucking stupidity, sports
Yup, still don’t have a good name for it…thanks for nothing loyal readers.
Today’s links (and commentary):
I am a big fan of doing things that are easy and enjoyable for large sums of money. Recently, a friend’s dad was talking about how hard it was to find someone dependable to drive some small shipments short distances for his trucking company. I immediately volunteered. I love driving and i wouldn’t need a commercial license to do this for him. Friday night, he called and said he needed someone to go to Denver ASAP…i had just returned from a week in Vegas (for a trade show) and was a little too toasted to go 14 hours, but he had another trip to San Diego if i wanted it. I met up with him yesterday, jumped in his F-350 Super Duty (an absolute BEAST of a vehicle) and took off on a 5-hour solo jaunt to SD. I stayed with my brother last night and woke up at 6am this morning to drive the metal cowlings i was transporting to a jet engine factory right next to the SD airport. I felt very official and cool and the plant was amazing…there were forklifts the size of semi-tractors driving around with 747 engines on them like it was nothing. The drive gave me the opportunity to spend some time alone with my own thoughts (which i love) and also a time to listen to some new albums, but we’ll get to those in a minute. I hope i get another trip really soon.
We always hear about the proposed drilling in Alaska, but the Pebble Mine is an even more imminent threat that nobody seems to know shit about. And then the company tried to buy off the petition… That is my friend John in the video…he owns the lodge where i caught this:
The proposed mine will be an open-pit cluster fuck of a gold mine right above the confluence of 3 rivers that lead into Bristol Bay…for those of you scoring at home, Bristol Bay is the starting point to the spawning runs of about 9 million Salmon. That should be fun.
On the lighter side, i couldn’t watch the Packers – Giants game because i was driving, but this seems appropriate:
Keeping in the sports vein…after all the Imus bullshit, the talk of “lynching” Tiger Woods, etc…do you think this is appropriate? (Personally i think the whole lot of it is just out of control, over the top politically correct white liberal guilt, but hey, that’s just me.)
Today’s Albums:
Talib Kweli – Beautiful Struggle (fantastic album and one that i hadn’t listened to in a while. The lyrics are political, intelligent and poignant…the beats are great…the guest MCs are the cream of the crop. This album might break your heart.)
MIA – Kala (I downloaded this because it was on everyone’s top 10 lists of 2007…and i must have missed something because i thought it was terrible.)
Radiohead – In Rainbows (I also downloaded this absolutely free which is even cooler than picking how much you’d like to pay for it. And like every other Radiohead album i’ve ever heard, i listened to the first 4 songs and skipped through the rest…sorry, i just can’t do it.)
Anberlin - Cities (I saw them open up for Motion City Soundtrack and downloaded as many albums as i could find the very next day…it’s not often that i hear a band live and immediately like them but these guys are great. This album is a white-hot scorching pile of awesome. It’s everything i like about music…good hard-rocking guitar and drums, the lead singer has a great unique voice which is accented by perfect harmonies, the lyrics are great and totally catchy. Get this album now.)
Filed under: Everclear, Jet, Monday Morning Shuffle, Neutral Milk Hotel, Talib Kweli, U2
Not a lot to share from my weekend other than my fantasy team sucks and i’m just so glad football is back so let’s get right down to it.
On with the Shuffle:
1. Are You Gonna Be My Girl – Jet, off of Get Born
Normally i’d skip this song because i’m just so bloody sick of it but i let it play and you know what? This song was really damn good. I mean, its awesome. But it just got overplayed and beat to hell and took a place on the list of overplayed songs right along with Creed “My Own Prison”, Nickelback “How You Remind Me” and Lenny Kravitz “Fly.” Too bad really.
The rest of the CD was pretty decent as well, although kinda gets exhausting towards the end.
2. Unemployed Boyfriend – Everclear
“This is going to sound a little obsessive…” but i was thinking about her just this morning. She always had a knack for finding these random songs off of mainstream band’s albums. I have a lot of them on my iPod still. It’s been a really long time since we’ve talked and lately, i’ve really been thinking about how much i could really use a conversation with her. Some people are just like that right? They stick in your brain and never go away no matter how long it has been since you’ve talked. I don’t know if that’ll ever change.
Anyway, this is a really random song (i guess you’d expect that from Everclear) but a good and catchy pop tune with a funny/random/ridiculous storyline in the lyrics, interjected with this girl talking on a friends answering machine about how she met a guy at the unemployment office. It’s weird for sure, but hey, don’t take my word for it. Right click on the link and listen for yourself.
3. Walk On – U2, off of All That You Can’t Leave Behind
I’m really ambivalent about U2, to be perfectly honest. Sometimes i just love them and cheer for Bono and would love to see them live and all that and sometimes i’m just over them. There is this air of pretension that throws me off sometimes. I think i missed them age-wise by about 2-3 years. Joshua Tree just wasn’t aimed at my demographic, and correct me if i’m wrong U2 fans, but i think that was the album that was make or break for most people.
4. Communist Daughter – Neutral Milk Hotel, off of In The Aeroplane Over the Sea
Some people think Neutral Milk Hotel is the most amazing thing since sliced bread…and of course, i missed the boat on these guys too. I like the songs i listen to, but i haven’t heard one complete album that just drops my jaw to the floor like some people claim.
Here’s my problem though…between The Decemberists, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Plain White T’s, OK Go, Sufjan Stevens and all these other “hipster” bands…how do you keep them all straight? I know you purists (Courtney) will think i’m a moron, but it’s hard to seperate them even in their own genre. I know they have different sounds, that’s not what i’m saying, but they all evoke the same kind of emotional response from me so at any given moment what’s making me listen to Arcade Fire over Neutral Milk Hotel or the Decemberists? I don’t have an answer to that question other than i listen to them when the shuffle randomly falls on that song, and it doesn’t give me any real rush or reason to dig any deeper into the album. It is what it is and that’s the end of it…and anyone who has read this blog for more than a week or two knows that just doesn’t cut it for me.
5. Oh My Stars – Talib Kweli, off of Ear Drum
I’m loving the new Kweli and loving even more that i got it leaked early and didn’t pay for it (sorry Talib…). So far the album is pretty rocking…the beats are good, but not great, and the lyrics are spectacular. My favorite line so far is, “Silence is golden but violence is platinum.” and i’m sure there are about 500 more that i haven’t picked up yet.
My only complaint about Kweli albums — and i guess rap albums in general — is that they’re too damn long. I want a CD to either leave me completely satisfied or wanting more, not exhausted. Take for instance The Shins – Wincing the Night Away…when i get to the last song on that CD i mentally say to myself, “Oh, it’s over already? Damn.” everytime. I’ve listened to that CD 50 times, and everytime i’m bummed it’s already over. I haven’t been able to listen to Ear Drum one time straight through without clicking next at least 3-4 times. Since the beats aren’t all amazing, they start to run together after a while. This is a problem.
Alright, hope everyone has fun with the new Kanye and new 50 Cent albums tomorrow…i’ve had them both for 2 weeks, suckers. HAHA.
Too tired for stories. Let’s just get on with it. (Back in the day when i started this, i was unemployed with no prospects. I created this blog — and the others — as a forum to continue reading and writing and push myself creatively instead of sitting on the couch all day. I picked Monday MORNING Shuffle because it had a nice ring to it and because i needed a reason to get out of bed before noon. Now that i’m gainfully employed and i’m waking up early anyway, Morning is a regrettable choice. However, I will push on.)
1. We Know – Talib Kweli, off of The Beautiful Struggle
When this CD first came out, i listened to it a lot. And then i just quit. Not sure why. But this weekend, after spending about 12 hours in the car driving to LA and back, i listened to it straight through. Actually i pretty much listened to every Kweli song i had on there and i gotta say i think i’m getting back into him in a big way. There was a lot of stuff that i missed the first times through. Don’t you love that?
Anyway, this song is a slow one but beautiful in both its sound and subject matter. It is also dated in some of its rhymes, which is kinda hilarious just because things have changed so much since then. Kweli says something like, “We can cruise like Tom and Penelope.” and until i heard that, i totally forgot that relationship ever existed. Hilarious.
2. The Late Greats – Wilco, A Ghost is Born Again
Wilco is another one of those bands, like The Decemberists, that i find myself loving and hating depending on the mood i’m in. This song i particularly love. Not sure exactly why, the music just strikes me as compelling and the melody is catchy. Some of their stuff is slow and boring and experimental and noise for the sake of noise and the vocals aren’t good enough and the lyrics not interesting enough to make me continue listening. This song is the opposite of that.
3. Don’t Ask Me – OK Go
Has a band ever received more fans from a youtube video ever? Because i never listened to them much before this video and now i’m constantly keeping my eyes open for them. Good for them and hurrah for technological liberation.
This thing has over 4 million views…
4. Wonderful Day – O.A.R., off of Stories of a Stranger
This CD is one of the best road trip albums ever (in fact, i’m kind of angry with myself for not listening to it over the weekend.) It’s happy, it’s poppy, the sing-a-long factor is through the roof. This is a CD that will keep you awake on 1 hour of sleep (especially when added to Red Bull and sunflower seeds.). I don’t even care if this isn’t your type of music. If you’re a music fan, then you like beats and melodies that compel you to move and sing. You can’t argue with me about this. If you don’t have this CD, or are too emo to think that you’ll like happy music, then you’ve completely missing out.
5. Papa Loved Mama – Garth Brooks, off of Ropin‘ The Wind
This is interesting twist to the shuffle…Garth is absolutely the only country i will allow on my iTunes (only mainstream country that is…Pat Green, Robert Earl Keen and other “texas” country artists are allowed.)
I have to give Garth (and country music) a little credit in this one rite, it is the only genre of music that will sing about a truck driver husband driving his rig into a hotel room, thereby killing his cheating wife and presumably her lover, and make it sound like a great song to sing along to, dance to and cheer for at a live concert. It’s absolutely hysterical.
My favorite Garth moments in life, and believe me these happened a lot, were when i’d get home from work in college and Danny Bogen, my roommate at the time, would already have a big drink poured for me, a few shots lined up, the Playstation tuned up to NHL Hitz and Garth blaring on the stereo. I can’t tell you how many times we’d be signing and hooting and hollering and generally howling at the moon in our living room until the wee hours of the morning as we got piss drunk and laughed our asses off singing Friends in Low Places. I tell you what, it may seem stupid to you, but those nights were some of my favorites ever. Ever.
Alright, thanks for reading. Have a good week.
Not that long ago, i wrote a few thousand word defense of rap and hip-hop (which received one comment. Seriously, what the fuck?!?). Today, i came across this Village Voice “breakdown” of This Is Why I’m Hot which just made me laugh. It’s top notch, tongue in cheek and absolutely the reason that i hate this song, and others like it.
Also, check out Kweli’s take on this song. Pretty quality.
Filed under: Crosby Stills and Nash, Jurassic 5, Talib Kweli, The Bravery, Thrice
Sorry about last week. I was in Vegas all week and had more internet connection on my phone than through my computer and as much as i love the shuffle, i wasn’t hammering that thing out on my phone.
So, after a small break, here we go:
1. Military Madness – Stephen Stills Graham Nash, off of Crosby, Stills and Nash Box Set
After seeing the list of protest songs discussed by Kevo and Nole not too long ago, i mentally made my own list. Since they did such a good job, i really didn’t feel the need to include my own. (although this is what a quick, off-the-top-of-my-head list have looked like:
1. Public Enemy – Fight the Power
2. Crosby, Stills and Nash – Ohio
3. Bruce Springsteen – Maggie’s Farm
4. Fortunate Son – Credence Clearwater Revival
5. Rage Against the Machine – Killing in the Name)
But this is a great song by Stephen Stills and it feels pretty autobiographical. He sings about military madness killing his country, his dad fighting in the war, moving to Europe to escape it, etc. C, S, N and Y (as in Young, Neil) sang often of the issues of their times including racial issues and war. They were highly controversial at the time but obviously accepted by those in the antiwar movement and now regarded as one of the best bands of their time. (Dixie Chicks anyone?)
The more things change, the more they really stay the same i guess.
2. Who Rocks the House – Jurassic 5
Courtney recently suggested that after getting into De La Soul that she had less respect for what J5 has done over the last 10 years. I wonder if anyone feels this way? I won’t take away from what J5 has done because they have never claimed to be this completely original sound and they’ve always done a great job of paying homage to their influences and predecessors in their songs. Anyone want to take a stab at this?
3. Get By – Talib Kweli, off of Quality
This may be my favorite Kweli song of all time. Just a popping beat, sweet vocals and really moving and inspiring lyrics. My favorite: “We go through episodes too, like Attack of the Clones”
My favorite memory of this song was when it came on in Chris Perry’s garage one night in college while we were all playing beer pong. We’re dancing, singing, yelling back and forth at each other about the game and, of course, drinking heavily and CP realized that the theme of this song is to “get by” a day without smoking, drinking, using some substance or behavior to artificially alter your reality, etc. Behold the hypocrisy of the suburban white youth right? Oh well.
4. Don’t Tell and We Won’t Ask – Thrice, off of Artist in The Ambulance
My favorite completely random line of this song: “If you’re a smart kid, never work without your gloves. If you’re a smart kid, you’ll stay the hell away from love.” I can just see them on the tour bus writing this…
Dustin: Ok, what rhymes with love….above? shove? Come on guys, help me. How about glove? Can we make that work? Will anyone notice? Do smart kids really work with gloves? Help me damnit!
Still, this was like a defining song of my Sophomore/Junior years of college. And this CD was just so good. And the liner notes were as cool as any CD this side of Tool. So that was good too.
5. Swollen Summer – The Bravery
This song came on my iPod the other day and i consciously remember wondering what i would write if it ever came on the shuffle…
I picked this CD up from the wonderful Suzanne, who let me raid her laptop at Virgo to the tune of about 650 songs. I had heard The Bravery on a video game and i got somewhat annoyed with it over the course of 15,000 listens but it still was one of the better tunes on the game. The CD is equally as poppy and sugary as the song from the video game but it is catchy and does have a decent ring to it. I’m not sure i could ever listen to the whole thing straight through but it’s one of those songs that comes on during a shuffle session and i find myself nodding my head and saying, “Man, I should really listen to this whole CD sometime.” And i never do. That speaks volumes about their sound and how much i’d like it, i feel.
Alright, back to work. I don’t know if anyone uses Microsoft Outlook but it pops up these little task reminders for me and there are like 52 popping up right now. Yikes.
I’m up early (well, kinda) to get the Monday Morning Shuffle done in the Morning this time. I know i promised a concert review last Wednesday too but i got a little busy (socially) and never got to it. I’m still going to do it, probably have it up by this Wednesday instead. Additionally, i’ve taken all of your suggestions and made a list and i’ve been downloading them like a madman. As soon as i can organize them into CDs and listen to them, i’ll give them their very own spots here. In a related technological tragedy, my iPod is now full, so whenever i get new music, i have to delete something old. This is obviously a painful process for me. So, like i said from the beginning, if you discover a band and would like to review them yourself, i’d love to have some guest posts up here. I appreciate the suggestions of course, but i’d love for this to be a chorus instead of a solo project. Just let me know in the comments who the band you’re reviewing is and when you’ll have it done and i’ll get it posted for you.
Anyway, on to the shuffle.
1. Where you Gonna Run – Talib Kweli, off of Right About Now: The Official Sucka Free Mix CD
The iTunes is loving the underground hiphop lately. This is Kweli’s most recent release and the official story is that these were tracks he recorded through his career but never released and he wanted to get them onto an album before the recording studio leaked them onto the internet for free. I really haven’t had a chance to disect this album like i have the others but there are some superior tracks on this such as Where you Gonna Run, Ms. Hill (about Lauryn Hill) and Drugs Basketball & Rap. Additionally, for all you Phoenix people, Kweli is going to be performing at the Clubhouse (an excellent small venue for this type of show) on Dec. 2nd. I’d love to go but don’t really know anyone else that would be interested. So, if you’re at all interested, let me know in the comments. Drinks are on me.
2. Tao of Now – Saul Williams
I’ve always had this thought that of all the things that we try to make equal in this world, talent is the one thing we absolutely can’t control. Some people are born with none, some people are born great at one thing and one thing only, and some people are born with heaps and heap of it and find skills in any avenue they persue. Saul Williams is the latter. He acts, he writes music, he writes books, he is one of the undisputed Slam Poetry champions in all of the world, he is one of the greatest political voices of our generation (think Ginsberg, DuBois, Robeson and Shakur wrapped into one) and most of you have probably never heard of him.
I first heard of Williams when a class i was in watched his movie Slam. It was about a guy arrested for selling small amounts of pot and put in jail next to the murderers and the rapists. He writes slam-style poetry in jail, pounds out beats on his bars and makes a few friends and avoids some ugly situations through his words. It kinds sounds hokey when i describe it that way, but it isn’t and i highly suggest you rent the film. Anyway, i became a huge slam poetry fan after that and absorbed everything i could. Williams has 3 books or poems out, She, ‘Said the Shotgun to the Head, and his most recent, The Dead Emcee Scrolls. He also has 2 solo cds out, Amethyst Rockstar and a self-titled album, both of which are fantastic. His music is mainly his poems set to beats but the productions and creativity is fantastic. This song, Tao of Now, is off of a compilation CD called Lyricist Lounge, and is probably one of my favorite poems and beats that he has.
I went to see him live in Boulder, CO when i lived there. The two opening hiphop groups got the house all wound up and excited and then Saul walked out onto this stage in this dark blue light. We didn’t know if he was going to have a DJ or a band or if he was just going to read poems, but everyone was standing there, hot and sweaty from dancing, and Saul just said, “Everyone can take a seat because the only music i’ll be playing is between the lines.” He was carrying a tattered canvas messenger bag, wearing old Chuck Taylors like he was on his way to class or something, and he pulled out a journal from his bag, set the bag against the mic stand and just started to read various poems. In between he took questions from the audience and talked about where the world was headed and what we could all do to fix it. It was one of the most inspirational and moving nights of my existence.
If you haven’t heard of Saul Williams, i highly, highly suggest you get into him. Whether it’s the music, or the books, or the movie, or just looking him up on Wikipedia and reading some of his poems, you won’t be sorry. He is one of the greatest artists of our short time here. I don’t even hesitate to say it.
3. Mo Money, Mo Problems – Notorious BIG
Wow, talk about your all-time 180s. We go from one of the greatest poet activists of our time, to one of the people who was most resposible for turning rap into what it is today. Now don’t get me wrong, this is a great song: a great beat, good rhymes, all the featuring artists you could ever want, but to mention Saul in the same shuffle with Biggy just doesn’t seem right. I think the BIG man did some good things in his career, he had some songs that changed things, he said some things that got people thinking, he was absolutely one of the forefathers of rap music, he was influential to thousands of artists. Whether he made the right influences or not is up for you to decide. You can hear a little bit of biggy in every album out today, from the superb College Dropout album to the absurd Lil John albums. Just depends on which side you’d like to take.
4. Brand New Colony – The Postal Service, off of Give Up
I’m not going to lie to you. When i clicked next after Mo Money, Mo Problems it went back to Saul Williams then to a skit on Kanye’s Late Registration, then to Common, then to this. And we’ve just had enough hiphop in the last 2 weeks so i had to skip forward and break the streak. I don’t know what the shuffle on my iTunes is smoking, but it’s probably Chronic.
I love this song from Ben Gibbard because it just sounds like the sounds from a really old video game, like PacMan or something. The Postal Service is great, i don’t need to tell any of you this, let’s move on.
5. As i Rise – The Decemberists, off of Her Majesty
There have been calls for The Decemberists for a long time so i’m glad they finally came up on the shuffle (Happy now Courtney???). I haven’t had a chance to listen to this CD in it’s entirety from front to back so i’ll reserve passing too much judgement right now. But at first glance, i like this song. Despite it’s only being 2:15 long, i think it has an interesting parlor song feel to it and i’m curious to hear how it fits into the mix of the rest of the CD.
Alright, i’ll post something else this week, hopefully the concert review. If i don’t catch you before Thursday everyone have a happy Turkey day and fall into a tryptophan induced coma on the couch listening to something good (or watching the Broncos win.).
