Monday, July 7, 2008

Queen Of The Rummage Sale (Day 79)

The Beatles - "Dear Prudence"
Ben Folds - "There's Always Someone Cooler Than You"
Gary Louris - "D.C. Blues"
Destroyer - "The Bad Arts"
The Arcade Fire - "Intervention"
I'm glad I'm the father of two kids (beyond the obvious reasons). Why? Because my general tiredness and lack of free time is not cutting into any important TV viewing! There just ain't nothing good on the tube these days. The Wire's over. Lost is on hiatus. And there are only so many Mets games this season a self-respecting fan can tolerate. But in this down period, my wife and I have one addiction: A&E's harrowing addiction doc, Intervention. Holy shit this show is dark. Each episode follows an addict (drugs, alcohol, pills, bulimia, you name it) who thinks they're making a documentary about their struggles, until their friends and family confront them and offer treatment. Although compelling, it's a really difficult hour of television to watch. In fact, I was planning to post a clip here, but everything is just so graphic and grim I couldn't bring myself to do it. Suffice to say, crystal meth will be the end of Western Civilization as we know it. If you want to see proof, just search for the many Intervention clips on YouTube. You may even stumble upon the poor bulimic woman who stored hew own barf in Ziploc bags in her closet. New seasons of Mad Men and Project Runway can't come soon enough...
The Rolling Stones - "Mixed Emotions"
Midlake - "Van Occupanther"
Whiskeytown - "Mining Town"
Lou Reed - "There Is No Time"
Bishop Allen - "Queen Of The Rummage Sale"
The Rolling Stones - "Prodigal Son"
The Band - "Jam"
I've got another TV recommendation, and this one's music related. A friend turned me on to a Vh1 Classics show called...(drum roll) Classic Albums. Each episode of the hour-long doc series looks at the making of a single album. I watched the installment on The Band's eponymous 1969 album ("Up On Cripple Creek," "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," etc), and it was pretty great. It's a weird doc because they don't give you a ton of background on the historical significance of these records, instead it's more of a stream-of-consciousness look at the album with miscellaneous recollections from band members, producers, etc. The coolest part is when Levon Helm sits in a studio with the album's producer and they play back specific instrument tracks so you can hear the way the music on "Rockin' Chair" is layered. Priceless.
The Beatles - "Get Back"
Shelby Lynne - "Sleep"

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 14
Total minutes of music (approx.): 53
Song with the most previous plays: "Queen Of The Rummage Sale'" - 9
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: My newspaper brushed the arm of a woman sitting next to me on the subway. If you'd seen the look she gave me, you'd think I'd stabbed her with a pencil.

3 comments:

comoprozac said...

Ah, crystal meth...I think that's our official state drug here in Misery.

Are you aware of the 33 1/3 series?

sarah said...

I'll second the recommendation for the 33 1/3 series. I even love the books for albums I'm not into. It's a great bunch of books! There are even 2 compilations with the best bits...the "Meat is Murder" volume by Joe Pernice is pretty great.
TV: Have you watched Breaking Bad? It's aaaawesome. Seriously, it's the best I've seen in a very long time. (Definitely one for when the little ones are sleeping, though.)My husband is addicted to Intervention (whoa, irony!) but I can't handle watching it.
What is with people lately? A guy tripped over me (completely his fault!) at a bookstore last week, and he flipped out, swearing at me and asking if I was going to pick his pockets (!?) and yelling and such. Crazy! I thought he'd gone, but then he did another drive-by freak out a few minutes later. Ugh. Calm down, everyone.

GE said...

I have heard of the 33 1/3 series, I just haven't gotten around to reading any of them yet. Anyone read the Let It Be book by Colin Meloy? Seems like a good place to start...