Having this song start the day's shuffle feels like winning the jackpot. "Lies and betrayals / Fruit-covered nails / Electricity and lust" is such a great opening line, but does anybody have any idea what the hell it means? I'm pretty sure Malkmus did a lot of free-associating when he came up with lyrics for most of the songs on this album, but I did see a theory on-line that this song is about suicide. But the only evidence to support that seems to be the line "I've got a heavy coat / It's filled with rocks and sand." According to the Wikipedia entry on Virginia Woolf: "On 28 March 1941, after having a nervous breakdown, Woolf drowned herself by weighing her pockets with stones and walking into the River Ouse near her home." Does it hold weight?
Rufus Wainwright - "Sally Ann"
David Bowie - "Heroes"
The Hold Steady - "Stevie Nix"
So, some folks have recently posted their favorite songs from the first 6 months of 2008, including regular reader Comoprozac (who gently reminded me I have not done the same). Well, I'm game. Of course I'm a slave to my particular blog format, so I was hoping that one such favorite would pop up today to give me an excuse to post the list. No such luck. I will still reveal my favorites here, because they will probably change, and perhaps The Hold Steady's new album Stay Positive (out July 14) will make the year-end cut. Here are my Top 10 Favorite Records of '08 (so far):
- Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (I guess this officially came out in 2007, but it was re-released widely on Jagjagjuwar this year, and let's face it, it's so good it deserves to be on the list 2 straight years.)
- My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges (I don't care what the haters say, I love it.)
- Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
- Nick Cave - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
- She & Him - Volume One
- Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (Again, to the haters, chill out.)
- Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Lie Down In the Light
- Times New Viking - Rip It Off
- Ida - Lovers Prayers
- The Raconteurs - Consolers Of The Lonely
Prince - "Little Red Corvette"
Lucinda Williams - "Those Three Days" (live)
O'Death - "Only Daughter"
Tom Waits - "Bride Of Raindogs"
The Beatles - "You Won't See Me"
Shigeru Umebayashi - "Yumeji's Theme"
Jack Johnson - "Talk Of The Town"
Pavement - "We Are Underused"
And then I got to work.
Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 13
Total minutes of music (approx.): 50
Song with the most previous plays: "Talk Of The Town," "Those Three Days" (tie) - 7
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: The toe still hurts!
5 comments:
I have my own take on "Trigger Cut..."
Thanks for the list.
You make a good point on the Bon Iver record. It would have certainly made the top half had I included it. We're in agreement on most of these...except that Evil Urges is such a disappointment.
By the way, I gave you a shout-out on Monitor Mix.
TOTAL agreement on the MMJ album. I don't know what it is, but I'm diggin' it immensely...not quite as good as Z, though. That one's gonna be hard to beat.
Howdy. I just stumbled onto the blog from reading the comments on the Monitor Mix about shuffling.
Give my favorite playlist a try:
Manipulate your "most played" list until it's somewhere about 200-500 songs, and then shuffle that.
And check out my blog for the tops of 2008.5.
-Catfish
I figured I'd have to defend my love for Evil Urges (although not to you, Uncle E). I too thought it was a disappointment the first time I listened. It sounded like every good idea on Z had gone out of control - - the gentle funk, Jim James’ exaggerated falsetto, the 70s AM radio rock, etc. But after a couple of listens, I couldn’t get many of the songs out of my head. Even “Highly Suspicious,” which I was highly doubtful of suddenly became a song I had to play every time I got into the car. I think it’s a testament to James’ skills as a songwriter. Does it sound a bit more contrived than the band’s other records? Yes. Does it feel like an attempt (conscious or not) to find a commercial hit or at least a bigger audience? Perhaps. Is it an addictive record by a band that shows no fear as they continue to flip-off their Lynyrd Skynyrd loving fans? Hells yes.
Also:
Como- Thanks for the plug. I actually got a little traffic spike!
Catfish- Thanks for the tip…and for stopping by. I’m off to check out your list….
That's what I love about great music. Sometimes you have to put in the time to make it worth it. Since you're sticking to your guns, GE, I'll give it some more time.
Post a Comment