See The Light (Day 128)

Tortoise - "A Survey"
Sparklehorse - "See The Light"
Galaxie 500 - "Blue Thunder"
R.E.M. - "Strange Currencies" (live)
The Books - "Bonanza"
Rilo Kiley - "Accidental Death"
Bob Dylan - "Ballad Of A Thin Man" (live)
The Flaming Lips - "There You Are - Jesus Song No. 7"
I was not loving today's playlist at all. I'd just dropped my daughter at school, and was a bit stressed out due to her clinginess and reluctance for me to leave. (It was only her fifth day, so separation anxiety is obviously going to linger, but still...) That first song often sets the tone for a day's music and the Tortoise tune above left me bored and certainly didn't help get my mind off our morning. From there I continued to underwhelmed... and then there was this song - - it flat-out irritated me. Now, I'm an admitted late adopter of The Flaming Lips (Yoshimi), so the early stuff like this song off of 1990's In A Priest Driven Ambulance is relatively new to me. So when I heard this mellow ballad featuring Wayne Coyne and an acoustic guitar intercut with some other loud, squalling song, I assumed it was just part of their "art." But, oh, how annoying! Back and forth, like a skipping record it alternated between these two completely dissimilar songs. This isn't art, I screamed (in my head), this is crap! Yeah, so, only now, going over the playlist, did it dawn on me that that might not have been the song, but actually some iPod glitch causing this strange cross-pollination of tunes. I found the same song online, and, sure enough, it's really just supposed to be that pleasant acoustic jam. The file is just corrupted. How annoying is that?
The Who - "The Real Me"
Nada Surf - "Treading Water" (live)

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 10
Total minutes of music (approx.): 39
Song with the most previous plays: "See The Light" - 8
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 3
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: I haven't really mentioned the Mets. Mostly because I don't know what to say. They are hanging on to a playoff spot, their sanity and fans' loyalty by a thread. I'm sure come Monday I'll have more to share - - be it joy or pain.




















Yes, Jose. I'm talking to you.

Civil Disobedience (Day 127)

DJ Shadow - "Giving Up The Ghost"
X - "Turn My Head"
Camper Van Beethoven - "Civil Disobedience"
This song from Camper Van Beethoven's 2004 reunion album New Roman Times, is a good one. But it doesn't really sound like CVB to me. In fact, every time I hear it, I think it's actually a Cracker tune. It's got David Lowery's unmistakable voice, but the straight-ahead rock sound doesn't echo the ska/punk weirdness that made Camper Van Beethoven so unique. But, whatever the name of the band, I do like the results. And even though I've heard this song quite a bit (12 times by iTunes' calculations), I wasn't really sure about its shadowy message of disobedience. A quick check of allmusic reveals that New Roman Times is a "a loosely connected semi-rock opera telling the story of a Texas teenager who joins the military after a 9/11-like event, becomes disillusioned, and joins an anti-government militia..." Huh, you don't say? This revelation sort of highlights the way I listen to music. I admit, lyrics tend to wash over me. I feel guilty about it, but sometimes they become background to the music. It's doubly strange because I think of myself as a literary person, so you'd think I'd be more attune to the words. There are exceptions, naturally, and this blog has actually forced me listen harder to lyrics because they can be a real source of inspiration. But somehow they still remain second-class citizens next to the music. Does anyone else feel this way?
Danielson - "Cast It At The Setting Sail"
Paul Westerberg - "My Dad"
Tom Waits - "All The Tome"
Miles Davis - "Pee Wee"

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 7
Total minutes of music (approx.): 34
Song with the most previous plays: "Civil Disobedience" - 12
*How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 7
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Well... since I sent so much time blogging about my dog K.C.'s little incident yesterday, I figured I'd snap a pic of her this morning so anyone interested can see her "new" ear. My poor Franken-pooch.
















*Back by popular demand. Okay, one person demanded, but you have to reward loyal readers. Thanks, Sarah.

Diggin' A Grave (Day 126)

Wolf Parade - "Bang Your Drum"
Albert Hammond, Jr. - "Scared"
Gang Of Four - "5.45"
Micah P. Hinson - "Diggin' A Grave"
Ry Cooder - "Green Dog"
This one goes out to my dog, K.C. (Note: How weird that I mentioned I wanted to tell a dog story, and a dog song pops up on the shuffle?) She's not green, but she certainly felt a gentle shade of pea walking home from the vet last night with me, still under the effects of anaesthesia. Oh, right, and with only half of her right ear. Poor girl. It was a rough day for all of us yesterday, worst for her. Basically I take her to the park every morning for a little exercise. She roams around off leash - - which is perfectly legal before 9 a.m. She does have a bit of a dominant personality and is no stranger to letting other dogs know who's boss - - especially those stupid little ones. (She's a 65 pound uber-mutt. Part lab, part shepherd, part whatever else.) What brings out the worst in her (and a lot of dogs for that matter) is meeting up with another dog on a leash when she's off leash (or vice versa). So...we both spy a dog across the way who is about K.C.'s size, but on a leash. K.C. crouches down and does her I'm-going-to-give-that-dog-a-piece-of-my-mind pose. This happens often, but K.C. usually barks at the other dog and moves on. This time they got into. First K.C. barked, but then the other dog practically jumped out of its skin, barking and jawing in K.C.'s face. I called her and she almost immediately came - - but the damage was done. As we walked away, I glanced down at her and saw a lot of blood on her ear. The tip was partially torn off and dangling. I spun around to tell the other dog's owner that her dog bit mine, but she immediately started yelling at me about keeping my dog on leash etc. At this point, I was really most concerned with getting K.C. home and then to the vet, so I didn't have the wherewithal to argue with her. (For the record: I think the "fault" in this situation was with both dogs. Yes, K.C. shouldn't have run up and started barking at that dog. But I know, from having her for 5 1/2 years that this is just what she does and she is not violent or menacing. In fact usually she wants to play - - albeit a little rough. And, she's not the one who did the biting! ipodwidow, naturally, blames me and thinks I should never let K.C. near another dog on leash...) We did go to the vet, but not before she shook her bloody head so many times that I wound up looking like the killer in a slasher flick. Sadly the piece of ear could not be saved and they had to snip it off and suture her up. (You don't want to know who much that cost.) I guess it adds character...but look how cute she was. Sorry, K.C. is.














Radiohead - "Dollars & Cents"
Pavement - "Saganaw"
Rufus Wainwright - "In My Arms"
Mercury Rev - "Opus 40"
Weezer - "Automatic"

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 10
Total minutes of music (approx.): 40
Song with the most previous plays: "Diggin' A Grave" - 8
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Day 2 of taking my daughter to school, and she's found her favorite part of our trip: coffee cake muffin!

Sunny Old Sun (Day 125)

Dan Zanes - "Sunny Old Sun"
Oh man, what a freaking morning. Something horrible and something great happened - - all before I go to work! And unfortunately I don't have time to give either story justice. The gist of the bad: My dog got bitten (or is it bit?) by another dog. She's fine, but let's just say one ear will always be a little shorter than the other. The gist of the good: Took my daughter to her second-ever day of school. Which was great, and less traumatizing for either of us than I thought. (One programming note: The WILTOMWTWT playlists will probably be a bit shorter from now on. The plan is for me to take her to school every day - - which I'm totally looking forward to. But that also means we have to walk to a city bus and then ride about 10 minutes to her school. After dropping her off, I'll be near a different subway line that gets me to work faster than normal. Less music, but think of all the Kids Say The Darndest Things-type blog material!)
The Beatles - "If I Needed Someone"
The Rolling Stones - "Prodigal Son"
Lucinda Williams - "Out Of Touch" (live)
Television - "Marquee Moon"
Mercury Rev - "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp"
Coleman Hawkins - "April In Paris"
Weezer - "Troublemaker"
The Black Keys - "Remember When"

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 9
Total minutes of music (approx.): 35
Song with the most previous plays: "Sunny Old Sun" - 7
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: See above.

Sugarcoated (Day 124)

Richard Thompson - "Cressida"
Cansei De Ser Sexy - "Off The Hook"
Rivers Cuomo - "Superfriend"
Sonic Youth - "Fire Engine Dream"
Aimee Mann - "Sugarcoated"
The White Stripes - "Hand Springs"
My Morning Jacket - "Run Thru" (live)
It's not that MMJ is Pink Floyd-like, really. But, there is an instrumental stretch in "Run Thru," especially live, where the low-rumble of the guitar and the tom-tom drum churns along hypnotically, punctuated by the occasional cymbal crash that does feel eerily reminiscent of that great jam, "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" (Live at Pompeii version, obviously). Why am I making this random - - although I think pretty apt - - comparison? To pay tribute to Richard Wright, obviously. The Floyd founding member and keyboard player died today at the age of 65. Sadly, there is no Pink Floyd on my iPod, and admittedly I haven't listened to a lot of their music in the past, oh, 15 years. But, rewind to to the late 80s and you'd find my high school book bag painted with a Floyd montage (thanks, Bernie!) and plenty of late-night Floyd listening parties with, err, buds. Their is no denying the mystic powers of prog rock and psychedelia on a young mind. And this news made me nostalgic and a bit hungry for some PF. The stuff that I have listened to a bit over the years is probably the less commercial early Floyd that didn't get the life sucked out of it by classic rock radio: Ummagumma, Meddle, Atom Heart Mother, etc. (Actually "One Of These Days" on Meddle is probably an all-time great instrumental, and you can thank Mr. Wright for some searing keyboard.) Here's the video for "Set The Controls...," from Pompeii. Look for Wright (and some oh-so-70s special effects at 5:04).



The Beatles - "Let It Be"
The Apples In Stereo - "Can You Feel It?"
Takka Takka - "The Native Astronaut Grows Restless"
Dinosaur Jr. - "It's Me"
Ryan Adams - "Night Birds"
My Morning Jacket - "Donate" (live)

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 12
Total minutes of music (approx.): 58
Song with the most previous plays: "Sugarcoated" - 6
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Jeez, not to make it death day at WILTOMWTWT, but I did have to sadly read about the tragic suicide of David Foster Wallace too. In addition to his fiction, be sure to check out his non-fiction reporting, including this great piece on the luxury cruise industry (subscription required, sorry). Also, for laughs, read this.

The El (Day 123)

The Replacements - "Talent Show"
Midlake - "Some Of Them Are Superstitious"
The American Analog Set - "The Postman"
Versus - "I'll Be You"
Rhett Miller - "The El"
The Fiery Furnaces - "Though Let's Be Fair"
Neko Case - "I Missed The Point"
Giant Sand - "Mope-A-Long"
Miles Davis - "Pinocchio" (alternate take)
Nice to hear some jazz pop up in the morning again. Although there's a fair amount on the iPod, it feels like it's been hiding. This laid-back tune is from Miles' 1968 album Nefertiti. It's actually one of his last acoustic records before the influence of rock acts like Jimi Hendrix and Sly and the Family led him to add guitars and keyboards to the mix - - a period I appreciate less than his early bop. But the real thing I want to talk about here is Pinocchio, as in the children's story. Anybody read this recently? Holy shit, it's nuts! Forget the Disney version with the puppet whose nose grows if he tells a lie, that's barely the half of it. Carlo Collodi's original story reads like a bad acid trip. I can't even remember all the details, because its been a few months since my daughter was into reading it at bedtime. But this is really no children's story. There are feuding woodworkers, death, rogue thieves, charlatans, fighting, mutant donkeys, a flesh-eating fisherman, killer sharks and more. It's dark!

Forget this:



















Think this:



















Ween - Candi
Silkworm - "Drunk"
Prince - "Head"

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 12
Total minutes of music (approx.): 51
Song with the most previous plays: "The El" - 14
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Nothing like taking the subway to work in NYC the day after 9/11 and seeing about 8 cops with assault rifles and bomb sniffing dogs get on the same train as you. I tried to get a photo, but it didn't work out. You can almost make out some fuzzy cops in the middle. In any case, it's still kind of a cool shot - - in an abstract way. (Oh, and attention Karl Rove: If these cops are just part of your plan to scare Americans into voting with their frayed nerves instead of their brain, it ain't gonna work! I hope.)

Guest Room (Day 122)

Frank Black - "Golden Shore"
The Raconteurs - "Top Yourself"
Clem Snide - "Joan Jett Of Arc"
Johnny Cash - "Gentle On My Mind"
Interpol - "All Fired Up"
Belle & Sebastian - "Don't Leave The Light On Baby"
Stereolab - "Double Rocker"
The Clash - "Clash City Rockers"
Stereolab - "Rainbo Conversation"
There were definitely some new titles on today's playlist. In fact, the average number of previous plays for all the songs I listened to was: 2.27. Wow, that's some fresh meat. Making rare appearances were: Interpol, Clem Snide, and Stereolab - - which showed up not one, but two times. Strangely, on paper this British band doesn't seem like something I'd like: Electronic, dance beats, Marxist philosophy sung in French, etc. And yet the sum of its parts is a kitschy and groovy thing all its own. It took the live show to hook me. They opened for Yo La Tengo at NYC's Tramps in 1996, and what sounds repetitive and drone-like at times on record, becomes a very cool, almost trance-like, experience live. I tend to think of them as the electronic version of My Bloody Valentine, in that they transcend repetition to create something organic and cool. Or something. The band's high water mark was probably the album Emperor Tomato Ketchup which came out that same year that I saw them live. Your Stereolab fun fact o' the day: ETK is named after a 1971 avant garde Japanese film. Meanwhile, in confirming the date of the show, I came across one person's review of Yo La Tengo's performance that was trapped on some list-serve archived on the Web. (Translation: This was pre-blog, people.) Anyway, it's cool to read a fan's first impressions of a show that I was probably too drunk to properly remember. (Sorry for the weird formatting.)

 stretched out a lot...several new numbers at least as abstract as most of
_Painful_. They opened quietly with "Superstar-Watcher" then blasted into a
cover of Wire's "Too Late" (from _Chairs Missing_). They did a few from
_Painful_, including frenzied organ meltdowns on "Sudden Organ" and "Big Day
Coming" and a great version of "Double Dare." Only "Satellite" and an
utterly brilliant version on "Five-Cornered Drone (Crispy Duck)" from _May I
Sing With Me_. They encored with "I Threw It All Away" and "I Heard Her Call
My Name" (!!!), which at least matched the VU version in freakout intensity.
In fact, they were doing a lot of the freakout/feedback stuff that night

My Morning Jacket - "I Think I'm Going To Hell" (live)
The National - "Guest Room"

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 11
Total minutes of music (approx.): 46
Song with the most previous plays: "Guest Room" - 4
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 6
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: I felt about 14 pounds lighter than yesterday.