The Wrens - "6"
The Wrens - "Crawling"
A couple a days ago I was pointing out some microtrends on the list. Well, check this out. Two songs back-to-back, by the same artist - - from the same album. Yet, another WILTOMWTWTT first. Now isn't that why the handful of you keep coming back? It's either that or you're looking for a sleep aid, right?
Bright Eyes - "From A Balance Beam"
Bill Evans - "All Of Your" (take 2)
Weezer - "Haunt You Every Day"
Kind of an appropriate Song With The Most Previous Plays the day before Halloween, no? Actually I'm taking off tomorrow to enjoy the day with my little girl (turning 3 next week) and her littler brother. So now that she's fully aware of the holiday, we've obviously been talking about it for a while. When we first started asking her what she wanted to be for Halloween a few weeks ago she would answer, "A scary mask." Now, it's not that we're raising some sort of future fan of Fangoria (although you never know), it was just that she happened to be reading this really weird, and very random, book before bed called Rafi & Rosi: Carnival! It's about frog siblings in Puerto Rico and their adventures during the annual Carnival. But in one story the brother dresses up like a vejigante, which apparently is a clown-like figure that's supposed to scare off evil spirits. Here's what they look like (source):
Kinda cool, but kinda freaky, right? Not only that, but she said she wanted to dress up like a scary mask, AND SCARE HER FRIENDS. Gee, thanks Rafi and Rosi. This didn't seem like such a good idea. So we took that book back to the library and tried to gently suggest other costumes. Like a ladybug (she's already got that costume and often wears it around the house just for kicks) or a princess (plenty of that gear lying around too). Finally she settled on a cat - - probably not looking much further than our cat, Henry, who was likely knocking stuff off of the shelves in her room. (Yes, he could be the devil - - sans costume.) It will be simple. Tail. Ears. A little face paint. But, I'm worried. These things are always a gametime decision, and even getting her to try on the pants with the tail safety pinned to them the other night was almost impossible. They came right off and she declared she wasn't wearing them. Hmm. One thing I am pretty sure of will happen on Halloween, she's going to have a lollipop. She told me that this morning as we were leaving for school...and on the walk...and on the bus...and at school.
Gnarls Barkley - "Transformer"
The Replacements - "Merry Go Round"
The Rolling Stones - "Happy"
Josh Ritter - "Bone Of Song"
The New Year - "Gasoline"
Neutral Milk Hotel - "You've Passed"
The New Pornographers - "The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism"
Husker Du - "Whatever"
The Go-Betweens - "Black Mule"
And then I got to work.
Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 14
Total minutes of music (approx.): 55
Song with the most previous plays: "Haunt You Every Day" - 9
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 8
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Fourteen songs says it all - - sucky commute. The trains were ridiculously slow and everyone was packed in like sardines. By the way, that's my ass, buddy. Yeah, you know who you are.
Modest Mouse - "Satin In A Coffin"
Stars - "The Night Starts Here"
The Decemberists - "Odalisque"
Tapes 'n Tapes - "Just Drums"
The Fall - "New Puritan"
I think I just found the coolest new website. For those of us who grew up on MTV - - when they actually played videos - - the demise of that once great source of music left a void. Sure, blogs are cool but couch surfing and coming across the video for "Fish Heads" was waaay cooler. So who among us hasn't wished there was an archive of all those great videos? Well, sometimes dreams really do come true. MTV, with little to no fanfare apparently, has created a new site that does just that. And, it's as good as you'd hope. At MTV Music you can watch all the classics like "Thriller" (long version!), "Hot For Teacher," "We're Not Gonna Take It," et al, but there's also tons of stuff that you know never really ran on MTV. Pavement's "Gold Soundz"? No way! The Pixies' "Monkey Gone To Heaven"? Okay, maybe once on 120 Minutes. Now you can find it all. The site also works really well with easy searches and x-referencing, etc. I was using today's playlist to really test just how much cool shit might be hidden on there and sure enough, there's a video of The Fall's cover of The Kinks' classic "Victoria." Not random enough for you? See what you can find. (Look, you can embed the stuff too.)
Beck - "Missing"
Elliott Smith - "A Fond Farewell"
Pavement - "It's A Hectic World"
Her Space Holiday - "The Luxury Of Loneliness"
Damien Rice - "The Blower's Daughter"
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: "Just Drums," "The Blower's Daughter" (tie) - 12
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 7
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Forget to get my "coffee card" punched. There goes another $0.19, right out the window.
Day 153:
Guided By Voices - "Alien Lanes"
David Bowie - "Life On Mars"
Flight Of The Conchords - "Think About It, Think Think About It"
R.E.M. - "Until The Day Is Done"
Seu Jorge - "Starman"
Jack Johnson - "Broken"
Ben Kweller - "Living Life"
Radiohead - "Optimistic"
The National - "Squalor Victoria"
Tindersticks - "Nectar"
Here it is, the first-ever WILTOMWTWT double post. Since a busy Monday at work left me with no time for blogging, I could have just skipped the day altogether. But I figured I have the playlist so why not put it up anyway. Plus, it was a pretty good one and I specifically made a mental note right here about what I wanted to mention. This is an interesting 2-song block for me because for the longest time The National reminded me of another band - - but I couldn't remember their name! It was always on the tip of my tongue and I could even picture 2 of their album covers. You know how you can't remember something obvious and it drives you crazy. This was happening, big time. I even started Googling things like "The National sound like..." Funnily enough I found this on their own bio: "The National sound like no one so much as themselves: a meditative rumble that starts in the heart, gets caught in the brain, and resonates outward." But I was undaunted. Finally I had a spare minute and I thumbed through some CDs at home with the sole purpose of figuring this out. Voila! There in the 5th or 6th bin of CDs was The Tindersticks. I uploaded a few of their albums and upon review I can say that now I feel....they really do sound remarkably similar. Anyone else know both bands? It's uncanny. The low, baritone vocals. The dark, moody music punctuated by acoustic bass and violins. If you were just a casual fan of both, I'm telling you may not be able to tell them apart. So I figured I'd mention this on the blog at some point, but I never figured iPod would force the issue by playing them back-to-back. And, yes, a quick search on the web reveals The National is often mentioned as contemporaries of the Tindersticks. So I'm not crazy. (One commenter on The National's Take-Away Show even wrote: "I liked these guys better when they were called The Tindersticks." The comment is funny, but not nearly as funny as the commenter's name: Bucky Wunderlick.) All of this does not take away from my enjoyment of either of these bands. And The National's Alligator remains one of my favorite albums of 2005.The Beatles - "It's All Too Much"
Sloan "Money City Maniacs"
And then I got to work.
Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 11
Total minutes of music (approx.): 45
Song with the most previous plays: "Think About It, Think Think About It" - 8
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 7
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: That was yesterday. Who can remember anything from yesterday?
Day 154:
Los Campesinos! - "Drop It Doe Eyes"
David Bowie - "Fill Your Heart"
Any observant readers notice why I pause here? Well, for the second straight day, a David Bowie song is the second song on the playlist. Weird. It kinda makes me wonder what other microtrends there could be on these "random" lists...
Fountains Of Wayne - "I'll Do The Driving"
Jim O'Rourke - "Through The Night Softly"
Pixies - "La La Love You"
John Doe - "Worried Brow"
Eleventh Dream Day - "Exit Right"
Radiohead - "Exit Music (For A Film)"
Speaking of micro trends, how about this little two-some: exit songs. Has the iPod gotten lazy? Has shuffling been replaced by simply playing the songs alphabetically. Actually, no. In fact, if you sort all the songs on my iPod alphabetically (a fun little exercise), the Fugazi song "Exit Only" actually appears sandwiched in between these two songs. And while I'm on the subject of My Music A to Z (I'll think of a snappier title when this becomes a book), what is the first song alphabetically on the iPod, you (ok, I) ask? Well, you'll be dissapointed because symbols come before letters so the Final Fantasy song emoticonically (did I just make up a word?) named "->" is first, and Pavement's "Zurich Is Stained" is last. Now you know.
Led Zeppelin - "How Many More Times"
The Dodos - "Fools"
Rilo Kiley - "Close Call"
And then I got to work.
Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 11
Total minutes of music (approx.): 53
Song with the most previous plays: "I'll Do The Driving" - 11
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 7
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Well, it freaking poured today in NYC. After dropping off G, I made my way to the gym only to get drenched. (Some day I'll be adult enough to remember to bring an umbrella when it is so obviously going to rain.) I decided not to shuffle at the gym today, but instead listened to Perfect From Now On (I'm still obsessing over it), which actually made for decent workout music. I get so absorbed in that record it helps take the mind off the task at hand.
Jack Johnson - "Wrong Turn"
The Clash - "Koka Kola"
Death Cab For Cutie - "The New Year"
Jeff Tweedy - "A Magazine Called Sunset" (live)
Kings Of Convenience - "Leaning Against The Wall"
The Killers - Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine"
Mose Allison - "Stand By"
I pause here to highlight two artists on today's playlist that have a connection that you probably didn't realize. Yes, Mose Allison and...(anyone?)...The Clash! Like two peas in a pod: The literate jazz pianist with the honey-flecked voice and the seminal British punk rock band. Well, not exactly. But The Clash did cover a Mose Allison tune on Sandanista! - - "Look Here." Mose actually gets a lot of love from the rockers. Elvis Costello and The Who have also covered him...and Frank Black actually claims the Pixies' "Allison" is about Mose. And you thought it was about a chick...
The Flaming Lips - "Waiting For A Superman" (remix)
Belle & Sebastian - "I Fought In A War"
Coleman Hawkins - "In A Mellow Tone" (mono)
Holly Golightly - "Snake Eyed"
And then I got to work.
Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 11
Total minutes of music (approx.): 41
Song with the most previous plays: "Waitin' For A Superman" - 8
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 7
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Talk about strange bedfellows: An intersting Op-Ed piece in the Times is authored by Billy Beane, Newt Gingrich and John Kerry! It actually proposes that we use the small-market team model, and its reliance on stats, Beane and his A's have perfected to help deal with health care costs.
And then there was this. Word.
Neil Young - "Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)"
I consider myself a pretty big Neil Young fan. And I always knew this song was about Neil's feelings of becoming obsolete in the era of punk and New Wave, but I never knew the specific story. It's pretty interesting, so allow me to crib it from Wikipedia.
The song "Hey, Hey, My, My..." and the title phrase of the album, "rust never sleeps" on which it was featured sprang from Young's encounters with Devo and in particular Mark Mothersbaugh. Devo was asked by Young in 1977 to participate in the creating of his film Human Highway. A scene in the film shows Young playing the song in its entirety with Devo, who clearly want little to do with anything "radio-friendly". ( Of note is Mothersbaugh changing "Johnny Rotten" to "Johnny Spud" ) Also, the famous line, "It's better to burn out than it is to rust" is credited to Young's friend Jeff Blackburn of The Ducks.
Some reviewers viewed Young's career as skidding after the release of American Stars 'N Bars and Comes a Time. With the explosion of punk in 1977, some punks felt that Young and his contemporaries were dinosaurs, and that such artists now seemed too content to rest on their laurels and release halfhearted material. Young worried that these punks were right. The death of Elvis Presley that same year seemed to sound a death knell for rock, as The Clash gleefully cried, "No Elvis, Beatles or The Rolling Stones in 1977!," in the song 1977.
From Young's fear of becoming obsolete sprang an appreciation of the punk ethic, and the song was born, initially an acoustic lament that became "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)". Upon embarking on a tour with his backing band Crazy Horse, the song took on new life in a rock arrangement, punctuated by Young's guitar solos that would go on to inspire players of the proto-grunge scene, including Sonic Youth, The Meat Puppets, Pixies and Dinosaur Jr. - who in turn begat Nirvana.
It's a pretty interesting irony that his fear of obsolescence led to him becoming a progenitor of a new new movement. Incidentally I saw Young on the tour that on which Social Distortion and Sonic Youth opened up for him and, well, let's just say most of his fans didn't exactly embrace the lineage.The Beatles - "Your Mother Should Know"
Willie Nelson - "When I Was Young And Grandma Wasn't Old"
Kings Of Leon - "My Party" (live)
Beirut - "St. Apollonia"
Joy Division - "Passover"
The Flying Burrito Brothers - "High Fashion Queen"
Aimee Mann - "Put Me On Top"
Uncle Tupelo - "Graveyard Shift"
The Beatles - "Good Day Sunshine"
And then I got to work.
Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 10
Total minutes of music (approx.): 34
Song with the most previous plays: "Put Me On Top" - 7
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 7
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: The coffee cake muffin obsession continues.
Radiohead - "The Amazing Sounds Of Orgy"
Ry Cooder - "Cardboard Avenue"
My Bloody Valentine - "Soon"
Talking Heads - "Tentative Decisions"
A real grab bag today with songs and artists (Holly Golightly?) that I don't think have ever shown up here before. But the one song that stands out for me is this one right here. What a cool freaking band the Talking Heads were. (Can I get a witness?) All that nervous energy, disjointed temp, and later, Afro-Caribbean beats. All in a nerdy, new wave package. The only one of their albums I happen to have on my iPod is their first (Talking Heads '77), which is cool because it is such an original debut (right, Tapes 'n Tapes?). And this is one of the songs that is a bit lost on the album with "Uh - Oh, Love Comes To Town" and "Psycho Killer," but I really like it. David Byrne in his best robotic voice starts off by sing-talking the lyrics: "Now that I can release my tension, let me make clear my best intention. Girls ask can I define decision. Boys ask can I describe their function." And then there's a march like drum roll and then the song is off in another direction completely. It works so well because the song is as indecisive as the lyrics ("Decide! Decide! Make up your mind!") The Talking Heads were also the first band that made me fully realize the intersection of music and fine art. Part of the reason was their art house sensibilities and the other was this book that I had called "What The Songs Look Like," that featured artists' interpretations of their songs (drawings, puppets, you name it). It was very cool, and to be honest I have no idea where that book went. Too bad. I would love to see the artist's interpretation of this song. In the meantime, how about a picture of the band? I found it on a very cool website that I came across recently which features a lot of great images and ephemera from years gone by. Check it out.
Sleater-Kinney - "Steep Air"
Holly Golightly - "A Length Of Pipe"
Clap Your Hands And Say Yeah - "Sunshine And Clouds (And Everything Proud)"
Jim O'Rourke - "Eureka"
And then I got to work.
Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 8
Total minutes of music (approx.): 35
Song with the most previous plays: "Sunshine And Clouds (And Everything Proud)" - 15
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 6
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: I'm getting pumped for the World Series. Not nearly as pumped as fans in Tampa Bay, however.
My predcition (hope): Rays in 7.
Wilco - "Magazine Called Sunset"
She & Him - "I Was Made For You"
Son Volt - "Methamphetamine"
Emmylou Harris - "I Will Dream"
Hüsker Dü - "Reoccurring Dreams"
Here's one that tested the "rules" of this blog. Really there's one "rule" - - shuffle and don't skip. Well, after a great start to today's playist (special nod by the way to the She & Him song "I Was Made For You," what a cool little tune that approximates a 50s-era girl group song), here comes "Reoccurring Dreams." Now, I appreciate Zen Arcade on many levels. It really is the missing link between punk and alternative rock. You can almost hear where music is going in the next 10 years and picture Paul Westerberg rising from the primordial ooze. I mean any album with "Never Talking To You Again" and "Indecision Time" is a special record. But, that doesn't mean I really want to hear all 14 minutes of "Reoccurring Dreams" on my way to work. I mean intellectually it's very cool: an epic instrumental, almost space-age jam, that closes a sprawling concept album - - by a punk band! (I bet this song made Wayne Coyen, hanging out somewhere in Oklahoma, sit up and take notice.) But by minute 6 of the song, I have to confess, I was fingering the iPod ever so lightly. What if I just pressed skip? I could even blog that I listened to the song. Maybe I would blog about how annoying it was. No one would ever know!
Elliott Smith - "Between The Bars"
Maritime - "Human Beings"
The Velvet Underground - "The Gift"
The Elected - "Not Going Home"
And then I got to work.
Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 9
Total minutes of music (approx.): 48
Song with the most previous plays: "I Will Dream" - 10
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 5
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Just, ya know, making my way through the "ground zero of anti-America."
Kinda cool, but kinda freaky, right? Not only that, but she said she wanted to dress up like a scary mask, AND SCARE HER FRIENDS. Gee, thanks Rafi and Rosi. This didn't seem like such a good idea. So we took that book back to the library and tried to gently suggest other costumes. Like a ladybug (she's already got that costume and often wears it around the house just for kicks) or a princess (plenty of that gear lying around too). Finally she settled on a cat - - probably not looking much further than our cat, Henry, who was likely knocking stuff off of the shelves in her room. (Yes, he could be the devil - - sans costume.) It will be simple. Tail. Ears. A little face paint. But, I'm worried. These things are always a gametime decision, and even getting her to try on the pants with the tail safety pinned to them the other night was almost impossible. They came right off and she declared she wasn't wearing them. Hmm. One thing I am pretty sure of will happen on Halloween, she's going to have a lollipop. She told me that this morning as we were leaving for school...and on the walk...and on the bus...and at school.
