Oscars Wild Years Has Moved!

TO TUMBLR!

http://oscars-wild-years.tumblr.com/

Same lineup.

Same hugs.

Different url.


See you on the other side.

Steve Martin & Bernadette Peters - Tonight You Belong To Me

Saw a Jerk/Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid double feature the other day, and it reminded me that Steve Martin's schmaltzy stuff tends to be hit-or-miss. For example, here's a miss, from LA Story, a movie I completely love otherwise.
Here's a hit:

I've heard other versions of this song, and it works so much better as a duet.

Elizabeth Mitchell - Little Bird, Little Bird

No, not that Elizabeth Mitchell.

If you've heard this one, then you're probably watching Futurama. If not, it featured in a perfect little scene at the end of last week's episode that was heartbreaking and beautiful. It's a kids' song so if you're reading this and you have little ones, go buy this album.

The Gun Club - Idiot Waltz

I've been driving around Westchester, looking for a job a little bit, listening to the Gun Club's last album. It's not the prettiest time.



* This era Gun Club is the answer to the question "What if Guns N'Roses were good" as you can see there.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Round and Round

Let the '70s AM pop wash over you, like a bald man making out with a fox.



The whole album is laudable, but man, that hook.

Jimmy Ruffin - Tell Me What You Want

This one goes out to the Ladies, at least those not already claimed by the hyper-sexual Papa McKeel, and those castoffs papa saves for his misbegotten son, Tyles.

Love, is, what... you need...?

Dig.

Shades of Brooklyn- Change

The Arcade Fire - Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

So this came out (read, leaked) the other day. I am going to assume we all know how to find linkage if needed. It's a pretty fun album. It helps that I sort of gave up hope on them ever surpassing Funeral, which was probably an unfair thing for me to even consider hoping for.



Enjoy your Sunday, hugssquadron.

Freezepop - Here Comes A Special Boy

Have you heard?

Here comes a special
Here comes a very special

Boy

Clem Snide - Faithfully

So, first of all, I'm not talking about that other thing at all, because whatever.

I mentioned the AV Undercover series in this post. Someone finally got around to doing "A Rush and a Push..." and it was a complete abortion. Like I said, the series has mostly been a disappointment but there are a few gems, and I am as shocked as you are that I'm putting this song into that category. It turns out that the song has a pretty solid skeleton and, with the awful 80's production stripped away, it's actually kind of nice.


Clem Snide covers Journey

Pixies - I've Been Tired

Sorry, friends, I've been tired.

Chalkdust - Eric Loves Me

(Even when I call him an asshole.)



My primary motivation for posting this -- though Eric's love for me is no doubt eternal -- is to champion a fantastic cover to one of Chalkdust's other albums:



It's calypso Harder They Come, guys!

Garish red vest, shades, no shirt, mini-fro, big-ass revolver: This one has it all. And look at that belt buckle. I found it at Easy Street a month or so back, and I was probably a fool not to buy it. But the title track skipped something awful, and $15 seemed like a premium for wall art. I don't know, maybe I'll go back and see if it's still there.

Plus it's a nice little motif for the other thing. Rally the legion!


...


Aw hell, just one more thing:

Miniature Tigers - Gold Skull

That dude in the video is rockin' that special ed look. I guess its a mercy killing at the end there. Whatever.

The OGL is dead? This saddens me a little, what with all the time spent there in the past, but oh well. We'll find something new for ourselves.

Cannibal Ox- Pigeon

Bill Cosby - People Make Mistakes

I am telling you.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Looking Out My Back Door

Melodians - Rivers of Babylon

When I went on my trip a few months ago, I brought this book with me to read. Well I mean, I didn't "bring it with me", it was just the book I was reading at the time and hadn't finished. Anyway, I had my iPod on shuffle and this song came up. It's based on a couple of Psalms - 137 in particular, and also 19. That passage from 19 comes up at...some point during the year, so that even a completely unobservant Jew like me knows it:

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight,O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

So anyway, the point of this long and rambling story is that, as that song was playing, I happened to be reading the exact part of the book where he mentions one of the Psalms listed, and I can't remember which because the important part is that he mentions the song too, that the words of the Psalm features prominently in a song from the The Harder They Come soundtrack. Get the book (it's a fun read, at least I think so), you'll see. I laughed, the people on the plane probably thought I was a crazy person. I couldn't figure out if it was a good or a bad omen, but it was a weird coincidence.

Ella Fitzgerald - Blue Skies

funtimes

The Moondoggies - It's Hard To Love Someone

First, some music from Seattle-area roots-rock heroes The Moondoggies, which you might remember from their best of 2008 effort "Don't Be A Stranger." I picked up this tour/Seattle-only EP for a few bucks at an independent record store here in town. It's comprised of five tracks that didn't make the cut for their forthcoming album, "Tidelands." They are an awesome band and you should listen to them.



And now a little something for the being banned excellent fun times.

The Mynabirds - Numbers Don't Lie

I specialize in nice little songs, so here's a nice little song, won't you sample my nice little song?

(Cleveland? *chuckle*)

The Beatles- Octopus's Garden

THE WHOLE WORLD IS AN OCTOPUS'S GARDEN, ACUS PAUL RUNS THIS SHIT.

Nas & Damian Marley - Patience

I actually had plans to post something from Big Boi's new album, because it is lots of fun and I love it, but I got beaten to the punch. So we will go with this.




(And a late additional video.)

Big Boi feat. Andre 3000 - Lookin For Ya

How long must we, as Americans, wait for an album to come out by a successful musician? I highly recommend you read this article about the windy exodus from studio to iTunes of Sir Lucious Leftfoot, and why this track wasn't included on the release (you guys it is with Andre 3000. How fucking stupid do you have to be to fight an Andre 3000 collaboration on Big Boi's first ever solo album. That is insane.). And, of course, it's great.

R.E.M. - Cuyahoga

Lol Cleveland. The only thing the Cuyahoga is on fire with tonight is #23 jerseys and also maybe tears because if you lived in Cleveland you'd probably drink and then your tears would be made of alcohol and they would burn and you would have a lot of tears because again, you live in Cleveland.

Buddy Holly - It Doesn't Matter Anymore

Here

With a nice country bridge, worthy of .. Hank Williams!

Jose Gonzalez - Far Away

Before I begin, let me say I do have a few quibbles about Red Dead Redemption, which I won't get into here. For the most part, it's hard to imagine a game being more deserving of its acclaim. The music is no exception, and this song in particular is integrated into one of the game's best moments.

Cocorosie - Lemonade

This song reminds me that I never did get around to returning that Startropics game I borrowed from John back in 1990. What the hell, what happened to that NES? I bet I got that thing in a box somewhere gathering dust, but I'll never really know for sure. *shrug*

Heitor Villa-Lobos- Chôro no. 1

David Byrne - Independence Day

Be safe and enjoy, peoples. ;-)

Frank Sinatra - Maureen is a Champ

This is pretty adorable. The Beatles asked Frank Sinatra to record a version of "Lady is a Tramp" about Ringo's wife Maureen, for her birthday. Hence, Maureen is a Champ. As far as I know, there's only one record in existence of it, but here's a bootleg. Enjoy!

Steve Earle and the Dukes - State Trooper

The original is amazing (and a Suicide pastiche, specifically "Frankie Teardrop", as my brother pointed out to me) but I did a Highwaymen cover of a Steve Earle song, so here's Earle covering the Boss (and I'll have to find Springsteen covering someone else eventually so I can keep going.)

This one came up for me because the original closes out "I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano", the last episode of the first season of "The Sopranos". I decided to do a full series rewatch this summer and, while there are still things about the show I don't love, it generally holds up awfully well, and it's interesting to see the show as a whole piece, already knowing where everyone's arc is headed. It's a show that I have some qualms about (unlike other shows we've discussed, like "Breaking Bad" or "The Wire", that I love wholeheartedly) but you know, it really is damn good, and it laid the groundwork for those shows in a pretty straight line from A to B.



(And not to go off on another tangent but this is obviously from "Austin City Limits", another great repository of televised live music.)

The Stooges - No Fun

These two days without the World Cup are a preview of the next four years of your life. Despair.



(Here is some fun, though, hugs anyway, hugs in the face of the overwhelming awing upcoming soccerless letdown-maw, etc.)

The Vaselines - Son of a Gun

This song is catchy as hell, and I just don't know any good soccer songs, so I'm going to pretend this is my no-World-Cup-until-Friday-what'll-we-do-til-then? post.



(I thought about nominating The Sporting Life as the Ballad of Cristiano Ronaldo, but I can't even tell you how much I hate that song, which is of course what makes it so perfect.)

Brian Jonestown Massacre - Whoever You Are

Well, I didn't think we'd be in port for me long enough anywhere to have a long enough moment of clarity to post one of these things, which is why I thought for certain "Seed of Memory" was going to be the last post of the year, but I've been noticing the "Occasional Tuesdays" tag Aaron likes to use and thought I'd include my two cents' for a change (Aussies don't use anything smaller than nickels. Strange.)

I don't know why I didn't post something about when I randomly picked up Who Killed Sgt Pepper? when it came out around the same time Tyles' BRMC post came around about Beat the Devil's Tattoo. Maybe it was because I was disappointed that this sounded nothing like the early BJM stuff from the 90s, which was to me some angsty guitar with other stuff mixed in like an improved version of grunge. Most of the new record was some eccentric drum and bass, with a couple moments of clarity that stood out but by no means were representative of the whole. What the hell am I talking about? I'm probably still drunk. When this post is finished, I will be partaking in a pub crawl that might make international headlines if my buddy's harbingers of doom about him not wanting to participate tonight hold any water.

Sun Ra- Pink Elephants

Did you know that most Sun Ra tracks were actually about the Chilean National Team? It's true.

Wild Nothing - Live In Dreams

Hi guys,

Today I am actually doing a serious-business song (from Craig's neck of the woods, btw)



but also one little silly-time thing

Sukhwinder Singh & Sapna Awasthi - Chaiyya Chaiyya

This was just brought to my attention today, and it's incredible. I can think of few comparable American musical scenes (and I promise you, I LOVE American musicals; I am not trash-talking here).

Donovan - Hurdy Gurdy Man

So you've all been waiting with bated breath all morning for a post from me, and this is what you get. Jokes on you, suckers! Mostly I would like to apologize to Landon Donovan for thinking he was kind of a nancy. Forget the Algeria goal, the first goal against Slovenia was the tits.

One of the things that I really enjoy in this world is when (good) movies take innocuous and semi-famous pop songs and reappropriate them for sinister purposes. Probably the most famous modern example is "Stuck in the Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel. I'm also partial to the "American Girl" scene in Silence of the Lambs and this one, which figures fairly prominently in Zodiac, a film that I'd be willing to defend as one of the best of the aughts.

Hank Williams; Patsy Cline - Lovesick Blues

After the U.S. victory, I went to Walter's for serious hot dogs. Later, I wandered around my hometown and I listened to Hank Williams. I sat in parks, I took off my shoes, I peered at my old middle school.



At home, I also found a Patsy Cline version. America, you guys.

Jimmy Silva and the Empty Set - Big House

I've got a special vinyl-bin discovery to share today. I knew nothing about Jimmy Silva when I found this record, "Fly Like A Dog," in the New Arrivals bin at my local record store, and at $15 for one platter, it might have stayed that way. But the album art -- featuring a deliriously grinning child pilot and a biplane (yes, a biplane) soaring out of the sun -- caught my eye. I gave it a spin on the store's listening station. Can't say I was expecting the explosion of garage rock/power pop you hear in the clip, but I took it home either way.

There's not much I can tell you about Jimmy Silva -- he doesn't have a wikipedia page. From what I can gather from liner notes and scant entries on blogs, he was from the Bay Area and lived in Seattle, and died suddenly in 1994 at age 42 (possibly from a run-in with shingles). His last.fm page doesn't add much detail. And then there's the music, which is pretty great.

William Elliott Whitmore - There Is Hope For You

It's nice.

Ennio Morricone- Tema di Ali

Edo G - Wishing

And a bonus thing.

Tupac feat. Nas - Thugz Mansion

This past week would have been Tupac's 39th birthday. I always felt like the biggest issue with 2pac's songs is that he wasn't really particularly grounded; while Biggie dealt with the day-to-day indignities of his own life, Pac tried to address the broader problems of the country and the world. Biggie was successful at being intimate, and his personal became political. But 2pac was uninterested in shades of gray, and his universal themes tended toward the maudlin.
BUT, like the best heavy metal, the more ridiculous, the more accidentally insightful. In his Thugz Mansion, he describes a glorious afterlife for gangstas, and honestly, it's how I'd like to end up. Nas' involvement on the song seems kismetic (YUP, KISMETIC), since his weaknesses tend to manifest themselves somewhat like 2pac's (though I think he's stronger overall).

The Kinks - Mr. Churchill Says

This is the 70th anniversary of the "Finest hour" speech and, well, this is just a kickass song. The Kinks usually wallow in irony and sarcasm, but Churchill's 1940 speeches to the British people? Those are sacred, even to them.

Sahara All Star Band Jos - Enjoy Yourself

From the Nigeria 70 African funk comp that Tyles found, in honor of group stage computations.

I've been listening to this comp a lot this week, I don't have much African music, and this song is a really good rumination on mortality. Ruminations on mortality are my favorite kind you guys.

Marty Robbins - Running Gun

I love Marty Robbins.

Shad- Rose Garden

Shad's pretty nice. This is nice. The video is kind of fun, moreso if you're familiar with the one it's sort of referencing. Anyway. I think I've successfully managed to compliment this in the faintest way possible. Which is also cool.

Cox & Combes - George Washington

Have you guys seen Wizard People, Dear Reader? It is amazing and I think you would all like it, regardless of what you think about Harry Potter. I mention this because (1) why not? and (2) the other day I went and saw Brad Neely do a live reading/screening of it, and it was great, so I figured I'd do a Neely shoutout post. So yeah, he is lots of fun. You guys should all watch the thing when you get a chance.

Here is another bit of Neely goodness.



And a clip from Wizard People. (This link might still work to download the whole thing, hopefully maybe possibly.)

DJ Earworm - Like, OMG Baby

Lot of ups and downs this week, so it's time for a pop-culture seasonal mashup.

The Business - Maradona

Because he is. (Sorry it's some English wankers. Good luck finding an interesting American soccer song. Just count your blessings I didn't post "World in Motion" again.)

Robert Johnson - I'm A Steady Rollin' Man

Been listening to Robert Johnson these last couple rainy days.

The Beatles - Helter Skelter

So I went out to a sports bar last night to watch Game 3 of the NBA Finals with a buddy of mine, and our waitress at one point said "I got a blister on my finger," to which I couldn't help but reply with a Helter Skelter joke. And then nothing. So I went home and found my girlfriend was watching Glee. I am telling you guys, this music snobbery is a lonely existence.



(And I realize this exact clip has already appeared on our blog place.)

The Isley Brothers- Time After Time

I was told to "fucking post some Isley Brothers, man", so I guess I'll go ahead and do that.

Coconut Records - Microphone

Yes, it is Jason Schwartzman's band, and yes I do find it catchy.

Kiki & Herb - No Children

This is the drag act Kiki & Herb, whom I love, covering The Mountain Goats' "No Children," and turning it into an incredible duet. I made the video.

Placebo - Humpty Dumpty

So funky.

Nick Cave - There She Goes My Beautiful World

I am getting to be jitterous about this, and there's still a week to go. Excited hugs.



PURE SEX

Peter and the Wolf - Safe Travels

I heard this song playing as I walked through Frogner Park in Oslo, and I couldn't for the life of me figure how Redding Hunter had found his way to Norway.



(Norwegian chocolate)

The Morning Benders - Excuses

There's this. But the song is just hanging there, doing nothin'.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS UP.
People keep trying to get me to go bowling with them, but shit, every ball is so heavy and it makes my wrists hurt. I don't know what else to suggest, so I just end up going anyway. But what the hell, what about miniature golf? Right? That shit is amazing, its all artistic and deep, and bowling is just all straight ahead, you know what I mean.

*opens box*

YOU DO KNOW WHAT I MEAN!

Nas- The World Is Yours

Alright,I still think this is way funnier than it actually is.

And so I'll go with the Nas tie in.



I will also post the Ahmad Jamal track, because I had time to kill and so YEA.

The Rolling Stones - She Smiled Sweetly

An unasked-for ENDLESS post.

So I didn't realize this, but I've been posting in this blog for more than a full year, which is longer than I do most blogs I've ever tried. So here's a mixtape, twelve songs for twelve months. My challenge here is that I'm trying to use only artists never before appearing on this blog. If one slips in, whatever.
1.


2.


3.


4.


5.


6.


7.


8.


9.


10.


11.


12.


Download the whole entire playlist, including pictures, here.

Spoon - Mystery Zone

I've been meaning to do a Spoon song for a while, and I was listening to this one today realizing that it's pretty interesting if you interpret it as being "Lost" related. Yes, I know that Drew already did a "Lost" post but that guy sucks. Anyway, I've decided that Britt Daniel had some sort of insight into the finale and that's why he wrote this song and also it's a good song so suck it.

Sex God (Aaron Maine) - This Town

I'll be mostly out of this town tomorrow.

Go to this place and listen to this key leaving song.

a-ha - The Sun Always Shines on TV

White Antelope - Silver Dagger, Dolly Parton - Coat of Many Colors, Sonny and the Sunsets - Too Young to Burn

So here's a beautiful cover from White Antelope, which is a side project from the lead singer of Fleet Foxes, Robin Pecknold. It's a joy to listen to, isn't it?

So yeah, that just happened.

But then I started looking for another version of the song, because I couldn't remember who had originated the song. Seems there wasn't anything to remember, because the wiki-oracle simply stated that it was possibly much older than the late 19th century. I mean, more than a hundred years old? That's old, I mean mind-grinding old, VH1 isn't doing any kind of 5 night special on that shit. (RIP)

But what's this? Dolly Parton did a cover as well? It could be a laugh to post that one instead. En route to doing just that, I was stopped by this chestnut.

I mean, look at that. How is it even possible to play guitar with those nails? Jesus, I'm giving you respect for that alone. Rock that string box, girl.

Oh, yeah. I guess a third will work. So...

Yeah, that's pretty sweet, isn't it?

Gravediggaz- Diary of a Madman

L O S T

It's all I can manage to think about this weekend, so yeah.




See you in another life, brothers.

Cab Calloway - Minnie the Moocher

I used to try to get people to think this was my theme song. It isn't, but I do mooch off people. I actually at one point made a list of potential rap nicknames (how old was I during this stupid activity? EIGHTEEN.) and "Minnie tha Moocher" was in the top three. Fact. And this cartoon's so awesome. Not to be nostalgic for a bygone era, but I love the way old cartoons would serve as music videos.

There should be more of that today (outside the band Gorillaz).

Quasimoto - Come on Feet

So I'm sort of semi-following the theme this week, since this is based on this sample. Apparently Madlib has a thing for Fantastic Planet.

CC Cowboys - Barnehjemmet Johnny Johnny

Terry Reid - Seed of Memory

What a party pooper I can be, even when I try. Shoo me out with a broom, and I'll still get my last word in.

This is posted (FOR REALS THIS TIME!) on the last Tuesday until the colds of winter hopefully bring me home safely from deployment. While my hopes for another boringly enlightening sail around the wrong side of the world will more than likely be fulfilled, one can never be certain of what duty will call him to do. And coupled with that fact, he can never be certain he'll be coming home at all.

On the chance I never get to post here again...

IAM- Petit Frère

There.

Jacques Brel - Amsterdam

Lou's comment on yesterday's post has spurred me to post some other French stuff. We will start from the top.





(And of course you can listen to the Scott Walker version too!)

((Has someone posted this one before? I would not be surprised. Anyhow, the search function on blogger sort of sucks.))



AND HOW ABOUT A BONUS VIDEO OF AWESOME CUTENESS!!!

Joe Dassin - Les Champs-Elysees

My mom thinks this song is stupid, and she may have a point. It's a lot of fun, but lyrically it's basically a French "La Bamba."

The National - Afraid of Everyone

Here's one for the "faith in humanity" file. Is this the quintessential "I'm so excited to be a new parent!" song? (It is.) If you're really lucky, becoming a parent leads to something as transcendentally awesome as this. But, occasionally, one time in a million, the parent thing can actually lead to something good. So, this.

Tom Waits - You Can Never Hold Back Spring

Mayhem - Freezing Moon

Norway, land of enchantment, fjords, and a badass resistance movement during World War II. Probably a lot of mythological stuff that influenced the Lord of the Rings, I don't know. I'm going there!

There is also black metal there.



He cuts himself on his arms, which I believe is known as "metal as fuck." So Mayhem are legends of black metal. They're like the Beatles with more suicide and intra-band murder and the same amount of satanism. There are two infamous moments in this band's history:

1. Their original vocalist Dead slit his wrists and blew his brains out with a shotgun. Upon discovering the body, band members went to the store to buy a disposable camera to take photos, which later appeared on the cover of some bootleg album. According to legend, they made a stew from his brains and necklaces from his skullbits. The band later denied the former and confirmed the latter.

2. In 1993 a temporary member of the band stabbed Mayhem's guitarist to death, a moment that is hauntingly dramatized here.

Look I'm not going to pretend I know anything about this music. I kind of hate it. I absolutely hate it. I just picked the shortest and most slightly palatable clip for you guys because I am going to Norway this Friday. Your suggestions on the method by which I should kill myself while listening to black metal in the comments.

Real Estate - Beach Comber

A little somethin'. I don't even know for sure if I like it entirely. It's with reservations, I suppose. I like this bands sound, but I don't know if this is the best example.

Hmm...

Common- Book of Life

Alright, yea, sorry for making this the second Common track in the past few days. But, whatever. I listened to every Roy Ayers album I have (which is way too many. I don't know how this happened) over the weekend, for no particular reason...and, honestly, I can't even bring myself post a Roy Ayers track. I mean, shit, I don't even really dig on a lot of Roy Ayers stuff. Anyway. So, I am going to post this, with the sample from "Everybody Loves the Sunshine". Acus stuff.

Resurrection is sort of Common's Illmatic, in that he's put out some pretty nice stuff since then (and also some stuff that's sort of dogshit), but none of it's really quite as awesome as that album. Actually, Common's career is like some weird cross between Nas, Mos Def, and Ice Cube. Not going to try to explain that, although I think it does sort of make sense, but in a quasi-inexplicable way. I should not write these things on no sleep. Goddamn.

SO

The Tallest Man On Earth - Like The Wheel

:-)

I finally glimpsed The Tallest Man On Earth.

:-)

It was wonderful.

:-)

The show was a pretty even mix of Shallow Graves and The Wild Hunt. And he threw in a few covers, all of which were pretty fun, in their own ways. This one, because the show was in the same room they shot that video. This one, because he claims he stole from it in writing "You're Going Back." And this one because it was just wonderful (there is actually a studio version of him doing this song, but frankly it was 1000 times better live).

And then he closed his encore with this:



...a bonus track off The Wild Hunt which I was not aware of until today. He played it on the guitar of course -- it was incredible. I am a little curious why it didn't make the cut on the album. I mean, not that I would cut any of the songs he did pick, and I think he likes to keep it at 10-songs-per-release, but man, this is a really great song.

Common - The Light

There is a light that shines special for you:

Have a lovely weekend!

The Smiths - A Rush and a Push and the Land is Ours

IT'S TIME TO BREAK THE MOZ SEAL UP IN THIS MOTHERFUCKER!!!!!

I've been following this series which has been mostly completely underwhelming and kind of irritating (although the one I linked was pretty solid, and the undisputed champ so far is, I shit you not, the Ted Leo cover of "Everybody Wants to Rule the World". ). This one's on the list, and if they don't do the "RRRRRRRRRush" growl then fail. Fail.

Bumble Bee Slim, Howlin' Wolf - Meet Me At The Bottom; Bob Dylan - Workingman's Blues #2

"What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun."



"Is there anything of which one can say,
"Look! This is something new"?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time. "



"There is no remembrance of men of old,
and even those who are yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow."

Pixies - Vamos

HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO!

Immaculate Machine - Dear Confessor

Here's a little hit of sugar for ya, no need to overthink it.

Y Society- At My Own Pace

Harry & the Potters - Dumbledore

Hey everyone today is Wizarding Independence Day!



:-)

Jonathan Coulton - Skullcrusher Mountain

I think this song is very sweet and funny in surprising ways. Even though it's a gimmicky song, it speaks to the kind of emotion when you just cannot understand what you're doing wrong, why the people around you don't seem to get what you're about and why you can't make them happy. And who can't relate to that?

Fu-Schnickens - What's Up Doc?

Let's celebrate one of the world's least-beloved vanity rap careers. Shaq's media career has been mostly met with aggressive indifference; the man apparently recorded five rap albums (meaning that the Shaquille O'Neal section at your local record store is exactly as deep as the A Tribe Called Quest section), and his two feature film starring roles are punch lines for hacky comedians the world over. He's clearly a charismatic guy, and hell, Michael Jordan's one big starring credit was a big hit, and that guy's personality is something akin to a rancid hunk of bologna. I think there's something just kind of off-putting about Shaq - the monotone voice, that constant smirk, the jokes that aren't nearly as funny as he (and his sycophantic beat writers) seem to think they are. He's self-aware but almost too self-aware, someone who would never let himself display anything resembling a genuine human emotion. He's kind of the anti-AI (whose vanity rap career never even got off the ground), a man who's just too self-possessed, too in control. He went from precocious man-child to crusty old Brit, without passing through any of the horrible bits of self-doubt in between that define the rest of us.

Radiohead - Idioteque & Bob Dylan - Rocks and Gravel

"'...it's bleak, my God, I mean, all that Kirkegaard, right? Real adolescent, you know, fashionable pessimism, I mean, the silence, 'God's silence' - OK, OK, I mean, I loved it when I was at Radcliffe, but I mean, allright, you outgrow it, you absolutely outgrow it.'"



"'He was given to fits of rage, Jewish, liberal paranoia, male chauvinism, self-righteous misanthropy, and nihilistic moods of despair. He had complaints about life, but never solutions. He longed to be an artist, but balked at the necessary sacrifices. In his most private moments, he spoke of his fear of death which he elevated to tragic heights when, in fact, it was mere narcissism.'"

Sparklehorse - Dark as a Dungeon

Wanted to do something topical, and this song is timeless.

Bottle Up - Rather Be Dead

Yeah, check this out. Cause its nice. That's why.

Biggie- Party & Bullshit (Dela remix)

CAN I BRING MY GAT?

The Be Good Tanyas - The Littlest Birds

Have you listened to this song recently? Well, even if you have it cannot be a bad thing to listen to it one more time. I will join you in overlistening to this song.

Kanye West feat. Syleena Johnson - All Falls Down

Once, in my car, (Dan)'s brother tried to suggest that Kanye West was the opposite of punk (this was used insultingly; (Dan)'s brother strongly believes in the power of punk). Honestly, I am willing to listen to critiques of Kanye, but I think this song is about as punk as radio-played-rap usually gets. It's an entire song devoted to the idea that increasing disposable income and flash among oppressed minorities does not free them from the real systemic problems facing their communities.
Kanye's a weird kind of rapper; his music is so much more thoughtful and introspective than he seems to actually be, based on interviews and the like. "We all self-conscious, I'm just the first to admit it," is an incredible line, suddenly making this song about conspicuous consumption personal. I'd ask punks to revisit this song, I really would.

Sebastien Tellier - Look

Hypnotizing.

Breathe Owl Breathe - Baseball Diamond

Doing something a little different today -- here's video I shot from Breathe Owl Breathe's show Thursday, April 15 at the Tractor Tavern in Ballard. It's an OWY and YouTube exclusive!



I'm sure I've championed this plucky folk band from Northern Michigan before, but last week was my first chance to see them live. They opened for Megafaun and Horse Feathers at the Tractor. (I was too lame and an old man to stay for the latter two sets, and so can't offer a report.) You'll hear some chatter through this recording, but overall the reception at the Tractor was pretty strong -- enough that they came back for an encore, a rarity for an opening band (in my experience, at least). Lead singer Micah Middaugh -- whose voice could pass for Bill Callahan on an endorphin kick -- dropped references to Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton into one of his songs, which is a thing that I can love. The show was part concert, part summer camp -- they guided us through the typical clap-and-response but also the wave and a sabertooth-tiger dance that involved sticking your hands to the sides of your face and rolling the index fingers downward to form tusks. It was silly and goofball and altogether wonderful.

I picked up their most recent album on vinyl at the show and have given it a couple playthroughs, and I'm pretty high on it. Their songs take these seemingly mundane slices of everyday life and breathe a heartwrenching honesty into them. I think that's a good way to describe them, is honest, and I would not be surprised if many of their songs were inspired by personal experience, a chance encounter or a childhood memory. And then they also have their songs about sabertooth tigers escaping from glaciers to go out dancing (which itself was probably inspired by a trip to the museum of natural history).

And what's this? A Daytrotter session from three days ago?

Alyn Ainsworth- Where Do I Go

Props if you can pick up where this was sampled (without cheating), but I mostly just dig on the track.

Jay Electronica - Eternal Sunshine