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.
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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?