Showing posts with label Birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birthday. Show all posts

Saturday, December 12, 2009

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps

When I was in high school, I had to wake up tremendously early every morning (this surely is relatable). For fear that I would oversleep, I would wake up a solid hour earlier than I had to, and drag myself downstairs to let television seep into my brains. Eventually I realized that TBS reran two episodes of Saved By The Bell back-to-back in that timeslot, but for a long time I was blissfully ignorant of my appointment with Bayside High; I used my time watching the music videos MTV and VH1 ran in the 6-7 a.m. hour. By and large these were music videos that would not make it to their afternoon music video series (e.g., TRL); they were old, pretty cool music videos, or they were barely-run singles for bands that were almost big. Occasionally they were early releases of videos that were about to become big (I cannot tell you what "Hey Ya" looked like to a guy just barely waking up). This falls somewhere in between the latter two categories.
What made music videos so impressive for me was when, and this was rare, the musicians revealed themselves to be decent actors. As a fan of Jim Jarmusch, I am sincerely always mentally casting musicians in acting roles in my theoretical future films. (Neko Case, I will write a movie around you, I promise.) I found this music video to be completely beguiling, lyrically and visually, but I maintain it is Karen O's broken vulnerability that sells the unsettling nature of this song and video.
In terms of this blog's berfday, something I am duly observing but sheepishly attempting to circumvent, having not been present for its birth, this song clearly (to me) occupies the mental space between something damaging ending and something new (and more lonely) commencing. Sometimes all you can do is share music with your friends (or with people whom you don't know at all) in a blog with a pun title, but those expressions of feeling are sometimes all it takes to deal with the feelings themselves. I tried to play this song for (Dan) once, at the corner of Hawthorne and Orchard, but he wasn't into it. I hope you like it now Dan.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Oscar's Wild Years Retrospective Omnibus


This post, like so many others, begins in Harry's car near the end of some endless suburban night. I remember that we were on the Bypass in the dark, heading towards New Rochelle when he began the necessarily convoluted explanation of the Rogue's Gallery box set. After churning through some really interesting, unusual shit, we hit something ethereal and haunting that took us right out of night-Westchester and into a softer world. Here was some unbelievable vocalist, and then we found out that Mary Margaret O'Hara was the sister of one of our favorite character actors, and acquired her only album. I have been meaning to post a song from Miss America ever since Harry sent it to me, and this one perfectly sums up, well, a year in song. O'Hara's songs are wildly eccentric, veering through beats and themes as her voice stretches and even hiccups.

Joy is the aim:



I mention this because, well, you just form personal connections to this stuff. And now I've got personal connections to this stuff, acusuv you guys. And hugs!

Monday
John Coltrane - Alabama
Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie - Hot House : Erics is reliable with the jazz,
Eric B. & Rakim - Microphone Fiend : and the classic hip-hop,
Eddie Gale - The Rain : and this insane epic.
Blu - Just Another Day
Madvillian - All Caps : Late nights, Roger gets to talking MF DOOM

Tuesday
Sam Cooke - Bring It On Home to Me (Live at the Harlem Square Club) : I don't always like Aaron's newstuff, but this is one of my favorite songs, hugs.
Blossum Dearie - I'm Hip
Jean Ritchie - Careless Love
McLusky - To Hell With Good Intentions : Just like old times.
Henry Thomas - Bull Doze Blues : Lou's all over the place, I really like his turns as a music historian. Henry Thomas is pure condensed joy.
A. A. Bondy - When The Devil's Loose

Wednesday
Jewel & The Rubies - Kidnapper : Tyles!
James Cotton - There's Something on Your Mind
Bongos Ikwue - Woman Made the Devil : The smoothest, coolest song.
Dennis Brown - Westbound Train : Not just the intro, we've done really well with Songs About Trains.
Gil Scott-Heron - Whitey on the Moon
Ted Hawkins - Sorry You're Sick : "What do you want from the liquor store/ something sour, or something sweet?/ I'll buy you all that your belly can hold/ you can be sure you won't suffer no more"
Betty Wright - Mr. Lucky

Thursday - as for me, the couple I'm really happy to have found this year:
Marion Black - Who Knows
Tennessee Ernie Ford - Sixteen Tons
Rex Griffin - The Last Letter

Friday
Bruce Springsteen - Roulette : I didn't know about this one.
The Pop Group - She is Beyond Good and Evil : This band is crazy and Craigles reminded me to listen to them
The Kinks - Last of the Steam Powered Trains
The Replacements - Date to Church : Lots of fun, and then the special guest shows up.
The Ink Spots - I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire : What a bizarre pairing. In the soundtrack-makers' pantheon with the guys who advised Weeds
Mike Watt - In The Engine Room : Belongs on Rogue's Gallery

Saturday
She & Him - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
The Mountain Goats - Woke Up New : I was really glad to hear this one again.
William Shatner - Common People : This one too!

Sunday
Toots & The Maytalls - Love Is Gonna Let Me Down
Mick Harvey - Out of Time Man : ask my old roommates how many times I listened to this.
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes - Home
El Perro Del Mar - God Knows

Next year in Jerusalem..

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The Rising Sun - Do What You're Doin'

I didn't have anything special planned for Berfday Week (TM), but here you go, another track of Numero goodness from the Outskirts of Deep City album.



Keep doin' what you doin', O-Dub-Y.

Monday, December 7, 2009

HAPPY BERFDAY, OWY!

I wanted to post this before I hit the sack. I have a long day at my current training evolution right now, so I might not be around much. If I am, I'll edit this post accordingly.

For now, it's been 365 days since Tyles set this ball in motion. I posted how the rotation has changed over the course of one year... And here we are. Letting the special needs kid post the birthday song. Since I've been harping to all my less-than-stellar-intellectually fellow Marines about how much I enjoy watching The Ladykillers, I found this... most fitting for the occasion. Shine on, fellow music nuts. Let it shine on.