"For any writer, but for the beginner in particular, it's wise to eliminate every possible distraction. If you continue to write, you will begin to filter out these distractions naturally, but at the start it's best to try and take care of them before you write. I work to loud music--hard-rock stuff like AC/DC, Guns N' Roses and Metallica have always been particular favorites--but for me the music is just another way of shutting the door. It surrounds me, keeps the mundane world out. When you write, you want to get rid of the world, do you not? Of course you do. When you're writing, you're creating your own worlds."
Saturday, January 28, 2012
From On Writing
"For any writer, but for the beginner in particular, it's wise to eliminate every possible distraction. If you continue to write, you will begin to filter out these distractions naturally, but at the start it's best to try and take care of them before you write. I work to loud music--hard-rock stuff like AC/DC, Guns N' Roses and Metallica have always been particular favorites--but for me the music is just another way of shutting the door. It surrounds me, keeps the mundane world out. When you write, you want to get rid of the world, do you not? Of course you do. When you're writing, you're creating your own worlds."
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Schoolhouse Rock
Yesterday I spent hours interviewing, training and testing for a teaching program. Clearly I needed music for the occasion.
In hard rock, teachers are always depicted as the bad guys, which is particularly flattering. We must be doing something right if guys like Alice Cooper are inspired to rage against us. Besides, who really wants to hear a song about how great it is to go to school?
The All-Time Top Five Songs About School:
Alice Cooper, "School's Out"
The former Vincent Furnier once observed that the happiest minutes of a kid's life are on Christmas morning and the last day of school. Thankfully, he chose to immortalize the latter with his best-ever lyrics ("We've got no class, and we've got no prinicpals...") That malevolent chorus, the universal subject and the unforgettable hook made this not only Alice's signature song, but GWAR's as well--their cover is by far the best thing they've ever recorded. Still my favorite performance might be this one from The Muppet Show. It always reminds me of Max in Where the Wild Things Are.
Nirvana, "School"
There's no greater example of Nirvana's ability to say a lot with a little than this song from Bleach. Over two chords and fifteen words, Kurt Cobain expressed the angst of nearly every high schooler on an album that was recorded for $606.17. A couple of years later, he was headlining at Reading.
Pearl Jam, "Jeremy"
School shootings are much more vivid in America's consciousness than they were when Pearl Jam dropped "Jeremy" on us, but nothing will ever stop this song from giving me chills. Eddie Vedder voiced the song's antagonist ("Clearly I remember picking on the boy") and came up with the scariest depiction of ostracized kids in modern music. Pearl Jam rarely make music videos, and reportedly fought the final cut of this one for being too sanitized. I don't know if I want to see what they really had in mind.
Ramones, "Rock n' Roll High School"
In the best two minutes of Roger Corman's Rock 'n' Roll High School, the Ramones breeze through an ode to ditching school in favor of more enjoyable pastimes. It looks downright innocent now--the Ramones sound as sunny as the Beach Boys, and all-American sweetheart P.J. Soles climaxes the scene by blowing up the school. That moment alone will probably keep this movie safe from remakes.
Van Halen, "Hot for Teacher"
Nothing has ever made school as much fun as this song and video. That awesome drum intro? The catchiest riff in entire the Eddie Van Halen oeuvre? Synchronized dancing in pink suits? The instantly singable chorus? Yes sir!
By the way, as long as we keep hearing about the bee girl and the Nevermind baby, can anybody tell us what really happened to Waldo?
In hard rock, teachers are always depicted as the bad guys, which is particularly flattering. We must be doing something right if guys like Alice Cooper are inspired to rage against us. Besides, who really wants to hear a song about how great it is to go to school?
The All-Time Top Five Songs About School:
Alice Cooper, "School's Out"
The former Vincent Furnier once observed that the happiest minutes of a kid's life are on Christmas morning and the last day of school. Thankfully, he chose to immortalize the latter with his best-ever lyrics ("We've got no class, and we've got no prinicpals...") That malevolent chorus, the universal subject and the unforgettable hook made this not only Alice's signature song, but GWAR's as well--their cover is by far the best thing they've ever recorded. Still my favorite performance might be this one from The Muppet Show. It always reminds me of Max in Where the Wild Things Are.
Nirvana, "School"
There's no greater example of Nirvana's ability to say a lot with a little than this song from Bleach. Over two chords and fifteen words, Kurt Cobain expressed the angst of nearly every high schooler on an album that was recorded for $606.17. A couple of years later, he was headlining at Reading.
Pearl Jam, "Jeremy"
School shootings are much more vivid in America's consciousness than they were when Pearl Jam dropped "Jeremy" on us, but nothing will ever stop this song from giving me chills. Eddie Vedder voiced the song's antagonist ("Clearly I remember picking on the boy") and came up with the scariest depiction of ostracized kids in modern music. Pearl Jam rarely make music videos, and reportedly fought the final cut of this one for being too sanitized. I don't know if I want to see what they really had in mind.
Ramones, "Rock n' Roll High School"
In the best two minutes of Roger Corman's Rock 'n' Roll High School, the Ramones breeze through an ode to ditching school in favor of more enjoyable pastimes. It looks downright innocent now--the Ramones sound as sunny as the Beach Boys, and all-American sweetheart P.J. Soles climaxes the scene by blowing up the school. That moment alone will probably keep this movie safe from remakes.
Van Halen, "Hot for Teacher"
Nothing has ever made school as much fun as this song and video. That awesome drum intro? The catchiest riff in entire the Eddie Van Halen oeuvre? Synchronized dancing in pink suits? The instantly singable chorus? Yes sir!
By the way, as long as we keep hearing about the bee girl and the Nevermind baby, can anybody tell us what really happened to Waldo?
Monday, January 23, 2012
Sympathy for Devil Without a Cause
Unsurprisingly, some of the music I enjoyed in high school hasn't aged well. The Dead Kennedys have lost most of their charm, Pink Floyd's grandiosity now sounds self-important, and the Black Crowes are irrelevant once you've immersed in the Stones. However, in compiling a recent birthday mix CD, I rediscovered a high school hero who overcame all my attempts to resist him.
Judging by his terrible hit Skynyrd/Zevon mashup and the fact that he licensed a song to Mitt Romney's campaign, I should be ashamed for promoting this schmuck. But no artistic or personal disappointment can swallow the fact that Devil Without a Cause rocks all over.
I'm kind of amazed that Kid Rock was lumped in with the nu metal fad when Devil broke. The one-note angst of Korn, Staind etc. is nowhere to be heard in this vigorous, 14-song blend of classic rock and old school hip-hop. The country touches, MC delivery and deftness with samples all remind me of Beck, albeit with no hipster pretenses. Kid Rock isn't trying to get on any Pazz & Jop lists, and if these are the results, we should be grateful.
"Bawitdaba" and "Cowboy" are the party-starting hits, both so contagious that it's almost impossible to foresee the the rest of Devil keeping up. But the Kid and his Detroit band, Twisted Brown Trucker, do more than deliver, offering some of the freshest post-grunge of the '90s ("I am the Bullgod," "Somebody's Gotta Feel This,") and surprisingly authentic tributes to hip-hop's pioneers ("Wasting Time," Welcome 2 the Party.") The riffs are infectious, the band oozes with character (chops less so, but that's part of the charm) and the album flows as seamlessly as one of Rick Rubin's '80s triumphs.
There's plenty of range here. The slow jam ("I Got One For Ya") is far better than it has any right to be, and "Only God Knows Why" is a lovely cowboy ballad, in spite of the auto-tune. The Kid is a cocky narrator, with Devil's themes revolving entirely around Robert James Ritchie, but he's self-aware enough to be a likable rogue. The title track is a rousing statement of purpose from a still-hungry artist, and the Kid is affecting, even poignant, when he closes with a Bill Withers interpolation on the autobiographical "Black Chick, White Guy."
Of course, Kid Rock hasn't been able to deflect the inevitable artistic decline. More recently, he's been releasing mediocre heartland rock with none of the bourbon-soaked swagger that made Devil Without a Cause definitive. Still, nothing will change the fact that he made some of the best rock of the late '90s. Kid Rock will probably never make an album this good again, and he doesn't have to.
Robert Christgau, who usually hates metal, might agree. "Not since great Motörhead has there been a hard rock album with so many laugh lines," Christgau wrote of Devil. "Belatedly fulfilling the rap-metal promise of Licensed To Ill, he makes the competition sound clownish, limp, and corny, respectively."
He still does.
Judging by his terrible hit Skynyrd/Zevon mashup and the fact that he licensed a song to Mitt Romney's campaign, I should be ashamed for promoting this schmuck. But no artistic or personal disappointment can swallow the fact that Devil Without a Cause rocks all over.
I'm kind of amazed that Kid Rock was lumped in with the nu metal fad when Devil broke. The one-note angst of Korn, Staind etc. is nowhere to be heard in this vigorous, 14-song blend of classic rock and old school hip-hop. The country touches, MC delivery and deftness with samples all remind me of Beck, albeit with no hipster pretenses. Kid Rock isn't trying to get on any Pazz & Jop lists, and if these are the results, we should be grateful.
"Bawitdaba" and "Cowboy" are the party-starting hits, both so contagious that it's almost impossible to foresee the the rest of Devil keeping up. But the Kid and his Detroit band, Twisted Brown Trucker, do more than deliver, offering some of the freshest post-grunge of the '90s ("I am the Bullgod," "Somebody's Gotta Feel This,") and surprisingly authentic tributes to hip-hop's pioneers ("Wasting Time," Welcome 2 the Party.") The riffs are infectious, the band oozes with character (chops less so, but that's part of the charm) and the album flows as seamlessly as one of Rick Rubin's '80s triumphs.
There's plenty of range here. The slow jam ("I Got One For Ya") is far better than it has any right to be, and "Only God Knows Why" is a lovely cowboy ballad, in spite of the auto-tune. The Kid is a cocky narrator, with Devil's themes revolving entirely around Robert James Ritchie, but he's self-aware enough to be a likable rogue. The title track is a rousing statement of purpose from a still-hungry artist, and the Kid is affecting, even poignant, when he closes with a Bill Withers interpolation on the autobiographical "Black Chick, White Guy."
Of course, Kid Rock hasn't been able to deflect the inevitable artistic decline. More recently, he's been releasing mediocre heartland rock with none of the bourbon-soaked swagger that made Devil Without a Cause definitive. Still, nothing will change the fact that he made some of the best rock of the late '90s. Kid Rock will probably never make an album this good again, and he doesn't have to.
Robert Christgau, who usually hates metal, might agree. "Not since great Motörhead has there been a hard rock album with so many laugh lines," Christgau wrote of Devil. "Belatedly fulfilling the rap-metal promise of Licensed To Ill, he makes the competition sound clownish, limp, and corny, respectively."
He still does.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Well Red
For almost as long as I can remember, my friend Ellen has been teaching me new things. Recently she informed me, over beers, that David Lowery of Cracker is a redhead. This led to all sorts of conversation.
How does one make a redheads mix CD? Do authentic gingers get preference over impostors like David Bowie? Does the redhead need to be the bandleader? What if it's Ginger Baker? How many of Josh Homme's bands can I include?
This is all arbitrary of course, but it was fun to think about. Here's the result:
Well Red
Ellen is not a headbanger, although she's a good sport about my inability to compile 20 songs without a blast beat. Clearly I couldn't make a redhead mix that didn't include Dave Mustaine and Brent Hinds, so I tried to pick songs that she'd enjoy. I settled on Megadeth's theatrical "Sweating Bullets" and Mastodon's rollicking ZZ Top cover.
This mix actually ended up with more female singers (10) than almost any other that I've made. "Kiss with a Fist" mildly terrified me when I first heard it, but now I like it enough to stash it next to Queens of the Stone Age. I also found a new appreciation for Tori Amos (who usually gives me the creeps) and Portishead. On the other hand, Julie Christmas always takes my breath away, and the only problem with Jenny Lewis was picking just one project of hers to for Well Red.
With much respect to all these redheads, my all-time favorite was saved for last. Axl has probably appeared on nearly all of my mixes, and "Paradise City" has made it to at least half of them. I still can't start it unless I have the next seven minutes free.
What about David Lowery, who sparked the whole discourse? If you can find him here, I'll hook you up with a copy of Well Red.
How does one make a redheads mix CD? Do authentic gingers get preference over impostors like David Bowie? Does the redhead need to be the bandleader? What if it's Ginger Baker? How many of Josh Homme's bands can I include?
This is all arbitrary of course, but it was fun to think about. Here's the result:
Well Red
- Gillian Welch, "My First Lover"
- Florence and the Machine, "Kiss with a Fist"
- Queens of the Stone Age, "No One Knows"
- Heart, "Crazy on You"
- Neko Case, "I Missed the Point"
- Julie Christmas, "If You Go Away"
- Cream, "I Feel Free"
- Megadeth, "Sweating Bullets"
- Mastodon, "Just Got Paid"
- David Bowie, "Sound and Vision"
- Bonnie Raitt, "I Feel the Same"
- Camper Van Beethoven, "Take the Skinheads Bowling"
- Juliana Hatfield Three, "My Sister"
- Tori Amos, "Crucify"
- Portishead, "Machine Gun"
- Phish, "Bouncing Around the Room"
- Willie Nelson, "City of New Orleans"
- Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins, "Rise Up with Fists!!!
- The Sex Pistols, "EMI"
- Guns N' Roses, "Paradise City"
Ellen is not a headbanger, although she's a good sport about my inability to compile 20 songs without a blast beat. Clearly I couldn't make a redhead mix that didn't include Dave Mustaine and Brent Hinds, so I tried to pick songs that she'd enjoy. I settled on Megadeth's theatrical "Sweating Bullets" and Mastodon's rollicking ZZ Top cover.
This mix actually ended up with more female singers (10) than almost any other that I've made. "Kiss with a Fist" mildly terrified me when I first heard it, but now I like it enough to stash it next to Queens of the Stone Age. I also found a new appreciation for Tori Amos (who usually gives me the creeps) and Portishead. On the other hand, Julie Christmas always takes my breath away, and the only problem with Jenny Lewis was picking just one project of hers to for Well Red.
With much respect to all these redheads, my all-time favorite was saved for last. Axl has probably appeared on nearly all of my mixes, and "Paradise City" has made it to at least half of them. I still can't start it unless I have the next seven minutes free.
What about David Lowery, who sparked the whole discourse? If you can find him here, I'll hook you up with a copy of Well Red.
Monday, January 16, 2012
King's X: "King"
Why isn't King's X more popular? Why aren't they as big as Alice in Chains or Soundgarden? I understand why most great metal bands don't sell millions of records, and I'm fine with that, but King's X write undeniably tight, tuneful and catchy songs that could be on any "Best of the '90s" comp. I'm baffled that they're not.
Their first album, Out of the Silent Planet, took its name from C.S. Lewis and has the best ever hard rock tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King. "King" was released as a single and had a very earnest, very stupid video that opened with a Dr. King quote quote and depicted the band as children dealing with school racism by picking up instruments. Best to discover the song through its urgent riff and the band's signature vocal harmonies. There's even a sitar mixed in there.
Doug Pinnick, the band's gangly bassist/singer, turned 13 the week of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech and was undoubtedly affected. Sadly, oppression did not end for him with the Civil Rights Movement. Raised in strict Baptist family, Pinnick brought his spirituality to many of King's X's lyrics until 1998, when he confirmed his homosexuality to a Christian publication. King's X were promptly dropped from distributors, removed from Christian retail stores and widely shunned by the community that Pinnick had embraced for nearly 50 years.
Since then, King's X have soldiered on with almost no media support or commercial success. The fact that they're still touring, playing "King" in the face of bigotry gives me a smile on MLK Day.
Their first album, Out of the Silent Planet, took its name from C.S. Lewis and has the best ever hard rock tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King. "King" was released as a single and had a very earnest, very stupid video that opened with a Dr. King quote quote and depicted the band as children dealing with school racism by picking up instruments. Best to discover the song through its urgent riff and the band's signature vocal harmonies. There's even a sitar mixed in there.
Doug Pinnick, the band's gangly bassist/singer, turned 13 the week of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech and was undoubtedly affected. Sadly, oppression did not end for him with the Civil Rights Movement. Raised in strict Baptist family, Pinnick brought his spirituality to many of King's X's lyrics until 1998, when he confirmed his homosexuality to a Christian publication. King's X were promptly dropped from distributors, removed from Christian retail stores and widely shunned by the community that Pinnick had embraced for nearly 50 years.
Since then, King's X have soldiered on with almost no media support or commercial success. The fact that they're still touring, playing "King" in the face of bigotry gives me a smile on MLK Day.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Mom
Every year I ask my mom what she wants for her birthday, and every year she says a mix CD. I'm never sure if that's just because she knows how much I like to make them, but she insists, and after all that she's done for me, how can I say no?
Mom:
I recently heard Stevie Wonder's "Happy Birthday" at a six-year-old's birthday party, where the parents sang it after the traditional birthday song. A closer listen shows that Stevie's version is not entirely universal (the verses, written in 1981, campaign for giving Martin Luther King a holiday,) but it is Mom's birthday, and Stevie Wonder is good for just about anything. Mom is also a fan of Queen and Madonna, both of whom are represented by underloved hits, and a more recent convert to the Dave Grohl fan club. Factoring out his Virginia roots, Muppet movie cameo and unimpeachable persona, "Learn to Fly" still holds up.
One thing that mom likes in movies (which I constantly give her a hard time about) is the idea of tough guys who turn out to be sensitive on the inside. With that in mind, I've included Metallica's most tender moment, placed next to one of AC/DC's staples for full effect. Over winter break, she asked me if I preferred AC/DC to Aerosmith, because she's that kind of mom. Here's my answer.
Happy birthday, Mom! For someone who raised me, you turned out OK.
Mom:
- Faith No More, "Midnight Cowboy"
- Bill Withers, "Lovely Day"
- Foo Fighters, "Learn to Fly"
- U2, "Even Better than the Real Thing"
- Run-D.M.C., "It's Tricky"
- The Cure, "Boys Don't Cry"
- Sinead O'Connor, "No Man's Woman"
- Eddie Vedder & Cat Power, "Tonight You Belong to Me"
- Queen, "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy"
- Tom Petty, "Runnin' Down a Dream"
- The Smiths, "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want"
- Eels, "Going to Your Funeral, Part II"
- A Tribe Called Quest, "Award Tour"
- Patti Smith, "Because the Night"
- Green Day, "Jesus of Suburbia"
- AC/DC, "Back in Black"
- Metallica, "Nothing Else Matters"
- Madonna, "Don't Tell Me"
- Stevie Wonder, "Happy Birthday"
- Tom Waits, "Young at Heart"
I recently heard Stevie Wonder's "Happy Birthday" at a six-year-old's birthday party, where the parents sang it after the traditional birthday song. A closer listen shows that Stevie's version is not entirely universal (the verses, written in 1981, campaign for giving Martin Luther King a holiday,) but it is Mom's birthday, and Stevie Wonder is good for just about anything. Mom is also a fan of Queen and Madonna, both of whom are represented by underloved hits, and a more recent convert to the Dave Grohl fan club. Factoring out his Virginia roots, Muppet movie cameo and unimpeachable persona, "Learn to Fly" still holds up.
One thing that mom likes in movies (which I constantly give her a hard time about) is the idea of tough guys who turn out to be sensitive on the inside. With that in mind, I've included Metallica's most tender moment, placed next to one of AC/DC's staples for full effect. Over winter break, she asked me if I preferred AC/DC to Aerosmith, because she's that kind of mom. Here's my answer.
Happy birthday, Mom! For someone who raised me, you turned out OK.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Jendy
Surprise! My buddies Jenny and Bendy are gracing Brooklyn with a spontaneous visit. Just in time for me to hand them early birthday mix CDs.
Arch Madness
Jenny has the heart of an old school punk and ska fanatic. I tend to be picky about horn sections in my rock n' roll, but there's nothing I could do to resist the best of Fishbone or the Specials.
Couple of questions, for all three of you readers:
Achtung, Bendy:
My Music and Still Your Fault
As you can probably guess, Bendy is one of the funniest people I know. His birthday mix is a blast to make, and is usually comprised of songs I wouldn't put on anyone else's mixes. ODB and Macy Gray dementing "Don't Go Breaking My Heart?"* Al Jourgensen and Jello Biafra making the already interminable "They're Coming to Take Me Away" four times as long? The grossest Butthole Surfers song of all time? Whitesnake?
Most people would probably stop talking to me if I gave them this mix, but that's part of what makes Bendy special. As crazy as I am for Body Count and everything Devin Townsend touches, I couldn't put either of them on a mix for just anyone. It's almost like the Island of Misfit Toys for sick, abrasive and funny-as-hell music, with a few classics thrown in for flavor.
Looking over the tracklist, many of these artists are represented by their most shameful, least exemplary music. Between "Sexy MF," "Dr. Greenthumb," "Big Balls" and "They All Ask'd For You," I may as well have thrown in "My Ding-a-Ling" by Chuck Berry with them. All I can think of is Charles Bukowski's The Best Love Poem I Can Write at the Moment, wherein he asserts that if you can't love someone's bowels as much as you love the good parts, "that ain't complete love."
Anyway, many happy returns, Bendy and Jenny! Thank you for making time for your New York Fan Club.
*A treat from my sister.
Arch Madness
- Prince & the Revolution, "Let's Go Crazy"
- Local H, "High-Fivin' MF"
- Titus Andronicus, "A More Perfect Union"
- Patti Smith, "Because the Night"
- Hüsker Dü, "Makes No Sense at All"
- King's X, "It's Love"
- Jane's Addiction, "Been Caught Stealing"
- The Who, "The Seeker"
- Fishbone, "Bonin' in the Boneyard"
- Paul Westerberg, "Waiting for Somebody"
- The Specials, "Ghost Town"
- Little Richard, "Jenny, Jenny"
- Suicidal Tendencies, "Institutionalized"
- Liz Phair, "Stratford-On Guy"
- The Verve, "Lucky Man"
- Neil Young, "Rockin' in the Free World"
- Wild Flag, "Romance"
- Iggy Pop & Debbie Harry, "Well Did You Evah!"
- The Rolling Stones, "Connection"
- Joni Mitchell, "All I Want"
Jenny has the heart of an old school punk and ska fanatic. I tend to be picky about horn sections in my rock n' roll, but there's nothing I could do to resist the best of Fishbone or the Specials.
Couple of questions, for all three of you readers:
- Jenny is a librarian, so of course I had to include Patti Smith. All of her songs that aren't on Horses sound better on mix CDs, right?
- Has anyone else ever been a Hüsker Dü fan for at least ten years without ever hearing Flip Your Wig? What was I thinking?
Achtung, Bendy:
My Music and Still Your Fault
- Devin Townsend, "ZTO"
- Strapping Young Lad, "You Suck"
- Ol' Dirty Bastard & Macy Gray, "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart"
- Weird Al Yankovic, "Dare to be Stupid"
- Butthole Surfers, "Lady Sniff"
- Body Count, "KKK Bitch"
- Cypress Hill, "Dr. Greenthumb"
- Dead Kennedys, "Viva Las Vegas"
- Rush, "Tom Sawyer"
- Wu-Tang Clan, "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'"
- Jerry Lee Lewis, "Meat Man"
- The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, "Skunk"
- Prince, "Sexy MF"
- Kid Rock, "Bawitdaba"
- Mötley Crüe, "Kickstart My Heart"
- Body Count, "Evil Dick"
- AC/DC, "Big Balls"
- Whitesnake, "Here I Go Again"
- Lard, "They're Coming to Take Me Away"
- The Meters, "They All Ask'd for You"
As you can probably guess, Bendy is one of the funniest people I know. His birthday mix is a blast to make, and is usually comprised of songs I wouldn't put on anyone else's mixes. ODB and Macy Gray dementing "Don't Go Breaking My Heart?"* Al Jourgensen and Jello Biafra making the already interminable "They're Coming to Take Me Away" four times as long? The grossest Butthole Surfers song of all time? Whitesnake?
Most people would probably stop talking to me if I gave them this mix, but that's part of what makes Bendy special. As crazy as I am for Body Count and everything Devin Townsend touches, I couldn't put either of them on a mix for just anyone. It's almost like the Island of Misfit Toys for sick, abrasive and funny-as-hell music, with a few classics thrown in for flavor.
Looking over the tracklist, many of these artists are represented by their most shameful, least exemplary music. Between "Sexy MF," "Dr. Greenthumb," "Big Balls" and "They All Ask'd For You," I may as well have thrown in "My Ding-a-Ling" by Chuck Berry with them. All I can think of is Charles Bukowski's The Best Love Poem I Can Write at the Moment, wherein he asserts that if you can't love someone's bowels as much as you love the good parts, "that ain't complete love."
Anyway, many happy returns, Bendy and Jenny! Thank you for making time for your New York Fan Club.
*A treat from my sister.
Phil? Phil Connors?
There are few things I enjoy as much as making mix CDs for my friend Kate. Her skyscraping standards always make it a challenge, and our shared fervor for Sound Opinions inspires me to revisit my preferred rock n' roll podcast. Plus, she lives in England, so it's a fine excuse to send her some fan mail.
Thus, her birthday (Groundhog Day) is one of my favorite mix CD holidays. I sculpted Phil? Phil Connors? in my final workdays at the job I've toiled over for two and a half years. The result is a little self-centered--something I needed to listen to as much as I needed to put it together.
Phil? Phil Connors?
I had to include some dance tracks, so this year Kate gets Big Freedia (a fantastic recommendation from my friend Jess) and Sam Cooke. Picking one Sam Cooke song is harder than Chinese algebra, so I took some input from my coworker Daniel, an actor/singer/rabid fan who would be ideal for the lead in a King of Soul biopic*. More thanks goes to my friend Jenny, who was so appreciative of getting "Game of Pricks" on her last birthday mix that I'm inspired to give it another go here.
Of course, the primary inspiration for Phil? Phil Connors? is Kate herself. The spellbinding mix she sent me for my past birthday kicked off with some of my top alternative rock artists, so I'm reciprocating with the Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails. A good mix needs a healthy balance of familiar material and new songs, so I was careful to choose songs that I can't imagine anyone getting sick of. Kate also beautifully ended her mix with an electronica instrumental from Lemon Jelly, an effect I liked so much that I'm swindling it for this mix. Topping things off are the Chemical Brothers with "The Private Psychedelic Reel," a song that I hadn't listened to in years, but now sounds like something for my Desert Island Jukebox.
Happy birthday, Kate! The United Kingdom is very lucky to have you.
*If you are working on said movie, GET IN TOUCH WITH ME NOW.
Thus, her birthday (Groundhog Day) is one of my favorite mix CD holidays. I sculpted Phil? Phil Connors? in my final workdays at the job I've toiled over for two and a half years. The result is a little self-centered--something I needed to listen to as much as I needed to put it together.
Phil? Phil Connors?
- The Smashing Pumpkins, "Cherub Rock"
- Nine Inch Nails, "Wish"
- The Go-Go's, "Our Lips Are Sealed"
- Hüsker Dü, "Makes No Sense at All"
- Kylesa, "Don't Look Back"
- Sam Cooke, "Twistin' the Night Away"
- Big Freedia, "Ya'll Get Back Now"
- Guided by Voices, "Game of Pricks"
- TV on the Radio, "Second Song"
- Marsha Hunt, "(Oh No! Not) The Beast Day"
- Lou Reed, "The Blue Mask"
- Metallica, "Hit the Lights"
- Das Racist, "Rainbow in the Dark"
- Wild Flag, "Romance"
- Bill Withers, "Grandma's Hands"
- Patti Smith, "Dancing Barefoot"
- Elliott Smith, "Angel in the Snow"
- Prince & the Revolution, "Mountains"
- Estelle feat. Kanye West, "American Boy"
- The Chemical Brothers, "The Private Psychedelic Reel"
I had to include some dance tracks, so this year Kate gets Big Freedia (a fantastic recommendation from my friend Jess) and Sam Cooke. Picking one Sam Cooke song is harder than Chinese algebra, so I took some input from my coworker Daniel, an actor/singer/rabid fan who would be ideal for the lead in a King of Soul biopic*. More thanks goes to my friend Jenny, who was so appreciative of getting "Game of Pricks" on her last birthday mix that I'm inspired to give it another go here.
Of course, the primary inspiration for Phil? Phil Connors? is Kate herself. The spellbinding mix she sent me for my past birthday kicked off with some of my top alternative rock artists, so I'm reciprocating with the Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails. A good mix needs a healthy balance of familiar material and new songs, so I was careful to choose songs that I can't imagine anyone getting sick of. Kate also beautifully ended her mix with an electronica instrumental from Lemon Jelly, an effect I liked so much that I'm swindling it for this mix. Topping things off are the Chemical Brothers with "The Private Psychedelic Reel," a song that I hadn't listened to in years, but now sounds like something for my Desert Island Jukebox.
Happy birthday, Kate! The United Kingdom is very lucky to have you.
*If you are working on said movie, GET IN TOUCH WITH ME NOW.
Happy Friday the 13th
If you're going to get slaughtered, it might as well be a) by Jason Voorhees and b) set to Alice Cooper's music.
Wishing everyone a safe trip to Camp Crystal Lake today. Oh yeah, NSFW.
Wishing everyone a safe trip to Camp Crystal Lake today. Oh yeah, NSFW.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
