Sunday, August 12, 2007

top 10 in 60 seconds challenge

so, gauntlets are being thrown down everywhere. my challenge came via ipickmynose, a san fransisco music blog, but the challenge came to him via jon wilde at the guardian.
the challenge: name your top ten songs of all time.
the catch: you have 60 seconds to do it.

many of these songs have been on this blog before, but since i took the time to upload the songs, i thought i'd throw it up here. i'm also just going to cut and paste, instead of rewriting it.

here are all ten in one file: top ten in 60 seconds (about 50 meg.) get it quick, i don't know how long it will be up.

top ten in 60 seconds (though i think it probably took two minutes.)

beatles. for no one.
i had a copied version of revolver and i wore the tape out. i don't mean that it got a little distorted…it stopped playing completely.

pinback. penelope.
desert island top five album.

badly drawn boy. the shining.
i know that i'm a sucker for the french horn, but that doesn't change the absolute brilliance of this song.

herman dune. you could be a model goodbye (live bbc session).
the funny thing is how mediocre the album version is.

aesop rock. daylight.
this is the converter song…used to shut up those who claim that the hip-hop landscape is devoid of artistic talent. every element is damn near perfect.

the national. city middle.
still my favorite album of 2005. still on heavy rotation (i still prefer it to boxer.) i've probably given more copies of aligator away than any other album.

built to spill. car.
so good.

decemberists. red right ankle.
easily one of my favorite love songs. so unique and fantastically written.

metric. calculation theory.
this remains the ONLY metric song that i care much for…but i REALLY like it.

foo fighters. everlong (acoustic).
this song is the king of je ne sais quoi. i just can't pin down what it is about it that speaks to nearly every person of my generation. whatever it is, it works on me.


OK, now it's your turn. 60 seconds. 10 songs......go!


i leave for scotland and amsterdam in six days.

Friday, August 10, 2007

do something summer. (today! 8-10-07)

on the tv the other day, i actually heard someone say that they hated summer. wow, right?





Maritime.   The Guns of Navarone.

This is shameless. Throw whatever labels you want at it (personally, i hear a symbiotic meeting of sub-pop and first generation drive-thru records, sort of "photo album" era deathcab over for a playdate with the benjamins) this is a fun song. i thought i knew exactly where it was going, always, and instead it just made me smile.
this a song for everyone who remembers when emo had nothing to do with bleeding wrists and, most importantly, with being depressed.
it's a head bobber. a happy little ditty. have a bar b q, throw a frisbee, roll down the windows and smile...it's still summer!


and if this song made you smile, please pass it on. think of someone that you know needs a pick-me-up, and give them a call, or send them a note. there is so much unhappiness out there, so much that it can be daunting. go fix some of it, would you?




i saw this yesterday and wanted to share it. i'm never guilty for what i have, but i'm often guilty of forgetting just how little others have.

These two asleep . . . (8-7-07)

27,000 Miles by Albert Goldbarth 

These two asleep . . . so indrawn and compact,
like lavish origami animals returned

to slips of paper once again; and then
the paper once again become a string

of pith, a secret that the plant hums to itself . . . .
You see? — so often we envy the grandiose, the way

those small toy things of Leonardo's want to be
the great, air-conquering and miles-eating

living wings
they're modeled on.  And the bird flight is

amazing: simultaneously strength,
escape, caprice: the Artic tern completes

its trip of nearly 27,000 miles every year;
a swan will frighten bears away

by angry aerial display of flapping wingspan.
But it isn't all flight; they also

fold; and at night on the water or in the eaves
they package their bodies

into their bodies, smaller, and deeply
smaller yet: migrating a similar distance

 in the opposite direction.



there is no theme here...i just read that poem and wanted to share it. i saw the first five lines quoted by themselves and i like it that way, perhaps more than in its entirety.

the internet does precious little to stave off loneliness these days. i'm pretty sure that this is my fault. i'd probably also be better off turning to real, live, people for this service.

my grandma is full of great memories about my family's history. the ones that interest me most are the cute little things that we all did when we were kids and have long since forgotten. she told me an awesome one yesterday about my mom's cousin herkey. when he was quite young, he gave his mother a box of chocolates for no apparent reason. when she opened the box, all of the chocolates had been eaten and little herkey proudly proclaimed, "i surprised you with none chocolates!" i love it sooo much!
i have a terrible, really really bad memory...it is a little depressing to think how many of these things will die with grammie when she goes. i hope someone in my generation is able to call up these sorts of tidbits when i am old. who will be the scribe, mental or not, of our generation?


i got a new phone and it kicks all the ass. i had my amazing 6230 for two years and it was still a better phone than any i had seen in stores. finally, one came along that topped it. i am totally in phone heaven.

i know that you're here for the music, so here is a list i cribbed directly from Vertigo's (of Peanut's Playground) top 25 albums of all time (though doing the tables took enough time that you should all be thankful.) i left the 12 that i most wanted to share, and what is left is a pretty good haul for anyone willing to do the downloading.
they should work, though many of them require more than one step.



Nirvana – Nevermind
Nirvana – Nevermind (1991)



Joanna Newsom – Ys

Joanna Newsom – Ys (2006)


Radiohead - Kid A
Radiohead - Ok Computer (1997)


Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
Sufjan Stevens – Illinois (2005)


Death Cab For Cutie – Transatlanticism
Death Cab For Cutie –Transatlanticism (2003)


Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea(1998)


The Postal Service - Give Up
The Postal Service - Give Up (2003)


The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow (2003)


Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)


Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds(1966)


Beatles - Abbey Road
The Beatles - Abbey Road (1969)


Jeff Buckley – Grace
Jeff Buckley – Grace (1994)




thanks for stopping by. if you are bored, send me a text message...i love getting them now that i have unlimited texts and an awesome phone.

There’s big stars falling down, down, and twinkling as they fall. (7-22-07)

posted out of guilt for the long hiatus.

bullet points:
* i was laid off from juvie
* i have filed for unemployment
* i go to the gym nearly every day
* i am leaving for backpacking in five days
* i am leaving for europe in just over three weeks
* i stopped blogging because i stopped receiving feedback
* but, i kept getting more and more guilty because i kept getting hits.
* my shins/knees couldn't take all my running and i've been bitterly sidelined

how 'bout a song?




Jolie Holland.   Do You?   Lyrics.

slow, slow, slow, but oh so pretty.
this picture doesn't go w/the song, but i thought it was too cute to pass up.
if you saw the last lines coming, you are a strange little person.  



why do i always get antsy during the summer even though it is my favorite? i would that i were elsewhere. i suppose i will be soon enough, huh?

"It's just that a lot of songs that are popular right now, they don't have any meaning." (6-21-07)

i'm sleepy, but i wanted to share this link before it dies.




Elliott Smith.   XO.

Sweet Adaline
Tomorrow Tomorrow
Waltz #2 (XO)
Baby Britain
Pitseleh
Independence Day
Bled White
Waltz #1
Amity
Oh Well, Okay
Bottle up and Explode!
A Question Mark
Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands
I Didn't Understand

At the very least get Waltz #2 (XO), Pitseleh, and I Didn't Understand. for your own sake, do it.


this is my favorite album from one of my favorite artists. why do i need to say more?
how 'bout a tiny bit more: a gifted melodist, an unreal lyricist, and musician proficient in many instruments, elliott smith was one of the saddest people on the western seaboard. the tid-bit that many people know about him is that he committed suicide by stabbing himself in the heart. another popular bit of knowledge is that he owes some of his commercial fame to multiple soundtracks, including "good will hunting" for which he was nominated for an academy award.





in my eyes, he is the next best thing to john lennon. in fact, he often covered beatles songs. i believe i included one such cover, that of 'beacause', in an earlier post.





luckily, he was prolific during his too short life, and left us piles of beautiful, gut-wrenching rock. seriously, if you are easily depressed, steer clear of smith. he does sad and lonely like nobody's business.




as for me, i'm playing soccer, exercising (i can actually run w/o stopping for quite some time!!) and hating the unemployment i was so looking forward to. video games and single friends make days off fly by...without either, they crawl.
i took the cbest, meaning i am one step closer to teaching. i am far from worried, but i don't get to see my results until the ninth of next month, which is a crazy-long time.
i have been listening to almost 100% rap and hip-hop. i'll try to post some of that for you. when i'm this bored, you should really get more posts out of me.
if you write me more, i  promise to post more. it is just hard to get stoked about myspace when i only really get messages from a couple people anymore. yes, i'm aware that messages are a reciprocal thing.

rock me like a hurricane? (6-5-07)

quickest blog ever.

i need to be at work in a short time. 
i couldn't sleep at all. i've been trying for hours. fuck adhd.
i took a 5htp and drank a lovely drink w/tons of vodka.
who visited my blog seven times today when i haven't been posting in for ever? whoever you are...you rock.


raw like sashimi.


how's this for cheesy and yet awesome? one of my favorite full album blogs has just posted links to about a hundred full albums. there are many gems hidden amongst the ridiculous pop drivel that this man likes so much. i can't really even promise that the links will work anymore, since it's been a few days since he posted them...but if they do, this is a wealth of albums. first and foremost, there is a ton of fiona apple, whom i adore completely. there is some comedy. some post-grunge (sorry, i heard brand new described as that once and i enjoyed it.) there is amy winehouse for those who like their soul singers to use meth and have no teeth (but...dude...she IS white.)  some LIT, some bloc party, some damien rice (who every-freaking-one but me likes.) some coldplay (get parachutes if you don't have it) and some emiliana torrini (fisherman's woman is worth it.) metric and monty python.
please. just please. don't download gwen stefani's, love music angel baby. there are precious few albums that i can not, CAN NOT even listen to at all...not even for one song...not even for money...not even to save the life of a kitten...and this is one. in fact, it might be the only one. it might be the worst album ever made. ever. i am including the eighties and lindsey lohan (also available for download here.)


for those who like me...i will include a tiny update.
it is as follows:

i have joined a soccer team full of people who are waaaay better than me. however, this is a dream of mine that i have managed to make come true...so, if i can hang with these guys, in this league, then i win. my knee is killing me though...please...if you believe in god, put in a word for my knee, my left knee.

i will have used up all one thousand hours i am alloted, per year, at work. i just found out today that i can file for unemployment. neat. i have been paying taxes for years. now it finally pays off.

i need to be asleep two hours ago.

wow...is there anything worse than watching minutes vanish when you know that each one means one degree worse you will feel the next day?

g'night.

drunken drive home (5-16-07)

i'm realy becoming a fan of these players from projectplaylist.com. they should allow you to listen to my blog like a radio station...a really really good radio station. also, the player has an option to get the URL of any track you dig. you can also open the tracklist in a new window or in your media player. the one at the top of the page has 75 songs on it and is set to random...it should last you a while. i won't always do this instead of my normal posting method, but i will try to keep a couple of these players updated in case you fell like letting them run wild.


last night, i went out to the bar for what must be the third or fourth time in the last six months. good ol' bar...i missed those smoky yelling matches.

since rachel has decided that she no longer gets drunk (a fact unbeknownst to me at the outset of our journey), i inadvertently gained a dd by offering her a ride. this meant that i would be drunken djing at some point. this is, roughly, what was played between SC and aromas. if you want to recreate the feel of the trip, get hammered and the instant any song starts to get stale, move on to the next one. also, scream along.






of all these tracks, the one i most want to talk about is:

Badly Drawn Boy.   The Shining.   Lyrics.

as i wrote last night at 4 (uneditied, of course)(is it kosher to put [sic] after your own mistakes if they were made while you were drunk?):

the truth of the matter is this...i was planing on posting this track yesterday, but i didn't really feel about writing about it at the time. now that i can't close my eyes w/o the world spinning, it feels like the perfect moment. i chose this song for the home stretch because it was the prettiest song i could find. it probably makes my top ten list for beautiful songs. i have always been a sucker for french horn.
badly drawn boy have made a name for themselves as a soundrack band...and rightly so. they create some of the simultaneously moody, interesting, and beautiful music around.

yeah! basically, if you don't like this song, you are either soulless or earless.


it should be added that there were some major spoilsports in the back seat, whining about saves the day, but they were drowned out by megan, rocky, and my singing. ha.

if you are in the sonoma area, feel free to call me this weekend as i will be nigh.

his face was carved and ripped with wrinkles (5-4-07)

i was all keyed up for what i wanted to post and what i wanted it to look like, but i was screwed over by having a pirated cd for which there are no lyrics online yet. poor me...but mostly poor y'all.

instead, you'll have to settle for half the post. of course, it includes five complete decemberists albums...so, cry me a freaking river.






The Decemberists.   Index of five full albums.

well...this solves the mystery of what jd salinger has been doing with himself in recent years. only he could divide a woman so cleanly into three "random" servings and make me feel like she and i are old friends...and like i would take a bullet for her.

hmm...i just checked wiki, and it doesn't mention salinger anywhere. not surprising, really...what kind of hermit would he be?

this is one of the best love songs i have ever heard. end of story.


Red Right Ankle.   Lyrics.

This is the story of your red right ankle
And how it came to meet your leg
And how the muscle, bone, and sinews tangled
And how the skin was softly shed
And how it whispered, "Oh, adhere to me
For we are bound by symmetry
And whatever differences our lives have been
We together make a limb"
This is the story of your red right ankle

This is the story of your gypsy uncle
You never knew cause he was dead
And how his face was carved and ripped with wrinkles
In the picture in your head
And remember how you found the key
To his hideout in the Pyrenees
But you wanted to keep his secret safe
So you threw the key away
This is the story of your gypsy uncle

This is the story of the boys who loved you
Who love you now and loved you then
And some were sweet and some were cold and snuffed you
And some just layed around in bed
And some, they crumbled you straight to your knees
Did it cruel, did it tenderly
Some they crawled their way into your heart
To rend your ventricles apart
This is the story of the boys who loved you

This is the story of your red right ankle