Still Sublime, Even Without the Mandolin

Of all the times I've seen Squeeze or any of the band members' solo performances live, I have never heard them do Maidstone live.



Here's some proof at last that they do play it at least on occasion. Maybe they just don't like to play it in the mid-western US states.

CD Music Mix Challenge

Hello, and welcome to my track listing!

What? You may ask? Well, if you aren't in the know, here's the deal. My buddy Stennie posts a Music Mix Challenge from time to time. She asks (in this case, 20) questions, and participants answer them in the form of songs on a CD. This time we had 9 total participants, and I think I've gotten all the CDs. I've only listened to three so far, but so far, so good.

1. Sellout —a song that is used (or has been used) in a TV commercial.
Hello Goodbye - The Beatles – Target is currently using this in their ad. I get it that they’re going for the “good buy” double entendre, but somehow it doesn’t work for me. I do like the song though.

2. A song that’s in a foreign language
Typewriter, Tip, Tip, Tip (From Merchant Ivory's Film "Bombay Talkie") - Asha Bhosle & Kisore Kumar – The first of several songs on this mix from the soundtrack to the Darjeeling Limited. You were expecting a German song here, weren’t you?

3. A song about cheating
As Heaven is Wide – Garbage – She’s been cheated on, and she’s pissed.

4. Song that makes you cry
A Change is Gonna Come – Sam Cooke. Such a beautiful song. The lyrics “It's been too hard living but I'm afraid to die/Cause I don't know what's up there beyond the sky” get me everytime.

5. B-side
Oops. I had the wrong song listed here. Thanks for the heads up Betster! The song is Smile, a Japanese B-side done by Elvis Costello.

6. Kick-ass cover song
Girl, You’ll be a woman soon – Urge Overkill. I don’t remember if anyone has used this on a previous mix, but last time I heard it on the radio, I remembered to use it on the next mix challenge. I just love this version.

7. Earworm —a song that gets stuck in your head.
Don’t You Evah – Spoon. Love this band, love this song.

8. A favorite live track
Charmless Man – Blur. I suspect that I used Blur on my last live track submission. I don’t have a lot of live tracks, so I have to use the Blur album a lot.

9. Title out of nowhere —a song in which the title does not appear in the lyrics at all.
Dirty Harry – Gorillaz. Speaking of Blur…

10. A favorite song you have discovered since our last CD Mix
This Time Tomorrow – The Kinks. Another track from the Darjeeling Limited soundtrack. Wes Anderson has the best soundtracks.

11. Favorite artist duo collaboration
Well Did You Evah – Deborah Harry and Iggy Pop. A friend of mine put this on a mix tape when I was a struggling undergrad. I always thought it was a fun version – “It’s just so.. SWELLIGANT!!”

12. Geographical location song —any song that mentions a geographical place: a country, a city, a street, what-have-you.
Les Champs-Élysées- Joe Dassin. Don’t you love this song? It is so happy! Carefree! The France of textbooks 70's educational film strips. This is the third, and last from the Darjeeling Limited soundtrack in this mix. I remember learning the words to this ditty in high school French class, and somehow convincing myself that it was dirty.

13. Musical question…
What’s The Matter Here – 10,000 Maniacs.

14. And answer!
He Wasn’t Man Enough for Me – Toni Braxton
Not characteristic of my taste in music, to be sure, but the song is so sassy. I couldn’t resist.

15. Four-letter word —a song whose title consists solely of a four-letter word.
Blue – The Jayhawks

16. Seven Deadly Sins—a song about any one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
Fiona Apple – Limp. This one is all about rage.

17. A song you wouldn’t play in front of your Mom
Human Nature – Madonna. Ok – I have to confess that I struggled with this one. I’m not the biggest Madonna fan, but I do like this song. Staying true to the question though, I can say in all truthfulness that this song grossed my mother out. She was offended by all things Madonna, and this video, being S&M related, was too much for her. It seriously pissed her off.

18. Song about violence and/or death
Tears in Heaven – Eric Clapton. This one used to make me cry, so it does double duty!

19. Guilty pleasure song
Shadow Dancing – Andy Gibb. Shameful, right?

20. Amnesty Song - with a twist! A song that fits any two of the categories above. (Mixes #2-5, minus twist)
Lost Cause – Beck. I don’t keep running lists of amnesty songs, but I remember that I wanted to use it for a break-up song once, and it is a sad song – one that just might make me cry.

And that's all! I hope you enjoy the music, all who played.

Does the space cold make your nipples go all pointy?

Once again, I've got no original content for you. Sorry, but I'm alternately high from the consumption of suddenly abundant German chocolate, and crashing low when I wake up in the morning. It's been rough.

The link here is a Flight of the Concorde's hilarious tribute to Bowie. If you live in the US, I wouldn't consider this very safe for work. Especially if you work for a certain US financial institution that will remain nameless.

Just Dissin' Dylan

Last night I went to hear Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan. I was really hoping the show would have been more Elvis-intensive, but alas, it was pretty much about Dylan.

Elvis was acoustic and grand. He sang about five songs and escaped into the night.

Then Dylan and The Band took the stage - all dressed in black leather suits and matador hats. Dylan did a few songs on the guitar, and then moved to the keyboards where he stood for the rest of the show.

I know he's a legend and all, but I wasn't a Dylan fan before the show, and I'm certainly not one now. I wanted to be in awe and think, "wow - Dylan!" Instead I laughed my way through the show. It was funny! I have no idea what he was doing up there - some kind of vocalizing. Mumbling, moaning, growling.

The only thing that would be more ridiculous would involve the triple crown of incomprehensibility: Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, and James Brown. All musical giants, sure, but the thought makes me giggle.

The Band are tremendous despite the silly costumes. They play tribute to Dylan's strength as a composer and are worth going to see on their own. Unfortunately they don't save him from becoming a caricature of himself.

As Winter Approaches ...

Thanks to Karl for this link.

And as long as we're on the subject of Canadians, I would just like to say that I'm happy to learn that Oh Canada is as difficult to sing as The Star Spangled Banner.



Although this is painful - it isn't even remotely in his range - don't blame Geddy, please.

CD Mix #4 - The Track Listing

Before the hard drive crash, I meant to blog about the CD Mix over at stennieville.com. I wanted to encourage other friends to play along, but alas, this was not to be.

For any reader out there who might be unfamiliar with what I'm talking about, here's the deal. Stennie posts a list of items, and using this list, each player creates a CD from his/her own collection. Everyone who plays sends a CD to all the other participants, and voila! New music!

The following is the track listing for my CD

1. Song with a day of the week in the title. "Monday Morning Rock" by Marshall Crenshaw.

2. A song you disliked as a youngster that you like now. "Beth" by Kiss.
This song came out while I was still quite young, and I just didn't understand it, and the tune was annoying. But now I have a niece called Beth who I'm sort of attached to, and this song reminds me of her.

3. Sellout - song from a TV commercial. "I Turn My Camera On" by Spoon. (Jaguar)
I always had a lot of respect for this band, and then they go and pull a Sting. I really like the song, and it doesn't make me more likely to buy a Jag.


4. Kickass cover song. "She Came in Through The Bathroom Window" by Joe Cocker.
I've always liked this version best.


5. Musical question..."Who's Gonna Help A Brother Get Further?" by Elvis Costello and Allen Toussaint

6. And the answer - "I Will" by the Beatles.
Just in case anyone thought I was dissing the boys in #4.

7. Third person song "Queen Bitch" by David Bowie

8. Uplugged - a favorite acoustic song. "The Man Who Sold The World" by Nirvana.
Another cover, another great song. I love both versions.

9. A song about food. "Soup Is Good Food" by the Dead Kennedys.
Fun, fun, fun, I love this song.

10. Trains, Planes and Automobiles: song about a mode of transport"Travelling without Moving" by Jamiroquai
Funky!


11. A song that cheers you up. "Suddenly I See" by K.T. Tunstall A catchy, bouncy tune with positive lyrics. A favorite on the walk from the train to work in the morning.

12. Media - songs about radio, TV or other type of media"On Your Radio" by Joe Jackson.
Stenns and Mikey both used a different Joe Jackson song. I was original, see?


13. Add it up: “One More Time" The Pretenders

14. Plus "14th Street" by Rufus Wainwright

15. Equals "15 Petals" by Elvis Costello.
Yeah, so I used two songs by E.C. What are you going to do about it?

16. Banned! A song that is, or was in its day, controversial. "Bobby Brown" by Frank Zappa.
Lots and lots of stuff that Zappa did freaked people out. This song was probably one of the most disturbing. An upper class handsome boy grows up a slimy, S&M loving homosexual after scoring with a transsexual prostitute - just the kind of story parents want filling the airwaves. It came out when I was in third grade, and one of my classmates with an older brother started singing about being able to take an hour on the tower of power during recess. Boy, did she ever get in trouble. But none of us knew what the tower of power was. If the school had just left it alone, the song never would have caught on with the class as it had. But we all knew it was dirty somehow,and we all learned as much of the lyrics as we could from the girl.

17. A song about a family member"Brother Louie" by Modern Talking.
This song was popular during my year as an exchange student. It turns out that this band is German and quite annoying. Catchy tune though.


18. A favorite song that you have discovered since our last CD mix. "Apres Moi" by Regina Spektor.
I heard her on NPR for the first time a couple of months ago and ended up buying some of her stuff on iTunes. She's like Bjork, only not annoying.

19. A song that reminds you of an old friend."Peace Frog" by The Doors.
This funky little ditty reminds me of my friend Paul from grad school. He pretty much just listens to The Doors, and while this isn't his favorite song by the Band, it is mine. I made him listen to it over and over if he put this tape on in my presence. I would have played THE song that makes me think of him, but the version of The End I recorded from him is 15 minutes long.

20. Amnesty song" I See You Baby" by Groove Armada.
I don't remember what I wanted to use this song for in past mixes, but it is in my "maybe" folder. Besides, it's damned funky.

And there you have it! I hope you enjoy the music.