Remember that mix CD I told you I was working on for someone? Finally finished it. I'm pretty sure that it's the best one that I've made in a really long time.
Like So Much
Built to Spill- "Strange"
Modest Mouse- "Gravity Rides Everything"
Minus the Bear- "Drilling"
Tears for Fears- "Head Over Hills"
Marilyn Manson- "Heart Shaped Glasses"
Deftones- "Digital Bath"
A Perfect Circle- "Orestes"
Audioslave- "Getaway Car"
Temple of the Dog- "Say Hello 2 Heaven"
Stone Temple Pilots- "Interstate Love Song"
Smashing Pumpkins- "Stand Inside Your Love"
Augustana- "Bullets"
Red Hot Chili Peppers- "This Velvet Glove"
Bruce Springsteen- "I'm On Fire"
Johnny Cash- "In My Life"
Cat Stevens- "Wild World"
Less Than Jake- "The Science of Selling Yourself Short"
The Toadies- "Possum Kingdom"
Modest Mouse- "The Good Times Are Killing Me"
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Steeple guide me to my heart and home
Speak to me in a language I can hear, humor me before I have to go.
Another sad song that isn't depressing. I don't know why, but this song always reminds me of wintertime or a particularly rainy day. "Thirty-Three" from my favorite Smashing Pumpkins album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The first one I ever owned, which is probably why it's my favorite. I remember that I got this CD for Christmas one year, probably 6th or 7th grade, and I listened to it non-stop well past the point of entering college. I still listen to it a lot, actually.
And, once again, an unlikely love song. I know I'll make it, Love can last forever. I really like how the lyrics in this song are contradictory. It's about so many things at once. Forgiveness and being on your own and trying to make it, in spite of everything. And, yet, it's also about love and friendship and having faith in things. In the same old haunts, I still find my friends. It always brings to mind very specific imagery, being cold but having this limitless warmth hovering on the edges. I know that I'm taking the lyrics really literally and not surprisingly this song has endless amounts of other less obvious interpretations- one of the most popular ones about it being a Christ reference. Corgan has remained mostly silent about it, but I will say that I think it's interesting that it's the first song he wrote after the Siamese Dream tour and that in his own words, "It's a simple song set to country tuning."
This song is a departure from the past for the Pumpkins in a lot of ways. It's the final song released from the album, after the death of Jonathon Melvoin and during that brief time when Jimmy Chamberlin was fired from the band. The song is fitting for that time for several reasons- it's appropriately somber given the circumstances and it's one of the few songs that doesn't feature Chamberlin's drums. Corgan is playing them on here and it's a distinctive difference in sound. The video for this song is also a departure from the norm for Smashing Pumpkins, as it does have incredibly literal translations of the lyrics imagery featured prominently. On a personal note, rumor has it that this song was released instead of the planned single last minute. That song? Is "Muzzle", which just so happens to be my very favorite song on Melon Collie.
I love Corgan's voice on this song, clear and expressive. The music is quiet but still complex. For me, this song evokes very specific memories. Driving or walking and getting completely lost in your own thoughts, in the feeling of being a part of everything. It heals wounds in a way that can't be explained.
Another sad song that isn't depressing. I don't know why, but this song always reminds me of wintertime or a particularly rainy day. "Thirty-Three" from my favorite Smashing Pumpkins album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The first one I ever owned, which is probably why it's my favorite. I remember that I got this CD for Christmas one year, probably 6th or 7th grade, and I listened to it non-stop well past the point of entering college. I still listen to it a lot, actually.
And, once again, an unlikely love song. I know I'll make it, Love can last forever. I really like how the lyrics in this song are contradictory. It's about so many things at once. Forgiveness and being on your own and trying to make it, in spite of everything. And, yet, it's also about love and friendship and having faith in things. In the same old haunts, I still find my friends. It always brings to mind very specific imagery, being cold but having this limitless warmth hovering on the edges. I know that I'm taking the lyrics really literally and not surprisingly this song has endless amounts of other less obvious interpretations- one of the most popular ones about it being a Christ reference. Corgan has remained mostly silent about it, but I will say that I think it's interesting that it's the first song he wrote after the Siamese Dream tour and that in his own words, "It's a simple song set to country tuning."
This song is a departure from the past for the Pumpkins in a lot of ways. It's the final song released from the album, after the death of Jonathon Melvoin and during that brief time when Jimmy Chamberlin was fired from the band. The song is fitting for that time for several reasons- it's appropriately somber given the circumstances and it's one of the few songs that doesn't feature Chamberlin's drums. Corgan is playing them on here and it's a distinctive difference in sound. The video for this song is also a departure from the norm for Smashing Pumpkins, as it does have incredibly literal translations of the lyrics imagery featured prominently. On a personal note, rumor has it that this song was released instead of the planned single last minute. That song? Is "Muzzle", which just so happens to be my very favorite song on Melon Collie.
I love Corgan's voice on this song, clear and expressive. The music is quiet but still complex. For me, this song evokes very specific memories. Driving or walking and getting completely lost in your own thoughts, in the feeling of being a part of everything. It heals wounds in a way that can't be explained.
Monday, November 17, 2008
And when I wake up in the morning...
To feel the day break on my face
There's a blood that's flowing through the feeling
With a knife to open up the sky's veins
Woke up to "Backwater" by the Meat Puppets this morning. Off of their 1994 album, Too High To Die. Released shortly after their new found mainstream popularity as a result of appearing on MTV Unplugged with Nirvana. The single of "Lake of Fire" off that sitting is, in fact, a cover of the Meat Puppets song. The ensuing disc was incidentally the last recording Nirvana made. Kurt Cobain died about 4 months later.
"Backwater" is the Meat Puppets' only single to make it on to the charts, but they're a band that has consistently flown just below the radar. They started out as a punk/hardcore band and evolved into using country elements and eventually into a sort of grunge hybrid. They are easy to listen to, it's not as sharp on the ears as Nirvana can be, and the music itself is relatively upbeat even when the lyrics aren't.
This song reminds me of JLM. I stole the CD from him the last time I went to Jacksonville this summer before the move, because I couldn't get the song out of my head and it's not available on iTunes. Meat Puppets always remind me of him, because Nirvana always reminds me of him. I listened to this song on repeat about 10 times on the way home that day.
The lyrics remind me of him, too, in a comforting sort of way. In the backwater swirling, there are some things that will never change. The more things change, the more they stay the same, right? I think it's recognizing that pattern that allows you to move forward. Carry the good and leave the bad.
There's a blood that's flowing through the feeling
With a knife to open up the sky's veins
Woke up to "Backwater" by the Meat Puppets this morning. Off of their 1994 album, Too High To Die. Released shortly after their new found mainstream popularity as a result of appearing on MTV Unplugged with Nirvana. The single of "Lake of Fire" off that sitting is, in fact, a cover of the Meat Puppets song. The ensuing disc was incidentally the last recording Nirvana made. Kurt Cobain died about 4 months later.
"Backwater" is the Meat Puppets' only single to make it on to the charts, but they're a band that has consistently flown just below the radar. They started out as a punk/hardcore band and evolved into using country elements and eventually into a sort of grunge hybrid. They are easy to listen to, it's not as sharp on the ears as Nirvana can be, and the music itself is relatively upbeat even when the lyrics aren't.
This song reminds me of JLM. I stole the CD from him the last time I went to Jacksonville this summer before the move, because I couldn't get the song out of my head and it's not available on iTunes. Meat Puppets always remind me of him, because Nirvana always reminds me of him. I listened to this song on repeat about 10 times on the way home that day.
The lyrics remind me of him, too, in a comforting sort of way. In the backwater swirling, there are some things that will never change. The more things change, the more they stay the same, right? I think it's recognizing that pattern that allows you to move forward. Carry the good and leave the bad.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Beware all those angels with their wings glued on.
Read something on someone's blog the other day about how Billy Corgan made Jimmy Chamberlin play this song until his hands bled in practice one day. After Camberlin had gone a three day binge or something. I was never the biggest fan of "Cherub Rock" but the past few days I just can't seem to shake it off. The lyrics specifically are hitting me in the face right now. I feel like a lot of people I've met lately have completely bought into their own bullshit. Give in, doesn't matter what you believe in. Maybe it's part of being in an actual city and being around so many people that feel like they have something to prove. Like, how fucking cool they are? Corgan reportedly wrote this about the emerging alternative rock scene in the early 90's and what he felt was a lot of fake people- fans, industry and artists. Who wants honey? As long as there's some money?
Melon Collie is my favorite album, but I think it's more because it was the first one I owned and really listened to a lot more than anything. Siamese Dream gets under my skin and makes me perfectly restless. I can't always take listening to Corgan's voice repeatedly but more often than with other bands, I find myself getting hooked on a particular song or riff or lyric for days, weeks, months on end.
I love the opening drums on this song and how it builds in layers and spools up so quickly. It pretty much sums up the way the weight in my chest has been feeling for the past few days. It's heavy, but slower. I think that one of the things about Pumpkins that make them one of my favorite bands is how each piece of their music is so carefully constructed and snapped together. The music shows an incredibly wide range and even on one song they can simultaneously pull you apart and sew you back together. No matter how much hearing Smashing Pumpkins can tear open some wound with me, I'm always left feeling whole. Better for having heard it.
I'm trying not to cheat out on here and lamely post music lyrics, but I haven't been able to reign in my nerves lately and focus on writing something coherent. It's hard when you just want to run, when you're so overcome with the music itself that you don't even know how to try to put into words the way it makes you feel or the things it makes you think.
Suffice to say, for now, that I've been listening to lots of Smashing Pumpkins lately- because I don't think I've mentioned that quite enough yet. Unsuccessfully tried to write about "Thirty-Three" the other day- hopefully that post will make it way to published form sooner or later. Also heard someone on the Metro listening to old Nine Inch Nails the other day and then the original version of "Dead Souls" (by Joy Division) was playing in my roommate's car the other night and now I had to dig out The Crow Soundtrack, and then that also prompted me listening to Joy Division and startlingly copious amounts of Tears for Fears. Which only makes me want to watch Donnie Darko, so there you go.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
lift me up so high that I cannot fall
Get ready, this is probably the one and only song from a Christian band that you will ever see featured here. Before you start to curse me, I don't have anything against Christianity or its music. I simply don't listen to it. I also know that this is probably one of the most well-known and therefore cliched examples of a Christian rock song there is, but it's the only one I know so it's the only one I'm going to talk about. I wasn't even intending to write this entry today. I read this really great article in Rolling Stone about the Smashing Pumpkins essential albums last night and since I've been trying to write about five different posts about them in the past two weeks, I thought that today I might finally be able to get something concrete down.
But, damn my iPod, because this is what I woke up to this morning and this is what I can't get out of my head. Maybe it's a sign or something. Jars of Clay- "Flood".
This song came out on their self-titled album all the way back in 1995. That's the first time I can remember hearing it. I must have been in 8th grade, because I remember being in drama class and it being on the radio while we were doing something. I never knew what it was and I would hear it infrequently over the years, but didn't stop to investigate it, mostly because it was one of those things that would slip out of my mind after it ended. Last year, on the way to Atlanta to see (surprise) Smashing Pumpkins, this song came on the radio and I finally got it stuck in my head long enough to download it.
I may have stumbled upon this song entirely on accident but its had a definite effect on me, the connotation not withstanding. I actually really appreciate that the Christian undertones are quite subtle. It definitely makes it more accessible. I'm not someone who feels like they have an abundance of faith in much of anything. This isn't to say that I'm not optimistic because I am. But, I know that I'm someone that constantly wants evidence and proof so that when I'm having my doubts, I can line it all up and say, "Look. Here it is." Unfortunately, things aren't that black and white and believing in things, even when you don't have clear and easy reasons to, is the big basis for faith in the first place. I'm getting better though, at battling my own diffidence and I'm finding it easier to follow my heart even when I don't know where it's taking me.
Whew. That was unexpectedly personal. Anyway, I'm not sure what it is about this particular song that sticks with me. The lyrics are incredibly apt and have this way of getting stuck in my head for hours on end. I really like how all of the music just blends together. Voice, guitar, drums, all at once. I even like the somewhat sappy violin break in the middle. And I love how this song gets quiet and then very loud and never stops being melodic.
Smashing Pumpkins laden entries to follow, post haste.
But, damn my iPod, because this is what I woke up to this morning and this is what I can't get out of my head. Maybe it's a sign or something. Jars of Clay- "Flood".
This song came out on their self-titled album all the way back in 1995. That's the first time I can remember hearing it. I must have been in 8th grade, because I remember being in drama class and it being on the radio while we were doing something. I never knew what it was and I would hear it infrequently over the years, but didn't stop to investigate it, mostly because it was one of those things that would slip out of my mind after it ended. Last year, on the way to Atlanta to see (surprise) Smashing Pumpkins, this song came on the radio and I finally got it stuck in my head long enough to download it.
I may have stumbled upon this song entirely on accident but its had a definite effect on me, the connotation not withstanding. I actually really appreciate that the Christian undertones are quite subtle. It definitely makes it more accessible. I'm not someone who feels like they have an abundance of faith in much of anything. This isn't to say that I'm not optimistic because I am. But, I know that I'm someone that constantly wants evidence and proof so that when I'm having my doubts, I can line it all up and say, "Look. Here it is." Unfortunately, things aren't that black and white and believing in things, even when you don't have clear and easy reasons to, is the big basis for faith in the first place. I'm getting better though, at battling my own diffidence and I'm finding it easier to follow my heart even when I don't know where it's taking me.
Whew. That was unexpectedly personal. Anyway, I'm not sure what it is about this particular song that sticks with me. The lyrics are incredibly apt and have this way of getting stuck in my head for hours on end. I really like how all of the music just blends together. Voice, guitar, drums, all at once. I even like the somewhat sappy violin break in the middle. And I love how this song gets quiet and then very loud and never stops being melodic.
Smashing Pumpkins laden entries to follow, post haste.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Lushing with the hallway congregation, my best judgement signed its resignation.
I remember distinctly the first time I ever heard Death Cab for Cutie. It was senior year of high school and I was sitting on map's bedroom floor working on a project for our sociology class when "We Laugh Indoors" came on. I remember thinking that it sounded completely different from anything else I was listening to at the time, though now Minus the Bear is occasionally reminiscent of them, and I remember thinking that it felt like a moment, like a place and thinking that it sounds like the sort of song that plays the moment you know that something in your life has just shifted irrevocably. I also have some rather vivid memories of a different scene when that song was playing and life was changing indeed. Anyway, I've always really loved that song and even though I wouldn't say that Death Cab is one of my favorite bands, I have a certain fondness for them, wrought in large part through boys I have loved that have loved them.
It's one of those bands that goes through a stylistic evolution every few years and gains or loses fans along the way. I think it's a natural progression (I don't believe in the "selling out" argument for anyone) and for me, their new stuff just doesn't catch me in the gut the way their old did. (I truly despise "Soul Meets Body", but I really love three other songs on Plans so maybe that's not a good example). Death Cab is easy on the ears. It varies from mellow to slightly trippy and it sounds like its been stripped down and reworked. It says more by what it doesn't say than what it does.
Someone burned me a live copy of We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes a few years ago and I have just about worn the thing out. Something about the album live brings out so much more depth and emotion than any of their (albeit good) studio work. "Title Track" is by far my favorite song on the album (actually, I'm about 90% sure it's my favorite Death Cab song period) and in no small part because it is incredibly bare. Raw, even. Ben Gibbard sounds less in control of his usually emotionless voice and the lyrics on this song are just not to be believed. "Talking how the group had begun to splinter and I can taste your lipstick on the filter."
It's romanticizes the unromantic. There's no love in this song. But it's got a life. It feels real, living and breathing. You know how when you hit bottom you can laugh at anything? This song feels just like that moment. When you're so down and out that you simply don't care, you just want to clutch at anything you can lay your hands on. It's about the moment, the desperation, the beauty in running with it. Even if you regret it in the morning.
This is a song that I frequently put on at the end of the day. Most of the time, it inspires me to write something, though occasionally I'll just lay, listen, and let my thoughts scatter. And every so often, when I'm feeling particularly restless, and now that driving is no longer an option, I will dance and I will wait.
It's one of those bands that goes through a stylistic evolution every few years and gains or loses fans along the way. I think it's a natural progression (I don't believe in the "selling out" argument for anyone) and for me, their new stuff just doesn't catch me in the gut the way their old did. (I truly despise "Soul Meets Body", but I really love three other songs on Plans so maybe that's not a good example). Death Cab is easy on the ears. It varies from mellow to slightly trippy and it sounds like its been stripped down and reworked. It says more by what it doesn't say than what it does.
Someone burned me a live copy of We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes a few years ago and I have just about worn the thing out. Something about the album live brings out so much more depth and emotion than any of their (albeit good) studio work. "Title Track" is by far my favorite song on the album (actually, I'm about 90% sure it's my favorite Death Cab song period) and in no small part because it is incredibly bare. Raw, even. Ben Gibbard sounds less in control of his usually emotionless voice and the lyrics on this song are just not to be believed. "Talking how the group had begun to splinter and I can taste your lipstick on the filter."
It's romanticizes the unromantic. There's no love in this song. But it's got a life. It feels real, living and breathing. You know how when you hit bottom you can laugh at anything? This song feels just like that moment. When you're so down and out that you simply don't care, you just want to clutch at anything you can lay your hands on. It's about the moment, the desperation, the beauty in running with it. Even if you regret it in the morning.
This is a song that I frequently put on at the end of the day. Most of the time, it inspires me to write something, though occasionally I'll just lay, listen, and let my thoughts scatter. And every so often, when I'm feeling particularly restless, and now that driving is no longer an option, I will dance and I will wait.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
On a more somber note.
Chi Cheng, the bassist for the Deftones, is in a coma after a car accident yesterday. He's in stable condition, but my heart goes out to his family, friends, and fans who are all waiting on some news.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
we all want to change the world
Do me a favor, right now, and google or youtube The Beatles, "Revolution". That's the song of the day and it deserves to be appreciated in its entirety. If you don't want to read the rest of this post after this, then be my guest.
I thought that this was an appropriate dedication for Election Day.
I've been listening to the Beatles more in the past few months than I ever have. I've been around a lot more people that actually listen to them than I used to, I guess. I never knew how much I liked them until I really started listening. It's sort of funny, you know how people say that everyone is either a Beatles person or a Rolling Stones person? (Actually, I think Elvis might be in there somewhere, too.) You can like both, but you always lean one way or the other. I never really knew enough to be decisive about it, but I always thought I would be a Rolling Stones person. Not so. I am definitely a Beatles person. (Due in no small part to the song, "In My Life", but that's another post entirely.)
I won't insult your intelligence by giving you the usual background info on the Beatles. If you don't know about John, Paul, George and Ringo then google it. I will tell you that this song has several different incarnations (I prefer the louder electric version as opposed to the acoustic or psychedelic version), it's found originally on the B-Side to the single for "Hey Jude" but more commonly on The White Album and that "Revolution" is one of the most commonly used song titles among American artists. This song is distinctively different from most of the Beatles' other music and, in fact, has been cited as being a precursor for heavy metal. Something to chew on.
I don't really want to go into the music too much, though I love how boisterous and upbeat this song is, but I want to talk a bit about the lyrics. I'm still astounded, in general, by music's ability to remain relevant so many years after it was made. I was driving my roommate's car the other day and she had a large mix of the Beatles in and "Revolution" came on. I hate to admit it, but I really liked "Across the Universe" and this version of the song in it and up until now I've really thought about that scene whenever I heard this song. I think that it's really relevant to this point in our history right now though... regardless of what your beliefs are or who you end up voting (or not voting) for, we all want to change the way things are.
A non-Beatles note, sorry for the lack of posting lately. I have several that I've started and not yet posted and a running list of well over 25 other topics I'd like to cover asap. Haven't been able to clear out the clutter in my brain to get anything definitive down on paper. I want to write about how things feel but the words convey it even less adequately than usual lately. Bear with me, I'll be back to my usual loquacious self soon.
I thought that this was an appropriate dedication for Election Day.
I've been listening to the Beatles more in the past few months than I ever have. I've been around a lot more people that actually listen to them than I used to, I guess. I never knew how much I liked them until I really started listening. It's sort of funny, you know how people say that everyone is either a Beatles person or a Rolling Stones person? (Actually, I think Elvis might be in there somewhere, too.) You can like both, but you always lean one way or the other. I never really knew enough to be decisive about it, but I always thought I would be a Rolling Stones person. Not so. I am definitely a Beatles person. (Due in no small part to the song, "In My Life", but that's another post entirely.)
I won't insult your intelligence by giving you the usual background info on the Beatles. If you don't know about John, Paul, George and Ringo then google it. I will tell you that this song has several different incarnations (I prefer the louder electric version as opposed to the acoustic or psychedelic version), it's found originally on the B-Side to the single for "Hey Jude" but more commonly on The White Album and that "Revolution" is one of the most commonly used song titles among American artists. This song is distinctively different from most of the Beatles' other music and, in fact, has been cited as being a precursor for heavy metal. Something to chew on.
I don't really want to go into the music too much, though I love how boisterous and upbeat this song is, but I want to talk a bit about the lyrics. I'm still astounded, in general, by music's ability to remain relevant so many years after it was made. I was driving my roommate's car the other day and she had a large mix of the Beatles in and "Revolution" came on. I hate to admit it, but I really liked "Across the Universe" and this version of the song in it and up until now I've really thought about that scene whenever I heard this song. I think that it's really relevant to this point in our history right now though... regardless of what your beliefs are or who you end up voting (or not voting) for, we all want to change the way things are.
A non-Beatles note, sorry for the lack of posting lately. I have several that I've started and not yet posted and a running list of well over 25 other topics I'd like to cover asap. Haven't been able to clear out the clutter in my brain to get anything definitive down on paper. I want to write about how things feel but the words convey it even less adequately than usual lately. Bear with me, I'll be back to my usual loquacious self soon.
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