"Battlefield"-Jordin Sparks

I guess I am kind of on the Complaining Train these days. Sorry about that. But I really want to take issue with this new Jordin Sparks song, "Battlefield."

Now, ya'll know that I am a fan of The Pop Music. I am not going to diss something on the basis of it being tasty and kind of gross like a bag of neon orange Cheddar and Sour Cream ruffles. I will eat the whole bag of that.

However, this song is like, I don't know, Reduced Fat knock-off brand Pringles. For god's sake. It is marketed as being awesome but it is not. At all.

The song was written by The Runaways, the writing/production team that brought us the also-mediocre "Love Like This" by Natasha Bedingfield ft. Sean Kingston. Wikipedia has some quotes from Jordin Sparks about how she responded when they first brought the song to her. Here is one: "He played the song and honestly my jaw hit the floor." Jordin. You should get that looked at. I am going to google "jaw doctor" for you.

Apparently critics really like this song. They have compared it to Beyonce's "Halo" and Leona Lewis's "Bleeding Love," which are both universes of quality beyond this one. Another song that is a lot better is Jordin Sparks' other hit "One Step At A Time," which is actually fantastic. So it's not like she's never done anything reasonable. Plus, that "When The Levee Breaks" beat is so awesome, if it can't make a song good, there must be something real broken about it.

Look, we've already established that it's bad. But the worst part is that "Battlefield" is a straight-up rip-off of Pat Benetar. I checked on the internet to see who else was irritated by this. Some random-ass person on "answers.yahoo.com" (this is where I go to solve all my personal problems and find out important world news) asked if the new song was based on the old one. And someone responded: "I don't see how. They are nothing alike. Incidentally, Michelle Branch, Faith Hill and The Prodigy each made songs called "Breathe" that sound nothing alike."
BUT the concept of breathing is kind of a big deal. We all have to breathe every day, like, all the time. Love being a battlefield is a bit rarified, don't you think? As much as there is a ring of truth to it (people in love fighting woahhhh), I think we could hit this particular metaphor once and then move forward to a new one. How about "Love is a dentist's chair, I am dreading it" or "Love is imitation crab, full of mystery." I am giving these ideas to you for free, just to get you started.

I was listening to this song while I wrote this for more ideas, but I had to turn it off in the middle of the second listen. It is THAT BAD. I'm going to go listen to "Halo" now, and possibly eat some of those Cheddar and Sour Cream ruffles, now that I'm thinking about them.

see if you can get through it once

"Old Time Rock and Roll"-Bob Seger

Is it just me, or are songs that are about "rock and roll" some of the most boring songs on the planet?

Exhibits A, B, and C:

1. "Old Time Rock and Roll"-Bob Seger
2. "I Love Rock 'n Roll"-Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
3. "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)"-The Rolling Stones

If you have to state your case for rock, you're already overstating it. Suck, suck, and more suck.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6UJZtCz1-c

"We Weren't Crazy"-Josh Gracin

Not to be beating on my country music drum all the time, but I feel I have to make a point about country songs because no one else seems to be doing it.

I've been driving around town a lot lately listening to radio, and I will admit that a number of the songs that come on the country station are totally sucky and I have to change the channel after like thirty seconds. An example of this is "Cowboy Casanova," by Carrie Underwood, which is a big old mouse poop of a song. Like, for real, it is the worst.

However, today I was washing dishes and heard "We Weren't Crazy" by Josh Gracin. As with a lot of these songs, sometimes the verses are neutral---as in, they're not really good or bad, and it's only in the context of the chorus that you can decide whether to be into them or not. But once that chorus came crashing in, I was heading for my laptop to find out what it was called so that I could buy it.

The concept of this song is a simple one: they were young, they were wild, they were restless, but they weren't crazy. People thought they would never make it, but then they did. And now they have babies and and are sticking their tongues out at everyone like, "nanny nanny boo boo."

I know what you're thinking, and I agree that this could all add up to a very bad, very stupid thing. But it's the chorus that saves it, by having that rhythmically seductive hook that winds around itself like the best country choruses do. It's fast, and you can yell it, but it pushes against the chord changes in just the right way. Especially the melodic choices on "We were lovin' blind / borderline reckless," and the way "lovin' blind" internally rhymes with "borderline." I mean, I just cannot say enough good things about this hook. As with vegetarian chicken patties, you have to try it to believe it.

Plus the whole concept is kind of romantic---"We had a lot of fun, didn't we? And we still do."

In conclusion, the best country songs are the ones that come in halfway through and hit me in the back of the head and make me cry a little bit, even when I'm not about to get my period.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0AOQTZpi8Y

"Challengers"-The New Pornographers

I was doing "song a day" but it seems like if I can start shooting for "song a month," that will be a good goal.

This is the best song about forbidden love EVARRRR plus it has the banjo in it which makes it even hotter.

The music video showcases these elements (banjo + forbidden love) plus Neko Case drinking some radioactive soda out of a plastic cup.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHWWWa8EvzI

"Slow Show"-The National

"You know I dreamed about you for twenty-nine years before I saw you/
You know I dreamed about you/
I missed you for twenty-nine years"


This song is a time capsule that I'm not allowed to open until I'm 29.

"My Routine"-Don Lennon

"My Routine" is probably one of the best songs I've ever heard about wanting to be an artist. It's sung from the perspective of a guy working as a clean-up boy at a supermarket (or something similar) whose real passion is stand-up comedy. Any "creative type" (is there a way to use that phrase without self-loathing?) who has worked at a shitty job can instantly identify with the first lines: "I know I seem spaced out, I'm / Working on my routine all the time."

What's great about the song is that it approaches the subject matter on a number of levels. There's something equal parts pathetic and inspiring about the protagonist, as there maybe is about any struggling artist. Sometimes he seems grandiose, especially when he awkwardly speaks in the language of professional comedians, and this is the source of many the song's humorous moments ("Some of my stuff is kind of old / But I don't wanna take it out, I mean, it's gold"). And sometimes he seems impressively determined, as in the double meaning of "So bring me the dustpan and the broom / Somebody get me the vacuum / Cause I'm about to clean up here, just watch me." But above all, he cares about his craft, which is what elevates his narrative from simple boasting.

The music that accompanies the story sets just the right tone, and Lennon sings the character as entirely earnest but with a hint of melancholy. After all, wanting to be a comedian is tough. The real-world consequences of being a committed dreamer are briefly touched on in the part about the bookstore job he liked but lost: "Inspiration struck me and / The boxcutter jumped out of my hand."

Overall, there's a sense of inevitability--even if he never makes it, even if he sucks, comedy is what he was born to do. And the song's emotional complexity comes in part from the fact that he could be the next Steve Martin or Lenny Bruce, but maybe he won't. He doesn't know; we as the audience don't know. But we do know that Don Lennon, the songwriter, has made something magical happen, even if most people don't know who he is. And that in itself is a triumph.


listen here

"I'm Only Sleeping"-The Beatles

"I'm Only Sleeping" is sung by John. But then on the line "Keeping an eye on the world going by my window," Paul joins in on harmony, and the three words "by my window" just pop straight out of the song in 3D Paul-ness. It's like, "Woah, THERE he is." On the ends of phrases in particular, he's unmistakable.

Do you ever think about how weird that is? That a person's singing voice is like handwriting---can be imitated but never exactly copied? People can complain about Paul forever, but he has something that no one can take away, which is that he's Paul.



listen for it around 1:16 and and again at 2:04

"You Belong With Me"-Taylor Swift

This is a great pop song with a very satisfying music video. Country is where the good pop writing is these days, people.







NEWS FLASH: nerd ends up with boy

"It's Mighty Dark To Travel"-Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys

My friend Johanna suggested that I talk about "music for travel and transience." She is currently traveling in Europe and seems to be in a different country every time I talk to her.

Music for travel is something I've always been kind of interested in. I'm actually moving soon, and last night I had all these dreams about suitcases. Freud would probably refuse to analyze that one on the grounds that it is too obvious, and does not have enough to do with penis envy. (Someone told me the other day that I overuse the word "penis." Whateverrrrrr)

Anyway, I especially like listening to music in a moving vehicle. Each vehicle, in my mind, has a different personality or mood. I find that I often feel melancholy on buses, especially because usually I'm taking a bus at night. Because you're not driving the bus yourself (hopefully), there's a kind of helplessness to a bus, hurtling through the dark, that lends itself to thoughts about the passage of time. Specifically the whole thing where it's swift and irrevocable. But there can be a beauty in that, too, so music that is somehow beautiful can support that feeling and make it less aimless/desperate. My friend Dan sometimes recommends albums to me for bus trips, and one of his recommendations that I liked in particular was Grouper's Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill. It was beautiful but also had the added plus of being great for all the states including and in-between awake and sleeping.

Trains can be a lot of things. Trains can have that sort of sad bus-feeling, but also there's a relaxed quiet, and sometimes a hopeful kind of "pioneer spirit" thing going on. Trains seem to go by big open spaces like corn fields a lot, and that makes me feel expansive, like there's a lot out there and a lot to look forward to. Classical music is good for trains, especially Aaron Copland. Or super old bluegrass. The Copland is expansive, and the bluegrass has that "chunka-chunka" rhythm that imitates the train. That shit makes you feel like you are IN A FILM, specifically one about the power of American optimism and what an incredible country we live in. But in the good patriotism way, not the crappy kind where people get killed and foreigners have bad mustaches.

I think cars are kind of my favorite, because there's a sense of being in charge. Listening to music while driving is pretty awesome, but even sitting in the back with the window rolled down can be exciting. Driving is kind of like dancing (a motion that you are in control of being paired with music) so I find that songs that are good for dancing are also good for driving. Missy Elliott, for example. Also, music that makes you feel like a badass---for example, The Rolling Stones or The Stooges.

Airplanes are not great for music because there's always that loud noise, and not much sensation of actual movement. But people listen to music anyway, just because it's boring on an airplane.

The last thing I want to say is about ferries and boats. A ferry is THE BEST PLACE to listen to music, because you can stand outside with the wind whipping through your hair and be covered in sun and sprays of water. I recommend a little melodrama on a ferry, like Arcade Fire, or "Born To Run."

The song I picked for this post is "It's Mighty Dark To Travel" by Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys. This would qualify under the category of "songs for the train." People call Bill Monroe "the father of bluegrass" because he helped to develop the style. If you don't know Bill Monroe, you should check him out. Bluegrass and country music, overall, really understand that whole mournful side of travel ("travel and transience," as Johanna put it)-- that movement reminds us of the passage of time, that the passage of time is inevitable, and so loss must also be inevitable:

It's mighty dark for me to travel
For my sweetheart, she is gone
The road is rough and filled with gravel
But I must journey on and on

Giddyup!

Ricky Skaggs tribute version, closer to the sound of the original recording

Bill Monroe performing the song with Jim & Jesse

"Fig Tree"-Sarah Green

Sarah Green is my housemate. She also happens to be a very talented singer and songwriter.

It's cool living with another songwriter because you get to see a little bit of someone else's process. I tend to write songs that are more on the pop end of the spectrum, so when I get nervous I'm often worrying about being too "mainstream" or "silly." Sarah's songs are more folk-influenced than mine, and she was telling me today that she sometimes worries about being too "fruity."

Of course I told her that her songs were not fruity, because they aren't. But that made me think about what the term meant, since I completely understood what she was talking about. I am a fan of folk music of all types. However, some folky songwriters ARE fruity. Why does that happen?

I can think of two reasons: a) Lack of sense of humor. b) Cliched and boring word choice.

Sarah's songs are the kind that can make you cry, but her sense of humor is always there quietly in the background as a steadying force. It's not like she's telling jokes or anything, but it's more the feeling that when the song is melancholy, there's something else there balancing it. Perspective, maybe, or the possibility of change.

And in terms of words--she's also a very distinguished poet, so she is literally a pro at placing and choosing them.

Everything I've heard of hers, I've liked, but today I'm really into "Fig Tree," which is written from the point-of-view of someone incarcerated at Guantanamo. Heavy stuff, I know. But the personal quality of the song keeps out any kind of melodrama or preachiness. And she's a master of those phrases that just pinch your heart in the right spot---when she sings "I keep the real yes or no in my marrow" and "A fig tree a man could count on / With a library of leaves below" I get all quivery. You will see what I mean when you listen to it, in the link I have so conveniently provided for you below.

Sometimes I sing Sarah's songs to myself in the shower. It's an interesting feeling to know that the writer of the song could walk by the bathroom and hear you.


listen to "Fig Tree" on myspace

"Walk A Thin Line"-Fleetwood Mac

Those that know me know that I like Fleetwood Mac even more than I like McDonald's, and sadly, I like McDonald's a lot.

My parents owned both Rumours and the 1975 self-titled album (the one with "Rhiannon" and "Landslide") and I completely devoured them. This was at a time (seven or eight years old) when I was basically only willing to listen to Paul Simon, The Beatles, and The Everly Brothers, so adding another band to my roster of gentle and melodically-inclined white people was a Big Deal. Since then I have loved them passionately and felt that I had to protect them from accusations of second-rateness, lame-itude, and generally only having a few good hits but being overall kind of milquetoast (I just learned this word and this is the perfect occasion to use it).

I didn't grow up with the album Tusk though, so when my friend Ian sent it to me, I was worried about getting my hopes up too much. I was afraid that if I didn't like it, I might be proved to be NOT A REAL FLEETWOOD MAC FAN which would be equivalent to not being a real Tarheel or not really needing glasses but just wearing them to look cool.

Luckily, the album is just fantastic. After more than fifteen years of loving those other two albums, I think I might (gasp) like this one the best. It cost something like a million dollars to make and includes the University of Southern California's marching band playing on the title track. What's amazing is that it still sounds like a Fleetwood Mac album (you can hear the voices of the songwriters coming straight through) but then there are also all of these interesting and even weird musical and stylistic choices that add so much to it.

Here's a story that I promise is related: Some friends and I once came up with a game/theory (game theory?) called "Indie Rock or Bonnie Raitt?" The idea is that all music can ultimately be put in either the "indie rock" or "Bonnie Raitt" category. I love Bonnie Raitt just as much as I love indie rock, so this is not a discussion about quality, it's a discussion about type. Obviously this can cause all kinds of heated arguments (that's kind of the point, I guess) because some bands or artists are really on the line between the two.

The point is that for my whole life I've been sure that Fleetwood Mac is Bonnie Raitt. But after listening to Tusk, I'm convinced that they're indie rock. Wikipedia tells me that Lindsey Buckingham tried with this album to "allow punk rock and New Wave influence into his work." I definitely hear it.

"Walk A Thin Line" is just an incredible song. It's slow but in this tightly-controlled, percussive, powerful way, landing heavily on each beat and chord with a quality that falls somewhere between the regal and the sexual. I'm also convinced that the "oh-wa-oh-wa-oh-wa-oh-wahhh" backing vocal line is the forerunner to the "oh-la-oh-la" backing vocals in The New Pornographers' song "Challengers."

Some people call R.E.M.'s Murmur the first indie rock album, but I say it happened four years earlier with Tusk. That's kind of a wild claim, I realize, but I am WILD about Fleetwood Mac.

"Black or White"-Michael Jackson

I'm sure everyone has heard by now that Michael Jackson is dead. I'm still working on wrapping my head around it. I can't really imagine a world in which he doesn't exist; then again, my friend Emily made a good point when she said that in some ways it's like he's been dead for a while.

"Black or White" has special significance for me. When I was six years old, I was in my first play. It was part of this summer program at the Carrboro ArtsCenter where they let a bunch of six-year olds write their own play and perform it (I don't know who decided this would be a good idea, but miraculously it was).

Our play was called "Dancers and Demons," and the idea was that a mad scientist had somehow trapped dancers from around the world inside of glaciers, and other dancers had to go rescue them. I was a dancer from Egypt and performed an impassioned improvisational dance to "Walk Like An Egyptian" by The Bangles. Then at the end, when everyone was rescued and safe, our counselors cranked up "Black or White" and we all ran around the stage in our multi-cultural dance costumes and shook it like crazy. We danced like we were being possessed by the holy spirit at an old-fashioned revival. It was one of the most ecstatically joyful single moments in my life to this point, and I think about it every time I hear that song.

Michael Jackson: even if you died of a broken heart, or even if you go to a scary zombie purgatory where sad child stars go, you should know that you brought some people a lot of happiness.

"One Last Breath"-Creed

I feel guilty now for saying that Creedence Clearwater Revival are cave people. Especially since they are an Important Band. I'm not very good at saying that music sucks. I would never be good at writing for Pitchfork.

This reminds me of the time my friend Andrew said he hated The Postal Service. Everyone was surprised because he doesn't usually complain about stuff. Then, two days later or something, out of nowhere he was like, "I feel bad about what I said about The Postal Service. A lot of people really like The Postal Service."

I realize that a lot of people really like Creedence Clearwater Revival. And Norah Jones (laundry-folding music). And Wyclef (just comes on other people's records and makes them more annoying). And Santana (Mr. Guitar W. Wankerson, middle initial stands for "Wanky").

I feel better for getting that out of my system. Now I'm going to make up for being a bitchy hater by telling everyone that I have always liked this one song by Creed.

Are we even?


my songwriting professor would call this "well-crafted"

"Where Everybody Knows Your Name"-Gary Portnoy

why is ted danson orange








i hope it's not on purpose

"Ooby Dooby"-Creedence Clearwater Revival

this song was originally written by some dudes named Wade Moore and Dick Penner.

that's right, it took TWO PEOPLE to write this crap. i know, i'm surprised, too. i thought it was written by adam sandler BACK BEFORE HE WAS BORN

roy orbison should have known better than to sing this song, but you can't really fault creedence clearwater revival because they are cave people. that's just my personal opinion.


ccr fans please explain to me

"The Hustle"-Van McCoy

my "business of songwriting" professor gave me a dollar for correctly naming the artist that did this song.

that's right, i am a huge suck-up. and i have ONE DOLLAR

"Break My Body"-The Pixies

If you listen to The Pixies enough, you always stay young and cool and subversive.  The Pixies listen to a lot of Pixies, and it worked for them.

listen here

"Konichiwa Bitches"-Robyn

Robyn came out with "Show Me Love" in 1993.  You might remember this song if you are a girl and you were alive at that point.  I guess she was probably doing stuff between then and 2005, but I didn't know about it.  Somehow though, in that span of time, she must have decided that it might be cool to be the Missy Elliott of Sweden.

Hard shoes to fill.  She does an admirable job.  Don't try to resist the feeling of indestructibility that creeps up on you as you listen to these lyrics:

You wanna rumble in space?

I put my laser on stun.

And on the North Pole,

I'll ice you, son.

Yeah!

you know when shit is gettin' heavy like it weighs a ton

"Mama Said Knock You Out"-LL Cool J

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK








blaaaaaw, how ya like me now

"Vacation"-The Go-Go's

i'm taking a may-cation

in case you don't get my drift, that is a vacation that takes place in may.   

blogging is SUCH HARD WORK

listen here

"In The New Year"-Walkmen

guh i am completely incapacitated by this song










listen here

"Under My Thumb"-The Rolling Stones

Some feminists have been pissed about this song for a while.  I can understand where they're coming from.  If you read the lyrics outloud in your best douchebag voice, it sounds, well, douchey.

If you look at it another way, though, it could just be about a power shift in any relationship. Like someone was treating you crappy and now you have the upper hand.  And who doesn't get a kick out of that?

Plus, all politics aside, just listen to that marimba.  No amount of possible misogyny can bury a marimba riff as smoking hot as that one.

see mick.  see mick strut.

"The Voice Within"-Christina Aguilera

Why is it that some songs are annoying/suck 90% of the time, and then certain days you really feel like listening to them? "The Voice Within" by Christina Aguilera is legitimately an irritating song. And I've always thought her show-off melisma was over the top, while, for example Mariah Carey's is a lot more musical. But today this song hits the spot. It seems yummy and forbidden, like a french fry off someone else's plate.

Taste is weird.




science cannot explain

"This Is The Way"-Devendra Banhart

Devendra Banhart: pleasantly folky weirdo, or pretentious asshole with a bad beard?

discuss.








but first, listen

"Eli, The Barrow Boy"-The Decemberists

basic plot: he wants to buy his gf a nice dress but he can't because he's DEAD. this and the bad economy are two reasons that his job selling shit out of a wheelbarrow isn't going very well.








bizarre student music video

"Lesson No. 1 For Electric Guitar"-Glenn Branca

So, after having that life-changing musicospiritual experience this weekend, I decided that there was no reason that I should not be experiencing this joy on a daily basis.

After about two minutes of serious consideration, I went for it. I am now the proud owner of AN ELECTRIC GUITAR. I bought it during my lunch hour, and then I took it back to work with me and set it down next to my desk. Just knowing it was there made me so excited that I could hardly pay attention to my job. It is possible that I Am In Love.

In honor of this purchase and lifestyle change, today's song is "Lesson No. 1 For Electric Guitar" by Very Important Composer Glenn Branca. I don't tend to get particularly jazzed up about long droning things without words, but this song/piece is pretty incredible. It builds in just the right way, until breaking into what can only be described as "cinematic triumphant slow-motion running music."

This song was introduced to me by my friend Ian Mathers, who also happens to know an awful lot about music, in addition to being funny and intelligent. He has written great stuff for PopMatters, The Village Voice, and the mighty-but-unfortunately-defunct Stylus Magazine. Also he has a blog, which you should read in addition to reading my blog, and Alex Ross's blog, and my friend Will's blog which used to be about grapefruits and is now about other stuff. I still hate the word "blog."

But I really, really like the guitar.


if you listen here to the entire 8 minutes and 18 seconds, you will be blessed with good fortune

"Heartbeat"-The Knack

Apparently the album Get The Knack was so popular when it came out in 1979 that there was a crazy backlash where people had "Knuke The Knack" bumper stickers and t-shirts and stuff.

Fair enough, but I think it's time to Bring Back The Knack. People only know the song "My Sharona," which is good, but the whole album is so incredibly enjoyable that it should be listened to all the way through. It's springtime, folks, and power pop is IN.




listen here

"Anyone Can Play Guitar"-Radiohead

I don't know if the title of this song is a true statement, but I do know one thing: I played an electric guitar for the first time in my life today and it felt like someone had opened the top of my head and poured all kinds of good stuff into it.

Being shitty at guitar is going to be an awesome experience for me. I can feel it.




listen here

"June Carter Cash"-The Finches

"I was listening to a tape that you made for me,
When my heart got so tight,
I thought I might die.
We cannot return to the Sundays down the street;
That's ok, we're where we ought to be."


AAAA I THINK I MIGHT DIE



you, too, can feel like dying

"Poor Poor Me"-Fats Domino

"Poor Poor Me" by Fats Domino is the antidote to Sneaker's "Quit Crying." And vice versa. It's good sometimes to just listen to them back and forth, back and forth, for days. You know, to get a healthy balance / good sense of perspective on things.

this method is recommended by TWO OUT OF TEN WEREWOLF PSYCHOLOGISTS






call the waaambulance

"Quit Crying"-Sneaker

You know how helpful it is when you're upset and someone yells at you, "Quit crying! Think of the starving children"?

Now imagine that instead of yelling it, someone SANG that to you. Imagine how helpful THAT would be.





be informed

"What Is Success"-Bonnie Raitt

Ms. Raitt, thank you for asking this difficult and important question. Here's my idea of what success would be:

--becoming a respected and skilled young female blues guitarist in a field dominated by men
--having a voice that will not quit
--making fifteen studio albums
--winning nine Grammy Awards
--having a boatload/buttload of money
--making an artistic and commercial comeback after a period of failure
--beating the crap out of your alcoholism
--looking pretty damn good for 59 years old
--being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
--generally not sucking

Oh, you did all that? Yeah, I think you're all set.


what, what

"Future Love"-Varsity Fanclub

I recently joined a gym. Before that, I had never belonged to one, and had possibly never set foot in one. The whole idea seemed "so corporate." Then when I got a 9 to 5 job and became exactly that corporate, I realized that if I sat in front of a computer all day without exercising I was going to start looking like a capybara.

So, I had to change my attitude about gyms. This meant going to the sports clothing store (where I went up to the desk and asked the lady, "Can you explain to me....all of this?") and bought perky exercise shorts, and shorts to wear under THOSE shorts so that people can't see my underwear when I jump up and down, etc. It all seemed kind of excessive and silly, but I figured that if I was going to give it a try, I ought to really see what this stuff was all about.

Then I actually went on one of those machines and I realized what it was all about: endorphins. Once people are exercising, they don't give a shit about whether they are wearing a pair of $50 spandex underpants. They don't give a shit about terrorism. They are riding on a magical opium cloud. Did you know that endorphin stands for "endogenous morphine," which means, "morphine produced naturally in the body"? Well, it does, and that is what it is. CRAZY.

What this means is that when I watch the music video channel at the gym on my own personal TV set, I am watching music videos ON DRUGS. When I came upon "Future Love" by Varsity Fanclub, I had this sensation like I was being lifted from my body, caressed by angels, and then gently lowered back to earth. I literally thought, "Thank god, boy bands are back."

Then I came home and bought the song on iTunes. I spent a dollar on it. In fact, I spent a dollar each on like ten other songs that I also heard at the gym. This is ten dollars that I could have spent on food, or medical care.

Luckily, even when the endorphins have worn off, my terrible taste has not. That lasts forever. And that's why this song still does it for me, every single time.



let the angels sing

"When You Find Out"-The Nerves

exactly two minutes of complete awesome




listen here

"Temptation"-New Order

There's this Buddhist thing where "right thought" is supposed to lead to "right action."

The right thought is "I like New Order."



listen here

"I've Made Enough Friends"-The Wrens

So, people who know me are aware that sometimes I can be a little "TMI." This is one of the many reasons I am not on Facebook and also one of the reasons I struggled over whether it was a good idea to have a blog of any kind. (Also, the word "blog" makes me sort of nauseous in the same way that "singer-songwriter" does. I probably need to work on these shame issues.)

Anyway, those concerns aside, I just want to tell you that this song is HOT. Like in a sex way. Uhm. That is all.



woah

p.s. It's not on youtube so if you want to hear it you have to buy it on iTunes or something. It's worth a dollar. I'm serious.

"Creep"-Radiohead

I just started doing this Pandora Radio thing that everyone's been so into lately. I'd been resistant to it, because generally I like picking out my own music. But then I started to feel guilty about spending approximately 20 percent of my work time fiddling with my iTunes library.

I entered "The Cure" as a band I liked, so it's been making me a Cure station today, which basically means it thinks that I am depressed. That's why it plays me songs like "Creep."

Thanks, Pandora. Just so you know, everyone is depressed on Thursday. It's a human thing. You wouldn't understand.


i'm a weiiiiiiiirdo

"Your Control"-Crooked Fingers

Crooked Fingers opened for Neko Case at the concert on Saturday night, and I was kind of underwhelmed overall (as much as I wanted to be excited about Eric Bachmann, who used to be in the Chapel Hill, NC band Archers of Loaf). But there was a string of three kind of exciting songs in there near the end of the their set, and "Your Control" was one of them. Then I found out that Neko Case actually sings on the recorded version (she didn't perform it live). That makes sense, because I've basically decided that she is somehow related to everything good in this world.

Really pretty harmonies with a driving, Bruce Springsteen-esque kind of thing going on. I'm into it.



download mp3 from KEXP Song of The Day

"Welcome To The Working Week"-Elvis Costello

This is the working week. Welcome to it.




actual song

"I Hate Everyone"-Get Set Go

watch out for me today

i will BITE you

and not in a fun way





garggg

"This Tornado Loves You"-Neko Case

I saw Neko Case perform last night and, let me tell you, her voice is actually a force of nature. Also I have never been to another show where the stage banter was about both tampons and head lice.

In terms of the song I chose, I am thinking that if "freak folk" and "happy hardcore" are allowed to be genres, that there could also be a genre that was specifically for songs where someone has so many feelings that they have to bust shit up. Another one from this category is "I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass" by Nick Lowe. What's amazing about this genre is that none of the songs in it can be bad.

I am taking suggestions for names. I suggest "emostruction."



listen here

"Human"-The Killers

ARE WE BRANDON OR ARE WE FLOWER







brandon flowers, you are wearing an emu

"The World"-Brad Paisley

Yesterday I talked about why I think my peers aren't listening to popular country (or aren't even willing to try listening to it) and also I talked about why that bugs me. That part was like a depressing kids' movie about global warming, and now is the part where I come onscreen and say "But here's what you can do about it!"

Here are some reasons I think commercial country is worth sticking up for:

1) Country songs often have more lively instrumentation than their pop radio counterparts. The Nashville music machine, although I'm sure it's scary and corporate in many ways, is also full of incredible session musicians. These mandolin or banjo players, slide guitarists, etc add a life to the sound that mainstream pop and rock, which is increasingly computer-generated and auto-tuned, can't compete with. Most new music on commercial radio stations of all kinds is pretty slick in terms of production, but those fiddle solos on country records really stand out. And that is good. A great way to understand what I'm talking about is to check out both versions of Shania Twain songs. I didn't realize until recently that she put out two versions of every song on her album Up!: one for pop audiences, and one for country. These are very subtly labeled the "Red" and "Green" versions, respectively. (Maybe this is what John Edwards actually meant about "two Americas.") What's interesting to me in listening to these back to back is that, at least to my ears, the Green is so clearly superior to the other. All that's missing in the Red is some twangy guitars and fiddle licks, but it feels like the energy has been sucked out.

2) The subject matter can be surprising, and even subversive. We might think of southern/rural men as being macho, idiot rednecks, but I am amazed by how often the dudes in country songs are openly, unapologetically weeping. Much more than in pop. In Blake Shelton's "She Wouldn't Be Gone," for example, he talks about crying on two SEPARATE occasions: first in the chorus ("tears soakin' up my face") and then in a verse ("cried like a baby to her best friend"). I would argue that men are allowed a dramatic expression of emotion that we only expect from women in a lot of other types of music. Some people find country too sentimental, but I see the refusal of the genre to devalue sentiment as an impressive stand against posturing and coldness. Plus, while the rest of the music industry seems to be increasingly age-obsessed, country music is one of the only places left that deals frankly with aging and doesn't diss old people (both in the performers it celebrates, and in the lyrics to songs, like "Remember When" by Alan Jackson). And fatherhood--how many pop songs can you name that deal with that subject? Brad Paisley's "He Didn't Have To Be" is a song about appreciating your stepfather. I think we can all get behind that.

3) Country can have a great sense of humor about itself. It can have that same quality that really good Jewish humor has, the "life sucks, but that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun with it" mindset. Compare, for example, Jo Dee Messina's "Bye Bye," in which the wronged woman sings, "Bye bye love, I'll catch you later / Got a lead foot down on my accelerator...I've got pride, I'm taking it for a ride" to Alanis Morrisette's bitter "You Oughta Know," with its considerably less plucky/spirited "It's not fair to deny me of the cross I bear that you gave to me." Then there are the songs that are just ridiculous, like Trace Adkins' "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk." This song knows it's outlandish, and it just doesn't give a shit. Compare it to something like "My Humps" which is completely stupid but seems bafflingly to not know it--and worse, to miss every opportunity for fun that the concept could have presented.

4) The form allows for great storytelling and verbal creativity. Like a sonnet, a country song has its own rules and its own corresponding rewards. It pretty much always has a few verses and a chorus and a bridge, and the verses usually develop a story. A lot of people groan about the stories being too straightforward or obvious. First of all, straightforward can be refreshing. As much as we love to puzzle over what Pavement is getting at with stuff like "Magic Christians chew the rind," it can be great sometimes to be told a solid, traditional story. Note the popularity of the Harry Potter books with people of all ages and backgrounds. Another plus is that the seemingly "boring" foundation allows for the genius of the clever bits to come through. Some country songs do that cool thing of having one basic refrain which, by being altered slightly throughout the song, means a different thing when paired with each separate verse (classic example: Tim McGraw's "Don't Take The Girl"). I am pretty sure Virgil did something similar in The Aeneid, so it's legit.

5) It's not all conservative propaganda. Probably the most convincing argument against listening to commercial country is that, by doing so, you are supporting a massive right-wing evangelical hate-machine. Some of what gets played on the radio is undeniably odious. That song by Toby Keith where he goes "Cause we'll put a boot in your ass / It's the American way" is almost horrifying enough to turn a person off of music entirely. But let's not forget the Dixie Chicks, who spoke out against Bush at that concert in London in 2003. And Darius Rucker, who is black (and faces the greater challenge of being the former lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish) and whose country career seems to be flourishing. And beyond these specific examples, there are the many artists whose songs are not preaching hate or intolerance, but are just about falling in love or getting hurt, just like every other song since the beginning of time. Like being a conscious consumer and not buying t-shirts from people who kill seals, it's possible to listen to country music without being responsible for any book-banning or anything. And sometimes it's ok to buy hamburger from McDonald's, or listen to an infectious and slightly more harmless song by Toby Keith like "I Wanna Talk About Me." It's a complex world, and we can't always be perfect.

Ya'll. What are you waiting for.

listen here

"No One Else On Earth"-Wynonna Judd

When did it become cool to say that you listen to everything "except rap and country"? When did these two genres fall into such disfavor, at least with the people I'm talking to?

To figure that out, we first have to look at the people I'm talking to. Let's just say for the sake of argument that the majority of HYPOTHETICAL people I'm having these conversations with are white, politically liberal, middle to upper-middle class, college-educated, and live in cities. I probably have a total of, like, two black friends. HYPOTHETICALLY. I have a lot to say about the rap/hip-hop issue, but that's a conversation for another day. What I want to talk about this time around is why the majority of the people I associate with on a daily basis hate country music.

I want to first admit something shameful. When people tell me that they don't like or listen to country, I often stick up for the genre in the most pathetic of ways. "I actually sort of like it," I offer carefully, "but--you know. Only the good kind." I assume the listener knows what I mean: Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, all of the classic stars that time has redeemed. But not POPULAR country. Nothing, of course, that they would play on the RADIO.

The war against pop country is just as much about race and class as the war on rap, but not as many people will talk about it. While someone might reasonably say, "Yeah, I just don't like the way most of the rap artists I've heard treat women in their songs" or "I don't like the culture of violence," the main complaint against current country seems to be more along the lines of, "It just sucks." Apparently everyone agrees on this point, and I didn't get the memo.

What I think is going on here is, at least partly, our idea of who this music is for. It's not made for us. It's for white trash.

"White trash" is an epithet that has always made me massively uncomfortable. The way some people can say it like it's no big deal baffles me. I will admit that I have an ongoing flirtation with offensive words ("gay" and "retarded" are two that I'm particularly ambivalent about) but this one just gives me the creeps. I think it's the first word, "white" (which assumes that we all know who the other sort of trash is) combined with the second, "trash" (and if referring to a human being as a piece of garbage isn't cruel, I don't know what is). So, we assume that the primary audience of this music is ignorant and poor and has no class and therefore we don't want to be associated with them. We are elitist assholes. End of story.

But I don't actually think that's the end of the story. Because we're talking about a group of potential voters, and they're powerful! They could make it impossible for us to get married, or have abortions. They could get us into wars that we don't agree with. For real! That shit is serious! So in that sense, our fear is justified. As much as we try to make country music look small and ridiculous, we have to acknowledge that it has political power, like any popular (and unpopular) art does. So really it comes down to the word that Democrats would be smart to reclaim, which is "values." We don't feel that country music reflects our values. The same way I feel fratty listening to reggae (despite the fact that the originators were not frat boys) we might feel listening to country as if we are polishing our gun collection, waiting for our pregnant daughter's boyfriend to come home so that we can give him a talking to (or, alternately, take him fishing).

What I am going to suggest is that this mental picture is something we ought to challenge if we want to enjoy country music. "Now, why would one want to do something like that?" you are very likely asking. Like developing a taste for beer or whiskey or coffee, it's only worth the effort if you think the work will eventually be rewarding. I believe that it can be, and I want to tell you why. But since I have to, like, go to work and stuff, I'm going to do that part tomorrow.

In the meantime, enjoy this badass song by Wynonna Judd. The video is pretty dated, but the song is killer.

open your mind

"I Do Not Hook Up"-Kelly Clarkson

Clarkson (and the song's writers: Greg Wells, Katy Perry, and Kara DioGuardi) are clearly referencing the Russian poetic tradition of the late 19th and early 20th century with "I Do Not Hook Up." Similarly to Iakov Polonsky's "Tsar-Maiden" ("Tsardevitsa," 1876), Clarkson's heroine derives her strength from her chastity. By renouncing eros, she gains masculine characteristics and abilities that allow her to become the "androgyne" that the religious philosopher and poet Soloviev idealized in his writings (see "Smsyl liubvi," 1892-1894).

Catherine Ciepiela, professor of Russian at Amherst college and author of a fine piece of scholarship entitled The Same Solitude: Boris Pasternak and Marina Tsvetaeva, points out that in Polonksy's poem, the maiden's power must unfortunately be short-lived to maintain a true gender balance: "the hero, after undergoing many trials, gains entrance to the tsar-maiden's castle and subdues her, after which his powers wax while hers wane....The logic is similar to the logic of numerous romantic texts in which 'the woman must finally be enslaved or destroyed...'"

I'll be looking forward to Ms. Clarkson's next album, in which she is sure to explore these themes in full.

listen here

"Wanderlust"-Bjork

I would like to see Bjork perform this song live with Joanna Newsom and Yoko Ono, arranged so that they would all be howling the chorus at the same time. I would like for them to close the concert with a rendition of Dionne Warwick's "That's What Friends Are For," and they would be holding hands, obviously. Afterwards I would like for them to come to my house and cook me a nice brisket.


watch weirdass official video

"Candyfloss"-Wilco

The internet tells me that "candy floss" is what the Brits call cotton candy. I successfully avoided learning this during the six months that I lived in England. How? By having AS LITTLE FUN AS POSSIBLE. But now Jeff Tweedy & friends have restored this lost fun to me. Small miracles are everywhere.

listen here

"The Fly Duet"-Natalie Dessay & Laurent Naouri/Offenbach

married insect opera porn


you are going to want to watch this shit right here

"Livin' On A Prayer"-Bon Jovi

dear bon jovi,

thank you for helping to make my second cousin's bat mitzvah a success.

love,
rachel

p.s. you totally should have been there, they had an open bar



listen here

"Sugar Daddy"-Fleetwood Mac

I have always liked this song, and I'm not planning to stop liking it anytime soon. So the rest of you can come with me, or I'm going to go it alone.

"Peg"-Steely Dan

you can't suppress the joy



listen here

"April Fools"-Rufus Wainwright

For a song called "April Fools," there is conspicuously little going on here in the way of practical joking. As far as I can tell, it's about relationships or something (ew) and not about dumping water on someone's head. At the very least, he could have started the song off being about relationships and then had it actually be about a robotic panda, or a Pomeranian in a little coat. OR halfway through it could have turned into "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick Astley, although I think that might count as copyright infringement.

Look, I know that April Foolsing can be risky (last year I convinced some of my friends that my mom had gotten a tattoo and afterwards they were pissed that I made them look dumb) but what I am asking Rufus Wainwright to do is to NUT UP. Real musicianship takes courage.

But it's, y'know, super awesome and catchy and all that. So I guess every day is a good day to listen to a song that doesn't suck.

listen here

"Dum Dum Diddle"-ABBA

Only those who are monstrously intelligent, brave, and foreign could manage a song like this, and that is why ABBA are so good. They are Magnetic Fields' songwriter Stephin Merritt's favorite band, and don't even try to front like he just likes them ironically, because I can assure you he does not.

Check out this live performance of "Dum Dum Diddle" which is more Swedish than meatballs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqjGYY-7rP0

"Gamma Ray"-Beck

Is Beck a scientist or a Scientologist? Can we even tell which is which anymore? IS HE BLINDING US WITH SCIENCE


listen here

"Crush"-David Archuleta

Unless you were an arthropod as an adolescent, you probably had the experience of feeling all stupid inside whenever a certain girl let you borrow a pencil during Social Studies. And then you took each pencil home and put it under your pillow, until your mom was like "Why the hell are all these holes in my pillowcases?" Or maybe you were supposedly in "the friend zone" with this guy you were in Camelot with, but all you could think about was whether he just liked you or like liked you. And also how good he looked in that King Arthur costume.

These, my friends, are the types of feelings that slip away from us as we enter into jaded young adulthood. And even though we might not miss the sensation of thinking we're going to barf all the time from nervousness and shame, there's just something about that kind of longing that was sweet. In both a "Sweet, dude!" and "a taste of honey" kind of way.

I'm probably going to raise some eyebrows if I say I like an eighteen year-old American Idol runner-up who could pass for twelve, but there it is. "Crush" has just the right balance of mopey angst and surging, innocent hope in it to remind me that there was a time when a playful punch on the arm could seem hotter than pants removal.

I know exactly what Neko Case means when she sings that she's "holding out for that teenage feeling" (refer to song: "That Teenage Feeling"). But Neko, honey, it's already here, and its name is David Archuleta.

listen here

"Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You"-Bob Dylan

People like to talk a lot of shit about how Bob Dylan can't sing. It's an easy joke to make when you're making small talk (is it bad that my small talk is mostly about Dylan?), and many of us have probably made some sarcastic reference to it, as if it were common knowledge that the man can't help but sound like a wounded bear.

But if we really wanted to be accurate, we would have to admit that the wounded bear thing is on purpose, and it's not all he can do. It's not that he CAN'T hit notes. He just doesn't feel like it. Sometimes he's grumpy and he wants to growl (like on a lot of his earlier stuff) and sometimes he's upset about divorce and the only thing that will do is an atonal wail (like the heartbreaking "I can change, I swear / WOAHHHH" in "You're A Big Girl Now").

If you want to hear Bob Dylan actually singing (or if you just want to hear an album that is kickass) you should listen to Nashville Skyline. The first song is a duet and he totally sings the pants off Johnny Cash. The whole thing is great, but the closing track, "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You," is like Bob Dylan giving you a nice massage and then crooning to you while you fall asleep. I understand if this doesn't sound appealing, but just stick with me here. You cannot listen to this song and continue to say that he can't sing. It just doesn't compute. He's leaping between low and high parts like crazy and hitting everything right on. And he even puts in some tasteful little grace note flourishes.

So what I am suggesting is that we all work together to stop spreading these lies. It's just misinformation, and that's never good, like when you tell kids that masturbation will make them go blind. It's probably not as harmful as that, but whatever. Change starts small. Think globally, act locally.

For now, though, I think we can hold onto the rumor that Dylan's live shows in the last five years have sucked. I'd believe that.

listen here

"Private Eyes"-Hall & Oates

"Private Eyes" is sort of like a sandwich with white bread, mayonnaise, individually-wrapped American cheese slices, and turkey that comes in the little plastic package. It's kind of slimy and ridiculous, and there's no real reason why the elements should combine in any decent way, but sometimes it's just what you want. And anyone that knows me knows that I want turkey sandwiches A LOT.

The music video (link below) shows that they are getting a real kick out of whatever it is they think they're doing. One thing that's fun for the listener at home is to make a whip-cracking motion and funny face every time the handclap part happens, but not on a first date. In fact, don't play "Private Eyes" on a first date at all.

www.youtube.com/watch?/v=anLfoy2XsFw

"Let Her Go, God Bless Her"-The Louvin Brothers

Charlie and Ira Louvin, also known as The Louvin Brothers, played country music in the 50s and 60s. Despite some hard-living and mandolin-smashing (mostly on the part of Ira), they managed to pull off fairly angelic harmonies, which influenced The Everly Brothers. And The Everly Brothers, as everyone knows, kick ass.

What is interesting to me about this particular song is that the verses are kind of baffling. Here's the narrative: "I went to church last sunday; I saw my old true love there. And I knew that her mind was changing from the way that she'd done up her hair. I'm going to the races to see my pony run, and if I win any greenback, we're sure gonna have some fun. Sometimes I live in the country, sometimes I live in town. But sometimes I take a good notion to jump in the river and drown."

Now, if you think in any linear way, you might be saying "WTF?" And if you are a fourth grade English teacher, you might say, "I think one of my students wrote that essay last week. It was supposed to be about his summer vacation."

But looking at it more closely, I think it's a fairly accurate description of the stages of a typical grief/loss reaction. Here is a brief reenactment:

Step One: Hey, Sue. Your, uh, your hair looks different. Do you not love me anymore, or something?

Step Two: So, I think I'm going to the racetrack this weekend. Yeah, going to see my pony. Maybe win some cash. It'll be pretty sweet, I think. Sue? I don't know who that is. Yeah! I'm a wild and crazy guy.

Step Three: OH SHIT I THINK I AM GOING TO DIE

In my experience, that's kind of how it goes. Sometimes cycling repeatedly. So, Louvin Brothers: thanks for keeping it real.

I would guess that most people (that includes you, China) haven't heard this song. I have provided a link below and highly recommend giving it just one listen, even if you feel that country tastes like brussels sprouts. Remember: that is the taste of the tiny vitamins, and they are repairing your immune system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N85ozmJB3zQ

"My Valuable Hunting Knife"-Guided By Voices

I'm convinced that this song is about songs. Good ones, at least. Here are some of the qualities, according to the lyrics, of the knife:

1. Will shine like a new girl
2. Will not rust through the tears
3. Will not lose its appeal over years

He's gonna start a new life with it! He's gonna shout out his love to the world!

Sounds about right to me.

Listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A8LyAqtaa0