Click here, click the first song, and it will play through.

Something for you all to listen to during the drudgery of work. Consider it a playlist of the music I've been listening to this spring. Some new, some old, all very, very cool.

And, I suppose if I had been paying better attention, rather than wildly playing with my new online toy, I would have attempted to include the all-stars on this mix. But, I was too busy uploading to remember exactly what I wrote. The Beatles made it though.

Labels: mix tape

There was a time in my life when R.E.M. could do no wrong. Then, Bill left, and they made these AOR feeling albums, and lost their way. And it made me sad, because, well, this band was my life for a while. And, I missed them.

Well, iLike is streaming their new album, which drops on April 1. GO.LISTEN.NOW. It is the R.E.M. of old, the Lifes Rich Pageant days.

Labels: R.E.M.

Back in the 80s, I made mix tapes for two reasons: tapes FOR boys I liked, or tapes ABOUT boys I liked. It was that simple. And if you received a mix from me, it was always a love letter/lust letter/let's just hang out and listen to this letter. I wanted to be near you. Even now, if you receive a mix from me, I'm trying to tell you something.

Although, I cannot pinpoint specific songs like my dear co-conspirator here did, every mix tape I ever made always contained the following artists:

Cat Stevens: Despite my blossoming punk rock tendencies, I spent more time listening to Cat Stevens when I was trying to understand something about myself than any other artist. Possible songs might have included Miles from Nowhere, On the Road to Find Out, or Trouble.

R.E.M.: My second musical obsession. Def Leppard was the first; however, by the time I started making tapes, I wouldn't necessarily have put them on one. Childish really. Anyway, I lived and breathed R.E.M. for most of my high school career. Swan Swan H, Turn You Inside Out, or Nightswimming would have appeared.

Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here. THAT is one song I CAN pinpoint. But, I've already written about that one.

Elvis Costello: Taking turns with the anger and the tenderness and the missed opportunities. If you made me angry, songs from This Year's Model appeared; if I was pining, Blood and Chocolate. I Want You may be one of the most painful songs ever. I can't get enough of it.

The Beatles: Always. Even now. In fact, there is one Beatles song I've NEVER put on a mix tape, because I'm saving it for someone who really deserves it, the person I write my last love letter to. However, anything else was game. Dear Prudence, Norweigian Wood, and Day Tripper were favorites back in the day.

So, there you have it. My version of the all star list. Between the two of us, it's totally fucked up. But, then, what did you expect?

Labels: lists, mix tape

This is a topic that's near and dear to my heart, but it's also a bit difficult because honestly, I've made SO many mix tapes in my youth that it's a bit hard to recall all of them now.

I will say this. I had so many different favorites when I was younger that it seems like it would be extremely difficult to come up with a list of say, 10 that would be the all-timers. I think Courtney's list would vary widely from mine, and perhaps she'll chime in with her list at some point. We'll see.

So, without further ado, MJ's Mix-Tape All-Stars. What makes up an all-star song? Well, here are my criteria. One, they had to be eminently re-listenable. By that, I mean I had to be geeked BEFORE I even got to the song on the tape, just knowing it was coming. It had to be a song that I was really into, even if it wasn't the biggest single from a given singer/band. It had to be a song that I wouldn't even blink about throwing on a tape, unless the tape was a themed effort and it just didn't fit. I made most of my mix-tapes in the 80's, before CD's really took off (seems hard to believe that there was a transition period from vinyl to cassettes to CD's, but trust me, there was, that's why that scene in The Wedding Singer rings so true, when Drew Barrymore's tool boyfriend shows up with a CD player and her and her friend have no idea what it is). At one point, I'm proud to say that I had 8-track tapes, vinyl 33's and 45's, cassettes and CD's in one collection. Sadly, now, it's pretty much all CD's, although I'm fully convinced that there is a box of mix-tapes still lurking somewhere in the bowels of my house.

The list. Yes, get on with it already, right? Right.

10. Tenderness - General Public. I remember hearing this song for the first time and thinking how brilliant it was, and then seeing it on MTv (and yes, I'm saying it...when FUCKING MTV STILL PLAYED ACTUAL MUSIC VIDEOS...there, I'm done...I think) and thinking how brilliant they were. I still think this is a great song, and I have to admit, I've put this song on mix CD's even to this very day.

9. Heat Of The Moment - Asia. I had discovered prog rock in the early 80's when a friend introduced me to Yes and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Then Asia came along, with an unbelievable album (!) cover and some big, sweeping songs. This was their biggest hit, and yeah, I fell for it hook, line and chorus. I still know every word, too.

8. Our House - Madness. I defy ANYONE to tell me this song doesn't get you happy. Madness was a really great little outfit that never really got their due. This song put them on the map here in America, but they were wildly popular in the UK and stayed that way for a long time. I put this song on a TON of tapes. It was always good for a drunken singalong and a great driving song, if you know what I mean.

7. The Killing Moon - Echo And The Bunnymen. Both this song and "Lips Like Sugar" featured on a ton of tapes for me, but this one in particular was my favorite. I made out with an anonymous girl who's name I never actually found out at a school dance to this song. I think about it every time I hear this song. Echo was another group that never really got their due, but I'll pump them up here.

6. It's My Life - Talk Talk. This song, man, does it bring back memories for me. I think this song was responsible for me having my first drunken cry back in the day, when I was a young rebel full of whiskey and regret. It makes me hearken back to the days when was still in love with the idea of being young and cool. I still think this song is amazing, too, and I thought that No Doubt's cover of it was a great tribute. And I'm not the biggest cover-fan in the world, as Courtney can attest to.

5. True Faith - New Order. This song solidified for me the idea that drugs and alcohol could be destructive forces in my life, although I wouldn't truly learn that lesson until the 90's. Even still, during some ill-spent youth, this song definitely was a friend when my other friends were, shall we say, more chemical than human.

4. Digging Your Scene - The Blow Monkeys. Okay, you're probably going...WHO? The Blow Monkeys? Yeah, The Blow Monkeys. This song grabbed me and COMPLETELY took me over for an entire summer, when I thought I was the mod, suave, excellent sonofabitch that I hoped to grow into. Alas, I'm now just cranky and old. But goddammit, this song is still fucking awesome. Just watching this video takes me right back to wanting to wear sharp-toed shoes with a black suit/skinny tie combo. Ah well.

3. A Million Miles Away - The Plimsouls. Yeah, not exactly the biggest band in the world, but holy cow did this song grab hold of all of us in 1983 and not let us go. God, I was such a young turk back in the day. I'm getting all wistful, honestly. And this clip of Valley Girl. Wow. Song starts around 3:50 or so.

2. Mirror In The Bathroom - The English Beat. When this song was included on the "Grosse Point Blank" soundtrack, I nearly flipped my lid. I honestly thought that the English ska revival of the mid-80's was completely lost on most of America. Imagine my surprise to find out ten years later that I truly wasn't as cool as I thought I had been. Still though, great song.

1. How Soon Is Now? - The Smiths. I freely admit to a huge obsession with both Morrissey and the Smiths, and it started with Reel Around the Fountain, but came full circle with this opus. Call it whatever you want, say whatever you want about Morrissey, but this song is great and I put it on a SHITLOAD of tapes back in the day. And by shitload, I think every damn one. Even themed ones. Scary.

At any rate, there's the list. I hope this might provoke some kind of discussion, but I guess we'll see.

Two days in a row, what's happening with me?

Labels: lists, mix tape

Seamus Kennedy

Happy St. Patrick's Day...

Because I'm the biggest jerk on the planet, I take these occasional "breaks" from blogging, while Courtney carries on. I'm lucky, honestly, to have her as a partner in this endeavour, because I clearly suck.

Two things. One, whether you're Irish (like me) or not, please enjoy St. Patrick's day. Here's a link to the Lorica of St. Patrick, the prayer of the paternal Saint of Ireland. I think it's worth it to take a look at this prayer and discover how centered and focused it is, and perhaps apply some of it to your own existence.

Secondly, I spent some of the weekend considering how much I miss certain kinds of music, with New Order being at the top of that list. I bet I listened to "Blue Monday" about 20 times this weekend. I'm going to be putting a post together of my "Mix Tape All-Stars" for later this week, and New Order will definitely be mentioned.

In the meantime, I have to say that these lyrics really fit me at the moment, for reasons I won't go into here:

"Blue Monday"

How does it feel
To treat me like you do
When you've laid laid your hands upon me
And told me who you are

I thought I was mistaken
I thought I heard your words
Tell me how do I feel
Tell me now how do I feel

Those who came before me
Lived through their vocations
From the past until completion
They will turn away no more

And I still find it so hard
To say what I need to say
But I'm quite sure that you'll tell me
Just how I should feel today

I see a ship in the harbor
I can and shall obey
But if it wasn't for your misfortunes
I'd be a heavenly person today

And I thought I was mistaken
And I thought I heard you speak
Tell me how do I feel
Tell me now how should I feel

Now I stand here waiting

I thought I told you to leave me
While I walked down to the beach
Tell me how does it feel
When your heart grows cold
(grows cold, grows cold, grows cold)

Enjoy St. Patrick's day. Mix-tape All Stars later this week.

Labels: New Order

Labels: New Order

One thing I always take away after seeing Bob Mould live in concert is the incredible amount of energy and power that he emenates. Even his solo acoustic gigs; he is strumming on that guitar like it's going to save his sanity, and I'm sure there have been times in his career where that has certainly been the case. Put him with a full band, and well, it's like having a sonic boom go right through you. It feels sort of like this:


Those of you who have heard Husker Du's cover of "Eight Miles High" by the Byrds know exactly what I'm talking about. His guitar tone is a growl, sometimes menacing, sometimes a purr, but always electric and intense. Wednesday night at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, MA was no different.

The set list spanned his entire career; in fact, his first three songs were tunes from his days with Sugar, which sound as fresh, and aggressive, and ferociously pop as they did in the middle 90s. The crowd loved it. His band, Richard Morel on keys, Jason Narducy on bass and Rob Black on drums was tight, and energetic, and rounded out the sound nicely.

Some show highlights, and for those of you who are long time fans, these were gems to hear again: "I Hate Alternative Rock", "Divide and Conquer"(to which I said, oh, FUCK YEAH), "Hanging Tree", "Circles", and "Moving Trucks", a song that makes me well up every time I hear it, and has actually produced a full-on crying jag, also. But, a Bob show is always visceral, that's the best way I can put it. It sticks with you long after. You hear it in your pores for days.
More photos here, if you're interested. And, if you're reading this and he's coming to your city, I have one word for you: GO.

Labels: Bob Mould, live music

This morning, I had such a memory surge. I was in my office, preparing some material to do educational testing (last mention of my "real job"), and I had to cue up a cassette tape. I stuck my pinky finger in the whole to advance the tape, and suddenly, every instance of making a mix tape came flooding back to me in a rush. Because, if you remember, to get the maximum amount of audio onto those 45 minute sides, you needed to advance the tape forward, so that half of the recording tape showed, and not just the blank leader film. Do you remember? Or is it that you were possibly not as anal as I was about squeezing every second out of it?

Here's a song from one of the classic mix tapes of my life.

Star Power - Sonic Youth

So, my partner in crime left a comment on my other blog, regarding John Hughes movies and their soundtracks. Which completely snapped me out of my British Invasion/Kinks thing, and sent me spinning back into the height of the 80s. MJ listed his favorite John Hughes movies in order:
1. Breakfast Club
2. Some Kind of Wonderful
3. Pretty In Pink
4. 16 Candles

Fantastic choices, and I'd say that the 16 Candles/Breakfast Club/Pretty in Pink "trilogy", if you will, were his three greatest movies. And then, he threatened to tape my buns together. I don't know whether to be frightened or turned on, quite frankly.

At any rate, it got me thinking about the soundtracks to those movies. Do you REMEMBER those soundtracks? Filled with New Wave, British pop, and emerging indie bands, they were the coolest mass marketed mix tapes ever. I wore out two copies of the Pretty in Pink soundtrack, including one on CD. Right. I wore out a cd. Well, I may have scratched it somehow, but anyway. I adore this soundtrack. And, I adore that movie, all of those movies MJ listed. So, my list today is the best songs from those soundtracks.

1. If You Were Here, The Thompson Twins, from 16 Candles. Ah, the birthday cake, on the table. Kissing Jake Ryan. In a hideous bridesmaid's dress. I think every girl I knew wanted that for her birthday. Me, I would have worried that the table would collapse.

2. Don't You Forget About Me, Simple Minds, from The Breakfast Club. "Dear Mr. Vernon..." It's funny how many of us had friends that we were friends with secretly. How we were so defined by the cliques we ran with, and even the non-conformist ones had rules to adhere to. Punks only ran with punks. Stoners with stoners. Jocks with jocks. Cross-contamination was wrong. Funny how short of a time it really took to dissolve all that.

3. I Go Crazy, Flesh for Lulu, from Some Kind of Wonderful. Probably the signature song from that movie, which, admittedly, I haven't seen in a long, long time. But, fantastic lyrics, and very indicative of the time. However, the come-uppance in that film was awesome--all the skins invading the house party. LOVE that scene.

4. Positively Lost Me, the Rave-Ups, from Pretty in Pink. HA! You were expecting the signature song, weren't you? However, as much as I love the Psychedelic Furs, the Rave-Ups song, which is playing in the club when Duckie meets Blane, is possibly even more memorable than the title. And it's a CRIME that it did not appear on the soundtrack. Crime.

Have a great weekend. Go get your 80s on.

Labels: 80s movies, john hughes, soundtracks

So, in the middle of our conversation about the Rolling Stones, and Altamont, and British music from the 60s in general, I suddenly had a wild hair across my ass about The Kinks. And, I've been hearing "A Well Respected Man" in my head ever since.

Which, is really kind of funny in a sense, because of all the British Invasion bands, I have the LEAST amount of Kinks. It's not that I don't like them; I do. I just don't think I've ever purchased a Kinks album in my life. Although, Rolling Stone, just today, put out an "essential album guide" to assist in that, and if you've ever bought a Wes Anderson movie soundtrack, you're guaranteed a Kinks tune. Judy went on a wild goose chase for the Kinks album that contained the song "This Time Tomorrow" after seeing The Darjeeling Limited. I recently heard Richard Thomspon tell a tale of being a youth in London, and going to the youth club to hear these two brothers, called the Ravens, play American rock and roll. Later, he describes, they became too good for the youth club, so they changed their name to the Kinks and went off to conquer the world. Thompson called him one of the most brilliant songwriters in modern music, and then launched into a stunning rendition of "See My Friends".

Which, with the exception of the big hits, is how I tend to discover the talent of Ray Davies-- I hear other people play his songs, and expose their elements. Elvis Costello plays a version of "Days" that makes me positively weep. It's so fragile, and honest, and raw. I long thought of that song as one I'd want played at my funeral, but that's a post for another blog. And it shows us just what a craftsman Davies could be. Simple words, a simple melody, and a depth of emotion that defies description.

So, here I go, revisiting the relevance of the British Invasion, and seeking out Kinks tunes. Just don't send me "Lola". It's been done to death.

Labels: british invasion, the kinks

Not saying that it won't come back, maybe soon. I wanted to talk about something that's been cropping up in my life lately, and I feel compelled to talk about it.

There was a press release today on the BBC regarding the Hell's Angels plotting to get revenge on Mick Jagger for the goings-on at Altamont and it's aftermath.

Oddly enough, recently during a day off, I managed to catch an entire showing of Gimme Shelter which is the documentary of the ill-fated show at Altamont Speedway, in November of 1969. It's an amazing dichotomy to watch that movie now, and see what "security" meant in those days, especially for a festival-type show, as opposed to what it's like now. Certainly, there weren't metal detectors or bans on "substances" at that show. Also, most bands these days employ professional security and the arenas themselves have amazingly ridiculous security in place for shows as docile as Hannah Montana.

It cannot be said, though, that drunken people forced to sit around all day long in the sun dealing with the elements might not tend to get a bit restless. It's really hard to tell why the fights at the show broke out to such an extent that they did, nor is it readily apparent why the Hell's Angels "security" force were so pissed off AND packing weapons of all sorts, but certainly, Meredith Hunter, the man that was so famously stabbed to death on film, had a gun and brandished it. I don't think he deserved to be stabbed to death, but the Angel in question saw the gun and attacked. I'm not saying he acted in self-defense, nor am I defending him having a long-ass pigsticker in his pocket, all I know is that show got completely out of hand, and something like this happened because no one really had control.

Courtney and I had a discussion one day not too long ago about the disaster of Woodstock 99. Now, I have friends who've attended Bonnaroo and some friends in the UK who've been to Reading and while they report the typical bullshit involving high prices and lack of facilities for ridiculous ticket prices, they never report any major blow-ups with the security staff.

We've certainly come a long way from major bands utilizing motorcycle clubs as security for festival shows, that's for sure. I urge everyone interested in music history to track down a copy of "Gimme Shelter" because it's one of the most interesting and thought-provoking pieces of musical documentation I've ever seen. It's also worth it from a historical perspective to see where things were when the current 50-and-60 year olds were young and interested in seeing their musical heroes.

I'm glad that Mick wasn't assassinated by the Angels, that's for sure. However, I can honestly say that Mick certainly played a part in what happened at Altamont, as well as the rest of the Stones and the filmmakers who were there that day (including George Lucas, who was a cameraman).

Have a lovely Monday.

Labels: Altamont, The Rolling Stones

Gimme Shelter

Labels: The Rolling Stones