So, I said I had big news... and I do.
It may have taken an extra day to announce but it is well worth the wait.
Often times, people start up a blog to document a journey... a trip... a year before a big birthday... whatever. This wasn't designed for that purpose but in a way, it kind of became one.
What had started as a nice, fun, easy writing about miscellaneous crap like wrestling or the Dodgers or what was on TV became a very depressing, dark journal telling the story of how much I hate my job and how much I wanted a new one. A friend of mine said it basically stated the same things that everyone feels about their job but just hate seeing written down since it's so depressing.
Well, if you're feeling that way about your job as you read this page, I can finally tell you that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
As of this morning, I have given my two weeks notice and on March 17th, I am a free man.
On March 20th, I start a new job... step onto a new road... and I'm quite frankly pretty damn excited about it.
People keep stopping by my desk to talk about it so I'm actually a little busy today. More to come though... and hopefully it's a hell of a lot cheerier.
Song I'm Listening To Currently: Superman - Lazlo Bane
Book I'm Reading Currently: The Plot Against America - Phillip Roth
Movie I Last Saw In The Theater: Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire [IMAX]
2006-03-02
2006-02-28
It's still February!
Just barely.
I've got some big news to talk about... but it's only February for four more hours. Gotta do the Mixtape explanation!
Let's get to it!
B wanted a "new music" CD... so the "rule" on this one was that it had to be music added to the Mac in the last calendar month. Here's the results...
CHAKA MAD
-----------
"Hip Teens Don't Wear Blue Jeans" - Frank Popp Ensemble
I've been racking my brain trying to figure out where I found this but simply haven't got a clue. But it's great, isn't it? No one really makes music like this anymore. This is the kind of gem you'd expect to find on a Tarantino soundtrack... but it's not from one! I looked! I wish I could figure it out... driving me crazy. Fantastic groove to it though. It makes me smile at the first few notes.
"Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" - Travis
Travis has been a band that I tend to check out now and again for a while now. They had a cover of Joni Mitchell's "River" on one of the Kevin and Bean X-Mas CDs a few years ago that I dug. This is a great track. Mopey but in a peppy fashion. Kinda reminds me of James a bit too. I just noticed that someone put it on a Jim & Pam iMix too. Fuckin' rad. The lyrics to this one rock the casbah too. I'm not usually a huge lyric guy, delving into the depths of them... but check these out.
"Crooked Teeth" - Death Cab For Cutie
I don't know what I ever did without this band. I feel guilty even admitting that I'm a newbie to them. Some of the greatest songs I've heard in recent years. I'm still pissed that I didn't make it to the concert with them and Stars last year. I picked this track because there was an acoustic version of it featured on iTunes recently. This isn't that version but a soddin' brilliant piece of work nonetheless. Also, much props to DCFC as I dug through their entire celebrity playlist on iTunes to find stuff for this mix.
"Forever Lost" - The Magic Numbers
Gaaaah. Another one that I don't remember where it came from! Okay! Next month? I do this on the spot so I can tell you where everything came from. I want to say this is from a TV show but I can't recall. Some of the very best music is being used on some of the very best TV shows these days. Pretty sure this is one of them.
"Am I Just One" - Carey Ott
Speaking of great music on great TV. Grey's Anatomy had this one this year. By the by, much thanks to the music supervisor for having the forethought to realize people like me would be saying "What was that song?" and putting up their own list of the music every week. It seems to be a more and more common thing to do. Oh, this song rocks.
"Get Through" - Mark Joseph
Another song from Grey's. I always had the ambition to be a music supervisor... well, maybe not always but those few months when I worked in music licensing and got the opportunity to get a taste of what that job would be like. It's gotta be one of my dream jobs. Sitting around all day and listening to music to see what fits a scene? Beautiful. This song is great too. It's a little more pop-rocky than I usually go for these days but it's a great tune. This guy has great vocals.
"The Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts" - Sufjan Stevens
Uhhh... pretty sure I heard this on Indie 103. But you can't go wrong with a guy who has a song [or album?] called "Come On Feel The Illinois." And a song about Superman? Holy Guacamole! [we've got chips!] I'm all over this song. Plus, it's actually a fucking fantastic song. The background singing is kinda haunting and keeps sticking in my head. The music itself reminded me a little of Queens of the Stone Age... but with a vocalist I like. And yes, I realize that kills my indie cred. I just don't really care for that band! Sue me!
"Butterfly" - Weezer
Weezer continues to surprise me nearly 12 years after I first saw them in concert. Remember when they were "That band who sings about Fonzie!"? A lot of people will probably never know more about Weezer than "the Sweater Song" and Buddy Holly. Tis a shame. I can find Weezer tracks years old that I've never heard before or haven't heard in years and be in love with them all over again. It's fucking criminal that a song like this didn't break all sorts of sales records when some fuckin' shithead singing about his teeth does.
"High" - James Blunt
Sometimes I'll track down a song played on one of my favorite TV shows and discover that I actually like a different song by that artist a little better. This is one of those. James Blunt has been having his music played all over the place lately but I think Grey's got to him first. I checked out the song they played and found that I liked this one even more.
"Kiss The Girl" - Get Set Go
Another track from Grey's... god damn they were on a roll this season. Well, the band is from Grey's but like the above, I found this track to be even better. This one has a tinge of the old punk rock that I used to drown myself in in college... I also hear a little of "88 Lines For 44 Women" [one of my favorites] in it. This one is definitely worth a spin and I bet it'll be stuck in your head real damn quick.
"I Think I Need A New Heart" - The Magnetic Fields
Found this band on the Death Cab playlist. Liked this song better than the one they picked. It's an odd choice... really different than the kind of music I usually like. But I find myself drawn to artists who try and do something a little different lately. This one gave me some kind of bizarre impression where if Adam Ant and Morrissey had hot man ass love, this might be the result. Take that one to sleep with ya!
"Open All Night" - Bruce Springsteen
I promised you a monthly Springsteen track and I will deliver, dammit. And trust me, it's tough to find Springsteen songs that are "new" to me. I doubt this one really is... but it's one that I haven't listened to very much [until this month.] I picked up a copy of Nebraska at Amoeba Music a couple weeks ago [talk about heaven for a music fan... I'm hooked on that store.] This is really stripped down and raw for the Boss... usually when he's at his artistic best.
"The Engine Driver" - The Decemberists
I've been meaning to check this band out since [don't laugh] I saw it on the Celeb Playlist for the kid who plays Harry Potter.
...
Fuck you guys! He might have good music taste! Accio good music, bitches!
"Lift Me" - Madrugada feat. Ane Brun
Holy shit, I wish I knew where I found this and why. I love this damn song. It's just so different... and the tonality of the two voices are such stark contrasts. Just a fantastic song that makes me love it more everytime I hear it. It's like... if you threw Hope Sandoval out there with Dean Martin and said, "Go for it."
"Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" - Elefant
You got your Boss... now you get your cover song of the month. This is an odd choice for me. I can't stand Morrissey and/or The Smiths... that's just a given. I've never been able to get into it. B says "Talk about the song being in Ferris Bueller" I say, "Fuck that. This is the song when those bitches in Never Been Kissed were going to throw dog food on the nerdy girl in tights."
...
Stop looking at me like that!
By the way, this is on the Sky High soundtrack. It's filled with wacky [but cool] 80's covers. Take a look.
"Hoppipola" - Sigur Ros
Sigur Ros is one of those bands that you read about or someone mentions and you act like you know exactly who the fuck they are if you have any hopes of keeping your indie music cred intact. So, I finally decided to check 'em out. And for people singing in Icelandic [please tell me that's a language], they're pretty damn cool. Now, if they're actually singing in English and I'm just trippin', don't mind any of this. Actually, I hope that's exactly what's happening.
"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" - The Jayhawks
Sigh. I don't know where I found this one either... but I like it. Rinse and repeat.
"Adelaide" - Old 97s
AHA! I know where this came from! VERONICA MARS, BABY! This is from that tear-jerking scene where Duncan r- err... Markus, you haven't seen any of these yet. Never mind! But it's good stuff! Remember this song when you get to the scene of which I speak.
"False Alarm" - Sloan
This is another track from the Death Cab playlist. I swear to God this band sounds familiar to me. I think I may have discovered them in the long, long ago and just completely forgot about this. Very good track. One of my favs on this list.
... Can you tell I'm running out of steam? I need to watch American Idol before The Shield comes on!
"Baby's Been Bad" - Goldenhorse
Remember what I said about rewarding bands that try something different? Exhibit B, your honor.
"All You Need Is Hate" - The Delgados
And yet one more from the Death Cab playlist. Those boys have some damn fine taste in music.
And that's that. I'm drained. That took far more out of me than it should have.
Suggestion for a theme for March's mix? I was thinking of Redneck Rock in honor of me getting that damn Georgia Satellites song stuck in my head last night... not to mention that poor fucked-up teeth bastard on American Idol doing his best effort to belt out a Skynyrd song and getting blank stares in return.
Back tomorrow with the big news... most likely.
Song I'm Listening To Currently: Karate - Tenacious D
Book I'm Reading Currently: The Plot Against America - Phillip Roth
Movie I Last Saw In The Theater: Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire [IMAX]
I've got some big news to talk about... but it's only February for four more hours. Gotta do the Mixtape explanation!
Let's get to it!
B wanted a "new music" CD... so the "rule" on this one was that it had to be music added to the Mac in the last calendar month. Here's the results...
CHAKA MAD
-----------
"Hip Teens Don't Wear Blue Jeans" - Frank Popp Ensemble
I've been racking my brain trying to figure out where I found this but simply haven't got a clue. But it's great, isn't it? No one really makes music like this anymore. This is the kind of gem you'd expect to find on a Tarantino soundtrack... but it's not from one! I looked! I wish I could figure it out... driving me crazy. Fantastic groove to it though. It makes me smile at the first few notes.
"Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" - Travis
Travis has been a band that I tend to check out now and again for a while now. They had a cover of Joni Mitchell's "River" on one of the Kevin and Bean X-Mas CDs a few years ago that I dug. This is a great track. Mopey but in a peppy fashion. Kinda reminds me of James a bit too. I just noticed that someone put it on a Jim & Pam iMix too. Fuckin' rad. The lyrics to this one rock the casbah too. I'm not usually a huge lyric guy, delving into the depths of them... but check these out.
"Crooked Teeth" - Death Cab For Cutie
I don't know what I ever did without this band. I feel guilty even admitting that I'm a newbie to them. Some of the greatest songs I've heard in recent years. I'm still pissed that I didn't make it to the concert with them and Stars last year. I picked this track because there was an acoustic version of it featured on iTunes recently. This isn't that version but a soddin' brilliant piece of work nonetheless. Also, much props to DCFC as I dug through their entire celebrity playlist on iTunes to find stuff for this mix.
"Forever Lost" - The Magic Numbers
Gaaaah. Another one that I don't remember where it came from! Okay! Next month? I do this on the spot so I can tell you where everything came from. I want to say this is from a TV show but I can't recall. Some of the very best music is being used on some of the very best TV shows these days. Pretty sure this is one of them.
"Am I Just One" - Carey Ott
Speaking of great music on great TV. Grey's Anatomy had this one this year. By the by, much thanks to the music supervisor for having the forethought to realize people like me would be saying "What was that song?" and putting up their own list of the music every week. It seems to be a more and more common thing to do. Oh, this song rocks.
"Get Through" - Mark Joseph
Another song from Grey's. I always had the ambition to be a music supervisor... well, maybe not always but those few months when I worked in music licensing and got the opportunity to get a taste of what that job would be like. It's gotta be one of my dream jobs. Sitting around all day and listening to music to see what fits a scene? Beautiful. This song is great too. It's a little more pop-rocky than I usually go for these days but it's a great tune. This guy has great vocals.
"The Man Of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts" - Sufjan Stevens
Uhhh... pretty sure I heard this on Indie 103. But you can't go wrong with a guy who has a song [or album?] called "Come On Feel The Illinois." And a song about Superman? Holy Guacamole! [we've got chips!] I'm all over this song. Plus, it's actually a fucking fantastic song. The background singing is kinda haunting and keeps sticking in my head. The music itself reminded me a little of Queens of the Stone Age... but with a vocalist I like. And yes, I realize that kills my indie cred. I just don't really care for that band! Sue me!
"Butterfly" - Weezer
Weezer continues to surprise me nearly 12 years after I first saw them in concert. Remember when they were "That band who sings about Fonzie!"? A lot of people will probably never know more about Weezer than "the Sweater Song" and Buddy Holly. Tis a shame. I can find Weezer tracks years old that I've never heard before or haven't heard in years and be in love with them all over again. It's fucking criminal that a song like this didn't break all sorts of sales records when some fuckin' shithead singing about his teeth does.
"High" - James Blunt
Sometimes I'll track down a song played on one of my favorite TV shows and discover that I actually like a different song by that artist a little better. This is one of those. James Blunt has been having his music played all over the place lately but I think Grey's got to him first. I checked out the song they played and found that I liked this one even more.
"Kiss The Girl" - Get Set Go
Another track from Grey's... god damn they were on a roll this season. Well, the band is from Grey's but like the above, I found this track to be even better. This one has a tinge of the old punk rock that I used to drown myself in in college... I also hear a little of "88 Lines For 44 Women" [one of my favorites] in it. This one is definitely worth a spin and I bet it'll be stuck in your head real damn quick.
"I Think I Need A New Heart" - The Magnetic Fields
Found this band on the Death Cab playlist. Liked this song better than the one they picked. It's an odd choice... really different than the kind of music I usually like. But I find myself drawn to artists who try and do something a little different lately. This one gave me some kind of bizarre impression where if Adam Ant and Morrissey had hot man ass love, this might be the result. Take that one to sleep with ya!
"Open All Night" - Bruce Springsteen
I promised you a monthly Springsteen track and I will deliver, dammit. And trust me, it's tough to find Springsteen songs that are "new" to me. I doubt this one really is... but it's one that I haven't listened to very much [until this month.] I picked up a copy of Nebraska at Amoeba Music a couple weeks ago [talk about heaven for a music fan... I'm hooked on that store.] This is really stripped down and raw for the Boss... usually when he's at his artistic best.
"The Engine Driver" - The Decemberists
I've been meaning to check this band out since [don't laugh] I saw it on the Celeb Playlist for the kid who plays Harry Potter.
...
Fuck you guys! He might have good music taste! Accio good music, bitches!
"Lift Me" - Madrugada feat. Ane Brun
Holy shit, I wish I knew where I found this and why. I love this damn song. It's just so different... and the tonality of the two voices are such stark contrasts. Just a fantastic song that makes me love it more everytime I hear it. It's like... if you threw Hope Sandoval out there with Dean Martin and said, "Go for it."
"Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" - Elefant
You got your Boss... now you get your cover song of the month. This is an odd choice for me. I can't stand Morrissey and/or The Smiths... that's just a given. I've never been able to get into it. B says "Talk about the song being in Ferris Bueller" I say, "Fuck that. This is the song when those bitches in Never Been Kissed were going to throw dog food on the nerdy girl in tights."
...
Stop looking at me like that!
By the way, this is on the Sky High soundtrack. It's filled with wacky [but cool] 80's covers. Take a look.
"Hoppipola" - Sigur Ros
Sigur Ros is one of those bands that you read about or someone mentions and you act like you know exactly who the fuck they are if you have any hopes of keeping your indie music cred intact. So, I finally decided to check 'em out. And for people singing in Icelandic [please tell me that's a language], they're pretty damn cool. Now, if they're actually singing in English and I'm just trippin', don't mind any of this. Actually, I hope that's exactly what's happening.
"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" - The Jayhawks
Sigh. I don't know where I found this one either... but I like it. Rinse and repeat.
"Adelaide" - Old 97s
AHA! I know where this came from! VERONICA MARS, BABY! This is from that tear-jerking scene where Duncan r- err... Markus, you haven't seen any of these yet. Never mind! But it's good stuff! Remember this song when you get to the scene of which I speak.
"False Alarm" - Sloan
This is another track from the Death Cab playlist. I swear to God this band sounds familiar to me. I think I may have discovered them in the long, long ago and just completely forgot about this. Very good track. One of my favs on this list.
... Can you tell I'm running out of steam? I need to watch American Idol before The Shield comes on!
"Baby's Been Bad" - Goldenhorse
Remember what I said about rewarding bands that try something different? Exhibit B, your honor.
"All You Need Is Hate" - The Delgados
And yet one more from the Death Cab playlist. Those boys have some damn fine taste in music.
And that's that. I'm drained. That took far more out of me than it should have.
Suggestion for a theme for March's mix? I was thinking of Redneck Rock in honor of me getting that damn Georgia Satellites song stuck in my head last night... not to mention that poor fucked-up teeth bastard on American Idol doing his best effort to belt out a Skynyrd song and getting blank stares in return.
Back tomorrow with the big news... most likely.
Song I'm Listening To Currently: Karate - Tenacious D
Book I'm Reading Currently: The Plot Against America - Phillip Roth
Movie I Last Saw In The Theater: Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire [IMAX]
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