I've mentioned on here in the past how much I adore mp3 blogs. Not only are they typically on the cutting edge of the best new music hitting the world but occasionally they also dig up a long-lost treasure that you can't believe you've never heard before - and sometimes didn't even know existed.
I posted a link to the Beach Boys rehearsal stuff a few weeks ago that I thought was amazing - well, this one is right up there with it.
Back in 1968, apparently Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan went into the studios together and laid down some work that never saw the light of day. When you're done listening to it, you're going to shed a slight tear that this never came out before.
This is a true peice of Americana — two iconic masters of their craft conversing with one another via song. Recorded throughout 1969 on three separate occasions, these recordings mark an important historical collaboration between two American poets/musicians. Even a casual fans of either artist should at least give these a cursory listen. Great stuff.
On a night where I really don't have a lot to say [I know - a rarity!], I've decided to go to an old standby...
10 Things iPod About You!
One of our favorite activities where we put iTunes to work in cranking out 10 songs on Shuffle and then I discuss said songs in some sort of random, half-ass fashion. Sound like fun?
Great! Let's begin!
MP3s included where possible!
1. The Bells Of Notre Dame from The Hunchback Of Notre Dame soundtrack
Awesome! One of my favorite Disney movies kicks things off with the opening song from the movie. For those of you who haven't seen the movie, here's what to do...
Step One) Take a giant step back
Step Two) FUCK... YOUR... FACE!
Sorry, I had "a moment" there. Seriously though, Hunchback is absolutely one of the most awesome Disney flicks where they actually make an effort to be a little bit darker than most of the Disney movies tend to be. Good music, an engaging story with a hell of a message, and one of my favorite Disney villains. Oh, the song? Well, it's important too because it tells the entire "setup" to the story in a few minutes - establishing the hero, the villain, and our basic plot. From Moment One, you can tell you're going to be watching far from the usual Disney movie. It'd be like an entire movie of that goosestepping hyena scene to "Be Prepared" in The Lion King - scary stuff.
2. Sign O' The Times by Prince
Eh. Not really one of my favorite Prince songs actually. It's okay. Prince always amazes me with the way he shoehorns lyrics into verses that just don't seem like they should fit in there. Like... I would imagine a song like this would be almost impossible to karaoke. Not that I've ever done karaoke. I'd hate to kill my image of omniscient rock god by standing on a stage and poorly singing some song that I can't remember the lyrics to. Anyways, I'm listening to this entire song for the first time in ages - I usually skip right past it when it comes up - expressly for the purpose of writing about it.
3. No One - cover of the Alicia Keys song by a band called Wakey!Wakey!
Fans of this blog know what a fan of covers I am. I'm a sucker for a good one - or a weird one - or sometimes even really bad, ill-advised ones. This one could really fit into any of those categories, I think. There's nothing really remarkable about it to set it apart from the original. It's not a straight take on it because it's stripped down of all the R&B elements to a guy singing with a... I'm gonna guess an electric piano of some kind. The vocals aren't especially good either. This is just... okay.
4. Don't Call Me White - cover of the NOFX song by Rancid
A while back, there was an album released of Rancid covering NOFX songs and vice versa. With those two being two of my favorite punk bands, I was all over it. Surprisingly though, I really didn't care for much of it. The covers just didn't seem as good as the originals and since they're both punk bands, there wasn't a fresh take on the song to take it. So, not shockingly, I much prefer the NOFX version of this song. This is passable but really nothing to go out of your way to hear if you know the original. I still dig both bands but I have to admit, the album sounded much better on paper than in practice.
5. Waiting For My Real Life To Begin - Colin Hay
Colin Hay owes his resurgence on my listening plate to Scrubs - plain and simple. He did an amazing "cover" of Overkill on Scrubs a few years ago and made me set out to check out new stuff whenever it comes out from him. I call it a "cover" because Colin Hay actually was a member of Men At Work so I guess it's not really a cover but rather... a solo reimagining? Anyways, if you're only listening to him for the Men At Work covers [while awesome], you're badly missing out. This is an absolutely fantastic song that should be on everyone's iPod/iPhone/mp3 player of choice. Next time you're on the iTunes Music Store, run a search for Colin Hay and soak up some of the greatness - it always goes down smooth.
6. Sympathy For The Devil - The Rolling Stones
This is going to sound really, really bad for a diehard music fan such as myself but honestly, I think the very first time I ever heard this song was the Guns N' Roses cover of it during the closing credits of Interview With The Vampire. To be honest, I never can quite decide if I like that version of it better. The Stones' version is more iconic and is usually the one I "play" in my head if I think of the song but there's just something about Axl's wild voice tackling it that adds a little spice to it. One of the greatest songs of all time - no matter the artist. The riff, the backing vocals, the main vocal, the drum line... man, all of it is almost instantly identifiable. This is one of those songs that I would love to have on vinyl in some form so that when I finally get a record player, I can spend a sleepy Sunday afternoon lying on the couch listening to the fuzz and hissy Mick Jagger as I'm knocking back a White Russian (been craving a White Russian for days - probably has something to do with reading the book about The Big Lebowski.)
7. Bubble Pop Electric - Gwen Stefani
Hrm. Well. This is one of those songs off the first Gwen solo album that I really want to like. Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. Tonight, I wasn't very overjoyed to hear it come up. I'd like to skip it. And so, since I'm in control here - I shall!
8. Gleaming Auction - Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol holds a spot on that very small list of bands that I had tickets to see that I ate the cost of because I decided I didn't really care to see them that badly. I don't much care for this song either. The verses aren't bad. The chorus annoys me. Thankfully it's short!
9. House Of Pain - Faster Pussycat
I think I stumbled upon this song when I was looking for Bret Michaels solo songs. Hey! Fuck you too! Anyways, this is a perfect example of an 80's arena rock ballad anthem. This is the perfect singalong song that you can totally envision a bunch of heavily leathered, mega hairsprayed, barely in their skintight tops rocking out to with their lighters in the air. Real lighters too. Not this cell phone bullshit that people do these days. I actually really like this song as a power ballad and think most people would have it stuck in their head after a listen or two if they give it a shot. Go ahead. Click the link above and listen. I dare ya. Come on, pussies. Do it. All the cool kids are doing it. If you don't do it, you might as well join the marching band or keep stats for the volleyball team or something. Do it! DO IT!
10. What It Feels Like - Lola Ray
As this song starts, I have a strong suspicion that the song will cut off before it's over. I'm almost positive this mp3 isn't complete which means I have no earthly idea where it came from and why since I haven't used a filesharing service in ages. This song is kinda catchy too. I'm not overly fond of it. I have a hard time imagining the moment where I'd go, "Hey, I want to hear that song by Lola Ray!" I also harbor a suspicion that Lola Ray is in some way related to Sugar Ray and I ain't havin' any of that shit, I tell you that! Ever since I saw Sugar Ray at Warped Tour years ago and realized they could have been an okay band until "Fly" came out and the shit hit the fan and then Mark McGrath [that's his name right?] was on every fucking channel on the television. That fucker was a TV whore. He'd host anything that anyone wanted him to fucking host. MTV Awards? Done. VH-1 Honors? So there. Teen Choice Awards? Where do I sign up? Jet Magazine's "I LOOOOOVE BLACK PEOPLE!" Celebrity Extravaganza? I'm soooo fucking in. Anyways, I digress - the song cut off and now some god damn Chris Issak song is on so I'm going to wrap this up before I drown the keyboard in the blood from my slit wrists.
On my day off as I sit here "preparing" to go to Game 4 tonight, I've been digging through some mp3 blogs to add some stuff to my collection and I uncovered a real gem.
I'm a firm believer that most people end up getting a large chunk of their musical tastes from the people directly around them. Example - I'm a huge Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band fan but I can't imagine I would have become that on my own if I hadn't spent a huge chunk of my childhood with my aunts listening to Bruce at every turn. Same thing goes for Rod Stewart, Tom Petty, and so on... yes, even Barry Manilow. Likewise, I can pick individual bands out from my musical tastes and point out who influenced them. I still remember the first time I heard Nine Inch Nails' "Pretty Hate Machine" was on a crappy boombox shoved under the front seat of my friend Brian's car back in the day. You get the idea.
But oddly, for the most part, I barely remember my Mom listening to any music growing up. I knew that my aunts teased her for having "Lay Lady Lay" as her favorite Dylan song. I knew she liked Elvis and a lot of the 50's and 60's bubblegum pop but I never really heard her play it around the house.
The only band I can recall my Mom listening to or talking about a lot was The Beach Boys.
The Beach Boys don't get a lot of love from your typical rock music fan because they're treated as the aforementioned bubblegum pop but I defy one and all to not crack a big ol' smile when you hear the music. Back in '06 when the Missus and I attended Bridge School Benefit for the first time, Brian Wilson was on the bill and in a crowd filled with people there to see Pearl Jam and the Dave Matthews Band take the stage, Brian Wilson stole the show by rockin' the night away with the old Beach Boys songs that had that entire crowd up on their feet singing along.
It somehow seems fitting that for the very first post as an "official" mp3 blog, that I'm covering R.E.M.
While R.E.M. will probably never be at the top of a list of my absolute favorite bands, they've always had a lot of songs that I like - and they oddly became somewhat significant in my life. They would easily be near the top of a list of my wife's favorite bands. Our first unofficial "date" was actually at an R.E.M. show in the fall of '95. A show where the support acts were Luscious Jackson, the Meat Puppets, and the Gin Blossoms.
Man, I feel old.
We even ended up using a R.E.M. song ("Strange Currencies") as the first dance song at our wedding - but don't get the Missus started on that one please!
Tonight, we're going to the R.E.M. show at the Hollywood Bowl - always a fun and unique place to see a concert. They are out in tour of their new album "Accelerate" that I bought last weekend so I wouldn't be totally clueless during the show - yet haven't gotten to listen to yet assuring that I most certainly will be clueless during the show.
The album created a lot of buzz when it was released because it was such a far departure from most of their recent albums. It has eleven songs, checking in at just under 35 minutes with no song breaking the five minute mark. Depending on your tastes, that could be very cool or very sucky. The album is literally a musical sprint - an attempt to break the world record in the 100 meter dash.
Unfortunately, since I haven't listened to it yet, I can't tell you if it ends up breaking the ribbon with time to spare or stumbles at the blocks with shoelaces that are tied together. Time will tell.
I'm looking forward to the show tonight. Support acts on the bill are Modest Mouse and The National, who busted out an awesome Springsteen cover lately which gives me hope for their musical talent level.
So, in honor of the show tonight, a trio of R.E.M. tracks for your listening pleasure:
These are from a Vote For Change performance in St. Paul, MN on 10-5-04. It's an audience recording so your mileage may vary but I dug it. Especially since Bruce joined in on a couple songs at the end - and you know I love me some Springsteen. Many thanks to Captain's Dead for these.
If you like what you hear, please remember to support the artist by buying through I especially recommend the R.E.M./Dashboard Confessional joint performance album - killer stuff on there that you can find at
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