bac0n's Five Star Songs

[bac0n]

Since Thirdmango was forced to shut his list down abruptly, I thought I would pick up the slack with yet another list of songs that are worth, well, worth at least my while. I don't know about you, but I sure get a kick out of 'em.

I listen to music all day at work and usually playing during the weekends. Mostly my laptop playing iTunes on it. When a song plays in iTunes that I really like, I'll five-star it. Over the course of the last several weeks the list has grown to around 100 some odd songs, and I thought I would share it with you.

Now, this list isn't ranked. I have neither the time and desire to decide which of these songs I like better than the others. All I can say is that I think these songs are awesome and right now that's good enough for me. Nonetheless, to add some semblance of order and progression, I thought I would just list them alphabetically. Or at least iTunes' version of alphabetical. But then again, who am I to question Steve Jobs, anyway.

I'll try to post 3 or so on work days until I've made it all the way through. Lets dig in!

[bac0n]

A Little Respect by Erasure

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/Erasure.jpg



When it comes to pounding out top shelf 80s pop-songs, few bands can touch Erasure, and this is my favorite of theirs. It perfectly showcases Andy Bell's distinctive voice and dynamite vocal range, and Vince Clarke's near peerless ability to craft an intelligent pop tune. I remember being a kid at Grampas, catching the video for this song on a late night music video show and saying to myself, what, that's actually a man with a voice like that? Oh well. Now I know better, I guess, but regardless, this is one of those rare songs that I've been listening to for eons, and I never skip it when it shows up on shuffle.

Watch the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfPEYQRcyqI)

[bac0n]

Are You The One? by The Presets

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/the-presets-2.jpg



What do you get when you take a little bit of David Bowie, maybe throw in some Nitzer Ebb, and mix in enough ham to feed a football team Easter dinner? Hell if I know, but I sure as hell like this song, what with its singular chord progression, the diva-wanna be vox and the the tongue planted firmly cheek disco beat. But what really seals the deal is the flamenco clapping. Ole!

Warning: silly video! Silly, I say! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpN819k4sQA)

[bac0n]

Asturias performed by Pepé Romero

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/peperomero300.jpg



You might be surprised to find out that I'm a classical guitar junkie, with my favorite piece being Asturias, reputed to have been written in Cuba by a man in anticipation of returning to his beloved homeland of Asturias to die. I saw this piece performed by Romero at a guitar summit back in 1994. He walked quietly on stage, sat down and then proceeded to drop my jaw on the floor with this song. I couldn't believe all that sound was coming from just one man playing one guitar! You guys can have your alleged guitar heroes. I'd put Pepe's skills up against anybody's, any time, any where.

Asturias Live (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wqrMbLydlw)

[Sven]

Looking forward to this!

I just checked my own five star songs: 1,983

[Sven]

Because of you, I've been watching a lot of Presets videos on Youtube this morning. Very interesting dudes. As a fan of PSB, I can see why you like them. They're not bad at all. The frontman is very frightening.

[bac0n]

Because of you, I've been watching a lot of Presets videos on Youtube this morning. Very interesting dudes. As a fan of PSB, I can see why you like them. They're not bad at all. The frontman is very frightening.

Actually, the frontman reminds me a lot of Guy Pearce when he was in Priscilla Queen of the Desert... in a strange sorta way.

[D_Davis]

Cool start with Erasure. My favorite is Blue Savannah - I dig that song.

[bac0n]

Award Tour by A Tribe Called Quest

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/a_tribe_called_quest_2.jpg




A Tribe Called Quest was always in a league of their own, way above just about all the other hip-hop outfits of their time, and this is my favorite song of theirs. Hell, this might be my favorite hip-hop song period. It certainly has all the right elements of a true hip-hop classic - a tub-thumping bassline that drills straight into the sternum, QTip's eccentric rhymes, and as icecream on the cake, some help with the refrain from De La Soul. Yeeeah

Music Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qapou-3-fM8)

[bac0n]

Backward Country Boy Blues by Duke Ellington, Charlie Mingus & Max Roach

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/moneyjungle.jpg



The planets all aligned in 1962 when three of the all time Jazz heavyweights got in the studio for a recording session that would eventually spawn the album Money Jungle. It's hard not to be in awe of such a thing. Pretty much every song on this album is a Jazz aficionado's delight, but I've selected this one as it showcases each of the three very well - Duke straying from his big-band tendencies for a looser and rougher style, Mingus playing off him well despite his mercurial tendencies, all the while the super-cool Max Roach holding the show together with his sly traps.

Dig It! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PNwF1eQt6s)

[bac0n]

A Bad Dream by Keane

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/Keane_468x367.jpg



What is it with me and whiny boy songs, my wife asks. That's what she calls bands like The Flaming Lips, Rufus Wainwright, Mercury Rev, & now these guys, Keane. But what the hell does she know, cuz she likes that one band that... uh.. sucks! Yeah! Anyway, my favorite thing about this song is, apart from the nice way it gradually builds momentum over the course of the first two phrases, is Tom Chaplin's disciplined approach to the vocal track. He really seems to recognize his vocal chords as an instrument and approaches the singing as such, and seems to be getting better with each album that Keane puts out. At this rate, he could eventually become one of the great ones.

Music Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTNbZDSWkuI)

[D_Davis]

Your wife obviously hasn't heard In a Priest Driven Ambulance. That's pure, in yer face, fuck yer shit up rock 'n roll.

[origami_mustache]

cool...I've never actually rated my music since I have over 150 Gbs or something, but it's something I'd like to do some time haha.

[Spinal]

A Little Respect by Erasure


I like this song a lot. Although I think I like it better when I'm not watching the video.

[bac0n]

I like this song a lot. Although I think I like it better when I'm not watching the video.

Actually, I find it amusing how the Bell & Clarke reenact the lyrics to the song on the bottom half of the screen like it's the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I particularly like the part in the song that goes "and live in peace in our hearts" and below the guys are standing in a house with a big "Peace In Our Hearts" sign over the door. HI-LARITY!

[bac0n]

Bang The Drum All Day by Todd Rundgren

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/rundgren.jpg



At Iowa State University, they have this thing called VEISHA two weeks before finals, which is supposed to be a celebration of all the colleges that comprise the venerable ISU, but in practice is basically a huge nightmare of binge drinking on a mass scale.

During VEISHA, everyone is throwing parties - all the houses, the frats & sororities, all the dormitory floors, everyone. My dorm floor threw a party, the main attraction of which was a lip-synching contest, and most of us who were essentially a bunch of hopeless losers with nothing else to do with our time (study? FAA!) so we really went apeshit on this contest.

My team & I took the prize in 1990, and in 1991 we were dethroned by a bunch of other losers who dressed as a lounge act and did a rather amusing rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. So, in 1993, determined to reclaim our rightful place on top, we decided to lip-synch to Bang The Drum All Day dressed in only our underwear. I even went so far as to have pig-tailed up my long-ass hair and ran a coathanger through it, and glued on a fake handlebar mustache. In short, we looked pretty ridiculous, but we didn't care. By the time it was our turn to perform, I'm pretty sure we were so drunk we could hardly even see.

Oh. And we came in third.

Todd (not us) performing the song. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZclddLcOYYA)

[bac0n]

Beautiful Friend by Cranes

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/cranes.jpg



I never thought much of Cranes until I heard their album Loved. And then I loved Cranes. And then I sorta stopped paying attention to Cranes. But anyway, this song is my favorite on their album and about as close as I come to actually liking Goth music. That's probably due to the fact that this song isn't really goth at all. It's more like gothic-shoegaze-western, what with Allison Shaw's childlike vocals lamenting over a friendship lost and recalling kinder times, as a lonely guitar cries in the distance, dripping tears out of its whammy-bar.

Music Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5sJVXXYVPA)

[bac0n]

Big Chief by Professor Longhair

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/proflonghair.jpg



It's kinda fitting that I should be posting this entry today, what with it being the 3rd anniversary of hurricane katrina making landfall on New Orleans, and with the threat of Hurricane Gustav on the horizon. That's because Big Chief is pretty much Mardi Gras in musical form, and represents all that's best about The Big Easy, what with its catchy tune, friendly disposition and raucous beat.

Let the party begin! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IOyBwrvOKA)

[Russ]

You might be surprised to find out that I'm a classical guitar junkie
That was quality. If you're not familiar with him, I'd recommend you check out some stuff by Brasilian guitarist Paulo Bellinati. I've got his CD, The Guitar Works of Garoto, which I've listened to more times than I care to remember.

[bac0n]

That was quality. If you're not familiar with him, I'd recommend you check out some stuff by Brasilian guitarist Paulo Bellinati. I've got his CD, The Guitar Works of Garoto, which I've listened to more times than I care to remember.

Thanks for the recommendation! I'm always on the look out for some kickass classical guitar, especially of the Brasillian pursuastion.

[bac0n]

BOOM BOX by Blueprint

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/blueprint.jpg



There are two things I love about this song. The first is Blueprint's trademark intelligent, crystal clear delivery. The man simply raps like a bottle of Evian, sparkly clean, so much so that you can hear him annunciating his consonants. And the second is that the man is rapping about his tricked-out boom box like it's the best thing in town. Not his ride, not his bling-bling, his boombox, and he raps with the same cocksure menace as a gangsta rapper musing about his glocks, except instead of bustin' caps in fools, Blueprint is making downtown sidewalks look like Soul Train.

Check out his myspace page to listen (http://www.myspace.com/blueprint)

See him perform it live in Minneapolis (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf3PiydFdHQ)

[bac0n]

Burning Inside by Ministry

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/ministry.jpg



Back when I was a senior in highschool and I still believed in absolutes, Ministry totally knocked off The Pet Shop Boys for the title of My Favorite Band Ever (talk about one extreme to the other) and this was totally the song that did it. I remember listening to this song on my cassette tape player, rewinding the tape, then listening again, then again, then again, then again. I love the combination of the super aggro dual drums coupled with Jorgensen's monotone shriek, ran through so much distortion that it bubbles like some sorta cyborg monster. And lets face it, Al Jorgensen is always at his best when he's writing about bad acid/heroin/meth/glue trips.

Lets get aggro! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJWW2Ml5iZU)

[bac0n]

Butterfly by Talvin Singh

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/talvin_singh.jpg



Classically trained tabla player cum drum & bass DJ Talvin Singh has created a five minute masterpiece with Butterfly, seamlessly fusing traditional Indian music with modern electronic production techniques. Complex drum & bass rhythms don't clash with driving tablas and swirling flutes; rather, they complement them surprisingly well, and this song drips with virtuosity, not only in its musicsmanship, but in its programming and production values as well. I frickin' love this song.

Listen (http://www.last.fm/music/Talvin+Singh/_/Butterfly)

[bac0n]

Call It Ours by The Legends

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/legends.jpg




I actually discovered this band The Legends when I borrowed my friend's car. I turned on the radio, and the song that was playing was this song. And I've been hooked on The Legends sound since, what with their melancholy vocals, catchy & simple sugar-coated tunes that make liberal use of the tambourine. Sure, it's not what I would call sophisticated music, but some times I get an itch, and the only way to scratch it is with some nice simple, straightforward and unassuming Scandi-pop such as this.

Music Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-1LuDZAUWY)

[bac0n]

Chicago by Sufjan Stevens

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/sufjan_stevens.jpg



There's a certain innocence to Sufjan Stevens' music, an air of youth unspoiled to it that makes me long for a simpler time, when afternoons seemed to last forever and the biggest decision I had to make all year was to what toy I should ask for from Santa Claus. This might be my favorite song of his (It's a toss up between Come On! Feel The Illinois!), what with how Stevens' soft, shy vocals, somewhat tentative and not that sure of itself, standing in front of an orchestra of sorts that has the charm of a highschool concert band.

Listen to the song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDRrqcZbdPU)

Kickass Live Version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg7BEHIo-g4&feature=related)

[Sven]

Blueprint -
Ministry +-
Singh +-
The Legends +
Sufjan -

[Raiders]

Well, I will agree that Sufjan is pretty awesome. Occasionally his overly orchestrated music gets annoying, but on songs like "John Wayne Gacy" and "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us" his intimate lyrics and smooth orchestration are simply flawless.

[bac0n]

The Coffee Song crooned by Frank Sinatra

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/sinatra.jpg



This song gets five stars for the fact that it's a song about coffee, and another fifty five stars for the fact that it's Frank Sinatra singing, and another five hundred and fifty five stars for the fact that it's Frank Sinatra singing about coffee, making this a 605 star song. Regrettably, software limits present a maximum number of stars I can give a song as a measly five, ergo, this song makes the five star song list.

Give The Chairman A Cup! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVGXcjM9SOQ)

[Kurosawa Fan]

Man, am I the only one who finds "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." totally insufferable? I'm stunned that people like that song. Just stunned.

[Raiders]

Man, am I the only one who finds "John Wayne Gacy, Jr." totally insufferable? I'm stunned that people like that song. Just stunned.

Probably not. It'd be a lot cooler if you were.

[EyesWideOpen]

that Blueprint track was great, nice recommendation i'd never heard of him.

[bac0n]

that Blueprint track was great, nice recommendation i'd never heard of him.

Glad ya liked it! I'm a big fan. His album 1988 is one of my favorite hip-hop albums of the last few years.

[bac0n]

Cold Beverage by G Love & Special Sauce

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/glove.jpg



With equal parts hip-hop, blues, stupid and sloppy, Cold Beverage is a great song to hear at a loud volume on a hot summer day, with a cold beverage in hand of course, because I guarantee you, if you aren't thirsty when the song starts, you sure will be by the time the song ends. Glove & Special Sausage sure pack a lotta charm into this sidewalk rant of theirs, what with his high pitched voice that sounds like a 7th grader and subject matter that delivers like a what-I-did-last-summer position paper those poor schoolkids are supposed to write their first week at school. The awesome guitar & drum work don't hurt neither.

Stick it in the Fridge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUH4zPdpbug)

[bac0n]

Come Out And Play "re-imagined" by The Moog Cookbook

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/moogcookbook.jpg



I love the Moog Cookbook, cuz it's my revenge against the overplayed to death alterna-StoneTemplePumpkinJam songs that were inescapable in the early to mid 90s. One of the most overplayed of those songs was The Offspring's Come Out And Play, you know that one song that goes "you gotta keep them separated" followed by a lotta yelling and shit. Well, on their album, The Moog Cookbook space alien guys took a cliche'd song, replaced all the guitars with Moog synths and Roland drum machines, and turned the whole affair into a space battle, replete with a laser battle and 2001 Space Odyssey references. Just try and listen to it without cracking up. I dares ya.

Offblast! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M590Ds-5-zY)

[bac0n]

Come to Me by Koop

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/koop.jpg



Koop, in case you don't know, is an electronic acid Jazz outfit based out of Sweden, who assemble these breezy jazz tunes almost entirely out of reconstituted samples they've peeled from old jazz records, often times embellishing their creations with some stand-up bass and the smoky vocals of the ludicrously gorgeous Yuki Nagano. Come to Me, the first (I guess) single off their latest album, Koop Islands, is about as catchy as they come, with Nagano waxing ever so coy, in stark contrast to the angelic sounds of a choral choir floating just behind her. Meanwhile, a swing beat staccatos in the background, sprinkled with Jack Benny style brass stabs. It all comes together in a wonderfully catchy tune to play on a warm weekend evening.

Music Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akE4BnH5kdA)

[bac0n]

Dead Passengers by Sondre Lerche

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/sondre_lerche.jpg



It's amazing how such a short guy (that picture is actual size) can pack so much awesome. I saw him a few years back play at a record shop. Just him and a guitar. And he brought the house down. The kid's got talent, that's for sure. The first song of his I heard is this one, and it's a very friendly piece, nice and simple, eclectic, organic, with just a hint of Scandi-pop sweetness. Has a sorta rainy day in Paris feel to it. I think my favorite part is the refrain, when the girl's voices come in with the sorta doo-doo-doo accompaniment you would expect in a lounge song (which, unfortunately, the piece of shit link below cuts a mere two seconds short of).

Listen to a clip from the CD... (http://www.last.fm/music/Sondre+Lerche/_/Dead+Passengers)

...But It's A Whole Different Kinda Awesome Live. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb3lqOcNDLA)

[bac0n]

Devil's Paintbrush Road by The Wailin' Jennys

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/wailin_jennys.jpg



This song is a perfect example where less is more. On the CD, they have a full bluegrass backup - fiddles, washtub basin, drumkit, the usual stuff - which turns this song into more or less a squaredance. Strip it down to just The Jennys playing a bodhrán, harmonica and a mandolin, and suddenly the song becomes this desperate, bleak, morally foreboding tale of a life gone wrong.

See What I Mean (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg5Ap_ZIYdg)

[bac0n]

Djobi, Djoba by The Gipsy Kings

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/gipsy_kings.jpg



What's better than an acoustic guitar? A whole helluva lotta acoustic guitars! What's better than a whole helluva lotta acoustic guitars? A whole helluva lotta acoustic guitars with some guy with balls the size of coconuts singing on top with as much gusto as the entire island of Sicily could muster! And then, when the machinegun-fast clapping begins, it's just too amazing for me to handle. An interesting piece of trivia about this band - some of them are left handed. Since they grew up poor and could only afford one or two guitars, and since they didn't wanna have to restring the guitars every time a left handed person wanted to play, the left handed members of the band learned to play holding their guitars upside down.

Live (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aZZRjrs-rs)

[bac0n]

Don't Bring Me Down by The Electric Light Orchestra

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/ELO.jpg




There are two types of people in this world: people who love ELO, and terrorists. And that is to say, if you hate this song, you hate freedom. There. I said it. There was a time in the early to mid 80s where ELO was firing on all cylinders, decorating the airwaves with awesome song after awesome song. Hell, Jeff Lynne & Co were so awesome that they could take an otherwise pedestrian song such as Dave Edmunds' Slippin' Away, add their trademark ELO Sound, and turn it into total awesomeness. What is it about the ELO Sound that I like? It's the chorusing - the effect that makes it sound like Jeff Lynn made 12 clones of himself, gave them each a mic, and had them sing the exact same thing at the exact same time, and they did the same thing to the drums, then boosted the hi-range so that it almost sounds like the toms are made of sheet metal. These guys were light years ahead of the other guys. Electric Light Years, to be exact.

Music Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTjy_LW8DGM)

[bac0n]

Don't Play With The Gun by dibidim

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/dibidim.jpg




It's not often that I come across some electronica that sounds so familiar, yet unlike anything I've ever heard before, but that's what happened when I discovered these guys, dibidim, who sorta pay homage to the synth pioneers of the 70s and 80s with a decidedly old school sound, but fusing that with utterly modern production techniques, and laying on top vocals that recall Steve Mason of The Beta Band. Don't Play With The Gun is my favorite of theirs, cuz it's really two great songs for the price of one. It starts low key and playful, warning of the folly of playing with guns as one would a child. It does this for a full two verses, then completely switches gears, opening up into a wondrous analog joyrode.

Listen to it on their Myspace page. (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.view profile&friendid=90465228)

[bac0n]

Down To This rambled by Soul Coughing

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/soulcoughing.gif



Tho not a smash success elsewhere, Soul Coughing was HUGE in Minneapolis. They would do three shows or more whenever their tour rolled through town, and each show sold out almost instantly. I tried several times to see them, but was denied in every attempt. Soul Coughing songs never cease to crack me up. Mike Doughty has such random and often patently absurd lyrics that it seldom fails to be chuckle-inducing, and most of the time makes you wonder where the hell he comes up with this stuff, and what drugs he's on (and can I have some). Couple that with the purposefully cheap-sounding drums with the skins pulled so tight that they stick out like a sore thumb, segmenting the mayhem like a tapeworm. Throw in random samples of weirdness and you have a song that I suspect is just a big practical joke played on whoever comes across it. I can honestly see the band laughing amongst themselves, saying "hahaha, wait'll they try to make sense of this one!"

Come Down To This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8OY1N_b7qY)

[bac0n]

Driftwood by Travis

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/travis.jpg



Oh, if I were to have a voice like Fran Healy's... I'd never stop singing. Seriously. I wouldn't talk. Ever. I wouldn't even be typing this. I'd be singing into a mic, recording to MP3, posting on a website, and the only thing you'd see here would be a link to that file. And hell, I'd sing the URL into some voice recognition software and that'd be how I would post the URL. I'd always sing, never communicate in any other way. With a voice like Fran Healy's, any other form of communication seems to be a blathering waste of a precious, precious gift.

Listen to this song and you'll soon know why. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzUdJ-5fscA)

[bac0n]

Drive That Fast by Kitchens of Distinction

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/KOD.jpg



If someone were to twist my arm behind my back and force me to pick a song, one song, that I like above all other songs, I'd be hard pressed to pick any other song than this one. I just like it that incredibly much, from Dan Goodwin's driving drums, speeding at near out-of-control speeds, to Patrick Fitzgerald's brilliant vocals, at once urgent and hesitant, to my favorite, Julian Swales' brilliant, ethereal guitar work, which provides the unforgettable hook that forms the foundation of this song. I don't care what you shoegaze aficionados say: Julian Swales was without peer among shoegaze guitarists, able to perform mesmerizing solos and lay down lush soundscapes with equal aplomb. And he does both in this song, and he does it well. If I could play guitar like any one person, it would be Julian Swales.

Drive That Fast video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JXk_oV4nbo)

[D_Davis]

Drive That Fast by Kitchens of Distinction

Julian Swales was without peer among shoegaze guitarists...


A great song, and a great video, although I disagree with the above statement. His style is too derivative of Robin Guthrie's to be "without peer," but he is still really good.

[Derek]

[CENTER]Drive That Fast by Kitchens of Distinction

It was less than 10 seconds into this song before I decided I had to have the album this song is on. Great pick and this'll finally get me to check out KoD.

[D_Davis]

It was less than 10 seconds into this song before I decided I had to have the album this song is on. Great pick and this'll finally get me to check out KoD.

I'm surprised you've never checked these dudes out before. They made some amazing songs, however I've never really loved an entire album.

[bac0n]

A great song, and a great video, although I disagree with the above statement. His style is too derivative of Robin Guthrie's to be "without peer," but he is still really good.

Heh, I thought that statement would furrow some eyebrows.

Okay, I'll grant you that Robin Guthrie is pretty awesome too (he'll be making an appearance later on in this list), but personally, I like Swales' stuff better. It's just that particular combination of ingredients that I like so much.

[bac0n]

It was less than 10 seconds into this song before I decided I had to have the album this song is on. Great pick and this'll finally get me to check out KoD.

Woot, glad you liked it! This album (Strange Free World) is dynamite - several whopping great songs on it. As far as albums as a whole go, their last album Cowboys & Aliens is probably my fave, as Swales' guitar takes on a slightly sharper, more biting sound and as a whole production values are a touch better and more varied. Too bad these guys had to break up.

[bac0n]

DVNO by Justice

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/justice.jpg



This is one of those songs that wouldn't strike me as much were it not for the audio trickery and effects that are peppered throughout the song. Pretty straightforward theme, simplistic beat, lyrical content that has been done a thousand times before. Yawn, right? But don't fall asleep just yet, cuz this song manages to hold interest with some seriously awesome production techniques that are done, not to be self-indulgent such as is the case with two many electronic acts these days, but to create something really fresh and cool-sounding. The vocals are lent a sort of behind-your-ears sound by means of incorporating - I'm guessing here - a lot of the new surround sound support with many software DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations like Protools, Cubase, Reason et al), resulting in a sound that bounces all over the place, cutting from extreme left in to the complete other end of the stereo spectrum, sometimes mid-syllable. I get dizzy listening to it sometimes. Add to that a cool electro-funk technique that incorporates jagged, oddly cut sampling, and shitloads of compression to give the drums one hell of a punch, and you have a song that rises above. Yeah, I'm a geek, but this song is a virtual playground for my ears.

And you totally gotta check out the video too. I'm serious. This video is totally awesome. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7efamc2GDLw)

[D_Davis]

Justice is awesome. They're like Daft Punk when Daft Punk was awesome - a long, long time ago!

[bac0n]

Justice is awesome. They're like Daft Punk when Daft Punk was awesome - a long, long time ago!

Word. And they're totally pushing the envelope too like Daft Punk did once upon a time.

[bac0n]

El Paso by Marty Robbins

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/martyrobbins.jpg



A song as sweeping, epic and tragic as the best that Sergio Leone could do, El Paso would be the first song to win a Grammy for best Country/Western song, and deservedly so. More Western than country, El Paso is the crown jewel of Robbins' classic concept album Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, in it, Robbins elevates storytelling to a level virtually unequaled in a tale of a young buck, led by his heart, doomed by a jealous love for Felita, a Mexican maiden, wicked & evil, yet utterly captivating. In the mood for a classic Once Upon A Time In The West - like tale, but don't have 3 hours on your hands? Try El Paso on for size. You'll get the same satisfaction in far less time.

Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4nCYXp3_4w)

[bac0n]

El Santo Dia by Druhá Tráva

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/druha_trava.jpg



Bluegrass music has an interesting history in The Czech Republic. The music du jour during the uprisings of The 1968 Prague Spring, it was considered subversive by the communist government. Still, underground rabblerousers such as Robert Křesťan refused to put down their mandolines, and the illegal bluegrass scene flourished. When the Iron Curtain came down, these bluegrass bands were finally able to come out of the basements and into the open air, and whattaya know, these guys were damned good! At the forefront is Křesťan's band Druhá Tráva, no longer just a bluegrass band, incorporating celtic and jazz and other styles as well into their ever expanding repertoir. This is my favorite song of theirs, as it displays all the energy and joy you would expect from really good bluegrass, but ads in some really skillful instrumentation, and a few surprises as well, such as a baseline that hits like a depth charge about 38 seconds in to the song.

Czech it out! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YqR4Iohm1E)

[Sven]

I think Daft Punk still roxx... :sad:

[Hugh_Grant]

Woot, glad you liked it! This album (Strange Free World) is dynamite - several whopping great songs on it. As far as albums as a whole go, their last album Cowboys & Aliens is probably my fave, as Swales' guitar takes on a slightly sharper, more biting sound and as a whole production values are a touch better and more varied. Too bad these guys had to break up.
I've been pimping Kitchens of Distinction since 1991 when I saw "Drive That Fast" on 120 Minutes. Words cannot describe how much I love this band.

I can't pick a favorite KoD album, so here's my top five songs of theirs:
1. The 3rd Time We Opened the Capsule
2. 4 Men
3. Drive That Fast
4. Here Come the Swans (love the acoustic version on their best of compilation)
5. On Tooting Broadway Station

[D_Davis]

I've been pimping Kitchens of Distinction since 1991 when I saw "Drive That Fast" on 120 Minutes. Words cannot describe how much I love this band.


We probably saw it premier on the same episode!

:)

[bac0n]

We probably saw it premier on the same episode!

:)

Heh, same here. KoD is probably the only band I first heard about on 120 minutes that I still listen to.

[bac0n]

Eple by Röyksopp

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/royksopp.jpg



Eple is one of those songs in which I remember the exact time and place where I first heard it. I was driving across the Mississippi on the Ford Bridge that connected Saint Paul to Minneapolis en route to some movie. I forget the movie, as the memory of hearing this very new entropic whistling sound put to a beat has wiped out all memories of that night that were to follow. It was utterly hypnotic and unlike anything I'd ever heard before. And adding to the coolness of it, this whistle seems to miss the note as often as it hits it, bouncing a few cents up and down every fourth beat or so. And sometimes it falls a bit behind the beat and needs to hurry to catch up. It's like the thing is alive. It's not often that a band is able to not only come up with a new song, but an entirely new sound, but Röyksopp accomplished that with Eple.

Very cool music video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl4rwMZWATs)

[bac0n]

Even Tho by Joseph Arthur

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/josepharthur.jpg



Now, I'm not normally the kinda guy who gets excited about lyrics. I generally could take them or leave them, paying much more attention to the tonal quality of a person's voice rather than the words coming out of his or her mouth. That being said, there are a few artists out there who I like mainly on their lyrical prowess. Joseph Arthur is one of them. Now, in my eyes, anyone can pick up a thesaurus, slap together as many five dollar words as they can muster until they have a turgid mess of forced metaphors that would please only an English major. Much more difficult, in my eyes, is to say profound things with words your every day joe has actually heard of. Joseph Arthur has the ability to do that, and it's not only the beauty, but the accessibility of his lyrics that draws me to his music. He has the power to take words any 6th grader would know and assemble them into statements that really pack a wallop, and it's really on display in this song, Even Tho, a real deep song with a real Americana feel to it. How can you not be affected by a line like "our shadows will remain even after we are gone"?

music video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgEigoV5Juc)

In-Studio Performance (http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2005/03/29/joseph_arthur/) (follows an interview. Worth your time if you can get the stream to work)

[bac0n]

Everything Happens to Me by Thelonious Monk

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/thelonious.jpg



Anybody who has ever been to my last.fm page (http://www.last.fm/user/bac0n) knows that I listen to Thelonious Monk. A lot. A really really really lot. No-one else really comes close in terms of number of listens. That's because I pretty much have Thelonious on all weekend, every weekend. I wake up Saturday morning, and the first thing I do is get my coffee. Then I turn on my Thelonious. Then I can start the day. Thelonious is as present and vital a piece of art as the paintings hanging on my walls. It decorates my house, sets just the right mood, puts a smile on my face, lets me know that things are all right. Of all the Jazz artists, Thelonious is by far my favorite cuz he represents the beauty of imperfection. His piano style is percussive, erratic, often unpolished - but that's what makes it so recognizable, and his song composition is so brilliant, these smudges and stumbles only add to the charm. To be truthful, if I were to list every Thelonious song I would rate a five star song, this list would be be little more than a Thelonious backcatalog with a few other songs mixed in here and there. I had to limit it to just one song to preserve a little variety, so I picked this one, as it's essentially the first Thelonious song I thought of. It's intimate, just a little forlorn, but nonetheless charming.

Listen (http://www.last.fm/music/Thelonious+Monk/_/Everything+Happens+to+Me?autos tart)

[D_Davis]

Eple by Röyksopp







Everything Happens to Me by Thelonious Monk





Cool choices!

[bac0n]

Falling Down by Hybrid

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/hybrid.jpg



Electronic dance music has sure come along way since the days of James Brown Is Dead. Used to be, all you could expect from such a song was a driving, thundering boom-kick-boom-kick beat and some harsh synth lead that would make you wince if you weren't in the middle of a dancefloor, covered in sweat with a brain full of acid. Nowadays, thanks to bands like Hybrid, dance music is being made that is appealing as much for its aesthetics as it is for its dancefloor appeal. Case in point: Falling Down, off Hybrid's phenomenal third album, I Choose Noise. Applying the same type of classical music theory to electronic music that hands such as Yes and Gentle Giant did decades before to Rock, Hybrid has crafted a dance song that is delightfully rich in complexity. Suddenly you have complex rhythms, morphing, expertly programmed synths; lush, layered soundscapes; varied and interesting chord progressions - all the things you thought you couldn't get from this thing that was once called Techno. And on top of all that, Hybrid adds their trademark sound - a full orchestral compliment, adding a distinctive epic, soundtrack feel to the song. It all comes to a glorious climax after the second refrain, when all these complimentary sounds start swirling around each other, making it actually feel that you are indeed falling, tumbling spinning, down, down, down... or up?

Listen (http://www.last.fm/music/Hybrid/_/Falling+Down)

[bac0n]

Fit But You Know It by The Streets

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/streets.jpg



When I first heard this song, I thought it was some late 70s English punk rock band taking a break from screaming anarchy into the mic to record a silly story about some chick they didn't like. But lo and behold, it was something else entirely. It was a rap song by a guy with a thick Cockney accent, crying sour grapes about some wannabe beauty queen who turned down his advances. There's something about hip-hop - I can't think of any other musical medium that is such a good vessel for comedy. Probably since hip-hop places such an emphasis on vocals, I figure. Regardless, Fit But You Know It is a very funny song, and I bet every guy who's been in highschool has met a girl like this - very easy on the eyes, but a total narcissistic hose-bag. It's quite reassuring that someone's finally devoted an entire song to trying to cut them down to size.

Music Video. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr4TpXqlPhI)

[thefourthwall]

Fit But You Know It by The Streets

I bet every guy who's been in highschool has met a girl like this - very easy on the eyes, but a total narcissistic hose-bag. It's quite reassuring that someone's finally devoted an entire song to trying to cut them down to size.


Of course, in the context of the whole album A Grand Don't Come For Free, which tells a complete narrative, the guy is cheating on his girlfriend, so I don't feel too bad for his lack of scoring here (although the next song suggests there's a later hook-up).

But, fun catchy song/nifty music video from an amazing album. My favorite song on it is "Dry Your Eyes," but the album is like a book--you can't just read a chapter from the middle; you need to read/listen to the whole thing for the full effect.

[bac0n]

...but the album is like a book--you can't just read a chapter from the middle; you need to read/listen to the whole thing for the full effect.

I'm gonna need to give the whole album another listen. I've never really listened to it as if it were a book - just to each song itself on its own. Thanks for the suggestion.

[bac0n]

Fine and Mellow by Billie Holiday

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/fineandmellow.gif



Singer Billie Holiday met saxophonist Lester Young in Kansas City in the 30s when the both of them were part of Count Basie's Orchestra. They quickly formed a lasting bond. Probably should have been something more than friendship - the two had strong feelings for each other, but things never worked out that way. Billie bounced from bad relationship to bad relationship, Lester to the sax & the bottle. They eventually stopped talking to each other, but their feelings lingered, tortuously, inside of them, until one day, after many years apart, they were reunited in 1957 to record Billie's blues hit Fine and Mellow. Billie was in rare form, waxing smooth, sexy and sad. But it was Lester who would steal the show, crying through his saxophone when it was his turn to play. Legend has it his solo started the entire sound room crying as well. Regrettably, this performance would be Billie and Lester's farewell to each other, for both would be dead less than a year later - two legends taken before their time, a great loss to the Jazz world.

Watch (Lester Young has the second sax solo) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tNSp7MaADM)

[bac0n]

Okay, the last few weeks have been crazy, so I had to shelve this for a while. But I'll be firing this list back up momentarily. Thanks to all who have indulged me so far, and thanks for your patience.

[bac0n]

Flat Beat by Mr Oizo

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/mroizo.jpg



Sometimes a whole song's feel can be drastically altered by a certain visual. Such is the case with virtually every song I've heard from Mr Oizo. My first exposure to his unique brand of electronic silliness was probably the same as yours: that Levis commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z47KUNmmCng), you know, the one with the guy driving a car down the road while, next time him in the driver's seat a sock puppet is totally rocking out to this weird dance song featuring a synth, sorta farting rhythmically to a cute little dance beat. And now, I can't help but seeing in in the back of my head that weird yellow bear-monkey looking thing rocking out whenever this song comes on. And always puts a smile on my face.

Watch the full music video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv6Ewqx3PMs)

[bac0n]

Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss by Built to Spill

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/builttospill.jpg



I think I appreciate Built to Spill more than I actually like them. Sure they make a lot of music that I really enjoy listening to, but the main thing that draws me to them is their lack of all the trappings I normally associate with a rock band. I mean, take a look at Doug Marsch. His hair's falling out, he has an unkempt beard, looks like he enjoys a good hamburger. In other words, he's keeping it real for the rest of us. My favorite song from these guys is Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss, probably because it takes the conventions of how a rock song should flow, and basically reverses them. Instead of a slow build to a full-force refrain, you have a song that kicks in full speed right from the get go, before lurching to a halt and suddenly switching time signatures at the refrain, bouncing around between 3/4 and 4/4 time sorta like a car trying to swerve to avoid a deer. And then after the mess of a refrain subsides, before you have a chance to get your bearings, it's right back to full speed for the second verse. I love this shit.

Sorta Crap Live Footage But Whatever (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDhs5tk17L4)

[D_Davis]

You know, I've never really listened to Built to Spill.

Where is a good place to start?

[bac0n]

You know, I've never really listened to Built to Spill.

Where is a good place to start?

Good question. I don't have any of their albums - just a mixed tape with a lot of songs from a lotta different albums on it. But you could certainly start with the album Ancient Melodies of the Future (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Melodies_of_the_Future ) - that's the album Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss comes from.

[Acapelli]

Flat Beat by Mr Oizo
I love this guy, and this isn't even my favorite song of his

[bac0n]

(Forever) Live and Die by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/omd.jpg


Man, back in the 80s, I tells ya... I was totally down with the OMD. And who wasn't? LOSERS, that's who. These guys were like machine guns of 80s synth-pop goodness - Tesla Girls, Enola Gay, If You Leave, So In Love With You, and this, Forever Live and Die, which came out at the peak of their popularity and showcases pretty much everything I love about OMD - a catchy tune that will get stuck in your head and refuse to leave for days on end, skillful keyboard work with a nice staccato to it, the occasional classical flourish, and heartache. Quite a bit of heartache. I have to really hand it to all the ladies who walked out on bassist Andy McCluskey & Paul Humphries. They were responsible for some of my favorite songs of the middle to late 80s.


Music Video - check out the trumpeter doing the running man dance! (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=67DxXpkZGMA)

[D_Davis]

OMD rules.

I will always, always love If You Leave. Even beyond the nostalgia factor this song is simply a perfect pop tune. It instantly teleports me back to a time full of first crushes, dances, and innocent kisses. However, I also appreciate it now for its craftsmanship.

[bac0n]

Freaks! Freaks! by Pigeon John

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/pigeonjohn.jpg



This song took me about five tries to get through the first time. Not because it was painful to listen to - far from it - but because it's so chock full of so many funny as hell zingers, all rhymed by a middle aged rapper who at times sounds kinda like that guy from Fountains of Wayne, that I would hear a line like Freaks! Freaks! Eating their Taco Bell! Eating Bean Burritos and they're eating them well, would commence to spit-take, and the next five minutes I wouldn't be able to hear a damned thing cuz I'd be laughing so hard. Then the song'd be over, and I'd have to start listening to it all over again. I'd maybe make it past the taco bell line, only to get nailed again about five measures later with another zinger. And so it would go. Man, this guy needs a laugh track. And I've seen song of his live footage too. Man, that is some funny shit.

Get your Freaks! on (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zRPGQSQH1Iw)

[D_Davis]

Hey B,

You ever listen to Anything Box?

Living in Oblivion (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NgrV7fKhrig)

Their first album is awesome.

[bac0n]

Hey B,

You ever listen to Anything Box?

Living in Oblivion (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NgrV7fKhrig)

Their first album is awesome.

Actually, yeah, I do! Quite a lot, actually. I can actually remember where I was and what I was doing when I first heard Living in Oblivion (I was in 7th grade on my way to a junior high basketball game. we got trounced).

This (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lgrIyX1DE68&feature=related) is actually my favorite mix of the song.

Edit: actually, this (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eS5qe1SMKD4&feature=related) is my favorite mix.

Great song.

[D_Davis]

Actually, yeah, I do! Quite a lot, actually. I can actually remember where I was and what I was doing when I first heard Living in Oblivion (I was in 7th grade on my way to a junior high basketball game. we got trounced).

This (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lgrIyX1DE68&feature=related) is actually my favorite mix of the song.

Edit: actually, this (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eS5qe1SMKD4&feature=related) is my favorite mix.

Great song.

Yeah - their whole first album, Peace, is great. I saw them live for this. They weren't very good (synth-pop rarely is live), but it was still fun.

Love those mixes.

I've got the 12".

[Derek]

You know, I've never really listened to Built to Spill.

Where is a good place to start?

I'd say Perfect From Now On which is, well, pretty damn perfect or Keep It Like a Secret. Ancient Melodies is actually considered one of their weaker outings, but I still like it a good deal.

[bac0n]

The Gash by The Flaming Lips

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/FlamingLips.jpg



The Gash is one of those songs that, if I'm in a particular mood or frame of mind, can move me to tears. I can say that for, maybe three songs, two of which are on The Flips' monumental masterpiece, The Soft Bulletin. It sort of speaks to a certain forced hope in the face of despair, a struggle to find meaning when there seems to be none, when all we can do is just keep plugging away in the hopes, however distant they may seem, that one day our toils might actually amount to something good. I'm sure all of us have felt that way - spinning our wheels, tired, all we wanna do is just sleep for awhile, but something we can't touch or see or feel moves us to keep going. This song speaks to that, and it does it well.

Fight Test & The Gash live (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBl_0nD9Bkg) (The Gash starts at about 4:45)

[D_Davis]

The Gash is amazing.

[bac0n]

Generation Celebration by Detektivbyrån

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/detektivbyran.jpg



I've mentioned these guys recently in the Discuss The Musics thread, but it bears repeating here. Detektivbyrån is my favorite discovery of the past several months. It's just impossible to listen to their stuff and not be put into a good mood, for this song is the essence of joy, in audio form. My four-year-old girl loves to dance to this song in her PJs, and even my mom couldn't help but tap her foot along when the song was playing out of the speakers. With a the fairy-like ring of the glockenspiel to appeal to the child in all of us, the keyboards to appeal to the hipster, with a smackerel of accordion to appeal to the polkaholic that I know lies perhaps dormant in each and every one of us, it really does have a cross generational appeal to it, suited just as well for a kindergarten class as it would be for a coffee house. Cappuccino drinkers and ankle biters rejoice!

Get into your PJs and DANCE! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wLWhSZ1Uvo)

[bac0n]

The Girl From Ipanema composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/jobim.jpg



A few years back, I was taking guitar lessons, my goal being to learn jazz guitar. I started with the classical style to learn the theory, the basics. Noticing my fondness for the Spanish malaguenas I was learning, my instructor introduced me to some bossa nova songs, starting with The Girl From Ipanema, his reason being is that if I could play The Girl From Ipanema, I could play any Bossa Nova song, for all bossa nova songs use the same chords as does Girl From Ipanema, only in different order. Anyway, I never made it out of the Bossa Nova style in my lessons, cuz I loved the laid back sound of it, the feel of a cocktail on a lazy Brazillian afternoon. Most would confine this song to the pit of elevator music, and there certainly are versions of it that would fit that bill, but there are many other, great interpretations of this classic masterpiece that are anything but, my favorite being when West Coast Jazz master Stan Getz coupled his smoky smooth saxophone with the equally smoky, and very sexy voice of Astrud Gilberto. Throw in the relaxed guitar of João Gilberto, and you have yourself a winner.

Listen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpmGKbXxaOk)

Watch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz2P_dXgfNk)

[bac0n]

Good Morning Kaia by BT

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/bt.jpg



Remember a few entries back where I said that The Gash was one of three songs that could make me cry? Well the other one is What Is The Light, also on The Soft Bulletin. The third song is this one, Good Morning Kaia, and it's the only song of the three that can do so without the use of a single word. Good Morning Kaia is a love letter from a new dad, BT, to his new daughter, Kaia. Brian Transeau composed the entire song with Kaia sitting on his lap. As a relatively new dad - I have a girl about the same age as Kaia - a song like this really strikes a personal chord with me. And the song really captures that parental love that is so intense, so palpable, that the best way to describe it that I know of comes from the book Where The Wild Things Are: "We'll eat you up, we love you so." That probably won't make a whole lotta sense unless you're a parent, but if you are, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. And also if you are a parent, watching the video for this song will hit you like a punch, right in the chest. As a side, about three months after this song was released, around Christmastime, Kaia was kidnapped by her mother. Fortunately, both the mother and the two year old girl were found safe a few months later. Hopefully, life for little Kaia since then has been relatively normal and worry-free.

Watch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuNaL74B5k4)

[bac0n]

Greek Song by Rufus Wainwright

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/Rufus_wainwright.jpg



Oh, to have the talent of Rufus Wainwright. No, that's too ambitious. I'd settle for a mere tenth of his talent. That'd be way more than enough for me to work with. Okay, I'll take the talent in his fingernail if you'll throw in a quarter of his good looks, but that's my final offer. Anyway, if this song is to be believed, The Greeks like bossa nova rhythms and Chinese violins. I ain't got no problem with that. In fact, if this really is true, then I'll hop on the next flight to Athens, cuz this song sounds great. A bit less burlesque-y (is that a word? oh well) than a lot of the other stuff that Rufus puts out, but that ain't no problem, cuz it's a lot less whiny too (not that there's any problem with that sorta thing). Just another relaxing lazy afternoon song to play when the weather's nice and there's nothing in particular that you need to be doing.

Watch Live (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiKMqz2MhWE)

[bac0n]

Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse by of Montreal

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/of_montreal.jpg



That Kevin Barnes is one odd bird. I mean, what is up with the title of this song? I certainly don't know. But I don't care, cuz the song rules. An audio representation of manic depression and the drugs used to escape it, I can't think of a song which so deftly captures the feel of emotional panic, not only with words, but with chord progressions and instruments as well. The song opens with a keyboard stab that blares like an air-raid siren, the same sorta sound that could send firemen scrambling for their trucks and off to put out a fire. From there, it's a rollercoaster ride of romper-room playfulness facilitated by chemicals and denial, brief moments of relative happiness before suddenly being plunged back into the shit. Follows is some desparate calling for help and YAY the drugs kick in and we're back to the romper room! Yay chemicals! Sometimes cliche's and conventions can be used to one's advantage, and such is the case here, because we know just what's going on in Kevin Barnes' head just by the tone of the various passages this song pushes us clumsily through.

Silly Video! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VeIL7juFE0)

[bac0n]

Hello Meow by Squarepusher

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/Squarepusher.jpg



With must drum & bass artists, most of the emphasis is placed on the drums. After all the the splicing, recombining, processing and hyper-speeding-up of the drums, the bass track tends to be more or less an afterthought. Not so with Squarepusher. With him, the bass is front and center, and it is good. I'm talking really fucking good, the sorta good that a bonafide bass player would listen and say, damn, that guy knows his shit. And it should be, cuz Squarepusher IS a bonafide bass player. Hell, I'd put his skills up against just about anyone's, and his best songs tend to be the ones where his virtuosity with the instrument is the most showcased. Like this one, Hello Meow, off his most recent album Hello Everything. It's classic Squarepusher through and through, mixing playful keyboards, drums on speed, a nice groove, and of course, Squarepusher's kickass bass playing. It's a great build to a nice payoff, about 2:50 in where Squarepusher unleashes his skills and tears shit up.

Watch him kick it live (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLcxve603-4)

[bac0n]

Hello Teenage America by Meat Beat Manifesto

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/mbm.jpg



One of the trademarks of Meat Beat Manifesto is their (or rather, his) generous use of interludes to glue his albums together, and my favorite of those, and indeed one of my favorite MBM songs altogether, is Hello Teenage America, off their 1990 album, the fantastic 99%. Attention is grabbed quickly with a sample from a Mothers of Invention song, which starts things with a sorta Dave Brubeck vibe, but soon after you've been drawn in, something seems a little wrong, and from there things get off kilter pretty quickly. Eventually, we're drifting off completely into space, as Jack Danger's trademark atmospherics eventually take over completely. The only thing consistent throughout the song is the sharp but minimalist hip-hop beat. MBM has always been my go-to guy for creative use of synthesizer programming and sample manipulation in pursuit of heavy, layered atmospheric sounds, and this song, and indeed the entire album, shows that, even as far back as 1990, Jack Dangers was farther along than most other electronic musicians are today, 18 years later.

Listen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=436x_mjC0OQ)

[D_Davis]

Hello Teenage America is a track made of brilliance and genius.

99% is almost 20 years old, and yet it still sounds like it is from the future, and it is still lightyears ahead of just about anything any electronic artist is doing today. It could very well be the Abby Road or Pet Sounds of electronic music.

[bac0n]

Here I Come by The Roots

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/theroots.jpg



The Roots is one of those bands that I had heard so much hype about, that I finally gave in one day when I had a gift certificate and bought their damned album. And I'm glad I did, cuz there sure is a lot of awesomeness packed in to their album Game Theory. There's just something about ?uestlove's live drums that adds such a great, fresh dimension to their sound, and their almost 100% live-played instrumentation opens up myriad possibilities just not available to other hip-hop acts that rely on DAT-machines and turntables to support the rhymes. As a result, The Roots can be a helluva lot more dynamic than just about any other hip-hop outfit in existence, and they certainly are a helluva lot more fun to watch, cuz suddenly it's not all about the rapper - it's about an entire band. And that's frickin' cool. Case in point, Here I Come. Opening with a drumroll - something you rarely hear in a hip-hop song - it then goes completely bad-ass on ya, with a great synthhook, and builds from there. The coolest part, in my eyes at least, is during the refrain, Black Thought yells WAIT, and the entire song stops for a beat or two, then kicks back in. Doesn't really show up on CD, but when played live, it sure as shit does. You just can't do that with a DAT.

Live On Letterman (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIVzt_vGyr8)

[bac0n]

Hey Tia! by Mexican Institute of Sound

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/MIS.jpg



If you think that the only music wafting up from south of the border involves mariachis, then boy oh boy, do I have a band for you. The Mexican Institute of Sound - or if you wanna be anal about it, Instituto Mexicano Del Sonido - is one of my fondest recent discoveries in the realm of electronic music. Taking perhaps queues from the digital kitsch of such artists as Fantastic Plastic Machine or Pizzicato Five, adding some Latin spice, a good measure of funk, and maybe a sprinkling of silliness, MIS has managed to create a fun, fresh sound that's all his own, a great soundtrack to a hipster margarita party. Perhaps the most dance-floor friendly track on the magnificent album Méjico Máxico is Hey Tia!, a marching band blast set to a heavy four-to-the-floor beat. In it, Camilo Lara, los cerebros behind MIS, shows his deft touch with samples, adding a threatening brass track to starkly contrast some happy-go-lucky vocals, with plenty of other audio trickery to keep plenty of interest. It's a really fun track, certainly one I would spin if I were ever to DJ a party, Cinco de Mayo or otherwise.

Escuche! (http://www.last.fm/music/Mexican+Institute+of+Sound/_/Hey+T%C3%ADa!)

[bac0n]

Hey Ya! by OutKast

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/outkast.jpg



I don't care what the alterna-snob say, Hey Ya! is a great song, one of the best pop songs to come down the pipe in years. Being that I never listen to commercial radio and never watch commercial television, I was a relative late-comer to this song. It probably had already been out for a year or more before it had crossed my ears, and even then, my first exposure to it was on The Internet. Not on steaming radio, not on an MTV video, but rather, that now (in)famous video that mashed together It's Christmas Charlie Brown! with the song, so that it sounded like the Charlie Brown gang were performing a music video for the song. Yeah, that was my first exposure to that song, and even today, I can't help but think of that video when I hear the song. I know the rest of you have probably heard this song to death, but I haven't, certainly not enough to know that all the planets seemed to align when this song was put together, creating the perfect combination of ingredients to build quite possibly the perfect pop song. Catchy, unique groove? Check. Simple, easy to remember, quotable lyrics? Check. A refrain you can sing along with? Check. Does it sound as if the band is having just as much fun performing it as you are listening to it? Check. Does the singer dance really weird? Check check and double check. That, my friends, is how you build a pop song.

Pick Your Flavor:

Charlie Brown Style (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGnYw-OuCnI)

Ed Sullivan Style (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrr81SRhp_s)

Ukelele Style (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGdJpMfXha4&feature=related)

[Ezee E]

About time someone mentions The Roots on this site.

[bac0n]

About time someone mentions The Roots on this site.

Well, The Roots is a pretty awesome band, an few have the power to accurately articulate the sheer magnitude of their awesomeness. Perhaps people are intimidated. I don't blame them if they are.

To be fair tho, I seem to recall Megs mentioning these guys on an occasion or two.

[Ezee E]

Well, The Roots is a pretty awesome band, an few have the power to accurately articulate the sheer magnitude of their awesomeness. Perhaps people are intimidated. I don't blame them if they are.

To be fair tho, I seem to recall Megs mentioning these guys on an occasion or two.
They are coming to town here soon. I here they must be seen.

[bac0n]

The Human Germ by Snog

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/snog.jpg



Snog, the brainchild of Aussie anti-consumerist David Thrussell, settled during the late 80s into a sorta techno-industrial vibe, releasing several albums with lots of clangs and blips and driving drum-machines, all the while railing against Corporate Consumerist Culture with enough vim and vigor to make Ralph Nader say, "dude, relax! you're gonna have a coronary!" It all reached a crescendo with 1995's Dear Valued Customer, a very aggressive, dystopian, synthetic sounding album that layered Thrussell's cynical, hissing vocals over what sounded like a 1000 computers at work processing orders and dispatching black helicopters. And then a funny thing happened. In what is perhaps the most dramatic turn of any electronic artist I know of, Mr. Thrussell went country/western for his next release, Buy Me.. I'll Change Your Life. It was a mixed bag, that album. The album was imminently forgettable: songs were too repetitive for my tastes, both in theme and in composition, but I had to give him chops for trying something new, something that is rarely rewarded for purveyors of industrial/techno music. The album also produced the song The Human Germ, a sort of resigned, depressed suicide note to a dying world, a guy who might have tried to make a difference once saying, I give up. The mood is past the point of despair past the point of desperation. The song has landed right smack in the middle of the muck of resignation, and the mood is gorgeously evoked with a cowboy orchestra brass section you would expect to find in an epic spaghetti western of old. A picture is painted of a cowboy riding out into the desert to die. Thrussell retains just enough of the old Snog sound to let you know he hasn't completely eschewed his past. Just enough clanks and blips to give you an industrial aftertaste, and a heavy hip-hop beat to maybe get you to nod your head on the beat while you're getting depressed.

Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-EtsvE0_ao)

[bac0n]

I Paid My Money by Fear of Pop

http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/bac1n/benfolds.jpg



I'm sure all of you have some songs which immediately transport you to a certain place and time. One of those songs for me is I Paid My Money by Ben Folds vis a vis his side project Fear of Pop. I remember it clearly. I was visiting friends in The Bay Area. We were driving across the Bay Bridge from Oakland to San Fransisco, gabbering away and not really paying attention to the college radio outa Berkeley that was trickling out the car speakers. Then out of the radio came what sounded like guitars and keyboards having some sort of coordinated epileptic seizure and this cocksure joker ranting about dammit he paid his money and he's gonna see all of this movie, and he's gonna like it, dammit, no matter how bad it is. All talk in the car stopped instantly, which, if you knew anything about the people I was with, would realize was a herculean feat unto itself. Not a word came out of anyone's mouth for the entirety of the song, then when it stopped, the only thing was spoken by Mike, who ordered us to shut the fuck up, he had to find out who made this song. Once that information was gathered, the gabber started right up again, mostly about how awesome that song we just heard was. I think the very day I got off the plane I made a bee-line to the local record shop to grab the album.

Listen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0Yew7a2120)