Underground

This view allows you to sort through imported content by the .

(4020) | | ! (2) | | # (1) | | $ (2) | | & (18) | | ( (2) | | . (1) | | 0 (3) | | 1 (82) | | 2 (23) | | 3 (6) | | 4 (1) | | 5 (3) | | 6 (9) | | 7 (47) | | 8 (122) | | 9 (85) | | a (1001) | | B (1583) | | c (2442) | | d (3148) | | E (3464) | | f (711) | | g (990) | | H (2327) | | i (975) | | J (1519) | | k (720) | | L (1217) | | M (2345) | | n (1791) | | O (1552) | | p (2080) | | q (21) | | r (1279) | | S (2406) | | T (2423) | | U (797) | | v (279) | | W (1336) | | x (23) | | Y (105) | | z (244) |

I DON’T KNOW JACK ABOUT MUSIC…OR DO I?

One of the nice things about traveling for business is that I sometimes find some great music stations on the radio. It’s rare, but when I find one, I get pretty jazzed. Well, my friends (as John McCain is so fond of saying), this week, I have found one, though it has a little twist, as you’ll see. First of all there is a Denver Station that calls itself Jack FM, and I gotta admit, they play one hell of a variety of songs. Not every song is great, or even a song I like. But unlike most stations, I can listen to 3 or 4 songs I really enjoy for everyone I don’t. Normal stations are lucky to have the reverse ratio.

Now for the controversy. I guess that Jack FM is a new type of format, or so says Wikipedia (who we all know is NEVER wrong!). The playlist creation is centralized, and market research driven. Their catalog of songs are, I guess, twice as large as other stations, and they are no where near as specific to one genre of music. Honestly, I find none of those things disturbing, and in fact, it’s a nice change. The stations (and there are several across the US, Canada, and now even in the UK), have no local programming. No DJ. No local voice to add that local touch. I guess that upsets people. To be honest, though, there are very few DJ’s I honestly care to listen to. The last one passed away a few years back (I hope your jamming your ass off up there, John Peel!). It’s all about the music…the other stuff is just fluff.

That brings me to today’s list. All the songs on the list are from a 2 hour period. Of course, I choose the ones I liked the most, and left off the clunkers like Neil Diamond and Kool and the Gang (apologies to those that like those two artists…I have nothing again em. Hell, I even dig the hell out of Neil once in a while.). But the stuff listed here is pretty typical of the range of styles, both in genre and in decades, that they play around the clock. Like I said, it works for me, and makes that drive to and from work a little more bearable. Enjoy!

MUSIC FROM THOSE CHEESY 80′S MOVIES

There’s nothing I like better than all those old cheesy movies from the 80’s. I’m pretty sure you know, and have seen, all of them, just like me. Pretty In Pink, 16 Candles, Fast Times, Valley Girl, Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, etc. etc. The list is endless. No, I’m not ashamed to say I went to see them…I mean, mostly, because my girlfriend/wife at the time wanted to see them…yeah, that’s gotta be it! Anyway, no matter how bad those movies were, you could always count on one thing, a great soundtrack. And by great, I mean, they invented, and perfected the modern movie soundtrack. Since the 80’s (with some exception of some of the Cameron Crowe movies in the 90’s), movie sound tracks have tried to be that cool, with very few successes. It was just the greatest 10 year span ever to be in my late teens / early 20’s. I love watching those movies now because it really does remind me that at one time, I could flit about the halls at high school, being an outsider, scorning the “in” crowd, and generally not giving a shit about anything. Maybe the reason I still listen to the music I do is because for 4 minutes at a time, I can still be like that.

The real reason I used to watch those movies, to be honest, is that, among my other crushes in the 80’s, Molly Ringwold just rocked my world. I thought she played some of the coolest characters back then, and it’s a shame her career died when she pissed of John Hughes. I don’t know where she is now, or what she’s doing, but for me, she’s just one of the coolest chicks from one of greatest times of my life. Here’s to you, Molly! Enjoy!

SOME SATURDAY JAMS FOR YOU ALL!

Welcome to the weekend. I’m getting ready to head back to Boulder, CO, tomorrow, so this is a brief little post. Still some great tunes, just a small little update.

I went out and played some more gold yesterday. Since I first went a few weeks ago, I’ve been two other times, nine holes each, and been to the driving range a few other times. So yesterday I played 18, and shaved 25 strokes off my game. It was a beautiful day, and even through I started roughly, I finished pretty strong. I joined up with two other guys. One was a former Marine, and the other was an older guy who retired from the Navy. Lets just say that both of them we a hell of a lot better than I was. But they were pretty patient, and gave me some great tips, and that may have been the reason I finished so strongly.

Enjoy the Saturday, and enjoy the music!

A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO MR. SOCKS

I mentioned a few days ago that a stray cat had come to live on our back deck. We informally named him Mr. Socks. That him there in the picture. The rains of the past few days, along with the coming of fall, and eventually winter, spurred us on to take him to the vet this morning, to get him checked up, immunized and try to get him ready for winter.

My wife took him into the vets office this morning. An hour later, I got a call from her, and on the other end, I heard only sobbing. The vet had done a feline HIV test on the little guy, and the test came back positive. Further more, the vet said he was already pretty sick, and could not survive a winter. Unfortunately, it was time to make a very rough decision. Mr. Socks has been living on the back deck for two months now, and we honestly have grown extremly fond of the little guy. But this morning, we made the decision to put him at rest. It was hard, and it sucks, and it’s left a little bit of a hole in our home, but we just could not stand to watch the poor guy suffer, and gradually pass away. So it’s with more than a little sadness that today, we said goodbye to our little friend, Mr. Socks.

SONGS ABOUT CARS FOR A THOUSAND, PLEASE…

You can tell I’m going a little stir crazy. After three days of non-stop rain, this is the best title I can come up with. For some reason, I was sitting here playing some xBox, watching football, and generally trying to not be bored out of my skull, when somehow, the thought came into my head to try to come up with 10 songs that mention cars in their title. You know what? It wasn’t even close to being as hard as I thought it would be! Plus, I think I actually put a great list together to boot!

There’s something for everyone here…some old stuff from the 70’s (Adam and the Ants), to newer stuff (Arcade Fire), and everything in between. There goodies from the 80 and 90’s. If you can’t find a song you like in this list…then you must not like songs about cars. What the hell ever that means! Like I said, it’s been raining here for 3 straight days, and will be for another 3 it looks like.

Enjoy the car tunes!

A MOST DECIDEDLY MELLOW MONDAY

Not really mellow today for any other reason than the past month has been crazy beyond what I could imagine. I’ve traveled far too much, gotten run down enough that my asthma has flown completely out of control and left me gasping for air most of the time. I had emotional up’s and even worse downs, and today, have to take my wife in for a “procedure”. She had a biopsy that was inconclusive, and “procedure” is a neat little medical term that really means we have to cut a little deeper, dig a little deeper, look a little harder. Non of that calms my nerves. of course. But I need a little mellow in my life right now…and I figure today is as good a time as any to start.

The trip I took this past week was very nice…as a father, especially a father that is watching the years go by way to fast, it was good to have both my baby girls in the same place at the same time. No matter how much time I have with them, it’s never going to be enough. While that makes me in a way sad, it’s also nice to see them both starting new, exciting and big chapters. My oldest start law school next week, and my youngest is now officially in junior high school, and will be a teenager next month. Both are turning into the fine women I had hoped they would be the first time I looked down in the crib at them.

So, there your go…my reasons for being mellow are numerous and varied. Some external and out of my control, some internal, made all the more vivid by introspective thought. Today’s list kind of reflects how I’m feeling. Enjoy!

MUSIC TO EASE YOUR CASE OF THE MONDAYS!

I flipped on Office Space this past weekend (thus the title of the post). I’ve seen the movie so many times I can nearly recite the lines. I don’t know anyone in my business (yes, I’m in IT, and believe it or not, I’ve seen companies that had TPS reports) who doesn’t feel the same way about the movie. So many things about the movie are real. The apartment I lived in in the Chicago suburbs (pre-marriage) looked exactly like the apartments that Peter lived in. I used to have a lovely cubicle just like his too. The cubicle is the single worst horror ever perpetrated on the human race. Nothing says soul-less worker drone like sticking people in little boxes. Now days, I work from home, and of course, I actually miss going to the office. Go figure.

So, today is the first day of my vacation, so I definitely do NOT have a case of the Mondays. I’ll be heading back to my roots, back to NE Ohio tomorrow. I’ve got my posts all lined up, so pretty much, I’m all set to go. Enjoy the tunes!

MUSIC WITH ATTITUDE, DAY 2

Happy Saturday! Officially my first day of vacation. Nine days with no work, and I honestly have no clue what I’m going to do with myself. That’s the terrible irony of being a type A person…when your working, you think of vacation, but then on vacation, all you think about is work.

Today’s playlist is a little less on the attitude scale, but still just as terrific. I’ve moved a little from the 70’s and early 80’s to more of a late 80’s early 90’s playlist today, and I think it’s almost as good. The Cure, Kraftwerk, Echo and Bowie…definitely some of my favs end up here today. So, here’s hoping the the weekend finds you happy, healthy, and listening to some great tunes. Enjoy!

MUSIC WITH ATTITUDE, DAY 1

This past Monday, I mentioned that I was back, and with more attitude. Well, today I finally come through on the promise, and throw out a little music with some attitude to it. Hey, I got pressure out the ass, and I need some way to get my ass back to sanity. This is the best way, outside of a firing range, to burn off all that stress. Music tames that wild beast and all that you know.

Anyway, I am finally taking some time off next week, and going to visit my family in Ohio, and showing my daughter around my home town. Yes, I will post. I kind of missed doing this non-sense during my 2 week absence. I’m going to kick around Kent, maybe go have lunch at what was once one of the great music clubs of the US mid-west, JB’s Downunder. I hear it’s now a sandwich shop. Not all progress is good, thats for damn sure. Enjoy the tunes!

THE EDGE OF THE 80′S, DAY 3

Final day of my look at the 3 CD set, the edge of the 80’s. I think I’ve found a place where I can order it, so hopefully, I’ll be getting it in soon, and have it dialed up on the old CD player. Enjoy!

THE EDGE OF THE 80′S, DAY 2

The Edge of the 80’s is a 3 disc set, so obviously, you can expect one more day of the goodies from the 80’s. Me, well, seems that all this working is taking a little toll on me. I suffer from insomnia periodically, and it decided to kick in with a vengeance last night. I was wide awake at 4 am staring at the clock, not feeling the least bit like going back to sleep. So, I got up, and started to do a little work, and then played a little video game. Usually, the way it work is that about 6 am, I can get back to sleep, and catch another hour and a half before I need to get back up. But as much as I want to watch the Olympics, I gotta admit, I will probably be asleep by 9:30.

On the Olympic front, I’m slowly getting into it. The swimming stuff has been great, and I’ve been really into watching the diving (I can’t ANYONE would dive off that platform! I especially like watching the Chinese synchronized divers. Just amazing.). But I’m really waiting for the track and field events. That’s the good stuff. Cheers to the world!

THE EDGE OF THE 80′S, DAY 1

So, I was leafing around for some good 80’s compilation albums, and ran across one that appears to have only been released in the UK. As the title of the post says, it’s called The Edge of The 80’s. I was damn impressed by the album, so I figured that if it’s good enough for me, it’s good enough for you all out there. Like always, I’m just posting choice cuts and songs I haven’t posted before. The nice thing about this album is that while the same artists that appear on other compilations are on this one, they didn’t take the easy way out, and put the same old songs on. This is a nice little effort, in my book, and as soon as I find where I can order one in American dollar, I’ll be sending off for one. Enjoy!

INFONISTACRAT 2.0…NOW FORTIFIED WITH MORE ATTITUDE!

Ok, so first of all, where in the hell have I been in the past two weeks? Trust me, it’s a long and bizarre, and exhausting, story. Basically, I have been traveling for my job 25 out of the last 30 days, usually putting in 16 hours a day, and not only running my project, but also providing technical guidance and oversite to another account. I’ve been told to prepare a certification package for my next certification, which will enable my to advance to an executive level. The package is about 50 pages in length, and I have until October 1st to get it written and submitted.

My travels took me from Pittsburgh, PA, to Boulder, CO, home for a day, and then back to Pittsburgh. In the past two weeks, I’ve learned two things. First, that I really need to have this blog…as a creative outlet, a place to vent, and as an excuse to step back for an hour and listen to great music. The second thing I learned? Well, that lesson was in the form of an extremly nice surprise.

When I travel, I usually scan the dial for a decent radio station. Usually, I end up frustrated, and end up plugging in my iPod. Well, I learned this week that Pittsburgh has maybe the best radio station that I’ve heard since the early days of Q101 in Chicago. The station, 91.3, sits at the end of the dial, and plays music so good it made my daily drive through the hills to and from work a pure pleasure. Honestly, this is like a college radio station on steroids. I would never have thought Pittsburgh could have such a great station. Today’s list is actually music that was played last week on 91.3. It’s a diverse list, but all good in my mind. The great thing is that you can listen to their site over the internet, and you can peruse their playlists. If just a perfect little radio station! Enjoy, and damn it’s nice to be back!

SONGS SO GREAT YOUR HEAD WILL EXPLODE! DAY 2

Happy Sunday! I’m busy packing my bag for yet another week on the road. I’m heading back to Pittsburgh for work for the week. It’s going to be a long month and a half…I come home for a week, and then head to Boulder, Colorado for a training class. Then it’s back to Pittsburgh for a couple more weeks. In between, I also need to find some time to get away and visit my family back in Ohio. So there you go…a busy summer. It’s ironic…the music from today’s post is from a time in my life when summers were meant for hanging out with my friends, playing basketball, listening to great tunes and generally having fun. Somehow, without realizing it, I went from that to measuring my time by milestones on a critical and the number of days in a hotel. Back then I had a job, and I came home, and forgot about it, because I knew it would start all over again the next day. Now, I have a career.

Anyway, enjoy the tunes. If you were lucky enough to have come of age in the 80’s (I graduated high school in 1982…a very nice year, thank you!), then maybe this music will remind you of those great days from summers that lasted forever. I know it does it for me every time. And if you weren’t so lucky, then take my word…it was the best of times to be young…music was undergoing a fundamental revolution, and it was one hell of a scene. Enjoy!

SONGS SO GREAT YOUR HEAD WILL EXPLODE!

Thank god it’s the weekend. This past week was the kid of week that tries a mans soul. For most of the days this week, it was a fairly quiet day. Then about 4:00 everyday, all hell broke loose and suddenly, I had a bunch of crap to get done, which caused me to work pretty late into the night. So that pretty much sucked huge. So, this is a brief little post, just enough to fill the page. Enjoy the tunes, and enjoy the weekend!

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS…THATS A WRAP!

Today is the last day of my posting some songs I really really love to listen to…songs that easily don’t really fit into a theme. Today’s post is a pretty solid example of just varied and sometimes bizarre my taste in music can be. I like the old stuff, like White Rabbit, and some 70’s rockers, like Heart (NOT Heart from the mid-80’s…honestly, that crap REALLY sucked bad.). I don’t often post a lot of it, but for awhile, I really got into 70’s glam rock. T. Rex and Mott The Hoople have some seriously cool tunes here on this list. Of course, I always will have much love and respect for the great music scene of Northeast Ohio, the place I grew up and was exposed to great music of all types.

Maybe the craziest, weirdest, most bizarre band is Dresden Dolls. I was aware of them for a few years, but never paid them much attention…until I happened to catch a video of them on YouTube. I was instantly hooked. Any band based on 1930’s Weimar Republic German Cabaret has to be given a chance. Amazing, crazy, wild stuff, definitely off the beaten path. But I love it, God help me, I love it so. Enjoy!

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS, PART 2

Day two of a few of my favorite things. Basically, it’s all about the music I’m currently listening to. One of these days, I’m going to throw the old iPod on random play, and list the first ten songs that pop up. But for today, this will have to do. I actually got the inspiration for the list from my work out today. It seems that somehow, my 44 year old body forgot that it’s supposed to shed the weight it put on in the winter. So, I find myself in the nice position of having to beat the hell out of it…unfortunately, it ain’t working too well.

So, I’m doing three things to try to loose the pounds. First, I’m running, 2 miles 4 times a week. I’m also lifting, much as I’ve always done. Third is that I’m doing a six week program that supposedly works you up to 100 push-ups at the end of the program. Plus, I’m out shooting baskets at night. All of it, I have the trust iPod playing….and this week is some of the stuff I’m jamming to. Enjoy!

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS, PART 1

I thought this week I would dedicate to some of the music I’ve been rockin’ to lately. Trust me, musically, I am all over the place, and week to week, my favorite change, almost with the wind. It also depends on what I’m doing, believe it or not…certain things, I kind of always listen to the same thing. For instance…when I’m mowing my yard, I pretty much listen to one of two albums…Placebo’s Once More With Feeling or Pixies’ Wave Of Mutilation, their greatest hits album. Both are about an hour long, which is exactly how long it takes me to mow. When I’m lifting weights, it’s all grunge…the more aggressive, the better. (I’m LOVE power lifting as a stress reliever…nothing like lifting 500 lbs. off the floor to put things into perspective).

So, lately, I’ve mentioned that I’ve been listening to a few bands more than others…Lou Reed and/or The Velvet Underground has really grabbed my attention, especially Transformer. Second is David Bowie, mainly The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stadust and the Spiders From Mars, and his Singles Collection. So of course, they both make their way onto the list. As do the above mentioned Pixies and Placebo. Placebo is a band that pretty much puzzles me as to why they never really hit it bigger in the states. I know in Europe they have a pretty large following, but aside from Every You Every Me, they are relatively unknown here. We have odd taste in the states I guess…no talent ass clowns like Avril Lavigne hit it big, but quality bands don’t.

Notice Radiohead has two songs here…Planet Telex is standard Radiohead fare…brilliant and way ahead of it’s time. But the gem of the list is their cover of New Order’s Ceremony. Again, brilliant and wonderful, and a fine cover. If your in the mood, enjoy the video…it’s totally worth the time. Enjoy!

MUSIC FROM MINUTEMENS DOUBLE NICKLE ON THE DIME

What can I say about Double Nickles on the Dime that hasn’t already been repeated a million times over in 20+ years since it was released. It’s certainly one of the best albums of the 80’s, in my top five for sure. Maybe as high as number 3 (Sorry, but Gun Club’s Fire of Love is my pick for the best, and Pixies Surfer Rosa is number two). But if Fire of Love was the definitive American post punk album, then Double Nickles on the Dime was the definitive American underground/college rock/indie album.

It’s a huge, 44 song effort that sprawls all over the place. Sometimes it’s punk, sometimes it jazzy, sometimes bluesy, and sometimes, it’s just weird. But it’s always great. I wouldn’t say it’s an easy listen…I think I have rarely sat and listened to it end to end. Usually, I can make it through a quarter at a time, or I just put it on random and let it roll. I’ve picked out 11 tunes as a decent sample of the album…the highlights are two songs I featured here before. History Lesson Part II is just a sweet little tune about their love of music. Corona probably has the most popular opening riff of any song most people have never heard of. All in all, a great collection of great American mid-80’s underground.

10 GREAT 80′S BANDS, 10 GREAT SONGS!

Whats better on a Friday than to get the party started with some great tunes from some great 80’s underground-ish bands? Trust me, you do NOT want to miss the songs on this list. All the great ones are here…Minutemen, The Vaselines, Mission of Burma, Galaxie 500 (it’s been WAY too long since I played any Galaxie 500!) and on and on. And speaking of Galaxie 500, I even have another cover for Miss Parker over at Rave and Roll…a great cover of Joy Division’s Ceremony.

So, enjoy the trip back in time to the great 80’s, and enjoy the start of the weekend!

ROCKIN’ THE OLD SCHOOL UNDERGROUND!

This post is really kind of a celebration of sorts. If you’ve been around awhile, you know that in March, my ISP deleted all my tunes. It was pretty devastating, and now I have almost 8 months of posts that have no music that works. Bummer. Well, spurred on by a reader, I got off my ass and finally restored what are probably my two favorite posts in the almost one year I’ve been doing this. The posts are titled “THIRTY YEARS OF GREAT UNDERGROUND MUSIC” and “THIRTY YEARS OF GREAT UNDERGROUND MUSIC, PART 2“. Listening to the great tunes put me in the mood for another post of some great underground music from mostly the 70’s and early 80’s. I think I produced another winner. At least I really like it.

My favorite here is most definitely The Psychedelic Furs’ Flowers. This ain’t your Pretty In Pink or Love My Way Furs. This is a rougher edged Furs, from their first album, and it’s stellar. In fact the whole first album is stellar, and if you’ve never given it a listen, you need to pick it up and throw it on the old iPod. It’s one of the better albums from that time.

And speaking of timeless, Twenty Four Hours has to be one of the best Joy Division songs most people don’t know. Ian is at his haunting, dark best here, and you can almost feel how torn up the dude was at that time. Joy Division can be dark (one of the reasons I love them as much as I do!), but even for them, this is dark.

The whole list is pretty top notch, and is pretty indicative of what I’ve been listening to lately. For some reason, I’ve been on a huge Velvet Underground/Lou Reed kick. Hey, if you have to have a temporary musical obsession, that ain’t a bad one to have! Enjoy!

EVEN MORE ALTERNATIVE DEEPCUTS, VOL 2

Well, I survived terrible Tuesday yesterday, a day that unfortunately, I spend on the phone at work. A more miserable experience I can’t imagine. Well, yeah I could. I could still be working in that little factory in Ohio I worked in back in the mid-80’s. THAT would be worse.

So, anyway, on to the deep cuts. One of the reasons I really love deep cuts (defined as singles from an album that were never really meant to be released as singles), is that you really get a true feel for the artist. Usually, their not songs that are created only to be released as singles. Some of the best tunes I’ve found are tunes that were never release, and were buried on the “B” side of the world. Enjoy!

10 GREAT SONGS TO REMEMBER!

Happy Sunday! I was sitting arounding, having a few beverages of the alcoholic variety, listening to tunes, and suddenly remembered my grade school elementary school teacher, Mrs. Patterson. I went to grade school in Akron, OH, to a school called Lincoln Elementary. The great thing about Mrs. Patterson was that she really didn’t teach us a lot about music. At least not in the sense of music class. What she did do was to sit and play records all class. It was the best music education I ever had.

I grew up in a house that pretty much listened to old school country music…Porter Wagner, Loretta Lynn, Charlie Pride, Charlie Rich…the list could go on and on. To this day, I can’t listen to country music. However, Mrs. Patterson’s class taught me that there was a whole other world out there. She spun some great stuff…mainly James Brown records, but I also remember stuff like Jim Croce. She also played some old R&B stuff, and old school blues, like Howlin’ Wolf. I don’t remember a whole lot about it…it was 1972 after all, and I was like 9 years old. But I remember listening to all those James Brown records. It was a great musical education for a kid, and every now and then, I still pull out my James Brown’s greatest hits album…36 years later, I still love that old stuff.

GREAT ALBUMS OF THE 80′S: MEAT PUPPETS II

Very very busy week…yesterday is what I fondly refer to as Terrible Tuesday. Terrible Tuesday is terrible because I have 11 scheduled conference calls, which means I get no work done during the day, and end up sitting on my couch with my wife, watching TV (well, she watches), and doing the work I needed to get done during the day. Hooray! Terrible Tuesday is such a beautiful day!

So, on Terrible Tuesday, when I’m writing this post, I need something that is quick and easy to post. So….for the next few weeks, I’ll probably end up posting some of my favorite albums of the 80’s. So, to kick it off, here is easily one of my top 5. In 1984, the Meat Puppets put out an album that was far ahead of it’s time. If you listened to any college radio in the 80’s, you heard of this album. I was lucky enough to hang out at Kent State, shooting pool in the student center and listening to their station. This is a must for any true 80’s fan. Enjoy!

SOME FUN LITTLE 80′S HITS

Back to the basics. Back to the good old 80’s we go. I tried to pick some stuff that I really enjoyed then, and still enjoy. Some stuff that isn’t played to death on every retro radio station in world. I think I got a nice little selection. Not too obscure, not to mainstream. Just right, I think. Perhaps I went a little mainstream with the U2 tune, but it was so early in their career, I think I can safely get away with it.

Oh, and just because I love bands that were years ahead of their time, I threw in a couple of special songs. Neil Young is the man…I’ve seen him a couple times, and every time was epic. Rockin’ In The Free World is such a scorching tune, and the lyrics are filled with that great angst that everyone grew to love in the 90’s. Then there’s the Butthole Surfers’ Pittsburgh to Lebanon. I think it came out about 1987 or so. But as I listen to it, I can imagine a younger Kurt Cobain sitting around with the Melvins, and being blown away by it. It’s easily 3 or 4 years ahead of it’s time, and holds up really well. enjoy!

MUSIC FROM THE JUNO SOUNDTRACK

A little departure for me here, though not as much as it might appear at first. My wife and I were sitting around on Friday night, and decided to rent the movie Juno. Now, I agreed mostly because I figured it would keep her busy, and I could read my book and it would be a nice, peaceful evening. Little did I know that the movie was actually engaging. Actually, I was pretty much drawn in by all the great music in the background. The music is pretty mellow, and I immediately knew it would make a perfect post for a Sunday.

The movie itself, while entertaining, actually contained a twisty little subplot that, unless your a major music lover, would go straight over your head. I know my wife missed it. If you’ve seen the movie, you probably know what I’m talking about. There was the part when the guy says he was on stage with the Melvins in 1993 in Chicago, and that 93 was the best year for music. Juno replies that he’s nuts, and that 1977 was the magic year. An argument I’ve went back and forth over in this blog many times. Then in another scene, they are strumming a guitar and playing a Hole tune (which doesn’t show up in the soundtrack, BTW). Lastly, after a heated argument, Juno announces that she “had bought another Sonic Youth album, and it sucked. It was just a bunch of noise”. Whoever wrote the screenplay most certainly has a deep love and knowledge of music, for sure.

Anyway, the soundtrack is very cool, and very quirky, and very mellow, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. Have a great Sunday!

THE SINGLE GREATEST ALBUM OF THE 80′S…PERIOD!

Because I owe you all one or two big favors for sticking in there despite all the problems I’ve encountered recently, today is a special post. If you go back through my posts, you’ll see that consistently, I rate one album from the 80’s above all others. Considering the number of truly great albums that came out of that decade, this is a high compliment. That album, of course, is Gun Clubs superb masterpiece, Fire of Love. I posted pieces of it here and there, but like all truly great albums, it must be listened to straight through to get the full impact from it.

A warning though…this is some serious stuff here. If you own a gun, and you’ve been drinking for a couple days straight, and your woman just done you wrong (kind of descries me in 1986!), do NOT listen to this. This is the music of a man whose soul is in some serious pain. Jeffry Lee Pierce’s howls and emotion along with the punked up blues riffs take you on a hellish nightmare ride. Don’t let that scare you though….this album is considered by many to be the best of the decade. I certainly helped set the stage for what American underground music would be like.

Now, about that claim I make of it being the best…I know there will be disagreement. Thats cool. Sometimes I argue that point with myself. I mean, the Minutemen’s Double Nickle on the Dime is damn good. So is Meat Puppets II. Any of the Pixies first few albums are right up there as well. The Fall’s This Nations Saving Grace, which I just covered a bit back is another. All superb albums, and all worthy of being in number one. But in the end, that really can be only one, and this is the one I keep coming back to. Let me know yours, and who knows, maybe it will pop up for all the world to see. Enjoy!

JOHN PEEL’S FESTIVE FIFTY FROM 1991, DAY 1

First, the site is back up an functioning fine. And I am in Pittsburgh, or rather an hours drive east of Pittsburgh, functioning almost as well. I landed last night at 10, and then had that drive here, and then I had to decompress a little. Add to that I was up at 6:30 am, and I’m kind of tired. How did I ever stay out drinking until 4 am and then turn around and go to work back in the day?

On the to music. Just so you all know…when I have a hugely busy week like this one, I tend to do posts that are kind of canned, or pre-done, for me. I generally stay away from them, unless they are something I totally dig, or, like this week, I’m traveling. Today’s list is both.

Of all the Festive Fifty’s John Peel did, this probably is my favorite. That takes nothing away from any other year…they were all great. But this one in particular mirrors what was happening in music. There are still some 80s legend’s here…Pixies, Billy Bragg, My Bloody Valentine, The Fall, but this list was dominated by the next was of alternative…Nirvana, PJ Harvey, and, I’m happy to say…Babes In Toyland. Babes being one of my favorite bands of the 90’s. You Brits…such amazing tastes in music. Enjoy!

Aggregation

Search