Song of the Week 5/26/06

Frank Zappa - "I'm the Slime (Live)"

My neverending project to listen to every song on my IPod is down to the last 300 or so tunes. This past week I have been ripping through the last of the "F" section, which is all Frank Zappa. When I came upon Zappa in New York, I wondered to myself why I had put this live album on here. Then "I'm the Slime" blasted into my ears on the train ride home, and I knew why. This version features Zappa doing the song normally, and then just before the bridge he yells, "Take it away Don Pardo!" Then Saturday Night Live announcer Pardo recites some of the song's best lines, in his over-the-top manner that can best be described as side splitting:

"You will obey me while I lead you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don't need you
Don't go for help...no one will heed you
Your mind is totally controlled
It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told
Until the rights to you are sold."

Then throughout the rest of the song when Zappa sings "I am the slime," Pardo yells, "No I'M THE SLIME! I'M THE SLIME!" It's priceless. Perhaps the funniest moment in my IPod.

Song of the Week 5/19/06

Harry Nilsson - "You're Breakin' My Heart"

I first heard this song on Howard Stern ages ago. Well, that's not correct--I only heard the biting chorus on Stern, and nothing else from the song until this week when Legacy sent out copies of the remastered Son of Schmilsson. It's hard not to love a song that's so incredibly catchy, but could never get airplay due to one of George Carlin's dirty words:

"You're breakin' my heart
You're tearin' it apart
So fuck you."

Just brilliant.

Song of the Week 5/12/06

Guns N' Roses - "Welcome to the Jungle"

Friday afternoon I continued my draining effort to listen to everything in my ITunes by visiting the "G" section, and cranking up Appetite for Destruction. It seemed appropriate with the Axl Rose-led lineup in town for four shows. And then Friday night I was at one of my favorite Brooklyn places, Sample, and I was telling the bartender Adam how I had to work the next to write up a story about GNR's first show. And he was like, "GNR is in town? Who's in the band? And when can I get your Ipod so I can play Appetite?" After some whiskey, I gave in, and soon "Welcome" was blasting into my ears ago.

I suppose with a full moon and hearing "Jungle" twice, I should have known things would get weird Friday night. Let's just say that at one point I thought, "I need to run out of this bar..." and leave it at that.

Steve's Indie Scrapbook 5/6/06

Thanks to all that attended my first scrapbook at Magnetic Field. I have never gotten so many compliments in an hour of spinning as I did during the first hour Saturday night. Here's the playlist for those who can't remember the night.

Replacements - “Alex Chilton”
Dinosaur Jr. - “Start Choppin’”
Dead Milkmen - “Punk Rock Girl”
Spoon - “Sister Jack”
R.E.M. - “Begin the Begin”
Social Distortion - “Ball and Chain”
L7 - “Pretend We’re Dead”
Sugar - “Helpless”
Husker Du - “Could You Be the One”
Weezer - “Why Bother”
Julian Cope - “World Shut Your Mouth”
Guided By Voices - “Bulldog Skin”
Soul Asylum - “Sometime to Return”
The Cult - “Love Removal Machine”
Pixies - “Head On”
The Minus 5 - “Dear My Inspiration”
Lemonheads - “It’s a Shame About Ray”
Hoodoo Gurus - “Like Wow-Wipeout”
Public Image Limited - “Public Image”
The Smithereens - "A Girl Like You”
Buffalo Tom - “Soda Jerk”
Matthew Sweet - “Girlfriend”
The Pogues - “Sunnyside of the Street”
The Godfathers - “Birth, School, Work, death”
Scruffy the Cat - “Bus Named Desire”
The Zambonis - “Hockey Monkey”
Urge Overkill - “Sister Havana”
The White Stripes - “Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)”
Big Audio Dynamite - “E=MC2”
Dead Kennedys - “California Uber Alles”
The Clash - “Know Your Rights”
Elvis Costello & the Attractions - “I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down”
Old 97’s - “Time Bomb”
Wilco - “Nothingeveregonnastandinmyway(again)”
????? - “?????????” (Can’t read my own handwriting, dammit)
The Figgs - “Wasted Pretty”
Eels - “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man (Live)”
The Gentlemen - “Top Heavy”
Electric Six - “Gay Bar”
The Bears - “Fear Is Never Boring”
Brendan Benson - “Spit It Out”
The Waterboys - “The Whole of the Moon”
Guided By Voices - “Chasing Heather Crazy”
Oasis - “Rock n’ Roll Star”
The Replacements - “I’ll Be You”
Cracker - “Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)”
Ramones - “I Believe in Miracles”
Blur - “Parklife”
Elliott Smith - “Baby Britain”
Tahiti 80 - “Heartbeat”
Gnarls Barkley - “Crazy”
Talking Heads - “Nothing But Flowers”
Minutemen - “This Ain’t No Picnic”
Pavement - “Cut Your Hair”
Jenny Lewis - “Handle With Care”
Death Cab For Cutie - “Crooked Teeth”
The Decemberists - “July, July”
Ben Folds Five - “Alice Childress”
World Party - “She’s the One”
Fountains of Wayne - “Radiation Vibe”
Old 97s - “Rollerskate Skinny”
Radiohead - “The Bends”
The Shins - “Caring is Creepy”
Liz Phair - “Never Said”
Spoon - “Everything Hits at Once
The La’s - “There She Goes”
Morrissey - “Suedehead”
New Order - “Regret”
Peter Murphy - “Cuts You Up”
Charlatans UK - “The Only One I know”
Crowded House - “Something So Strong”
The Flaming Lips - “Race For the Prize”
Cake - “Satan Is My Motor”
Billy Bragg & Wilco - “California Stars”
Young Fresh Fellows - “No One Really Knows”
XTC - “Mayor of Simpleton”
The Figgs - “Said Enough”
Nada Surf - “Always Love”
Talking Heads - “Love > Building on Fire”
B-52’s - “Summer of Love”
db’s - “Love Is for Lovers”
Bright Eyes - “Lover I Don’t need to Love”
Madness - “It Must Be Love”
Calexico/Iron & Wine - “History of Lovers”
Josh Rouse - “Love Vibration”
Wilco - “I’m Always in Love”
Jeff Buckley - “Lover You Should Have Come Over”

Song of the Week 5/5/06

Pearl Jam - "World Wide Suicide"

I am finally warming up to the new self-titled Pearl Jam album. This song, I loved instantly. It's the best single the band has released since "Given to Fly," and it flat out rocks. And the fact that a song takes a jab at our current political leaders has gotten this much airplay is somewhat comforting.

But seriously, what's the deal with the avacado?