Song of the Week 10/27/06

AC/DC - "Highway to Hell"

We did this song last night, with my old roommate and best friend Joe playing lead guitar.

Best.

Birthday.

Moment.

Ever.

Wow. Hope the footage came out.

Song of the Week 10/20/06

The Hold Steady - "Party Pit"



The first time I heard the Hold Steady I thought, "What the fuck is up with this guy's voice?" Craig Finn's vocals sounded somewhere between throaty spoken word performance and a strangled cat. I had read on, well, every blog I visit regularly that this album was "amazing," "earth shattering," and "a drunken fest." Even the Times got into the act with a huge one page spread in the Arts & Leisure section a few weeks ago. And they were a Brooklyn band, but from that horrible indie area of Williamsburg. All of these factors made me dismiss them quickly.

Then on Monday night I was listening to the World Cafe, and they had picked the band as their Next Artist for the week. So I sat there and listened to "Chips Ahoy!" And I realized that Craig Finn's voice had nothing to do with murdering cats. It was more like a raspier John Easdale (the frontman of the great Jersey band Dramarama). And the song sounded like a pre-Born to Run Springsteen outtake.

I was sold.

Tuesday I downloaded the album.

Wednesday I was convinced it was a good album.

Last night it moved into my Top 10 for the year as I listened to it on my way to Shea...and my way home from the heartbreaking loss. "Party Pit" particularly (ooh, alliteration!) caught my ear. It's snapsnot of that reckless party time at the end of high school and begining of college with a great refrain that carries the last third of the song: "Gonna walk around and drink some more/Gonna walk around and drink." That was what I wished I could do after the game last night, but the rain and the fact I had to work and that I was drop-dead exhausted from going to the previous night's game made that impossible.

Today I come into work, head to my friend John's blog, and what is title of the top entry? "Gonna walk around and drink some more..." Freaky. John had just seen them in L.A., and decribed it as "one of the greatest rock shows I've ever seen, and I've seen a couple. Just a joyous uncynical rock show, put on by hard working pros in their 30s. Nice to not be quite so much older than every single soul."

Now I have to see them.

And most likely, drink myself silly when I do.

Song of the Week 10/13/06

Skee-Lo - "I Wish"

I saw a mention of this song on some other blog, and I immediately knew I had to download it. It sounds just as good as it did in the summer of 1995 when I was staying in Hoboken and it was cranking from cars on Washington--and my friend Chris's Toyota Forerunner.

Ah, nostalgia.

Oh, and the video is damn funny too:

Song of the Week 10/6/06

The Pretenders - "Mystery Achievement"

I'm pretty sure I have written before about my theory that every best of album by any artist has to be missing one great song from their catalog. In the framework of that theory, it's no surprise that The Pretenders' The Singles had to leave off "Mystery Achievement." I've never had that song on CD before, and now with the reissue of Chrissie Hynde and company's debut album, I finally do.

I don't think I have much else to add about the song. Hmm...I do recall liking to read the entire seven day forecast over the intro to that song back in my college radio days, but that's about it. It's a kick ass song, and sounds great in my iPod.

Trouser Press 101 9/30/06

Thanks to all who came out for Trouser Press 101 at Magnetic Field. This may be my favorite ever playlist of the TP nights we've done so far.

Thin Lizzy - "Don’t Believe a Word"
Big Country - "In a Big Country"
Velvet Underground - "Run Run Run"
Undertones - "Let’s Talk About Girls"
Specials - "Free Nelson Mandela"
Human League - "Things That Dreams Are Made of"
Cure - "In Between Days"
20/20 - "Yellow Pills"
Holly & the Italians - "Do You Say Love"
Rubber City Rebels - "Paper Dolls"
U2 - "Bad"
Bigger Lovers - "1/2 Richard’s"
Sundays - "My First Hour"
Ivy - "The Best Thing"
The Smiths - "Girlfriend in a Coma"
Thane Russal - "Drop Everything and Run"
Elvis Costello - "Days"
Jesus and Mary Chain - "April Skies"
Denim - "Middle of the Road"
Vibrators - "Into the Future"
Run DMC - "It’s Tricky"
Killer Pussy - "Teenage Enema Nurses in Bondage"
Shoes - "Too Late"
Smugglers - "She’s Another Thing (That I've Done Wrong)"
Time Zone - "World Destruction"
Plimsouls - "Everywhere at Once"
The Who - "The Ox"
Damned - "Love Song"
TV Personalities - "3 Wishes"
Stone Roses - "I Wanna Be Adored"
Status Quo - "Rockin’ All Over the World"
Marshall Crenshaw - "Fantastic Planet of Love"
T. Rex - "Hot Love"
Pretenders - "Brass in Pocket"
Eurythmics - "Love Is a Stranger"
New Order - "Bizarre Love Triangle"
Siouxsie and the Banshees - "Cities in Dust"
David Bowie - "Heroes"
Richard Hell - "Blank Generation"
Pere Ubu - "Final Solution"
Skids - "Into the Valley"
Rezillos - "Top of the Pops"
Blondie - "Attack of the Giant Ants"
B-52’s - "There’s a Moon In the Sky (Called the Moon)"
Magazine - "About the Weather"
INXS - "I Send a Message"
Ian Dury - "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick"
Gang of Four - "I Love a Man in Uniform"
Devo - "Uncontrollable Urge"
The Nails - "88 Lines About 44 Women"
Meat Puppets - "Up on the Sun"
Graham Parker - "Soul Shoes"
dB’s - "Love Is For Lovers"
Julian Cope - "Beautiful Love"
Scruffy the Cat - "You Dirty Rat"
The Jam - "That’s Entertainment"
Damned - "New Rose"
Husker Du - "I Apologize"
Ramones - "Pinhead"
New York Dolls - "Looking For a Kiss"
The Cars - "Bye Bye Love"
Cheap Trick - "Baby Loves to Rock"
Hoodoo Gurus - "Bittersweet"
Los Lobos - "Will the Wolf Survive"
Mott the Hoople - "Sucker"
The Smithereens - "Blood & Roses"
Violent Femmes - "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me"
Sonic Youth - "Teenage Riot"
Patti Smith - "Frederick"
R.E.M. - "Seven Chinese Brothers"
Nick Lowe - "I Knew The Bride (When She Used to Rock and Roll)"
Madness - "It Must be Love"
Haircut One Hundred - "Love Plus One"
The Joboxers - "Just Got Lucky"
The Replacements - "Swinging Party"
World Party - "Sweet Soul Dream"
Jazz Butcher - "D.R.I.N.K."
Echo & the Bunnymen - "The Killing Moon"
The Kinks - "Celluloid Heroes"

Song of the Week 9/30/06

The Long Winters - “It’s a Departure”

The past couple of weeks have been all about Seattle’s The Long Winters. In between prepping for the Trouser Press entry I was polishing off or getting myself psyched to see them on Friday night, I listened to a lot of the band’s music in September. Frontman John Roderick writes such interesting lyrics and delivers them in such a unique and passionate voice that I’m amazed it took me this long to discover them (or that someone, anyone I knew would have turned me onto them). I missed their show in Austin, but didn’t stress about it since I knew I would go see them at Bowery Ballroom. Before the show I met up with my friend Michelle (a HUGE fan of the band—she has their album covers on one of her walls for goodness sake) and her brother Steve at a Lower East Side bar. As we talked about various topics, Michele told me she thought the new Long Winters album Putting the Days to Bed was “incredible” (I'm paraphrasing, I do believe). I mentioned “(It’s a) Departure” as a favorite because of the great line, “I like the old days/But not all the old days/Only the Good Old Days!” Roderick’s delivery of that line slays me ever time. When the band hit the stage, Roderick made some cracks about how big their rock show would be, and then chuckled and said that “the song is a departure.” I belted out a very loud “YEAH!” and started singing along. I’m not sure that Michelle and her crew heard me scream all the way up front, but I bet they were rocking out just as much as I was.