Vampire Weekend

I PROMISE WE'RE NOT ALL LIKE THIS. Like, we're not all from the East Coast, in the first place. And I've never been to Cape Cod. (But this song is kinda good. Don't tell anyone I said that. Actually, I missed the hype about these guys. But in this picture they're in the building named after this sexy beast where I have a class on the seventh fucken floor. Now that is a pain in the ass.) Posting this album is actually my super top secret plan to prevent accumulation of profit (all .004 cents this represents) so they can't donate it to the alumni fund and make them rename our student union Vampire Weekend Hall.

I'm just kidding. Remember, delete it and buy it if it strikes your fancy.

• the album [rapidshare]

Discrimination Never Dies

So it seems that I, as usual, jumped the gun by setting Gender Discrimination Week in February. Little did I know that it is in fact March that is Women's History Month and February that is Black History Month. But as I had a lot of fun and the posts proved to be popular, I thought I'd set aside Fridays during the wonderful month of March as Gender Discrimination Fridays. So stay tuned for that coming next week! (As today is still February cos of that leap year thing.)

Mmm-mm spam, yum yum yum. Speaking of vintage ads (utterly amazing collection here, I've spent hours browsing this archive), this is a lie. A lie I say. I had a Lucky a few weeks ago because Thing 1 went out for a smoke and I didn't want to be stuck in the bar alone watching Sharks Eat Seals, a Discover Channel special graphically spelling out things I already know, so I headed out and, being not in my right mind/"because it was cold", accepted a Lucky, which as we all know are unfiltered. I don't smoke and I haven't had a Lucky since last St Patrick's Day. I hafta disagree with Mr Marshall that "Luckies are always gentle on my throat." Sure, at the time it was fine. But the next morning. . . At least, I think that's why I woke up with my throat feeling like crap. I might have actually been sick, now that I think about it: it lasted half the week and that's never happened before and it was pretty cold that night and everyone else on campus including the guy next door is coming down with something. Wow. Life is so confusing.

I should add, though, that if Gary Cooper in a captain's hat is selling 'em to me. . . I'm so there.

p.s. For the kids who are thinking, good god, B, vintage ads, really? That's the best you can do cos that is like so predictable, I'd first like to say a) I'm way into vintage ads, just love 'em, and b) Yeah, you actually are missing out on something, cos this is what I had up in version 1. Happy weekend & Play nice!

On this Day: 1932

The Man in Black was born on this day in 1932. I've mentioned before that "Wayfaring Stranger" is one of my favorite songs ever, so you really hafta do it right. Who else but Johnny Cash.

Plus, check out this amazing collection, The Art of Being Johnny Cash. Grabbed the above picture from there, and definitely worth taking a look at the rest.

• "Wayfaring Stranger" by Johnny Cash, from the Unearthed Set

Straight to Hell

"While the film received almost no positive reviews, it has (like several other of Cox's films) achieved a minor cult status, largely due to its cast of musicians, many of whom have cult followings of their own."

"[Spider] was extremely able. Shane MacGowan isn't really an actor. It was difficult to explain to him that you had to do things the same way twice." [Alex Cox]

Aah, blaah. I just had some 2am cup noodle. You know what I'm talkin about. Ok. Lessee. . .

Hey cool kids! Continuing in our infernal theme (Bosch, l'enfer, keeeling), howzabout the soundtrack to Alex Cox's totally weird, kinda bad, but completely lovable 1987 film Straight to Hell, featuring among others Mr Joe Strummer, the Pogues, Sy Richardson, Dennis Hopper, Elvis Costello, and Grace Jones for all of 3 minutes. (And Courtney Love. But don't let that scare you away.) This all of course means that the soundtrack is gonna feature the Pogues, Joe, and all those good things, including my new favorite Pogues song now that I finally have my hands on it "Rake At the Gates of Hell." Pray for Rain does the majority of the tracks, Cait O'Riordan and the crew sing "Danny Boy," and the guy from the Circle Jerks sings about hot dogs. Just try to say no.

Tracklist in comments, and you can also just grab the Pogues track from zshare. Enjoy! By the way, I think Mike of The Upsetter 1969 had the film itself up awhile ago.

• Straight to Hell OST [sharebee]
  
• "Rake at the Gates of Hell" by the Pogues [zshare] [also included as part of the above file]
  
• Buy Used/New

Townes Van Zandt In Bruges

"That Hieronymous Bosch. What a weirdo." [Good Omens]

I went to see this film with my friend, who, bless his heart, just loves to talk during movies. (Of course nothing, nothing, will ever be as bad as the sassy lady who, upon Leonidas' death, informed the whole theater, "That was messed up!") We were sitting in the back next to the door, so we saw everyone who popped in to watch for 2 minutes and then duck out, as if they weren't sure what they were sneaking into. But at one point, even I spoke aloud, about halfway through the film, when the two of us turned to each other and said in unison, "Is that-- Townes Van Zandt?"

A big 'whoa-there' on its own, but I also watched Juno last night, so I think it's worth mentioning that it is refreshing to be surprised by a film's soundtrack. This wacky movie offers, along with Bosch, dwarves, cocaine, Ralph Fiennes, Canadians, dead priests, and gore, "St John the Gambler" in the background of the scene with the dwarf, the cocaine, and the hookers. In a movie set in Bruges centering around 2 Irish hitman, Ralph Fiennes, and Bosch, Townes was one of the last things I expected to hear.

Indeed, for the most part, this film did not go anywhere I thought it would when I sat down. If you've seen the trailers, I think you'll agree that this movie looks like a lighthearted odd-couple romp with guns. It's not. There are moments of humor, some bizarre, some surreal, some conveyed simply through dialogue and delivery (two highlights include Brendan Gleason giving Colin Farrell a speech on the blood of Christ, as well as Jordan Prentice, playing the race-war midget, very seriously informing Colin Farrell, as Colin's character Ray accuses him of not waving to him earlier that day, "I was on ketamine. I wasn't waving to anybody that day. Except maybe a horse," or something like that), but by the end, the movie has turned into a dark morality tale more concerned with purgatory than heaven/hell, where everything and everyone comes together along gothic themes of sacrifice and honor, with a well-timed ending and nobody spared.

So basically, dark dark dark. The ending sequence involves Bosch costuming. The set-up isn't, as the trailer implies, Colin Farrell done gone killed someone and is waiting for the fuss to die down while unhappily touring Bruges with Brendan Gleason. (Though he is doing that, hilariously petulant about it.) It's about a hit gone very bad, and the film explores not just the relationship between Ray and Ken, the two leads, not just the wild & wacky time they have in Bruges, but the way that "gone very bad" must be dealt with, emotionally by Ray and in terms of moral cleaning up by Gleason and Ralph "Los Angeleez" Fiennes (below, getting poked in the head by the tower man.)

The strength of the two leads is a large part of the appeal. Gleason and Farrell (who I had a HUGE crush on right after middle school omg, which was somewhere in the middle of my very long Owen Wilson phase) have a great on-screen chemistry, somewhere between buddies/brothers/father & son. Gleason is, as would be expected, magnificent, and the film requires a great range and depth from him by the time all is said and done. Farrell also does a great job, which I was pleased with, because frankly, when I had a HUGE crush on him it was because he was the cutest thing in 2001, not because I had taken a good look at his acting. His character Ray is completely insulting-- blacks, Americans, Canadians, skinheads, Pakistani 10 year olds, midgets, no one is spared-- boyish, whiny, and, finally stricken by what he has done. Farrell pulls the entirety of the character off with ease and charm. He is also great at those little grace notes that I'm always mentioning, from waving in a silly weird way to Gleason, to letting the hotel-owner pass him on the way into breakfast, as well as subtleties of delivery. The line ". . . if I grew up on a farm, and was retarded Bruges would impress me. But I didn't, so it doesn't," coulda fallen flat, but Farrell pulls it off very well.

I recommend the movie. I was very excited to see it but worried it would be a disappointment, so I was more than pleasantly surprised about the whole thing.

And Colin Farrell is still cute. (Like, there's this part in the movie where he takes his contacts out and is brushing his teeth. . .) But not when he has that hideous long hair (WHAAAT is he thinking?) And no, I didn't see Alexander.

• Townes Van Zandt: St John the Gambler

I'll keel her.

I first heard the song "I'll Kill Her" awhile ago, back when Ken had it up in his sidebar (which is a treasure trove, check out "I'm the Queen of the World" over there). I liked the sentiment of the title alone (who couldn't?) but I can admit to having trouble getting into her style. (As the Butter Team says, "I knew immediately this girl must be an extremely hot moppy-headed French tomboy brat that loves horribly cheesy American 80s movies and kicks your ass in Mario Kart. This morning a quick image search confirms." You know. The sorta girl I'd hate. By the way, I really want that haircut. But my hair is apparently too light to do that to. . . blah.)

But I gave it another go, and now I can't stop listening to "I'll Kill Her." So here's the Not Sokute EP, 5 tracks, great stuff. The music is like candy, and though the songs all revolve around relationships (something I don't always like/appreciate), they range from killing him, killing her, and sparkly happy love. And it all works. So check it out, it may take a few listens to get into but once you make the adjustment, you may get hooked much as I was.

• Not Sokute [sharebee]
• Soko on Myspace [more songs avail]
  
• More Info

L'enfer, c'est les autres

Okay, I was gonna post this long story about this housewarming party I went to last Friday, and how this guy who lives in my hallway who I barely know (we will call him "Dummy") but who must have seen an article about the Joe doc my friend taped to my door asked, "Are you infatuated with Joe Strummer?" and my reaction was "Uh," when it should have been BOY IF YA DON'T GET IT, YA DON'T GET IT., but it's too complicated because then I would have to complain about how these two other people were supposed to come with us bailed so I was stuck alone with Dummy, and how Dummy got fall-off-your-subway-seat drunk after [2 beers + jack & coke + 2 sips of Malibu rum] (even I don't get that drunk after that and I'm almost but not at all Oriental) so that I was in effect babysitting the fucker all the way back uptown, and how we got on the L the wrong way and how the F was running on the A track only til Manhattan so that if I were babysitting I would have had to be paid for 2 extra hours EXCEPT nobody was paying me, and how I never want to see this kid again except that we live in the same hallway, and how I shoulda just bitchslapped his sorry drunk ass, BUT, uh. . . I lost my train of thought. Wow. It's been a long week. Anyway, here's to you, Joe.

Sweet!

Hey kids. A quick post and I'm back to the shitstorm that is this week of work. I'll be away probably til the end of the week (cos I'm fucked), so I figured a great big post (meaning long inch-wise) to tie us over.

I think I promised cupcakes a very long time ago. . . so here they are. Some punk rock cupcakes for you pretty punk rock kids. (Well, actually, the Pogues & Meskies albums were on the counter and I had to hide the messy kitchen behind when I took the pictures.) The colorful ones were made over the summer when I was completely obsessed with cupcakes. They are Diet Coke Devil's Food Cake with Lavender Buttercream Frosting (to make it Lavender, make some simple syrup with a few heads of fresh or about a tablespoon of dried lavender.) The second type is a Sprinkles' Chocolate Peppermint, which I got sick of really fast so it's probably better that I've never actually been to Sprinkles. I have an inordinate fondness for mini cupcakes. (The CD cases should give a sense of scale.) We only have 1 mini cupcake pan. It takes awhile. I think there were 60+ Sprinkles cupcakes and more of the Diet Coke ones. My sister's friends get them foisted onto them. I don't have any good pictures of the Matcha Cupcakes with Lavender Frosting that I made, but those were made from scratch and were quite yummy. I had to make some lactose free so I was able to trim down the calories. And sorry about the quality of the pictures. I don't have a good zoom capacity on my camera. If only I had taken one from work. . .


Sweet Tunes:

• Sweet Potato Piper [Bing Crosby with Bob & Dot, from Road to Singapore]
• There's Nothing as Sweet as My Baby [Hank Williams]
• How Sweet You Are [Glenn Miller and the Army Air Force Orchestra]
• In the Sweet By & By [Johnny Cash]
  

Of course, the best music for baking is anything Ella :)

Request: Dumbo Soundtrack

This was requested a week or so ago, and after a quick initial search, I didn't think I'd be able to find it. But I did. So here it is, hope you enjoy! Check out the website from which the picture came. "Disney Goes to War" feat. awesome airplane art. The soundtrack won the Academy Award in 1941, and "Baby Mine" was nominated for best original song, so definitely worth checking out.

• Disney's Dumbo OST

Speaking of not finding things, I went downtown for dinner with a friend last night. Ate at The EU, which had really good meat. Pricey, since we ordered beer and cheese and then desserts in addition to the main course. But if you took the people next to us as example, we probably looked like cheap-o freak-o's even though we did splurge and go for the $9 beers. We were sitting next to four women (blond) and two men, one older guy who might have been a dad. They ordered two-three drinks each, entree, main course, salads. . . I mean. . . Dude. Whoa. And they got complimentary foie gras. We should have just pretended to be with them. If you're up for a fancy night out, I'd recommend the place: good food and good service, and we were seated right away. We felt so hip. Except the cheese, while good, is not worth the price per the amount you get.

Afterwards, we decided to go to a hookah bar that my friend went to last weekend and really liked. He knew it was in the area and he was pretty sure if was called Khmer Rouge. Yeah. Like those guys. He just couldn't remember where exactly it was. Wandered back and forth in a small but chilly area encompassed by Avenue B and 2nd Ave and 4th and 13th Streets (mistake: not going all the way to St Mark's) and finally settled on Sahara East, which was fine and had good service. Turns out the place we were looking for was Khyber Pass. Not exactly the most genocidal regime in history, but makes a heckuva lot more sense.

Valentine's Day [Half] Week: I Can't Help Myself

On my iTunes, this mix is called "VD," mostly because I think I am very, very funny. That aside, I couldn't decide whether to post this on Valentine's Day or to post the one I posted yesterday on Valentine's Day. But there's no need for y'all to think I'm a bitter, angry bitch, so I settled on this for Valentine's Day proper. It is The Official Noise Annoys V-Day Mix, and I hope you enjoy it. I tried to collect some kinda goofy songs that I love (The Four Tops' song, the Rubettes song) as well as some pretty stuff ("Gabrielle" and "Julia") and also to have a little fun (the Vandals, "Diva Lady.") It's good feelings all around, and meant to be played in any order, because if it's anything, it's a little bit jumpy-around in terms of tempo. I hope you find some favorites, something new, or anything in between. Again, you can grab all at once or pick n choose.

Download the entire Noise Annoys V-Day Mix [sharebee]

• I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) | The Four Tops
• Hold On | Tim Armstrong
• Bad to Me | Billy J Kramer & the Dakotas
• Sh-Boom | The Chords
• Sugar Baby Love | the Rubettes
• You Belong to Me | Rose McGowan
• Gabrielle | the Nips
• I Want Her She Wants Me | the Zombies
• Corazon de Oro | Rancid
• Diva Lady | the Divine Comedy
• If the Government Could Read My Mind | the Vandals
• I Melt With You | Modern English
• Julia | the Beatles
• Enchanted | Patrick Wolf
• New York Telephone Conversation | Lou Reed

Happy Valentine's Day pretty girls and boys, with lots of love.

Valentine's Day [Half] Week: Valentine's Eve

I am a multitasking motherfucker. I just uploaded the songs, ate dinner, removed my nail polish, ate dessert, regretted eating dessert, broke my DVD player, fixed it?, and watched a Thin Man movie all. at. once. If only I had done all my reading while I was at it. . .

[Skip straight to the music.]

I Seen That Before! Disclaimer:
I put together this mix last semester and then kept adding on when I wandered across a song I fancied. Predictably, and in the nature of all my mixes, you're going to see artists you see a lot on this blog, as well as songs that I've put on other mixes. I make these things during a certain period of time so they feature whoever I was lisnin to non-stop during that period. "DJ DJ," for example, rose to my top 25 songs in a matter of days, and has remained there because I listen to it obsessively. Not only does it have a line I've lauded on here before ("Fuck the motherfucken backstabbin cunts") but it has the line that gives our little mix its name: "Lord Knows We Don't Need You."

Valentine's Day Disclaimer:
As for Valentine's Day. . . Here's where you get to hear what I really think cos tomorrow is dedicated to not being rude about it. I see it as just another of those holidays that if you've got a personal stake in it, whoopdefuckendoo. If not, you kinda just wave at it as it goes by and go about your business. Maybe somebody brings candy to the office. If you want it to be about love, whatever that is, than celebrate that which you have, and more power to ya. There are some who do actively hate it, but that's still about buying into the constructs that have been built up around it, which is their choice. I do like the red and the hearts and stuff though. Cos they're nice symbols and motifs and whatnot. (Which is to say, Cos they're pretty.)

The Mix Disclaimer:
I don't want it to be misconstrued as an anti-Valentine's Day mix. (I mean, on bad days, I hate couples, especially lovey-dovey ones who just hafta hold hands and walk very slowly in front of you, forming a small hydrogen bond of love that you cannot get around and now you're going to miss the bus/train/Pony Express. And like any good friend, I hate hearing about my friends' relationships unless they're juicy and went bad at the end.) Instead, it's a group of songs centered around a certain strain of feeeelings. (I know that looking at the songs it seems like it's about how you can't trust boys, but it isn't. Even though it's still true.)

Somewhere in all this, what I'm trying to say is that I'm not shooting to represent the flipside of the coin, the other side being the group that is super psyched about V-Day coming up. The theme that guided the selection of songs is just one facet of the 20-sided die of looove, baby. (No, no I did not just link to that. Uh oh. Past the point of no return? Yup, past the point of no return.) But what it's really about is the music. So without further ado--

The I should just look up the lyrics clause:
"Astro Zombies," which until about a year ago I thought was a "nice" song ("Who'd I do this for hey me and you"?) is in fact about me OR you. Uh. Duh. But it fits the theme nicely.

And that's it! Goodness that was long. So congrats to you, pretty girls and boys, if you made it this far. (Have a banana sticker!) Let's get to the music. You can grab it as a great big file or as individual files. I hope you find something fun or new or in between (wherever that would be?) By the way, how is zshare working? I wanted something that allows you to listen to the songs before downloading (though I realize it doesn't do mp4s.)

Lord Knows We Don't Need You: the Noise Annoys Pre vDay Mix [sharebee]

• Charade [Main Title] | Henry Mancini
• DJ DJ | Transplants
• Have the Time | the Slackers
• With A Little Help From My Friends | the Beatles
• The Likes of You Again | Flogging Molly
• I Don't Want Nobody to Love | The Nips
  
• I'm A Lonely Bastard | Toy Dolls
• You're Not the Boss of Me (Kick It) | the Vandals
• Astro Zombies | Misfits
• Goodbye Earl | Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
• Tropical London | Rancid
• Suckers | Reel Big Fish
• These Boots Are Made For Walking | Pure Hell
• Your Phone's Off the Hook But You're Not | X
• Fall Back Down | Rancid
• Getting Hit On At the Bank | the Briefs
• Gypsy Bitch | Devil Doll
• You're Breakin' My Heart | Henry Nilsson
• That's Sabotage | Glenn Miller
• Feeling Good | Nina Simone

Valentine's Day [Half] Week: Romantic

Okay, so first, let's get this out of the way. THE VIOLIN IS THE GREATEST INSTRUMENT EVER GOT IT. You might say, well, the guitar is-- NO. Or, the tuba, now, the tuba achieves an effect that ranges from comic to tragic without sacrificing-- NO. The zither has been-- no no no. The violin is where it's at. It is the devil's instrument, and you don't get much better than that.

Um, what I mean is. All instruments are very, very nice. Even the viola.

BUT I think it's safe to say that the violin's strengths have been well used in producing some downright amazing romantic music. Hard to argue with that, even if you disagree with what I said above (about violins, or the viola). Especially hard to argue with that if it's Itzhak Perlman playing the violin. And impossible to argue if it's Perlman playing John Williams arrangements of themes from Hollywood's Golden Age.

Cinema Serenade II: The Golden Age is one of my most treasured CDs, and it only takes one listen to realize how amazing of a collaboration we're looking at here (or one look at the classy cover art.) There are a lot of film music collections out there, but it's hard to find one of this quality. It includes music from Robin Hood, Casablanca, Laura, Now Voyager, Gone With the Wind, and more. Great, great stuff.

Williams has paired up with Perlman several times, including Volume I of this series as well as the multiple-award winning score for Schindler's List, and it's an amazing partnership. Williams' arrangements (you can definitely hear his hand in this) bring Perlman's amazing playing to the forefront. For an idea of the technical master he is in addition to his ability to evoke a general awe-inspiring range of emotion, listen to the music from The Quiet Man-- the purity of tone, clarity, the lightness of the bow's acrobatics. The music is gorgeous, featuring two masters of the modern music scene, and it's hard to accurately convey the heights of beauty the CD offers.

• Cinema Serenade 2: The Golden Age [sharebee]
  
• Buy Used/New
• Tracklist and Info in Comments
  

Next up: Valentine's Day Half-Week Continues with the inevitable (what I'm calling) the Other Half post.

Valentine's Day [Half] Week

You may have noticed I'm way into theme posts right now. (I'm also really into croissants, Nick & Nora Charles, not doing my reading, and shoes at the moment, so theme posts are the least of my worries.) I don't know what to say, except that Valentine's Day has provided yet another opportunity to orient the posts around a theme. And this time, starting tomorrow and continuing til the fourteenth, the theme is Love. Sorta. (Or, as the kids say, JUST KIDDING.)

But FIRST check out these so bad they're good dorkorific Star Wars Valentines. I get a kick outta these. ("My love for you will STAY ON TARGET." You get the picture.) If you think the one up there is funny, you'll like the others.

(Admit it, you're laughing.) Anyway, stay tuned. Starting tomorrow, we'll be hitting up 3 Valentine's Day themes: Romance, How the Other Half Lives, and a third one that I can't think of right now. And yes, two of those are mixes. I'm also way into mixes right now. Hope to see you!

This Day In History: The Beatles Land

Reporter: What would you call that hairstyle you're wearing? George: Arthur. Reporter: What do you call that collar? Ringo: A collar.

1964: British Invasion launched with Beatles' arrival in U.S.
The musical British Invasion began when the Beatles landed in New York City this day in 1964, and two nights later, as Beatlemania stormed America, their performance on The Ed Sullivan Show was watched by 73 million viewers.

So I figured, why not post this totally shady looking CD that I bought a few years ago from Pennylane in Old Town before it closed. It's got A Hard Day's Night PLUS the swankified instrumental soundtrack from the movie, which was released in the summer of 1964 and is one of the funniest movies Ever, as well as being one of the movies that is the most fun to watch Ever. No joke. You can also watch it is a sociological project and see Beatlemania in action (for those of us who missed it the first time around.)

• "I'm a mocker": A Hard Day's Night/UA Film Soundtrack [sharebee]
  
• Buy? I have no idea where to get this copy. It's at home so I don't have the case, but it has Cyrillic on the back from what I remember. . .
• Get the movie
  

Year of the Rattus Norvegicus

YES I AM VERY CLEVER. Happy New Year, again. I hope you all got nice red envelopes.

• The Stranglers' Rattus Norvegicus
• Buy the fancier version Used/New

The Lenten Package

Nun: On special offer this month we have the Lenten package. £150 - plus V.A.T. - plus booking fee, that's £200. Father Ted: £200?! I'm not trying to buy cocaine!

Ash Wednesday. The day you learn that they don't teach any courses like "How to Draw a Cross" at priest school. Enjoy this Lenten Mix! Ostensibly, it's to help those who participate decide what they might give up by listing various vices through music, including profanity, sex, gambling, drugs, booze, fighting, and television

*

ALL SONGS IN ONE FILE [sharebee] or as separate tracks (below)

Pasties and a G-String | Tom Waits
["Harder than Chinese algebra"]
Irish Drinking Song | Buck-O-Nine
["Mary McGregor finally got some sleep" ]
Cocaine Blues | Ro Hogsed
["Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be"]
Blood Sex & Booze | Green Day
["Blood sex & booze"]
Seeing Double at the Triple Rock | NoFX
[Check out the video]
TV Party | Black Flag
["Alright!"]
The Way You Do | Devil Doll
["Just name the time and place"]
Cocaine Blues | Townes Van Zandt
["Coke's for horses lord it ain't for men"]
Tall Cans in the Air | Transplants
["Fuck you"]
Bottle of Smoke | the Pogues
["I went to Hell/And to the races/To bet on the Bottle of Smoke"]
Smoke Two Joints | Sublime
["And then I smoke two more"]
Girls | Beastie Boys
["To clean up my room"]
Too Drunk to Fuck | Dead Kennedys
["Now I have diarrhea."]
Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) | Tex Williams
["I'd murder that son of a gun in the first degree"]
Cocktails for Two | Spike Jones
["We'll be so glad we're both alive"]
House of the Rising Sun | Muse
[(Sorry, I thought I had a different version but this is it.)]
Pink Elephants | [Dumbo]
[wtf, i love this sequence]

*

Further Information on Ash Wednesday:

• Father Ted: Cigarettes, Alcohol, and Rollerblading (Watch: I, II, III)
• Ash Wednesday
  

Thanks to Caitlin for helping me put the mix together!

Happy Mardi Gras! Happy Super Tuesday! Happy Feb 5th!

I meant to post this awhile ago (as usual), but luckily I waited (til I was reminded by a friend who showed me Chris Milk's hardhitting video during the weekend, which I hadn't seen) because I just re-stumbled on my copy of the Skids' original version from an entire album of theirs I had but didn't know I had and am now listening to and enjoying. (Looks like it was from the great RYP- thanks!)

The U2 & Green Day boys do a good job on the 2006 remake of the Skids' track, and opening with "House of the Rising Sun" is a nice touch.

Okay kids, Happy Shrove Tuesday and play nice :) And check out the Roadhouse podcast for "a celebration of all things zydeco, cajun, swamp, and boogie," as New Orleans is, at the least, culturally tied to the secular Mardi Gras in addition to being firmly integrated into and playing a major role in the wider religious cultural history of the US. Which is to say, it's where the party is at.

• The Saints Are Coming [U2 & Green Day, including live track]
• The Saints Are Coming [Skids]
  
• Buy
  
• Song info

• Mardi Gras Info
  
• Katrina at Wikipedia, which has several articles on the hurricane and its aftermath

My Chemical Romance? Catchy as hell?

[The latest album] is an exact representation of what this band is: a theatrical, over-the-top joke. I'm convinced in a past life, Gerard Way was an overweight Italian woman singing in an opera house. [punknews.org]

OKAY. I think I've mentioned that while I think these kids make some amazing videos (particularly "The Ghost of You," but you know I'm a sucker for WWII movies, as well as "Helena", high drama and great costuming), I've never been able to get into their music. They make good artistic decisions (James Jean cover art, for example, in addition to the videos), but there songs are not catchy enough for me to look past the lyrics, which I have trouble relating to, when I can figure out what they're saying. So when my friend, whose music tastes I trust, said, "Okay, you're gonna think I'm a fag, but--" (types "My Chemical Romance" into Youtube search bar) "-- this is actually really good," I was able to say, "No, I think they have good art direction," which might not have been what he expected but it's better than, "NAH it's too late for THAT. I know you listen to the Shins." (Yeah, along with my music cred, PC-ness just officially went out the window. Sorry guys.)

The song in question was "Teenagers" off their most recent album which features Liza Minelli (?!) and whose title track is clearly Queen-influenced. Someone called it entry-level gloom pop, and punknews.org, quoted above, labels it "quite a fine pop record," as "long as the band isn't actually taking themselves as seriously as the promotions suggest."

But "Teenagers." Okay, from what I can tell and what I've read, this is a different direction than is usual for these guys, and I think they've done a good job going in that power pop/pop punk direction. Cos it works. It's criminally catchy. It's fun and sing-a-long-y. The music video is like "Smells Like Teen Spirit" but more interesting to watch cos the cheerleaders are better dancers and wearing goofy gasmasks. I'm probably not allowed to say that, but while Nirvana's song takes itself seriously, MCR's has that bit of self-awareness and high drama that makes me want to kinda like these guys, if not the rest of their music. (Plus I haven't been able to listen to most Nirvana songs since I got out of high school.)

So I hope you guys have fun with it if you choose to grab it. If these kid keep this up. . . who knows? Plus Gerard Way cut this hair and got rid of the makeup. That helps a lot.

• "Teenagers" [mp3]
  
• MCR Official Site

Super Bowl Sunday

"Everybody jammin!" This is one of my favorite Super Bowl commercials. Almost makes me want a Bud Light. Wait. No, no it doesn't. I do however have some Harpoon Hibernian Ale. As you guys know, I'm a beer retard but I liked the packaging (all their stuff looks like Christmas) so we'll see how it goes. Check out Bleedin' Out's Super Bowl post- great tunes, and take a wild guess who he's backing :) Enjoy the game!



[edit: HELL yeah. Number of times our TV shorted out in the last 59 seconds: 6.]

Gender Discrimination Week: Princesses!

I am a princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics. Even if they dress in rags, even if they aren't pretty, or smart, or young. They're still princesses. All of us. Didn't your father ever tell you that? Didn't he?

[A Little Princess]

That's a great movie. I watched it again 2 years ago, and I read the book a billion times when I was a kid, and both are completely enchanting (and the film is directed by Alfonso Cuaron, of all people). Point is, what hopefully everyone has learned by now is be nice to girls or they'll kick your ass cos they're princesses duh.

I don't know if it's weirder that Ariel's eyes are as big as her boobs or that her boobs are as big as her eyes. (I know, "boobs" is a vulgar word, but "breasts" sounds too grownup and is "boobage" not the coolest word ever? As in "mad boobage?". . . Actually, in all fairness to The Little Mermaid, at least the prince has a character in this one. And now that I think of it, the last time I watched this movie, I was more struck at how comically big Ariel's head is compared to the rest of her. Look at those proportions. wtf.) It's Disney, I know, unrealistic depiction of women and ruining girls' perceptions of relationships from the start. Yes! And that's why we're ending Gender Discrimination week with Disney Princess songs. Actually it's cos I like Disney movies. I wouldn't call this the Ultimate collection; this CD has too much Pocahontas and not enough of the classy ones (Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella), but has thankfully, "Kiss the Girl," which is one of the greatest Disney songs Ever. The CD also has this weirdo collaboration song starting and ending it but I'll include the two versions anyway.

Hopefully everyone had fun this week. I was very happy with the enthusiasm I got regarding this series, and I hope there were some surprises. A big thanks to everyone who stopped by! Now that Gender Discrimination Week is over, I can go back to posting music by angry white dudes.

• Disney Princess: The Ultimate Song Collection

And Gender Discrimination Link Roundup!

Check out Miss Derringer, a great female-fronted band, who just released an EP. The Horrorpops are releasing a new album in a matter of days, so check out their Myspace, and thanks to McCrank for the heads up! Jim's got a lovely Delgados song up. And Ken was kind enough to provide a link to another great female-fronted band, Tarnation. Definitely check em out. Music is a Better Noise is a blog dedicated to female artists, so if ye crave more, head on over there. The blogger also has a survey up about music blogging, if you have a sec. Thanks to everybody. Y'all rock :]

Gender Discrimination Week: Anonymous 4

As with their earlier Christmas celebration, On Yoolis Night, the quartet ethereally blends their seamless, unaccompanied vocals in this collection of chants, hymns, and readings recounting the saint's life and miracles on behalf of those in need. In addition to Latin settings, the program includes one of the oldest known English-language hymns ("Sainte nicholaes," by a contemporary of Hildegard) and a number of verse-refrain pieces thought to inspire dancing in church. Most of the musical material involves simple unilinear trails of chant, which the ensemble spins out with their trademark unanimous purity of tone. Elsewhere, as in the spiraling eddies of "Novus presul prodiit," their suave harmonies glint like a sudden shaft of light through stained glass. And it is all captured in a warm, ambient church acoustic that is balm for modern ears. [from Amazon. This refers to disc 1 of the box set, but the description of the quality applies to all the material.]

I have a few other Anonymous 4 records, but I want to put this up Noel box set, which groups 4 previously released albums, because I meant to do so before Christmas of last year but didn't get a chance to, and because it's tough to get online. There are copies available, but they're these wacky CUE & APE file things that, while supposedly stunning in their quality, drive me crazy because you hafta download a dozen different programs to convert them to mp3s. Bitching aside, a huge, sincere thanks to whoever originally uploaded this file. They included scans of the booklet in addition to providing high quality files, and I've included them here.

I hope you do enjoy it, because these ladies consistently deliver and are one of the most popular early music groups out there. (Though I hesitate to recommend their album Gloryland, because, frankly, one of my favorite songs ever is "Wayfaring Stranger" and they don't pull it off. I don't think their sound is suitable for the songs.) But their polyphony/chant stuff is gorgeous, so give this a try if that's your thing!

• Anonymous 4: Carols & Chants for Christmas [scans & 4 links]
• Buy Used/New
• Tracklist

Gender Discrimination Week: hiding from the women.

Well kids. It's one of those nights. I have actually been working for 3 hours, wrote one of my papers, and then with great drama and a few tears DELETED IT ALL. One of those nights. Got two papers due tomorrow (I guess it's today now), luckily in the afternoon, but still. . .

On the other hand, that means I'll be posting more music! Cos I can't focus! Time to make more tea! Time to stare out the window! Check my e-mail! Should I go to the vending machine? I hafta say these late nights are the ones that put on the extra pounds. Not the beer. Nor the pasta. And not even the Nutella straight out of the jar. Though today, I put it on a banana instead. Yes! I am indeed a smart eater. All-nighters are also prime time for online shopping! 20% off coupon? I better buy something cos I'll be saving! . . . No, no, doesn't work like that. . .

In the meantime, please enjoy these tracks, a small collection, by no means exhaustive, of ladies who consistently make it onto my playlist.

• Murder Gonna Be My Crime | Sippie Wallace
  
• Sing | The Dresden Dolls
• This Ship | Holly Golightly
• Wuthering Heights | Kate Bush [thanks to Ken]
• Feeling Good | Nina Simone [thanks to Jim]
• Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy | the Andrews Sisters
• I'm A Man You Don't Meet Everyday | The Pogues
• Space Oddity [David Bowie] | Emilie Simon
• Sunday Girl | Blondie
• Saperlipopette | Clothilde
• I Can Dream Can't I | Mama Cass
• The Lady is a Tramp | Rosemary Clooney
• Tous les garçons et les filles | Françoise Hardy
• Julia | Horrorpops
• Song of Sophia | Dead Can Dance
  

Gender Discrimination Week: And God Created Woman

Gender Discrimination Week: Dorothy Lamour

Gender Discrimination Week continues! I'm gonna cop out and paste a bio from TCM down there. I've got a lot of work tonight but wanted to make sure to get this up.

Dorothy Lamour is a family favorite, as most of us are big fans of the Crosby-Hope Road to films. She has a stunning voice, warm, sexy, friendly and she can play anywhere from exotic to the girl-next-store, and even if the acting takes time to become fine-tuned, she gets heaps of credit for keeping a straight-face between Hope and Crosby and for even getting a word in. As regards this collection, I can't figure that "Sentimental Sandwich."

Engaging, alluring female lead and singer, a beauty contest winner ("Miss New Orleans" of 1931) who became an instant star at Paramount with her debut appearance in "The Jungle Princess" (1936). With her dusky, sensuous beauty, Lamour was often typed in exotic roles requiring her to wear a sarong ("Aloma of the South Seas" 1941, "Beyond the Blue Horizon" 1942, John Ford's superior "The Hurricane" 1937). Despite her typically sultry, sometimes deadpan expression, though, she generally approached her roles in a good-natured, slightly self-mocking way. Most often cast in musicals or comedies, Lamour performed well in occasional change-of-pace dramatic films such as "Spawn of the North" (1938), "Johnny Apollo" (1940), "A Medal for Benny" (1945) and "Wild Harvest" (1947). She is perhaps best remembered as the glamorous romantic cornerstone of the seven "road" comedies she made with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, beginning with "Road to Singapore" in 1940. [TCM]

• On A Tropic Night [Sharebee]
  
• Buy Used/New

Gender Discrimination Week: Soeur Marie Keyrouz

Termed "une des grandes dames de la musique sacrée" by amazon.ca and I'm sure many others, Sister Marie Keyrouz of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, truly has an amazing voice and fantastic source material, here songs and hymns from Holy Week rites of the Eastern church. Like any sacred music or really any type of music, you don't have to be a believer to understand the beauty and power of the art. I'm trying to get my hands on this album, and I'll put it up if I can find it. If you want to hear more, there is music available for streaming on her site.

Among the single best single Byzantine chant recordings available, by one of the finest Byzantine chanters alive today. Sister Keyrouz has a voice that is transcendent; a virtual mystical experience. She captures and conveys all the agony and suffering, the sorrow and joy of Holy Week and the Passion. The chorale that backs her provides a wonderful ison, and this is among the best extant examples of the glory of Byzantine liturgical music [x].

I would also like to apologize as I do not have the 1st track. I downloaded this album awhile ago, and big thanks to the original uploader, but do you always put a picture of Donald Duck in place of the first track?

• Chant Byzantin
• Buy Used/New
• Official Site

Gender Discrimination Week: Dinah Shore [Guest Post!]

Guest post! from the awesome lil sis, Caitlin:

I bought this CD used off Amazon after sitting through the not-so-good, very ridiculous but somewhat entertaining WWII Danny Kaye movie Up In Arms on TCM, that I watched after seeing Flags of Our Fathers in theaters (making for a very interesting contrast). Dinah Shore was in it and sang "Tess's Torch Song" which I really liked and is my favorite ever ever ever-- more or less anyway, and I went on a quest to find a copy of that song. (Upon reflection, Flags also had a Dinah Shore song--"I'll Walk Alone".) After not finding it online, and not finding any Dinah Shore to download, I up and bought it, not really knowing what the rest of it would sound like and somewhat afraid that it would be somewhat schmaltzy.

She's got a nice light voice, and I like singing along with her, though I'm sure everyone in this household hates me for it. The songs on here are selections from her various radio programs of the mid-1940s, notably Showtime, Dinah Shore's Open House, and Dinah Shore's Ford Show. My favorite songs from it are "You're A Builder Upper" (which, the liner notes tell me, was used to open the "Showtime" program), "Shoo Shoo Baby," "I Walk Alone," "Tess's Torch Song," and "Tallahassee" which is a very cute duet with a singing Woody Herman.

"Laura" makes me think of Spike Jones (we are currently listening to this track in the house and my dad just walked by and made a Spike Jones train sound at the line about the train), and though I've never seen the movie, I do adore Daniel Raksin's theme.

But anyway, here is my sparknotes on her career, mostly from Wikipedia: Dinah Shore gained popularity in the '40s, and continued her singing career into the '60s, supplemented with her television career (as a variety and talk show host and singer) into the 70's. She had a high profile relationship with Burt Reynolds in the early 70's. Yup. Here's what B had to say on her [ed: over AIM, which I think explains it. . . and the fact that I'm kinda an idiot in general.]: "dinah shore is cool. download it because the music sounds good. she has a good voice and that's why the music is good. PEACE."

I applaud her for conciseness? Anyway, here is Dinah's Showtime.

• Dinah's Showtime [Sharebee]
  
• Buy Used/New

Heads up! More Dinah at Singin' & Swingin'!

Gender Discrimination Week: Devil Doll

"I’m not your fuckin’ cadillac"

Devil Doll, or Colleen Duffy, just released her second album, and it reminded me that I never posted the first one, of which I am a big fan. Though it could have benefited from tighter editing, or at least somebody to tell her to not include every song she ever wrote, and maybe save it for another album to be released in interim 4 years between the first and the second, it's, as JD Weis, who was kind enough to censor him/herself, says on amazon.com, "smoky, sexy, jazzy, punkish, brassy, b#llsy, b$tchy." It's appeal comes in that it avoids going all the way to cunt-y (that's not a word, is it), by being vicious and exposed at the same time. There are songs are about uncompromising women who must make the decision to compromise (usually in love), though there's never a sense of whether they're doing the right thing. Then the other songs are about being generally kick ass, but it's still tempered by that depth.

Standout tracks include the opener, "St Christopher," "Walk With Me," "Liquor Store," "Bourbon In Your Eyes". . . Actually, pretty much everything on here. When I say it's too long, it's literally because it's too long, and that's a shame because by the end it's not so much that the quality hasn't decreased, rather, it's just hard to focus that long in general. The only false step on the album is "Don't Lose Your Faith in Love." Nice sentiment, but overly long and drawn out. The rest is energetic, great music (she has a great band behind her), and lotsa fun.

I haven't given The Return of Eve as careful a listen yet (sat through it a few times while doing other things.). It seems to have more of a twang to it, and even a fiddle! And just as flirty ("St Patrick"-- You can show me just what kind of saint that you can be) and tough ("The Curse.") as Queen of Pain. I don't know if the sophomore release suffers from the same length problem, but it has 4 less tracks, which is about the number the first album should have cut off and released as, I dunno, an EP.

• Queen of Pain [Sharebee]
• The Return of Eve [Sharebee]
• Devil Doll Myspace
• Official Site

Chicago Style

No, not that. For the last half hour I've been copying and pasting some reading I'm supposed to be doing from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Ed., into my word processor, and since every section is a separate webpage, it's slow going. I can't find a printer-friendly format, and I'm pretty sure that's on purpose, so it's either copy-and-paste, go down to the library and photocopy it (more trouble than even what I'm doing now), or just buying a copy of the manual. It's not so much the cost (or maybe it is. . .), Amazon.com has it at $20 off and if it's something I'll actually use for a long time (or until the 16th ed. comes out) I'm willing to pay the price. But I don't know if I'm going to use it that much, especially if it would just be for quick reference as I go, which is what the online subscription is for. My big hangup right now is the size. According to Amazon, it's 900+ pages and hardcover. That's a big scary book that I'll have to store and take out every new semester or carry home with me if I run out of room. Looks more like something I'd have if I were in grad school. . . But in the meantime, I figured I'd upload some music to be posted throughout the week, and this time, there's a theme. Women!


Got your attention! I noticed I rarely post female vocalists (besides Ella.) Unintentional, but I do have some fantastic female-fronted groups and soloists that I'd like to share. Of course, posting exclusively ladies for a week is discriminatory, but what the hell. I'll keep it up for a week and then go back to gender-blind posting :) So look for that soon, starting with Devil Doll.

Brahms & Bruch Violin Concertos

On the heels of the last post, thought I'd throw this up here because it includes Brahms' Concerto in D Major, used in There Will Be Blood to great effect. While watching the movie I could not for the life of me remember what the song was, but I could remember it was on the same CD as my copy of the Bruch, which is included in the file and is as awesomely awesome as violin concertos get. Great stuff, fun to listen to and even more fun to play. This is the Hoelscher version, but there are a lot of other versions out there available. Enjoy!

• Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 & Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor, Op. 26 [Sharebee]
  
• Buy Used/New