Merry Christmas

My kids love Christmas lights.  We drive around trying to find impressive home displays.  

I wish Slayer Bob lived in our hood...

 Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

God Is a Bullet

The wife and I saw Concrete Blonde last night at the Park West.  

This was our shared band in college but it had been at least over a decade since we had last seen them perform. 

We knew they would perform this song but in light of the recent massacre in Connecticut it was also pretty much a given that its heavy message would be even harder to bear...

Johnette changed many of the words and then she stopped the song midway through and demanded a moment of silence.  

Which is a hard thing to instantaneously expect from a concert crowd of about thousand people when they weren't prepared for it.  

So it took a second call more along the lines of: "I SAID - A MOMENT OF SILENCE!! DO YOU SPEAK ENGLISH?!!" to grab everyone's attention. 

Still, it seemed like she HAD to do something.  And truthfully, the shooting hung over the whole night anyway - whether intentional or not.   

They did a cover of Midnight Oil's "Beds Are Burning" and that seemed suffused with (additional) commentary.   

They did that song that Johnette did with all the members of the Talking Heads and that seemed like part of the grieving proccess.

  

During the encore, Johnette rendered an accapella version of Tomorrow Wendy and that seemed like a eulogy.  

Bottomline, they are a band with a wide humanistic streak that explores the darker corners of our nature anyway but on a night like last night the music just suffused the room with a powerful mixture of pathos and anger.  

It would have been a cathartic performance on par with the time I saw PJ Harvey just two days after 9/11 if not for the fact that they also played "Ghost of a Texas Ladies Man".  

New Junk Drawer

We are nearing the end of the first year of this blog.  Time to change up the junk in the drawer...

This drawer belongs to my new friend Hank who is a singularly amazing artist and historian. 

For me, 2013 will largely be defined by this man and his unique art. 

Photo credit goes to another new friend, Jeff - who is a super talented photographer as well as a cool dude.

****

 

It turns out I did not roust anyone out for the Tight Phantomz show.  Instead I went over to G$'s Chicago address for the last time to listen to records. 

 

For me, 2013 will also be largely defined by adjusting to this out of state move by my good friend.  Music is such a big part of our daily conversation that I will probably use this space on the internet to help facilitate that.

 

I am gonna be alright; I am someone that can make friends easily. 

 

Still, G has been there for me 24/7.  He is my champion, my confidante, my go-to guy for practically any need.  And I am honored to be that same person for him.   I lament that we won't be in close proximity but I am excited to do what I can to support the next chapter in his life.

 

So - a toast to friends, old AND new!  May the bonds that hold us together grow ever stronger.

 

That is all.  

A Reminder...

So it sounds weird to admit this but I just spent a over month listening to a single cassette in my car.   Over and over, over and over.   

What is weirder is that the tape was Substance - Joy Division's singles collection.  

I don't have anything specific that I need to get across about that tense body of music at the moment, I am just glad to finally be out from under its spell.  

The tape that broke the brown study was a mix that was made for me by G$ back in 1994.  I was living in Iowa City at the time, and G titled one side of the mix - "A Reminder" 

A reminder of what exactly?  Well, since many* of the acts got their start in Chicago, my guess is the motif was to remind me to get my ass back to Chicago at my first opportunity.  

*I can't confirm 100% of the acts - G$ didn't go to a catholic grade school like I did so his penmanship and spelling suffers. 

1) The Stalker - Urge Overkill
2) Out of the Fun (?) - Titanic Love Affair (or maybe Titanic Hoe Affair?)
3) Reap What You Sew (sp) - Otis Rush
4) Walking the Dog - Luther Johnson
5) Crack - Big Black 
6) Vanilla Blue - Naked Raygun
7) Emmeline - Urge Overkill
8) Obscured - Smashing Pumpkins
9) Hello Kitty Kat - Smashing Pumpkins
10) Because - Mere Mortals (?)
11) Kids These Days - Phantom Helmsmen

******

Today, G$ is preparing to move his life to Indianapolis.   Much like Iowa City, it is not that far from Chicago BUT I would like to make him "A Reminder" mix -updated for 2012 - as musical encouragement to visit often.  

So what current Chicago acts would you put on such a mix?

I know one band I would be most excited to share is one that G$ has already prematurely dismissed as being too self indulgent.  He listened to some 30 second snippets on iTunes and came to that snap decision. 

This is not unusual for my friend; he sometimes arbitrates his musical taste like he is a judge on The Gong Show.  You better Wow him before they have to pause for station identification - G$ is a busy man and we have a lotta vinyl to get through before midnight!

But Tight Phantomz worked on this double album for SEVEN YEARS and to my ears it sounds like a cross between Urge Overkill and Modest Mouse.   Lots of beautiful loser swagger as they cross the street from the liquor store back to the home studio for another all night session.  These dudes love the 70s cock rock (and maybe secretively some pockets of 80s hair metal) like I do - unabashedly and with a sense of humor.  

Now granted, 36 songs is a lot to make your way through.  Still, I tried to digest it as an album and I am glad that I did.  

But if you want to know some of my favorite songs I would have to say the following are good representations of the band working their best mojo - give them more than 30 second snippets and their charms will be revealed:

Part One (aka Sides 1 & 2)

Black Seas at the Crib

Seek Thunder 

Kiss Your Way Inside

Waiting For

There Goes My Protege

Kid Crimes 

You're The Diamond

Part Two (aka Sides 3 & 4)

She Talks to Fire

Sickening

Silk Prison

Bondo Cred

Nobody Is Inside

Accidental Girl

Someone Believes In Me Somewhere

And HEY! While writing this post I went hunting for the band's website and discovered they are playing TONIGHT at the Empty Bottle.  

That is too great of a coincidence - this band is notorious for only playing on average twice a year and they played the Bottle on Black Wednesday less than a month ago.   

SO, my loyal readers (all four of you) will be getting a call to see if I can rouse you  for a night of merrymaking before G$ leaves us for Indianapolis. I can guarantee it will be more memorable than a night with the Phantom Helmsmen. 

Heed My Warning!

Learn from my bad judgement - back up your iTunes library, dude. 

A couple of weeks ago my hard drive crashed.   Although I am now up and running again, I am looking at rebuilding a library that was many years in the making. 

Regardless, I had to make a mix for my good buddy Mitchell.  I actually owe him at least three but that is another story. I was meeting him for lunch this week and I was not going in empty handed - dead computer or not. 

In a way, it was kind of liberating to go back to the actual CDs (most still packed in boxes!)  in my physical collection.  The composition of this mix was closer to a feverish mixtape making session than anything I have attempted in a long time. 

Here is what I came up with:


1) Huge Bats - Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas snippet
2) Voyeur's Blues - Fifty Tons of Black Terror
3) Muff Control Unit - Evil Beaver
4) Didn't I Know You Once - Surgery
5) The Drug Cache - Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas snippet
6) Move Over I'll Drive - The Family Cat
7) When I Get Back - Handsome Furs
8) Under The God - Tin Machine
9) The Guillotine - The Coup
10) In This City - Enon
11) Lost Parts Stinging Me So Cold - Melt Banana
12) Biting My Nails - Renegade Soundwave
13) Christiansands - Tricky
14) Bein' Alive is like Vandalizin' - We Ragazzi
15) Another Ride - The Sexy Girls
16) ABC - Coco Solid
17) Dirt - Neneh Cherry & The Thing
18) Blame You - Edith Frost 

When making a mix for Mitchell, I often try to make sure it is grimy, uncouth and sleazy.  I want to make sure he can't pop it in the player when he is driving his wife and kids around.   MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! 

Because I mostly only buy vinyl these days I wasn't able to put many 2012 releases on it.  In fact, there are only two and that was in part because they included a cd copy of the record rather than a download card.  They both come with my highest recommendations though...

The Coup - Guillotine, from their new release, "Sorry To Bother You".  Saw these guys a couple weeks ago at Mayne Stage where they TORE. IT. UP.  Boots Riley was fond of saying "Hello, Chicago!  We're The Coup!  We're from OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA!  And we came for the CLASS WAR!" before playing another blast of funk rock agitprop. 

Neneh Cherry & The Thing - Dirt (Stooges Cover) from their 2012 release "The Cherry Thing".   This will definitely be the most inspired collaboration from two very diverse artist to make my end of the year list.  I doubt they will ever come to the States to play so I make do with videos of live clips on Youtube like this one. 

******

After all that noisy nastiness I decided to give Mitchell a bit of a palate cleanser and ended with a stark and pensive tune.  Edith Frost's Blame You is as haunting and plaintive today as when she first released it in 1996.  There is no good explanation as to why Edith's work is not more widely known and enjoyed. 

So imagine my surprise to find that someone had uploaded it to Youtube just earlier this year.  I was the 49th person to listen to it and if you haven't heard it I encourage you to check it out!

Nirvana Network

You have likely seen this awesome handwritten note by Kurt Cobain where he lists Nirvana's favorite 50 albums. 

It made me remember this project by photographer Jason Lazarus.  

As he explained in this Chicago Reader article, Lazarus was collecting stories and photos of "the person who turned you on to Nirvana." 

You can go HERE for the collection on his website. 

Here is an example:

"My uncle used to fly me out to Los Angeles as a kid. He was my early introduction to music, especially the ramones and joy division. he paid me $100 to coat check his parties at 8 years old. I listened to nevermind for the first time with him, straight through at the kitchen table. I lost him to AIDS in 1994."

1994 - The Year Punk Broke.  

Who introduced you to Nirvana?  Who was an early conduit to good music for you?  

Seems like a good a time as any to say thanks! 

DAVE: A video mix tribute to Bowie

I love the zeal and passion that the Radio Soulwax guys put into every project but this has got to be a high water mark for them.  

The video spans Bowie's entire career and is mixed expertly.  

I can't figure out how to embed a video hosted on Vimeo but you can see the hour long feature by going HERE. 

Bowie is mostly played by a model named Hannelore Knuts.  

What are your Top 5 Bowie Songs?

At the moment I am going to go with:

5. Panic In Detroit

4. Cracked Actor

3. Hang On To Yourself

2. Let's Dance

1. Ashes To Ashes

L A N D

I was telling my buddy G$ the other day that while I may not own many albums released by the Important Records label, I am always very glad that they continue to be so prolific. 

Here is one example why:

The band is called L A N D and the reference points include guitar work reminiscent of Tom Verlaine, sinister noir-ish horns, & deep bass.  

The write-up mentions the post modern detective stories of Paul Auster, the grey photography of Gerhard Richter, and the isolation vibe of Taxi Driver as all serving as inspiration and I can totally see it. 

To me, I can picture this music as being a soundtrack to Dexter's Dark Passenger. 

The vinyl sleeve is black on black letterpressed and limited to just 500 copies.  Important knows how to make a release feel special. 

Here is another cut - the only one with vocals - featuring David Sylvian. 

Strangely sad...

..to hear of the imminent demise of Hostess snacks.  

Ironically, I found out because a news report of the "Death of The Twinkie" was playing on a television at the A & J Mart while I was purchasing my snack foods for the night.

These foods might not have been the healthiest but they are bonded to so many childhoods including mine.  

It made me wonder if there was a one stop shop on the internet where I could find ALL the Hostess comic book ads...I now wonder why I even doubted such a thing existed. 

Relief from Election tension...

I saw Future of The Left at the Bottom Lounge last night with Dem and while I don't have any in-depth analysis I think I should say that THEY KILLED IT. 

I can completely see why they are Dem's favorite band.  Frenetic and witty - they completely energized the Monday night crowd and on this tour they are the opening band! 

We were even treated to two McKlusky songs!  Before going into "Lightsaber Cocksucker Blues," Falko introduced the band as Coldplay and said this next song is called "Yellow."  The Welsh have a great sense of humor.

 

Also after last night I am totally crushing on the band's newish bassist - Julia Ruzicka.  She could really hold down the groove.

 

When I looked her up on Twitter I learned that Dave Grohl will be playing on the new QOTSA record which gives me some hope.

 

 



CRUSH

Haven't thought about this cut in probably about fifteen years but today the shoebox full of cassettes lying on my passenger side brought it back something fierce.  

"Crush" by The Oblivious.  Saw them open for Concrete Blonde once and they were tight. 

This song will stick in your head for sure!  

I am also WAY into this look you got going on, Ms. Vincent.   

Strangely this was on a tape was marked HEAVY METAL on one side and the other was originally That Petrol Emotion.  It was clearly a tape over; it also had Sonic Youth, Monster Magnet, Giant Sand and early Luscious Jackson.  

Questions: 

• Was there an intended recipient for this mix or was it just me spending an evening with my music?  
• Why did I feel the urgency to tape over a mix of HEAVY METAL and what was on it? 

I have to admit, I was kind of looking forward to hearing That Petrol Emotion when I popped it in the deck.  They are a Junk Drawer band for sure. 

The Days and Nights of Gary & Flipper

As promised here is my first report from the archealogical dig that is my collection of cassettes. 

This mix tape was made for me by my good buddy CJB and its re-discovery could not be better timed since I am going to see the Afghan Whigs perform at Metro this Friday night. 

There are actually five Whigs tracks on the mix even though only four are listed.  The untitled track that ends Congregation comes directly after "Kiss The Floor" at the end of Side A.  

So I am going to say with five tracks off of that landmark Whigs album that it is likely that this mix tape was compiled sometime late 1992 or early 1993; this tape would have been a "correspondence tape" between two friends.  A way to close the miles apart and share what the current soundtrack to your days sounded like. 

This is a really solid, rocking tape and it holds up very well. The only tracks that feel off to me are the Big Star contributions which are a little too sparse and fragile in comparison to the more muscular sounds of their surroundings.

I like the limited palette of this mix which is surprising because often I consider that a faux pas or at least laziness.

Six of the 14 bands get two cuts or more with the Afghan Whigs being the clear winner.  (Gary?  Flipper?)

CJB did an undergrad stint at downstate University of Illinois.  This is significant because the three tracks attributed to H. are by a band called Honcho Overload that was pretty decent and deserved to make it beyond the local scene but didn't.  I am glad to have some audio record of them. 

 

I also really dig the having such a great example of CJB's precise handwriting.  While there isn't much to say in the way of cover art, you can tell he took his time to transmit the important information with care.  

The inside of the J-card has this quizzical thing on it:

This has to be an inside joke that has been obliterated from my memory bank. 

All in all, "The Days and Nights of Gary & Flipper" is a great mix that is evocative of the Grunge Boom (& its forebears) despite having just one band from Seattle present and accounted for. 

Nice one CJB!

You think you are busy?

This post is partly to remind me that I can't use "being busy" as an excuse for a lack of posts.  Committed people find the time.  

I would like to introduce you to two of the hardest working gentlemen in the music blog-o-sphere.   

I have known about this guy - Anthony Fantano -- for while.  His site is called The Needle Drop and Anthony has given himself the title, "the internet's busiest music nerd".  

Anthony is certainly prolific and if you visit his site you are certain to learn about some cool new music.   I like him, although he would be well served by an editor to tame the length of his reviews. 

Here is a representative video - a review of "Visions" by Grimes:

In stark contrast to Anthony's unassuming delivery comes The Daily Guru's impassioned hyperbole.  

I just discovered this guy a week or so ago and he has nothing on The Needle Drop in terms of viewership at the moment BUT you gotta hand it to him for his commitment to post a video every single day.  

This guy just is so damn emphatic about every point he tries to get across.  

I like him as well - it is clear that he just wants to share his boundless enthusiasm for music.  In the post below I learned about a late period Aerosmith b-side that has some of that long, long, LONG lost pep.  

Neither one of these guys is just an adulant fanboy either which is important.  Just a week earlier the Daily Guru addressed Aerosmith as a "has been" act that was savaging its own legacy.  

While this is by no means a news flash; the way he lays it out is entertaining thanks chiefly to his intensity.  He wouldn't be talking about it if he didn't care. 

Another reason to tune into both these dudes is to check out their t-shirt collection. 

So, if you had to invite JUST ONE of these music obsessives over for a listening party which one would you choose and why?

Happy Birthday PJ!

My friend Wendi got dressed up today for David Lee Roth's birthday; big hair, bright red lipstick, off the shoulder top and leopard print pants.  

Clearly, she doesn't mess around when it comes to celebrity birthdays. 

It made me realize that I overlooked PJ Harvey's birthday yesterday.  

I could spend days watching PJ videos on Youtube. If you have a personal favorite, PLEASE feel free to share.  

This one is pretty good - HAPPY BIRTHDAY PJ!

Cassettes are back!

For a limited time anyway.  My iPod isn't working properly so if I want to listen to anything other than radio (gawd) in my '97 Honda Civic - I had to bust out this antiquated format. 

I am trying to get into it as an early development roadmap of my personal musical aesthetic. 

Also, a couple of years ago I inherited like 600 tapes from my good buddy SD.  As the name of this blog suggests, I am a bit of a pack rat collector and definitely a bargain bin scavenger. 

I am going to chart what I find on this blog.

Sleeveface

Last week a friend reminded me through a Facebook post about a simple thing on my "bucket list" that I really should get to work on.

I want to submit a cool original photo to Sleeveface.

If you are unfamiliar with the zen brilliance that is Sleeveface, take a look at some recent submissions on their site:

Chip off the old block

I am very sensitive to music.  

Even when it is in the background of a crowded, noisy space it hits my nervous system.  I can NOT "tune it out" once I have identified it.  

This has led to some unusual situations in the past.  My pleasant vibe can be ruined just because someone chose to play Lionel Richie at the wrong bar or Jodi Watley at the wrong coffeehouse.  Things can get confrontational at the drop of a hat.  

This afternoon I was with my five year old son at a very crowded tap/grill room.  We were with family - a table of six children and five adults.  Most other tables were occupied by families with young kids as well. 

The place was loud - not obnoxious Chuck E. Cheese level loud - but loud enough that I was surprised when my son came up to me and said, "We know this song, daddy."

Until that moment I had not realized that any music had been playing.  I strained an ear - I still could not pick out a discernible tune.  I was about to tell him I couldn't hear any music when a snatch of it came through.

He was right - it was this track.  I put it on a mix cd for the car last year.

When I told my sweetheart about our kid's expert song identification above the restaurant din, she beamed: "Like Father, Like Son."

  

Firewater - October 5 - Lincoln Hall

This kind of crept up on me but I think I have to go see this.  Who is with me?

Friday, Oct. 5 at Lincoln Hall.  Gypsy punk rock.  

For proof positive of their genius I humbly submit the lyrics to Bourbon & Division. 

On the corner of Bourbon & Division
Crawling down the crooked streets at dawn
She said: don't come back, all is not forgiven
So you fall inside a bottle and a song
Splinters of thought dropping slowly
Snapping like branches in the wind
So you light a dog-end smoke
And you're laughing as you choke
And you give the wheel of fortune one more spin

Do you remember what you came here for?
Her words of wisdom scratched into the door
You can almost taste the emptiness
Hung inside her tallow dress
Can the darkness be as empty as it seems
When the factories of night hum with their dreams?
And you watch a skinny dog cut across that dusty lot
Like the surface of the moon

In the decompression chamber
Cooling in the conversation pit
Sleeping underneath yesterday's papers
And pretending the tsunami hasn't hit
Friday was the crucifixion
Saturday cremation under glass
The Resurrection was on Sunday
No, correction, make it Monday
'Cause Monday's when they come to take the trash

Hanging on the telephone...

This post is about THE CALL.  Whether or not you even get the call AND just as important, how you answer it. 

I am speaking, of course, of the call to Rock. 

This past Tuesday I texted my buddies Trocc, SD and Barsk at 5 pm. Quittin' Time.   See, SUN ARAW was playing at the Empty Bottle that very same night. I had a bit of a wild hair and I wondered if there were any takers.  

I dig what I have heard of Sun Araw but I have kept him somewhat at arm's length because of his prodigious recorded output which can sometimes be anathema to a collector like myself with a strong completist streak.  My wallet can only  withstand so many bands like White Hills at one time. 

The replies were swift and regretful.  No takers for the spontaneous rock out. 

I felt that weird mixture of "aw shucks" and relief.  I wouldn't be attending a concert tonight so my wild hair (in)groaned.  But my future Weds. morning self was just as expressive with gratitude.   

Much later that night, I was watching The Walking Dead with my sweetheart.    I get a call from my friend, Mr. Kite.  

It is 11:50 pm.  A pivotal scene is playing out and a herd of zombies are traipsing towards the farm.  There is no way I am gonna pause the program to answer what could be a butt dial.  A minute later my phone signals that a message has been left. 

12:30 pm.  I am have just climbed into bed.  I decide to listen to Mr. Kite's message before turning in.

It was a spontaneous call to rock out.  That night.  Starting at 2:30 am at the House of Blues - Prince was getting a do-over for his botched aftershow performance the night before.  Rahm Emmanuel had even given permission to the club to break curfew if necessary.  

Now, Mr. Kite is practically the Mayor of the House of Blues.  You roll in with him and You. Are. Set. Up.   Admission, Seating, Drinks - it all just happens without you ever having to dip into your wallet (except to tip your servers, of course).  

The offer is tempting.  It is just so crazy that I wonder what it kind of show it might be.  Mr. Kite lays out the rationale quickly in his voicemail; You see,  the newspaper reviews of his Monday night show at the United Center were none too kind.  Prince has something to prove tonight (which was actually technically going to be very early in the morning). 

But I am in my pajamas.  Teeth have been brushed.  The choice was set before I even knew that there was a decision to be made.  

It was truly an honor just to get the call.  That has got to be a rarefied list of people that you will call at midnight to say "Hey! Do you wanna come on into the city and rock until DAWN?"   

Help Me Jack Pepsi!

So for the past week I have been driving around with a HUGE bottle of Jack Daniels on the floor of my passenger side.  I meant to return it to my brother but forgot (along with a half a box of Fruity Pebbles).  

Today, I fished Tad's "8-Way Santa" out of the shoebox of cassettes sitting on the passenger seat (another story).  On the way home from work I played "Jack Pepsi." 

This is a song that sticks with you.  Both because of the vivid imagery and Tad Doyle's plaintive blood curdling howl.

I used to scream "Help Me, Jack Pepsi!  Help Me, Jack Pepsi!" back in college whenever me and the crew were about to embark on some risky behavior.  It seemed as good a prayer as any. 

I remember that the booklet for the album had a comic strip by Peter Bagge.  It was my introduction to his art. 

  

The song is pretty grim to be sure, but you gotta remember that it is being told in the past tense so somehow the narrator (and hopefully his buddy Jack Helton from Nampa, Idaho) survived right?  

How did they pull through? We are not told.  But it had to have been nothing short of miraculous.  

I did some research on the Patron Saint of Drunks and there are at least seven possibilities.  So again, pleading to Jack Pepsi makes about as much sense as anything.   

My buddy RW

Up to this point, I have neglected the most essential fodder for an active blog; plugging your friend's creative work. 

RW and I go way back.  He has a pretty cool serialized fiction online called Swift Arrow that you should follow.  It is a hardboiled take on superheros that is TOUGH.   

But RW is all about crossing things off his bucket list and another thing he is trying out at this very moment is making a gig poster.  

Since I am a casual collector of gig posters he asked for my opinion on this work in progress.  I think Jack Kirby would be flattered. 

RW can't afford to silkscreen it but I do hope that he finds a way to inject the necessary color in it to make it POP.  

I knew nothing about the Frode Gjerstad Trio but if I lived in Cleveland this poster would get me to the show.  Nice work!

Mix for my Bro

Hey there!  

Yeah, I know - you thought I had given up.  Well, for a while I had but now I am back.  Hopefully for good. 

One thing that has been occupying a lot of my time lately is making a gazillion mix cds for folks that contributed to my 5K run back in April.  

So far I have only delivered three.  I need to step it up! 

This is the playlist for my brother's mix that I just delivered to him this past weekend.  He called me tonight and gave it a pretty good rating.  However his friend Joel Frieders made off with it, saying "Good luck getting this back!"  

That is how you know you have made a good impression on Joel, he steals it outright. 

So, I leave it to you to tell me if this was worthy of theft.  I was pretty proud of the flow...

"DON'T GO DOWN THERE, SNAKE!"


1) "Don't Go Down There!" - Ernest Borgnine as "Cabbie" in Escape from NY
2) 4h30 - Danger
3) Let Your Love Grow Moderate (Featuring Paul St.Hilaire) - Modeselektor
4) Kowboyz And Indians - Gonjasufi
5) Wanna Know - Obie Trice
6) Goin' In - Birdy Nam Nam
7) Body Heat (Original Recording) - Plus Device
8) Help Me - Guillamino, Coco Solid & Violet
9) The Duke Arrives / The Barricade - John Carpenter
10) See What It's About - Eliot Lipp
11) Hyph Mngo - Joy Orbison
12) Monoliths - Maserati
13) Contrails (feat. Tegan Quin) - Astronautalis
14) Keep Me There - Nicolas Jaar
15) Sunday Bloody Sunday - Saul Williams
16) Bumper (Live on Pitchfork City Of Music) - P.O.S

This mix was fun to make because my brother and I don't get many opportunities to discuss music so I wasn't too hung up on whether a track was  "current" or not.  

Credits:
Thanks to Mike Mitchell for introducing me to the Obie Trice track.  He put it on his best of 2007 mix that got me through some long work nights the following year.  

You can follow his exploits on Twitter - @spargomitchell

Party Rock Anthem on beer bottles

So, a year ago my young son went to a birthday party and he came back with a mix cd in his goodie bag.  "Robert's Favorite Songs" was the title.  


Only two songs from that mix endure to this day, but they are embedded.  In my household, they are the current epitome of rocking out.  


Until writing this post I never even bothered to learn the title of the first one.  I always figured it was part of that Crazy Frog phenomena and the less I knew the better.  It turns out it called Cotton Eye Joe.  I am not going to subject you to that one. 


But the other one has found its permanent place in the pop culture firmament because it is just too. damn. catchy.  It is impossible to resist so I have stopped trying.  I turn it up in the car even if my kids are not with me. 


Here is a version on beer bottles.  You're welcome.

Video Roundup - Furious Females Edition

So yesterday my mind wandered to this old Courtney Love video and then later that night I stumbled across it on television.  


How weird is that?  I mean, it is over eight years old.  Still, it is a pretty cool video...

Then tonight I had the television on in the background and suddenly I have to stop what I am doing and turn up the volume because this band was just tearing it up with style on Jimmy Kimmel Live of all places.   Jumping off their amps, swinging around with reckless abandon.  It was pretty cool.  Not sure anything beyond this one performance yet but I am gonna check them out.

I am dealing with such a backlog of great music lately.  I have only just begun to digest the latest from Santigold but it is looking to be a very solid release.  This song is killer - it reminds me of the best, tough 80s pop like Kim Wilde's Kids In America.  

Lastly I want to share a Le Butcherettes track if only because I am bummed that I didn't get a chance to see them last weekend because I had a benefit concert to run.  Next time, for sure.