Current location:	In The Kitchen
Current mood:	contemplative
Current music:	Beck - Lost Cause

Music Monday

From September 30, 2004, reposting Blogizdat's first Music-Only entry.

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Music-Only Post

I'm taking a quick break from the politics, although you gotta know I'll be back with some post-debate blogging before the weekend is here, maybe even yet tonight.

Every few months I put together a compilation of tunes from old CD's and recent iTunes Store downloads. I just made such a CD yesterday, and I might just give it to a friend or two. Here's the list of what's on it:



01 - The Ramones - I Just Want To Have Something To Do

This was one of the first Ramones tunes that really got my attention back in the late 70's. Their first couple of albums were not well-recorded, but by their third and fourth albums, the band was coming into its own. This is just a wild and wonderful slab of rock and roll.

02 - Nirvana - Heart Shaped Box

Kurt Cobain insisted on making his second national Big Label release a little more raw than 'Nevermind.' 'In Utero' didn't have the polish of its predecessor, but it had several gems on it, among them 'Heart Shaped Box,' didn't so much tell a story as string together images that are at once beautiful and disturbing

03 - Jimmy Eat World - Sweetness

I tend to make the mistake of thinking of this album as Jimmy's first. It isn't, but with it the lads were able to master the fine art of writing and recording great pop-rock tunes. Coupled with a strange but compelling video, this was one of several hits from the album.

04 - Lifehouse - Hanging By A Moment

With its clear-cut religious lyrics, 'Hanging By A Moment' is one of the great simple modern rock tunes of the past decade. There's no fat here, just bone and muscle, with amazing production and hooks.

05 - Blink 182 - I Miss You

Alot of people wrote these guys off as nothing more than streakers and class clowns after their first national release, which sold bejillions of copies, but they were always a bit more than their critics would admit. With its syncopated drums and cello backing, this ode to pain and obsession rings true, for my money.

06 - Dido - Don't Think Of Me

Most of us have been rejected at one point, and can identify with the emotions unfurled here. It's never fun being replaced in someone else's life, and sometimes there's nothing better one can do than to write a song about it.

07 - Beck - Lost Cause

Beck has always struck me as a man without focus, massively talented, but lacking in musical self-control. On 'Sea Change,' however, he took the heartbreak of the ending of a relationship and channeled it into great art. This is sad, weary and lovely. I wish I'd written it.

08 - Calexico - Stevie Nicks

A strange tale of a man bent on destruction, with one of the strangest lyrics of all time: 'with a head like a vulture, and a heart full of hornets,' and then he drives off the cliff. Not Even Stevie Nicks Can Save Him. Get it? Neither do I.

09 - Nick Drake - Road

'Road' is here because no compilation put together by yours truly is truly complete without a song by Nick Drake. This one is off of 'Pink Moon,' one of the best albums of the past 50 years. If you don't own it, shame on you.

10 - Nelly Furtado - Turn Out The Lights

Ms. Furtado makes records with alot of poise and verve for someone so young, but sometimes her precociousness wears on my nerves after a while. Still, this a great song and infectious as hades, a self-confident and trippy song for summer.

11 - Jennifer Paige - These Days

Model-gorgeous, Jennifer delivers a performance here that's as pretty as she is, brimming with optimism and assuredness. It's a bright spot on an otherwise lackluster album, and if Ms. Paige doesn't record anything else of consequence, she can be proud of this tune.

12 - Pink - Get The Party Started

Yeah, Pink is self-indulgent and full of herself, but she's also a great talent. Now, if she could only be convinced to shut up about how hard her childhood was. Would it kill her to put a cork in it? Enough, already. But this is still a great song.

13 - Britney Spears - Toxic

I know Dissing Britney has become a cottage industry, but she's a great entertainer, and this is a splendid example of why her talent has earned her over one hundred million dollars.

14 - Justin Timberlake - Rock Your Body

When Justin went solo, he was surprisingly well-accepted by the critics, and proclaimed a star. And what's more, on this compilation, he gets to be side-by-side with Britney, one last time.

15 - No Doubt - Ex-Girlfriend

She fell in love, knowing she'd have to give him up some day. I think pretty much everyone has been in a relationship like that, which is why this song resonates with most people. And it resonated with me.

16 - Mandy Moore - In My Pocket

Mandy Moore has a great voice, but has always suffered from poor song choices. Last year's 'Coverage' was no exception. Even though it didn't sell that well, her previous self-titled album actually had some great stuff on it; one of the best tracks was this song. The lyric is a little vacuous, but the North African rhythms make it shine, all the same.

17 - Radiohead - Idioteque

The meaning of this song, like that of most Radiohead songs, is hotly debated on discussion boards on the net. I'm not exactly sure what it's about, but it's obviously a song of paranoia and fear, like so many other Radiohead songs of paranoia and fear. But it's a great song of paranoia and fear.

18 - Four Tet - No More Mosquitoes

Utterly bizarre, just one line, repeated over and over: 'Oh no, no, no more mosquitoes,' yet somehow mesmering and intriguing, all the same.

19 - Randy Newman - Political Science

Randy recently re-recorded this without orchestration, just his voice and his piano, 30 years after the original, and it still sounds fresh. I'm sure Randy meant it as satire, but I wouldn't say it has to be.

20 - House Of Love - Girl With The Loneliest Eyes

Another gem from one of the most criminally-underrated bands in rock. Sad and lovely, with Chadwick's perfect delivery. The quartet was down to a trio when this was recorded, and it doesn't even show.

21 - Oasis - Gas Panic!

An apocalyptic-themed movie projected over a 6-minute pop song. Loosely based on the musical themes in 'Wonderwall,' this is an epic tune, a shining example of why Oasis should never be counted out of contention.
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