you're my jellybean

blur - trimm trabb

I've got to tell you about this fantastic band named Blur. I was digging through the blur folder in my music and it's really impossible to pick one blur song to post because blur are just a great and happy and joyous and wonderful and sad and amazing group. And anything I could say about blur couldn't do justice to how I really feel about how their music, especially their last three albums.

Anyway, I picked Trimm Trabb because I hadn't heard it in a while. I have a live version that I like alot, but I didn't post the live version because generally I don't like live versions of anything and I suspect that I'm not the only person that feels this way. I really have no way of confirming my suspicions.

The studio version of Trimm Trabb is great because it's muffled and muddy until the guitar comes crashing through and...

* * * * *

If I accomplish anything with these entries, it certainly isn't good writing. It's almost unbearable for me to go back and read them because they're so poorly done. But what I really want to convey is my enthusiasm for the music. So I hope that comes through.

Yesterday I was thinking about how the time I put in reading about music can serve as a hinderance as much as a gateway into new music. For example, I put off listening to Sufjan Stevens for months based on the things I had read about his background. But then when I finally did listen, I was more that surprised that I liked his music quite a bit.

Anyway, from that I thought that maybe I should make a music blog where I take all the tags and labels out of the songs, and just post them under a generic file name, so that the listener has no context at all (apart from the fact that I posted it).

Then of course the next day (or maybe a week later) I could post the pertinent information in case someone wants to follow up. It seems like a good idea to me, but I sort of wonder what kind of audience would be attracted to such a thing.

So I don't know... anyone have any thoughts on this? Anyone reading this other than two people I went to high school with?

And why hasn't this blog had any visits from Africa?

i cheated

Song length issue is fixed. I think.

blood brothers - live at the apocalype cabaret

I should have posted a Blind Melon song today, but I don't really feel like sharing Blind Melon songs. So...

BLOOD BROTHERS!

I can't help but absolutely love this band. I love how the songs sound so poppy and agreeable EXCEPT that neither of the guys can really sing and there's alot of screaming... but it's so damn catchy anyway. I swear these guys be the secret songwriters for No Doubt.

And if you don't like the band, that's understandable. But they're one of the few groups on ipod shuffle I never skip. And I find that funny for some reason.

If no one leave a comment I think I'm gonna kill the blog at 100 (as originally planned) and start a new blog about dolphins and tupperware.

SPECIAL EDITION

the joggers - neon undercarriage

Here's a song that somehow got a five star rating on my ipod. This means one of two things: I either thought it sounded fantastic on the way to work one morning or I accidently rated it five stars because I was trying turn it down.

So I don't know if I like it or not. Sounds pretty good as of right now. But five stars? That's for you to decide.

Oh this is special edition because it doesn't fit into the alphabetical scheme I've got going.

i don't wanna

bjork - pluto

Bjork used to be something really great, but now she's just sorts BLAH-ORK. Did you like that one? I came up with it myself.

This track is from Homogenic, and album that happened quite some time ago. I'm all about specifics today. It's a pretty aggresive little Bjork ditty.

My writing is so good I should write books.

Link for today (also added on the sidebar) is for sleephouse, a podcast sort of thing. I don't understand podcasts, to be honest. I'd rather just skip right to the songs. But I did listen to half of sleephouse #3 yesterday, and it was pretty good, except I don't like Caribou because it reminds me of hippies.

Fuckin' hippies.

* * * * *

Here's another link, bloghorsey visitors on a world map. I hope it works... I don't think you need to be logged in or anything.

It's pretty... well, I'd say it's pretty fucking fantastic. But perhaps that's just because I like the world. All I ask is that Africa get on board. And Antarctica.

I just learned that I've been spelling Antarctica wrong all this time. I just thought "artic temperatures" but apparently that was wrong as well. Though "Artic" is a word. ARCTIC.

who can guess

billy bragg and wilco - ingrid bergman

I suppose this track could be filed under and number of artists; Woody Guthrie wrote the lyrics, Billy Bragg is singing, and Wilco may have helped write the music. But I'm filing it under Billy Bragg because that's how it's listed on the album cover.

Of all the tracks from the Billy Bragg/Wilco project, I like maybe two that Billy Bragg gets his big ol' English voice all over. This is one of them.

Today's link is about photoshop and has nothing to do with anything.

successfully

basement jaxx - hot and cold

I like the cowbell (on second listen, that's not a cowbell. It sounds like an empty bottle) in this song. I also like how it sort of stutters.

LINK WILL EAT ITSELF.

baa

art brut - modern art

I like this song because it reminds me of that sort of feeling I sometimes get listening to music where I feel so happy and excited by it that maybe I could explode.

It's times like this a person ends up playing air guitar. I dance in my truck alot. I like to freak out the squares.

I hope you dig it.

fight fight fight

american music club - all your jeans were too tight

The track I've put up today is from the No Alternative record that frequented many a used record bin in the late 90's. It was a compilation to raise money for something, I think. Or maybe it was just an excuse for Soul Asylum to cover "Sexual Healing". In any case, this song IS NOT sexual healing.

There's a small bit of something like irony in this track title, because for some reason when my waist size went down, all my jeans got too short. Now I'm left with a bunch of too short pants. Short isn't tight. Whatever.

I don't have a link today.

P-E-O-P-L-E-C-I-T-Y

air - people in the city

Today's track is from Air's third album, which was received with less than stellar reviews, but I happen to like. I caught them live in Chicago on the tour for this album, and nearly fell asleep at the wheel driving back to Indianapolis after the show.

Sebastian Tellier opened with Pamelia Kirstin (or Pamela Kirsten, perhaps) on Theremin. Air have good lights. Theremin is a fantastic instrument. Pamelia Kirstin appeared to be quite attractive when dimly lit.

Someone at work keeps sending me emails that don't make any sense.

Today's link is dirtyradio, pushed by the fine folks who brought you Underworld (the musical group, not the book).

SPECIAL EDITION

sufjan stevens - concerning the UFO sighting near highland, illinois



Sufjan Stevens, "a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist" (allmusic.com), is steadily growing in popularity amongst those in and out of the know. What I'm trying to say here is that they're playing his music at Starbucks.

In any case, Sufjan had decided to write an album for every state in the union. It started with "Michigan", and album I've never heard. I've got to admit that the thought of a guy just turning out 50 albums turned me off to him immediately.

The latest installment (or perhaps I should say the second installment) of this project is "Illinois". For some reason I decided to check out Illinois yesterday, and to my surprise, track #1 is titled "Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, IL".

As you may of may not know, I grew up in Trenton Illinois, a small town just nine miles south of Highland. I know all about this UFO business, because if you're from a town like Trenton, you pay attention when the next town over has a bunch of very detailed websites and a Discovery Channel special devoted to its' UFO sighting. I mean... I've been all those places the UFO was sighted.

The song doesn't mention Trenton, of course, but it does mention Lebanon, which is 7 miles west of Trenton. But Sufjan pronounces it "Leb-ah-non". In Lebanon they pronounce it "Lebenen" or something like that.

Anyway, Sufjan's album is pretty good. Amazon's editors seem to like it, anyway. Pitchfork gave it a 9.2. I give it a thumbs up for giving me a poetic reminder of home.

uh ah uh

aesop rock - labor

Continuing with the theme, here's an artist at letter A.

I prefer "No Regrets" from the album, but I've already posted that. So take this instead, second best but worthy enough.

I like Aesop Rock because he sounds like some sort of super-wise poetry robot. He should have a long beard and a mechanical arm. And maybe another arm that's a tree branch. A mechanical-poetry-plant-robot. Dashes are important.

Have a link.

ALPHABETICAL

!!! - pardon my freedom (extended)

I'm just going to go through my mp3 directories alphabetically, starting at "!!!", and pick out songs.

The track today may be mislabled. I don't have any idea where I got it (though maybe it was the barbara h and fuck buddies blog), and I don't know anything about the band, other than the name !!! is pronounced "chick chick chick". I don't know if this is really an extended mix. I don't know if it's really !!!. I do know that I like it when people sing "like I give a fuck about that motherfuckin' shit" because it sounds like something someone who just learned to cuss would say.

OK. No one should download this. I'm actually daring you.

Here's a link to Round The World By Bike, because it's what I'm reading today.