Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in shotfromthehip's LiveJournal:

[ << Previous 20 ]

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010
5:39 am	Happy Birthday To Me Today is my 35th birthday, and I thank everyone sending birthday wishes to me today. However, it is also World AIDS Day and the beginning of AIDS Awareness Month. So while you're thinking of me, please think about making a donation of any amount to either www.amfar.org or to www.theglobalfund.org, 2 organization that help people with AIDS and fund those that are trying to find a cure for AIDS. Current Mood: awake (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
11:24 pm	David Foster Wallace or William Gibson? I write like David Foster Wallace I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing! I write like William Gibson I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing! Current Mood: mellow (Comment on this)
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
1:30 pm	Stockholm Syndrome I won't stand in your way / Let your hatred grow / And she'll scream and she'll shout and she'll cry  / And she had a name, yes she had a name And I wont hold you back / Let your anger rise / And we'll fly and we'll fall and we'll burn  / No one will recall, no one will recall This is the last time I'll abandon you / And this is  / The last time I'll forget you / I wish I could Look to the stars / Let hope burn in your eyes  / And we'll love and we'll hate and we'll die / All to no avail, all to no avail This is the last time I'll abandon you / And this is  / The last time I'll forget you / I wish I could This is the last time I'll abandon you / And this is  / The last time I'll forget you / I wish I could I wish I could  .- Muse Current Mood: melancholy (Comment on this)
Thursday, April 8th, 2010
10:36 pm	Face To Face With a World So Alive "And while we're on the subject of tobacco, does anyone think Jesse Helms' sign is Cancer?" - Krist Novoselic, 1992 In other news, we watched an episode of No Reservations tonight and they played a cover of the Television song "Marquee Moon" which made me remark the threerings something along the lines of "That's such a great song. That is exactly the Television song I would play for someone who had never heard the band before." I love Television, especially that 1st album, Marquee Moon. It's just a gorgeous palette of sonic colors, mixed together with the perfection of master artists. When I was... younger, the band was getting some lip service in the music press, name-dropped as influential on of by various other bands that came along twenty years later. Looking back, I don't know how much of their influence I really hear in some of those bands these days (with the notable exception of Matthew Sweet, who had both of Television's guitarists, Richard Lloyd & Robert Quine, play on his perfect album Girlfriend), but it did make me check out the CD that the downtown branch of the Houston Public Library had on hand. I remember liking the album at the time, though it wasn't really crunchy enough for me at that stage in my listening development. I don't think I even made a cassette copy of it at the time. I just king of filed it away in the mental rolodex of things to check out again sometime. Fast-forward another decade or so, and someone decides to re-release, re-master and re-adorn Marquee Moon with a snazzy package and some bonus tracks. Cheers go up in my head when I hear about it and I picked up the album for myself finally. It sounds so much better now to these older ears, not so much for the production or mastering, but just because I think I can better appreciate all of the intricacies of the band now. The way those lead guitars spin together around each other, the rolling bass lines taking you on it's own solid track through each song, and the drums that back it all up, staying out of the way of the virtuosos, while shining on their own with chioce parts that make everyone else look even better. And those great cracked vocals. This was the only "punk" (NYC, late 70's style anyway) thing about the band. The guy just can't sing, He's got plenty to say, and a hell of a way with words. He does the best with what he has, but it's obviously the weak link in the chain, and probably one of the major reasons the band didn't make it bigger than they did. But in it's way, those vocals are perfect, too. There needed to be something of a mess in all of this greatness, a fuck up to again shine the light brighter on the greater aspects of the group. And they really were great.  Just a wonderful semi-forgotten rock band that never got what they deserved. Current Mood: pleased (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010
10:20 pm	Lions After Slumber I think I've posted these lyrics before, but I don't really care. This song has spoken to me today, hard. It's one of my very favorite bands, The Veils, covering a song by Scritti Politti, which I've never heard. It's just... great. Truly great. I doubt just reading the lyrics does the song any justice at all, so please go download it somewhere. Please. My diplomacy, my security, my hope, and my ice cream My tomorrow, and my temperature My lips, and my selfishness My cigarette, my uncertainty, my penetration My notebook, and my limit My importance, and my glycerine My customer, my function, my lawlessness, my charm My hunger, my refusal, My tissue, and my vodka My omission, my ability, my telephone, my holler My relaxing, my distress, my bedroom, my cassette My paper, and my charity My rose, and my pallor My guess, and my closet My light, and my time My worry, my perversity, my transgression My death, my curtness, my insulin, my memory My courage, and my crying My pockets, and my mistakes My body, and my sex My grace, and my helplessness My litter, my sugar, my home, and my walk, My records, my smile, and my struggle My reflection, my eyelid, my fragility, my discretion Lions after slumber, An unvanquishable number My demands, my angels, my waiting, my distance My ownership, my formula, my property, my thought, my reason My blessing, and my silence My lust, and my practice My sincerity, my penicillin Oh my window, and my androgyny My mother, my recorder, My pity, and my posing My lying, my carelessness, and my drummer, my drummer, my drummer, my drummer, ow! Oooo Like lions after slumber An unvanquishable number, oh yeah Like lions after slumber An unvanquishable number, oh yeah Like lions after slumber An unvanquishable number, oh yeah Current Mood: crushed (Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
1:26 pm	Not You Again I thought of the Blob today I thought of you I thought of the mess I made again How do I do it? Now when it leaves your hand Just understand That I'm the one it missed Right through a piece I've been keepin' away You really can't resist I thought of the Blob today I thought of you I thought of the mess I made again How do I do it? I got no advice about anything Just fuck it up yourself Is she the kind of girl That's worth getting In such a sticky mess If I say a word just stop me Cause I relly should shut up Guess I'll split now Just forget you met me Forget I brought it up I thought of the Blob today I thought of you I thought of the mess I made again How do I do it? Hey girl, now walk me home No, drive me home Now pick me up again Waiting for things to change I'll rearrange stuff No, not you again If I say a word just stop me Cause I really should shut up Guess I'll split now Just forget you met me Sorry I fucked it all up Again  - Dinosaur Jr Current Mood: despondant (Comment on this)
Friday, March 19th, 2010
1:52 pm	Hotel Yorba I wrote this as a contest entry for a copy of the new White Stripes cd/dvd set "Under Northern Lights." I didn't win the set, but I still won. You know? When my wife and I got married in March of 2002, the White Stripes had just started to make their way into the cultural mainstream. We loved the album White Blood Cells, and still do. When the time came to pick music to be played at our wedding reception, we of course made two mix discs. On one of them we put “Hotel Yorba”, because it was fairly mellow (remember: wedding reception) and we really liked the lyrics “Let’s get married/in a big cathedral by a priest/cause if I’m the man that you love the most/you could say I do at least”. That and the lines about sitting on the porch and not locking the door really spoke to us about where we wanted to be in our life together. At the reception, my wife and I were sitting together when the song came up in the mix, and during the 1, 2, 3, 4 choruses we spontaneously started smacking our hands on our thighs and clapping in time together, singing along and laughing. It was just one of those cool magical moments that made our wedding day really great, and to this day whenever “Hotel Yorba” comes on we do our little dance and look at each other, smile, and think about that day. Current Mood: loved (Comment on this)
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
8:41 pm	Consolation Prizes Let's see what's been playing lately... Got around to listening to the Boris album Dronevil this week. Two discs meant to be played simultaneously (thanks Zaireeka!), disc one being mostly guitar drones (not all that good) and disc two being mostly evil rock riffs (very excellent). Haven't been able to play them together and not trying really hard to do so either. I love Boris though, if for nothing else than their absolute defiance of being pigeonholed. Played through the Fiona Apple catalog one day a few weeks ago. Still love her stuff, and both versions of Extraordinary Machine are gorgeous. Heard a Rachel Yamagata track a few days ago that I could of sworn was Fiona, so I'll have to keep an eye open for that, too. Added to the ever growing mental rolodex. Picked up Bob Dylan's The Times They Are A-Changin' recently (yes, P-mosh, I still have your cassette of that if you want it back). Makes it easier to understand why folks freaked when he plugged in. Today it kind of sounds like a standard issue lo-fi record, but in 1964 that had to have been just earth shattering to hear. Played a lot of Andrew Bird last week. I especially love Armchair Apocrypha and Useless Creatures, the instrumental bonus disc that came with last year's pretty good Noble Beast album. Had a few days of mid-era Cure love, mostly Pornography, The Top, The Head On The Door (love!), and Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me (all Deluxe Editions with bonus discs, of course. Oh Deluxe Editions, how I love you...). Skipped Japanese Whispers and Concert from that era, but have finally started, I think, to feel the love for Faith. Still working on that one though. Sue me.  Muse's Absolution has been in fairly heavy rotation for me at work, though I'm not sure I can fully explain why, beyond that it rocks. By now I'm sure you've all heard of Phoenix and their Grammy winning Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix album (which really did deserve to win), and after you plunk down $5.99 (no really!) at Amazon for it, pick up the precursor to that disc, It's Never Been Like That, which is chock full of even more wonderful poppy guitar melodies. It' so catchy. So, so damn catchy. I think I like it better than Wolfgang... at the moment. Played the self-titled Dresden Dolls album this morning on my dark and rainy drive to work. That was an excellent choice, even if I do kind of hate the song "Coin-Operated Boy". Everything else there is stellar. Really noticed the vocal production on that disc today. There's an interesting hollow room vibe to it that I hadn't heard before. Finally, I just got a chance to load up the new 160 GB iPod last weekend. Oh, blissful drive space. I should be ok now, for a few years at least. It's heavenly, though I'm not totally warmed up to the interface just yet. Still, 160GB, yo. Current Mood: sane, which is awesome (Comment on this)
Thursday, January 7th, 2010
8:22 pm	Beautiful Plateau Long time, no post... The lack of ability to post at work coupled with the lack of time and patience to post from the dial up connection at home and the lack of feedback received here (except from flickgoddess I would add) has lead to an obvious lack of posts. I make no apologies, and offer only lacking excuses. There will be no top 52 for this past year. I haven't posted much and feel it would be lame and probably not garner much response. The following things are good and were generally received as Christmas presents: Baroness - Blue Record My tastes have skewed heavier in recent months. This is an excellent metal album. I've never been much of a fan of the growling vocal style, but it's limited use here is helping me along. Isis - Wavering Radiant Again, more heavy rock. Nice mix of growl with more subdued melodic vocals. Pelican - Australasia This album is just brutally fucking awesome. There are no vocals, and none are needed. A very heavy, crungey, chord-based rock band. Very loud and textured. Songs with movements. Just so very wonderfully powerful. Boris with Michio Kurihara - Rainbow Heavy Japanese noise/drone/psyche/whatever. I think you either love Boris or you hate them. There's not really a lot of take or leave it with them to me. This is the band that really got me started down the road of heavy noise rock that I'm currently exploring. Muse - Absolution Big arena-ready effects rock. Lots and lots of effects. The guy can really sing though, even if the lyrics are a bit... simple. Maybe I/we are just too used to lyrics being purposely obscure to appreciate this. I really like Muse though, and a couple of years ago I would have looked down my nose at them and derided them for being too much of what they are. Now I realize that this band is really a blast to listen to. Muse - The Resistance Their new disc, given it's first listen just today, hasn't really done anything for me. Yet. Sonic Youth - The Destroyed Room: B-sides and Rarities Not for the casual fan or non-fan of Sonic Youth. There's a lot of noise here and it takes some patience to listen to, but I found myself gleefully smiling at various points throughout the album as I was surprised and enthralled by the band's still obvious daring and enjoyment of what they do. The icing on the cake was a 25 minute alternate take of "The Diamond Sea" that I think amazingly tops the original version from the end of the album Washing Machine. It's a more subtle take on a song filled with some of the most un-subtle feedback jams the band has undertaken in well over a decade before or since. Just breathtakingly gorgeous. Nirvana - Bleach: 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Worth every penny, too. The sound is so, so much better than on most previous cd releases, plus there's a nice era-appropriate live show tacked on as a bonus that sounds good and gives a decent glimpse of the band as a live unit at the time, before things got huge, as witnessed on... Nirvana - Live at Reading cd/dvd I actually haven't played the cd of this yet, but the dvd is wonderful. A great band at the height of their power having fun playing a huge show. Well filmed, excellent sound quality, and just a total joy to watch. Jay-Z - The Black Album and American Gangster I've never been as much a fan of rap as I thought I should be, but everything they say about Jay-Z is true. He really is probably the greatest rapper of his generation, and the music is actually good, and not just an afterthought. That's about it I guess. There's some more things I've played but haven't really had a chance to form a proper opinion on yet. Wolfmother, St. Vincent, Beirut, Lost in Translation, Local H... etc, etc. On a more personal note(s), I've been doing very well lately, I think. The Lexapro has really helped me mentally, and my gastroenterologist recently gave me (and proved) to me that I had a clean bill of health, physically. Threerings has begun to enter the realm of the not employed, which hasn't really stressed me out at all, at least not yet. She seems happier, so it's completely worth it as far as I'm concerned.  I've been working a lot of overtime the past month or so, which is tiring, but overall, things are good. I feel generally good about most everything most days. Current Mood: tired (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, December 14th, 2009
10:39 am	Letting The Days Go By And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large shotfromthehip. Which song was this lyric from? Get your own lyrics: Current Mood: lethargic (Comment on this)
Friday, October 9th, 2009
2:49 pm	Sharks I love every Morphine album, but my favorite album differs from time to time. Some months it's The Night, others it's Like Swimming. It could be Cure For Pain, and sometimes it's even Bootleg: Detroit. This month though, it's Yes, far and away, it's Yes. I love the way it has the straight up songs on teh first half, the drifts into the whacked out stuff as it goes on. "Sharks", below, is from side two. Sharks patrol these waters Sharks patrol these waters Don't let your fingers dangle in the water And don't you worry about the dayglow orange life preserver It won't save you It won't save you Swim for the shore just as fast as your able Swim like a motherfucker Swim Fast as that scene shifts to now The ever glorious now the ever present Now Drenched in flower and deep-fat-fried And cooled on paper towels and then devoured You know I spent 15 years in a life raft 15 years in a life raft and now I got something to say Stay in your life boats people Stay in your life boats people It's murder out there It;s murder out there Sharks patrol these waters Sharks patrol these waters hey Don't you worry about the dayglow orange life preserver It won't save you It won't save you Swim for the shores just as fast as your able Swim Current Mood: cranky (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, October 2nd, 2009
3:07 pm	Stir It Up Just FYI - There are few things better in the world than the Dread Zeppelin album 5,000,000. Take a Fat Elvis impersonator (Tortelvis FTW) and add it to a band that does reggae covers of Led Zeppelin songs. Hilarity ensues. And pure sonic bliss. Current Mood: giddy (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, October 1st, 2009
7:48 pm	Embedding The Moss So... we're going to see The Decemberists in Houston tomorrow night. I'm weirdly not at all excited about it. It seems like more of a chore than anything else. Live music (or the prospect thereof) really doesn't do anything for me anymore. Another sign of getting older, or just the fact that to see anything worthwhile demands months of planning and seemingly arduous travel given where we live and where good music seems to happen (ie: not here). I don't know... it's not as if I don't have a good time once we finally do see a show. You would think that given the rarity with which live shows happen for me anymore that it would seem much more a treat and something to look forward to than it seems to be, but really, I just feel like it's such a bother now. I wonder if I would feel that way if it were more convenient? Probably never know, unless forced to move back to a major population center. Anyway, just sharing random thoughts. The following things are good: Love Is A Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield (book) Smile by Boris Funeral by The Arcade Fire (duh) Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix "Little Red Corvette" by Prince Guinness 250th anniversary stout Nirvana live on MTV January 10th, 1992 Pelican (band) Current Mood: exhausted (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, September 24th, 2009
6:24 pm	I Shall Be Released Well, I might be able to access LJ again, but I'm not sure what, if anything I have to post about. Funny thing about having your net access so limited is that you learn that you can live without it. I'm not really sure if I have anything I want or need to share anymore. So, what have I been doing and listening to of late? Well, I've been spending an inordinate amount of my free time working on and organizing my Nirvana, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Explosions In The Sky, and Pelican concert collections, thanks in huge part to partial (and now apparently full) access to The Internet Archive. Basically, just burning and labeling a bunch of cdr's of shows, and making simple covers for them all. It very much appeals to my inner OCD needs right now. As for my listening, well, the above bands, obviously, as well as Boris, still. A lot. Other things... The Phoenix cd Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is really good. We saw a band called The Other Girls open for The Veils in Austin a couple months back, and their cd we picked up at the show is still in heavy rotation. Check out a blues/soul band called Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears if you can, they're fabulous. Um, I don't know. I've had a real big hankering for a lot of noise/experimental music the last couple of months. Neil Young's Arc and Sonic Youth's Sonic Death albums come to mind. Then again, I've played all of the Helium albums a lot the past week or so, too. It's not like I've given up on the pretty side of music or anything. So, that's me really. Doing amazingly boring filing & labeling, listening to lost of noise, tempered with a fair amount of more poppy stuff (Phoenix & The Other Girls, among others). I feel good, most days. Happy, even. I just don't necessarily have a lot to say about it, I guess. Current Mood: good (Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
3:33 pm	I might be Back... Feels so good, just wanna shake it on down shakey street... Y'all please pray or whatever that my company has finally stopped blocking LJ again... (Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
9:20 pm	Offend In Every Way Have been thinking of getting a Twitter account lately. Would probably use it to randomly gush over some song or album here & there, and various astonishments about work (like having to explain the difference between hardware & software. no, really.) I can't get to Twitter from work, but I can email & text msg posts in. Anyway, just wondering if anyone would be interested or has an opinion or anything... These things are good: Sebadoh - Bakesale Justice - (cross) the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack "It's like wasting everything / On someone else's dream / Seems pretty crazy to me" Current Mood: frustrated (Comment on this)
Friday, February 6th, 2009
3:16 pm	Let's Get Fucked Up Not posting right now. Sorry, not much to say really. Taking a sabattical to recharge my posting batteries, I guess. Things of note though: Lux Interior, lead singer for The Cramps died this week. Lux was one of the best frontmen I've ever seen. I've never known anyone who could do the things he did on stage and never miss a beat or word. Just an amazing performer. I was both sad and shocked at his passing, and I cranked up Flamejob on the way home that night. I've ben listening to a ton of Lush, Helium, and Local H the past couple of weeks. I really can't recommend anything by these three bands enough. However, Split by Lush, The Dirt Of Luck by Helium, and Pack Up The Cats by Local H are excellent places to start. Also been listening to a lot of very pretentious things lately, especially The Bedlam In Goliath by The Mars Volta, the Boris album Smile, and Altar by Sunn O))) & Boris. None of these are particularly easy to listen to, but I've found them very rewarding lately. You have to be in the right mood/head space, but if you can get there... there is a payoff. Anyway, I'm going to crawl back under my rock now. Current Mood: peaceful (Comment on this)
Saturday, January 3rd, 2009
1:41 pm	Genesis Well, here it is, 52 albums that I was totally obsessed with in the past year or so. You should really check them out if you haven't. And if you have, tell me what you thought about them. Please remember I don't limit myself with the caveat that the records I get crazy about have to have been released this past year. Obsession knows no time. These also aren't in any particular order, even though they are numbered. Except the last one or two, my Albums of The Year. Yes, albums plural. Also, at the beginning, two albums I was really disappointed with. First off, the two albums I was very disappointed with for 2008 TV On The Radio - Dear Science  - I know this makes me a bastard, because I know in my heart that this is probably a really great album. It just never did anything for me, no matter how or when I listened to it. This has made a lot of year end best of's and was even Rolling Stone's Best Album Of The Year. It just wasn't that great to me an I really wanted it to be. I loved Return To Cookie Mountain, to the point that it was my personal Best of the Year in 2006, so my expectations for this were probably too high. I will not say this album is bad; it's not at all. Just that it wasn't good enough to me. Portishead - Third  - This on the other hand just kinda sucked. It soulds nothing like old Portishead. I know it's not necesarily supposed to, but again, I loved their older stuff and realy wanted more of that sound and this just didn't deliver. The Top 52 Albums of 2008 1. Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust (With A Buzz In Our Ears We Play Endlessly)  - Probably the most accessible album they've ever put out. I don't like it as much as other albums Sigur Ros have done, but it is good, very good. Then again, they can pretty much do not wrong for me. 2. Silversun Pickups - Carnavas - Great alt pop from LA. Just a great sound. 3. Verbena - Into The Pink   - One from way back that made the rounds for me quite a bit in the fall/winter. Another next big thing for me when this came out, always looking for that particular crunch of a guitar. They definitely had it. 4. Sonic Youth - Dirty (Deluxe Edition)  - I love reissued/deluxe editions. I love having the B-sides or some live tracks gathered together on a second disc. I love long liner notes written by obsessed fans/journalists. 5. Spoon - Gimmie Fiction   - I think I like this disc better than the newer Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Sweet, light guitar pop with soul. 6. Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend (Deluxe Edition)  - My very favorite album of all time, reissued with a bonus disc of B-sides, live stuff, etc. Heavenly! 7. Television - Marquee Moon - This is actually a reissue with three or four hard to find bonus songs tacked on. One of the best 70's NYC bands. Definitely the most proficient. I really should have more of thier stuff, but I savor this one every time I listen to it. 8 & 9. Otis Redding - Otis Redding Sings Soul & Live in London and Paris   - I don't know what to say about these discs. You either love Otis Redding or you don't. If you don't though, there is something wrong with you and I don't want to know you. 10 & 11. Pixies - Doolittle & Bossanova   - These records are 1a and 1b for me with the Pixies right now. So much of the music I Iove is or was influenced by the Pixies. 12. Massive Attack vs Mad Professor - No Protection   - I know this might be too new (to me) to be on here, but it's just so amazingly good that I couldn't resist. A huge, huge sounding record. So layered and full that you'll hear new stuff on it for years. 13. Mastodon - Blood Mountain   - When you absolutely, positively have to rock every last brain cell in your head... accept no substitutes. 14. Mercury Rev - Snowflake Midnight / Strange Attractor   - These are actually two seperate albums, but they seem more like siblings to me. Dreamy psych pop/rock. 15. Muse - Black Holes And Revelations   - This one took a few listens to warm up to for me, but ended up being very rewarding and one of the more played albums for me this year. It's big and noisy and has way too many effects on it, but I like it anyway. 16. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless   - Again, either you like em or you don't, but this time I'll forgive you if you don't. They just aren't for everybody, I think. 17 & 18. Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV & The Slip   - Trent Reznor's best music in years and years. Plus, it was all free, if you so chose. Very listenable and very cool. 19. Nirvana - In Utero (Albini Mix)  - Steve Albini's original mix of this album highlights just how abrasive and loud Nirvana could be when they wanted to, reaffirming this as my very favorite Nirvana release. 20. Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer?   - Brilliant solo debut that may have ended The Dresden Dolls. I hate that, because Brian Viglione is the best drummer of his generation, but this record is just excellent. She has such a fantastic voice and a great vision of what her music should be. Genius. 21. The Mars Volta - The Bedlam In Goliath   - The ultimate fusion band. Jazz, rock, punk, prog, tejano/conjunto, let's throw it all at the wall and make it stick. Love or hate it, you have to admit it's smart. 22. The Veils - Nux Vomica   - Any other year, and this is probably my Album of the Year. It's beautiful, huge, loud, and lush, often within the same song. 23. The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs   - 69 different songs in almost as many styles about all different kinds of love. 24. Lush - Split   - Lovely waves of sound by lovely people. Thier last great album. 25. Led Zeppelin - How The West Was Won - I'm usually not a big fan of live Zeppelin, but this year, it did something for me. It messy and grandiose, and not always in a good way, but it is amazing and can be moving on a base, perhaps cock-based, level. 26. Lady Dottie and The Diamonds - Lady Dottie and The Diamonds   - If you like bar band soul music, go buy this disc. This band will rock you socks right out of the drawer. 27. The Jesus Lizard - Lash EP  - Put on CD. Set volume to pulverize. Call me 16 minutes later with you head completely blown off. 28. Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights  - So cool and so seemingly effortless, it still captivates me. 29. I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - Fear Is On Our Side   - This was one of my favorite discoveries this year. Vaguely Depeche Mode-ish but more lush and compelling. 30 & 31. John Lee Hooker - Never Get Out Of These Blues Alive & Endless Boogie   - Full-band blues has never sounded more Delta than this. The Hook is surrounded by great bandmates that completely respect him and his vision of the blues, allowing him to lead by example into a great place of blues glory. 32. Doves - Lost Sides   - One of the best B-sides albums I've heard in a long time. Mellow and big at the same time. 33. Electric Light Orchestra - Out Of The Blue   - I've waxed on and on about this. I love it, but I don't know anyone else who does. Your loss. 34. Faith No More - Angel Dust   - Totally different from their previous efforts, this may have been the best they ever did. It rocks and disturbs in equal measures. 35. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes   - This is another one that has made it high on a lot of year end lists, and deservedly so. Gorgeous melodies with deceptively simple music. I'm looking forward to seeing them develop in the years to come. Check them out live if you get the chance. 36. Flobots - Fight With Tools - The perfect rap album for this perfect storm of an election year. Nothing spoke to me more on a political level than this. 37. Funkadelic - Maggot Brain   - Excepting the title track and a couple of sound colages at the end, this is as fine an example of guitar-based funk music that you'll ever find. 38. The Glove - Blue Sunshine (Deluxe Edition)  - Robert Smith & Steve Severin's acid-soaked 80's pop psychedelic masterpiece. This one grabbed me a lot and shook me and shook me. 39. Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple   - I didn't play this as much as I should have. It seems like other things kept getting in the way. This is great though. If you liked St. Elsewhere, you owe it to yourself to pick this up. It's not as instantly catchy, but it's quite rewarding if you persist with it. Plus, Cee Lo's voice is amazing. 40. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House   - This was in constant rotation for me throughout the year. It's super-mellow and sublime. I love it. 41. Harry and The Potters - The Power Of Love   - The most fully realized of their albums, and the most well-produced. The best example of Wizard Rock out there. 42. Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul   - Never a better or more acurate title has ever been applied to an album. It is what it sounds like and what it says. It's Hot. It's Buttery. And it is soul. 43. The Decemberists - The Long Of It (Live 10-28-07 Chicago)   - A great sounding recording from the only show of it's kind the band ever did. All of their really long songs, plus a spot-on cover of "Echoes" by Pink Floyd. It is my very favorite Decemberists recording. 44. Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill  - Strangely, it's a rap album that doesn't sound dated. Rare. Really an awesome disc. Excellent beats, samples and production. 45. Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That Shit Gold - This could have made Best of the Year also. Definitely the best rap album I've ever heard. It's so smart and insightful, without being pretentious or offensive. Just an amazing, eye-opening album. Finally someone doing things with rap that might have been done years ago if not of the emergence of gangsta. 46. Battles - Mirrored   - One of the most progressive things I own. It's weird, and not always easy to listen to, but it is very, very rewarding for those with the persistance to get through it all. 47. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup - I will gladly pay good money for every record Zach Condon ever puts out. This guy is a brilliant master of many forms. Please check Beirut out, and expand your personal sonic range. 48. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Baby 81   - Not BRMC's best album (that's Howl, to my ears), but catchy as hell, and loud and melodious at the same time. It rocks, but not how you might expect. 49. Boris - Pink   - This band broke me this year, made my head explode. A totally new interpretation of metal and very hard punk rock. I don't look at Japan the same way now. My vision of that country is now just a touch more skewed than before. 50. David Bowie - Station To Station - Proof that cocaine can lead to great music. My very favorite Bowie album. 51. The Breeders - Pod   - I rediscovered this lately. It has more levels than I remember, and I love that in music. I definitely recommend headphones for this. And now my very favorite albums of the year. If you've paid attention, you know what's coming next. If you haven't... Well... 52. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals and Night Ripper - I fould Night Ripper in Boston (finally) in May, and it blew me away. When Feed The Animals came up for download a few months later, it did it all over again, bigger and better than before. You've probably read about this already everywhere else. Lots of samples all mashed up together. But these are NOT mash up albums. This is taking old things and making something new and better. Plus, it's actually entertaining to watch in a live setting, something most rap, hip-hop, and electronic or dance music can't say. This is genius, pure brilliant ahead of the curve, genius. Current Mood: warm (Comment on this)
Thursday, January 1st, 2009
4:12 pm	All Over The World Here's the log for Tuesday. I know I'm slacking, but the last selection below was four discs. I think I'm going to try to get the Top 52 done tonight or tomorrow or whatever. I think I know what a lot of the selections will be already; it's just a matter of going through the stacks and getting it all down and such. Anyway, look for it sometime this weekend. Daily Listening Log for 12-30-08 Justice - + Grizzly Bear - Yellow House Harry and the Potters - The Power Of Love  - I know it seems silly, but if you are a fan of the books at all, you really should check these guys out. Smart, funny rock. I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness - I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness EP  - This debut EP isn't nearly as good as the full length album that followed it, Fear Is On Our Side, but it's nice to see where they started and a bit of how the band got to where they are. This was another Christmas gift. The Jesus & Mary Chain - The Power Of Negative Thinking (box set)  - I actually got this at the end of November as a birthday present from my mother-in-law. It's just fabulous, if you are a J&MC fan. If you aren't, or if you aren't sure if you are. I do not recommend this as a starting point, as it's all b-sides & rarities. If you're a fan though... Wow. Listenin to it all at once was really enlightening too, as it is in rough chronological order. Just hearing ideas come & go, and sometimes come back again was very cool. Current Mood: content (Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
10:44 am	Walk On By Sorry for the lack of updates. Christmas was... busy, to say the least. At least we don't have to undertake massive travelling like some do. This first 6 albums on this list are almost all of the wonderful discs given to me as presents this year. I think CD's are generally my favorite gifts to receive. I know, big surprise. Not so much individualy, but more like stacking them all up at the end of the holiday season and just having this nice large pile of albums to sift through and digest. It just makes me really happy. Daily Listening Log for 12-29-08 Boris - Smile  - Probably a better album overall than Pink, definitely more well rounded. Pixies - Bossanova  - I know in my heart that Doolittle is the Pixies greatest album, but this has got to be a very, very close second. It might be their most accessible record. I don't know that it's enough to make threerings  a fan, but it at least has a chance.   Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul  - Yes! Finally, I own an album called Hot Buttered Soul! It's wonderful, too. Massive Attack vs Mad Professor - No Protection  - We used to get just wrecked listening to this back in the day. The great thing is, it's just as good sober as I remember it being when stoned. If you don't know, it Massive Attack's second album (I think) Protection completely remixed. Songs are still somewhat recognizable, but it's definitely new. So deep and heavy, a very true aural definition of the term "trip hop". The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band  - Brilliant. They were high as shit, but this is just gorgeously brilliant. Their best? Maybe. Will require further listening and comparison. Justice - +  - The album title is actually a cross, not a plus sign. Excellent dance/electronic music from France. I know I'm at least a year late on this one, but that's better than the 40 years late I am on the above Beatles record. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless  - I've really been feeling a lot of shoegaze lately, hence this an the following Lush album. Lush - Split Pixies - Bossanova  - Once more today for good measure. I've listened to this quite a few times since Christmas. Current Mood: cold (Comment on this)