THE HACK: cheap views on pop culture

Music Diary 2012: Day Three

I did the dishes to these tunes:

"Summer Wind" - Frank Sinatra

Am I the only one who thinks of the ending to that Simpsons episode where Martin stands in the middle of his former swimming pool, which is now rubble? A bully rips off Martin's trunks and the kid stands there, naked. "Summer Wind" starts to play and Martin begins singing as the camera pulls away. Credits. Am I?

"Visions of Johanna" - Bob Dylan

Not my favorite Dylan record, but I dig it.

"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" - Aretha Franklin

Aretha somehow feels underrated. You just don't hear much about her.

"Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" - Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye gets a lot of love. I wonder what Cameron Crowe's biopic with Will Smith would've been like...

"Peace Like a River" - Paul Simon

My favorite song from Simon is still, unashamedly, "Call Me Al."

"Lively Up Yourself" - Bob Marley and The Wailers

It's Marley, man. I don't think there's a something from him i've disliked.

 

I also read an article about Stephen Frears being this close to directing Queen with Sacha Baron Cohen as Freddie Mercury. I hope this happens. It really could be something special.

It could also be a train wreck, but I'm hopeful. Anyway, I read this just before leaving work, so on the way home I listened to some Queen classics:

"Crazy Little Thing Called Love"

"You're My Best Friend"

"Under Pressure"

"I Want to Break Free"

"We Will Rock You"

Not a big day for music. I'm really not good at this.

Music Diary 2012: Day Two

“Live your Life. Live your Life. Live your Life.”

- Maurice Sendak

And, another death. Rest in peace, Mr. Sendak. Where the Wild Things Are and Pierre were my childhood. As I write this, I have Spike Jonze's adaptation of Wild Things playing on my TV. I love this movie. So...perfect. It's exactly what it wants to be.

And, so is the soundtrack. I really dig Karen O's stuff.

Turns out, a chunk of my music choices are responsive. Case in point: I picked up Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation at Best Buy, and so I felt the need to listen to the soundtrack - just like Wild Things above.

And, damn, what a collection of tunes. I was introduced to both Phoenix ("Too Young") and My Bloody Valentine ("Sometimes") here. A little late, yeah. But, I was technically late to the Beatles, given that I was born nearly two decades after they broke up.

I also find that I'm interested in too many things. Instead if trying to find something new to listen to, I'm reading, or looking for something to watch, or writing, or eating, or writing about watching a movie about people eating. I'm not focused. At all. So, my tastes are fairly superficial.

But, that's fine with me. I love what I love. I'm not going to pretend to like something just because all of the "cool kids" like it, too. Hell, I don't even drink. It's gross. Not going to pretend there. Why pretend with art?

Also, I know it's not music, but I've been listening to the Nerdist podcast recently and have been really enjoying it. Today, I listened to Seth Green and began Kevin Smith.

And, with that...

 

Music Diary 2012: Day One

So, I'm doing this thing again, and I'm going to try and be a bit more...well, I'm going to explore why it is I listen to what I listen to when I listen to it. As for today, I stayed home and listened to Beastie Boys, yet again. Mostly License to Ill. Never would have thought I'd be affected by MCA's death, and yet I was. I mean, I wasn't crying or anything. But, it's got me thinking a lot more than when Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston died. I guess it's because I listened to these guys (and, therefore MCA) a lot more than the other two.

Still, it's been great to re-visit some great hip hop.

Later in the afternoon, I pulled out some old (circa 2002) mix-CDs and listened as I made dinner.

Some thoughts:

• A lot of the stuff on those mixes were borderline Top 40.
• Most of those tunes are from artists that no longer exist.
• There were two live tracks: Guns N' Roses' "November Rain" from Live Era: '87-'93 and Pearl Jam's "Black" from one of their bootlegs
• I hadn't listened to most of these songs in at least five years
• I miss making mix-CDs

I also downloaded some MC Chris tracks. Get 'em for a good cause here: http://mcchris.bandcamp.com/

Also, I listened to a lot of Beastie Boys covers. Download Coldplay doing "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)."

You-Gotta-Fight-For-Your-Right-To-Party-Beastie-Boys-Cover

I kid you not. And, it's not half bad.

Tomorrow, it's home and work. Let's see where my habits take me.

 

The Music Diary Project: Day 7

Also known as "The Final Day." Has it arrived already? Was it really seven days ago that I wrote on this here blog that I was taking part in such a kick ass endeavor? I guess it was.

Today, for some reason only my subconscious knows, I woke up with The Troggs' "Love Is All Around" in my head. Nice way to start a Sunday.

I woke, had some orange juice, and went with my family to visit my grandma in the hospital. On the way there, I decided to bring my old Walkman with me. Why? I honestly don't know. I'm definitely not some hibster doucebag who thinks it's "hip" to bring back the Walkman "back." I kind of just wanted to listen to an old mix tape from about ten years ago. Apparently, ten years ago, my tastes ranged from the current to the not-so-current. The mix began with Gorillaz' "19-2000 (Soulchild Remix)." I think it holds up, and I think I prefer this remix to the album's original. Later on the tape, I had The Strokes' "Last Nite," which - if I remember correctly - I listened to dozens of times before I ended up buying Is This It.

Also on the tape, I had Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes." I believe this stemmed from my re-discovery of Cameron Crowe's Say Anything... Which, actually, stemmed from this girl I became close friends with during my senior year of high school. I miss her. Hope she's doing good.

"Bitter Sweet Symphony" showed its face, as did "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" Hell, Tenacious D's "Wonderboy" was on there. Loved that song. All in all, even with its ups-and-downs, this mix tape brought me back.

Later, on the way to work, I popped in a mix CD from about ten years ago. Same situation. On this, I heard Weezer's "Undone - The Sweater Song." I love it, still. "Pull this thread, as I walk away..." Nice. I remember first listening to this song back in sixth grade. That was a time populated with a love for hip-hop and R&B, with an occasional listen to Top 40 Rock. I like that Weezer slipped in there.

The night came, as did the end of this project. My regret: not enough music was listened to this week. And, so, not much to write about nightly. So it goes...

 

As I sit here, alone, in my bedroom, at my desk, before my laptop, writing this drivel, I find myself wondering why I decided to pull out those mixes today. Was it to go out in a wave of nostalgia? Probably not. What this experience has taught me is that things just happen. Some days I'll listen to same shit. Other days, I'll find myself listening to something new. Or, something I haven't heard in a while. In the end, as long as it's music, I listening.

The Music Diary Project: Day 6

Today was a day spent with Danny Elfman. I recently got my hands on some of the music from that killer box set that's way too much for someone like me. I checked out the soundtrack to Pee-wee's Big Adventure, and I still think - as a complete score goes - Elfman has yet to top it.

That said, his "Main Title" for Batman continues to astound to this day. The march on this track...

04 - Batman (1989) - The Batman Theme

...wow.

A while back, I downloaded something called "First Week Rehearsals" from Pearl Jam. It's basically a collection of demos for their debut album Ten. I dug it, but their were demos, and call me crazy, but I prefer the completed version of any track. Still, stuff like this is always worth a listen.

Not music, unless you count its theme song, but I did listen to SModcast #144 and #145 today at work. Where do I work? At a university. In its writing center. Saturday's are slow.

The Music Diary Project - Overview

When I signed up to participate in The Music Diary Project, I thought, "This could be fun. I'll listen to music, write about it - maybe even hear some new stuff from other blogs participating." What I did not expect was to be expected: my musical tastes are limited.

And, it's funny, because from time to time I'll put on a song and my brother will ask who it and I'll answer. And, he'll be amazed. "How do you find stuff like this?" Stuff like Arcade Fire? Magnetic Fields? The Submarines? Eisley? They're not obscure.

The thing is, though, they are to someone like my brother. He listens to music. He loves music. But, he has other interests. He's a lawyer and he likes reading and watching TV. It would never once occur to him to read something about music. That's just not him.

As for me, I dig a bit deeper than my brother, but I still constantly find myself discovering new artists and bands every single day. Maybe I'm late to the party more often than not, but I'm fine with that. In the end, I think it's okay to finally listen to the "White Album" when I'm 25. Because at least I listened to it.

I discovered a lot of great music this week thanks to the blogs participating in this project. And, I'm not ashamed to know that I just now discovered them. For myself.

The Music Diary Project: Day 5

Eisley. I'm from Texas. Their from Texas. It just makes sense. They sure as hell beat our state administration's attitude toward the public school system's history books. History is history, people. You can't change. Well, I  guess you could. After all, what is it Napoleon once said?

"History is a set of lies agreed upon."

Nice. Although, Napoleon said it. And, this is a blog about music, so what the hell am I doing?

This group's last album, The Valley, is such a great listen. Today, I put is on as I surfed the net a bit. The opening track "Smarter" is just good music. Good music to me anyways.

I saw Hanna, and I loved it. It's as close to an X-23 movie as I'll get. And, so I checked out the soundtrack once again today.

I also found myself listening to a bit from R.E.M.'s Eponymous. What a greatest hits collection, huh? "Driver 8" is still the pooh after all these years.

And, so is Sigur Ros's (is that how you pluralize that?) "Njosnavelin," otherwise known as "The Nothing Song," otherwise known as that awesome song that plays at the end of Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky. Actually, that version isn't the version that's on (). If you care to hear the version from the film, here it

Sigur Rós - 01 - Njósnavélin [Live at Roskilde 2000]

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The Music Diary Project: Day 4

After reading - or just seeing - a lot about Kurt Cobain this week, I woke wanting to listen to some Nirvana. And, on the way to work, I did. The only two things of Nirvana I own on CD are the greatest hits that came out in 2002 and their seminal Unplugged performance.

 

I took a drive with their "greatest hits." And, something occurred to me as I heard oh-so many songs whose lyrics I know by heart: their songs are short. Seriously. I never thought of their length until today. This isn't a criticism. This is merely an odd observation. Their songs are the length they need to be. And, after listening to these songs for over half my life, I gotta say, they still work for me.

Cover Continuance of the Day: "The Man Who Sold The World" - originally by David Bowie

Gearing up for Joe Wright's Hanna tomorrow, I listened to that awesome Chemical Brothers score. Her theme is fantastic.

 

The Music Diary Project: Day 3

I continue my odd obsession with covers this week. I popped in the soundtrack to Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch today and listened on the way to work. Songs I replayed: "White Rabbit" by Emiliana Torrini; "Search and Destroy" by Skunk Anansie; and "Tomorrow Never Knows" by Carla Azar.

As far as that last one goes, I never thought I'd enjoy a cover of The Beatles' last track from Revolver. Why mess with perfection? But, I must say, Azar rocks the shit outta this one.

I also caught The Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes." God, I love that song so much. It's obviously not a hidden gem of their, something that most have never heard the name of, but I love it just the same. Bonus points for appearing on an episode of Fringe this season, plus Greg Mottola's Adventureland.

"Rebel Rebel" also snuck in there. David Bowie always compliments the day.

The Music Diary Project: Day 2

What are the odds that the week the Music Diary Project falls on would be the week where I find precious little time to listen to music. Ah well.

 

Today, I gifted myself the soundtrack to Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lovely Bones. It's quite something. I'm still listening it to it right now. Briano Eno has some sort of portal into my brain. His tracks "1/1 (Edit)" and "2M1" are majestic. "5M4" brings me right back into the film. A lot of people didn't really dig the flick, but it was my favorite of 2009. In fact, I might pop in the Blu-ray tonight.

"Alice" from Cocteau Twins are always a nice one. Glad it's on the soundtrack.

On the way to work, I found myself checking out the Grateful Dead's pop-hit "Touch of Grey." Always loved the video. Something about a skeleton band - it gets me.

And, God help me, I found myself signing along to Duran Duran's "Ordinary World." It's been used in film before - infamously in Layer Cake. But, I think it could work during a dance scene; something like prom or, hell, a wedding.

Tron:Legacy came out on Blu-ray today and I re-watched it. I still love it. That film is wall-to-wall music, with apparently 100 minutes worth of the stuff within the 125 minute runtime. That's a lot of Daft Punk.

Also, I listened to episode 143 of SModcast, Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier's hilarious podcast. Download it here, but honestly, the episode wasn't the best. Still, after so many, I'm surprised to find myself still interested. I'm also very behind. They're currently on episode 163.