Kablammo!

Here I go again, with the end-of-week shuffle action . . .

1. Weezer — “My Name is Jonas”
   I keep thinking I like Pinkerton better than the blue album, until I actually go back and listen to the blue album again. The cleverness and dreadful melancholy of Pinkerton will always have a place in my heart, but as soon as the opening notes of “Jonas” come in, I immediately forget all that crap and brace myself for an album of unapologetic rocking.
2. Sublime — “By the Rivers of Babylon”
   What can I say, I’m a sucker for acoustic guitars and soulful harmonies.
3. Pink Floyd — “Brain Damage (live)”
   The only thing that was capable of making Dark Side better was rerecording it in front of a live studio audience. Studio audiences suck when they’re perfunctorily reacting to cues in the form of signs that say Applause or some such, but when they’re legitimately enjoying the experience they can have an immensely positive effect, and that’s just one of the reasons why Pulse is so good.
4. Unbelievable Truth — “Home Again”
   Even for somebody as hopelessly obsessed with mopey British bands as I am, this is a goddamn sleeping pill of boring crap.
5. Django Reinhardt — “Belleville”
   Django and a clarinet: what more do you really need?
6. Beer is Bad — “Poo”
   Have you ever seen that episode of That 70s Show where they set up a tape recorder before getting high, to archive all their pot-induced wit and wisdom for posterity? This was a similar idea, and I have to say it didn’t come out much better in real life than it did on TV.
7. Eels — “The Stars Shine in the Sky Tonight”
   It’s one of the closing songs on a double-album, and it sounds like it — for better and for worse.
8. Feeder — “Radioman”
   I bought this album because the title (Yesterday Went Too Soon) summed up how I was feeling at that particular moment (January 2 or 3, 2000). Also because it was in the bargain bin and only cost $2. Then I found out it’s actually quite a good album as well, and this song in particular entered heavy rotation on my mp3 player, which had a whopping 64MB capacity. Oh, to be young again . . .
9. Badly Wooden Head — “After the Party”
   Fucker had two whole albums recorded already by the time he was my age. Sure, they’re “uplifting as a trainwreck”, but more importantly they’re good. Meanwhile I’m lucky if I can pull off one decent song a year.
10. Manu Chao — “Malegria”
    The entire album Clandestino is too good for words, but honestly this is one of my least favourite songs on it.
11. Starsailor — “Talk Her Down”
    Starsailor always walk a fine line between exhilarating and unlistenable, mostly because of their singer’s delivery, which is usually implausibly earnest and shamelessly maudlin, while somehow being even breathier than Matt Bellamy’s. It can be a lot to take, but in small doses it’s often very nice, and this song has a strong enough melody that it isn’t completely overshadowed by the giant sign saying “LOOK HOW SENSITIVE I AM, IS THIS NOT HEARTBREAKING?”

1 Comment

• Aili says:

  May 7, 2007 at 0:37

  1. I still stand by the blue album. Too feel-good and sing-alongable not to enjoy. Not to mention how far back it takes me.
  2. Django. Mhm.
  3. I will give you a dime or something (like maybe a gum wrapper) if you give me Beer is Bad again.
  4. How do I not know that Badly Wooden Head song? Again, would love it if you sent it to me.
  5. Yeah, it’s somehow too easy to overdose on Starsailor, but at one point I really liked Love is Here.

  Whee.

  Reply