Sweet Thing

Sweet Thing by Van Morrison

Last weekend I was at a wedding and the bride and groom danced to a country song that I had never heard. It was a nice song, but mos def one I never would choose. So as I sat there, watching this 'romantic'* event, I started going over songs that I would pick for my first dance with my wife. A few songs popped into my head: "God Only Knows" but that's already been done by a friend of mine. I decided "Something" was a bit too negative. To be honest, the song I kept coming back to was "Do You Wanta Dance" by the Ramones. If I found a woman would would dance to "Do You Wanta Dance" I think I have found a winner, but my mother would KILL me if I choose this song. I think it would be fantastic. Anyway, what does this have to do with "Sweet Thing"? Nothing, this would be a nice first dance song. I may even end up dancing to it for all I know. I like it, it's nice, I like the flute... and I'm sure a lot of people have chosen this as their first dance. It's a good song, what can I say.

*Apparently sarcasm is free today.

Watch it:

The Orchids

The Orchids by Califone (70/365)

It is a pretty spring day this morning, and this song probably isn't a very good spring song… it's more of an early morning, it just snowed, and it's so pretty song. Like snow it's quiet and beautiful, gracefully blanketing a lazy January morning. This song is sort of like that, gracefully waning and carefully plucking itself along. A pretty song.

Listen to the mp3

And Your Bird Can Sing

And Your Bird Can Sing by The Beatles

Why do I love this song? I haven't a clue… but I love it. I like the big electric guitar, Lennon's vocals, the hand claps don't hurt, and there is this totally unBeatles kick ass bass line. I have no clue where that come from, since it's the only time you'll hear anything like it by the Beatles, but it rocks. Least I forget the perfectly harmonized, “You tell me that you’ve heard every sound there is” part which I adore. This is a fun song.

Watch it (sorry about the Sound quality):

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

Sunday, Bloody Sunday by U2

Personally, I've got to go with the live version off of "Under a Blood Red Sky". I just love the energy on the live version. Let me just make note of the militaristic drumbeat which U2 doesn't even attempt to hide. And yes, let's not forget The Edge's riff that attempts to force itself upon us. And, in case you didn't know, it's a song about the Troubles in Ireland and takes it's name from Bloody Sunday, when British troops open fire on a group of protesters. And I've always loved the line, "The real battle yet begun/To claim the victory Jesus won" It's a goodie.

Watch It:


I do think one of the more interesting things about this song is how it has become the protest song of the age. The late 60s and 70s had their fair share, and a long list, of protest songs because of Vietnam. But we haven't seen the same with Iraq. Sure there are songs out there (Bright Eyes, Rilo Keily, Greenday, and Pearl Jam have all knocked Bush or Iraq; and here is a list of other songs), but these songs have had limited or no cultural impact. I guess Greenday sold some albums and Pearl Jam probably sold their fair share... but there is no "For What It's Worth" or Country Joe & The Fish. So what we're left with is this song as a protest against the War in Iraq. I'm not sure if it takes away from U2's original meaning, Bono would probably argue that it was a song that protested violence everywhere, not just in Ireland. But I'm not so sure... but at the same time there is a void and this song appears to be filling this void.

George Bush "singing" Sunday, Bloody Sunday" which is one of the more powerful things I've seen in a while:


Lisa Bresnan singing to clips of the Iraq Ward:

The Best Of What's Around

The Best Of What's Around by Dave Matthews Band

There isn't a tone of love for Dave here on this blog… but he does have a few good songs and this is the best of his few goodies. It's a fun song, uplifting, 'good times being had by all' type song. It's catchy, Dave's voice doesn't totally kill it, and the band isn't trying to hard to sound like something you've never heard before (aka covering up for the fact that they're just Phish for frat boys). In other words, this song works. But you want to know why I love this song? Because in my life, I've come across my fair share of DaveLovers - the types that will tell you that Dave is the greatest musician of our age, how his lyrics mean so much, and how he's just effin' amazing. These people also tend to pretty much only listen to Dave, which is cool, but just don't go around telling me his the best of our age when you couldn't tell me the difference between Stephen Malkmus and Jeff Tweedy. WHERE WAS I? Oh yes, why I love this song. At the very end of the song, between the ho-ho hey-la's Dave sings out, just barely, "Oh, to be alive! Oh, to be alive!" (this happens at the 3:47 mark of the song). I love this. Absolutely love this. In fact, this is one of my favorite moments in all of music. I'm not sure why... maybe it's just a great reminder... maybe it's just a great line. It's joyful, but also some what somber. "Oh, to be alive!" And you know what? Two of my better friends in life, both of whom are huge Dave fans, never noticed this before. And they love it too.

Listen:

Something

Something by The Beatles
THE BEST SONG EVER

I could probably write about this song while listening to it for hours upon hours. This is, imo, the greatest love song of all time. It’s so unassuming… something - there is just ‘something’ about her. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s something. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what love is? It’s something that we can’t really describe and we can list all these things trying to explain what that something is… but we can never fully describe it. It’s just something. But the song also throws a little Sonnet 116 in here:
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
George doubts his love, he is unsure about his love. He just doesn’t know. But the easy bass line, beautiful strings, and aspiring chords make this song so beautiful in how it sounds, what it says, and honesty.

Listen to the mp3

Watch (warning, John and Yoko are in this video):

(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher

(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher by Jackie Wilson
The Second Best Song
Random Programing Note: So this week we are featuring our top eight songs, in order, of all time. These are songs that we consider to be the best of all time.

Maybe it's the bass line… maybe it's the subtle drums... maybe it's the tambourine… maybe it's the guitar… maybe it's Jackie's voice… maybe it's the background vocals… maybe it's the strings… maybe it's the horns… or maybe this might just be as damn close as anyone will come to writing and preforming a perfect pop song. This song is just flat out amazing... it honestly could be #1.

Listen to the MP3:

Watch:

Maps

Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Third Best Song

Most of the time, less is more. "Wait, they don't love you like I love you" proves that point. Why did we wait so long to write this into a rock song? And why can't we have more songs with that urgent guitar in the opening and throughout the song along with the rolling wave like drums? This song is so pretty, moving, and, I feel, desperate all at the same time. It's a very moving song. And when Karen O starts lyrically waxing “Wait, they don’t love you like a love you” over and over, but never singing it the same way twice, nothing truer rings true.

Watch it:

Misunderstood

Misunderstood by Wilco
Fourth Best Song
Random Programing Note: So this week we are featuring our top eight songs, in order, of all time. These are songs that we consider to be the best of all time.

I will never understand this song, but I will always take lines from this song and treasure them because it captures exact moments in time, usually either during a blah Wednesday afternoon or late on a Friday or Saturday night:
Back in the old neighborhood… You're hurt but you don't know why You love her but you don't know why Short on long term goals There's a party there that we oughtta go to Do you still love rock and roll? Do you still love rock and roll?... You're staring at a picture of me... All you touch turns to lead... I'd like to thank you all for nothin' at all
I don't know who Jeff Tweedy is talking about, I'm pretty sure this song is brutally honest and auto-biographical. And this is why I love it. The brutal honestly. The simplicity of the song, a piano, a guitar, and a man with his thoughts and past. It's heartbreaking... you feel his pain when he's singing this song. It's a Rip-My-Heart-Out-Classic, a master piece of sound, words, thoughts, and composition.

In December of 2005, I was lucky enough to go to Buenos Aires. We were staying in PuertoMadero and along the water of these old docks was this old silo. For some reason I didn't take a picture of this silo, but for me it was some sort of liberalizing structure. I was pretty stuck in early January of 2006, and that silo and this song sort of pulled me out of the muck. This silo reminded me of the old abandoned silo that's next to the Chicago River on Damen - we would drive past that silo every time I went to her place or she dropped me off at mine. And there I was in Buenos Aires, hung up on the same girl, looking at a old, abandoned silo... this song and that silo came to represent that relationship. Girls are nasty like that... but I remember being alone a few times on the trip, walking around the old docks, looking at that silo, while listening to this song on my iPod. And in the mist of it all (well actually, the line "You love her but you don't know why"), I was being freed. It was that line that knocked some sense in me. One, I wasn't in love. Two, since I couldn't explain it, why was I hung up on it? I let her go and haven't looked back.

* Sorry, we were in Boston the past few days and weren't able to post... boo to us, I know. But Boston WAS nice.

Listen:


Listen Live:

What Ever Happened?

What Ever Happened? by The Strokes
Fifth Best Song

"What?!?!" you say! "The Strokes wrote one of the best songs! That's impossible!" And you may have a point. For all I know the Strokes wrote this song on accident. But I think it's mind blowing amazing. In literature there is this little device they like to call ring composition: a technique which places the meaning of a text in the middle, framed by a beginning and ending in parallel. The Iliad, The Temptist, and Beowolf all use it in telling their story. In a five act play, the fist and fifth act will mirror each other: the same characters, structure, and themes will be found, the second and fourth parts will mirror each other... and the third? This is the most important part of the play/story. And guess what "Whatever Happens" does? It's a song in ring composition. The song is in seven parts: the verses align near perfectly and are fine but not great, they even nearly match up almost word for word*. The middle features a pretty dope chorus with this pounding and thumping guitar and kick ass drums and then we get to the middle of the song: Julian's voice drops a bit and sounds painful when he sings, "You don't miss me... I know." In other words, if I'm right and Julian and the boys actually wrote this song as a ring composition, then this line is hands down the most important part of this song. Seriously, listen to this song and you'll see what I mean. Everything after those brutal, heartbreaking words seem not to matter, because all you're thinking is "You don't miss me, I know." Could there be anything worse?

Watch (when I first saw this trailer on TV, I was all pumped. I have yet to see the movie, but I'd like to):



*If the first verus was song last, as in the seventh part, instead of the sixth, I would argue that this is the greatest song of all time.

Star Witness

Star Witness by Neko Case
The Sixth Best Song
Random Programing Note: So this week we are featuring our top eight songs, in order, of all time. These are songs that we consider to be the best of all time.

I named this the best song of 2006… and like fine wine, or left overs, it's getting better with age (I say left overs because it hasn't been a long time). As I wrote at the time:

"Star Witness is about lost teenage love... the poor girl's boyfriend just crashed and is all but dead. And during these five beautiful minutes, the narrator is recounting the last minutes of her loves life. The imagery is fantastic: "Trees break the sidewalk/And the sidewalk skins my knees/There's glass in my thermos/And blood on my jeans/Nickels and dimes of the fourth of july". It's a sad song and like 2006 there is a sliver lining... Neko Case's voice. Oh that voice... Micheal Jackson, Edith Paif, Billie Holiday, and Neko Case all have/had voices that were the voice of God. That's how amazing her voice is. And as the song begins to rap up, she sings, "please... don't let him die/oh how I forgot". You think it's over... but then maybe the saddest and most beautiful piano lick I've heard begins. You have to listen to it. It breaks my heart every time I hear it. And I don't think there's anything else I would rather listen to at 11:59pm on Dec. 31, 2006. What a fitting end to a sad year. Hopefully 2007 will be better."

I can't stress how amazing the ending of this song is, those pitiful, mellow, bittersweet pianocords ring out like a last gasp... a lost love... fading and dying in the clear night sky... alone.

Listen!

Watch:

Pocahontas

Pocahontas by Neil Young
The Seventh Best Song


I don't know if this song is bittersweet, sad, or just beautifully written. The subject manner, the genocide of the Native Americans/Indians of the 18th and 19th century is a bit of a downer (a subject that most history books seem to forget). But there's a bit of lust in this song, lusting for Pocahontas. And the clean, crisp guitar is eerily pretty while also sounding somewhat vicious. No matter, there is something about this song that is so perfect. Maybe it is the mysteriousness of the song, the fact that I can't say, 'Oh listen to this part' which makes it so great. No matter, it's one of the best songs I've ever heard and I don't listen to it nearly enough, if for no other reason than the lyrics. The lyrics are interesting, I love the guitar, and I love the imagery at the end of the song - in fact I'm sure most writers would kill to write something like this:
And maybe Marlon Brando
Will be there by the fire
We'll sit and talk of Hollywood
And the good things there for hire
And the Astrodome
and the first tepee
Marlon Brando, Pocahontas and me
I love it.

Watch it (it starts about 2 and a half minutes in):

End of a Century

Random Programing Note: Since we've started doing this, we've just been using our top rated tracks on iTunes, hit the random button and whatever comes down the pipeline, we write about. It's worked thus far. But when End of a Century came down the pipeline, we started thinking about the best songs that we've ever heard... and concluded that End of a Century was on that list. So this week we'll feature our top eight songs, in order, of all time. These are songs that we consider to be the best of all time. Why eight? Because we realized after we started this that End of a Century was actually in eight place, not seventh. And yes, this was very difficult to do.

End of a Century by Blur
The Eight Greatest Song of All Time

If you were to ask me to make a list of the ten greatest songs of all time, this would make the list. I know this sounds sort of crazy, 'Blur,' you'd say, 'Blur is so British, I mean, who in America listens to Blur other than that one song?' And you might have a point. But listening to this song, I'll tell you what, this tune has pretty much everything that I'VE ever wanted in a song - horns, a kick ass hook, pleasant vocals, an awesome chours, and lyrics that don't bash you over the head in a "LISTEN TO ME I AM IMPORTANT" sort of way... yet still have meaning. From the opening with the guitar solo, to the steady rhythm guitar, Damon's voice, the horns... so the bridge isn't mind blowing, but it's pretty effin' good for a bridge. Gosh, what a great song.
We all say, don't want to be alone
We wear the same clothes cos we feel the same
And kiss with dry lips when we say goodnight
End of a century
Oh, its nothing special

Listen:

Rebecca Deville

Rebecca Deville by Mason Jennings

As I said, Mason is a good story teller. This song is no different. Poor Rebecca… I was going to skip this song. It's nice but it didn't mean anything to me. But how soon I forget. When I was living in London, it was difficult to listen to music that I enjoyed. I didn't own a laptop which housed all my music and I couldn't bring my CD collection across the Atlantic... so I was SOL. I did have my fathers a laptop for my months in London, but that only had the 20 CDs that I could import in the hour or so I had before leaving the USA (Don't ask me what my Desert Island 20 albums were at that time... I honestly don't remember besides The Strokes "Is This It", Graceland, a few Beatles, and Pete Yorn). So there I was in London stuck with the same 15 or 20 CDs for months upon months. I bought a few CDs while I was there (The Smiths, Blur, a Beulah EP), but CDs in London are really expensive. This left me bored with what I had after six weeks. But then came my ray of hope... EBS was coming to visit. I asked her ever so kindly to make me a CD of a few artists I liked. I gave her a list, I think U2 was on it and I forget the rest... but I know Mason Jennings was on that list. This was the days of Napster, so EBS DLed a few songs by Mason for me, burned them on to a CD, and came to London. I had never heard "Rebecca Devile" when EBS gave me that CD. I listened to it a bunch of times over the next five weeks, but then, when I returned to the USA, the song was gone. Lost... until Mason put out some sort of something on iTunes about a year ago. And wouldn't you know, Rebecca Devile was there and I downloaded it. Thanks E.

Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night

Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night by the Hold Steady

This may be one of the greatest lyrical songs ever penned. It just drips of references and images and everything that's good when listening to someone talk... I'll let them do the work, since my words will pale in comparison (If you want to read a footnote version of the song, check this out):
Listen!
nelson algren came to paddy at some party at the dead end alley. he told him what to celebrate.
and i met william butler yeats. sunday nite dance party summer 1988. at first i thought it might be william blake.

we mix our own mythologies. we push them out through pa systems. we dictate our doxologies and try to get sleeping kids to sit up and listen. i'm not saying we could save you. but we could put you in a place where you could save yrself. if you don't get born again at least you'll get high as hell.

sweet saint paul. that must be the hardest luck saint of them all. we met him in some suburban saint paul mall. when st. theresa came to holly. i wasn't even at that party. i'd already moved out to new york city. when judas went up and kissed him. i almost got sick. i guess i knew what was coming. i guess i knew it was coming.

we gather our gospels from gossip and bar talk then declare them the truth. we salvage our sermons from message boards and scene reports. we come on to the youth. we try out new testements on the guys sitting next to us in the bars with the bars in their windows. even if you don't get converted tonite you must admit that the band's pretty tight.

they did she's got legs into ain't 2 proud 2 beg into something by the dixie dregs. they faked their way thru fairytale of new york. when the band stopped playing we howled out for more.

hey nelson algren. chicago seemed tired last nite. they had cigarettes where there were supposed to be eyes. hey william butler yeats. the irish seemed wired last nite. they tried to separate our girls from our guys. they had cigarettes where there were supposed to be eyes.
Listen!

Road To Joy

Road To Joy by Bright Eyes

The first song I ever learned on the guitar was ""Ode to Joy"". I was 10 and I had no clue who Beethoven was until this moment in my life. I have yet to forget how to play that short sweet melody on the guitar, in fact for years it was all I actually knew by heart. But the point is, I can spot Ode To Joy from 2,873 miles away. So when I heard Road to Joy, it took me all of ten seconds to realize what was going on here: Conor Oberst was using "Ode To Joy" to write and protest song. This was ingenious to me. And the lyrics them self, hey cynicism never sounded so good:

I read the body count out of the paper
And now its written all over my face...
So when you're asked to fight a war thats over nothing
Its best to join the side thats gonna win
No ones sure how all of this got started
But we're gonna make 'em God damn certain how its gonna end
Oh yah we will, oh yah we will!..
Let's fuck it up boys, make some noise!

Eh, why not?

Listen:

Woman

Woman by Wolfmother

To be honest, I don't think I can do this song justice - WOMAN! I'm not sure how well 'hard' rock or metal translates to the general female population, so this might be a total male song, but it just effin' rocks. The power cords, the gunshot drums, the subject matter "She's a woman, you know what I mean"... basically this might be the most phallic song* of the 21st century. It's certainly the most phallic song that I've heard thus far this century. I'm not a huge Zepplin fan, but I would probably call them the most phallic band of all time. Wolfmother appears to have potential to take that torch from those 80s hair bands. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, but it seems sort of interesting. I mean after all isn't metal pretty much based upon being really loud, power cords, and being a rock'n'roll star which entails one to drink a lot and have sex with a lot of woman? KISS, Black Sabbath, Quiet Riot, Ratt, Mötley Crüe, wasn't their entire point to promote the penis? I don't know, maybe I should do a little more research on all this. Anyway, I get pumped when I hear that opening guitar riff just rip though the air. It's sort of like opening a beer.

Watch:


*Some how this idea of a phallic makes complete sense to me.

Candyfloss

Candyfloss by Wilco

This song swings. It's a good summer song, which is a hopeful thing on a snowing day in Chicago in April:
I'm the boy that looks excited
I'm the boy thats gonna fall apart…
I'm the boy with the poetry power
I'm the boy, smells like flowers
I like this idea, the boy with poetry power, the boy that smells like flowers. These are good things. As for how or what Candyfloss has to do with this song... I have no clue what's so ever and honestly don't want to think about it. I like the song for what it is, the boy with poetry power, the boy that smells like flowers. (Candyfloss if you didn't know, is the British term for cotton candy).

Listen: (I can only find if live, enjoy)

Knock Yourself Out

Knock Yourself Out by Jon Brion

If I’m in a bad mood I'll play this song and pretty much straight away I'll feel better. Maybe it's the lyrics… or maybe it's the cheery sound this ditty has. Gosh, I love this song, seriously... I love Brion's voice, I love the orchestral parts, the harmonica, the bells and whistles... I should listen to this song every day and I will probably never have a really bad day ever again. Because we all have our moments when things need to be put into perspective:
Why were put in this mess
Is anybody’s guess
It might be a test or it might not be anything
You need to worry about
But if you’re still in doubt
Go and knock yourself out

Watch the video:

6'1"

6'1" by Liz Phair

I've never met Liz Phair. I've never seen Liz Phair. Andrew and I liked her back in the late 90s because she rocked. I'm sure we claimed that "Exile In Guyville" as one of the best albums of the 90s. One day my senior year a few Lincoln Park kids and I started talking about her during our free period. The first thing the two or three of them said was, "She used to babysit for John O." This is without a doubt one of the coolest facts I have ever heard. Liz Phair used to baby sit one of the guys in this band. That's just awesome.

Listen:

Say Yes

Say Yes by Elliott Smith

A bit east (or maybe west) of King Street in Old Town there is a graveyard and a National Cemetery. This cemetery is not as famous or as large as Arlington, but it exists. If the weather was some what nice, I might make my way over to this general area of Alexandria since it was quiet and green. It's weird area of town, it feels a bit rural and is very quiet. But one late March day I found myself there walking somewhat aimlessly on a Saturday. I was listening to this song and it reminded me of the Lou. By this point, I was over the Lou, but for some reasont this song trigger a few memories, probably because "Say Yes" is played in "Good Will Hunting". In a moment of drama I wondered if the Lou was my Skylar... this thought lingered Hollywood does this to me (and I assume pretty much everyone). A few weeks later I drove to Pittsburgh to check out their grad school. It was a Friday and about 3pm when everything at Pitt ended. I had a rental car. I decided to drive to Fairfield, CT to visit my sister but in the back of mine mind these words lingered: "I'm in love with the world through the eyes of a girl/Who's still around the morning after/We broke up a month ago and I grew up, I didn't know/I'd be around the morning after" Yes, "Good Will Hunting" was somewhere in me and it wouldn't go away. One last shot or chance with the Lou, after all she was just up the road in New Haven. I texted the Lou on Saturday around noon. The Lou got back to me as I was driving south on I-95 somewhere in Jersey on Sunday afternoon. I didn't really care, at this point I felt sorry for her more than anything else.

Listen:

Vertigo

Vertigo by U2 (50/365)

Only Bono (or U2) could say "Unos, dos, tres, catorce!" which is crazy. "One, Two, Three, Fourteen! I am BONO hear me roar!" But no matter, I like this song. It rocks, it rolls, and it was played roughly 184 times a day in the Christmas season of 2004. And who am I to say that a few mid-40s Irishmen can't rock, because they do. I mean, did you hear that opening guitar rift? The Edge can get the job done (even if it sort of sounds like "Dirty Boots", but you know what, the Ramones made a career out of speeding up rifts, so I'm not blaming The Edge, I'm complementing him). BUT ANYWAYS, the song doesn't mean much to me (it's hard to believe that it would mean much to anyone unless something totally awesome or horrific happened while listening to this song), but that's okay. It's fun. It's U2, the most political band that has not been political in their music since the 1980s. Bono attempts to save the world, then goes into the studio and writes songs that deal with his personal life. I admire him for this.

Watch the iPod Ad (or check out the real video here):

Who Will Save Your Soul?

Who Will Save Your Soul? by Jewel

Gosh, this is old. Since I doubt Jewel's going to come up again, might as well just get it all out now. I first heard of Jewel years before she actually made it. My dad had heard her on NPR in 1995 or so, liked her story and music, and bought the CD. If he was ever driving us any where, we would some times listen to the album. I was pretty much indifferent, it wasn't bad and her songs didn't bother me (note: I was 13). Eventually it was replaced by other albums and I sort of forgot about Jewel. Then in the summer of '96 this song broke and Jewel became a sensation. Remembering that I had heard this song a good year earlier, I was shocked. Something like this had never happened to me - this was the first time I knew of something popular before it became popular. I thought this was cool.

The summer of '96 was good summer looking back. I was going to a different high school that the kids I went to middle school with, so in a way it was my swan song (though I didn't understand or really know this at the time). I played a lot of tennis that summer... seems like I played tennis for most of that summer in fact. There was always a boombox while we were playing, and I remember hearing this song one day during a break and being totally shocked and telling everyone around that I knew this song. No one was that impressed, but whatever.

I love the vocals on this song, Jewel's got a hell of a voice (and is pretty cute). It's a shame she became so successful so early on. Not that the rest of her career has been a waste, but I think she'd be a lot more relevant if she didn't sell 10 million copies of that first CD. If nothing else we wouldn't have to suffer though her poetry.

Listen:

Public Service Announcement (from the Grey Album)

Public Service Announcement (from the Grey Album) by Danger Mouse (Jay-Z and the Beatles)

I never realize how great "Long, Long, Long" was until hearing this song, imo the best track off of Danger Mouse's sometimes mind blowing Grey Album. If nothing else, the Grey Album will make you appreciate the Beatles and Jay-Z/Shawn Carter/Jigga/Jay-Hova/Hova/Hov in a new light. I absolutely love it. There's something about this song that works more so that other efforts on the album; I'm not sure what it is, but there is something beautiful about this song. Jay-Z's words sound even more honest when set to Harrison's heartfelt melody.

Listen (And yes, this may blow you mind; Anime* set to Jigga and The Beatles):



*I think this is what it's called.

Margaret vs Pauline

Margaret vs Pauline by Neko Case

If you read this, but now you know the deal with Neko Case and me, we like to take walks in Alexandria. This song is no different. But I love the lyrics of this here song: "Everything is so easy for Pauline…/Margaret is the fragments of a name" You know, I'm not a big lyrics guy myself. Usually I'll just become attached to one line of a song, like "Margaret is the fragments of a name" which just sounds so interesting and profound - I would love to write a line like that about someone, anyone. But frankly, I don't think there is anyone in my life where I could say such a thing. Because want does it really mean? No matter... I have no clue who I'd rather date. Pauline seems like the obvious answer, but I could also see Pauline being sort of a bitch - everything comes easier to her and she's rich. Margaret seems like a down on her luck, underappreciated - sort of like a male protagonist to most novels ever written. Then again, I guess this is sort of a "upper vs middle class" song, no wonder Pauline seems like the one to date. No matter this is such a pretty song, graceful and soothing. The sort of song that is perfect to walk to at 9 at night along the Potomac.

Listen to the MP3!

Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)

Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile) by Van Morrison

I sort of forgot about this song, as crazy as it sounds but I knew about this song before I even knew who Jackie Wilson was… this brings me back to the family room in the house I grew up in. It was a big room with high ceilings (there was no second floor above the family room). For some reason I'm being reminded of this three piece chest 'set' and each piece had it's own function: one held pictures, another had a few drawers, and the middle one held the stereo equipment, which in order to change CDs would require me and my sisters to stand atop of the chair - that was a few feet away from this three piece set - lean over, supporting ourselves with one hand by putting our weight on the chest, then using the other hand to change CDs. Thinking back, this was an extremely complicated and potentially dangerous activity. But we were kids. Kids do not mess things like that up, a kid would never slip and fall. For some reason, I think my balance as a kid was 100 times better than it is today - actually this makes sense, my center of gravity was lower back then. I'm sure if I were to attempt something like this today, I would be so worried about falling that it would take me much longer than necessary, and there's a good chance I would slip. Kids are amazing.

Listen here (Don't ask):

A Dying Cubs Fan Last Request

A Dying Cubs Fan Last Request by Steve Goodman



I am a White Sox fan. Let there be no mistake. But I am willing to say, that this is the greatest baseball song ever. Yes it's about the Cubs, but you know what, the lyrics and story behind this song is too awesome. And what better way to kick off the Baseball season than to post about this song? The Cubs haven't won the the World Series since 1908 (yes, 98 years). They haven't gone to the World Series since 1945 (as the song points out). The Cubs are pretty much the worst franchise of all time. But for over 85 years, they were tied neck and neck with the Chicago White Sox. Up until 2005, the city of Chicago hadn't seen a World Series game since 1959 and a World Champion since 1917. I had three grandparents be born, live though the Depression, fight in World War Two, get married, raise families to the backdrop of the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s and into the 1970s, they saw the birth of grandchildren in the 1980s, and the economic boom of the 1990s. And then they passed away. They never, ever saw a Chicago baseball team win a championship. But then in 2005, the White Sox some how, some way, broke 85 years of losing. But the Cubs continue to lose, year after year - just like paper beer cups - year after year after year after year.

And for Steve Goodman, who had battled leukemia most of his recording life, this was it. He was dying, and this was the Dying Cubs Fan Last Request. First preformed in early 1983, the Cubs had an uneventful 1983. But for the Cubs, 1984 was different. It was a magical season for them. They made the playoffs. The town (so I heard) was a buzz. This was the year the Cubs were going to the World Series. Goodman would die 11 days before the Cubs would play their first playoff game in almost 30 years. He never saw them play a playoff game, but that might be a good thing. He wouldn't have had to live though the Cubs being up 2 games to none in 1984, only to see them lose the next three; losing two of those games in the late innings. This is most memorably remembered by Leon Durham letting a routine grounder go through his legs. And then there is Bartman and Alex Gonzalez in 2003.

Anyway, today marks one of my favorite days of year, Opening Day (and yes, I'll be at 35th and Shields watching the Sox and Tribe today). XRT may be the only radio station that realizes music is a personal and emotional art, in other words they play songs that mean something, they make the connection between the art that music is and the cultural events that surround us. So on certain days they play songs that have meaning. And for Opening Day my junior year of high school, they played this song on our drive to school. There I was listening to Goodman's chorus:
Do they still play the blues in Chicago/When baseball season rolls around/When the snow melts away,/Do the Cubbies still play/In their ivy-covered burial ground/When I was a boy they were my pride and joy/But now they only bring fatigue/To the home of the brave/The land of the free/And the doormat of the National League

I had to smile. It's true, what better way to bring in the new season than by asking Steve's rhetorical questions? Almost 25 years after Goodman put these words down on paper, sadly for Cub fans (and to some degree of schadenfreude for myself) the chorus is still 100% true. They still play the blue in Chicago, the Cubs still play in their Ivy-covered burial ground, and they still are at the doormat of the National League (well last year at least).

I think that day at school, I jolted down lyrics that worked for my White Sox:
Do they still play the blues in Chicago/When baseball season rolls around/When the snow melts away/Do the White Sox still play/In their Baseball Palace of the World?/When I was a boy they were my pride and joy/But now they only bring frustration/To the home of the brave/the land of the free/And the middle of the American League

To my delight, pretty much none of what I wrote in 1998 is still true today.

Jackson Square

Jackson Square by Mason Jennings

I'm shocked this is my first Mason song… anyway, Mason's a pretty good storyteller. And this is one of his better stories: meets a girl, falls in love, she goes nuts, kills herself, and he misses her to the point where he almost kills himself - and all this happens around Jackson Square. There are a few Jackson Squares, one in San Fran and another in New Orleans... but after a little googling it seems like Mason is referring to the one in New Orleans. But that doesn't matter, I sort of picture Jackson Square as something more Paris-like in its look and feel than anything else. Or maybe something like one of those small squares off of DuPont in DC. This makes sense since I listened to this song like 100 times in the summer of 2006 often times while walking around Northwest DC. A good song and I love the opening line "Dust cloud coming off an old dirt road/that leads up here to this little graveyard". Though for the past week or so, I've been fixated on the line "Life is something you can't control/when you try to hold on to it/it makes you let go". My knee jerk reaction is that I agree with these words, but upon more reflection, I sort of disagree with it. I agree, we can't control life. But does it make us let go? I would think - if anything - we hold onto moments of our lives, even after these moments have long passed. Time goes on, but life stalls. We are all guilty of this, of becoming stuck in a moment or a feeling... some people move on from these moments better than others. I can name a few friends who are stuck on the girl who dumped them four years ago or the guy whose glory days were in high school, and he's still living that dream at 26. Life doesn't make us let go, maybe we should let go, but life does not make us do so. But I will give Mason this, "Anyone who says that life is clear/has never seen a mirror/or been to Jackson Square"

*This just came to me, but this song could be about Katrina...

Listen:

If you want to see 12 seconds of a live preformance of this song...