Friday, June 29, 2007
Mixtape No.4
Hey friends, here's a mixtape for you guys to listen to. It's mostly new or fairly recent stuff, with a few classics thrown in there for good measure. So run along to iTunes and enjoy! It will make your summer better.
1. "Jerk It Out" - Caesars
2. "Fearless" - The Bravery
3. "Plan B" - Mute Math
4. "We Used To Be Friends" - The Dandy Warhols
5. "Surf Wax America" - Weezer
6. "A Strange Education" - The Cinematics
7. "The Unwinding Cable Car" - Anberlin
8. "Mic The Mic" - Starflyer 59
9. "Don't Let Go" - Pacha Massive
10. "Red Carpet Blues" - A Northern Chorus
11. "Black Metallic" - Catherine Wheel
12. "Distance" - Smog
13. "Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
Bonus Track: "Insane In The Brain" - Cypress Hill (edited version available)
Labels: music
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Weird Dream.
So, I was in some sort of zoo, lying on the grass near the water, where they kept a plesiosaur of the Loch Ness variety. Of course, there was still some debate as to whether or not the Loch Ness Monster existed, so they had this area of water where they thought that they kept it if it did exist. Anyway, I saw it. In the meantime, a squirrel attacked my big toe, so I quickly twisted my foot to get it off, but I ended up accidentally flicking the squirrel into the water, where the Lock Ness Monster ate it.
Labels: dreams
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
"Repudiating the Boogie Woogie and Marching for the Lord!"
Once upon a time, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians,
"If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations - 'Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch' (referring to things that all perish as they are used) - according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh." (Col. 2:20-23, ESV)
Apparently, our brother Alan Ives missed that one (or at least the principle behind it). I recently came across his misinformative gem on YouTube (link), where he explains the difference between godly and ungodly music. His distinction between godly and ungodly melodies is a bit hazy, but it seems that in order for rhythm to be godly, it must not contain any of the following: (1) boogie-woogie, (2) backbeat, (3) breakbeat. Why? Because any of those could lead to dancin'.
Basically, according to him, stressing the 2 and 4 beats is evil, so we need to return to stressing the 1 beat, and march for the Lord. I'm not quite sure what the scriptural basis of that is - oh wait, there's not any. I also highly doubt that he'd be able to make this case in any African-American churches.
Labels: music, religion/theology/philosophy
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Jacek Yerka, Artist
Another one of my favorite artists is a Polish painter by the name of Jacek Yerka. He works in both acrylics and pastels, and creates surrealistic fantasy images that are heavily influenced by the Flemish school of painting. I discovered a book of his work ("Mind Fields") back in college and have been a fan ever since.
Visit his website at www.yerkaland.com.
Labels: film/tv/books/arts
Monday, June 11, 2007
Brandon Bird, Artist
One of my new favorite artists is a fellow by the name of Brandon Bird, who paints with oil to create rather stunning images incorporating random pop culture figures. I mean, the guy has a painting called "No One Wants to Play Sega with Harrison Ford", for crying out loud. What's not to love? My personal favorite is "The Death of Jennifer Sisko" - it's quite moving.
Visit his website at www.brandonbird.com, and be sure to check out both his paintings and his drawings. His "Law & Order" Valentine cards are pretty cool, too.
Labels: film/tv/books/arts
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Come As You Are
For some reason, the song "Come As You Are" by Nirvana crossed my mind the other day, and I became curious to whether or not there were any covers of the song on iTunes. Well, there were a lot (even after you realize that 15-20% of the search results are covers of a different contemporary christian music song). Of course, there were beaucoups of obligitory awful punk versions, but what really surprised me were how many jazz and bossanova versions there were. There was even a version by The King (yes, the Elvis impersonator), but for some reason you can't purchase that song in US (I suspect the hand of The Colonel in that), but you can listen to it here. Anyway, here is a quick guide to some of my favorites:
Sheila Cassandra. This a jazzy bossanova take, with a great clean guitar tone, and amazing vocals. Definitely my favorite.
Iris T. & The Billy Rubin Trio. Another great female-fronted jazz outfit, this one has a fun violin solo.
Keith Moore. Starts out with an original beginning, before launching into a reggae-tinged fusion cover.
The Mammals. A slow, lo-fi version, with dirty yet spacious guitar tones, harmonica, and a powerful bridge.
Charlie Hunter Trio. Instrumental jazz. Enough said.
The Inchtabokatables. Actually I don't like this version, but it's hard to stop listening to it. It's a live version by an interesting foreign (German?) power-rock band. The, um, passionate vocals are worth a listen.
Rockabye Baby! From the 'Lullaby Renditions of Nirvana' album. I also don't like this version either, but if you like toy piano and xylophone instrumentals, this one's for you.
Oh, well, whatever, nevermind...
Of course, this got me thinking - Could I put together complete cover versions of both the 'Nevermind' and 'In Utero' albums? And the answer is: almost. I couldn't find any covers of "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter" or "Tourette's", but other than that, I present to you the following list. Some of these are really good. Some aren't, but they were still the best I could find, sadly enough.
Nevermind:
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Patty Smith. The Godmother of Punk - need I say more? It's mostly acoustic, oddly enough, complete with banjo, though at some point, Patty does her thing and starts rambling a bunch of spoken word that's not in the original. I must say that I was torn between this and the Tori Amos version.
"In Bloom" - So They Say. You can almost always depend on finding a punk version of any Nirvana song.
"Come As You Are" - Sheila Cassandra. That is, if you can't find the version by The King.
"Breed" - Bernstorffsminde Efterskole. See "In Bloom".
"Lithium" - Bruce Lash. Easy-listening acoustic jazz (complete with flute) that fits the title. Good times.
"Polly" - Tritone. Surfish garage rock.
"Territorial Pissings" - Ill Nino. Metalish punk with a proper numetal acoustic breakdown at the bridge.
"Drain You" - The Vitamin String Quartet. I tried really hard not to use any of the 'String Quartet Tribute' albums since they're the throwaway answer, but my hand was forced. It's not spectacular, but it's not bad.
"Lounge Act" - The Retroliners. A fun punkish surf instrumental.
"Stay Away" - UK Subs. See "In Bloom".
"On A Plain" - Agent Orange. See "In Bloom". While not all that different from the original Nirvana version, Agent Orange gets props for their role in early 80s punk, and the shaping of the SoCal skate-punk music scene.
"Something In The Way" - Birdsaw. It's kinda shoegazey, then the female singer starts yelling.
In Utero:
"Serve The Servants" - Rockabye Baby! The pickins' were slim on this one, but it's not as bad as their "Come As You Are".
"Scentless Apprentice" - Flipper. A solid performance, with fun/scary grunge vocals. Interesting, Krist Novaselic actually played bass in this band for a short tour.
"Heart Shaped Box" - Hip Bones. Saxophone-fronted jazz fusion instrumental outfit, but there is a guitar solo about four minutes in.
"Rape Me" - Richard Cheese. Only a Vegas lounge singer could simultaneously destroy the irony of this song, while making it even more ironic. Oddly more disturbing than the original.
"Francis Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle" - Jojo. A fairly solid rock cover.
"Dumb" - El Destroyo. Nice laid-back indie rock.
"Very Ape" - The Postmen. See "In Bloom".
"Milk It" - The Hellworms. Spastic old-skool noisy spazz punk.
"Pennyroyal Tea" - Binky. I think this is a ska-punk band. It has brass, anyway.
"Radio Friendly Unit Shifter". I've got nothing.
"Tourette's." I thought I had one, but I don't.
"All Apologies" - Kathryn Williams. A nice little track. Whistler's version is a close second, even though I almost went with the jazzy big-band version by Double Down.
Anyway, enjoy.
Photos by Charles Peterson, most likely - www.charlespeterson.net
Labels: music
