Junk Food Junkie Mix

I'm sitting here, typing this entry, and I hear a strange rumbling noise. No, it can't be the bass on my stereo...its coming from my tummy. Right now I'm fantasizing about how good a Dairy Queen cherry slush would taste, and how I wouldn't mind the inevitable brain freeze that would follow. So I decided to create a mix that reflects my love for food in all of its healthy, unhealthy, and just plain delcious forms. I know that a few of the songs (Raspberry Swirk for example) use food as sexual metaphors, but I still think it fits in the mix. Also,I admit I threw in a few "cheesy" tunes, but doesn't "cheesiness" fit in with the whole food theme anyway? If this mix doesn't make you want to call out for chinese takeout, I don't think I accomplished my goal. This is an extremely varied mix, so hopefully it has something tantalize everyone's taste buds (ears).

C is for Cookie by Cookie Monster (Sesame Street)
Popsicle by The Starlight Mints
Fast Food Song by Fast Food Rockers
Jelly Bean by Eddie Cochran
Pizza Day by The Aquabats
Coconut by Harry Nillson
Junk Food Junkie by X-Ray Spex
Ice Cream Man by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers
Apple Tree by Wolfmother
Raspberry Swirl by Tori Amos
Satan Gave Me a Taco by Beck
Peaches by Presidents of the United States of America
Chocolate River by The Seeds
Hospital Food by Eels
Cinnamon Girl by Neil Young
The Lemon Song by Led Zeppelin

Revisiting The Protest Song: Part 1

The idea for this post has been brewing for a while - well, since the irrepressible Neil Young unleashed an entire album of protest songs i.e Living With War. The protest song is definitely a musical genre of its own, and while many musicians dabble in it, others such as afrojuju king, Fela Anikulapo Kuti and brit-folkie Billy Bragg built their entire careers (or most of it at least) around it. Of course, protest is as natural to humans as ugliness is to aliens, and musical expressions of protest cut accross various themes, depending on what is sucking the musician's ass at the time of writing and performing the piece. Some protest songs have become staples of pop culture (e.g. "Give Peace A Chance", "Blowin' In The Wind") and are marshalled to support all sorts of protest movements.

Given that there is a million of these songs in circulation, it is not possible (obviously!) for a lowly blogger like me to do any justice to a retrospective on the subject. However, when I started thinking about it, I turned to the fantabulous Wikipedia for some guidance on the subject. Of course, true to its brilliance, wiki had a fantastic list of protest songs arranged by themes out there for geeks and charlatans to explore. This post began to take shape from there and I felt the best way to do this was to adopt the wiki method and post songs in several parts drawn from the various themes as were available im my music catalogue. For the first part, I have chosen themes that are relevant in our world today. More to come. Enjoy.

Politics, War, Right & Government

This Land Is Your Land Bob Dylan
When The President Talks To God Bright Eyes
With God On Our Side Bob Dylan
We Shall Overcome Bruce Springsteen
Sorrow, Tears and Blood Fela Anikulapo Kuti
Margaret On The Guillotine Morrissey
Let's Impeach The President Neil Young
Irish Blood, English Heart Morrissey
Fight The Power Public Enemy
God Save the Queen Sex Pistols
Talkin' Bout A Revolution Tracy Chapman

Abortion

Mandy Goes To Med School The Dresden Dolls
Bodies Sex Pistols

America

America Tracy Chapman
I'm So Bored With The U.S.A. The Clash
Sixteen Military Wives The Decemberists
America Is Not The World Morrissey

Animal Rights & Meat Consumption

Shock The Monkey Peter Gabriel
Nailing Descartes To The Wall/(Liquid) Meat Is Still Murder Propagandhi
Meat Is Murder The Smiths
Disgustipated Tool

Drugs, Drug Abuse & Drug Culture

Doctor Robert The Beatles
Captain Jack Billy Joel
Koka Kola The Clash
Cocaine Eric Clapton

Feminism

Respect Aretha Franklin
Dress PJ Harvey

Censorship

Rock The Casbah The Clash
Radio, Radio Elvis Costello

Gay Rights
Poison Oak Bright Eyes
Shoplifters Of The World Unite The Smiths

Buck 65 Comes To Town!

Part Waits, Part Cohen, Part Cash, Part DJ, Part Troubadour, Part Gentleman, Part Himself, Buck 65 is a serious contender for Canada's most versatile musical export of our time. Live, he wriggles and jiggles, contorts body parts, and spits his stories out the practised aim of a seasoned wordsmith. His banter is funny and smart, engaging and satisfying. This guy definitely understands the importance of the concept of money's worth, so he comes prepared and ready to entertain you completely. This is why I always see him when he's in town, and tonight is no exception. If you are in the City of Champions, and you have an evening to kill, go over to Myer Horowitz at the U of A tonight. You'll come away chanting,

"wicked and weird, i'm a road hog
with an old dog singing slow songs
trying to hold on
wicked and weird, i'm a rat fish
trying to practice
doing backflips on your mattress"

B.Sc.
The Centaur
Talkin Fish Blues

Bob Dylan: Live, Pan American Center, Las Cruces, New Mexico, 29 August 1989.

From one of the early stops on the "Never Ending tour" comes this gem of a recording. Enjoy.

El Paso (Marty Robbins cover, instrumental)
Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)
Positively 4th Street
Ballad Of Hollis Brown
Just Like A Woman
Ballad Of A Thin Man
Highway 61 Revisited
It Ain't Me, Babe
Love Minus Zero/No Limit
Gates Of Eden
Rank Strangers To Me
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
One Irish Rover (Van Morrison cover)
In The Garden
Like A Rolling Stone
Mr. Tambourine Man
Maggie's Farm
El Paso (Instrumental)

Love (Requited) Mix

I was requested by a reader in my last entry, Unrequited Love Mix, to emphasize the positive aspects of love through song. I suppose its more "hip" of me to whine and mope about what could have been in my love life, but I really am an optimistic person for the most part. Also, I really do think I'm truly in love with a boy right now; it may be complicated as heck because its a long distance relationship, but I think he's worth the effort. So I'm going to make a post dedicated to him (and all of you lovers and dreamers out there in cyberspace). Hopefully these songs will remind you that love heals all wounds, even if your heartbreak feels like a cannonball has been catapulted through your chest. I hope this mix puts all of you readers in the "mood," that elusive feeling somewhere between a moonshadow and a candlelit dinner with the person who makes your heart sing. Okay, enough sappiness for one entry. Just listen to the songs, enjoy, and let me know what you think of choices I made for this mix.

The Twelfth of Never by Jeff Buckley
Shelter From the Storm by Bob Dylan
I Love You More Than Words by Otis Redding
A Thousand Stars by Billy Fury
I Found a Reason by The Velvet Underground
Love Song by Elton John
A Kiss From Your Lips by The Flamingos
Between the Bars by Elliott Smith
The Book of Love by The Magnetic Fields
If I Was Your Girlfriend by Prince
She is Staggering by Polaris
Something by The Beatles
You Are the Light by Jens Lekman
My Funny Valentine by Elvis Costello
Hotel Womb by The Church
Something In the Way She Moves by James Taylor
A Love That Will Never Grow Old by Emmylou Harris
The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack

Visit my other music blog: Vintage Rock

Unrequited Love Mix

I feel like an old soul even though I'm not quite able to legally order vodka-crans at bars yet (I'll be 21 in November). At the age of 20, it seems pretty sad that I've dealt so many unrequited love scenarios; I hope I'm not disillusioned by the time I'm 40 years old. I have no desire to be a crazy cat lady and start calling a little gray tabby cat my "little man." So I suppose rather than give up and sit around eating Lays potato chips and watching Sleepless in Seattle, I'd rather make a mix tape to cope with my feelings. I'm sure many of you out there have been twarted by the arrows of Cupid...so I decided to make a lil' mix with the subject of being unlucky in love underyling all the tunes. I pride myself on my mix tape making abilities, so I hope my song choices stand up to this audiences refined musical palette.

How Am I Different by Aimee Mann
Tunnel of Love by Dire Straits
Lonely by Tom Waits
Solitude by Billie Holiday
Maybe After He's Gone by The Zombies
Smokin' 100's Alone by The Bottle Rockets
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood by Nina Simone
These Days by Nico
If I Were by Vashti Bunyan
Why I Stay by The Black Heart Procession
Nothing Came Out by The Moldy Peaches
Famous Blue Raincoat by Leonard Cohen
Pictures of You by The Cure
To Bring You My Love by PJ Harvey
Why I Cry by The Magnetic Fields

Visit Kristy other blog, Vintage Rock.

The Walkmen: Live at the House of Blues, San Diego, CA, June 16, 2006.

Buying and listening to A Hundred Miles Off, the latest from NYC indie rock upandcomers, The Walkmen, is kinda "on my list of albums I should listen to and really wanted to until I stupidly read the critics and now I can't get myself to commit fully." If your thought processes always occur in such lenght, you probably know what I mean. I hope I get to it sometime though, 'cos 2004's Bows + Arrows was great, and if A Hundred Miles Off comes close, it should be a mellow but fun ride. Luckily for me, I have this recent set which features most of the new songs, so I can get a feel for it before I dole out the dollars. I invite you to do the same.

Thinking Of A Dream I Had
Don't Get Me Down (Come On Over Here)
The Rat
Good For You's Good For Me
Emma, Get Me A Lemon
All Hands And The Cook
Lost In Boston
Revenge Wears No Wristwatch
That's The Punch Line
Another One Goes By
Wake Up
Little House Of Savages
We've Been Had
Louisiana
What's In It For Me
Rue The Day

I also have the lossless (flac) files for these-email me if you want it. The mp3s sound great though, so unless you are a hardcore audiophile and you can prove it, save yourself the trouble.

Another interesting about this recording-there is a fair amount of audience chatter and noise, but it strangely complements the music, especially on "The Rat". Perhaps something the band should explore for their next release - throwing some pre-recorded audience chatter into the mix.

Half Man Half Biscuit, Liars, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Miscellaneous BBC Sessions

Pick your poison. Some reasons why I can't live without the BBC.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club BBC Acoustic Session, Backstage at Glastonbury 2002

Love Burns
Shuffle Your Feet

Liars Lamacq Session, June 2002

Everyday Is A Child With Teeth
The Garden Was Crowded & Outside
With Shorts On & Drowning

Half Man Half Biscuit Andy Kershaw Session, 2 Aug. 2002

When The Evening Sun Goes Down
If I Had Possession Of A Pancake Day
27 Yards Of Dental Floss
24 Hour Garage People
There Stands The Glass
Running Order Squabble Fest

Live Built to Spill, And The Best Radiohead Covers & Collaborations I Ever Heard!!

You folks already met Kristy by now, so she needs no further introduction from me. Nice to have a fresh new voice to talk about this and that. Talking about this and that, here's a cracker of a post-a bloody double-header. First up, classic Built to Spill, as Doug Martsch leads the boys out of the dugout on March 13th, 1999 for this live set over at the Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR. Call it the Perfect From Now On and Keep It Like A Secret tour. And if you know your Built to Spill, you know these albums were the peak. Oh, those guitar hooks on "Else"! And when the guitars come crashing in on "Randy Described Eternity"!

The Plan
Center of the Universe
Twin Falls
Kicked It In the Sun
Bad Light
Time Trap
Else
Sidewalk
Randy Described Eternity
Temporarily Blind
Stop the Show
You Were Right
I Would Hurt a Fly
Carry the Zero
Broken Chairs

And to get our collective pulse racing, here's the best compilation of "Radiohead sings the songs of others" I ever heard. Hell yeah!! I sure hope this blog is not becoming a Radiohead mecca, cos we're definitely not about the one band. But this is good stuff, and has to be shared.

Cowboy Song (w/Blur)
After the Gold Rush (Neil Young original)
Shot by Both Sides (Magazine original)
Union City Blues (Blondie original)
Nobody Does it Better (Carly Simon original)
Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young original)
Rhinestone Cowboy (Glen Campbell original)
Be Mine (R.E.M. original)
It's the End of the World as we Know It (R.E.M. original)
Sing a Song for You (Tim Buckley original)
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next (Manic Street Preachers original)
I'll Wear it Proudly (Elvis Costello original)
The Thief (Can original)
I'm Set Free (Velvet Underground original, covered w/Beck)
Wonderwall (Oasis original)
Wish Your We're Here (Pink Floyd original, covered w/Sparklehorse)
Rabbit in Your Headlights (w/UNKLE)
I've Seen it All (w/Bjork)
Winter Wonderland (Felix Bernard/Dick Smith)
Where Will You Be This Christmas (w/The Spunkle All-Stars)

That's it. I'm gone to Church, to seek absolution for yesterday. Here We Go Oilers!! Here We Go!!!