Ultranormal

Category: music

  • Songs That Kick Ass

    I didn’t get much sleep last night, and I was starting to drag after lunch, so I created a new playlist of songs to keep me awake. So far, so good. Here are some highlights:

    • Working Full-Time by The Constantines: The band kicks all kinds of rough garage booty. Their bass player is a god, the lyrics are fantastic, and this song rules. Works great in headphones or in the car turned all the way up.
    • Cuidado by Slo-Mo: I heard this on Channel Frederator, and it’s a great song (although it’s full of the f-word). Good thumpy Latin hip hop (but not reggaeton)
    • Battle Without Honor or Humanity by Rza (from the Kill Bill soundtrack): The horns, percussion… you can’t help but want to go kill some Crazy 88 after hearing it. Honest.
    • Back in Black covered by Living Colour: Better than the original, and that’s saying something. Vernon Reid + Corey Glover = major can of whuppass
    • Saturday Morning by Eels: I love this song more than I can say. Every time I hear it, I think of waking up early on Saturday morning with my brother, dump trucking sugar on our cereal and playing non-stop all day (all seen in a sort of Royal Tenenbaums montage).
    • I See You Baby (Fatboy Slim mix) by Groove Armada: While it’s hard to kick it while shaking it, it’s still a great song.\
      There are others, but I have to get back to work… enjoy.

  • Reelin’ in the Years in iTunes: The Year 2000

    I recently created a bunch of Smart Playlists in iTunes to segment my music by year. I have the following lists so far: before 1990, 1990-1995, 1996-1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007. Today is Year 2000 day – full of techno, Eels, Phish and Lemon Jelly.\
    Here are my favorite songs from 2000 (not in any order, and probably not the “best”, just my faves):

    • Name of the Game by The Crystal Method – This song kicks so much ass, I think it was on repeat in the car for at least three months. The rest of the album it came from doesn’t measure up to the standard set by Vegas, but it’s still pretty good.
    • Get Your Snack On by Amon Tobin – Another frequent repeat. Kicks almost as much posterior as the the first song in this list. Amon Tobin creates atmospheric industrial stuff that’s not for everyone, but I dig most of it.
    • Bewilderbeast by Badly Drawn Boy – The album this song comes from is spectacular, and this is my favorite song from it. One of his few instrumentals, it’s sweet, lovely and has a wonderful beat.
    • Daisies of the Galaxy and I Like Birds by Eels – I love Eels and am sad I didn’t discover them until recently. The whole album is great, but these two songs make me insanely happy. You won’t be able to listen to I Like Birds without giggling and singing along.
    • Dirt by Phish – From Farmhouse, what I consider to be the last great album by the band, this song is heartbreaking and one of their rare slow numbers. It’s gorgeous and unlike 99% of their other stuff.
    • Everything in its Right Place by Radiohead – This song and album were my first real exposure to the bad, and I was blown away. Painful and brilliant.
    • Diamond from the Snatch soundtrack – You’ve heard this song even if you haven’t seen the movie. Like Massive Attack‘s Teardrop, this one makes the rounds in commercials, sporting events, other movies, and even a few TV shows. Bouncy rockin’ techno.
    • Gravel Road Requiem by Walkingbirds – I don’t remember how I found out about Scott Andrew LePera and the Walkingbirds, but this song is an acoustic folky masterpiece. You can download it (and hopefully buy it) on his music page. It’s funny. I met him at SxSW a couple years ago and it took me three days to remember where I’d heard his voice before.\
      Next week, it’s on to 2001: Cake, Zero 7‘s first album, Constantines, David Byrne and Gotan Project.\
      Oh, and I’m going to be on The Biblio File tomorrow night. Details on their blog for how you can join in the fun.

  • The Coolest Thing Ever: Share Your iTunes Library Over AIM

    The guys in the next row have gone and pulled off a truly killer app. I know the title gives it away, but it really works! Greg explains how it works, but I know you really just want to go download it.\
    What does it do? It makes iTunes’ music sharing work over your buddy list!!! So, instead of being limited to sharing music across just your local network, you can now share your tunes with everyone in your buddy list who has the plugin. Unfortunately, it’s only for Windows at the moment… but I’ve promised a pizza to whoever ports it to OS X.

  • One More: Music List

    Before I fade away, here’s a quick list of the albums you should go out and buy right now:

    • Kaiser Chiefs – Yours Truly, Angry Mob – Funny, bouncy and brilliant. You won’t be able to stop bopping along. The album gets better every time I listen to it.
    • The Shins – Wincing the Night Away – Beautiful and haunting, great melodies and sweet hooks.
    • Arcade Fire – Neon Bible – I can’t stop listening to this one. It’s eclectic and urgent, with so many layers, I can’t stop peeling them away. A great headphone album.
    • Constantines – Tournament of Hearts – Rough and rocking through the entire album, but Soon Enough has some of the most gorgeous and sad lyrics I’ve ever heard, and the music fits perfectly. Kind of country rock without the cheesy affected Southern accent and weak slide guitars. This stuff rocks.
    • Regina Spektor – Begin to Hope – I’m not usually into stuff that would be labeled “pop”, but Regina has such an amazing voice, I can’t help it. She genre hops a little, but her great voice and catchy lyrics follow through every song. Good stuff.\
      That’s it. I’m really going to bed now.

  • Kids Love the Ska

    Want to make your kids dance like mad little dervishes? Throw on some ska! I was listening to the SKAverville episode of Coverville where Brian played an unbelievable version of the Can Can. I loved it so much, I made Max listen to it (because he was nearby). He giggled uncontrollably and then started boogying. I tried it this morning on Brian with the same results – spinning happy kid.\
    There you go, scientific proof that kids love ska. If you don’t have some, I highly recommend the Trojan Ska Revival. It’s got the Can Can on it, and most of the rest of the songs were recorded live, so they’re chock full of energy. These are going in the “dance” playlist we have in iTunes that we roll out when the boys need to let off some excess energy before bed time (I Like to Move It from Madagascar is one of their favorite “dance freakout” songs, along with Move Your Feet by Junior Senior).\
    I love watching Max and Brian dance. It’s this funny combination of running, hand waving, head bobbing and butt shakin’ that warms my heart and makes me giggle. When Brian’s just grooving, he does this cute little head bob with the beat that just cracks me up. I’ll try to get it on video in the near future…

  • Rediscovering the Music Video

    It’s been a long time since I saw a video on American MTV. I think the last time I saw one on TV at all was on MTV Europe while in France at the W3C Plenary (I saw some great ones on MTV India… wow… twisted, but in a different way than German techno videos… avert your eyes – they can scar your retinas). But, recently, I downloaded the Democracy Player and discovered Telemusicvision. It’s just music videos you can download and watch through the player… I know, crazy. There’s one in particular that I’ve been watching over and over. Bright Eyes’ The Bottom of Everything is a haunting song about a plane crash, and the video gives it this happy sureal edge that’s completely engrossing.\
    The only problem I have with videos is that they taint songs forever. A song that I may have some deep emotional connection can be totally ruined by the video. It’s a risk, but hey, I get to watch music video again. Hooray, interweb! And the best part? They’re all independent artists.\
    OK, one last thing before I toddle off the bed. I’ve been thinking about this since coming back from Edinburgh with my UK Big Brother addiction. Don’t you think that DirecTV or someone gave us the best TV from all over the world? I had high hopes for BBC America, but the only current thing they show is BBC News. I want the best of British, Australian, New Zealand, and if they can do subtitles quick enough, the best of everyone else’s TV too. DirecTV has room for way more channels, and they already provide scores of Spanish, French, Chinese and Indian channels as unadvertised add-ons, why not a premium package of the best of the rest of the English-speaking world? I can understand licensing issues with networks like Channel4 replaying US shows, but there are ways around that (and about time, I would think). Right now, the only way to get really good reality TV (well, if insanely entertaining crazy people is “really good” – I think it is) is to download it “illegally” with bittorrent. If someone gave me another way to do it that was legal and easier, I’d totally do it. I’d pay as much as I do for HBO to get a package of UK and Australian networks, even if they blacked out replays of US shows. Come on DirecTV, gimme what I want!

  • Random thoughts

    I still hate school. And of course Brian woke up very early all weekend, making me wake up early too. But today, when I had to get up to take care of Max, Brian slept in. Grrr. And I think I sent Max to school in the rain, without a coat. I am a bad, bad mom.\
    ABC is full of asshats, who won’t even comment on their program. What kind of leadership is that?\
    I still love Supernatural! And Veronica Mars. And am looking forward to Battlestar Gallatica. What do these three shows have in common? Amazing use of music. Listen up! You will feel the love too!\
    I am staying away from all of the 9/11 programs this weekend and today. Too much politicizing going on for me to stomach them.\
    The Skins play tonight and Clinton Portis might play too!\
    Kevin is still really sick. He can’t breathe that well or speak that well. I feel badly for him. And me. It is annoying trying to keep him stocked with juice and soup. And he keeps giving his juice away! How can I make sure there is enough for him, when he does that?\
    Someone left us cookies at our doorstep last night. Whee! Brian turned down half of a chocolate chip cookie in favor of crackers. WTH?

  • Best Podcast Ever

    I’ve mentioned it before, but Episode 79 of Radio Clash is the best podcast ever. Tim’s put together a retrospective of early mashup/bootleg remixes, and it’s priceless. If you’ve ever been interested in what mashups are all about, this single podcast will turn you on and blow you away. Owner of a Lonely Butt will make you shake it and laugh it off all at the same time (and enya vs. prodigy is great too… I remember listening to that a long time ago, nice to have it back).\
    Bravo, Mr. Bearcub, bravo.

  • Zero 7 – The Garden

    The Garden by Zero 7 came out this week, and I’ve had it on repeat in iTunes all week. If you’ve listened to Simple Things or When It Falls, you have some idea of how amazing this group is. Their third album isn’t quite as serene, but it’s just as good. It has some faster moving songs on it, but the quality and atmospherics are still there. If you like Massive Attack’s songs like Teardrop or Morcheeba, you’ll love this album. If you need to chill out, forget about your worries and space out for a while, this is the CD for you. It’s a solid 4.5 out of 5.

  • 99 cents is the price of love

    Apple Computer will continue to charge only \$0.99 for music through iTunes.\
    YAY! I love iTunes. Since I have discovered it, I have gone from spending \$15 once a year for an entire CD to spending \$60 (or more, hee) a year for only my favorite songs. While my spending has increased four-fold, my enjoyment has increased 100-fold.\
    Awhile ago I downloaded Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.” I love this song, but I didn’t want to pay full price for the whole CD just for one song. And this is the beauty of iTunes. Just buy what you actually want to hear. In the last year, I also bought some Killers, Soft Cell, Ivy, Will Smith, Rick Springfield, Taxi Doll, and Fiona Apple. I am a total poser when it comes to music. I mean seriously- Eminem, Nitty, and Will Smith in my collection? But now I can be as poser-y as I want to be, for less than a dollar!\
    I can also buy all of the songs played on my beloved Veronica Mars with ease. (Have I recently mentioned how awesome their music is? It is award-winning. Literally!) Lately I have really been enjoying the cheesy fantastic tv show Supernatural and the mullet rock that goes with it. Just yesterday I made a CD for the car, full of the most head-bangingiest classic rock around.\
    So in closing, YAY for iTunes and its cheap prices! If you are an iTunes user, what are the last three songs that you bought?