Music Education: Pink Floyd's "Meddle"

My music education has always come in waves, often by people who have changed my life. The right songs, albums, artists... they tend to enter my world at just the right times, at times when they mean the most to me and at times when I need them the most. That's how it goes, I guess. It's been a while since I've had such an occasion, but as of late my world has been beautifully shaken. The accompanying soundtrack of new music has shaken me, too... songs to love to. Songs to live by. Songs I wasn't quite meant to hear until this point in my life.

Pink Floyd's "Meddle" is the first in a series of albums I've been introduced to and have fallen in love with. I thought I was a Pink Floyd fan before, in the Dark Side of the Moon/ The Wall kind of way, but, of course, I had no idea what I was missing. Meddle is my new favorite, though there is more to be explored...

What I do know is that Pink Floyd albums always paint a certain landscape with their music- sounds that are vast, epic. Songs that create a sense of place- a place you live in while you're listening. Meddle is full of places slightly lonely... the feeling you get remembering old friends and good times past. The types of places that stay with you long after things have changed. I love how that feeling carries through the album. It is thoughtful, full of growth, empowering in the way you feel empowered when you realize you're somehow different... a perfect feeling for this moment. It's an album that simmers with strength. It's extremely honest in that way that music can be.

The songs....

One of These Days
This song rallies like an intro song should... a thumping bass line leading you in... guitar riding in behind, bass drum hitting in just the right spots... it's a great start to the album and all its highs and lows... like taking a look at a place from the top of a mountain before going down into it. Their music is so rich, so full of energy and sound.


A Pillow of Winds
And then... slidey, sleepy, this song is one of nighttime reflection. The kind of alone you feel when someone is sleeping beside you but you lie there awake. It's not necessarily sad, just solitary. The guitars in this song are so pretty, so filling... the perfect blend of twang and melody. And through all the tense, just-beside-comfort slides and bends, it leaves off somewhere brighter. It fades into a sound a little more sure, like sunrise finally hitting the point of day.

And I rise, like a bird,
In the haze, when the first rays
Touch the sky.

And the night wings die.

Fearless
This song... by far the most special on the album. I've spent a few subway rides listening to this song on repeat (as I'm doing now), which is always the sign of a song that really hits me. It's perfect in that way that "Wish You Were Here" is perfect, but to very different effect. The song opens so sure of itself, taking you into that simple but perfect riff, the crowd echoing faintly behind... an anthem for all those who walk the less-traveled roads, who find the way to be fearless. It's a song to fill that space outside... the free space, just below the mainstream, where anything can go. (I heard Ian McKaye talk about that space in reference to punk music, and it stuck with me.) This song has relevance in so many ways, a place for so many moments. For now, for me, it's brushing past caution, watching it get smaller as you walk towards the challenging things. It's about doing it anyway. It's about taking a look at things from the edge, instead of the center. It's about the fact that there's beauty in ugliness, in struggling and suffering and being able to find that and face it is a step towards fearlessness. It's about saying fuck it and finding that you made the best decision of your life. It's about doing what you want to do, not what you're supposed to do.

And who's the fool who wears the crown?
And go down,
in your own way
And every day is the right day

San Tropez
This song is a vacation song from the first sound. Not necessarily a song you listen to on vacation, but one that captures the feeling of being away from home, a place where you can be something simpler. I love the swing of it. I love the story it tells. I've lived in this song before. It's the light point of the album, the most carefree and still it carries the mood. "If you're alone I'll come home."


Seamus
My love for the sound of the blues makes this song another favorite, for the way it bends my insides just slightly. I love that the dog howling is part of the instrumentation. I love the interplay of the guitar and the keys and the bass line. I love that the song is busy and simple and slides all over my nerves. I love the piano solo. I love that I wish it was longer, like I wish all blues songs were one long soundtrack in my brain. I love it.

Echoes
And after five fantastic and completely unique songs, Pink Floyd sends you out with an epic so full it could be its own album. This is more of what I know of Pink Floyd's sound and it's something they do like no band does. Their sounds dig deep... they create images and feelings and landscapes even before a word is spoken. That recurring riff sounds so familiar to me, yet so uniquely Pink Floyd... This song brings home the mood of the album- alone but not lonely, wandering but not lost, curious but not uncertain. It builds and it moves and it breaks it down and rocks it out. They really are masters of sound and all the things it can do. I love all the highs and lows... the sweeping and abstract and the pure rock n' roll of it. I love how it drives and then settles and the pushes back up. It's so physical... so seizing. And I love the way their lyrics lull and calm, and then release with the music. (Did I mention this song was moving?) All in all... incredible.

This one is going in the favorites pile, certainly. A fabulous start to a new phase... in music, in life, and the like............

pick me up

Full office days can be hard times for my A.D.D. tendencies and my need for constant stimulation. So, in order to stay focused, energized, sober and generally productive, the pick-me-up playlist is a complete necessity.

What's coming out of my speakers??

Icky Thump, The White Stripes
Soft, Kings of Leon
No One Knows, Queens of the Stoneage
Where It's At, Beck
Edit, Regina Spektor
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, Led Zeppelin
Jigsaw Falling into Place, Radiohead
Who Knows, Jimi Hendrix
Tears Dry on their Own, Amy Winehouse
Rockers to Swallow, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
I Believe in a Thing Called Love, The Darkness (remember them??)
Peace Frogs, The Doors


diggg it.......

'cause i'm a punk rocker, yes i am

"Punkrocker", The Teddybears (feat. Iggy Pop)

This song saved my fucking life this past week- mine and my co-pilots- in what was the last leg of a very long month of shooting. It is an absolutely perfect song when you are at the end of your rope and all you want to do is stick your middle finger up at anyone who speaks, for the sole reason that you are too exhausted and worn out to listen, much less care.

I continue to listen to it on repeat (though I've made it out of the 15-pass van) and it revvs me up every time. I am currently sitting in the Atlanta airport, rocking out with my bad self to the extreme curiousity of a lot of old people around me. And I care not, because me and Iggy know where it's at. This song is fantastic. Listen. Watch.

See me drivin down the street,
I'm bored with looking good.
I got both hands off the wheel,
The cops are coming.
I'm listening to the music with no fear,
You can hear it too if your sincere...

'Cause I'm a punk rocker yes I am.
Well I'm a punk rocker yes I am.
'Cause I'm a punk rocker yes I am.
Well I'm a punk rocker yes I am.

I see you stagger in the street,
And you cant stay on your feet.
And your faking in your sleep,
You wish that you were deep.
You can't hear me laughing to myself,
If you could you would be someone else.

'Cause I'm a punk rocker yes I am.
Well I'm a punk rocker yes I am.
'Cause I'm a punk rocker yes I am.
Well I'm a punk rocker yes I am.

See me die on bleaker street,
I'm bored with being god,
See me sneering in my car,
I'm driving to my star.

I'm listening to the music with no fear,
You can hear it too if your sincere...


'Cause I'm a punk rocker yes I am.
Well I'm a punk rocker yes I am.
'Cause I'm a punk rocker yes I am.
Well I'm a punk rocker yes I am.

'Cause I'm a punk rocker yes I am.
Well I'm a punk rocker yes I am.

In R a i n b o w s

I have truly been in rainbows for the last two days, listening to Radiohead's latest masterpiece on repeat. The album is very appropriately titled, because the experience is quite like being immersed in rainbows... all different colors, on different levels, and absolutely joyful all the way through. I am so immersed that I feel the need to give you the play-by-play of my listening experience. The buzz of this new album is everywhere, so here is some food for thought while you do your respective listening...

1. 15-Step
The beat to this song is such a happy draw into the album because it sets the pace for all the rhythmic energy to come. If I were more musically inclined i might try and figure out if there are actually fifteen beats per measure or something (any takers??) but to my amateur ears, it is simply a cool beat. Other things I love about this song? The kids cheering (again, such a joyful sounding album) and the slidy guitar riff. The whole album mixes this idea of joyfulness amidst a world running down, starting with this song. I love radiohead songs that don't get too complicated, and this is one of them.

2. Bodysnatchers
Keeps up the pace from 15-Step for a nice transition, with the guitars taking more of the rhythmic lead in this one. The lyrics of this song are what stand out for me, a 21st century anthem. It's time we had some real songs capturing the mood of our era, and this one totally does.

Has the light gone out for you?
Cause the light's gone for me
It is the 21st century
It is the 21st century
You can fight it like a dog
And they brought me to my knees
They got scared and they put me in

Radiohead has always had a finger on the pulse of "the fear" pervading the public mentality of our time, and this song is right on it. The universal bodysnatching of our time...yes. And the song is totally rock n' roll, to boot.

3. Nude
Bringing it down a notch... Add this to the list of beautiful Radiohead songs that get right at your insides without pushing or pulling too hard. (see: How to Disappear Completely, Talk Show Host) The background vocals on this are great with all the swells of string/synth sounds. A song about coming off a high if there ever was one...

Now that you've found it, it's gone
Now that you feel it, you don't
You've gone off the rails

I love when Radiohead gets melodic, because they are so unique about it...like just about everything else that they do. The little arpeggios in here are so sweet and York's trailing vocal lead-out... mmm.

4. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
I am ready to declare that this is one of my favorites on the album. The simple repetition, the restless rhythm, the dreamy-sounding interludes... this one's optimistic, though it's more of a rainy day song than sunshine. Just the right feeling for right now, and just the right song for an album called "in rainbows."

5. All I Need
The lovesong of the album... and it is a beautiful one. Bassy intro, simple lyrics... you are all I need. The xylophone is a great counterpoint to all the bass, and there goes that joyfulness again. I really dig the instrumentation on this one.

6. Faust Arp
The opening chord of this song totally makes me think of "Exit Music," especially with that first line, "wakey, wakey..." It's hard to pull off strings successfully in a song because they can so often sound cheesy, but for this song it works. This one stands out the least for me on the album, but it has its moments. I dig the guitar parts and the story it tells is very much in keeping with the album- living up to expectations, feelings of emptiness & overload:

It's what you feel now
what you ought to, what you ought to
reasonable and sensible
dead from the neck up
because I'm stuffed, stuffed, stuffed
we thought you had it in you
but no, no, no
for no real reason

So much to say, that Tom York... so very relevant.

7. Reckoner
And... crash, clap... The rhythm takes the lead in this one- a nice collage of beats and tones. I love...how many times have I used the word love so far??... love the interplay of sounds in this song. Church chorale meets drum kit. and lots of fun with harmony.

8. House of Cards
Well, this one strikes a personal chord for me, so I, of course, dig it immensely. Not to mention it's beautiful, and I can actually play the guitar riff. It's the kind of song you want to put on a mix tape for that illicit crush... a just-between-you-and-me kind of song.

9. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
Favorite Song no. 2 on the album... There is nothing like a song about being on the dance floor, especially one that captures the sentiment so well. This song hearkens the spirit of Idioteque but completely has its own sound. The lyrics make it what it is, but the beat makes you wanna move... and the blues-tinged guitar lines make me shudder with joy. I cannot wait until this song hits the DJ booth (Beauty Bar...here comes...) Again, the nihilistic meets the joyful. Come on and let it out.

10. Videotape
The album ends on an elegy... a farewell that is hopefully only temporary. It has the feeling of a march, and it is a march of sorts, towards whatever unknown lies ahead. A melancholy note to end on, but appropriately optimistic.

No matter what happens now
You shouldn't be afraid
Because I know today has been the most perfect day I've ever seen

It is a reaffirmation of all the bittersweet sentiments coloring the album. The movement of this song is so very cool. A full circle for all the albums highs and lows.


Whew. Not to mention the way Radiohead decided to sell this album is the most creative and positive approach to the digital music industry and all its obstacles I have seen. It fosters such a positive relationship between artist and audience, cutting out the corporate devilry that is so detrimental to the spirit of music. Happy listening.

Karma

Late night has me reading about Karma and I found this beautiful description:

The effects of all deeds actively create past, present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life and the pain and joy it brings to others.

OOh. That's all.

music plugs

12-hour office days and all I want to do is come home, turn on some great music and sing along. So, I do. Songs are a lot like life... (careful now, I am going to wax profound)... but they are a lot like life, because they are momentary. You cannot hold on to them, you can only go through them. And then go through them again. I've been listening to so much new music lately, I want to plug it all here. Well, here are some tastes:

Agents of Oblivion- rich, dark rock, part opera, part blues, all good... recommended: "Song that Crawls" on their self-titled. Singer Dax Riggs has a fantastic new album out, We Only Sing of Blood and Love. Buy it. Check out "Demon Tied to a Chair in My Brain," "The Terrors of Nightlife," and "Dog-Headed W***e." Same beauty as Agents of Oblivion but the songs are more intimate & there's some really cool acoustic bluesy stuff. Yum.

Snagged a copy of the Beastie Boys' The Mix Up & have developed a new appreciation for them. I'll admit I was never an avid Beastie Boys listener (I could get it up for "No Sleep 'til Brooklyn, but that's because... I like Brooklyn) but I am now convinced I have a lot of catching up to do. The Mix Up is awesome. Chill, funky, creative instrumental music that makes me want to listen to it on repeat. There's great guitar & bass parts...and whistles...and bongos... organs...it's all there. Check out The Rat Cage video on Filter.

Ok, that's it for now... I'll try not to abandon you phantom readers for too long this time... it's been a busy summer. time for t h e F a l l.. . ... . .

SotD: Place to Be, by Nick Drake

Well, kids, here it is. We knew this day would come... we just didn't know when. I am being evicted from my sweet-ass deal apartment. Well, technically, the angel subletting to me is being evicted, but the key point here is that I HAVE TO MOVE. motherfucker.

I don't think the shock has quite settled yet, but it will. I am officially apartment-spoiled and will soon experience a hard dose of new york city real estate reality. oy.

So... for the song of the day... i was thinking of George Thorogood, of course, because One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer is the perfect narrative for my present situation. But I've already used that one up for some previous misery, so it's onwards through the playlist.

I am currently listening to Radiohead's Kid A, but it's not quite the right fit. I'm thinking Nick Drake... mellow with the right amount of despondence, disappointment with the right amount of resolve. Place to Be suits me just right for early morning reflections on what's up ahead. New apartment. New production. New things to come. s o i t g o e s.

at the end of the day...

rough morning! wrap out in the rain...

...all that will get you through it is the music. it's been a rough week, and a great week. i've been working my ass off, which is all i can seem to do to stay afloat these days. Montauk was a nice little weekend of heaven and hell all rolled into one. eighteen hour days, exhaustion, exasperation, lots of drugs, good times and great people. there were zen moments on the beach at odd hours, encounters with the Montauk police and general chaos, all of which made me feel as alive as ever. There are those moments in your life where things just click, and even though everything is as fucked up as it ever was, things seem right. Here's to those moments.

so? the music? there was little time for that. but if i were to coordinate some tunes for the adventure... you would hear:

Gimme Shelter and You Can't Always Get What You Want, The Rolling Stones
This is How it Works, Regina Spektor (still in the obsession pile)
Bron Y Ur Stomp, Led Zeppelin
Yellow Submarine, The Beatles
No Sleep til Brooklyn, The Beastie Boys
Peace Frogs, The Doors
The Bar is a Beautiful Place, Ryan Adams
Maggie's Farm, Bob Dylan
Get Myself Arrested, Gomez
Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine, The White Stripes

I Wish I Was Tom Waits

Tom Waits knows how to sing it right when your heart is in the gutter. At least I can put his music on and drown into a temporary oblivion. He makes every painful sentiment sound beautiful and creates a little wellspring of hope. If I were Tom Waits all my blues would forever be in audible form.

Songs on the playlist:

Train Song, Big Time
Falling Down, Big Time
Please Call Me, Baby, The Heart of Saturday Night
Johnsburg, Illinois, Swordfishtrombones
Anywhere I Lay My Head, Big Time
Time, Rain Dogs

SotD: Bad Luck Blue Eyes by the Black Crowes

Things I like? Finding the perfect song for the day (/week/month?)

With my winter time
My idols and stage fright
In another night
Where the lights are loud and bright

One dream from waking up saved
Too shy to hold in the rage

I know no luxury
Of knowing what your eyes read
I know one million ways
To always pick the wrong thing to say

A love that you never gave
Always a time zone away
It's not out of spite
I know what's right

Bad luck blue eyes goodbye

Sometimes a memory
Only sees what it wants to believe
And what's filled in between
Are days and nights that don't mean a thing

Such a simple suicide
A second chance never tried
And you dont understand
I need a helping hand

So you think that you've seen it all
Is that a fact?
So out your mouth a dictionary
Spouts about this and that
You got your dos, your don'ts
Because and why
I don't trust no one who don't
Take their own advice

Bad luck blue eyes goodbye

words to live by

"don't compromise yourself. it's all you got."
- Janis Joplin

At It Again: one long day at the Virgin Festival

It isn't summer without mud, misadventures and music and so my partner in crime and I were at it again for another round this weekend. Destination: Baltimore, for one long day of the Virgin Festival. It was a tough call on which day to pick with the line-up being what it was, but with limited funds we settled on Saturday for an earful of Amy Winehouse, the Beastie Boys, Incubus, Ben Harper and the Police (with distant wafts of Modest Mouse from the second stage). Good deal.

A walk, metro ride, bus ride, and $60 in cab fare later we rolled up in style, plastic whiskey-filled soda bottles well hidden in our purses, sunscreen soaking into our skin and all the mental preparation we could muster for porta-johns and $9 beers. The most pleasant thing about Virgin Fest was its size- 2 stages (one of which we never had to go to, because all of the good shows were on the mainstage) and about 35,000 bodies, according to Sting's calculations. We managed to get comfortably close to the stage without being touched, danced-on or spilled-on.

The shows were all good to awesome, with Amy Winehouse and Ben Harper stealing the spotlight.

Amy Winehouse is the most compelling female artist to watch, inspiring comparisons to Janis Joplin herself. She looks small and somewhat shy on stage, like she'd rather be singing to you from a couch in a hotel somewhere. She's slightly self-conscious, which makes her all the more beautiful and engaging. Other than swinging her hips back and forth every now and then (and wiping her nose compulsively) all of her movements come from her throat. And the girl can sing, which is more than you can say for so many chics making music today. She barely spoke, smiled only to the phantom offstage that can only be the husband for whom she's singing, and otherwise sang us into a blissful motown groove for one hot hour.

True to form, Ben Harper's live show kicked ass. His albums are all hit-or-miss but there is something about his live show that just brings it. His band can really jam and he puts on a moving, funky show. Burn One Down and With My Own Two Hands were right on. The show didn't quite live up to his Bonnaroo standard (John Paul Jones, where'd you go...) but it worked. Notable: Leon Mobley's thumping bongo solo and Harper's slide guitar playing.

The Beastie Boys were a great time and the Police were variably mediocre and kind of awesome. At least I got to actually listen to the concert this time (let's not talk about last time) and their classics are fun to hear live. I was disappointed with the way they did Roxanne (the encore I waited all night to hear)- it was a little too mellow for that song- but all in all worth it.

The journey back was a novel in itself, but taught me many things. Namely, downtown Baltimore is a scary place at night, all transportation is apparently free in Baltimore, a light rail is nothing like a subway, and Amtrak can sometimes feel like heaven. After the sweat, the whiskey, the beer, the crabcakes & fries, the great music and the long way home, Virgin fest was good times.

SotD: Come and Find Me by Josh Ritter

the truest sentiments are in the songs.

if i could trace the line that ran
between your smile and your sleight of hand
i’d guess that you put something up my sleeve
now every time i see your face, the bells ring in a far-off place
we can find each other this way, i believe.

from the hills and up behind my town
is naked from the horizon down .. the curvature is pressed against the raise
and we walked up in the fields alone
and the silence fell just like a stone that got lost in the wild blue and the gravel grey

come and find me now

though i’m here in this far off place,
my air is not this time and space
i draw you close with every breath
you don’t know it’s right until it’s wrong
You don’t know it’s yours until it’s gone
i didn’t know that it was home ‘til you up and left

come and find me now

i keep you in a flower vase
with your fatalism and crooked face
with the daisies and the violet brocades
and I keep me in a vacant lot
in the ivies, forget-me-nots
hoping you will come and untangle me one of these days

come and find me now

SotD: What Happens When the Heart Just Stops by The Frames

and for today...

What Happen When The Heart Just Stops

So what happens when the heart just stops
Stops caring for anyone
The hollow in your chest dries up
And you stop believing

So what happens when the heart gives up
But the body goes on living
The blood crawls to a slow and stops
And flows away

Well we got no-one to meet
No love we would beseech
We only have ourselves to blame for everything
The was no answer in the dust
And I'm missing you so much
And now you're sleeping
And I'm leaving

Empty-handed waiting
Time it will subside and we'll agree
It was a given
Well there was no standard we could set
And the world it does regret
To have to leave you in this state of bereavement

You see I'm feeling everything
Nothing gets by

There is a hollow in my chest
The time I won't forget
There is no comfort in the eyes
They put us always to the test
I can't prepare myself for that
But I work it out in time
There is a love that flows between us
Ever-changing everyday
I worked myself up to a crawl
But I'm not fearing it at all
We have no reason left to stay
And that's why we're leaving
And there was no answer in the dust
And the one I feared to trust
There is a lie that drags us
Beating and pulling into disappointment

I'm disappointed
I'm disappointed
I'm disappointed

It's so late, till you're gone

playing the bridge

... as a musical instrument? hell yeah. this guy rocks:

Bonnaroo '07: the long and winding road

(photos c/o Elise Nam)

Hello, friends. I have been on hiatus for a few weeks, traveling, working, sleeping it off and being somewhat lazy, but there is much to catch up on. I blame the laziness on the ordeal that was Bonnaroo 2007. But after much sitting and staring, and a week's worth of showers, I am ready to piece it back together.

I missed last year's Bonnaroo due to lack of funds and motivating parties, so I was totally geared up for this year's return. That and the line-up was too good to pass up. Tool. The White Stripes. The Police. The Decemberists. Ben Harper. Gov't Mule. Kings of Leon. The Flaming Lips. I would have paid $100 each to see just the top two in that list, so my justifications were in place.

Ah, and the journey began on a bus from Penn station to Bethesda, Maryland, where I met my partner in crime. We decided to do the drive down to Tennessee the hard way- 12 hours overnight, just the two of us- and, instead of sleeping as much as possible before we headed out, we spent the day shopping for supplies. Target. REI. Wegmans. $200 in the hole...

The highlight? Standing in the supermarket at 11pm- the first leg of our drive- trying to figure out if we would skunk 3 cases of beer by buying them cold. Our physicist on call was unavailable, so we decided to wait on the beer purchase until we got on the road. (If you have to drink Natty Light, you sure as hell don't want to be drinking skunked Natty Light.) We did manage to get the coolest cooler ever (32 cans is no lie!) and a pole that came in very handy.

Despite our car spinning out of control on an entrance ramp- a great way to start the journey- we made it through the night in one piece. Physically, anyway. We did stop in many hickville gas stations trying to find out whether it was legal for them to sell alcohol yet (What time zone are we in? The normal one), whether they had any warm beer we could buy, and if there was any ephedrine available over the counter.

Then, of course, there was the meet-up at Walmart, which felt like a biblical trial of the will. Our friends got tangles in the 10 mile line on the interstate leading into Bonnaroo and it took many maneuvers to get them out. Our own line was a mere 3 miles long, and before you could say don't-touch-me-you-fucking-hippy, we were in. We did encounter a few scary hippies on the way in- one offering us a handmade cigarette that was probably dipped in acid, then requesting we give him a cigarette, then showing us his ass cheek, the other shouting "take a fucking shower" to the line as he picked his lunch out of the dread-locked mat of hair on his head.

We got a decent camping spot that was hopping with crickets and before we knew it the tents were up. Our shade solution (a tarp and a pole) was almost a failure, but luckily there was a nice, moderately clean hippie camping next to us that helped us rig something up using his van. He then proceeded to have sex in the van with his miniskirt-donning girlfriend every three hours.

Amazingly, it barely rained the entire time we were there. Which means, of course, that it was fucking sweltering and we spent many hours at our campsite wetting ourselves, staying very still and drinking too much to notice that we were baking.

Ok, ok... on to the shows. I am not going to analyze the shows or the music in any kind of serious depth for two reasons. 1. My body was processing many mind altering substances throughout the duration of these shows and I cannot offer any accuracy. 2. Concerts for me are about a feeling, and feelings don't translate into html code very well. However... I will offer some memorable tidbits.

The Kings of Leon were a sweet way to start the festival. The 10 minutes of rain that fell on us as they took the stage was not nearly enough to cool us off in the midday heat, but they rocked me enough to forget about it. They played all my faves (sans Day Old Blues, which I love)- Taper Jean Girl, Charmer, Knocked Up, etc etc- and their energy was kickin. We had to go cool off post-concert, but made it back to catch the end of the Roots show, which was a funky bit of heaven. I've never listened to much of the Roots, but I was highly impressed. Funk, Hip Hop, Rap, Rock... they are somewhere in between it all. Great way to get the blood flowing for... TOOL, oh yes yes. (That and a little chemical substance called Baking Soda, which I paid $40 for...fuckeroooo)

Tool was just awesome. I wish I had a better view of the stage (the lighting was fantastic...at one point the crowd actually "ahhh"-ed the lighting effects) but the music was spectacular to hear. Maynard's voice is a beautiful thing. The bass lines were heart-thumping. The drum kit was massive. The audience moved in simultaneous rock-rhythm convulsions.

Saturday's highlight was definitely the Ben Harper show. Not only is he a great musician to watch and hear, but during the show none other than a mister John Paul Jones took to the stage to play a kick-ass "Dazed and Confused" with Harper. This was by far one of the greatest moments in my musical life. It was amazing. The rest of Saturday got kind of druggy, but I do remember hearing the Police from afar (and realizing Police fans are not as hospitable or friendly as Bonnaroo's standard hippy fare), passing by the Flaming Lips show in a phsychedelic haze and listening to the Mule show from the safety of a self-made cacoon. Drugs are bad.

And tired and worn out as we were by Sunday, I managed to rev it up for the Decemberists, who were great and had a lot of fun with the audience... but I imagine would be better not in 100 degree, cloudless heat. My favorite show of the weekend was, of course, the White Stripes. I stand by my claim that Jack White may just be the last living rockstar. The show was like sitting in Jack's garage (if he has a garage) and watching him mess around on his guitar, stumbling upon occassional brilliance and otherwise just rocking out. They played mostly the goodies from White Blood Cells, De Stijl and Elephant, with some Icky Thump rockness. It was the perfect note to end on.

Getting the hell out of there was a pain in the ass all the way through the night until we rolled up in DC around noon the next day, but overall well worth the cash, dirt and exhaustion. Next year? We're taking a plane.

SotD: Talk Show Host by Radiohead

Today I find myself at an emotional impasse. There comes a certain time in life where you realize that the neat little equations you were taught about how life is supposed to be are all a sham. 1 + 1 never equals 2, because there is always something to be lost when something is gained.

Buddha teaches us to try and live in the present- live at each breath's inhale and exhale- but today my thoughts are at the tipping point of past and future. How did I get here and where am I going. For the present moment, that is all my mind can seem to rest on. So, for today, a slow and languid song. A song about restless immobility. A theme song of mine.

Radiohead's "Talk Show Host" so brilliantly captures a mood more than anything else. All of its elements are simple, small movements that together create a feeling of open space and of being lost. It paints the picture of a Dali desert with its slightly surreal suggestions and collage of sounds. It's a little morbid, a little desperate, a little resigned.

You want me?
Fucking come on and break the door down.
I'm ready.

I'm ready.

In Memoriam: Songs of War

Image by Ralph Steadman

Like most American holidays, Memorial Day is often thought of as a long weekend, established for the sake of declaring the start of summer and calling us to remember only our beachware. We have to remind ourselves to remember that the day exists for memorializing our dead- the American dead- and the many American wars we have fought, sending our soldiers to their graves. It's a somber holiday and this year it is the most somber of all. Soldiers are still dying. America is still at war and many of us may not even remember why. Each year we seem to move further and further away from a notion of peace- in Iraq, on our borders and in the world at large. Let us remember, then, that war is not a game and it is not a television show. It is an undertaking that, even in the best of circumstances and the most noble of causes, leads to untimely graves for so many soldiers and so many bystanders alike. It should always remain a last resort and when it is necessary it should not be celebrated or aggrandized, but mourned because it will always result in the spilling of blood.

In honor of the dead and dying, I call to memory the great power music once had to rally people against unnecessary war. It is still our strongest tool for awakening mass consciousness and expressing a unified voice. It has been used as a tool for fundraising, for opening up dialogue and for sticking up a big FUCK YOU to the powers that be. It seems to me that there is no better time to recall this grand tradition.

For a little inspiration, here are some of the most powerful, honest and just plain good songs about war:

Masters of War by Bob Dylan, written in 1963 and released on the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Just fucking honest as hell, Dylan always managed to say all the words you might be thinking about the most vital subjects without claiming himself to be any kind of saviour. This song is one of the best examples of Dylan-as-poet first and foremost.

Machine Gun by Jimi Hendrix, debuted in September 1969 with the Band of Gypsys. Leave it to Hendrix to write a song about war by making his guitar sound like a machine gun. This is one of the best Hendrix songs ever written and I am a personal fan of the Band of Gypsys line-up.

Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag (Next Stop Vietnam), by Country Joe and the Fish, released in May 2967. The sarcasm of this song is so funny it's sad, or so sad it's funny. Maybe a little of both. It's a perfect Woodstock anthem and it couldn't outline the situation any better. Whoopee, we're all gonna die.

Handsome Johnny, performed by Richie Havens as the first song of the opening set of Woodstock '69. What a way to open three days of peace, love and music. Havens' rhythmic mastery during this famed set are still a magical experience, even second and third hand. Whatever the sum total of Havens as a musician may be, during this song and subsequently during "Freedom," he had all the power of an old blues legend.

Song of Last Week: Harrisburg by Josh Ritter

Last week I saw Pittsburgh, one of many trips to the river city I have made in my day. This time I saw it from summer's approaching breath, from love's bedroom, from the pavement of a hangover, and from the wide window of a train. Accompanying me on that train was the music of Josh Ritter, who I first saw at Club Cafe in Pittsburgh's southside. He had a broad smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. I was hooked.

Josh Ritter allows me to keep having faith in many things, namely the joy of music for music's sake, small town pleasantries, good lyrics, and trains. His song Harrisburg, from his wonderful "Golden Age of Radio" album, is exactly the track you want to hear on a 9-hour train ride through Pennsylvania. It opens with a brooding Am and you know this ride is going to be a thoughtful one, though not necessarily grim. It tells the story of Romero, his marriage, his kids and his flight away from it all. But really, it's about leaving for no good reason other than the fact that the train is departing. I love to be moving and I always have one eye on the escape route, so I can't help but empathize with Romero. Anyway, the lyrics are beautiful:

It's a long way to Heaven, it's closer to Harrisburg
And that's still a long way from the place where we are
And if evil exists its a pair of train tracks
And the devil is a railroad car ...

Rose at the altar withered and wilted
Romero sank into a dream
He didn't make Heaven, he didn't make Harrisburg
He died in a hole in between
Some say that man is the root of all evil
Others say God's a drunkard for pain
Me I believe that the Garden of Eden
Was burned to make way for a train

Josh Ritter is worth keeping an eye on. You can give him a listen at his myspace page. While I prefer Golden Age of Radio and Hello Starling to his latest, The Animal Years, he's pretty solid. His music is simple, feel-good, country-inspired folk, his lyrics are above par and the man has the most joyful smile I have ever seen.

SotD: Exquisite Corpse by Stephen Trask (Hedwig and the Angry Inch Soundtrack)

Oh my sweet lord. The week is done. I am a puddle of exhaustion after working on the CW's upfront for the last two weeks. The 16 hour days are over. There is much sleep to be had. There are no more Pussycat Dolls to look after. Oh yes.


Television is soul-draining, but John Cameron Mitchell's Hedwig and the Angry Inch makes it all ok. Today's (and by today I mean the one giant day that was Tues-Thurs) Song of the Day is Exquisite Corpse from the movie's quite perfect soundtrack (I actually prefer it to the original version from the play). Written by Stephen Trask, it is a rock collage of screeching sounds and lamenting interludes that embody all that is exquisite about raw exposure.

Inside I'm hollowed out
Outside's a paper shroud
And all the rest's illusion
That there's a will and soul
That we can wrest control
From chaos and confusion

This song is about the beauty of bareness and about allowing our feelings of chaos to show. It is about the underbelly of illusion. It's the perfect end to a day filled with illusions and the things we do to keep them in place.

SotD: Busting Up a Starbucks by Mike Doughty

Let me say, I know nothing about Mike Doughty. I have this song because it was on my Bonnaroo Sweet Sounds Mix Volume 8, which I got as a parting gift from the festival. I love the mix because it led me to discover Gomez (whose set I missed, sadly, because I knew not of their awesomeness), and allowed me to hear Citizen's Cope's "Son's Gonna Rise" on replay for many, many days.

But the dude seems cool enough, in the good music lite category, I would say (based on my little exposure) and this song is pretty cool. The lyrics are the perfect anti-commercial-life ode to suit my current daily existence, which has me lining up at Starbucks at least three times a day.

So, yes, I feel like busting up a Starbucks. Thanks, Mike Doughty, for identifying that sentiment for me.

Ryan Adams: Goodnight Rose

For first licks off Ryan Adam's upcoming release of Easy Tiger, check out this performance of "Goodnight Rose" from The Henry Rollins Show. I was lucky enough to catch Ryan Adams live this past fall at Town Hall and I realized how amazingly interesting he is to watch. He plays like he sings like he moves- all with a sort of boyish abandon for restraint. he jumps when he feels like jumping, he wails when he feels like wailing, he huddles into the piano when he feels just so and it's all beautifully uplifting and joyous to be a part of.

You can see that same style on this clip. You barely see his face with his tousled hair and his forward leans, but his body tells the music that he's singing. The opening hails back to the Grateful Dead's bright, jammy sound... offering up that "Goodnight Rose" riff, first easily and then grittier, harder, like it's gaining its own assertion.

The actual lead-in to Goodnight Rose is a perfect laying-out of the grand red carpet for Adams' voice. From the first words the song steps up beautifully with each lyric. The lyrics themselves remain in the blues-folk tradition, with a pronounced new optimism. "The sun will come up...get out of bed...the bar is closed." It's an after-the-rain image that sits well with Adams' energy. He rocks out, but with style and with his own unique blend of the greatest musical traditions. Adams' worlds always have a beauty/pain balance, so much so that he convinces you they are the same thing.

This song warrants many listens to get the simple beauty of it...and it totally gears me up for the album release. Adams is one of those artists that you just trust, and it's all a matter of waiting to see where he will take you next.

SotD: Everything in Its Right Place, by Radiohead

For many reasons, this try-to-take-a-nap-to-it-but-can't-because-
this-song-is-too-good-to-sleep-to song is the song of the day.

The thing is, sometimes change just grabs at you too stongly. but then it pulls back a little, and you start to understand how growth works. And then...you just sort of let things fall into place as they will.

So, to this I say, everything i n i t s r i g h t p l a c e .

Sizzlin' Summerstage Leaks

Oh sweet New York. In the summer it gets hot and humid, the locals jet, the tourist groups pour in and the city crackles with those restless souls who stuck around. One of the greatest summer oases of New York is Central Park's Summerstage. It's like a mini festival experience at the heart center of all that concrete and brick. Though Summerstage has not yet announced their summer line-up, Ticketmaster and Jambase have already revealed a few of their secrets.

The Black Crowes will hit the big apple on August 9th with what could be one of their last tours...ever. I've seen them live two times now- first, at Bonnaroo 2005 for an unbelievable rock n' roll smash in the pouring fucking rain, hopped up on jack daniels and some random unidentifiable pill i swallowed courtesy of a friend i trust far too much; they played hits across the board (aren't all of their songs hits?), covered the stage in flickering candles and rocked out as if it were their opening tour. The second time I saw them at Madison Square Garden on New Year's rockin' eve, 2006. Granted, I don't remember much of that show. I do remember the overpriced beer, free champagne, counting down and hearing Remedy and Soul Singing wash over me in a sea of pyrotechnics and cheers. Needless to say, I think I had fun.

In July you can catch The Decemberists (check out their site, it is very sweet) on the 16th. I have yet to see them live, though I hear they are life-changing to see. I'll give you my very own opinion after I see them at Bonnaroo this year. Judging by their discography, they will be fucking sweet, to say the least. I put them on the top shelf, among the White Stripes (also hitting the Bonnaroo mainstage this June) tradition of actual musical artistry, which is hard to come by these days.

So... check it out. Summerstage. Oh yes.

SotD: Hollywood Kids by The Thrills

Day II at the WB offices and I have a bit of a corporate hangover. I used to get strange looks from my parents, extended family, ex-boyfriend, and upwardly mobile friends when I violently resisted the corporate life. "She'll come around," said their faces. I cringe. And for a while I managed to find my way around it (and will continue to). But this week's gig finds me at the heart of it. Is there a reason offices have to be so neutrally colorless? Are ripped jeans really that offensive? I was instructed to don "corporate casual."

I look at the execs, for whom I spend my day taking Starbucks orders, picking up lunch, running around the neighborhood to fill their ongoing needs, and I think how nice it would be to have so much control/power over my job. But then I think, did these people play the game from the bottom all the way up to the top? Because if I found my way up to the top, the first thing I would do would be to put an end to the game itself. Corporate is just an endless set of rules, tasks and the occasional slap-in-the-face moment of actual reality that quickly subsides back to business as usual. If I didn't already have a drinking problem, I would quickly develop one. No wonder we can't stop making war. We are starting to forget what living, breathing, heaving people are.

Mail. Click. Spreadsheet. Check. Coffee. Breathe. Life. Click.

A rock n' roll life for me. Today's song of the day was running through my head all day, surrounded by the Hollywood promo pics lining the office. Lush piano intro descending into slide guitar and full bass line, that So-Cal imitation accent from Irish lad Conor Deasy tiptoes in with lazy hollywood-will-wait-for-me steps, sighing over breathy harmonica. This song feels like the drive home, as the "sun sets on my boulevard."

...but leaves quite a shadow to fill.

SotD: One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer by George Thorogood

This song is on my "Get it Together" playlist and today feels like a get-it-together kind of day. You know, the kind of day where your bank balance is too low for you to withdraw any cash out of an ATM, your rent is late and your veins crave anything off the barroom shelf- if only you could find a benefactor. Ho hum... This song is my salvation, with it's driving rhythm, bluesy guitar and George's *scintillating* humor. ("...everybody funny. now you funny, too.")

A perfect track for a day that found me balancing trays of Starbucks practically on my head for CW Network production execs, fully clad in wonk attire dodging the 9-5ers on 6th ave. The warmest NY day to date, I found myself dreaming about a beer garden in Queens or a surf session at the Jersey Shore followed by- you bet- one bourbon, one scotch and one beer.

SOtD: The Difference by The Wallflowers

I am instating a song-of-the-day practice. Because, well, every day has a song and if you pay enough attention you can figure out what it is. (Sometimes it declares itself so bluntly that you don't need to do much digging.) I'm declaring The Wallflowers' "The Difference" today's- and the very first on this blog- song of the day.

Not the best song on their debut album, Bringing Down the Horse (See: Bleeders), but a good one nonetheless. It's catchy, but not too catchy. It's foot-tapping. And it's fucking old-school. I remember jumping around my room to this song in high school, fantasizing about Jakob Dylan laying those glowing blue eyes on me (among other things...).

And, the song contains one of my favorite Wallflowers lyrics:

They say that children now
They come in all ages
And maybe sometimes old men die
With little boy faces

Though the Wallflowers have been gliding down a downward slope ever since the release of their second album (to their credit, they did introduce me to the song Heroes, which led to my Bowie Awakening), their first album was and remains a little jewel. Just a reminder, in case your Bringing Down the Horse CD is sitting quietly in the corner, collecting dust.

Love Is...

...Better than a Warm Trombone. The most consistently awesome song from Gomez's "Bring it On." The title alone is enough to make you pant. The intro is subtly foot-stomping. It sneaks right under your skin into the sweetest places. The guitar riffs slide just so. I love this song.

"Miss I ought to apologize, I've been falling, I'm falling down."

It is your getting dressed for a Saturday night song. It is your late night writing track. It is your too-many-drugs-in-one-night day after song. It is your love song. It makes "warm trombone" sound like the sexiest phrase ever uttered. This song is near orgasmic every damn time I hear it. Amen.

Dear Mr. Vonnegut

"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut, "A Man Without a Country," p. 66

Dear Mr. Vonnegut,

Here's hoping you were right about time, music, kindness and the like. I suspect you were, one way or another.

Hi Ho,
j.

Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton

Emily Haines is all kinds of beautiful... Her voice is airy, her songs melodic and her photos that kind of simple-sexy that makes you wish every make-up artist in the world would just give it a rest. The sounds that come out of her piano are the kinds of sounds you want to hear at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday, when you're head can't stop murmuring long enough for you to get to sleep, or on a long Sunday morning subway-ride wrought with hungover bleakness. Her music is a celebration of bleakness, in a way that makes it ok to sing about it.

"Knives Don't Have Your Back" has been on my rotating albums list for a couple of months now, and each time I listen to it I like it more. Doctor Blind, the second track on the album, is a great place to start. You can check it out on the band's website, along with the new video for it. The video is less impressive than the song, with a very cool opening shot leading into a very boring walking tour of Target. In fact, listen to the song before you watch the video and I'm sure your imagination will do it better justice.