200th post -- nothing but chaos

So I had intended to Post a podcast for my 200th post but haven't had five minutes to sit down and record it due to the following:

1) My wife having surgery and being bed ridden for a week and a half
2) The impending purchase of a new home and the subsequent packing required
3) A tedious and time consuming job interview for a promotion.
4) No support network in the area (although a last minute call to the bullpen to bring in my dad for babysitting duty paid off)
5) My two sons simultaneously deciding to channel Dennis the Menace and spend every waking hour hurling themselves and any convenient object at each other.


All of these factors have led me believe that my karma is currently out of whack. Now the surgery could not be avoided. After seven months of intense pain it was finally time to end the household nightmare for my wife. Buying a new house is actually a good thing, but if you have ever gone through a house hunt and the accompanying purchase process you know that this is some sort of Chinese torture program. The job interview kind of came out of left field and let me say that finishing second in a job race is no fun. Having no parents (my mom is in Oklahoma packing my brother up to ship out to Afghanistan and my wife's parents live in Oregon) makes corralling the children somewhat complex and required me to take a week off. If anyone actually knows me then you know what a rarity it is for me to take any time off, let alone a week. Finally, the only explanation I have for my boys is that they are 2 1/2 and boys ('nuff said).

So where does this leave me? Will I maintain my sanity long enough to get through October? Will I survive all the various trials to succeed and prosper? I hope so. In the meantime I feel the JOY DIVISION just about sums up my mood right now.

(mp3) Joy Division -- Disorder
(mp3) Joy Division -- Day of the Lords (for the chorus of "When will it end" over and over again like a mantra)


But fear not fair readers, salvation is near because baseball playoffs start Wednesday.

(mp3) Train -- Calling All Angels

Promoting a Blog I Love

I always admire other bloggers. It takes dedication and passion to keep posting music day in and day out (lord knows I have trouble putting down a post a week!!) So when bloggers move beyond the realm of just commenting on music and onto actually putting music out I have to take time to say "Way to Go"! One such blog I frequently read is 17 Seconds run by a very knowledgeable chap named Ed who has started his own label. Taking the DIY spirit to heart and putting out what I hope is a long line of great Scottish bands that are sorely in need of some attention. Case in point is ABERFELDY, which has just released a a divine slice of pop heaven as a single called "Claire/Talk Me Round". If you love catchy indie pop then check out these songs on their myspace and by all means by the damn single when it comes out. I know Ed will appreciate it.

17 Seconds Records (Official Site)

Stream Aberfeldy Single here

A Quick Hit for the Day

Things are nuts around the house right now. I am prepping a move into a new house so I don't have a ton of time for anything enjoyable. I did however want to share this song with you just because it came on the iPod today. I think I will probably do a proper RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE post later, but here is probably my favorite track of theirs recorded live at a show I was at (which ended up being the last time they performed live until recently).

More later...

(mp3) Rage Against The Machine -- Guerilla Radio

Kanye West gives good Daft Punk!!

So, I stopped watching the Video Music Awards via MTV (perhaps the most misleading moniker in TV these days..but that's a post for another time). Anyway, I stopped watching the VMA's mainly due to the fact that most of the artists that are performing are not my cup of tea. But I happened by the show a few days ago, just in time to catch KANYE WEST's live performance of his new single, "Love Lockdown". Some thoughts about the performance and Mr. West himself:

1) It takes real guts to play a new song live on an awards show. There are a lot of things that can go wrong, so I have to applaud him for that. This was always my biggest complaint against THE CURE, who would religiously trot out "Just Like Heaven" for the umpteenth time rather than risk any sort of fan backlash.

2) You could tell the crowd wasn't feeling the song right away. There appeared (at least on TV) to be a bit of pause.

3) The song is a real change of pace for Kanye. He sings and the song has no real chorus. Two things that don't often spell hit.

4) This song is his "heat check" moment. For those who do not play basketball, a heat check is when someone who is playing especially well decides to just throw up a ridiculous shot to see just how hot they are. No matter how crazy or insane the shot, if one is hot it always goes in. This song is an experiment in how hot Kanye is. If it's a hit, then he might just release a polka single next.

5) My main point of this mini rant is this: How come no one is calling Kanye out for cribbing from DAFT PUNK? It was one thing to lift a sample for his hit "Stronger" (a song I actually like quite a bit), but now he's just writing songs that sound as if they were already created by the French techno band. Really, one of the remixes I heard sounds like it leapt right out of the setlist for DAFT PUNK'S last live disc. How come people will buy millions of copies of this, but will ignore the DAFT PUNK catalogue?

The truth is I actually like this song (and a few others of his as well). It pushes the boundaries of what most pop music is today and I am all for pushing boundaries. But kids, do yourself a favor and check out the Daft Punk song I'm posting here for your pleasure. Who knows, Kanye may decide to make this one his next single.

(mp3) Kanye West -- Love Lockdown (Chew Fu Small Room Remix) (Courtesy of The World Forgot)

(mp3) Daft Punk -- Television Rules The Nation / Crescendolls (Live)

Lost Bands of Britpop (Part Five)

Some bands just catch lightening in a bottle. They are great for one record and then disappear. For some it's not that they don't release other stuff; it's merely that it's ignored. For others, one record is all they can muster. ELASTICA actually fit into both categories. I remember getting the 7" record of their first US single "Stutter" (back in my radio days when records were still pressed for playing purposes) and I was shocked at what I heard. Not since THE PRETENDERS, had I heard a female voice with such power and focus. Justine Frischmann had the kind of raw emotion to her voice that made their songs jump out of the speakers and grab hold of you. I must have played "Stutter" three dozen times prior to the release of their debut record. Needless to say, my hopes were high for the whole album. And it did not disappoint. Now, Elastica, wasn't exactly setting off in uncharted waters with their mix of pop and punk but it had a real sense of urgency and the entire collection had a drive and immediacy to it that it mad it infectious. Then radio got a hold of "Connection" and everything changed. Justine became the new it face of British rock (due in large part to her very public relationship with Blur's Damon Albarn) and the band couldn't put a follow up together. Time came and went, as did several members of the band, and most of the world forgot about the band.

Justine and a new line-up put out a follow up but it didn't go anywhere. This is what I mean by a band that falls into two categories. They didn't have enough in their creative repertoire to sustain a second record when the first took off. Then by the time they did, music had moved on. It's for the best really. Even now, the first album stands up remarkably well to the test of time. "Never Here" and "Waling Up" could still fit into US radio today (and they weren't even singles here). "Connection" still hits a wondrous note with the siren style guitar lick. Even the album tracks have the same bite they did almost thirteen years later. Truly, Elastica was one of the great lost britpop bands.

(mp3) Elastica -- Stutter

(mp3) Elastica -- Waking Up

Just When I've Lost Faith in Humanity

These were the top headlines from the local rag today here in Pasadena:

1) Woman struck by vehicle in Montebello

2) Man shot in Baldwin Park

3) Man dies after being punched
4) El Monte police officer shoots self in leg

5) Man arrested after blast
6) Gang member sentenced to death for killings

Seriously, that is one bad news day. So just when I have seemingly lost all faith in my fellow man, my iPod blessed me with this track late in the evening. Not only does it have a wonderful message, but the way it builds musically as Michael Hutchence (an underrated singer in my mind) plays out his story is breathtaking. It just made my day a little brighter and gave me hope that there still is beauty in this somewhat messed up world of ours.

(mp3) INXS -- The Stairs

I don't normally put lyrics in my posts but I have always loved these. They might be a bit hokey and naive but they still produce a lump in my throat.

In a room above a busy street
The echoes of a life
The fragments and the accidents
Separated by incidents

Listened to by walls
We share the same spaces
Repeated in the corridors
Performing the same movements

Storey to storey
Building to building
Street to street
We pass each other
Storey to storey
Building to building
Street to street
We pass each other

Listened to by walls
We share the same spaces
Repeated in the corridors
Performing the same movements

The nature of your tragedy
Is chained around your neck
Do you lead or are you led
Are U sure that you don't care
There are reasons here to give your life
And follow in your way
The passion lives to keep your faith
Though all are different all are great

Climbing as we fall
We dare to hold on to our fate
And steal away our destiny
To catch ourselves with quiet grace

Storey to storey
Building to building
Street to street
We pass each other on the stairs

Listened to by walls
We share the same spaces
Repeated in the corridors
Performing the same movements

Storey to storey
Building to building
Street to street
We pass each other on the stairs