2008 brought so many unspeakables… speak this!

here is the true dilemma.  years in music are turning into songs of the year, instead of  albums of the year.  but you know what, f-it.  below is a great album from 2008 JUST because at least two songs on the rekid ruled… (in this time of resession we need to re-adjust our threshold folks):

velocirfero by ladytron.  dang! season of illusion;  but so many others.  this is actually a flow record.  like it from begin to end.  great one to start off with.

david byrne and beno (keeps you from farting):  apart from third song, i am feeling my stuff, that record flows. gotta skip 3 at all times… i think they planned it that way.  i do like the song title though. pretty sure i felt my stuff last night.

melvins… all of kicking machine.  no fuck you. the whole record.

islands… the new album.  the song creeper is kill.

05-creeper

MGMT.  i like tons of that album.  you are dick if you have an attitude about that.  shut up.

s. malkmus & jicks:  dude, gardenia is a friggin hit.  i really like the way you dot your J’s, with giant circles!

07-gardenia

annie’s album deserves some love.  i know your girlfriend hates me (or something like that) and SWEET!  two great songs.  you can’t ask more from people these days… as i said, it’s a recession.

i think in the process of all of us blaming things on the recession, it’s gonna be so much bigger of a party when we snap out of it.  and we may not snap out of it, but it seems that since the depression, people have been partying pretty hard.  maybe that’s just me.  well yeah maybe it is, but people partied pretty hard for an inauguration on tuesday and last sunday.  dang.

supergrass record.  they got nothing on you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

another friggin deadly song on silver jews record, my pillow is the theshold.  it’s the threshold of a kingdom, a world where i am with you.  it’s a dark and snowy secret, and it has to do with heavan and what looks like sleep is really HOT PURSUIT!!!! yes.  i don’t need tv … and stay up.  this song is really important, i am gonna make sure i upload it (in my pants… teehee!)

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ok and i will put it out there.  for all that mykley/marty i right… when you’re right you’r right (say that in a staten island accent).  cut copy has a great two songs that i love to death:

“things go crazy for you… out there on the ice again.  you dont know what to do!! there’s a GAY now, who will be there for you” — to paraphrase cutcopy marty,  there will always be some GAY for you!— and the other song that i will never forget is… hearts on fire.  uh, i am dryhumping my cat as we speak.

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09-hearts-on-fire

I’m lukewarm about the new Q-Tip album.  I really want to like it, I was disappointed by Amplified (except for Vibrant Thing),  and of course love love love Tribe.  Danny Noonan and actual Danny both love this album.  It just seems so dated, like I’m at the Music Box on Avenue B circa 1997.  What am I missing?   And consider whether your argument will be more persuasive if you’re not high.  You know who you are.

I can’t stop listening to the BBC Sessions. Maybe it’s because B&S are very timely with their albums. No better way to start the winter season with some really slow-ass tempoed music. Depressing? Most definitely.

Anyway, I’m not writing to talk about the album, I’m mostly writing because I want to talk about the track “Slow Graffiti”. It’s an amazing B-Side track that is recorded amazingly on this album.

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On to my third point on this post. Lyrics. I’m no poet, I don’t pretend to be, but I have no clue what the hell they are talking about half the time. Well, I skimming through some blogs today and found this one post about the song. Either this man is a genius or he’s just talking shit.

Read the Fluxblog Post

i am digitizing some old 7″s and prioritized this one by spitboy. the name of the record is “mi cuerpo es mio” and the song is word problem. man, that was some good shit. why did bikini kill get all the credit for this stuff? it was recorded in early 1994, on allied (has the “music for the proletariat” label on the b side). there is a small glitch in this recording… when you are doing the analog to digital conversion you can’t check email or other sites. i am learning that as i go along. 02-word-problem

people are doing this now… the artwork, the recording, the message; only it’s with computers.

tymon and strummer on the cover of the mescaleros' "acton town hall firefighter's benefit" cd

tymon dogg is best known as the contributor of “lose this skin” a raucous single from side 17 of the clash’s ridiculous sandinista! 10 years earlier, as joe strummer’s best pal and busking buddy, tymon teaches joe a G chord and forever changed the landscape of western music.

tymon’s been releasing records since the 60s. his troubadour style and passionate performances inspired loads of roots rock rebels but his music never really got its due. i can’t stop listening to two of his albums: tymon dogg (1976) and battle of wills (1982). his records are hard to explain. they are full of frenetic spanish guitar, shredded fiddle bows, out-of-tune pianos and his insane vocal style. and everything is as it should be. the songs are descriptive romps through everything from sickness to brandy love. all the good stuff. tymon dogg is wild and unrelenting. battle of wills is a little more mature and put-together. both are necessary.

tymon finally garnered some attention and wide acclaim from his work with the mescaleros. (he contributed to global a go-go and streetcore and he toured with the band through its final years.)

in writing this, i noticed there’s a movie being made about him!

I got the Wordpress application for my iPhone. It’s 11:05pm. And I’m waiting in a hospital for the birth of my son. The boy that will replace everything else important in my life. Yeah, yeah, mushy, mushy. Ok, well here comes a child that will most likely listen to music I think is “talentless”. And for years will be telling him such lines like “What is this?! This is just a watered down version of Bowie”.

But there’ll be a time we sitdown together and appreciate a good Bob Dylan track. I also swear that that this kid will be singing Guided By Voices tracks at the top of his lungs on long car trips. He’ll dance to Prince. Bob his head to a Pavement track.

But I must mentally prepare myself that one day he’ll play a track from some Marilyn Manson/Jonas Brothers sounding crap. And I will sit there quietly chewing on my food pelet on our trip to Mars to visit his Uncle Matt and Aunt Ali.

I am so into this album right now.  It is perfection.  It makes me happy every time I listen to it.  Some of the songs remind me of early childhood, like I’m listening to doctor’s office music in the late 70’s, but in a good way.  You must check it out.   

Sometimes a band or musician comes along that I feel like no one likes (I always have room for Michael Penn). Normally, I’ll follow the herd and listen to what the “man” wants me to listen to. Though, Cut Copy is one of those musicians that I really like and he has yet to put out something I don’t like. Yeah, yeah it’s electronic. Sometimes dance-y, but mostly chill electronic. But, he’s on to something here. This album is more 80’s/new wave than his others.

I don’t know, whatever man…

dudes…

nobody told me.  i missed all the messages… all the phone calls… i never checked the mail.  dang, those tegan and sarah albums are hot.  the story for me goes like this… a lil girl who'd skate with her dad (friend of mine from ohia) would play that hit song by t&s all the time.  i thought they were this amy winehouse, britney spears crap since she liked it so much (not that this girl isn't adorable and great… it's just that i try to not take pointers from bratty little kids is all).  well the whole first album (so jealous, i think) is pop killerness.  friggin terrific.  but it gets real down on the con.   man it's good stuff.  i saw a picture of them on a billboard in the city and they kind of look like my friend taryn. so i love tegan and sarah.  that's it.  f yeah.

Dear Weezer,

I remember when you arrived via BMG when I was a sophmore in college. I was very much into my punk rock, but something about your Spike Jonze-directed music videos, made me a big fan. You weren't quite punk or indie or hardcore. Truthfully, you were a bit of a guilty pleasure because you were on a major label. If Jawbreaker only knew, but then we know what happened to those guys. You had a permanent place in my 5 Disc Changer. Ok, I never had a disc changer until a couple of years ago. Yes, it's 2008.

A couple of years pass, and I'm in my last year of college. You decide to pleasantly surprise me with a bouquet of Pinkertons. I admit, I was shocked. The direction you were going with this pop rock was not what I was expecting. You were listened to a couple of years–straight.  You came along road trips, listened to in kitchens, and again, had a permanent place in my Onkyo 25 Disc Changer with Super Bass. And then, you disappeared…

Never to return.

A friend of mine told me you were back in town. Yeah, I Googled you. I was tempted to be your MySpace friend. But, the Weezer I know is dead now. I have a restraining order against new Weezer.

No XOXO For You,

Marty

P.S. - Your Self-Titled/Blue Album Remastered 45th Anniversary 2-Compact Disc Collection with B-Sides (Dusty Gems and Raw Nuggets) reminds me of what you used to be like 

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We're barely a quarter of the year in, and well, I'm not calling anything yet, but this album definitely is the best album of the year–so far. It reminds me of In It For The Money, which is a good thing, great thing. And shit, the first 3 tracks are real gems. Diamond Hoo Ha Man > Bad Blood > Rebel In You.

Mmmm, smells warm and fuzzy, tastes like shit. Just the way I like it. But, prove me wrong. Step up! Maybe Feist and Celine Dion will team up and come out with some HOT christmas single and I will soon forget Diamond Hoo Ha.

Diamond Who? Ahhh, yes, that was a fine album 

what is it about tim chunks' endeavors, both modern and classic, that motivate me to post? is it his devil-may-care attitude, his melodious singing voice, his savvy punk-rock-till-you-go-broke-
or-until-you-roadie-for-green-day-whatever-happens-first business sense? yes, yes and yes.

about 1,000 years ago he fronted the shit out of nyc punk outfit, token entry. most of the band's catalog (and musical offshoots–looking at you black train jack) were decent efforts but spotty and generally leaving much to be desired. that said, there was one small window in 1988 during which dr. know produced the shit out of the 11 songs (in 28 minutes) that would populate the band's seminal release, jaybird.

pulling from boston's speed, d.c.'s gritty aggression and l.a.'s all-i-wanna-do-is-skateness, jaybird celebrates the best sounds of punk rock's capitol cities but still remains fully new york in production, lyrical content (counting the frequency of the word "integrity" could be a drinking game) and, well, mosh parts.

listening 1,000 years later with fresh but jaded ears, jaybird holds up incredibly well (considering i shudder at the thought of listening to most of token entry's contemporaries, especially if they're from boston. gross).

"we're all part shatner
part steve mcqueen
part elliott gould
you know what i mean"

man, i miss hellno. i've got adios armageddon on vinyl record album but i left all my vinyl record albums in new york. whoever's got it on cd is one lucky mamajama….

I've never owned this album. I know Big Lizard and Eat Your Paisley like the back of my hand, but I just never picked this one up. I admit, I listened to it at work and my first impression was, "where are all the pop hits?" And then I started listening. There is some great comedy in this album. All their albums are hilarious, but this one had me cracking up out loud. While it might not be their catchiest album, it might be their finest work with their banter. I've must have played this album 20x since.

How 'bout a block of The Boss, dude? Sorry, just played a block of The Boss for the guys at the sandal store.