I am a Narcissistic Snot

I had something about bargain CDs I was gonna post then I proved myself wrong after overpaying for something by about two or three bucks, so blargh. Instead, here's my top 25 most played songs in iTunes. I don't think there's anything in here I'm particularly ashamed of, which is good.


So that's what iTunes tells me I love. It's pretty close to the mark, but I guess some stuff gets played more by virtue of the fact it got on this list early on. There really should be some Mummies on here at some point, but the highest played track of theirs is "Jezebel" at 22. Hunh. Also, "Make it Rain" is a lot higher than I'd have guessed, particularly as it isn't my favorite Tom Waits song by a long shot.

The takeaway from this:
- Andrew Jackson Jihad is awesome, and you should listen to them
- Inches is a pretty sweet album, and you should probably get that too
- Songs About Fucking? Also awesome.
- Blast Off Country Style? Also yes. (The band, not the album. I've never actually heard the record they took their name from. I should probably change that.)

I (think I) Miss Radio Dramas

Not that I was really around to enjoy them when they were finally dying, but I actually very much dig the Star Wars and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio shows. I'd like more stuff like this, even though I am not what you would call a typical sci-fi fan in the sense that I'm not really receptive to most space things unless toys are somehow involved. The TV HHG2G was something my dad taped when I was like three or four to show me when I was 10, so that kinda stuck. I listened to the Guide before bed last year and am going for a second run-through nowish.

The whole format is really nifty because, well, it's cheap. It's like someone made a cartoon without the drawings. I hear there's a lot of Doctor Who stuff like this out there but I can't say I honestly consider myself a big fan of the franchise. And sure, there's a lot of audiobooks, but it doesn't seem like there's a lot of stuff out there quite like these shows, produced after the late 1970s, that I've seen yet.

If you've never heard these, they're pretty great. The downside of the Star Wars ones is that it's an incredibly long series. Star Wars is a hair over 6 hours, Empire Strikes Back clocks in at 4:22, and Return of the Jedi is the short one at 3:12. Keep in mind, these are based on films which run about 2 hours... so there's a lot of expanded background goofiness here. I hear there's a Dark Empire one but I have yet to find it. Maybe I should do that.

This is going nowhere, other than me getting at "I like this sort of thing." I'm a little surprised NPR or the BBC or someone isn't doing more of this kind of thing for podcasts, just for kicks, but maybe it's too expensive given the audience is probably old-time radio fans and about twelve nerds. There's gotta be more of a market for this kind of stuff. On that note, are they doing the sixth Adams-free And Another Thing for radio? I hear they're reading it over the air but I mean like some fancy-pants production with more than three voices.

...not that I could tell you what I'd be particularly interested in hearing in this format. If I had more time I'd research to see if podcasters were dong anything like this of interest, but if by chance you've heard of something good do let me know. Otherwise it's back to the 1970s for my ears.

Life Magazine

My friend Zac made a crack about a picture I posted on Twitter. So here's what it'd look like.



BEHOLD YOUR FUTURE (six months ago)

Fishing

One of the many duties in toy collecting is to remember to store your figures so they won't get broken. One of my regular runs is to Kmart, as Wal-Mart and pretty much every other store stopped carrying the appropriately sized tackle boxes my figures crave. For the record, the model today was the Plano 3700.

I cleaned them out. I pretty much always buy what they have-- generally, 5 units or so-- but today they had 15, so... well, you know how it goes. Star Wars toys don't store themselves.

The guy in sporting goods-- there usually isn't one-- took a big interest when I started looking at the boxes and stacking them all. "So, you're a fisherman?" "Nope." He kept asking a lot of questions, which leads me to believe that he might have noticed that about once a month someone comes in and buys all of the tackle boxes.

The checker lady also seemed incredibly amused. Next time it's "THEY'RE FOR SEVERED HUMAN FINGERS, DO YOU MIND?"

Really, Music Press?

There are few things you can be sure of when the name They Might Be Giants have news that hits the music press. One, it's a safe bet the word "quirky" will be employed. This was a law up until about 2000, now it seems to just happen on occasion.

The new new law is that if it's a kid's album, it's going to say something like this, which we just happened to take from Pop Matters review of Here Comes Science:

This is the kind of record that parents won’t get sick of their kids playing nonstop.

In the off chance a parent is reading this, I'd like to invite you to comment on that sentence-- variations of which appear in most if not all reviews of the TMBG kids' albums over the past few years.

Other People's Music

I am rarely asked to DJ anything, ever. Generally doing this is basically begging for me to make your life increasingly miserable as you complain about the music being played. As such, I was surprised to be asked to handle music duties for the Michael Metzger-Andrea Elberly wedding, and they picked the phat beats.

Playlist part 1
Playlist part 2

On the whole the entire shindig was great-- interestingly, as the night went on, a lot of people seemed to get a little too interested in the music. Sticking exclusively to the happy couple's playlist, it's interesting to see just how diverse a reaction you can get to the perception that you, as the DJ, may be going against the couple's wishes.

It was a lot of fun. If someone asks you to hold the mic and play songs, I suggest you give it a try. Being a wedding, audience-baiting was off the menu but I hope that there's a chance to do something like this again. And next time I'll bring my iPod so when someone who's had a few too many requests to hear something about Uranus, I and Man or Astro-Man will be prepared.

Michael, you're my oldest friend and I wish you and your special lady all the very best. Clearly, you've picked a good one. Andrea, take good care of my old buddy. I know you two are going to have a great life together, take care of him, walk him regularly, and turn him toward the light and water him daily.

Random Albums I May Never Get Sick Of

I find most music is like fruit. After a while it'll eventually spoil. Good music is like a Twinkie-- it lasts a good long time, and may someday spoil, but not likely to be soon. Here are some albums that, for me, have pretty much always worked as great late-night companions to be played through in their entirety. And yes I'm under 30, I just like the older stuff. If I'm up working late, this is what I end up listening to a lot.

Talking Heads' "More Songs About Buildings & Food"
I got this on LP many moons ago-- well, maybe like 2001 or something-- and played the heck out of it. Your trash is my treasure, and this is a really good album that wasn't represented by a collection I had. "I'm Not In Love" is getting a lot of play lately, but the whole thing is great to play all the way through.

Pulsars' "Pulsars"
Surprisingly good. If you kinda like They Might Be Giants but would stab someone in the eye before listening to "Flood" again, you might like this. I found this in a ten cent CD bin, and saw it in numerous discount and cut-out bins since. Basically it's a couple of guys singing about tunnels-- like actual tunnels, not a metaphor-- and really old Macs being turned into fish bowls. (This also makes the packaging.) I ripped nearly every CD I owned at my first job for my work PC and this one was far and away the most played. It's good, but apparently it's VERY good when played at the office.

Alice Cooper's "Billion Dollar Babies"
People will tell you this is not the group's best album. These people are wrong. It's not that it's astonishingly clever, it's just very enjoyable. Pretty much everything I thought about the band is nicely encapsulated by this disc, and it's nice and noisy in places too. Can you name a lot of albums with a dentist's drill? I can't.

Wall of Voodoo's "Dark Continent"
Or, "good luck finding this, sucker." I bought it on vinyl because the CD was a limited-release in the 1990s and was worth $120+. Then I got the CD... a CDR bootleg sold at a Ridgway concert. It's their first LP and it's actually fantastic if you like their other stuff. "Back in Flesh" is a great ode to not working, and while I'm not sure what "Crack the Bell" is about I do love it. If by some reason you stumble on this, you're 18-22, and you enjoyed the likes of They Might Be Giants at some point in your life, do yourself a favor and get this.

Weezer's "Pinkerton"
You can probably blame the rise of emo on this one but dang it's good. Since it didn't get much play, and sales are less-than-stellar by Weezer standards, it's one of those things that seems to get both less and more respect than it deserves. Anyone that didn't enjoy "El Scorcho" is a damned liar.

Spoozys' "Astro 99" EP
I enjoy the music of Spoozys. I love this EP. 5 songs, formerly Japan-only, I think it's on iTunes and a few other places now. "Surf Devolution" is one of the best instrumentals I've heard in a while, and "It's Only a Droid" may be the only surf-oriented song that features C-3PO's whines as lyrics. I daresay if you're also under 30 and can still be bowled over by music, this is worth picking up.

Andrew Jackson Jihad's "Candy Cigarettes and Cap Guns"
Angry, angry folk. Half of it can be downloaded from the band's site for free. It's essentially folk punk, which sounds crappy, but it isn't. There's a manic energy here that you find in early Polysics, minus the bleeps and Japanese-ness of it. According to iTunes I really, really love this album. I don't disagree. See also: "Issue Problems" album.

Blast Off Country Style, "In My Arms" EP, "Rainbow Mayonnaise Deluxe" album, "White Devil" 7-inch, "C'mon and Blast Off Country Style" compilation
I found them while digging for cheap Japanese imports in a bargain bin. Turns out they were a bunch of kids from Virginia. Very engaging, I daresay almost too cute for their own good. But it's one of those bands where I seek out side projects and the members' other work, so yeah, it's good.