longfadinginstant: February 2008

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Dub Nap

the worst thing about working versus not working is not being able to take naps. not a regular nap that any common person can take, but a daytime, everybody else is working, nap. now that extended unemployment seems to be over for me (and i recognize this as a really good thing) I miss my naps. I used to be a big fan of the boards of canada nap, but later in my napping career discovered the dub nap. that's the ultimate. open you curtains, get your room all bright and sunlit, and put on some dub. it's the music of your brain fading out. I know practically nothing about dub, so i won't pretend and go into any extended definitions or histories beyond it's like a real-time remix on the mixing boards, with lots of delay and echo, of reggae tracks. anyways, here's a couple of favorites before a playlist of king tubby and scientist tracks so you can take your own dub nap.

scientist "scientist at the controls" (from the album "at king tubby's..."

scientist "dance of the vampire" (from the album "...rids the world of he evil curse of the vampires")

king tubby "dub ites green and gold" (from the album "dub like dirt 1975-1977")

and here's a continuous playlist (which includes the above tracks)

Monday, February 25, 2008

Starflyer 59

Most people missed out on Starflyer 59 either because they were on a christian label (tooth and nail) or because of their pretty generic name. Too bad, cause they put out some great music. "Fell In Love at 22" being a mix tape classic. and don't fear religious conversion or judgement from the music as there really isn't any christian content. just great music inspired by all your devil worshiping favorites.

"fell in love at 22" (from the album "the fashion focus")

"no new kinda story" (from the album "everybody makes mistakes")

"e.p. nights" (from the "fell in love at 22" e.p.)

"i drive a lot" (from the album "the fashion focus") i took special comfort in this song when i was a p.a. and spending ridiculous amounts of time in my car. jason (who IS starflyer) was/is a delivery truck driver.

"just try" (from the album "everybody makes mistakes")

"going places" (from the album "everybody makes mistakes")

"blue collar love" (from the self titled album)

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Tuesday, February 19, 2008

music is my anti-drug

pot

lsd (upon further listening: turns out the song isn't about acid, it's about venereal disease. oh well, i'll leave it up anyways, and as long as you only half pay attention it'll work fine)

cocaine

heroin

nitrous oxide

track list:
neil diamond "the pot song"
shel silverstein "don't give a dose to the one you love most"
hank thompson "cocaine blues"
the birthday party "mutiny in heaven" (one of my all time favorite songs so you know)
perrey & kingsley "countdown at 6"

Thursday, February 14, 2008

she loves me/she loves me not

she loves me

she loves me not

she loves me

she loves me not

she loves me

she love me not

you gotta pick a flower with an odd number of petals to win this game.

song list in order

les paul and mary ford "say the words i want to hear"
pig destroyer "sourheart"
gary glitter "i love you love me"
converge "heartache"
jeff mangum "i love how you love me"
dinosaur jr. "don't"
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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

more Modest Mouse rarities

i found that "never ending math equation" alt. version. also just did a comparison with the released version so i could point out the differences. generally the alt (earlier) recording is rawer. you can hear it in the guitars. the best thing about this version though is that the record they're scratching at the end is modest mouse's own "head south" from "...long drive...". the re-recorded version that was released as a 7", and later collected on "building nothing out of something" only has shortened, generic scratching outro. also i remember a friend at up records telling me that isaac was thinking of changing the title to "the infinite math equation" because "never ending..." was too close to "the never ending story". i'm glad he stuck with the original title.

modest mouse "never ending math equation" (alt. earlier version. unreleased)

modest mouse "white lies, yellow teeth" an outtake from the "lonesome crowded west" sessions that ended up on an obey giant compilation "the giant rock n roll swindle". not one of my favorite songs at the time, it doesn't sound so bad now.

modest mouse "manic depressive named laughing boy" the vinyl only bonus track from "...long drive...".

modest mouse "grey ice water" (live at the RKCNDY 5-29-98) i just really like this even lower-key live performance of this song.

and then here's a documentary my friend rick made of the band way back in 1997.

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Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Modest Mouse rarities

two pics i took of modest mouse at spaceland circa 97/98

i went through a bunch of old unlabelled cdrs i have of modest mouse stuff from my late 90s obsession with the band over the weekend and found some stuff that i forgot existed. there's 3 cds of stuff that was unreleased at the time. songs isaac recorded in the earliest days of the band, a lot of them maybe even pre-modest mouse. not isaac's best time as a songwriter. a lot of the best tracks ended up on k records "sad sappy suckers". the rest aren't really worth posting. still, i did find some good unreleased stuff in there; some early versions of songs that were later re-recorded for release.

"jesus christ was an only child" i believe this was originally meant to be an ugly casanova song, but ended up re-recorded and released on "the lonesome crowded west". i prefer this version as it doesn't include the annoying fiddle present on the "lcw" version.

"the parasites will be excited when your dead" another ugly casanova track, this time an early version of one that was re-recorded and released as ugly casanova. and again, minus the frills.

"too many fiestas for reuben" i mentioned this one earlier and figured i may as well put it up. recorded during the "lcw" sessions but never released. or maybe it was, as people online seem to have it. but i case you've never heard it:

"cowboy dan" the scratch tracks recorded during the lcw version. the differences are small, like the shakers on the opening, but you'll notice the addition of female backing vocals on the "standing in the tall grass" section. that's nicole johnson who previously appeared on a few "....long drive..." tracks (right?) as well as "interstate 8"'s "sleepwalking".

" ? " i don't think this song appeared on "sad sappy suckers" but i don't it have to check. oh well, i'll put it up anyways. the "(banjo)" title is my own.

and as soon as i find it, i'll post an alternate (and in my opinion, superior) version of "never ending math equation" that has a much longer scratching outro. and then at some point i'll get "sss" and cross-check it with what i have so that i know what was and wasn't released and see if there's anything left worth putting up.
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Friday, February 8, 2008

Tiny Tim

listened to the first tiny tim album twice today while in traffic. it's pretty obvious how the guy ended up a novelty act, but listening to "god bless tiny tim" (the album on which "tiptoe thru the tulips" appeared) the enjoyment goes much deeper. i was just reading some article about the most unforgivable snubs in grammy history (link) and they list The New Vaudeville Band's "Winchester Cathedral" winning best rock n roll recording over both the beatles "eleanor rigby" and the beach boys "good vibrations". included is the youtube vid of the band performing. pretty much the definition of novelty. and yet it's the same kind of thing that tiny tim was doing only 2 years later. but, there's something more genuine to tim's performance that's missing from nvb. so...

tiny tim "livin' in the sunlight" (from the album "god bless tiny tim")

tiny tim "fill your heart" (from the album "god bless tiny tim") didn't realize the the david bowie version on "hunky dory" was a cover till i heard this recording, which pre-dates "hunky dory"

tiny tim "on the old front porch" (from the album "god bless tiny tim") tim does a duet with himself here, so you know he's more than the high shrill.

tiny tim "then i'd be satisfied with life" (from the album "god bless tiny tim")

tiny tim "the coming home party" (from the album "god bless tiny tim") the most modern sounding, stylistically, of the bunch. not as much old-timeyness.

i don't know if it's cool to do this or not, but while looking for the album cover i came across some directory with the mp3s that someone left open. so, here's the link if you want to download the album. just right-click and "save as" (link)
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Wednesday, February 6, 2008

5 for 2/06/08

BARR "untitled" (from the album "summary") BARR accomplishes a pretty amazing feat in managing to hold my ear through an entire song of just him talking, no singing. through an entire album even. and not only that, he's not even annoying, like every single spoken word poet ever. EVER. somehow he keeps the details vague, while remaining pointed, and the language and performance conversational.

lambchop "life #2" (from the album "what another man spills") seems like a nice song to follow the above. a song about death, expressed as "this is your right to an ending".

tommy peltier "pocket-socket" (from the album "a chariot of astral light"). i bought this album because of judee sill's involvement. that's her on back-up vocals and keyboard.

butterglory "two kings, one queen" (from the "downed" collection of 7" singles) i think this was originally on the "alexander bends" 7", which was the first piece of vinyl i bought as a young indie rocker. mail order even. they were a local tulare/visalia band, but they were on the world famous merge records. at the time i had so few musical reference points that i thought they sounded just like dinosaur jr. not even! here butterglory give us all a lesson on how create maximum impact from the simplest musical elements.

hum "if you are to bloom" (from the album "downward if heavenward") few people recognize the brilliance of hum's "downward is heavenward" though i've read it has developed a growing cult following over the years. it was easy to dismiss them if you first heard their hit "stars" a million times coming from every dorm room along dorm row on your way to class. i wasn't so into them at the time. but their next album was a guitar monster. glad a friend sent it to me and insisted i give it a chance. a year later i finally did, cause i'm a jerk.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

5 songs for 2/5/08

ok. here's "to roads to go" the magic eye 7" single single that isaac brock released under his ugly casanova moniker. i think the original idea was that there would be a bunch of home recorded singles every so often. instead we got a nicely recorded full album a few years later. there's also "too many fiestas for rueben" which he recorded during the "lonesome crowded west" sessions but never released as far as i know, but it's easy to find if you look. from what i remember it's john atkins from 764-hero accompanying isaac on the stomps.

ugly casanova "to roads to go" (magic eye 7" single)

pond "spokes" (from the album "rock collection") another 99¢ bin special. there's a sticker on the cover that reads " featuring 'spokes'" like anyone actually heard the song on the radio (were talking the late 90's). BUT were the world just, they would have.. the bass player in pond uses a slide on a lot of songs, which i have yet to see anyone else do.

dave, dee, dozy, beaky, mick & tich "bend it" (from the album "ddbm&t") remember the part in "death proof" where the first set of girls are in the car, and the dj girl wants to hear ddbm&t and the others haven't heard of them and she says something about pete townsend being offered a spot in the band but instead he chose to go with the who, and that being the wrong decision. then they play their song "hold tight" and it's a great song and you think to yourself, yeah that's a great song, he probably did make the wrong decision. well, having gone through a few of their albums, pete townsend for sure made the right decision. they ain't so good. still, there is one other worthwhile song in their catalogue that i came across.

mungo jerry "she rowed" (from the album "electronically tested") there was all that talk about early davendra banhart sounding like tyrannosaurus rex era marc bolan. i'd like to throw mungo jerry into the discussion. also, somewhere in a parallel universe that snl "more cowbell" skit is mungo jerry instead of blue oyster cult, and the punchline is "more kazoo" instead of "more cowbell". there's an awful lot of kazoo on their album. but not this song thankfully. and by that i don't mean there isn't any kazoo, cause of course there's some kazoo, just not too much kazoo

pantera "new level" (from the album "vulgar display of power") who knew that it was chronic back pain causing all that anger, and not society. just goes to show that you should get to know a person before you make judgements.

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Friday, February 1, 2008

5 songs for 2/01/08

the nerves "hanging on the telephone" (from their self titled ep)
i didn't realize blondie's "hanging on the telephone" was a cover till a cat power version showed up in a commercial a couple of years ago and pitchfork did a blurb about it, referring to it as a cover of the nerves. hmmm? of course i had to hear the original. finally came across it last night.

sebadoh "whole hog" (from the "lounge ax defense and relocation cd" compilation). generally compilations with exclusive songs suck, even when packed with your favorite bands. artists never give up their best material to albums that aren't their own. somehow lounge ax, a small club in chicago (owned by jef tweedy's wife), managed a good one. "whole hog" was one of barlow's best post-"bubble and scrape" songs, a concert favorite, and he gave it up to fight lounge ax's battle against a "yuppie" neighbor.

nofx "bob" (from the album "white trash, two heebs, and a bean"). i just think we all need to step back and re-evaluate nofx. just like the grateful dead, nofx was ruined by their fans. it's been awhile, and i'm not sure they even have fans anymore. it's safe.

new riders of the purple sage "you angel you" (from the album "brujo") and speaking of the dead, here's a dead offshoot, and safe cause i'm not sure the general dead-hating public knows about them. or maybe they do, i don't know. good 70's country rock regardless.

the mountain goats "going to georgia" (from the album "zopilote machine"). if you were a fan of the mountain goats back when the mountain goats were a local inland empire band, recording albums live to a cheap tape recorder and performing in coffee shops then you'd never have guessed they'd end up making a real career of it. "going to georgia" was the live highlight. we were all about this song in college.

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longfadinginstant

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Dub Nap

Monday, February 25, 2008

Starflyer 59

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

music is my anti-drug

Thursday, February 14, 2008

she loves me/she loves me not

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

more Modest Mouse rarities

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Modest Mouse rarities

Friday, February 8, 2008

Tiny Tim

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

5 for 2/06/08

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

5 songs for 2/5/08

Friday, February 1, 2008

5 songs for 2/01/08

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