I have numerous favorite albums but if I were to take the scientific approach to what makes an album good in my opinion I always end up at The Beatles and Revolver. This was the song Jill and I chose for our first dance at our wedding. I think it was a good choice.
I can't for the life of me get a song started. I've got my gear all ready to go but I just sit there wondering where to begin.
Here's about all my "studio" does. It's impressive for visitors but when they ask to hear something they'll only get to hear what I've done prior to owning this lonely gear.
I know how to use it all but I can't kick my brain into gear. The real humdinger is that I know how to write a song. It's not that hard really. You string a few chords together and find a hook or chorus that sounds decent. The rest of the song sort of fills itself in on its own. No, really. That's how easy it is to write a song. I've never been much of a lyricist and that's fine. I'm also good with puns. I seem to come up with decent ideas while I'm in the shower but there are two flights of stairs between my office and the shower so they're usually forgotten before I get there. I punch notes and things into my phone but I usually lose those as well.
Maybe I'm just too darned happy. I'll come up with something eventually. I think I need to just lock myself down here for several hours (not counting when I'm working) and just start writing until something good floats to the top.
day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate
I used to be a huge disco fan. These days I hear a song like Jive Talkin' and I can't help but notice how dumb it is. There is absolutely no jive talking in the song.
Sloan's "Living With The Masses" sums me up pretty well. Lyrics below.
Living with the masses Will always get you down And next to me they're teaching classes On how to really bring me down
I never asked for a neighbour like you To run around and around like a wrecking ball Is there some renovating you should do Maybe you should cut in the dark with your table saw
Always going faster Than the others down the road You should bring out the sandblaster, whoa-oh So I can really hear your workload
I never asked for a neighbour like you To run around and around like a wrecking ball There's so many other people just like you You're like the sights and the sounds of a nuclear war
The bomb-bay doors are opening [Bomb-bay doors] And soon they will be falling all around The bomb-bay doors are opening [Bomb-bay doors] And soon they will be falling all around
day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love
I'm not what you would call a hip hop fan but I celebrate Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" and this little ditty. I don't like too many songs featuring lines like "I find a good piece o' pussy, I go up in it" but for some reason I can't get enough of this song.
I know this song was written by a team of song writers for what is arguably the most obnoxious music franchises ever conceived. Still, it's got a great hook and is well produced like most of their rubbish.
I have numerous favorite bands that I hop back and forth between depending on my mood. Even though they're Canadian I give them a break for more somber tunes during the Winter months but by Spring I'm ready to enjoy a little rock.
day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event
My brother and I MC'd a benefit show at the Kitting Factory in Hollywood a bazillion years ago. Jude was gracious enough to headline our show. He played this song and cracked us all up. Really cool guy.
For the past month and a half I've been posting a crappy song every day to my Facebook page. An friend of mine suggested I put them in a blog so I did.
This was a tough one. I listen to music on my iPod Shuffle while I mow the lawn so I like to have upbeat music. It usually takes an hour to do the front and back yards so my chances of hearing this song are pretty good.
Sloan will hit this list several times because I like them. The lyrics don't really mean a whole lot to me but the song itself just has a nice feeling to it.
It may surprise you that I didn't pick a country song. I'm not a country fan but country music makes such a small blip on my radar I really don't take notice since it's all pretty bad.
This has thus far been declared my worst submission to my "Crappy Song Of The Day" Facebook updates. It's like the anthem for spring break drunks. Check out the unintelligible lyrics. Great. Now I'm all angry again.
I was lying on the grass on Sunday morning of last week Indulging in my self-defeat My mind was thugged all laced and bugged all twisted wrong and beat uncomfortable in three feet deep Now the fuzzy stare from not being there on a confusing morning week Impaired my tribal lunar-speak And of course you can't become if you only say what you would have done So I missed a million miles of fun
I know it's up for me IF YOU STEAL MY SUNSHINE Making sure I'm not in too deep IF YOU STEAL MY SUNSHINE Keeping versed and on my feet IF YOU STEAL MY SUNSHINE
I was frying on the bench slide in the park across the street l-a-t-e-r that week My sticky paws were in to making straws out of big fat slurpy treats An incredible eight foot heap Now the funny glare to pay a gleaming tare in a staring under heat Involved an under usual feat And I'm not only among but I invite who I want to come So I missed a million miles of fun
I know it's up for me IF YOU STEAL MY SUNSHINE Making sure I'm not in too deep IF YOU STEAL MY SUNSHINE Keeping versed and on my feet IF YOU STEAL MY SUNSHINE
I know its done for me IF YOU STEAL MY SUNSHINE Not something hard to see IF YOU STEAL MY SUNSHINE Keeping dumb and built to beat IF YOU STEAL MY SUNSHINE
Every year I hear overly cautious retailers and the news media mutter, "Happy Holidays" quickly so as not to offend those that don't celebrate holidays. "Merry Christmas" was perfectly acceptable for hundreds of years because it happened to be a particular day on the calendar. At some point during the later part of the 20th century some dickhead decided that he didn't like "Christ" and didn't want to speak the name of the aforementioned holiday instead opting for the more robotic "Xmas." Another dickhead took it one further and omitted "Merry" from the greeting since it had too much yuletide cheer associated with it. "Happy Xmas" had a nice ring to it but soon even that was too much and "Happy Holidays" was adopted as the suitable statement since it covered numerous holidays that fell around that time.
I get that religion irks people to no end. Does that mean we need to dilute the culture out of the world to achieve an Orwellian utopia?
A recent story was published about an individual filling eggs with candy for a certain upcoming holiday and dubbing them "Spring Spheres" so as not to upset anybody in the public school system. Now things are getting to be a little ridiculous. I can't understand how public schools would be willing to accept a name such as that since eggs aren't spherical. They're ovular. Oh right, we can't say "Spring Oval" because oval comes from the ovum which is Latin for egg and we're trying to maintain the alliteration in case there are any merchandising plans. I'm not sure why the Easter egg had to be removed at all when it's the Jesus aspects we're looking to bury. Maybe they're worried that he'll just rise again if they do so rather than take any chances they'll just whack the holiday and be done with it.
Perhaps parents were annoyed that the Jesus lovers and their Pagan counterparts were getting too much attention. If nobody cares about Earth Day then they don't care about the other Spring holiday.
How long until we've eradicated holidays? Is Thanksgiving next? We can call it "Poultry Centric Dinner" so as not to alienate people who have nothing to be thankful for.
Once we're done killing holidays to the point of where we just have days off of work for no apparent reason we can focus on celebrating things like little Brayden getting a B- in PE or when he lights the garbage on fire without burning the house down. Think of all the money retailers will save on changing out holiday specific items. That will free up space for "push presents" and other celebratory crap that people like to blow money on these days.
I was going to try to do an album review but while searching through my library for a great album I got side tracked and started listening to specific songs instead.
I've been a Sloan fan for quite some time but I've only recently discovered that of the four members (all of whom write and perform songs on each album) I find Jay Ferguson to be the most consistent. That's not to say I don't like the other members because they all have songs that make it on my playlists. Here are a few gems that he's contributed to the world of music.
The first selection is "Witch's Wand" from "Parallel Play" which I originally regarded to be a so so album but the more I've been listening the more I've discovered how good it is. This is the case for most Sloan albums.
It's got all the ingredients of a great rock song along with some soft harmonies and a smart bridge the latter of which seems beyond the reach of most groups making albums today. Thanks to à la carte digital music buying you're not forced to buy an entire album for one song though it would be okay in this instance because there are some great songs on there.
Number two is from "Never Hear The End Of It" which was an interesting Sloan album to say the least. What was a change of pace for the band still yielded the same strong tracks that make their older albums so easy to listen to over and over.
"Before The End Of The Race" is one of those songs that takes a few listens to really appreciate what is going on. The Beatles-esque beginning gives way to a song that is 100% Jay with lyrics that make me depressed that I can't come up with words that are even a fraction as good as these. Sloan occasionally likes to forgo a traditional chorus but they really don't need it as is evident here.
"Between The Bridges" is my favorite Sloan album. I like it so much I performed it in its entirety during one of my few solo shows back in California. "Take Good Care Of The Poor Boy" is a great studio track but is also great live as is evident below. This is from Troubadour in Hollywood where I've seen them numerous times. Sadly this show occurred after I moved to Nebraska.
I stand in awe of this song. It's so simple that it would seem anybody could do it just as well if not better but as somebody that's done an acoustic version I can attest that's not the case. This song goes to prove that a good bridge is more than enough to make you forget that there isn't a guitar solo. You may have noticed that I'm a sucker for a good bridge.
I'm going to slow it down a bit with "Junior Panthers" which was a bonus track from "One Chord To Another."
I love the restraint with this one. Everything is dialed back so far it keeps you on the edge of your seat or at least that's what it does for me. The harmonies are a particular treat here and do such a good job of transitioning with enough dissonance to make the every further note more meaningful.
While Ferguson's songs seem to legitimize every Sloan album I often forget that he uses Chris Murphy as one of his sharpest tools. "Who You Talkin' To?" was my gateway to the Jay Ferguson song. Here's a live version of it.
The only problem with live recordings is that dynamically you lose what the album has. Honestly, you should just buy the song and listen to it. I'll bet it sounds incredible on vinyl.
If you doubt what I have ascertained about Jay's songwriting ability here is he showing how and why you can't write a song as good as he does. I'll forgive the capo because "Cheap Champagne" is awesome.
