lesson #6: the music was never ending

lets get right to it.

1. john o'dreams-christy moore's version of a bill caddick song. i've recently been getting serious about irish music. this, to my untrained ear, is a perfect irish ballad. sad, wistful, gentle. the loose arrangement (this was a tape of a rehearsal, there is a discussion toward the end of the song) give it a' that's the way it goes' feel that i like. and the lyric...sigh... 'sleep is a river, flow on forever, and for your boatman, choose old john o'dreams. nice. and christy moore's voice is something i treasure.

2. do ya-elo. really, have you heard it lately. it's everything that's great about rock. it's got bravado, vulnerability, and it's catchy as fuck! i remember i saw matthew sweet close his set with this song. it was brilliant. then he laid the guitar on an amp, walked offstage, and let it feedback for what felt like 20 minutes. that was genius.

3. one step up-bruce springsteen off of his, arguably, best album 'tunnel of love'. remember when a song like this could be a semi-hit? true it has one of springsteens most memorable melodies, but the words are brutal. 'i'm the same old story, same old act..." "when i look at myself i don't see, the man i wanted to be, somewhere along the line i slipped off the track..." then there's the devastating closing line "last night i dreamed i held you in my arms, the music was never ending, we danced as the evening sky faded to black, one step up and two step back". another one of springsteens broken dreams.

4. vfw-dead milkmen from big lizard in my backyard. cuz' sometimes i like to feel like a pissed off young man. which is totally different from how i feel most of the time.

5.i burn today-frank black. do you guys know 'honeycomb'? great album. dan penner and spooner oldham are all over it. i kind of take frank for granted so i wanted to include him here. he's always good, and always interesting. and his voice moves me on a very basic level. even when he's not screaming. he's got a new album out that's supposed to be real good. i don't have it, but i just talked myself into it!

take it for what it is.