rolling stones- sway

to me, this has always been the ultimate stones song. it swaggers, it's dark, it practically bleeds. and the outro proves why the mick taylor lineup will always be the best. flawless. this kills me every time.


Did you ever wake up to find
A day that broke up your mind
Destroyed your notion of circular time

It's just that demon life has got you in its sway
It's just that demon life has got you in its sway

Ain't flinging tears out on the dusty ground
For all my friends out on the burial ground
Can't stand the feeling getting so brought down

It's just that demon life has got me in its sway
It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

There must be ways to find out
Love is the way they say is really strutting out

One day I woke up to find
Right in the bed next to mine
Someone that broke me up with a corner of her smile

It's just that demon life has got me in its sway
It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

the seeds- can't seem to make you mine

why weren't the seeds bigger than the beatles?
oh yeah, cuz sky saxon was fucking crazy.
still, this is better than anything the fab 4 ever recorded.

the jam- move on up

if i had to sum up what i like about music in 2 minutes and 44 seconds this might be it. joyful, aggressive, and just fucking cool.

i like to read. it takes my mind away and makes me think.
however, i would throw away every book i ever read for a moment like this. there is that adrenaline shot, that feeling of transcendence i get from music that my favorite books never get me close to. maybe cuz i'm more emotion than intellect. it's like the difference between mainlining speed and drinking a cup of coffee.
i imagine.

the carpenters- goodbye to love

god damn this is a great song.
sometimes you gotta know when to give up!
that's what karen carpenter taught me!

dolly parton- jolene

jealous. heartsick. suspicious. paranoid.
shit! i should have saved this for my valentine's day post!
the greatest song by one of country musics finest songwriters.

fleet foxes- he doesn't know why

here you go, jenny!

tramp the dirt down- elvis costello

this is from 1989. listen to the interview and song. both are about margaret thatcher, but you could just slip in george w. bush's name and it would make just as much sense ('who takes all the glory and none of the shame'). this is my sendoff to the miserable shit. good riddance, little fucker.

fleet foxes- he doesn't know why

it started with a visit to the doctor, but it turned into a pretty enjoyable day. i had a reggie delux and did some record shopping! i picked up the fleet foxes album and it's as good as you've heard.

the persuaders- some guys have all the luck

yeah, yeah, i know. the self pity party continues. so what? it's my blog, i can do what i want!
a beautiful song. you may be more familiar with the rod stewart version (which is also good), but this is the one you should know. plus, rod the bod makes a slight lyric change in the chorus which has always bothered me.


Alone in a crowd on a bus after work
I’m daydreaming
The guy next to me has his girl on his arm
My arms are empty
How does it feel when the girl that you love
Says “Yes, she loves you.”
It seems unfair when there’s love everywhere
And yet there’s none for you

Some guys have all the luck
Some guys have all the pain
Some guys have a little sunshine in their life
My life is only filled with rain

Someone to take on a walk by the lake
Dear Lord, let her be
Someone who’s shy
Someone who liable to cry at sad movies
Ooh, I do believe I would die just to look in her eyes
And find them filled with me
But you’re just a dream and as real as it seems
I’m not that lucky

Some guys have all the luck
Some guys have all the pain
Some guys have a little sunshine in their life
My life is only filled with rain

It’s just a losing games
The things have got to change
Some girl will give my luck a try
With my luck, she’d have her overnight, oh well

Some guys have all the luck
Some guys have all the pain
Some guys have a little sunshine in their life
My life is only filled with rain

yer blues- dirty mac

legendary.

loveblog: thoughts of a non-expert thunk while listening to paul westerberg's 'folker'

'i'm in love with a dream i had as a kid'- paul westerberg

love hurts.
love stinks.
love's just an old fashioned word.
all you need is love.
stupid love songs.

you've heard them all. every love song you've heard is right. the silly ones. the light hearted ones. the 'you saved me' ones. the longing ones. the heartbroken ones.
combined they all sum it up. and they miss the point completely.
maybe. i don't know. i'm no expert.
i have been in love. or maybe i haven't. i was accused recently of loving the idea of being in love.
well, of course i do. i'm not a monster.
so when is love real? when you're willing to lay down your life for it? when you'll die without it? isn't that obsession? isn't that unnatural? shouldn't love make you stronger? shouldn't it free you?
sometimes love lingers on too long, til it hurts more than it helps.
sometimes love shouldn't have happened. it catches you off guard and never has a chance.
sometimes we are too loyal to love, even when it is killing us.
sometimes the afternoons pass lightly, with little talking, but with a sense of calm, of peace.
sometimes the mouth of the afternoon opens wide, fangs bared, waiting to swallow us whole. a slow digestion.
when the night comes sometimes we are still. pictures flash before us and it hardly matters what they are. what matters is the warmth beside us. the arms wrapped loosely around us. the hands stroking our hair.
sometimes the night is a monster hiding under our bed, waiting for us to drift off to sleep.
sometimes the monster gets inside our heads and starts shredding everything inside of us.

love is not to be thought about. it's like a card trick. just believe it. if you look too close you might lose the magic.

like i said, i'm no expert.

love hurts.
love stinks.

love is so real you can almost...
hold it...
in your hands.

paul westerberg- how can you like him?

not the most polished performance, but i think that's what i like about it. it's fragile. it suits the song.
this one perfectly captures that 'god, i'm pathetic. how can she/he not want me?' feeling that i think we can all relate to.

emmylou harris- for no none

shhhhhhh. just listen....

beach boys- don't worry baby

sam cooke- smoke rings

where do they go
smoke rings I blow each night
where do they go
those circles of blue and white
I wonder

why do they sing
to picture a dream above, above, above
then why do they fade
my phantom parade of love

puff, puff, puff
oh you can puff your cares away
puff, puff, puff
night and day

blow, blow them into air
silky little rings
O, little smoke rings I love
please take me above with you

one more thing I want to know is

where do they end
the smoke rings I send on a high
where are they hurled
when they've kissed the world goodbye

let me tell you that

I'd give my life to laugh at this strife
below, below, down here below
for I'd be a king
I'd follow each ring I blow

so little smoke rings I love
please take me above with you

thoughts on 'oar'

it's early afternoon. i'm laying on the couch that i slept on. still in my pajamas. unshaved, unwashed. the curtains are drawn. it might be raining. it might be sunny. what's the difference, really?
disintegrating is a slow process. you look in the mirror and something is missing. something minuscule, but something important. splash your face with water, look up. you look different. something in the eyes.

alexander spence was disintegrating when he recorded oar. part (or perhaps) most of him was gone by the time he put it to tape.

your eyes are puffy. you're starting to gray. you are lost for words alot of the time. usually you just give up looking for them.

he was the original drummer for jefferson airplane. guitarist for moby grape. none of that mattered once he released oar. his lone solo album.

lie back down. go to sleep. this too shall pass. i know it will.

i've got nothing else to say about this record. it's the soundtrack of my day. sadly beautiful. g'night. talk to you guys later.

r.i.p. ron asheton

the mighty ron asheton has died. founding member and guitarist of the stooges. jesus. why couldn't it have been jimmy page?

drunk < love < cheap trick

drunk is less than love. love is less than cheap trick.
i have been drunk. REALLY drunk. when i was 19 i fooled around with this really pretty girl by the dart boards at pendeltons (ny) on new years eve. i danced on a bar table in new orleans. i woke up on many a floor after laughing myself sick with my mineola drinking buddies. i sweet talked a girl at dimies night in cortland, ny. i played guitar with jimmy b. many times at the p's summer house. also i almost broke rangers paw. drunk. and i played the best all time joke on a sorta girlfriend where i pretended i was in jail. actually psaur did that. and i laughed and laughed. and had a great time.
but there was a price to pay.
the next morning. the sickness. the blankness. the depression.
was it worth it?
i can't answer that. but i don't think it was.

i have been in love. not many times. but some. and it's been wonderful. like the best drunk ever without the shaky stomach. well, there was some shaky stomach, but a different kind. that moment when you look at the girl, out of the blue, and realize you love her. she may not have done anything at all. maybe a way she turned her head. or how her eyes darted around the room.
or maybe the way she tousled your hair.
you know.
it's exhilarating.
but, as you know, it doesn't always last. you want it to. and there is nothing worse than when it doesn't.
um...
ahem....
sigh...
oh well....

i have listened to cheap trick. yeah, that's right. you fuckers want to say something? they're brilliant. and if you don't think so, well then, friend, you're missing something. 'southern girls', 'downed', 'i want you to want me', 'dream police', 'tonight it's you', 'if you want my love', etc. i love 'em all!
but most of all i love 'surrender'.
i was thinking of making my nephews a mixed tape, er, disc.
and, as you know, i take the mix very seriously. it's not just something you toss off. you need to think about it. consider the person you are giving it to. but make sure you don't cater to their tastes. send a message. let them know your current state. i don't know why, but that's important to me.
i thought of my nephews, who i love immeasurably, and who i would like to see happy and healthy their whole lives.
what advice could i give them, musically, that would help them, guide them in the right direction?
if i was feeling dark i could put on richard thompsons 'the end of the rainbow'.

'life looks so rosy from the cradle
but i'll be a friend i'll tell you what's in store
there's nothing at the end of the rainbow
there's nothing to grow up for anymore'

but that would make me a horrible person. thinking it makes me a horrible person.

instead, i would put on cheap tricks 'surrender'. a weird song. really. but the chorus has always inspired me.

'surrender, surrender
but don't give yourself away'.

we all surrender in the end. you may enjoy your life. you may be in a loving relationship. you may have a job you, if not love, don't hate.
but in the end we surrender something.
we learn to accept the daily humiliations.
the hardships.
the day after day...sameness.
and it's ok.
just do something with it.
create something.
with your hands, with writing, with food, with music.
read.
think.
don't give yourself away.

that's what i get from that song. from cheap trick.

i love to get drunk. but there is a price to pay.
i love to be in love. but it, often, doesn't last. and you want it again.
i love cheap trick. i love 'surrender'. and when it's over, and i want it again? i lift the needle and drop it back on the groove.

well said, etc.

'The day ended as it began
and he was seconds older than
the man he was this morning
And
the world has wiped it's mouth since then
Or maybe it was yawning' -elvis costello

best of 2008, sorta. aka, must haves for qner

a best of list is always difficult. almost impossible to compile. my picks will change as i write this.
the year. interesting one. musically and personally.
3 of my pics are albums given to me by someone i got very close to this year. 'magic' by springsteen i reviewed it somewhere on this blog. really got into it this year. 'girls in their summer clothes' is one of bruce's finest. i have a very special memory of it now. as i do of 'vincent o'brien' by m. ward. off of his fantastic 'the transfiguration of vincent' album. and there's also santogold. something i resisted listening to at first but have become addicted to. if you like missing persons and devo (and who doesn't?) you'll love it! also nina simone and otis redding. thanks throat.
right now i'm listening to van morrison's 'astral weeks'. so i'll suggest that too. unbelievable. 'sweet thing' can convince you that love is a life changing, positive thing. not the destructive force it actually is.
kidding!
punk pick. the damned's first one. get the 3 disc reissue. it's fucking great.
scott walker put out two recently. 'the drift' a difficult, dense album that i recommend you listen to before laying money down for it. i love it and i've never heard anything like it. he also released an instrumental called 'and who shall go to the ball? and what shall go to the ball?' really interesting, challenging stuff.
i've been getting into gershwin lately.
you know, i skipped over nina simone too quickly. go a few posts down to my fave musical moment. she AFFECTS me. that voice is just stunning. she's got a box set out that i need to get. or you can buy it and burn me a copy.
there's a box set of obscure girl groups called 'girl group sounds'. i've never heard anything on it before and every song is superb. i bet dee dee ramone would have loved it.
the replacements reissues are great. lots of extras!
the mission of burma reissues also fantastic. their stuff gets better with age.
i'm listening to the essential cheap trick right now. seriously. it's excellent. sometimes you just gotta lighten up. y'know? plus, 'surrender' is a top ten greatest song.
also picked up the new ry cooder anthology today. haven't absorbed that one yet.
sixto rodriguez. his 'i wonder' is one of my new faves. thanks mike.
robert pollard's 'robert pollard is off to business'.
bonnie 'prince' billy's 'lie down in the light'.
silver jews' 'lookout mountain, lookout sea'.
the gun club's 'the las vegas story'.
bob dylan's 'tell tale signs'.
the pop group's 'y'.
the fall's 'the complete peel sessions'.
vic chesnutt and elf power, 'dark developments. also album cover of the year.
p.i.l. 'metal box'
okkervil river's 'the stage names'.
capt. beefheart and his magic band. 'ice cream for crow' and 'doc at the radar station'
brian eno and david byrne. 'everything that happens will happen today'.
nick cave and the bad seeds. 'dig, lazarus, dig'.
robert wyatt. 'comicopera'.
anything by sam cooke.
anything and everything by townes van zandt.
guy clark's 'dublin blues'.
'the last waltz'.
pere ubu. 'the modern dance'.

well, i could go on but i won't. hope there's some stuff in there you all might like.
have a good new year kids. may it bring you love and peace of mind.
and music.

neil young (with csn)- only love can break your heart

barry manilow- can't smile without you

i tried. almost made it 24 hours. i NEED this fucking blog. god dammit. i really want to stop. it's a fucking burden. but all day today at work i was thinking about things i wanted to post. ugh. so i'm a liar. i'm not going anywhere. that was not a stunt tho'. i really did want to quit. then again, what the fuck else would i do? sorry. didn't mean to scare y'all.
here's a song that sums up how i feel about this thing.



p.s.- i really love barry. seriously. saw him in concert a few years ago. unbelievable. one great song after another.