Roky Erickson - the right track (powell st. john)

i was reminded today of how petty and ugly and small people are.
i posted this to prove to myself that that's not entirely true.

The Walker Brothers - The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore

i've recently declared this the best song of the 60's, if not of all time. so dramatic. and scott walker is so fucking cool. i loved this song long before i knew who scott walker was. i remember hearing it in the car with my mom, who also really digs this song. she's a hip lady.
just great songwriting. when the chorus comes out of the bridge my heart always skips a beat. how come spector never produced these guys?
p.s. the opening lines are:
loneliness is a cloak you wear, a deep shade of blue is always there.
shit.

I'm gonna turn on you, before you turn on me

that'll be how i sign off on all my xmas cards this year. great song. i remember vividly the 1st time i saw this video. scared the shit out of me. i bought it the next day. could be the best band of the 90's. definitely the best singer. listen to the way he phrases "oh my love, we can still be friends". so good. talk about shitting in yer mouth and calling it a sundae! god bless gregg dulli! he taught me everything i know about women!

Modest Mouse - Satin in a coffin (live at Letterman)

a fearless band at their peak. enjoy them now. i love that they picked this song for a network gig. isaac brock is the best rock singer since dulli. intense with almost no control of his voice, like it's a sickness he's spitting out. "are you dead or are you sleeping? god, i sure hope you are dead!". that line instantly makes me think of at least 3 people. hint: one of them is me!!

The Dawn Don't Rescue Me No More

if you could feel music the way danko feels this one you'd do heroin too. this is a performance that has haunted me for years. his voice sounds like it's about to crack in half. listen to when he sings the lines "i love you so much, it's all i can do, just to keep myself from telling you, that i never felt so alone before". i swear there's blood in his throat. rick danko is in heaven now. high as fuck.

guilt, revenge, and the sleep of the just

elvis costello once said, earlier in his career, that all of his songs were about guilt and revenge. and really, isn't that why we all love him? guilt is the hole in our sinking ship and revenge is the bucket we uselessly try to save ourselves with. or something like that.

then there's "sleep of the just" off of king of america. one of the saddest songs ever. a song that has elements of guilt and revenge, but is, ultimately, about forgiveness and a bitter acceptance.

king of america always felt like and old timey record to me. it has a soft, country feel to it. songs about lost people fill the album. immigration seems to be a minor theme of the album. but more like emotional immigration (if i may invent a psycho-babble term). people thrust into a situation they're not prepared for. surrounded by strangers and longing for home. it's a complex album and when i got it when i was 13 i had no idea what it was about. now i know a little better.

"sleep of the just" is a gorgeous song. it is, to my ears, costello's most affecting vocal. the lyrics seem so strange. soldiers and poets and homesickness....

well it was a powerful day, and there were black crows in the road...

ever have one of those days? where things seem too much, like every inch of you is a raw nerve? the black crows in the road line always bothered me. why are they in the road? why aren't they flying away?

and i kept my strong opinions to chest...and that never ends well

i suppose i should have told them that i was on fire for you/as the bus burst into flames outside some place, "the poets rest"....when what you have inside affects everything. the whole scene is strange. who are "them"? a rock band? missionaries? what is "the poets rest"? a bar? an oasis? it'ss all so dream like.

and now you say, that you've got to go

well if you must you must

i suppose that you

need the sleep of the just

is he talking to someone on their deathbed? a lover leaving? the way he sings it says it all. and you really have to hear it to know. i can't describe it.

and then "just" trails off and we're left with a gentle strumming of an acoustic guitar. and then the "whap" of brushes on a snare drum. and some beautifully doctored piano.

and then it feels like we've all been forgiven.

rock and roll ghost

i'm gonna be offlinefor a couple of weeks now kids. but don't fear! i'll be buying lots of records while i'm away, and when i get back i'll let you know what's cool. til then absorb all the things i've told you. it'll be ok, promise.