music
Jason posted on August 17th, 2007

Six Songs
(Special almost double edition since I haven’t done this for so long)

"Red Reflection"  Spindrift
I spent a lot of time in my sweet sea foam green Ford Taurus rental car in LA, driving from meeting to meeting.  I didn’t have any cds, so I mostly listened to the radio.  Early in the morning and late at night it’d be 97.1 for Adam Corolla or Love Line.  But in the afternoons, I’d listen to either 101.5 (oldies), 93.9 (R&B jams), 95.5 (which was classic rock, but really must have been the official home of the band Boston, since they played them so much) or 103.1 (indie rock).  There was some British asshole who had an afternoon show on the indie station who always played incredible, incredible music. 

It was on his show that I discovered this song, which sounds like something off the "Dusk Til Dawn" soundtrack.  It’s got this bluesy/sexy/dark/mysterious sound to it that makes you want to fuck a dragon (I love it so much I put it on my MySpace page).  I’ve currently added it to my "Let’s Make Out or Something" playlist, but it’s so dark and scary that I’m not sure it’ll last on there.  I’ll have to ask the next girl I bring home.  Provided, of course, she’s not deaf.  You know, like four of the last five.     

"Maps"  The Arcade Fire
Speaking of scary, this is a cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs song and is downright terrifying.  Listen at your own risk, and expect nightmares. 

(Also, I am pretty sure that the members of this band would hate me.  On one end of the intensity scale, there are love triangles that end in murder, The Arcade Fire, and hate-fucking.  On the other end of the intensity scale, there’s sour cream, me, and water balloons.  So I don’t think we’d get along in real life.)   

"How Many More Times"  Led Zeppelin
Every fan of Led Zeppelin knows the famous riff, but I want to focus on the part of the song that starts around the 5:30 mark, when Robert Plant starts screaming "Oh Rosie!"  I don’t know how else to say this, so I’m just gonna let it out: when this part of the song comes on, no matter where I am, I have to take my penis out.  It gets so dirty, so funky, so depraved, that my penis just has to come out of my pants.  I can’t explain it either.  It’s just how it is.

(Seriously though, when he’s singing, "They call me The Hunter…" is there a better example of dirty rock/cock rock than that?  I feel like Robert Plant is actually fucking me when he sings those words – and I dig it, I totally fucking dig it.  Forget Page’s guitar, which is incredible, but between JPJ’s bass and Bonzo’s drums, like I said, the penis, it comes out.  Thank God this part of the song is only about 90 seconds before going back to the main riff.)     

This song makes me want to start a band, not only because the riff is so thunderous yet easy you could play it while barely conscious, but also because I bet I could make myself climax if I were rocking out to this song hard enough.  If you sing, play drums, or play guitar or bass, please let me know (I can cover either the bass or the guitar part, but not the rest) – or just let me know come over to your basement, get high, and watch you guys play it.

(With my penis out, of course.) 

"Yeah! Oh Yeah!"  The Magnetic Fields
I was a little high doing the dishes last night and this song came on and nearly blew my brains out.  While I don’t want to give it away, I kind of have to: it’s about a failing marriage that ends when the husbands kills his wife – not exactly a lullaby, I know.  But unlike the other songs mentioned, I don’t find myself particularly frightened by this song.  Maybe it makes me feel a little cold (none of the Magnetic Fields’ music should be listened to in warm sunny weather - this shit is for winter), and it definitely makes me intrigued, but I’m not scared.  Maybe I’m turning a corner. 

"Stardust"  John Coltrane
I don’t know anything about jazz, but I do know that if I had to pick one song to listen to immediately after my wife tells me she’s been fucking my agent – who, coincidentally, I’ve been fucking – this is the song I’ll listen to.  Translation: this song is soothing and calms me down. 

"Walk On"  Neil Young
Up until about two years ago, I really didn’t like Neil Young.  Maybe even hated him.  I don’t know what happened around that time, but now I’m kinda of in love with him.  Last year I went to Maine with some friends and did a CRAPLOAD of drugs and booze and listened to this album, "On The Beach," from which this is the opening track, over and over again.  Now, whenever I hear this song, it brings me right back to that beach house, sitting on a deck at 3am watching the ocean break against the sand, eating a whole bag of Cool Ranch Doritos, hoping to God the mushrooms start to wear off because I’m pretty sure that I’m going to start wielding a knife in, like, 30 seconds.

Magical, magical times.

(Also, really great song.)  

"Don’t Matter"  Akon
Because nobody wanna to see us together, but it don’t matter, no. 

"Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me"  Mel Carter
One of my five favorite songs ever.  When I hear this, I am reduced to a sobbing, blubbering mass who just wants to hold hands with and/or smell a woman’s hair.  This is why I will marry the first woman who asks me to slow dance with her.  And also why all of my male children will be homosexual.  At this point, whatever.

"Black Like Me"  Spoon
This is a very, very good album, friends.  The single "The Underdog" is exceptional, as is "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb", but if I had to pick a favorite, it’d be this one. I could talk about how I am in love with the chord progressions in this song, but fuck it – it’s just a great little rock song that sounds unlike anything I’ve heard in a long time.  This song was added to my "Sitting & Drinking" playlist before it had finished its first play on my iTunes.    

"There Is A Mountain"  Donovan
I’m pretty down on Donovan, because it seems like he’s been playing the "I was friends with the Bob Dylan and the Beatles" card forever and I can only name two of his songs.  Also, I once checked out his iTunes celebrity playlist and no lie, seven of the ten songs were by him.  Major, major turn-off. 

However, this song makes me wish I was a fucking hippie.  Real bad.  I want to have a picnic in Central Park and buy some bongos just so a bunch of strangers and I can sing and play this song together.  He may be a douche, but it’s a hell of a catchy song.   

"Steal Away"  Robbie Dupree
This song has been in my head for about 22 years, even though I don’t think I had heard it for about 15 years until I downloaded it recently.  And though I admit it’s catchy, it’s also just about the worst song I’ve ever heard – in a critical sense.  I mean, I can feel my musical tastes getting worse every time I hear this song, with that stupid catchy "doo-doo-doo-doo/doo- doo/doo-doo-doo" hook throughout – it’s like I want to kick my own ass for kinda liking it.

Why do I recommend it on here?  Because like I said, I’ve been suffering with it for 22 years.  Now you have to.  Welcome to my nightmare.   

[Have a good weekend]

[PS – I am going to get really, really drunk tonight.]