All posts by Lance

About Lance

Lance is an online product developer and content producer based in Austin, TX. He enjoys bourbon, tacos, cocktails, tater tots, live music, karaoke and is hoping one day to run into Sasquatch or a UFO. Or a UFO flown by a Sasquatch.

October Soundtracks: Back to the Future

Back To The Future: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack
Back To The Future: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack

Back To The Future: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack
1985
Buy the album on Amazon

I had planned on going with something a little more alternative and a little more 90s for my first soundtracks post this month, but as I was glancing at my collection this guy really caught my eye.  I’m pretty sure that this was the first “rock” album I ever owned.  And I gotta say, it was a great choice for a kid who was drifting away from his country and orchestral music roots.

Continue reading October Soundtracks: Back to the Future

Cover Friday: Kick (Album)

Kick
Kick

Kick
by Courtney Barnett (originally by INXS)
from Pure Pop Records’ “Summer Of Classic Albums” concert series
2012
Buy the original album on Amazon

When Chris posted his “Jackson” karaoke post, he included a cover that INXS did, which got me to wondering who has covered INXS? Just as that thought popped into my head, I remembered stumbling across this video of Courtney Barnett performing the Kick album in its entirety.

Continue reading Cover Friday: Kick (Album)

Karaoke Tuesday: “Song 2”

Blur
Blur

“Song 2”
by Blur
from the album Blur
1997
Buy the album on Amazon

Oh man, “Song 2.” How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

  • That beat.  Air drums.  Real drums.  Pots and pans.  It’s just fun to play.
  • Sludge-filled bass line.  ‘Nuff said.
  • Nonsense name.
  • Lyrics that are all over the place.
  • Motherfucking woo hoo!

I tossed this one into the mix one night after I had gone through all my regular songs and the house was practically empty.  So. Much. Fun.

For me, anyway.

Continue reading Karaoke Tuesday: “Song 2”

Karaoke Tuesday: “Undone (The Sweater Song)”

Weezer
Weezer

“Undone (The Sweater Song)”
by Weezer
from the album Weezer
1994
Buy the album on Amazon

I started to write a post about “The Middle” when I had the suspicion I already had.  I was correct.  Oh well, time to pick another artist. Out of curiosity, I decided to see how many times we had written about Weezer, particularly the blue album since that’s one of the geeky loves Chris and I share.

Once.  We’ve written about Weezer, exactly once.  What the fuck is wrong with us?  Let’s correct this travesty right now.  I’ll go for the long-hanging fruit and pick the song that Chrance is best known for performing (with “Summer of ’69” and “ITEOTWAIKI” coming in close behind).  Ladies and gentlemen, I present the perfect karaoke song: Continue reading Karaoke Tuesday: “Undone (The Sweater Song)”

Cover Friday: “The Chauffeur”

The Duran Duran Tribute Album
The Duran Duran Tribute Album

“The Chauffeur”
by Deftones (originally by Duran Duran)
from the album The Duran Duran Tribute Album
1997
Buy the album on Amazon

It’s completely rare to have one of my favorite bands covering one of my other favorite bands, particularly in this case when the genres they occupy are so far apart.  The Deftones could probably best be described as alternative metal whereas Duran Duran best epitomize the 80s dance pop/new wave sound.  That kind of sounds like mixing bacon and ice cream.  But you know what?  I’ve had bacon ice cream and it’s delicious.

Continue reading Cover Friday: “The Chauffeur”

Karaoke Tuesday: “Of a Broken Heart”

Mary Star of the Sea
Mary Star of the Sea

“Of a Broken Heart”
by Zwan
from the album Mary Star of the Sea
2003
Buy the album on Amazon

Zwan was a shitty band (I feel so much better having typed that).  Mary Star of the Sea served as both the debut release and the final gasp of a band that never should have existed in the first place.  It’s a complete train-wreck.  Although, there is one redeeming factor in this monstrosity and it’s located on track six.

Continue reading Karaoke Tuesday: “Of a Broken Heart”

Cover Friday: “Pictures of Matchstick Men”

Key Lime Pie
Key Lime Pie

“Pictures of Matchstick Men”
by Camper Van Beethoven (originally by Status Quo)
from the album Key Lime Pie
1989
Buy the album on Amazon

I was totally scratching my bean this week trying to think of a cover song I wanted to blather about for a couple of graphs.  I keep a little notepad of cover songs going so I can write down ideas as they pop into my head or come up on shuffle, but nothing on there was really speaking to me.  So I started looking through recent posts to see if anything would spark a thought.  I saw the post about Cracker’s “Teen Angst” and started wondering if they had done some cover songs as B-Sides or something and then I suddenly remembered this CVB song.  I had always known it was a cover, but I thought it was by Strawberry Alarm Clock, however  I was nowhere near being correct.  But before we get to the original, let’s take a few minutes to watch the amazing, obviously late-80s music video for CVB’s version.  It’s about 120 Minutes-worthy as you can get.

Continue reading Cover Friday: “Pictures of Matchstick Men”

Karaoke Tuesday: “The Hand That Feeds”

With Teeth
With Teeth

“The Hand That Feeds”
by Nine Inch Nails
from the album With Teeth
2005
Buy the album on Amazon

I have weird tastes in albums, particularly from established artists.  Masterpieces that everyone else fawns over, I end up feeling meh about.  My go-to example is Pinkerton.  Sometimes it has to do with which album was my first with that artist.  The Blue Album ruined me for all future entries in their discography.  The same thing happened with The Downward Spiral, while it’s harder and more raw that Pretty Hate Machine (these are good things), I’ll never love it as much.  But sometimes certain albums just speak to you.  With Teeth was the album I needed exactly when I needed it.  And consequently, it’s my favorite Nine Inch Nails album.  That’s heresy for most NIN fans, but these lyrics, the raw sound of the production (after the super-indulgent Fragile) and the big-ass beats courtesy of the heaviest right foot in rock, Dave Grohl, delivered exactly what I wanted.

Continue reading Karaoke Tuesday: “The Hand That Feeds”

Cover Friday: “Thunderstruck”

Thunderstruck
Thunderstruck

“Thunderstruck”
by Ministry, 2Cellos, Steve’n’Seagulls,  (originally by AC/DC)
from all over the goddamned place
Buy the original album on Amazon

I was thinking about picking an AC/DC tune for a #karaoketuesday post, but I’m sober enough right now to realize I could never pull off an AC/DC tune unless it was a swing number or something.  Which got me thinking about covers that are done in a different genre than the original version.  So, ladies and gentlemen, I present “Thunderstruck” as performed by three, radically different groups.  But first, let’s take a listen to the original and still bad-ass AC/DC original.

Continue reading Cover Friday: “Thunderstruck”

Karaoke Tuesday: “Teen Angst”

Cracker
Cracker

“Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now)”
by Cracker
from the album Cracker
1992
Buy the album on Amazon

Lately I’ve been posting a lot about songs that I desperately want to perform at karaoke but couldn’t because the man didn’t deem them worthy of inclusion.  However, this entry falls more in line with the thought, “Wow, this would be a great song to sing at karaoke.”

I remember generally dismissing Cracker for years based on the video for this song, which has the guys in a field prancing around like dandy rednecks, with dirt bikes and half-collapsed barns littering the background.   When you’re trying to escape your shitty hometown you don’t want to be reminded of the situation everytime you turn on MTV.

Continue reading Karaoke Tuesday: “Teen Angst”