Tag Archives: music videos

Shuffle: Little Stereo + Kicking

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Soft Machine
Soft Machine

“Little Stereo”
by Teddybears (ft. Daddy Boastin)
from the album Soft Machine
2007
Buy the album on Amazon

Car therapy, it’s a thing. Windows down, music playing just a little too loud, driving just a little too fast, and with shuffle determining your fate.

I was deep in a funk this morning, feeling down on myself for a shitty show, being sick for weeks on end and general nonsense at the office.  And then I got hit with a one-two punch of pure joy.  Having a great song come up on a shuffle is the best.  Experiencing a completely unrelated, yet equally great track right on its heels is the jam.  And when all of that happens in a car where you can sing as loud as you want, off-key, out-of-time and with all the wrong lyrics rolling off of your tongue, that’s car therapy.

Continue reading Shuffle: Little Stereo + Kicking →

Bryan Adams and Pee-wee Herman and reggae

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I was doing a search for rock-ish versions of Christmas songs, and found this pretty comprehensive list. I’ve also got a few random Christmas songs by bands I like in my library. I didn’t listen to all the songs on the page, but generally – meh (and to be clear, I have a serious addiction problem to collecting Christmas music). Give me my favorite band doing a Christmas song and I will still pick Bing Crosby or John Denver and the Muppets any day.

At the very end of this list, however, was this gem, which is new to me. I don’t know why Bryan Adams was the person picked to sing about “Reggae Christmas”, but what I do know is that Pee-Wee Herman has dreadlocks, and so all is right in the world.

Album of the Month: Gish

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Gish

Gish
by Smashing Pumpkins
1991
Buy the reissue on Amazon

If I’m ever put on the spot with one of those “top ten albums of all time” questions, without hesitation, I’ll name Gish and then I’ll stumble around for while and name off albums that happen to be on high rotation at the time of the inquiry.  But Gish is always there.  In my mind it’s timeless and that has a lot of to with the lyrics. I don’t understand any of them. Continue reading Album of the Month: Gish →

November Five-Star Shuffle: “Go With The Flow”

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Songs for the Deaf
Songs for the Deaf

“Go With The Flow”
by Queens of the Stone Age
from the album Songs for the Deaf
2002
Buy the album on Amazon

Definitely a best song ever.  “Go With The Flow” will remain on the five-star playlist for a long, long time.  The music video is a gorgeous piece of work, but even without its automotive theme driving home the point, this song would be a windows-down, blasting-across-the-asphalt song.   Continue reading November Five-Star Shuffle: “Go With The Flow” →

November Five-Star Shuffle: “The Promise”

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When In Rome
When In Rome

“The Promise”
by When In Rome
from the album When In Rome
1988
Buy the album on Amazon

Aaah, one of my favorite songs ever, and a must-sing entry in the Chris/Chrance karaoke playlist. This is a song I listen to when I need a pick me up, and a song I sing when I need an ego boost and want to get the crowd in a good mood. Most people don’t know it by name, but as soon as that intro piano tinkle comes on, everyone of at least a certain age has their synapses fire with happy recognition.

Continue reading November Five-Star Shuffle: “The Promise” →

November Five-Star Shuffle: “Burn”

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Natural Born Killers
Natural Born Killers

“Burn”
by Nine Inch Nails
from the album Natural Born Killers Soundtrack
1994
Buy the album on Amazon

Not necessarily what I was hoping for, but a great track nonetheless. This was originally released on the Natural Born Killers soundtrack (one of the picks I ran out of time to do for October Soundtracks), and is also on the deluxe edition of The Downward Spiral. There were bits of NIN woven throughout that soundtrack, but this was the only new NIN song, and it’s fantastic. If you need a song to listen to when you’re feeling pissed at the world, or even just need a workout song that will get you moving (just try not to run faster at the 2:30 mark), this is the one.

Continue reading November Five-Star Shuffle: “Burn” →

November Five-Star Shuffle: “High Speed Changer”

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Driver not Included
Driver Not Included

“High Speed Changer”
by Orange 9mm
from the album Driver Not Included
1995
Buy the album on Amazon

Oh sweet, I was hoping some Orange 9mm might crop up during this month.  I first heard these guys on a CMJ sampler when they were on their final album – Pretend I’m Human.  That album  is  great, but definitely on the more experimental side.  When I told a co-worked about this new band I had discovered, he quickly schooled me on their earlier albums.  Good call.

Continue reading November Five-Star Shuffle: “High Speed Changer” →

November Five-Star Shuffle: “Cherub Rock”

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Siamese Dream
Siamese Dream

“Cherub Rock”
by Smashing Pumpkins
from the album Siamese Dream
1993
Buy the album on Amazon

Having a Smashing Pumpkins song pop up on one of my five-star shuffles is a sure bet, particularly if it’s from the first two albums.   I was so excited when the “Cherub Rock” video debuted as I was one step closer to listening to their new album.  Their debut, Gish was and still is one of my favorite albums of all times and this new track didn’t disappoint, me at least.  The record company wanted “Today” as the first single, but Corgan strong-armed them into releasing this as the first track.  I’m glad they did – it gave me a little time to adjust to thought of my darling band becoming huge.  You could feel the shift about to happen with the Pumpkins.   Continue reading November Five-Star Shuffle: “Cherub Rock” →

November Five-Star Shuffle: “Disconnected”

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Big Choice“Disconnected”
by Face to Face
from the album Big Choice
1994
Buy the album on Amazon

In my first year of college, I met my friend Brendan, and in between watching boat loads of horror movies and drinking boat loads of cookies and cream shakes at Village Inn, we listened to and talked about a whole lot of music. We already had some crossover favorites, but he also got me into a bunch of punk (or punk-ish) bands – NOFX, Blink 182, Pennywise, Propagandhi, and, you guessed it, Face to Face. Though there’s certainly a time for the lightheartedness of the first two bands, I always appreciated that Face to Face was more sincere without being super hardcore, and I love the singer’s voice.

Continue reading November Five-Star Shuffle: “Disconnected” →

MVA 101: “Lucas With the Lid Off”

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Lucascentric
Lucascentric

“Lucas With The Lid Off”
by Lucas
from the album Lucascentric
1994
Buy the album on Amazon

Music videoswere my primary form of music discovery back in the day.  Whether it was falling in love with metal bands watching “Dial MTV” or  learning about Madchester music on “120 Minutes,” I got more new music exposure via the boob tube than the boom box.

Most of the videos were cheesy, boring or both, full of concert footage, lip-synced performances or weirdly stretched-out, Vaseline-coated imagery.  But every once and awhile, music videos would stumble upon greatness and I think it’s time we called some of these out, particularly since nothing in the past 10 years is probably even watchable. Continue reading MVA 101: “Lucas With the Lid Off” →