transitively behind the meme curve

[dwenius]

fredfred tagged me (indirectly) with the 7 songs you are into right now, so

"I'll Follow You Into the Dark", Death Cab for Cutie, from Plans - A sparse little ditty about love, death, and how they interrelate, with various and sundry commentary thereupon, over a simple acoustic guitar line. Easily the high point of the album, which is saying something, and simultaneously takes a slot in my "best of" lists for both love songs and funeral/wake music.

"Skanky Panky", Kid Koala, from Some of my Best Friends are DJs - Sick danceable turntablism; it takes three people with 10 decks to reproduce this track in a live context.

"Ghost", Phish, unknown 1997 live show - This is shortly after the great-band-awakening, wherein they learned how to simultaneously play deep in the funky groove and also string together multiple improvised sections with discrete themes. There is a LOT going on in this particular version (and on several others from the same year), and unlike many other Phish songs, the lyrics don't make embarrassed for my species.

"Apple Tree in my Backyard", The Orb, from Youth's Dub compilation, Secret Language Of Ordinary Objects - the good doctor Patterson steals from himself, creating a clear homage/re-imagining/knock-off (your choice) of "Little Fluffy Clouds". Same huge loping beat, same deep dub line, same spoken word interludes. No stealing from Steve Reich this time, though.

"Pride and Joy", Stevie Ray Vaughn, from the Live at Montreaux, 1982/1985 DVD. This is Calvin's absolute favorite song right now. He asks to watch the DVD first thing in the morning, every morning, and first thing after his nap, every day, asks me to play it on guitar (ha ha ha ha) so he can sing it when we are down in the studio, and asks me to sing it to him at bedtime. Luckily, it's an ok tune, and the playing on either the '82 or '85 sets of this DVD is superb. I don't know what rock I was living under, but I seriously underestimated SRV for many years. I'm cured now.

"Extraordinary Machine", Fiona Apple, from the leaked and unreleased Jon Brion studio sessions - Another of Calvin's current favorites, and a tune that is wonderful in so many ways. It's all warped-Kurt-Weill-Calliope music in the background, fronted by a lyric and style that makes one wonder what Billie Holiday could have done with it. More unique in its own way than any of the other songs listed here.

"Clint Eastwood", Gorillaz, from their debut album, Gorillaz. This hip-hop thing may work out yet, you watch and see.

Comments

[omarius.livejournal.com]

The writing team of a stoned Trey Anastasio + a stoned biologist make for some odd lyrics at that.

[dwenius.livejournal.com]

I picked up the '95 NYE show when it was announced with much fanfare, and I'm severely underwhelmed by all the Gamehenge material. Too much narration involving people and events about whom I treasure my ignorance. And as far as the non-gamehenge material-- Frankenstein, Chalkdust Torture, Hello my Baby, You Enjoy Myself-- I have superior versions of all of those songs from one show, the 8/9/98 Va. Beach set where they busted out the Terrapin Station encore (only time played).

I feel like a good Robert Hunter or Dylan lyric has multiple shades of meaning, all of them obscure, morphing and shifting to suit the particular psyche of the listener at any one time. The Gamehenge stuff, I get the sense there is this ONE story, laid out in mind-numbing detail, with 35 minor characters (each with their own song), but no matter how much of it I am exposed to, I don't discover that the sum has any deeper meaning than the story itself. It's all plot, no subtlety. Am I missing something?

[omarius.livejournal.com]

"Am I missing something?"

Not at all. Gamehenge was originally Trey's thesis for his music major. AFAIK it's part of a small collection of Songs That Tom Marshall Didn't Help Write that was in Phish's repertoire.

I feel that for Trey, words are mostly just an excuse to sing during a song. Not that they're bad; some are quite moving (I love the summation of the human condition from "Farmhouse" that's in my userinfo).

I'm much of an expert on Phish compared to what I imagine as a proper Phish-head.

[omarius.livejournal.com]

Er. That was supposed to be "not much of an expert."

[(Anonymous)]

Extraordinary Machine is on my list, since I like 'The Pawn...' so much. I wish I could find a piece by the Orb (or maybe a piece of electronica in general) that I like as much as Little Fluffy Clouds. I do try. This sounds like it might be it.

You have broad tastes. Glad I tagged you.

It's so sweet your boy is a music-head.

argh

[fredfred.livejournal.com]

Yah, that was me, not logged in.

Re: argh

[dwenius.livejournal.com]

Both recent Orb albums have had good tracks, but LFC is a high bar to cross, it is true. As for F.Apple, I have to admit that I'm less annoyed by the studio album that I was at first, but you really should go to any length to track down the Jon Brion version of "Not About Love" in addition to the official release.

[ronebofh.livejournal.com]

I heard "Get Him Back" on XM today. The piano backbone of that song is damn infectious.

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

My current favorite album is Belle and Sebastian's The Life Pursuit with the 3 disc I Want MY 80s Box a close second.

Kidlet's current favorite punk band is the Ramones and her favorite song is Tommy Tutone's 867-5309. She's also quite fond of Ozric Tentacles, Pat Benetar, Belle and Sebastian, and numerous others. I'm amazed at how closely she listens to the music, as she will state she likes x song because of the trumpets in the middle bit, or the piano riff at the beginning. She pays far more attention to music at that age than I ever did.