All Right Cory....
....I'll bite.
The last CD I bought was:
"Feast of Wire" & "Convict Pool" by Calexico
-I ordered these two today. I saw them open for Wilco last year and loved them but keep forgetting to pick some of their stuff up. Then I saw Cory's mention of "Alone Again Or" by Love and remembered Calexico's killer version of that, so I picked these two up. I'm still waiting for my shipments of:
Eels "Blinking Lights and Other Revelations"
Sufjan Stevens "Michigan" & "Illinois"
Viva Voce "The Heat Can Melt Your Brain"
Song (CD) playing now:
Well right now I'm watching the Cardinals game, but I listened to Gorillaz "Demon Days" all day today. I also haven't been able to get Pavement's "Cut Your Hair" out of my head all week.
Five songs that I listen to a lot or mean a lot to me:
Boy, that's a tough one. I remember one time back in Milwaukee, Joshers in Ohio and I were IM'ing each other. He asked me, "What songs make you cry?" I said give me an hour. I came back with a list of 100 or so songs. I'll narrow this list down a bit. Most truly memorable songs to me end up being pretty topical, but most of the songs I'll list come from my totally random selective memory.
"God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys (Pet Sounds)
-I still consider "Pet Sounds" to be the greatest album ever recorded. It's strange because I got into it in the dead of winter of 1997. Typically the Beach Boys aren't associated with brutal midwestern winters, but I'll always associate "Pet Sounds" with the winter. Especially really cold days.
"Feeling Yourself Disintegrate" by the Flaming Lips (The Soft Bulletin)
-My favorite song from my favorite album by one of my favorite bands. I was obsessed with this album for over a year straight....actually I still am. My favorite memory of this song (and this album) was one summer night in 1999. I was home between my time in Kent and Milwaukee and was playing Final Fantasy VII (still my favorite video game ever). I was nuts over that game in Kent, but never finished it there because Jason's Playstation broke. Well I was playing the game at around 4am and was listening to "The Soft Bulletin" for the first time. I remember having to stop playing the game when I started the CD because the first song was so good. By the time I got to "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate," it was dawn and I went out back to smoke a cigarette. I was wandering around my parents' backyard listening to this song and watching the sunrise and was just in awe of everything. (On a sidenote: I think this song was foreshadowing to my time in Milwaukee.)
"Peninsula" by Bill Janovitz (Lonesome Billy)
-Always reminds me of Jonas. I remember listening to this album one Saturday in 1996 with him while cooking a bean stew and getting ready to watch MST3K. Then we went to get funnel cakes. We ate a bunch of funnel cakes that summer. Plus it reminds me of an ex-girlfriend from high school.
"Cold Water" by Marty Robbins (Gunfighter Ballads & Trail Songs)
-This one may seem a little out of left field, but this song always brings back a ton of memories from my childhood. The biggest trip I took as a child was when I was seven and my family took a train to Dalhart, Texas, to see my newly-relocated grandparents. During that trip, we drove all over New Mexico and Colorado in a van. I got to see the desert and the mountains for the first time. My grandparents were really big into Marty Robbins at this time (actually I think they still are). During the whole trip we listened to a TON of Marty Robbins. We also watched a bunch of those corny Marty Robbins western movies. "El Paso" and especially "Cold Water" are the songs that still remind me of that trip. I always remember my dad's impression of "Cold Water" and thinking it was the funniest thing ever. This trip also started a weird phase for my brother (who was four at the time). He became obsessed with Marty Robbins. He started dressing like a cowboy everyday for years. He would watch those Marty Robbins movies and listened to Marty Robbins tapes all the time. He would watch old videos of Marty Robbins as a stock car racer. He had framed Marty Robbins pictures hanging on his walls. He would even watch old Marty Robbins concert videos. Now that I think back about it, the sight of a four-year-old kid watching Marty Robbins in a white rhinestone suit swaggering all over the stage while women throw roses at him just cracks me up. I still remember the suit Marty Robbins was wearing in that video and I remember there was an empty brandy snifter on his piano. After doing a little Googling, I think this might a picture from that concert. Two Thanksgivings ago my brother and I were driving home together from those same grandparents' house. I put a Johnny Cash version of "Big Iron" in my CD player and he still knew the whole song word-for-word.
"Windfall" by Son Volt (Trace)
-This and "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd were the first songs I learned to play on guitar. It was pretty simple because the riff in "Windfall" is basically "Wish You Were Here" in reverse. I was going through a pretty weird phase in high school when "Trace" came out. I had really gotten into music a few years earlier when I started staying up late on Sunday nights to watch 120 Minutes on MTV and seeing videos from Weezer, Pavement, James, etc., but still had a certain disdain towards country music (other than Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins). In 1995 Jonas and Jonathan started getting into newer music and transferring it to me. Son Volt was that one band that I really went out on a limb on. I picked up "Trace" I think right after Christmas in 1995. I remember that night turning all the lights out in my room and listening to it, and suddenly my perception of music changed forever.
Honorable Mentions:
"The Old Account Was Settled Long Ago" by Johnny Cash (at San Quentin)
"Don't Panic" by Coldplay (Parachutes)
"Kinder Murder" by Elvis Costello (Brutal Youth)
"Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" by Bob Dylan (Blonde on Blonde)
"P.S. You Rock My World" by Eels (Electro-Shock Blues)
"Sin City" by the Flying Burrito Brothers (The Guilded Palace of Sin)
"Unspirited" by Guided By Voices (Isolation Drills)
"Tomorrow" by James (Whiplash)
"Ghost" by Neutral Milk Hotel (In the Aeroplane Over the Sea)
"Beat a Drum" by REM (Reveal)
"Factory Girl" by the Rolling Stones (Beggars Banquet)
"Burn Last Sunday" by Superchunk (Indoor Living)
"Flowers in the Window" by Travis (The Invisible Band)
"Train Song" by Tom Waits (Franks Wild Years)
"My Name is Jonas" by Weezer (blue album)
"Far, Far Away" by Wilco (Being There)
"We're an American Band" by Yo La Tengo (I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One)
Three people I will Tag:
I can't because Cory stole the rest of my Blog friends. Greedy!! Still, I would like to see this launch B Waj's return to writing. Remember, I started writing again a couple months ago because you were one of the ones insisting.
The last CD I bought was:
"Feast of Wire" & "Convict Pool" by Calexico
-I ordered these two today. I saw them open for Wilco last year and loved them but keep forgetting to pick some of their stuff up. Then I saw Cory's mention of "Alone Again Or" by Love and remembered Calexico's killer version of that, so I picked these two up. I'm still waiting for my shipments of:
Eels "Blinking Lights and Other Revelations"
Sufjan Stevens "Michigan" & "Illinois"
Viva Voce "The Heat Can Melt Your Brain"
Song (CD) playing now:
Well right now I'm watching the Cardinals game, but I listened to Gorillaz "Demon Days" all day today. I also haven't been able to get Pavement's "Cut Your Hair" out of my head all week.
Five songs that I listen to a lot or mean a lot to me:
Boy, that's a tough one. I remember one time back in Milwaukee, Joshers in Ohio and I were IM'ing each other. He asked me, "What songs make you cry?" I said give me an hour. I came back with a list of 100 or so songs. I'll narrow this list down a bit. Most truly memorable songs to me end up being pretty topical, but most of the songs I'll list come from my totally random selective memory.
"God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys (Pet Sounds)
-I still consider "Pet Sounds" to be the greatest album ever recorded. It's strange because I got into it in the dead of winter of 1997. Typically the Beach Boys aren't associated with brutal midwestern winters, but I'll always associate "Pet Sounds" with the winter. Especially really cold days.
"Feeling Yourself Disintegrate" by the Flaming Lips (The Soft Bulletin)
-My favorite song from my favorite album by one of my favorite bands. I was obsessed with this album for over a year straight....actually I still am. My favorite memory of this song (and this album) was one summer night in 1999. I was home between my time in Kent and Milwaukee and was playing Final Fantasy VII (still my favorite video game ever). I was nuts over that game in Kent, but never finished it there because Jason's Playstation broke. Well I was playing the game at around 4am and was listening to "The Soft Bulletin" for the first time. I remember having to stop playing the game when I started the CD because the first song was so good. By the time I got to "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate," it was dawn and I went out back to smoke a cigarette. I was wandering around my parents' backyard listening to this song and watching the sunrise and was just in awe of everything. (On a sidenote: I think this song was foreshadowing to my time in Milwaukee.)
"Peninsula" by Bill Janovitz (Lonesome Billy)
-Always reminds me of Jonas. I remember listening to this album one Saturday in 1996 with him while cooking a bean stew and getting ready to watch MST3K. Then we went to get funnel cakes. We ate a bunch of funnel cakes that summer. Plus it reminds me of an ex-girlfriend from high school.
"Cold Water" by Marty Robbins (Gunfighter Ballads & Trail Songs)
-This one may seem a little out of left field, but this song always brings back a ton of memories from my childhood. The biggest trip I took as a child was when I was seven and my family took a train to Dalhart, Texas, to see my newly-relocated grandparents. During that trip, we drove all over New Mexico and Colorado in a van. I got to see the desert and the mountains for the first time. My grandparents were really big into Marty Robbins at this time (actually I think they still are). During the whole trip we listened to a TON of Marty Robbins. We also watched a bunch of those corny Marty Robbins western movies. "El Paso" and especially "Cold Water" are the songs that still remind me of that trip. I always remember my dad's impression of "Cold Water" and thinking it was the funniest thing ever. This trip also started a weird phase for my brother (who was four at the time). He became obsessed with Marty Robbins. He started dressing like a cowboy everyday for years. He would watch those Marty Robbins movies and listened to Marty Robbins tapes all the time. He would watch old videos of Marty Robbins as a stock car racer. He had framed Marty Robbins pictures hanging on his walls. He would even watch old Marty Robbins concert videos. Now that I think back about it, the sight of a four-year-old kid watching Marty Robbins in a white rhinestone suit swaggering all over the stage while women throw roses at him just cracks me up. I still remember the suit Marty Robbins was wearing in that video and I remember there was an empty brandy snifter on his piano. After doing a little Googling, I think this might a picture from that concert. Two Thanksgivings ago my brother and I were driving home together from those same grandparents' house. I put a Johnny Cash version of "Big Iron" in my CD player and he still knew the whole song word-for-word.
"Windfall" by Son Volt (Trace)
-This and "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd were the first songs I learned to play on guitar. It was pretty simple because the riff in "Windfall" is basically "Wish You Were Here" in reverse. I was going through a pretty weird phase in high school when "Trace" came out. I had really gotten into music a few years earlier when I started staying up late on Sunday nights to watch 120 Minutes on MTV and seeing videos from Weezer, Pavement, James, etc., but still had a certain disdain towards country music (other than Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins). In 1995 Jonas and Jonathan started getting into newer music and transferring it to me. Son Volt was that one band that I really went out on a limb on. I picked up "Trace" I think right after Christmas in 1995. I remember that night turning all the lights out in my room and listening to it, and suddenly my perception of music changed forever.
Honorable Mentions:
"The Old Account Was Settled Long Ago" by Johnny Cash (at San Quentin)
"Don't Panic" by Coldplay (Parachutes)
"Kinder Murder" by Elvis Costello (Brutal Youth)
"Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" by Bob Dylan (Blonde on Blonde)
"P.S. You Rock My World" by Eels (Electro-Shock Blues)
"Sin City" by the Flying Burrito Brothers (The Guilded Palace of Sin)
"Unspirited" by Guided By Voices (Isolation Drills)
"Tomorrow" by James (Whiplash)
"Ghost" by Neutral Milk Hotel (In the Aeroplane Over the Sea)
"Beat a Drum" by REM (Reveal)
"Factory Girl" by the Rolling Stones (Beggars Banquet)
"Burn Last Sunday" by Superchunk (Indoor Living)
"Flowers in the Window" by Travis (The Invisible Band)
"Train Song" by Tom Waits (Franks Wild Years)
"My Name is Jonas" by Weezer (blue album)
"Far, Far Away" by Wilco (Being There)
"We're an American Band" by Yo La Tengo (I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One)
Three people I will Tag:
I can't because Cory stole the rest of my Blog friends. Greedy!! Still, I would like to see this launch B Waj's return to writing. Remember, I started writing again a couple months ago because you were one of the ones insisting.
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