To make up for my last whiny emo-tastic post I stole an idea from Spitter's Lair and Spum-Blog and decided to post up some of my favorite musics with Youtube videos.
I'll start with Pixies since I ended with them last post.
Pixies - Debaser
This is the only band I know that would write a song about Un chien andalou. The video and the song also offer a frightening glimpse into Frank Black's head.
The Talking Heads are one of my very favorite bands and they had some pretty sweet music videos. Here's two that I've watched way too much.
Talking Heads - Road to Nowhere
Talking Heads - Blind
Most people know Devo from their one hit "Whip It" but they had and still have a sizable cult following and were one of Kurt Cobain's favorite bands. (Nirvana even did a cover of Turnaround that got released on Incesticide). Here's a really early video. We're all devo!
Devo - Jocko Homo
Ween - Transdermal Celebration (Video by Adam Phillips)
If you haven't seen any of Mr. Phillips amazing work then go right now to his website and see some of the best flash animation ever created, hands down.
Squirrel Nut Zippers - Ghost of Stephen Foster
Squirrel Nut Zippers were a great band that got thrown away after the short lived swing music revival died a painful death. I love this video though, check out the Cab Calloway impersonation at the beginning!
Three songs by Leadbelly (the only footage of him known to exist)
Leadbelly claimed that he could sing, fight, fuck, drink, and play guitar better than any man alive. I don't think I'd want to challenge him on that, he got put in jail quite a few times for killing and almost killing people.
Jerry Lee Lewis - Whole Lotta Shakin' Going on
They called him The Killer because he'd almost destroy his piano every time he played. Jerry Lee was the original punk rocker. Watch that hair fly!
Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode
It all comes back to here, without Chuck Berry there'd be no rock and roll as we know it. Everyone who calls Elvis "the king of rock" has no idea, Chuck is the real deal.
XTC - Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead
XTC is one of the best bands that almost no one knows about. All of their stuff is amazing but their fame never really spread beyond a devoted cult following.
and last but not least The Pogues and the best song ever about the joys of getting smashed.
Pogues - Streams of Whiskey
Well that was fun, hooray for music! Be happy or not!
Showing posts with label good stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label good stuff. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Sounds That Recognize the Pain in Me: Folsom Prison Blues
In which the author reveals too much about himself and will probably regret it later.
I've loved Johnny Cash since I was in Jr. High School and someone played me I Walk the Line as a joke. "Ha ha old song, isn't it funny?" Just one song and I was hooked. I went to K-Mart as soon as I could and bought Greatest Hits on cassette tape. Yup, they still sold those back then. It wasn't that long ago either, but it sure seems like it.
Awhile later a great Aunt of mine died and I got her record player and collection of country albums. Among those was a couple Cash records, one of which was from his Sun Records days. No, it's not worth anything, I researched it and found out it was a reprint. Originals do go for quite a bit of money though. From that collection I also nabbed some Grandpa Jones, Hank Snow, Roy Acuff, and Conway Twitty LPs. There was a whole couple years where I was crazy for old country music and spun those records till the damn player stopped working.
Cash was always my favorite. There was just something about that voice and that simple but driving bass and drum that got me and never let go. I cried the day he passed away and went to see Walk the Line twice even though I didn't think it was a very good movie. (They took a man with a very complex mind and crazy tumultuous life and turned it into a clichéd Hollywood bio-pic. That was the least of its crimes.) The one scene I did like from the movie though was when Johnny was in the Air Force, a place he clearly didn't want to be, and it shows him sitting by himself picking out Folsom Prison Blues. Suddenly I understood what that song was about. It isn't just about being stuck in jail, it's about being stuck anywhere you don't want to be. It resonates with me very much more now than when I first heard it because I'm stuck in the same way Johnny was.
I've been serving in the United States Airforce for over two years now. I have about two years left on my contract. When I signed my name on that paper letting the government own my ass for four years I was a completely different person. I had failed at just about everything I had tried to do and had nowhere to go. I was stuck working minimum wage washing dishes and living at home with my Dad. Total loser stuff right there. I weighed my options and decided that the only way out was military service.
So here I am 2 years later stuck in a job I don't like, surrounded by people I can't relate too, and with my friends and family thousands of miles away from me. It's a steady job while the economy is in the dumps, but so what? This isn't what I want to be doing with my life and it makes me miserable. I see people going places and doing what they want, the "rich folks eating in a fancy dining car" "drinking coffee and smoking big cigars" and it makes me sad. But all I can do is sit and wait it out, wait until that train comes up the track and I can move on.
Thats a long way of explaining why I like this song and if I sound bitchy and emo I'm sorry. I don't have many people to talk to and writing seems to cheer me up. At least I can sleep better at night now that I have an outlet for my misery.
Bonus song:
Pixies - In Heaven
Pixies + Eraserhead = some freaky and awesome shit.
I've loved Johnny Cash since I was in Jr. High School and someone played me I Walk the Line as a joke. "Ha ha old song, isn't it funny?" Just one song and I was hooked. I went to K-Mart as soon as I could and bought Greatest Hits on cassette tape. Yup, they still sold those back then. It wasn't that long ago either, but it sure seems like it.
Awhile later a great Aunt of mine died and I got her record player and collection of country albums. Among those was a couple Cash records, one of which was from his Sun Records days. No, it's not worth anything, I researched it and found out it was a reprint. Originals do go for quite a bit of money though. From that collection I also nabbed some Grandpa Jones, Hank Snow, Roy Acuff, and Conway Twitty LPs. There was a whole couple years where I was crazy for old country music and spun those records till the damn player stopped working.
Cash was always my favorite. There was just something about that voice and that simple but driving bass and drum that got me and never let go. I cried the day he passed away and went to see Walk the Line twice even though I didn't think it was a very good movie. (They took a man with a very complex mind and crazy tumultuous life and turned it into a clichéd Hollywood bio-pic. That was the least of its crimes.) The one scene I did like from the movie though was when Johnny was in the Air Force, a place he clearly didn't want to be, and it shows him sitting by himself picking out Folsom Prison Blues. Suddenly I understood what that song was about. It isn't just about being stuck in jail, it's about being stuck anywhere you don't want to be. It resonates with me very much more now than when I first heard it because I'm stuck in the same way Johnny was.
I've been serving in the United States Airforce for over two years now. I have about two years left on my contract. When I signed my name on that paper letting the government own my ass for four years I was a completely different person. I had failed at just about everything I had tried to do and had nowhere to go. I was stuck working minimum wage washing dishes and living at home with my Dad. Total loser stuff right there. I weighed my options and decided that the only way out was military service.
So here I am 2 years later stuck in a job I don't like, surrounded by people I can't relate too, and with my friends and family thousands of miles away from me. It's a steady job while the economy is in the dumps, but so what? This isn't what I want to be doing with my life and it makes me miserable. I see people going places and doing what they want, the "rich folks eating in a fancy dining car" "drinking coffee and smoking big cigars" and it makes me sad. But all I can do is sit and wait it out, wait until that train comes up the track and I can move on.
Thats a long way of explaining why I like this song and if I sound bitchy and emo I'm sorry. I don't have many people to talk to and writing seems to cheer me up. At least I can sleep better at night now that I have an outlet for my misery.
Bonus song:
Pixies - In Heaven
Pixies + Eraserhead = some freaky and awesome shit.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Cool Comix!
Writing is one of the few things I'm actually sort of good at. I don't have a smidgen of illustrative talent, I suck at most sports other than running (which I've always loved to do), other than the trumpet in high school musicality has eluded me, and I'm not good at talking to girls. The fact that I can't draw is probably the most frustrating thing but I think it helps me appreciate really good art when I see it. Ever since I was a little kid I've loved cartoons and comics. The Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes were my favorite comics when I could get my hands on them and probably helped to shape a good deal of my world view. I got kind of gipped on TV cartoons though. Saturday morning was already lying in its bed, wheezing and waiting to be put out of its misery by the time I was of cartoon watching age. Plus we were poor and didn't have cable so I only had three channels to pick from. Hear that you young whipper snapper kids, three channels! I'll leave my ruminations on how I finally got to see Ren and Stimpy and that glorious day when we finally did get basic cable for another post. All I really wanted to do was make a list of my favorite webcomics.
With the newspapers endlessly running bland crap for old people to chuckle over their morning coffee (with the possible exception of Get Fuzzy) where does a comics fan go who isn't the slightest bit amused at Marmaduke leaving a bone on his master's chair or that hideous mutated blob called Ziggy? Why the web of course! The problem with comics on the Internet is the same thing wrong with much of the web, its blessing and its curse is that almost anyone can create something and post it up. For every good well drawn one you find theres 50 stick figure comics about video games. Here's some wheat among the chaff that I've managed to find:
Dumm Comics!
Talented funny people doing awesome funny comics, a must! I really can't say enough good about this site, I love it to death!
Cul De Sac
Most newspaper comics suck, but this one is very very good. I only read it on the web though, so I count it as a webcomic.
Kate Beaton
Her style is a bit crude but I get really get a kick out of her stuff, plus she lives in Canada, how aboot that?
Subnormality
If you're a fan of Nickleback, do not read this site, the Sphinx will eat you. Updates every Monday, if the author finishes on time.
The Perry Bible Fellowship
Unfortunately not updating anymore, but you can still browse the archives. PBF is like an extreme version of The Far Side. If that turns you off, then for the sake of your constitution, please proceed with caution.
Daisy Owl
A sweet and funny comic about two kids being raised by an owl and a bear. Start with the archive and read forward.
Those are the ones that I like enough to check regularly. Any suggestions for good stuff that I'm missing?
With the newspapers endlessly running bland crap for old people to chuckle over their morning coffee (with the possible exception of Get Fuzzy) where does a comics fan go who isn't the slightest bit amused at Marmaduke leaving a bone on his master's chair or that hideous mutated blob called Ziggy? Why the web of course! The problem with comics on the Internet is the same thing wrong with much of the web, its blessing and its curse is that almost anyone can create something and post it up. For every good well drawn one you find theres 50 stick figure comics about video games. Here's some wheat among the chaff that I've managed to find:
Dumm Comics!
Talented funny people doing awesome funny comics, a must! I really can't say enough good about this site, I love it to death!
Cul De Sac
Most newspaper comics suck, but this one is very very good. I only read it on the web though, so I count it as a webcomic.
Kate Beaton
Her style is a bit crude but I get really get a kick out of her stuff, plus she lives in Canada, how aboot that?
Subnormality
If you're a fan of Nickleback, do not read this site, the Sphinx will eat you. Updates every Monday, if the author finishes on time.
The Perry Bible Fellowship
Unfortunately not updating anymore, but you can still browse the archives. PBF is like an extreme version of The Far Side. If that turns you off, then for the sake of your constitution, please proceed with caution.
Daisy Owl
A sweet and funny comic about two kids being raised by an owl and a bear. Start with the archive and read forward.
Those are the ones that I like enough to check regularly. Any suggestions for good stuff that I'm missing?
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