Reasons Why You Should Listen to My Cousin

My musician cousin has pretty much made it a mandate to only like bands she can hear live, because that is the only way to separate the true musicians from the lip-syncing fashion plates.

Because I have no inherent musical ability outside of remixing things using Sony's ACID software, I try to disagree with her.

But then, my favorite new band St. Vincent does two super cool live music YouTube things and suddenly, I don't have a leg to stand on.





And, for no real reason whatsoever, here is a picture of Veronica Belmont in a bear costume.

The Soundtrack(s) to My Life

I got this from a blog I read, but apparently the idea came from yet another blog. Is this what bloggers everywhere have been reduced to? Apparently, the answer is yes.

Here is how it works. You hit the Shuffle button on your mp3 player. As each song comes up, you assign it to a scene in the film of your life. The order the songs are played dictate what scenes they are assigned to.

It seemed like a fun little idea, and would have probably been a lot more fun if I wasn’t so particular about both film and music. The first time through was nigh-painful; some of the songs were totally inappropriate for the moments they were supposed to dictate. It was terrible.

So, because I don’t believe in random events dictating how the movie of my life will turn out, I did it a second time. It turned out much, much better.

Here are the results from the two trials.

1st time through – My Life with the Crappy Score

Opening Credits

Bum Breath by Oli Clifford (from www.oliclifford.co.uk)
I seriously don’t know how this got on my iPod. Surprisingly enough, it does have an “opening credits” feel to it, though. My life must be a quirky, romantic comedy.

Waking Up

Hag by The Breeders (from Last Splash)
The first impulse to fudge the results of this experiment happens now. This doesn’t really fit a waking up feeling. I try to look at the bright side. There is a repetitive dream-like quality to this song that is similar to waking up, but this doesn’t work like the opening credits song. Maybe if I just used the nice instrumental bridge on the soundtrack that would work. Maybe.

First Day At School

Alleluia II: Ascendens cristus by Anonymous 4 (from 1000: A Mass for the End of Time)
Oddly appropriate. There is something magic and wonderful, yet a little bit sad about this song. It can be paired with something nostalgic (like the first game of Duck Duck Goose – giggling children scampering in slow motion, of course) or it can be paired with something relating to the loss of innocence (first bully punching you or the time the big fifth grader pulled all the Kindergarteners aside and told them what the middle finger meant – what can I say? I went to school in Louisiana). This is a little nicer. A bit of a challenge, but it is nicer.

Falling In Love

Hip Hop is Dead by Nas featuring Will.I.Am (from Hip Hop is Dead)
On first listen, especially after the previous song, this doesn’t seem like a good fit. But after a moment of reflection, I can totally see a falling-in-love montage set to this music. It is rhythmic and focuses on the beat (like… well, like EVERY HIP HOP SONG EVER). And, if you can get past the chorus of “She’s de-e-e-a-a-d!” it does have a young, adolescent love feeling to it with the lyrics, “If Hip Hop should die, we die together.”

Fight Song

Go (Voodoo Child Mix) by Moby (from Go:The Collected Mixes)
Seriously, I hear this song as more of a prepping for a fight song than an actual fight song. It just seems more suited to stretching or picking out the right bandana or jumping rope. If it were to score the actual fight sequence, it would be a total Sissy Fight.

UNLESS, of course, the fight was a flame war on an listserv or a bulletin board. In that case, it would fit perfectly, as I type away, point to the screen, and yell, “Booyeah!” and “In your face, Monkey_D-1138!”

Breaking Up

Three-Dee Melodie by Stereolab (from Mars Audiac Quintetso)
The image that comes to mind is someone sitting completely still while staring at a freshly poured cup of black, heartless coffee. Not very exciting cinema.

Prom

Close Your Eyes (Idiotech remix) by chemicalbrothersremixed.com (from Flip the Switch)
Apparently, in this movie, my prom is a whole heck of a lot cooler than it was in real life. In real life, we listened to our Economics teacher’s band play Rolling Stones covers. In between sets, someone played a series of Garth Brooks songs. You can’t really mosh to Garth Brooks. Whatever happened to that guy, anyway? Is he a real estate agent or a mall security guard yet?

Life

Poor Man’s Falls by The Asteriod#4 (from International Pop Overthrow, Vol. 4)
Acoustic guitar and flute punctuate this happy-go-lucky, folksy song about someone who “in a rusted ol’ prison cell, he nearly lost his mind". Considering the next song is going to score the Mental Breakdown song I find this another eerily good match.

Mental Breakdown

Wait ‘ Till You See Him (De-Phazz remix) by Ella Fitzgerald (from Verve Remixed)
Not a good fit, really. The best I can come up with is a nice little drinking montage where I hand the bartender money and get handed something dark and whisky-levels of dangerous looking. Then I make some sort of “hand it over” gesture, after which the bartender puts a giant scoop of cherries and a paper umbrella into the drink.

Driving

Someday (You’ll Want me to Want You) by Patsy Cline (from The Last Sessions – Disc 4 of the Patsy Cline Box Set)
I am of the belief that Patsy Cline is good for every occasion. This song is a perfect example of something that can fit easily in the Driving section of the movie, the Mental Breakdown session, and a slow motion falling-in-love close dance sequence.

Flashback

Golden Slumbers by The Beatles (from Abbey Road)
Apparently, I flashback to a time before I was born.

Getting Back Together

Mickey’s Monkey by The Miracles (Hitsville USA, The Mowtown Singles Colelction)
PERFECT SONG for this moment. There is so much joy and exuberance in this song you almost forget it is about a really embarrassing dance move. For once, this is exercise works.

Wedding

Nail by the Sugarcubes (from Here Today, Tomorrow, Next Week!)
Sure. This sort of fits. The lyrics are completely incomprehensible but the music is fun and poppy in a B-52s sort of way. And there is that nice little break where Einear has a long, drawn out scream. Oh, wait. He did that in every Sugarcubes song.

Birth of Child

I Palindrome I by They Might Be Giants (from Apollo 18)
This is the moment when I cried out for a do-over. Out of all the songs on this list, this is the worst. I like this song, and I really like the way TMBG continually mashes painfully dreary lyrics up against the most fun music, but to score the birth of a child with a song about matricide and euthanasia goes into a realm of bad taste that doesn’t make me happy. Maybe it is just the phase of life I am in right now, but I deem this unacceptable.

Final Battle

Chapter 04 from The Two Towers Audiobook. Pippen and Merry meet Treebeard. Um… ok… I’m not going to count this one, even though the line “Night Lies over Eisenguard” resonates quite well in a Final Battle sort of way. Since this entire soundtrack is going to be done over, I can skip one track.

The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill by The Beatles (from The White Album)
Ok, this is better. My final battle is not overly dramatic, but instead is goofy fun that was clearly inspired by Yoko Ono and copious amounts of drugs.

Death Scene

Moonglow (Hudson-Delane-Mills) by Various Artists (from Cocktail Piano Romance)
Apparently, there is going to be a nice little jazz reception for me in Heaven.

Funeral Song

Chanukah Under the Stars by Fountains of Wayne (from Out-of-State Plates Disc 2)
I hope I don’t die in Spring or Summer because if they wait until December to bury me, I will be quite put out.

End Credits

Now it Can be Told by Ella Fitzgerald (from The Best of the Song Books: The Ballads)
This is perfect. After looking over this list, I don’t want this movie made until long after I’m gone. Now it can be told, indeed.

My Life: The Do Over Version

Opening Credits

One for My Baby (and One More for the Road) by Esquivel (from More of Other Worlds, Other Sounds)
Esquivel is like Patsy Cline in the way that the music is both distinct and universal. This song can score practically anything. I approve.

Waking Up

Can’t Take it With You by The Alan Parsons Project (from the Definitive Collection)
I like this one better, too.

First Day At School

Only in 3’s by The Breeders (from Pod)
This song evokes finger painting, although I think of that as more of a 1st grade event.

Falling In Love

Quintet in E flat, KV453 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart is capable of anything. I approve of this.

Fight Song

Strange by R.E.M. (from Document)
I can just hear the jukebox belt out this tune when someone named Lefty or Dusty challenges me over the honor of some floozie named Lola. I’ll grit my teeth and go, “Them’s fightin’ words.” And they shall tremble at my superior, Eastwood-like acting ability.

Breaking Up

Es schlagt der Rache Stunde! (from Beethoven’s Fidelio)
I think part of the reason I’m happier with this set of songs is due to the fact that there is more classical music in the mix. Although my German is a little rusty, I do believe the name of this song translates to approximately, "I can't believe its not strudel!" Truly, this break up is the stuff of legend.

Prom

La La Love You by the Pixies (from Doolittle)
This is veeery close to how I wanted my prom to be scored. Instead I was confronted with the UnMoshable Garth Brooks.

Life

Two People by Hub (from the Book of Life soundtrack)
If I were single, I probably would agree wholeheartedly with this song. As it is, I am happily married – so happily that other married couples secretly wish children on us. This song is not a great fit, but it is still better than the song in the previous random song shuffle.

Mental Breakdown

My Man’s Gone Now by Ella Fitzgerald (from the Complete Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armtrong)
Apparently, I have a mental breakdown while watching Porgy and Bess. Hopefully, this mental breakdown isn’t as bad as the person who was crazy enough to name another living being “Porgy.”

Driving

Hearing Aid by They Might Be Giants (from Flood)
Ok. This is a decent use of a They Might Be Giants song. And I have listened to it while driving.

Flashback

Vampires by Paul Simon (from Songs from the Capeman)
I can see it now - I flash back to when I was in a Latino street gang, prowling the streets of New York, singing something vaguely world beatish. This is my repressed childhood memory and now that the truth has come out, I can cry, hug my therapist, and move on.

Getting Back Together

I Hear Music by Ella Fitzgerald (from Verve Jazz Masters vol. 6)
Although this doesn’t have the sheer exuberance of Mickey’s Monkey it works on a deeper, more serious level.

Wedding

Since You’ve Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby) by Aretha Franklin (from Queen of Soul – The Atlantic Recordings)
If we lived in a perfect world, Aretha Franklin would sing at everyone’s wedding. Somehow the blessing of Aretha would make our love stronger and our lives a little more soulful. Plus, she could help out if there was any leftover cake.

Birth of Child

Cloudy by Simon and Garfunkel (from Collected Works: Disc 2)
I complained about a song being too dark for this event, so I really shouldn’t complain about this overdose of whimsy, right?

Final Battle

Good Enough to Keep (Air Mail Special) by Charlie Christian & The Benny Goodman Orchestra (from Genius of Electric Guitar – Disc 2)
My final battle must be with Kenny G because I would totally kick him in the patootie and reclaim the word “jazz” from his twisted lexicon, wresting it away from his smooth noodling and reassociating it with some really amazing orchestral work that just swings.

Death Scene

Sad Without You by Hansom Pilot (from International Pop Overthrow Vol. 8 Disc 2)
At this point, I am pleasantly surprised at how well my little iPod decided to cooperate with the assignment. This song fits lyrically, although the music is a little too cheery for death.

Funeral Song

Legend in My Spare Time by The Bloodhound Gang (from Use Your Fingers)
My wife and I have conversations where I tell her I want to have The Bloodhound Gang played at my funeral, and she says stuff like, “Over my dead body!” Marriage is a continual lesson in negotiation.

End Credits

Z3 – No.3 Arie: Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben (from Zaide – Der Schauspieldirektor Disc 1)
More classical music. When you leave the theater, it is light-hearted enough to uplift the spirit, but serious enough to let you know you’re dealing with a work of ART, man. A. Work. Of. Art!

Where did you hear that?

I don’t listen to radio anymore, and if on the odd chance I do, I listen to talk radio (primarily NPR). But I like finding out about new music. So where are some good places for internet-savvy folk?

Aquarium Drunkard (Aquarium Drunkard MySpace)

Good: Great music posted on a blog. Almost every day, at least two mp3s turn up. There is a little bit of everything in there, whether it be contemporary or classic rock. Most of the music is of the rock/pop variety – very little classical-classical or jazz.

Bad: Despite the fact it has an RSS feed – for whatever reason iTunes doesn’t “see” the mp3 files. You have to go to the webpage and manually download the songs. PLUS, I have NO IDEA how they get away with it. I keep expecting one day to find the website shut down with a little note saying “You came to this website – we’re coming for you NEXT!”

Format: mp3

Frequency: Random, but often

Time: One song at a time

Dallas Does Indie (Dallas Does Indie MySpace)

Good: A nice mix of independent artists, put together in one big sound file. It is like an alternarock mixtape, with the occasional piece from Louis Armstrong or other vintage jazz or blues artist.

Bad: Sometimes the episode is a repeat – but that isn’t all that bad, really.

Format: Podcast

Frequency: Weekly

Time: About 30 minutes

Coverville

Good: One of the best theme-based music podcasts. Brian Ibbott is one of the most personable podcasters out there. This is truly Brian's love, and that shines through. Usually, there are six songs per show, and sometimes there is a thematic link between the songs.

Bad: Brian says um a lot. You may choose to think of this as a charming foible.

Format: Podcast

Frequency: Two to three times a week

Time: Thirty minutes to an hour

Not Lame Podcast

Good: Coverville’s Brian Ibbott puts together a list of catchy power pop songs for people to listen to. He chats between songs and is seems less like a podcast than like a cool friend playing you some choice tracks from his CD collection.

Bad: One of my buddies says you can make a drinking game out of how many times Brian says a song sounds like it was influenced by Elvis Costello.

Format: Podcast

Frequency: Sorta Monthly

Time: Thirty to forty-five minutes

NPR's Song of the Day

Good: Oh how I love it when people with great taste pass along good music. If I haven’t liked the song, I have at least respected it as a representation for a genre.

Bad: This is all streamed media so you have to go to the NPR website and click the “Listen” button. You can’t download or load up your.mp3 player with this music. There are no links to the iTunes listing for the song, the Amazon listing for the album or the artist’s web site.

Format: Streaming

Frequency: Updated Daily

Time: One pop song length

NPR’s “All Songs Considered” Podcast.

Good: Full-on live concerts from beginning to end. Usually about an hour’s worth of music.

Bad: All the problems with live recording – the sound quality isn’t always the best. The crowd cheering and singing along tends to dominate the music. Sometimes the concerts are not mixed well (in particular, the drums tend to drown out the singer). In between song banter isn’t always entertaining. Because it is an hour, the file size is really, really large.

Format: Podcast

Frequency: Sorta Weekly

Time: One concert – usually a half-hour to an hour

KUT’s Austin Music Minute

Good: Austin is a great place for live music. Every day, KUT gives the equivalent of a one-minute shout-out to a band.

Bad: Sometimes one minute just isn’t enough. Right when the song gets good, the podcast ends. This is essentially a commercial for a live show playing somewhere in Austin.

Format: Podcast

Frequency: Daily Monday through Friday

Time: One minute EXACTLY

KUT’s Radio witout Borders Live Music Podcast

Good: A nice mix of local and national acts playing live in KUT’s studios.

Bad: The fidelity of the recordings isn’t the best because KUT’s recording equipment is just average. But this is incredibly nitpicky.

Format: Podcast

Frequency: Weekly

Time: About half an hour

New York Times Popcast

Good: The staff of the New York Times do what they do in the paper – interview bands and review albums. Only this time, it is an audio version and it includes snippets from the songs so you can hear when they’re talking about when they tell you Jessica Simpson’s new album is “total crapola.”

Bad: Like all music critics, these people are very opinionated and occasionally very, very wrong. Also, you don’t get whole songs as much as song snippets with critics talking over them.

Format: Podcast

Frequency: Weekly

Time: About 15 to 20 minutes.

Dallas Observer Music Blog

Good: Full mp3s of Dallas-based musicians that are posted willy-nilly in the Dall Observer’s blog.

Bad: Not updated regularly and can’t sync up with a podcast reader like iTunes. You have to read the blog entry (which may or may not be related to the song) and then manually download the song.

Format: mp3

Frequency: Whenever they feel like it

Time: One song at a time

AcidPlanet

Good: Lots of electronic music strung together for hours.

Bad: Lots of electronic music strung together for hours.

Format: Podcast

Frequency: Various – there are several different podcasts on the site, and they all say they are different, but to be completely honest, I cannot tell the difference between trance and emo and high-energy trip hop. It is all thump thump thump with some keyboards thrown in. It all sounds like the time Strong Bad made a techno song. The main reason I listen to these podcasts is to give me ideas on how to use the Sony Acid software package I own.

Time: Various, but most of them last an hour

Where I don’t go

MySpace

MySpace is a great place to connect with bands after you’ve found them, but it is not a good space to explore and find new bands. Here’s why – the MySpace player is fundamentally flawed. If you want to listen to a song, you cannot navigate away from the particular MySpace page without the song stopping. To be completely honest, what MySpace page merits 3 to 5 minutes worth of attention? Puh-leese.