February 2012
24 posts
6 tags
What A Rip - Day 57
Godstar – Coastal
(Go coastal, not postal.)
Serge Gainsbourg – Comic Strip
(More dirty French songs about Jerry Lewis.)
I’m with The Band – Pamela Des Barres
(Miss Pamela reading her book of the same name.)
The Essential Waylon Jennings
(His essence seems like it might be of a maple syrup consistency.)
Jehova Waitresses – Shake Your Buddha
(When they get off work, they all complain...
6 tags
What A Rip - Day 56
The Sixth Great Lake – Up The Country
(Essex Green members make for quality.)
Spent – Songs of Drinking and Rebellion
(The kind of songs you like!)
The International Submarine Band – Safe At Home
(They never did establish that House of Pancakes under the sea.)
Lightnin’ Hopkins – S/T
(I probably got this in high school because of the REM song. I kept it though, because this dude is a...
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What A Rip - Day 55
Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins – Rabbit Fur Coat
(That better be fake rabbit fur, young lady.)
Graham Coxon – Happiness in Magazines
(I remember this being more “guitary” than I was expecting. I guess that’s what happens when guitar players go solo. Can you imagine an Eddie Van Halen solo album?)
Evelyn Forever – Double Dip
(That’s a very long time with Evelyn.)
Milt Jackson – S/T
...
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What A Rip - Day 54
Giant Sand – Center Of The Universe
(Our house is at the center of the Giant Sand universe.)
Guided By Voices – Do The Collapse
(I have done the Dizzy Spell, but I’m working my way up to the Collapse.)
Helium – No Guitars, The Dirt Of Luck
(One of these might be kind of Hobbity.)
Rebecca Hall – Rebecca Hall Sings!, Sunday Afternoon
(If you like acting out songs with Beanie Babies in dark...
6 tags
What A Rip - Day 53
Freakwater – Old Paint, Springtime
(Janet Beveridge Bean’s country band. Careful man, there’s a Beveridge (Bean) here.)
French Kicks – One Time Bells
(I wanted to say something nice, and then I opened this and saw them looking at me forlornly, and two of them are wearing scarves, so I don’t think I can do it.)
Fuzzy – Electric Juices, Fuzzy, Fuzzy (EP)
(I wish so many of them didn’t have...
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What A Rip - Day 52
Wendy and Bonnie – Genesis
(I still can’t tell if this is a Genesis record about Wendy and Bonnie, or a Wendy and Bonnie record about Genesis.)
The Very Best Of Edith Piaf
(If they had played this stuff in my high school French class, it would have made a huge difference.)
Chet Atkins – The Nashville Jump
(All his RCA-era recordings. Hope you like pickin’, kid.)
Board Of Canada – Music...
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What A Rip - Day 51
The Essential Jimi Hendrix – Volumes One & Two
(The wording of this makes me think there must be a three and four out there, but I think they were stretching two a little thin.)
The Bridge – A Tribute To Neil Young
(The Pixies doing Winterlong and Dinosaur Jr. doing Lotta Love were mainstays of my radio shows in college.)
Mojo – Beatlemania Volume 2
(American bands doing Beatles covers....
6 tags
What A Rip - Day 50
The Incredible String Band – 5000 Spirits/The Hangman’s Beautiful Daughter
(If you need a song that contains the line, “I am the original discriminating buffalo man,” have I got the record for you.)
Serge Gainsbourg – Couleur Café
(Can’t get enough Frenchness, though this is his “Caribbean” record.)
Jacob Berendes – Foreign Policy
(This is the stuff. All the songs are about search strings...
4 tags
Interview with me! →
6 tags
What A Rip - Day 49
Astralwerks – New Music 2004 Sampler
(I am 8 years behind on all this, as it was still shrinkwrapped.)
The (International) Noise Conspiracy – Capitalism Stole My Virginity
(I love their houses of pancakes, and their anti-capitalism message remains timely.)
Ivy – Lately
(Far superior to Chelsea Lately.)
Ida – I Know About You
(At first I figured it was just the kind of thing fortune...
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What A Rip - Day 48
The Flaming Lips – Hear It Is
(They look like they smell during this era.)
Floored – This Color Is Bittersweet
(Do they even make the Bittersweet crayon anymore? That seems like something helicopter parents would discourage. You don’t want to have to explain that emotion to a kid. That’s why everyone gets a trophy.)
Best Of Ella Fitzgerald – The First Lady of Song
(If only song was a real place....
6 tags
What A Rip - Day 47
Galaxie 500 – Uncollected
(The disc that was included in the box set I did not buy because I already had everything but the bonus CD. They made it available because they are awesome. Pros: Cheese and Onions. Cons: Blue Thunder (w/sax). I do not care for that sax AT ALL. Blue Thunder is perfect without it.)
Them – Them Featuring Van Morrison
(If they had just called themselves They instead of...
6 tags
What A Rip - Day 46
Was It Him Or His Music? A Le Grand Magistery Sampler
(Features both a ton of Momus, and some Toog, the French Momus.)
PJ Harvey – Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
(Includes the story about the guy who crapped his pants on the train and then went to put on new pants, only to open his bag and find the clerk gave him a bag with a sweater in it, so he made sweaterpants. That’s what you...
6 tags
What A Rip - Day 45
Sub ProCD #9
(Sub Pop compilation that came with Spin. Beat Happening! Six Finger Satellite! Those were heady times.)
Sweet Relief – A Benefit For Victoria Williams
(A pretty varied bunch of people on here.)
Mojo Present Radio Clash
(A bunch of songs picked by members of the Clash. Came with Mojo. Disco Duck not present.)
Mojo Presents Cash Covered
(A bunch of Johnny Cash covers. Came with...
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What A Rip - Day 44
It’s Belle and Sebastian* Day
(and one Essex Green CD)
Belle and Sebastian – The Life Pursuit, Tigermilk, If You’re Feeling Sinister, Dear Catastrophe Waitress, Legal Man, The Boy With The Arab Strap, Storytelling, Jonathan David, This Is Just A Modern Rock Song, I’m Waking Up To Us, 3..6..9.. Seconds Of Light, Dog On Wheels, Lazy Line Painter Jane
(We have pretty much two of everything, at...
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What A Rip - Day 43
Nick Drake – The Complete Home Recordings, Pink Moon, Bryter Layter, Five Leaves Left, Time Of No Reply
(I have some cassettes of me as a little kid saying ridiculous things into the tape recorder. Someday maybe someone will release that as my complete home recordings.)
The Essex Green – The Long Goodbye, Cannibal Sea
(I had another one of these also, but true to our organizing, the CD was not...
7 tags
January 2012
30 posts
6 tags
What A Rip - Day 42
Found another miscellaneous pile to deal with.
The Strokes – Is This It?
(It = The Velvet Underground? Everyone at the party I first heard the Strokes at thought so.)
Mojo Presents: Revolver Reloaded, Soul Riot
(Free compilations from Mojo magazine. One is soul, obviously, the other is covers of songs on Revolver. Beatles covers can be a tricky business, but Mojo means business.)
Luna –...
“He was known to begin classes by barging into the lecture hall, sometimes in...”
– 10 Things you should know about Tolkien
mental_floss (via mediumaevum)
6 tags
What A Rip - Day 41
Miles Davis – A Tribute To Jack Johnson, Sketches Of Spain, Kind Of Blue, In A Silent Way
(Many eras represented. And no, A Tribute To Jack Johnson is not about the American folk rock singer-songwriter, surfer and musician known for his work in the soft rock and acoustic genres.)
Dinosaur Jr. – Where You Been?
(I’m skeptical of things post-Bug, but I suppose some Dinosaur Jr. is better than no...
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What A Rip - Day 40
Codeine – The White Birch
(Eventually the painkiller band name thing would have led us to Ibuprofen.)
Containe – Only Cowards Walk Like Cowards
(Founders of the Container Store.)
Cornelius – Point
(Bleeps and bloops and freaky loops.)
Elvis Costello and the Attractions – Blood And Chocolate
(“Two great tastes that go great together!” – a Twilight fan.)
Elvis Costello – Spike
(“Beat...
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What A Rip - Day 39
Cinerama – This Is Cinerama
(Is this Cinerama?)
The Clean – Unknown Country
(Unknown country, known goodness.)
Clem Snide – You Were A Diamond
(I already made a joke about being snide, right?)
Cocorosie – Noah’s Ark
(Cool kids get record deal, publicist. I actually kind of like this, but it’s also pretty annoying. From that era when everyone sang like tiny elves.)
Patsy Cline – The...
6 tags
What A Rip - Day 38
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – B.R.M.C.
(Just try to find a picture of these guys where they’re not trying really hard to look rock and roll.)
Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic – Faultline
(I went to a music workshop put on by these guys when I was in high school. A lot of time was spent making fun of Chariots of Fire, which is on here. Fast forward 20 some odd years later, and my co-worker says, “Oh,...
7 tags
WatchThe Ape Dude’s response to the Purity Bear. (You should probably watch that first if you have no idea what a Purity Bear is).
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What A Rip - Day 37
The Cardigans – Emmerdale, Life, First Band On The Moon, Gran Turismo, Rise & Shine: Under The Covers
(One year my roommate and I each gave the other “First Band On The Moon” for Christmas. It was like the Gift of the Magi, but less tragic and ironic. And more Swedish.)
Cars Can Be Blue – Self-titled EP
(Cobraman remains the dirtiest record I have ever heard, but these guys make a valiant...
6 tags
What A Rip - Day 36
Bricks - A Microphone And A Box Of Dirt
(This is Collin’s, and I know nothing about it. It’s on Merge though, so the assumption is that it’s pretty good.)
William S. Burroughs – Dead City Radio
(Pretty much worth it for him singing “Ich Bin Von Kopf Bis Fuss Auf Liebe Eingestellet” (aka “Falling In Love Again”).)
Butthole Surfers – Locust Abortion Technician, Independent Worm Saloon, Humpty...
6 tags
What A Rip - Day 35
Richard Buckner – Devotion and Doubt
(Man, Red Sox fans HATE this guy. Oh wait, different Buckner.)
Tim Buckley – The Dream Belongs To Me – Rare and Unreleased Recordings
(Part of the dream is apparently long hippie jams.)
Buffalo Tom – Big Red Letter Day, Let Me Come Over, Fortune Teller, Birdbrain
(These guys played the little all-ages club I went to in high school before they had a...
2 tags
“Of the 435 viewers sampled, 107 (24.6 percent) noted that they had cried or had been in some way afraid when watching a Disney animation. Comparatively, only 41 people (9.4 percent) registered overt pleasure or happiness.”
from Understanding Animation, by Paul Wells
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What A Rip - Day 34
Boogie Down Productions – Edutainment
(The song “Beef” is well intentioned, but unintentionally hilarious, even to those who agree with its message.)
Boom Bip – Blue Eyed In The Red Room
(Every so often I used to buy some sort of electronic music magazine to try to crack the code. I read an article about Boom Bip, and it paid off.)
Boss Hogg- Boss Hogg
(Jon Spencer never did get them Duke...
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Why is everyone so mad at Mexican soup today?
6 tags
What A Rip - Day 33
Black Sabbath – Paranoid
(When you get down to it, aren’t we ALL Iron Man?)
The Band of Blacky Ranchette
(At first I had no idea what this was, but it’s a Howe Gelb project, therefore endorsed.)
Blake Babies – Rosy Jack World , God Bless The Blake Babies
(Some magic died when Freda Boner became Freda Love.)
Blast Off Country Style – Rainbow Mayonnaise Deluxe, C’mon And
(If you write a...
3 tags
Serial what stabber? →
6 tags
Anger Managment
A man wanted to control his anger, so frightful even grizzly bears feared him.
A shaman told him to insult and beat a log with a stick until he was exhausted.
When the weary man returned and asked, “What lesson have I learned?” the shaman replied,
______________“Be like the log.”
- John Smelcer
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What A Rip - Day 32
Beatnik Filmstars – Laid Back And English
(Beatnik Filmstars? You mean like this lady?)
Beck – Midnite Vultures, Sea Change, Mutations
(Midnite Vultures is my favorite here, just due to how he manages to send up Soul while still paying homage to it. It took a big hit when Fox used some of it to advertise Titus, though. Not because I am against using music in ads, but because I am against...
7 tags
What A Rip - Day 31
The Aislers Set – Terrible Things Happen
(This is the one that was missing! It was in the same box as the other one, just out of order. This one has my favorite song of theirs, “California.”)
Beastie Boys – Check Your Head
(You heard this at every party I went to my senior year of college. Was it played because there was a party, or was there a party because this was played? A MYSTERY.)
...
6 tags
What A Rip - Day 30
The Best of Badfinger
(For a very long time I have wanted a pet pig named Pete Ham.)
Syd Barrett – The Madcap Laughs, Barrett
(Great music, but it would be nice if post-Syd Pink Floyd hadn’t spent so much time cashing in on him going crazy. Or sucking.)
Basehead – Play With Toys
(Man, this is good. It’s hip hop, but it isn’t, sort of. “Slacker hip hop” is what some people call it, but that...
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What A Rip - Day 29
The Association – Greatest Hits
(We all know Never My Love, but Enter The Young is the sleeper here.)
Aphex Twin – Come To Daddy, Richard D. James Album
(Here’s where my experiments in understanding techno paid off. This stuff is absolutely amazing. And it’s hilarious that a song from an album that also contains a song called “Cornish Acid” was used in an anti-drug ad.)
The Apples In...
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What A Rip - Day 28
Lemonheads – It’s A Shame About Ray, “Evan In Heaven,” It’s A Shame About Ray Live EP
(Collin gets mad when I tease her about this, but I think she has more Lemonheads recordings than members of the Lemonheads.)
Small Factory – I Do Not Love You
(Be my Valentine.)
Stereolab – Oscillations From The Anti-Sun
(A collection of their singles, and a DVD of some videos. I think I have a lot of the...
6 tags
What A Rip - Day 27
Elvis Costello – Blue
(Elvis goes country.)
The Kids of Widney High
(65 Years Old gets me every time. Also, these guys apparently opened for the Melvins.)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack
(This movie has an amazing soundtrack. However, for what I assume are licensing reasons, some of the songs here are not as they appear in the film. Most importantly, I’ll Fly Away is...
7 tags
What A Rip - Day 26
Stereolab – Aluminum Tunes
(I got the neat cardboard-cased version of this (in England, I think) and it’s awesome about not fitting into any CD shelves I own.)
Getz/Gilberto
(Yes. I mean, si?)
Return of the Grievous Angel, Conmemorativo
(Two Gram Parsons tribute albums. I am positive we have at least one more somewhere.)
I Belong To This Band – Eighty-Five Years Of Sacred Harp...
3 tags
A Cambridge Man Purse
In a 10, or even 9, point
handwritten font
The grown-ass man’s bag
Quietly requests that
I fuck
the rules