Archive for February, 2005

Cook it Up

Thursday, February 24th, 2005

This song is one of the few Aesop songs I’ve actually sat down and tried to decrypt (now that I have a reason to). As I’ve said plenty of times before I’m not the greatest at trying to figure out songs. I think I did an alright job on this one though.

It’s obvious in this song Aesop bumps into a girl that is love at first sight. One thing though - he doesn’t want love, only companionship (and of course, animal-like sex). It’s really a funny song. He obsessively explains to her his position on how he and her can work. He makes demands saying that he won’t accept her unless she accepts him and all of his crazy. Then, in the end she explains her position too - with a well placed punch to the face.

PFAC (Party Fun Action Committee) also lends their talents at the end singing (in glorious falsetto) about how Ace doesn’t want any strings and explains that, “…if you love television and manic depression, get a carton of cigarettes and we can make it happen.” It’s actually making me chuckle right now thinking about how they sing it.

The beat’s really cool with horns and strings dispersed rhythmically throughout. It’s a slower beat but of course Ace loads up the words and it doesn’t necessarily feel that way. Sound effects emphasize the craziness of the game spoken by Ace and it’s great.

makes me think of: whenever I listen to Aesop Rock I think of how he looks from the pictures I’ve seen in mags, but, in my head, for some reason I add Zach De La Rocha dreads

Here Comes the Night

Thursday, February 24th, 2005

Simple and funky - not two words you normally associate with The Beach Boys, but this song is described by such words. This doesn’t have the Beach Boys feel as I like, but this was at a time where Brian Wilson was loosing touch with the band/world and his music was winding down. It’s still a good song and it fits the album perfect.

The piano sounds like a kids piano and the lower keys are pounded as such. I really like the sound of it - sort of warped. Couple that with some organ and a funky bass and you’ve got a hit! Well, maybe not a hit, but at least a good song.

The song is pretty much just like other love songs - it’s about a guy that works all day and wants to come home to his lover. The difference is that he’s pleading with her that they stay together no matter how hard it gets.

Every mornin’ our love is reborn
And it lives with me all day long
Things start changin’
Take as a little rearrangin’
But our love grows on and on

It puts a little bit more heart and emotion into this fun rock song.

makes me think of: going to the Rock Hall of Fame and listening to Good Vibrations like I had never heard it before, thus inspiring me to buy the Smiley Smile/Wild Honey comp

Approaching Pavonis Mons By Balloon (Utopia Planitia)

Thursday, February 24th, 2005

This is one of the instrumentals on the latest LP from The Flaming Lips. It’s a great track too, what, with all the keyboard horns and beat programming. It’s got a lot atmosphere and it puts you in space as I imagine it’s supposed to. After all, the title implies that we are getting ready to reach our destination, Pavonis Mons, and this is the music we are supposed to hear upon doing so.

I’ve never been to Pavonis Mons, much less travelled there in a balloon but I can be 100% sure in telling you that this is exactly what it’s like.

makes me think of: working third shift at the hospital and streaming this album from the computer

Melanie

Friday, February 11th, 2005

This is an example of a song by “Weird Al” that I would probably absolutely love if Ben Folds sang it. Probably, any song by “Weird Al” that I like would be better if Ben Folds sang it - which is a coincidence since Ben Folds and “Weird Al” work together on occasion.

“Weird Al” is the master of the song and style parody but he also writes his own original music. At first I was trying to figure out if this was a style parody but I don’t think it is. It’s a good sounding 80s song and that’s what I like about it. Plus, it has harmony and any song with harmony gets added 10 points to it in my review book.

This song was probably hilarious to me when I was a kid. It is about a guy who can’t understand why a girl (that he creepily stalks) won’t go out with him. He talks about going through her garbage, spying on her with a telescope and shaving a mohawk on her cat. It’s not something that is amazingly funny now since my tastes in comedy have matured way beyond this but I get the joke. “Weird Al” is also the master of irony.

If you can look past your hatred for “Weird Al’s” goofy parodies (and remember that this is the guy who did UHF) and see the talent he has for writing good pop songs, then you will like this song. If you can’t, then you’ll probably hate me for reviewing it.

makes me think of: sitting in the parking lot at my apartment

Life’s Angles

Friday, February 11th, 2005

I have a hard time listening to jazz since I don’t know what to listen for. I can tell if I like something but I can’t particularly tell if the artist is playing good. I can hear fast notes and weird timing (sort of) but nothing beyond that. This, I can tell though, is really cool due to it’s creation.

As far as I know, Madlib created this album by taking all jazz samples and just rearranging them himself to make his own jazz songs. I don’t know if used any keyboards at all but I don’t think so. This is all sampler (MPC, I think). That gives it a very cool sound when you know how it was put together.

The song is part bboy part jazz and it’s all great. The drums are a really cool break (classic hip hop styling) and there are some great piano and guitar samples. I think he’s taken a couple of piano notes and guitar sounds and played them out himself on the sampler which is easy to do but tough to make sound good. I’ve tried it myself and while I liked the end result the process was stupid. I would just end up piling on the notes until you couldn’t tell what was being played. Madlib has done a great job.

If you like jazz and hip hop and you appreciate raw technical talent then you will enjoy this very much.

makes me think of: cleaning apartments in Columbus

I can’t believe this

Thursday, February 10th, 2005

marrs2.jpg

I can’t believe this. I haven’t checked my hotmail account since December and I had an email in there from some friends that one of my friends died off the coast of Alaska in a fishing boat accident!

Here’s the report: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/01/17/crab.boat.sinks.ap/index.html

Unbelievable..

Here is a collection of Aaron Marrs links:

http://adamnaranjo.typepad.com/adamdaily/2005/01/aaron_marrs.html
http://www.musicrefuge.com/?go=news&news_id=508
http://www.paperjackfilms.com
http://www.shoutlast.com/forum_viewtopic.php?4.3071
http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/?pid=19&id=959
http://andyzipf.blog.com/96227/
http://homepage.mac.com/bradmoist/iMovieTheater16.html
http://www.aaronmarrs.blogspot.com/
http://homepage.mac.com/grant.harrison/AaronMarrs/PhotoAlbum44.html

Mexican Wine

Wednesday, February 9th, 2005

Today’s song meaning comes from a guest writer (not that he knows it):

Taken from SongMeanings:
Now, is this the deepest song ever? Of course not. But it isn’t “pop, pain and simple.” It *does* mean something.

“He was killed by a cellular phone explosion
They scattered his ashes across the ocean ”

Bizzarre and unrealistic way to die, yet a grandiose sendoff. Existentialism, plain and simple.

“The water was used to make baby lotion
The wheels of promotion were set into motion ”

In other words, his death amounted to nothing, and yet it still set events into place.

“But the sun still shines in the summer time
I’ll be yours if you’ll be mine
I tried to change but I changed my mind
Think I’ll have another glass of mexican wine ”

No matter what happens, some things you can always count on. Second line is a standard song lyric, I’ve gotten used to it. Third line is him thinking “Well, I could try and change things” but then saying screw it and accepting life. Fourth line is sitting back and appreciating what you DO have.

She lived alone in a small apartment
Across the street from the health department
She left her pills in the glove compartment
That was the afternoon her heart went

Girl, living across from the health department, leaves her pills in the car the one day she needs them, (presumably) dies of a heart attack. Ironic and tragic death, and yet chorus shows that life goes on.

“I used to fly for United Airlines
Then I got fired for reading high times
License expired in almost no time
Now I’m retired and I think that’s fine ”

Play on two meanings of the word high, then him accepting what has happened and being happy with it.

Got it?

I really like this song - now. I didn’t like it when I first heard it but that was because I was expecting something different from the group that did the Crank Yankers theme song. I did eventually hear what I was looking for and once I threw out my expectations I started to like this song.

The keyboard in the break is awesome. I love cheesy ‘boards so much.* The one thing I thought about though when I first heard this song was that this guy’s voice reminds me of “Weird Al’s.” He sings better than “Weird Al” but that’s not the point of “Weird Al,” of course.

*I also like saying ‘boards instead of keyboards.**
**This is the first time I’ve ever said ‘boards instead of keyboards.

makes me think of: driving home from Record Exchange with my cousin

Les Os

Wednesday, February 9th, 2005

I cannot figure this song’s meaning for the life of me. I can make assumptions based on a couple of the lines. For instance, “Is this love of ours a lie/ It is chemically derived to ascertain and sequester the pain/” tells me that the singer wonders if they are just together so that they don’t have to feel the pain of not being with someone - the pain of heartbreak. This line, “Tell me about your love affairs/ I want to know all the lurid details/” confuses me a bit. If the singer wants to know if his lover is sleeping with someone else, then why the cute curiosity? Of course, maybe this song is just about two f- buddies and the singer’s true feelings. By the way, the title of the song means “The Bones.”

I really like this song. I like The Unicorns a lot and this song is so fun. The keyboard in the beginning sounds great and it really builds up to the itensity of the guitars. The slow breakdown in the middle adds a great feeling to the song too. I love when songs do that - so long as they come back and this one does it very well.

By the way, I’m eating a really big bag of those yellow round tortilla chips. They’re my favorite.

makes me think of: looking at their website

Necronomania

Wednesday, February 9th, 2005

For a while I was downloading tons of German and Italian porn movie soundtracks. Why? The best jazz you’ll ever hear (to sample with). This is soundtrack is no exception.

The opening piano always reminds me of Biz Markie’s Make the Music With Your Mouth, Biz. It starts off the song and makes way for the organ to hit along with a few “oohs” with some effects on them. Follow that up with some “aahs” and you have a sexually seductive “horrotic” track .

I’ve never seen this movie and I probably won’t but I definitely like the music from it. The title of the track scares me a bit but I guess it’s referring to the fact that Vampires are dead so it’s not like it’s with a corpse right?

makes me think of: the cover of the album

Dogs and the Horses

Wednesday, February 9th, 2005

I like this song a bit more everytime I listen to it. The pretty much goes for every song by The Divine Comedy (and Rufus Wainwright for that matter). It takes me a bit to really be able to like music with a Broadway feel. I think I need to be able to follow along either in my head or with the lyrics. I don’t know why.

The song is basically about how we live short lives and during those short lives we have a lot of good times and bad times. In the end, when we die, though, all of our good times will be there to greet us and we will be remembered for them. At least, that’s what I gathered from it.

The music is really grandiose(sp?) and I really envision someone on stage wearing either an old dock workers outfit (old meaning, colonial times) or a judge’s wig while singing this song. In both visions (of the future perhaps) they are singing around a lightpost - swingin like Fred Astaire in Singing in the Rain, without the acrobatics (and rain). Gay? Maybe.

makes me think of: driving in the car with my parents