The White Stripes - De Stijl

I just watched a DVR recording on the 89/90 Detroit Piston (Bad Boys) basketball team...   doing so made me think of the Motor City so I've decided to pull out a favorite album by the White Stripes.

Of all the things the Motor City gave me...  the thing I least expected was to live in a City where the world had turned its fleeting attention to for nearly a year.

This isn't the first time that Detroit had the musical spotlight.  It is after all the birthplace of Motown, Punk and Techno...   Living there in the late nineties and early 2000's was incredibly rewarding tho'.   Especially when you stopped by a news stand and saw that NME had sent reporters to the Gold Dollar Bar to cover a band that routinely was playing shows around your city for nearly 2 years.

I wouldn't describe the exposure to the size that Seattle got... but it was big enough to make names out of bands like the Von Bondies.

Anyhoo...  De Stijl is hands down my favorite White Stripes record.   I think White Blood Cells is their finest moment, but I can't shake my affection for finding this little gem and having it all to myself well before the world caught up.

Stand out tracks

Artists: The White Stripes
Album: De Stijl
Producer: Jack White
Label: Sympathy for the Record Industry 
Recorded: Third Man Studios

Built to Spill - Ancient Melodies of the Future

The weather has taken a little bit of an unexpected turn today...  the skies are grey and puddles are abound, due to non-stop-drizzles.

This type of weather is pretty uncommon in San Antonio...  the sun is typically out and if it does happen to rain, it doesn't really do so for hours on end.   I kinda like it because it sorta fits the gloomy demeanor.  

It also allows me to reach into the stacks and pick out stuff that you can soundtrack appropriately.   I've settled on Built to Spill's - Ancient Melodies of the Future.

Known to many as the album that came out after Keep It Like a Secret.   Is it as good as Keep It Like a Secret?   In a word... no.  But you'd be hard pressed to really find any examples of an album that is.

I'm of the opinion however that this album is sorely under praised....  its kinda hard to talk about this band without mentioning Modest Mouse.   Modest Mouse had released Moon and Antarctica the year before and the two bands had released albums that seemed to counter punch one another - reaching incredible new nights.

I think this one didn't connect like previous Built to Spill albums.   It does however have the finest pairing of songs to close out any album that I have ever heard.

Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss & The Weather

Two songs that insist be played in that order.

Artists: Built to Spill
Album: Ancient Melodies of the Future
Producer: Phil Ek, Doug Martsch
Label: Up Records (Warner Bros.)
Recorded: Bear Creek, Avast! Recording Co, The Manhouse

Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire

Note:  The past 3 days have been freakishly hectic and I haven't had time to sit down and pen proper entries for albums I've listened to on April 18, 17, 16.   The weekend is looking pretty unforgiving - due largely in part to having family over for the extended weekend.

April 16

Work is mounting around me and my only escape is to fill my headphones with loud music to escape the non-stop-chatter around me.   I'm freakishly good in dealing with distractions and I owe a great deal of that to working in a newsroom for nearly a year.  An office place will never be as loud or as chaotic as a newsroom, so I can plug along with the best of them.

I'm however working against some of the toughest deadlines I have ever encountered in my professional career and I can almost feel the legs beneath me give in.   The tension is unbearable at times and selecting things to listen to during the work day is also very difficult.

I've elected to turn to Rage Against the Machines - Evil Empire for help.  An album that I always associate to my freshmen year in college.  The album had dropped right before I graduated high-school and I listened to it a lot over the summer before moving to Detroit.  In my opinion its the best album that the band had ever released.

The sound on the record feels a lot like I do on the inside...  a tightly wound spring that is ready to snap.   I vividly recall spending a lot of time pouring over Zack De La Rocha's lyrics over the summer of 96.  Every song on the record spoke to me in ways that I had never felt before.

Which has been something really difficult for me to still come to terms with because - my draw to RATM is the collective sound of the band.   A hybrid mix of funk and innovative/angular guitar work by Tom Morello.  

If you take the the vocal tracks away from "People of the Sun" and play it back as an instrumental track...  it has all the makings of a riot hymn.   

When I settled down long enough to hear the lyrics, I felt an energy inside that I have only experienced with the Clash, Fugazi and Black Flag.  Not an aggressive energy, but a genuine calling to become an activist and engage locally in some capacity.

I've been thinking a lot about my disconnect from RATM this afternoon. I recall internally being at odds with the band being on a major label and their creative output being suspiciously absent during 8 years while Bush was in office...  I've never quite buried that hatchet.  

It's dark now in Dachau and I'm screamin' from within
'Cause I'm still locked in tha doctrines of tha right
Enslaved by Dogma, ya talk about my birthright
Yet at every turn I'm runnin' into Hells gates
So I grip the cannon like Fanon and pass tha shells to my classmates

- Year of the Boomerang, RATM

Stand out Tracks:

Artists: Rage Against the Machine
Album: Evil Empire
Producer: Brendan O'Brien
Label: Epic
Recorded: Cole Rehearsal Studios, Kiss Music Studios

Sunny Day Real Estate - How It Feels To Be Something On

One of my fondest college memories was the release of Sunny Day Real Estate's album - How It Feels to Be Something On.   SDRE had split up while I was in high-school and I didn't know who they were until my Freshman year of college.

I was in the middle of discovering a number of Emo bands at the time, so it was really exciting to hear that one of the seminal emo bands was going to release a new album. 

How it Feels To Be Something On - however doesn't sound anything like an Emo album tho'.  It sorta borders on being a "prog" album.  A genre of music I don't really get too worked up about, but this album is incredible.

SDRE is reportedly releasing a 7" record this weekend for Record Store Day.  I guess I kinda have them on the brain.

Stand Out Tracks:

Artists: Sunny Day Real Estate
Album: How It Feels To Be Something On
Producer: Greg Williamson
Label: Sub Pop
Recorded: ?

Dinosaur Jr. - Green Mind

I've been thinking a lot about high school in recent days, due largely in part to listening to a lot of stuff from the mid-90's in recent weeks.   One of my favorite albums from that time is Dinosaur Jr.'s major label debut - Green Mind.

A record that isn't really regarded as the bands high-water mark, but I've always had an incredibly soft spot for it.  Especially the album cover... which features a very young girl smoking a cigarette in a desert.

It's never occurred to me that I could possibly google search the identity of the person on the cover.   I've elected to no do so, only because I've spent countless hours staring and thinking about who that person could be in my head.   I mean, how crazy would it be to end up at a party and then be introduced to her and learn that she was the girl on the Green Mind cover.   

Come to think of it...  I'm going to start taking photos with people who have some semblance to her and hashtag it #greenmindgirl

Anyhoo, if you've never heard the album I can't recommend it enough.   It has a very 90's fuzz to it...  something that I've been hearing a lot in newer music acts.  It fucking kills me that they can't record something that sounds as good as "Puke and Cry" tho'.

Stand out tracks:

Artists: Dinosaur Jr.
Album: Green Mind
Producer: J. Mascis
Label: Sire, Warner Bros.
Recorded: ?

Elliott Smith - XO

Had a dream about my Elliott (my dog) the other night...  nearly 12 months have past since Elliott took up residency with my parents in San Benito, Texas.

I spend an absurd amount of hours at the office and opted to have my parents (whom are retired) to look over him and let him outside to roam about their large back yard whenever he pleases.  

This is a 180gram re-release...

I see him roughly once a month...   the visits are always short lived and when I do get to spend time with him, I usually pull out some Elliott Smith to pass the time.   I named my dog after the singer/songwriter so it's hard to think of one and not the other.

I learned about Elliott Smith after seeing the movie Good Will Hunting...  I picked up the soundtrack and then discovered he had a handful of albums to pour over.  If you're unfamiliar with his work, I ask that you prepare yourself to possibly come to grips with a number of bottled up emotions.

Case in point, the song Baby Britain.  I have gone about a good part of my adult life with an undiagnosed drinking problem.  I've never sought any professional counseling for it...  I read up enough on the subject and avoid situations where I can potentially get rip-roaring-wasted.

I'm not a bad drunk...  in fact, I do a great deal of safeguarding when I decide to get pretty shit faced.  I just happen to enjoy drinking by myself more than drinking with others.   Which translates into me locking myself into a room, turning off my phone, listening to music at alarming high levels, focusing on whatever is upsetting me and then test the limits of what my body can take.

I think the sweetest high I have ever experienced in life is knowing how far I've pushed the envelope.  Which has caused me a number of head and heartaches along the way...   I can't tell you how many awkward conversations I've had with loved ones about said problem...  all of which are incredibly painful to think about right now, but I feel inexplicably better when I hear this song.

We knocked another couple back 
The dead soldiers lined up on the table 
Still prepared for an attack 
They didn't know they'd been disabled 
Felt a wave, a rush of blood 
You won't be happy 'til the bottle's broken 
And you're out swimming in the flood 
You kept back you kept unspoken

- Elliott Smith - 

Standout tracks:

Artists: Elliot Smith
Album: XO
Producer: Elliott Smith, Rob Schnapf, Tom Rothrock
Label: Dreamworks
Recorded: Sunset Sound, Sound Factory, Ocean Way, Sonora, Jackpot!

Pearl Jam - No Code

In the fall of 1996, I moved to the motor city and began my Freshman year of college.  Pearl Jam's fourth studio album No Code had just come out and a girl I was hooking up with at the time surprised me with a copy of the CD.   She knew I was a fan of PJ and also knew that I didn't have a vehicle on campus and this little token of friendship has gone without thanks for nearly 20 years.   Pauline, if you're reading this somewhere. Thank you.

CD, Vinyl and Cassette...

Pearl Jam's - NO CODE - is hands down my favorite album by the band.  Note, I don't think it's their best album...  I believe that Vs. and Yield are better studio efforts.  I just happen to favor this record because it's an album that I dismissed immediately and then hit me like a ton of bricks as I aged into my later 20's.   

As I look back and listen to this album in my later 30's...  I'm amazed that my perception of the album has shifted again.   I vividly recall how I felt about the album at age 18.  The band had gone from being one of the largest bands in the world, to being a band that was on the brink of splitting up at any given moment.

Catching Pearl Jam live has always been a difficult thing to do, due largely in part to their stardom and their fight with Ticket Master.   Pearl Jam played Toledo, Ohio in 1996 - roughly 40 minutes south of Detroit Mercy and it was impossible to get tickets.  A college friend by the name of Joe Yamin was a Ten Fan Club member and I recall running into him the day after the show and he was a total glow.   I would see Pearl Jam in Dallas, Texas in the Summer of 1998 (Given to Fly Tour) with some life long friends...  but I've never been able to let go of the fact that I did not get to see them in support of No Code...

I had to settle on pouring over the strangeness that is the artwork of No Code.   The packaging of the album is freakishly elaborate for a CD.   Which is a lot to say, given that Pearl Jam had released Vitalogy a few years before and that had to have given Epic Records a fucking heart attack when assembling the packaging for that album.  

The artwork is composed of 156 Polaroids that were taken by Eddie Vedder.  He reportedly found a forensic Polaroid camera with a macro lens.  Any photo taken further away than four feet was out of focus.  "A bowl of soup became art. Bird Shit on a blue car looked like the cosmos."  - Eddie Vedder.

When you stand back and look at the artwork you can make out a "No Code" triangle, which is a medical term that means "Do Not resuscitate".

"I thought that was symbolic of where we were with the group: If we're dying, let us die. Don't try to save us. We don't want to live as vegetables." - Eddie Vedder.

The weirdness didn't stop there...  the album contained a set of "polaroids" inside.  9 photos which contained lyrics to some of the songs on the album.   There are 4 sets of polaroids which are known as "C, O, D, E".   There is no way to tell which one you're getting from outside the album so collecting all four is a pain in the ass.  Again - "no code".

Over the years, I've picked up this album on various formats.  I have it on Vinyl, Cassette and CD...  I just recently learned that a version of it is on Sony Mini-CD.  That's the only known format that I don't currently own it in... but I would pick it up in a heart beat if I ran across a copy of it tho'.  

It's hard to really pick out favorite tracks on an album I love unconditionally....  This is clearly in my all time top 5 albums, so I'm going to share some insights on every track of the album.

Pearl Jam – Sometimes - The opening track to No Code...  it sorta sets the tone for the record.  Brendan O' Brian does a number of interesting things with introducing the sound of rolling thunder and roars in the middle.   Pearl Jam's sound has changed a lot over the years and that largely has to do with the revolving drummer situation...  you can also say the same for Pearl Jam albums where Eddie opens up.  This song and album is incredibly introspective. 

My small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
Sometimes i know, sometimes i rise
Sometimes i fall, sometimes i don't
Sometimes i cringe, sometimes i live
Sometimes i walk, sometimes i kneel
Sometimes i speak of nothing at all
Sometimes i reach to myself, dear god

Pearl Jam – Hail, Hail - is the second track of the album.  I vividly remember them playing this on Letterman when the album dropped.  It's one of my favorite songs regarding the hardships of love.  It also has a lyric that means a lot to me.  I believe that it speaks a lot to what I want in a woman.

I sometimes realize i could only be as good as you'll let me
Are you woman enough to be my man?
Bandaged hand in hand

Pearl Jam – Who You Are - this is one of the most interesting songs on No Code...  I'm hesitant to post any lyrics on this track.  I think that every listener can interpret whom they are when listening to this song.

Stop light plays its part so I would say you've got a part.In

Pearl Jam – In My Tree - one of my favorite tracks on the album, due largely in part to Jack Iron's distinctive drumming.  My favorite lyric: 

I'm so high I hold just one breath deep within my chest just like innocence.

Pearl Jam – Smile - I always think of my friends Jaime and Jessie when I hear this song.  This was (and may still be) their "couple" song.  It's also the only Pearl Jam song I have ever sang in karaoke...  my favorite lyric:  Three crooked hearts. Swirls all around, yeah 

Pearl Jam – Off He Goes - hands down my favorite track on the album.  It clearly speaks to the inner dynamics of the band... it's very much Eddie speaking about Eddie.  There's a lyric at the end of the song that has always spoken to me.  This largely has a lot to do with me hating to say goodbye.  

Until a quarter to ten. I saw the strain creep in.
He seems distracted and I know just what is going to happen next.
Before his first step he is off again.

Pearl Jam – Habit - I find myself wanting to skip this song more often than sitting through it.
Speaking as a child of the 90's...

Pearl Jam – Red Mosquito - I may be in the minority, but I fucking love this song.  It's heavily influenced by Neil Young... but the Mike's guitar work is fucking incendiary.  I'm not entirely sure what the song is about.  A red mosquito I think.  The purpose of this track again is to hear McCready wail on that fucking axe. 

Watched from the window with a red mosquito.
I was not allowed to leave the room.
I saw the sun go down and now it's coming up.
Somewhere in the time between I was bitten.
Must have been the devil.
He was just paying me a little visit.
Reminding me of his presence.
Letting me know he's a-waiting. Ohh...

Pearl Jam – Lukin - sonically, one would quickly say that this is Habbit's kissing cousin.  Lyrically, I think its one of the most interesting ones on the record though.  The song is about visiting Matt Lukin's (Melvins) house and finding sanctuary in his kitchen.  At the time Eddie Vedder had a problem with a stalker... and he reportedly was getting tired of hearing that pearl jam penned very long songs.   

I found the key but I return to find an open door.
Some fucking freak who claims I fathered, by rape, her own son.
I find my wife, I call the cops, this days work's never done.
The last I heard that freak was purchasing a fucking gun.

Pearl Jam – Present Tense - the Keystone song on No Code.  I vividly recall laying awake one night listening to this song and completely changing my mind on the album.   

Have you ideas on how this life ends?
Checked your hands and studied the lines.
Have you the belief that the road ahead ascends off into the light?
Seems that needlessly it's getting harder to find an approach and a way to live.
Are we getting something out of this all encompassing trip.

Pearl Jam – Mankind - I have always loved this song and this is not an opinion that is shared with by most of my friends.  I vividly recall talking about songs we wanted to hear live in 98 with Jaime.   State of Love and Trust was atop my list as was Mankind.   I nearly shit myself when they played it.   I'm pretty sure everyone else in attendance, wished that another track made the set list.  Fuck all the haters.

I'll be playing with my magazine, using up my Listerine, like Ovaltine.
And you'll be dipping in your battleship, for the latest tip, for the latest dream.

Pearl Jam – I'm Open - a poetic endeavor at the end of No Code.  My favorite moment can be captured in this lyric.

When he was six he believed that the moon overhead followed him, by nine he had deciphered the illusion trading magic for fact.
No tradebacks.
So this is what it's like to be an adult.

Pearl Jam – Around The Bend - the last track off No Code...  like the first track on the album, it's incredibly tender to listen to.   In many ways it reminds me of a song that Elvis could cover.

You're an angel when you sleep.
How I want your soul to keep on, and on, around the bend.

Artists: Pearl Jam
Album: No Code
Producer: Brendan O'Brien
Label: Epic
Recorded: Chicago Recording Company, Kingsway Studio, Studio Litho


Original Motion Soundtrack - The Crow

In preparation for a podcast that may get recorded later tonight, I went through my short stack of Soundtracks I have collected in my lifetime.

I'm not really sure what to think of my Soundtrack collection.  They don't represent my tastes in music or film correctly.  I'm pretty sure I purchased most of them in my teens or early 20's, a time in my life where I wanted to collect compilations of musical artists for films that were marketed at my demographic.

I spent a lot of time thinking about what my favorite Soundtracks were...  the list was pretty short.

  1. Purple Rain
  2. Pretty in Pink
  3. The Crow
  4. Singles
  5. Trainspotting 

*Note: Rushmore would have cracked the top 5, but my favorite song - I Am Waiting - was not released on the Soundtrack.  It was only in the movie....   It's my favorite Rolling Stone song too.

Soundtracks have come a long way in my lifetime...  they kinda went from a collection of decent songs (example: Animal House/Teen Wolf) - into a becoming a compilation of tracks by artists that you really wanted to own. (example: Lost Boys/Pretty in Pink)

Every now and again - you sorta pair up an incredible movie with a great director who hand picks a collection of incredible artists and songs: example - Singles.

I ended up selecting the Crow today because I haven't thought about the movie or soundtrack in a long time...  If you're unfamiliar with the movie, I want to highly recommend it.

It's about a musician (Eric Draven) who is murdered alongside his girlfriend on Devils Night (October 30th) by a ruthless street gang.   A year later, he rises from the dead and is right the wrong committed onto him and his girlfriend.   A pet "crow" helps him straddle between the afterlife and um...  real life?   The film is based on a comic book, where the central character is based off of Iggy Pop.   In the movie, the son of Bruce Lee (Brandon Lee) plays Eric Draven but he died during the filming of the movie.  

The soundtrack is pretty awesome too.  I haven't listened to it in years but I could picture every scene when I heard the song playback over my earphones today.

Standout Tracks:

Artists: Various Artists
Album: Original Motion Soundtrack - The Crow
Producer: Various
Label: Atlantic
Recorded: ?

Bottles and Bottles All Nite & all things The Challenge Reality Fantasy Week 1

THE CHALLENGE IS BACK!  

Order has finally been restored in the Reality TV world.  Tonights episode got off to an amazing start. I can't believe that I had never thought of merging "stripping" and "basketball" until this evening.  

To see Rules and Team Scores Click Here

CT squared up against Theresa and the two agreed to play to 10 points.  After each score, the opponent had to take off an article of clothing.   Shortly after winning the game, CT was presented with a chilled bottle of Vodka.   Not water boys and girls...  VODKA.  

Vodka is for CLOSERS.  

Vodka is for CLOSERS.  

If the show allowed fans to pay money, so that they could see web feeds of the Challenge House - I would pay $49.99 to happily see and not get audio of the real-time footage for the season.   Make this happen Bunim/Murray.  Make this HAPPEN.

The first episode has way to much stuff to fully explore.  There's over 20 characters to follow, so I won't spend too much time recapping the activities.

The first challenge of the season was pretty awesome tho'.  It consisted of splitting the cast into 2 large teams.  Then breaking the team into 3 small groups to climb 42 flights of stairs - which resulted in a strange race/brawl.  After the stair climb was done, the groups then had to hand a key over to the second group so that they could solve a puzzle...   that group then relayed another key to the third group which was asked to walk on a rolling log suspended 42 stories above the ground to pick up a flag and ring a bell.

Camila is equal parts my spirit animal & the reality tv personality I most badly want to sleep with.  I LOVE YOU GIRL!

Camila is equal parts my spirit animal & the reality tv personality I most badly want to sleep with.  I LOVE YOU GIRL!

I fucking love this show.

The loosing team (half the house) was officially up to go into the elimination challenge/jungle...  Tonight's elimination involved shoulder pads, a sand pit and stuffing a ball into a trash can for points.   I'd explain it in further detail, but it defeats the purpose of you dropping everything you're doing and just watch the show.

Baller of the week.

LaToya - 55 points
LaToya fucking brought it in week 1 of the Challenge.  She picked up 20 points for causing the arrival of a vehicle with a Siren.  25 points for getting TJ to say "you killed it" and an additional 10 points for winning an elimination challenge.

LaToya is a BEAST.

LaToya is a BEAST.