jfsumneriv

I'm back from vacation!

Today's Song - Jen Doesn't Like Me Anymore - Less Than Jake

Comments - Less Than Jake is a fun band - no more, no less.  Anybody that tries to take them more seriously than that is wrong.  They aren't quite as goofy as Bloodhound Gang and Nerf Herder but they should be looked at in the same light.

Today's Song - Fall Apart - Northern State featuring Kaki King

Comments - I had read a lot about Northern State a few years back and intended to get their first album but never got around to it.  Phrases like "the female Beastie Boys" intrigued me (although I thought that the moniker had already been taken by Luscious Jackson - but I digress).  Anyway flash forward 5 years or so to early 2008.  I was rooting through a box of my buddy Doug's extra CDs (he's in record promotions) and I come across the Northern State album "Can I keep this pen?"  To my delight the whole album is really good.  It turns out that it was produced by Ad Rock of the Beastie Boys (Adam Horovitz).  The album has a pretty cool feel to it and is pretty eclectic.  My only regret is that the version that I snagged from that box is edited for radio.  I may go out and find the original at some point.  Anyway this song is the last on the album and is kind of slow and very relaxing.  I highly recommend you give it a listen.

Today's Song - Voodoo Child (slight return) - Jimi Hendrix

Comments - Not to take anything away from Purple Haze, All Along the Watchtower, or Crosstown Traffic but this is my favorite Hendrix song.  It somehow in my opinion surpasses all of the others in raw emotion and power.  Looks like my Tuesday is off to a better start than my Monday, but who's isn't really.  One day closer to the weekend.

Today's Song - 1979 - Smashing Pumpkins

Comments - Yawn.  This song is okay but not great.  Don't get me wrong, I think that the Pumpkins put out some great stuff and this song isn't terrible but it was way overplayed and it is a bit boring but there you have it.  I guess that sums up a Monday morning for me.

Today's Song - Worst Come To Worst - Dilated Peoples

Comments - A great song.  Hip hop with good, smooth, mellow beats and lyrics that aren't about committing felonies.  They've always reminded me of Jurassic 5, another great rap group that doesn't resort to talking about how "thug" they are.  This track has a guest spot by Guru of Gangstarr.

Today's song - Pipebomb on Lansdowne (dance remix) - Dropkick Murphys

Comments - I've loved Dropkick for a while now (since I first heard Barroom Hero on the Give Em The Boot comp album).  I've seen them live four times (last time was in 2003) and at this point they've gotten so big (especially here in Boston) that I doubt that I'll ever get to see them again.  The ticket is nearly impossible to get.  I think that this song is hillarious.  It is essentially about blowing up the old dance clubs on Lansdowne St in Boston and the differences between the punk kid listening to their stuff and the designer drug addled kid listening to "techno".  I personally listen to both punk and electronic music but definitely associate more with the punk crowd than the other.  One of the things that I actually hate about that type of music is the crowd that goes clubbing.  One of the Dropkick shows that I was fortunate enough to see (thanks Doug) was one of the St Patty's Day weekend shows that they recorded for their live album at Avalon on Lansdowne.  One of the coolest memories that I have of the show was leaving after it was done and walking out right into the crowd of kids coming out to go clubbing.  There was a pretty stark contrast between the kids wearing ratty T-shirts and jeans and the ones wearing those shiny metallic looking button downs ready to twirl around some glow sticks.  Funny stuff.

Today's Song - Sailin' On - Bad Brains

Comments - One of my all time favorite Bad Brains songs.  Quick story:  When I was in college, I went to see 311 at a club show in Madison (before the blue album came out) they had some no name bands opening for them.  Dog Eat Dog and No Doubt (pre-Tragic Kingdom).  So No Doubt comes on stage and I was immediately smitten by Gwen who was adorable and had her hair up in all these little buns on top of her head.  Then they started to play and I was pretty impressed.  Gwen sang Excuse Me Mr. while standing on the shoulders of one of  the bouncers in front of the stage.  Then for their final song they said that they wanted to cover one of their all time favorite songs and launched into Sailin' On.  My friend and I that went to the show together had been sitting on the backs of chairs about three rows back (the show was at the Barrymore an old theater with a small "pit" area in the front and then rows of seats).  We both were big Bad Brains fans and looked at each other in disbelief then hurdled the two rows of seats (a move that now would almost certainly cause me some sort of bodily harm) to get into the fray.  That was the moment that I knew that I was in love with Gwen.  No matter how many overproduced pop albums she puts out or Gavin Rossdale offspring named after cities or computer games she produces, I will always remember her from that show.  Good Lord I sound like some kind of stalker or something.  It's not quite that bad I promise.  Anyway, the point is that it's a great song.  It has also been covered by Living Colour (my favorite of the covers), Moby, and John Frusciante to name a few.

Today's Song - Let Me Ride - Dr. Dre

Comments - Great sample of Parliment.  This and a few other songs that had P-Funk samples really brought George Clinton back into the public eye and rightfully so because he made a lot of great music.  The Chronic album is one nof those that sort of defines an era.  I think that Snoop and 2Pac both later ended up outselling the record but The Chronic was the really the face of the genre since it was first (I know that there were NWA albums and some other "Gangsta Rap" things but none that were near as big as Dre).  It sort of did for rap what Nevermind did for Grunge.