There is something inherently annoying about JASON MRAZ. I think that "something" is his propensity for White Boy scat-rapping. Just take a gander at the lyrics for his song "Wordplay" (I was merely going to excerpt this, but, with a song this abysmal, you really have to try to wrap your mind around the whole rancid enchilada):
I've been all around the world
I've been a new sensation
But it doesn't really matter
In this generation
The sophomore slump is an uphill battle
And someone said that ain’t my scene
'Cause they need a new song
Like a new religion
Music for the television
I can't do the long division
Someone do the math
For the record label puts me on the shelf up in the freezer
Got to find another way to live the life of leisure
So I drop my top
Mix and I mingle
Is everybody ready for the single and it goes...
[Chorus]
Ha La La La La
Now listen closely to the verse I lay
(Ha La La La La)
It's all about the wordplay
(Ha La La La Love)
The wonderful thing it does
Because, because
I am the wizard of ooh's and ah's and fa-la-la's
Yeah the Mister A to Z
They say I'm all about the wordplay
When it's time to get I'll I got your remedy
For those who don't remember me
Well let me introduce you to my style
I try to keep a jumble
And the lyrics never mumble
When the music's makin' people tongue-tied
You want a new song
Like a new religion
Music for the television
I can't do the long division
Someone do the math
For the people write me off like I'm a one-hit wonder
Gotta find another way to keep from goin' under
Pull out the stops
Got your attention
I guess it's time again for me to mention
The wordplay
[Chorus]
I built a bridge across the stream my consciousness
It always seems to be a flowin'
But I don't know which way my brain is goin'
Oh the ryhmin' and the timin'
Keeps the melodies inside me
And they're comin'
Till I'm running out of air
Are you prepared to take a dive into the deep end of my head
Are you listening to a single word I've said
[Chorus][Chorus]
Uh... see what I mean?
Now, to be fair, "Wordplay" was released back in 2005, so it's possible that Mr. Mraz may have learned how to cut back on the wack rhymes and giddy, goofball hypersyllablizing in the intervening years. To see if this is so, let's check out an excerpt from his new album, WE SING, WE DANCE, WE STEAL THINGS. The song is called "Dynamo of Volition" (he's ace with the titles, too!), and it goes a little like this over yonder:
I do not keep up with statistics
I do not sleep without a mistress
I do not eat unless it's fixed with
Some kind of sweet like a licorice
My home is deep inside the mystics
I'm known to keep diggin' on existence
I'm holdin' in the heat like a fishstick
And my phone it beeps because I missed itOkay then. There you have it. The best use of "fishstick" in a lyric since DYLAN's basement-tape classic "The Ballad of the Burnt-Bottomed Fishstick Blues." (You know... the one with harmonica.)So, honestly, I have no idea why I'm posting on Jason Mraz. Just a glutton for punishment, I guess. That, and the fact that -- despite its giddy, goofball, White Boy scat-rapping -- I was sort of charmed by 2003's "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)." (Did I mention that he's ace with the titles?). Despite my best efforts, I can't seem to resist that damn chorus. (Blame it on THE MATRIX.)It's a shame, really. Mraz has an agile, attractive voice (NEIL SEDAKA meets FREDDIE MERCURY?), but the "wordplay" bites him in the ha-la-la-la ass every fa-la-la-la time. (Come to think of it, he's a little like a male version of NELLIE McKAY. Talented, but with a fatal case of The Cutesies.)The new album, by the way, drops today.JASON MRAZ on MySPACE.
From the LP WE SING, WE DANCE, WE STEAL THINGS, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "If It Kills Me"
[MP3] "Lucky" [w/COLBIE CAILLAT]
From the LP MR. A-Z, 2005 >>>[MP3] "Life is Wonderful"From the LP WAITING FOR MY ROCKET TO COME, 2002 >>>
[MP3] "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)"
[MP3] PULP/"Common People"
[MP3] THE SWEET SERENADES/"I Can Never Die"
[MP3] NEIL DIAMOND/"Pretty Amazing Grace"
[MP3] THE WEDDING PRESENT/"I Lost the Monkey"
[MP3] SCARLETT JOHANSSON/"I Don't Want to Grow Up"
[MP3] JOSEPH ARTHUR/"Radio Euphoria"
Left-click [HERE] to download the April assortment.
Portal to previous monthly mixes [HERE].APRIL 2008 TRACKLIST >>>
1 eels/old shit-new shit
2 kara keith/kick this city
3 cajun dance party/the race
4 santogold/say aha
5 the pigeon detectives/caught in your trap
6 the dresden dolls/ultima esperanza
7 de novo dahl/make some sense
8 jupiter one/turn up the radio
9 ladytron/i'm not scared
10 the courteeners/what took you so long
11 havana guns/i want to die
12 r.e.m./horse to water
13 james/of monsters and heroes and men
14 sandrine/let the love
15 the sweet serenades/first taste of trouble
16 phantom planet/leader
17 airfare/sugarcube
18 kara keith/get up and go go
19 weezer/pork and beans
20 my brightest diamond/bass player
21 hush the many (heed the few)/revolve
22 the indelicates/we hate the kids
I've been meaning to post on GRANT-LEE PHILLIPS for quite some time now. No particular reason why it has to be today, but why the hell not?I'm going to go ahead and ignore his last two albums, which, frankly, were pretty damn dull. These other, older tunes are much more effective at showcasing his top-notch vox. Feel free to revel in them.GRANT-LEE PHILLIPS on MySPACE.
[MP3] "Mona Lisa" [2004]
[MP3] "Dirty Secret" [2004]
[MP3] "Humankind" [2001]
[MP3] "Sadness Soot" [2001]
BONUS TRACK >>>
[MP3] GRANT LEE BUFFALO/"Truly, Truly" [1998]
Yep, more Sunday-to-Monday stream-of-consciousness posting. This one, let's face it, was predictable....
For whatever reason, I got the bee-in-the-bonnet/ants-in-the-pants itch to immerse myself in THE WHO's discography on Saturday afternoon. While I consider myself reasonably knowledgeable about music, I must admit to having some rather alarmingly cavernous gaps in my education/experience. Thus, some years ago, I immersed myself in THE BEATLES' recorded output and learned that RUBBER SOUL and ABBEY ROAD were my two favorites of theirs. A year or so later, I pulled the same stunt with BOB DYLAN and learned that I'm much more about the songs than the albums when it comes to the Bobster, but that, in a pinch, I'd have to go with BLONDE ON BLONDE (or maybe BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME, if I were afforded an additional pinch).
Which brings us to the Who. My favorite LP of theirs turned out to be an extremely easy choice: WHO'S NEXT. My favorite year for Who songs: 1966. Favorite Who song I'd never even heard before: "So Sad About Us." JOHN ENTWISTLE ditty I liked better than "Boris the Spider": "Doctor, Doctor." Song I vaguely remembered from my youth but hadn't thought about since my youth: "Eminence Front." General impression: Other than WHO'S NEXT, I didn't much care for the band's '70s efforts. QUADROPHENIA seems grossly overrated (TOMMY, too, when it comes down to it; guess I'm not a "rock opera" sort of guy).
So this begins a three-part series, with the others to follow in a week or so. Might as well start at the beginning....
[MP3] "I Can't Explain" [1965]
[MP3] "My Generation" [1965]
[MP3] "The Kids Are Alright" [1966]
[MP3] "Happy Jack" [1966]
[MP3] "Substitute" [1966]
[MP3] "I'm a Boy" [1966]
[MP3] "So Sad About Us" [1966]
[MP3] "Doctor, Doctor" [1967]
So I'm on iTUNES now. Have been for a couple months. Wasn't before because my old computer's operating system was too antiquated to support it. But now that I've essentially inherited my brother's computer: problem solved.
The other day I was sifting through his iTUNES library, lickity-split-erasing all traces of CREED, NICKELBACK, and THREE DOORS DOWN. Yes, it's sad-but-true: My brother had an unfortunate weakness for White Trash rock. It's probably what killed him. That, and years and years of beer....
Thankfully, my brother also had a soft spot for the more classic stuff. THE BEATLES, STONES, BOWIE, etc. And in clearing out his iTUNES library, I came upon one of his old favorites: THE GUESS WHO -- a Canadian band whose four albums from 1968-1970 spawned a rather impressive string of still-familiar hits. (As a kid, I would infuriate my brother by constantly confusing the Guess Who with THE WHO. "They're completely different bands!" he would shriek at me, occasionally refraining from punching me in the arm.)
So, without further ado, this one goes out to my brother STEVE. Rest easy, big fella.[MP3] "These Eyes" [1968]
[MP3] "Undun" [1969]
[MP3] "Laughing" [1969]
[MP3] "American Woman" [1970]
[MP3] "No Time" [1970]
[MP3] "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature" [1970]
[MP3] "Share the Land" [1970]
[MP3] "Hand Me Down World" [1970]
[MP3] HUSH THE MANY (HEED THE FEW)/"Revolve"
[MP3] ALIBI TOM/"Fire"
[MP3] LOW/"Monkey"
[MP3] THE WAVE PICTURES/"Strange Fruit or David"
[MP3] JUPITER ONE/"Turn Up the Radio"
[MP3] SARAH McLACHLAN/"Ice" [Dusted Mix]
Folks, just a note to let you know that I've been having major difficulties with my two main file-hosting sites -- BOXSTr and HotlinkFiles. Very frustrating, but I'll continue to do my best to get the tunes to you. BOXSTr's bandwidth is supposed to reset every 24 hours, so if you're unable to download a song at any given time, try again the following day. Or the day after that. You SHOULD meet with success. (Though, at this point, I'm not taking anything for granted....)
In March of 2006, I wrote about THE DRESDEN DOLLS thusly:
"The Dresden Dolls are a male/female duo from Boston who traffic in cabaret pop-punk. Their second record, YES, VIRGINIA, will be released on April 18. Though normally I might find this type of music a bit too "messy" for my tastes, there's something undeniably beguiling about it -- even as it always seems to be careening toward tunelessness. Yet, time and again, they manage to pull it back from the brink. Just call it 'infectiously vexing.' Or 'vexingly infectious.'"
All still true. While listening to the Dolls' upcoming release -- the it-logically-follows NO, VIRGINIA (May 20) -- I found myself focusing on the moany-moany machinations of AMANDA PALMER's vocals. Perhaps misunderstanding the phrase "sing from the diaphragm," the woman seems to summon her vox from a somewhat... er... um... lower spot on the anatomy than most singers. In fact, her herky-jerky histrionics have a way of making TORI AMOS sound downright dainty and demure. No small feat.NO, VIRGINIA is made up of tracks left over from the YES, VIRGINIA sessions, as well as some new tunes. THE DRESDEN DOLLS on MySPACE.
From the LP NO, VIRGINIA, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Ultima Esperanza"
[MP3] "The Sheep Song"
From the LP YES, VIRGINIA, 2006 >>>
[MP3] [VID] "My Alcoholic Friends"
[MP3] "Necessary Evil"
From their self-titled LP, 2004 >>>
[MP3] [VID] "Coin-Operated Boy"
[MP3] "The Jeep Song"
What with the plethora of "wolf"/"bear"/"monkey" bands & blogs in recent years, it's no wonder that some of them get lost in the general scrabble & scrum.Despite the hype surrounding their 2005 full-length debut, Montreal's WOLF PARADE didn't really dent my consciousness until February of the following year, when I finally took the time to sit down and give APOLOGIES TO THE QUEEN MARY a proper listen. I liked but did not love. But there was room to grow. And notice had been served.June 17 will see the release of LP2, AT MOUNT ZOOMER (formerly KISSING THE BEEHIVE). First time through, I'm more than liking; I'm close to loving; there's room to grow; this may be my favorite 2008 release to date; time will tell if this is merely eager-eared overpraising.Strangely enough, for this increasingly ADD-addled listener, it's the longer songs that are thus far denting my consciousness most forcefully. The two below, for starters. "California Dreamer," for another. Just very nice, assured grooves/vibes. Talented-but-scattershot teenagers developing into solid, dependable twentysomethings... metaphorically-speaking, at least. I'm liking this story. And I might just come to love it. WOLF PARADE on MySPACE.
From the LP AT MOUNT ZOOMER, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Language City"
[MP3] "Fine Young Cannibals"
From the LP APOLOGIES TO THE QUEEN MARY, 2005 >>>
[MP3] "Shine a Light"
[MP3] "It's a Curse"
Boy, I am such a patsy/pansy when it comes to being beguiled by Britpop.Upon first listen, I'm not sure that CAJUN DANCE PARTY's debut long-player, THE COLOURFUL LIFE, sounds much different from a hundred other entries in the genre (hell, even the album title could belong to THE KINKS, BLUR, COLDPLAY, or a hundred other Brit acts of various eras). But a few of the songs have that sound that's been pushing the right buttons for me for the last four or five years now, and, like Pavlov's dogs, I rush slobbering to my computer to post them for you.If you haven't already moved on and left me in your dust, here are a couple more links in the ever-lengthening chain....CAJUN DANCE PARTY on MySPACE.
[MP3] [VID] "The Race"
[MP3] [VID] "Amylase"
Yesterday, in commenting on JUICE NEWTON, substitute had this to say:"Juice Newton is back-of-the-station-wagon music along with Supertramp and ELO. Nostalgia for the Fritos and Orange Crush overwhelms me!"Ah, yes indeedy. Though, truth be told, I was always more of a Pepsi boy, myself. And Fritos always ran a distant third to Doritos and Cheetos in my little world. (Of course, this being the Detroit area, I should put in a plug for Better Made potato chips & Faygo. And Sanders hot fudge.)Anyway, we already gave ELO the "Sunday Showcase" treatment back in January, but SUPERTRAMP certainly deserves some lovin' as well (for the great, great "Logical Song" alone -- #6 US; #7 UK)....[MP3] "The Logical Song" [1979][MP3] "Take the Long Way Home" [1979][MP3] "Breakfast in America" [1979][MP3] "Give a Little Bit" [1977]
A bit of stream-of-consciousness posting to start the week....Yesterday, in commenting on JUICE NEWTON, Jami had this to say: "these songs were all about being in the car with mom. dad was still pining for the doors and the who and jimi. but when mom had control of the radio, these were the songs. for a trip even a little further back in the time machine that was mom's pinto, remember leo sayer? oh-wo-yay-yay. i love you more than i can say. i love you twice as much tomorrow. wo-oah. i love you more than i can say."Well, enough said. I didn't have a "mom's pinto" in my life, but I did have an "aunt june's mufflerless ford maverick." The car was forest green. The aunt had one leg, smoked like a chimney, and took out her frustrations on her dog, Taffy. She also made the best french toast in the history of the world (Aunt June, not Taffy). But that's not why you stopped by today....For me, the two LEO SAYER hits that resonate are "When I Need You" and the aforementioned "More Than I Can Say." The former went to #1 in the both the US and UK. The latter went to #2 in both places. And "I Can't Stop Loving You" -- which sounds quite a bit like "When I Need You" but nonetheless qualifies as one of Sayer's best efforts -- went to #6 in the UK. Guess we Americans were sleeping on that one.[Another stream-of-consciousness post is just hours away. Y'all come back now....] [MP3] "More Than I Can Say" [1980]
[MP3] "I Can't Stop Loving You (Though I Try)" [1978]
[MP3] "When I Need You" [1977]
There is something inherently annoying about JASON MRAZ. I think that "something" is his propensity for White Boy scat-rapping. Just take a gander at the lyrics for his song "Wordplay" (I was merely going to excerpt this, but, with a song this abysmal, you really have to try to wrap your mind around the whole rancid enchilada):
