Hooray for summer

Heed the words of Grandaddy.

Hey, is Dee Dee home?

Among my books on deck (that is to say, not my next read, but the books vying for that coveted book after next spot) is Martin Torgoff's Can't Find My Way Home: America in the Great Stoned Age 1945-2000. It will be a change of pace at the very least. In thinking about the book, I tried to think of some of the best songs about drugs and came up with the Lemonheads Drug Buddy and the Heartbreaker's Chinese Rocks. Neither paints a terribly attractive picture. Videos below.

Good vid

I am really loving this Helio Sequence song at the moment. It makes me think of Wilco, the National, Band of Horses and maybe R.E.M. Bonus, the video is shot in many PDX locales. See what you can identify.

As nerdy as they want to be

One of the many reasons I listen to indie rock is that I suspect all those people are nerds. While it doesn't prove the broader case, this video of Butterglory's 1996 She's Got the Akshun! certainly argues in favor. It's not often you get Pavement-esque rock with a little LARP on the side.

Not the face of the one you love

I wager you noticed the Danzig song Mother used as background music for the Terminator TV show. Much though I make fun of him, this is a very good song and it is great to hear it on TV. The video made it clear that the Danzig of the Misfits and the fun Ramoneseque paeans to 50s and 60s horror and scifi movies was no more. No, in this video, he is become the Herald of Satan with lots of upside crosses, scary John Bunyan quotes, scary lighting and a ritual sacrifice scene. Watch this interview where Glen shows that he is both evil AND learned. A nice chaser is parody Danzig singing his grocery list.

Scanning the online Netflix movies I see that my second favorite (first favorite? Ghouls Night Out) Misfits song's title comes from an actual movie. Astrozombies rates an astonishing 2.5 out of ten on Imdb. Perhaps you can satisfy your curiosity with some film footage set to the song.

Update: While I felt the grocery list song was sufficient to balance out that insane interview, Brack believes that karmic justice demands that I post the video of Danzig getting clocked. Apparently his martial arts training didn't help.

If only to punish you, for listening too much to one song

One of my college roommates once blasted Garth Brooks's Friends in Low Places ten times in a row, so that we could all hear and enjoy it (Full disclosure: it was my CD) . He didn't have the excuse of drinking either. On the plus side, he probably worked out his desire to hear the song.

When I was trapped on the 12 hour plane ride from Shanghai with only a single book I wanted to read, I had to rely on my Ipod (along with wine and Benadryl) to stay sane. Like my friend, I had the bad habit of listening to the same songs over and over again on the plane. Here are some of the songs I will soon be avoiding.

Mistakes and Regrets - ....And You Will Know Us By the Trail of the Dead. Without question my favorite song of late January 2008. The quiet, loud start is fantastic and the opening lyric is wonderful (If I could make a list/of my mistakes and regrets/ I'd put your name on top.) I dig the video, except for the obvious impossibility of all that dancing at an indie rock show. Either that crowd is rolling or they stole kids from a DMB show.

Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out - The Replacements. Some people like the Replacements for their thoughtful songs about teenage alienation, but I like the snotty ones. Listen for the whispered voice of the doctor hitting on the nurse. From the same band, check the Alex Chilton anti-video.

Shine A Light - Wolf Parade. This one miraculously went from over-listened to shunned and back to over-listening. This is rare indeed. This song is one of the finest arguments for promoting synths and percussion over guitars. And the video is hilarious.

Here are a few covers I (at least kinda sorta) wish I had on the plane.

Silver Stallion - Cat Power. Back before they were cool, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson had a country super-group called the Highwaymen. If you don't know the band, acquaint yourself immediately. Their excellent songs are marred only by the cheesy 80s production, so this cover by Chan Marshall is welcome.

Jailbreak - Dropkick Murphys. The song that most needs the ultimate cover is the hookalicious wonder from Thin Lizzy and this version...isn't it. An update either needs the space between instruments provided by the likes of Spoon or the the power of Shellac, Sleater-Kinney or Slipknot. Oh well, maybe this cover will inspire.

Hang Me Out to Dry - Kate Nash. I am not sure whether I should love or hate this. Nash certainly puts her mark on this one and while I like the fiddle, I miss the aggression of the original.

Playing songs bringing tears to my eyes

If you have half an hour to kill, read the Washington Post's Two Minute Man columns. David Malitz reviews the songs he hears on the radio during his two minute drive to the coffee shop. You get the videos and some hilarious commentary. Here he is on the Coachella-headlining Jack Johnson(!!)

The new single from this Hawaiian surf-rock dude is as good-natured and mellow as you'd expect. It's the most wholly inoffensive thing you could ever conjure up. Yacht Rock for the 21st century. The freshman girls rushing tri-delt will love it.

A really good cover

The Beatles playing Led Zeppelin? OK not really, but a very good Beatles tribute act playing Stairway to Heaven is almost as good as it gets in cover terms. Thanks HLK.

Some songs I like of late

Here are the songs I am soon to no longer like because I will have overplayed them.

Band of Horses Is There a Ghost. In general these guys seem to be a little indie rock, a little alt-country. This one is almost all indie rock. Here the band's Ben Bridwell answers a few questions for Pitchfork. I concur with his assessment that Powderfinger has one of the best opening lines in all of rock. I was also happy to see that his favorite club in which to play is Portland's Crystal.

Okkervil River Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe. The album got a lot of buzz when it came out, but I just got it. Very nice one.

Metric Love is A Place. These guys are generally more a New Wave rock outfit, but this one is more mellow.

Book related music

Tegan & Sara's addictive Back in Your Head starts out with "Build a wall of books between us in our bed," which got me thinking about book related tunes. Yes, yes, in the case of this song books are a symbol of a decayed relationship, but there aren't that many songs that tie directly to reading and books.

The erudite Morrissey puts out one of the most litero-centric songs of all time in Cemetery Gates. I doubt we will ever see so many poesy references in a pop song again.

For whatever reason, Sting caught flack for his Lo-lee-ta reference in Don't Stand So Close to Me. I suspect this was due to people thinking Sting can be pompous rather than for daring to reference a work of fiction in a pop song. And I think it is an appropriate reference in this case.

In the horror genre, Metallica's the Thing that Should Not Be is entirely about Lovecraft's Cthulhu. The even have an instrumental called Call of Ktulu, referencing Lovecraft's Call of Cthulhu.

In Weezer's nerd anthem, In the Garage, Rivers Cuomo gives us not only Nightcrawler but also Kitty Pryde.

Don't tell him how to make a record, he was in Nirvana

Has there ever been a major label band in love with the cover as much as the Foo Fighters*? You've probably heard their cover of Band on the Run (with all its bizarre changes, it allows for all sorts of fun.) It doesn't reach the glory of Baker Street, surely one of the world's finest covers.

But that is just the start of the coverdom.I have a special place in my heart for the creeptacular cover of Gary Numan's Down in the Park. And who on Earth has ever covered Ace Frehley? The Foo Fighters, and very well I might add. And why not cover The Arcade Fire?

God bless you Mr. Grohl.

*Well, OK, maybe the Byrds.

Eating up the eighties

Sometime in the early 80s I first ran into MTV and I became fascinated by the videos. Here are some key moments of the era.

Styx - Too Much Time on My Hands. I believe this is the first video I saw on MTV. I like the excessive gesturing and facial expressions.

Cheap Trick - She's Tight. At age 12 or so, I thought this was unbelievably dirty. Little did I know we were only a few years from the 2 Live Crew.

Billy Squier - The Stroke. At the time, I assumed this about some vile act beyond my ken. I still don't know what it is about.

Joan Jett - Do You Wanna Touch. Young teen Tripp enjoyed the unambiguous nature of this anthem.

Michael Nesmith - Cruisin. Awesome doesn't suffice in describing this one. It's a long way from Daydream Believer.

David Bowie - Ashes to Ashes. So my favorite Bowie song. Soaring music, articulate and evocative lyrics and a super arty video.

Devo - Whip It. This anti-establishment rock has held up much better than hardcore.

J Geils - Centerfold. This song and video were unavoidable and planted the notion that someone you know might end up in a"girlie" magazine. 80s scholars are in agreement that Love Stinks is the superior song. The Adam Sandler version is funny.

Police - Don't Stand So Close to Me. Before Sting turned into a Very Important Artist, he had a good sense of humor as seen here.

The Producers - What's He Got. Most notable for the neck-strap keyboard and odd opener.

No Christmas cards to send

The Ramones heyday predated the MTV era, which means their video production was scant. Not only that, but the selection is peculiar. Why does Howling at the Moon have a video, but not My Brain is Hanging Upside Down? In any case, here are many if not most of the Ramones videos up to the late 80s.

I Wanna Be Sedated. The one Ramones song you have probably heard too many times. It's not to the point of Jane Says, which I immediately turn off, but like How Soon is Now, it is the only song from a huge catalog that radio seems to like.

Rock and Roll Radio. One of the early videos that simply features the band playing. Notable primarily for the Phil Spector sound and Joey's rhythmic banging on the TV.

Rock and Roll High School. A contemporary to the thematically similar Don't Stand So Close to Me ( a highlight of which is Stewart Copeland throwing a ball at Sting) This one has more narrative action than Rock and Roll Radio. From the Rock and Roll High School film, we also have I Want You Around, which is a film clip, rather than a true video. This is notable for having PJ Soles as well as being perhaps the only example of a successful Ramones ballad.

Howling at the Moon. I think this is the first case where Joey overtly states his leftist ways, no doubt to the consternation of rightist Johnny. Odd video.

Psycho Therapy. From the under-rated Subterranean Jungle, this is one of the harder Ramones songs. The video starts off fairly weak and then gets increasingly bizarre. Starring the same guy from the Howling at the Moon video.

Pet Sematery. Decadence has set in by this point, but bright lights remain like this one. When considering going forward, they might have considered Jud Crandall's advice.

Hey Wow

The other day I visited a friend's house here in Portland and I was surprised to see a Connells poster. I associate the band with the 1980s Southern Alternative Rock scene that centered on IRS period REM, not so much in the Athens sense, but in the broader jangle guitar rock sound. Apparently they are still involved in said southern rock scene, as here they are playing my very own Norfolk's Town Point Park in 07. Equally strange, the drummer married one of childhood babysitters. Here is an actual video I missed for 74-75. Not my favorite, but reasonably representative.

Another band I associate with this scene is the dBs, and here is Amplifier which remains an excellent song and a decent video to boot. The very good Like This has been reissued which has Amplifier and my other fave Spy in the House of Love.

Ok, so I made up the category of southern alternative rock, but that is how it is organized in my head.

And there stands REM

Stereogum lined up indie rockers to cover Automatic for the People. These aren't the play faster and less well covers we so often get. You may not like them, but at least they put some thought into them.

Speaking of music, I caught the National the other night. Mistaken for Strangers, Fake Empire and a number of songs that were new to me got the crowd going. I would say that it was a decent, but not great show. The stage presence was inward without the intensity of Interpol and a bit chaotic, not unlike the Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene.

The National is part of the welcome trend of multi-instrument bands that create, as NBK puts it, distinct moods. While I like a straight ahead rock song as much as anyone else, the current crop of indie mood rockers are so much more engaging.

The song that encapsulates the 90s

NBK and I were debating which song most defines the music of the 90s. I submit that it is Fastball's The Way. NBK posits that is Life is a Highway by the Lunatic Fringe Guy.

Give something new a try

Although I have much love for Interpol, I am really not that into their videos. The link between the song and the video is often tenuous at best. Have a look at the new one No I in Threesome. Given the plaintive nature of the song, I suppose the video is a warning. If you ask your lay-dee if another can join you in the sack you are going to be a lonely old man. This one is in the spirit of C'Mere. That song about unrequited love features nature boy and the snow fairy. Longing for the unobtainable I suppose.

The pinnacle of Interpol video goodness is Obstacle 1. The urgency of the signing is matched by the manic dancing of sweater girl. This video's evil descendant is Evil, which features the scariest dancing puppet of all time. Slow Hands is OK. The action is slowed and sped up, which emphasizes the high tempo wonder of the song. PDA is decent, it's a sort of frenetic combination of the Ring and a Peter Gabriel video.

What about the voice of Geddy Lee?

In one of Pavement's finest moments, the question is asked as to whether Geddy Lee talks like an ordinary guy. Well apparently Broken Social Scene is the fact checkin cuz, as seen in this video, which has Geddy Lee judging the voices of various BSS members (and in a bit of video referencing this video clearly borrows from the Yo La Tengo Rock School video.) He does in fact talk like an ordinary guy.

Making good friends with you

Ooooo, take a look at this very early Pixies promo vid for Tame. I like the longish Black Francis hair. The Pixies were never that known for videos, but through the power of YouTube here is some Pixies fun for your enjoyment.

Monkey Gone to Heaven - on Letterman for the reunion. - original video here.

Velouria - This is the hopping on rocks in slo-mo video that host Dave Kendall (what's he doing now? Working on something called Porn Valley) dissed.

Digging for Fire - Not all that exciting aside from the Kim Deal getting dressed in leather part.

Alec Eiffel - Really good song, really bad video. Making good videos doesn't make no SENSE.

Here Comes Your Man - An attack on the notion of videos.

What the?

Since I have been talking about covers, here is a cover mystery. One of my favorite songs of all time is The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. Joan Baez made a decent cover, although with some odd word changes ( the Robert E Lee vs. Robert Lee, drove vs. serve for example.) On Ridin the Rails, a TV special, Johnny Cash played part of an awesome cover of the song.

I knew Cash had a studio release of the cover, which I assumed was the Ridin the Rails version. Not so. This appears to be it. It reminds me of late 70s Jimmy Buffett, and I mean that in the worst way possible. What the heck? Who else has made an awesome and a terrible version of the same song?