Song of The Day #154

"Do They Know It's Halowe'en" by North American Halloween Prevention Initiative

Happy Halloween!

Song of The Day #153

"Spiritual Celebration" by Dream Colour

This is one of those instances where the name of the song describes it perfectly. Another Not Not Fun classic.

Song of The Day #152

"Black Jub" by Mock & Toof

Thought I'd end the school week with this underrated '07 jam. It's Friday night, it's Halloween weekend, I'm seeing The Books tonight at The Vic--let's party (safely and responsibly)!

Song of The Day #151

"Love To Love You Baby" by Donna Summer

(Let it be known that I'm referring to the original, side-spanning, 17 minute, glorious full version of this song.) I'm always amazed when I'm listening to this that a song with so many orgasms could get so much airplay. Seriously, there's an orgasm every thirty seconds or so in this song, which makes for--and this is an estimate--about thirty orgasms. But they're completely understandable in context because this is what sex is supposed to sound like: shimmery, breathy, and totally funky. Moroder and Summer is a partnership that belongs in the pantheon of awesome partnerships right alongside Bacharach and Warwick, or Spector and The Crystals, or any other great partnership...

Song of The Day #150

"(What Can I Say Dear) After I Say I'm Sorry" by Josephine Baker

150! It feels like we were at 100 only yesterday, or maybe about fifty days ago. To honor this momentous milestone, let's all listen to one of the coolest chicks of the 20th century. Ms. Baker was not only a talented singer and actress, but a talented French spy too! How cool is that? She could sings songs as catchy as this one and spill American secrets at the same time. Respect.

Song of The Day #149

"Back In Judy's Jungle" by Brian Eno

Nice, jaunty, 6/8 tune from the Master in his '70s prime--but if the leaked tracks from his forthcoming Small Craft On A Milk Sea are any indication, Mr. Eno may be currently going through a second prime, if that's even possible, a good thirty years after his first.

Song of The Day #148

"Stealing In The Name Of Jah" by Max Romeo

I'm guessing this song is a reference to some Bible story that I'm not familiar with because, if not, it's kind of weird. It's kind of weird anyways, I guess.

Song of The Day #147

"So And Slow It Grows" by Wir

This song was technically released by Wir, but Wir is really just legendary post-punk-ers Wire in the early '90s after Robert Gotobed left the group. Why they dropped the "e" for such a short period of time is somewhat of a mystery--at least to me--and it's kind of a stupid idea. That said, the loss of the final letter didn't result in the loss of songwriting ability. "So And Slow It Grows" is a choppy, new-wave-y, rave-y dance track that's as catchy as it is weird. And while it, like the rest of Wire's dance music, isn't quite as amazing as the stuff on Pink Flag, Chairs Missing, or 154, it's still worth your time.

Song of The Day #146

"Dear Old Stockholm" by Miles Davis

It's a great enough track with just Miles's breezy muted trumpet recalling the wonderfulness of Sweden's capital, but then John Coltrane comes in with a sax solo that solidifies the song's genius.

Song of The Day #145

"Storming Heaven" by Pink Reason

Lo-fi acoustic post-punk? Sounds like something I could get into. And that's more or less what Pink Reason is: a doomy, gloomy, Joy Division-y post-punk group with Jandek acoustic strumming and absolute shit production. "Storming Heaven" is their album Cleaning The Mirror's centerpiece, a brooding seven-minute dirge full of wailing fuzz and dissonance.

Song of The Day #144

"Dig A Pony" by Laibach

There are just some of those covers that trump the original. This is not one of them. But it's thoroughly entertaining.

Song of The Day #143

"Iraqi 6" by Saadoun Al-Bayati

This piece is just awesome. It consists of various hand percussion patterns that basically never repeat, shift meter and tempo like it's their job, and are each intricate and interesting in their own right. Like the best Middle Eastern music, the tune has a droning effect--despite the frantic, kinetic, non-repeating nature of the percussion. While it's sparse, it's anything but simple. They should've declared war on us for having collectively subpar composition abilities.

Song of The Day #142

"In Falling Timbers Buried" by Josephine Foster

I like her. She has a pretty voice. And she's a weirdo. And this song is nice.

Song of The Day #141

"Zombie Warfare (Can't Let You Down)" by Chrome

The first half of this song--the "Zombie Warfare" bit, perhaps--is a driving cock-rock anthem, albeit with a little bit of post-punk, proto-industrial clatter in the mix. Then it breaks down into some noise before reemerging as a skittery, jittery, Butthole-y, Jesus Lizard-y, "Ritual Feast of the Libido"-y, apocalyptic punk nightmare--presumably the "Can't Let You Down" portion. Overall, a great song and a wonderful testament to the obscure influential-ness of Chrome.

Song of The Day #140

"Be Thankful For What You Got" by Massive Attack

I saw Massive Attack last night, and it was arguably the best show I've seen this year. They're just so freaking cool, and their music is so freaking good. And, while they didn't play this particular song, I was certainly thankful for what I got.

Song of The Day #139

"Hey Light" by Animal Collective

Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!

Song of The Day #138

"Controversy" by Prince

My favorite Prince song changes from week to week, even day to day. Today, well, it's "Controversy". Hailing from the slightly forgettable album of the same name, "Controversy" shows off Prince at his absolute funkiest. Skittering guitar riffs and Zapp-y synths are aflutter as Prince sings "Do I believe in God/Do I believe in me"--a sentiment that, while arguably cliche, is provocatively likable. That the organ follows the melody adds that perfect maximalist punch that nearly every Prince tune has. Hearing songs like this and albums like, well, almost every album Prince has ever made makes me proud to say that Prince Rogers Nelson is among the most talented musicians ever. Top ten. Quote me.

Song of The Day #137

"The Eternal" by Joy Division

All Joy Division song are devastating, but what makes "The Eternal" even more devastating than the rest is its restraint. It goes on for over six minutes all synth-y and whisper-y, and it never explodes. It's placid. It's so icy and disconnected, and that's because the music is simple and accessible. Ian Curtis, as he sings about funerals and dying children, sounds defeated--and judging by the context in which this song was recorded, he probably was. "The Eternal" is a ballad of the dying, of the weak, of the defeated, and it's also one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.

Song of The Day #136

"Rita" by Bruce Haack

This is one of Bruce Haack's most downright fun songs, which is saying a lot considering his catalogue. A pulsing, glitchy, minimal rock n' roll tune about the titular woman, "Rita" is both a party-starter and a thought-provoker.

Song of The Day #135

"OV" by Orthrelm

Whether or not this is truly a song is up for debate--at over forty-five minutes it fills an entire album--but I don't really care about that. What I care about is that "OV" is one of the more impressive pieces of music I've heard. Its minimalism is hypnotic despite it being painfully aggressive and extremely heavy, and that it doesn't let up even for a second proves it to be an endurance test for anyone with a pair of ears. What's most impressive is that it's the work of two men, a guitarist and a drummer, and they play at speeds and frequencies that most accomplished musicians just can't replicate. And they play this way without stopping for the better part of an hour.

Song of The Day #134

"The More I See You" by Chris Montez

I like this song for its meekness, its bounce, its proto-Yo La Tengo sloppiness, its unique timbres, its diverse styles, its cleverness, and its lack of pretension. But, more importantly, I like it because it makes me happy.

Song of The Day #133

"Track 05" by Panda Bear

I liked this song, from Panda Bear's underheard Young Prayer, for a while just because of its catchy, multitracked, repeated, minimalist vocal hook. It's catchy. It sounds cool. But after really concentrating on the lyrics for the first time last week and hearing what those voices are actually saying, I like the song ten times better. When taken in the context in which the song was written (shortly after the death of Noah Lennox's father), the song becomes unbearably beautiful and heartbreaking (in addition to being catchy and sounding cool).

Song of The Day #132

"Snake Mistakes" by Dan Deacon

Listening to Dan Deacon gives you the best kind of headache you could ever want--but, as noisy as he gets, Deacon knows when to pull back those hard-hitting, primitive electronic blurps and prove that he's a truly gifted artist/composer. "Snake Mistakes" contains a few of the most manic, maximalist minutes on my hard drive, but it's most memorable for its stunning vocoder'd breakdown: "My dad is so cool..."

Song of The Day #131

"Amazing Grace" by A.C. Roberts

What? You don't know A.C. Roberts? I'm just kidding. I bought his CD, Bagpipe Classics, at a gas station in Arkansas about five years ago because, weird little 13-year-old I was, I was obsessed with bagpipes and rural gas stations. This rendition of "Amazing Grace" is actually pretty nice, though; he and his bagpipes do justice to one of Western civilization's most recognizable tunes. (P.S. I can't believe I found that image.)

Song of The Day #130

"Whenimondamic" by Lootpack

This song sums up my eighth grade year quite nicely. Seriously though, I spent that whole year listening to Stones Throw and like-minded hip-hop. Looking back on this track, though, I still dig it.

Song of The Day #129

"Gone Beyond" by Akron/Family

"Gone Beyond" is just a really pretty, simple folk song. It's got just a few words, some fancy guitar-work, and a bunch of quiet but driving percussion. And in the context of Meek Warrior, the moderately challenging free-folk album from which it comes, it's especially refreshing. Over the last few days, actually, it might be my most played song.

Song of The Day #128

"Phenomenal Cat" by The Kinks

Leave it to The Kinks to make a song this bizarre and yet accessible and endearing.