Song of The Day #197

"Manic Depression" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience

Trying to continue the push towards SOTD 200. Trying to post more frequently. Happy SAG Awards.

Song of The Day #196

"It's Your Thing" by Cold Grits

Alas, second-semester-seniordom has rendered me so lazy I don't even have the will to take three minutes to craft Il Buono's Song of The Day posts. But, as of today, January 24, I will try to keep up the blog a little better. Today's SOTD is "It's Your Thing," which is an organ-driven, more or less instrumental (there's some unintelligible humming and mumbling) funk jam from Cold Grits, may sound familiar seeing as it's sampled on Kanye West's "POWER." Great sample notwithstanding, though, "It's Your Thing" is a great song, fraught with wah and grease like any good funk tune from a band with "grits" in their name should be.

Song of The Day #195

"Maria Callas" by Christian Marclay

The only thing more beautiful than a recording of Maria Callas's voice is several recordings of her voice played at the same time in warped speeds on records that are broken and stapled together and stuff. Right? Well, sort of. Christian Marclay does just that--the many recordings I mean--and creates, with Ms. Callas's voice, a very bizarre but nonetheless beautiful track.

Song of The Day #194

"The Dead Flag Blues" by Godspeed You! Black Emperor

...and we're back! After a much needed vacation (yes, even bloggers who write blogs that are high on brevity and low on readers need vacations), Il Buono should be pumpin' out Songs of The Day at a, well, daily rate as usual. Today's song isn't necessarily a song--a piece perhaps, or an aural story. Whatever you call it, it's awesome. "The Dead Flag Blues" was the first I ever heard from GY!BE, and it struck me like few other pieces of music ever had. (That I was alone in a dark basement when I was fourteen blaring it at a deafening volume may have had something to do with it...) Regardless of circumstance, "The Dead Flag Blues" was, and still is, so affecting less because of the story it tells--a horrifying story narrated by an Anton Chigurh soundalike--and more because the swirling, spiritual cacophony that envelops the narration pulls the listener (a.k.a. you) into the story. You're trapped. When that train comes, you feel like you're standing on the platform, you know?