been a while

i've been on the road a little and working a lot since i came home. i was able to continue to catalog the voices--i mean music in my hed first thing in the morning. here's the list:

6/13: Don't Close the Door by Geggy Tah
6/14: Such Great Heights by The Postal Service
6/15: I Dig Your Voodoo by The Naughty Ones
6/17: We Love Deez Hoes by Outkast
6/20: Die All Right by The Hives
6/22: Freak Me by Silk (watch the video)
6/24: The Word by The Beatles
6/26: Don Camero Lost His Mind by Guttermouth
6/26: Never Tear Us Apart by INXS
6/27 Human Behavior by Björk

whew. here starts volume 2 of the 1st thing in the morning playlist. the gaps in the dates represent either a repeat after i listened to the playlist or waking up with nothing that day. here is a quick rundown of the selections:

Geggy Tah's biggest hit was 1996s "Whoever You Are" off the album Sacred Cow. the title track is awesome.

The Postal Service is Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard and Dntel's Jimmy Tamborello. they mailed CD-Rs back and forth to each other to create tis album, hence the name (and subsequent lawsuit): The Postal Service.

"I Dig Your Voodoo" is the only song on their album that The Naughty Ones wrote. that is not a desparaging remark, just stating a fact. it's good, though. the whole album is good, as i've stated earlier.

"We Love Deeze Hoes" is one of about 5 songs on the album Stankonia that is not available for download on iTunes. WTF, Apple?

The Hives are supposed to put on the best rock show EVAR!!1!1 but i wouldn't know because i stood outside of Emo's for two hours trying to see them during SXSW a few years ago.

Silk's "Freak Me" is my favorite song right now. i crack up every time i listen to it. watch the freakin' video.

then there's The Beatles song. good stuff, of course.

the Guttermouth song is from a great album i have called Short Music for Short People. it's an album of 30-second songs. there are 100 tracks on this album. this is Fat Mike's (Fat Wreck Chords, NOFX) brainchild.

i have one thing to say about INXS: the new, who-wants-to-be-a-rock-star INXS is BOGUS. old-skool INXS or nothing as far as i'm concerned.

i misidentified the Björk song as a Sugarcubes song when i woke up this morning. wishful thinking, i think.

ok, so i'll get back on track now.
xoxo
--joey

never stop

every day i wake up with a new song in my head. today i believe my operating system crashed.

song: Start Me Up
artist: The Rolling Stones


remember when i posed the question: Remember when the Stones were good? i pose that question again with today's song. many of you will remember when Windows 95 came out. what song was on the commercial? "Start Me Up." you couldn't watch tv for 10 minutes without seeing this commercial and hearing this song. Microsoft forever ruined it for me.

breakin' rocks

i wake up with a different song in my head every morning. i woke up with today's song three times this morning.

song: Chain Gang (The Work Song)
artist: Nina Simone

i stand corrected. according to her website, it's Dr. Nina Simone.

i feel just like this song today. i was working out in the yard in the hot sun all day yesterday. i felt like i was breakin' rocks for the man. but in this case "breakin' rocks" was putting mulch in the flower beds and "the man" was me. so ok, maybe it's not the same thing but it sure felt like it yesterday.

damn, i love Nina Simone. she has that voice that you just know that she's singing the blues and she feels every bit of it. every time i hear her sing i get the chills. no matter what she's singing. that voice just gets to me. i can feel whatever it is she's feeling. say what you will about Ella Fitzgerald or Billie Holiday, but for my money, Nina's blues are where it's at.

it ain't pretty

another day, another song stuck in my head first thing in the morning.

song: A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off
artist: The Magnetic Fields

Stephin Merritt is a busy guy. he's in four bands. five if you include his solo works. he writes movie soundtracks as well as soundtracks to books. the upcoming 13th and final volume of the Lemony Snicket series will be released in conjunction with a soundtrack album by The Magnetic Fields this october.

today's song was released on TMF's hugely successful album "69 Love Songs." this 3 disc set is exactly what it claims to be--69 love songs. the song is poppy and upbeat, though the album runs the gambit of slow ballads to electronica to folk to chamber music. his wit and humor are represented in many songs (as is evident in today's tune), as is his serious side when dealing with matters of the heart. in short, The Magnetic Fields are worth picking up if for no other reason than to broaden your horizons with good, honest music.

bayou music

more proof that i have no idea how my brain works.
i wake up woke a new song stuck in my head EVERY MORNING. it is very strange because it's a different one every day. so i decided to post them here, make a playlist of all the songs and see what it would sound like if i sat down and listened in order. today, i add to that momentous task.

song: Lodi
artist: Creedence Clearwater Revival

this is how i know i'm crazy:
the song is called "Lodi." i know i've heard that at least once in my life. but i wake up singing "oh lord. stuck in a low di-a-gin." what the hell am i singing? what the hell is a "low di-a-gin?" ok, so maybe i'll chalk it up to it being first thing in the morning and just move on.

Let me just also clear up a common misconception: CCR were not "Born on a Bayou" as the song may claim. they are from the San Francisco Bay Area. they just chose to sing about the south and living in the south and being southerners. what's the matter boys, jealous?

the genius of weird al

maybe it was yesterday's post that made this happen, but today i got a touched by a genius (not literally, gosh. get your collective heads out of the gutter)

song: I Was Only Kidding
artist: Weird Al

i know what you're thinking: "What song is this a parody of?" Well i'm here to tell you that it's a genuine original. that's right. Weird Al is no one trick pony. he actually writes his own songs, too. many of them are better and funnier than the parodies he does. in the case of "I Was Only Kidding" the song starts out as a pretty love song where Al is telling his "love" that when he said all of those nice things about her, he "was only kidding." ok, it's not one of his best originals. it's no "One More Minute" or "Since You've Been gone" or even my favorite "Hardware Store," but still funny by Al standards. and if i could control what songs pop into my head every morning, i wouldn't be entertaining any of you jerks, now would i?

superheros

we all know what's going on here by now. i wake up with a new song stuck in my head, yadda yadda yadda. here's a classic 80s tune and an inspiration for a new mix:

song: Superman
artist: REM

while singing this song in my head i had "Sunshine Superman" by Donovan jump in there. i decided then and there to compile a mix of superhero songs. i can only think of a few, though. i have "Ode to a Superhero" by Weird Al in addition to the other two songs. any suggestions?

pure, unadulterated evil

amazing.
i wake up every morning with a diff'rent song stuck in my head. an "ear worm" if you will. the song is usually gone by the time i get out of the shower, but i decided to see if i could try to remember them. i'm feeling incomplete.

song: She's Undone
artist: The Evildoers

in what could only be called the most amazing coincidence known to man, today's song is by a great band whose long awaited EP comes out today!!! The Evildoers hail from right here in Austin and are about to hit the bigtime with their self-proclaimed "Cock Pop" sound. "She's Undone," the EP's first track is a powerful pop song featuring multi-layered sounds that could only be described as hevenly. the sound is so solid on this track that, in my humble opinion, it is grammy-worthy. i can't wait to see The Evildoers' next show so i can hear them perform this amazing song in person. go check out their website and buy this cd. you won't regret it.

the following post was in no way paid for by The Evildoers or their drummer, who is awesomer than awesome.

coolin' by the lockers

and now for today's real blog entry:
i wake up every morning with a diff'rent song stuck in my head. an "ear worm" if you will. the song is usually gone by the time i get out of the shower, but i decided to see if i could try to remember them. now she's on my tip.

song: Brass Monkey
artist: Richard Cheese

Richard Cheese's cover of the Beastie Boys' classic "Brass Monkey" has got to be the best cover of a rap song EVAR!!!1!1! for those not familiar with Richard Cheese you only need to know three things: he's a vegas lounge act. his band is called Lounge Against the Machine. and he does nothing but covers. how flipping cool is that? ok, so maybe the lounge thing is a little played out, but trust me, give ol' Dick a try. i have two of his five albums: I'd Like a Virgin and Aperitif for Destruction. both are fall on the floor funny. and i like to laugh.

paris blues

i wake up every morning with a diff'rent song stuck in my head. an "ear worm" if you will. the song is usually gone by the time i get out of the shower, but i decided to see if i could try to remember them. can't lose these blues today.

song: Azure Te
artist: The Naughty Ones

The Naughty Ones were Austin's hipster lounge super group. released in 1994, the album I Dig Your Voodoo was played in every establisment in town. every coffeeshop and resturant had it playing on their sound system. every bar had it in their juke box. and for good reason--it's that good. if you can find a copy of this cd, buy it. you will not be disappointed.

large, fuzzy dice

gentlemen, start your engines.
i wake up every morning with a diff'rent song stuck in my head. an "ear worm" if you will. the song is usually gone by the time i get out of the shower, but i decided to see if i could try to remember them. the green flag is out, and we're off.

song: Race Car Ya-Yas
artist: Cake

last tuesday was the 95th anniversary of the very first Indianapolis 500 race. i know this because John Aielli told me on his show Eklektikos. for those of you not familiar with his show, he likes to play sets of music with a theme in mind. on tuesday he played songs about cars and racing ans what not. usually he knows his stuff, but i guess he saw this Cake song had the palindrome "race car" in the title and he played it. but he forgot one thing: the forst two verses contain the line "The land where large, fuzzy dice still hang proudly, like testicles from rear view mirrors." the song was ripped from the airwaves soon after he realized his mistake, replaced with a Jan and Dean song. now, i know john has heard cake before. he has played entire sets of their music, but somehow this slipped his mind. not that there's anything wrong with the word "Testicles", but this is a public radio station and i'm sure he was going to get heat from it so he yanked it. and he never mentioned it on the air after that, either.

by the way, Cake's website has the most fascinating quote on the index page.

a band i love

i wake up every morning with a diff'rent song stuck in my head. an "ear worm" if you will. the song is usually gone by the time i get out of the shower, but i decided to see if i could try to remember them. poppy-pop-pop music today.

song: Small
artist: Dressy Bessy

"Small" marks the first song on this list that i am truely excited about. i love this band. they are a great, great power pop band. every single one of their songs is infectious. i can't help but bop around as i listen to them. plus, they are super nice. i recently had a chance to see them at an in-store appearance and afterwards i spoke briefly with the band. what a bunch of cool kids. Tammy is especaially nice and down to earth. i can't wait to see them again.

(this post was guest written by a sisteen-year-old girl)

ain't too proud

summary:
i wake up every morning with a diff'rent song stuck in my head. an "ear worm" if you will. the song is usually gone by the time i get out of the shower, but i decided to see if i could try to remember them. i got some dinosuars today.

song: Ain't Too Proud To Beg
artist: Rolling Stones

it was another morning of bad, bad music for me this morning. i don't even remember the song, which is good. as i was lying on bed trying to figure out why i torture myself by waking up with horrible 80s pop songs in my head, i immediately fell back to sleep. i woke up refreshed and found the Stones in my head doing this magical cover of this great Temptations song. the really do it justice. from the opening line, "I know you want to leave me," Mick Jagger pours every ounce of soul into this number, really turning the soul facter up to eleven in this song. and it works. remember when the Stones were good?

bad music

earlier:
i wake up every morning with a diff'rent song stuck in my head. an "ear worm" if you will. the song is usually gone by the time i get out of the shower, but i decided to see if i could try to remember them. believe me, i tried to forget this one today.

song: Catch Me I'm Falling
artist: Pretty Poison

i know what you're thinking: what the hell is he smoking? i wish i knew. one thing i know is that this song sucks. a lot. It doesn't even get props for being included on the soundtrack to the John Cryer vehicle, Hiding Out. i really didn't want this song to be on this list, but as i have no control over this (obviously) here it is. i even tried the "fall-back-asleep-and-hope-there's-a-new-song-there-when-i-wake-up-again-in-ten-minutes" trick. but it was still there. TWICE! luckily for me this song is not available for download on iTunes. oh well.