Then let me point you to a blog run by a former coworker of mine.
Ememon
While it's not solely about music, his pop song reviews are almost always the opposite of mine. It's an interesting counter point to my mostly negative view of the pop landscape.
I just wanted to give my friend a little plug, since often times you commentors will express that I'm an idiot for not liking a song (or in the case of Motivation, my dislike clearly shows my whiteness...? How a song opinion expresses color is something I'll leave to cultural anthropologists.)
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Pumpkinpaloosa!
Today did not start out very well, but I used music to help turn it around. Aside from a little Childish Gambino, I listened to one of my all time favorite bands, The Smashing Pumpkins. In celebration, I declared today Smashing Pumpkins day.
I'd like to share some of my favorite Pumpkins songs with you. To prevent this from being too huge, I'll try to keep it to one or two songs per album, though there will be a few tracks from non albums. There will be some exceptions (I'm looking at you Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness), but I'll try and keep this relatively concise.
People who haven't listened to them much can get a primer on the band, and fans can list some of their favorite tracks in the comments.
So without further ado, here we go!
1) There It Goes
I got ahold of this track when I downloaded the bootleg Mashed Potatoes Box Set. An early track, I still enjoy it immensely. A bit happy and a bit melancholy, it's simple and lovely at the same time.
2) Siva
I dig the slightly rawer version from The Peel Sessions, but this is an excellent song from their first album Gish.
3) Bury Me
Not the best video, but I love Bury Me. The layered riffs showed off early the multiple influences the Pumpkins guitar duo brought to the table.
4) Disarm
Siamese Dream was the follow up album to Gish, and launch the band to superstar status. This was the third single off the album, and one of my favorite Pumpkins songs period. The album is full of amazing songs, and many fans consider it the band's best work.
5) Tonight, Tonight
Here's where a list gets difficult for me. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness was a 2 disc release, and is high on my favorite albums of all time list. The concept album that covers a day (the discs are titled Dawn to Dusk and Twilight to Starlight), and so it's coherent but varied. Most double disc albums seem stuffed with filler, but I find there are few tracks here that could be labeled throwaway. Aside from this track and one other, I'll leave off the singles from this album, since those are perhaps too obvious as choices.)
This song is fantastic, led into perfectly by the instrumental track Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
6) To Forgive
I love the use of the organ here, and the lyrics were just fantastic and meaningful to 16 year old me when I first heard this album. A nice, down tempo song that could easily lull me to a restful sleep.
7) Where Boys Fear To Tread
Just listen to that intro, quiet muted strumming, the kick drum, the gradual adding of instruments, the muting comes off, and the riff begins and launches us in to disc two. Listen to that perfect fade out in to the noise that begins....
8) Bodies
I love the grinding insistence of the guitars on this track! I find it great to run to, the brief slowdown at the 2 minute mark and then the jump back to the steady guitar is fantastic.
9) Thirty-Three
I hate to do three songs in a row, but the second disc of MCatIS just has this trio of awesome. Two heavier songs give way to this sedate little jam.
10) Behold! The Night Mare
Adore was the title of the next Pumpkins album, and it marked a stark shift in tone. More electronic and less alternative, it shocked a lot of people. It was still a great album, and this is one of my favorite tracks from it.
11) Perfect
I've made valiant efforts to not pick singles, but I love Perfect. There's just something so right about this track. It's hopeful insistence in the face of dissolution of a relationship mark a stark tonal difference from previous albums which felt rather bleak.
12) The End is the Beginning is The End
The only good thing to come from Batman Forever!
13) Try, Try, Try (Alternate Version)
There's a version on the album MACHINA: The Machines of God, but the alternate track on the Untitled Single or Machina II is far, far better. Track it down!
15) Age of Innocence
The final track from MACHINA: The Machines of God.
16) Tarantula
Following MACHINA, the Pumpkins disbanded. They stayed inactive for 7 years. Billy Corgan did a decent solo album and also put out one disc with Zwan. I personally love the Zwan CD, since it sounded like a happy Smashing Pumpkins. However, in 2007 Billy got his original drummer and reformed the Pumpkins. This single from the album certainly had me hyped, and the resulting album Zeitgeist was actually decent.
17) (Come On) Let's Go
Sorry for the meh quality. Snag the song on iTunes and enjoy it.
So, there you have it. For a band whose first release came out 20 years ago, whittling it down to 17 songs wasn't easy.
*NOTE: The current Pumpkins release is being given away on their website for free, but I haven't listened to any of the 6 released tracks so far to recommend any.
I'd like to share some of my favorite Pumpkins songs with you. To prevent this from being too huge, I'll try to keep it to one or two songs per album, though there will be a few tracks from non albums. There will be some exceptions (I'm looking at you Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness), but I'll try and keep this relatively concise.
People who haven't listened to them much can get a primer on the band, and fans can list some of their favorite tracks in the comments.
So without further ado, here we go!
1) There It Goes
I got ahold of this track when I downloaded the bootleg Mashed Potatoes Box Set. An early track, I still enjoy it immensely. A bit happy and a bit melancholy, it's simple and lovely at the same time.
2) Siva
I dig the slightly rawer version from The Peel Sessions, but this is an excellent song from their first album Gish.
3) Bury Me
Not the best video, but I love Bury Me. The layered riffs showed off early the multiple influences the Pumpkins guitar duo brought to the table.
4) Disarm
Siamese Dream was the follow up album to Gish, and launch the band to superstar status. This was the third single off the album, and one of my favorite Pumpkins songs period. The album is full of amazing songs, and many fans consider it the band's best work.
5) Tonight, Tonight
Here's where a list gets difficult for me. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness was a 2 disc release, and is high on my favorite albums of all time list. The concept album that covers a day (the discs are titled Dawn to Dusk and Twilight to Starlight), and so it's coherent but varied. Most double disc albums seem stuffed with filler, but I find there are few tracks here that could be labeled throwaway. Aside from this track and one other, I'll leave off the singles from this album, since those are perhaps too obvious as choices.)
This song is fantastic, led into perfectly by the instrumental track Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
6) To Forgive
I love the use of the organ here, and the lyrics were just fantastic and meaningful to 16 year old me when I first heard this album. A nice, down tempo song that could easily lull me to a restful sleep.
7) Where Boys Fear To Tread
Just listen to that intro, quiet muted strumming, the kick drum, the gradual adding of instruments, the muting comes off, and the riff begins and launches us in to disc two. Listen to that perfect fade out in to the noise that begins....
8) Bodies
I love the grinding insistence of the guitars on this track! I find it great to run to, the brief slowdown at the 2 minute mark and then the jump back to the steady guitar is fantastic.
9) Thirty-Three
I hate to do three songs in a row, but the second disc of MCatIS just has this trio of awesome. Two heavier songs give way to this sedate little jam.
10) Behold! The Night Mare
Adore was the title of the next Pumpkins album, and it marked a stark shift in tone. More electronic and less alternative, it shocked a lot of people. It was still a great album, and this is one of my favorite tracks from it.
11) Perfect
I've made valiant efforts to not pick singles, but I love Perfect. There's just something so right about this track. It's hopeful insistence in the face of dissolution of a relationship mark a stark tonal difference from previous albums which felt rather bleak.
12) The End is the Beginning is The End
The only good thing to come from Batman Forever!
13) Try, Try, Try (Alternate Version)
There's a version on the album MACHINA: The Machines of God, but the alternate track on the Untitled Single or Machina II is far, far better. Track it down!
15) Age of Innocence
The final track from MACHINA: The Machines of God.
16) Tarantula
Following MACHINA, the Pumpkins disbanded. They stayed inactive for 7 years. Billy Corgan did a decent solo album and also put out one disc with Zwan. I personally love the Zwan CD, since it sounded like a happy Smashing Pumpkins. However, in 2007 Billy got his original drummer and reformed the Pumpkins. This single from the album certainly had me hyped, and the resulting album Zeitgeist was actually decent.
17) (Come On) Let's Go
Sorry for the meh quality. Snag the song on iTunes and enjoy it.
So, there you have it. For a band whose first release came out 20 years ago, whittling it down to 17 songs wasn't easy.
*NOTE: The current Pumpkins release is being given away on their website for free, but I haven't listened to any of the 6 released tracks so far to recommend any.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Charlie Boy Gang - Beef It Up
This needs to go viral for the comedy factor alone. A few dudes with local print shop t-shirts and fake looking chains dance in front of an apartment complex and the local barbershop. More crappy Atlanta music being pushed on local radio stations.
I think they're trying to push a new dance, but honestly, CBG all sound vaguely unintelligible because of thick accents. A southern "Teach Me How To Dougie" I detest this stupid song. Hopefully this will stay southern, and not get national attention, a la Future.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (TGIF)
Sax solo part 2!
AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! I swear this should be a Ke$ha song.
"There's a stranger in my bed
There's a pounding in my head
Glitter all over the room
Pink flamingos in the pool
I smell like a minibar
DJ's passed out in the yard
Barbie's on the barbeque
Is this a hickie or a bruise"
Thanks Katy, I appreciate the song about you waking up with anonymous people in your bed. I also wonder why glitter has suddenly become a part of so many songs. Debauchery and drunkenness in song form, lovely. This song is the aural form of televisions portrayal of teenagers and folks in their 20's as constant drunks whose every weekend is fodder for Texts From Last Night.
"Pictures of last night
Ended up online
I'm screwed
Oh well
It's a blacked out blur
But I'm pretty sure it ruled"
The only thing about the evening you remember are the embarrassing pictures that are on the internet, and you just shrug it off and say your night ruled? Do we really need this short sighted crap pushed in a song? There are companies who monitor people on social media networks and present these findings like a background check for potential employers. These nights that ruled, these nights you cannot remember can haunt you for the rest of your life.
"Last Friday night
Yeah we danced on table tops
And we took too many shots
Think we kissed but I forgot
Last Friday night
Yeah we maxed our credit cards
Then got kicked out of the bar
So we hit the boulevard
Last Friday night
We went streaking in the park
Skinny dipping in the dark
Then had a menage a trois
Last Friday night
Yeah I think we broke the law
Always say we're gonna stop
But this Friday night
Do it all again
This Friday night
Do it all again"
Take a moment and read all that. I'm sure many people go through a phase where they take too many shots and dance on tables, but then they grow up. Perry doesn't want to grow up, she insists that Friday night's activities will be repeated.
Also, streaking and skinny dipping are dumb activities, but not really all that harmful (aside from the potential of being picked up by the police). The next activity though, here it is again... THREESOMES. Why are so many musical artists pushing this? Threesomes aren't a normal activity! I think more people are having them (or pursuing them) because they think everyone else is.
"Trying to connect the dots
Don't know what to tell my boss
Think the city towed my car
Chandelier is on the floor
Ripped my favorite party dress
Warrants out for my arrest
Think I need a ginger ale
That was such an epic fail"
Normal people can't celebrate stupid behavior with such reckless abandon. If your car is towed, you can call a limo. Your fans just can't get to work. Normal people may not know what to tell their boss either, but I'm sure he would just say "YOU'RE FIRED!" because you got picked up by the cops and missed work. Those maxed out credit cards don't help, either, not in this recession.
I don't think you should be so quick to write off ripped clothes. If you're blackout drunk, you may have been assaulted. This song marks the death of the phrase "epic fail." The songwriters slipped in ginger ale so they could rhyme in a phrase the kids think is hip.
This song sounds cutesy, but is insidious. Break it down, and it's really a nasty song that celebrates destructive behavior. Getting blackout drunk is just a phase for some kids, but for others, that drinking can lead to death or a lifetime struggle with alcoholism. Where's the verse about your problems with drinking leading to a divorce and spending 90 days in a rehab facility following the intervention thrown by your few remaining friends?
AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! I swear this should be a Ke$ha song.
"There's a stranger in my bed
There's a pounding in my head
Glitter all over the room
Pink flamingos in the pool
I smell like a minibar
DJ's passed out in the yard
Barbie's on the barbeque
Is this a hickie or a bruise"
Thanks Katy, I appreciate the song about you waking up with anonymous people in your bed. I also wonder why glitter has suddenly become a part of so many songs. Debauchery and drunkenness in song form, lovely. This song is the aural form of televisions portrayal of teenagers and folks in their 20's as constant drunks whose every weekend is fodder for Texts From Last Night.
"Pictures of last night
Ended up online
I'm screwed
Oh well
It's a blacked out blur
But I'm pretty sure it ruled"
The only thing about the evening you remember are the embarrassing pictures that are on the internet, and you just shrug it off and say your night ruled? Do we really need this short sighted crap pushed in a song? There are companies who monitor people on social media networks and present these findings like a background check for potential employers. These nights that ruled, these nights you cannot remember can haunt you for the rest of your life.
"Last Friday night
Yeah we danced on table tops
And we took too many shots
Think we kissed but I forgot
Last Friday night
Yeah we maxed our credit cards
Then got kicked out of the bar
So we hit the boulevard
Last Friday night
We went streaking in the park
Skinny dipping in the dark
Then had a menage a trois
Last Friday night
Yeah I think we broke the law
Always say we're gonna stop
But this Friday night
Do it all again
This Friday night
Do it all again"
Take a moment and read all that. I'm sure many people go through a phase where they take too many shots and dance on tables, but then they grow up. Perry doesn't want to grow up, she insists that Friday night's activities will be repeated.
Also, streaking and skinny dipping are dumb activities, but not really all that harmful (aside from the potential of being picked up by the police). The next activity though, here it is again... THREESOMES. Why are so many musical artists pushing this? Threesomes aren't a normal activity! I think more people are having them (or pursuing them) because they think everyone else is.
"Trying to connect the dots
Don't know what to tell my boss
Think the city towed my car
Chandelier is on the floor
Ripped my favorite party dress
Warrants out for my arrest
Think I need a ginger ale
That was such an epic fail"
Normal people can't celebrate stupid behavior with such reckless abandon. If your car is towed, you can call a limo. Your fans just can't get to work. Normal people may not know what to tell their boss either, but I'm sure he would just say "YOU'RE FIRED!" because you got picked up by the cops and missed work. Those maxed out credit cards don't help, either, not in this recession.
I don't think you should be so quick to write off ripped clothes. If you're blackout drunk, you may have been assaulted. This song marks the death of the phrase "epic fail." The songwriters slipped in ginger ale so they could rhyme in a phrase the kids think is hip.
This song sounds cutesy, but is insidious. Break it down, and it's really a nasty song that celebrates destructive behavior. Getting blackout drunk is just a phase for some kids, but for others, that drinking can lead to death or a lifetime struggle with alcoholism. Where's the verse about your problems with drinking leading to a divorce and spending 90 days in a rehab facility following the intervention thrown by your few remaining friends?
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Lady Gaga - The Edge of Glory
Lady Gaga is fast approaching The Edge of Irrelevancy. Each single from Born This Way has been a pastiche of 80’s music and her attempts to be bombastic. The Edge of Glory is just boring. This is like bad 80’s music. “I’m on the edge of glory and I’m hanging on a moment with you?” It’s like every crappy ballad that tried to be meaningful and failed horribly.
10 years from now, Just Dance and Bad Romance are still going to get butts on to the dance floor at weddings. The Edge of Glory will be one of those pop songs that had its moment on the radio, then faded away into the ephemera. Who is actually still listening to this? I know Gaga has a fan base (amazing how media push and shock tactics can build you a fan base with one album), but I think this is going to mark the general public ceasing to care. Each single is getting worse, spending less time on the charts. I’m hearing less of her on the radio with each passing week. It’s becoming less about the music, and more about the carefully orchestrated public persona of Lady Gaga the “artist.”
As an aside, what’s with the sax solo coming back? It’s in this song and Last Friday Night (TGIF) by Katy Perry. Clarence Clemmons, sax player of the E Street Band passed away on 6/18. Coincidence… or CONSPIRACY?! Coincidence of course, but it’s sad to see such a legendary sax player pass away when two artists who have a lot of sway on younger demographics are starting to reintroduce the sax solo.
I've just learned the Clemmons played the solo on The Edge of Glory.
I've just learned the Clemmons played the solo on The Edge of Glory.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Incubus - Drive
I was working on a property audit today. The new owners of the property were there, so headphones were not allowed. I was subjected to a custom 80's, 90's, 00's Top 40 station of sorts. They played a lot of annoying junk, but all was forgiven when this Incubus classic came on to mellow me out at the end of the day.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Hot Chelle Rae - Tonight Tonight
Add up tight pants, colored streaks, and a drummer who looks like an emo kid, and what do you get?
This saccharine mess. Gah! Prepackaged for Kidz Bop and Radio Disney, Tonight Tonight is an annoying song that bops along and tries to get into your head with a "whoa-oh" chorus.
Luckily, this track isn't an ear worm. It doesn't have those infectious hooks that characterize an awesome pop song. It's uncool dudes, trying to act like cool slackers, dropping in lines about tattoos that look like a cross between Zach Galifianakis and their girlfriend in an attempt to be trendy and now.
Keep an ear out for notable lines about keeping the beat bumping (hard to do with the kiddie keyboard part in the background) and references to "the white kids" (as if anyone else would listen to this dreck).
Blah, this is like Smash Mouth 2.0. Not the worst thing ever, but just not at all for me.
This saccharine mess. Gah! Prepackaged for Kidz Bop and Radio Disney, Tonight Tonight is an annoying song that bops along and tries to get into your head with a "whoa-oh" chorus.
Luckily, this track isn't an ear worm. It doesn't have those infectious hooks that characterize an awesome pop song. It's uncool dudes, trying to act like cool slackers, dropping in lines about tattoos that look like a cross between Zach Galifianakis and their girlfriend in an attempt to be trendy and now.
Keep an ear out for notable lines about keeping the beat bumping (hard to do with the kiddie keyboard part in the background) and references to "the white kids" (as if anyone else would listen to this dreck).
Blah, this is like Smash Mouth 2.0. Not the worst thing ever, but just not at all for me.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Meek Mill - Tupac Back (ft. Rick Ross)
Tupac
No rapper has had more written about them, and for good reason. Made legendary by his murder, Pac put out a huge body of uniformly excellent work, showing an amazing amount of diversity in content that more rappers need to listen to and emulate.
Instead of learning lessons from Pac, rappers these days just leech off his legacy. They love to scream "Rest in Peace" but they keep trying to turn his corpse into a puppet.
The most recent (and most egrecious) example is this:
With lyrics and a chorus that are interspersed with Tupac song titles and lyrics, no talent Meek Mill teams up with Rick Ross to desecrate the memory of a legend. Neither of you will ever be remembered with the fondness of Pac, so please keep his name out of your mouths. Rick Ross has already claimed that he is the new Biggie, but the only way he resembles the East Coast legend is in waist size.
Rap fans who claim to love Pac need to shout this song down. If you hear it's coming up in your stations, call and just have them play Pac. Hot 107.9 here in Atlanta went so far as to drop in a slightly slowed down version of Pac's verse from "Still Ballin'" as if to give the track and air of legitimacy.
Meek Mill, try and manufacturer your own fame. Rick Ross, stop comparing yourself to legends like Pac and Big.
No rapper has had more written about them, and for good reason. Made legendary by his murder, Pac put out a huge body of uniformly excellent work, showing an amazing amount of diversity in content that more rappers need to listen to and emulate.
Instead of learning lessons from Pac, rappers these days just leech off his legacy. They love to scream "Rest in Peace" but they keep trying to turn his corpse into a puppet.
The most recent (and most egrecious) example is this:
With lyrics and a chorus that are interspersed with Tupac song titles and lyrics, no talent Meek Mill teams up with Rick Ross to desecrate the memory of a legend. Neither of you will ever be remembered with the fondness of Pac, so please keep his name out of your mouths. Rick Ross has already claimed that he is the new Biggie, but the only way he resembles the East Coast legend is in waist size.
Rap fans who claim to love Pac need to shout this song down. If you hear it's coming up in your stations, call and just have them play Pac. Hot 107.9 here in Atlanta went so far as to drop in a slightly slowed down version of Pac's verse from "Still Ballin'" as if to give the track and air of legitimacy.
Meek Mill, try and manufacturer your own fame. Rick Ross, stop comparing yourself to legends like Pac and Big.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Ace Hood - Hustle Hard (ft. Rick Ross and Lil' Wayne)
Ace Hood... generically named rapper, back after a radio absence. What do you bring us? A lyric his own song sums it up pretty well. "Same old s***, just a different day"
A generic song about selling drugs. Why does this mess still get airplay? I can admit it's got a hot beat, but Ace Hood is uncharismatic and unoriginal. "Closed mouths don't get fed on this boulevard"? Boring MC's don't get a pass on this blog. If momma needs a house and baby needs some shoes, why not think ahead and not get involved in the drug game? Get an education, go get a normal job, learn programming and start a tech company... do anything other than get involved in illegal activity that is going to end up with baby and momma looking at a loved one in a prison cell or a casket.
Rick Ross brings yet another slow "I sold cocaine" verse. Man, everyone knows this guy was a CO with no real connection to the drug trade, and still he skates by. Why? Rap fans have pretty low standards these days I guess.
Lil' Wayne can't even save the track. His guest appearance super powers fall short of saving this track. Wayne must have been feeling lazy, throwing in a "Free TI" shout out and reminding us that Tha Carter IV is coming out soon. How are you gonna hijack a guest appearance to pimp your own album?
Got any requests? Shoot me an email or follow me on Twitter.
Like the song? Buy it on Amazon.
A generic song about selling drugs. Why does this mess still get airplay? I can admit it's got a hot beat, but Ace Hood is uncharismatic and unoriginal. "Closed mouths don't get fed on this boulevard"? Boring MC's don't get a pass on this blog. If momma needs a house and baby needs some shoes, why not think ahead and not get involved in the drug game? Get an education, go get a normal job, learn programming and start a tech company... do anything other than get involved in illegal activity that is going to end up with baby and momma looking at a loved one in a prison cell or a casket.
Rick Ross brings yet another slow "I sold cocaine" verse. Man, everyone knows this guy was a CO with no real connection to the drug trade, and still he skates by. Why? Rap fans have pretty low standards these days I guess.
Lil' Wayne can't even save the track. His guest appearance super powers fall short of saving this track. Wayne must have been feeling lazy, throwing in a "Free TI" shout out and reminding us that Tha Carter IV is coming out soon. How are you gonna hijack a guest appearance to pimp your own album?
Got any requests? Shoot me an email or follow me on Twitter.
Like the song? Buy it on Amazon.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Empire Avenue confirmation post
{EAV_BLOG_VER:80ecd7adb25e14d6}
This is just a post so I can verify my blog for Empire Avenue. (JVMAX)
I'm vacation bound, and was busy getting ready for vacation, so I had no time to do anything this week on the blog. I apologize for that. I should be returning to at least 3x a week posting next week. I've got some great songs picked out already.
As usual, feel free to shoot a request via email or twitter.
This is just a post so I can verify my blog for Empire Avenue. (JVMAX)
I'm vacation bound, and was busy getting ready for vacation, so I had no time to do anything this week on the blog. I apologize for that. I should be returning to at least 3x a week posting next week. I've got some great songs picked out already.
As usual, feel free to shoot a request via email or twitter.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
What's with the lack of posts lately?
Hey all, I've been working late this week to prep for a coming vacation. I may hash out a post or two in the next few days, but next week will be post free since I'll be on vacation. I like writing, but sometimes you need a break from everything.
So after next week, posts should return as usual. Please feel free to shoot an email to todaysbadsong@gmail.com with song suggestions. You can also follow me on twitter at twitter.com/todaysbadsong
See you all in a little over a week!
So after next week, posts should return as usual. Please feel free to shoot an email to todaysbadsong@gmail.com with song suggestions. You can also follow me on twitter at twitter.com/todaysbadsong
See you all in a little over a week!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)