Isn't it weird how much music makes you remember things you don't ever think about anymore?

I mean, I have vivid snapshots of things that weren't even that important to me that the right song will bring up.

But even aside from that what I mean to blog about is how I associate music with people. Sometime's it's logical, sometimes it's a song the person has turned me onto or I was with them when I heard it or it reminds me of them because of the lyrics or something. Sometime's it's not particularly logical.

Anyway, you know how I've been all "Coheed & Cambria!" "Coheed & Cambria!" "Coheed & Cambria!" lately because of the new album? It actually really got me thinking about the guy who turned me onto them lately. I think I've mentioned before that I had a crush on him but never tried anything because he was married. I actually hadn't been thinking of him very much for a long while until I got the new album, but now I think of him quite frequently. I even found myself talking about him at work the other day when I was talking about what I USED to do and how horrible it was.

I hope he's doing okay. At the time, he was having a really horrible time of it. The same people that shat on me all day every day at WEEK did the same to him too, only it was even worse for him because it was his real job, not an internship where he knew he could get out of it soon. And without him there, my time there would've sucked even more, he was the only one I could talk to that I didn't feel would secretly complain about me behind my back afterwards in that gossip-ridden, mean-spirited hellhole. Even aside from the whole crush thing, I felt like I could depend on him, like we were two soldiers in a foxhole dealing the best we could. And life at home was shit for him too because his wife was pregnant and all hormonal and constantly yelled at him because he worked long hours at WEEK and was constantly away. So... anyway, I was listening to CoCam and wondering how he is now. If his kid's been born yet. If things are happier for him now. I hope they are. I was hoping maybe he got a better job and his wife had calmed down since she'd actually had the kid. I don't know about the latter, but I saw his name on TV tonight, he'd done a natpkg so they gave him on air credit for it. So the job front's no better for him, I just hope the home one is too.

On a lighter note, someone brought in the new Nada Surf before open the other day and it made me think of a sillier crush I used to have on this guy from my intro to psych class. He was cute and funny etc. etc., and Nada Surf made me think of him because I had their one hit, Popular, on my computer at the time and his voice sounded almost exactly like the singer's. I don't know if that song was just an anomaly, or if their new stuff is just different, but the voice on the new album didn't really remind me of the voice, only asking someone what it was (because it sounded kind of good) and being told it was Nada Surf reminded me of this guy. Anyway, even aside from him being cute and funny, I was convinced we were meant to be because one time the prof showed us all an inkblot, and I SWEAR to you it looked like a Transformer. Tiny head with two spikes, big arms and legs out of a fairly small torso.... really, really, transformeresque. So when the prof was like, "what does this remind you of?" to the whole class, I thought I would be funny and shout out, "Optimus Prime!" and nearly everyone in the class looked at me like "What the hell?" and asked me who Optimus Prime was and all that. Everyone except for this guy, who was the sole person in the room who actually got what I was talking about and laughed. So after that I was convinced he and I were meant to be, only I tried cornering him into one-on-one conversation once after that, and he wasn't even really interested in talking to me, so I had to give up my dream.

So... yeah.
posted by DJ Jazzy Phoe @ 9:15 PM  | 

 
On the new Bloodhound Gang album, "Hefty Fines."

Sui: it's very vaginal
Sui: does that word bother you?
Sui: Vagina?
Phoemeister: no
Phoemeister: pussy is vaguely creepy to me, and I dunno why
Phoemeister: but you could say vagina to me all day and I wouldn't care
Phoemeister: vaaaaaaaaaaaagiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinaaaaaa
Phoemeister: have you ever heard that bloodhound gang song, Vagina?
Sui: haha like the bloodhound gang song?
Sui: haha
Sui: damn you
Phoemeister: LOL
Phoemeister: it's kind of hard to rhyme a word like vagina
Phoemeister: calvin klein kinda
Phoemeister: north carolina
Sui: haha
Phoemeister: they came out with a new album yesterday
Phoemeister: I stocked it
Sui: oh?
Phoemeister: it has a naked fat guy on the cover
Phoemeister: and the title's something about hefty fines
Sui: I might have to give that a listen
Sui: but not look at the cover
Phoemeister: yeah.... I tried not to look at the cover either
Phoemeister: Hefty Fines
Phoemeister: awesomness: I bet tardcore and Ralph Wiggam are funny
Phoemeister: oh and foxtrot uniform charlie kilo
Sui: haha
Sui: nice
Sui: and yes, that is a large man
Phoemeister: well I think he was supposed to be hefty and fine
Phoemeister: He's the former
Phoemeister: but not so much the latter
Sui: he's stuck in a box
Sui: that doesn't look to fine to me
Phoemeister: maybe
Phoemeister: they had to stick him in a box so that he'd fit in the picture
Sui: haha
Sui: they also had to break his legs and back
Phoemeister: naturally
Phoemeister: I love this user comment: "If ever there was a case for downloading songs off the net, this would be it. No way I'm handing this to a cashier in public. Songs aren't bad though. "

I'M the cashier. And that's like, the only nasty thing people buy that I'm NOT secretly judging them poorly for
Sui: haha yeah I saw that
posted by DJ Jazzy Phoe @ 11:16 AM  | 

 
On how silly it is to be indie:

Phoemeister: yeah. Actually I like nearly all of my coworkers. We're all highly sarcastic and weird, so it's a good mix
Phoemeister: I think the only thing I don't like is that they're all so damn indie that I feel guilty for being mainstream. I mean, how indie is that? Already no one knows half the music or movies I like, and I'm still not nearly as indie as them. If I get like them no one will ever know what I'm talking about ever again
Sui: haha
Sui: that's funny
Sui: i'm not indie enough!
Phoemeister: But I swear. I'm getting a not indie enough inferiority complex
Sui: listen only to bands that no one has even heard of, ever
Sui: like.. your nextdoor neighboors band that only plays in his garage
Sui: they call themselves "the unknowables"
Phoemeister: I mean, when Ben Folds is too commercial to you, what are you listening to?
Phoemeister: LOL
Phoemeister: and they bring up movies I've never heard of too
Phoemeister: and I was a film studies minor
Sui: or maybe some other really weird name from some obscure movie that no one has ever seen
Sui: like.. "Yeah.. we're 'Tommy's Pants are On Backwards' it's a reference to an 80's move that only came out on video and only 2 copies were sold."
Phoemeister: ROFLMAO
Phoemeister: Oh, and i mention pop songs that were HUGE and non of them has ever heard of them
Sui: "we're so indie that we don't watch tv or listen to the radio. we only listen to music that is made up by that guy down on the street corner named Jeff."
Sui: "he's got a cd coming out. he's band is called "Tacos Taste Better With Tequila."
Phoemeister: ROFLMAO
Phoemeister: I love your made-up crappy band premises
Sui: "which is actually a reference from this video we shot at lunch one day. Totally an indie flick"
Phoemeister: LOL
Sui: my band names rule all
Phoemeister: "of course, that was based on an art film from 1932 that has never ever been released on DVD or VHS, you have to go to these super secret screenings in the basement of the local independant record store"
Sui: hahah
Sui: nice
Sui: see.. now you're getting the hang of it
posted by DJ Jazzy Phoe @ 2:46 PM  | 

 
By the way: I think my Christmas list is getting another item to replace the Cocam album I bought myself yesterday. It's sad, I listen to music, and I HAVE TO HAVE IT. And I've been hearing a lot of good music lately. Despite my complaining of the taste of my coworkers on my blog: actually most of them do have pretty good taste, and I'm always wanting to buy what they bring in.

Like, one of my managers brought in Elliot Smith one night. And I've heard of him before, but have never really been sold on it, especially since I never heard any of his actual stuff. But she brought it in and it was nice.

And another coworker brought in that Surfjan Stevens (am I even spelling this right anymore?) album I'd been thinking about awhile, and it was good enough I think I'm going to get it now.

And this one coworker is trying to sell me on Sons and Daughters, which I don't know whether or not I'm going to eventually fall for it. And also, the annoying manager from the last post, despite my complainings about him, brought in the new Coral album a few times, and I'm kind of liking it. Except I have to be strong and not get it, because I never listen to the Coral album I already have.

Anyway, this all boils down to someone bringing in Franz Ferdinand yesterday and now I want it. I think maybe their new album is out this week or next week, but this was the old album, because it had that one song on it I've heard before and liked. But I've been skeptical, because they're a band that's been hyped a lot and I have bad luck with those. I've bought into the Strokes, the White Stripes, the Shins, and probably any other hipster "it" band you've ever heard of, and I never end up liking any of them very much. In fact, Franz's lead singer's voice kind of reminds me of the guy from The Strokes, so I felt kind of dirty when I noticed myself liking it the other day until I realized it was Franz. I was like, "Don't be swayed! You already have on Strokes album at home that you never listen to! Don't fall for this one too!" But while Franz HAS been hyped, I haven't bought and not liked an album by them yet, so I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt so far, and AM tempted to put the old album with the song I know and like on my Christmas list.

Oh, also: during store hours we pipe in music the store's promoting, and I have to say I'm a little taken in by that too. Fall Out Boy, particularly. I keep telling myself not to get Fall Out Boy, because I have a radio friend telling me they're nothing special compared to the 80,000 other emo bands out there. And I already have enough generic pop punk/emo. But... I fall for ALL pop punk/emo I hear. I'm getting better, now, at just saying "no" to pop-punk even though I want it. "It'll just be New Found Glory all over again. You never listen to them anymore!" I tell myself, "Or remember when you bought SR-71? That's just embarassing." So, using that strategy I've not bought A Simple Plan or Yellowcard or Sugarcult, and I'm hoping to hold strong against Fall Out Boy as well with this method.

Also, I kind of like that Gorillaz song from awhile ago that was on the Ipod commercial.
posted by DJ Jazzy Phoe @ 7:48 AM  | 

 
Wow, I have several things:

1) INXS: WHOA. I can't believe it. I mean, I get sick of people who all resent particular reality show contestants. And it gets wearing to still be hearing about Omarosa and that naked guy from survivor still. Isn't their fifteen minutes up? All in all, though: I can't believe they hired the biggest tool on the show. I mean, these guys are going to have to spend every day on a tourbus with this guy for years, and they picked the bitchiest one? Also: I don't even think he was that great of a vocalist. But on the other hand, I am glad for one thing: maybe my favorite guy can get a solo career or a career with a better band. I can't say I'd particularly listen to INXS even after all of this, even if they had picked someone besides a GINORMOUS TOOL. But I think I would listen to my favorite guy, I liked his original song. And my other favorite apparently can fall back on some crazy successful theatre career he supposedly has that he deserted to be on this show. Another funny thing: the night we did inventory at the store, a coworker and I discovered our mutual love for this show, and she has the same favorites as me AND my mom, AND predicted the tool would win simply BECAUSE he's a tool and that's how things go.

2) I did end up buying those two Coheed & Cambria albums I was talking about today. I felt kind of like a traitor, but I bought the new one at Best Buy. But Best Buy has WAY better prices than anyone else (except for, say, Target or Wal-mart, and they only ever have what's popular) and on top of that they frequently have they're pretty good price discounted even lower when it's a new album by someone like C & C (i.e. not HUGELY popular). So I got it for 10 bucks. Whereas at our store, our regular price is like 19 dollars, and it's on sale for 15 or something. So 18 (our discount doesn't take further off anything on sale, we just get whatever's better, the sale or our discount) with 33% off is more than 10 bucks, hence: I went out and got Goodbye, Apollo, I'm Burning from Best Buy. Then, when I was stocking, I noticed there was 1 copy of Second Stage Turbine Blade for about 13 or 14 bucks regular price, and I got it at the store with my employee discount and it came out to about 10 too. So... yeah. I suppose I could've waited on that one, we have employee appreciation days a few times a year, apparently, where our discount goes up to 40%. But... there was only one album, someone might've bought it and we wouldn't've gotten another copy soon. And I'm a terrible impulse buyer and I work around my 3 vices (movies, books, music--and candy too, actually) full time, so I think I'm doing pretty good in the restraint department so far. So far I've been listening to the new one more than the old, and I'm liking it--but I suck at judging albums early on.

3. I brought in Ben Folds for before work today. And my manager DISSED BEN FOLDS. That's just not cool. He said Ben Folds, because he's funny sometimes, is like "a cheap knockoff of supertramp." I don't really know much about Supertramp, but I take it they suck becuase he prefaced that comment with, "you'll probably be offended by this, but..." Oh, AND right before that, I had said Ben was my favorite of all time. It's not cool to diss someone's favorite of all time. If I had been like, "eh, I got his album on sale and felt like bringing it in," feel free to diss it. But I said he was my favorite! Of all time! And if he was the manager who brought in Lenny Kravitz, I would feel free to be like, "Oh, and Lenny Kravitz is so much better?" but he's one of the people who's been playing this ultra indie stuff every morning. Still. You know what, dude? Just because it's not british and depressing and indie doesn't mean it's not good. It's okay to laugh. It's okay to rock out on piano. It's okay to be well known!

Which, Ben isn't that well known anyway. I have never heard anything of his on the radio save Brick. And that was years ago. But I love how condescending the manager was when, "apologizing" for hating on ben, he says, "It's okay. Ben sells well, so someone likes it," in this way that totally makes me feel like one of the unwashed masses coming into the store to buy Nelly. Look. It's not a crime to be popular. Even if you could call Ben popular, which you can't! 9 out of 10 people I know don't even know who he is, or at least wouldn't if I didn't talk about him all the time!

I go out of my way to really think about what I am going to bring in, and not annoy people with Good Charlotte or Blink 182 or emo or something else that I like that I know perfectly well people hate because it's popular or whiney, and I get stuck with the same reaction for a Ben Folds album. Suxxor. I'm tempted to bring in my old Spice Girls album, or one of my old compilations of grammy winners that include stuff like Hanson or Coolio. But I shouldn't punish the entire store just for the manager and his snootiness. And he did kind of apologize later, better.


Phoemeister: one of my managers dissed ben folds today, though
Tina: they did this and you let them live?
Phoemeister: he was my manager
Phoemeister: so I had to
Phoemeister: but I didn't like it
Phoemeister: I'll have to do it in secret days later so no one knows who did it
Phoemeister: and I'll play Ben Folds at his funeral
Phoemeister: but it irritates me
Tina: true
Tina: waiting is always a pain
Phoemeister: I take care not to bring in stuff that will annoy people (emo particularly, I love it but I know a lot of people get irritated by it)
Phoemeister: and I get crap about Ben being too funny
Phoemeister: funny is good, jerk!
Tina: definitely
Phoemeister: and I mean, a lot of Ben's songs aren't meant to be funny
Phoemeister: and the funny ones are like, genuinely clever, not "novelty" funny


Phoemeister: SOMEONE AT WORK DISSED BEN FOLDS WHEN I BROUGHT HIM IN
Phoemeister: isn't that wrong?
NYC: did you kick their ass?
Phoemeister: it was my manager :/
Phoemeister: I wanted to though
NYC: i don't care if it was jesus christ himself
NYC: you speak up when someone starts hating on ben
Phoemeister: yeah
Phoemeister: well I suck at defending music I like
Phoemeister: I mean, I could write up a great thing about why I love Ben
Phoemeister: but when I'm arguing, somehow all brains fly out the window
Phoemeister: and I was like, "uh, i like him because he's funny sometimes, but so sincere other times. and there's really not that many great piano bands besides Ben out there"
NYC: bunch of bullshit
Phoemeister: sorry
Phoemeister: I'm bad at arguements
Phoemeister: what I would've said if I were thinking is that he's timeless. A lot of his songs could be from any decade, or even in a musical. They're catchy and instantly recognizable, but complex, and I'm always finding new things about them even after listening to them a million times. And his lyrics are beyond anyone else in the field, they're about things I really think about everyday (Best Imitation of Myself, Bastard, There's Always Someone Cooler Than You, Annie Waits, Still Fighting It, Fred Jones, Jane--to name a few of his songs that really apply to my life and things I want to be or fear to be in the future) not just another love song. But when he does do a love song--whoa. Everyone I know who's heard it thinks The Luckiest is the best love song they've ever heard. But he can be funny too, and doesn't really care if he pisses anyone off or not. And I saw him in concert and he kicks ass there too, his hands were like a blur on the piano.
Phoemeister: Also, if I'd even ever heard of any of the bands he likes besides The Coral, I'd insult them :P
Phoemeister: But I didn't insult the coral because I kind of like the coral. Sometimes.
NYC: i met the coral once
NYC: they were all high
Phoemeister: LOL
NYC: you could smell the weed on them
NYC: it was one of my last dinners as a part of sony music and it was right before they played some place in boston, so they came in and said hello... WHEW, it's like they just stepped out of the mystery machine
posted by DJ Jazzy Phoe @ 8:10 PM  | 

 
Gah. My Christmas list, at September, is already way too long. In addition to a couple of books, I have:

Surfjan Stevens -- Illinois, and I have to get it. The serial killer song is surprisingly good. The folkiness actually didn't turn me off. And it's about Illinois. And it's GOOD.

Saturday Morning Cartoon's Greatest Hits. Yeah, Phoe From Elsewhere! You tempted me too much. Semisonic doing some random song! Sponge doing the Speed Racer song! The Ramones doing the Spider-Man song! Matthew Sweet doing the Scooby Doo song! I will DIE if I can't have this album. Literally. My heart will just stop beating. And the cause of death on my death certificate will be "Did not recieve Saturday Morning Cartoon's Greatest Hits for Christmas."

All About Chemistry -- Semisonic. I admit it--I abandoned poor one hit wonder Semisonic. But... I actually didn't even know they had another album for a long time. Anyway, after revisiting Semisonic, I feel that this album would be worth the price.

Between the Never and Now -- Vendetta Red. This was a reccomendation from Ryan, and I'm sold. But it doesn't take me much to be sold on emo, I admit.

Before the Robots -- Better Than Ezra. I just can't NOT get Better Than Ezra. I may hold out for awhile, but in the end curiousity will get the better of me and I will buy or ask for this album at Christmas. But it's not my number one priority.

Paul Simon's greatest hits. I LOVE Simon & Garfunkel. And the other day I was listening to You Can Call Me Al on the radio. And I was like, "Shit, his solo work's just as good, and I've been missing out all this time? I'm totally dumb." Which, I am, because it's not like I haven't heard his solo work before. That time was just the time I finally got motivated to think about it.

MP3 -- Marcy Playground. A lot of people don't think Marcy Playground is that good. Well, a lot of people have only ever heard "Sex & Candy," by them. They have a surprising amount of goodness and versatility. So off and on I've been catching up with their albums over the years (slowly, I admit, they only have 3, this is the third one--don't you just love the awful pun of the title? Maybe that's worth the cost of the album alone)

Your Favorite Weapon -- Brand New. I reeeally love their latest album, Deja Entendu, which I got last christmas (or my birthday, I can't remember--the good thing about this overflowing list is anything I don't get I can plop onto my birthday list for February) and was another emo album Ryan sold me on, incidently. So I have to go and get this older one eventually.

The Second Stage Turbine Blade -- Coheed & Cambria. More emo. Secrets in Keeping With the Silent Earth. Sold to me this time by a guy from WEEK and I loved it. Anyway, I'm going back and buying the old album. AND, on the 20th, the new album by these guys (I think it's something like "Goodbye Apollo, I'm Burning") drops, and I don't think I can wait till Christmas for that one, I'll probably go ahead and buy it.

Your Window -- Navar. I heard a few of their songs on Amazon, and they just seem like a very good pop-rock band.
posted by DJ Jazzy Phoe @ 11:05 PM  | 

 
Phoemeister: I'm thinking of posting about a band called Crazy Frog and how lame they are, but I'm not sure if I should put it on my music blog or my regular blog, because I already ridiculed Lenny Kravitz on my music blog, and I don't want it to just be a receptacle for mocking people, that's for my regular blog. But you'd think music would go on my music blog. What do you think?
Sui: hmm tough call
Sui: depends how in-depth the mocking is
Phoemeister: Not too in depth. Basically, "how lame are you if your big song is a remix of the beverly hills cop theme song," "your album's called Crazy Hits, but your first (and hopefully only) hit is a remix of the beverly hills cop theme song, thus, by definition, it is not full of crazy hits" and "you're so lame that everyone where I work made fun of you even before we knew your big song was a remix of the beverly hills cop theme song."
Phoemeister: oh, and also, "your band's name is Crazy Frog."

I decided to put it up at both places :P
posted by DJ Jazzy Phoe @ 11:13 AM  | 

 
I am a Supernerd

So, you know how I was all, "I think all the time about what I should bring in for before the store opens and we can listen to whatever we want?"

Well I've been thinking, and thinking, and thinking, and I might just fall back on Ben Folds or something. I could probably even go poppy. I'm not that intimidated by the indieness of my coworkers anymore since after close last night this one guy played Lenny Kravitz. Lenny Kravitz! Not only is he (relatively) popular, but he's like the lamest a guy can possibly get while still being a rock star. And I don't want to bash my coworker or anything (he seems really nice, and I myself love Lifehouse, which is equally if not more lame than Lenny Kravitz), but the album was horrible. I mean... most of it was moderately mediocre, but one song was horrible enough to make the whole thing actively horrible. It was some song about race and how Lenny Kravitz can't get a cab. Reasons this makes the song horrible:

1) You're Lenny Kravitz. You can afford a fuckin' limo, dude.
2) You're Lenny Kravitz. I doubt the cab driver looks at you and goes "there's one badass motherfucker. I better not stop or else he jacks me."
3) You're Lenny Kravitz. You don't look poor. Moderately gay, but not poor. Cabbies refuse service to people they perceive as poor/gangbangers, not the moderately gay.
4) You're Lenny Kravitz. You don't have the credibility to be making political songs. When people want political songs, they'll listen to U2. Or the Sex Pistols. Or Greenday. Or Spongebob Squarepants. Or... anyone but Lenny frickin' Kravitz!
5) I bet you WON'T be able to get a cab anymore, because you pissed off all the cab drivers by making this inane song, and then you'll make a sequel to this song, all based on race, only it'll just be because you made a horrible song about them and they're angry.
6) Dude. You're Lenny Kravitz.

Anyway, to be fair: some of your earlier work didn't totally suck, Lenny Kravitz.

But onto the bit where I'm a supernerd: you know how I mentioned all that about Semisonic on the last post? Yeah, you know where it's going--I want to play Closing Time at closing time. My only problem is close only takes like an hour, multiple people bring in cds, and we play them on shuffle so I'm not guaranteed to get to the song Closing Time, which would basically be the entire reason I'd bring it in. Not that the entire album is not worth listening to, but I can't keep bringing it in on the hopes that Closing Time will come up, even I'm not THAT nerdy. And I'd be all disapointed if I brought it in and Closing Time didn't play because of my nerdy ambition to have it play during close.

Decisions, decisions. Anything to lessen the load of the amount of Lenny Kravitz I'll have to be listening to, though. That guy was the only one who brought in anything last time, so we had to listen to like, the whole thing. *shivers*
posted by DJ Jazzy Phoe @ 7:18 PM  | 

 
So I finished the book I mentioned on my regular blog, by Semisonic drummer Jacob Slichter.

Whoa. It's really weird to read about the stuff behind music you are/were really into. Like, I'd forgotten the incident where they were on the Billboard music awards and cut off halfway through until the book mentioned it, but I remembered it again, and how I watched through that entire show soley to see Semisonic, and then they were shoved to the very end of the show and got cut off right in the middle of the song and how pissed I was, and felt that bad reading it again, and how humiliated they were when it happened to them. And there were other things I remembered again as I read it that were just... "I remember when that happened."

I HAD read Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' autobiography, actually, but it was all about the drugs, not much about the music or band relationships or even the world at large during the time they were together. Plus it mostly covered a time prior to when I'd became a RHCP fan. So this was the first music memoir to really get me like that.

Anyway, I'd like to thank Semisonic, even though obviously they wouldn't read this or even care, probably. I'd like to thank them for being my first ever "favorite band." Up until 8th grade, I listened to no music other than what my parents did. When I finally was exposed to modern music... I just had no idea what was good. I would pick up whatever was catchy on a first listen. Once in awhile I would like a good song, such as Everclear's Santa Monica or Better Than Ezra's King of New Orleans, but for every song like that I liked 5 Spice Girl's Wannabe's. And I would buy albums and soley listen to the tracks I heard on radio. In short--I was exactly the type of person who I now blame for ruining music.

Then I heard Closing Time. Man. I LOVED that song. I loved it SO much that when I bought the CD, I was like, "Geez. These guys have to have something else good on here, if they can play a song like that." And I loved the entire album. And after that, I was like, "Well, if Semisonic are that good, maybe other bands can write albums with more than one good song." And thus a music-obsessee was born. So thank you, Semisonic. You were my absolute favorite band for a year and a half, until I fell in love with the Gin Blossoms. And then after that decided Everclear was my one true love. And then after that decided that Ben Folds was god. And someday, I'll probably chuck Ben to the wayside in favor of another. But you were my first, Semisonic, and I'll never forget you. You, and the aforementioned bands, and about a thousand others, have made me who I am today.

And if I don't get quite the thrill I used to from "Closing Time" or any of the others, they're still pretty good. And "Never You Mind" has a whole verse that references Star Trek. How awesome is that?
posted by DJ Jazzy Phoe @ 9:39 PM  | 

 
So, at the store, before the doors open, we can bring in our own CD's and listen to whatever we want over the store soundsystem. From this, I've found out that my coworkers are very "cool." Lots of indie darlings I see the people in Spin gushing about all the time in the mix. And a ton of british stuff.

Don't get me wrong, the british make some good music, but I dunno, it all kind of runs together after awhile (especially since the stereo has 5 cd's and then we put it on shuffle). And british indie music is depressing, man. Or at least slow. I need something to get me moving in the morning.

So anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I have to think of what to bring in next time. I don't want to bring in anything too popular and earn their scorn, but at the same time I want something peppy. And not british.

Anyone have any ideas? And err... okay, it actually has to be something I have. Which means you have to be psychic. I don't care, though. Try anyway! I command you!
posted by DJ Jazzy Phoe @ 7:54 PM  | 

 
Oh, also today I wrote my "staff pick" for music to be put up at the store. I'm very excited, I LOVE foisting my opinions off on other people, and now I have yet another venue to do so. I figured I would try and be somewhat current, so I picked Idlewild's new album. Honestly, if I weren't be current, I would've picked the album before that, The Remote Part. That album is PERFECT. The new one, Warnings/Promises, is merely good. But anyway, here's what I wrote (I had to keep it below 60 words, and I just barely made it with 59):

At times, Idlewild has been compared to Coldplay, Travis, and even REM. Though frontman Roddy Woomble's voice does remind one of Michael Stipe, Idlewild has a sound all its own. This, their latest album, is the most polished, with poppy songs like "El Capitan," and "Love Steals Us From Lonlieness." But old fans shouldn't worry--they still rock out!
posted by DJ Jazzy Phoe @ 5:25 PM  | 

 
Today I got Keane's "Hopes and Fears," and Aqualung's "Strange and Beautiful." Both were somewhat on a whim on seeing how cheap they were at Target, though I'd been considering both of them for some time. I just hope, them both being English, I'm not stuck with some crappy Coldplay-y band. Honestly, I don't hate Coldplay or anything, but I really don't see what the hype's about. I really liked Yellow but then it was kind of all downhill from there.

Aqualung, I'd actually been thinking about a REALLY long time. A friend of mine had sent me the title track a long time ago, and it is just beautiful. Really beautiful. But it's about the most stalkery song I know besides that one Sting song and Stone Temple Pilot's Sex Type Thing (the sting song gets an F because I hate it and Sex Type Thing gets an A, except you can kind of tell it's tongue-in-cheek instead of serious). It's basically from the point of view of someone who has a crush on someone, the stalkeryness comes into lyrics like, "I'll put a spell on you/and when you wake I'll be the first thing you see/and you'll realize that you love me." But otherwise it's very beautiful, and tugs at you especially if you're at the point where you're really crushing on someone from afar yourself.

I also love that the title and a lyric in the song is saying about the object of affection "you're strange and you're beautiful too." I think that's a compliment I'd like to get. I'm always getting the strange, but not the beautiful part from people. It'd be nice to have someone think that was a good thing. For awhile, I went around using that as a compliment to people, but then I'd have to end up explaining it, and they'd hear the song and think I was stalking them. So I've stopped doing that.

Anyway, the reason I waited so long to get it was it was only available in England for awhile. Then I actually had read that it came out in America, but I forgot about it again, until I saw it at the store when I was stocking CD's the other day. I was actually surprised it was popular enough to have several in the store (usually we only have very many of something if it's popular or new, and this would be neither). And then it was on display in Target. So it must be getting some popularity.

I just hope the whole album is good. And the whole Keane album, of course.
posted by DJ Jazzy Phoe @ 2:35 PM  |