The Best Name for a Bartender

What would that be? In any case, off her album Whitechocolatespaceegg, Liz Phair's "Polyester Bride." For all you ladies out there.


Be back in a week!
-om

A little J-Pop

Ok, for those of you that don't regularly delve into anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a pinnacle of Mecha-Pron. Following the amazing Megazone-23, Robotech and Moble Suit Gundam, NGE is widely debated as the apex of the genre. Personally, I liked Full Metal Panic, because i liked the story.

EVA, however, has a really superior opening sequence, "Fly Me to the Moon,"done by Yoko Takahashi. As J-Pop songs go, this one is catchy. It is as ingrained in the anime culture as any one of the Ranma 1/2 openings, or any song by that tart Linn Minmei (of Robotech fame).

Enjoy a little J-Pop. It won't kill you to widen your horizons.

-om

Lonely Island... And S.I.M.P.!

I'm glad I don't dance any more. I'm sure that I would love dancing to this song. The Lonely Island's "Jizzed in my Pants." Also, look for JT.


And as an added Sunday Bonus, since I am spending time with my beautiful little girl, from Phineas and Ferb, "Squirrels in My Pants."

Yo, yo, yo! S-I-M-P, Werd.
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Loneliness...

Sometimes, I am a bit lonely. This song helped. Blink-182's "Story of a Lonely Guy."


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Pop Song Friday

Shake your head back and forth! It's pop song Friday. The Friday where I inundate you with Popular songs from certain areas of life.

Trendy, Teenage Girl Song... The Academy is's "About a Girl." Shot at the same location as they shot Fast Times at Ridgemont High.


... 311's "Amber" (to slow it down for all you lovebirds out there).


And the Friday Bonus, since I was remiss yesterday:
Daft Punk's "Harder Better Faster Stronger." This video is awesome. It's off the gargantuan DVD Interstella 5555. The art is created by the legendary Leji Matsumoto, all to the songs by Daft Punk. It's a beautiful and fun story... and I think I lost the darned DVD. I gotta look for it again.


Enjoy your weekend!
-om

A little Wednesday Techno

A bit of the classic techno, before the thrum and repetitiveness of House and Trance.

Robert Miles' "Fable," off the 96 album Dreamland. Good stuff, if you could get it. It features the vocals of Fiorella Quinn, before Trance became somewhat instrumental-only oriented.


Enjoy!
-om

Cause tomorrows Wednesday...

...And it's Business Time! Flight of the Conchords.


Because 2 minutes in Heaven is better than 1 minute in Heaven.
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Spiderman!

C'mon, most of you know the words!

From Michael Buble's hip, swing version. BYU did a great acapella version, but I can't find a good take anywhere. I may need to start making them.

Enjoy!
-om

Phineas and Ferb

The greatest thing about having a daughter is sometimes running across shared joys. One of those joys is cartoons. My beautiful daughter is truly geeky in most sense of the word... and on random occasions, she will suprise me by sitting through a complete cartoon (she's 2.5 now) on my lap.

Today, I saw the greatest of all kids cartoons: Phineas and Ferb. Presented for your perusal is the title track, played by one of the Popular Favorties: Bowling for Soup. I am now leaving to download all the shows from iTunes.


-om

Sneaky Post

Cheap Post -- Family Guy - The List.


Waaaay late, I know.
-om

A Bathroom Session

Yeah, I know what you are thinking. One, I am two days late. Two, what the heck is up with a "Bathroom Session?" Fear not, loyal reader, for I know there is only one of you out there. Huzzah.

So, i just got word from a friend of mine that BNL has lost one of their stars, Stephen Page. Serious bummer. So, today's selection is, of course, BNL, but I searched out for their Bathroom
Sessions.

For those of you that aren't familiar with the Barenaked Ladies, shame on you. These lads out of Canada are just some of the greats coming out of the Great White North. On every album, they record one naked. Of course, You tube (and probably the band), wouldn't put that out, so they decided to put out a session of acoustic music from a bathroom. A lot of great ones have done so, including the first song that put Weird Al on the Map.

Anyway, enjoy the Bathroom Sessions from BNL. I'll never wear a turtleneck to the Palace.

BNL -- One Week


BNL -- If I had a Million Dollars (note the hair!)

Cya,
-om

Green Day

Happy St Pats Day! What else, but of course, Green Day's "Holiday."


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What's this?

"The Scotsman." Because not just the Irish celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Hence, a day before.


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Brimful from the Cornershop

Cornershop's "Brimful of Asha." Because everybody needs a bosom for a pillow. It would make the world a better place.


What does it mean?!?

Old Punk Post

From the Toy Dolls: "Nellie the Elephant." They can combine a Children's song with Punk Rock, yet they can't put a Man on the Moon.

Wait, they did that? %^%&*.

Trump, trump, trump.
-om

Double Friday, with a Thursday mix-in

Holy cow, this is awesome. Kutiman. You Tube. Mashups. F, Yeah.


Let's keep the party rolling with Party Ben...



...And then round it out with a little Dan Le Sac and Scroobius Pip!

Sorry for missing Thursday. Enjoy the tunes!
-om

Bit o'Dancehall

Shaggy's "It Wasn't Me." A fun song, to welcome the sunshine. That, and someone asked me to play some Dancehall. Most of the DH I have is pretty incendiary, so this was a bit of a compromise.


-om

Sabotage(d)...

25th Anniversary of SNL had the Beastie Boys as the musical guests. High praise for the 'Boys, but somewhat auspicious for musics fans. Imagine the delight when watching this, seeing Elvis Costello jump on and crank "Radio, Radio" with the Beastie Boys.

A little background for you... in 1977, Costello and the Attractions were slated to play on SNL, but NBC deemed the chosen song "Radio Radio" too subversive for airplay at the time. So, the band was told to perform "Less than Zero," which they did. Of course, owing to their Punk roots, they stopped a few bars in. Costello famously stated, "...I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, there's no reason to do this song here... (particularly due to the UK-pointed nature of the lyrics of "Zero")" then launched into "Radio Radio."

This act banned Elvis Costello from SNL for 12 years. Yes, apparently you can get banned from SNL. Hence, the breaking back onto the stage and singing the song that once had him banned was totally cool. Of course, the song was not without it's flaws. The noticeable slowdown in the bridge was lamentable, but understandable... the Beastie Boys are not The Attractions.


Rock on,
-om

Diamonds

Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, performing "Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes."

Late Sunday Post

This one is quick... Sunday and late. Aussie and amusing. Also, I just saw an acapella group yesterday (the baudboys) that sang this (among other quite good songs and quite good groups), and rocked it. Enjoy.


31337.
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Guilty Pleasure Saturday

What is better than drinking? Songs about Drinking!

Especially country songs. Had I not spent a year in a costume in Florida, I would never know to appreciate the fun world that comes along with singing a country song.

Singing songs like this in a bar immediately bring people together. Ever been in a place where "Friends in Low Places" are being played, and people are quiet? Doesn't happen. Country music, seriously. This here song is from Toby Keith -- "I Love This Bar." Classic country song, video is fun as well. I don't hang out in country bars that often, but I'm not one to pass them by if they look to be lively. Heck, the beer is usually cheaper, the people are usually friendly, and there may even be an open pool table.


Country bars == fun. Try one sometime.
-om

PS -- It would have been my Dad's birthday today. The song always reminds me of him. Aaron Neville does "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay." Apologies, there was not a really good copy of the original.

Eclectic Friday

It's a strange Friday, so I want to pick a couple of my favorite songs, from a couple of my favorite groups.

The first selection comes from the great British group Squeeze. "Up the Junction" came from the 1979 album Cool for Cats. The song is cute, the tune catchy. Something great for a Friday. Squeeze was best known for a few of their songs during the 80s, but had hits in the 90s as well (but they were more popular in the UK than here in the US) .

Squeeze - "Up the Junction"

Squeeze has a ton of love songs, but this isn't. Which makes the song that much cooler. Not every song has to be about love!

The second song is from the great SF band Jellyfish. While short-lived, Jellyfish had two amazing albums, Bellybutton and Spilt Milk (which "New Mistake" is from). While in the crux of the new-wave thrust in the 90s, the sounds from Jellyfish hearkened back to the orchestral sounds of the 60s, with power chords from guitars and pianos. Think "Oasis plus Queen." Only two albums, but this bank will always be awesome.

Jellyfish - "New Mistake"

I saw them live, once in San Diego, on a day where I didn't know what life was all about. They were playing an Artwalk that I just happened to stumble upon. I still don't know what life is all about, but I remember the energy and the innocence of that day.

And the sunshine. I miss the warm sun.
-om

A Complex Love Song

Ani DiFranco's "Little Plastic Castles" starts off with just a guitar. Small, soft guitar accompanied by Ani's voice, pulling you into the song. A song about love, cute, sweet and a little alternative. Then the other pieces come in, each in a different syncopation of rhythm. Trombone has a different rhythm than the guitar, which has a different rhythm than the drum, etc...

A lot like life. No one walks on the sidewalk the same way, no two snowflakes are alike. But to watch it all, sitting on a park bench somewhere, the juxtaposition of everything and nothing seems to make the world go around.

Sorry just an observation. Enjoy the beauty of the song.

Sorry so late...
-om

Almost Midnight...

I really like this song, by these newcomers from California. Sue me, I have a weak spot for the West Coast music scene.

Airborne Toxic Event's "Sometime Around Midnight" has been seeing some serious rotation recently, after what was a pretty quick grassroots effort from luminary radio stations KROQ, Seattle's KEXP, and my very favorite 91X. After heavy rotation of the track, the band was signed and released thier self-titled album to the masses in August 2008.

The masses and critics loved "The poets with music you can dance to." The notable exception being PitchforkMedia, who savaged the band with some interesting diatribe that would be fun to debate, but not needed here. Words can't do the band justice. Seriously, just take a listen. The lyrics can make you introspective. The chord progressions are entrancing. You can even break it down into the separate tracks (layered voices or pieces of the song) and still enjoy it... like a musical bon-bon.



Sublime, eh? It will always get me to stop and think.
-om
PS -- Fixed the video. Sorry about that.

Old Skool.

Working at a software company is strange. Every now and then, the supreme, nerdy complacency gets to you. Gotta shakeup the system. Gotta get people to look in and ask, "WTF?"
This is one of those days. Going back to So Cal, thumping 15s" driving by slow. Fosgate Punch Amps, Earthshaking speakers.

What better way to do so than to crank up N.W.A.'s "Boyz in the Hood," from the N.W.A. and the Posse? Deep bass. No guitar. Evil lyrics.


Werd.
-om

Don't Care?

Back to the '80s. Safe in the '80s.

Off the Velveteen album from Transvision Vamp, comes "Baby, I Don't Care." Loud, brash and agressive. Fun. Anything that starts off with a primal scream... sign me up. Musically, it's pretty pablum. Synched drums, overengineered guitars, the typical 80s fare.

But the scream. The Energy! Driving in the car to this, the needle pushes past 80 within moments. The grin hits your face even faster. Just don't dance, it hurts when you hit the brakes inadvertently.


Kinda sums up the end of the '80s, doesn't it?
-om

...in Vain?

I'm back... daily now, no excuses.

Since that is so, I need to put up a song that means a lot to me. Of course, that has to be a punk-ish song. However, something a lot of peopel may relate to. The Clash is ubiquitous, yes?

In 1979, The Clash, of the album London Calling had the tune "Train in Vain." New to the world were "secret tracks." Made for fans, afficionados and completists, "secret tracks" were things we lived for. Something only known to the insiders, the ones who cared. As secret tracks go, this is one of the most famous tracks (besides the Beatles "Her Majesty," the first hidden track ever), that garnered serious airplay.

The drumbeat, the guitar starts. Harmonica and vocals flesh it out. The head bobs. The mouth smiles. The body gyrates. That's the song. More would be overkill.

When I was a young man, I saw The Clash. When I was an older man, one of my favorite bands covered this on a fun Halloween night. It was amusing. I was drunk, and happy. A beautiful girl danced with me; a dance of which I would never forget. Needless to say, it was a good time.

A good song to usher the return.

Sometimes a memory beats the present. Sometimes a straight beats a full house. You never know what you will remember, but normally you remember what wins.
-om