9:19 a.m. - May 06, 2006
The Lando CD
Well, management here at SmedCo has decided that this IS the final essay of Music Week, since we promised a Music Week and we delivered seven days of music. Management can be such hard people to deal with. So the Beatles essays are going to wait until another time, and then on Monday we will resume the usual frivolity.
Before we get into the gist of the fun here on the weekend of Music Week, I�d like to take this time to thank some special people who took the time to send me mix CDs. Now, I�m the mix CD �fairy� (as Red the Traveler is snickering over that term right now), and am currently working to send two mixes out this week, and then about three more the rest of May, but these fine folk have sent me mixes and I am truly grateful for.
Freshhell sent me a CD about three weeks ago, but somewhere in the morass of our house (and she understands, since she also has chillum) it was misplaced, but I found it this week, played it and loved it. It�s going into my work collection, as it�s good to space out to while crunching numbers.
He puts me to shame. Basically, he�s even more of an incorrigible collector than me, PLUS he works in radio, so he gets free stuff. And he shares, a lot. He made me (and others, he carpet bombed his friends) about 10 CDs or so, and I have finally plowed through them all and love each one in their own special way. You sir, are a friend, and I am looking forward to more bubblegum goodness!
Rachel claimed her mixes weren�t any good, because they were �mainstream�. I kept trying to explain to her that I lost �mainstream� about 10 years ago, and that any education on that would be welcome. Plus, I have very odd tastes. Her mixes were divine, just like she is. The Divine Ms. R. and she�s even a redhead to boot. Woot!
Violet sent a couple of CDs of indescribable beauty and bounty. There were some Waffle House songs, songs about Jimmy Carter, and just some good ol� power pop goodness lurking about. Violet, you rock, and I know I�ve linked to you a lot recently, but you are worthy. I hope you get a lot of adds because of this (HINT! HINT!)
Judith is torturing me. She sent five CDs that I received, but forgot to take to work, so I am going to endeavor to listen to them on Sunday while Liz is shopping at Costco. The wrinkle she threw me is that she sent NO information about artist or title. Nothing. Heh. I�ll put my thinking cap on and try to outsmart her. But she sent me a good bounty, and it�s much appreciated and I�m sure, knowing her, it will result in glad tidings of great music. Because she is another hipster doofus, like me (and Violet � Violet � meet Judith � Judith meet Violet.)
Now, we get to the actual festivities, the reason that I�m composing this epistle. A while back, I was a link in a CD chain from Lass, and I wrote about it here. .
Well, the ever popular Lando also started a CD chain, and somehow I stumbled onto being the winner of said CD chain.
So he sent me a mix CD, and it�s my job right here, right now, to review said CD, and provide YOU, my readership, with the opportunity to win.
The rules were simple:
1. You had to respond FIRST in the comments.
2. You had to have one of these here sites that people actually READ.
3. You had to have some sort of comments mechanism.
4. You had to listen to the CD when you received it, then post a review.
5. Then, Lando (or whoever) would post the songs on his site.
6. Then you solicit the first person to comment on YOUR site a chance to become part of the chain.
7. Of course, you need to be able to burn CDs and send them out to people. Otherwise, the chain ends and bad, bad things happen. Bad things. Like Dick Cheney comes to your birthday party bad.
Usually, when you post the review, you allow people to become part of the chain. And that�s what I�ll do. I�ll let you know when Lando posts the song titles, folks.
So, this is the review of the CD Lando sent me, entitled �A Promise of Scurvy�. If I know the artist and title, I�ll include it. Otherwise, just use your imagination, folks, just like you were in Mr. Rogers� Neighborhood. Well, except we won�t have that irritating lady who ran that museum. God, what a wench.
1. It�s a very electronic track. There are lots of samples and found sounds and the like. It starts softly, and builds to a crescendo, and then about the 2:05 mark it goes into the actual song, with a guitar riff amongst the electronic caterwaul. Don�t know it, can�t place it, but it�s industrial / dance of some genre. It�s a keeper, especially when I want to scare my cats!
2. Ah, very Euro Disco, complete with monotone robotic female voice who commands me to get undressed and she wants me to throw my undies on the stage. And they pronounce it �Tar-zhay�, which is cool, and shows they are American. I think the song is called �Super Sprode� or something, but I�m going into All Music to find out. I have my pride. I think this is also the time on Sprockets when we dance!
3. Interesting guitar lines to begin the song, then it turns into neo-sorta-arena-alterna rock. But then, it�s soft, and the vocalist makes the chick from Frente! sound like Liz Phair. There are about 42,139 hooks in this song, all waiting for one to catch my ear. They�re still trying, though I like the guitar fill going into the really semi-grungy part after the chorus.
4. It�s a live cut, allegedly, but I couldn�t make out the title. The guitar riff goes and goes, along with the pounding drums, then the vocalist seems to be taking lessons from the dude from Ministry, less the menacing attitude and vocoder. But that guitar riff is incessant. It�s going to stay with me all weekend.
5. Acoustic, folky beginning, which fits as it�s an acoustic neo-singer songwriter song, sung by a duo, that sounds creepily familiar but I can�t make it out. �Went through my wings / to the blazing sun� is the refrain.
6. Brits! These dudes have to be Brits! And they�re singing about ROBOTS! The dude sounds like Davey Jones, and he�s singing about ROBOTS! There�s a lot of junk happening in this track, so it�s hard to say who or what or why this exists, but they�re singing about ROBOTS! Isn�t that all you need?
7. Oh, cripes. I really should know this. You know why? All of the promos for the last season of �Six Feet Under� featured this song, so I know it. But I don�t know it, because I never looked it up, even though I loved it. I�m lame, and I bet it was even posted on the boards at TWOP and it didn�t register. I gotta pay more attention.
8. Ah, the Flaming Lips. From the great album The Soft Bulletin, which you MUST own. �A Spoonful Weighs a Ton�, indeed!
9. There�s the ocean, and a voice who wants me to go far away, far away child. Is this a new age sea shanty? I mean, I hear a concertina in the background and there�s talk of pirate ships. Shiver me timbers!
10. Neo-new wave. Kitschy keyboard line, robotic drum and bass, and the vocals are cool and detached. Of course, the song is talking about a 24-hour candy machine, cheap and easy. But you know what it�s really about, right? But they want sugar free candy? That defeats the purpose!
11. Liz Phair. Material Issue (R. I. P.). The Banana Splits theme song. Was this the last happy thing the dude from Material Issue did before he 86�d himself?
12. Lando�s going back to the pirate theme now. This has to be from some kid�s musical or SOMETHING that I missed somewhere down the line. It�s got one clean cut voice and two comedic hard-edged voices with a heart of gold, and the requisite Looney Tunes-esque music. All about singing pirates and all. Hmmmm�.
13. More pirates. More concertinas. Lando, OKC is landlocked! I�ve been there. Liz had farmland in Shattuck. No water in Oklahoma, dude.
14. A fitting ending! �Goodbye Goodbye� by Oingo Boingo! Though they also did a pirate video or two. Anyway, I needed the studio version of the song, and by jove, here it is! Thanks Lando!
Well, there�s the review!
So now here�s your charge � be the FIRST person in my comments section to comment, and can meet the criteria above, and YOU will be the next link in the chain. And that�s a cool thing.
You just have to be sure to play along with the rules as stated above; otherwise, bad wicked nasty bad things will happen to you. Dick Cheney wants cake!
