Listening: I haven't downloaded music in so long, it seems. But I've still been getting my kicks musically. Last.fm tells me I've been jonesin' on:
- Exile on Main Street, the Rolling Stones; I don't think its because of the Exile! re-release! hoopla! Its just sunny days, open windows, and wind sweeping through my room feels even better with songs like "Rocks Off", "Torn and Frayed", "Sweet Virginia", and "Loving Cup".
- Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround Part One, the Kinks; I know I've said enough about this album, but its so great. In between the jovial energy of songs like "The Contenders", "Lola", "Rats", "Apeman", and "Powerman", your heart falls to your ankles with numbers like "Strangers", "Get Back in Line", and "A Long Way from Home". Nothing works better with a windy sun-kissed day like "This Time Tomorrow". Stop reading, just go listen!
- Cut, the Slits; I've talked about this album plenty as well, but when albums are great, you listen to them for longer than a week! First, the Slits are waaay more than half naked (if loincloths count), rabid punk girls who hung with the Clash and the Pistols. As the Slits were a notoriously spastic live act, I expected Cut to be a mess... But coattail riders, they were not. They held their own and possessed an eccentric breed of talent. Ari Up's manic vocals dip and soar, teasing and playful. The rhythm section (Budgie and Tessa Pollitt) is so interesting! Spacious and liberating, the Slits excel at the concepts of "spaces in music". The silence, what isn't being played. They fully understand this and brilliantly dish it out as an integral part of their sound. Throughout this album, Viv Albertine experiments with interesting sounds and rhythms. Her firm grip on the pulse and genuine feel for the music makes you forget that the Slits lacked such tech savvy that Mick Jones had to tune their guitars on early tours. This is a weird album, but I dig it immensely. Everyone who has visited my lair as I played this stopped to inquire about what madness I was listening to. Its a difficult album to sum up, just listen for yourself. You'll be surprised. "Shoplifting", "Ping Pong Affair", "Typical Girls"... Go!
- I've also been loving How the West Was Won, Led Zeppelin. Its perhaps my favorite live depiction of the band. Its just absolutely thrilling. The featured take on "Dazed and Confused" is my new favorite rendition. When they throw "The Crunge" over, I always stop to bask in the brilliance. Ugggh, its utterly contagious - and the album holds many moments like it. I think Led Zeppelin certainly grew extensively as songwriters and composers, but as a live unit, this defines their peak. How the West Was Won tromps The Song Remains the Same for me. Three discs may seem lofty, with various tracks exceeding twenty minutes, but you don't even notice. You crave more, and thus is the magic of Led Zeppelin. I urge you to listen to this as well, as its a total mystery as to why its just hitting heavy rotation over here.
I've also had a few choice numbers thrown in the mix:
- "Midnight Rider", the Allman Brothers Band; I've already explained myself...
- "Wasn't Born to Follow", the Byrds; Perfection. The Byrds improved with time, I think. Open the windows, put this on, and I'm elated.
- "Lost in the Supermarket", "The Guns of Brixton", "Death or Glory", "The Card Cheat"; The Clash tunes that are making it this week.
- "NSU" and "I Feel Free", Cream; I've reached the point where I can say Cream isn't worth the hype, Disraeli Gears is boring, and Eric Clapton is a big phony. (I even get into long-winded conversations at parties about the lacklustre skills of EC.) But these dazzlers off Fresh Cream make me temporarily forgiving. (Also, Ginger Baker has the most menacing glare of anyone I've ever seen in my life and Jack Bruce hates Led Zeppelin. What else ya got?)
- "The Message", Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five; If you want to get me real excited, just throw on some Grandmaster Flash or Sugarhill Gang, for that's where I've been getting my kicks lately. Also, try to avoid my bedroom late at night, because I might have all the words to this memorized, and may just rhapsodize in the wee hours. MAYBE.
- "Cause We've Ended As Lovers", Jeff Beck; Blow by Blow is limitlessly flawless and moving. "Cause We've Ended As Lovers" is the first song that penetrated through my can't-handle-jazz-fusion haze and it remains ever poignant. Its so perfect, and so beautiful. Bask in its splendor.
- "People Get Ready", Jeff Beck; How many times is it appropriate to say "perfect" in a single post? Rod Stewart is great and all that (I've also defended Rod Stewart at parties, because seriously, put on Every Picture Tells a Story before you say anything), but Jeff! Jeff!!! His guitar is so mesmerizing here, with just as much melody as Rod's vocals.
- "Young Lust", Pink Floyd; Ladies, when getting ready for the evening, put on "Young Lust". Put on some red lipstick, crank it up, and slink out the door. You'll obviously be ready to tackle any obstacles that night.
- "32-20 Blues", Robert Johnson; Maybe its just me, but I find Robert Johnson's music to be really danceable. He was a jiving kind of guy! So I wiggle a little to "32-20 Blues" and its rather fun.
- "Connection", "Sweet Virginia", "Dead Flowers", the Rolling Stones; Random and spellbinding Stones selection. This showcases my strange taste in Stones, but also the brilliant eclecticism of the Stones.
- "I Second That Emotion", Smokey Robinson and the Miracles; I could totally "Song-a-Day" this, but consider that project abandoned! Anyway, this song is a little perfect. I like to sing to it and be gleeful. Did you know the Grateful Dead covered it? Yeah. Look at them.
- "Funky Kingston", Toots and the Maytals; Not only is reggae (especially Toots!) my go-to happy music, its delightful summer music. Not sure why I chose "Funky Kingston", but why not? Its sublime. The sax, the breakdown, everything...
Watching: This is an unfair question. Ask me when school is over... I've been watching the stars. I've been on many a hike during the wee hours. Everything is still, as the world passes by like a silent film. Everything glows a radiant blue as its delicately lit by the moonlight. The wind blows through and walking comes as simply as breathing.
Reading: Again, not cool... The last book I finished was Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion. I think when she doesn't have an emotional connection to her subject (a la The Year of Magical Thinking), her writing is too dry.
