Tuesday, December 14, 2010: Alice In Chains - Sunshine

For many years I lived in Norfolk, England. The weather was usually mild compared with the rest of Great Britain, but it was still cold, too cold for my thin blood.

I'm currently living in Nevada, USA.  The desert. In the summer it gets above 100 degrees for months on end. It's glorious. I'm a desert rat.

I don't miss the cold, but I do miss the sunshine. I honestly believe Britain has a different quality of light than the states, I really do. It's like the sun is filtered through crystal before it drops down. The British sunlight, when it shines, is magic.

Here's a very cool song that has absolutely nothing to do with the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the Sun, otherwise known as Sunshine.

But, here in mid-December, I'll gladly take anything that will help me conjure up visions of that most magnificent light.

Monday, December 13, 2010: Men Without Hats - Safety Dance

Safety has been a hot topic lately.

From overbearing attempts to keep us safe when we fly, to hanging Christmas decorations safely, to making sure we are safe on the seasons snowy roads, safety is a prime concern in December.

Let's not devote any more of our efforts to dour, cerebral analysis of all these mundane safety procedures and protocols.

Let's Dance!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

No blogging on a Sunday.

See you Monday!

Saturday, December 11, 2010: Kula Shaker - Mystical Machine Gun

Kula Shaker got a bad rap.

It was very easy to hate them in the 90's; in fact it was almost expected that hipsters already overwhelmed by the Oasis/Blur/Britpop Blitzkrieg would, by default, react with predictable hatred to yet another overhyped youth-oriented pretty-boy band, especially a band who overindulged in simplistic Indian spirituality and weak psudeo-psychedelica.

And lead singer and creative force Crispian Mills being dragged through the mud by NME didn't help much, either.

No, they weren't a great band by any standard. But you just couldn't help but feel that a lot of the backlash, which still exists today in some circles, was more akin to being knee-jerk reactionary rather than thought out independent criticism.

So, for the sake of discussion, here's something off their sophomore album, 1999's Peasants, Pigs and Astronauts.  Which, for my money, is sounding a lot better these days than in the days of yore.

In fact, play this album back to back with Oasis' 2000 effort Standing on the Shoulder of Giants and see which one seems more creative, more entertaining and, for the kicker, more relevant.

Plus, the video is a perfect metaphor for the holiday shopping season.

Friday, December 10, 2010: Darius Rucker - Forever Road

Pop quiz, hot shot:

Which one of these are true:


A) A flying saucer crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico in July, 1947

B) Actress Marisa Tomei wasn't supposed to win the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1993, but because presenter Jack Palance read the wrong name, she has been allowed to keep her Oscar

C) If you go into a darkened room, look into a mirror and say the name "Bloody Mary" three times, her face will appear in the mirror and steal your soul, or scratch your eyes out, or some such horrible deed

D) The lead singer of the unflichingly-happy pop group Hootie And The Blowfish, who confessed in song that dolphins made him cry, would abruptly leave said money-making machine to pursue a solo career in Country Music, only to achieve even greater success, despite being unflichingly-happy, and black, two things that usually don't go down well in Country Music


I mean, c'mon, did you even SEE My Cousin Vinny?

Marisa Tomei was red hot, but still...........................an Oscar?

Please.

Thursday, December 9, 2010: Passion Pit - To Kingdom Come

I've written a lot about me recently, a lot of projection, a lot of soul-searching and self-absorption.

Now for something completely different.  Here's a band that has nothing to do with me.

Except for the fact that they are very cool. And my blog is all about the cool songs.

Here's Passion Pit.

Enjoy.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010: The Shirelles - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

Hey girls, you know that guy you met last weekend? Remember how he said he'd call?

It's Wednesday now.

Has he called you back? No? Of course not.

Here's the deal, give him until end of business today, and then you'll write him off, ok?

Actually, I'm just saying that to give you false hope. He was never going to call.

Sorry.

Men are jerks.