Memetics: The EW Music List

Like the movie list, the music list ends up almost entirely bold-faced. More than movies or books, I love music, and there is very little of importance or "quality" (however defined) that I don't have -- at least when it comes to the rock spectrum that Entertainment Weekly chronicles.

Much of what I don't have, I used to have but lost in the fire and never managed/bothered to reacquire.

1. Purple Rain Prince and the Revolution (1984)
2. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Lauryn Hill (1998)
3. Achtung Baby U2 (1991)
4. The College Dropout Kanye West (2004)
5. Madonna Madonna (1983)
6. American Idiot Green Day (2004)
7. The Blueprint Jay-Z (2001)
8. Graceland Paul Simon (1986)
9. Back to Black Amy Winehouse (2007)
10. In Rainbows Radiohead (2007)
11. MTV Unplugged in New York Nirvana (1994)
12. Stankonia OutKast (2000)
13. You Are Free Cat Power (2003)
14. Disintegration The Cure (1989)
15. The Marshall Mathers LP Eminem (2000)
16. Rain Dogs Tom Waits (1985)
17. Odelay Beck (1996)
18. People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm A Tribe Called Quest (1990)
19. Dangerously in Love Beyoncé (2003)
20. Tidal Fiona Apple (1996)
21. The Emancipation of Mimi Mariah Carey (2005)
22. 3 Feet High and Rising De La Soul (1989)
23. The Soft Bulletin The Flaming Lips (1999)
24. Come On Over Shania Twain (1997)
25. Turn On the Bright Lights Interpol (2002)
26. Time Out of Mind Bob Dylan (1997)
27. Funeral Arcade Fire (2004)
28. Illmatic Nas (1994)
29. Breakaway Kelly Clarkson (2004)
30. Appetite for Destruction Guns N' Roses (1987)
31. FutureSex/LoveSounds Justin Timberlake (2006)
32. Life's Rich Pageant R.E.M. (1985)
33. As I Am Alicia Keys (2007)
34. Is This It The Strokes (2001)
35. Jagged Little Pill Alanis Morissette (1995)
36. CrazySexyCool TLC (1994)
37. The Moon & Antarctica Modest Mouse (2000)
38. Raising Hell Run-DMC (1986)
39. Sheryl Crow Sheryl Crow (1996)
40. Ready to Die The Notorious B.I.G. (1994)
41. Legend Bob Marley and the Wailers (1984)
42. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) Wu-Tang Clan (1993)
43. Paul's Boutique Beastie Boys (1989)
44. Car Wheels on a Gravel Road Lucinda Williams (1998)
45. If You're Feeling Sinister Belle and Sebastian (1996)
46. Homogenic Björk (1997)
47. Exile in Guyville Liz Phair (1993)
48. American IV: The Man Comes Around Johnny Cash (2002)
49. A Rush of Blood to the Head Coldplay (2002)
50. Sounds of Silver LCD Soundsystem (2007)
51. The Score Fugees (1996)
52. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Spoon (2007)
53. King of America Elvis Costello (1986)
54. Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 Janet Jackson (1989)
55. It Takes a Nation of Millions... Public Enemy (1988)
56. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Wilco (2002)
57. Harvest Moon Neil Young (1992)
58. Surfer Rosa The Pixies (1988)
59. Ray of Light Madonna (1998)
60. Crooked Rain Crooked Rain Pavement (1994)
61. Paid in Full Eric B. & Rakim (1987)
62. OK Computer Radiohead (1997)
63. The Joshua Tree U2 (1987)
64. Mama's Gun Erykah Badu (2000)
65. Elephant The White Stripes (2003)
66. The Chronic Dr. Dre (1992)
67. Metallica Metallica (1991)
68. Wrecking Ball Emmylou Harris (1995)
69. Give Up The Postal Service (2003)
70. My Life Mary J. Blige (1994)
71. Rock Steady No Doubt (2001)
72. 1984 Van Halen (1984)
73. The Queen is Dead Smiths (1986)
74. Play Moby (1999)
75. Born in the U.S.A. Bruce Springsteen (1984)
76. Heartbreaker Ryan Adams (2000)
77. Dummy Portishead (1994)
78. Vs. Pearl Jam (1991)
79. Let It Be The Replacements (1984)
80. Back to Basics Christina Aguilera (2006)
81. The Downward Spiral Nine Inch Nails (1994)
82. Grace Jeff Buckley (1994)
83. Learning to Crawl The Pretenders (1984)
84. Low-Life New Order (1985)
85. Home Dixie Chicks (2002)
86. Loveless My Bloody Valentine (1991)
87. All Eyez on Me 2Pac (1996)
88. So Peter Gabriel (1986)
89. Bachelor No. 2 Aimee Mann (2000)
90. Toxicity System of a Down (2001)
91. Siamese Dream Smashing Pumpkins (1993)
92. The Writing's on the Wall Destiny’s Child (1999)
93. Either/Or Elliott Smith (1997)
94. Synchronicity The Police (1983)
95. Trap Muzik T.I. (2003)
96. Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea PJ Harvey (2000)
97. Britney Britney Spears (2001)
98. Transatlanticism Death Cab for Cutie (2003)
99. Live Through This Hole (1994)
100. Faith George Michael (1987)

After doing the book list I am not at all surprised that of the 28 albums I don't have, 19 are by female artists or bands fronted by women.

Music Friday: Crazy Cambodian Garage Rock

Yes It Does

Wanna hear something really cool? Check this out:

Cambodian Rocks

My pal JoeyX mentioned this album on The Well the other day. It's a compilation of Cambodian psychedelic and garage rock from the late 60s and early 70s that was "compiled by an American tourist named Paul Wheeler from some cassettes he bought in Phnom Penh."

WFMU originally posted the tracks without any attribution (that's the way they are on the album) but thanks to the power of the Internet the song & artist information has been filled in. It's great stuff, full of fuzzy guitars and Farfisa licks that sound like they were lifted straight off the Nuggets record. Play it at your next party and I guarantee you'll have people asking about it once they stop dancing to it.

Random Thoughts After Listening to 10 Minutes of the Light Classic Rock Station

1. As much as I hate the country station that's usually on in the shop, I would gladly listen to that "stick a boot in your ass" song a hundred times instead of being subjected to "All Out Of Love" even once.

2. The line "she blew my nose, and then she blew my mind" confused the hell out of me when I was a little kid.

3. When you open a dictionary to the page that has the word "funky" on it, there ought to be a little microchip that plays the opening bars of "Superstition."

4. If I was walking down the street one day, and I asked a man what the time was that was on his watch, and he said "does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?" I would punch him in the throat.

An Email to Mike Doughty: The Harrisburg Show and "Super Bon Bon"

Mike,

I was at your free show at the Abbey at Appalachian Brewing Company in Harrisburg over the weekend. I've been a fan since the Soul Coughing days -- I doubt there's been a record over the last year that I anticipated more than Golden Delicious -- and have been lucky to see you twice in central PA over the last few months (thanks for that -- it seems like no one ever comes to the mid-state at all, and here you are twice).

I really enjoyed the set at ABC (and was very psyched you and Scrap played "Madeline and Nine" since you didn't in Lancaster), but I have to say I was bummed by some of the in-between song comments you made. Since you didn't seem to be playing off a playlist, lots of people shouted song suggestions in between songs, and you'd respond by saying "yes," "no," "maybe," etc. From the live recordings I've heard of your shows, and from the show in Lancaster, I'd say you're one of the best musicians around when it comes to interacting with the crowd. You respond to fans' comments, joke around, etc. It's so much more fun than watching a guy who just stands on stage, plays his songs, and then leaves, and it really makes people in the crowd feel more connected to you and to the show.

At least two different times on Saturday, though, you responded to people shouting out requests for Soul Coughing songs by slagging the songs. And not just by saying something like "naah, I'm not gonna play that," or "man am I sick of that one." I believe you referred to "Super Bon Bon" as the worst song you ever wrote, said you were embarrassed by it, apologized to America for writing it, and would never play it again. Or words to that effect.

Obviously I don't know anything about the inner workings of Soul Coughing, so I have no idea of the particulars surrounding that (or any other) song. Obviously it wasn't a positive experience for you, and judging from your most recent blog entry this is far from the first time that you've gotten upset at the crowd for requesting that particular song.

From my standpoint as a fan, though, I love that song. "Super Bon Bon" has long been one of my all-time favorites of yours; it's got a great beat and you can dance to it, and it's taken on a whole new meaning for me recently now that my three year old daughter loves it too. She starts dancing and singing along whenever it comes on. It's awesome and it puts you on par with Gustafer Yellowgold and Ramones in her eyes -- heady company indeed.

In an essay published after Kurt Cobain's death, New Yorker music writer Alex Ross wrote this:

"Music is robbed of its intentions and associations as it goes out into the great wide open; like a rumor passed through a crowd, it emerges utterly changed. Pop songs become the property of their fans and are marked with the circumstances of their consumption, not their creation."

My brother, who is a musician, disagrees with Ross, and I imagine you might too. But as someone who hasn't created any art which has made it out into "the great wide open" but has consumed his share, I think there's a lot of truth in that statement. I get that you aren't happy with some of the songs you wrote -- I doubt any artist is happy with everything he's created -- and if you don't want to play them, that's cool. But even the songs you dislike have lots of meaning, and positive associations, to me and other fans. The act of listening to a song is only a small part of the experience that surrounds the song, an experience that changes with every interaction with the song, whether it's listening to the original CD, or hearing it live, or done by someone else, or used to market a TV show or a video game or a drug-addled blowhard on the radio.

The next time I put on Irresistible Bliss will I be thinking, "which other songs on this record does Mike hate"? Maybe. Ross might say that's just another circumstance that influences my consumption, and he'd be right, but it'll still be a bummer.

Don't get me wrong -- I had a great time at the show. I hope you guys enjoyed playing the Hbg and the next time you're on tour you'll consider the ABC again. If you do, I'll be there digging whatever you play, and if you don't, I'll go to whatever venue in a two-hour radius you do end up at. And I feel weird writing an email to you in which I'm basically whining about what was a really small part of show that was awesome overall. I just wish you hadn't felt compelled to share those particular comments with us on Saturday night -- it was the only downer moment (for me) of a great evening.

Best,

Christian Ruzich

Music Friday: Music Intelligence Quiz

Here's a fun little music quiz created by eMusic. It's a mix of pretty easy questions and "who the hell knows that?" stuff.

Music Intelligence Quiz

I scored a 141, just below the "musical magician" level. Not sure how the scoring works, since I got 24 right out of 30. I'm guessing some questions are weighted differently than others. If you care, the ones I got wrong were #5, #9, #12, #16, #20, and #27. I'm embarrassed about two of those.

On another musical note, don't forget: Mike Doughty's free show at ABC is this Saturday. It's part of their 11th anniversary festival -- there's live music outside starting at 4:00, and then Doughty and Scrap Livingston play inside at around 9:30, followed by a DJ set by Doughty into the wee hours. Should be a blast!

Music Friday: R. Kelly, the Peeing-est Serial Statutory Rapist In R&B

(Sorry, allegedserial stautory rapist.)

Josh Levin of Slate covers the R. Kelly child pornography trial, and manages to find humor in the trial of a guy accused of (in this instance) of filming himself having sex with (and peeing on) an underage girl -- not the only time he's been accused of this, by a long shot.

Josh Levin's coverage of the R. Kelly trial in Slate

You'll want to bookmark this one; we're only two days in and we've already heard about The Money Store, The 'Little Man' defense, and the vengeance of Sparkle.

How Can a Radio Station...

...play a bumper advertising itself as "rock and roll without the hard edge," and then follow that up by playing "Walk on the Wild Side"? In fact, "Wild Side" ("but she never lost her head/even when she was giving head") was the last of a three-song set that also contained "Hurts So Good" (sink your teeth right through my bones, baby/let's see what we can do"), and "Ohio" ("what if you knew her and/found her dead on the ground").

I guess the hard edge they're avoiding is musical, not lyrical.

By the way, in case anyone wonders about the effect 'American Idol' has on American commercial radio, they just played "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" and "Sharp Dressed Man," both of which were sung this week on AI. I expect to hear "Teach Your Children" and that One Republic song before the day is out.

Music Friday: Mike Doughty, Chameleon Lancaster, 4/3/08

I went to see Mike Doughty at the Chameleon in Lancaster last night. Despite the poor sound (I've never seen a show there before so I don't know if it's like that all the time or if it was just bad last night), Doughty and his band put on a fine show, heavy on stuff from the new album but with a few Soul Coughing faves and one excellent cover.

Because there is no Doughtybase of shows and set lists (is there?), here's what he played:

Tremendous Brunettes
I Wrote a Song About Your Car
Navigating By the Stars at Night
Circles
St. Louise Is Listening
American Car
Grey Ghost
I Hear the Bells
Wednesday (No Se Apoye)
More Bacon Than the Pan Can Handle (with Mike playing the sampler)
I Just Want the Girl in the Blue Dress to Keep On Dancing
Fort Hood
Ossining (thanks, Candice)
The Gambler (the Kenny Rogers classic)
Put It Down
27 Jennifers
Looking at the World From the Bottom of a Well

I would loved to hear some other old stuff, like "Only Answer" or "Thank You Lord For Sending Me the F Train," but the only thing I'm really bummed he didn't play was "Madeline and Nine":

All my life I’ve been slow and senseless
Not struck dumb, I’m just dumb that’s all
But I can give you the constellations
Lay down here and we’ll count them all

But who knows, maybe I'll get to hear him play it when he plays for free at ABC Brewery in May as Jersey Mike comes through with another fantastic live show. You know I'll be there!

I Have April 26th in the "When Muxtape Gets Shut Down" Pool

There is no possible way in hell that Muxtape is legal. A site that lets you upload any song you want to a 12-song "mixtape" which anyone can then stream online? Nuh uh. Not even if you include this:

"By uploading a song you agree that you have permission to let Muxtape use it."

Yeah, like that's going to assuage an industry known to sue children over downloading music.

Buy hey, it'll be fun while it lasts. Here's mine, a Muxtape version of my "imaginary set list" from a few weeks back:

Part One: We Dig For The Bones Of An Idol
Part Two: It's All A Sweet Fleeting Feeling

Quiz Answers

Here are the answers to Friday's lyrics quiz:

1. The Cure, "In Between Days"
2. Human League, "Don't You Want Me"
3. a-ha, "Take On Me"
4. John Cougar Mellencamp, "Pink Houses"
5. Bad Brains, "Pay to Cum"
6. Violent Femmes, "Kiss Off"
7. The Smiths, "How Soon Is Now?"
8. R.E.M., "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)"
9. Talking Heads, "Life During Wartime"
10. Police, "Every Breath You Take"

Hope you enjoyed this, I'll try to remember to post another one later.

Music Friday: Lyrics Quiz

A friend on The Well posted a link to this fun lyrics quiz, which asks you to identify the song by a list of all the words in the song, listed alphabetically. So for a little fun today I thought I'd do the same thing, with a twist. These aren't just lyrics lists, they're tag clouds (made at tagcrowd.com) generated from the lyrics, so they show the frequency of each word's use.

Let's kick it early 80s style, shall we?

1.

a and away back be between can't child choice come could couldn't cry deep die disappear don't felt from froze go got her here i in inside is it just know like made me old on said scared see shivered so that to today true walk want was when why without wrong yesterday you your

created at TagCrowd.com

2.

a and are around as baby back bar be been believe better both but can can't change changed cocktail do don't down either even feet find five for forget good got has have hear i i'd in into is it knew know late later life live love me met mind much must my need new now oh on or out own place put say see so someone sorry still success such that the then think time times to too true turned up waitress want we were what when where who will with won't working world years you you'd you've your

created at TagCrowd.com

3.

a after all and another anyway away be better but coming day don't ends find for gone got i i'll i'm i've in is it just know learning life live love me my needless no odds ok on or play remember safe say shying slowly so sorry stumbling take talking than that the things to today two what worries you you're

created at TagCrowd.com

4.

'cause a ain't america an and at baby be bills black boy but came can cat cause could crazy destination do down else everything for free front gonna good got greasy gulf hair he her hey home houses i in interstate it just kill kinda kitchen know like little livin looks lord losers man me more must my neighborhood no of oh old ooh pays people pink president remember rise says see simple slop smile so some station that the there they thinks this those thrills to told vacation went what when winners with woman work yeah you you're younger

created at TagCrowd.com

5.

a ago all and apart be behind bloody by came chance choose collision cum dance decision dismay don't end fantasy fear fight filled find for from got hear hearts i in inside is it just know left listen long lost make manned minds must my near no not now of our ours pay peace perfectly piece play precision right see sing slow so soon stick take that the they things this time to together up want we we'll were what when will wisdom with world write

created at TagCrowd.com

6.

a all and back bad be behind but can care cause could darling did distressed do don't down eight enough everything family five for forget four get gets god habit happen headaches heartache hey hope hurt i i'm impressed into is it just kid kiss know left lonely lost love me mention mind my need nine no not off oh on one permanent person record rough see seven sick situation six so someone sorrow stare start take talk ten that the them then they they'll this three time to tomorrow two well what who'd will won't yeah you you're your

created at TagCrowd.com

7.

a about all already am and be can club could criminally cry die do does else everybody exactly go gone gonna happen heir home hope how human i i've if in is it just leave like long loved loves mean meet mouth my need nothing now of on own particular really say see shut shyness so somebody son stand that the there things to too vulgar waited want way well when who wrong you you'd your

created at TagCrowd.com

8.

a another are away bend bound build built but call choice cities city conversation did dimmed down dream driving eastern follow for girl go his home i i'm is isn't lines man me mine mountain never not ocean of on party river rivers rocks sang sorry suggestion suit the there these third this to trees upon waited wash will wise without words you your yourself

created at TagCrowd.com

9.

a about aching address ain't alive all and are around be better burned but by can't careful cbgb college couple dancing day disco don't dress driving exhausted follow fooling for get go good got grave heard hope housewives i i'd i've in is it know last letter like lived make many maybe me might my name next night no nobody not notebooks now of off or over party pittsburgh ready receiver see shiver sleep so some somebody sound stay that the think this time to transit try up used want watch we weapons what where why with write you your

created at TagCrowd.com

10.