Before we start first off let me say I'm sorry. I don't know what has gotten into my as of late. I just haven't had the energy to type something up at the end of the day. I've been seriously slacking, and I feel like I've let you guys down. So after today we should be back on track and I won't let this happen again (or I won't allow it to get this bad again). I am going to Vermont this weekend (more on that laterish), but I do plan on brining my lap top with me to prevent this from occurring again. So I'm just going to jump into it so we get ourselves all caught up, again sorry for being a bum.
Sunday
So Sunday I spent the majority of the day (over seven hours of it) coming home from the awesome that was the Sterling Renaissance festival. While Shea and the rest of the gang had Monday off I on the other hand had to work. So I departed at ten in hopes of avoiding traffic and getting home at a somewhat decent hour. But for long car rides there has to be a music itinerary planned, it's essential to the ride. If you don't have a clear blue print of what you want to listen to then you're looking at a car ride that won't go that smoothly. Luckily for me I had it planned out to the "T".
With the new O.A.R. album being out and it not sucking out loud I decided I would spend some time with the band on the way home. Last summer I picked up the live four disc album, Rain or Shine, but didn't really listen to it. I was still pretty angry with the band and I remember listening to the first two discs once and never really going back to it. So I thought, seven hour car ride, anger over the band coming down, why not give it a shot. I'm so glad I did. What followed was four awesome hours of falling back in love with one of my favorite bands. That second show (or discs three and four) is everything I love about O.A.R. . It's been a long time since I've been that happy listening to them. I was singing and free styling over the beats and smiling the whole way, even in traffic. It was the best make up music "sex" ever. Yes I'm aware of how weird that must sound.
Well after listening to all of Rain or Shine (four hours), King (deluxe version), and the second disc of Live From Madison Square Garden I decided to take a break from the O.A.R. love fest and go to the song of the day. I think at this point my ipod wanted to play anything as long as it wasn't O.A.R. so it gave me this little gem.
Black is one of my all time favorite Pearl Jam songs…ever. I had the pleasure of seeing them play it last year at the Garden and it blew my mind. This version comes from an all acoustic show that the band did for charity, and I think it might be one of my favorite versions of the song.
Here's the thing here, the first time I had heard this album I borrowed it from the library. Yeah that's right you can do that. The show is enjoyable, it's a softer more mellow side of the band that I like. Sometimes you just have to have your Pearl Jam mellow. When Black came on I was sold. Pearl Jam is very good with their crowd participation but here in the more intimate setting it sounds amazing. I love listening to the crowd take it over, I'm pretty sure I've said this before…I'm a sucker for crowd participation. That's what sticks out the most here for me. In a regular Pearl Jam show you can hear the crowd and it's awesome backed with the band, but with this being an acoustic show the crowd just sounds awesome. Adds to the entire vibe. In my opinion totally makes the song.
Black also makes me think the time my buddy Brad and I sang with a local band (two dudes with two guitars) at one of our local bars. Don't get me wrong I can't sing to save my life but we had been drinking and we asked to sing a Pearl Jam song and they said yes. It was awesome. We were so good that they asked to sing Better Man with them too, which was totally unplanned. It was one of my favorite rock star moments. They usually record their shows but sadly for me they didn't record this one. I guess I'll just have to relive it in my head as being awesome instead of listening to how awful we probably sounded in real life.
Five Songs I Can't Live Without (At Least Right Now)
1. Black Thumbnail- Kings of Leon
2. Conquering Fools (live)- O.A.R.
3. Shattered (acoustic live)- O.A.R.
4. Happy Alone- Kings of Leon
5. Irish Rose- O.A.R. (this one isn't going anywhere people)
Monday
Still feeding off that O.A.R. high people. As a matter of fact it's all I'm listening to lately (ha ha lately as if Sunday was that long ago). I am currently in the process of re-tooling the Want To Hear It Now playlist with more O.A.R. songs as well as songs from groups I associate with O.A.R. (looking at you Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, and Michael Franti and Spearhead). This make up session is going swimmingly I must say. I had no idea I missed this band that much. It's like getting in touch with an old friend who's been in on the back burner of your life for awhile but then comes back to the forefront like they never left.
So on my way home from job the second I decided it was about time to hit shuffle. There is a project to maintain here people. So I pryed myself away from the O.A.R. love fest for a couple of minutes. There's nothing worse than listening to what you want to listen to and then changing the pace up. Putting something on you don't want to hear at all. I was definitely fearing that when I hit shuffle. But I forgot my ipod is awesome and it loves me.
Not only is Trench Town Rock one of my favorite Bob Marley songs, but it has one of my all time favorite music quotes of all time, "one good thing about music when it hits you feel no pain" (coincidently O.A.R. uses this lyric in their song Anyway… just throwing that out there). How great is that? "When it hits you, you feel no pain". Just makes me so excited to listen to music. "Brutalize" me with music… gives me goose bumps people. I actually want this quote inscribed on the back of my ipod. I should look into this hmmmmm…
Trench Town Rock is a song that just sounds better live. You get to hear all of Marley's energy and how the band and the crowd feed off it. I wish I could have seen him. God. I've got a bunch of live records and they're so fun to listen to (granted Bob doesn't switch the ole set list up that often but who cares it's a freakin' Bob Marley show). If I could do two things with a time machine that were music related I would probably save John Lennon's life and go see a Bob Marley concert. Someone hurry up and make me a time machine!
Listening to Bob Marley mixed in with the O.A.R. goodness I'm all types of pumped up for music. I have a bunch of songs to be omitted and added to the Want To Hear It Now list but now I'm thinking I might have to add some Bob Marley. Feeling good people, feeling good.
Tuesday
The ole ipod is feeling it people, it's feeling it. I've been in such a good music mood lately (all this old stuff that I haven't listened to in so long is just making me giddy) it must be contagious. I'm re-discovering all types of music I had thrown on the back burner (for example check out Michael Franti and Spearhead doing Light Up Ya Lighter or One Step Closer with Pink. You will not be disappointed). I'm actually thinking about busting out the half hour version of Crazy Game of Poker featuring Michael Franti and Radioactive. It's epic and I haven't listened to it in years. Well in my defense it's tough to listen to a half hour song. That's like the length of some good punk albums. It's a commitment people. Same way I feel about Bob Marley's thirty minute live version of Get Up, Stand Up/No More Trouble/War from the Live At the Roxy album. While thirty minutes of awesome I don’t listen to it that often because it's so epically long. That's like my whole commute to work almost or at least the only song I'll be listening to during it. Maybe I'll grow a set and put it on the Want To Hear It Now playlist… hmmmm.
Speaking of Bob Marley
For those of you keeping count that's two Bob Marley songs in a row. Whoa. I have to say that the title here leaves something to be desired. Craven Choke Puppy. It sounds like the unhappiest thing Bob Marley has ever said or written. I'm not really sure how you can look people in the eye with a straight face saying Craven Choke Puppy is your favorite song. People would probably think it was a Cannibal Holocaust song or something.
Title of the song aside, it's not bad. Simple acoustic number off the Songs of Freedom box set. Although I feel that it would make a pretty cool dub step song. I don't listen to dub mixes they don't really speak to me, and on top of that I don't really see what the big deal is. To me it's almost like mock reggae but what do I know right? So using my complete lack of knowledge of dub style music I would like to volunteer Craven Choke Puppy for the treatment. It could give the song a back bone and maybe a cool beat to dance stupid to. That would be pretty cool I suppose.
Then again it is a Bob Marley song and the beauty of his music is that it's able to stand on its own without having anything added to it. Actually I tend to dislike the remixes of Bob Marley songs. It's like whoever is doing the remix is missing the point. Bob's music was pure and through the soul. By throwing in heavy bass beats, rap versus, and such you're taking that away. And if there is one artist that shouldn't be touched it's Bob Marley.
Catching Up On Posts
First let me start off by apologising for my lack of posts these last four days. Friday through today I didn't have access to the interwebs (gasp) and there really is no excuse for not writing anything on Thursday. So it is my intention to catch up on all the songs that you've missed (because I haven't written about them) here in one giant post. That's right Shufflers today is the first, and hopefully only, four day post. So here we go...
Thursday
Beatles For Sale would make my top three favorite Beatles albums of all time. I fell in love with the album the moment I turned it on. It's everything that makes the Beatles great. So when Every Little Thing started playing this morning I felt a bit nostalgic. I used to listen to this record a lot in high school, and it's not very often that I feel nostalgic for high school either.
I don't know if I was nostalgic for the experience I think it was just that feeling of being there. Hearing Every Little Thing kind of took me back for a minute (actually two minutes and five seconds if we're splitting hairs here). I didn't think of a specific memory I just had that feeling that wraps itself around you when you're time hopping in your head. It was nice to reflect nicely on high school for a couple of minutes and listening to a song without associating anything specific to a good song. I don't think it's possible to listen to this song and think of something bad. Maybe it is...doubtful.
Friday
So today me and my friend Michael are heading upstate to Sterling for the Renaissance Festival. Shea and a couple of our other friends are already up there so there was a six and a half hour car ride keeping us from camping awesome. This is also after working a full nine hour day. So we got in the car blasted some tunes and trekked our way upstate.
Michael has yet to be a guest shuffler so I believe around hour four, maybe five, she was given the opportunity and she did not disappoint. I've been listening to a lot of Eminem lately so I was excited when 8 Mile started up. I also learned through this car ride that Michael is actually a pretty decent Eminem fan. I had no idea.
This song always reminds me of the boxing match that my friend Jason and I had my junior year of college. We had been drinking (pretty heavily I might add) and we had glove and a video camera so what else were we going to do? What followed was one of the greatest boxing matches in the history of the sport. Actually when I showed the video to my Dad and asked him what he thought I believe the first thing he said was "you definitely call that boxing".
The tape is currently in storage otherwise I would try and find a way to upload here. I think everyone deserves to see it. I'd say it was a pretty even match (it was actually a rematch to a fight which I got my ass handed to me), and by even I mean I won. There's a part where I hit him pretty flush in the face without retaliation (motor skills were real down), one of the highlights of my boxing career. Any way the whole time we were "boxing" 8 Mile was playing in the background. So when I hear it I always think about boxing, and the pain in my left elbow that lasted about a year. I probably should have gotten that checked out...
Saturday
Not a lot to report here if I'm being honest. We went to the RenaissanceFestival today and it was pretty awesome. Totally worth what turned out to be seven plus hour car ride. When we got back I slipped into the car and hit shuffle, and got this gem. It was fitting because of the Festival, but other than that I don't have a lot to report on it. The second Pirates movie was pretty good. Not as good as the first but waaaaaaaaay better than the third. This was very fitting for the trip though so I had that going for me.
Sunday
I just got tired folks... To Be Continued...
Thursday
Beatles For Sale would make my top three favorite Beatles albums of all time. I fell in love with the album the moment I turned it on. It's everything that makes the Beatles great. So when Every Little Thing started playing this morning I felt a bit nostalgic. I used to listen to this record a lot in high school, and it's not very often that I feel nostalgic for high school either.
I don't know if I was nostalgic for the experience I think it was just that feeling of being there. Hearing Every Little Thing kind of took me back for a minute (actually two minutes and five seconds if we're splitting hairs here). I didn't think of a specific memory I just had that feeling that wraps itself around you when you're time hopping in your head. It was nice to reflect nicely on high school for a couple of minutes and listening to a song without associating anything specific to a good song. I don't think it's possible to listen to this song and think of something bad. Maybe it is...doubtful.
Friday
So today me and my friend Michael are heading upstate to Sterling for the Renaissance Festival. Shea and a couple of our other friends are already up there so there was a six and a half hour car ride keeping us from camping awesome. This is also after working a full nine hour day. So we got in the car blasted some tunes and trekked our way upstate.
Michael has yet to be a guest shuffler so I believe around hour four, maybe five, she was given the opportunity and she did not disappoint. I've been listening to a lot of Eminem lately so I was excited when 8 Mile started up. I also learned through this car ride that Michael is actually a pretty decent Eminem fan. I had no idea.
This song always reminds me of the boxing match that my friend Jason and I had my junior year of college. We had been drinking (pretty heavily I might add) and we had glove and a video camera so what else were we going to do? What followed was one of the greatest boxing matches in the history of the sport. Actually when I showed the video to my Dad and asked him what he thought I believe the first thing he said was "you definitely call that boxing".
The tape is currently in storage otherwise I would try and find a way to upload here. I think everyone deserves to see it. I'd say it was a pretty even match (it was actually a rematch to a fight which I got my ass handed to me), and by even I mean I won. There's a part where I hit him pretty flush in the face without retaliation (motor skills were real down), one of the highlights of my boxing career. Any way the whole time we were "boxing" 8 Mile was playing in the background. So when I hear it I always think about boxing, and the pain in my left elbow that lasted about a year. I probably should have gotten that checked out...
Saturday
Not a lot to report here if I'm being honest. We went to the RenaissanceFestival today and it was pretty awesome. Totally worth what turned out to be seven plus hour car ride. When we got back I slipped into the car and hit shuffle, and got this gem. It was fitting because of the Festival, but other than that I don't have a lot to report on it. The second Pirates movie was pretty good. Not as good as the first but waaaaaaaaay better than the third. This was very fitting for the trip though so I had that going for me.
Sunday
I just got tired folks... To Be Continued...
Eh
One hundred twenty posts I think it's fair to say that you guys know at this point that I'm a pretty big Pearl Jam/Eddie Vedder fan. Actually I'm pretty sure that's an understatement. Besides the point. For the most part I enjoy Eddie Vedder's solo stuff. It's a very mellow side and provides good background music. The Into the Wild soundtrack is excellent (and should have been nominated for an Oscar) and Uke Songs is a unique and fun album to listen to. With that being said Better Days, the song used for Eat Pray Love is a very subpar attempt.
I'm pretty sure that Better Days started off as a Pearl Jam song that didn't make the cut on to Riot Act. From there it kind of laid scrapped in what I can only imagine is a huge collection of awesome songs that Pearl Jam has not released to the public...yet. For me this song is in the middle of being pretty good to make Riot Act and not being good enough to make Into the Wild. It's very "eh" for me. I've listened to it a couple of times today and I'll admit I like it better today then I did when I first downloaded it or heard it, but it's still not enough. I expect more.
It almost seems that they asked him to provide a song for the movie and instead of coming up with an original he dusted this old thing off, added a couple of things here and there, and handed it in. Don't get me wrong I'm not calling Eddie Vedder lazy I'm just saying that this song isn't his greatest effort. I don't know maybe I set the bar to high? It's just that whenever there's a new Pearl Jam or Eddie Vedder song/album coming out I get really excited and raise my hopes pretty high. So when the song doesn't connect or speak to me (which is very rare) then it's a bit of a let down (obviously). I think that's what happened here. Can't win them all I suppose.
I'm pretty sure that Better Days started off as a Pearl Jam song that didn't make the cut on to Riot Act. From there it kind of laid scrapped in what I can only imagine is a huge collection of awesome songs that Pearl Jam has not released to the public...yet. For me this song is in the middle of being pretty good to make Riot Act and not being good enough to make Into the Wild. It's very "eh" for me. I've listened to it a couple of times today and I'll admit I like it better today then I did when I first downloaded it or heard it, but it's still not enough. I expect more.
It almost seems that they asked him to provide a song for the movie and instead of coming up with an original he dusted this old thing off, added a couple of things here and there, and handed it in. Don't get me wrong I'm not calling Eddie Vedder lazy I'm just saying that this song isn't his greatest effort. I don't know maybe I set the bar to high? It's just that whenever there's a new Pearl Jam or Eddie Vedder song/album coming out I get really excited and raise my hopes pretty high. So when the song doesn't connect or speak to me (which is very rare) then it's a bit of a let down (obviously). I think that's what happened here. Can't win them all I suppose.
Shining On Like A Crazy Diamond If You Will
I wouldn't call myself a huge Pink Floyd fan but I have enough of their albums to consider myself a fan. As a matter of fact I'm pretty sure that Animals could very well be the scariest record ever made...ever. So when Shine On You Crazy Diamond started playing this morning I had to giggle. Not because I'm a fan but because what it reminds me of.
I want to say it was my senior year in college, but it could have been my junior. It doesn't really matter to be honest. My buddy Tom had just gotten a new digital camera and brought over some urrrrrrrm sandwiches. Yes you brought over some very tasty sandwiches. Well Tom, my roommate Jay, and I ate these sandwiches and hooked up Tom's camera to the the TV. We found that there were all sorts of accidental effects that we could make with it hooked up and moving the camera around. We also found that it looked really cool in the dark.
So with a belly full of sandwiches we decided to record our findings in the land of special effects. Somewhere along this we came to the conclusion that it would be best if this had a soundtrack. I'm not entirely sure who put on Shine On You Crazy Diamond but I remember it playing, and I remember watching the video afterwards. There's a part where Jay goes back for seconds on the sandwiches and laughs like diabolical mastermind, and it was both the scariest/funniest part of the video. I wonder whatever happened with that recording.
Open Letter To Tom- If you're reading this... Do you still have a copy of that video? If so send it my way.
Correction and LOST Music
Even before I hit shuffle this morning I had a problem. Yesterday when I posted my Five Songs I Can't Live Without (At Least Not Yet) I pretty much lied. To be honest only two of those songs actually belong there and for some reason I just scrapped together three other songs together to make the list. This feeling sat with me for most of my car ride and then I listened to one of these falsely promoted songs, and I knew... I had lied to you all. So now please allow me to give you my actual Five Songs I Can't Live Without (At Least Not Yet)
1. Irish Rose- O.A.R.
2. Mr. Moon (live)- O.A.R.
3. Black Thumbnail- Kings of Leon
4. Get Some- Lykke Li
5. Coming Up Easy- Paolo Nutini
A LOST song is usually ideal but this morning I wasn't feeling it. It could be because I spent the majority of the morning trying to figure if I was cranky or not (results are still inconclusive). When the song started I was kind of indifferent. I wouldn't choose it for my We Have To Go Back playlist (otherwise known as my LOST score playlist), and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what scene this song plays during (for those of you who want to know click here http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/The_Swinging_Bendulum ). I had a feeling it had to do with the Lamp Post station but I couldn't pin point it.
My ipod was in a "Kevin's Favorite TV Shows" mood because the song that played after this was from Fringe. My ipod knows me so well.
1. Irish Rose- O.A.R.
2. Mr. Moon (live)- O.A.R.
3. Black Thumbnail- Kings of Leon
4. Get Some- Lykke Li
5. Coming Up Easy- Paolo Nutini
A LOST song is usually ideal but this morning I wasn't feeling it. It could be because I spent the majority of the morning trying to figure if I was cranky or not (results are still inconclusive). When the song started I was kind of indifferent. I wouldn't choose it for my We Have To Go Back playlist (otherwise known as my LOST score playlist), and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what scene this song plays during (for those of you who want to know click here http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/The_Swinging_Bendulum ). I had a feeling it had to do with the Lamp Post station but I couldn't pin point it.
My ipod was in a "Kevin's Favorite TV Shows" mood because the song that played after this was from Fringe. My ipod knows me so well.
A Double Dose Of Weekend
Saturday:
(Side Note: Yesterday was Shea's birthday and good times were had. With this being said I didn't have time to write a post so I put it off for today. Combined with today's song I didn't think that either one of the songs that were shuffled could fit a full post...as a matter of fact I'm not even sure they can fill this post. But here we go...)
If there's one thing in the world I love it's music. If there are two things in the world that I love it's music and free music. Today's song comes from a free album I downloaded off of http://www.spin.com/ (the magazine that I think is actually better then Rolling Stone. They actually have opinions over there, not like Rolling Stone that believes the greatest song ever made is Like A Rolling Stone... are you freakin' kidding me?! Dare to have an actual opinion or rate something based on the music not the person who puts it out. Grrrrrr)
This song isn't very good actually. To be honest I couldn't even remember it two hours after it played and writing the piece now I was having a really tough time remembering it. A victim of free music. It makes me think that it might be time to do some spring cleaning on the ole ipod.
Sunday:
Today's Guest Shuffler is brought to you by my friend Ken (yay a shout to someone some of you may know and others don't). I like the Guest Shuffler option it helps add a sense of adventure to the project don't you think? So Ken hit shuffle and music followed.
I am a lover of Pearl Jam but this song leads nothing to write about really. It's a minute there are no real lyrics. The only thing to really write about here is that my ipod has a sense of humor. Ken is a self proclaimed non Pearl Jam fan (yest we continue to be friends... strange). There is no doubt in my mind that my ipod chose this song as a way of saying "ha ha". I chuckled, Ken groaned, and Shea wanted to hit shuffle again (we did out of curiosity but alas nothing will come of it other then this tiny little mention).
See what I mean about having little to write about here? I don't like to combine songs into one posts but there really wasn't much to write about, and I'm still nursing a hang over from Shea's birthday party. So I will leave you with our Sunday ritual
Five Songs I Can't Live Without (At Least This Week)
1. Irish Rose- O.A.R.
2. Bar- Zac Brown Band
3. Mr. Moon (live)- O.A.R.
4. Maxwel Murder- Rancid
5. Shake Your Rump- Beastie Boys
(Side Note: Yesterday was Shea's birthday and good times were had. With this being said I didn't have time to write a post so I put it off for today. Combined with today's song I didn't think that either one of the songs that were shuffled could fit a full post...as a matter of fact I'm not even sure they can fill this post. But here we go...)
If there's one thing in the world I love it's music. If there are two things in the world that I love it's music and free music. Today's song comes from a free album I downloaded off of http://www.spin.com/ (the magazine that I think is actually better then Rolling Stone. They actually have opinions over there, not like Rolling Stone that believes the greatest song ever made is Like A Rolling Stone... are you freakin' kidding me?! Dare to have an actual opinion or rate something based on the music not the person who puts it out. Grrrrrr)
This song isn't very good actually. To be honest I couldn't even remember it two hours after it played and writing the piece now I was having a really tough time remembering it. A victim of free music. It makes me think that it might be time to do some spring cleaning on the ole ipod.
Sunday:
Today's Guest Shuffler is brought to you by my friend Ken (yay a shout to someone some of you may know and others don't). I like the Guest Shuffler option it helps add a sense of adventure to the project don't you think? So Ken hit shuffle and music followed.
I am a lover of Pearl Jam but this song leads nothing to write about really. It's a minute there are no real lyrics. The only thing to really write about here is that my ipod has a sense of humor. Ken is a self proclaimed non Pearl Jam fan (yest we continue to be friends... strange). There is no doubt in my mind that my ipod chose this song as a way of saying "ha ha". I chuckled, Ken groaned, and Shea wanted to hit shuffle again (we did out of curiosity but alas nothing will come of it other then this tiny little mention).
See what I mean about having little to write about here? I don't like to combine songs into one posts but there really wasn't much to write about, and I'm still nursing a hang over from Shea's birthday party. So I will leave you with our Sunday ritual
Five Songs I Can't Live Without (At Least This Week)
1. Irish Rose- O.A.R.
2. Bar- Zac Brown Band
3. Mr. Moon (live)- O.A.R.
4. Maxwel Murder- Rancid
5. Shake Your Rump- Beastie Boys
A Response From My Ipod
Dear Kevin-
As you can see from today's song choice I took your suggestion of "no more rap" into consideration. After much thought I decided that in the best interest of today that I would indeed give you a non-rap song. But please allow me to explain something to you.
Without me and my random choices this project, this little "blog" is nothing. You are nothing without me. There is nothing to write about until I select the song. Do not think for one second that you can order me around to choose music to your liking. If I happen to be in a rap mood this week then I'm going to play rap music. Deal with it! You have multiple playlists to listen to what you want, the Shuffle is for me.
Your audacity in thinking that you can control me or the choices I make is ridiculous and insulting. Maybe tomorrow I want select anything...then where will you be.
Yours,
Your ipod
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