en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 60 http://www.audioscrobbler.net/data/webservices http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal The Last.fm journal for JoeIsListening. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2010/03/24/3ihl3c_the_tournament_of_tunes_2010_-_chapter_5_(the_final_four) Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:02:30 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2010/03/24/3ihl3c_the_tournament_of_tunes_2010_-_chapter_5_(the_final_four) Well, this was late in coming. Blame it on the Influenza, or whatever it was that knocked me for a loop at the end of last week. So, who will advance? Will it be the battle of Two Dead Singers, the battle of the Two Man Bands, or some other strange combo? Let's find out...

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Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick - Ian Dury & The Blockheads ****
Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan ****

Difficulty: +++++
Comments: Man, this should have been the final round. When I was thinking about the choice between the two songs that follow this matchup, one of the things I thought was that Blind Melon's song was slight compared to the XTC, which carried some weight. Well, the Steely Dan has plenty of weight, but I'm pretty sure I'm leaning toward Dury's song, which is as slight as it gets. But it suits my mood right now. Or maybe my mood needs it, I don't know. Anyway, does this make me a musical hypocrite?
The Winner: Blockheads!

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No Rain - Blind Melon ****
Boarded Up - XTC ****

Difficulty: +++
Comments: And this wasn't the brainhammer I thought it was going to be. The Blind Melon is the only track of theirs in my collection. If more of their songs sounded like this, I'd have been a fan. But their best lick, as I've alluded to earlier, was lifted somehow from Steely Dan. Meantime, the XTC continues to be, well, XTC, with one of Moulding's finer songs. Of course, his were always fine. Pity there weren't more.
The Winner: Two-by-fourded up.

---

For The Record (Previous Episodes)

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four

For The Record (Previous Tournaments)

2008 begins here.
2009 begins here.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2010/03/12/3hcwkj_the_tournament_of_tunes_2010_-_chapter_4_(the_elite_eight) Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:31:43 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2010/03/12/3hcwkj_the_tournament_of_tunes_2010_-_chapter_4_(the_elite_eight) The field is littered with smoking synths and battered basses and... well, fill in the rest with your own alliterative descriptors. We're down to eight songs, but of course, things don't get any easier. It never does. And there's going to be more than one broken heart before it's all over, and they're all going to belong to me. Hmmm. Well, while I go rethink my metaphors, here's a look at this week's results.

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Frosted Flake Wood - Hooverphonic ***
Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick - Ian Dury & The Blockheads ****

Difficulty: ++
Comments: This smackdown has made me reassess my feelings toward the Hooverphonic entry, which I had earlier written off as a novelty piece. Now I've come to appreciate the whimsy of it, especially since it has come to rest in the Top 12.5% of this year's choices. But the victory has to go to Ian and the Blockheads. Was their song embracing Disco or thumbing their nose at it as only Dury and Chaz Jankel could? I'm not sure. I just know this song makes me happy every time I hear it.
The Winner: Sticky rhythm.

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Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan ****
Hold On - Yes ***

Difficulty: +++
Comments: Hold On is a pretty darn good Yessong, considering it's not 14 minutes long. At the time, Trevor Rabin was a needed transfusion of fresh blood into the band, and he was probably a handy buffer between the clashing egos of Squier and Anderson. Like Frosted Flake Wood, I've reassessed my attitude toward this song, and may even up its rating up a star on the old iTunes scale. But there's something about it that has that eighties sound, the one that's sounding a bit tired right now. Whereas the Steely Dan track has more a timeless feel to it - dare I say time out of mind? Anyway, Dan marches on.
The Winner: It's logical.

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Halley's Waitress - Fountains Of Wayne ****
No Rain - Blind Melon ****

Difficulty: +++++
Comments: Expectedly tough. The FoW is a near-perfect pop song, from a guy who has crafted great songs from Ivy to Music and Lyrics. But when the Blind Melon song it demands my attention. Yeah, the lyrics are a little emo, but the harmony vocals and that great faux-Steely Dan guitar solo. It moves on.
The Winner: Melon again.

---

If You Want Me - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova ***
Boarded Up - XTC ****

Difficulty: ++++
Comments: I love the emotion in the Once song and how it builds. But I also love the atmosphere of the XTC song and how it doesn't build, appropriate to the subject matter of the song. That's good writing, too. So, long, Colin. It was great to have you writing for XTC. Meantime, your song advances to the next round.
The Winner: Boarded up.

---

Check out the next episode here{/url].

---

For The Record (Previous Episodes)

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three

For The Record (Previous Tournaments)

2008 begins here.
2009 begins here.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2010/03/05/3gqq1j_the_tournament_of_tunes_2010_-_chapter_3_(the_sweet_sixteen) Fri, 5 Mar 2010 14:13:04 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2010/03/05/3gqq1j_the_tournament_of_tunes_2010_-_chapter_3_(the_sweet_sixteen) As we make our way into what is actually March, the competition gets fiercer and the descriptions get verboser. There's still a little dross that needs to be burned away, but more than that will be gone by the end of the day - especially when you consider that 75% of the songs in the running have been eliminated by now. An impressive statistic, no? I'm sure my math teacher friends could come up with better ones, but this was the best a right brained dreamer could cook up on short notice. And now, on with the countdown.

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Frosted Flake Wood - Hooverphonic ***
All the Way Up to Heaven - Guster ***

Difficulty: ++
Comments: The Guster is a nice, poppy song, but it's not one of the best tracks on the album and I'm beginning to wonder if Lost and Gone Forever is one of those records where the songs are all better in context with each other. I could almost say the same about the Hooverphonic song, except it's so strange and quirkly that it's actually started to endear itself to me. Whereas, the Guster is becoming more like fingernails on a chalkboard when I hear it.
The Winner: Praise the Hoove!

---

Got To Get You In My Life - The Beatles ***
Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick - Ian Dury & The Blockheads ****

Difficulty: +++
Comments: On one hand you have classic Beatles - but not Classic Beatles. At least in my book. On the other hand you've got one of the most feared bands of the New Wave period - feared because their live act was so infectiously fun that other bands hated having them as an opening act because they were almost impossible to follow. Only bands like The Who and Lou Reed (on a good night) could stand up to them. Am I saying that the Beatles can't stand up to the Blockheads? Well, not with this song.
The Winner: Stick figures.

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Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan ****
The Storm - Big Country ****

Difficulty: ++
Comments: Both of these songs evoke specific moods. There's the nostalgia of the Dan song, combined with the typical Fagin/Becker character studies (dare I say "unreliable narrator" now that it has become a literary fad?), and the desperate feeling of the Big Country entry. I like them both a lot for this reason, but I think that Pretzel Logic is the one with legs.
The Winner: Where did you get those shoes?

---

Hold On - Yes ***
Rain On Down - Drywall ***

Difficulty: +++
Comments: Stan's my favorite, and this song has been growing on me since the smackdown started (I even upgraded its star rating), but the Yes song is still going strong.
The Winner: On hold.

---

Halley's Waitress - Fountains Of Wayne ****
Tom's Diner (12" Version) - DNA featuring Suzanne Vega ****

Difficulty: +++
Comments: Hmmm, not as hard as I thought. As I said last week, Vega's song paints pictures in your head, but they fade next to the beauty of the Fountains, who have crafted one great pop song here.
The Winner: The Waitress

---

No Rain - Blind Melon ****
I've Heard That Song Before - Harry James & His Orchestra ****

Difficulty: +++++
Comments: Tough. I expected Harry to walk off with this one. It's from my childhood and is the opening song of one of my favorite Woody Allen movies. But the Blind Melon has some miles on it, too. It's one of the staples we play at the currently-on-hiatus-until-Todd-gets-his-new-guitar Friday Lunch Hour Jam session that we have at work. This is like a three or four chorder, and I can capo until it's in my vocal range, even if I'd rather not be the bandleader and lead singer (but another friend who was a professional musician for decades says that's the way it always happens), especially since the harmonies are so cool on this one. Anyway, it's an upset.
The Winner: With a melon?

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If You Want Me - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova ***
Upon the Grandeur - Jandek ***

Difficulty: +++++
Comments: Surprisingly tough. I thought the Representative of C*O*R*W*O*O*D would have been blown out by now, but this is one of his more beautiful, ear-appealing songs ("beautiful" and "ear-appealing" being relative terms when you enter the world of Jandek). The song from Once is one of the best on the soundtrack, being from a music movie that is really about music. I solved this poser in an interesting way. I imagined what my wife would say when I told her I chose Jandek over the Swell Season. Conflict Avoidance. Yessir, that's my other middle name. I just hope this decision doesn't keep me awake at night, filling my head with what-ifs.
The Winner: Once upon a time

---

Boarded Up - XTC ****
The Moon Has Lost the Sun - a3 ***

Difficulty: ++
Comments: This is one of those odd things. Alabama 3 is one of those groups I don't like unless I happen to be listening to them. It doesn't make sense, I know, but that's how it is. And then there's XTC's entry, the song that was almost the swan song for Colin Moulding's career - and would have been a fitting one. XTC wins because I'm not listening to A3 at the moment.
The Winner: Alabama 3

---

Check out the next episode here.

---

For The Record (Previous Episodes)

Chapter One
Chapter Two


For The Record (Previous Tournaments)

2008 begins here.
2009 begins here.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2010/02/26/3g4pmj_the_tournament_of_tunes_2010_-_chapter_2_(32) Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:16:45 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2010/02/26/3g4pmj_the_tournament_of_tunes_2010_-_chapter_2_(32) Okay, last week half of the entries disappeared. This week, another half will disappear. And the next week, and the next...

But according to Zeno's Paradox, I will never get to the end.

Okay, maybe that's a little obscure for a Friday morning, but it's the best I could do because I've had a long week, too. And now, on with the show...

---

Frosted Flake Wood - Hooverphonic ***
Perspective - Peter Gabriel ***

Difficulty: ++
Comments: I've been a long-time fan of Peter Gabriel, but there's something about the Hooverphonic song that's evocative, even if it is a little weird. And there's that Mellotron, too.
The Winner: Frosted Flake Wood.

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All the Way Up to Heaven - Guster ***
Sam Hall - Johnny Cash **

Difficulty: ++
Comments: Both of these songs wearing a little thin during round 2. Perhaps I need to reassess the rating of the Guster song.
The Winner: Guster

---

Got To Get You In My Life - The Beatles ***
Moon Ra / Chords / Song of Search - Jon Anderson ++++

Difficulty: * *
Comments: I love the Anderson track, the climactic moment of his concept album - but it's not as strong out of context of the rest of the record. The Beatles by comparison are short, snappy, and poppy.
The Winner: The Liverpool Lads

---

Nice Day - Tommy Womack ****
Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick - Ian Dury & The Blockheads ****

Difficulty: +++
Comments: Both of these could almost be considered novelty songs. I love the Womack piece, but I have an emotional connection to the Ian Dury song that perhaps I'll share as the smackdown continues.
The Winner: Hit me!

---

City Of Light - Phil Manzanera ****
Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan ****

Difficulty: +++
Comments: Edgy dystopia versus Becker and Fagin's edgy lyrics. Give it to the wordsmiths this round.
The Winner: The Dan, again.

---

The Storm - Big Country ****
Death Cab For Cutie - Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band ***

Difficulty: ++
Comments: I've always liked the cinematic quality of the Big Country song. The Bonzos are always a goof, but it's quality goof. But I'm going to the movies on this one.
The Winner: The Storm.

---

Solo (So Low) - Joe Jackson ***
Hold On - Yes ***

Difficulty: ++++
Comments: Maybe I should reassess my rating of this Yes track, too. It's got that stuck-in-the-Eighties sound to it, and Rabin must have written the words because I can't imagine Anderson putting "spill the beans" into his densely obscure lyrics. Yet I love it every time I hear it. Even more than the Joe Jackson.
The Winner: Yes - whoever wrote the words.

---

Red Bandana - Randy Newman ***
Rain On Down - Drywall **

Difficulty: ++++
Comments: Since Manzanera's dystopia got knocked out of the running, Stan has to carry the torch. Sorry, Randy.
The Winner: Rain on.

---

Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing - Chris Isaak ****
Halley's Waitress - Fountains Of Wayne ****

Difficulty: +++++
Comments: What an awful matchup. Both songs are great. The problem is, they're both my favorite song when I'm listening to them. So the Isaak was winning when I was listening to it until the Fountains played. So I listened again. Same thing. In the end, I went with the endearing charms of the latter.
The Winner: Ordering seconds.

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Tom's Diner (12" Version) - DNA featuring Suzanne Vega ****
Islands - Nash The Slash ***

Difficulty: ++
Comments: Kind of a quirkbath of electronica of sorts. Suzanne by way of DNA carries the battle because yeah, the song is weird, but the lady paints pictures in your head.
The Winner: DNA

---

No Rain - Blind Melon ****
This Side of the Blue - Joanna Newsom ***

Difficulty: ++++
Comments: Is it me, or does the guitar solo in "No Rain" sound like it was dubbed directly from Steely Dan's "Can't Buy A Thrill" album? It's like an outtake from "Reelin' in the Years." Anyway, that's a feeble excuse for choosing it over Joanna Newsom, but I like the harmony vocals in it, too.
The Winner: Still no sign of rain.

---

I've Heard That Song Before - Harry James & His Orchestra ****
Bomb The World - Michael Franti & Spearhead ***

Difficulty: ++
Comments: I like the anthem-like quality of the Franti, but I've got too much invested in the Harry James. It's just a great song.
The Winner: Harry & Orchestra

---

If You Want Me - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova ***
Star Bright - Jason Smith ***

Difficulty: ++
Comments: From this point on, it's tough for an instrumental to go far in the competition. I just realized that. It's the cult of lyrics, I guess.
The Winner: The swell season.

---

Upon the Grandeur - Jandek ***
Where Did You Go - Jets Overhead ***

Difficulty: +++
Comments: And what kind of a mood must I be in for Jandek to make it into the Sweet Sixteen? Actually, this is one of The Representative's more musical numbers, and even though I like the Jets' brand of psychedelia, Grandeur fit the musical bill.
The Winner: Jandek? Jandek!

---

Boarded Up - XTC ****
Summersong - The Decemberists ***

Difficulty: ++
Comments: The Decemberists continue to grow on me, but I love the starkness of this particular XTC song. Way to leave it behind, Colin.
The Winner: Boarded up.

---

Here's To The Atom Bomb - Smashing Pumpkins ***
The Moon Has Lost the Sun - a3 ***

Difficulty: +++++
Comments: The stompin' acid house country smashes the, um, Pumpkins..
The Winner: Alabama 3

---

Check out the next chapter here.

---
For The Record (Previous Episodes)

Chapter One

For The Record (Previous Tournaments)

2008 begins here.
2009 begins here.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2010/02/19/3fhief_the_tournament_of_tunes_2010_-_chapter_1_(64) Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:37:46 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2010/02/19/3fhief_the_tournament_of_tunes_2010_-_chapter_1_(64) Masochist that I am, here I go for the third year in a row with my answer to March Madness - namely Music Madness. Sixty-four songs randomly chosen by my iTunes, the only stipulation being that participants from previous years have been excluded.

This year's crop is interesting. There are no less than three long medleys here. There's not as much over-representation of artists this year; Ben Folds gets three - one with and two without the Five; and Sufjan Stevens and Smashing Pumpkins each score two entries (which is strange because I only have two Pumpkins albums). As in years previous, there's a great spread of material, from pop to prog to jazz to novelty. Jandek even rears his head once more. Seems like he's had an entry every year.

One changeup from last year. My difficulty rating symbol has been changed from the reliable asterisk to the plus sign - the scale being one plus (I could judge this one without listening to either song but I did anyway just to be fair) to five pluses (why, oh why do I put myself through this every year?). I did this so I could append each song with its respective star rating that I gave it in iTunes. Dudethemath and I discussed mathematical analysis of the smackdown when I started doing it (rather, he talked and I listened raptly), so I thought this would make the job of any potential pundits easier. Which means yes, criticism, commentary, and predictions are, as always, welcome.

And now... on with the show, this is it:

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Frosted Flake Wood - Hooverphonic ***
We've Only Just Begun - Carpenters ***

Difficulty: +
Comments: A lumbering, almost novelty track from Hooverphonic versus a classic cover by the Carpenters. Basically a battle between a Mellotron and nostalgia.
The Winner: The Mellotron wins. Always.

---

Take Me- Our Daughter's Wedding **
Perspective - Peter Gabriel ***

Difficulty: ++
Comments: An also-ran track from an 80's synth group that nobody but me remembers versus a song from a the "scratch" album that most people consider an also-ran (but I think it's a great record)
The Winner: Rated PG.

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Cigarettte - Ben Folds Five ***
All the Way Up to Heaven - Guster ***

Difficulty: ++
Comments: A downer from Ben Folds versus an upper from Guster.
The Winner: The quicker picker upper.

---

Sam Hall - Johnny Cash **
Triad - Enya **

Difficulty: ++++
Comments: Cash's folk song cover is okay, but I prefer Richard Thompson's acappella version, with the live audience booing and hissing him. And I've long since grown weary of Enya's synthy noodling and Carpenteresque overdubbed vocals. So which at this point do I prefer less?
The Winner: The man in black.

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Got To Get You In My Life - The Beatles ***
Jellybelly - Smashing Pumpkins **

Difficulty: ++
Comments: A die-hard pop classic versus.... oh, forget it. The Beatles is the band that Billy Corrigan wishes the Smashing Pumpkins were. Seriously, We all know it and so does he.
The Winner: JohnPaulGeorgeRingo

---

Misfire - Queen ***
Moon Ra / Chords / Song of Search - Jon Anderson ++++

Difficulty: * *
Comments: The first of the medleys shows up here, in a prog lite versus prog race. One of the few Queen songs I still bother to listen to versus the only Jon Anderson solo album worth listening to.
The Winner: (spoken by Hugo Weaving) Mister Anderson.

---

Nice Day - Tommy Womack ****
Gertrude's Garden Hospital - Brian Protheroe ***

Difficulty: ++
Comments: Battle of the novelty songs. One with heart, the other just plain goofy.
The Winner: That's nice.

---

Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick - Ian Dury & The Blockheads ****
Scary But Fun - Grace Jones **

Difficulty: +
Comments: A pub rock evergreen versus a disco diva in the "where are they now and do they still have aircraft carrier hair" category.
The Winner: Hit me slowly.

---

Chicago - Sufjan Stevens ****
City Of Light - Phil Manzanera ****

Difficulty: +++++
Comments: This is why I tell myself I'm not going to do this again. Two great tracks, each from one of my Desert Island albums. No matter which one I choose, I'm going to hate myself for not picking the other one.
The Winner: I'm going with the Manzanera for the wonderfully dystopic atmosphere. Of course, maybe he's describing Chicago...

---

Tulsa Queen - Emmylou Harris ***
Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan ****

Difficulty: +++++
Comments: A live Emmylou classic versus one of my favorite Becker/Fagen tracks.
The Winner: The Dan

---

Main Theme From Missing - Vangelis **
The Storm - Big Country ****

Difficulty: +
Comments: An atmospheric sound cue versus some new wavers who should have been bigger.
The Winner: What a great country.

---

Cool 'n' Out - Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros **
Death Cab For Cutie - Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band ***

Difficulty: ++
Comments: Strummer having fun being serious and the Bonzos having some serious fun. Now where's the serious moonlight?
The Winner: The Bonzos

---

Learn To Live With What You Are- Ben Folds **
Solo (So Low) - Joe Jackson ***

Difficulty: +++
Comments: It's the battle of the former Angry Young Men! One is pondering, the other is bitter.
The Winner: He's the man.

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Serpentskirt - Cocteau Twins ***
Hold On - Yes ***

Difficulty: ++++
Comments: One of my favorite tracks from 90210, now sounding a bit dated, up against the always baffling but always pleasing Cocteaus.
The Winner: Yes held on.

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Endless - Bozzio, Levin, & Stevens ***
Red Bandana - Randy Newman ***

Difficulty: +++
Comments: Skilled prog goodness versus biting social commentary. Talk about an odd matchup.
The Winner: Not my favorite Newman track, and it's a little dated, but it still works.

---

Rain On Down - Drywall **
Inner City - The Buggles **

Difficulty: +++
Comments: What gives with this? A Stan Ridgway side project versus Trevor Horn's post-Yes Buggles? It feels weird just to write it.
The Winner: Ridgway, by inches.

---

Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing - Chris Isaak ****
Bewilderbeast - Badly Drawn Boy **

Difficulty: +
Comments: An interesting and somehow appropriate matchup. There seems to be a common bond between these two guys, but I can't quite put my finger on it.
The Winner: It's a bad, bad song.

---

In Between Days - Ben Folds **
Halley's Waitress - Fountains Of Wayne ****

Difficulty: ++
Comments: More Folds navel gazing and a pop charmer .
The Winner: The waitress.

---

Two Rocks And A Cup Of Water - Massive Attack ***
Tom's Diner (12" Version) - DNA featuring Suzanne Vega ****

Difficulty: ++
Comments: Another theme battle - trip hop v. trip hopped Acappella.
The Winner: Tom. To go with the waitress, above.

---

Burn Down the Mission/My Baby Left Me/Get Back - Elton John ***
Islands - Nash The Slash ***

Difficulty: ++
Comments: If you're an Elton fan prone to depression about the current state of Elton-ness, 11/17/70 is the album you should pull from the shelf and listen to in order to remind yourself of why you liked him. Versus a punk progger who wears bandages over his face when he plays live.
The Winner: Nash does everything with a violin and cheap effects pedals. And this part of 11/17/70 overstayed its welcome during round one.

---

No Rain - Blind Melon ****
Caroline - David Gray **

Difficulty: ++
Comments: The dead vs. the career dead. Oh wait, Blind Melon has a new singer? And David Gray has a new album and tour? Well, that changes things...
The Winner: Melonhead.

---

This Side of the Blue - Joanna Newsom ***
The Pacific Age - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark ***

Difficulty: +++
Comments: The fresh faced artist versus the group as they began to go stale.
The Winner: Fresh every time, mostly.

---

Trap Door - T-Bone Burnett ***
I've Heard That Song Before - Harry James & His Orchestra *****

Difficulty: +++
Comments: I see T-Bone Burnett as the American version of Richard Thompson, what with his unappreciated virtuosity and encyclopedic knowledge of his nation's roots music. Which is why I really would like to see him advance.
The Winner: Unfortunately, I have a really soft spot in my heart for this Harry James song. I grew up listening to Harry, fercryinoutloud...

---

Bomb The World - Michael Franti & Spearhead ***
Stronger Through The Years - Roxy Music ***

Difficulty: ++++
Comments: Why are the battles between midlist songs so tricky sometimes?
The Winner: Franti.... no, Roxy. No. Franti. Really.

---

If You Want Me - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova ***
Oliver's Army - Elvis Costello & The Attractions ***

Difficulty: ++
Comments: Classic Costello, albeit a bit creaky and dusty, and a song from a film that was really about music.
The Winner: The "Once" tune just does it. Would it be as good out of context of the film?

---

Scarborough Faire - Queen Anne's Lace ***
Star Bright - Jason Smith ***

Difficulty: ++
Comments: An acappella arrangement versus a practitioner of jazz.
The Winner: Did you know that Jason Smith used to feed my fish when he was a kid? Seriously.

---

Lighten Up Mcgraw - Crack the Sky **
Upon the Grandeur - Jandek ***

Difficulty: ++
Comments: Obscure prog versus an outsider people wish would stay obscure.
The Winner: This was surprisingly easy - and didn't go the way I thought it would. I must've been in the mood for a little Jandek.

---

Where Did You Go - Jets Overhead ***
Le banquet - Yann Tiersen ***

Difficulty: +++
Comments: Neopsychedelia versus a music cue from the film Amelie.
The Winner: I love the Amelie score, but Jets prevail. Maybe I'm growing tired of instrumentals right now.

---

Boarded Up - XTC ****
Golden Heart - Mark Knopfler ***

Difficulty: ++
Comments: Knopfler from the beginning of his solo career - Moulding from the end of his songwriting career.
The Winner: Moulding's last gasp.

---

Can't Be Long Now - Francoise - For Richard - Warlock - Caravan
Summersong - The Decemberists

Difficulty: ++
Comments: More jazzy prog rock goodness versus... well, whatever The Decemberists are.
The Winner: All I know is that I was groovin' to Caravan, but when Malloy and company began to play, it was like I suddenly woke up. Summersong FTW.

---

Cuckoo Cocoon - Genesis ***
Here's To The Atom Bomb - Smashing Pumpkins ***

Difficulty: ++++
Comments: A song out of context from the Genesis masterpiece - someday they will be represented by a stand-alone song. Versus a Pumpkins song that is starting to grow on me, although I'm sure if I listened to the lyrics closely, it would only tick me off.
The Winner: I still haven't listened to the lyrics that closely.

---

The Moon Has Lost the Sun - a3 ***
Size Too Small - Sufjan Stevens ***

Difficulty: +++++
Comments: Stompin' acid house country versus etherial Sufjanness.
The Winner: Maybe it's because I'm exhausted, but the stompin' went over really well.

---

For The Record (Previous Tournaments)

2008 begins here.
2009 begins here.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2010/01/09/3brf38_top_ten_albums_of_2009 Sat, 9 Jan 2010 17:57:17 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2010/01/09/3brf38_top_ten_albums_of_2009 I don't even know how to explain this anymore. Between iTunes/Pod, Last.fm, and the Internet, the way I buy and listen to music is changed forever. So my top albums here aren't going to be my top 10 albums of '09 that were released in '09 - it's going to be the stuff I most-listened-to in 09. Yeah, there's some new stuff there, but there's also some old stuff, some old stuff I just discovered, and at least one vinyl album from the 70's that never made the transition to Compact Disc...

#1
The Aliens – Astronomy For Dogs
The debut album from the practitioners of neo-psychedelia continued to be a favorite in 09.

#2
Benjamin Faust – Walkabout
My son's second album, proving there's room for nepotism everywhere.

#3
The Conet Project – The Conet Project
Field recordings of numbers stations. Did well because there's like 4 cd's of tracks, so it popped up frequently in random play.

#4
The Aliens – Luna
The follow-up to Astronomy for Dogs. Not as good, but still not bad.

#5
The Dandy Warhols – Earth To The Dandy Warhols
There's always room for a new Dandy Warhols album.

#6
The Chemical Brothers – We Are The Night
The latest from the Chemicals, who keep getting better and better.

#7
Captain Sensible – Revolution Now
A boatload of electropop fun from the ex-bassist of The Damned.

#8
Cowboys International – Revisited
My favorite album of all time.

#9
The Chemical Brothers – Push the Button
Hmm, I seemed to have listened to a lot of Chemical Brothers this year. Probably because this one contains my favorite Chemicals track, "Hold Tight London."

#10
Preston Thomas – Amends 4the Prodigal Son
Some guy out in Illinois who did a record of great R & B and self-released it. My son found him on Garageband.com and recommended him because his style reminded him of Brian Protheroe.

BONUS TRACKS - TIDBITS FROM THE NEXT 15 ON THE LIST

The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love
Who would have thought The Decemberists were this ambitious? Just when I thought the album was dead, they make a piece of music that demands to be listened to from one end to the other. (H/T Rob Treynor)

Brad Sucks – I Don't Know What I'm Doing
The debut from the one man band with no fans continued to be a favorite with me this year.

Tony Levin – Double Espresso
Levin's live album shows off his remarkable career, with tasty covers (including Genesis) and some great original stuff. It's prog-tastic! (H/T Dan Sonnier)

Dom Liberati – Humans
I met this local boy while freelancing for a public access cable TV program. He's now rocking in L.A., reaching for the brass ring.

Joe Jackson – Rain
Still the man.

Bram Tchaikovsky – Funland
The greatest powerpop album never reissued on CD. H/T to some anonymous vinyl ripper.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2009/03/30/2lxovc_tournament_of_tunes,_round_six_-_the_championships Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:16:03 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2009/03/30/2lxovc_tournament_of_tunes,_round_six_-_the_championships Who will survive - in the greatest adventure of our time?

Okay, maybe it's not that big a deal - but whoever can identify which adventure film had the above line plastered across its poster gets six (6) Faust Bonus Points, good for nothing whatsoever, outside of, perhaps, bragging rights.

And now, on to the final battle:

Only the Future - Joe Jackson
I Am the Mercury - Jimmie Spheeris

Difficulty: *****

Commentary: So it's down to my most listened-to artist and an artist from whom I only have one song. Both songs are similar in their construction in that they start simple and slowly build to a big crescendo, a technique that I really admire. But one song has something the other does not.

Back in 1979, some of my college friends came into my room and said that they'd gotten 11th row center tickets to see the Moody Blues show that started in three hours (it was the Octave tour - with a post-Yes Patrick Moraz on keys). I called the car stereo store that was selling them and bagged the last two - and while the guy was on the phone I heard him say to someone in the store, "Sorry, I just sold the last two." So four of us went to see the Moodies.

The scheduled opener was a no-show, so they pulled a local boy in at the last minute, a guy whose first album had just come out. He showed up armed with just his acoustic guitar and played a great set. He had a song that was all over local radio, and my buddies and I kept screaming the key word from the title over and over, trying to get him to sing it. And he did, as his closing number. It was a wonderful moment, and when the Moodies came on a half-hour later, they seemed tired and mechanical and like they were counting notes by comparison. It was one of the few times that I saw an opening act blow away the headliner.

The word we kept yelling was "Mercury... Mercury... Mercury."

Jimmie Spheris is long gone, but I've got this great memory of seeing him at the dawn of his cut-short career. And for better or worse, I've got no such memory of Joe Jackson - but I've got a lot more great music by JJ to listen to. I'm glad that Only The Future was in the running. It's one of the better songs off of Night Music. But I Am The Mercury has a little bit of magic attached to it.

Winner: Jimmie Spheeris

Thanks for tuning in, folks! We'll do this again next year, maybe.

Round One (64).

Round 2 (32)

Round 3 - Sweet Sixteen

Round 4 - Elite Eight

Round 5 - Final Four]]> http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2009/03/20/2kx99m_tournamen_of_tunes_2009_-_round_4_-_the_final_four Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:42:15 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2009/03/20/2kx99m_tournamen_of_tunes_2009_-_round_4_-_the_final_four March from A Clockwork Orange - Wendy Carlos
Only the Future - Joe Jackson
Difficulty:***
Commentary: When Wendy's piece came up in the mix of this year's tourney, I dind't think it would do as well as it did. My mind set was, "synth soundtrack." Every time it played, my brain said, "Beethoven's Ninth!" After a month of plays, though, my brain is starting to accept my original gut analysis. And while the vocoder was nifty and unusual in the mid-70's (remember "The Raven" by Alan Parsons?) The Joe Jackson piece, however, has only gotten better for me - an accomplishment, considering that it's one of my two favorite tracks from an album badly neglected by the public.
Winner: The future is Joe's.


Run On - Moby
I Am the Mercury - Jimmie Spheeris
Difficulty: ****
Commentary: What's odd here is that I can say the exact same thing about this matchup that I said about the one above. This is one of my favorite Moby songs, but over the course of the tournament, the novelty wore off... whereas it hadn't for The Mercury.
Winner: Jimmie


Round 1 (64)

Round 2 (32)

Round 3 - Sweet Sixteen

Round 4 - Elite Eight]]> http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2009/03/19/2ktzd5_stan_ridgway_doesn%27t_step_on_a_cat,_but_celebrates_st._patrick%27s_day_with_his_closest_friends Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:41:32 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2009/03/19/2ktzd5_stan_ridgway_doesn%27t_step_on_a_cat,_but_celebrates_st._patrick%27s_day_with_his_closest_friends Tue 17 Mar – Stan Ridgway Live

My second Stan Ridgway show would be much different than the first. The 25th anniversary of Wall of Voodoo's "Call of the West" tour, was a tight 2 hour band show that raced through the classic album, some other WOV, plus lots of tidbits from Stan's solo career and a couple of Drywall tunes. It was in the Ballroom part of the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern with a couple of hundred people in attendance.

The Saint Paddy's day show was in the Tavern part of the establishment, with perhaps 60 people there. Stan said, "When we come to Cleveland, we don't get a big turnout, but we're all really good friends here." It must be true - if he has low turnout numbers comparatively speaking, he still manages to hit the city on about every national tour he makes. Anyway, this show, a pre-tour of sorts for his forthcoming album "Desert of Dreams", was a looser affair, perhaps because of the intimate size of the crowd. Stan was a lot freer with his trademark blab, of which there was a lot. His tales included a rather bizarre one about the band's overnight stay in the town of Shamrock, Texas, and much pondering on the nature of America's having become a pill-taking society. The recurring theme of his blabs this night was his concern over TV commercials for prostate health products: "That's all you see on TV anymore, these ads for this stuff. And according to these ads, these drugs make men get into canoes and drift down rivers."

I wasn't sure what to expect from a St. Patrick's Day crowd, but I think all of the hardcore revelers were all off at some Irish-themed chain restaurant and pub. The crowd was respectful and receptive, except for the guy who asked me if Stan was going to play any Wall of Voodoo stuff tonight. Most of the drinking seemed to be done on Stan's part, and at one point he held up the music, joking as he did, until his promised free Gray Goose martini arrived.

Some highlights from the show:

- Stan frequently came out into the audience to play guitar ("Wireless!" he would say to people - at one point in the show he came right up to me and I thought I'd beat him to the punch... we ended up saying "Wireless!" at the same time), sing, and play harmonica.

- A four-song solo acoustic opening set, beginning with an unexpected version of The Overlords.

- Stan gets a lingering feedback at one point in the show. It doesn't go away. His wife, keyboardist Pietra Wexstun, begins improvising over the feedback. Guitarist Rick King follows, and pretty soon Stan starts making up lyrics about federal funds recipient A.I.G.

- After a beer and a half and a martini, Stan loses his way lyrically in "The Big Heat". Wife Pietra takes over the vocal until Stan finds his place on the lyric sheet.

- A set-within-the-set of three songs from Stan's forthcoming "Desert of Dreams". From the sounds of the new material, it's going to be a promising new album.

- Going on break after playing for two hours, the band returns and lets Pietra sing a song off of one of her albums. Stan plugs the album, available from his "happy swag man", saying, "Pick up a copy - it's health insurance for Pietra and me."

- A long intro for "Mexican Radio" in which Stan discusses and plays some of the versions he's heard the song in over the years (Reggae, Caribbean). The band then plays a new Tex-Mex arrangement of the song.

- Just for St. Patrick's day, Stan covers two "Irish songs," "Jim Jones" and "The Royal Canal" (the latter featuring an audience sing-along)

- Before going into the encore, Stan goes into an extended blab. Wife Petra begins to play a Gymnopédie by Eric Satie as background music. It made for an odd, surreal moment.

- And during the song everyone wanted to hear, the traditional show closer "A Mission In Life," the effects of two beers and two martinis catches up with Stan and he completely loses his place and what chords he's playing. He finally gets back on track and finishes out the night. Nobody seems to mind except for the guy who drove 8 hours from southern Indiana to see the show, "Mission" being the one song he REALLY wanted to hear (along with "Mission Bell", which he didn't expect to hear). Hey, it was St. Patrick's Day, the show had run 3 hours, and Stan had to ask the management if he could play one more song. We were lucky to get it.

Oh, and one more thing. Opening for Ridgway was a rather sad folk duo (she sings, he plays and sings) that is doomed to remain in obscurity. Granted, the girl singer's flatness may have been due to problems hearing herself (Stan had no trouble), but for a new group with four songs, their reliance on lyric sheets that kept falling off of their music stand was inexcusable. Yes, I've seen Billy Joel, Joe Jackson, and even Stan use lyric books, but given their ages and the sheer volume of songs in their respective catalogs, I think they've earned the right. If you're new and trying to impress an audience of skeptics, memorize the cotton picking songs. In the duo's defense, they may have been doing this as a stop-gap measure to get a little extra money as the guitarist keep trying to solicit a job between songs. Perhaps he will find gainful employment and we'll never hear from these folks again. But their performance did make me think that I could have done a better job opening for Stan - but that's a story for another venue.

Set List
Stan Ridgway Trio
March 17, 2009
Beachland Tavern

(acoustic)
The Overlords
train of thought
Can't Stop the Show
Gone the Distance

(trio)
mission bell
Goin' Southbound
The Roadblock
A.I.G. (Improvised)
The Big Heat
Don't Box Me IN
Big Dumb Town
King For A Day
Desert Of Dreams (new album preview)
This Town Called Fate (new album preview)
Turn A Blind Eye (new album preview)
Lonely Town
Stranded

--- break ---

Eve's Angle (Pietra Wexstun)
Camoflage
Mexican Radio (Tex Mex Mix)
Jim Jones (folk cover)
The Royal Canal (folk cover)
I Wanna Be A Boss
Call Of The West
Ring Of Fire

--- encore break ---

Gymnopédie (Eric Satie cover)
A Mission In Life]]> http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2009/03/16/2kj9x7_tournament_of_tunes_09,_round_4_(the_elite_eight) Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:22:28 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/JoeIsListening/journal/2009/03/16/2kj9x7_tournament_of_tunes_09,_round_4_(the_elite_eight) March from A Clockwork Orange - Wendy Carlos
Sasquatch - Camel
Difficulty: ****
Commentary: The battle of the instrumentals turns out to be harder than I thought. My prediction was a lock for Camel, and on listening, the vocodered chorus of WC's Ninth has gotten a little old as the tourney moves along. But then the Camel piece seemed a little draggy when it's turn came - ah, perhaps it is "instrumental syndrome" setting in (something I came up with in my Mix Tape days - instrumentals were always the first songs to wear thin for some reason). So, who advances?
Winner: Wendy Carlos. It's still Beethoven.


Only the Future - Joe Jackson
Hunting Tigers Out In 'Indiah' - Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
Difficulty:**
Commentary: The Bonzo piece is one of my faves, and an oft- quoted one between myself and my gamer/music friend who codiscovered them with me. But now it's time to get serious, and it's up against a seriously good piece of music. What does the future hold?
Winner: Joe Jackson, bangin' on that Salvation Army Band bass drum.


Sgt. Rock (Is Going To Help Me) - XTC
Run On - Moby
Difficulty: ****
Commentary: Much to my surprise, I preferred the Moby track when I heard these two back-to-back. I love AP's witty tribute to comic book heroism with its rollicking pop sound, but the gospel-tinged sample-based track is the one that got its hooks into me.
Winner: Moby, maybe.


Goin' Southbound - Stan Ridgway
I Am the Mercury - Jimmie Spheeris
Difficulty: ****
Commentary: Man, this is really terrible. I'm going to see Stan, like next Tuesday. What am I going to do if there's another meet 'n greet, and I have to tell him that his song in this year's tournament lost out to a one-shot tune from a dead guy? Oh, wait a minute. Stan doesn't even know I'm doing this. Well, that's a bit different.
Winner: It's the mercury.


Round One (64).

Round Two (32)

Round 3 - Sweet Sixteen]]>