The Weekly Awesome! #5
Music Notes
I really would like to not write about the exploding space shuttle of lunacy that is Britney Spears' life all the time, but damnit, that girl is committed to constantly bringing the crazy on a maddeningly consistant basis. So here we go; this week we have a testiment to the nation's talented air-brush artists who work so diligently to make people in magazines not look like the hideous ass-beasts that they are. If you'll follow this link:
http://cityrag.blogs.com/main/2006/06/britney_spears_.html
You'll find a picture of Britney Spears that is, possibly, the most unflattering picture of all time. And I don't just mean of her. It's the most unflattering picture of anyone ever. Then, you can click on the links to take you to Ms. Spears' recent Harpers mag pics of her in the nude and very pregnent. She looks good in those, almost like shiny polished plastic. Do a little side-by-side and you'll want to buy every photo retoucher you know a round of high-proof drinks.
Also, don't look at the first pic too long or you'll get dizzy and throw up. Trust me.
Songs of our Week
1. “Haunted” by Shane MacGowan and the Popes
Okay, yes, I’ve already done a song by Shane MacGowan’s band The Pouges and while I’m trying really hard to not have a lot of repeat-sies, I figure that solo careers and original bands are different enough that I can risk it without the music blog police showing up at my door in their ironic t-shirts and white belts to take me away to Tower Records for a debriefing with the editors of Spin. Yes… what was I talking about? Oh, right… “Haunted.” Great song. Because Shane MacGowan has a voice like a pile of drunk sandpaper and the girl who duets with him (Sinead O’Conner? I don’t do research.) has such a sweet, angelic voice, I can only imagine that this song is about a shabby hobo who falls in love with a beautiful school marm in the mean streets of London. Open to interpretation, I suppose, but that’s my guess.
2. “Evergreen” by The Fiery Furnaces
These guys are real “record store clerk” musicians; overly weird, hip and most people will think they sound like sonic ass. However, just to confuse everyone, they put out a ridiculously catchy pop song on a random EP and it’s one of the finest indie recordings of the last few years. I don’t recommend much of their other stuff unless you know you have a tolerance for music that rocks only occasionally and meanders a whole, whole lot, but this song will do right by you.
3. “Time After Time” by Willie Nelson
That’s right. The Red-Headed Stranger covering the 80’s most sartorially-challenged girl who, for gosh sakes, just wanted to have fun. This is one of the best covers I’ve heard in a long time because it actually does something different with the song, or at least it takes it to a very different place. When Cindy Lauper sang it, images of college girls crying in their sororitiey house after one of them’s big break up springs immediately to mind. In Willie’s hands, it’s an old cowboy’s reminesince on a hard life that tells the one he loves exactly this, “I will never let you down.” Who doesn’t want to hear that now and again, even if it is from Willie Nelson?
4. "Sylvia's Mother" by Dr. Hook
Despite being everyone's favorite freak-out drug band whose tunes were penned by Shel Silverstein, Dr. Hook remains surprisingly underappreciated in the pantheon of late-60's/early 70's music. Shame. These guys are wonderfully weird and back an odd amount of emotion into such songs as "Penicillin Penny" and "My Pants Want To Get Up And Dance." This song though, about a guy pleading with his girlfriend's mother to let him talk to her just for a few minutes, is one of their best. Really sad and perfectly wrought with feeling; aims more for the heart than the head.
5. "Romeo & Juliet" by Dire Straits
Sadly, this song has been over-used in sappy romantic movies, which sucks, because that sort of thing can drain a song of it's emotion and make it just so much background noise. However, this is perfect late night driving music; very atmospheric, though it helps if you're currently in love or getting there quickly. The rest of Dire Straits ouevre can be dismissed as so much bar-band fodder, but this is their real shining moment.
I really would like to not write about the exploding space shuttle of lunacy that is Britney Spears' life all the time, but damnit, that girl is committed to constantly bringing the crazy on a maddeningly consistant basis. So here we go; this week we have a testiment to the nation's talented air-brush artists who work so diligently to make people in magazines not look like the hideous ass-beasts that they are. If you'll follow this link:
http://cityrag.blogs.com/main/2006/06/britney_spears_.html
You'll find a picture of Britney Spears that is, possibly, the most unflattering picture of all time. And I don't just mean of her. It's the most unflattering picture of anyone ever. Then, you can click on the links to take you to Ms. Spears' recent Harpers mag pics of her in the nude and very pregnent. She looks good in those, almost like shiny polished plastic. Do a little side-by-side and you'll want to buy every photo retoucher you know a round of high-proof drinks.
Also, don't look at the first pic too long or you'll get dizzy and throw up. Trust me.
Songs of our Week
1. “Haunted” by Shane MacGowan and the Popes
Okay, yes, I’ve already done a song by Shane MacGowan’s band The Pouges and while I’m trying really hard to not have a lot of repeat-sies, I figure that solo careers and original bands are different enough that I can risk it without the music blog police showing up at my door in their ironic t-shirts and white belts to take me away to Tower Records for a debriefing with the editors of Spin. Yes… what was I talking about? Oh, right… “Haunted.” Great song. Because Shane MacGowan has a voice like a pile of drunk sandpaper and the girl who duets with him (Sinead O’Conner? I don’t do research.) has such a sweet, angelic voice, I can only imagine that this song is about a shabby hobo who falls in love with a beautiful school marm in the mean streets of London. Open to interpretation, I suppose, but that’s my guess.
2. “Evergreen” by The Fiery Furnaces
These guys are real “record store clerk” musicians; overly weird, hip and most people will think they sound like sonic ass. However, just to confuse everyone, they put out a ridiculously catchy pop song on a random EP and it’s one of the finest indie recordings of the last few years. I don’t recommend much of their other stuff unless you know you have a tolerance for music that rocks only occasionally and meanders a whole, whole lot, but this song will do right by you.
3. “Time After Time” by Willie Nelson
That’s right. The Red-Headed Stranger covering the 80’s most sartorially-challenged girl who, for gosh sakes, just wanted to have fun. This is one of the best covers I’ve heard in a long time because it actually does something different with the song, or at least it takes it to a very different place. When Cindy Lauper sang it, images of college girls crying in their sororitiey house after one of them’s big break up springs immediately to mind. In Willie’s hands, it’s an old cowboy’s reminesince on a hard life that tells the one he loves exactly this, “I will never let you down.” Who doesn’t want to hear that now and again, even if it is from Willie Nelson?
4. "Sylvia's Mother" by Dr. Hook
Despite being everyone's favorite freak-out drug band whose tunes were penned by Shel Silverstein, Dr. Hook remains surprisingly underappreciated in the pantheon of late-60's/early 70's music. Shame. These guys are wonderfully weird and back an odd amount of emotion into such songs as "Penicillin Penny" and "My Pants Want To Get Up And Dance." This song though, about a guy pleading with his girlfriend's mother to let him talk to her just for a few minutes, is one of their best. Really sad and perfectly wrought with feeling; aims more for the heart than the head.
5. "Romeo & Juliet" by Dire Straits
Sadly, this song has been over-used in sappy romantic movies, which sucks, because that sort of thing can drain a song of it's emotion and make it just so much background noise. However, this is perfect late night driving music; very atmospheric, though it helps if you're currently in love or getting there quickly. The rest of Dire Straits ouevre can be dismissed as so much bar-band fodder, but this is their real shining moment.
posted by Clinton at 9:33 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home