Happy Halloween!

In the spirit of all things ghastly, I offer the haunting song "Caermaen" by the British group Belbury Poly. It samples a 1908 folk recording of a traditional English song, and its spookiness is fitting for this day. Check out Belbury Poly and other bands on the aptly named Ghost Box label.

My 15 for 15 (based off of NME's selections.)

Sorry for the delay on this.  I have been swamped, but called Court to talk about this.  I was extremely disappointed in the selections that NME came up with for the best songs over the past 15 years.  I KNOW I can come up with 15 great songs that were not even considered.  So, based off of their list, here is what I came up with.

#15 - Smile, Lily Allen (NME's rank - 104)

A cute little song about bad boyfriends and revenge.  Pretty "poppy," but I think it earned its stripes.

#14 - Bloc Party, Banquet (20)

Court turned me on to this.  I think we will never hear from them again, but pretty cool song.

#13 - Pumping Up Your Stereo - Supergrass (124)

Such an upbeat, moving song.  I think if I were cleaning the house, this would keep me motivated.

#12 - Young Folks, Peter, Bjorn, & John (93)

I don't know if I would really want to listen to this song at this very moment due to overplay, but it doesn't take away from the fact that it's a great song, that YOU KNOW you were whistling along too!

#11 - Take Me Out, Franz Ferdinand (27)

I am not one who loves to dance, but I find myself tapping my feet to this one.  It's that driving beat!  I love the way the song changes ala Paul McCartney (1971-1979).  Terrific.

#10 - Paper Planes, MIA (15)

This song took a long time to warm up to.  My kids like it.  They would play it, and it grew on me.  I know they have no clue what the song is about. 

#9 Paranoid Android, Radiohead (1)

I must admit, I am not crazy about Radiohead like others are.  I respect them.  This song and video intrigued me.  I bought OK Computer and enjoyed it.  I am not as warm on Kid A, or others like so many others are. 

#8 - A Punk, Vampire Weekend (62)

Probably the most exciting new thing that I bought into when it came out.  I just felt they were so fresh.  I can still enjoy this song now. 

#7 - Song 2, Blur (79)

It's a shame Blur is best know for this 2:00+ "grunge" song, when they are so talented.  Many great songs to chose from, but man this song gets you pumped up!

#6 - Ms. Jackson, Outkast (81)

Next to the B-Boys, I feel these guys are it in the hip-hop world.  Andre 3000 is the thinking man's wrapper.  Here he promises to be a good father to his child with Erikah Badu, even if they aren't together.  "I am for real!"

#5 - Clint Eastwod, Gorillaz (141)

141, really?  A weird concept, but works in all dimensions.  Plus, it revived the career of Del, the Funk Homosapien!



#4 - Reptillia, The Strokes (129)

I love the Strokes.  It may not be their best song, but ti gets stuck in my head anythime I hear it. 

#3 - Maps, Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. (55)

Man this song is moving.  Such emotions when listening to this song.  I love how, much like the Velvet Underground, the song goes form soft to hard.  Terrifc song.

#2 - Jesus Walks, Kanye West (69)

I'm sure it might be shocking that Kanye makes my list, especially this high.  The College Dropout is a fantstic album before West cracked and let stardom get to his head.  A very heartfelt and honest song about religon in pop culure with the dramatic strings and chanting.  I would say it is in constant rotation on my iphone. 

#1 - Where It's At?, Beck

One of the most creative and innovative musicians out there today.  Has tried (and succeeded) with many different styles and genres, but is at his best with the non-sensical rhymes and the Dust Brothers sampling.  I don't think there was a record like thsis ever made again.

Well, that's my list.  "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor," by the Artic Monkeys, "Hate to Say I Told You So," by the Hives, "Firestarter" by Prodigy, "The Hindu Times" by Oasis, and "The Scientist" by Coldpay all got consideration.  Once again, the list left off soem great songs & heavy hitters. 

15 for 15

NME is out with its top 150 songs of the past 15 years. There's a lot on their list, but the songs that I'd consider the best of the past 15 years are nowhere to be found. More on that later. For now, here are my Top 15 from NME's 150, with their ranking in parentheses:

#15 Vampire Weekend - "A-Punk" (62)

#14 TV on the Radio - "Wolf Like Me" (46)

#13 Blur - "Out of Time" (73)

#12 Franz Ferdinand - "Take Me Out" (27)

#11 Johnny Cash - "Hurt" (35)

#10 M.I.A. - "Paper Planes" (15)

#9 Futureheads - "Hounds of Love" (89)

#8 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Zero" (39)

#7 Animal Collective - "My Girls" (91)

#6 Beck - "Where It's At" (76)

#5 The Strokes - "Hard to Explain" (36)

 #4 Bloc Party - "Banquet" (20)

#3 Jay Z - "99 Problems" (24)

#2 Gorillaz - "Clint Eastwood" (141)

#1 The Verve - "Bittersweet Symphony" (9)

Honorable mention goes to "Milkshake" by Kelis. Just kidding. Santogold's "L.E.S. Artistes" and Belle and Sebastian's "The Boy with the Arab Strap" just missed my Top 15. As did "Maps" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (I went with "Zero"). And MGMT was a late cut as well.

But my overall thought is that the NME list really missed the mark. How does Hole's "Celebrity Skin" make the list but "Malibu", a far better song, get left off? And I appreciate the love for LCD Soundsystem --- after all, "Someone Great" might be the single best song of the past 15 years. But it's nowhere to be found. Yet "All My Friends" is on the list at #118. Art Brut's "Formed a Band" is #102 -- I would have included "Direct Hit" instead. And "Men's Needs" by the Cribs is a fine song, but their better work came after Johnny Marr joined the band. Let me go on: The Streets "Dry Your Eyes" (#87) should have been "Has It Come To This?" or "Geezers Need Excitement" or -- if you needed to keep the schmaltz, "It's Too Late". I would have liked to include Radiohead and Arcade Fire -- but I wasn't thrilled with NME's choices. And don't get me started about Super Furry Animals. The song NME chose - "The Man Don't Give a F---" - wouldn't even make my top 15 of SFA songs.

This post was John's idea... so I'm eager to see what his list looks like... John?

I've been reading Simon Reynolds' book Retromania (as I've mentioned at least once!) and I have a lot of fun doing YouTube searches on some of the old bands he writes about. Of course, so much of it is garbage -- like the Thamesbeat bands (like The Look) that were the UK equivalent of The Knack. And other stuff just isn't my style -- like the garage bands like Thee Milkshakes. But there is some good stuff in there -- some of the other Mod revival bands couldn't hold a candle to The Jam, but they weren't awful -- bands like The Chords and The Purple Hearts. But I found a genuinely good song in The Flamin' Groovies 1976 single "Shake Some Action." It's definitely pub rock -- and different from their earlier stuff (which sounded like the Rolling Stones) but you can hear the beginnings of Power Pop in there. And what's more, there's a nice jangly guitar riff that predates something similar by REM. Take a listen:

Hammer Time in San Francisco

It's been 22 years since M.C. Hammer hit it big with "U Can't Touch This" and now he's back... kind of. He stars in a creative political ad for San Francisco's interim mayor Ed Lee, who's trying to get elected in his own right. There's lots of other Bay Area luminaries in the video -- like Giants closer Brian Wilson, will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas and NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott. And there's some great lyrics. If I lived in San Francisco, I'd have to seriously consider voting for Ed Lee based on this ad alone.

Video Vault -- More Spike Jonze

Here's the video for Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs", directed by everyone's favorite video director Spike Jonze. This one isn't in the same mold as his other work -- it's dark and serious and not very fun at all.

The song's a bit dark, too. I especially like this part of the lyrics:
"So can you understand?
Why I want a daughter while I'm still young
I wanna hold her hand
And show her some beauty
Before this damage is done

But if it's too much to ask, it's too much to ask
Then send me a son"

Fujiya & Miyagi Not Japanese, Not a Duo

Thanks to "The Mighty Boosh", my renewed interest in Gary Numan has piqued my interest in the British band Fujiya and Miyagi. Their latest album Ventriloquizzing was released back in January, and it has a dark, synth sound reminiscent of Numan and some of the Krautrock bands like Can from the 70s. No surprise on the latter -- F&M have made no secret of their love for those German bands. Here's the kinda creepy video for "Sixteen Shades of Black & Blue".