Out Of My Head (original) (raw)
Here's a track from one of my very favorite bands to close out the month.
Collective Soul -- New Vibration
This is the opening track of Collective Soul's latest (8/28/07) release Afterwords. Guitar-driven and hook-laden, yeppers!
Current Mood: 
okay
Current Music: Collective Soul "New Vibration"
And so it ends. The 31 Days of Song experiment was successful, although not quite as smooth as I'd hoped. I fell into a pattern of block posting that left me very unhappy. The block posts don't feel very genuine to me.
And that last point is the reason that I don't plan to continue the project. I need to reestablish some discipline in my posting. I do intend to relight this torch at the turn of the year. Barring some major changes, the 365 Days of Song project will begin on January 1, 2009, it'll replace my current "Monday Music" project, and it'll be posted to the community instead of my own journal.
So, now that I've made a dramatic announcement, what song will I deliver to end the series?
Ingrid Michaelson - Starting Now
I'll fully admit to getting distracted with the first post in this chain. Sue me.
And 
randazanda, download this one, especially if you kept the album you got for me. This is the full version... the other one cuts off.
This is one of the song Ingrid doesn't play live when she and Allie are touring... which means I haven't yet heard it live. She (rightly) feels that without a backing band, the song would lose too much. Even though you're unlikely to hear this one, I highly recommend her show. She's witty and engaging and genuine. Plus, tickets aren't horribly overpriced yet, which is a huge plus in my book.
Current Music: "Starting Now" - Ingrid Michaelson
Here's where I lose a little of my credibility among the Hoosiers that are reading along.
John Mellencamp. Celebrated native son of Seymour, Indiana, now living outside of Bloomington, where he is venerated... almost revered. And I lived in Bloomington for, what, 12 years?
Couldn't stand John Cougar Mellenhead.
Seriously! I mean, his music is ok, but nothing to base a religion around. Does he speak to Heartland values? I guess... I mean, I don't doubt that he has them, nor do I doubt that he's singing from his life (at least partially... he might grey out some of the real details). But every single day, our local "We're not the pop station" would play something from his catalog... Indy's rock station plays him to death and one of the simple joys of vacationing out of state was the ability to escape his music.
Not to mention, the guy's kind of an asshole. Granted, there are a lot of parents who come to Target and don't pay attention to their kids and are generally rude to the employees, but you expect a little better from celebrities, especially in their hometown! And especially when they're the only celebrity the town has to offer (which wasn't true of Bloomington during the time of which I speak... we still had Bobby Knight too).
Back to JCM. I applaud his staying in Indiana, because I'm sure it's helping his music and helping him stay true to himself and all that. And I certainly applaud him for bring Elaine to town because, let's face it, the woman is a stone fox and has all of the qualities you'd expect from a celebrity. I certainly respect that maybe getting this kind of adoration every time you leave your house might make you a little snippy and reclusive. But anyone who's in the public eye needs to protect their image, and the best way to protect your brand is to adhere to your professed values.
Brand protection leads to work rants, so let's bring it back to the Church of JCM.
The local cover band understands the value the community places on JCM, so they made it a point to play at least one of his songs at every show in town. And I'm pretty sure they'd play them in Indy and West Lafayette as well. Whether the song made the playlist in Urbana, Chicago, or Normal is up for debate. But the "WOOO" of the crowd over the song was enough to make my stomach turn. Honestly, there were two things that Mike and Joe played that would make me leave my post (not just a clever phrase... but also and actual post) and take a seat: Anything by Dave Matthews and anything by JCM. It's obvious pandering to a crowd that doesn't realize how far behind they are.
Also, I really fucking hated "Jack and Diane."
But the strangest thing happened when I moved to Chicago. Now, when I hear JCM, I'm reminded of Bloomington and the friends I had and things we did. Now that it's not a daily occurrence, I find myself enjoying his songs on the radio. I still bristle a bit at "Jack and Diane" for the same reason I always did... because he has better, and it troubles me that this is his signature.
I mean, look at the tracks...
"Hurts So Good" - good time driving song, if ever there was one.
"R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A." - nostalgic trip for people that aren't ready for "Do You Remember Rock and Roll Radio?"
"Ain't Even Done With the Night", "Hurts So Good", "Lonely Ol' Night"... classics all.
Hell, even "Dance Naked" has its merits.
And what of the real classic?
John Mellencamp - Authority Song
Never fails to bring a smile to my face...
I called up my preacher and said, "Give me the strength for Round Five."
He said, "You don't need no strength... You need to grow up, son."
I said, "Growin' up leads to growin' old and then to dying.
"And dying, to me, don't sound like all that much fun."
Glorious! Talk about celebrating life!
Current Music: "The Chain" - Ingrid Michaelson
This one has been floating in and out of my head for about a week.
Rihanna (feat. Jay-Z) - Umbrella
I've got a weakness for pop music, but there's something about this one that rubs me the wrong way. I think it's the artificial beat. And while I usually like Jay-Z's "assistance," it's really unnecessary here.
Also, I'm still crushing pretty hard on the redheaded singer-songwriter version...
And once again, with a stab at the "great lyrics" in the song
Current Music: ella...ella...eh...eh...eh
I decided to listen to the radio (103.9, WXKE, "The Real Rocker") at work today. I tuned in just as this one was starting and promptly CRANKED IT UP and RAWKED THE FUCK OUT AT MY DESK!!!!!!
This is the title track from AC/DC's 1979 release and the band's last release with Bon Scott on vocals. It. Kicks. Ass. I particularly like the guitar parts (Malcolm Young's rhythm guitar parts contribute MUCH to AC/DC's rawkness! Just sayin'!) and the vocals (including backing vocals).
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: AC/DC "Highway to Hell"
Here's one all music lovers can relate to and enjoy! A LOT!
Eugene Edwards -- My Favorite Revolution
This is the title track from Eugene Edwards' 2004 release. The whole CD is fantastic; it's one of my favorite CD's of the last many years.
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Eugene Edwards "My Favorite Revolution"
This song was chosen at random.
Alanis Morissette -- Straitjacket
I've adored Alanis Morissette since the first time I saw the video for "You Oughta Know" in the fall of 1995. This particular cut is one of my favorites from her most recent release Flavors of Entanglement.
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Alanis Morissette "Straitjacket"
Today was a strange one. Up in the morning (WTF?), no iPod (due to non-clarity of the instructions on my jury summons), my day began with Lin Brehmer and Mary Dixon on WXRT. Not a bad thing at all, just unusual.
But it was the drive home that brought this one to my ears.
I really don't have anything for this one, except that I thought it was older, and I never would've pegged it as the Jayhawks without Terri Hemmert's prompt. It also doesn't help that everytime I hear someone talk about the Jayhawks, I think of the Judybats.
Y'all take it from here.
This song always makes me smile, and I'm not sure why. But I remember reading about D.B. Cooper before I heard the song, and I liked that I knew what it was about going in. If you don't know the name, read the article. If you want to get to it the same way I did, start with the Boeing 727.
Inspired by the interview with Jack Black from this month's Blender. How does my mind get from Jack Black to that dog? Easy.
Jack Black is married to Tanya Haden. I remember that Petra Haden was in that dog, and figure that she was the other Haden sister from the band. As it happens, I was wrong. Rachel Haden was the other Haden sister from that dog, but the three of them have all performed together as the Haden Triplets. Not just a clever name!
I'm following tangent links on the sisters now... they're everywhere! Crazy!