2007 roundup meme, Cake mix
Ganked from a bunch of people on my flist, the roundup meme consists of posting the first line in the first entry of each month in the year. * indicates meme, + fic. For memes & fic I put the first "real" sentence, i.e., after the fic header or meme results.
2007 LJ Roundup Meme:
That was not nearly as exciting as I had hoped. So I will give you my other topic, which was that I saw Cake on Thursday and they kicked ass!! It was at Terminal 5, which I'd never been to before but it's like right around the corner from my old apt in Hell's Kitchen. I think it was a little too large of a venue for them, as some of the details got lost in the crowd noise, but the crowd was mostly really into it, which I loved. Certainly almost everyone over in our corner (far left front-ish) was totally singing along and it made it that much more fun. McCrea got a LOT of mileage out of his vibraslap, which cracked me up. We got there late (we almost didn't go at all, but after shelling out $86 for the tickets I was so glad we did) having deliberately skipped all the opening bands (doors opened at 6:30 and Cake wasn't even scheduled to go on until 10). When we ran up to the club we asked if they'd gone on yet, and one of the bouncers goes, "Yeah, Cupcake just went on." I love it. Why the hell "Cupcake" seems so much more random and hilarious than "Cake", I don't know. There was this kid next to me who was kind of funny, we were singing along together at some points. As Steve put it, he was so ordinary. Anyway. In honor of how much awesome they pack into a single band, I give you a Cake mix. These are some of my very favorite songs by them.
To be downloading all of the songs in this mix (AAC format in a zipped archive, including an importable iTunes XML format playlist), please to be clicking here.
And finally, in honor of seeing chibi-Dean again, my icon.
Jesus, the wind is blowing something crazy outside. All the garbage is being blown all over the street. And how the hell did it get so late? Not sure where my weekend went. Oh right, I was working! *rolls eyes*. I don't know how the hell I'm going to get out of here in one piece on Weds, with so much shit left to do. I did take the children to the vet on Sat, which was good cause they hadn't had checkups in like 3 years. I love my animal hospital so much, they are the exact opposite of most greedy money-grubbing vets. They genuinely care about the overall wellbeing of the animals - to wit: I told the vet I hadn't been getting the annual vaccines because the cats never leave the house and have no interaction with other cats, and vaccines can cause harm in and of themselves. He totally agreed, but when I further explained that just getting Kitty into her carrier traumatizes her to the point of taking years off her life, he said she should get both vaccines now instead of coming back another time for the rabies, like Dio is going to do. (And Steve is going to have to bring him because he vetoed my idea of a cat-sitter - afraid she'll steal his stuff. So now we have to board and they have to be up to date on all shots for that. Which was the whole reason I took them on Saturday but after speaking with the cat-sitter from the vet's office, thought I didn't need to get the rabies vac now. Ha! Serves him right. Anyhoo) Then they said they'd waive the office fee for Diablo to get the rabies vaccine, because the Dr. wants to encourage fewer vaccines at the same time. I usually see Dr. Lehman, who's awesome - once I said that Merrick smelled almost good enough to eat myself and he said "It doesn't taste that good" - he actually tries all his pets' foods!! And he has like 5 dogs and 4 cats - but this time I had a new guy Dr. Mann, who was adorable and put a black bandanna with red flames on Dio. I said, "what's the bandanna for", thinking it was to prevent him from reaching around and trying to get in the way of the shots or whatever (sort of like an Elizabeth collar) and he said "Oh, it's for me - I think it's funny". Kitty was terrified as usual but she was so good and I got them both microchipped as well.
Ok, I gotta sleep now. I took naps like all weekend but I'm still exhausted, and I wish I had made time for a bath with my lovely new LUSH but did I? No. AGAIN. Idiot. I'm just babbling now.
ETA: Laptop still possessed, DHCP has gone haywire and wants to assign me an IP addy that's outside my home network. I can hardcode a valid address but then it's got no DNS servers & can only see the internet when I'm on the VPN - WTF?
2007 LJ Roundup Meme:
- January - 1/6* - "I guess I'm okay with that, but WTF is up with Paddywhack's HAIR?"
- February - 2/16+ - "Pam watched as Jim danced with that girl, a full head taller than she - they looked like they were in junior high, for Chrissakes."
- March - 3/7* - "Just because it took me so f-in long to take this damn thing, I give you:"
- April - 4/5 - "ARBY LOVE SHOW" [In regards to the Office, I'll have you know]
- May - 5/2 - "Me + insomnia + Sidekick = 800+ words of future!fic Mylar pre-slash. \o/?"
- June - 6/14* - "Ganked from the estimable sanyin."
- July - 7/5 - "OMG, you know you're sad when your MOMS has to order you to stay home and you're over 30."
- August - 8/3 -"First things first - happy birthday august420!!"
- September - 9/3 - "OK so some asshole sniped me, and just because I already have ~15ml of AL inhouse doesn't mean I don't want more, okay?!"
- October - 10/1 - "I will kill anyone who tries to stand in the way of my getting this couch:"
- November - 11/13 - "Quickly: Sick as dog, stayed home & rolled around miserably in bed, Crackberrying work emails"
- December - 12/5 - "I was totally skeptical ("another vampire show? who needs it!" see also, "CBS sucks") and held out until very recently (like, Thanksgiving) but when I finally got around to watching it I was totally hooked by about halfway through the pilot."[regarding Moonlight]
That was not nearly as exciting as I had hoped. So I will give you my other topic, which was that I saw Cake on Thursday and they kicked ass!! It was at Terminal 5, which I'd never been to before but it's like right around the corner from my old apt in Hell's Kitchen. I think it was a little too large of a venue for them, as some of the details got lost in the crowd noise, but the crowd was mostly really into it, which I loved. Certainly almost everyone over in our corner (far left front-ish) was totally singing along and it made it that much more fun. McCrea got a LOT of mileage out of his vibraslap, which cracked me up. We got there late (we almost didn't go at all, but after shelling out $86 for the tickets I was so glad we did) having deliberately skipped all the opening bands (doors opened at 6:30 and Cake wasn't even scheduled to go on until 10). When we ran up to the club we asked if they'd gone on yet, and one of the bouncers goes, "Yeah, Cupcake just went on." I love it. Why the hell "Cupcake" seems so much more random and hilarious than "Cake", I don't know. There was this kid next to me who was kind of funny, we were singing along together at some points. As Steve put it, he was so ordinary. Anyway. In honor of how much awesome they pack into a single band, I give you a Cake mix. These are some of my very favorite songs by them.
- Rock 'n' Roll Lifestyle - "Your liver pays dearly now for youthful magic moments" - They played this one but inexplicably left out the "Excess ain't rebellion" bit which is my favorite part. I was sad 'cause it would have been fun to shout the backing part on that.
- Mr. Mastodon Farm - "Due to a construct in my mind/that makes their falling and their flight/symbolic of my entire existence" - After all this time it still blows my mind that he used "a construct in my mind" in a lyric. This song kills me ded. The chorus alone is so incredibly random. I shouted out for this one but they didn't play it. It's almost good because I think I might not have been able to hack it. Oh and towards the very end my little friend goes, "See how they used a mastodon on the poster" (the giant wall covering behind the band said "Unlimited Sunshine" and had a drawing of a mastodon on it) and I immediately said, "Like Mr. Mastodon Farm!" and he goes, "I was thinking more like, it's hard to root for one, 'cause they're extinct" and I replied, "Yeah, like the tradition of good music that Cake represents - it's dead!" He looked at me like I had three heads. I don't know why, it seems perfectly logical to me.
- Friend Is A Four Letter Word - "When I go fishing for the words/I am wishing you would say to me/I'm really only praying/That the words you'll soon be saying/Might betray/The way you feel about me" - I like most of this song ok, but the absolute genius of the bridge is what gets me every time. Such sustained internal rhyming brilliance. They played this one and when they got to the bridge I clapped my hands like a five-year old and said, "This is the best part!" to my neighbor who did not seem to agree.
- I Will Survive - "I should have changed my fucking lock" - This was like the 2nd Cake song I ever heard, and I LOL'ed heartily at that - how perfect. It instantly explained what had always been wrong with the Gloria Gaynor version. Who says "my stupid lock"? Doesn't "my fucking lock" just get at the point a hundred times better? You're pissed that your ex came back and expected you to welcome him/her with open arms. Are you going to wuss around saying "stupid"? Hell no. Also I love the way he sings it with the most bizarre phrasing, like he's an alien from another planet who's reading the lyrics with no comprehension. Cracks me up. They didn't play this one and I'm cool with that.
- Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps - "So if you really love me, say yes/But if you don't, dear, confess" - In contrast to this cover, where he sings like like he means it. I adore this version, the muscular (and typically Cake-like) guitar riffs just give it that extra kick. He sings it in a different key than Doris Day, though, which makes it inconvenient for me when I sing it with my friend S. He will only play it in Cake's key, in which the the bridge is too low for me, so I have to jump the octave, which to me is very wimpy sounding. But these two lines are my favorite to sing, they're so dramatic. Anyhoo, onward.
- Satan Is My Motor - "I've got brakes, I'm wide awake/I can stop this car at anytime/At the very last second, I can change directions/Turn completely around, if I feel so inclined" - Given McCrea's nervous breakdown, I can't help but wonder if it's a metaphor for mental illness, but this part is very empowering. I'm confused by the weird "sh" noise in the very beginning, "I've got wheels/of polish(sh)ed steel" - it almost sounds like a curse was elided or something. May just be an aural artifact of the combination of that phonic sound and the background colliding.
- Never There - "On the phone/Long long distance/Always through such/Strong resistance " - They played this one, it was excellent. Singing the shouty bits is so satisfying.
- Guitar - "Well the way you treat me lightly only/Slightly brings me down/A lot" - I like this one as a sort of complement to "Mr. Mastodon Farm" lyrically - though in some ways I feel like it's saying the same thing in a more accessible (and hence boring) way. But I love the quoted bit, again the internal rhyme is so great. Before they played it John said, "This is a song about throwing things out of windows" - ha! I love throwing things out of windows. Musically I really like the gritty little guitar bits in the chorus and the theremin towards the end.
- You Turn The Screws - "And the cement mixer gets it all ready/One good turn at a time" - For some reason I associate this part with "Sheep Go To Heaven" - the occupational reference confuses me, perhaps. I also like the play on "one good turn deserves another" - what does a turn of the screw deserve? This song is so killer. I love the elastic scale the bass does at the end, when they go into the repeating "You turn the screws" fade-out.
- Sheep Go To Heaven - "As soon as you're born, you start dying/So you might as well have a good time " - One of the best songs they've ever done. This song has so many interesting references, like Capricorn Records being their early label, and Panpipes - subtle pagan reference, no? I shouted out for this one early on - they didn't do it, but several people turned around and looked at me and said "Yeah!" I don't know why it was so surprising of a suggestion - it was a minor hit, after all.
- Opera Singer - "I am an opera singer/I will sing when you're all dead/I sing the mountains crumbling apart/I sing what can't be said" - They played this one and it was hella fun to dance to. I had a beer in my hand so I couldn't try to clap the complicated little percussion riff that has always reminded me of flamenco. My friend tried to sing it, with mixed results.
- Shadow Stabbing - "I'm so nervous, I'm so tense/My heart can't forget about this self defense/And the air is so hot, and my breath comes fast/I thumb the cool blade but I know this can't last" - One of the most melodic songs in their repetoire, the little flourishes in this one kill me - like the arpeggios during this verse. The lyrics are genius not the least because I can't explain exactly what's going on in it, but when I listen to the song I feel it anyway.
- Short Skirt/Long Jacket - "I want a girl with a smooth liquidation/I want a girl with good dividends/At Citibank we will meet accidentally/We'll start to talk when she borrows my pen" - This song cracks me up - I especially love the part when the band shouts "smooth liquidation!" "good dividends!" and "meet accidentally!". They played this one and I got to shout along. \o/
- Comfort Eagle - "He says, do you believe/In the one true edge/By fastening your safety belts/And stepping towards the ledge" - This one is hardcore. I love it when they play the "Arco Arena" theme in the middle. The whole Middle Eastern thing going on in this song is awesome. They played it and we had fun shouting "DUDE!" at the appropriate times.
- Love You Madly - "I don't want to hold back/I don't want to slip down/I don't want to think back/To the one thing that I know I should have done" - This song is sort of mainstream I guess? In that it's v. poppy and sort of jolly-sounding and danceable. But it makes me happy, so it's on here.
- War Pigs - They did this and it kicked ass. I think in the end I like Freakwater's cover better, just because it's more transformative, but when Cake does it it's very loud and rocking, which I like too.
- Mahna, Mahna - I had to include this one because it cracks me up. Completely, sublimely ridiculous, and yet so perfect for them to cover!
- Wheels - "And the muscular cyborg German dudes/Dance with sexy French-Canadians" - Every time I hear this song I'm impressed all over again that he uses the word "Bosphorus". I don't know why. Also the cyborg Germans + sexy French-Canadians makes me think of Ahnold dancing with Celine Dion. What can I say, I'm easily amused.
- No Phone - "My smooth contemplations will always be broken/My deepest concerns will stay buried and unspoken/No I don't have any change left, here's a few subway tokens" - I love the bridge on this one. And also the little electronic noises that come in in the second verse.
- Dime - "I'm a President you don't remember/getting kicked around" "I'm silver-plated/I'm underrated/You won't even pick me up cause I'm not enough/for a local phone call" - In the grand Andy Partridge tradition of extending metaphors until they nearly break, McCrea goes to town with this one. I love it. "You won't even pick me up" reminds me of Beck, "Putting It Down". Also I love the way he pronounces "gahbage" for some bizarre reason - it reminds me of this woman I used to work with, who said it just like that.
- Tougher Than It Is - "Some people like to make life/A little tougher than it is" - Truer words, man. This one is so great. I love the horn solo in this one, and the drums. I listen to this one when I'm getting uptight and it always makes me smile.
To be downloading all of the songs in this mix (AAC format in a zipped archive, including an importable iTunes XML format playlist), please to be clicking here.
And finally, in honor of seeing chibi-Dean again, my icon.
Jesus, the wind is blowing something crazy outside. All the garbage is being blown all over the street. And how the hell did it get so late? Not sure where my weekend went. Oh right, I was working! *rolls eyes*. I don't know how the hell I'm going to get out of here in one piece on Weds, with so much shit left to do. I did take the children to the vet on Sat, which was good cause they hadn't had checkups in like 3 years. I love my animal hospital so much, they are the exact opposite of most greedy money-grubbing vets. They genuinely care about the overall wellbeing of the animals - to wit: I told the vet I hadn't been getting the annual vaccines because the cats never leave the house and have no interaction with other cats, and vaccines can cause harm in and of themselves. He totally agreed, but when I further explained that just getting Kitty into her carrier traumatizes her to the point of taking years off her life, he said she should get both vaccines now instead of coming back another time for the rabies, like Dio is going to do. (And Steve is going to have to bring him because he vetoed my idea of a cat-sitter - afraid she'll steal his stuff. So now we have to board and they have to be up to date on all shots for that. Which was the whole reason I took them on Saturday but after speaking with the cat-sitter from the vet's office, thought I didn't need to get the rabies vac now. Ha! Serves him right. Anyhoo) Then they said they'd waive the office fee for Diablo to get the rabies vaccine, because the Dr. wants to encourage fewer vaccines at the same time. I usually see Dr. Lehman, who's awesome - once I said that Merrick smelled almost good enough to eat myself and he said "It doesn't taste that good" - he actually tries all his pets' foods!! And he has like 5 dogs and 4 cats - but this time I had a new guy Dr. Mann, who was adorable and put a black bandanna with red flames on Dio. I said, "what's the bandanna for", thinking it was to prevent him from reaching around and trying to get in the way of the shots or whatever (sort of like an Elizabeth collar) and he said "Oh, it's for me - I think it's funny". Kitty was terrified as usual but she was so good and I got them both microchipped as well.
Ok, I gotta sleep now. I took naps like all weekend but I'm still exhausted, and I wish I had made time for a bath with my lovely new LUSH but did I? No. AGAIN. Idiot. I'm just babbling now.
ETA: Laptop still possessed, DHCP has gone haywire and wants to assign me an IP addy that's outside my home network. I can hardcode a valid address but then it's got no DNS servers & can only see the internet when I'm on the VPN - WTF?