With your feet in the air and your head on the ground
Shall we whomp us together a music post? I do love the word "whomp." The sound of it is very evocative of the actual action.
No real theme. I just pulled all of these off the CD I burned for driving to work. My commute tends to be thirty minutes in the morning, and an hour and a half coming home, so I've been trying to keep amused.
All mp3s are for testing purposes only, delete after 24 hours or all your household appliances will gain sentience and try to try and kill you in a Rise of the Machines way, except a lot less dignified.
Bloodhound Gang - Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo: I have had this song waiting for a music post since, like, forever, but it just never seemed to fit with some of the previous themes. That said, the Bloodhound Gang is an enormously fun band, (even if I have to remember to skip past the majority of their songs on my mixes if my mother is in the car with me) and if you have ever been stuck for a sexual euphemism-well, listen to this song and fear no more. Together, they and Wilco make learning the Nato Phonetic Alphabet much easier.
If I get you in the loop when I make a point to be straight with you then
In lieu of the innuendo, in the end know my intent though
I Brazilian wax poetic, so hypothetically
I don't wanna beat around the bush
Weezer - (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To: I still love this song, even though it's getting some overplay right now, what with being on the trailer to "She's Out of My League." At least part of it is related to the fact I also love the music video, which actually sort of goes in direct opposition to the lyrics. (My favorite part is the truck.) Love is grand.
Girl, if you’re wondering if I want you to
(I want you to)
I want you to
So make a move
(make a move)
because I ain't got all night
Cobra Starship - I Kissed A Boy: I rather prefer this to the Katy Perry version. Faux-lesbianism wilts in the face of starting brawls. I mean, at least the singer is upfront about the fact he's using homoeroticism to score in the end.
I know it's wrong, but I don't mind
I'm gonna start shit tonight
I kissed a boy just to start shit
Bitches loved it
Cobra Starship - Damn You Look Good and I'm Drunk (Scandalous): Another Cobra Starship song, because they're sort of like Blink182 with more eyeliner-music I listen to when I want to feel really immature.
You're the kind of girl to take home to mom
If my momma was dead.
No good, you're up to no good.
But damn you look good and I'm drunk.
Counting Crows - Einstein on the Beach: Not the Philip Glass musical. The upbeat tone and depressing lyrics combo deluxe-The Counting Crows do this a lot, and they do it well. Normally the Counting Crows remind me of college, because that's where I got into their music; this one reminds me of high school, because that's when I first heard it. I had a hard time believing at first he was actually saying "eggman falling off the wall." (This was before Google made finding any lyrics easy.)
Einstein's down on the beach staring into the sand,
because everything he believes in is shattered
What you fear in the night in the day comes to call anyway
Green Day - I Fought the Law: Green Day covers a classic. It's a particularly good cover, because the Clash also covered this, and Green Day are kind of like a baby!Clash, even though they've come into their own identity quite well by now. I love the high energy; one of these days I am going to accidentally rob a bank after listening to the song, even despite the inherent warning present.
Breaking rocks in the hot sun
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the law won
I needed money 'cause I had none
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the law won
Jay-Z feat. Rihanna and Kanye West - Run this Town: This has also gotten a lot of play lately for both movie trailers and commercials, as well as being on the radio. So, if you're burned out on the song, at least enjoy the vaguely post-apocalyptic music video. There are a lot of fires and grunge and wasteland ruins; you'll like it.
Only thing that's on my mind
Is who's gonna run this town tonight
Eve 6 - Promise: I like the way Eve 6 pulls off wordsmithery in their lyrics. It reminds me a little of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, except I think Max Collins is actually slightly better at it than Anthony Kieddis. Kieddis tends to slur, which works for him. But Collins is clearer, crisper, and he really manages to find rhythms and rhymes you don't expect, but that work surprisingly well.
I promise not to try not to fuck with your mind
I promise not to mind if you go your way and I go mine
I promise not to lie if I'm looking you straight in the eye
I promise not to try not to let you down
Flo Rida feat. Nellie Furtado - Jump: Another victim of dreaded Movie Trailer Overplay (and with a trailer about wise-cracking black-ops hamsters no less) but no less of an earworm for the fact. So, the only way to deal with an earworm is to send it back into the world.
When I say jump
You say how high
I ain't never seen nobody ever get so high
H-Blockx vs. Dr. Ring Ding - Ring of Fire: This is an old song repost. So, I have a handful of songs that I like to collect covers of, and "Ring of Fire" is one of them. (Fortunately, a lot of people like to cover this song.) This one has a very bizarrely nice reggae-rock fusion sound to it.
I fell into a burning ring of fire
Went down, down, down
But the flames went higher
Moby - Beautiful: All Moby songs make me feel as though everyone around me is about to launch into a highly choreographed number, possibly involving slo-mo walking. (In this case, wearing furry costumes.)
Look at us, we’re beautiful
All the people push and pull but
Let’s just go out and ride
Talk about the things we’ve tried
The Refreshments - Sin Nombre: To close this out! Okay, not so much with the cheerfulness, but certainly… well, I think it's uplifting, in a sort of "fuck it, we're doing this last stand" sort of way. It goes surprisingly well with "Banditos", which I have previously posted!
Yeah the candle's burnin' down,
Now midnight comes around.
You know the best that we can hope for
Is to be laughin' when we finally hit the ground
Also, because it seemed timely, let's dump some links.
D.C. begins licensing same-sex marriages: Hey, y'all did you hear? DC is all up in here with gay marriage now. I was in Vienna, but my little brother was downtown, and he came back all, "You should have seen it." And for another little touching story…
Celebratory cupcakes: D.C. Council member David Catania, who authored the marriage equality law, partnered with Hello Cupcake! to personally give out boxes of congratulatory wedding cupcakes to the first 200 couples to register. Awww. (And I've been to that place; those are good cupcakes, too.)
Got some time? Read Oscar-nominated screenplays: I think this is awesome. I've wanted to read the screenplays for a lot of films, and not been able to get my hands on them. Logical too, if you want folks to vote for you.
Ten rules for writing fiction, part one and part two: Standard disclaimer: I do not actually endorse all these rules, I just find it interesting to think what other people think writing rules are. I mean, it's not a one size fits all thing. But there are some good tips! Though with Elmore Leonard's rules, I kept feeling like one should follow those rules generally, but I could also think of exceptions for every single one. Basically, I wanted to add "usually" to the start of each of his rules.
Jesus makes an appearance in a pizza sauce bucket in Scranton: It was not lost on Ms. Marsico that Jesus appeared at Brownie's at the start of Lent, a holy Christian time that also happens to spur pizza sales because observers are not supposed to eat meat on Fridays. "I will never cheat and eat meat again," she said. THAT'S RIGHT. BUCKET JESUS IS WATCHING YOU BREAK YOUR LENTEN VOWS.
Gummi bear chandelier, reinvented: I was so excited until they said "not edible." Regardless, I like it. It's like a stained glass window, but better.
Fortress America, London SW4: Warren Ellis is right. Our new embassy in London is, uh. Striking.
The letterhead of Nikola Tesla : Damn, dude. I haven't the words. Wait. Wait, I do.
twigcollins: That is fantastic stationary. It's not quite "listen to me or I will electrocute your wife" but it's implied.
ThorneScratch: Yes, subtle.
twigcollins: Kadrin just got me thinking that after a certain point, everything Tesla did was probably in the interests of messing with Edison.
"What are the potential applications of this new vibrational technology?"
"I'm going to knock down Edison's house."
ThorneScratch: Cage match! Cage match! They were both crazy mofos. Edison just managed to hire a better PR guy to give him the edge in history's reputation book.
twigcollins: "This is an Edison-seeking missile."
"What if you want to attack something that isn't Edison?"
"...I do not know what you mean."
ThorneScratch: We should do a comic about that, with special guest appearances from Mark Twain who comes in to help Tesla scheme and supply witty comebacks. Apparently, they used to hang out.
twigcollins: That is so awesome. God, Mark Twain was cool.
ThorneScratch: Yes.
twigcollins: That would actually be a cool short-run comic, if two companies resurrect the consciousnesses of dead geniuses for their supercomputers.
"Who did they pick?"
"Nikola Tesla, sir."
"Our Edison 2.0 is online!"
"...oh shit."
ThorneScratch: "Ho-shit."
twigcollins: The internet will crash with the power of flame war.
ThorneScratch: There is an interesting etymological difference in the "Oh shit" and the "Ho-shit." One is more immediate panic. The other is the slow, seeping realization of disaster and being fucked.
twigcollins: Yes. Or a sort of more mature, step-back. A wise, old cowboy. "Son, I can't help but notice you're on fire."
Also, if your married coworker offers to pay your airfare so you can fly to San Francisco and share a hotel room at a (entirely optional) training course with her, is she trying to tempt you into an adulterous lesbian affair, or is she just planning to kill you and steal your organs? I mean, I know what I would be trying to do, but I'm uncertain as to when it's directed at me. Also, I wouldn't actually be attending this course. I'd just apparently be there. To keep her company. Or something.
I received an invitation to speak at a neuroscience conference that is either a severe case of mistaken identity (dude, I'm not even in the same field of medicine, and I sure as hell don't have an MD) or the classiest spam I have ever received, hands down. I was inclined to think the latter, until I looked it up and it is an event.
Which clearly means that it is probably a zombie trap of some kind.
No real theme. I just pulled all of these off the CD I burned for driving to work. My commute tends to be thirty minutes in the morning, and an hour and a half coming home, so I've been trying to keep amused.
All mp3s are for testing purposes only, delete after 24 hours or all your household appliances will gain sentience and try to try and kill you in a Rise of the Machines way, except a lot less dignified.
Bloodhound Gang - Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo: I have had this song waiting for a music post since, like, forever, but it just never seemed to fit with some of the previous themes. That said, the Bloodhound Gang is an enormously fun band, (even if I have to remember to skip past the majority of their songs on my mixes if my mother is in the car with me) and if you have ever been stuck for a sexual euphemism-well, listen to this song and fear no more. Together, they and Wilco make learning the Nato Phonetic Alphabet much easier.
If I get you in the loop when I make a point to be straight with you then
In lieu of the innuendo, in the end know my intent though
I Brazilian wax poetic, so hypothetically
I don't wanna beat around the bush
Weezer - (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To: I still love this song, even though it's getting some overplay right now, what with being on the trailer to "She's Out of My League." At least part of it is related to the fact I also love the music video, which actually sort of goes in direct opposition to the lyrics. (My favorite part is the truck.) Love is grand.
Girl, if you’re wondering if I want you to
(I want you to)
I want you to
So make a move
(make a move)
because I ain't got all night
Cobra Starship - I Kissed A Boy: I rather prefer this to the Katy Perry version. Faux-lesbianism wilts in the face of starting brawls. I mean, at least the singer is upfront about the fact he's using homoeroticism to score in the end.
I know it's wrong, but I don't mind
I'm gonna start shit tonight
I kissed a boy just to start shit
Bitches loved it
Cobra Starship - Damn You Look Good and I'm Drunk (Scandalous): Another Cobra Starship song, because they're sort of like Blink182 with more eyeliner-music I listen to when I want to feel really immature.
You're the kind of girl to take home to mom
If my momma was dead.
No good, you're up to no good.
But damn you look good and I'm drunk.
Counting Crows - Einstein on the Beach: Not the Philip Glass musical. The upbeat tone and depressing lyrics combo deluxe-The Counting Crows do this a lot, and they do it well. Normally the Counting Crows remind me of college, because that's where I got into their music; this one reminds me of high school, because that's when I first heard it. I had a hard time believing at first he was actually saying "eggman falling off the wall." (This was before Google made finding any lyrics easy.)
Einstein's down on the beach staring into the sand,
because everything he believes in is shattered
What you fear in the night in the day comes to call anyway
Green Day - I Fought the Law: Green Day covers a classic. It's a particularly good cover, because the Clash also covered this, and Green Day are kind of like a baby!Clash, even though they've come into their own identity quite well by now. I love the high energy; one of these days I am going to accidentally rob a bank after listening to the song, even despite the inherent warning present.
Breaking rocks in the hot sun
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the law won
I needed money 'cause I had none
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law and the law won
Jay-Z feat. Rihanna and Kanye West - Run this Town: This has also gotten a lot of play lately for both movie trailers and commercials, as well as being on the radio. So, if you're burned out on the song, at least enjoy the vaguely post-apocalyptic music video. There are a lot of fires and grunge and wasteland ruins; you'll like it.
Only thing that's on my mind
Is who's gonna run this town tonight
Eve 6 - Promise: I like the way Eve 6 pulls off wordsmithery in their lyrics. It reminds me a little of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, except I think Max Collins is actually slightly better at it than Anthony Kieddis. Kieddis tends to slur, which works for him. But Collins is clearer, crisper, and he really manages to find rhythms and rhymes you don't expect, but that work surprisingly well.
I promise not to try not to fuck with your mind
I promise not to mind if you go your way and I go mine
I promise not to lie if I'm looking you straight in the eye
I promise not to try not to let you down
Flo Rida feat. Nellie Furtado - Jump: Another victim of dreaded Movie Trailer Overplay (and with a trailer about wise-cracking black-ops hamsters no less) but no less of an earworm for the fact. So, the only way to deal with an earworm is to send it back into the world.
When I say jump
You say how high
I ain't never seen nobody ever get so high
H-Blockx vs. Dr. Ring Ding - Ring of Fire: This is an old song repost. So, I have a handful of songs that I like to collect covers of, and "Ring of Fire" is one of them. (Fortunately, a lot of people like to cover this song.) This one has a very bizarrely nice reggae-rock fusion sound to it.
I fell into a burning ring of fire
Went down, down, down
But the flames went higher
Moby - Beautiful: All Moby songs make me feel as though everyone around me is about to launch into a highly choreographed number, possibly involving slo-mo walking. (In this case, wearing furry costumes.)
Look at us, we’re beautiful
All the people push and pull but
Let’s just go out and ride
Talk about the things we’ve tried
The Refreshments - Sin Nombre: To close this out! Okay, not so much with the cheerfulness, but certainly… well, I think it's uplifting, in a sort of "fuck it, we're doing this last stand" sort of way. It goes surprisingly well with "Banditos", which I have previously posted!
Yeah the candle's burnin' down,
Now midnight comes around.
You know the best that we can hope for
Is to be laughin' when we finally hit the ground
Also, because it seemed timely, let's dump some links.
D.C. begins licensing same-sex marriages: Hey, y'all did you hear? DC is all up in here with gay marriage now. I was in Vienna, but my little brother was downtown, and he came back all, "You should have seen it." And for another little touching story…
Celebratory cupcakes: D.C. Council member David Catania, who authored the marriage equality law, partnered with Hello Cupcake! to personally give out boxes of congratulatory wedding cupcakes to the first 200 couples to register. Awww. (And I've been to that place; those are good cupcakes, too.)
Got some time? Read Oscar-nominated screenplays: I think this is awesome. I've wanted to read the screenplays for a lot of films, and not been able to get my hands on them. Logical too, if you want folks to vote for you.
Ten rules for writing fiction, part one and part two: Standard disclaimer: I do not actually endorse all these rules, I just find it interesting to think what other people think writing rules are. I mean, it's not a one size fits all thing. But there are some good tips! Though with Elmore Leonard's rules, I kept feeling like one should follow those rules generally, but I could also think of exceptions for every single one. Basically, I wanted to add "usually" to the start of each of his rules.
Jesus makes an appearance in a pizza sauce bucket in Scranton: It was not lost on Ms. Marsico that Jesus appeared at Brownie's at the start of Lent, a holy Christian time that also happens to spur pizza sales because observers are not supposed to eat meat on Fridays. "I will never cheat and eat meat again," she said. THAT'S RIGHT. BUCKET JESUS IS WATCHING YOU BREAK YOUR LENTEN VOWS.
Gummi bear chandelier, reinvented: I was so excited until they said "not edible." Regardless, I like it. It's like a stained glass window, but better.
Fortress America, London SW4: Warren Ellis is right. Our new embassy in London is, uh. Striking.
The letterhead of Nikola Tesla : Damn, dude. I haven't the words. Wait. Wait, I do.
twigcollins: That is fantastic stationary. It's not quite "listen to me or I will electrocute your wife" but it's implied.
ThorneScratch: Yes, subtle.
twigcollins: Kadrin just got me thinking that after a certain point, everything Tesla did was probably in the interests of messing with Edison.
"What are the potential applications of this new vibrational technology?"
"I'm going to knock down Edison's house."
ThorneScratch: Cage match! Cage match! They were both crazy mofos. Edison just managed to hire a better PR guy to give him the edge in history's reputation book.
twigcollins: "This is an Edison-seeking missile."
"What if you want to attack something that isn't Edison?"
"...I do not know what you mean."
ThorneScratch: We should do a comic about that, with special guest appearances from Mark Twain who comes in to help Tesla scheme and supply witty comebacks. Apparently, they used to hang out.
twigcollins: That is so awesome. God, Mark Twain was cool.
ThorneScratch: Yes.
twigcollins: That would actually be a cool short-run comic, if two companies resurrect the consciousnesses of dead geniuses for their supercomputers.
"Who did they pick?"
"Nikola Tesla, sir."
"Our Edison 2.0 is online!"
"...oh shit."
ThorneScratch: "Ho-shit."
twigcollins: The internet will crash with the power of flame war.
ThorneScratch: There is an interesting etymological difference in the "Oh shit" and the "Ho-shit." One is more immediate panic. The other is the slow, seeping realization of disaster and being fucked.
twigcollins: Yes. Or a sort of more mature, step-back. A wise, old cowboy. "Son, I can't help but notice you're on fire."
Also, if your married coworker offers to pay your airfare so you can fly to San Francisco and share a hotel room at a (entirely optional) training course with her, is she trying to tempt you into an adulterous lesbian affair, or is she just planning to kill you and steal your organs? I mean, I know what I would be trying to do, but I'm uncertain as to when it's directed at me. Also, I wouldn't actually be attending this course. I'd just apparently be there. To keep her company. Or something.
I received an invitation to speak at a neuroscience conference that is either a severe case of mistaken identity (dude, I'm not even in the same field of medicine, and I sure as hell don't have an MD) or the classiest spam I have ever received, hands down. I was inclined to think the latter, until I looked it up and it is an event.
Which clearly means that it is probably a zombie trap of some kind.