The Blogtastic Blogfest That Is Getmeoutofthis.net!

Fuck you, look at this cool song.

There was a metric fuck-load of hype and anticipation of MC Frontalot’s new album, Zero Day. Then they started playing tracks from it on the Jick and Skully show, and I was like “Man, that’s actually pretty fucking good.” I’ve always kind of liked Front in theory, but I’ve never been a huge rapping person, but every time I hear Front on a podcast or something he’s completely fantastic and entertaining. I also enjoy the tracks of his that I have in Rock Band quite a bit. After a little debate, I went ahead and threw him some money, and got the album.

It’s pretty amazing.

And at the tip of the amazingness is that song up there, Charisma Potion. It pretty well sums up everything I feel about this album. His previous songs were good, but were not… full. I know that’s a vague term, but you could kind of tell it was a one man show. It didn’t have all the oomph behind it that a huge, full production sort of song would. Or maybe I’m imagining that. In any case, the back beats and music in these tracks just really get me on their own. They’re energetic, exciting, and significantly less repetitive. I like that.

And, of course, Front’s lyrics are excellent. I mean, just listen to that up there. It’s completely geeky but also completely bad-ass. It’s pretty well perfect in this regard. I love it so much. I have to sing along with it. Of course, I am not a professional rapper, so it doesn’t go very good on a lot of tracks, but I try, dammit!

Yeah, I’m listening to this one over and over, and it deserves it. I’m glad I bought Zero Day. You should consider picking it up too. It’s completely sweet.

I’ve been wanting something new to listen to musically because… I dunno. I’ve been listening to the Presidents of the United States of America literally all semester. It was time for a little change. I was trying some Oasis, but it wasn’t working. I mentioned to my brother that I was looking for something new, and so he hands me a CD by a group (okay, actually it’s apparently just one dude) called Owl City.

I kind of love Owl City. He’s got this very poppy, synthy song, and all his songs are sugar sweet but genuine and emotional. I’m falling in love. But most important, I have gotten one of his songs stuck in my head horribly, and that song would be Fireflies.
Got a pretty good music video, yes? It also has a good beat. Mostly, though, what’s getting to me is the lyrics. They’ve just got this very strong emotion behind them that, for whatever reason, is really affecting me right now. I mean… “I’d like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly” is such a great line. So full of hope, and yet sad, a statement of trying to force will against the inevitability of time.

Things just slipping away, as you dream, and try to turn things into something you want, but everything is never as it seems.

Yeah…

I thought I would elaborate on the throw-away line yesterday about the BlazBlue soundtrack. I’m really quite addicted to it, and honestly I don’t know exactly why. It’s completely the same sort of hard rocking crazy guitar solo stuff that was in Aksys’s earlier games, like, say, Guilty Gear. (Okay, maybe this is a more appropriate example, but, you know… Bridget. Less Than Three.)At the same time, I don’t know. I find it oddly compelling.

Granted, it meets my requirements for a good game soundtrack like this. It is incredibly upbeat, constantly giving off energy. I can totally picture myself playing the game the moment I hear it. It screams “action.” I’m moving about the campus, having imaginary fighting game battles all the damn time now. Which is fun enough.
It’s also just so… weird, kind of. I mean, it takes a song called “Oriental Flower” and it turns it into this. It’s almost humorous when it gets off of that opening and into the bulk of the song. It takes some really fucking weird kind of vision to create something like that. I don’t know. It just seems hard to imagine any sort of metal-y song having anything to do with a flower. Maybe that’s just me. Maybe flowers are really hardcore.
Maybe Brutal Legend has almost given me an ear for this kind of music. Or maybe it’s just the whole “fighting game battles in my head” aspect that cannot be discounted or belittled here.

Anyway, I’m listening to it pretty well non-stop at the moment. So I suppose I recommend it. It’s just kind of a weird thing for me to recommend, I suppose.

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned before that I am an “endless repeat” kind of music listener. Some people listen to albums, some to random selections of shuffled tracks. Me? I’m one song, constantly, over and over and over, until my obsession gets to something else.

The current song? Froggie by The Presidents of the United States of America. (Please, don’t mind the odd “music video.”)

This one didn’t catch me the first time I listened to it like some songs. It was just kind of there, and I thought it odd, with it’s weird energetic crescendos and whatnot in between a fairly calm song for POTUS. (Pot Us!) Yet when I listened to it again, and soon a million, million times, it became exciting for just that very reason. There’s a constant expectation there. I know the part that makes me want to get up and dance like an idiot is coming. It’s always coming. But you have to wait for it. It builds and builds. That’s pretty fun.
Pretty, pretty fun.

One of the things that’s sometimes kind of nice about how I listen to music is the fact that I can “discover” something I’ve had around for like… years. Since I listen to one to two tracks on an album endlessly, forgetting all the others, I can sometimes stumble on a “new” track that I’ve had all along, but never actually gave much time to.

This happened recently, and I was pleased. Back on Election Day, when Rock Band put out it’s Presidents of the United States of America pack, I was like “Hmm, these songs are pretty good. I wonder what else they have.” And then I very quickly became a huge fan of the band. I devoured their work, eventually lingering on their last album, These Are The Good Times People, and mostly listening to that. But so much of their stuff was worth my time. It was exciting. It was entertaining. I was entertained.

The other day, I was preparing for my trip to the City Museum, which I told you about already. But, at the time, I was unsure whether or not I’d be driving up alone or not. So I felt it time to stockpile some podcasts, and that meant not playing podcasts while I played my games. So I dove into my library to try to find some music to listen to, and stumbled upon the POTUS (as hip fans call them, I guess) album, II. I had never really given this one a chance, so I put it on.

By the time the second track came on, I was in love with the band again. Man, they are just so good! They’re just the right mix of pop and odd and clever and rock for me, and I just love the crap out of them. I’ve been listening to that track constantly, but Volcano, Mach 5… the whole album is solid. It’s just wonderful stuff.

So huzzah for discovering music I already have, I guess! Huzzah!

I am not really a music person. My parents are the sorts that listened to Talk Radio when I was growing up, so I was never really exposed to music until I was introduced to They Might Be Giants during my high school years. Even then, I myself almost always listen to my generation’s version of Talk Radio, podcasts, and never really tend to attempt to broaden my music listening experiences.

Thus, it felt like kind of a big deal when, listening to this Radio Lab’s podcast, I got introduced to a musician that I have very quickly fallen in love with: Juana Molina.

Seriously, just take a moment, go to her website, and take a listen to the little player that plays, hm?

The first thing you might think of, if you know me, is that this doesn’t normally sound like the kind of music I listen to. I enjoy very quick, energetic, pop rock kind of music. Say, a little Franz or Flans-centric TMBG or whatever. But damn, I don’t know what it is about her music that really gets to me. I mean, it’s really fucking pretty. I doubt few would argue with that, but why do I like it?

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that it does have a constant repetition and beat. This is due to the fact that all the songs are made with just her and her guitar, and then using this looping software where she plays a bit, clicks a button and it just loops, and then she adds another layer, and so on. So it has this constant beat I can get into.
That’s my theory, anyway.

No matter what the reason, I love this stuff. After hearing the podcast, I went and grabbed her latest album, Un Dia, and have been listening to it constantly. According to iTunes, I’ve listened to the whole album… let’s see… at least 6 times. I never listen to music this much. It’s something special. And I feel like I need to share it with everyone.

I have big hopes for this album. I hope that I can write while listening to it because it doesn’t have lyrics I can follow. (I’m one of those people who can’t write while listening to music with lyrics, you understand. I want to sing along and it just breaks my flow.) But I’m listening to it while writing this blog post, and it seems to be going okay. Huzzah!

But yeah. Juana Molina. Awesome.
Yep.
(I will end every blog post with “yep” now. Yep.)

I could talk all over the place about what I love about Klonoa, but I’m only going to do one more. The point of this post is this: Klonoa has some of the best video game music I have ever heard.

First off, I mean… just listen to it. Here, try one of my more favorite tracks, Count Three. The mixture of orchestrated sounds with more classical, video game-y sounds throughout the soundtrack just works so well to make music that is definitely for a video game, but is beautiful in its own right. Both major Klonoa games use this same kind of music, and oh, it is so wonderful. I am so glad it’s untouched in the remake.

But mostly, the reason that Klonoa’s music is so wonderful is its use of Leitmotifs. Every physical area in the games has its own musical theme, and that theme is twisted and played with to set various moods depending on what is happening and the plot. But you don’t have to take my word for it. Take a listen.
One of the clearest ones in the original game is that of the original piece of music you hear, The Windmill Song. This incredibly happy piece of music is the first you’re hit with when you start playing, in the first level, and it sets the tone of the game as being a happy one, a fun one, a cute one, devoid of any sort of worry or anything of the sort. Then, later in the game, you are rushing back to your home in a race against time to prevent bad things from happening. The song playing then is The Ruin’s Air. Now, when you first listen to this piece, you may not immediately notice the connection, the Leitmotif between them. But eventually, it gets to a very clear melancholy rendition of The Windmill Song, and then you can’t help but hear it within the entire piece. The corrupting of the original song sets the mood strongly. It’s completely awesome.

It’s not always so dramatic, but it’s still constantly used to great effect. In the second game, you find yourself in the amusement park town, Joilant. The theme is happy, and reminiscent of an amusement park, easily. Later, when facing the boss of the place, you hear a mix of the Leitmotif set by the original piece in Leptio, The Flower Clown. The original song fades in and out of much more intense horns and drums, setting the tone for the battle.

I could give examples all day, but hopefully I’m making my point here. Klonoa’s music is good. So very, very good. There are few video game soundtracks I listen to, outside of stealing some boss battle themes, perhaps. I listen to the entire soundtrack to both Klonoa and Klonoa 2 on a regular basis.

I love Klonoa so much! I promise to shut up about it, though. Tomorrow: Something not about Klonoa! Maybe!

So, Franz Ferdinand’s new album, Tonight:Franz Ferdinand, finally hit. They’re one of bands I actually follow and actively search for, so I was happy to snap that shit up using the amazing powers of Amazon Prime I now possess.
I’m really not that impressed.
I mean, it’s all solid. The vast majority is very listenable, and I’ve been enjoying listening to it on shuffle the past few days. But I have yet to find one song that’s especially memorable in any way. Their initial self-titled album had many, such as Take Me Out, Dark of the Matinee, Michael… the majority kicked major ass. The second album, You Could Have It So Much Better, was less filled with hits, but still had some great, clearly standout hits, such as the title song, and The Fallen…
I have yet to find a song on Tonight that makes me want to put it on constant repeat, and honestly, that’s kind of my criteria for a good song. I listen to songs I love constantly, over and over, endlessly. Nothing has really made me want to do that. I mean, their single for this album, Ulysses, is pretty good, but not like… amazing? I don’t know.

A lot of talk was made about how they were going to mix things up a bit with this album, and use more electronic influences and whatnot. You can certainly hear it, and several songs just have these long, pointless, electronica finishes to them? I like that kind of music, but I’m not especially a fan of it mixed with my Franz. Still, it’s not BAD? It’s just not stand out and doesn’t excite me.
The songs are also, on a whole, much slower than previous albums. The first had like… no slow songs. The second had like two. This one feels like it has a whole lot, but the problem might be that shuffle is hitting them a lot? I don’t know. There’s certainly not any especially fast songs. I like my fast songs.

So I guess I’m underwhelmed. Not as underwhelmed as I was by, say, The Else, which was just… completely forgettable, unfortunately. But underwhelmed. Still, if you’re a Franz fan, this is still an album worth owning. If you haven’t really listening to the band, you should probably just pick up their first album, though. Cause that one is just golden, and awesome, and why I love the band so.

I’m almost there, dammit… I can do this one now, and then I’m almost there! Here’s ringworm’s mix.

Listening Time Volume 17 – ringworm’s mix

1. Indie Rockin’ by Common Rotation: I think these guys opened for a TMBG concert I went to once… I remember the name… I don’t remember really liking them or anything, though? This isn’t too bad, though? It’s got a bit of energy to it. Yeah, it’s pretty nice. It’s not going to become my favorite song or anything anytime soon, but it’s nice. It’s like… a song I wouldn’t skip if I was listening to the whole CD, but wouldn’t pick out on its own? Does that even make sense? It’s also a song I’d buy for Rock Band just because, you know, it’s alright, and more Rock Band content is always good. Anyway, it’s a decent start to the CD, but it’s over now.

2. North American Scum by LCD Soundsystem: Some woodblock? Rockin’ the woodblock? Fuck yeah? Uh huh huh huh? Maybe that’s like… a keyboard woodblock… yeah, I don’t know about this singer…? But I’m not sure. Like, he’s not making me angry or annoying me, but I just don’t know about his speaky half-singy style… okay, now that it sort of broke in the background, that’s a little better. Yeah… yeah, I think I can dig it. Yeah, it’s about the same overall reaction to the last track… it’s nice enough, it’s getting me going a little, but it’s not going to become my favorite song anytime soon. I have a feeling I might love something else by this band, though, if I heard it. Ooh, what is that, some scatting there? I’m all for that sort of some. NORTH AH MERI KA! That’s what this song is like. Heh.

3. Party For the Fight to Write by Atmosphere: Okay, this is sounding like a rap song here at the start… yep, I’m right. They just have a sound, you know? Mmm, not bad, though… yeah… “Bring your own agenda and embrace your flaws” I’m down with that. Thumbs up for that. It is just sort of another rap song about rap songs… they’re so self-referential… but yeah, this is pretty fun, I suppose… no worries… I do wonder why, though… I was so against rap yesterday… I wonder how my mood is different today, or if this song really is just more friendly to my sensibilities… who knows. Okay, we’re just going to repeat this part a couple ten times or something as an ending? Well, alrighty then.

4. Summer Romance (Anti-Gravity Love Song) by Incubus: Heh, well, that’s an appealing little riff… some drums… okay, yeah… yeah… okay… still building… more and more… and now there’s a lot of tambourine and singing… huh… yeah, I think I like this… the guitar is just fun stuff, you know? Maybe? Maybe you know? It’s… yeah… maybe I’m just like super-agreeable this morning, I have no idea… or maybe I just like this mix so far, four songs into it. Heh. I guess I shouldn’t be so negative, it’s not like that isn’t an option. Oooh, saxophone. Yeah, nice! Very nice! Ant. E. Grav. Ah. Tee. Awwwww yeaaaaaaaaaaah.

5. Games You Play by Splashdown: Launch conditions? I’m glad all of them are pretty good… I was worried about that launch… okay, that’s a rapping kinda beat… but that’s just singing… and female vocals, too! I wasn’t expecting that! Oh yeah, that’s… yeahyeah… that’s really pleasant, too… again, I feel like I’d really like a different track by this artist, but this one is pretty good too. Yeah, see, this “EveRY OPoSItion” part is a lot of fun. I like that. Oh, it’s went in a different direction for the bridge. Then again, I guess that’s sort of the definition of a bridge, huh? Oh, it was short and it went back to it. Okay. Set you free from the games you play it’s over!

6. Footsteps by Pearl Jam: Pearl Jam? Doesn’t sound very delicious on toast or an English muffin. Oh man, no, this is… no. The slow acoustic and that vocalist… with the odd something to his voice… that’s not really what I’m wanting. Is it going to pick up? I really doubt it. Yeah, this is just like… one of those slow songs I just hate because they’re slow… Man, the disc was batting a thousand before that. Or something. Yeah, this song makes me not want to listen and want to focus on the fact that I am crazy hungry at the moment… maybe I should get some breakfalunch or something. But no, I’m doing CD now. After CD. Oh, hey, there’s the song title. Pictures on my desk, it was you, so… let’s finish the song then. It has been established. Alright. There we go.

7. The Flag by Barenaked Ladies: Barenaked Ladies continues to have not impressed me. Will this song do differently? The opening says that no, I will feel the same about it as other songs by them. Yeah, this is trying to be slow and important and emotionalish and it’s… just not doing it for me. That doesn’t do anything for me. My prejudices kick in and tell me NOOO! But that’s just me, I guess… nobody has won the war, though, so that’s kinda sad, I guess. But just, you know, don’t go to war. That’d be a good idea or a good plan. But then again, it isn’t a war, it’s a relationship thing. Like war? Shocking. Well, here’s the bridge… and it’s about birdies and angles, I guess. Or angels. Angles or Angels. One of those. If it’s an angle, I hope it’s an 180 degree angle. Those are fun. Of the flag of the flag of the flag… and over.

8. Fake Empire by The National: Piano… sort of upbeat piano… Yeah, not really upbeat piano… it’s a piano and singing song… oh, there’s the title! But yeah, another slow song. Sometimes I feel like I am missing a lot with my pointless prejudices, but eh, it’s just what I like. I like what I like. That’s how it is. Hmm, that drum seems to be building towards something… oh yeah! That’s better! Much more exciting. A lot more fun. I don’t know if it saves it overall, or if I like it overall, but that makes it a little better to listen to the rest… then again, maybe it’s going to go back down after this instrumental part to how it was before…? I don’t know, that seems like a normal musical move… but man, we got horns and all sorts of stuff. Neat. And we’re done, I suppose.

9. That’s Just What You Are by Aimee Mann: Aimee Mann is a gender confusing name… but oh, it’s a female. Neat. But yeah, we got the sort of… standard acoustic guitar rhythm back there… and there’s some piano… is it going to break it down… after this refrain-y part…? Nah, it’s not. Yeah, it just kinda is, isn’t it? There’s some vocals in the background, though, so that’s nice, I guess. There’s the title repeated twice… yeah, it’s okay, but oh man, it’s going to go on forever, isn’t it? It’s not even halfway done. Mann, Aimee Mann. What are you up to? Instrumental break… and now we’re back to the song, and it’s the same stuff… and there’s the title twice… three times! Yeah, I wonder if the rest of the mix will keep going down this road or go back to where it started… I liked where it started, I’m not really digging this part so much. Although I guess i can see, at least a little, the similarities between the two halves. Sort of halves. Whatever. Okay, this one’s over.

10. Electricity, Electricity by Goodness: Female whispers… oh… huh… this is… this is potential… this is a cover, isn’t it? I feel like I’ve heard this song by someone else. Or at least that repeated title part is based on something else… but eh, I don’t know enough to tell you. And now they’re explaining how a generator works. Yeah, this is like… school house rock stuff, isn’t it? Heh. Rock on then, this gets my seal of approval. It’s not necessarily the most fun song to listen to, though, but I can be fully behind it WOAH screaming! Well, um, okay. Hope nobody got shocked. Too badly. And we’re doing a lot of guitar noodling (is that the technical term) to the end, here. Yeah, again, glad this song exists, but it wasn’t really all that whatever for me.

11. No Regrets by Aesop Rock: Uh oh, a lot of talking about Lucy. What did Lucy ever do? Okay, so that’s rapping there. Yeah, it… no, it’s not just my morning mood, I don’t like this one too much, I don’t think. Man, I wish I understood my sort of… rules for enjoying rappy stuff, cause I really don’t have anything I can clearly say… there’s a refrain there… with some counting… yeah, I dunno… I don’t really feel the want to keep listening to this… oh man, it keeps going… it’s like only half done… there’s a lot of talk about dreams, I hear… and there’s someone dying… that Lucy person… yeah, I just… not for me. This isn’t a song for me.

12. Jacksonville by Sufjan Stevens: Sufjan Stevens is an Essner band… my friend Essner… which means I can probably listen to this but very likely won’t like… “love” it. Some banjo stuff there? I like banjo stuff. Then again, doesn’t all his songs have that? Maybe? I could be insane. Insaneish.  Well, it’s good to know he’s not afraid… and doesn’t care about the captain… yeah, again, I don’t think this is a song for me… it’s too slow. I just hate slow songs, don’t you know… but it is kinda catchy, which I can appreciate. It’s not catchy.midi, but.. (sorry, inside joke.) Yeah, there’s some horns… horns are nice… it’s a nice song! It’s definitely a nice song. It’s just not a song I can get behind and really get into a groove with, you know? Oh Sufjan, you have at least enough song to give it, oh, two more tries at least. You don’t have to just give it one more. But, you know, if the spirit doesn’t change, maybe it’s not worth it. I dunno. Yeah, and here’s an instrumental part and then we have a little repetition at the end? Oh, no, it’s something else, only it’s got like… backup singers. And fast tambourineing. Is that how you spell that? Oh well, it’s a made up word, who cares.

13. Paper Bag by Fiona Apple: Okay, we got drumming. Got a drum beat down. Got some female vocals going. Got that down. It’s slow and lazy feeling… the singing is kinda fun… she’s got some energy, but the song itself doesn’t have energy, perse… her singing is definitely the focus, and I can dig that, but I don’t know about the song as a whole… there’s some piano… the piano helps a bit. Yeah, it’s catchy and enjoyable… it’s a good song. Yeah. Yeah. I can. Yeah. Not bad.

14. Avatar by Universal Hall Pass: Last song. Universal Hall Pass is a pretty good name. Uh oh, quiet creepy-ish piano… female vocals… who are divining my future… any way the cards fall… I can dig that… cards are good… oh, wait, it’s speeding up a little… like going down a hill… is it… is it going to break it down? Is it going to? No? No. Doesn’t seem that way. Okay, it’s doing this same downhill building thing again… oh man, this is a long song, I just noticed… and now we’re into some sort of piano thingamajig here… and now there’s talk about flying off to nowhere… man, I will do my best to sit this one out, but I really want to stop… Ooh, it’s building… and building… and building… faster… stronger… more… building… adding some nice drums… more… building more…! Just keep on building! Or just stop completely. Oh, now we got some synth stuff going on… well, okay… it’s building more… it’s louder… her voice is more upfront… man, what’s gong on, mann? I don’t know where the tragic chorus is! I’d like to know! And now there’s quiet… or some wind noise… lots of quiet… are we doing secret track shenanigans? Lots of quiet…. not even halfway through this track yet, and lots of quiet… Yep… quiet… yep… silence… yep… should I fast-forward to see if there’s something else? I’ll listen to the quiet, I guess… Okay, here’s a guitar. Man, hidden tracks are so lame.

14. Hidden Song: Okay, so there’s acoustic guitar and the singing similar to the last song… Oh, there’s some  male backup vocals this time… the song seems to keep referring to the number 18, so maybe that’s the title of the song… 18 a life to go? Is that what they’re saying? Fuck, I dunno. Courtship with a gun, huh? Eh… yeah, these lyrics are doing nothing for me, and the music is doing little for me… was this worth sitting through the silence? I would say not. 18 in life to go? In? Is that it? I dunno. Blew that child away… and yet, if I had left the “away” off of there, it would have been an extra horrible thing to sing about, now wouldn’t it? Think about that for awhile. Or don’t. Because it’s disturbing. Why am I writing about this? I guess because I don’t like this song and so I’m distracting myself since I’m easily distracted. Distractions! Oh, the song is about over. Good, then I can get some food. I HUNGER.

All in all, this CD started really strong, and then went into stuff I didn’t like there at the end… also, hidden tracks are lame and artists should stop doing them.
Only Brickroad’s left to go! Maybe I’ll do two in one day! You never know! But probably not.

Well, I’m probably not going to get all of them done this break like I had hoped, but I’ll get the majority done, at least, dammit! Here’s Stephen’s mix.

Punctuality
A Very Poorly Titled Mix

1. Steve Biko (Stir it Up) by A Tribe Called Quest: Okay, we got some… off horns starting this out… and some rapping, I see… okay, here’s a more normal beat here… well, normal for rappy stuffs, anyway. Well, as far as I know about rap stuff. It doesn’t really seem to be doing anything, though? Just forward and the same and forward. The weird horns had potential. They should have done more stuff with weird horns. What are they saying, though, I wonder… my mind isn’t catching it… oh, here’s those horns again… for a bridge of some sort, I suppose. Hey, I heard the band name… “So much going on, people laughin’ people dyin’…” is that right? I don’t know, I like rap when it does things, I think. But there’s so much rap whose whole point is “I am rapping.” and that’s all they say and that’s all the point… and it’s just thing… oh, it’s over.

2. Forlani by Burnt By the Sun: Well, there’s definately some guitar… just in one ear… oh, now we have both and some drums… huh. Well, at least it’s nice and upbeat. But what is it going to do with it? Just keep doing this thing the whole time? Oh, it’s going to slow down and growl and scream at me, huh? Well, that’s disappointing. The guitar part itself has potential, but it could use some break it down and then into something based on it that’s more fun instead of just kinda slowing it down and having the guy all screamy and stuff. Yeah, those vocals aren’t doing anything for me, and it seems to me to be kind of a waste of what started as an interesting guitar part but now is just kinda… nothing. Well, at least it’s over.

3. Crystal Mountain by Death: Oooh, that’s kinda video-game-y in it’s sound there… oh, and there’s some more of that kind of singing, huh? Well, at least they’re being a little more interesting with the guitars I suppose. There really is something about how the guitar sounds that reminds me of classic video game soundtrack and stuff, although I can’t really tell you why. Huh. But yeah, I bet the singer is saying something, but I have a hard time caring when he’s singing like that… sometimes it works for me? But often it’s sort of as a counterpoint to something else, not as everything. Yeah, it keeps sorta changing it up and then going back to before with the screamy growly… And yeah, that one guitar… something about the sound of it must remind me of something from my youth… whatever voice… is that what they call it with guitars? whatever voice they put on it. Eh, whatevers. It’s… it’s okay. I would prefer the vocals not being like that, and when I zoom in on the lyrics, it’s kinda lame. But I could listen to this in the background and not really pay attention to it and not be angry? So that’s nice, I guess.

4. That Right Ain’t Shit by The Books: Independent? Independent? Okay… There’s some piano and some weird guitar so far… don’t know what it’s going to do… oh, that’s a weird noise… is that done by guitar? I like it, though… and the little interesting percussions… yeah, it’s building to something… don’t let me down, song! Oh, it stopped building… just more instrumental… I guess it being instrumental would be fine. It’s kinda cute and fun. Of course, the title suggests otherwise, I suppose, but that’s how it sounds to me. Yeah, this is pretty nice, unless it screws something up right at the end or something, which I doubt… yeah, that’s nice mood music. Oh, here’s somebody talking… but not in a bad way, I guess… I didn’t catch what she said… oh well, song over. That was nice.

5. Squeeze Me Macaroni by Mr. Bungle: Woah woah woah woah. That’s quick. That’s… woah. Yeah. Yeah yeah. Yeah! That’s awesome! Heh. Silly and awesome! Oh, it got slower there for a second… oh, it’s being very random. I can appreciate random, but I would prefer less complete stopping of the music… but man, that’s fun. That’s fun! Yes yes! Man, I think I need to check this band out. I’ve heard of them before from other people on the board… Man, that’s just fun shit! Heh heh heh… and now there’s a lot of grunting and stuff going on… and some whispering… but yeah, I could get behind more random shit like this. Heh, get me something stupid like this for Rock Band, too. I’d buy it. I’d download it. Well, it’s nice to know they came to party. Cause, you know, they are definitely doing that. Man, that was fun shit.

6. Dearg Doom by The Lord Weird Slough Feg: Okay, we got some drums… and some guitars… ticka ticka ticka ticka… what? What kind of lyrics are these…? Oh my goodness. That’s… no. No no no. Well, they’re not getting screamed at me, but… hm… These lyrics are taking themselves too seriously, I think… well, for such lyrics to be accepted by me, they almost need to be ironic or laughing at themselves… well, okay “100 heads are so much better than 1,” that could be a good path to go, but I don’t think they’re going there. The music itself isn’t really drawing me in either… it’s the same little guitar riff over and over… and it’s a very short sort of pattern… I don’t know. Eh, it was really mediocre to me…

7. Meat Grinder by Madvillian (MF Doom + Mad Lib): This is a rap song, right? Okay, listening to it already it tells me it probably is. Something is under the bed… oh, and then it just disappeared and started another song, apparently. Okay, there’s the rapping… and there’s the meat grinding that was talked about. See, at least this one has lyrics that’s trying to be something else… I’m not catching them all, though… it’s sort of that quick pace that makes me jealous that I can’t do that… I mean, I probably could if I practiced, I guess… this is obviously pretty practiced, I’d think. I don’t know. See, I don’t know… you almost have to use the voice as the percussion sorta thing and then build a song around that rhythm or something… oh, it’s over quick.

8. Diana by Comus: That’s… that’s starting really weird… okay, so weird little vocals… and a repeating thing in a background… I doubt this song is going to change, either… they’re doing some sort of like… sheep baaaaaah thing as they sing. It’s weird. Odd. Strange. One of those. Yeah, this… well, this certainly is a different unique sort of sound. So that’s always nice to have, I guess… but it’s not really a sound I want anything to do with. I can agree with its existence, I suppose. Oh, it’s picked up the pace, I see… huh… huh huh… I like these quick bongo drummy things here… those are nice… a nice quick pace, yeahyeah… and we’re back to normal singing… yeah, I just don’t know, you know? It keeps going and going… it’s getting close to outstaying its welcome in my book, but it is about over with. Yeah, and now we’re just into weird instrumentals until the end, then? Ah, a fade out. Okay.

9. Blue in Green by Miles Davis: Some piano… light piano… slow piano… and there’s some horn… trumpet? Trombone? Now I wish I knew more about Miles Davis so I could pick that out. Cornet? I bet it’s a Cornet. Those are weird. Sousaphone? No, those are big… anyway, yeah, this song is trying for a slow depressing kind of feeling which automatically makes me sort of hate it on principal… exciting upbeat music, mann! That’s what I want! But I suppose it’s pleasant enough, and is succeeding at what it’s wanting to be… a little piano sorta drum horn… thing… see, now that sounds more like a saxaphone… was I just crazy in the beginning? I could have been. I am known to be crazy in the beginning as well as in the middle and at the end, from time to time… Yeah, it just keeps on going and I keep on not liking it on principal… keeps on going… yep… keeps and keeps on going…

10. Hip Hop by Mos Def: Okay, here’s some more rapping… I can actually picture Mos Def because of trailers for that one movie… and that’s definitely his voice… huh… yeah, lots of talking about himself… I just don’t know why that’s appealing to anyone but the guy singing it, you know? You could so easily apply this sort of style to something more… interesting? It just sort of flips a switch that says “this song is about nothing but self-congratulation” even if it isn’t… but I’m weird. I don’t know. Rock Rock Rock Rock Rock Rock Rock Rock… Rock. Rock. Or something. Yeah, it just keeps going, doesn’t it? I mean, I guess I shouldn’t complain too much, it’s not that long a song. it’s just… I don’t know. Man, I have such trouble connecting to so much of this.

11. The Mercury Craze by Subtle: That’s like… oh woah… that’s… yeah… heh… “Oh no!” Oh, I’m liking this so far… don’t let me down, song! Keep this shit up! Come on, build, build, build… make the refrain something awesome when you break into it… that’s all I need… come on come on come on…! Oh… well, that wasn’t what I wanting at all. “Be. El. Be. El.” Eh. Yeah, now it’s doing weird in a stupid way here in the middle… and now it’s back to where it was when I was digging it… man, this song is fairly good, but it was so close… it’s going to break into more of that weird shit before it’s done, I know. See, it’s built up a little more at this point, and it’s a lot of fun, but I know soon it’s just going to be all stupid again and cut out all the fun I’m having with this part. See? See. There it is. Or not… maybe it’s just weird slow instrumental part… or… slow instrumental part to the end of the song…? It faded out and faded back into something else that’s… what? Well, um… okay…

12. Apparitions by Matthew Good Band: Uh oh… acoustic guitar and soft male vocalist… this isn’t looking good for my own personal enjoyment… Then again, stuff like “Matthew Good Band” is kind of a giveaway of sorts, isn’t it? So yeah, it’s just another one of these songs, which are never like… bad? It’s not going to make me angry or want to hurt myself or something. But it’s so… standard. So… common… so… not at all what I would listen to. Perhaps what Essner would listen to, but not what I would listen to… well, you know, outside of this sort of thing where the point is to try and listen to everything… oh man, it’s not even halfway over… oh man. Okay, so let’s see what the lyrics are about, I guess… lose the world from the comfort of your living room tell me are we leaving soon… um, well, okay… that’s not like… bad? That could be something good… and now he’s just going to say “Apparitions” like four times. Or three times, sorry, miscounted. Now here’s the bridge… some more powerful guitar than the rest of the song… Yeah, this song isn’t for me… but it’s slowing to a stop… and it’s back to just the lone guitar… and… Nah nah nah… over. Okay.

13. Gaia by Devin Townsend: Starting off with a little energy… like that… like that… but will it go somewhere with it? That’s always the problem. Okay, male vocalist, singing about a woman… guitars sort of eating his voice… his voice treated somehow to sound different… yeah, I can barely make out what he’s saying… Yeah, it’s got some energy, but it’s not infecting me with it… wait, was that some screamy I heard there for a second…? I suppose we’ll see if it comes back… I mean, it’s got some keyboards and stuff, which I always like, but it’s just… I don’t know. I don’t want to sing along with this song or anything, you know? I guess that’s a key part of liking a song for me, wanting to sing along with it… oh, there’s definitely a screamy part there… and we’re into a bridge or something… instrumental part… the song is only half over… his could be bad… the  song could be like… all guitar solo… yeah, it’s looking like it… more and more instrumental stuff… and more… and more and more… oh, wait, his voice is kinda coming back… but it’s more just kinda background noise… and one sustained note….! And now we’re back into the song, I guess. Maybe. We’re thinking about getting back to the song. Okay, now we’re back to the song, but I can hear the vocalist even less clearly over the guitar now… obviously, he is not important to this song, which makes me wonder why the vocals are there to begin with. Okay, we’re building towards and end maybe… and… and… and… end. Okay.

14. Where the Wild Roses Grow by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Some violins and strings, I see… female vocalist? Okay, so we’re talking slow song here, aren’t we… yeah… oh, here’s a sorta deep male voice… is this the legendary Nick Cave? Or not really legendary. I don’t know. I’ll just throw a master ball anyway… and yeah, so here’s a slow violin-y love song, I guess… I suppose it’s fine enough… it’s got the deep singing, which is… it is. I don’t feel like I’m buying the romance though… it’s just a story, which is fine, I suppose, but there’s no actual romance in it. I guess we have at least one more verse left, huh? But yeah, this is all… ballad-y…? Is that the right word? I think so. There’s nothing bad with that, I suppose. Oh, okay, so there’s murder now? Well, alright then. That makes the tone make more sense, I suppose. Uh oh! Switched to past tense! And the end.

15. Primordial by The Coffin Ships: The Coffin Ships, eh? That’s an interesting band name. This guitar part isn’t interesting me yet, though. Here’s some energetic drums here… more and more… and let’s just keep repeating this over and over for awhile longer… wonder how long we can keep that up… okay, and now we got some more guitar and then we’re going to repeat that for at least that long aren’t we? Oh, okay, a little less, I guess. Switching it up a little more… is there even going to be singing in this? We’re sort of passing the point where the vocalist should come in… I suppose it would work a little better as an instrumental, actually… though man, it’s all long and shit, isn’t it? Yeah, I guess we have these different verse parts… I don’t know, it’s not… it would be okay if something else was happening, but nothing else is happening. What? There is singing? After all that shite? I wouldn’t have believed it. These vocals don’t seem like anything to wait through all of that other stuff for, though… and now they’re gone again… man… and back again… I’m sorry, but the idea that there is another half of this song I still have to listen to is breaking my spirits. I’m moving on.

16. Body of an American by The Pogues: Okay, we got the flute-y Irish-y stuff here… and it’s building to be more like that… and it is like that. It’s all slow marching-style, huh? Something like that. Oh… oh, now it’s picking up a little more… okay, so it’s a goodbye farewell… thing… isn’t all of these songs like this sort of? It certainly seems that way, in any case… Anyway, it’s built up kinda nicely and fun. It’s a song like this… what else can I say about it? I don’t know anything else to say about it. And now it’s all slowing down… but there’s still a lot of song left to go… so I assume it’s going to pick up and do the refrain again at the end… or… maybe it is going to be like this all the way to the end… yeah, now it’s fading out… I guess it is. Well, huh.

Yeah, so, there was a lot of this CD I didn’t like, but Squeeze Me Macaroni was neat, at the very least, and will be added to my collection.