The Blogtastic Blogfest That Is Getmeoutofthis.net!

Okay! I got a new Listening Time CD in the mail! I got mixed messages about me doing this liveblog thing last time (though Nich said he appreciated the time I took to write it) but I’m doing it again anyway. I only understand what I think about things when I try to put it into words. Anyway, this is a liveblog. It’s not being posted live, but I’m just writing it as I listen with no edits. I can type this up and then use all that to create a more compact not crazy reaction.

In any case, Balrog’s CD he used has a neat design on it… I need to go shopping for CD blanks and shipping boxes for this thing… I also need to get Megi and Ecks to tell me what they thought of my mix… not a lot of help having mix beta testers if they don’t actually tell me what they think of it…
BUT OH WELL! Here we go. This time I’m going to type out all the titles before I start to save time.

Balrog’s Mix 1

Track 1: In the Meantime by Spacehog. Hm, kinda quiet. Kinda familiar somehow… but no, it’s gotten started now and I’m pretty sure I haven’t heard it. Just that little thing that keeps repeating in the background sounds familiar… Wooo oooohs, huh? Not looking promising. Waaaait, no, maybe I have heard this one… or maybe this is a cover of something I don’t really know…? I can’t say I really care too much for this vocalist. There’s something I can’t place about how he’s singing that seems unnecessary… like he goes “you-ou” when he sings “you.” But yeah, in general, this song is too slow to really hit it out of the park for me… oh, we’re to the bridge… Not especially different…? Just enough to say “Oh, there’s the bridge.” I’m trying to focus in on the lyrics. Maybe they’re awesome. But I’m not really catching anything that’s grabbing me… it seems to be finishing up now, though… the song isn’t like… bad. It just doesn’t feel… special? Certainly not energizing, which is what I like… hm? Oh, ending with some piano thing… probably supposed to lead into the next track on the CD it’s from.

Track 2: Chemical World by blur. I dunno if that was a smooth transition, but then again, I don’t think ANY of my current CD draft has smooth transitions… it’s just that Nich’s songs sounded so similar that they all connected decently… but this one… hm… it seems a lot like an Essner song with more… electric guitar…? Sorta British accent on the vocalist…? Generally better to listen to than the guy on the first track, certainly. It is similar to the first song, actually, the more I hear it… the first song just ended weird, so it didn’t click… there’s a little interlude… if I hadn’t seen the little bar on the player I might have guessed it was over. Yes, Yes, Yes, it says. The sorta subtle second voice is kinda nice… oh, we’re fading out already… that felt… kinda forgettable. Like I’d hear it in the background and not really register it.

Track 3: Gates of the East by The Clash. See, now we seem to be picking up a little more. It’s got a little faster tempo, but I can sorta feel the similarities to the other two… maybe…? I dunno. Well, at least the refrain sounds a bit different than the rest of the song, which isn’t something that seemed to be happening with the previous two tracks. Besides the bridge, there wasn’t really like… sections in those. Mmm, this one has me nodding my head along with it. That’s a good thing. I don’t know if I’d seek this song out, but there’s definitely an energy to it, which I can appreciate. Wait, is he saying “Gates to the West”? But the title is “Gates of the East”…? Maybe I should have been playing more attention to the lyrics. I have a feeling this song could end with a Cha Cha Cha… no, they did a little change repeating fade instead…

Track 4: Centerfold by The J. Geils Band. But it flowed pretty well into this song. I think this song was on the first CD I ever owned… it was some weird 80’s compilation that my mom got me with my first CD player, not knowing what to get me… granted, I had no opinions on music then at all, so I wouldn’t have known what to ask for… I still don’t know if I have a complete grip on my musical tastes… but yeah, this is a pretty fun song. Again, not something I’d seek out, but certainly worth listening to if, I dunno, I’m actually using the radio or something. Plus, it’s about porn. Isn’t porn great? Well, then again, I dunno about pornography magazines… they’re sort of obsolete in this day and age… however, why the hell am I saying that now? I wanted to say something about what the song means but I’m running out of time and have nothing interesting to say. The “crowd singing along” ending thing is a kinda fun… thing…? Repeated thing…? Not finding a word. And, of course a fade… and whistling!

Track 5: Bron-Yr-Aur by Led Zeppelin. Starts quiet… quiet… some acoustic… quiet… not looking good for me liking this song, this acousticness… very like… I dunno… classicalish? Maybe that’s the idea, it’s a short track. I’ll admit I’ve had no known interaction with Led Zepplin… all the band’s name brings to mind is that episode of the Venture Bros. where Brock is all like “What, you got a problem with Zep?” But yeah, I don’t know if we needed this interlude there… it brought me back down… I could have built up more off of Centerfold to something with more oomph.

Track 6: Eyes by Rouge Wave. Maracas, and slower acoustic… I guess if this has to go here the previous track is a good way to get you here. Got a little echo effect on the vocals or something… Yeah, this is in that whole group of songs I just hate because it’s slow… mm, I like this refrain with the light singing over the singing, though. That’s nice. Oh, Brer’s on… and the song disappeared without any other surprises…

Track 7: Top of the World by Shonen Knife. Light start… oh oh… it’s kicking it up… still got this light little guitar over a faster little thing… hmm, female vocalist… doesn’t sound like a native english speaker… I think this is a Japanese band anyway. The name sort of suggests it. Hmm, this is faster tempo, but it’s still subdued… that’s sorta what I’m feeling from the whole thing… maybe trying to be more… relaxing music, perhaps… this is the sort of music you might play sitting down… well, maybe not Centerfold, but… yeah… Your love put me on the top of the world, eh? How harsh your love is, putting me in the freezing arctic wilderness!

Track 8: A Good Hearted Woman by Waylon Jennings. Mmm, live track cheering. Country…? Certainly sounds that way… at least the singer’s voices, anyway. Maybe it will surprise me… nope, not at all, definitely country. Well, can’t say I’m not getting a variety of stuff from these CDs, I suppose. I don’t outright HATE country like some, but all country songs sound exactly the same to me… much like a lot of mainstream rock is just “Rock Song” and not really anything in particular. This is just “Country Song” to me as I listen… even the topic and lyrics is very… cliche for country. Granted, I have this feeling that this person is one of the people who sort of… created country music? But I don’t actually know that… ooh, it’s picking up a little bit with a repeated refrain here… and then fading away…

Track 9: Lay, Lady, Lay by Bob Dylan. My exposure to Dylan is: not really paying attention while playing Euchre over at Dustin’s house, and the Weird Al song Bob, which I mostly just like because I like Palindromes. The CD did transfer to this song pretty well… it’s all very… quiet… his voice is louder than any of the music… I guess that shows you what’s important in the song? Isn’t he supposed to be some really awesome lyric guy? Gods, I’m showing my lack of knowledge, aren’t I? I guess I’ll try to absorb the lyrics, then, they’re obviously being the focus… Not… doing much for me, but I think I started focusing late.

Track 10: 20th Century Boy by T. Rex. Okay, all his songs have this steady background beat that does change through the song… maybe that’s what all these songs have in common. There’s some Wo-ooooooaaaaahs! in this one. Oh, I like this change! Nice bridge… no, it’s a refrain… it’s a good change… this one has me tapping my feet, so it’s at least got something that’s hooking me up. Yeah yeah, I dig this refrain quite a bit. Mm, now here’s some saxophone…? but it’s fading out and ending, I suppose.

Track 11: Freddie’s Dead (Theme from Superfly) by Curtis Mayfield. Oooh, yeah… come on, this should pick up a bit… maybe…? It’s… it’s good mood-setting music… it definitely inspires a whole sort of… image… and Mom’s printing something… great. Mmm, I’m sad this isn’t picking up and is just going on at the same sort of setting. I would really enjoy this BEHIND something… as a scene mood setter in something… which, just glancing at the title, it very well might be. But yeah, it just has that repeating back rhythm like… like most of the songs… I mean, I guess most music has that, but it doesn’t take a break, or change for things like a bridge or whatnot… it can change pitch a little, but that’s it… I dunno, maybe I’m overthinking it. Then again, I’m writing paragraph after paragraph, so I guess I am by default. Man, this song is going on forever and ever.

Track 12: Hawaii Five 0 Theme Song by ???. Oooh, drums. Ooh, Hawaii Five Oh. I don’t really know why this is here. Heh. It’s kinda silly and fun, though, I suppose. Yay for brass, though.

Track 13: Last Living Souls by Gorillaz. Now, I like the Gorillaz. More of their upbeat stuff, obviously, but they’re pretty great. And this is a pretty great song, though not one of my favorites. See, it’s all building and stuff as it goes… I enjoy that sort of thing. The vocals and everything don’t really change or anything, but it just slowly gets more and more and more… see, and now, this bridge is completely different, unlike what I was trying to say earlier. And it’s a nice little change, I suppose. All kinds of like strings… and then back to some of the more electronic sounds… and it just stops at the end… has any other song did that? I guess the last two did…?

Track 14: Incinerate by Sonic Youth. Mmm, more similar, it sounds like. None of these songs want to just let loose and go! Subdued, like I said… Nich’s mix was subdued in a different way… trying to make more of that quiet creepy electronica feeling, while these songs are more just subdued sorta rock-y things for the most part… I want to say I don’t like this vocalist, but when pressing myself for a reason why to tell you I can’t decide on anything. Generic, maybe? Eh, I dunno. Mmm, I like this stuff under the “Incinerate! Incinerate!” part… the rest doesn’t really thrill me, though… my leg is going restless leg, but not to the beat of anything. The little guitar solo here is a little more interesting… although it went into those annoying noises for no reason there.
Man, I am such a bad reviewer of these songs. Seriously. I like such a limited range of music… but I guess I established that before I started.
Oooh, there’s that “Incinerate! Incinerate!” part again. I don’t know why I like that part the most… I think because it feels like it’s building towards something, though it never does. The end.

Track 15: Substitute by The Who. I used to have a friend named Rebecca who was obsessed with the Who. She sent me a mix CD. I was pretty indifferent to most of it. Mm, but this is not too bad… it was building there… yeah, that has a nice beat to it. Again, though, I think I’m not supposed to like the music as much as the lyrics, I suppose. They’re all about those too, yeah? But yeah, see, it has little slow lyric parts, and then it does this quick little building part into the refrain. I like that. And mother interruption… I guess I should really be doing this at 1 AM when I get home from work… but I never feel like accomplishing much then. Mm, I sorta like that fake ending there, but then again, normally things change after such an ending… like, they change key or something… not so much with this. Also, why are they singing “Substitutes” when the title is “Substitute?”

Track 16: Dog on Wheels by Belle & Sebastian. This is an Essner band, and not one that I’ve picked up… oooh, but I do like that… but, again, I want it to break out and start rocking out! But I don’t think it’s going to… but at least there’s definitely a strong energy there below it. But the music is definitely secondary to the singing and lyrics again. I should really pay more attention to it, but I only tend to focus on lyrics on things I want to sing along with, and this doesn’t make me feel like that. Ooh, some nice trumpet there. Always gotta like the brass… I’m glad the trumpet is sticking around. La la la’s? Well, okay, I guess… the eeeeeeeend! Laaaaaa!

Track 17: Goody Two Shoes by Adam Ant. I know this song… see, now this is energy! This is what I talk about wanting in general, when I wish there was energy to the songs I hear… this sort of thing just makes you want to get up and make a fool of yourself or dance, or just… you know… energize you. Energy. Ramble ramble! Energy! But yeah, it’s this song. I never knew who made it or whatever, but I’ve definitely heard it multiple times before. It’s all kinda big band, right? Those sorts of songs do tend to have the energy I want most of the time… granted, I like a wide variety of “energetic” songs. A lot of the energy from this song comes from those drums. They’re relentless but infectious. Also, it’s teaching me valuable life lessons like “Don’t Drink, Don’t Smoke.” Words to live by. Or something. Dun DUN! The end.

Track 18: The Man In Love by Charlie Feathers. And back to slow again… this guy’s name makes me think of that stupid Unicorn Planet thing that Jessie showed me once… but mm, this is all old-tymey, isn’t it? But it certainly is about a man in love, though. I’d leave it and skip it, but eh, it’s almost over and I should give every song a fair shake. Shake shake! Mischief Makers! No, bad me, think about games later. The end. Abruptly.

Track 19: Journey To The Center Of A Girl by Cramps. I’ll admit, this title and band name were intriguing me, so let’s see. Aww, male vocalist? I was so sure it was going to be female. The music is okay, but his singing is very… slow and measured? He’s singing over the music instead of with the music. Plus, he’s being all wavery or made wavery… and it’s kinda annoying. See, I sorta wish this song was over but I look over and it’s barely halfway done. Uh oh. Still all wavery for no good reason. Oh well, I am going to have this Burger King mint now, while I listen. Yeah, that’s right, I just had an after-dinner mint, and I’m going to eat dinner AFTER I finish listening to this CD! I’m so bad. Is this song over yet? It’s like it to be… but there’s still a fourth to go. I think I’ve already experienced everything this song has to show me and I would like to move on, please? The Go! Team is next, and I always like them, although not as much as I always expect I will. Whoo, it’s over!

Track 20: Junior Kickstart by The Go! Team. Ooh, good, I think this is one of their faster songs…? Maybe? Let’s see. Yay, Brass! I’m so biased towards brass because I used to play the trumpet. Wait, is this one of their songs without the vocals…? I can’t remember, but I really like the Go! Team’s like… chorus singing. Yeah, I think this is instrumental… oh well, it’s still pretty decent. I’m bobbing my head along with it… though like I expected, I’m enjoying it slightly less than I was expecting… I don’t know what it is about the Go! Team that does that… I always get so excited to listen to them and then I hear it and I go “Oh, really? That was all I was? I mean, it was good, but that was it…?” I’m so weird.

Track 21: Moonage Daydream by David Bowie. And Bowie at the end. Bowie is my brother’s thing. I like some of his songs quite a bit, but in general, he’s in that camp of stuff I recognize is good but doesn’t really thrill me. This is a song of his that doesn’t really ring any bells to me… I’m sure I’ve heard it. My brother owns like every single Bowie album. But I can’t remember it. Freak out in a Moonage Daydream, hm? Is that a recorder? It sounds like a recorder. Man, recorders. What an instrument. But yeah, it’s Bowie… I don’t really know what else to say about it… it’s fading away slowly, certainly…

And I guess that’s it. Time to get some food and then try to condense these thoughts into something small to post on the forums… whee…? Oh, the end of the CD flows into the first track pretty well. Final thought.