I have abandoned this blog to the delights of the Tumblrverse. I'm sure I shall use this for any lengthy blog posts, but when can I be arsed writing anything of length these days?
Ciao for now, and maybe forever.
Thursday 22 July 2010
Tuesday 15 June 2010
Monday Mixtape (On a Tuesday) #3
I swear, I had this done last night and then just forgot. I think I should just stop kidding myself that I'm ever going to post one of these on an actual Monday.
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Gimme Some Lovin' - Spencer Davis Group
I've seen Steve Winwood live, couple of years ago at the Arches in Glasgow, and it was a great show, even if I only did know about two of his songs. But while my Winwood knowledge is not up to speed, this is still one of my favourite songs of the 60s (and I like a lot of songs from the 60s). Recently learned that Winwood was only 18 when this was released (and 17 when they did Keep On Running, the other SDG song everybody knows), which makes me feel old, and unaccomplished. At 19.
Well, fuck you, Steve Winwood. You talented bastard.
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Cat People (Putting Out The Fire) - David Bowie
Now, I love Bowie, but really only his earlier stuff and Ziggy persona. Hunky Dory is one of my favourite albums ever. But I've never been able to get into his later stuff, the Berlin stuff, Thin White Duke and all that jazz. But I love this; though, of course, for its place in Tarantino's WWII awesomefest Inglourious Basterds. As a filmmaker myself, albeit a very amateur student one (KILL, KILL, KILL!!), soundtracking is one area I'm particularly interested in when watching movies, and QT is second to none in his eccentric choices. Like....
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Chick Habit - April March
This is a redoing of an old Serge Gainsbourg song, I think I heard, and is played at the end of QT's Death Proof, as Rosario Dawson stomps Kurt Russell's brains onto the pavement. Massively catchy, it's got the 60s style guitaring over the verses, and it just all sounds so very French. I think that should be my next Spotify mission, make a playlist of Tarantino soundtracks.
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Getting Better - Steve Hillage
This is in my 109-song-strong Beatles playlist on Spotify. Funky as you like, and with the added benefit that I can scream Man connection, Hillage having played several gigs alongside Man in the 70s and beyond. Never a massive fan of the original version of this on Pepper (on a semi-related note, my favourite non-obvious song on Pepper is Fixing a Hole, which makes me gutted that the only decent version of it on Spotify is by a soundalike artist) but this is downright awesome.
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Start Wearing Purple - Gogol Bordello
Was recently in London with some friends who went to see Rage Against the Machine, and then buzzed about the support band. "Dunno if you'd know them, what were they called again, Gog... er..." "Oh right, Gogol Bordello?" "Aye, that's it!" Being a big fan of Liev Schreiber's film Everything is Illuminated, starring GB singer Eugene Hutz, I've known the band for a number of years. This is one of the songs used in Illuminated, and still is my favourite GB song, although the version on Spotify is a slower, less bombastic version than the single, which you can listen to here. Please listen to it there.
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Madame Helga - Stereophonics
Been a fan of the Stereophonics since I was 11ish, when JEEP came out, so was very saddened to hear of the death of original drummer Stuart Cable. Not least because the band went shite after he was kicked out, taking themselves far too seriously with frankly inferior musical output (Language, Sex, Violence, Other is just awful, the following two albums are alright but still not brilliant). He just seemed to bring the groove to the band, and though others have disagreed, I always thought the band were at their best with the more groovy, soul-tinged songs like Helga, Maybe Tomorrow, Help Me and Vegas Two Times. If it's got gospel singers, it's awreet by me.
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Last Night on Earth - Broadway Cast of American Idiot
Spotify has this down as Green Day, as it's easier to lump it in with them than make a separate artist page, I'd imagine, but while it is their music it's the recording by the cast of the Broadway musical of AI. This is one of a few songs in the musical that is actually from 21st Century Breakdown, and - with exception to the weird mishmash of Last of the American Girls with She's a Rebel - all the Breakdown songs are much improved from the actual Green Day album. 21 Guns is a lot better for improved harmonies and not rocking out on the first chorus, Know Your Enemy isn't as obtuse, Before the Lebotomy keeps the lovely introductory verses and sticks Extraordinary Girl in the middle of the song rather than the crappy middle section it has on Breakdown, but Last Night on Earth, probably my favourite song off Breakdown, is just sensational, with - as Billie Joe Armstrong put it himself - a lovely Brian Wilson-esque arrangement, with a cracking modulation in the middle, rather than the Lennon-lite arrangement on Breakdown.
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The Blues are Still Blue - Belle & Sebastian
Got into B&S at the start of last year, with If You're Feeling Sinister as my entry point. Also gave Tigermilk and The Boy With The Arab Strap a go, but to be honest it was mostly Sinister I listened to. Didn't listen to Dear Catastrophe Waitress or The Life Pursuit at all. Fool. They marked the shift in the band from low-key, fey pop to their fuller pop-rock sound, and it's properly Dark Knighted* Sinister for me. This is now probably my favourite B&S, it's got a great T.Rex feel, and just grooves.
* to Dark Knight - to produce something so good that it renders previously acclaimed work obselete. For example: Batman Begins was a fantastic film, but the Dark Knight was so much better that every time I was BB it feels empty, like there's a big, Joker-sized hole in the narrative. Similarly, Sinister is still a great album but it just feels so lightweight now.
So yeah, I make up my own lingo. Yes, I am cool.
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No Good Time - Graham Coxon
This was going to be a spot for a Blur song, but I couldn't choose between For Tomorrow and Best Days, so I chose a Coxon song instead. I still haven't tried listening to his earlier solo stuff, which I heard is rather difficult to listen to, but Happiness is Magazines is a terrific album. In hindsight I probably should've went with Bittersweet Bundle of Misery here, as it sounds a lot like Coffee & TV, thus it could've been Blur. Oh well. This is still a belter of a tune.
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Obligatory Supergrass Song
Time
Yes, so if I had got these going like I had planned originally, it would've become obvious I was going to stick in a Supergrass song every week, but I never really got going with it, did I? From now on, I'll be sticking an obligatory 'Grass song on the end of every playlist, usually without explanation (who needs one?). Still buzzing from the final Supergrass gig in Glasgow last week, just sensational. They played fucking Eon too, which was surprising. No Roxy though, which was disappointing, but what're you gonna do? I'm not a big fan of their first album but this is another song I'd have liked to hear live, though wasn't expecting them to at all. A more breezy pace than some of their other punky songs on the album, and a sign of the sort of stuff you could expect from them from then on. Farewell, Supergrass, you lovely rascals.
----------------
Linky: Monday Mixtape #3
Ciao for now.
-------------------
Gimme Some Lovin' - Spencer Davis Group
I've seen Steve Winwood live, couple of years ago at the Arches in Glasgow, and it was a great show, even if I only did know about two of his songs. But while my Winwood knowledge is not up to speed, this is still one of my favourite songs of the 60s (and I like a lot of songs from the 60s). Recently learned that Winwood was only 18 when this was released (and 17 when they did Keep On Running, the other SDG song everybody knows), which makes me feel old, and unaccomplished. At 19.
Well, fuck you, Steve Winwood. You talented bastard.
-------
Cat People (Putting Out The Fire) - David Bowie
Now, I love Bowie, but really only his earlier stuff and Ziggy persona. Hunky Dory is one of my favourite albums ever. But I've never been able to get into his later stuff, the Berlin stuff, Thin White Duke and all that jazz. But I love this; though, of course, for its place in Tarantino's WWII awesomefest Inglourious Basterds. As a filmmaker myself, albeit a very amateur student one (KILL, KILL, KILL!!), soundtracking is one area I'm particularly interested in when watching movies, and QT is second to none in his eccentric choices. Like....
-------
Chick Habit - April March
This is a redoing of an old Serge Gainsbourg song, I think I heard, and is played at the end of QT's Death Proof, as Rosario Dawson stomps Kurt Russell's brains onto the pavement. Massively catchy, it's got the 60s style guitaring over the verses, and it just all sounds so very French. I think that should be my next Spotify mission, make a playlist of Tarantino soundtracks.
-------
Getting Better - Steve Hillage
This is in my 109-song-strong Beatles playlist on Spotify. Funky as you like, and with the added benefit that I can scream Man connection, Hillage having played several gigs alongside Man in the 70s and beyond. Never a massive fan of the original version of this on Pepper (on a semi-related note, my favourite non-obvious song on Pepper is Fixing a Hole, which makes me gutted that the only decent version of it on Spotify is by a soundalike artist) but this is downright awesome.
-------
Start Wearing Purple - Gogol Bordello
Was recently in London with some friends who went to see Rage Against the Machine, and then buzzed about the support band. "Dunno if you'd know them, what were they called again, Gog... er..." "Oh right, Gogol Bordello?" "Aye, that's it!" Being a big fan of Liev Schreiber's film Everything is Illuminated, starring GB singer Eugene Hutz, I've known the band for a number of years. This is one of the songs used in Illuminated, and still is my favourite GB song, although the version on Spotify is a slower, less bombastic version than the single, which you can listen to here. Please listen to it there.
-------
Madame Helga - Stereophonics
Been a fan of the Stereophonics since I was 11ish, when JEEP came out, so was very saddened to hear of the death of original drummer Stuart Cable. Not least because the band went shite after he was kicked out, taking themselves far too seriously with frankly inferior musical output (Language, Sex, Violence, Other is just awful, the following two albums are alright but still not brilliant). He just seemed to bring the groove to the band, and though others have disagreed, I always thought the band were at their best with the more groovy, soul-tinged songs like Helga, Maybe Tomorrow, Help Me and Vegas Two Times. If it's got gospel singers, it's awreet by me.
-------
Last Night on Earth - Broadway Cast of American Idiot
Spotify has this down as Green Day, as it's easier to lump it in with them than make a separate artist page, I'd imagine, but while it is their music it's the recording by the cast of the Broadway musical of AI. This is one of a few songs in the musical that is actually from 21st Century Breakdown, and - with exception to the weird mishmash of Last of the American Girls with She's a Rebel - all the Breakdown songs are much improved from the actual Green Day album. 21 Guns is a lot better for improved harmonies and not rocking out on the first chorus, Know Your Enemy isn't as obtuse, Before the Lebotomy keeps the lovely introductory verses and sticks Extraordinary Girl in the middle of the song rather than the crappy middle section it has on Breakdown, but Last Night on Earth, probably my favourite song off Breakdown, is just sensational, with - as Billie Joe Armstrong put it himself - a lovely Brian Wilson-esque arrangement, with a cracking modulation in the middle, rather than the Lennon-lite arrangement on Breakdown.
-------
The Blues are Still Blue - Belle & Sebastian
Got into B&S at the start of last year, with If You're Feeling Sinister as my entry point. Also gave Tigermilk and The Boy With The Arab Strap a go, but to be honest it was mostly Sinister I listened to. Didn't listen to Dear Catastrophe Waitress or The Life Pursuit at all. Fool. They marked the shift in the band from low-key, fey pop to their fuller pop-rock sound, and it's properly Dark Knighted* Sinister for me. This is now probably my favourite B&S, it's got a great T.Rex feel, and just grooves.
* to Dark Knight - to produce something so good that it renders previously acclaimed work obselete. For example: Batman Begins was a fantastic film, but the Dark Knight was so much better that every time I was BB it feels empty, like there's a big, Joker-sized hole in the narrative. Similarly, Sinister is still a great album but it just feels so lightweight now.
So yeah, I make up my own lingo. Yes, I am cool.
-------
No Good Time - Graham Coxon
This was going to be a spot for a Blur song, but I couldn't choose between For Tomorrow and Best Days, so I chose a Coxon song instead. I still haven't tried listening to his earlier solo stuff, which I heard is rather difficult to listen to, but Happiness is Magazines is a terrific album. In hindsight I probably should've went with Bittersweet Bundle of Misery here, as it sounds a lot like Coffee & TV, thus it could've been Blur. Oh well. This is still a belter of a tune.
-------
Obligatory Supergrass Song
Time
Yes, so if I had got these going like I had planned originally, it would've become obvious I was going to stick in a Supergrass song every week, but I never really got going with it, did I? From now on, I'll be sticking an obligatory 'Grass song on the end of every playlist, usually without explanation (who needs one?). Still buzzing from the final Supergrass gig in Glasgow last week, just sensational. They played fucking Eon too, which was surprising. No Roxy though, which was disappointing, but what're you gonna do? I'm not a big fan of their first album but this is another song I'd have liked to hear live, though wasn't expecting them to at all. A more breezy pace than some of their other punky songs on the album, and a sign of the sort of stuff you could expect from them from then on. Farewell, Supergrass, you lovely rascals.
----------------
Linky: Monday Mixtape #3
Ciao for now.
Tuesday 1 June 2010
Monday Mixtape (On A Tuesday) - The Beach Boys
Yes, a day late again, but given that I was actually doing something yesterday other than procrastinating or generally being lazy then I have an excuse (I was climbing trees in Kelvingrove Park). I had a more general mixtape made up, with a solitary Beach Boys song in there but then I couldn't stop listening to them and decided to make another list that I've been sitting on for a while: a Beach Boys mixtape, though a pick of my favourite B-sides and album tracks rather than the usual hits.
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I'm Waiting For The Day (Pet Sounds)
Pet Sounds is, without a doubt, the greatest album ever - for me, anyway. No less than a masterclass in pop music, and the main inspiration for Sgt Pepper. Having had the Beach Boys played around me pretty much all my life, this is one I remember as being a major favourite of mine as a young thing, but unlike Agadoo or Yellow Submarine, it's one that's survived as a favourite since then. I would say it's my favourite song on Pet Sounds, but probably not - that most likely still goes to God Only Knows, but it's so bloody generic to say so.
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Slip on Through (Sunflower)
Sunflower was an album that really surprised me. Before I was fully educated on the matter, I had thought that after Pet Sounds, the Beach Boys were in shambles and really, their only good songs were the old Brian ones they found and recycled. But no: Sunflower, while still having a number of Brian songs (and one that features below), is a terrific album with contributions from the others, most prominently, Dennis, who wrote and sang this song. An absolute stormer of a song, it would be my favourite Dennis song if not for the other Dennis song from Sunflower, which also features below.
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You're So Good to Me (Summer Days)
There are any number of classic pop songs from the band's earlier period that I could choose, but this one has especially been lodged in the brain for the past couple of weeks. Before listening to it again though, I had thought it was this song with the naff age-counting, but that's The Little Girl I Once Knew, so that was that to one side. A lot more simple than some of Brian's other songs at the time (I was playing it earlier and it's just C, D7, G and occasionally F - I think) but effective nonetheless.
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Let the Wind Blow (Wild Honey)
A song where I knew the "don't take her out of my life" bit but didn't know what song it was from until I did an album review of Wild Honey for the Brian Wilson website I used to maintain (it's still online if you want some lols, I obviously didn't like this song when I was 15). Its loose, un-busy production does make it sound like some of the dodgy pisstakes of songs that were on Smiley Smile (such as She's Going Bald, and what they did to Wind Chimes was criminal) but while it's a fairly lazy sounding song, the old sense of melody is still there.
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Feel Flows (Surf's Up)
Not having done a review of Surf's Up on the old Brian website, I hadn't fully listened to it until a number of months ago, and oddly had still assumed it was one of the weaker Beach Boys albums in that period, even after my initial rejection of albums like Sunflower and 20/20 was quashed. While it's still not my favourite album, it does have several classic songs, the title track and Til I Die being the obvious ones, and the latter being one of my favourite Beach Boys songs, but I love this too for its smooth, psychedelic textures. Also, it featured in Almost Famous, so extra kudos for that.
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Girl Don't Tell Me (Summer Days)
Listen to this song. Just listen to it. It's fucking Ticket to Ride. It's also quite unashamedly Ticket to Ride, as the story goes that Brian wanted to write a song for the Beatles to record around the time Ticket to Ride came out, and this is what he came up with. That being said, if you can forgive shameless plagiarism (not something Brian dabbled in too often) then it's still a fun song and typical of the growing maturity in Brian's songs at the time. Also notable as one of Carl's first vocals, and the only Beach Boys song apparently to have no backing vocals whatsoever.
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Here Today (Pet Sounds)
As much as I hate Mike Love, he still sang on some of the best pop songs of the 60s. This is not one that usually gets touted, and is one of only two lead parts he gets on Pet Sounds (the "first Brian Wilson solo album in all but name"). Expertly building up the verse and releasing it for the chorus, it was my favourite Pet Sounds song for a good while last year, and is still one of my favourite choruses. The ascending bass line at the end of the instrumental middle section is fantastic, and a great bassline on one of the best bass albums ever. Brian Wilson doesn't get credited enough for composing some truly innovative bass parts, well... except from McCartney, who does say that it showed him the bass could lead a song, and inspired much of his work on Sgt Pepper.... ah, I'll take anything I can get, wont I?
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Our Sweet Love (Sunflower)
Brian could obviously shit melody before breakfast and one after lunch too, and this is another lesser known song that is just, well... so sweet. Another of Sunflower's non-Dennis highlights. Not much else to say about the song except that it's lovely.
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Never Learn Not to Love (20/20)
The Charles Manson song. I used to think it was all his, melody included, but it turns out Dennis just took his old lyrics and changed them slightly (pissing off Manson to no end). Still, beyond that, it's a compelling song, and the "come in, now closer, closer..." is a great euphoric moment. Though slightly creepy when you think the words were written by a jailbird hippy cult leader-turned-mass murderer. Another thing I remember about this song is the rather funny performance of it, with Dennis up front and the band at the back - with Carl doing his best impression of a drummer.
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Forever (Sunflower)
It's a bizarre notion, that I am such a big fan of the Beatles and the Beach Boys, two bands with their much-lauded songwriting geniuses, yet my favourite song by the former is Something, a George Harrison song, and the latter, a Dennis Wilson song. Namely, this Dennis Wilson song. One of the saddest songs ever, in hindsight at least. Only something without a heart doesn't tear up at "so I'm going away.... but not forever". Some may joke about songs they want played at their funeral, but this is seriously it for me. Unless we enter into some techno-apocalypse where funerals are rendered useless because everyone just gets vapourized.
Well, it wouldn't be a blog by myself if I didn't mention the apocalypse at some point, now, would it?
Monday Mixtape #3 - Beach Boys
Ciao for now.
Saturday 29 May 2010
My Top 10 Scrubs Episodes
Scrubs is, without a doubt, my favourite show ever. Then again, the extent of my TV serial viewership goes only so far as this, Heroes, Reaper, Doctor Who, and (in its infancy) How I Met Your Mother. But as a passive viewer of all the "classic" sitcoms, especially the now-very-dated-looking 90s output, nothing has come close to gripping me like Scrubs.
I can actually remember the very first episode of Scrubs I ever watched - it was "My Advice to You", which I remember only because I wasn't paying attention enough to realise that Tara Reid and Sarah Chalke weren't the same character (again, NOT paying attention. Like, at all). But this coincided with a fairly long illness for me, which left me bed-ridden for a good number of weeks, and one of the only things I could do to full capacity was watch the telly, and through this I began watching Scrubs. It's also worth noting that the first episode that properly hooked me into the show is the one that appears at No.1 on this list (hint: yes, it's an obvious one).
Anyway, I decided that I should make a list of my top 10 episodes - this means my own favourite episodes, not a general overview of what I think everyone's favourite is (though to be honest, the No.1 would probably still be No.1). This means no bloody My Musical - I've heard so many people say they love this episode, but it marks the definite point where Scrubs started going very wrong. For me, anyway. At least they brought it back to some level of quality for Season 8.
And no. There are no episodes of Season 9 featured in this list. Do not insult me.
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10. "My Clean Break" - Season 3
Season 3 often gets a bad rep but in my opinion it's one of, if not my favourite series of the show, even despite Tara Reid showing up way longer than anyone would've liked. This episode is the one in which JD tries, initially fails, but then finally manages to break up with Reid's character, Danni. While that part of the episode is good, it's the Dr Cox side that makes this one of my favourite episodes. Acting almost as a second narrator in his conversation with his "shrink", we see him teaching the residents who begin to procrastinate in light of Cox's recent pleasant demeanour. I really wish that the classroom teaching scenes had been used more in the series, as the playful banter and usual Cox teachings were a joy in this episode. And the reveal at the end of Cox's "shrink" as his son Jack (to a soundtrack of my current fave artist, Ryan Adams) just adds to an already fantastic episode.
Honourable Mention: "My Choosiest Choice of All"
It was a toss-up between this or "Clean Break", and I went for the latter because by the end of the series we've delved back into JD's angsty Elliot troubles (and Tara Reid is still there). That being said, this episode has the always-hot Dr Miller, the musical stylings (and actual presence) of the Polyphonic Spree, and one of the best Janitor storylines, culminating in one of my favourite final shots of an episode in the entire series.
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9. "My Way Home" - Season 5
This was the 100th episode of Scrubs, and was directed by Zach Braff himself, so one could expect beforehand that it was going to be an extra-special episode. It's definitely one of the only outright fantastic episodes of Series 5 (where the series begins to slip; though it doesn't pick up real speed until Series 6). The appearance of the Worthless Peons is always fun for an episode, and provides a welcome change to the usual indie-pop soundtrack of the show. In terms of story, I feel it's one of the tightest they've done in terms of everything being relevant to the central point or theme (this is where they began to fall apart in Series 6, when they stopped having some sort of point to episodes and just made it a soap opera) - in this case, The Wizard of Oz. It's definitely one episode that deserves repeated viewing, just to pick up all the references to the movie (my favourite being the decidely obvious but still cracking delivery by Cox of "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain"). No episode quite came close to this one until Series 8.
Honourable Mention: "My Chopped Liver"
Putting aside the obvious other choice of episode from Series 5 - the token "serious" episode, My Lunch - this was probably my second favourite. While it does herald in the growing loss of subtlety to each episode's message (where it's actually said by a character rather than just allowing the audience to realise it), the JD story is still decent, but what steals the show is the side-plot with Dr Cox, and JD's outrage at his apparent mentorship of the new interns. His takedown of Lesley would make Johnny the Tackling Alzheimer's Patient proud.
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8. "My Best Moment" - Season 4
Just as series 3 gave the show some brilliant stand-alone episodes amongst the JD/Elliot/Sean narrative throughout ("My Butterfly" being the one most touted), series 4 returned the show to a state of constant stand-alone episodes, where there was no big story running through the entire series. Because of this, I find series 4 to be the best entry point for anyone wanting to get into the show (besides starting at the beginning). It's really a perfect episode for examining Scrubs' appeal; great story tying in all the characters, great banter and that (much search for adjective other than great) fantabulous balance of comedy and drama that the show excelled in. And like "My Choosiest Choice of All", has a great musical buildup for the ending.
Honourable Mention: "My Unicorn"
The episode that Matthew Perry appeared in and directed. Scrubs definitely chose its guest stars well, and while his character was definitely just good for the one episode (unlike the guest star in No.7 on the list) he definitely worked. And the Old Murray gags still get me.
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7. "My White Whale" - Season 3
Dr Norris is my absolute favourite character to only appear in a single episode, just edging out Spence in "My Dream Job" and the aforementioned Murray. But unlike Murray, I think Dr Norris could've easily because a solid supporting character, and it would've been AWESOME. The potential for further run-ins with Cox would've been hilarious. In terms of the rest of the episode, it's good enough but the beat-boxing intern kind of annoys me, which is why this episode isn't higher up the list.
Honourable Mention: "His Story"
The first of the non-JD-narration episodes, following Dr Cox instead as he visits his shrink Dr Gross, yet another one-episode guest that could've gotten more mileage. Also has Carla finally accepting Turk's proposal, and one of my favourite Scrubs soundtrack moments, "Question" by the Old 97s.
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6. "My Bed Banter and Beyond" - Season 1
One of the first episodes of Scrubs that, in my opinion, really showed what great writers they could be in terms of episode structure. Here, we go between the day when JD and Elliot stay in bed eating pizza all day; up to a number of weeks later as their relationship progresses and falls apart; and the video "interviews" with the characters. Like "My Clean Break", this featured a number of Dr Cox "narration" moments without him being actual narrator, schooling about relationships and such like. The interviews were probably the strongest aspect of the episode as it offered something vastly different from what viewers had expected before. On top of that, Dr Kelso has never been more sinister than in his last remark about his wife, Enid...
Honourable Mention: "My Sex Buddy"
The JD/Elliot saga continued, in the following season. Nothing beats the fanfare, but the end of the episode (aided by a soundtrack of Del Amitri) sums up everything about their whole relationship in the first 2 and 3 quarter series. Of course, the following series it happens again but this time JD goes for it, and... well.
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5. "My Finale" - Season 8
Ah yes, the finale. An hour long but it still only counts as one, yeah? After the shitstorm of seasons 6 and 7 I didn't think it was possible for me to properly love new Scrubs again, but season 8 (kind of) restored my faith. That being said, I wasn't prepared for an actual properly outstanding finale, but that's what we got. There were disappoints, yes - all the talked-up appearances by past characters, like JD's brother Dan, were just momentary cameos in a dream sequence (though I suppose it was fitting enough); and more importantly, where the hell was Doug? I think the only somewhat prominent character from the series run that didn't appear, in dream or reality. Hell, we even got Dr Miller again, not that you'd recognise her; I didn't (that's her just behind Laverne in the photo). And while the JD-learns-a-personal-message-through-a-patient story was still the unsubtle gargle that had plagued the last few seasons, it's made up for by the last 10 minutes of the episode, a constant barrage of perfect conclusions that made me realise I'd miss Scrubs more than I'd thought: the reveal of the Janitor's name was spot-on, it would've been ridiculous to actually get a definitive and unquestionable name; the release of 8 seasons worth of tension as Dr Cox tells Sunni how he really feels about his forced-upon mentee, with JD standing behind him the whole time and then finally getting that hug ("you smell like a father figure"); and the could've-been-naff-but-actually-perfect fantasy of JD's future - the bit when JD is opening his huggable arms to someone offscreen is just glorious, as you KNOW it's Cox, you absolutely know it's Cox. And the sign-off of "maybe just this once, my fantasies will come true" is right on the money, end of episode, end of series. Perfect.
Fucking series 9, I swear to God.
Honourable Mention: "My Last Words"
The second episode of series 8, and the first that made me really think "right, they're back". An episode rooted in the show's dramatic side, it's also the first that doesn't feature all of the main characters in some capacity; only JD, Turk and Carla appear out of all the leads. It actually took until the end of episode for me to realise this, and it could've made the episode seem dull or empty, but the returned strength of the writing ensured this wasn't the case.
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4. "My Old Lady" - Season 1
While Scrubs is top-notch in terms of its comedy, it always seems to be the dramatic episodes that garner most support. This was only the fourth episode of the entire series, but it definitely sets the tone for all of the show's future dramatic episodes. All the comedic gags are still in place: the ton of bricks, the "Rewind" switch in JD's apartment... but at the show's heart is the human drama. The episode acts as a turning point for its leads: JD's first major experience with death; the development of Carla and Elliot's relationship; and Turk separating himself from the pack of surgical interns to connect with his patient. And while the episode could've been downbeat and depressing, it keeps it hopeful with the main theme of making the most of your life. I only got into Scrubs late on in its run (round about when series 5 was airing) but if I had been watching this as it aired for the first time back in 2001 I would've known then and there I was witnessing the start of a classic series.
Honourable Mention: "My Old Man"
Okay, this one is the honourable mention because it's got "Old" in the title. But it's another episode that I really enjoyed, and it's such a shame that this is John Ritter's only appearance in Scrubs (aside from a flashback later on in the series). The balance between Sam Dorian as the playful oaf and the lonely travelling salesman is done perfectly. The shot of him sitting on JD's bed before he sees JD is heartbreaking. Then of course, he asks JD to pull his finger.
-----------------
3. "My Interpretation" - Season 2
The episode with literally everything. A while ago I was thinking about Scrubs moments I really enjoyed from season two, and I remembered:- funeral sex, the Janitor's junk, Dr Cox as his own son (see above), Turk's sex dream about Elliot and the Germans. Then I realised, wait - they are in the same episode. It's probably still the best out-and-out comedic episode of the series, and also features the lovely Amy Smart, which is an added bonus. I don't think there's much else I can say about this episode other than it is comedic crack.
Honourable Mention: "My Dream Job"
The last episode of season 2, with the always awesome Ryan Reynolds as JD and Turk's college buddy Spence. Aside from being funny as hell, this gets an honourable mention for the fact that AMY SMART JUST TOTALLY DISAPPEARED FROM SCRUBS. Seriously. The previous episode had her and JD falling out but then reconciling, and all of a sudden, she's gone and never heard from again. Weird.
-----------------
2. "My Philosophy" - Season 2
It was this episode that made me want to write this list. Yet another example of Scrubs' perfect balance of comedy and drama, and adding in the wonderful Broadway fantasy at the end, absolutely Scrubs' best musical moment. Guy Love aside, My Musical was a really disappointing episode for me because the cast are extremely talented, and the episode could've been a full-length version of this level of brilliance, but instead the dire lack of subtlety and cartoony humour that plagued the later seasons of the show took hold. A shame, because if they've tried a bit harder it would've been No.1 by a long shot. The other storyline in this episode, of the couple expecting a child, doesn't let it down; in fact, it's that storyline that makes the bulk of the episode, and just as you're relaxing into the happy resolution that both the mother and baby are safe, we come right back to Elaine, the heart patient. She's another character that would've been good to see back in the show a bit more, though I guess the problem of being dead gets in the way. Still, she came back in one of JD's fantasies (along with Mrs Tanner from "My Old Lady") in a later episode. Far from leaving out the others, the episode also sees Turk propose to Carla, and Elliot demanding a female locker room with the help of Ted. Fun fact about this episode: the actress playing the research fellow - yes, that is the same actress who plays Lady in future seasons. I pay far too much attention.
Honourable Mention: "My Overkill"
The opening episode of series 2, and the first appearance of Colin Hay in the series. While I kind of went off this episode because it was on telly a bit too much, it's still a fun opener, and different from anything that preceeded it. Also, Colin Hay wrote the song at the end of "My Philosophy" too, so bonus points.
-----------------
But of course...
1. "My Screw Up" - Season 3
The first time I saw this episode, I hadn't realised it was Ben that had died midway through, I obviously wasn't paying enough attention. But I still enjoyed it, and it was all very sad at the end. On repeated viewing I finally noticed it, and watched it again straight away, catching all the little signs and what not. Nothing less than the most clever episode of Scrubs there is, one that sets out to trick you (succeeding with me) thus making the reveal at the end all the more emotional. I know it kind of defeats the purpose, but it's such a damn shame that Ben had to die because he is one of the best guest characters in the show, and like Dr Norris and Dr Gross, his character brings out the best in Dr Cox, and with it comes the best episode of Scrubs there is. It's definitely about the little things you notice: apres-mort, Ben no longer has his camera (which he swore to carry "until the day I die"), he's wearing the same clothes, the actual meaning behind Dr Cox's belief "never to attend anything when the guest of honour has no idea what is going on"..... like Into the Wild and the last 10 minutes of Lord of the Rings, it never fails to bring a tear or two.
Honourable Mention: "My Occurence"/"My Hero"
The two-part episode in the first series where we first meet Ben. Again, Brendan Fraser's appearance makes for two absolutely terrific episodes, the first one especially, with similar deceptive storytelling. My only gripe with it is, they shouldn't have revealed what he had in the middle of the episode, as it would've been a lot more effective to have JD chasing around an unknown ailment until the end. But a small gripe it is, and anyway, when he reveals Ben's leukemia in the middle of the episode I mute it to get the desired effect.
-----------------
Well, that was fun. Here's my latest Spotify playlist, with a Scrubs theme:-
29 May
Ciao for now.
Tuesday 4 May 2010
Monday Mixtape (On a Tuesday) - #1
I had planned to start this a couple of weeks ago, but didn't for a number of reasons. Now I'll start it today, although a day later than the name suggests (I like alliteration, and I forgot about it yesterday, alright?). Basically, every Monday I shall be posting up a mixtape of stuff I've been listening to, or if I'm in a funny mood, songs with a certain link (like the Supergrass mixtape below). Most of the time it may be some obvious stuff, but hopefully with some cool weird shit in it too, or maybe the latest single from the new trendy band of the moment (never been one to plunder the up and coming, I like to listen to what I know will be good - that being said, Two Door Cinema Club and The xx are a couple of new bands that currently float my boat).
There will also be a bit of bumph about why the song has gone into this week's mixtape, or something vaguely connected to it that the song reminds me of, or anything to fill up a page, really. This week, I've chosen 10 of what I feel are the best songs of the past decade, so expect a lot of waffle.
Tally ho, pip pip, hurrah and huzzah. I've got to stop watching Blackadder.
------------------------------
Ryan Adams - Touch, Feel & Lose
Only got into Ryan Adams in the past 6 months, and even then, I've hardly delved deeper than Gold and quick swatches of Heartbreaker and Rock N Roll. That being said, I've liked the song Rescue Blues from Gold for a while due to its inclusion in an episode of Scrubs, it was good for conversations such as "oh aye, Ryan Adams is quite good, my favourite's his song The Rescue Blues... er... oh aye and his cover of Wonderwall's awreet too... erm..." and so on.
One of the benefits of having my dad's old MP3 player is that there is a lot of music I wouldn't normally acquaint myself with, and one day I must've just said "right, I'm gonna give Ryan Adams a chance" and now Gold is (probably) my favourite album. Touch, Feel & Lose is one that stood out for me even on the first listen to the album, as its gospel chorus bit is one of those hooks that I've obviously heard years ago and it's lodged into my conscience without really registering. Like, one of those "ahhh, he did THIS song? Cool." moments. I do seem to have a thing about gospely backing singers in modern rock music - Blur's Tender, Stereophonics' Madame Helga or Kasabian's Happiness are others that I love. And while Tender is still probably the best, that was last decade, so TF&L wins. And while on Blur...
-----
Blur - Out of Time
I still haven't listened to Think Tank all the way through. In fact, I've not listened to any of it except this and Crazy Beat, really. Maybe it's because it seems a much more difficult album to get into, or I just love Coxon (careful now) and his guitarage, but Think Tank never became a part of my massive Blur binge last year, where they rocketed up to my most played band on Last FM in about a week. But most of that was taking in their 90s output, most of all the wonderful 13 album, which kinda showed the direction they were going in, and eventually came to with Think Tank. Still, I love this song, mellow as hell, and is one of my favourite Albarn vocals. While he can do the silly Britpop twang well, he's definitely at his best on the slower songs like the aforementioned Tender, or 13's other classic ballad No Distance Left to Run.
-----
Supergrass - Roxy
I already covered this one in the Supergrass playlist, so there's not much to say about it really. Was going to put in Diamond Hoo Ha Man originally, but after going away and listening to every 'Grass album five times again I deduced that this is a clear winner.
-----
Manic Street Preachers - William's Last Words
A song featuring Nicky Wire on lead vocals should not be included in any halway good lists, but this is the exception. He can't sing, yeah, but it doesn't matter, this song has enough emotion and lyrical quality to let it pass (this is what got Dylan by, I think). Journal for Plague Lovers was one of the best albums of 2009, and instantly became one of my favourite albums ever, and it was difficult choosing one song from it for this list, as JCEQT, All is Vanity, or This Joke Sport Severed could easily fit the bill too. But as well as the initial quality of this song comes the tragic undercurrent of the song as Richey's suicide note, and this brings it to a higher level than the other songs, however much they rock too. What's quite funny is that I can never fully get into the Manics without Richey's involvement; Generation Terrorists is awreet, I love Gold Against the Soul and The Holy Bible is good, but apart from the singles, nothing comes close after his disappearance. Except Journal, which is, in my opinion, their best album.
-----
Porcupine Tree - Mellotron Scratch
Porcupine Tree are not as big as they should be. They're regulars the mags like Classic Rock, but they are still something of a cult band. I'm waiting for the album they release that catapults them into the mainstream, because if an album like Deadwing didn't then the one that does will have to be an absolute classic. I got into Porcupine Tree around the time Deadwing came out in 2005, and was surprised that pretty much all the songs I really loved at my first PT gig were all off the new albums, and not their "big" songs, as I'd thought - Halo, Open Car, Start of Something Beautiful, and Arriving Somewhere But Not Here, which had already gained a reputation as a great live number. This is my favourite song from the album, however, and even just to observe its structure and harmonies is fantastic, and as a complex and layered work, it is probably the best of the 10.
-----
Green Day - Homecoming
I don't care that 21st Century Breakdown was kinda shite, I still love Green Day, and American Idiot is still one of the top albums of the past decade. Of the two medley songs on the album, this is by far the best (I've kinda been put off Jesus of Suburbia due to its crap short version for the single, and the accompanying music video, uber-angsty to da max, like). Nothing beats my initial reaction to Nobody Likes You... "hmm, he sounds weird here... wait, is that... IS THAT MIKE SINGING?! HOLY SHIT." Nothing. Well, maybe the song right after it does. The build-up ("Jeez....") before Tre Cool's Rock 'n' Roll Girlfriend is genius, as you just know you're about to have yer socks blown off. As with their Foxboro Hot Tubs side project, it's a joy to see Green Day, in that one minute, ridding themselves of any attempt at musical complexity and just rocking the shit. It may be 9 minutes long but it hardly feels like it, and just as I write this I'm getting to the....
(Note: I have had to cease writing in order to air drum.)
-----
Arctic Monkeys - Cornerstone
I've been a fan of the Arctics since their first album came out, and more than that, I have always taken them at more that their face value and properly absorbed Alex Turner's lyrics. It's quite easy to see that my favourite songs of theirs are the especially excellent lyrics - Mardy Bum, Fake Tales, etc - either cynically deriding someone worth deriding or being a hopeless romantic. Cornerstone is of the latter. Its imagery is second to none in the Monkeys' canon, and it has the Penny Lane effect where its lyric just ABSOLUTELY fits the music (what the fuck is letraset, anyway?). I had considered sticking in A Certain Romance (note - while on autopilot I wrote that out as My Chemical Romance, I'm disgusted with myself) as it was probably their best song before Cornerstone, and there's a certain hesitation to instantly hail a song as a classic, therefore one would be inclined to go for the song that's got a couple of years of time to sink in as a bona fide classic as Romance has, but I'm being the early bird and choosing Cornerstone. In a couple of years, I think everyone will be saying it's one of the best of the noughties. Or at least, they should.
-----
Bruce Springsteen - Waiting on a Sunny Day
This one can be seen as an odd one out, as its inclusion is not down to the song, per se, meaning the actual recording of it that I'm currently listening to while writing this out. It's more to do with the live version I saw at the Springsteen Hampden gig last year, still the absolute best gig I've ever been to, and Waiting on a Sunny Day is probably my favourite gig moment ever - in the singalong section, Bruce walks down to the front of the crowd, where a young girl of about 6 with a pink cowboy hat is being held up by (presumably) her dad, and the Boss has her sing into the mic. As a wiser person than myself blogged at the time, in anyone else's hands it could've been naff, but in the Boss's hands it was just such a touching moment.
-----
Audioslave - Cochise
Out of all 10, this would probably come as number 10 - although not entirely because it was would be the weakest song out of the 10, but because it would be the first one played in a standard countdown. Undoubtably one of the most powerful opening numbers any band could ever have. The only reason I'm not more heavily into Rage Against the Machine is because Zack De La Rocha's rapping gets grating after a while, but the band always set up awesome riffs and grooves. Teaming up with, in my opinion, the best singer alive today, meant these riffs that often went to waste on bloody rapping can become more traditional rock songs. It's a shame they only managed 3 albums, I could honestly listen to them forever.
-----
Muse - Knights of Cydonia
Just as Cochise is the perfect opener, Knights of Cydonia is the perfect closer (which makes it all the more insane that Muse often decide to open their shows with it). It's just so nutty that I can't imagine anything coming after it without seeming unbelievably tired and bland. For me anyway, it's become the headbang-to-Bohemian-Rhapsody-in-the-car anthem of this generation, and if I say anymore about it I'll just start saying awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome STOP IT.
------------------------------
Monday Mixtape #1 (Spotify)
------------------------------
Well there you go. See you next Monday, hopefully I'll blurb less.
Ciao for now.
There will also be a bit of bumph about why the song has gone into this week's mixtape, or something vaguely connected to it that the song reminds me of, or anything to fill up a page, really. This week, I've chosen 10 of what I feel are the best songs of the past decade, so expect a lot of waffle.
Tally ho, pip pip, hurrah and huzzah. I've got to stop watching Blackadder.
------------------------------
Ryan Adams - Touch, Feel & Lose
Only got into Ryan Adams in the past 6 months, and even then, I've hardly delved deeper than Gold and quick swatches of Heartbreaker and Rock N Roll. That being said, I've liked the song Rescue Blues from Gold for a while due to its inclusion in an episode of Scrubs, it was good for conversations such as "oh aye, Ryan Adams is quite good, my favourite's his song The Rescue Blues... er... oh aye and his cover of Wonderwall's awreet too... erm..." and so on.
One of the benefits of having my dad's old MP3 player is that there is a lot of music I wouldn't normally acquaint myself with, and one day I must've just said "right, I'm gonna give Ryan Adams a chance" and now Gold is (probably) my favourite album. Touch, Feel & Lose is one that stood out for me even on the first listen to the album, as its gospel chorus bit is one of those hooks that I've obviously heard years ago and it's lodged into my conscience without really registering. Like, one of those "ahhh, he did THIS song? Cool." moments. I do seem to have a thing about gospely backing singers in modern rock music - Blur's Tender, Stereophonics' Madame Helga or Kasabian's Happiness are others that I love. And while Tender is still probably the best, that was last decade, so TF&L wins. And while on Blur...
-----
Blur - Out of Time
I still haven't listened to Think Tank all the way through. In fact, I've not listened to any of it except this and Crazy Beat, really. Maybe it's because it seems a much more difficult album to get into, or I just love Coxon (careful now) and his guitarage, but Think Tank never became a part of my massive Blur binge last year, where they rocketed up to my most played band on Last FM in about a week. But most of that was taking in their 90s output, most of all the wonderful 13 album, which kinda showed the direction they were going in, and eventually came to with Think Tank. Still, I love this song, mellow as hell, and is one of my favourite Albarn vocals. While he can do the silly Britpop twang well, he's definitely at his best on the slower songs like the aforementioned Tender, or 13's other classic ballad No Distance Left to Run.
-----
Supergrass - Roxy
I already covered this one in the Supergrass playlist, so there's not much to say about it really. Was going to put in Diamond Hoo Ha Man originally, but after going away and listening to every 'Grass album five times again I deduced that this is a clear winner.
-----
Manic Street Preachers - William's Last Words
A song featuring Nicky Wire on lead vocals should not be included in any halway good lists, but this is the exception. He can't sing, yeah, but it doesn't matter, this song has enough emotion and lyrical quality to let it pass (this is what got Dylan by, I think). Journal for Plague Lovers was one of the best albums of 2009, and instantly became one of my favourite albums ever, and it was difficult choosing one song from it for this list, as JCEQT, All is Vanity, or This Joke Sport Severed could easily fit the bill too. But as well as the initial quality of this song comes the tragic undercurrent of the song as Richey's suicide note, and this brings it to a higher level than the other songs, however much they rock too. What's quite funny is that I can never fully get into the Manics without Richey's involvement; Generation Terrorists is awreet, I love Gold Against the Soul and The Holy Bible is good, but apart from the singles, nothing comes close after his disappearance. Except Journal, which is, in my opinion, their best album.
-----
Porcupine Tree - Mellotron Scratch
Porcupine Tree are not as big as they should be. They're regulars the mags like Classic Rock, but they are still something of a cult band. I'm waiting for the album they release that catapults them into the mainstream, because if an album like Deadwing didn't then the one that does will have to be an absolute classic. I got into Porcupine Tree around the time Deadwing came out in 2005, and was surprised that pretty much all the songs I really loved at my first PT gig were all off the new albums, and not their "big" songs, as I'd thought - Halo, Open Car, Start of Something Beautiful, and Arriving Somewhere But Not Here, which had already gained a reputation as a great live number. This is my favourite song from the album, however, and even just to observe its structure and harmonies is fantastic, and as a complex and layered work, it is probably the best of the 10.
-----
Green Day - Homecoming
I don't care that 21st Century Breakdown was kinda shite, I still love Green Day, and American Idiot is still one of the top albums of the past decade. Of the two medley songs on the album, this is by far the best (I've kinda been put off Jesus of Suburbia due to its crap short version for the single, and the accompanying music video, uber-angsty to da max, like). Nothing beats my initial reaction to Nobody Likes You... "hmm, he sounds weird here... wait, is that... IS THAT MIKE SINGING?! HOLY SHIT." Nothing. Well, maybe the song right after it does. The build-up ("Jeez....") before Tre Cool's Rock 'n' Roll Girlfriend is genius, as you just know you're about to have yer socks blown off. As with their Foxboro Hot Tubs side project, it's a joy to see Green Day, in that one minute, ridding themselves of any attempt at musical complexity and just rocking the shit. It may be 9 minutes long but it hardly feels like it, and just as I write this I'm getting to the....
(Note: I have had to cease writing in order to air drum.)
-----
Arctic Monkeys - Cornerstone
I've been a fan of the Arctics since their first album came out, and more than that, I have always taken them at more that their face value and properly absorbed Alex Turner's lyrics. It's quite easy to see that my favourite songs of theirs are the especially excellent lyrics - Mardy Bum, Fake Tales, etc - either cynically deriding someone worth deriding or being a hopeless romantic. Cornerstone is of the latter. Its imagery is second to none in the Monkeys' canon, and it has the Penny Lane effect where its lyric just ABSOLUTELY fits the music (what the fuck is letraset, anyway?). I had considered sticking in A Certain Romance (note - while on autopilot I wrote that out as My Chemical Romance, I'm disgusted with myself) as it was probably their best song before Cornerstone, and there's a certain hesitation to instantly hail a song as a classic, therefore one would be inclined to go for the song that's got a couple of years of time to sink in as a bona fide classic as Romance has, but I'm being the early bird and choosing Cornerstone. In a couple of years, I think everyone will be saying it's one of the best of the noughties. Or at least, they should.
-----
Bruce Springsteen - Waiting on a Sunny Day
This one can be seen as an odd one out, as its inclusion is not down to the song, per se, meaning the actual recording of it that I'm currently listening to while writing this out. It's more to do with the live version I saw at the Springsteen Hampden gig last year, still the absolute best gig I've ever been to, and Waiting on a Sunny Day is probably my favourite gig moment ever - in the singalong section, Bruce walks down to the front of the crowd, where a young girl of about 6 with a pink cowboy hat is being held up by (presumably) her dad, and the Boss has her sing into the mic. As a wiser person than myself blogged at the time, in anyone else's hands it could've been naff, but in the Boss's hands it was just such a touching moment.
-----
Audioslave - Cochise
Out of all 10, this would probably come as number 10 - although not entirely because it was would be the weakest song out of the 10, but because it would be the first one played in a standard countdown. Undoubtably one of the most powerful opening numbers any band could ever have. The only reason I'm not more heavily into Rage Against the Machine is because Zack De La Rocha's rapping gets grating after a while, but the band always set up awesome riffs and grooves. Teaming up with, in my opinion, the best singer alive today, meant these riffs that often went to waste on bloody rapping can become more traditional rock songs. It's a shame they only managed 3 albums, I could honestly listen to them forever.
-----
Muse - Knights of Cydonia
Just as Cochise is the perfect opener, Knights of Cydonia is the perfect closer (which makes it all the more insane that Muse often decide to open their shows with it). It's just so nutty that I can't imagine anything coming after it without seeming unbelievably tired and bland. For me anyway, it's become the headbang-to-Bohemian-Rhapsody-in-the-car anthem of this generation, and if I say anymore about it I'll just start saying awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome awesome STOP IT.
------------------------------
Monday Mixtape #1 (Spotify)
------------------------------
Well there you go. See you next Monday, hopefully I'll blurb less.
Ciao for now.
Wednesday 14 April 2010
The Mixtape: Supergrass
Monday was a horrible day for music. And I'm not talking some Geldof-related nuisance or the general back-to-work, I-want-to-die vibe, I'm talking about that Monday gone specifically, as it was on Monday I received the news that Supergrass, currently in my top five favourite bands ever fo' shizz, broke up.
This was especially annoying because only the previous day I had been listening to Road to Rouen and thought that, while they'd never be as big as they were in the mid 90s again, their consistently great albums showed they never really ran out of ideas, and would probably keep making great albums for the next 40 years.
Well, fuck you too, Monday.
As I previously said, I intend to do more list-based blogs on here just for shits and giggles, and had actually planned to do a top 10 of Supergrass songs. Needless to say, their demise confirmed it as the first list. Though, this is not a Top 10, as such, from 10 to 1 or vice versa - I've ordered these as I would choose to listen to them from start to finish.
~ ~ ~
Moving
(Supergrass)
A mainstay of the Supergrass style is the balance between lighter, trippy psychedelia and the balls-out, often Stones-y rock, and darnitall if Moving doesn't nail it. The verses lull you into a trance, before the chorus kicks in, and if it doesn't urge you into some spontaneous dancing then you've probably just been paralyzed from a stroke. Or something. Had never liked the song much at first but over time it's really grown on me, and it's the perfect slow, buildy-up opener to an album.* See also: In It For The Money, and Muse's Take a Bow.
* as opposed to one that just launches into the rocky shit straight away. For example, if Richard III had opened In It For The Money. See also: Elvis Costello's No Action.
Diamond Hoo Ha Man
(Diamond Hoo Ha)
This is one of the songs Gaz and Danny did while Mick was recovering from his broken back, but I can't see how it could be performed by a two-piece without losing a great deal of its awesome. My first impression of the song, with its octaver-ed riff and thump-drum intro, was that the two-piece version of the 'Grass had turned them into the White Stripes, but as it progresses the song grows beyond simply the riff. The jump mid-verse ("All I got...") to the different rhythm in the guitars and bass is just fucking genius, and such a killer hook. I can say without a doubt that it was this song that properly got me into Supergrass: I knew Alright (everyone knows Alright, fuck sake) but not much else, then I saw the band on Jools Holland after DHH came out, and this song (as well as the also-pretty-sweet Rebel in You) blew me away.
Can't Get Up
(Life on Other Planets)
This was the second 'Grass album I felt I could listen to the whole way through, no problem, after In It For the Money, after I'd just got into them. Since then I've grown away from it a bit but it's still got some cracking songs, this one being the best by far. You could say it follows on from Pumping On Your Stereo as "one of them songs where they're actually singing something a bit dodgy, but call it something else to hide it". First there was humping, now a sly "it". Just a great tune, great harmonies, the works.
Tales of Endurance (Parts 4, 5, & 6)
(Road to Rouen)
Now, Rouen is a strange one for me. Even when I'd gotten into the band a good deal, I put off listening to the album, because for some reason I'd had the idea that the album's reputation was that it was their only real bum note, that they'd tried to be all serious and it was shit. It's absolutely not shit, and may in fact be their best album. It's certainly the album with the most texture and depth, and just by listening you know there's an extra layer of quality on all the songs. This one is the opener (I have no idea whether there is a Part 1, 2 & 3, or if it's a Star Wars reference or something) and like Moving it's a wonderful opener of the slow, build-up variety, from the instrumental acoustic into a trippy haze and then BAM! Into... wait, that's fucking Trampled Underfoot, the plagiarising scamps. Although kudos to them, if anyone noticed this while listening to the album, they'd have forgotten about it as soon as they get to Kick In The Teeth. when they realise the 'Grass have basically just lifted Come On Now by the Kinks and slowed it down.
Eon
(Supergrass)
This is a strange one. By all means, it seems like a filler track - a long buildup, a few short lines of verse that try not to sound too late 60's Beach Boys, and then back into the buildup. The song kinda passes you by before you've realised it's over. But I love it. I don't know what it is about the verse, but it's just the perfect melody, the perfect chords, strangely optimistic while seeming unbearably sad at the same time. If this song had a music video, I'd imagine it having a man standing on a tall building, laughing at the life that's led and then ending it. Or flying off. If there's a decent video budget he can fly.
G-Song
(In It For The Money)
It was a tough job picking songs from this album, it is still probably my favourite Supergrass album, but it works as a collection of fantastically catchy numbers, and to pick one out is a bit odd. Naturally I'd go with a single (see a bit below) but G-Song is, after careful consideration, probably the best all-round song on the album. The instrumentation on the downbeat chorus bit is just trippy to the max, and the steady rhythm of the verse is the perfect complement.
Shotover Hill
(Supergrass)
Third song from the self-titled album on this list... where IIFTM is a great album to listen to all the way through, I'd say that Supergrass has the best individual songs on it, but has a couple of songs that let it down (who wants to listen to a downbeat song after Pumping on Your Stereo, seriously?). I, personally, think the band are at their best doing the slower, psychedelia-tinged numbers like this, a song that just sounds so wonderful - never mind that it's a cracking song, great harmonies and such like. The best harmonies on the album, however, are at the end of What Went Wrong in Your Head, a song with a fantastic verse melody but it really doesn't go anywhere, and then at the end the instruments drop out and leave some sensational harmonies, the last note, where (I assume) Gaz slides up to the high note, is one of the greatest things ever.
Strange Ones
(I Should Coco)
I am not a fan of the first album. It's rather juvenile in places, and while it has a great energy on many songs, lacks the sophistication of even the next album. To be honest I could've chosen Mansize Rooster for this one, or Caught By The Fuzz, or Lenny (but NOT Alright, that's the generic choice), they're all good songs, but i really love the rhythm changes on this one, and I guess the quiet/loud dynamics are a good indicator this was a band who had a bit more to offer than "kids with beard playing loud punky rock".
Richard III
(In It For the Money)
Already said what I needed to say about the album in general. While G-Song is a great, well rounded song, this is definitely one of Supergrass's belting rockers. After the bizarre (but awesome) psychedelic fuzz of the title track, this song is just such a bullet.
Roxy
(Road to Rouen)
It was this song that absolutely made me want to do this list. Earlier, this song made my cry. It is quite simply the perfect closing song, for anything....
(Supergrass)
A mainstay of the Supergrass style is the balance between lighter, trippy psychedelia and the balls-out, often Stones-y rock, and darnitall if Moving doesn't nail it. The verses lull you into a trance, before the chorus kicks in, and if it doesn't urge you into some spontaneous dancing then you've probably just been paralyzed from a stroke. Or something. Had never liked the song much at first but over time it's really grown on me, and it's the perfect slow, buildy-up opener to an album.* See also: In It For The Money, and Muse's Take a Bow.
* as opposed to one that just launches into the rocky shit straight away. For example, if Richard III had opened In It For The Money. See also: Elvis Costello's No Action.
Diamond Hoo Ha Man
(Diamond Hoo Ha)
This is one of the songs Gaz and Danny did while Mick was recovering from his broken back, but I can't see how it could be performed by a two-piece without losing a great deal of its awesome. My first impression of the song, with its octaver-ed riff and thump-drum intro, was that the two-piece version of the 'Grass had turned them into the White Stripes, but as it progresses the song grows beyond simply the riff. The jump mid-verse ("All I got...") to the different rhythm in the guitars and bass is just fucking genius, and such a killer hook. I can say without a doubt that it was this song that properly got me into Supergrass: I knew Alright (everyone knows Alright, fuck sake) but not much else, then I saw the band on Jools Holland after DHH came out, and this song (as well as the also-pretty-sweet Rebel in You) blew me away.
Can't Get Up
(Life on Other Planets)
This was the second 'Grass album I felt I could listen to the whole way through, no problem, after In It For the Money, after I'd just got into them. Since then I've grown away from it a bit but it's still got some cracking songs, this one being the best by far. You could say it follows on from Pumping On Your Stereo as "one of them songs where they're actually singing something a bit dodgy, but call it something else to hide it". First there was humping, now a sly "it". Just a great tune, great harmonies, the works.
Tales of Endurance (Parts 4, 5, & 6)
(Road to Rouen)
Now, Rouen is a strange one for me. Even when I'd gotten into the band a good deal, I put off listening to the album, because for some reason I'd had the idea that the album's reputation was that it was their only real bum note, that they'd tried to be all serious and it was shit. It's absolutely not shit, and may in fact be their best album. It's certainly the album with the most texture and depth, and just by listening you know there's an extra layer of quality on all the songs. This one is the opener (I have no idea whether there is a Part 1, 2 & 3, or if it's a Star Wars reference or something) and like Moving it's a wonderful opener of the slow, build-up variety, from the instrumental acoustic into a trippy haze and then BAM! Into... wait, that's fucking Trampled Underfoot, the plagiarising scamps. Although kudos to them, if anyone noticed this while listening to the album, they'd have forgotten about it as soon as they get to Kick In The Teeth. when they realise the 'Grass have basically just lifted Come On Now by the Kinks and slowed it down.
Eon
(Supergrass)
This is a strange one. By all means, it seems like a filler track - a long buildup, a few short lines of verse that try not to sound too late 60's Beach Boys, and then back into the buildup. The song kinda passes you by before you've realised it's over. But I love it. I don't know what it is about the verse, but it's just the perfect melody, the perfect chords, strangely optimistic while seeming unbearably sad at the same time. If this song had a music video, I'd imagine it having a man standing on a tall building, laughing at the life that's led and then ending it. Or flying off. If there's a decent video budget he can fly.
G-Song
(In It For The Money)
It was a tough job picking songs from this album, it is still probably my favourite Supergrass album, but it works as a collection of fantastically catchy numbers, and to pick one out is a bit odd. Naturally I'd go with a single (see a bit below) but G-Song is, after careful consideration, probably the best all-round song on the album. The instrumentation on the downbeat chorus bit is just trippy to the max, and the steady rhythm of the verse is the perfect complement.
Shotover Hill
(Supergrass)
Third song from the self-titled album on this list... where IIFTM is a great album to listen to all the way through, I'd say that Supergrass has the best individual songs on it, but has a couple of songs that let it down (who wants to listen to a downbeat song after Pumping on Your Stereo, seriously?). I, personally, think the band are at their best doing the slower, psychedelia-tinged numbers like this, a song that just sounds so wonderful - never mind that it's a cracking song, great harmonies and such like. The best harmonies on the album, however, are at the end of What Went Wrong in Your Head, a song with a fantastic verse melody but it really doesn't go anywhere, and then at the end the instruments drop out and leave some sensational harmonies, the last note, where (I assume) Gaz slides up to the high note, is one of the greatest things ever.
Strange Ones
(I Should Coco)
I am not a fan of the first album. It's rather juvenile in places, and while it has a great energy on many songs, lacks the sophistication of even the next album. To be honest I could've chosen Mansize Rooster for this one, or Caught By The Fuzz, or Lenny (but NOT Alright, that's the generic choice), they're all good songs, but i really love the rhythm changes on this one, and I guess the quiet/loud dynamics are a good indicator this was a band who had a bit more to offer than "kids with beard playing loud punky rock".
Richard III
(In It For the Money)
Already said what I needed to say about the album in general. While G-Song is a great, well rounded song, this is definitely one of Supergrass's belting rockers. After the bizarre (but awesome) psychedelic fuzz of the title track, this song is just such a bullet.
Roxy
(Road to Rouen)
It was this song that absolutely made me want to do this list. Earlier, this song made my cry. It is quite simply the perfect closing song, for anything....
"Hello my honey,
My beautiful friend,
It's hard to imagine
It's come to an end"
My beautiful friend,
It's hard to imagine
It's come to an end"
... and is, in my opinion, their best song. Gaz's vocals on the quiet bits are just terrific, it's got such a great melody, and the string-and-organ buildup, and then bash, into the instrumental second half is just spectacular. So long Supergrass, and thanks for all the fish.
The Supergrass Mixtape on Spotify
Ciao for now.
The Supergrass Mixtape on Spotify
Ciao for now.
Sunday 28 March 2010
My name's Martin, and I'm a shameless plunderer.
First post of the year, yay. First post in a looong time.
Since I never really have anything major to say and my last few posts have basically been late night ramblings, I've decided I'm going to revamp the blog. I'm a big fan of Cracked and 11 Points, two sites that do brilliant lists and I'm always thinking "there's a lot of things I'd like to do a list about", so that's what I'm going to do with this blog. Of course, you can still expect the odd drunken diatribe, but at least with the listage I might have something to talk about more often.
Since I never really have anything major to say and my last few posts have basically been late night ramblings, I've decided I'm going to revamp the blog. I'm a big fan of Cracked and 11 Points, two sites that do brilliant lists and I'm always thinking "there's a lot of things I'd like to do a list about", so that's what I'm going to do with this blog. Of course, you can still expect the odd drunken diatribe, but at least with the listage I might have something to talk about more often.
Sunday 6 December 2009
Flashback Humour
I love Fight Club. Everything about it is so God-damned awesome. Even the little things, like recognising the douchebag resident Dr Steadman from Scrubs as the priest converted to Fight Club, to Brad Pitt's "we all dream of being millionaires, movie gods, and" (glance at Jared Leto) "rock stars..." bit, jump out at you, like Fincher set out to make every single aspect of this movie just reek of brilliance, in-jokes and references. Even the massive cock flash before the credits makes sense. Best one has to be the sly breaking of the fourth wall near the end - and I'll admit this passed me by on first viewing, which made me love it all the more when I realised just what the fuck he was on about. At the start, Pitt's got his gun in Norton's mouth (thankfully not a euphamism):
Pitt: "Do you have anything to say?"
Norton: "Mmph mrph.... I can't think of anything."
Cue the narrator's retelling of events leading up to that moment, and after these two hours of largely misunderstood comic satire, we're back at the start point.
Pitt: "Do you have anything to say?"
Norton: "Mmph mrph.... I still can't think of anything."
Pitt: "Hah, flashback humour."
Awesomesauce. Now I need my bed. I'm rambling again.
Ciao for now.
Pitt: "Do you have anything to say?"
Norton: "Mmph mrph.... I can't think of anything."
Cue the narrator's retelling of events leading up to that moment, and after these two hours of largely misunderstood comic satire, we're back at the start point.
Pitt: "Do you have anything to say?"
Norton: "Mmph mrph.... I still can't think of anything."
Pitt: "Hah, flashback humour."
Awesomesauce. Now I need my bed. I'm rambling again.
Ciao for now.
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