Weekly Mix # 65

the 80s were a hell of a party so we'll start this mix there and who lasted from that time and who was influenced by the decade. The eighties are the new fifties which is weird if you remember the 80s because the 80s were artificially forced to be that way. Reaganomics and Galm Metal went very well together. Big hair forever!

1. I'm Alright by Kenny Loggins
Caddy Shack, baby! All I can think about is Rodney Dangerfield and that gopher dancing; it's a good thing. Next stop, Foot Loose and Top Gun.
2. Jack & Diane by John Mellencamp

Back when he was John Cougar, back when you suck on a chili dog by a Tastee Freeze and day dream, back in the 80s.

3. Goin' Out Swingin' by Mötley Crüe

Not bad rock for dudes as old as they are

4. Gypsy Road by Cinderella

I remember when this song was on massive play on the Mtv in 1988, back when metal was king!

5. Dressed Up Like A Millionaire by Damone

Rock n' Roll in the late 00s rarely gets a wicked as this, leave it to a Boston Band to make it happen.

6. Standing Still by Billy Boy Poison

I like this song because it has a siren in the intro beneath the guitars. These guys do give rock a try pretty hard, they  just miss the mark for some reason.

7. The Infanta by The Demberists

The Decemberists would have been better of being an 80s band when people would have cared.

8. Cold by Maxwell

Yeah, I like R&B sometimes, This is damn good track by the Man.

9. Let's Stay Together by Al Green

Hot music about monogamy, one of the best songs ever

10.Fuck You by Lily Allen

Funny songs are good and when the rhymes and melody click they're brilliant.

11.No You Girls by Franz Ferdinand
So . . . are they gay? Another catchy ditty by the UK boys.
12.They Say by Scars on Broadway

Some of the guys from System of a Down branched out and did a song that sounds exactly like System of a Down.

13.Sickman by Alice In Chains
Sad songs about girls are one thing but sad songs about drugs are a completely different beast. Exhibit A
14.Under The Bridge by The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Exhibit  B

15.Drag by Placebo

No, not a song about dressing in women's clothes.

16.Heads Will Roll by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Keyboards dominate on this one as the Hipsters get dancing.

17.Lovegame by Lady Gaga

Keep the dance vibe going. I hate this song the longer I know it.

18.Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cindy Lauper

Art School chick gets kicked out of School and turns singer and makes millions of dollars. Influences  thousands of chicks to dress from thrift stores.

19.Fuck the Pain Away by Peaches

That was the most brilliant moment in every mix I've made in my life. You figure it out.

20.With a Little Help From My Friends by Joe Cocker
It's strange when you can do a Beatles song better than the Beatles by Mr. Cocker  got it done.

Weekly Mix #64

Here's another mix without reason or rhyme

enjoy

1. She's Expensive by The Virgins

This song sounds like a clash outtake and is pretty good; they never lived up to their billing as the next big thing/ the next Strokes but this tune is cool, especially the intro.

2. Sex On Fire by Kings of Leon

This song signified the Kings joining the mainstream and the end of them as an interesting indie class band.

3. Kickstart My Heart by Mötley Crüe

When I saw them a couple years ago in 2008 they opened their shows with this monster.

4. Cheap City Thrills by Alleycat Scratch

Glam metal was alive and well in 2008 as this retro gem proved. with exception to the weak solo, these guys nail the feel and sound.

5. Do it Again by Steely Dan

A band named after a pleasure implement in a William S. Burroughs novel. I was fiending to this song when I made this mix; i though it was the best song ever for about two weeks

6. Something Burning by The Stone Roses

This is one of the songs the Stone Roses had to record in secret as they were in court with their record label; it's a smooth one.

7. Chain of Fools by Aretha Franklin

The queen of soul, pay your respects

8. You Can't Hurry Love by The Supremes

No you can't. Motown had some fantastic hits come from it, this would be in my top ten.

9. Girlfriend in A Coma by The Smiths

When this song came out we all laughed but all loved it.

10.Who Can Say by The Horrors

Back with a more sweeping sound, the got away from the abrasive choppiness that I loved so much. The keyboards are still pervasive.

11.Mother by Danzig

His one big hit. He channels Jim Morrison in this one.

12.Thirteen by Johnny Cash
Covering Danzig's song; it cool and more somber than ominous
13.These Times They Are A-Changin' by Bob Dylan

Folk music at it's commercial peak.

14.Pork and Beans by Weezer

A little ditty in the midst of a big chorus, they've been paying homage to the Pixies for so long now.

15.Know Your Enemy by Green Day

This was there follow up to the huge 2004 effort, American Idiot. It's not quite as great.

16.Messing With My Head by Tinted Windows

The greatest New Wave band of the new millennium. Members of Hanson, Smashing Pumpkins and Cheap Trick formed this one shot band; it's good listening and should have been used in an eighties movie about a fictional eighties band.

17.Rebel Rebel by David Bowie
Bowie doesn't do it any better than this, nor do many others. Teenagers experimenting unite!
18.Poker Face by Lady Gaga

Not only does she owe Madonna a lot but she owes Bowie a lot. This is the sort of songs androids like to kiss to.

19.Words. by Missing Persons

Oh yeah here's another group that influence the previous artist.Actually they are more influential than one might think. I don't even know if people know they're influenced by them. Is that subversive?

20.The Bitter End by Placebo

Placebo continue their sharp, stirring tunes

21.I'm A Man by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

This was recorded live at the Fillmore in San Francisco; he does a good job getting bluesy

22.That's Not My Name by The Tin Tings
I guess this is a chick anthem about wanting respect but I'm not sure.

Weekly Mix # 63

So I looked at this mix and thought about the songs and realized that almost all of them have been used in adds or movies, crazy! Enjoy this 2009 created bad boy!

1. Everybody Wants To Rule the World by Tears for Fears

Some songs from the 80s really deliver on their era, this is one of them but I can't exactly explain why. I suppose Songs from The Big Chair was the high point for these Brits though Sewing the Seeds of Love was also pretty big too..

2. Feellin' Alright by Joe Cocker

I was obsessed with this song for a bout month when I made this mix which is why it sauntered in here.

3. Zero by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

It's a groovy song by some hipters from New York. The video was filmed in San Francisco's China Town

4. Troublemaker by Weezer

And suddenly Weezer just kept on truckin'. It seemed like they were faded into the past and then they made a comeback and never left us.

5. Any Way you Want It by Journy

Classic rock of Journey and memories of Caddy Shack

6. Same Ol' Situation by Mötley Crüe
Great band and strange band, The bassist writes all the songs but doesn't sing and the most famous member in the group is the drummer. The Dr. Feelgood album was the pinnacle for these L.A. hair gods even though they still tour.
7. Down With the Sickness by Disturbed
It took a couple years for me to be into this Nü Metal classic but now I enjoy it. This appeared in, Queen of the Damned when Lestat's band was about to go on stage . . . or was this the song his band did?
8. Ulysses by Franz Ferdinand
 These guys just put out groove after groove with great melodies, The tuxedo the singer wears in the video is slick and if I had thousadns at the time I would have owned it and rocked it better!
9. Panic Switch by Silversun Pickups
This crazy song was used in Sucker Punch. There's something desperate in the sonic craziness of the music that I really like.
10.Desolation Row by My Chemical Romance
A song on the Watchmen soundtrack, I think it's one of their five best songs. "Cinderella, she seems so easy" Coooool f'ing lyric. They even play the national anthem in this song; it has to be good!
11.Lit Up by Buckcherry
A song about getting high but could be used by G.E. to premote their lightbulbs
12.I  Can't Drive 55 by Sammy Hagar
Before he teamed up with Van Halen, Sammy was the red rocker and complaining about traffic and speed limits, now he sings national anthems at Giant's games.
13.John Walker's Blues by Steve Earle

Maybe the best song having anything to do with the Taliban; it's moving.

14.Paper Planes by M.I.A.

If you didn't hear this song in 2008 you probably are reading this blog for research on popular music. It was huge, it won M.I.A. awards and possibly made her a one hit wonder. I always thought this song was about drug dealing but I've never been able to confirm this.

15.Falling Down by Oasis

I still don't know why songs like this one didn't lead to a huge Oasis come back. Dig Out Your Soul had good stuff all over it.

16.Fall Is Just Something Grownups Invented by The Hives
Yup, this is the Nickelodeon  Channel theme rocked out by the Swedes
17.Mr. Hurricane by Beast
The name of this band isn't right, there isn't anything beastly about them though this is cool song for sure!
18.Daylight by Matt & Kim

More music from Hipsters; it's very catchy. You may be familiar with the tune as it appeared in a Tanqueray Gin TV add.

19.Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths

Morrissey can emote like no other. An instrumental version of this tune was used in Ferris Bueller's Day Off during the Museum scene.

20.Can't seem To make You Mine by The Seeds
This tune was used in an Axe spray cologne add featuring the queen of eyebrows Adrianne Curry
21.Let There be Rock by AC/DC
Even AC/DC sold out! This rocker was the theme to a Rock Band video game release.

The New Age! The Meta age.

So the 90s were the age of irony, at least that's what we called it in popular culture and popular media. If nobody has already said it I'm saying it now, we are in the age of Meta! In the usage of referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre; self-referential we are in the Meta years. Everything is this because as those who are on facebook or twitter all day know, what you're doing is more important than what you''re doing.
For somebody who experienced the irony age first hand and embraced it consciously or subconsciously I can say that this idea of things isn't very hard to get used to.
I joked once that nobody ever took a shit until, the 1960s, in the 70s it became cool and by the time 80s came around one could make a profit on their shit. Obviously by the 90s shit was no longer cool as it was being bought and sold by the millions which made it ironic somehow. The 00s were spent wondering if it was okay to shit again but now that were into 10s we can reference our own shit with gravitas and mirth.
All any of  this really means is that our sense of humor will be like talking to ourselves. More laughing at our own jokes. but not really.

Here's some meta in action CLICK ME

America F**K Yeah!

So nearly ten years after planes were hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon the individual who has been held accountable for planning the destruction has been hunted down and filled by United States Navy SEALS bringing the situation not to an end but to the turn of the page to a new chapter. While hundreds of Americans celebrated in front of the White House and millions more around the country waved their miniature American flags and pumped their fists to the chants of "USA, USA, USA" or sang the national anthem others were already feeling ulcers expecting a new attack from  Al-Qaida.
What does it mean? Is it any different than the cold war ending, or the defeat of the Axis in World War II? There will always be an enemy. There will be allies who turn against us or we turn against us, there will be disenfranchised individuals who need to blame somebody else for their dissatisfaction. I can't say the U.S. doesn't make a good target of ire for we have a way of getting into everybody's business in an attempt to help our selves to their resources (Oil) but that's really only because we can. If Macedonia or Jamaica or Costa Rica had the might, they would probably be just as reviled by those without an easy future.

In a fantastic, perfect world were good and evil was black and white, the assassination of Osama Bin Laden would have been accomplished by Captain America and there would be no more guerrilla warfare or acts of terror if you will on innocent people but there are always new people who crave power or see things so differently it drives them to extreme acts.

This death doesn't solve everything nor does it doesn't rekindle anything but it sure does make a lot of people happy. Is happy the right word?