December 31, 2007 02:30 PM
Mid-Day Open Thread
Randy Newman -- A Few Words in Defense of Our Country
Rolling Stone Magazine named Newman's song the 2nd Best Song of 2007
Now in my 40s, I cheerfully cede my need to stay on top of popular music to my children and their generation. So I've never heard of M.I.A., whom Rolling Stone has placed on the top of their list of Top 50 Albums of 2007. However, I did love The White Stripes (#17), Youssou N'Dour (#30) and Maroon 5 (#32), so at least I knew a few on the list.
What music stood out to you last year?
Oddly, we happened to see Maroon 5 opening for someone else at House of Blues in '03; we were quite surprised, the put on a great show, they're very tight, and the songs don't even suck a little bit. I just bought the new CD for Pam for Christmas.
Rush's new album. Especially the song "The Way the Wind Blows".
Chromeo - Fancy Footwork, album of the year
Cassadega - Bright eyes, best album imo.
I hate Iowa!
Ever noticed Randy Newman uses same melody for every song he writes? And what a horse's ass for using 2,000 years of wold history to tell us he don't like present US leaders but we're still a great country. With great people. But the leaders don't actually DO the torturing and fly the people to countries that do.
Raising Sand
Here's his homage to the CheneyBushco principles-decades before CheneyBushCo was even thought up.
Political Science
2 Newbie Says: Rush’s new album. Especially the song “The Way the Wind Blows”.
You said it 55 year old men who can still F'k it up like that! I saw them at the Hollywood Bowl and it was one of the best shows I've seen in my life. Long Live Rush!
Right on Randy!!!!!
A Few Words in Defense of Our Country
Very very very few words "in defense of our country" ..
"We've got bad leaders .. but there have been worse .. and after all they're just our leaders .. we're not bad."
what a pile o crap
There ARE some VERY cruel & demented ppl here .. who WHOLEHEARTEDLY approve of OUR LEADERS and what they have done.
Just check the polls.
Or talk to your neighbors.
Or read the newspapers.
Or watch MSM.
And as for "our leaders arent the worst" .. I beg to differ.
Neither the Caesars nor Hitler nor Stalin had the hideous weapons that BushCo has.
Nor is BushCo done yet -- with "leaders" like sHillary & Giuliani & Romney & Hucakabee & Thompson in the wings, salivating to take over where GW left off.
Hitler wasn't so bad either .. for the first few years.
And had it not been for the House of Bush, Hitler never would have come to power.
So -- if you're gonna compare the Bushes to any other world leaders, you really must include Hitler & the whole Third Reich as spawn of Bush.
Amy Winehouse had a great album. Probably going to be album of the year.
Oddly, the album that I have played the most is a French album, I don't speak French but this pop album recorded in 2005 by the French singer Camille is very refreshingly different. It was a hit in France and some may have noticed her singing Le Festin in the movie Ratatouille.
Wow. That was one powerful song. Mr. Newman's historical analogies were intriguing.
studio's 'yearbook 1' was the best album of the year
Randy Newman declares he would like to say a few words in the defense of our country in the beginning and offers a metaphor for the end of our nation at the conclusion, with a list of thugs, murderers, and potentates down through the centuries in the middle.
The term dis-articulated comes to mind.
It seems at times that our polititians don't know the difference between shit and apple butter, but I believe that the spirit of Lincoln(the man, not the republican) is imbedded in our
very core to protect what is collectively ours from the private theirs(the 1%).
Yeah Randy, things don't look like apple butter right now, and you may not out live this tight ass Supreme Court, but we have children and grandchildren to think about, and we have to care about this Democratic experiment of ours.
Surrendering to the 1% is not an option.
The Stage Names by Okkervil River was my favorite album of the year, followed closely by the latest albums from Spoon, Feist, Kevin Drew, Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z, Andrew Bird, Arcade Fire, Dinosaur Jr., Klaxons, LCD Soundsystem--and just yesterday I picked up the recent reissue of power-pop outfit Bram Tchaikovsy's classic 1979 debut album Strange Man, Changed Man, which was a great way to end the year--a very good year for pop music. Even the top of the charts had some interesting stuff, like "Umbrella" by Rhianna. Terrible political times tend to bring out the best in musicians, even (perhaps especially) if they're not directly commenting on politics and war. In my opinion, Nicole, you picked a bad time to check out on pop music and rock and roll.
For me Randy Newman belongs to Toy Story.
Clare and the Reasons
The White Stripes
John Fogerty
The Senior Citizen Award for 2007 goes to
Jeff Beck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV7OAWs2Q30
A real eye-opener re: the state of things in America. Watch 45 min speech by Naomi Wolfe at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjALf12PAWc. If link doesn't work go to youtube and search her name with the title, The End of America.
Why isn't everyone in the USA an Independent? I really don't get your system. Like if you were GOP, and all the candidates SUCKED (which they do, they always do), do you still have to vote for one? Don't you vote for the man/woman, not the party????
I've voted for three different parties in Canada depending on who is running in my riding. (I think we have 17 parties, but some are tiny.)
Arcade Fire.
I'm stuck in the past. My #1 CD of 2007 is 'Mothership" by led zeppelin. I'm sorry, I'm a music dinosaur. I can't get enthusiastic about any music of the day. Most of the stuff I hear is crap. No originality, just covers of old stuff. I love the picks and pans I get here, lets me know what I'm missing but I still have most of the 60's and 70's playing on the jukebox.
You'll know which one is mine. It's the one with the 8-track player.
"... as for the brother - Well, Pluto's not a planet anymore..." What a great line!
The Dead Will Walk, Dear by The National Lights was my favorite album of 2007.
Voices and Real Time Observations
http://jonimitchell.com/musician/album.cfm?id=28
http://www.neilyoung.com/lwwtoday/index.html
Graham Nash - Jackson Browne - David Crosby
http://video1.cathedral.org/wmv/pressconf071016.wmv
In Your Name
I'm stuck in the 50-70's, and I agree with Ray Charles who said: "Rap is not music,it's jive talk and we had this in the 1920's.
Randy's still got it! The line about Scalia and Alito was priceless.
The tracks from M.I.A.'s new album were all right, but didn't knock my socks off. Still, it's always fun to read through "Best of" lists.
i like arcade fire too...and i'm an old guy so i'm late to the game, but i really got into the killers this year, and franz ferdinand, too. my chemical romance rocks, too.
never got the appeal of the white stripes. they aren't bad but they're not the huge amazing geniuses i would have expected after all the hype.
also amy winehouse imo is over-rated...lilly allen is more up my alley.
just bought walk hard - the dewey cox soundtrack...very funny.
MountainMan23 @ 11:
I agree with everything, except for one minor quibble. Even with Prescott Bush's support, Hitler still wouldn'tve made it without the Great Depression as a monster shot in the arm, and even then, he never got a majority for the Nazis alone.
In that area, at least, GWB outdid Hitler!
Joni Mitchell wrote the song of our times 14 years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlYXotKXe54
Top 5:
F---ed Up Kid / Kevin Drew
Myriad Harbour/ The New Pornographers
North American Scum / LCD Soundsystem
Yadnus / !!!
Fireworks / Animal Collective
One to grow on:
You! Me! Dancing!/ Los Campesinos
Good music transcends generational atrophy.
Nicole (et al.): I had that very same problem. A few years backed I e-mailed all my freinds, and asked them to send me 10 "bands"/artists they listen to. Then I compiled a list and sent it back to everyone. It was great.
From there I got busy on the internet: lists, hits lists and and music sites, the Grammies site, lyrics sites, and sampling music from download sites. To my surprise there is a lot of good music around. Of course, IMHO, it's not Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, or Led Zeppelin, but I need stuff for my MP3, and it has to be upbeat. (Pink Floyd just doesn't work on a crowded subway: you need a fireplace and some doobies.)
Some of these are commercial, and I don't know if I would buy the CD, but they are great in the MP3 (iPod). I can download for free (don't tell anyone-- live in Asia) so I might only pick one or two songs, but:
Rock/listening/techno/dance: Nickelback, Maroon 5, Shinedown, Coldplay, Pink, Sarah Brightman, Dido, Rihanna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Timbaland, Hoobastank, Gwen Stefani, Royksopp, The Killers, The Darkness, Oasis, Nelly Furtado, Moby, Daft Punk, Mylo, Benny Benassi, Scissor Sisters, Madonna.
There are lots more, but these will get you started. Since my e-mail and searching the internet, I now have a general idea of the music scene. It doesn't suck like it did in the 80's (my personal opinion-- it turned me RIGHT OFF music!!!) (Everything about the 80's sucked, except that I went back to university and then to Europe. :) )
While I don't really care for Randy Newman's style (his oh so precious vocal delivery was tired from his first song) I have to give him credit. A very nice bit of irony.
My pick for this year is without a doubt Ian Hunter's fabulous album Shrunken Heads. If you are a fan of this blog and you don't know the record, run, don't walk, and get it.
Read my review here.
Ripley @ 32:
I guess it all depends upon what your concept of musicianship is.
Liked Nine Inch Nails, Year Zero.
my top 5 would be
the national- boxer
radiohead- in rainbows
jay-z- american gangster
lcd soundsystem- sounds of silver
m.i.a.- kala
Edwin @ 33:
Thanks, Edwin. The only problem is that presumes that I have any control over the music in my house/car. Sadly, it's been about 9 years since I have. That's the trouble with having kids. ;)
I tend to stick to known quantities on my MP3 player--all my "old person" stuff: Clapton, Beatles, Norah Jones. Every once in a while I let my kids or niece (who is turning 21 this month) recommend music to me as well--that's how I got to know Maroon 5, who have absolutely been pumping me up on my daily run.
honorable mentions:
nin- year zero
ghostface killah- big doe rehab
kanye west- graduation
wu tang clan- 8 diagrams
derrick @ 39:
Like gangsters huh?
My favorite artists with relatively new releases:
Arcade Fire
Stars
Radiohead
Sufjan Stevens
Feist (the Ipod commercial is catchy, but the rest of the album is much better)
What music stood out to you last year?
Always the Clash
Christina Aguilera
Les Rita Mitsouko-RIP Fred Chichin-sphinx posted that here which is how I found them.
A bunch of old stuff I just play to death too...
23 David Aquarius Says: I’m stuck in the past. My #1 CD of 2007 is ‘Mothership” by led zeppelin. I’m sorry, I’m a music dinosaur. I can’t get enthusiastic about any music of the day. Most of the stuff I hear is crap. No originality, just covers of old stuff. I love the picks and pans I get here, lets me know what I’m missing but I still have most of the 60’s and 70’s playing on the jukebox.
You’ll know which one is mine. It’s the one with the 8-track player.
I know exactly what you mean, but one day I just felt I was limiting myself. I've found I really like good techno, and generally, anyone with a really good signing voice. If anyone knows any good techno tips, pass 'em on-- PLEASE.
And sometimes the old music is too packed with old memories: they hold me back from life. I'm not one to live in the past-- not at all. I like to forget the past, it's over. Live right now! That's what matters the most!!
I get to know new bands through mix CD exchanges with friends scattered around the country...though most comes from the friends who still go to lots and lots of shows.
I just saw Pinks, Dear Mr. President on YouTube. Great song and video.
Roy Zimmerman's Jerry Falwell's God comes to mind. (That and almost all his songs.)
Lots of David Rovic's songs as well.
Nicole, thanks for the new song from Randy Newman. I love his music.
For my money, his masterpiece is 'Sail Away'. I heard it a few times many years ago before I realized what it was about. When I finally got the song, it really hit me. The sheer beauty of the melody, contrasted with the darkness of the subject, is what makes the song so powerful. The irony isn't on the surface, it's implicit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE5k2euahDI&feature=related
I forgot the albums by The Broken West, Illinois, Panda Bear and Zookeeper in my original list, but I shouldn't have. All excellent.
Best album of the year? The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band of course.
What music stood out?
Rusted Root......... Drum Trip. Shake it shake it shake it.
Right now, though, I have a headach. Time for my meds.
I'd blow my brains out before I'd live through a year in which I thought those were the 50 best albums. Good god, that Smashing Pumpkins album was a festering turd.
I do an alt rock radio show, and here's the top 10 I did for 2007. Granted, it's limited to the genre.
1. Girl In A Coma Both Before I'm Gone
2. Black Francis Bluefinger
3. The White Stripes Icky Thump
4. Kings Of Leon Because Of The Times
5. Radiohead In Rainbows
6. The Rakes Ten New Messages
7. Of Montreal Hissing Fauna Are You the Destroyer
8. Dinosaur Jr Beyond
9. Black Lips Good Bad Not Evil
10. Art Brut it's A Bit Complicated
Full list here, if anyone's interested. http://nealharkness.typepad.com/
The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
Pinback - Autumn of the Seraphin
i like all music but it's been a particularly good year for hip hop- particularly the last 4 months. and if u haven't heard american gangster you should treat yourself- stunning. kanye west's album is pretty diverse and ghostface's album is straight gutter hip-hop. however, the first half of the year, the national's boxer had me wrapped up. i saw them live and they were awesome. and radiohead- the God's that they are- submitted another amazing album. i'm still trying to figure out when they will fall off. over ten years of churning out amazing albums.
I just saw a headline on yahoo news that read: Romney says Bush mismanaged Iraq war.
Yeah, by launching it! Our media is so controlled they can't even report that the mistake was invading Iraq...it wasn't mismanaged it was a mistake that was done on purpose!
I repeat to anyone, music for an MP3/iPod is a different monster than home listening. The stuff you really have to listen to doesn't work!! There's way to much city noise. (Of course, I live in the 3rd biggest city in the world, and they love to honk, but...)
Wow, everyone here missed M.I.A. Your ages are showing, C&L-ers!
I'm a tail-end boomer (sharing birth year with my brother "the space race": 1959), but I'm a jazzer with leanings into world music, especially the music of the South Asian subcontinent.
MIA is a phenomenon, one of those artists who embodies something so important and so under-represented, that she can almost get away with not being super-talented (IMHO she's not, but that's not the most important thing about her).
She is an artist, not a musician. She steals off-the-shelf sounds from equipment anyone can buy at their local music store. She is a creative thinker - out of necessity. She comes from Sri Lanka, which she had to flee because her father is a big guy in the Tamil Tigers.
So these are some of the things about her: she's a refugee kid, her dad is a well-known terrorist, and she likes to make shit. She makes everything- she does the art for her album covers and tour posters, she designs the T-shirts they sell on tour, she puts together the loop and mixes her own stuff. She makes her own clothes, including what she wears in concert. She came up out of dirt poverty, raised in public housing in England where she tells stories of watching thieves walk out of her house with their TV and stuff while she and her mom watched and couldn't do anything about it. She learned to make stuff in Sri Lanka because -as she says - at that time, if you needed a table, you made it. If you wanted clothes, you made them. If you needed a house, you found some stuff, a hammer and some nails and you put one together. In fact that's probably how a lot of people still live in Sri Lanka today.
Now, she's a pop-poet (in my estimation not the best) and, in true street-pop spirit, she capitalizes on all the cheap stuff you can use to make found-art pieces. In fact, her songs sound like aural versions of found-art collages.
She doesn't care what we think about her music. She likes the brutal hip-hop coming out of Sao Paulo's slums. She's a revolutionary: she likes the Tamil Tigers, she thinks highly of her father, and when I saw her she wore a necklace with the ubiquitous AK-47 around her neck.
One critic described her music like this: this is the voice of the kids of the new world order, the voice of kids who throw rocks at tanks of occupying armies, the voices of teenage orphan-soldiers who kill and run and live to fight another day.
Here's a verse from "Fire, Fire" on her first record Arular:
Not exactly your standard hippie-pacifist fare, to be sure.
I saw her at a record store at lunchtime on her first visit to the US. Now she fills concert-clubs that hold thousands.
You may or may not like her. If you are a musician who looks for great chops and all the signs of song-writing mastery you won't find them in her. You should check it out because she's representing a culture that usually doesn't get out of the slums of the third world.
And whether you like her or not, one thing is for certain: the girl has balls, artistically speaking. And that's a quality I wish more of the polished professionals had, actually.
Paris Hilton-- Stars are Blind. ;)
derrick @ 53:
They'll fall off when they can't make any money on their CD's. At the rate oil is going through the roof most bands might not be able to tour either.
M.I.A. is by far the best thing I've heard in years. If you have not heard her new album Kala, get it immediately.
"I hate money cause it makes me numb."
She's brilliant.
Another vote for Pink's "Dear Mr. President".
It left a lump in my throat.
The Shotgun Wedding Quintet's self titled album is a really good mix of jazz and hip hop
i really liked radiohead's new album
Times have changed. I don't recall Miles Davis making music to promote bling or The Beatles singing about taking out competing acts and shooting the cops.
New World Order indeed. Blade Runner, 1984, whatever you prefer.
the only interest i have in mia is the fact that that demon of the riaa, file sharing, is what made her a big star
sorry, but her stuff aint that innovative
shes cute and borrows from a ton of genres with political overtones
fact remains, the vast majority of today's music is boring...boring....boring....all thanks to the corporate media
I'll admit it though. I can not relate to what kids are into these days. Just like when I was young I couldn't relate to what people my age were into.
LOL . . . never freaking mind!
The Hives - Black and White Album
Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
Foo Fighters Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
Radiohead - In Rainbows
NIN - Year Zero
BTW...LOVE the spell check feature! Maybe there will be some better grammar...
The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
Every Time I Die's "The Big Dirty". Rock and Roll for the new age. Made Amazon's list and many others, didn't make Rolling Stone's.
L.A. Confidential @ 65:
It's pretty much like when I was young most of us realized there was no free lunch no matter how pissed off at society or optimistic about your personal future and prospects you were.
There was just no substitute for hard freaking work.
Britney Spears was #50
Okay so they have a sense of humor
Sure Randy is "in defense of the country" so long as he remains in the upper-income tax brackets with breaks and cuts in his benefit. It pays to win awards.
hate to admit it... britney's album was pretty good
as far as mia goes, def one of the best albums, but her pointless pseudo-political sloganeering grows old pretty quick and sometimes u wonder if her marketing machine is a little disingenius. but those goddamn beats, man. i love when she breaks out with the pixies "where is my mind" as the chorus for one of her songs on kala. classic.
Without a doubt Okkervil River "The Stage Names"
"Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga"
"The White Stripes - Icky Thump"
"Albert Hammond Jr. - Yours To Keep"
"The Shins - Wincing The Night Away' !!!!
derrick @ 71:
This is the stuff many of us old fogies grew up on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5ORGWfJiTI
it's funny. a consultant at work tried to get me into zappa. couldn't quite jibe with it. i do like alot of old stuff though... motown, beatles, al green, stevie wonder, led zep, pink floyd, and alot of other stuff made before i was born. the prog thing- except for floyd, if u classify them as that- went right over my head.
I've been posting about M.I.A. at the LNMC for months and months now. She's got a fantastic political message that you people should be salivating over, but since she doesn't exactly sound like Bob Dylan so most of the...ahem...older generation aren't paying attention to her. She doesn't sound like anybody else, for that matter.
Love Randy Newman but uh....are you kidding me? The second best song of the year?
LA at @ 58:
"They’ll fall off when they can’t make any money on their CD’s. At the rate oil is going through the roof most bands might not be able to tour either."
Careful where you're shootin, LA. Radiohead offers this album directly to the public for whatever the customer wants to pay. They bypassed the middlemen and all of the associated crappy marketing and expense.
It could be the new model for selling music and the industry hates it.
Best album of the year? 'Lady's Bridge' by Richard Hawley. It's a purchase you won't regret.
Once again, the Foo Fighters stand out.
The best rock and roll band working in the USA today.
Cannot wait to see them in March..
The really remarkable thing about the Hitlers and Stalins is that they at least went to great efforts to at least maintain a pretense of legality.
Bushco thinks it has the legal right to do whatever it wants.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGC0VVobi6E
and...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7soN6HNU3Y
CartoonCoyote @ 78:
"Coles Corner" is beautiful...
Blue Lensman @ 77:
Thats no problem. This isn't a first by the way. Artists have done this for decades. Granted, digital distribution via personal computer wasn't available. But lots of artists slug it out building audiences non traditionally and independently from the major labels.
Great minds Nicole! I posted the video at my place last night. I gave Randy the final word on 2007. Then Mahalia Jackson kicked off 2008.
I better just keep my mouth shut. If these kids get mad they might start thinking of stuff like standardizing Euthinaisa for old people. Brave New World.
LOL
quote thingy?
Mocean Worker
Cinco de MoWo
Mike V. @ 79:
Absolutely! The Pretender still gets me movin'!
Also liked Linkin Park "The Little Things Give You Away"
and Wyclef Jean "President"
and just for fun, Rooney "When Did Your Heart Go Missing?"
Raising Sand by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss is outstanding (is Rounder Records affiliated with RIAA?). Fantastic date music. Lol. Now I just need a date.
Prefuse 73 - Preparations
Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures
Not sure if this was coming from C&L or from the RollingStone target, but be careful. Probably connected to an ad.
Source: C:\Documents and Settings\Blackadder\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\I3KY9PWI\gnida[1].swf
Risk category: Virus
Overall Risk Impact: High
Click for more information about this risk : Downloader
Action taken: Blocked
I figured out how to use an MP3 player in '07, but all I've got on it so far is most of my Robyn Hitchcock cd's.
I'm very happy about that.
...what's this debate about? Album of the Year? Stay on topic, man! - you all!
Wow. That song really didn't work for me. He may just re-badge the same hymn-based song over and over, but he seemed to fit Toy Story just fine. This is jumping the shark yet again for him though, and the political message is bizarre. Rolling Stone has gone insane.
I've purchased close to 1000 CDs in my life (most still around here somewhere). But I've purchased or listened to NO RIAA music this year. None.
A boycott is the only way to get your rights back, and indie music is only getting better. (Or try it yourself -- garageband is fun!) With Briney Spears AND Randy Newman in Rolling Stone's top 20, I know I've made the right choice!
I'd agree that White Stripes and Springsteen kick ass; glad I nabbed 'em before the boycott.
After reading the above lists (and realizing that I've heard of very few of them), I'm convinced that I now officially fall into the category of "Boring Old Fart".
Happy New Year!
http://www.philkeaggy.com/index.html
Son Volt-The Search
Arcade Fire-Neon Bible
TV on the Radio-Return to Cookie Mountain
Silversun Pickups-Carnavas
Saul Williams- The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust
Peeping Tom- Peeping Tom (Mike Patton)
Radiohead- In Rainbows
Top 7- Doublelibra
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Battles - Mirrored
Grizzly Bear - Friend EP - "He Hit Me" may be the best song of the year
Big Business - Here Come the Waterworks
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Spoon - GaGaGaGaGa and Get Nice!
Shellac - Excellent Italian Greyhound
Holy Fuck - LP
Also like to add Hope For Men by Pissed Jeans and maybe Plague Park by Handsome Furs.
Aaaaaand Alive 2007 by Daft Punk. Been a pretty decent year, music-wise, really.
----->>>> 85 L.A. Confidential Says: I better just keep my mouth shut. If these kids get mad they might start thinking of stuff like standardizing Euthinaisa for old people.
That's going to happen anyway, once people see the price tag. Suddenly "every life is precious" will depend on actuarial statistics, spreadsheets and profits. (Religion or not.) I think the plug will get pulled more and more often. (I seem to be OK with that, too. I don't want to be a vegetable on life support.)
Right. That said, I'm off to the airport, to Thailand and Laos, to live with the elephants (really), and have fun in general. Seriously! Ciao all.
Music is supposed to be MUSIC! A goddmaned dance troop behind you doesn't make a shitty song a good song!
The crap that is being played today................fuck it, I'm gonna stop now while i can still can.
Damn, I'm old..............
Bruce Springsteen -- Magic
Not only the record of the year, but the record of the decade!
My first download off of iTunes was "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia this year (yes we, as a family, went on a iPod frenzy... now have more iPods than ears). Honest to God, I thought it was fairly new. Just looked it up... 1997. What a drag it is gettin' old. New Years resolution: check in from time to time ;-).
Good song, though.... ;-)
Sorry Randy but that was crap. The reason people don't like America is because it is a very powerful country run by a dangerous half-wit that enough naive people voted for to allow them to steal the election TWICE. It is a mystery to me that over 30% still support him. It about time we had international election observers monitoring the US elections.
America should concentrate on putting its own house in order first and then people might like them again. But then that's not going to happen is it?
some interesting choices here -- stratifies the readership of C&L, no? -- i think Talib Kweli made a real return this year with Eardrum; and Kimya Dawson could sing me her stories anytime.
Bubbly by Colbie Caillat
Honorable mention to
Love Song by Sara Bareilles
Both were free on Itunes on thus had massive exposure. I loved Bubbly and so did my 11 year old daughter, she bought the entire album and she never does that.
How's that to bring the age skew down?
I also stopped paying attention to music, but I did like one thing in 07- Avril Lavighne's "Girlfriend". "Hey hey, you you, I don't like your girilfriend...."
Why Does Bush Always Back The Wrong Horse?
A couple stand out for me;
Kate Bush - Aerial
The one and only Bush worth a dime, and the only singer who can take the subject of laundry and give it an erotic POV.
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
she used to get on my nerves with the shy artist schtick, but this album got my attention - very original
Aerial? Really? i love kate bush- hounds of love and the sensual world gets much play on the zune- but, albeit i've only heard it a couple times, this album seemed far from that level of craft. maybe i need to give it another listen. what songs do u recommend?
iMonz, the *whole song* is a scathing indictment of the United States, by way of comparing and contrasting the U.S. with previous fallen empires. And if some folks don't appreciate that his criticism extends further than just the Bush administration: tough. This is an empire in decline we live in folks.
Also, for those of you who seem to think that Randy Newman somehow appeared with Toy Story, you should learn a little more about the man. He has written some extraordinary songs, often scabrous in their political and sociological satire:
- Sail Away
- Rednecks
- Short People
- God's Song
- Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)
- Political Science
- Louisiana 1927
Those are just a few. If you haven't heard that last song, keep in mind that it was written many years (1974) before Katrina and then check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Eb3FiebTs
Chills. Major chills.
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