Oh How The Days Go

Guero may not be the greatest album, but it still contains its fair share of gems, escpecially the slower-tempo tracks towards the end. In fact, it's home to one of my favorite post-millennium Beck songs, Broken Drum,. It's flashes of brilliance like these that keep me coming back to Beck, no matter how many half-baked singles *cough-timebomb-cough* he releases.

Beck - Broken Drum.mp3
[From Guero, released 2004 on Interscope]

Assorted Randomness

So, now that I've finally absorbed the final episode of one of my favorite HBO series, I decided it was time to look for a new show to fill that Sopranos-shaped hole in my brain. I ended up choosing The Wire, after hearing so many good things about it over the past few months. Like any self-respecting TV-geek, I started out from the beginning. I've watched about six episodes now, and I'm not disappointed. The only bad thing I have to say so far is that Dominic West's character is a little cliched (an alcoholic Irish cop who plays by his own rules? I've never seen that before!) and annoying, but the rest of the cast is strong, and the story seems suitably intelligent. I especially taken a liking to Clarke Peters character, Lester Freamon (I guess cliches are more tolerable when they're quiet), so I was pleasantly surprised to hear a Miles Davis tune playing in the background during Peters first major episode. I can't find any info about The Wire's music, but unless my hearing has started to fail me at an extremely premature age, I'm sure what I heard was from Kind Of Blue. So here's my favorite track from that album, 'Blue In Green'. Oh, and in case you haven't heard, On The Corner is getting seven-disc box set reissue next month. Be sure to pick it up if you happen to have a small fortune just laying around, collecting dust.

Miles Davis - Blue In Green.mp3
[From Kind Of Blue, released 1959 on Columbia]

You Speak Only To The Ringmaster

When I first heard 1990's debut, Cookies, I immediately thought of the Arctic Monkeys. I mean, they're both bands composed of young(-sounding) Brits who make hook-laden pop rock. After a few listens, however, it was clear that a few things separated the two bands; early punk influences, intelligence, talent, and restraint. 1990's have all of these things, whereas the Arctic Monkeys have none. Basically, 1990's are the anti-Arctic Monkeys. Considering my disdain for the latter, you can imagine how happy I was to discover Cookies. Today I'll leave you with the tenth track from Cookies, Weed, which just happens share its name with my favorite TV show, Weeds, which happens to feature one of my favorite Ween songs in an upcoming episode. Whew, that's a lot of tangential association.

1990's - Weed.mp3
[From Cookies, out now on Rough Trade]

Ween - You Fucked Up.mp3
[From GodWeenSatan: The Oneness, released 1990 on Twin/Tone (now defunct)]

Rest In Peace Lee

As you've probably heard, Lee Hazelwood died on Saturday, after a battle with renal cancer. Hazelwood was most famous for writing 'These Boots Are Made For Walkin'', Nancy Sinatra's 1966 #1 hit. Later, he went on to record several collaborations with Sinatra, including the legendary 'Some Velvet Morning'. He was seventy-eight. May he rest in peace.

Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra - Some Velvet Morning.mp3

Spiritus Sanctus In Nomine

This track blew me away the first time I heard it. It's remarkably odd for an album that achieved such mainstream success.

Kate Bush - Waking The Witch.mp3
[From Hounds Of Love, released in 1985 by EMI]