Monthly Archives: June 2012

Jun 27 2012

Today’s Random Song in My Head, “Lost in Emotion”

We’ve all had a song stuck in our heads. Sometimes this can be a perfectly pleasant song that becomes the soundtrack to a perfectly pleasant day. Other times it can be a repetitive annoyance that comes close to driving you crazy. (There is a song from a Simpsons episode that pops in and out of my head at random moments and it has driven me to the brink of madness several times. Careful. Don’t view the clip below if you are in the least bit unstable. I don’t want one of you eating a bullet because you cant get this song out of your head)

Having a song in my head is a very common occurrence in my life as I am sure it is for all music lovers. Most days I will hum along in my head to a variety of songs that usually come from my most current iPod playlist. Other days I will hear some random song by Supertramp on the radio and I will be singing “Give a Little Bit ” for 2 days. Occasionally my subconscious will throw me for a loop and I will suddenly become aware that I have been humming some long lost artifact of a song for the last 3 hours. When this happens I usually have to stop and access the situation.

Me: How did that song get in there?

My Brain: I don’t know.

Me: How long have I been humming it?

My Brain: I don’t know.

Me: Bald men are considered sexy right?

My Brain: Todd… You are the bald George Clooney.

Me: I knew it!

Today was one of those weird days. I realized after several hours at work that I had been singing Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam’s “Lost in Emotion”. How odd. I wasn’t listening to music at all this morning. Nor was I debating with any co-workers that age old question:

Question: Which was the superior Lisa Lisa lineup?

A: Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam

B: Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force

C: A and B

D: Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam’s Train Would Reach the Station in 3.25 Hours.

E: None of the Above

Answer: I think the answer is obvious. Who would want their Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with zero or even partial Force? I want my Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force baby!

I had no idea how the song got there. Having grown up in the 80’s I have heard that song dozens of times.  Maybe it was just some weird subconscious blip. Maybe I sneezed and some wires temporarily crossed in my brain. Apparently, I decided to lock it away in the darkest recesses of my mind. Only to be brought to light when I least expected it. Some people have life altering ideas pop out of their heads at these moments. I have Lisa Lisa.

To quote said artist from said song,

“Que Sera Que Sera.
Baby, whatever will be.”

Jun 13 2012

MoSS? Monthly Mixtape: June 2012

Side A : Chris’ Picks

1. Fang Island, “Sisterly”

2. Beak>, “Yatton”

3. The Hundred in the Hands, “Keep It Low”

4. Jens Lekman, “The End of the World Is Bigger Than Love”

5. Marissa Nadler, “Apostle”

Side B : Todd’s Picks

1. Lemonade, “Infinite Style”

2. Twin Shadow, “5 seconds”

3. Diiv, “Doused”

4. Violens, “Totally True”

5. Charli XCX, “Stay Away”

Jun 4 2012

Even More Road Trip Revelations

My job sometimes requires me to spend a lot of my day in the car. I don’t mind too much. It gives me time to think, reflect on my life and most importantly listen to great music. On these trips I sit back, relax and turn up the tunes. After many hours alone in the car though, I tend to have a few random and moronic thoughts. These are just a few of the revelations I came away with on the road.

I Totally Missed the Boat on Beach House

Back in 2010, the dream pop duo Beach House was all over indie radio with their 3rd LP Teen Dream. Several songs from that release were in crazy heavy rotation and “10 Mile Stereo” was picked as “Song of the Year” on my favorite station Sirius XM U. To be honest, I just didn’t get it. Maybe it was the constant air play. Maybe I didn’t really try that hard to like it. Maybe it was just bad timing, but I basically hated Beach House.

That was until I heard the new Beach House song “Lazuli” on the radio. For some reason the music filled me with emotions (other than annoyance) and left me thinking “Has Beach House always been this good?”. When I got home, I logged onto iTunes to get the new Best Coast record that happened to have come out that day (Holy shit is that good. Seriously, check it out) and on a whim I started listening to clips from the new Beach House record, Bloom. I was kind of blown away. By the 3rd song clip I had to download the entire thing and listen to it. Since then, Bloom has skyrocketed to the upper echelon of my uber-prestigious  “Best of 2012” list. I am ready to admit that I was wrong…. Beach House is awesome….I suck. Man, I’m slipping.

Here is my favorite track “New Year”. It’s got a bit of a My Bloody Valentine feel and scratches all my shoegaze itches.

 

Most Men Would Want to Move Here

Sometimes I wonder what people are thinking when they name a road or housing development. I recently ran across this sign in my travels. What’s the story with this road’s name? Is it short for Bluejaysville? Is there a prominent family in the area with the surname B’jay? Do I just have a filthy mind? The world may never know. It does seem like a happy little lane. It’s nestled nicely between Fellatio Road and Cunilingus Court. The guys from the area seem to always be smiling … weird.

It’s a Miracle I Have Avoided Being Arrested in some Homicide Road Rage Related Incident

I must have incredible patience because it seems like I’m constantly being bombarded by jackasses like:

  1. Tailgaters
  2. People driving in my blind-spot
  3. Some asshole driving slow in the fast lane that refuses to get over

Most days, depending on my mood, I can handle this just fine. But other days I feel like strapping a railroad tie to my bumper and crashing my way down the interstate with no repercussions like in some Grand Theft Auto style video game.  So if you see me looking extra agitated on the road some day, clear some space. That might be the day I finally lose it.

Tesla’s “Love Song” Will Find a Way Back to You…Yeah

During most road trips, at some point the radio channel gets switched over to Hair Nation. Well this trip was no different. What bad-ass late 80’s gem was playing this time? Why Tesla’s “Love Song” that’s what. The perfect combination of soft acoustic guitar work and in your face ROCK!  This power ballad takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotion. If I had had a lighter I would have sparked it up as I was singing along with the “doot doot doot n’ doots” at the end of the song. Revisit all the hair bandy goodness below. There are a lot of sweet mullets in this video. Careful ladies, don’t fall in love.

Unfortunately, the official video from back then excluded the killer guitar solo at the beginning. If you want to hear the entire song as God and Tesla intended, check out this link.

All in all it was a pretty good trip.  Plenty of tunes. Plenty of road rage. If you see me cruising down the interstate sometime, go ahead and wave. I might just stop the “doot doot doot n’ doots” and wave back.