Party Shuffle

First 15 shuffled songs on my iTunes. Nothing skipped, nothing doctored.

"Video Killed the Radio Star"
Buggles
The Age of Plastic

The quintessential example of a bloated, over-produced New Wave hit that was typical of the late 70's/early 80's. You can hear the countless man-hours that were spent laboring over this one song in the studio just by how much stuff is crammed onto the track -- extensive overdubbing, the inclusion of random sounds and noises, an instrumental coda of nearly an entire minute in length. It is a morbidly obese song, and I love it.

And of course...first music video ever played on MTV blah blah blah blah blah. This is one of those universally-understood bits of useless trivia that only impresses people who were born yesterday, then subsequently found residence under a rock.

"Take Lots with Alcohol"
Alkaline Trio
From Here to Infirmary

A great song off of my favorite Alkaline Trio -- yeah, better than Godamnit!

I recently added their new album to my iTunes, but I haven't gotten the chance to listen to it at any length yet. I'm hoping it isn't anything like their second to last album, Crimson. The beauty of early Alkaline Trio is their ability to be dark, sullen, self-destructive, and infectiously fun. In recent years, they've been JUST dark. A return to something closer to their roots would be appreciated.

"Mikey Rocks"
The Cool Kids
The Bake Sale

I like the lazy, slurring beat.








"Ready For The Floor"
Hot Chip
The Warning

They quickly became one of my favorite new ultra-cool, hyper-hip electronica dance groups immediately after this album came out. The production is so slick and infectious. They just know how to make things sound good.

"She"
Saves the Day
In Reverie

Yeah, the album was universally hated; it was the beginning of the end for Saves the Day's run as a band of any viable success, be it commercial or creative or otherwise. In a best case scenario, everything about this song -- the sugary-sweet lyrics, the soulful plucking of the acoustic guitar, the starry-eyed vocal delivery -- should have come across as disingenuous...and in a worst case scenario, this song should have come across as completely castrated and limp-wristed.

"She is a dying dandelion / Floating on the breeze / Twirling sweetly in the evening / She is the stars glowing gorgeously / She is the sloping clouds / Forever scrolling / Unfolding."

That's just really kind of weak.

But somehow, it works for me. I actually think this is a very strong track. I like it a lot. I see it as a sincere and heartfelt ode to a girl he knows. This should be a completely phony song, but it isn't.

"Hypnotize"
The Notorious B.I.G.
Life After Death

This track is, and always has been, my jam.

"Bang every MC, easily."

True that, Big.



"The Sun Also Sets"
Ryan Adams
Easy Tiger

I normally like literary references in my music. I usually find it charming and clever when musicians goof around with noteworthy quotes or book titles. But for whatever reason, I hate Adams' play on words here of Hemingway's The Sun Also Sets. It just bugs me. It looks hackneyed to me, looks totally devoid of any originality. It's akin to giving a song a tongue-in-cheek title like The Old Man And The Ocean, or something equally as lame. And keep in mind, I don't even like The Sun Also Rises! It's boring; he travels to Spain, he watches some bull fights, and then the story is over. Definitely not one of my favorite Hemingway novels.

As for the actual song, I uploaded this album a long time ago but have never gotten around to actually sitting down and listening to it. The smart thing would be to listen to this song now, but I'm restless and want to keep moving.

"She's Leaving Home"
The Beatles
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band

"Father snores as his wife gets into her dressing gown / Picks up the letter that's lying there / Standing alone at the top of the stairs / She breaks down and cries to her husband, 'Daddy, our baby's gone' / Why would she treat us so thoughtlessly? / How could she do this to me?"

That verse always gets to me. It's legitimately heart-breaking. And the final two lines are are truly revealing of human nature. Not to get too hung up on psychobabble, but it's a very astute sociological observation: the us will always, instinctively, give way to the I.

And I love the harps.

"Fit But You Know It"
The Streets
A Grand Don't Come For Free

A few years ago, I was convinced that the best hip hop was coming out of the United Kingdom -- the Streets, Lady Sovereign, Dizzee Rascal, etc., etc. But I'm patriotically proud to say that fad has since passed and the best hip hop is, again, homegrown here in the U.S. of A.

As for this song, everything about it (the cadence, the rhyme scheme, the vernacular, the accent) used to be charming. Now, not so much. It's a gimmick that's lost its luster.

"I Will Follow You Into The Dark"
Death Cab For Cutie
Plans

Transatlanticism was an important album to me senior year in high school, but regrettably, I've discovered that I can barely listen to any Death Cab (especially any post-Transatlanticism Death Cab) without skipping, cringing, or flat out laughing at how pathetically soft it is. It's completely and thoroughly passive. And problem is, I can't relate to any of it. I'm not a meek, sad, forlorn teenager anymore; I've since grown into a confident, headstrong, accomplished adult. I guess that's the double-edged sword of getting older -- your personality makes forward progress and you grow as a person, but you're left totally incapable of enjoying sappy old bands you used to love as a kid. It's sort of a shame.

And it's too bad, because this really is a beautifully-written song.

"Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now"
The Smiths
Hatful of Hollow

"I was looking for a job, then I found a job / And Heaven knows I'm miserable now"

Morrissey isn't so much depressing as he is wildly witty.

And for all the typical rhetoric of how dark and bleak the Smiths are, it's ironic that Johnny Marr's guitar-playing is some of the brightest sounding stuff I've ever heard.


"Listen Up!"
The Gossip
Standing In The Way Of Control

Big girl's got some big pipes.

I prefer their more dancier, more upbeat tracks, but this is still a great vocal performance.



"One Day Robots Will Cry"
Cobra Starship
Viva La Cobra!

So awesome.

Music that is fun, catchy, and without pretense (and, of course, actually good) should never be maligned.



"Do You Want To Dance?"
Bobby Freeman
Do You Wanna Dance?

"Do you wanna dance and a-hold my hand / Tell me I'm your lover man / Oh baby, do you wanna dance?"

Only a pop singer from the 1950s could come up with something so cheesy, so square, and ultimately, so accurately representative of everyone's inherent yearning for affection and companionship.

It's a line that, more or less, gets it completely right.

However, the very next line -- "Do you wanna dance and make romance?" -- is monumentally awful.

"Look Back and Laugh"
Minor Threat
Complete Discography

From a musical standpoint, I really don't listen to much Minor Threat anymore. But from a philosophical standpoint, Ian MacKaye and Minor Threat (and Fugazi) still figure into my everyday life. My morals, code of ethics, personal standards -- all directly shaped, to one degree or another, by Minor Threat. They may not resonate with me aesthetically or sonically the way they used to, but they remain one of the most influential bands to me, easy.