After a late night of RockBand and hanging with some friends, I have another highly influenced choice, "Pretend We're Dead", which I haven't heard in years and years. L7 wasn't as popular as some other grunge bands in the 90s (e.g. Pearl Jam, Nirvana), but they may be the most successful and famous female grunge band ever. I cannot even think of another that was all women. If I were a woman I would totally want to be in an all girl band. Alas.
Speaking of bands, the "band" I am in finally got together. We played along with a couple dozen songs, had a good time, and achieved little else. We didn't play this song by L7, but I think Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" and The Pixies "Here Comes Your Man" went well! It was great!
We were joking at one point about naming the band Maggot Head. (Really it wouldn't work unless we punked up a bit.) Sadly even our joking band names appear to be taken! See!
G found this one. Too funny …and awesome, of course!
AND I'm awesome too apparently! It is awesome how many of the characteristics of his awesomeness I share. "I've got the swagger of a cripple." Check. "There's no voicemail nobody called." Check. "Physically the opposite of Randy Moss." Check.
Oh and as G pointed out, one of the instruments appears to be the "pan flute" on a synthesizer. That IS awesome!
For some reason many of the radio stations in my area are treating "Free Fallin'" like it just came out. It is on heavy rotation and now it is stuck in my head. For some reason I thought this song was release in the early 90s, not the late 80s. I think perhaps it was just on the radio so much and for so long after it came out, that it seems sort of timeless. Tom Petty's music is a kind of timeless rock anyway I suppose. I thought it somewhat appropriate that in the future portrayed by the 1997 movie "The Postman", most people had perished, but Tom Petty lived on.
A few weeks ago someone (my neighbor friend, I think) had recommended Julian Casablancas to me. Julian is best known for being the lead singer of The Strokes. I am late to the party when it comes to listening to his solo project and album "Phrazes for the Young".
I must say I love "11th Dimension" but since I first heard it, there was something too familiar. The opening notes on the synthesizer sounded like a song I had heard before. Something 1970s or 1980s-ish. The closest I could come after much searching was Animotion's "Obsession" (1985):
I included G in the puzzle though and she delivered. The clear influence is David Bowie's "Rebel Rebel" (1974):
Listen to the beginning of "11th Dimension" and then "Rebel Rebel" and you'll see what I am talking about! I still love the "11th Dimension" mind you!
It was a year ago today I decided to post a song a day. I started on facebook, and then decided to move to a blog to share with the world. After over 450 posts and songs it is still fun! I hope the second year is just as much!
So why Emiliana Torrini for today's song? Well a year ago Emiliana Torrini's song "Birds" was playing in my car CD player and I realized I didn't know anyone else who liked Emiliana Torrini enough to listen to her albums. Thus no one had probably ever heard her song "Birds", a truly awesome song but not the kind of song that would ever get much attention or radio time. I wanted to share it, so I did on facebook. One thing led to another and TSotD.com is the plant grown from that seed. It seems only appropriate to have another Emiliana Torrini song for the 1 year anniversary.
I have selected "Unemployed in Summertime" no only because I am done with winter and ready for Spring and Summer to come but also it was the first song I ever heard by Emiliana. It is off her 4th album, "Love in the Time of Science", the first one promoted outside of Iceland, her home country. With out Emiliana TSotD may have never existed. Thank you Emiliana! And Happy 1 Year To Me!
With the Olympics on TV, I've been seeing a lot of advertisements. There is a set of ads for "clean coal" proclaiming we need to grow our coal industry and create jobs. I am disgusted. They try to pull on your heart strings showing families and soldiers, as if not using coal will fail them, and make America fail. They even show good sources of energy like wind turbines to make you think clean coal is just as good. Are you kidding me!? Sadly, there are a lot of idiots out there who may just fall for such obvious manipulation and propaganda by "America's Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity". (click to here if you want to be manipulated.)
Here is a CBS news segment on the topic of "Clean Coal" power plants:
Investing in any fossil fuels at all is ultimately a waste of time and resources. I am with GreenDaily.com. "I know we can't just switch to solar, wind and geothermal power, but if we want to create jobs, protect the environment, reduce our global emissions, and create a sustainable energy system for future generations, it's counter-productive to put any resources into the outdated and flawed coal industry." – GreenDaily.com (Read the entire article here.)
The evidence is overwhelming that global warming, climate change, or whatever you want to call it ("humans screwing themselves" perhaps?) is real. Clean coal is not going to help. Where is Jimi when we need him to set these douche bags straight?
Lord, there's got to be some changes
Living together's gonna be a lot of re-arranges
You better be ready, lord, my lord
Just hope love comes before the summer
I vaguely recall "The Greatest American Hero" show on TV. I was pretty young. If it wasn't a cartoon it did not hold my attention, so I only really remember the theme song. So cheesy. But shouldn't it be the song of the day everyday?
Here is a longer version, possibly the radio version:
…and also the obligatory George Costanza answering machine from Seinfeld version:
