Many of you may know this as the opening song to the show "Chuck", but the real fans knew it well before then. I've always thought Cake's spoken word singing, but not rap, was well executed. They always have a good bass line going too! (Perhaps that is why G is frequently playing it. She is s sucker for a good bass line these days.)
The German dude at the end of the video sums it up best. "It Rocks!"
If you want to hear it without the commentary from the listeners, here is the song on its own:
This is not my week. My iPod has stopped working. It appears to be so low on power it cannot make it all the way through the boot up process (at least that is what my research tells me) and the best way to fix it is to charge it in an outlet charger instead of the USB cable. Unfortunately I don't have one of those, and so now I am waiting for it to be shipped to me.
Then G's laptop stopped charging entirely because it is a Dell and the adapter has a special wire that tells the computer it is a Dell adapter and it is probably either borken or fried due to our insufficient use of surge protectors (or at least that is what my research tells me, once again) and so we are awaiting a new adapter too, though she can use her laptop still, just the batter refuses to charge unless the adapter is Dell. Annoying as hell and the adapter is stupidly expensive but it gets better.
Then last night between 6 and 8 PM my computer's hard drive dies. I spend all the remaining hours that any electronics store is open trying to see if I can get it to come back to life, but no. (My research tells me) I am screwed and my best bet if I care about anything on the drive is to go buy a new drive and set up the old one a a slave. I've done that before, but now it just seems like maybe I should not be touching any computers for a while.
I am fearful of what computer or electronics component will fail next. I did nothing to cause any of these (except perhaps the iPod… I let it get too low.) Perhaps the router will die next? The DVD player? Our TV?
As the saying goes "when it rains it pours". "When It Rains It Snows" seems like a nice twist to it though. Because I don't even feel like I have time to deal with this because I already had a weekend full of plans. Excuse me now as I go and scream! (And then go to the store to buy a new drive!)
This was the second album I bought. Ever. Crazy that I remember, but I stand by my purchase to this day. They Might Be Giants' is definitely a favorite of mine to this day. I have seen them in concert enough times I've lost count.
Their songs are clever, funny, fun, quippy, and easy to sing along to. They are musical geeks and as a geek I appreciate them immensely. They are arguably one of the fathers (if not THE fathers) of "Geek Rock". Over the years they have solidified their geekiness by producing songs, and entire albums, packed with facts and trivia. On top of that they wear their quirkiness on their sleeves and show it in their dancing (just watch the "Birdhouse in Your Soul" video) like geek heroes!
I admit, I've been holding out on by not posting any TMBG up until now. More to come for sure! And yes I chose the 47 seconds long "Minimum Wage". It is just brilliant. Nay… genius! I'm still geeking out about it.
This song is great. A celebration of the present. "Our Time In Eden" is a great album too. It is really the apex of Natalie Merchant and 10,000 Maniacs, together or separate. I recall it being a bit of a scandal when she left the band, especially just as they "made it" and were on MTV Unplugged and all. The songs I've heard by either after the break up do not measure up, though I cannot say I've heard the latest albums at all.
G has a really bad cough at night. Only at night though. Basically it has meant no sleeping for either one of us. I feel like Michael Stipe looks in this music video. I am all zombified today.
I am biased. This was the first album I bought. I clearly remember riding in my brother's car as we were driving through the mountains, this album playing on tape, when it hit me: I loved music and I needed this album as soon as I could get my hands on it. It was not long before I had acquired all the albums R.E.M. had produced and to this day I think of R.E.M. as "my favorite band", though I must admit I am partial to the pre-"Up" albums.
Lots of people do not like R.E.M. and it usually falls one of two ways:
1. "all their music sounds the same" – They definitely have a sound that is common to multiple songs, particularly on their albums before "Out of Time". Also Michael Stipe's voice is not hard to pick out. I suppose to the casual listener, yes, it all sounds "the same" but the same could be true of most musicians then from my point of view. If you like that sound, as I do, then I fail to see how this is an issue. If you do not like the sound, I can't help you there. Listen to something completely different I guess, like this, that, or maybe even this
2. "shiny happy people, everybody hurts, and emotional themes" – I use to work with this big tough guy who was indeed a big and tough guy, and we would discuss music on occasion. He basically could not get over the overt happiness or sadness expressed in these songs without the cover of a heavier rock or country sound to make it sound more masculine and tough. For these men in R.E.M. to write these revealing and compromising emotional songs is part of what is endearing to me though. I feel I have always been able to relate to the awkwardness and uncertainty in life they portray. I suppose they are not a band for those who cannot handle it, relate to it, or would rather hide a facade.
