Jazz and sunroofs

Wilco – “Far, Far Away”

Tweedy first thing for second day in a row. Early-morning life is good.

Elvis Costello – “Cheap Reward”

Travis – “Last Train”

Guided By Voices – “Her Psychology Today”

RAWK SAWNG OF THE DAY: Killswitch Engage – “World Ablaze”

Didn’t make The Sword show at Conservatory tonight, but the after-the-fact realization that I got to rock Killswitch at the office while writing a story about a military base made me feel a little better.

Clearlake – “Far Away”

The Beatles – “Getting Better”

At the office today, we were in the middle of one of our daily doom and gloom e-mail chains about the future of journalism and our paper when “Getting Better” started playing through my headphones. I thought it was curious timing, so I told my colleagues about it. Posted these lyrics in the e-mail for what I thought would be a thought-provoking dose of irony:

It’s getting better all the time
I used to get mad at my school
The teacher’s that taught me weren’t cool
You’re holding me down
Filling me up with your rules
I’ve got to admit it’s getting better
A little better all the time
I have to admit it’s getting better
It’s getting better since you’ve been mine
Me used to be angry young man
Me hiding me head in the sand
You gave me the word
I finally heard
I’m doing the best that I can
I’ve got to admit it’s getting better
I used to be cruel to my woman
I beat her and kept apart from the things that she loved
Man I was mean but I’m changing my scene
And I’m doing the best that I can
I admit it’s getting better
A little better all the time
Yes I admit it’s getting better
It’s getting better since you’ve been mine…

Instead, within seconds I was accused of being a woman-beater. While on deadline. Right – because when I think about The Beatles, I think about domestic abuse.

My co-workers because are quite possibly bigger smartasses than I am. This is why I enjoy them.

Creeper Lagoon – “Dead Man Saloon”

Golden Smog – “Another Fine Day”

TRB – “Part II (Radio Edit)”

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – “Blossom”

Cold War Kids – “Red Wine, Success!”

I’m dying to see what these guys come up with for their next record. And I’m dying to see them live. Here’s why:

Creedence Clearwater Revival - ”Long As I Can See The Light”

Creeper Lagoon – “Black Hole”

Jesse Malin – “Scars of Love”

The Soundtrack of Our Lives – “Believe I’ve Found”

Radiohead – “Planet Telex”

Doves – “Words”

BEST BAND YOU’VE PROBABLY NEVER HEARD: Varnaline – “Still Dream”

Spaced out alt-country. For fans of Wilco. Of course. From up north some place.

Everclear – “Heartspark Dollar Sign”

Red House Painters – “Smokey”

The Magpies – “Pick Up I’m Calling”

Wore my Magpies shirt for the first time today. To Wal-Mart. Classy.

Blue October – “Schizophrenia”

The Stills – “Fevered”

John Coltrane – “Equinox”

I was headed north on Classen a few minutes ago with the sunroof down and the sax came in. Coltrane, a breeze, and a bright moon is harmony. I pulled up in my driveway and kept the sunroof open for the rest of the song. Felt too good to stop without seeing it the whole way through, you know?

Breakdown: 24 songs, three locations

Little League Friday

Queens of the Stone Age – “You Got a Killer Scene There, Man…”

Stereophonics – “Caravan Holiday”

Blue October – “James”

Cold War Kids – “Hang Me Up to Dry”

The Who – “Squeeze Box”

RAWK SAWNG OF THE DAY: Priestess – “Blood”

I’m thinking I’ll start a daily feature here on Daily Tuneage. I’m thinking I’ll call it Rawk Sawng of the Day. I’m thinking Priestess is the perfect band to kick it off.

Pull off shameless lyrics like “It all started because / she wants to drain his blood” and “Before you can rip into his veins / you’d better take the reins / ’cause he’s riding into the sun,” and there’s just no way to go wrong! Fawk! Rawk!

I’m a fan of “Blood” because it really sticks out on the Hello Master album. It has a more controlled tempo, layered texture and subdued mood than the fist-to-the-face pace of the rest of the album. Wonder if this is the direction the next Priestess album takes? Wouldn’t mind, but I wouldn’t mind more rock-knuckle sandwiches, either.

BEST BAND YOU’VE PROBABLY NEVER HEARD: Clearlake – “Good Clean Fun”

I’m thinking I’ll start another daily feature here on Daily Tuneage. I’m thinking I’ll call it Best Band You’ve Probably Never Heard. I’m thinking Clearlake is the perfect band to kick it off.

Just go to the Clearlake page and check out everything you can. If Blur was more organic and focused on honest songwriting instead of quirky gimmicks, they’d sound a lot like Clearlake – one of the few bands I can call “charming” without feeling like a giant vag.

This song is one of Clearlake’s best and its off the Amber album. As far as a new album goes, the Clearlake page brings this news: “Your correspondent has been reliably informed that the new stuff sounds fantastic and is not inclined to argue…” Glad to know!

Varnaline – “Indian Summer Takedown”

Ryan Adams – “Do Miss America”

George Harrison – “I’d Have You Anytime”

Bloc Party – “Waiting for the 7:18″

Little League Hero – “I-35″

Might be my favorite LLH song. Fitting, considering what’s in store this weekend. See below.

Albert Hammond Jr. – “Bright Young Thing”

He is Legend – “The Creature Walks”

Ben Folds Five – “Sports and Wine”

I always think of the two years I lived in Ben Folds’ native North Carolina when I hear his music. You know how there’s often that unique attachment to artists from your town or state? I’ve felt that with Folds ever since “Brick” blew up when I was in eighth grade at Alexander Graham Middle School in Charlotte, N.C. I’m a fan of plenty of artists from Carolina, but I don’t feel like a hometown fan to any of them but Folds. Strange. Almost as strange as “Sports and Wine.”

Spoon – “Everything Hits at Once”

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Billy the Kid”

Stars – “He Lied About Death”

Refused – “New Noise”

Breakdown:

18 songs

7 during commute to work

9 at work

2 during commute home

Tonight is the first night we say goodbye to Little League Hero, one of the best Oklahoma bands of their time.

About seven years back, I spent some late nights at Tony Romanello and Steve Gooch’s rent house in Tulsa stuffing bubble-wrapped manila envelopes with CDs by Little League Hero and the rest of their little record label’s stellar roster. Those nights wound up being the building blocks of why I feel the way I feel about music today. I never would’ve started my own label or managed bands if it wasn’t for Tony and Gooch and Engine Shed Records. Needless to say, I’d be a very different person today if they hadn’t had me over to stuff envelopes when I was just a kid working at a record store and writing sloppy album reviews for local rags.

(I can’t continue without giving props to Joe Cinocca and Yawn Records for hooking me up with the Engine Shed dudes in the first place. So, props to Joe!)

Stuffing those envelopes was a romantic adventure for me. It was noble and just and ridiculously exciting. I was giving people a chance to hear music I felt simply had to be heard. I was part of something bigger than myself. 

I’ve seen how hundreds of labels work in the years since then. There’s no doubt Tony and Steve did it up right for their bands, even without any money, a staff or many connections in the industry. They cared and they loved the music they released. That’s rare.

Cool thing about them was they had some of the best ears around. Just check the Engine Shed catalog – it’s chock full of some of the best albums ever made in this state. Few albums have lived up to Engine Shed releases like Look! by The Pistol Arrows, Start by Little League Hero, Counting Stars by Tony Romanello and Shades of Grey by his band, TRB.

Engine Shed also put out a record by a band called Standing on Zero that never really did much outside Tulsa, but they did manage to write a few of my favorite indie pop songs to this day. The songwriter, Mike Taylor, was a regular customer at the record store where Gooch and I worked. When Standing on Zero’s bass player left after its Engine Shed release came out, I somehow wound up having a hand in helping my buddy Jarrod Major replace the departed bassist. Jarrod and I were 17 or 18 at the time, and these guys were all in their mid-20s. That was kind of a big deal for us, as ridiculous as it sounds.

And I never thought about it until now, but SOZ was one of the first bands I was involved with outside of writing about them. That’s pretty monumental considering I spent most of my college years trying to help artists of all types by doing more for them than just writing an honest review of their music. So, for what it’s worth, thanks SOZ.

Anyhow, back to this weekend’s farewell Little League gigs at The Speakeasy.

I’ve thought about Engine Shed at each of the dozens of Little League Hero shows I’ve seen since the label folded. I think they’re the only ones, aside from Tony, who are still playing as the same entity that was part of that special Engine Shed adventure.

I’ll clap for all the Engine Shed bands when LLH walks off the stage for the last time this weekend. All good things end sometime. I’m just glad I had a small hand – even a pinky – in it.

A sewer song

Ryan Adams – “Is This It?”

The Beatles – “Honey Pie”

To quote a regular customer at the record store where I once worked: “Listening to album tracks by The Beatles is like discovering your woman has another hole to stick it in.”

I’ll never forget that line no matter what degree of Alzheimer’s I suffer from or what type of anvil dents my skull.

Elvis Costello – “Tear Off Your Own Head”

The Clash – “Brand New Cadillac”

Blue October – “Into the Ocean”

Led Zeppelin – “No Quarter”

Jimmy Eat World – “Kill”

Injected – “Misunderstood”

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – “Homage”

The Feds – “Face Down”

Stone Temple Pilots – “Daisy”

They’re back. Screw Slash. Long live DeLeo.

And You WIll Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – “Days of Being Wild”

Starlight Mints – “Pulling Out My Hair”

Flickerstick – “Catholic Scars and Chocolate Bars”

Ryan Adams – “The Drugs Are Not Working”

The Flaming Lips – “Free Radicals”

Radiohead – “Sulk”

This was once my favorite song. I tried to remember why this afternoon and failed. The Bends remains one of the ten best albums ever made, even if I’ve divorced “Sulk.”

Uncle Tupelo – “Grindstone”

Wilco – “Hummingbird (live)”

Didn’t care much for A Ghost is Born the first time I heard it. Or the second. Or third. I pretty much gave up on the album for about six months until I heard some bootlegs of the songs live. This was one of them, and it completely changed everything. Now I worship Ghost just as much as the rest of the Wilco catalog.

Led Zeppelin – “The Songs Remains the Same”

Clearly the best opening songs in the history of rock and roll. If you want to argue about it, I’ll sick the hounds on you.

Shuggie Otis – “Happy House”

Rewake – “Homeless Genius”

Stevie Wonder – “You’ve Got It Bad Girl”

Wilco – “I’m Always in Love”

The Fags – “Rockstar”

Paul McCartney – “Only Mama Knows”

Never cared much for Wings, but this song is what I wish they would’ve sounded like.

Golden Smog – “5-22-02″

Breakdown:

27 songs

8 during commute to work (had a morning assignment)

16 at work

3 during commute home

I spent most of the morning with a city sewer worker for a profile story. Once we got all the sewer chatter out of the way, we wound up talking tunes. It was refreshing to hear such a simple man talk so passionately about the music he’s loved his whole life. There wasn’t a bit of pretense or cynicism coming from this guy. He loves music unconditionally. Wish I knew more like him.

 

 

Attack of the singer-songwriters

Valve – “Forever More”

Lucero – “San Francisco”

A breezy, booze-stained night at SXSW 2008. Free beers everywhere. Whiskey, too. A sloppy crowd of tattooed cowpunk types was piling into the backyard amphitheater at Red Eyed Fly. Seemed like the perfect storm for my first Lucero live experience. I was pumped.

We dropped anchor in front of a pool of 24 oz. Lone Star beers and plowed through a few of those suckers before Lucero hit the stage (later, the bass player would literally hit the stage). I was nice and numb by the time Ben Nichols and Co. stumbled in, but I’d soon witness a staggering debacle of drunken chaos that would make every booze-fueled embarrassment of my short life seem like child’s play.

Nichols made it through about two songs (and took three shots) before his voice gave out. He knew it was gone, so he didn’t bother trying to sing. Just cracked an “I’m guilty, but I don’t care” smile and shook his head at the rest of the band. They found his sorry condition equally hilarious, even as the guitarist swayed back and forth like a seesaw and drooled. Yeah, drooled. What a mess of a man. The bass player knew he was in a worthless state and had propped himself up against the back wall of the stage as a precaution. But he’d still stumble forward from time to time for no apparent reason. Eventually, he fell face down. Twice. The drummer was actually pretty solid and was clearly the only remotely sober one of the group. Nichols couldn’t sing, but he managed to to tell the crowd at least half a dozen times that he’d been “drinking since two in the afternoon.” And then he’d take another shot and light another cigarette. Completely shameless. The trainwreck was twice as entertaining as the few moments they actually hit stride, for better or worse.

Only took about three songs for us to proclaim Lucero the Drunkest Band of All Time. That’s a dubious distinction considering the folks I was with at the show. Until then, the Drunkest Band of All Time title was held by The Feds thanks to a show they put on a few years back that we all attended. It ended with a droning encore that included no actual songs but was highlighted by Matt Wright playing his guitar with the penis of a Bowling For Soup roadie who had wandered onstage.

We stumbled out of the venue midway through the Lucero set (but not until one of my comrades smoked some hash with an attorney in plain view of 500 people – ah, Austin) and saw the Ludo clan on the street. We mobbed them, and I mumbled some hogwash about Wilco to Tim Convy (fellow Wilco obsessive and Ludo Moog man). That’s pretty much the last thing I remember about the Lucero show, aside from hijacking my buddy’s Ford Contour and driving to Jack in the Box to order ten tacos at 4:30 a.m.

Thanks, Lucero. See you in Arkansas on May 1.

Fugazi – “Suggestion”

Smashing Pumpkins – “Luna”

Doves – “A House”

Head Automatica – “Please, Please, Please (Young Hollywood)”

Jesse Malin – “Lucinda”

Tom Waits – “So It Goes”

Glassjaw – “Trailer Park Jesus”

George Harrison – “Thanks for the Pepperoni”

Head Automatica – “Laughing at You”

Lots of Daryl Palumbo in the shuffle today…

Pete Yorn – “Just Another”

It’s 11:12 a.m. and I want metal. I get Pete Yorn instead. I get a Pete Yorn song I hate. Not wise to deprive a man of his metal, you pansy anti-metal iPod. Grow balls.

Josh Rouse – “Carolina”

Damnit to hell! I’m in no mood to listen to a song that begins: “Down in Tennessee / sits a girl alone.” I love this song, just can’t stomach it right now. But I’ll suffer through it; maybe I’ll calm down.

Damnit again: “In the Nashville sky / sits a diamond bright.” Fuck that nonsense. Next.

Jeff Buckley – “Back in N.Y.C.”

Singer-songwriter invasion 2008. Oh well. At least this song has some nuts to it.

The Thrills – “Saturday Night”

Attention all Affliction-shirt-wearing, Jagerbombing dudebros: “Broken beer bottles / thrown like American footballs / Hey, it’s just jocks high on hormones / Is this what they call hate on a Saturday night?” Yes, yes it is.

Social Distortion – “Ring of Fire”

Pearl Jam – “Glorified G”

AC/DC – “You Shook Me All Night Long”

Minus the Bear – “Pig War”

Mastodon – “Bladecatcher”

Finally. 1:40 p.m. is the best moment of the day thus far. Metal makes me happy when I’m stuck at the little gray desk in the big black tower.

AC/DC – “Back in Black”

Blue October – “You Make Me Smile”

Big Star – “In The Street”

The Jayhawks – “Smile”

Danny Grady – “Stay Gold”

Yet another D Grady song that’ll never see the light of day. Depressing. One of the best songs I’ve heard in the past year, and I’m one of a dozen people who has heard it. Not right.

Kill Radio – “Raised on Whip Cream”

Rose Hill Drive – “Off to the Games”

Little League Hero – “The Trick”

LLH’s last show ever is this weekend. I’ve been going to way too many “last shows” lately, it seems.

Starsailor – “At the End of a Show”

Okkervil River – “Missing Children”

Band of Horses – “Is There A Ghost”

Breakdown:

30 songs

2 during commute to work

26 at work

4 during commute home

There are four dead people (that I know of) in this playlist. Two died of cancer, one drowned in a river and the other drowned in booze. On that note, I’m off for a night of second-hand smoking, swimming and heavy drinking. A moron once told me the only way to beat death is at his own game. Apparently, I listened.