The songs I can't stop listening to 12/28/12

1. Joseph Arthur - "Gypsy Faded"
2. Autolux - "Headless Sky"
3. Hunx And His Punx - "Too Young To Be In Love"
4. Fiona Apple - "Paper Bag"
5. Talib Kweli & Z-Trip - "Fly Away"
6. Tori Amos - "Pancake" (with "Ohio" [Neil Young] bridge)
7. Chicago - "25 Or 6 To 4"
8. Björk - "Hunter"

Theme songs for my Christmas holiday...some of them follow a pattern, others don't.

"Gypsy Faded" (written by Joseph Arthur, all rights reserved)

I'm ready and I'm letting go now
That is what I'm doing
And that's what this turmoil has been about
That and the rumors of who you've been screwing

I'm not burying my head in the sand
I say this with peace, love and understanding
I'm glad you're at some kind of peaceful place now
But darling you were definitely the last one of us standing

When you gypsy faded on us
I needed to say goodbye
But you gypsy faded on us

I guess there's always a chance of us coming back together
But that seems unlikely in this kind of weather
I just never saw it coming so forgive me the shock
Of becoming a stranger walking down my own block

I'm getting over it though
You are fading from my view
And soon I hope you will be gone
As I have been gone for you
I do however want to say that I wish you the best
Past the anger of betrayal and the need to second guess

When you gypsy faded on us
I needed to say goodbye
But you gypsy faded on us
Bye, bye

And I don't feel you anymore, oh
We were holding phantom hands
And I don't feel you anymore, oh
We were holding phantom hands

I don't want to stir this all back up
But leaving it vague has proved extra painful for me
It's easier to deal with things like this when they are clear
Whereas once I was blind, I can finally see
And like that old saying goes, when you let your bird fly
She comes back to you if she is really yours and free
Well this time you didn't come back so I guess you weren't mine
I still love you of course but I let go of the need

When you gypsy faded on us
I needed to say goodbye
But you gypsy faded on us
Bye, bye

Now you get what you wanted
Not to have anyone
Just to be all alone
Like a breeze inside a stone...

Why won't you do it with me?
I want to do it with you.

You are my bad boy
My little pile of joy.

When I saw you
I knew you were the one.
The way you looked at me
When it had only just begun.

And I went crazy again today, lookin' for a strand to climb
Lookin' for a little hope
Baby said he couldn't stay, wouldn't put his lips to mine
And a failure to kiss is a failure to cope
And I said honey, I don't feel so good, don't feel justified
Come on, put a little love here in my void
He said it's all in your head and I said so's everything but he didn't get it
I thought he was a man but he was just a little boy

She's got her ticket
I think she's gonna use it
Think she's gonna fly away...

Geek out.

You could have spared
her -- oh but no
Messiahs need
people dying in their
name

Shift gears real fast to old Chicago.

You could smell it
So you left me on my own
To complete the mission
Now I'm leaving it all behind

I'm going hunting
I'm the hunter...

The songs I can't stop listening to (12/21/12)

What a week. National tragedy. Oy. Also, the holidays. Ugh.

1. Lucero - "Sometimes"
2. Beirut - "The Penalty"
3. Tom Waits - "Ol' 55"
4. Low - "Just Like Christmas"
5. Kristin Hersh - "Rubidoux"
6. Destroyer - "Rubies"
7. The Innocence Mission - "No Storms Come"
8. Mayer Hawthorne and the County - "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out"
9. De La Soul w/ Jungle Brothers & Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest - "Buddy"

Hometown boys.

The road from Tennessee
It shakes and rattles to the bone
The hills of Arkansas are filled with haunted lakes and ghosts
Oh, and sometimes I hear them on those lonesome nights
Oh, and sometimes I hear them call to me
Boy, you must find your own way
No man goes beyond his days
You and your brothers watch out for each other always

Like an ancient day and I'm on trial
Let them seize the way, this once was an island
And I could not stay for I believed them
Left for the lights always in season

And now the sun's coming up, I'm riding with Lady Luck,
freeway cars and trucks,
Stars beginning to fade, and I lead the parade

Here, a Christmas song that doesn't suck:

I hope you find your hunger
in a hungry world

Find your way
Discover things that are dark
Shadowy figures babbling on about typical rural shit
I wave bye to them in a modern way and increase my stay at
the dock of the bay

So I started listening to this song randomly on the day of the Sandy Hook shootings, and then yesterday a close friend lost a lot in an actual storm, and it was even more poignant, so this is sort of about that for me this week:

I have desired to go
Oh, I have asked to go
Where a few lilies blow
To fields where flies no sharp and sided hail
And springs not fail
And springs not fail

And I have asked to be
Oh, I have asked to be
Out of the swing of the sea
Where the green swell is in the heavens won
And no storms come
And no storms come

If you like good, current soul, Mayer Hawthorne is for you.

And if you are awesome and like old hip-hop, then De La Soul is definitely for you.

The songs I can't stop listening to (12/14/12)

1. Los Muñequitos de Matanzas - "Coros de Clave"
2. Here We Go Magic - "How Do I Know"
3. Presidents Of The United States Of America - "Lump" (live Daytrotter Session)
4. Paul Duncan - "Red Eagle"
5. David Berkeley - "All Those Ashes"
6. Tame Impala - "Desire Be, Desire Go"
7. Michael Bublé - "A Foggy Day (In London Town)"
8. Cake - "Open Book"

So we start with a little Cuban rumba music. Something different.

How do I know if I love you?
When you've drawn the imaginary line
The way that you walk in two steps behind
How do I know if I love you?

You know you love this song.

This song, by Paul Duncan, is absolutely beautiful.

As is this song by David Berkeley. I saw him open for Garrison Starr and was sold from the first few notes he sang.

Feel it come
I don't know how long it's gonna stay with me
I'll let desire be
Desire go

Just a great version of this old song.

But you're caught in your own glory
You are believing your own stories
Writing your own headlines
Ignoring your own deadlines
But now you've gotta write them all again.

The songs I can't stop listening to 12/7/12

Analyzing the emotion of "anger" this week. I'm not an impetuous person, and I'm extremely slow to anger. But when my anger is activated, wow; and when the proverbial straw breaks the camel's back, sometimes one has no choice but to let loose. Some of these songs work within those ideas, and others are perfect for the calm that comes after the storm.

1. Calexico - "Black Heart"
2. Nickel Creek - "Ode To A Butterfly"
3. Philip Glass - "Closing" (from Glassworks)
4. Michael Musika - "The Spellbound Traveler Loses All Possession"
5. Phosphorescent - "Little" (Pts. 1 and 2)
6. Jason Lytle - "Your Final Setting Sun"
7. The Wedding Present - "You're Dead"
8. Tori Amos - "Winter"
9. David Mead - "Chutes And Ladders"

Sifting through the remains
One man's close pursuit is another man's
Last chance, make it through the divide
Last chance, suffer the weight or get buried by this

Black heart, sweeping over the land
Black heart, crawling its way
To the four corners of the world

I could listen to this Nickel Creek tune forever, I think.

And the calming brilliance of Philip Glass.

tomorrow I'll be leaving on a train
...
I'll probably place your picture in some book
with other photographs
to remind me every time that I should look
and maybe realize all the precious times
that I have left behind

it was the darkest darkest night
in the worstest part of town
and the dirtiest dirtiest rain
was falling falling down
and the blackest blackest man
with the smallest smallest child
riding on his shoulders
with the biggest biggest smile
and her biggest biggest hair
made the darkest softest ring
the perfect little halo
on her perfect little head

That light you see is the setting sun
I know you seen a few friend but tonight is gonna be your final one
That light you see is the setting sun
I know you love this life but say goodbye this is your final setting sun

This is just an epic break-up song. If you're going through that, you'll appreciate it.

when you buried your face into my chest
your little hiding place, i would never have guessed
what a little cheat you are
what a liar you'd turn out to be
how we even got this far
is a mystery

...
I know we won't be making up because...
Bang bang! You're dead!

...

So now want to apologize well
that comes as no surprise
cause i can read you
and i don't need you
this time you went too far
and i know exactly what you are
i understand you
and i can't stand you

but how come during times like this
i still want your touch and i want your kiss
it's insane and i can't explain why
you're not the one for me although
i just can't seem to let you go
you appall me
Okay, call me...

i run off where the DRIFTS GET DEEPER
sleeping beauty trips me with a frown
i hear a voice
"you must learn to stand up for yourself
cause i can't always be around"

he says when you gonna make up your mind
when you gonna love you as much as i do
when you gonna make up your mind
cause things are gonna CHANGE so fast
all the white horses are still in bed
i tell you that i'll always want you near
you say that things change my dear

And we'll cancel out all the hate, anger 'n' reflection songs with this sweet love ditty from David Mead:

The songs I can't stop listening to 11/30/12

1. Marnie Stern - "Transparency Is The New Mystery"
2. iammiwhoami - "; john"
3. Active Child ft. How To Dress Well - "Playing House (Houses remix)"
4. Phosphorescent - "Reasons To Quit" (Willie Nelson cover)
5. Tori Amos - "iieee"
6. Rage Against The Machine - "Calm Like A Bomb"
7. Barenaked Ladies - "In The Drink"

Marnie Stern rocks, hard.

In order to see it
You've got to believe it
I do.
You said to try patience
I know that I'm ready
I'm waiting for you
You're with them
Can't you tell?
You're like me
I'm too late
You've got her.

If you listen to nothing else in this mix, listen to iamamiwhoami. Epic and beautiful, both sonically and visually.

May the god of me protect my soul
As I stay a little while longer
In this dusty rabbit hole
To sing my song chained onto your bed.

Don't want to be in love just with any body
I'm tired of being just  Mr. Anybody
So baby come with me, let's just make a body, between us
I need you to see me

Reasons to quit I can't afford the habit all the time
I need to be sober I need to write some new songs that will rhyme
Reasons to quit they have no rhyme or reason when you're high
And the reasons to quit don't outnumber all the reasons why

just say yes
you little arsonist
you're so sure you can save
every hair on my chest
just say yes

We need more like Rage Against the Machine right now. There's a reason so many of the Powers That Be consider them to be so subversive:

This ain't subliminal
Feel the critical mass approach horizon
The pulse of the condemned
Sounds off America's demise
The anti-myth rhythm rock shocker
Yes I spit fire
Hope lies in the smoldering rubble of empires

I'm in the drink for love
And I want to drink your love
Swimmin' a swim in the suds
I want to drink your
Blood!