Friday CJ Random 11

It's one more random than 10!

Once again, only one song I rated actually showed up. It's like my iPod and I are living out "Master and Servant."

1) "We Can Work It Out," The Beatles. Life is very short/and there's no time/for fussing and fighting my friend. Too bad they couldn't take their own advice. Those who can't do, write incredible songs about what they can't do. This has my full day's supply of awesome.

2) "Other Dogs Remain," Robert Pollard. No songwriter in the last 20 years has written as many good songs or as many bad songs as the former Guided by Voices leader. Sometimes you get shimmering pop that makes you wonder how this man never became a household name. Other times you get stuff that sounds like it was conceived, written, arranged, and produced in the john. This is kind of in both camps, with a nice foundation but synths that seem bussed in from another song.

3) "Trip Through Your Wires," U2. I saw them on this tour (Joshua Tree). Say what you will about Bono, but I will not forget how he managed to make the vast Rosemont Horizon in Chicago feel very intimate. I don't think we got any Am I buggin' ya? I don't mean to bug ya that night, which probably helped.

4) "I Apologize," Hüsker Dü. A great slice of punk energy whapped in the knees by 80s production. The guitar sounds like it's in the next county and the snare tries to be tough but is way too refined, like it's extending its pinky while drinking a shot of whiskey.

5) "Super Baby," Matthew Sweet. DiMaggio! Sweet gets on base again for the fourth straight week, this time legging out an infield single. This has the opposite problem of "I Apologize"—he tries to sound gritty and edgy when he should be shiny and refined. Still pretty good.

6) "The Mary Martin Show," The New Pornographers. Three albums and I like every single one of their songs, a real rarity for me. This is great rollicking pop, with thick, sweet keyboard flourishes that are like Mallomars for your ears. They're the band I would most like to see live.

7) "Dash 7," Wilco. The quiet, sparse acoustic guitar and mellow, brilliant pedal steel guitar perfectly match the color of the winter morning sun coming through the window. I love moments like that.

8) "Spectacle," Velvet Revolver. I hate their band name but like the band, as 60% of Guns 'N' Roses is still better than 100% of most bands, including 100% of Stone Temple Pilots. Here's what I don't get about VR: they have Slash, Duff, and Matt Sorum from GNR, then add Some Other Dude from Some Other Band on guitar. Seriously, would it have been that hard to get Izzy Stradlin to join? What was he too busy doing? Waiting for Axl to ask him to play on Chinese Democracy? Shopping for more porkpie hats?

9) "Blood Free (Live)," Gang of Four. I only recently checked these guys out because all the cobag hipster critics say bands like Bloc Party borrowed heavily from Gang of Four. If by "borrowed," they mean "made enjoyable to listen to," I completely concur. You know, I can yell out of tune about how I feel lost in a faceless, shallow, materialistic society, too. That doesn't mean I'd want to buy my own CD.

10) "Gone for Good," The Shins. I tried unsuccessfully to sue the makers of Garden State because The Shins didn't change my life, as Natalie Portman promised they would. The lawyers successfully countered that The Shins had, because I had not previously filed a frivolous lawsuit. Very clever. This song is like Dash 7's happy, well-adjusted brother, with peppy steel guitar and a bouncy acoustic guitar melody. I'm good enough, I'm catchy enough, and doggone it, people like to play me. Also the first rated tune to show up this week. Thanks for throwing me a bone, Apple.

11) "Temptation," New Order. This song will always, always, always remind me of The Lovely Becky. Substance came out the year before we started dating, which tells you how long we've been together. The line No, I've never met anyone quite like you before pretty much sums up why we're still together.

And if that's too sappy of an ending this week, tough cookies. Like Samantha Fox once sang, naughty girls need love too. Except replace naughty with sarcastic, girls with bloggers, and love with to express their feelings in a straightforward manner.

Have a good weekend!