Friday CJ Random 11

It’s one more random than 10!

1) “Not Behind the Fighter Jet,” Guided by Voices. I needed a shot of this today. I’ve been in a bit of a funk all week—tired, still a bit sick, and feeling particularly unfunny, which is hell for me. This bit of catchy GbV is like a Red Bull for my mood.

2) “Dear Prudence,” The Beatles. You know when you’re making the transition from winter to spring, and you get that morning where it’s still cold, but you can tell you’ll be able to lose your jacket later in the day? This song sounds like that morning.

3) “Get What You Need,” Jet.

Butt-Head: Uh, huh-huh, what the hell is this?
Beavis: I think it’s AC/DC. Fire!
Butt-Head: No way, buttmunch. This sounds like a bunch of wusses trying to sound like AC/DC.
Beavis: Oh yeah, um, that’s what I meant to say. These guys are like too pretty to be AC/DC.
Butt-Head: You think they’re pretty? Huh-huh-huh-huh.
Beavis: Shut up, Butt-Head!
Butt-Head: You know, I’ll get what I need when I get a guitar solo that doesn’t suck.
Beavis: I’ll get what I need when I get some nachos.
Butt-Head: And boobies.
Beavis: Yeah, yeah, boobies! Boing!

4) “The Fall of the World’s Own Optimist,” Aimee Mann. Never has such pessimism sounded so catchy. Plus, I love any song that works in a rhyme with “beheading.”

5) “Debaser,” The Pixies. I am un CHIEN Andalusia! Love this song. And it works so well today, because who doesn’t want to debase our culture a little right now? You know, take both hands and yank that pole out of America’s butt?

Butt-Head: Heh, heh, you said “pole.”

6) “Mission,” King’s X. Here’s how you make Christian rock that doesn’t sound like the Gospel According to Creed or Bon Jovi singing psalms. Thick guitar riff, soulful singing, and lyrics that remind us that the point of Christianity is not to climb into your religious treehouse every Sunday to give your fellow congregants a smug reach-around.

7) “It’s a Shame About Ray,” The Lemonheads. Smells like MTV Buzz Bin. Just like the candy, the Lemonheads started out sweet but ended up sour. This is them at their sweetest.

8) “You Don’t Care Nothin’,” Rancid. Oh, but I do care about this album so very much. It was the soundtrack for my subway commute when I lived in New York. It has a glossy grit that really fit the Guilani years there. And now it would be a perfect theme song for McCain's campaign.

9) “Yellin’ in My Ear,” Operation Ivy. The iPod channels its inner Pitchfork nerd to lecture me on how Operation Ivy begat Rancid. I tell it to shut its cornhole so I can enjoy this classic bit of ska punk, with its hyper shaky guitar riff and lots of yellin’ in my ears.

10) “Hot Hot Hot,” The Cure. Oh, how TLB and I used to groove to this back in the day. Probably the most un-Cure song in their catalog, because it lets loose with unabashed fun without bludgeoning us with lyrics that say, Look, I'm not a depressed, lipsticked, power AquaNet user all the time! I can be happy! No, seriously, let me sing over and over how happy I am! I’m looking at you, “Friday I’m in Love.”

11) “Tear It All Away,” The Church. Wow, all this late 80s and early 90s music makes me feel like I should be buying an acid-washed jean jacket at County Seat. Thankfully, I’ve only held onto the music and not the fashions. Except for the skinny white leather tie in my closet. I’m getting buried with that on.

Have a good weekend. The funny will return, possibly over the weekend, as I can feel my brain hamster running in his wheel again.