Friday CJ Random 11

It's one more random than 10!

I have to begin with a hearty thank you to author Neil Gaiman for linking to me in one of his journal posts. I’d be lying if I said that didn’t make my week. And I extend a laurel and hearty handshake to all the new visitors who came by this week. Hope you enjoy the blog, and I apologize for the beer cans everywhere. My housekeeper left for reasons I can't legally disclose.

Let’s get rocked.

1) “Let It Dive,” ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. I feel ridiculous every time I type their name in the Random 11. Possibly the worst band name of all time. However, a good, soaring track from their uneven World’s End album, and a pretty hypnotic YouTube video.

2) “Just Another Whistle Stop,” The Band. A great song for Bossy’s Road Trip. If you haven’t read about her planned 10,000 mile journey, go read about it. It will be the coolest thing any blogger does this year, and she will undoubtedly deliver sidesplitting posts about her journey.

3) “Staring Down the Gift Horse,” New Bomb Turks. I was at Culver’s last night, getting a salad. Yes, you read that correctly. I decided to go back on the South Beach Diet and jumpstart my weight loss, and Culver’s make a mean Chicken Cashew Salad. Anyway, as I waited in the drive through, I saw this kid wearing a jean jacket that had all kinds of studs in it, with a small Rancid patch on the side. That didn’t surprise me much, but when he turned his back to me, he had a huge Bad Brains patch on the back. It made me smile to see someone who looks like he wasn’t ready to shave yet getting his old-school punk on. This song reminded me of that, because New Bomb Turks Scared Straight is the best punk album I’ve heard since Green Day made punk chic again. I hope Bad Brains, Jr. has it in his collection.

4) “Photograph,” Def Leppard. True story: I blew out a pair of new speakers in a car while driving away from the installation place by cranking this song. Also true and much sadder story: they are going to play on Dancing With the Stars on April 29. Uh, rise up, boogie down, determine your final scores, write ‘em down? Not quite the same, is it? They are also touring with Styx and REO Speedwagon. I hate myself for wanting to go to that show.

5) “Moonlapse Vertigo,” Opeth. Scandinavian death metal is perfect for today, because the temperature is only going to go to 11. The Cookie Monster vocals also capture how my aching throat has felt all week. I would have really dug this when I was chasing demons across the Outer Planes with my magic-user and his crystal ball that said “Bad Motherfucker.”

6) “This River Is Wild,” The Killers. John Hughes would have included these guys in every one of his movies.

7) “English Civil War,” The Clash. A great song that would have been even better if they replaced “Hoo-rah” with “Huz-zah!” Huzzah needs to make a comeback.

8) “Physical (You’re So),” Nine Inch Nails. I have made fun of teh Reznor, but this is a hell of a cover of an Adam and the Ants song. Dare I say he squashes the ant version? The video here is like Tiger Goth Beat.

9) “Dear John,” Aimee Mann. Truly the queen of the three-minute pop song. She has so many incredible songs like this, and yet no real hits outside of “Voices Carry.” That’s why the music industry sucks. Funny audience video here where Aimee forgets her lyrics.

10) “Lose Control,” Ash. Starts with a sample of a Tie Fighter noise and then unleashes a fully-operational guitar assault. This would be a fantastic Guitar Hero or Rock Band song.

11) “Rough Boys,” Pete Townshend. You know how the conservative knobs over at the National Review tried to coopt some great rock songs and give them conservative meanings? I think this would be perfect for a montage of Republican senators caught in sex scandals. Gonna get inside you indeed. My favorite Townshend solo song and one of his best compositions. If only Keith had lived long enough to play the drums and star in the video.

Have a great weekend.