Here’s another post with the touch of Money Mark on it.  He teamed up with Tommy Guerrero and Shawn Lee to form Lord Newborn & The Magic Skulls.

This is my favorite from their self-titled debut from 2009.

Rock out with your socks out, and enjoy.

[UPDATE: Originally posted "A Phase Shifter I'm Going Through," but copyright people removed the audio from the YouTube video.]

Song: Astro Blue
Artist: Lord Newborn & The Magic Skulls
Album: Lord Newborn & The Magic Skulls
Label: Ubiquity Records
Buy from: Amazon | iTunes

4/100 – Copper by Harry Chapin

I can’t believe this is only the fourth time I’ve done this. There are so many songs that are important in my life.

My mom’s favorite artist is Harry Chapin. Naturally, I listened to a lot of Harry Chapin when I was little. Harry Chapin is secretly best known for writing “Cats in the Cradle,” though he is not the one who is usually associated with the song. I had a few favorite Harry Chapin songs through my childhood – Mail Order Annie, Corey’s Coming – but nothing got my little 8-year-old self singing and tapping my toes like Copper, a song that is pretty much only on one of Harry Chapin’s albums, and we only own it on vinyl.

As I’ve grown up, my brain has developed a bit more (amazing!!) and I’ve been able to actually get an idea of what this song means and is about, though I don’t really know. I think it is about a police man who gets extra money from a store owner by keeping tabs on his store extra, and then the store owner says something about it in front of the police man’s kid and the cop gets angry and then that’s where the story starts. Maybe, I mean I have been wrong before.

Harry Chapin is a phenomenal story teller. The majority of his songs are stories. Mail Order Annie is about a guy who picks up his mail order bride, named.. Annie. Corey’s Coming is a story of a young man who hears this old crazy guy, John Joseph, always talk about this girl, Corey, that nobody in the town knows of and thinks doesn’t exist. Then the guy dies and it’s just the young man and the grave digger and preacher guy, and he says “if you’re a relative, he had a peaceful end” that’s when she said “my name is Corey.. you could say I’m just a friend.” Schooled those townsfolk! Man, Harry Chapin is just awesome.

Back to the song, though. The bridge of the song is my favorite part. In deciding what song to use as my 4th song for the soundtrack to my life, I caved and used 99 cents of my Amazon gift card to buy the MP3 and have listened to it on repeat the entire time I’ve been writing this blog entry, and it’s the best 99 cents I’ve spent all day. I wish I could link you to a video or something of the song, but I’ve never been able to find one. Sorry

I Concentrate on You—Cole Porter, 1939 (Recorded Jan. 25, 2011) Written by Porter for the Fred Astaire-Eleanor Powell movie musical, Broadway Melody of 1940. In the film, Douglas McPhail sang the song dressed as a masked harlequin as Powell began to dance in a ballet sequence, to be joined later in the number by Astaire. As with most popular Cole Porter tunes, lots of singers and instrumentalists recorded this, including Chris Connor, Johnny Hartman, Frank Sinatra with Tom Jobim, Oscar Peterson, and Cal Tjader. The current version of this song is newly recorded as of Jan. 28. I thought the old one sub-par. Not that this one is super-par, but, uh, well…you know what I mean.

There’s a Cabin in the Pines—Billy Hill, C. 1936 (Recorded Jan. 28, 2011) Here’s a fine Western-style Tin Pan Alley tune written by the underappreciated Billy Hill. Hill was born and raised in Massachusetts but went west as a young man to experience the wide open spaces. His travels in Big Sky country led him to write many songs with a Western theme, among them the popular “Empty Saddles” and “The Last Roundup,” but his most-recorded song turned out to be the very un-cowboyesque “The Glory of Love.” I picked this tune up from a Bing Crosby recording, and Mildred Bailey waxed a nice version, too. Funny, but I recorded this over and over again, each attempt foiled by one mishap or another (cat meowing, dog coughing with a jingling collar, simple insufficiency on my part, pet tortoise making a racket [you'd be surprised at how much noise tortoises can make]). When I finally got what I thought was a near-perfect take, I looked down and noticed that I had cut the volume level down to zero for some reason and the effort was wasted. Aaahhh! After maybe 15 tries I finally got another acceptable track, and this is it.

Make My Cot Where the Cot-Cot-Cotton Grows—Le Soir/Doll/Klein, 1927 (Recorded Jan. 25, 2011) I cut this tune as a demo for a friend of mine who is going to acquire the Bruno banjo uke used in the recording. The California Ramblers did it, as did Red Nichols’ Stompers. More recently it was featured on the Chasin’ Rainbows album by R Crumb and His Cheap Suit Serenaders.

Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries—B. DeSylva/L. Brown/R. Henderson, 1931 (Recorded Jan. 24, 2011) This is the quintessential song of theatrical revue performances. It premiered in George White’s Scandals of ’31, with a cast that included Ethel Merman introducing the tune, in addition to Ray Bolger, Alice Faye, and Rudy Vallee. Here, I do a slightly comic take on “Cherries” (the song always made me laugh), and I use the appropriate 1920s Epiphone banjo uke tuned up to “D,” bringing the pitch higher as I am having a bit of a hoarse throat today which has limited my lower singing range.

Don’t Worry ’bout Me—R. Bloom/T. Koehler, 1939 (recorded Jan. 21, 2011) This tune was introduced by Cab Calloway at the Cotton Club, and lots of artists recorded it subsequently, most notably Sinatra on his moody 1957 ballad album, Where Are You? I learned this tune years ago but I haven’t played it in ages, so for this recording I had to do quite a bit of brushing up. So far on all of these recordings I’ve used the Earnest Instruments “La Paula” uke, which has a new set of Aquila NylGut strings. Even though the uke is modeled after an electric guitar (a Les Paul, to be exact), it’s a hollow-bodied thing and has a nice acoustic sound.

A Bad Case of the Blues—Clyde Otis, 1956 (Recorded Jan. 20, 2011) Here’s a tune that I learned from a Dinah Washington recording. “The Queen of the Blues” really burned through life. Married seven times and dead at the age of 39, Washington was the powerhouse of mid-Century R&B. One of her purported lovers, Quincy Jones, said of her musical style, “[she] could take the melody in her hand, hold it like an egg, crack it open, fry it, let it sizzle, reconstruct it, put the egg back in the box and back in the refrigerator and you would’ve still understood every single syllable.” I love her and listen to her every chance I get.

Shake Down the Stars—J. Van Heusen/E. De Lange, 1940 (Recorded Jan. 19, 2011) During the late 1970s, as I was finalizing the transition of my musical interests from rock/pop to jazz/pop, I borrowed from the library a cassette tape (remember cassettes?) collection of the Sinatra/Dorsey sessions, and I promptly duped it and listened to it until the tape media wore out and fell apart. I learned many of my first ukulele numbers by listening to those early Sinatra hits, and “SDtS” was one of them. This song was first made popular by the Glenn Miller orchestra. Ella Fitzgerald also cut a side of it.

Hate to Talk About Myself—R. Whiting/L. Robin/R. Rainger, 1935 (Recorded Jan. 19, 2011) Here’s a novelty tune I learned from a recording by the great Fats Waller. Years ago I bought two 2-CD sets of Waller’s music on RCA-Bluebird, Fats Waller and His Rhythm, reissued and produced by Orrin Keepnews with informative annotations by Dan Morgenstern and Mike Lipskin. There were a number of other sets available at the time that delved into different time periods in Waller’s brief but prolific career, but my guess is that those discs are now out of print. I shall have to hunt them down on eBay one of these days.

Mochi Beats has released a full length album mixtape. it covers over 40 minutes and 100 different songs mashed up. this is one of the best mashup mixtapes i’ve heard in a very long time. the song selection and fluidity is excellent. download this mixtape for your next party!!

Mochi Beats – The Album

this dude is definitely one of my new favorite mash up artists. amazing job.

#3. Hanson – MMMBop (youtube)

Every aspect of life is life changing; small decisions can alter the course of your life.. refer to the movie The Butterfly Effect. However, I believe that in our lives we have a few big moments, moments that don’t just change the course of our lives but change our identity.

In 1997, I had an encounter with someone that would change my life forever. I was in the Zone at The Salvation Army’s Camp Arnold. A boy at the table looked over at me and told me I reminded him of Taylor Hanson, to which I shrugged; I had never heard of this person. Every time they were near me, they would sing this Mmmbop song.. and when I got home I decided to buy this strange CD.

And I loved it. At some point, I acquired the Mmmbop single. My dad recently reminded me of this when he reminisced about a long drive we once took where he let me play any CD I wanted and my 12-year-old self put in the Mmmbop single. Twenty minutes into the five hour drive, my dad looked at me and asked if the CD had any other songs. I laughed, and we kept driving through the early morning, listening to Mmmbop.

I became a Hanson Fan. From what I’ve heard about the TV show LOST, it’s about a bunch of people who go through something that they share and is inexplainable to those who didn’t experience it. This is how I see living as a Hanson fan. There are few (music) fandoms I know of that take up so much of your identity. In recent times, I’d compare this to Harry Potter or Twilight. You know what I’m talking about if you have ever encountered someone who really deeply loves either of these.

However, when I was fifteen my love of Hanson started to wane from fanatical to just deep. I wish I could say the same for some of my fellow Hanson fans, but they are as infatuated with them as they were when we were twelve. Except now they have credit cards of their own, and I applaud Hanson for brilliantly using this to their advantage.

All of this to say that I owe a huge part of my identity to Hanson and their music and the song Mmmbop, although it has never been my favorite of their songs. If I was more clever, I would’ve posted this on Hanson day… except I forget when that is. Sometime in the first week of May or something.

ps once I met Taylor Hanson!!!

As an Elvis fan, I’ve accumulated quite a number of The King’s albums over the years. From greatest hits collections to live and rare recordings, I’ve pretty much got Elvis covered when it comes to the CDs on my shelf. Unfortunately–and this tends to be the case with a lot of legendary performers–quite a bit of material gets doubled up in the process. For example, “Suspicious Minds” might show up on three or four different collections. Of course, it’s not that big of a deal, but it does take up a lot of space.

This four-disc set might not be the end-all collection of Elvis’ catalog. (And, let’s be honest, short of a definitive, 100-disc set that collects every recording the man ever made, no set ever will meet those standards.) But what this set manages to do is span a wide range of Elvis’ music, collecting 100 tracks from throughout his career, making it possible for Elvis fans to at least consolidate some of their collection.

Starting with Elvis’ self-financed demo recording of “My Happiness” in 1953 and ending with a live performance of “Unchained Melody” in 1977, the set marries the classics with the rarities, the live recordings with the demos. (Note: The set actually ends with JXL’s terrible remix of “A Little Less Conversation,” but I don’t include that song in the set because, well, it’s not Elvis.)

His Christmas classics are here (“(There’ll Be) Peace in the Valley (For Me)”), as are his gospels (“Crying in the Chapel”) and country music (“Funny How Time Slips Away”). It’s an eclectic mix, sure, but it’s hard to be entirely cohesive when you’re collecting nearly 25 years worth of recordings.

The package it comes in is darn pretty, too. The box set opens up to reveal a thick, 80-page booklet that documents the life and times of Elvis with an essay from music critic and historian Billy Altman, and a bunch of rare photos of Presley throughout his career. The design of the booklet isn’t essential to the music on the discs, but because of its attention to detail the set becomes a collectible shelf piece.

If you like Elvis but aren’t interested in getting a bunch of different discs, this comprehensive set should be more than enough for you. If you’re like me and own a bunch of this music already, pick it up and have it all in one condensed package.

Time to free up some CD shelf space,

-Shady

1. Hard Day’s Night – The Beatles
2. Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough – Patty Smyth
3. No More I Love You – Annie Lennox
4. Piano Man – Billy Joel
5. Copa Cabana – Barry Manilow

6. The Gambler – Kenny Rogers
7. You’re Still a Young Man – Tower of Power
8. Africa – Toto
9. Fantasy – Earth, Wind and Fire
10. Summer Rain – Berlinda Carlisle

11. One of Us – Joan Osbourne
12. Fixing a Broken Heart – Indecent Obsession
13. Fragile – Richard Marx
14. Saltwater – Julian Lennon
15. The Girl Who Was… Death – Devil’s Doll

16. Evolution – Symphony X
17. Total Eclipse of the Heart – Nicki French
18. Go West – Pet Shop Boys
19. Common People – Pulp
20. Sleeping Satellite – Tasmin Archer

21. Mr. Tambourine Man – Bob Dylan
22. American Pie – Billy Joel
23. Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) – Eurythmics
24. September – Earth, Wind and Fire
25. Ordinary World – Duran Duran

26. Silent Man – Dream Theater
27. Ironic – Alanis Morrisette
28. One – U2
29. Sweet Child of Mine – Guns’n Roses
30. Under the Bridge – Red Hot Chilli Pepper
31. Spiderwebs – No Doubt

32. Buddy Holly – Weezer
33. Wonderwall – Oasis
34. Orange Crush – R.E.M.
35. Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple

36. Tom Sawyer – Rush
37. Pinball Wizard – The Who
38. Wild World – Mr Big
39. Heroes – David Bowie
40. Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm – Crash Test Dummies

41. Smooth Criminal – Alien Ant Farm
42. 1979 – Smashing Pumpkins
43. Buses and Trains – Bachelor Girl
44. Rock and Roll Dreams Come True – Meatloaf
45. Cherub Rock – Smashing Pumpkins

46. Iris – Goo Goo Dolls
47. Stay Alive – Bee Gees
48. Hear it From You – Gin Blossom
49. Dancing Queen – ABBA
50. We Built This City – Starship

51. Too Legit To Hit – MC Hammer
52. 7 Seconds – Yossou N’dour
53. Sweet Lullaby – Deep Forest
54. Happy Nation – Ace of Base
55. Zombie – Cranberries

56. Dreaming of You – Selena
57. Funky Town – Lipps Inc.
58. Hold On – Wilson Phillips
59. Babe – Take That
60. End of the Road – Boyz II Men

61. Tennessee – Arrested Development
62. Winds of Change – Scorpion
63. Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
64. Love of a Lifetime – Firehouse
65. I Believe – Hootie and the Blowfish

66. Give Me One Reason – Tracy Chapman
67. Stars – Simply Red
68. Yesterday Once More – Carpenters
69. Another Drinkin’ Song – Mighty Mighty Bosstones
70. Un-Break My Heart – Toni Braxton

71. Stairway to Heaven – Led Zepellin
72. Mr Jones – Counting Crow
73. You Were Meant for Me – Jewel
74. Nobody Knows – The Tony Rich Project
75. I Don’t Have a Heart – James Ingram

76. Here and Now – Luther Vandross
77. Song 2 – Blur
78. Clint Eastwood – Gorillaz
79. Return to Innocence – Engima
80. Rain – Madonna

81. Hero – Mariah Carey
82. All 4 Love – Color Me Badd
83. In The End – Linkin Park
84. Bitter Sweet Symphony – The Verve
85. Don’t Speak – No Doubt

86. This Ain’t a Scene, It’s An Arm Race – Fall Out Boy
87. Lemon Tree – Fool’s Garden
88. Save the Best for Last – Venessa Williams
89. Yellow Submarine – The Beatles
90. YMCA – Village People

91. Basket Case – Green Day
92. All the Small Things – blink182
93. As I Lay Me Down – Sophie B Hawkins
94. Angel – Jon Secada
95. Dying Inside to Hold You – Timmy Thomas

96. Red Red Wine – UB40
97. Torn – Natalie Imbruglia
98. Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding – Elton John
99. Tears in Heaven – Eric Clapton
100. Hotel California – The Eagles

Phew! I have to admit that it’s pretty hard for me to come out with 100 songs, since I don’t think including chinese or japanese songs is appropriate for the assignment, and I don’t think the inclusion of jazz pieces (like Take Five) as songs do them any justice. So, do forgive me for a rather weak list.

100. Alkaline Trio – “We’ve Had Enough”
99. Cursive – “Art Is Hard”
98. Death Cab For Cutie – “Soul Meets Body”
97. Boys Like Girls – “The Great Escape”
96. Rival Schools – “Used For Glue”
95. Death Cab For Cutie – “I Will Follow You Into The Dark”
94. Rise Against – “Ready To Fall”
93. Weezer – “Island In The Sun”
92. Something Corporate – “Punk Rock Princess”
91. The Dillinger Escape Plan – “Panasonic Youth”
90. Bad Religion – “Los Angeles Is Burning”
89. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists – “Me And Mia”
88.  Hawthorne Heights – “Ohio Is For Lovers”
87. Manchester Orchestra – “I’ve Got Friend”
86. Lifetime – “Airport Monday Morning”
85. Jimmy Eat World – “A Praise Chorus”
84. Saves The Day – “Freakish”
83. Blink-182 – “Adam’s Song”
82. Brand New – “Jesus Christ”
81. Taking Back Sunday – “You’re So Last Summer”
80. AFI – “The Days Of The Phoenix”
79. Rise Against – “Give It All”
78. Gym Class Heroes – “Cupid’s Chokehold”
77. Glassjaw – “Pretty Lush”
76. Death Cab For Cutie – “The New Year”
75. Green Day – “Jesus Of Suburbia”
74. The Faint – “I Disappear”
73. Hot Hot Heat – “Bandages”
72. Dropkick Murphy’s – “I’m Shipping Up To Boston”
71. Motion City Soundtrack – “Everything Is Alright”
70. Death Cab For Cutie – “The Sound Of Settling”
69. Fall Out Boy – “Dance, Dance”
68. The All-American Rejects – “Dirty Little Secret”
67. Plain White T’s – “Hey There Delilah”
66. Muse – “Starlight”
65. Bright Eyes – “Lover I Don’t Have To Love”
64. Green Day – “Wake Me Up When September Ends”
63. AFI – “Girl’s Not Grey”
62. The Hives – “Hate To Say I Told You So”
61. Sparta – “Cut Your Ribbon”
60. Glassjaw – “Ape Dos Mil”
59. Straylight Run – “Existentialism On Prom Night”
58. Say Anything – “Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too”
57. Cobra Starship – “Snakes On A Plane (Bring It)”
56. Bad Religion – “Sorrow”
55. Anthony Green – “Dear Child (I’ve Been Dying To Reach You)
54. Taking Back Sunday – “MakeDamnSure”
53. Green Day – “Boulevard Of Broken Dreams”
52. Rise Against – “Swing Life Away”
51. Dashboard Confessional – “Hands Down”
50. The Bouncing Souls – “True Believers”
49. Modest Mouse – “Float On”
48. Blink-182 – “The Rock Show”
47. My Chemical Romance – “Welcome To The Black Parade”
46. Against Me – “Thrash Unreal”
45. The Used – “A Box Full Of Sharp Objects”
44. Motion City Soundtrack – “The Future Freaks Me Out”
43. The Shins – “New Slang”
42. Yellowcard – “Ocean Avenue” 
41. The Postal Service – “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight”
40. Underoath – “Reinventing Your Exit”
39. Paramore – “That’s What You Get”
38. Saves The Day – “Shoulder To The Wheel”
37. Panic! At The Disco – “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”
36. Phantom Planet – “California”
35. The Starting Line – “The Best Of Me”
34. 3OH!3 – “Don’t Trust Me”
33. Silversun Pickups – “Lazy Eye”
32. New Found Glory – “My Friends Over You”
31. Brand New – “Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades”
30. AFI – “Miss Murder”
29. Alkaline Trio – “Stupid Kid”
28. Andrew W.K. – “Party Hard”
27. Alive With The Glory Of Love – “Say Anything”
26. New Found Glory – “Hit Or Miss”
25. The All-American Rejects – “Move Along”
24. Green Day – “American Idiot”
23. Piebald – “American Hearts”
22. Brand New – “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows”
21. The Used – “The Taste Of Ink”
20. Paramore – “Misery Business”
19. The All American Rejects – “Swing, Swing”
18. Deftones – “Change (In The House Of Files)”
17. Head Automatica – “Beating Heart Baby”
16. Muse – “Time Is Running Out”
15. Saves The Day – “At Your Funeral”‘
14. Brand New – “Jude Law And A Semester Abroad”
13. The Gaslight Anthem – “The ’59 Sound”
12. Jimmy Eat World – “Bleed America”
11. Blink-182 – “All The Small Things”
10. Thursday – “Understanding In A Car Crash”
9. Jimmy Eat World – “The Middle”
8. My Chemical Romance – “Helena”
7. Dashboard Confessional – “Screaming Infidelities”
6. The Postal Service – “Such Great Heights”
5. Taking Back Sunday – “Cute Without The ‘E’ (Cut From The Team)”
4. Fall Out Boy – “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down”
3. Jimmy Eat World – “Sweetness”
2. My Chemical Romance – “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)”
1. At The Drive In – “One Armed Sissor”

New OneRepublic CD review coming Friday.

#2. You Shook Me All Night Long
by AC/DC (youtube)

Before I write anything, I must give you a visual. This story takes place when I was a little tiny person of four years old. Here is a picture of me around that time.

little me.

My dad’s favorite band used to be AC/DC. If I couldn’t sleep, my dad would drive me around the neighborhood and put some AC/DC on the radio to get me to sleep. I became familiar with the tunes and decided that You Shook Me All Night Long was the best song.

One day, I stopped loving the song.
Not for reasons of my own, but from outside pressures. From adults. Adults never understand.

My mom dropped me off at daycare one day. I was doing my 4-year-old thing, and suddenly had the urge to break into song. So of course I started singing my favorite song, which says..

She was a fast machine
She kept her motor clean
She was the best damn woman that I’d ever seen

One of the daycare teachers heard this.

And promptly washed my mouth out with soap.

The only time I’ve ever had my mouth washed out with soap.

You’d think that it taught me to watch my mouth around adults, but it didn’t. A few years later in first grade I got in trouble for making a boy cry when he asked me on a date and I screamed across the playground “I would never go on a f***ing date with you ever!!!!”

Hello my name is Stephanie and my rebellious years happened between the ages of 4 and 7.

As I was driving back to Pacifica, I had an awfully hard time choosing what music to listen to. Music has always been an important part of my life, as I mentioned a few weeks ago in a blog about how music allowed me to tesser.

So over time, I am going to compile a list of 100 important songs to me. Songs that allow me to tesser and are deeply woven into my life. One song at a time (in no particular order).

#1. Jessie
by Joshua Kadison (youtube)

I had a piano man lovefest in my car; Billy Joel, Elton John, Jamie Cullum.. and then Joshua Kadison. Track 1 of Painted Desert Serenade: Jessie.

My mom had a cassette tape of Painted Desert Serenade, and when I was old enough, she’d let me stay in the car when she ran into Safeway to get some groceries. I would sit in the car, my feet on the dash, and I’d listen to this song over and over. The lyrics or story of the song mean absolutely nothing to me; just another song about another crazy girl who leads a boy on. However, this song always reminds me of the ocean (“tell me all about our little trailer by the sea”) and the first eight measures still make me giddy.

This might be the only Joshua Kadison song to show up on this list; there’s another one that could potentially make it, but I only have 99 songs left.

Also, I’d like to say that I have a very small, somewhat low, voice range. If I was ten and trying to sing along to this song, that might explain it.

BOOMBOX from Ely Kim on Vimeo.