Murder On The Dance Floor - Sophie Ellis Bextor

I found out about the work of Sophie Ellis Bextor from a friend who travelled to Europe. Her music never really hit in the US. This track is a beautiful modern disco track. Originially I received it as part of a compilation CD-R a friend mailed me from overseas. Months later, I also heard it in an Australia Post franchise store off the Queen Street Mall in Brisbane in Late 2003. I wanted to shake my ass in the Australian Post Office and mail postcards. The beat is tight.
The strings add an element of classical disco beauty. There are few tracks within the disco genre that move me like this one.

"Asshole" by Beck

I hate to admit this but sometimes in life song lyrics really do hit home. This usually occurs at 2 times: when you are in love, and when you breaking up/going through a rough patch.
One of these songs comes from Beck's seminal "One Foot in the Grave" album. This is the all acoustic, no silly electronic effects album from Beck that--in my opinion-- is his best yet.
The song is simply called "Asshole." The chorus is : "She'll do anything, she'll do anything to make me feel like an asshole."
Ain't that the truth!?! What is up with women anyway? Why must they hound us? Why must they destroy our egos (are they really worth hanging onto? I don't know but I do anyway)? Why must they make us "explain" our actions? Why do they demand promises? Why do they expect us to be noble and cavalier? Why can't they stop talking and spending money? Why do they look so damn good, but make us work for it?

SO, if you're feeling this way. Listen to some Beck. The song and the album for that matter is very minimal and he works with some guy with a very deep voice. Makes for interesting "harmonies."

"River Will Take You" by Greg Brown

Been listening to some MDs (remember that format?) in the car lately. The one that is getting the most playtime is Greg Brown. He is a deep voiced country/folk/blues guy from Iowa and his music is passionate. I like songs that tell stories and this one does just that. It's about some guys getting drunk and going out fishin, and how they never come back. Spooky, and so real. No pretentious diddies about love. Very real, very down to earth songs about living (in Iowa).
My musical tastes these days seem to be heading toward the more "real" and "raw" types of music. If I listen to the old electronic stuff I was into in College, I get bored. The story might be different if I smoked all the dope like I used to.......

"I Get a Little Taste of You" by Z Rock Hawaii

I am a die hard Ween fan. I saw them back in 94 at a bingo hall with like 100 people. They have seriously grown since then, but I still enjoy their older forays into things beyond weird. The Z Rock Hawaii album was one of those "things."
A one-time collaboration between Ween and Japanese esoteric noise rockers, the Boredoms, this is a bizarre combination of Ween's great musicianship and the Boredoms' leader EYE screaming every once and a while.
This track is actually one of the most listenable on the album. A very upbeat number with a common Ween them of "tasting the waste." If you edited out EYE's screaming solo, I bet it could've played on regular rotation radio.
I first heard WEEN play it live, then I found out about Z Rock. By that time the album had gone out of print, but while drinking with my drummer buddy in Kyoto I found the CD in his collection and he gave it to me! He bought it because he liked the Boredoms, but the heavy Ween flavor was not to his liking. Lucky me!