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When I worked at RadioCentral in San Francisco, I told a friend there that I sometimes got a song stuck in my head for days and that listening to it repeatedly was the best way to clear my head. She was single and living alone in San Francisco. One of the blessings of living alone, she said, was that you could queue up a song on repeat for an entire weekend and no one would complain. If I was living alone, or if it wouldn’t drive Sarah crazy, Adam Carroll‘s song, “Race Car Joe“, would be getting heavy rotation on my sound system. I originally bought the album for the clever “Ol’ Milwaukee’s Best” which is good. But it doesn’t have the haunting nature of “Race Car Joe”.

If you haven’t looked into Josh Ritter‘s new album “The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter” you’re missing out a good album. Not great, but better than most of the other dreck out there these days. Perhaps he best song on the album is “The Temptation of Adam,” a song about love that blossoms in a missile silo during the Cold War. At the very least, you’ve got to love the premise. The lyrics are amazingly clever:

Oh Marie if you would stay then we could stick pins in the map
Of all the places where you thought that love would be found
But I would only need one pin to show where my heart’s at
In a top secret location three hundred feet under the ground

We could hold each other close and stay up every night

Looking up into the dark like it’s the night sky

And pretend this giant missile is an old oak tree instead

And carve our name in hearts into the warhead

You can listen to most of Ritter’s album at his website, including a full version of “The Temptation of Adam”.

While listening to Radio Paradise today I heard Dana Lyon’s song “Cows With Guns.” The song was so unique, that I didn’t immediately trust my recollection of what I heard, so I went looking for a copy of the song.

What I found instead was a hilarious music video (Flash). If you’re in need of a pick-me-up, I recommend giving the video a try. Make sure that you watch it all the way through to catch the surprise ending.

If you’re not a regular over at homestarrunner.com you probably missed the one of latest episodes of “Strong Bad Checks His E-mail.

Fortunately, it is not too late to find out exactly how to create perfect death metal [Flash animation with sound] the Strong Bad Way.

Yesterday, I heard this song [mp3 sample] for the first time, and while it is just another in a long line of “talking set to a beat” songs, the lyrics are insightful and funny all the same.

Last night, Sarah and I drove to Fort Atkinson, WI to see Richard Shindell and Tracy Grammer play at the Cafe Carpe.We had never been to the Carpe before, so we had no idea what to expect. The last time we saw Richard Shindell and Tracy Grammer play together was at a local venue named Luther’s Blues.

Luther’s Blues is a venue that holds many a several hundred people with a pair of bars, an elevated stage, bar tables and bar stools. It’s not much to look at, but it does book reasonably big name acts.

The Carpe, as its regulars call it, is a very different venue.

First, it isn’t located in the heart of a university of 40,000+ students. It is located one hour east of our house in a town of 11,000 people.

The Carpe has a very casual seating and ticketing arrangement. You call them for certain shows to purchase tickets. Then, if they have seats, you send them a check. They send you nothing in return. The night of the show, you walk in the door and check-in at the bar. They ask if you called in beforehand to get tickets and if you paid. You answer, “Yes.” A waitress then shows you to your seats.

The stage at the carpe is a small, ever-so-slightly elevated platform probably sixteen square feet in area. Most of that area gets filled up with microphone stands, monitors, extra guitars, and the like. So, the performers stand near the front of the platform and near the audience. Seating for the audience consists of chairs, old rows of movie theater seating and bar stools along the walls. The room might hold twenty or thirty people.

We had been looking for an opportunity to see Shindell again, so we called early in February to get tickets for last night’s show. As such, we had probably the best seats in the house. We sat about four feet away from the performers in the very first row.

Most of Grammer’s set was devoid of memorable moments. She is touring with another folk musician, Jim Henry, who plays a variety of instruments and sings back-up. They are not touring with a sound technician and it showed. For the first couple of songs, it was difficult to hear Grammer’s voice over the instruments and they often had to fiddle with the Carpe’s amplifier located behind the stage.

In addition, Grammer indulges herself in tuning her guitar after every song. This not only slows the pace of the show, but it also affect her rapport with the audience. She attempts to tune her instrument and chat into the mike at the same time and ends up doing neither well. Her talk ends up sounding something like this, “This next song…[twang, twang, twang]…was something…[twang, twang, twaaannng]…that one of my…[twang, twang, twang]…friends….[twang, twang, twang]…sent to me…[twang, twang, twang]…to play…” You get the idea.

Grammer’s set did have some high points. The songs “Shadows of Evangeline” and “Preston Miller” off her new album “Flowers of Avalon” were real winners. Both have a real driving beat and interesting lyrics. Both Grammer and Henry really seemed to enjoy playing them, as well.

Shindell’s set was less canned and less irritating. He tuned his guitar before starting his set and tuned just one string a second time during the show in a quick and efficient manner.

He also launched into a funny and seemingly spontaneous rant about how he recently decided that folk singers ought to swear more. Wisconsin Public Radio taped the show last night for broadcast on a future date. I’m sure they’ll have to edit out that portion of the evening’s events. Maybe they can edit out all of Grammer’s tuning and chatter, as well.

Shindell takes requests during his show which is fun. The guy next to me had a written list of requests that had to be thirty songs long. It was like he took every song of Shindell’s last three albums, sorted them by some system, and then wrote them down. In the end, one of his requests was granted.

Shindell performance of “Transit” was rushed as though he’s tired of hearing it. “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy” was strong; as was the evening’s finale (which was performed with Grammer playing violin) “So Says the Whipporwill.”

I must have been in an angry mood about the state of the world this week. It just occurred to me that I’ve been listening primarily to political folk, protest music, and music with a message that goes beyond “I love you.”

• Ani Difranco – Fuel

  Except all the radios agree with all the TV's
  And all the magazines agree with all the radios
  And I keep hearing that same damn song
  Everywhere I go
  Maybe I should put a bucket over my head
  And a marshmallow in each ear
  And stumble around for another dumb numb week
  For another hum drum hit song to appear
  People used to make records
  As in a record of an event
  The event of people
  Playing music in a room
  Now everything is cross-marketing
  It's about sunglasses and shoes
  Or guns or drugs
  you choose
  

• Mustard’s Retreat – The Story of Jake and Ten Ton Molly

  Jake arrived at work that morning twenty minutes late.
  His parking spot was taken; he walked four blocks to the gate.
  He missed the coffee wagon; dropped his doughnut on the floor.
  When from the office, his boss called, "Jake, come in and close the door."
  
  Eighteen years at this old drafting board. Isn't that a laugh?
  But they say, "We've lost the contract, and we've got to cut back staff.
  A couple of weeks severance, some vacation pay past due,
  I'm fifty-six years old now. What am I supposed to do?
  

• David Rovics – Saint Patrick Battalion

  It was there in the pueblos and hillsides
  That I saw the mistake I had made
  Part of a conquering army
  With the morals of a bayonet blade
  So in the midst of these poor, dying Catholics
  Screaming children, the burning stench of it all
  Myself and two hundred Irishmen
  Decided to rise to the call
  

• David Rovics – Everything Looks the Same

  I'm just driving down this highway
  Past a shopping mall
  I see billboard after billboard
  Hear the advertiser's call
  I see cars and I hear cars and I smell cars
  All just like mine
  I see a world covered with asphalt
  You're in parking lot G9
  It's just sprawling on forever
  It doesn't even have a name
  It's the land where everything looks the same
  

• Utah Phillips – We Have Fed You All For a Thousand Years

  There is never a mine blown skyward now
  But we're buried alive for you.
  There's never a wreck drifts shoreward now
  But we are its ghastly crew.
  Go reckon our dead by the forges red
  And the factories where we spin.
  If blood be the price of your cursed wealth,
  Good God! We have paid it in!
  

• Ani Difranco – Coming Up

   But I love this city, this state
  This country is too large
  And whoever's in charge up there
  Had better take the elevator down
  And put more than change in our cup
  Or else we are coming up
  

If your Christmas spirit is chased away by playlists consisting entirely of the same old Christmas carols played in the same order and sung by the same performers, SomaFM has something that will reinvigorate your Christmas spirit.

Check out SomaFM’s “XMas In Frisco” stream for a wider variety of serious and lighthearted Christmas audio wallpaper. Some of the song titles you might hear:

• “Holy Shit, It’s Christmas” by Red Peters
• “Merry Muthaphuckin’ X-mas” by Eazy-E
• “Merry Christmas” by The Ramones
• “Have Yourself A Merry little Christmas” by Judy Garland
• “The 12 Gay Days Of Christmas” by Go
• “Ay, Ay, Ay It’s Christmas” by Ricky Martin
• “12 Drugs of Christmas” by Afroman

One of my favorite folk songs is “They’re Taking It Away” [sample mp3] by Ian Robb, a Canadian. Though the song was written years ago, and by a Canadian about conditions in Canada, it is very, very relevant to life in the United States at the present time.A sample of the lyrics:

If you're native, black or asian
If you're feminist or gay
If you're just a little different
from the most of us today
If you want to make your point
Or if you want to have your say
You can spit into the wind
Because they've taken it away

Ohhh, they're taking it away
They're taking it away
They are taking all the good things
You can hear the people say
And they'll take it all tomorrow
If they don't take it today
From the poor and sick and helpless
They are taking it away

If you're battered by your husband
And you need a place to stay
You'd best get down upon your knees
And quickly learn to pray
For the Women's Center's phone
Was disconnected yesterday
And there's no one left to talk to
Now they're taking it away

Digging around in my CD collection yesterday, I found Tori Amos’ excellent album, “Boys for Pele.” Not every song on that album is going to please every listener, but there are several real stand out tracks [mp3 samples]:

• Mr. Zebra
• Way Down
• Marianne

In addition, I slipped Ms. Amos’ “Crucify ” EP into the CD player yesterday. Two of my favorite tracks on that album are covers [mp3 samples]:

• Angie
• Smells Like Teen Spirit

Jonatha Brooke released her “Steady Pull” album in 2001. I recently found a copy of it and while I don’t necessarily enjoy the whole album, I have to be careful because one song on the album is strangely addictive. “Linger” [mp3 sample] worms its way into my head and it generally takes 24 hours or longer to get it out.

The music is carefully crafted pop, but the lyrics themselves are strangely compelling.

“I live in Utah, where the only virgin wool comes from the sheep that can
outrun the Mormons and the Republicans.”
— Utah Phillips, “Cannonball Blues

The line is from an old song, but it’s still funny.

Several songs have been running through my head in an endless loop over the last couple of weeks.The oldest, by far, is Al Stewart’s 1976 hit, “Year of the Cat.” [mp3 sample]. The song reminds of me our trip to Brazil, though I’m not entirely certain that it is a country “where they’ve turn back time.” The song speaks to me of distant shores, and throwing cares to the winds. Given our impending trip to distant shores, and our concurrent discarding of cares, it is perhaps only natural that the song resonate with me of late.

Recent pop hit “Vindicated” [mp3 sample]by Dashboard Confessional has also been cycling through my mental stereo on a regular rotation. It is not as clear to me why that song is sticking around so long, but it does not seem inclined to leave any time soon.

Depeche Mode’s “Policy of Truth” [mp3 sample] is one that gets me in trouble time and time again. For whatever reason, I’ve been generally unable to shake that song since I first heard it years and years ago. Fortunately, I haven’t been exposed to it more than a few times in the intervening years, as it always takes a month or so to clean it out of my internal audio rotation. July did me in, however, when I heard it again. Hopefully, I’ll have it cleaned out of my head by September. Today, the thought occurred to me that this particular song must be very popular with many current politicians (of both major parties), given that the lyrics advocate a policy of deception, rather than truthfulness:

You had something to hide
Should have hidden it, shouldn't you
Now you're not satisfied
With what you're being put through

It's just time to pay the price
For not listening to advice
And deciding in your youth
On the policy of truth

Things could be so different now
It used to be so civilised
You will always wonder how
It could have been if you'd only lied

It's too late to change events
It's time to face the consequence
For delivering the proof
In the policy of truth

Never again
Is what you swore
The time before
Never again
Is what you swore
The time before

Now you're standing there tongue tied
You'd better learn your lesson well
Hide what you have to hide
And tell what you have to tell

You'll see your problems multiplied
If you continually decide
To faithfully pursue
The policy of truth

Finally, this folk number has been popping to mind of late. Deb Talan’s “Saturn’s Light” [mp3 sample] has a very percussive, and persuasive guitar line. If I knew how to play guitar, I’d be trying to learn that song.

Were the Geto Boys prescient when they released “Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta”?Sure the lyrics are spoken by someone pretending to be Bill Clinton, but I could imagine GeeDubya and Co. saying the same things to themselves once in a while:

    Other leaders better not upset me
    Or I’ll send a million troops to die at war
    To all you Republicans, that helped me win
    I sincerely like to thank you
    Cuz now I got the world swingin’ from my nuts
    And damn it feels good to be a gangsta

Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” is an absolutely brilliant piece of music. Tito Puente’s version of “Take Five” (sample mp3) is just as good.

If something is that good, I’m not gonna just take five. I’ll take ten or twenty.