Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
scott@scottlongonline.com
Enough political stuff for a while. We'll be inundated with it, I'm sure, but while we'll have fun with it, don't expect much serious discussion of it. It's not going to happen. Go to FiveThirtyEight.com if you want that.
At meals, you'll often get a sorbet in between courses to cleanse the palate. At least I'm told you do. I've never had that happen at any restaurant, but I need the metaphor. We're going to try something today that ... honestly I can't remember who did this and it's not a brilliant idea, but it's fun, participatory, and easy. Everyone should participate.
Set up iTunes or whatever music player of choice is there. It can even be your iPod, Zune or whatever thing Scott has that plays MP3s. Put it on shuffle and tell everyone about the next ten songs that play. No cheating, no skipping, just ten songs at random.
1. Too Late, Back Door Slam
Random, I swear. There's not much more I can say about Back Door Slam that I haven't already. I know U2 has a new album coming that I'll likely mark out for, but if this isn't my #1 album on my year-end list, I'll be stunned. The subtle acoustic work on this song reminds me how jealous I am of Davy Knowles' talent.
2. Crossfire, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
One of my favorite SRV tracks. It's a bit poppier than most of his stuff, but the bass line is awesome and when Stevie comes in with Miles Davis spare blues notes screaming over the groove, it's just ... it's what made him so special. Too many people forget what a big part of Vaughan's success is owed to his band. I never saw him play this live, but he really went different directions with it on the bootlegs I've heard.
3. Flutter And Wow, Elvis Costello
I love Costello. His new album is very solid work. It's not peak Costello, but that just means it's only better than 97% of music out there, not 99%. He's got a talk show starting this fall, which sounds like parody, but his quick wit is really suited to it. He filled in when David Letterman had his bypass and was phenomenal. Diana Krall should be his Paul Shaffer. I love how his voice is torchy here, especially with the subtle end of the chorus over to the bridge.
4. Purple Rain, Prince
Iconic. I realize that Purple Rain, the movie, came out twenty-something years ago and was no cinema classic, but as a concert film, it was amazing. Which is oddly the reverse of Prince's actual concert movie for Sign O The Times. That was overindulgent, though the music was solid. For most people, Purple Rain was the first time most people heard and saw Prince. I was on board with Dirty Mind, but I'll admit that I had no idea the musical leaps he was making would continue to Purple Rain. Prince gets no credit for being one of the most incendiary guitarists of this era. When he feels like it, he just embarrasses people.
5. When The Levee Breaks, Led Zeppelin
Is there any more iconic sound that the opening drums of this song? John Bonham simply can't be replicated. Hammer of the Gods? It sounds like he's playing drums made of human skin, pounding them with trees he pulled out of the ground, and is calling some Celtic or Norse tribe to war. Maybe both. Wait, the song is about Louisiana and has Page's swampy guitar sound. I'd never heard the original version but wow, that's barely the same song and all because of Bonham's drums.
6. Radio Free Europe, R.E.M.
I can remember exactly where I was the first time I heard this. It took be about two minutes with Google Maps to find the spot. The house where I was going is gone. I'm really not sure what happened and now I'll have to try to find out, though I can't remember the name of my girlfriend's friend who lived there. Ginny something. I still have no idea what Stipe is saying and I still don't really care. Great song.
7. So They Say, from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Just bought this today. One of my favorite songs from Joss Whedon's do it yourself project stands well without the video. "I hear you get to do the weird stuff" is just made to be a catchphrase t-shirt. Ridiculously good cast and a concept that just begs to be continued.
8. Ain't Got Nowhere, James Hunter
Seriously, just listen to James Hunter. It's like finding a lost album from Stax in a dusty vault. The Gibson sound he plucks primally out, his Sam Cooke smooth voice, and his arrangement are all spot-on note perfect soul music. All from an English cat in 2008. Another album that's almost assuredly on my top ten list for the year.
9. Out Of Control, Kenna
Malcom Gladwell made Kenna famous. Or at least noted that he should be. His album is dreadfully underrated and stands with the best dance pop of the last decade. Justin Timberlake hasn't done anything this good outside of "Dick In A Box." Well, maybe Jessica Biel, but that's a different story.
10. Hey Jude, Wilson Pickett
Just a couple songs after James Hunter is the real thing. Wilson Pickett's a classic and this version of the Beatles tune is maybe best known for the amazing guitar work by Duane Allman that screams through this too-earnest cover. Pickett's primal screams as the horns fade into what Eric Clapton says is one of the best solos ever. I can't argue with that.
1. UB40 - "Red Red Wine"
I didn't even know this was a cover song until a couple years ago. While the original is great, this is actually one of my favorite songs and puts me in a good mood whenever I hear it.
2. America - "A Horse with No Name"
Meh, a song I rarely listen to by a band I'm not that fond of. My dad sure loves 'em though.
3. Badly Drawn Boy - "Walk You Home Tonight"
BDB was on a downward spiral, peaking with the classic debut Hour of Bewilderbeast and bottoming out with the putrid One Plus One Is One until their mini-comeback with last year's Born in the UK - which this track is from. It's a decent song, but ambles on a little too long and is average overall.
4. The Spinto Band - "Spy vs. Spy"
Peppy little indie rock band whom I was introduced to when their song "Oh Mandy" was played on the indie rock station here. This is actually the best song on the album and quite the toe-tapper propelled by its staccato rhythm guitar and sparkly synth line.
5. Air - "Surfing on a Rocket"
I'm not usually a big fan of the more atmospheric bands, but Air is an exception. This track in particular is a favorite of mine and will always remind me of the summer after I graduated college.
6. The Decemberists - "Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect"
Decemberists albums can get a little boring for me, but even though this is a slower track it's still quite memorable.
7. Misfits - "Mommy, Can I Go Out and Kill Tonight"
You gotta love horribly-produced, campy, Danzig-led punk, right? I have no idea what he's saying throughout the faster part of the song, but it's still fun to sing that chorus.
8. The Beatles - "From Me to You"
I'm a much bigger fan of the Beatles' later more psychedelic stuff, but their earlier songs are still a lot of fun - like this one.
9. The Breeders - "Cannonball"
Ahhh, what a bass line. I've never really explored the Breeders' any further than this so there's not much else to say here.
10. Monty Python - "Sit on My Face"
Ha, quite fitting considering I sang this at a karaoke place in Catalina this past weekend. I had to wait a damn long time to sing a 45 second song, but it was worth it.
1. Don't Bug Me When I'm Working - Little Village. A band with Ry Cooder and John Hiatt from the early 90's.
2. Slap Leather - James Taylor. Live version from "One Man Band".
3. Faust Arp - Radiohead. Thank God- I was afraid I was going to look like a weeny poofster.
4. Where Are You Tonight - Bob Dylan. From Street Legal. Haven't heard this in ages, but enjoying it immensely right now. Thank you Will.
5. So High - Tab Benoit. Louisiana blues guitar player. Not great art but fun to listen to. Very good live.
6. Wishing On A Star - Paul Weller. Also from a live album downloaded from eMusic.com. Maybe I am a poofster after all.
7. Say Ah At The Doctor - The Wiggles. Sigh. Crap. I've got an iPod hook up in my car. My son turns 3 next week so my iPod has a fair selection of Wiggles songs for daily excursions. Will said no cheating, so here it is.
8. Salut Marin - Carla Bruni. She's the French folk singer who is also the first lady of France. Stumbled across this on eMusic and it's a wonderful mood album. Good for late night and early morning.
9. Land Of 1000 Dances - Wilson Picket. Ugh!! Na Na-Na-Na-Na Na-Na-Na-Na Na-Na-Na Na-Na-Na Na-Na-Na-Na.
10. Frak me. Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves. Fraking Cher. No excuses. No explanations. No redemption. I'm a weeny poofster tonight.
1) Goodbye Cruel World: Pink Floyd off of the Wall
2) Chemical Warfare: Steel Pole Bath Tub covering the DK's on Alternative Tentacles 100th release, Virus 100.
3)12345678: Off of Ganymede by Micronaut...a side project of Chicago Industrial Rocker, Chris Randall...trippy.
4) Turn to Stone by ELO, off of their Greatest Hits.
5) Waiting for the Night: Depeche Mode off of Violator.
6) One: Live by U2 off of a bootleg from a San Diego concert in 2006 (I think).
7) Funkopolis: Die Warzau. I urge each of you to acquire and enjoy Die Warzau's classic release, Engine. This tune wasn't from that, but still funky.
8) Pure and Easy: The Who from their 'Ultimate Collection."
9) No Shit, I wish I were kidding, but 'We All Sleep Alone' by Cher from some album my wife downloaded----but I'd proudly own up to Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves or Dark Lady...
10) Rooster: By Alice in Chains from Dirt. Anti-Cher, Cher palate cleanser?? "Ain't found a way to kill me yet..."
ipod count 5430.
1. Shake Your Rump - Beastie Boys. Nice way to get this party started.
2. Rock N' Roll Suicide - Seu Jorge. From an album of Bowie covers in Portuguese used in the "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zizzou". Amazing album.
3. If I had $1,000,000 (Live) - Barenaked Ladies. Much much better than the studio version.
4. Satan is my Master - Ben Folds Five. One of the best lyrics ever: "Satan is my master...He buys my Metallica records for me." Piano Metal Rules!
5. See You in Heaven - Elliott Smith. Unreleased (I think) instrumental. Probably a scrapped Figure 8 b-side. I don't think I had heard it before right now, and it's sonically wonderful.
6. Your Girlfriend Hates Me - Reggie and the Full Effect. Ahh, to be a teenager again.
7. Falling for You - Weezer. I know they absolutely suck now, but this is off of one of my Top 5 albums of all time.
8. Alone Again (Naturally) - Gilbert O'Sullivan. One of the more upbeat songs about suicide I've heard. Can't help but sing along.
9. I Surrender, Dear - Thelonious Monk. If you're gonna like jazz, might as well do it right.
10. Lover I Don't Have to Love - Bright Eyes. Like him or hate him, but the dude can freaking write a fantastic song.
Jay Reatard rules. Period.
When It Happens It Moves All By Itself-Telefon Tel Aviv off Map of What Is Effortless
Nice, dreamy electro trip hop.
Walk In the After Light-Mystic Chords of Memory off Tree Colored Sea
Really dig this project. Nobody and the singer from Beachwood Sparks (bad with names).
Secrets of the Sand (Jay Dee remix)-Mood off
Ridiculous beat as you would expect from J. Dilla.
Transparent Day[Single Mix]- West Coast Pop Art off Part OneExperimental Band
No doubt influenced The Smiths.
I Only Have Eyes For You-The Flamingos
The Fugees used this gem for "Zealots".
5-4=Unity-Pavement off Crooked Rain,Crooked Rain.
One of my favorites from one of my favorite bands.
Satellite Of Love-Lou Reed off Transformer
Bowie and Reed=Money. Love this song.
Pyramids (Change)-Madlib off the Beat Konducta:Movie Scenes Vol-1-2.
Classic Madlib. 805 area code!!!
-Jennyndrew & Me-Lilys off A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns
Long live the 90's.
1) Elvis Presley "I Love You Because" (Alternate #3) The Sun Sessions
Hey, might as well start at the beginning of that rock thing, even if this cut doesn't really rock, especially with the recitation. He was something before he became something.
2) Feist "How My Heart Behaves" The Reminder
You'd think the iPhone knows I'm at work and wants to keep things mellow. Still, it's a pretty song. (Is it ok to call something pretty on Toaster?)
3) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club "Spread Your Love" B.R.M.C.
I always want to like these guys more than I do. Pleasantly crunchy.
4) Gore Gore Girls "Where Evil Grows" Get the Gore
If you like the Raveonettes but don't like the feedback, this band is for you. Fun throwback sound.
5) Tom Verlaine "Lovebird Asylum Seeker" Songs and Other Things
We've had that fight about Television on this blog before, no? For my money "Marquee Moon" is one of the best albums of the '70s so I remain in Verlaine's thrall. This song is good, nothing great. He can play some guitar, though.
6) Emmylou Harris & Gram Parsons "Love Hurts" The Very Best of Emmylou Harris
This song hurts, it captures what it's about so well. One of the best vocal pairings ever.
7) Matthew Sweet "Beware My Love" In Reverse
That album title is the key--lots of reverse guitar here. Sort of cool, but no "Girlfriend."
8) Bright Eyes "Cleanse Song" Cassadaga
What's a Nebraskan doing on the beach in Oxnard? No wonder he's so sad so often. Catchy tune, though.
9) Calexico & Charlotte Gainsbourg "Just Like a Woman" I'm Not There
Still haven't seen the film, but I like the soundtrack--you can't have too much Calexico. Having a woman sing this saves it from the joke that Woody Allen made of it in "Annie Hall."
10) Tralala "Yellow Taxi" Is That the Tralala
A fun band that works better for a tune or two (and this might be their best) as the everybody-sings approach begins to wear. Still, a peppy pop number to go out on.
2) Nine Inch Nails - "We're in This Together" from The Fragile (Left). Excellent song on the last NIN album that I really enjoyed from start to finish.
3) The Who - "I Can See For Miles" from Who's Better, Who's Best. Nice track. Which song is more evil, this one or "Every Breath You Take" by The Police?
4) Pavement - "Stop Breathin'" from Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain: LA's Desert Origins. This track brought to you courtesy of Scott Long and his Top 100 Albums of The Juice Era list.
5) Nine Inch Nails - "March of the Pigs" from The Downward Spiral. I always thought this song sounded a little too much like "Wish" but it's still solid. And yes, there's a lot of NIN in my collection.
6) Eels - "Your Lucky Day in Hell" from Beautiful Freak. This album has some really good and really meh tracks on it. This song may be the only one I list in between the two.
7) Pearl Jam - "Once" from Ten. Still one of my favorite albums of all time. Inspired by Mookie.
8) Peter Gabriel - "Lovetown" from Hit (Disc 2). This track also appeared on the Philadelphia soundtrack, IIRC. Lucky me! Three of my favorite artists (Rush, NIN, and PG) managed to appear in this Next 10 list. (It's on shuffle, I swear.)
9) White Lion - "Little Fighter" from Big Game. Aaaannd my list falls off a cliff. Hey, I'm allowed to indulge in some 80's music that I grew up with, right?
10) Eddie Money - "Take Me Home Tonight" from Sound of Money: Greatest Hits. Same as #9.
Total songs available for these selections: 1856.
Pressure Drop Toots & The Maytals
Ring Of Fire Johnny Cash
Born In The U.S.A. Bruce Springsteen
Upside Down Jack Johnson
I Can't Explain The Who
Give It to You G. Love & Special Sauce
Stir It Up Bob Marley & The Wailers
I Still Miss Someone Johnny Cash
The Rising Bruce Springsteen
1) Richard Thompson: "That's All, Amen, Close The Door"
2) Fountains Of Wayne: "Traffic And Weather"
3) The Cranberries: "How"
4) Be Bop Deluxe: "Futurist Manifesto"
5) Garbage: "Push It"
6) George Harrison: "Stuck Inside A Cloud"
7) Bad Religion: "Don't Sell Me Short"
8) Nightwish: "Beauty & The Beast"
9) Pulp: "Pencil Skirt"
10) Procol Harum: "Pilgrim's Progress"
1.Free: The Stealer - Good early 70s brit-blues-rock. Faces did a good cover, released on their box set.
2.Randy Newman: Lonely At the Top - Classic Newman, apparently this song was offered to Sinatra.
3.Beach Boys: Our Sweet Love - From the excellent Sunflower album (okay we are stuck in the 70s here)
4.The Byrds: Everybody's Been Burned - I love the Byrds. Great Crosby vocal on this track.
5.Bruce Springsteen: 57 Channels - One of the very few springsteen tunes I don't enjoy.
6.Frank Sinatra: In The Still of the Night (live) - from Sinatra & Sextet, Live in Paris..a must-own
7.Fleetwood Mac: Sentimental Lady - great shmaltzy track from the pre-Buckingham & Nicks, but post-Peter Green era
8.Pink Floyd: Fat Old Sun - moody psychedelia from Atom Heart Mother
9.Pure Prairie League: Angel #9 - great guest guitar from Mick Ronson
10.Buffalo Springfield: Broken Arrow - a bit maudlin, but great early Neil nonetheless.
Okay, a bit odd we rarely left the 70s and only then for the 60s, but still, nothing I'm ashamed of...all good stuff.
1) Red Hot Chili Peppers: Strip My Mind - Stadium Arcadium = meh. I was curious and bought this, but I think about the only song I like on the whole collection is "If". By The Way is so much better.
2) Vince Guaraldi: Christmas is Coming - from my favorite Christmas album of all time.
3) Deconstruction: Son - great, simple acoustic tune by Eric Avery on this one. If you like Jane's Addiction for the music and not Perry's voice, you gotta get your hands on Deconstruction, it's excellent.
4) Steely Dan: Peg
5) Chris Thile: A Night In Mos Eisley - This is from "Stealing Second", pre-Nickel Creek when he was just a amazing child mandolin progidy.
6) Rush: Secret Touch - I've always loved Rush, and the end instrumental part of this song gives me goosebumps b/c it shows they can still jam even though they're all like, what, 50 years old? Neil Peart rules.
7) Soundgarden: Tears To Forget - Wow, here's one I haven't listened to in eons. Can't even remember what this is from, Screaming Life/Fopp, perhaps?
8) Spoon: Curfew Tolls - from that bonus disc that comes with Ga Ga Ga Ga
9) Red Hot Chili Peppers: Subway To Venus - OK, shuffle, you've redeemed yourself somewhat. That's more like it. This is one of the tunes that made me like RHCP in the first place.
10) Doves: One Of These Days - Some Cities is my favorite Doves album b/c it's the most consistent.
Cool, that's a pretty good playlist. Surprised that RHCP came up twice. Not dissing Peg, just couldn't think of anything that hasn't been said about it already.
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