#14

"Spring was confusing, a little bit scary. Summer was much of the same."

This issue's title comes from a track from the bass driven, sludge-metal band Big Business. The song is "Just As The Day Was Dawning" from their debut album Here Come The Waterworks and is pretty much my credo for the way 2009 has treated me. The first part of the year being very tense and emotional. One day I would be on my A-game- creating things and tying knots to the strings that linked all the things coming undone in my life. The next- wanting to hang myself from that very string. What I aimed to do wound up tearing me apart. Sure, I did some good things. Hell, I started this blog, and even though I haven't updated it much lately, it still stands. That counts for something. I did some bad things too. Things that lingered into the latter part of the year, but it's getting better.

In the beginning of '09 there was mania. Not in the sense of a bipolar disorder though, at least I don't think. I tried going to therapy and to have myself tested. It wound up being a waste of my time and $50 a visit. Besides, sometimes I have the tendency not to take advice from the people who matter most in my life. Family. Friends. Musicians. So I asked myself, "If you rarely listen to them, what makes you think you're going to listen to a shrink, Nick?" Well played, brain, well played. Back to the subject at hand, my manic impulses caused me to overload on thought, but with that came a lack of reason. I had so many ideas and I was in such a rush to start on them that I never focused on any kind of approach or vector. It was as if I had a sword and was just waving it blindly in the direction of my adversary hoping it would strike. That sword was heavy and in time I could no longer hold it up. My arms gave out. I conceded to defeat.

Now, as 2010 approaches, I feel reinvigorated. My usual penchant for camaraderie and "ruling" has returned. I don't make resolutions, or promises, or goals. I just let things flow but I direct the current toward a more favorable avenue that will lead to my and other's well-being.

Aside from all of that nonsense though, I wish to divulge to you my top 5 albums of the year. I was originally going to do 10, but I figured A: After album number 5 there's a really big drop off in how much I liked 6-10, and B: It's called 5songsinarow for a reason. Five being the magic number. So, you will get the five albums that I listened to the most this year that I thought were uber-worthy. Let the madness end!..er..begin! Whatever.

5. Sleepy Sun - Embrace

Classic psyche-rock/blues sound akin to Led Zeppelin, Jefferson Airplane, and more recently Black Mountain. Big guitar and cymbal sounds with lots of distorted bass just like dad used to love before he started listening to Celine Dion and "settling down". I say fuck that. Put this album on and crank your stereo to it's highest volume possible. An album like this deserves to be listened to as loud as possible. If you don't you will miss the subtle nuances throw in from the sparse harmonica and wha pedal. Also, having a female vocalist always adds some points in my book.


4. Mew - No More Stories...

These Danes do it up with their usual throw of prog-rock, odd-tempo weirdness with big atmospheres that probably make Muse blush and feel bad about themselves. Speaking of Muse, their new album this year wasn't so hot. I was actually quite disappointed in it. Thankfully Mew's new album was released and I could not stop listening to it. I love an album that everytime you listen to it it provides something new you didn't hear before. This was a big one, and for some people it's at the #1 spot on their list, and I'm okay with that.


3. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

There aren't enough good things to say about this album, but then again, I am one of those Veckatimest people - the distant cousins to the Merriweather Post Pavilion people. We see each other maybe once a year during Thanksgiving and don't really talk much. We have that one conversation about football while waiting for dinner to be served since it's the only thing we share in common. Seriously though, people have been quite divisive about who to give the #1 spot to this year. It seems though that Animal Collective is the Obama of 2009 in music world.


2. Bear In Heaven - Beast Rest Forth Mouth

I think I wet myself a little bit when I first listened to this album in its entirety. And here I thought indie/electronic was going toward the way of suck. Oh how wrong I was. This album bumped GB off the #2 spot to snatch the silver right out of their hands. They do have one thing in common though, they are both from Brooklyn. It seems as if that NYC borough has been an automatic indie band dispensary lately. Remember back in the early part of the decade when it was Omaha? Yeah, so do I. I'm glad that's over. Long live the east coast.


1. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

Honestly, none of the albums on this list could hold a candle to Middle Cyclone. It's not so much the music that makes this album so unbelievably incredible, it's the lyrics contained within that make it so special. As a writer I always gravitate toward albums that are heavily literary oriented. Add Neko's voice to these triumphs of fiction (and non-fiction) set to flawless fundamental folk/americana and you have a masterpiece. "This Tornado Loves You" is still the reigning champ as being the most played song on my iPod. When you fall in love with this album you'll understand why. From her cover of Nilsson's "Don't Forget Me" to the dragging march and drone of "Prison Girls" Ms. Case as proved once again that she is a force to be reckoned with. Respect her.

That's it folks. I will see everyone in 2010 with a new edition of 5SIAR. Much love to you all!

#13

"Sometimes when you win, you lose." Or, A Cluster of Bad Timing

Does anyone remember that line from What Dreams May Come? I do. It's a constant reminder to stay grounded and to always be humble. Although sometimes that's easier said than done. I can be on top of the world and feel invincible, but I must always remember that below me lies the same shit I deal with day in and day out- My own personal demons. They are always there to keep me in check and to remind me that every day is to be treated as a gift, albeit a very subpar one. Almost like getting socks for Christmas. Sure, you're thankful, but at the same time you feel cheated. It's only my ego, and one day I'll learn to kick it to the curb.

I recently was a cast member in a production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The connections I made and the fun I had with all the cast and crew will be with me forever. However, if I have to watch that movie at all any time soon I could quite possibly commit suicide. The upside to it is I have memorized pretty much every character's part in the movie. So if I do it again I will be prepared.

Before the show there was a performance from the Florida Dance Theatre. The dancer's characters were everyone's preferred occult figure for this year- the vampire. Vampires are the new black what with all the buzz with Twilight and True Blood being big hits. If you are a fan of those I suggest to you the movie Let The Right One In. Great foreign vampire film and definitely worth your time to watch it.

The dance the FDT performed moved me, which is a rare thing. Dancing doesn't do much for me, but this one was different. The dancers were amazing and it was wonderfully choreographed. It wasn't just that though, it was the music they used that brought it all together. The songs they chose were a perfect fit and I realized that they would make a great addition to 5SIAR. The dance, the songs, and the mood they put me in (which was suffice it to say not a happy one) compelled me to want to write this. That, and, well, a skirmish with a friend. All of those things grabbed me by the arm, sat me down, put my fingers on the keyboard and said "tell us about it." You asked for it. So here it is.

"Us" - Regina Spektor

Us - Regina Spektor

Scene #1: Man and woman meet. Man and woman fall in love. Man and woman are happy.

The opening number to the performance was a track from Spektor's Soviet Kitsch but was also put on the soundtrack to this summer's indie feel good/feel sad movie 500 Days Of Summer. It's your typical grab your lady by the hand and fall in love kind of song. There does, however, seem to be some kind of underlying message of love costing more than what it is worth. Yes, I'm putting a price tag on the emotion because in the greater scheme of things love is the thing that dictates pretty much everything in the universe. Or, at least, something on par with it such as gravity or magnetism. Somehow, someway, attraction is our life's path and that was the center on this part of the dance performance. Two people meet and they fall in love, and it's grand. It's grand because it spreads to others. That wonderful feeling is truly contagious. So much that people will use "Us" as a blueprint for their love.

As lovers rise, in time they eventually fall. Like Icarus, the lover flies too close to the sun, is burned, and falls back down. This is the nearest approximation of falling in and out of love I can conjure. That is the way of things. The path of love is not without its pitfalls and hiccups. Giant sacrifices are made for the other person all for the sake of keeping the connection alive when it's already on life support. Some people sign a prenuptial before getting married, what they should be signing are DNR forms. Do Not Resuscitate.

We all have this hope and dream that love will conquer all and I honestly think that is our first mistake in love. We can't count on it to fix everything because sometimes it does more harm than good. You know that old saying that one man's trash is another's treasure? Well that can also be reversed when it comes to matters of the heart. One man's treasure is another's trash. The shine that was there becomes tarnished and rusted to the point of taking the easy way out and throwing it away instead of polishing it. The same analogy can be used with two people in love. The feeling becomes tarnished from wear and tear (countless fights and disagreements). It becomes so broken that it is thrown away with no chance of survival or revival. Yeah, we've heard it before, love is a battlefield, and we are the soldiers at arms. And yes, sometimes peace treaties can be made, but most of the time the two sides just lay down their weapons and walk away from each other.

OK, now that I've depressed all of you I will say that beyond all of the bullshit and excrement that goes along with falling for someone it really is a great feeling when it all works out. When all the little pieces fit into place perfectly (which is more rare than one might think) it becomes something more than your standard boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in and out of love kind of story. The explosion from this occurrence echoes across our visible and invisible universe dictating courses of action and ultimately becoming the pebble thrown into our pond.

"Emotion Sickness" - Sliverchair

Emotion Sickness - Silverchair

Scene #2: Woman runs away. Hides. Man is attacked. Dies.

Silverchair- A band that has struggled to escape the label of 90's grunge relic to become something of their own; Something a bit more than the dropped D tuning they stole from Helmet. Well, it took a few albums, and from the sound of their most recent release Young Modern, they have come into their own and finally have shed all the Frogstomp stigma left over from their teenage years. In between Frogstomp and Young Modern there was their third album Neon Ballroom- an album that saw a band trying to shed its skin by exploring new territory in a soon to be post-grunge world, yet still maintaining a kinship to their roots of Nirvana-esque antagonism.

The bands and their intentions aren't the point of this issue but the meaning behind the songs are instead. What the songs represent in the dance routine and what that means to me and what I feel and what I think the rest of the world feels. Simple, right? Wrong.

With love comes struggle to keep that love alive. People say, "If it's meant to be then it should be easy!" No, it's never easy. Because we are all so different from one another and complex no one couple in this world will ever have it easy. There are too many nuances to one's personality that prevents that. You're going to have bumps in the road. You're going to get emotionally sick which inevitably leads to being physically sick. Why do you think after one spouse passes away the other follows shortly after. People die from broken hearts, and it happens more often than not.

We can either heal or become ill from overdoses of feeling. How do you feel when you're falling for someone? Invincible, right? Like you could take on one hundred Osama Bin Ladens or Rush Limbaughs and take them all down with one swift gesture. You're on top of the world. Unstoppable, even, yet that is only one end of the string. If there's a positive, there's always a negative.

What happens when love dies? Not only does depression and heartache follow, but now and again a physical malady as well. For instance, what I stated before, someone dying from a broken heart. There is no medical reason why this happens, nor can we really explain it. It just...happens. It amazes me how well connected the mind and body are with one another. Our body has responses to a wide range of emotion. If we're nervous, we sweat. If we're happy, we seem to "glow". If we're angry or threatened, adrenaline kicks in. And if we're sad, we feel nauseous, drained, and unable to properly function. Trouble arises when we lose control of our bodies and let emotion become the pilot. We are rash and we do and say things we wouldn't normally consider doing or saying and it always gets us in trouble.

As for our lovers- the woman leaves the man to be free and experience more only to return to find him broken and expired. Drained of life from the separation.

"The Fragile" - Nine Inch Nails

The Fragile - Nine Inch Nails

Scene #3: Woman returns to find man deceased. Commences to repair him.

When we cannot mend ourselves from what we may consider to be irreparable damage, we have friends and loved ones there to help us along. We break and those close to us are there to sweep up the pieces and help put them back together in some kind of recognizable order. This, of course, is achieved by heavy boozing and late-night drunk dials to the breaker. Luckily I've never been on the receiving end of one of these notorious phone calls of liquored belligerence, nor have I ever had the reason to make one. My life is still young though. I'm sure at some point someone will do something to warrant me drunk dialing them to blast obscenities and curses at them all while my friends are carrying my near de-hydrated and collapsed body to the bathroom to vomit some more. Yes, heartbreak sucks and who better than to school us about it than King Heartbreak himself, Trent Reznor.

The first thing that sticks out in this song is the use of tambourine to sound like chains being dragged. The chains are the focus of the song as them being the object holding down the main character with Trent supposedly being the one making the promise of not letting her succumb to darkness. This of course is my literal translation of it and is more than likely wrong, or is it? Sometimes a song's literal meaning is more often than not the right one. I get so tired of songwriters beating around the bush with in regards to their lyrics. Sometimes they are so abstract and distant that it's difficult to identify with the song which becomes turn off. I understand some level of mystery and privacy for one's feelings, but don't jump the shark with what you're trying to say to sound cool in front of the kids!

Ahem...

Getting back to the subject at hand- Hearts get broken, and then they are mended. It is a process as natural as the sun rising and setting. We win some, we lose some and occasionally both happen at the same time. Love never really dies. It just gets transformed into something else. It evolves. We have to stick by this concept (me included) or else we're all destined to keep falling down until we aren't able to pick ourselves back up. Friends or no friends, it is ultimately up to us to oil the machine and make it all work. But it never hurts to have a little help from your mates.

"Let Go" - Frou Frou

Let Go - Frou Frou

Scene #4: Man is turned to vampire and is healed to spend eternity with woman.

Yet another one-hit indie soundtrack wonder for this issue. This one comes from the Garden State Soundtrack and in all honesty I haven't heard anything released from Frou Frou since. I'm OK with that, too. I've never heard any of her other songs and judging from this one I don't feel like I would be missing anything that's a masterpiece. In this case the music isn't the meaning, it's the message. I believe I've stated that once before, actually. A lot of what I've been doing lately feels like I've done it all before. There's a little bit of past in everything, I guess, or else now wouldn't be the future. That will make more sense later. I promise.

So yes, it's the message. The words, the lyrics, what is being said, which in all actuality can be summed up by the title "Let Go." Let life take over. Don't worry about what is going to happen because then you will spend all of your free time pining over the very worst that may or may not transpire. You will not get to enjoy conversations with friends or ice cream with your children. You will not have your first kiss with someone. You will not catch the 2009 Tampa Bay Buccaneers win their first game of the season. No, you won't experience any of these instances because you were too busy buried inside your own head conjuring up expectations in life that, again, may not happen. Let go. Let whatever will happen happen. It may be what you're looking for.

Sometimes it may seem that at every corner you find a brick wall. Something to impede your forward progress. You can't let that stop you. You are your own worst enemy in this situation. Don't succumb to failure. Stand back up, turn around, and just go another direction. And if that too has another brick wall, well, then, that's life. There's positive and negative, opportunity and brick walls, perfect timing and bad timing....bad timing. People call it fate, or at least some do. The others still believe that we create our own destiny. As for me, I've been leaning more toward the bad timing theory for quite a while now. Sometimes things aren't supposed to happen for a reason. It's tragic though when a person's life becomes nothing but bad timing. However it's sometimes comforting to know that your life has a hand in determining so many other outcomes in other people's lives as well. You almost can't be mad about it. If it was meant to happen that way, bad timing or not, then that's what it was supposed to be. A cluster of bad timing.

Was it fate that determined man and woman being together forever? I honestly don't know, but I know I had a part in it all. This is also why there isn't a fifth song. Whatever it will all be - Winning, losing, good or bad timing - we just don't know. The song hasn't played yet.

"Untitled" - Unknown

PRESS PLAY. Don't let life pass you by.

#12

It's not black. It's not white. It's all the colors in between....And rollerskates.

Music is release. It is energy. It is catharsis. These are reoccurring themes in music I have touched upon in pretty much every issue of 5SIAR since its inception. I think we can all agree that music feeds the soul. It is there when people dig their nails into your personal well-being for the sake of pushing their views on to you. Yes, we all have different tastes and it ultimately boils down to what we like and dislike. And that goes for everything in life. But this doesn't mean that we can't all get along. Aside from being human we all have common ground in something and that something is usually art related. We sit around a table with our comrades in polite, yet sometimes heated, discussion about what artists we consider ear-worthy at the time. We have different views and opinions, but they are neither right nor wrong. The gray area is called our voice. Our own personal take on what the music says to us and how we feel about it. And such is the case for the rest of the issues we face in today's world. But I'm not here to present a political or religious agenda via my blog. I'm here to talk about the music and how it may or may not relate to that agenda. An agenda that's unfortunately cutting not just America, but the world in two.

But, for this issue I say fuck all that noise and instead talk about my fear of rollerskating. A friend suggested to me that I should make a 5SIAR with the five songs I'd rather listen to than have wheels under my feet; So here we go!

"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" - The Proclaimers

I'm Gonna Be [500 Miles] - The...

Amongst the countless other things I'd rather do than go rollerskating (chew on broken glass, go to a NASCAR race, eat brussel sprouts...the list goes on), I would rather listen to five unbearably awful songs that I despise and would never otherwise bring myself to the point of actually listening to them. Listening to these songs, in my opinion, could be considered torture and in my case they usually are. Other people may have a different view of how bad these testaments to the flaws of human-kind are, but for me, they are some of the most abhorrent and god-awful songs to have stuck in your head at any given time. They are, however, the gems I would gladly (and proudly) jam out to rather than strapping skates to my feet only to hang on to the walls of the rink with a white knuckle grip and cold sweat while fighting back a major coronary.

First on the list is a suggestion by a friend that hit the nail right on the head with this diddy. I wholeheartedly agree that "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" has got to be one of the most annoying tunes to have stuck in your head. What makes the song worse is that once it's in your head it doesn't leave. It gets comfy and starts sleeping on your mental couch without even chipping in for rent or beer. These Scottish identical twins of torment struck it big in the U.S. when the song was included on the Benny & Joon soundtrack. To this day I have never seen that movie because of this. Any chance to not hear that song played is a chance worth taking. I even remember being younger, watching MTV, and scrambling for the remote to change the channel as soon as I saw the video come on. Yes, my hate for this song runs deep. Still, I would gladly pay the 99 cents on iTunes, throw it on my iPod, and listen to it on repeat before I would even consider rollerskating again.

I never understood how people could have a phobia and why they would freak out so much about it, but now I do. All of this stemmed from being at a friend's 25th birthday party recently which was held at a skating rink. I wanted to be able to join the rest of my friends as they were enjoying themselves, but alas my fear got the best of me. I did make some kind of breakthrough by making it around the rink at least once, but I'm not sure if I can count that considering I was hanging on to the wall the entire time. It was my own personal hell. The party was still awesome though and so were all my friends giving me the courage to make it around.


"Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)" - Limp Bizkit

Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle) - L...

This song should be number one on the list, but I like to keep at least some of the randomness 5SIAR is all about. Limp Bizkit, and all their songs, pretty much sum up the latter part of a generation that was built on the music MTV served up as the staple of their rock portion of the channel. While we were succumbing to the N'Sync's and the Master P's of the era, bands like Korn and Staind became the relief for the former grunge junkies that were now turned Ozzfest fanatics. OK, in high school Korn's self-titled was a good jam for the times. Staind's first album, also decent for the musically uneducated at the time. There were also a slew of others including Sevendust, Coal Chamber, Incubus, System Of A Down that all made up this conglomerate of alternative metal that was now being called "nu-metal". It was a dark time for music indeed and it got even darker when Korn started inspiring another spin-off of the alternative music drowning the airwaves. It was the joining of rap and rock that sent the mainstream over the edge and into a pit of embarrassment and mud made from the tears of Nirvana fans. And it was Limp Bizkit that was the flagship that was to take us all there.

The year was 1997. Clinton was in office. People had jobs and places to live. The economy was about to enter a boom when something called the internet was to become something more than hearing "Welcome. You've got mail!" Things were pretty much badass compared to the constant shit storm nightmare we live in now. It was this same year that I graduated high school and during that summer some friends from work and I made the journey to Orlando for Ozzfest '97. The only reason, and I do mean the ONLY reason I really wanted to go was because Tool was playing. My parents had forbidden me to go see them on their Aenima tour a year earlier and it started becoming a reality that their oldest son was growing up and had the ability to go to shows by himself without the supervision of an adult. They eventually caved after a few mild arguments about how I wasn't a kid anymore. I guess they had every reason to be because Ozzfest '97 wound up being the first show I smoked pot. This was also the first time I was to experience Limp Bizkit, but unfortunately not my last. A few years down the road my girlfriend at the time wanted to go to a show of theirs, and I being the nice boyfriend, bought tickets to go. Sigh. It truly was a testament to my lack of wisdom and overabundance of complacency at the time.

I don't know what possessed me to buy their first album in the first place. Oh, wait, I know. I got suckered in just like everyone else did with their cover of George Micheal's "Faith". Looking back I consider my musical taste as the somewhat equivalent of what it must've been like to live in the dark ages. Yes, my friends, there was a time I bought and listened to Three Dollar Bill Ya'lls and Significant Other (typing that made me cringe). Luckily, in 2000, I was saved before I was to be forever lost in an ocean of hot dog water and chocolate starfish. My savior came in the form of albums like Kid A, Vespertine, and eventually Is This It and White Blood Cells. And I never looked back. I don't need to explain why "Rollin'" is a bad song. It pretty much speaks for itself. Just know that I would easily choose it over a fall on my ass that might cause permanent tailbone trauma.


"I'll Be There For You" - The Rembrandts

I'll Be There For You - The Re...

Hundreds of Rachel's walking around. Ma and Pa coffee shops popping up on every corner only to be abandoned years later and ironically turned into Starbucks. Millions of people around the globe gripping their loveseat and lattes in hopes that Ross and Rachel would finally get together. This was the reality we were all living in 1995 when this theme song turned big hit wrapped its mouth around the masses and swallowed them whole. This is the first time in history a television theme song reached #1 on the Billboard charts. What was worse was that it stayed there for several weeks. Every Thursday night America had this song shoved down its throat. The super poppy and uplifting lyrics defined what Friends was all about. People hated it, well, at least the people I knew hated it. And after a few seasons of it being on I started to see more and more of my friends change sides and become fans of the show. It was almost as if they had a case of Stockholm Syndrome.

You couldn't go anywhere without hearing someone talk about Friends. It became the Cheers of our generation and it may even surpass Cheers' record for longest syndicated television show. I can't look through the cable guide between the hours of 5 and 7pm without seeing at least one station broadcasting an episode. And with that episode comes another play of the song. Multiply that by the number of television stations in the U.S. Now multiply that number by how many episodes those stations play every day. That's a shitload of times "I'll Be There For You" is played in a given week. Now, all of that is dependent on whether or not the station plays enough of the song during the intro to pay royalties...I think. Correct me if I'm wrong here guys, but I'm right then The Rembrandts are living large. Like, Jay-Z's diamonds large. Like, Dirk Diggler large. Like, population of China large. You get the picture.

Because of a show a band is set for life off a song they didn't even write. And because of a song we had to listen to people in our offices say something like "I'm such a Monica, you're definitely a Phoebe" every Friday around the coffee maker. People went out and bought that Rembrandts album thinking that it was going to be great. I wonder how many of those people were disappointed by it or, to this day, still touts that it's the best album ever made. Are those people out there? Do they exist? If they do, I'd love to meet them. I'd also love to meet a die hard Proclaimers fan too. I also can't help but wonder that what if iTunes was around back then would "I'll Be There For You" outsell The Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus? The world may never know the answers to these questions and scholars will be theorizing for years to come. I know I will.


"There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" - The Smiths

There Is A Light That Never Go...

This isn't a bad song. In fact, it's a great one. One of the best ever, actually. It's obviously far beyond all three previous tracks written about on here. So why is it here you ask? Well, this issue isn't just strictly bad songs I'd rather listen to than go skating. I like randomness and I seem to thrive on inconsistency, and since I just got home from seeing 500 Days Of Summer I figured I'd include it on the list. I like throwing curveballs, but it's funny how I don't like curveballs thrown at me. And that movie, suffice it to say, was a Nolan Ryan, right over the left edge of the plate, swinging at air, strike three you're out curveball. The movie was real and that's what made it great and it's also what made it depressing. But depressing movies happen. So do depressing songs. Rollerskating, however, does not in my book. So I will gladly take the heart wrenching pill called the bitterness of reality as opposed to, again, skating.

The song is not so much bad as it is painful. But then again, does it really matter? This won't stop a person from listening to a song. All the songs that are ex's, or friends that have passed on, or that summer you spent in Europe and fell in love, all of these moments in time become one mixtape after another that collect the dust of years gone by. That is until it is picked back up again. You get drawn back to that moment for better or for worse. Life is not a box of chocolates; It is a shoebox full of plastic and magnet with two sides- Comedy and tragedy.

I don't know; maybe physical bruises from falling down on varnished concrete are more bearable than the bruises left on ones soul from life's disappointments? No, I take that back. I'd much rather spend a night with a six pack in my stomach than an ice bag on my knee.


Any song ever recorded and/or performed by Insane Clown Posse

Great Milenko - Insane Clown P...

I'll wrap up this issue with nothing more than a mention of the duo named Insane Clown Posse; anything more would be giving them more space than they deserve. I don't see how people can like their music. Ugh, music. Can I even call it that? It's the most talentless shit I think I've ever heard. I know, some people would disagree. There are people out there that are the die hardest of the die hard of fans, so who am I to judge? These "Juggalos", I've found, are usually some of the most unintelligent people I've ever met in my life. That's why I can judge, because you, the ICP fan, are what's wrong with America. You and every other "ain't America great", IQ of 30, yokel from here to Alaska that thinks shitty music is good. What, you need someone with makeup on or a mask to tell you how it is? How about this: take off your face paint, burn your ICP CDs, and wake up and go buy Springsteen's The River. Then you might have some kind of idea how real life was and still is according to a recording artist. Not from two jackasses in clown makeup. How much do you want to bet that Fred Durst is secretly a Juggalo. That would explain a lot, I think.

I take it back. I'd rather rollerskate and incur and risk bodily harm than listen to an ICP song. Bring on the pain and embarrassment!

#11

The best songs are played while driving.

"Commemorative T-Shirt" - Oceansize

Commemorative ____ T-Shirt - O...

I have a certain mix I play when I want only music that I have deemed enjoyable. I know, it's cheating, but I don't feel bad so it doesn't count. This playlist compiled with the intent on never having to skip through the bullshit to get to what I want to hear. And now, after not visiting this playlist for several months, I have come back to it only to find that the ">>|" button takes over the scene. It calls my hand to it and inevitably takes control. Gems are passed over for the sake of catering to my mood, which has been rather somber as of late, but that's another story all together. Just because I may punching the losing card instead of the winning one doesn't mean I can't appreciate beauty when I see it or hear it. It doesn't cut me off. I won't let it. My sword is phrase. My victory will be the final period at the end of this issue.

Welcome back to 5 Songs In A Row.

My playlist, aptly titled "On The Road" since I only listen to it while I'm driving, contains the songs from the bands that matter most. Matter most to me, that is. In the past it never failed, but as I was saying, tonight when I put it on nothing seemed to jive. That is until Oceansize was played; A rock band from the UK with a near obvious tell that they really wish they were Radiohead. And yet Oceansize blends just enough grit into the mix to be able to stay outside the niche of modern pop and shake the comparisons with a posture not unlike those of American indie rock/metal bands just doing what everyone else is- trying to make a name for themselves.

Frames, their third attempt at swallowing the masses with their gaping sound, doesn't stray much from the head-banging riffs of their debut Effloresce or the subtle repose of Everyone Into Position, their sophomore album. Those traits and the formula used to tie them together teeter on the edge of Frames being lackluster and only part of the solution to the same equation they have been trying to solve since their inception. That's not to say that everything they do is shit and shouldn't be heard. For instance, this song. Track one on Frames. It begins with a drawn out instrumental jam that rivals some Tool songs and drops into what sounds like a bit of a diatribe from singer Mike Vennart touting his ability to be above some sorry excuse for a reconciliation. Yet the title suggests some lingering resentment. The classic "I survived this part of my life and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" kind of attitude. Yeah, we've all been there.

The reason I let this song continue to play was because how it made me not want to feel the same things I had always felt when I listened to it in the past; like I was diluting myself into some imaginary concept of being something I'm not. A video of me playing music would consistantly play on in my mind's eye. Something that sounds nice on paper, but probably would never come to pass. It gave me power to accept what I truly need to focus on and clear away the black storm clouds that seep in and cover the sun. The clouds are just fantasies, of course. I still had four more tracks to get through, and the clouds still had to drop some kind of precipitation to let me know they were there. Don't worry, I carry an umbrella.

"Melt Your Heart" - Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins

Melt Your Heart - The Watson T...

Jenny Lewis was born with the purpose of writing the kinds of songs that somehow form the boot that kicks me in the balls. Everything about her from her scarlet bangs to her sweet and innocent charm is a steel toe to a sensitive part of my anatomy. That's not to say I don't take pleasure in the moment though. I am, admittedly, a bit of a masochist. The pain I endure in life serves as a means to an end. It is the mechanism I use to be able to sit down and write. Situations arise and I choose a path that will certainly lead me down a road with bumps, potholes, and the eventual blocked-off cliff drop of doom which I speed through at 100 miles per hour to end it all in a fiery crash of metal and blood. I brake for no one, but slowing down to enjoy the scenery along the way once in a while is nice too.

"Melt Your Heart" has to be one of the best worst songs to listen to when you're trying to get over someone. As much as I want to skip it, I want to listen to it that much more. I let it play even though it does a damn good job of killing me and the uplifting mood left over from Oceansize. It's a bittersweet moment, but it's safe to say that as time goes on in my life there will be more sweet and less bitter.

But above all of the nonsense, I love how tender it is. Like some kind of note slipped into your pocket when you weren't looking. You open it up and it's gentle words letting you know that nothing is ever perfect, and to stop trying to make it perfect. Let things be as they are. It'll mean more. It's not so much the words as it's how they are sung, though. Lewis' butter over warm toast voice continues to give the public what it craves: tranquility. There's not a lot to be angry about in the world during a Jenny Lewis song and adding the Southern charm of The Watson Twins makes it even more memorable.

"Good Fortune" - PJ Harvey

Good Fortune - PJ Harvey

I was thankfully given a short reprieve from the melancholia of "Melt Your Heart" courtesy of PJ Harvey and one the (very) few uplifting & positive songs she has written in her career; a single from (in my opinion) her best album, Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea. "Good Fortune" is the kind of song you add to that mix you want to make your significant other after those first few glowing months of "love will conquer all" attitude and right before you start getting on each other's nerves. I've only put it on a mix for one person so far. It also makes for a good road jam, which is why it is on this particular playlist in the first place.

Hearing the song took me back to the video. It shows Ms. Harvey coming out of a building with sunglasses on like she was expecting it to be light out. My guess is she was with a suitor and lost track of time. A lot of time. Then, waving her arms and thrashing about like some kind of love-sick seizure victim, she prances down city streets singing to the camera as if she's leaving a message to the lucky man (or woman) she was with before the film started rolling. She's upbeat, excited, and most of all, happy with what is going on in her life in the typical PJ Harvey "looks sexy while doing it" fashion. Yes, I'm stating the obvious here, but sometimes the answer to something is just that simple. Don't ever try to overanalyze a situation. It sucks the meaning right out of it.

So the next time you feel yourself growing in any positive way play this song. Even if you're not, play it anyway. It helps. Music is there to aid in that. It's medicine. An artist takes his or her own experiences from the shelf, mixes them together into a tonic, hands you the glass and says "Here, drink this. It'll help you feel better."

And like PJ, I can feel my bad fortune slipping away, too.



"Nothing & Nowhere" - Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton

Nothing & Nowhere - Emily Hain...

Emily Haines' solo work reminds me of being in some kind of back alley music club that's heavy on cigarette smoke and cheap wine and low on self-respect and moral regard toward others. It's the soundtrack to so many sleepless nights. Kind of like this one. Details aren't needed, so I'll just let the songs speak for themselves. I guess they already are considering we're already on track 4, right?

The lead lyricist of the band Metric took a step away from her usual angst ridden song structure and went with a softer approach to the way she expresses the issues that vex her. It reflects on the apparent depression she was suffering at the time which almost crippled her into a state of never wanting to write music ever again. Understandable. It's difficult to want to pick up that pen, brush, or instrument again after a harrowing experience that leaves you in such a state of mind that you feel vulnerable to any little thing that took a piece of you. Emily says, "Numb is the new high," and at times being numb is the only thing that saves us from completely bottoming out. But it's only a temporary fix. A pill that may cure the symptom, but not the disease. We eventually have to confront the problem. Only then can we move on.

Everything is in a constant state of evolution, including music. Occurrences in our own lives and the lives of others dictate what we want to listen to and what a musician wants to write about. In Haines' case, it was all about a sadness she couldn't escape from. She was lost, scared, and unable to find herself through all the black; something I can empathize with.


"Landslide" - Fleetwood Mac

Landslide - Fleetwood Mac

As I pulled into my driveway this song came on to mark the end of the night. Many artists have covered it, but as with most reproductions, their versions have paled in comparison to the original. No one, not Tori Amos, The Dixie Chicks, and certainly not Billy Corgan can even come close to candor of Stevie Nicks. It was written during the time of her and Buckingham's rocky relationship. Ha ha, get it? Landslide? Rocky? Nevermind. Speaking of rocky, Nicks wrote this while visiting Colorado, looking at the Rocky Mountains, and imagining the avalanche of everything that had piled on top of her and Buckingham.

I can relate. Life has been beginning to feel like an in-box at work that's slowing building with more and more TPS reports. It's overwhelming to the point of not knowing where to begin to get it all sorted out. However, to begin a journey you must take a step forward and never consider taking a step back when negativity lurks around the bend.

We're all afraid of change, but as usual, it's the one thing that's constant. I spoke earlier of evolution; how we are all experiencing it together, yet it feels like we've become distant from one another while it happens. We grow up and move away, sometimes for good. What makes it special is the people we surround ourself with. They aid in our growth whether we believe it or not. Some are more spiritual and consider God to be their only route towards enlightenment. But I believe that it not only comes from God, but everyone we meet in life. Everyone is there to help dig ourselves out of the mess that we, or others, might have created. How do you think Fleetwood Mac are still playing as a band today? It certainly wasn't because of them turning their back from one another. Could be the money, though.

#10 (Finally!)

Issue #10 of 5SIAR has had some complications for the past week or so. When I say complications I mean I haven't really had the inspiration or the time to really sit down and write. But a wise man once told me that the only way to battle writer's block is to just sit down and write. To just do it. Of course that little bit of advice made me think of the Nike "Just Do It" ad campaign which in turn made me think of the movie from the poster above. I figured saying "Just Deux It" instead of "Just Do It" would sound funnier to me and therefore put me in a better place and mood to write. The chicken and Sheen's 1990's coiffed Stallone-esque hair work just as well, too. And now, on with Issue #10 of 5 Songs In A Row.


I wanted my tenth issue of 5SIAR to be a really good one. It seemed just doing the usual shuffle of five random songs from my ipod wasn't special enough for this issue. Instead, I decided to pay homage to my favorite band as of right now considering I haven't really given a band that title since I listened to Tool in high school. Tool deserved it, and now Grizzly Bear deserves it.


"This Song"

When Ed Droste started Grizzly Bear in his apartment with nothing but a 4-track and a few instruments, I'm certain that he was not aware of the grandeur and rep his project would achieve only a few short years later. What began as something as simple as one man crooning out short lo-fi lullabies has turned into an extreme buzz-worthy and deserving collective of musicians that not only titillate the ears, but the inner spirit as well.

It all begins in ground zero for a lot of the more current indie-rock influenced music from the east coast - New York City, NY - an area rich with the culture and inspiration that has also spawned some of the music world's other heavily regarded acts such as TV on the Radio, Interpol, The Strokes, and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They all began from the same single idea to make something that the masses want to hear and enjoy. Some end up on shaky ground while others, like Grizzly Bear, just keep churning out solid jams one right after the other.

Grizzly Bear's first album, Horn Of Plenty, is almost all atmosphere that's dense with odd-noised synth mods, scarce drum patterns, acoustic guitar, and of course Droste's signature butter-soft voice made grainy by tape hiss and toast crumbs. It's folk, but the little hints and tinges of electronic make it seem as if it would be the folk album chained to the inside of Aphex Twin's head clawing to get out.

This album would serve as a basis for what Ed would eventually turn his project into along with fellow songwriter Daniel Rossen manning the guitar duties, Chris Taylor on bass, and Chris Bear on percussion and drums. All of them sing harmonies in the songs which give it that folk feel that's also been brought to light by Fleet Foxes. These four men and their voices formed an indie-powerhouse capable of even cutting into the mainstream with a sharp knife and disrupting the status quo of the Billboard Music Chart with their sharp riffs, hooks, poise, and charm.

"Little Brother (Electric)"

We're gonna have a song from every GB album in this post. It is, after all, a strictly Grizzly 5SIAR, so there will be something for everyone. You say you only like the Friend EP; though I don't know why you would only like a certain album from these guys and nothing else? We have your track right here. A completely plugged version of the same song from Yellow House (we're getting there, hold on). Since it's electric I can't help but wonder if Chris Bear went ahead and used an electric drum kit for the recording as well. You know, to make it hold true to its full namesake. I highly doubt it though. Part of what makes GB so gorgeously fantastic is Chris Bear's sudden calm to heavy style of taking a particular song - for instance, this one - to another level.

Percussion and drums aside, the foremost highlight of this ditty is, in my opinion, Rossen's guitar tone. I know he uses an acoustic/electric of some kind (Gibson?), but what is he using on top of that as far as effects goes? He can't be running completely dry. Some delay and some reverb obviously, but that can't be all he's using. If there are any guitar virtuosos out there reading this and listen to Grizzly Bear, please leave a comment with your thoughts and opinions on what Mr. Rossen is using for most if not all of the electric GB songs, as well as his other, and just as equally sonically persuasive band, Department of Eagles.

A friend of mine recently attended a GB show in her home town of Austin, TX. She said, and I quote, "at times they were very metal." I can only surmise which songs actually sounded "metal", but I'm sure "Little Brother" would have been pretty rockin' if it was played electric. They have certainly rocked enough to catch the attention of Trent Reznor who recently spoke with Newsweek and mentioned GB-

"The band Grizzly Bear, I think they're excellent. There's a beauty and a musicality there that I wish would have been in vogue in the late '80s, when I was forming bands. The aesthetic I was tuned into was a more dumbed-down kind of thing. Sometimes listening to stuff like they're doing makes me feel irrelevant. That's a nice, healthy kick in the ass. And it's interesting to see there's room for that in what's considered hip these days." -Trent Reznor

A GB influenced NIN album? I would really love to hear that. Make it happen, Trent. There'll be a cool shiny nickel in it for ya.

"Fine For Now"

THE album of the summer. No, I'm not kidding. It might even be THE album of the year, but I'm not ready to call that one yet. For the summer though? You betcha. I don't think there is anything else on the docket that could even come close to trumping Veckatimest. When it leaked it was like Christmas in March. Yes, that's right, I'm not going to hide the fact that I downloaded and previewed the album before its official released on May 26 of this year, but who didn't? I say previewed because I had every intention of purchasing this album upon its unveiling regardless of what I initially thought of it. When you're a fan, you're a fan, so obviously you will do everything in your financial power to support the art you love.

I understand some of the reactions from the people I have spoken to about Veckatimest who don't particularly care for it as much as they did for Yellow House (next song, I promise). The argument most commonly stated is that Veck is too "poppy" of an album and in today's music scene pop isn't synonamous to noble or impressive. Seriously though, did everyone expect Yellow House 2: Return To The Cod? Part of what makes a band continuously put out great albums is the constant shift in the various nuances of life and the reorganization of the world around them. Almost like pancake batter. No matter how many times you've made pancakes with the same recipe they will always taste slightly different each time. It's not just the chemistry of the different ingredients mixing together in the bowl. It's you. Your taste has changed. Same batter, different mood. Outside stimuli in your day to day drag has added or taken away feelings, thoughts, and emotions you may or may not have originally had before.

All of what I just stated should be taken into account when prescribing to a new piece of art. You have to consider what the band felt and what you are feeling at the moment of intake. I don't mean that in a matter of fact, this is the rule to listening to music kind of way, but on some level it's true. I can't even count how many times I've listened to an album and wrote it off after the first few listens only to return a year or two later and absolutely love it. You've had that happen to you, right? In fact, it happened to me with Yellow House and it's what I think the band is talking about in "Fine For Now." They are "not asking for your permission," so "please understand" if you come to find you dislike Veckatimest at this moment in your life. Just please don't count it out.

ps. Just watched the video review on ABC's website. Hearing Charlie Gibson talk about Grizzly Bear felt awkward. Though not as awkward as Mr. Thompson's stiff, monotone description of Veckatimest. I guess this belongs in a tweet, but whatever.

"Central and Remote"

Off the top of my head I can't really think of any great moments in history from 2006. We were still in the Bush era, so it goes to show you how little a person can actually remember from that time period without using Google to do it for you. Which I did, and it returned what I expected- Bush this, Bush that. Iraq this, Iraq that. Amy Winehouse does crack, etc., etc. There was however some light and hope throughout all of this in the form of music. Some great albums were released in '06 that are still in constant rotation on my turntable: Let's Get Out Of This Country, Silent Shout, Everything All The Time, Night Ripper, and of course Yellow House.

Going back to what I was saying before, Yellow House was one of those albums that I didn't quite get or comprehend as soon as I listened to it. It took a while, like, as in a few years. It wasn't until last year that I threw my arms around this album and called it "baby." No, not literally, so stop the internal dialog that's calling me a freak. I mean I really became attached to listening to it almost all of the time which in turn made me ask myself, why? Why now and not then? To reiterate, I lent it to not being in the right frame of mind or place in my life that I could fully embrace the genius and the musicality of it. So it goes.

While this entire album is beyond great as a whole, there are certain nuances of it that make it a step above the rest. For instance the vibraphones (guessing on that) in the intro of this song. Also the timbre of everyone's voice in the band goes so well together, yet they are so distinct, that it makes every harmony pleasing to the ears without being overly textured. It's almost as if the all the members asked themselves "how can we achieve the sound of a person laying their head down on to a pillow made of satin in a room where a cool breeze flows through an open window all while an old man shuffles in the hallway on a wood floor?" I wonder if I'm close.

"Eavesdropping"

Time is not graceful nor is it forgiving. However there is optimism to that statement. As the generations grow older the search for new landscapes and frontiers in the world of music and beyond becomes more and more important. We experiment more because we want to see what else is out there and sometimes we do it with music; We listen to it and we create it all for a chance to cheat time or at least to ignore it. Still, it'll always have an influence on us.

Out of the entire Grizzly Bear catalog I have to say that this song is probably the most classic folk sounding. Ed and the rest of the guys have gotten the label of anti-folk and psych-folk mostly because of the strangeness of the material on Horn of Plenty. But again, time has influence. The slowed down folk ballads of yesteryear are made apparent in "Eavesdropping." It's not so much the instruments that were used, but the way the song is carried and held up by Ed's voice which has been compared to Harry Nilsson's a lot lately. I've never been one to nit pick a song to the extent of trying to find the influences, but then again my music knowledge isn't as vast as others might be.

I know a lot of people consider our generations to be divided. Each one saying that the next one will destroy the world. But those gaps can be, and are closed with the patience and tolerance handed to us from the older generations and what they have accomplished through the arts. It brings us all together and it's something we can't forget about.

Remember when you asked your parents what they listened to when they were younger and getting into music? What they were enjoying during their early life and before the world ended and began at the same moment you were born? I'm sure what they told you was an array of bands that you began to enjoy as well because somehow you remember hearing it when you were a baby. I ask this because I'm reading This Is Your Brain On Music by Daniel J. Leviten, a former music producer turned neuro-psychologist that talks about how music is able to produce an emotional response not only through the lyrics, but through the specific rhythms and pitches in the songs. A song sticks with you because of how you originally felt, and not thought, when you first heard it. This is why the music of our parent's generation plays a part in what we may listen to today.

I'm really looking forward to when my children get older and inquire about my taste in music. I would be playing an album and one of them will ask, "who is this, dad?" It'll be something I had been playing since they were able to remember hearing it whether they know it or not. Something that will stand the test of time and become a classic much like The Beatles or Led Zeppelin. It'll be Grizzly Bear.

#9

Radio and the endless song.

"Brown Sugar" - The Rolling Stones

Brown Sugar (Remastered) - The...

I've come to terms recently that I like to be rushed when I write. I usually wait till the very last moment to start doing all my writing. Drafts? Pfft. Who needs those? I shoot from the hip. When my iPod plays the five songs that are to be used for an issue I immediately try to tie them all together in some kind of basic theme or idea. Something to make it interesting and make you, the reader, keep reading. For this issue however, a lightning storm went off over my head. I guess it was only a matter of time considering the incessant rain we've been getting here in ole sunny Florida. It's been raining here everyday for the past 17 days and counting. Sunshine State my ass.

A few evenings ago I was stuck driving a car that was not my own. No iPod hookup which meant no way to play my pocket-sized digital jukebox which provides limitless comfort in even the most harrowing of situations. No, nothing but Lorenna McKinnet CDs and a mix CD that my brother made. I wasn't in the mood for Celtic croons or emo-punk balladry. My only option was to then swallow my pride and turn the radio on to find a station. It was a big deal for me bearing in mind that I had swore off the medium nearly a decade ago. The only, and I do mean ONLY time I will turn the radio on is if I don't have my iPod or any CDs to play at my disposal, and even then I only listen to talk radio.

And then it came to me. Why don't I do a 5SIAR with five random songs being played on the radio? One right after another, each time from a different station. Just then a bolt of lightning came down about 20 feet away from the road I was driving on. Coincidence?

I immediately dreaded the usual garbage that exists on the airwaves. I was begging the gods that be to not give me Nickelback, Disturbed, or everyone's radio favorite Third Eye Blind. My silent prayers were answered when the first song that was played was none other than the ever classic head-bobbing, rock/soul/blues anthem dedicated to inter-racial sex, sadomasochism, and heroin use- The Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar"

So as the heavens poured down the rain in buckets I cranked the volume and jammed out to Mick, Keith, and the boys. I had been worried only a few minutes prior that I wasn't going to find anything good to listen to. I've always equated the radio with music television stations like MTV and VH1. Yeah, they used to play videos, but now all their programming consists of reality shows. I view radio in the same light. Nothing but overplayed, top 40, run of the mill standards that are meant to be played over and over till you get sick and just can't wait for that needless station to change their format. It's recycled garbage, and not the good kind either.

Yet on the other side of the coin radio does have it's brighter moments peaking through the dark cloud of mediocrity. Every once in a while (like this one) you come across something you either A: haven't heard in a long time and suddenly hear it on the radio and immediately become nostalgic or B: have never heard the song that is playing in your life and you suddenly discover something new. It may be something you like or dislike, but the point is that you're experiencing something new. I used to think radio wasn't good for something like that anymore, but shame on me for being my usual judgmental self.

"I Want You To Want Me" - Cheap Trick

I Want You To Want Me (Live) -...

What is with this song that makes all the girls go crazy over? I mean, c'mon, it's not like Cheap Trick were the ultimate ladies men. Or were they? Were they the Def Leppard of the 70's? I think the only reason girls like it today was because it was in that movie 10 Things I Hate About You. No one even realizes that it was originally Cheap Trick that wrote this song. This annoying, vomit in my mouth a little, yet another played out, but for some reason can't change the station it's on song.

What made it worse was the fact that it was the live version. I don't understand how the live version of this song charted while the original album version did not. Oh, wait, I know. The album version is even more terrible than the live one. I will admit however that the intro to the song sounds like something The Strokes would write. So I guess the music isn't that bad, it's just the whiny & girlish falsetto that turns my stomach. Oh, and Rick Nielsen is kind of a kook too.

To let you know, this was the same station that had just played "Brown Sugar." One of those 70's, 80's, & 90's hits stations. It gives me a good reason to go back to my disownment of radio. I'll hear one song that I can jam to and then the next will be total crap. I like being in control of my music. I don't trust a radio station's computer to be picking the songs I want to hear. Not only is radio dying, but the DJ is as well. There are only a few radio programs left out there that allow their DJs to pick the music. One of them, a personal favorite of mine and one of the only reasons to wake up early on a Sunday, is called Sunday Morning Coming Down, named after the Kris Kristofferson song of the same name. The DJ has a smooth voice and plays nothing but alt-country and folk. Great soundtrack to recover from a hangover while having a cup of coffee and wondering what the hell happened the night before. So if you live in central Florida tune your radio to 104.1 FM on Sunday morning between the hours of 8 and 11. I promise it'll help the constant throbbing in your head from too many shots of Maker's.

"Under The Bridge" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

It was time to change the station. I don't remember what the station was that was playing this classic number. As soon as it came on I pictured myself sitting in front of the TV watching the video and seeing Anthony Kiedis running away from an atomic bomb explosion. Funny how that was the only imagery I remember from it. A shirtless Anthony Kiedis running. It's Gus Van Sant's fault.



Sorry for the ad. YouTube mysteriously doesn't host this video.

The song obviously made the Chili Peppers' career. As I said before, it's timeless. It will withstand the test of time. I think of all the songs released by all the artists in the world - which are in the billions I imagine - only a handful of those songs survive being overplayed. There are one-hit wonders, and then there are hits that continuously travel down a never ending radio road where your origin is the top 40 station and your destination is the classic rock station. It honestly makes me feel old.

All the songs I used to rock out to in high school are no longer played on the major rock stations. They are now considered "classics." It's a right of passage I suppose. Our parents went through it, but did their parents go through it as well? I'm going to say no. Our grandparents didn't have rock 'n roll in their day. They didn't have pop. They didn't have hip hop. They didn't have all the genres that exist today. They didn't listen to the radio like we listen to the radio. Grandma and Grandpa didn't care as much, and frankly, neither do I.

"Rockin' Chair" - Gwen McCrae

Rockin' Chair - Gwen McCrae

If you live in central Florida and are familiar with the radio stations you'll know, or have some idea, that the station Q105 (104.7) has changed their format several times over the past 20 years or so. They went from 70's, 80's to country and then back to 70's, 80's, and added 90's. What will stations say in the future when they add songs from the 2000's?

"The hits you love from the 70's, 80's, 90's, and the zeros!" OK, not that funny, but it made me laugh a little.

I tuned the radio to 104.7 just in time to catch the DJ talking about this song and then playing it. I was an itch away from changing the station until the music started playing. I was compelled to turn the volume up on the radio as loud as it would go and bob my head and do as much dancing as I could allow myself while driving. I'm really glad it was dark out and raining because if I was doing this in daylight I would get some really awkward looks at stop lights.

It was so loud I could even hear it standing outside my car with the door shut as I delivered something back to someone who supposedly needed that something right away but then changed their mind. So indecisive, but I digress.

Just listen to the song. I mean, you can't help but crank the volume up to the "other people are gonna get pissed because it's too loud and obnoxious" level. It's rare times like that that almost make me to not want to swear off radio completely again.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirv...

There's no better way to end an issue about radio songs than with the teenage angst anthem of the 1990's. This song has got to be played more than any other song on the radio right now. We can blame it on the martyrdom of Cobain. Now I know the formula to have a song last centuries.

Rip off Pixies + Punk rock + Millions of kids that worshiped you and your band + Suicide = A song that will end up in some 23rd century VH1 list for songs that will never die along side "Under The Bridge."

I'm telling you, it'll outlive roaches if a nuclear holocaust was to happen.

I wasn't a Kurt or Nirvana lover during their heyday. I was more into Tool and Nine Inch Nails. Still am actually. I'll take "Head Like A Hole" over "Teen Spirit" any day. Nirvana doesn't even show up in my top 5 list of grunge acts from the 90's.

1. Alice In Chains
2. Soundgarden
3. Failure (labeled as space rock, but their debut in my opinion was more grungy than Nevermind)
4. Mudhoney
5. Pearl Jam

Can you even consider Pearl Jam grunge? They were more of the rock/blues from the 70's, yet they got corralled in with grunge label because they were from Seattle.

In any case, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was probably the song that made me want to stop listening to the radio. I couldn't change the station and not hear it being played somewhere. It was around the same time I started listening to Tori Amos. She was never played on the radio so I had no choice but to turn it off and listen to CDs. This evolved into acquiring a very large CD collection so I wouldn't have to turn the radio on ever again.

I don't mean to get too scientific here, but it's interesting to me how our tastes develop and change over time. Like our sense of taste, our taste in music shifts from one direction to another depending on our experiences in life and beyond. I can recall sitting in my room on Sunday mornings listening to Casey Kasem and waiting with my finger on the record button on my tape player to catch some of my favorite songs. "Head Over Heals" from Tears For Fears comes to mind. It was the birth of my obsession with making mixes. Even today I make mixes for people that they never hear, and probably never will. It's a connection to my memories. I believed that was mentioned in an issue before.

I watched that movie Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist the other night for the first time. Sappy as to be expected, though Michael Cera reminded me of myself a little bit. Drowning himself in mix after mix as if it was a catharsis (See issue #8). He felt he would be saved if only his ex heard the songs he listened to that reminded him of her. She turned out being a bitch of course, so lesson learned- only give the mixes that mean something, that will, like the other songs in this issue, outlive us and our children...on the radio.