First, I apologize for the lack of posts. My Internet access have been somewhat limited this week and I couldn't find time enough to post. I guess it doesn't make sense that too make up for a lack of posts I post a mix original not meant for this site. In fact, it was for someone who wanted to hear emo and discover new music. So I complied some of my favorites. These are still fantastic songs, and I believe a few should be new to whoever you are, as well. If not...well, it's a nice remembrance of bands from the past.

So, download:
The Bubble Death-emo and favorites

Tracklisting:

1+2, Fugazi off the Argument
3. Drink Deep-Rites of Spring (arguably the band that started emo)
4. Oh well, okay-Elliott Smith
5. For Me This Is Heaven-Jimmy Eat World
6. Title and Registration-Death Cab For Cutie
7. Ursa Minor-At The Drive-In
8. The Engine Driver-The Decemberists
9. Girl-Beck
10. Cut Your Hair-Pavement

Mondays are generally a disliked day, especially after a fun weekend, it's horrible to realize that you still have another whole week to go through. There's a couple things I should be commenting on today...most of which I'm not going to. Star Wars, every other blog in the universe has got it covered, and I'm not a great movie critic by any standards, but I did see it on Sunday, and I liked it, so let's leave it at that. Street Scene is a whole different matter. I know, it's just a little early, but the official lineup was released today...and guess whose playing? The Pixies, Flaming Lips, Death Cab for Cutie, Hot Hot Heat, Garbage, Social D, Rise Against, and for the teensyboppers or whatever they're called, White Stripes, The Killers, 311 Dashboard Confessional, The Used, Black Eyed Peas, ...actually, the moment I saw the magic word "Pixies" I was sold, but this has now earned a place on my must must must go list. It is at the end of July and only in San Diego, but hey, if people can come from all over the country to see Coachella, Street Scene shouldn't be so different.


Oh boy, look who it is. Jimmy Eat World pouring their hearts out at 04's Street Scene, and me absent from the show. Can you say you're surprised?

Moving on. How would you like to be the ugliest person in the world? In a recent effort to participate in a contest (I missed the deadline...again...who's suprised?), I used my wonderful (read: terrible) talent to create a tale about the ugliest woman in the world. The storyline does not seem to make sense and truthfully, I could not care less about the character. However, it's been a while since I finished any stories so this is a moment of happiness...I think.

Moving further on. I'm thinking about changing the layout of this lovely blog. I love the little Grim Reaper guy, but, like someone said, black text on red background probably isn't the easiest to read. And besides, I'm almost getting bored of it. However, I can't seem to find any cool templates and since my HTML/graphic skills are lacking, I might have to resort to a Blogger layout with personal touches. But that'll take away the whole meaning of things and take away the few unique traits about this blog...decisions, decisions, decisions!

Sorry, guys, still haven't found any hot new music acts everyone should be psyched about. But blame the music industry, not me. Meanwhile, you can all get excited about Street Scene whether you live anywhere near San Diego or not by enjoying the greatest artists it has to offer...perhaps even more so than Coachella. Just kidding. Well, actually, I wasn't, but I rather not get ripped apart alive...

Download:
(one of my favorite Pixies songs)Monkey Gone to Heaven-Pixies
Good Night, Good Night-Hot Hot Heat
Do You Realize-The Flaming Lips

So here is the second mix…got some great artists on here. You may have noticed that I overwrote a bit, but I guess it’s better than underwriting. It’s also now 10 track rather than six, so more to enjoy and more to read. Your feedback is always much appreciated and will be used to improve further downloads.

Download: Bubble Death Mix 2

Playlist:

King of Carrot Flowers, Pts. 2-3 - Neutral Milk Hotel
Ah, Neutral Milk Hotel, the most accomplished band in the indie circle of the Elephant 6, from their legend album, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, this is track two, a continuation of “King of Carrot Flowers Part 1”, which is more instrumental. From bursts of electronic noise to horns and acoustic guitars to what sounds like heavy metal riffs with [VOCALISTS] strange voice, it’s all part of the charm. And the random, seemingly unconnected lyrics and song names? It’s just one of the many things that make them one of the coolest indie rockers around.

This Book Is a Movie-Spoon
Another indie bunch. Spoon, however, is a bit more collected. Their songs actually have something like a structure to it, and you can almost call this song “rock” from the distorted guitars, reasonable drumming and practically catchy pop hooks. I mean, this is a song you can tap your foot to. This is a song you wouldn’t be scared of blasting in your car while cruising down the freeway…maybe. The bells and effects still add the touch of melodramatic experimentalness, and this is a completely instrumental song, so don’t be expecting super easy access. This track is off their relative masterpiece, Girls Can Tell.

Butcher the Song-Cursive
Three indie rockers in a row? Uh oh. What happened to my varied music taste? I guess Cursive can almost be consider the punkers of the group, compared with their companions above (or before?). This is still wild music, though. Strings, guitars that sound like someone’s slaughtering someone else (butcher song…duh!), bursts of screams followed by regular singing…and this track is from another highly praised album too! This is, of course, off The Ugly Organ, every Saddle Creek fan’s wet dream.

Criminal Piece-Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
It’s Ted Leo and The Pharmacists coming to save the mix! Here is a song with verses and chorus clearly distinguished, a vocalist who doesn’t sound crazed, a few catchy lines and possibly lots of pop potential. Well, Ted Leo’s always been the black sheep…I mean, this guy did a cover of a Kelly Clarkson song! The song is from the 2004 release, Shake the Sheets.

Rose Parade-Elliott Smith
Another indie singer/songwriting. Elliott Smith is dark and moody whereas Ted Leo is glamour and charm. A nice break from the previous loudness, Elliott Smith employs the acoustic guitar and master it with the melodic and pretty sounding arpeggios and easy rhythms. “Won’t you follow me down to the rose parade?” From Either-Or

Helicopter-Bloc Party
Bloc Party is one of those hyped NBT bands that might be justified of the praise. They provide dance type music with dance type vocals. In fact, the lead singer sounds a lot like the guy from Ima Robot. In fact, they sound a lot like the guys from Ima Robot…am I playing the wrong song? But their dance music doesn’t exactly inspire me to dance. I’m bobbing my head to the guitar solo at the moment, and the melody is pretty catchy, but they haven’t mastered the get up and dance factor. Perhaps the NBT needs a little time to become…well, the actual NBT. Off their latest album, Silent Alarms.

Ring of Fire-Social Distortion
Finally, variety! Punk rock is such a great way to break up a mix previously consisting of pure indie/alternative artists. Social Distortion is one of my favorite punk rock groups, a classic that I can listen to over and over again without getting a headache (try listening to the newer street punk for longer than ten minutes and good luck with that). Actually, Social D is more rock than punk, but Mike Ness still brings the edge with his songs of politics, society, and his sleazy sounding voice. “Ring of Fire” is from their self titled album, Social Distortion.

Butterfly-Weezer
…And we end this journey into music with Weezer. It is, in fact, one of their softer, artistic, acoustical, emotional songs off the much acclaimedPinkerton. It is the perfect ending. Cuomos singing out his heart in a rare ballad and gentle strumming that I need to turn up the volume to enjoy. What a difference. What a wonder. What a satisfaction.

In the future I might even actually try to make a mix rather than cheating with random, but don’t count on it too much. Oh well. Who even read this far, anyway?

That's right, thanks to my infamous and horrible lagging/procrastinating/slacking off, I now have a million things I need to write and no time. There's about four contests I want to enter, three places I want to submit, and count with me here, how many stories? Zero. None. Nada. At least, none finished, but hey, I've got at least twenty story beginnings so it shouldn't be a problem, right...? Actually, not right. I'm physically incapable of finishing anything I've started eariler unless I force myself, and the finished product ends up horrible. So that means I'll have to spent more time doing the writing I'm supposed to be doing, the horror type, rather than entertaining myself here. But who can write without some fitting music? Yup. It's time for the dark and distrubing, the heavy and sorrowful, the strange and shocking. In other words, all the things that'll put a smile on a horror writer's face.


Pictures like this and movies like Saw gives me such a fuzzy feeling inside.

Now Nine Inch Nails is pretty much the industrial/goth band the alternative world is willing to accept and embrace, and despite the lacking power of their new material, we all remember the hardcoreness of Pretty Hate Machine. What better band to start off a writing spree? We also probably all remember the dark, shimmering jewel that is "Head Like a Hole". So here it is. In all its glory.
Download: Nine Inch Nails-Head Like a Hole

I realize that Elliott Smith is not exactly the heavy, gore filled type, but his masterpieces are dark and sorrowful enough even with the catchy hoods and the melodies. And his great voice, of course, somehow inspires me to kill off characters I learned to love and appreciate...especially this song, perhpas just because it features the word "bled" in it. Perhpas because it's such a wonderful song. We shall see...when the finish work is done and hopefully published.
Download: Elliott Smith-Bled White (Live at Cambridge)

Did I say earlier that Nine Inch Nails was the industrial band for the alternative community? If that's true, then maybe Placebo is the gothic, somehow grungy band. I love the haunting lyrics and imagery of this song. In fact, the whole CD, Sleeping With the Ghost is pretty suited for the skippy, mysterious type horror, but not the best for splatterpunk...
Download:Placebo-English Summer Rain

So I know none of you want to hear about my uttermost disapointment and despair at not being able to see my favorite band at their last date on their tour yesterday, but it's just too painful not to share.

Let's start this heart wretching story...at the beginning. The day when the tickets for the show went on sale to the general public, and I opened Ticketmaster to find that there were no pit seats left. And then, begging my parents to hurry and buy the tickets for a seat a little near the front, since it was still early, receiving a slap in the face rejection. It's too sudden, there's no cash, and me...angry, maddened, but still hopeful. It was only the first day.

Then I checked my email.

And there, glaring at me at the top, the words that screamed JEW and TBS PRESALE TICKETS. The day before that day. I had the info but missed it. Now I had crossed into the realm of shocked and horrified. Why oh why didn't I check my email a little earlier? Why did this have to happen to me?


For Me This is heaven

Then...a month passed with no shocking twists.

And came the day, May 15. The day of the show. The day to destroy me forever. It didn't start off half bad. On Saturday, I went to the PB Block Party and saw a couple of the local bands there. The last band I saw, Cowboy Mouth, put on a fun show, and despite forgetting to bring sunscreen and getting the shit burned out of me, it was enjoyable. Then I hear on the radio about a Random Act of Kindness they're doing, which is the last chance to win tickets. I had to try my luck, and made my parents take me all the way to SDSU and hoped so very hard. More complications followed which I won't go into right now, but once the drawing finished, I realized that despite my love of the band and need to see the show, I didn't win. In fact, a college kid got away with the tickets. Pit seats. And an autographed copy of the latest CD with a demo CD included.

On the ride home I stayed silent and cursed the higher powers above and became sworn enemies with that force ruining all my chances. After this show, the band is touring in Europe, and then Japan, and then taking a break...it'll be at least several years before I even get an oppurtunity to see them again.

Once home, I rushed into my room, put on Futures, and cried while I read all the lyrics...despite already knowing all the words by heart. After that I listened to Clarity, and by the middle of the 16 minute track, "Goodbye Sky Harbor", had calmed down enough to go outside and grab some food. I was still in a state of depression, and kept listening to the CDs as I slept.



This morning I got up with no energy. I didn't want to leave for school, I didn't want breakfast, I didn't want to do anything besides crying all over again. But, I held back. I tried to think of the bright side...I didn't have to sit through Taking Back Sunday for an hour. However, not seeing my favorite band, my inspiration, my passion, was not worth it.

You ask why I couldn't have just brought the tickets. They weren't sold out. But I'm not rich. 60 bucks (ticketmaster charges, someone to go with, blah blah blah) for a seat in the back of the gigantic stadium and sitting through Taking Back Sunday still wasn't worth it.

I'm still very depressed. And I felt that you should all share my pain. Plus, it was torture listening to one of my classmates who went to the show and told me how amazing it was. I couldn't stop listening and imagining...the glory of being there, seeing Jim and Zach and Rick and Tom...but I shouldn't keep thinking about.

Let's celebrate the sadness with some wondeful songs by this unbelievable band.

Jimmy Eat World, I love you.

Download:
Your New Aesthetic
For Me This Is Heaven
Sweetness

I thought I'd celebrate with a bunch of no nonsense, possibly guilty pleasure, pop songs. Starting with a delightful power pop band (perhaps you've heard of them...and no, it's not Weezer, although there will be Weezer to come) called the Fountains of Wayne. Perhaps you even remember them from a few years ago, with their hits "Stacy's Mom" and "Mexican Wine". Pleasant, happy sort of fellas. I think it's time to revisit them. Just look at the type of pop we get today...The Killers, The Bravery, The Used, "Beverly Hills", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams"...a cool, refreshing drink from the Fountains of Wayne is necessary. Now this song is one of my favorites, period, and I think a large part of it is because it was played on Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital series (and Stephen King is of course my favorite author, my literary cult icon, so to speak), and part of it is just because it's such an awesome pop song. However you want to see it. The lyrics are clever and lighthearted ("Will you stop pretending I’ve never been born/Now I look a little more like that guy from korn) Perfect for getting near summer. Beside this song, everything else by the Fountains of Wayne is wonderful, so if you're into powerpop or want a cheery/energetic CD after listening to your Elliott Smith collection for the eighteen hundredth time, pick up all their albums. This song is off their sophomore release, Utopia Parkway
Download: Fountains of Wayne-Red Dragon Tattoo ***Sorry for the dead link before...for some reason my computer refused to copy/paste it...anyway, here it is***

Speaking of Weezer...well, actually, I'm not going to speak about Weezer, since every other music blog already talks about them and their new CD, and you probably already heard the album and either decided to hate it...or whatever. So I'll post Weezer as we used to know them, a great classic from the blue album (if you really wanted to read about/discuss Weezer, might as well discuss the one review I agree most with over at Fluxblog)
Download:Weezer-Buddy Holly

(This post was actually supposed to be up yesterday, but my internet failed on me, so apologies for the delay.

Well, this is something I wrote for the April Fool's edition of my school paper in April. But I never turned it in, because I figured it was a little too...well, I just don't think the common public (not to mention my friends) would take it very well. So I figure I'd share with all of you, despite having touched most of these subjects at some point or another anyway. It's pretty much a blog article, links all over the place, name dropping every chance I have...even though you probably all know how to be scene (since you are reading this) and are knowledgabler (um) than me.

How to be Scene

You see them everyday. The kids with bangs over their eyes, tight shirts and tight pants; the kids rebelling against everything with their bright hair and eyeliner and shiny metal; the kids with the bags and the shirts bearing names of bands you’ve never heard of. The scene kids. And sometimes you wonder how they did it, and wonder if you might be one of them if you knew all their secrets. Well, now, with this handy dandy guide, you can!

First thing you must do is to pick a scene. There are a lot out there, sub groups, scenes build upon other scenes…we’ll only discuss the three most popular ones at the moment--emo, punk and indie. You can either listen to all three types of music and learn about the life style and decide which one sound more like you, randomly pick one and conform, or, of course, visit a site like Quizilla and see which scene you belong.

Here’s a few pointers that’ll work in all of the scenes. Never listen to music outside your scene. Go to as many shows as you can, but never refer to them as concerts. Concerts scream poser (and that’s the worst offense in any scene), shows state scene. Dress accordingly, act accordingly, and always follow the guidelines for your scene. Originality might be nice, but to be cool you must fit in.

Biggest scene right now is the emo kids, and thankfully, there are already a million websites, blogs and quizzes that are dedicated to how to be emo, so search it up on Google. You can find information ranging from dress code to behavior. If you want to be even cooler, go to a website like What The Heck *Is* Emo Anyways, which has a detailed history and definition of emo music, and listen to the original emo bands like Rites of Spring or Fugazi. Then you can call the poor lost souls who listen to Dashboard Confessional posers and grab waves of attention and respect. After which you can merge into one of the other scenes, because emo is no longer cool enough for you.

Next you have the punk scene. This requires you to be bold and rebellious. You cannot be a Republican, and you have to hate all authority. Claim to be an anarchist. Listen to the following bands: NoFX, Rancid, The Casualties, The Misfits, and many others. Buy patches of those bands and pin them all over your jacket or backpack. Also buy metal studs and safety pins and stick them everywhere. DIY is so punk rock. Make fun of anyone who listens to pop punk or emo, even though you secretly love it. Never, never admit that you shop in Hot Topic. Say you brought all your clothes and patches at shows, or at a cool website like Interpunk. Say “oi" a lot. Also use the F-word whenever possible to show your punk rockness.

Lastly you have the choice of being indie. This requires you to either be very patient and knowledgeable, or an extremely good liar/bluffer. Obscurity is your friend. Only listen to bands that are on indie labels, and bonus points if the band’s from another country. Familiarize yourself with the history of indie and learn all the sub-genres. Determine when a band “sells out.” When a band crosses into mainstream, they’re no longer cool. Scoff at any other type of music. Wear your strange shirts with pride. If you’re really out of options and need to make up a band, be really careful, as the Internet can be a weapon as well as a lifesaver. Even the indiest bands usually have a website or two reviewing their CDs. And even though obscurity is the game, unsigned bands aren’t cool.

There you have it, all you need to be the coolest kid in your school. Now, as with everything, don’t overdo it. And also, you’ll probably screw up everything you’ve achieved if you breathe a word of reading a guide. So don’t let anyone know how you got your information. When someone asks, tell them that you’re just that cool naturally. You ready? Go out there and show the world the cool, new, scene, you.


Your scene music needs:
The Casualties-On The Front Line (This band lables themself as "hardcore punk rock." Consider yourself warned)
Dashboard Confessional-Vindicated Video Low Quality
Dashboard Confessional-Vindicated Video High Quality
Yo La Tengo-Today Is the Day


Download:
Spoon-I Turn My Camera On (Spoon's new album, Gimme Fiction, comes out tomorrow, so head over to your local record shop and pick up a copy)

It's completely random, the first six songs that came up on Shuffle, so don't expect smooth transactions from song to song...it is, however, in one zip archive, which you should know how to use already, and if you don't, email me and I'll help you out.

The playlist:
1. Commando-The Ramones (Buy Ramones Mania)
2. A Gentleman Caller-Cursive (Buy The Ugly Organ)
3. You Know What You Are-Nine Inch Nails (Buy With Teeth)
4. Total Trash-Sonic Youth (Buy Daydream Nation)
5. A Spoonful Weights a Ton-The Flaming Lips (Buy The Soft Bulletin )
6. Already Dead-Beck (Buy Sea Change )

Download: The Bubble Death Mix 1

While surfing the channels yesterday, I came upon the video for Weezer's new single, "Beverly Hills". While puzzling over how Weezer could have so easily thrown away their skills for cheap pop, I also couldn't help singing along. Afterwards, I felt guilty and put on the Blue album to redeem myself, afterwards I went back to the TV and what do you know, it's Gwen Stefani twisting to "Hollaback Girl" with her Harijuku girls and the high school marching band. This song was just as catchy as Weezer, and I had to sit down to watch when I began noticing some things. First, I guess Gwen still doesn't want to throw away her ska background completely, so there are trumpets. Really, really big ones. They kind of remind me of the monkeys in the Weezer video. I don't know. Then I notice how similar the beat to both songs were. Change some lyrics and replace the trumpets with guitars, then you have the Weezer song. Vice versa, and you have Gwen Stefani. This was strange, and a bit sad. I also noticed the part about the bananas...I know it's unlikely, but could this possibly be a Andy Warhol reference? There's a sideways banana on one of the dancer's uniform that looked just like the Velvet Underground & Nico's cover banana, except sideways. Strange happenings.



This shit is bananas, b-a-n-a-n...Andy Warhol?

In other news, Xiu Xiu is kicking off a North American tour, but how do they play live? What's consider a good performance and what isn't, when their music sounds like a clash of random loud electronica noises matched with whispered vocals and then flat out shriekings? I know, I'm probably just not artsy enough to "get" it, but can someone who gets it please tell me how this works?

In other, other news, I finished reading Watership Down a few days ago and I'm still considering. Actually, I finished rereading it, and the book's just as good as the first time, a couple of years ago. I never figured I could care so much about rabbits, but there's a lot of things I never figured I could care so much about, yet here I am. Now I'm looking at all rabbits nibbling on the grass at night with a new light, but it seems unlikely that the Watership Down rabbits would ever live so close to humans with their cars and white sticks in their mouth.


No mp3s for the moment, but tonight or tomorrow morning I'll get in a nice, random mix, inspired by the cool kids over at Something I Learned Today.

It's the attack of rawk, the major record labels' solution for the next trendy genre, for the rich, white teens who no longer want to be gansta and still needs food for their pop needs. Does this pop needs to be any good? No, of course not. It just need to feature hawt guys with guitars...because we all know how irresitable rock stars are, especially rock stars in girl pants, eyeliner, tight shirts, and black glossy bangs over their faces.



Yes, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, whatever MTV/TRL/Fuse came up with, rap, hip hop, R&B, nu-metal, garage revival, you braced for and took in with a grimace. But did you ever expect that this genre of music, this genre that can't really be considered a genre, this wrist siltting, eye blackening wave of depression could take over the airwaves and convert half the teenage population into zombies bearing and disgracing the term that was previously used to describe an offshot of punk, a type of music so powerful and chaotic that it was a near unknown genre? Oh, what will they come up with next?

That's right, it's the attack of femo, and whether you like it or not, it's quickly taking over. And guess what's the best part? Now preppy kids can feel their new, improved, cool music taste because they buy CDs on indie labels now. Hell yeah! Victory, Vagrant, Drive-Thru, it's the attack of the preppys gone dark! Embrace bands like The Used, My Chemical Romance, Hawthorne Heights, call 'em emo, call them punk, for all you care! Go to the Taste of Chaos and become scene like scene kids can never do! Just...don't tell them about real emo...or sent them all fluttering away, scared out of their wits, unable to face real music.

You know, people like me felt so much better when pop culture embraced pop and admitted it...and what's worse, despite knowing the suckness of such new femo bands, I can't help but like it. It's pop with guitars and "emotional" lyrics, sung by waves and waves of bands cloning each other. This is unoriginal and repetative...but let's face it, any music genre belongs in that category. (See this article for more info).

So, in case you haven't had enough from the radio and TV yet, here's more songs from the genre known as Fake Emo...beware, for your ears might start bleeding from the horror of it all. But don't worry, just put on your newest femo shirt and wipe some of that blood right on there...that'll beat the preppys at their own game!

Download:
Ohio Is For Lovers-Hawthorne Heights
Smashed-Silverstein
Cute Without the "E"-Taking Back Sunday

See:
how to dress emo
Not as good as how to dress emo but you might as well visit....The Insta Emo Kit
And finally, How Emo Are You?

Disclaimer: The Bubble Death do not recommend these songs and websites for person of a normal state of mind and will not be accounted for damage of any sort resulting from said links.

So yesterday I was browsing all the sites I've been missing, and came upon this article on the delightful Mars Volta. It's rather entertaining, and rather true as far as I remember. I suggest you read it, unless you don't have a sense of humor, in which case I suggest you stay away from it. In fact, if you lack a sense of humor, stay away from this post all together.

Anyway, after I finished reading and laughing, I had to grab my iPod, put on Frances the Mute and compare notes. Notice that I'm not linking to the album buy on Amazon (and oh my god, I've done it again...I failed to link to the all seeing, all knowing Amazon.com even there!), because I figure, if you hate that article with all your passion, partially because you know it's true and don't want to admit it, and partially because you actually enjoy this CD because you can't find better music, you probably own the CD already and won't need my help. And if you (after listening to the track, of course!) hate it because you think it's noise...well, chance s are you won't be too intent on buying a copy either. Anyway, listening while reading created more outbursts of laughter, and I decided that in case you haven't heard any Mars Volta songs, you might as well now, and read this wonderful review of it at the same time. Just as a warning, though, I suggest you stay away from drinking anything...here's track 3, "L’via L’viaquez", in all of its 12 minutes and 21 seconds glory, and I might as well present the review of that particular song here, since I know you're all too lazy to click on the links, anyway:

Download: L’via L’viaquez-The Mars Volta

Read: (From Somethingawful.com...)
Track 3: L’via L’viaquez
Oh man, another twelve-minute song. I am kicking myself. Why couldn’t I buy the new Mike Jones album and listen to that instead? Okay, it takes this song forty five seconds to kick in to a bitchin’ guitar solo and some Spanish vocals. The advantage of vocals in Spanish is that if you don’t speak Spanish you can’t understand the stupid shit that this guy is undoubtedly singing. At two and a half minutes in, the singer cues the end of the first part of the song by screaming like a girl a couple of times, and then his voice gets all whispery and queer and the beat goes all salsa and my sensibilities beg for mercy. And as if to anticipate the fact that I was about to say the song couldn’t get any worse, I’m treated to a nice little burst of foul noise. I think the worst part of this song is that, since I took a few years of Spanish in college, I half-understand it but it still makes no sense. It’s like it’s taunting me by putting together meaningless sentences in Spanish, so I can understand the words but can’t parse them into anything meaningful. Okay, back to the slow salsa bit again, and then another grating, squealing miniature guitar solo.

Six and a half minutes in, the stereo channels switch the vocals back and forth in the headphones so it sounds like I’m surrounded by ASSHOLES singing BAD NONSENSE into my FUCKING EARS. It gets even worse around seven minutes and fifteen seconds, because he’s whispering in alternating stereo channels now, so I’m treated to an exciting simulation of going bonkers. Well, I’m eight and a half minutes in, and the song has settled into a dull little Latin shuffle, which is better than annoying noises but worse than nothing at all. Nine minutes brings me another half-cocked guitar solo. Solos this self-consciously “experimental” make me miss radical hair-metal finger-tap solos. That’s sort of like a gangrenous foot making me miss an ingrown toenail. Eleven minutes in, wacky experimental noise. Maybe I’ll get used to it and start liking it! Or maybe I’ll start liking the DMV, or indigestion.


You know, somehow, that really inspired me. And really, what's the fun in downloading random, great songs without some quality entertainment to go along? I think life will be so much more interesting, if, say, I featured a bad song of the day, but not the actual bad songs...the songs everyone claims to love but really, deep down, can't stand. It's no way to make friends, but, what do I care about making friends? However, that does present a slight problem, as I generally like 98.5% of everything I listen to, and that includes the bad music like (and I can't believe I'm admitting this in broad daylight for all to see and ruining any sort of musical credibility I might have achieved) Avril Lavigne...but, perhaps there'll be others. Interesting fact of the day, random pic of the day, strange webcomics and flash? I think yes.

So...for the rest of your musical enjoyment, songs approved by yours truly. Garbage is an alternative band led by the famous Shirley what's her name...and of course their new CD came out a while track. I'll admit right now that I've never heard their older stuff, so I can't compare, but all of the songs sure are sexy and playful. This is track one, "Bad Boyfriend". I think this is one of those bands that you either love or hate, though, so don't blame me if it's not to your taste...
Download: Garbage-Bad Boyfriend

I'm sure you all remember a little band called Blink 182, whom broke up a while back (yeah, yeah, indefinite hiatus...we all know what that means. And even if we don't, we'll pretend to. They broke up. A great joy to some and a shame to others.) Anyway, to refresh your memories of this pop punk trio from San Diego, here's the song "Emo" from one of their classic albums, Dude Ranch
Download: Emo-Blink 182

Excuse my outbrust in the title but it's just that last month, so many things were happening which included the testing and my teachers suddenly inspired to give me as much work as they possibly can and me getting D's on all of my quizzes...

But, hopefully, now that's all over, I can get back on track with everything. I apologize so very much for not updating at all.

So...first song today is by a delightful indie pop band, The Unicorns, and the song is off their 03 CD, Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? That's right, a classic indie whimsical title along with a classic indie pop whimsical sounds. You should all know by now that even wtih their strange, distant effects and vocals and guitars, they still never fail to sound--catchy. This song, especially, floats above your head and then pierce through the clouds to lift you up, no matter how you were feeling.
Download: Child Star-The Unicorns

Next, the Foo Fighters is one of my favorite rock bands. Yes, I say rock, because grunge is rock. If I really wanted to classify every band into every subgenre, well...I wouldn't. So I'll leave it at that. Anyways, The Foo Fighters are coming out with a double album in the summer, which is going to be one, harder electric rock and one acoustic disk. I'm really excited. Here's the single off the album, "Best of You". It sounds like they're going to back to their heavier, less Goth, more rock pre One By One days, which is great. But maybe you disagree...so check out the song yourself.
Download: Foo Fighters-Best of You

Now, um, I know I've been posting emo quite a bit lately, but I can't help but smile whenever I hear the raw screechings of some desperate heart...it's especially helpful when I'm writing, you know, so I'm going to leave you today with a really cool emo band, Hot Cross. They're actually a little grind, a little screamo, a little chaotic. But not as much as other emo bands I'm listening to (Pg.99, anyone?). So yeah, listen to this brutal, beautiful song and rejoice...and never misuse the term emo in the face of such greatness, ever again.
Download: Hot Cross-Fortune Teller