:: 9 ::

Smiley face emoticon.

Mine's Not A High Horse

You know what bugs me? Unprovoked self-righteousness. You know what else bugs me? When people disparage "the media," without qualifying it at all, like it's some big multi-headed monster that needs to be spoken of in disdain. I like "the media." I like TV. I like TV a lot. Some of it's garbage, but so what? And I dislike even more this idea that "the media" tells us what to do like we're mindless robot sheep devoid of rational thought or free will. Pisses me off.

So imagine my chagrin when I'm cruising Facebook and I see that a friend of mine has posted a pretty (I thought) conscientious question regarding the marital health of Jon and Kate of that one show where there are like a million kids all crying a lot and the mom emasculates the dad like all the time, Jon & Kate Plus 8. For those of you not suckling at the teat of pop culture like me, Jon was basically caught cheating on Kate recently. He denies it, but come on, we all know he did it, right? I guess they're still doing the show regardless. I'm not sure if they've filmed this season pre-cheat or not, (and to be honest, I have never really seen more than 20 minutes of the show as we have no cable) but in any case, they're having troubles. On TV.

So my friend asked if anybody else was "sincerely concerned" about their marriage. As I said, I thought this was pretty great. I mean, these are real people here, with real emotions and real souls and real feelings and real children - eight of them! - not cartoon or sitcom characters or the kids on The Hills. These are real people whose marriage is flying to pieces like the fiberglass shell of a NASCAR, uh, car in front of a crowd of sweaty spectators, all hooting and hollering while the thing just burns. Sarah at least had the empathy to ask, "Is everybody okay?"

The responses to Sarah's concern ranged from refreshingly honest (one lady admitted that "We watch the ... shows together and discuss how stupid they are. Then we feel so good about ourselves :0)"), to sort of sad ("They chose fame and money from TV. What did you think would happen?"), to downright mean-spirited. ("Kate's a b***h. She treats him like crap. She's worried about her 'job' which is the show. I do not like that woman and I don't feel sorry for her at all." Ouch. Tell us how you really feel, man. Don't hold back.)

And herein lies the problem with reality TV. See, we all know it's more "TV" than "reality." Anyone who has watched more than, say, two hours of the stuff knows that what we're seeing is not even close to any semblance of reality. For one, these people know they're being filmed and eventually watched and therefore their reactions/comments, etc. are filtered through that knowledge. And we as the viewer know that what we're being shown is edited and, in some respects [gasp!] scripted. (A dirty little secret that came out during the recent WGA strike.) The illusion of reality is thin at best and consequently, we begin to relate to these people as we would the cast of Friends: they're just characters, and in some cases, caricatures. Reality TV, more often than not, is just "regular" TV with worse actors.

So it's easy to think that we know these people definitively enough to say, "They asked for it," or "They knew what they were getting into," or worse, "They deserve it." And you know what, that's fine, I guess. As somebody who spends a lot of time worrying about fictional characters and places, (the characters of Lost, the Star Wars universe, the plight of Seaguy, etc.) I really can't begrudge anybody else for doing the same for their semi-fictitious reality show characters.

For example, American Idol. I don't get it. But a lot of people love that show. Personally, I think it's responsible for some pretty rotten music and is a blight on pop culture. It makes me feel crazy when I watch it because I just look at the screen, listen to what's coming out of it and say to myself, "Do people actually like this music? Really?" (Although I'm self-aware enough to know that the show is more about the drama of it than the actual music. It's like a sporting event spread across a season.) But what do I know? Same thing with J&K+8. Never seen more than a bit of an episode, but I can see that attraction, especially for moms. I can see how the exploits of a family of 10 can be of some entertainment and educational value and I can see how one could get wrapped up in the storyline surrounding such a sideshow.

Apparently, there was one commenter that couldn't see it. Allow me to quote:

"seems to me there is a lot of free time on our hands if we can sit here and pick apart this failing marriage. This country is in deeeeep sh!t if we will continue to allow the media to show us what we should be concerned with. The best that could be done, is to shut all of this crap out of our lives and homes, and to put more focus on our own families."

For those of you who don't speak Condescendo, the lingua franca of Piousland, let me translate:

"seems to me there is a lot of free time on our hands if we can sit here and pick apart this failing marriage." means: "I am better than you because I don't waste time on such trivialities as a TV show. And come on, I can't believe that you would actually think or talk about what you watched. That's just crazy. Why would you care about figuring out where this marriage went wrong? How could that help your life at all? I mean, how can watching and discussing another couple's marriage help you in your own marriage? What could you possibly take away from that? That's just crazy. Obviously, entertainment can serve no purpose beyond wasting time and defiling our minds."

"This country is in deeeeep sh!t if we will continue to allow the media to show us what we should be concerned with." means: "We are all sheep and have no control over digesting what we ingest media-wise. I mean, if you see something, you obviously believe it, right? We all know this. Why would you ever question or dissect or filter what you watch, especially if people like me just call you time-wasters for doing so? Also, the media is evil and is secretly trying to turn us all into gays. My neighbor watched an episode of Will & Grace and three months later turned into a gay. The only defense is to be paranoid and self-righteous at all times and to wear this nice tin-foil hat."

"The best that could be done, is to shut all of this crap out of our lives and homes, and to put more focus on our own families." means: "The obvious reaction to things I don't agree with is not to confront them or try and understand them, it is to cloister myself up in my own little bubble and look down on everybody else cuz that's how I roll. Now if you'll excuse me, there's a hermetically-sealed bomb shelter packed with cans of Pork N Beans that I must get back to. The sun. It burns us."

Obviously, I'm not being fair. And if the person who wrote that comment were to read this, I'd feel bad because I'm sure they mean well, but man, why would you go out of your way to tell somebody that, basically, they're dumb for liking and discussing something that they like without at least leavening their statement with a little understanding rather than contempt? Here was my response:

"I'm as guilty as anyone of being sucked in by this kind of stuff (I've watched my fair share of baaad reality TV), but doesn't it start to feel like highway rubbernecking on a societal scale after a while? All of us craning our necks, saying, 'Is anybody hurt? How badly? Is that blood? Was that a foot?! WAS THAT A FOOT!!! Oh man, I'm sure glad that's not me.'

"Like I said, I'm not gonna get all pious here. America's Funniest Home Videos is a family staple in our house, and that's pretty much human pain and misery set to funny sound effects, so I will cast no stones about your J&K+8 fascination."

But I just did what pissed me off, didn't I? I totally just got all high and mighty and said, in not so many words, "I'm better than you because I'm so fair-minded and you're so paranoid and pious," didn't I? I just fought self-righteousness with self-righteousness. [sigh] Dang.

Anyway, so yeah, I blogged. About Jon & Kate + 8. Surely the end is nigh. Also, did anybody actually read all of this? And did I come off like a total condescending jerk or what? Just curious.

SALE!

We're having a big sale on posters from Sparkle Power and Tuff Industries. Candace has details over here. GIVE US YOUR MONEY!

My Morning Soundtrack - 05.17.09

* "I Box Up All The Butterflies," by The Boy Least Likely To, from the album The Law Of The Playground
* "Airstream Driver," by Gomez, from the album A New Tide
* "Sugar," by The Wooden Birds, from the album Magnolia
* "Good," by Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit, from the album Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit
* "The Chair," by PJ Harvey & John Parish, from the album A Woman A Man Walked By
* "A Fire To Sleep In," by Sin Fang Bous, from the album Clangour
* "Also Frightened," by Animal Collective, from the album Merriweather Post Pavilion
* "Love Song," by Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele, from the album The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele

Lost - "The Incident"

"Two sides: One is light; one is dark," - John Locke
Pilot episode, part 2

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

And so here we are. The endgame. And it's all laid out in front of us, the forces that have been nudging the pieces around the whole time. We're introduced to Jacob and his nemesis (who the internet has dubbed "Esau") who seem to be engaged into some sort of game, using people as their pieces. Jacob believes people are inherently good. Esau, not so much. He also wants Jacob dead. So there's that.

We're shown Jacob moving through our castaways lives, meeting them at key moments in their lives (and physically touching them in each case). But to what end? Did this already happen (which, given that Hurley showed up on the plane with a guitar case whose contents are still a mystery), or is Jacob doing something like Faraday did with Desmond, which is to say inserting himself into their pasts and changing the course of their lives in the process? No clue.

We're led to believe that Jacob is benevolent, but while I was initially on board with that, I'm not entirely sold. I sent the following message to Huston:

"Okay, so I'm reading Doc's Lost analysis and thinking about Jacob & Anti-Jacob/Esau. what if Jacob and Anti-Jacob's relationship is like someone else's we've seen? What if their relationship is similar to what we've seen from Ben and Sayid? And what if, at the end of all this, those two are damned to roam that island in perpetuity? Can you see Sayid and Ben, sitting on the beach, Ben's munching on fish and Sayid looks over at him and says, 'Do you have any idea how badly I want to kill you?'"

Basically, Jacob's the good guy because he has Anti-Jacob doing all the dirty work, disposing of the people that don't fit with his idea of "progress," either through use of Smokey or something. Just thinking out loud. This show's full of evil twins, mirrors and repetitions, so it's not really all that far-fetched. I mean, just think about Rose and Bernard's (more on them shortly) reaction to the castaways plan when compared to Jacob/Anti-Jacob's outlooks. Hmmm?

Add that to Lapidus' comment that people who go out of their way to convince you that they're the good guys usually aren't, and you've got enough to cast a shadow of doubt on Jacob's righteousness.


Aaaand another thought re: the "Candidate"question: So if Ilyana and her group is, basically, a Jacob cult, and if Ben has - in theory and to the best of his knowledge - been following the orders of Jacob, then is this candidacy similar to the Others' "good person" list-making we've seen? And wouldn't that (sort of) put the Others and Ilyana on the same side with Widmore as a dissenting faction under the same umbrella? Did I just blow your mind?

And before we switch gears to the castaways, let's address the Statue. Was that a crocodile head? If so, it was possibly Sobek. Here's some stuff from that Wiki reference that caught my eye:

"...Sobek also came to symbolize the produce of the Nile and the fertility that it brought to the land; its status thus became more ambiguous. Sometimes the ferocity of a crocodile was seen in a positive light, Sobek in these circumstances was considered the army's patron, as a representation of strength and power.

"Sobek's ambiguous nature led some Egyptians to believe that he was a repairer of evil that had been done, rather than a force for good in itself, for example, going to Duat to restore damage done to the dead as a result of their form of death. He was also said to call on suitable gods and goddesses required for protecting people in situation, effectively having a more distant role, nudging things along, rather than taking an active part. In this way, he was seen as a more primal god, eventually becoming regarded as an avatar of the primal god Amun, who at that time was considered the chief god. When his identity finally merged, Amun had become merged himself with Ra to become Amun-Ra, so Sobek, as an avatar of Amun-Ra, was known as Sobek-Ra.

"In Egyptian art, Sobek was depicted as an ordinary crocodile, or as a man with the head of a crocodile. When considered a patron of the pharaoh's army, he was shown with the symbol of royal authority - the uraeus. He was also shown with an ankh, representing his ability to undo evil and so cure ills. Once he had become Sobek-Ra, he was also shown with a sun-disc over his head, as Ra was a sun god."

This Sobek doesn't have an uraeus though, he has two ankhs. Doubly able to reverse evil? Maybe. Very interesting, no?

If that's a hippo head, then it's some sort take on Tawaret, which is interesting if only because her husband is Apep, who was Ra's big enemy.

But yeah, Jacob. Got stabbed and thrown into a fire, which was pretty awesome. But not before sputtering out "They're coming." Who's coming? We all know, right? I'm pretty sure he's talking about our merry band of people who blow stuff up: the castaways.

So yeah, Jack & Co. are busy trying to blow some stuff up to avert a catastrophe which, as Rose points out, seems to be what they're always doing. Did anybody else really love seeing Rose, Bernard and Vincent? Cuz I sure did. (Also, I still have money on them turning out, somehow, to be Adam & Eve. Either them or Des and Penny. Who knows.)

Anyway, so they're gonna blow the Swan in hopes of negating the electromagnetic energy stored there which will mean that they will never crash there. Or at least not in 2004.


The way I see it, there are three ways this can shake out for our castaways:

1) It works. They manage to negate the EM energy which means there is no Swan station, hence no button, hence no neglecting to push the button, hence no crash of Oceanic 815. Which means the the castaways we've been following for the last half decade are, effectively, gone. Sort of like Marty McFly in Back to the Future, when he starts to disappear, y'know? Which is not to say that they all couldn't find themselves on another plane in, say, 2007 that crashes on the Island.

But this option has its problems. If they collapse this time stream, then how did Ben get back to the Island? His only brush with the castaways would be in 1977 (which, according to Richard, he wouldn't remember) because that castaways time stream ends in that year with the Incident, right? And John wold still be alive, right? It pretty much all falls apart with this option unless they Powers That Be make up some random magical explanation to fix the paradox. Seems too messy to me. You?

2) It doesn't work. Whatever happened, happened. As Mils points out, maybe what they're doing is causing what is referred to as "the Incident." In this option, Faraday lied and was just working to maintain the status quo. Which would explain why he waltzed into the Others camp waving a pistol and making demands: he knew he had to die and planted the "blow up the Swan," and "these dudes are from the future, you have to evacuate the Island," ideas into the heads of Jack/Kate and Dr. Chiang respectively, before getting capped by his moms.

In this scenario, our castaways will have to time-skip to the future somehow. Maybe the Incident is supposed to set this off? If so, it'll be some great pseudo-science to do so. This solution's a lot less messy and brings the castaways to the future with their experiences intact. This one makes the most sense, but we've got eight months to change our minds on it.

or, 3) Something nobody can foresee and is totally crazy but somehow works. I'm putting my money on this one. Seriously, why do I even try and guess where this show is going? It's not like Fringe, where every twist is mapped out in advance and comes at you like a drunken old man taking a swing at you: By the time he's followed through, you've dodged it and you're setting up for his next go, sort of laughing but having a good time. (Don't get me wrong, it's an enjoyable show, but it's not even in the same league as Lost. Search your feelings, you know it to be true.) Lost, on the other hand, totally blindsides you every single week, darting around the ring while you stumble after it, flailing your arms while you pray your vision stops blurring.

And so here we are, staring at the white closing screen, a perfect inversion of the ending of every other episode's ending. And we wait.


"Suddenly, everything has changed." - The Flaming Lips

*******

Lets discuss. Leave it in the comments section, peeps.

My Morning Soundtrack - 05.15.09

* "That's Because You Drive Me," by Acid House Kings, from the album Sing Along With Acid House Kings
* "Rocket Reducer No. 62 (Rama Lama Fa Fa Fa)," by the MC5, from the album Kick Out The Jams
* "Mansion On The Hill," by Neil Young & Crazy Horse, from the album Ragged Glory
* "If You Gotta Go, Go Now (Or Else You Got To Stay All Night)," by Bob Dylan, from the album The Bootleg Series, Vol. 2-Rare And Unreleased, 1961-1991
* "Atom Tan," by The Clash, from the album Combat Rock
* "The Coast Is Always Changing," by Maxïmo Park, from the album A Certain Trigger
* "A Sentimental Song," by Cotton Candy, from the album David Shrigley: Worried Noodles
* "Do You Love Me," by The Contours, from the Motown: The Classic Years compilation

Spock With A Spork

As you know, I'm a Star Wars guy. I like things blowing up rather than people talking about things blowing up (which is my simplistic Wars vs. Trek argument). I liked Wrath of Khan (action!) and Voyage Home (funny!). But for the most part, I'm far too ADD/liking of awesome stuff to really appreciate the po-faced continuity service and hardcore sciencey nerdery of most Star Trek. I mean, have you tried to watch any of the last few Trek movies? I tried watching Generations and was bored out of my mind.

So you can take my word for it when I tell you that you must see the new Star Trek movie immediately if not sooner.

But let's be honest, I was a mark for this movie before I even plunked my money down, right? I mean it's directed by J.J. Abrams, who in my mind, is like some sort of pop culture King Midas. It's produced by Damon Lindelof, who writes and produces Lost, which I am ga-ga for. And it's written by Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who wrote for Alias and it's smarter, more sophisticated older sister Fringe. They know how to make you care about characters in the face of great high concepts like, say, a crazy magic island or a FBI division that investigates nutso cases or some gigantic sea monster who's wrecking NYC. They understand the importance of mystery, of characters, of mythology.

So yeah, these guys "get" me. Abrams has mentioned that he has no overpowering love for Trek, and, truthfully, thankfully, it shows. This is a Trek movie for people who liked Wrath of Khan and Empire Strikes Back, but can't handle the science geekery and heavy-handed social critique that has been the platform of Trek since its inception. It's a post-Star Wars Star Trek movie. (I mean, look at those scuffed up shuttles. Star Trek's a gleaming futuristic utopia, not a universe where things get dirty. What is going on?!)

So yeah, I'm sold completely. I will see whatever sequel as long as these guys are involved. Even if it's entirely in Klingon. They managed to set up a new franchise while maintaining the precious original canon for the hardcores. And yeah, it's a bit "Ultimate Star Trek," but it is F-U-N. Tons of fun. Fist-pumping fun. "Heck yeah!" fun. Like Iron Man did last summer, it's a popcorn flick that reminded me why I loved popcorn flicks growing up. It's smart, but not too smart. Cool, but not too cool. Loud, but not too loud. It makes you want to go out and buy a toy, if that makes sense. It's freaking awesome. I really can't say anything else about it. I loved it. Loved it. Loved it.

And, like I said over on Geoff Klock's blog, if nothing else, it's the best film I've ever seen that stars Winona Ryder and Tyler Perry.

Let me know once you've seen it. I'd love to compare notes.

My Morning Soundtrack - 05.11.09

* "Outside My Door," by Can, from the album Monster Movie
* "Lovin In The Red (Second Version) ," by Theoretical Girls, from the album Theoretical Record
* "Recife," by The Legends, from the album Over And Over
* "Model Worker," by Magazine, from the album The Correct Use Of Soap
* "I Wanna Sleep," by No Age, from the album Weirdo Rippers
* "Dun Dun," by Los Amigos Invisibles, from the album Superpop Venezuela
* "Wealth And Hell-Being," by Robert Pollard, from the album Robert Pollard Is Off To Business
* "Children of the Revolution," by T.Rex, from the album Tanx
* "The Numbered Head," by Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, from the Score! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers! compilation

Haiku Friday - Avian Flew

Saw a robin crap
On a red fire hydrant.
Pretty poetic.

Interventional

Hi. It's me. We need to talk.

You should probably sit down. There. Okay. No, don't say anything. Please. I just have to get this off my chest. Just let me say what I have to say. Please.

This is, well, this is difficult to say, so I'll just say it: I am going to pimp the heck out of the new Dangermouse and Sparklehorse album, Dark Night of the Soul.


I know, I know, I haven't pimped something on the blog in a long time. In fact, I haven't done much of anything but interviews and playlists in a long time, but I feel I'd be doing myself, you and the Internets a disservice if I didn't pimp the ever-loving bejeepers out of it. In a year of already exciting releases (new Super Furry Animals, Franz Ferdinand, Art Brut, Neko Case, Jason Lytle, Bob Dylan, Decemberists, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Phoenix, A.C. Newman, etc.etc.), this one has filled me with a zeal that frankly has scared even myself.

For starters, it's Mark Linkous (aka Sparklehorse) and Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse) collaborating on music to be accompanied by visuals from confirmed headcase and possible visionary David Lynch. Which is like saying that Awesome and Radical teamed up to make music for Bizarre. And if that isn't enough, check out the list of guest vocalists: Wayne Coyne, Gruff Rhys, Jason Lytle, Julian Casablancas of the Strokes, Black Francis, Iggy Pop, James Mercer of the Shins, Nina Persson of the Cardigans and Vic "There Is None Sadder" Chesnutt.

Whew.

See. SEE! Seriously, if you're not excited by now, then I really don't know how else to help you. The Man has obviously gotten to you. Your very soul has been compromised. Here's the official website. I've heard rumors that you can stream the album somewhere, but as of right now, I can't seem to find anywhere that will allow such a thing. It may also be leaked on the Internets. Who knows. In fact, I have no idea when this album will actually be out besides "Summer 2009." I know very little beyond the fact that this is pure, unadulterated and concentrated awesome and you need to be apprised of its impending existence.

I do know this: I'm excited. Very excited.

Interviewing With the Starz! - Chanel Adams

This week's interviewee is Chanel Adams, or as I like to call her, "Mommommommommommomom." Or "Mmo" for short. Chanel's married to this white dude. We go way back, like babies to pacifiers. (ODB reference, yo!) If you don't know Chanel, I feel for you. Really I do.


Name: Chanel, or Mommommommommommomom as I am often called.

Hometown: Sin City, baby

Occupation: Fulfiller of my divine nature.

Favorite type of donut: All of ‘em, just bring it!

Would you rather be mauled by a bear, stung to death by bees or eaten by a shark? Why?
This deep question deserves deeper investigation. One must contemplate where one would be in these dire situations. Mauled by a bear… surroundings would be somewhere naturey, yeah no thanks. If I am going to be somewhere “fun” it pretty much is gonna not include WILDlife, especially man-eating wildlife.

Stung by bees: This is tricky. Bees are in lots of places. But did you see the movie My Girl with my favorite actor of all time, Macaulay Culkin? That is the vision I get of being stung to death by bees. Seeing as I don’t live in the 60’s I guess that’s out.

Which leaves the sharks. Either I'm in Vegas at the shark reef and my worst nightmare has been realized and the glass floor I'm standing on has broke and the shark is all, “Sucka!” OR some shark has grown legs and is eating me on shore cause I ain’t even going in no ocean with sharks, in which case he deserves the meal, cause growing legs when you’re a shark is HARD STUFF!

If your life were a song, what song would it be?
"Sweet Happy Life," by Peggy Lee

If you could only watch one film for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Lucky Penny

If you had your way, where would you live out the rest of your days and how?
Traveling with our family. Just being financially free to go and do and experience all this amazing world has to offer. (Within the confines of the teachings of the Church, of course)

What would your like your tombstone read? (Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you)
"That’s hot."

The Three Stooges or the Marx Brothers?
ugh

What three TV shows can you not miss?
1. Grey's
2. Lost
3. Wife Swap. JUST KIDDING, that is the most ridiculous, asinine show ever! Do they really have to get mad at each other every week? Have they not watched the show before they CHOOSE to do this and know that they are going to get paired up with a psycho, only the complete opposite of the psychoticness of their own lives!

If you could erase one social problem with the flick of your wrist, what would it be and why?
Neighbors that send their kids to poop at your house. Do I really need to explain why?

Who was your earliest remembered crush?
Matthew Leapold in kindergarten. He painted me a walnut shell for Christmas and made it into an ornament. I still have it.

What five things do you hope people know or think about you?
1. That I really try my best to be my best
2. That I'm not always my best and I feel bad about it
3. That my family means the world to me
4. How grateful I am for the true miracles in my life
5. I will always tell it how it is

What three things are you terrified that people know or think about you?
1. My political beliefs classify me
2. How much I like bad smells
3. I abuse my husband

The Stones or the Who?
The only reason I even understand this question is because I am married to Ryan Adams. He has helped develop my ear so I can tell bands apart, but honestly I never under my own free will ever listen to music.

If you could have any super power (flight, x-ray vision, the ability to talk to undersea creatures, etc.), what would it be and why?
I wanna be like the Lost people and travel through time. I don’t understand it, but when Miles saw himself as a baby (how did they both exists at the same time???) that was cool. I would like to talk to my childhood self and I would like to be able to hold my babies again and I would try to advise myself to not eat that extra candy bar/cookies/brownies/giant humongous milkshake!


What is the deal with airline food?
Yeah right? I mean they can’t spare a WHOLE can of soda? I have to share it with my entire aisle because lets face it, they sure are generous with the ice. But I do enjoy me some honey-roasted peanuts and the Ritz Crisps are a nice surprise especially when the kiddos are along for the ride. Nothing like 55 million crushed crackers all over you when you land. Can you tell I only fly Southwest?

What is your greatest unrealized ambition?
To get one freakin' person to vote for Obama. Seriously, how was the decision THAT hard?

Most embarrassing moment ever. Go!
Dropping the “F” bomb while entering Ryan’s Bravo truck, only to realize his Dad was driving instead of him. Way to make an impression on my future father-in-law.

*******

Oh man. Gold. Pure gold.

My Morning Soundtrack - 05.06.09

* "What You Mean," by Possum Dixon, from the album New Sheets
* "Ringsad El Magad No. 2," by Anna Adamis & Gabor Presser, from the Well Hung: 20 Funk Rock Eruptions From Beneath Communist Hungary Vol. 1 compilation
* "Ice Age," by Good Shoes, from the album Think Before You Speak
* "Wicked Little Doll (Remixed By New Kingdom)," by David Byrne, from The Visible Man remix album
* "Free Nelson Mandela," by The Specials, from the album The Singles Collection
* "Nothing But Heartaches," by The Supremes, from the album The Ultimate Collection - The Supremes
* "Let's Get Down Together," by The Persuaders, from the album Thin Line Between Love And Hate
* "It Don't Move Me," by Peter Bjorn and John, from the album Living Thing
* "Act Naturally," by The Beatles, from the album Help!
* "Island," by The Whitest Boy Alive, from the album Rules

My Morning Soundtrack - 05.04.09

* "Kissing The Lipless," by The Shins, from the album Chutes Too Narrow
* "What Ever Happened?" by The Strokes, from the album Room On Fire
* "Alabeke," by Dan Satch & His Atomic 8 Dance Band Of Aba, from the Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-76 compilation
* "Angelyne," by The Jayhawks, from the album Rainy Day Music
* "My Dancing Days Are Done," by Cornershop, from the album Woman's Gotta Have It
* "All Summer Long," by The Beach Boys, from the album All Summer Long
* "Zig-Zag," by Cheap Time, from the album Cheap Time
* "Whales Sing," by The Shaky Hands, from the album The Shaky Hands
* "Lila Engel (Lilac Angel)," by Neu!, from the album Neu! 2
* "El Justiciero," by Os Mutantes, from the Everything Is Possible - The Best of Os Mutantes compilation
* "Island Of The Honest Man," by Hot Hot Heat, from the album Elevator

I Like All Kinds Of Music But I Like American Music Best, Baby

It's May. Can you believe it? Here's May's mixx, American Music; 20 songs that bounce, bump, sneer and sigh.


Download it here.

*******

Did anybody else get one done this month? I know Nick did. Here's the link to Struttin'. Let me know and I'll add your mix to the Master List.