Beck was sadly mostly ruined for me when I discovered that not only is he a scienmatologolist, but a second generation one at that, on both sides. Now when I listen to his music, I try to imagine how it’s about his religious struggles. Or think sadly about his awesome artist grandfather, Al Hansen.
Anyway, this song isn’t much of a stretch to imagine as a tribute to El Ron:
A weird, bluesy acoustic tribute. I hope he appreciates it, wherever he is!
It’s no secret that I love The Magnetic Fields. What is a secret, though, or at least a less-known fact, is that my romantic Weltanschauung is contained in their song “100,000 Fireflies.”
Here are the MFs performing it live in Hamburg, Germany, a couple of months ago in March– I love the live vocal arrangement, with Shirley and lovely Claudia joining in on the chorus. And Sam Davol’s hair is especially animate in this video.
In times of great heart-sickness, I have often listened to this song literally hundreds of times in a row. Three parts of it are especially comforting to me, for giving articulation to my misery. First, the second verse: Continue reading →
As a follow-up to Monday’s post about Calamity Jane, I’ve arbitrarily declared today Doris Day Day. To celebrate, three songs: Continue reading →
Lady Gaga & a wary Stephin Merritt
Lady Gaga has a proposition for you: want to be her “Summerboy”? More specifically, in her track of the same name she sings,
Crazy, get your ass in my bed
Baby, you’ll just be my summer boyfriend
But beware the limitations of this arrangement, as outlined in the chorus:
Don’t be sad when the sun goes down
You’ll wake up and I’m not around
I’ve got to go oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
We’ll still have the summer after all
Doesn’t sound all that bad, right? You get to be Gaga’s summer fling, and who wouldn’t want that? Continue reading →
One of the best things I’ve discovered recently is The Seventeen Magazine Project. Eighteen year old high school senior Jamie Keiles is spending one month living according to Seventeen Magazine, and reporting back on her experience with a great mixture of insight, humor, and feminism. Totally badass, especially for a high school senior! I’m really impressed with her level of writing and analysis.
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