My Monkey Mix.

Right now go to I, Splotchy for these as well as other great tunes.
The theme was "What's in a Word". All submitted songs must contain ONE word and it could not be a name or proper noun of any kind. Nor could it be a made up word.
Here is my selection (which can be downloaded at http://www.badongo.com/file/4250291

War - Edwin Starr.

Are we still at war? Why are we allowing it to be called a war? Even in elementary school the peacenicks broke through the noise of pablum to interject the term "Police Action" into our prepubescent vocabulary.
Whatever. This song is ALWAYS appropriate.

"War! (Good God) What is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Say it again!"
I considered including Springsteen's brilliant and energetic live version, but Edwin Starr got it right in 70 and 37 years later.....here we are. He didn't write it, you know. I read somewhere that it was originally intended for The Temptations. Can't even imagine what that would have sounded like. This is how protest songs should sound; they should make you wanna shout but also have a nice dancy-jam feel.
WAR! It ain't nothing but a heartbreaker, War. Friend only to the undertaker.

RETRO VIDEO BONUS:


Stop! -Against Me!



Is it disco? Is it Punk? Did Electric Six have a collision with some drunk Joe Strummer wannabes? Yes, yes....and, well, sort of.
First off, lemme say that I LOVE the new Against Me! album, New Wave. I love it the way I loved last year's The Body, The Blood and the Machine, by The Thermals. It is punk, but accessible (just how I like my punk, with milk!) but also has something to say and, well, it just feels different.
In this case I almost wrote this song off as a catchy Pisco (or Dunk, take your pick) tune. Until I read the lyrics and realized what the dude is screaming about.
Stop! Take some time to think! Figure out what's important to you. Stop! Take some time to think! Figure out what's important to you. Stop! Take some time to think! Figure out what's important to you. You gotta make a serious decision.
All of our lives in waiting.
All of our lives traded for their roses and applause.
All of our lives dedicated to shoving it right back in their fucking face"


Against Me! is the latest in a long line of punk bands who get accused of "selling out" when they move to a bigger label in search of their dreams of coke whore groupies, limos and, yeah, enough coin to pay the fucking mortgage. Stop! isn't a call to anyone's arms, it's a call to Tom Gabel, singer and songwriter for AM! probably written at the edge of the bed one night, guitar in one hand and big-time record contract in the other.
Sign it! Sign it! Sign it, Tom! Make your dreams come true! And, while you're at it, give it a little beat so we can dance to it.
The more I listen to this album, the more I love it. It's relentless, simple yet, devastating in places. Ben Lee has already covered the entire CD as an acoustic offering on his site, and it's great, too.
Social Distortion, your heir apparent has arrived.

NEW VIDEO BONUS: My favorite cut from the albums is also the first single: White People for Peace



Sly - The Cat Empire



Sly is the only track I like off the Cat Empire's album. I bought it BECAUSE of that single and, it's not "bad", I don't want my money back or anything, but there is nothing as fantastic, groovy, sparkling, super sexy as "Sly".
Why, it's a pleasure to meet ya
You look like one incredible creature
Wanna treat you fine
Let's dance and grind
Get so funk inflicted
It's a crime
You're divine
You're sublime
And well ya blow my mind


Who hasn't felt that at some point in their lives? Who hasn't been at a club and met that girl who was just Miss perfect right now and didn't wish we could stomach the courage or even be able to pull of lines like this?
And the tune is just ridiculously catchy. I defy you not to put this on your ipod, walk outside on a sunny day in the middle of a city, say, Toronto, where I did this, and not feel like you wanted to skip across the street.

VIDEO BONUS:



Oceans - Paper Sun

My wife's best friend took us to see Paper Sun a few years back. He was close with the lead singer, Sally Smithwicke. A beautiful woman with a brilliant ear and voice, Sally's songs were often overshadowed by the band's desire to be the next Dave Matthews band. Their mistake, since she was always the genius. She and the lead singer finally divorced and she is off somewhere, hopefully making great music.
"Oceans" is one of those "songs from the sky" as my friend and former TBS rhythm guitarist/current lead guitar for The Honeysuckle Jones revivial, David used to say. "Songs from the Sky" are eloquent pieces of perfection that seem to just appear. This songs feels like that to me. It's simple. It's a little outdated, probably would have made a better impression in the post grunge world ruled by Meredith Brooks and Paula Cole. But with lines that are open wounds like "You can throw me in the ocean and I will sink right to the bottom and make a better anchor to keep the boats at bay" I feel like the tune is timeless.



Happy - Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins



Jenny Lewis, the siren of Indie darlings Rilo Kiley, split off from them last year to make a solo record with country duo The Watson Twins. Every song on that cd is infinitely better than 80% of Rilo Kiley's previous stuff and 100% better than this year's Under The Blacklight, RK's attempt to sell out, sell big and be the next Fleetwood Mac. None of them were up to that task but on Rabbit Fur Coat Jenny made some of the most poignant and delicately disturbing music I had heard in a while. And it was Country.
"Happy" is the least happy song about one of the most pleasant states of mind. It's like it fell off the David Lynch soundtrack truck and some hot indie child actress in Silverlake picked it up.
"They warn you about killers and thieves in the night, I worry about cancer and living right, but my momma never warned me about my own destructive appetite."
Creepy. And poignant.

VIDEO BONUS: The remarkable "Rise up with Fists" video. Jenny's strangled melodies shine here with such alacrity. (Did I just say that?) And Sarah Silverman!




Fuel - Ani Difranco



When I was a music reviewer in the mid 90s I used to get packages every other day. Glorious packages filled with cds from all the majors and LOTS of minors. I preferred the minors. It was a national magazine and I wanted to help the little guys get as much exposure as I could.
One day "Out of Range" by Ani Difranco landed on my doorstep and after one listen, I was hooked. Nobody could touch the DIY folkie darling. She bristled and I swooned.
I followed her for about 4 more albums until every song started to sound the same. Then I lost interest.
This cut is not from that album, but, rather, from my other favorite Ani CD, "Little Plastic Castle". Not as cohesive as OoR, LPC is still great. And it has Fuel on it and Fuel has the line "People used to make records as in a record of an event. the event of people playing music in a room. Now everything is cross marketing, it's about sunglasses or shoes, or guns and drugs....you choose."
Fuck, yeah, Ani. Fuck yeah.


Boring - The Pierces



"Sexy boy. Girl On Girl. Menage a trois. Boring."

I don't know much about the Pierces. They're sisters, I think. I dig them in a way that i don't dig Tegan and Sara. They're darker. Meaner. But they sound like you would expect them to sell out, go electro pop and sell a million records. They remind me a little of The Murmurs (remember them? You Suck? Great fucking tune)But they aren't as folky-annoying. I have enjoyed every song on "Thirteen tales of Love and Revenge", so far. I bought it at Amoeba the same day as Against Me! to offset the testosteronie. It ain't bad.
The Pierces hit the style and (lack of) substance of their characters in this song. They sing it so blase and lazily I expect them to be dressed in couture bikinis, smoking reds by the pool at The Standard. They get it. They understand. Paris? Nicole? Every fucking diva/ingenue? Waste of space.
This song rings so true it's almost nauseating. Nauseatingly good, that is!

VIDEO BONUS:


Envious - The Hellacopters



I'm on a chick kick right now. But, that doesn't mean there isn't room for some good, old-fashioned, classic cock rock, right?
In the book "Sonic Cool: the Life and Death of Rock and Roll" which I recommend for the last two chapters only, Author Joel Harrington name drops a LOT of bands, many of which I had never heard of at the time. Like Anti-Seen. And Gluecifer. And The Hellacopters.
The Hellacopters are an offshoot of the Swedish metal band, Entombed, but the drummer and creator of The Hellacopters, Nicke Andersson, took it upon himself to resurrect the casket of 70's classic rock. The kind of kickass rock and roll made by Skynrd and Molly Hatchet and Springsteen.
I bought Supershitty to the Max and the liner notes castigated me for not caring enough about music because I bought it on compact disc. If I REALLY cared about the high and low ends, about the depth and breadth of the music I would have bought it on vinyl.
So, in an act of defiance I bought High Visibility on vinyl. And, dammit, what a fucking treat! It was the last "new" record I bought on vinyl, sadly. And I bought it 2003.
Blazing Piano, lead guitar licks from the school of rock Envious drives. That teeny bridge that drops into that lead solo....you just wanna air guitar to these guys. And then see them live. Because you KNOW they bring the rock.

Enjoy the tunes. And thanks for stopping by Septenary. Please come back often and leave your specimen in the comments drawer.

For your pleasure here's the lyrics to the whole Hellcopters song:

Out of time out of tune
Born sucking on a silver spoon
Trying hard for the best
You don't come close but I can stand the test
Here's a hint here's a clue
I'm the wolf in the movie 'bout you
So pull a knife but I stand on it's edge
l'm the allegiance the one that you pledge

You wanna rise to the occation
But there's nothing to prove
You'll be two steps back
While I'm on the move
And it makes you feel

Envious - You can try but you won't nail it down
Envious - You turn it up but it don't make no sound
Envious - It's good looking at the first glance
But you' re so envious - And you don't stand a chance

You got the axe but I got the licks
I´ve got the drugs but baby you've got the ticks
You're a word not worthy a mention
I'm the teacher and you've got detention

You wanna rise to the occation
But there's nothing to prove
You'll be two steps back
While I'm on the move
And it makes you feel

Envious - You can try but you won't nail it down
Envious - You turn it up but it don't make no sound
Envious - It's good looking at the first glance
But you' re so envious - And you don't stand a chance

You pale in comparison
But what can you do
I admit it I look better beside you

You will cry as I laugh
You're a boy and l'm a man a half
You'll always be the ugly nothing and I the sweet real
I feel no pity but I know how you feel

You wanna rise to the occasion
But there's nothing to prove
You'll be two steps back
While I'm on the move
And it makes you feel

Envious - You can try but you won't nail it down
Envious - You turn it up but it don't make no sound
Envious - It's good looking at the first glance
But you' re so envious - And you don't stand a chance


HIDDEN TRACK VIDEO BONUS:
"No Song Unheard". When I heard this for the first time I thought, wow, these guys were listening to a LOT of Springsteen and, strangely enough, Joe Jackson. Do YOU hear it? I do. I love it.