9 posts tagged “lists”
The Instructions:
Set your music player to shuffle.
List the first line from the first 25 songs that play.
The Lyrics:
I married my wife on the day of the eclipse ...
Gonna write a little letter, gonna mail it to my local DJ ...
Dare a smile ...
I have lost the one I love to someone else ...
I love you, Mama, you sweet ...
Sometimes I don't get you ....
Hey, wake up, your eyes weren't open wide ...
I took her on a simple trip to see her husband's family ...
Broken chairs your body conforms to ...
A New Jersey lady I knew long ago, and she was a lady I say ...
Father may I go so slowly in my own dreams ...
Walking out in the freezing rain ...
If you'll take me back, back to your place ...
I never meant 2 cause U any sorrow ...
Tattoo parlor man's havin' a terrible fight ...
He lost his mind today ...
The plan keeps coming up again ...
Spanish songs in Andalucia, the shooting sites in the days of '39 ...
He was ready for the big trip, he was moving to the city ...
I may say that I don't care, hold my head up in the air ...
Gonna take a freight train, down at the station, Lord ...
Tremor of light, the sky a porcelain wall ...
It's Lisa or Laura, I know not her real name ...
When I first met Doreen she was barely seventeen ...
The wild boys are calling on their way back from the fire ...
The Instructions:
List the first hundred of IMDB's Top 250 user rated movies.
Bold and underline the movies you've seen.
The Movies:
The Godfather (1972)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Godfather, Part II (1974)
Il Buono, il brutto, il cattivo [The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly] (1966)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Schindler's List (1993)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Casablanca (1942)
Star Wars (1977)
Shichinin no samurai [The Seven Samurai] (1954)
12 Angry Men (1957)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Goodfellas (1990)
Rear Window (1954)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Cidade de Deus [City of God] (2002)
C'era un volta il West [Once Upon a Time in the West] (1968)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Psycho (1960)
Fight Club (1999)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Citizen Kane (1941)
North by Northwest (1959)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Memento (2000)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
The Matrix (1999)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Se7en (1995)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Taxi Driver (1976)
American Beauty (1999)
Léon [The Professional] (1994)
Vertigo (1958)
American History X (1998)
Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain [Amélie] (2001)
Paths of Glory (1957)
The Departed (2006)
M (1931)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Chinatown (1974)
The Third Man (1949)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Alien (1979)
Das Leben der Anderen [The Lives of Others] (2006)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Forrest Gump (1994)
The Shining (1980)
Double Indemnity (1944)
The Pianist (2002)
El laberinto del fauno [Pan's Labyrinth] (2006)
Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi [Spirited Away] (2001)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Aliens (1986)
Das Boot [The Boat] (1981)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
There Will Be Blood (2007)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Der Untergang [Downfall] (2004)
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Raging Bull (1980)
Rashômon (1950)
Metropolis (1927)
Modern Times (1936)
Rebecca (1940)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Sin City (2005)
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
All About Eve (1950)
Amadeus (1984)
Some Like it Hot (1959)
La vita è bella [Life is Beautiful] (1997)
The Prestige (2006)
The Great Escape (1963)
City Lights (1931)
Det sjunde inseglet [The Seventh Seal] (1957)
The Elephant Man (1980)
On the Waterfront (1954)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Jaws (1975)
The Sting (1973)
Cinema Paradiso (1988)
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
The Apartment (1960)
The Great Dictator (1940)
Blade Runner (1982)
Braveheart (1995)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
The Instructions:
Bold and underline the things you've done.
The Actions:
Bought everyone in the bar a drink
Swam with wild dolphins
Climbed a mountain
Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
Been inside the Great Pyramid
Held a tarantula
Taken a candlelit bath with someone
Said "I love you" and meant it
Hugged a tree
Done a striptease
Bungee jumped
Visited Paris
Watched a lightning storm at sea
Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
Seen the Northern Lights
Gone to a huge sports game
Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
Grown and eaten your own vegetables
Touched an iceberg
Slept under the stars
Changed a baby's diaper
Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
Watched a meteor shower
Gotten drunk on champagne
Given more than you can afford to charity
Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
Had a food fight
Bet on a winning horse
Taken a sick day when you're not ill
Asked out a stranger
Had a snowball fight
Photocopied your bottom on the office photocopier
Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
Held a lamb
Enacted a favorite fantasy
Taken a midnight skinny dip
Taken an ice cold bath
Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
Seen a total eclipse
Ridden a roller coaster
Hit a home run
Fit three weeks miraculously into three days
Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
Adopted an accent for an entire day
Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
Had two hard drives for your computer
Visited all 50 states
Loved your job for all accounts
Taken care of someone who was shit-faced
Had enough money to be truly satisfied
Had amazing friends
Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
Watched wild whales
Stolen a sign
Backpacked in Europe
Taken a road-trip
Rock climbing
Lied to foreign government's official in that country to avoid notice
Midnight walk on the beach
Sky diving
Visited Ireland
Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
Visited Japan
Benchpressed your own weight
Milked a cow
Alphabetized your records
Pretended to be a superhero
Sung karaoke
Lounged around in bed all day
Posed nude in front of strangers
Scuba diving
Got it on to "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
Kissed in the rain
Played in the mud
Played in the rain
Gone to a drive-in theater
Done something you should regret, but don't regret it
Visited the Great Wall of China
Learned that someone who's not supposed to know about your blog has found it
Dropped Windows in favor of something better
Started a business
Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
Toured ancient sites
Taken a martial arts class
Sword fought for the honor of a woman
Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
Gotten married
Been in a movie
Crashed a party
Loved someone you shouldn't have
Kissed someone so passionately it made them dizzy
Gotten divorced
Had sex at the office
Gone without food for 5 days
Made cookies from scratch
Won first prize in a costume contest
Ridden a gondola in Venice
Gotten a tattoo
Found that the texture of some materials can turn you on
Rafted the Snake River
Been on television news programs as an "expert"
Got flowers for no reason
Masturbated in a public place
Got so drunk you don't remember anything
Been addicted to some form of illegal drug
Performed on stage
Been to Las Vegas
Recorded music
Eaten shark
Had a one-night stand
Gone to Thailand
Seen Siouxsie live
Bought a house
Been in a combat zone
Buried one/both of your parents
Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off
Been on a cruise ship
Spoken more than one language fluently
Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
Bounced a check
Performed in Rocky Horror
Read - and understood - your credit report
Raised children
Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
Created and named your own constellation of stars
Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
Found out something significant that your ancestors did
Called or written your Congress person
Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
...more than once? - More than thrice?
Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
Had an abortion or your female partner did
Had plastic surgery
Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
Wrote articles for a large publication
Lost over 100 pounds
Held someone while they were having a flashback
Piloted an airplane
Petted a stingray
Broken someone's heart
Helped an animal give birth
Been fired or laid off from a job
Won money on a T.V. game show
Broken a bone
Killed a human being
Gone on an African photo safari
Ridden a motorcycle
Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
Ridden a horse
Had major surgery
Had sex on a moving train
Had a snake as a pet
Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
Visited all 7 continents
Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
Eaten kangaroo meat
Fallen in love at an ancient Mayan burial ground
Been a sperm or egg donor
Eaten sushi
Had your picture in the newspaper
Had 2 (or more) healthy romantic relationships for over a year in your lifetime
Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
Gotten someone fired for their actions
Gone back to school
Parasailed
Changed your name
Petted a cockroach
Eaten fried green tomatoes
Read The Iliad
Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
Dined in a restaurant and stolen something because your apartment needed it
...and gotten 86'ed because you did it so many times, they figured out it was you
Taught yourself an art from scratch
Killed and prepared an animal for eating
Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
Skipped all your school reunions
Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
Been elected to public office
Written your own computer language
Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
Had to put someone you love into hospice care
Built your own PC from parts
Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
Had a booth at a street fair
Dyed your hair
Been a DJ
Found out someone was going to dump you via LiveJournal
Written your own role playing game
Been arrested
This certainly isn't a list of the best CD's I own, and I wouldn't even call it a list of my favorite CD's. (Though there is some overlap here with that second category.) I've had this mental list going for several years now, but this is the first time I've written it down. Some discs are firmly ensconced and have been for years. One was added just this morning, when I realized I listed to it approximately seven hundred times or so in 2007 and still have yet to grow tired of it. So tough titties, Steve McQue- Lyle Lovett. Maybe if you'd omitted that stupid song about how great it is to be from Texas, you wouldn't have gotten bumped.
The Coast Is Never Clear Beulah
Workers Playtime Billy Bragg
Perfect From Now On Built to Spill
Fox Confessor Brings The Flood Neko Case
Ocean Songs Dirty Three
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea Neutral Milk Hotel
Too Far To Care Old 97's
Exile In Guyville Liz Phair
Badlands: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska Various Artists
Strangers Almanac Whiskeytown
The Meadowlands The Wrens
It's possible (read: probable) that I have been playing too much Guitar Hero recently. Last week it was pretty much all I did other than work or sleep. And, yeah, I worked a lot, but I don't sleep much so I still found plenty of time to shred on the plastic axe. I've come to the conclusion that not only is Guitar Hero the greatest video game that has ever been made, but it's the greatest video game that ever will be made. Its replay value is astronomical; even if I get to the point where I can routinely score a hundred percent on the expert level, I'll still play. It's the first video game I've encountered - it may be the first ever - where winning is incidental. People play, mostly, because they like playing along with songs they like. Which, naturally, got me to thinking....
There are definitely songs that I play just because they are part of the game. No matter how many times I play along with Pearl Jam - no matter how well I do - the game won't make me like "Even Flow." Or "Pride and Joy." And those discoveries of previously unknown awesome songs like "3's & 7's" - or, to a much lesser extent, "Lay Down" - are few and far between. Obviously, the next logical step in this train of thought is that there should be a version of the game comprised of songs - and only of songs - that I want to play.
In other words, I have taken the time and effort to compile a soundtrack for the best possible version of the game (at least until GH: HR II comes out). Naturally, in this edition, all songs would be original masters and my avatar would be available for purchase in the store for the princely sum of $50,000. (Greatness doesn't come cheap, you know.) And naturally, in this edition, all games would be sold with a default left-handed controller with an optional setting for the "righty flip." Yeah, it'd be inconvenient for more people than not, but fake rocking out doesn't get much more awesome than this.
Jukebox Hero Foreigner, 1981
Rhiannon Fleetwood Mac, 1976
Varsity Jacket Twin Cam, 2005
Bang A Gong (Get It On) T. Rex, 1971
Encore: Photograph Def Leppard, 1983
...THE MEMPHIS BLUES AGAIN
Powderfinger Neil Young and Crazy Horse, 1979
Casino Queen Wilco, 1995
Just What I Needed The Cars, 1978
Never Said Liz Phair, 1993
Encore: September Gurls Big Star, 1974
DETROIT ROCK CITY
Jailbreak Thin Lizzy, 1976
Run Runaway Slade, 1983
Flathead The Fratellis, 2007
Sound And Vision David Bowie, 1977
Encore: Timebomb Old 97's, 1997
FAIRY TALE OF NEW YORK
Sidewalk Built to Spill, 1999
Wave Of Mutilation The Pixies, 1989
Skintight The Donnas, 1999
Hunger Strike Temple of the Dog, 1991
Encore: Low Cracker, 1993
I LOVE L.A.
Shatterday Vendetta Red, 2003
Stay With Me The Faces, 1971
Chips Ahoy! The Hold Steady, 2006
Y Control The Yeah Yeah Yeah's, 2003
Encore: Rock And Roll Fantasy Bad Company, 1979
LONDON CALLING
Pinball Wizard The Who, 1969
Everyone Chooses Sides The Wrens, 2003
My Iron Lung Radiohead, 1994
Shoot To Thrill AC/DC, 1980
Encore: Keep Your Hands To Yourself The Georgia Satellites, 1986
VIVA LAS VEGAS
Dashboard Modest Mouse, 2007
Sick Of Myself Matthew Sweet, 1995
(She's) Sexy + 17 The Stray Cats, 1983
Don't Look Back Boston, 1978
Encore: Little Guitars Van Halen, 1982
HELLO, CLEVELAND!!!
Ball And Biscuit The White Stripes, 2003
Layla Derek and the Dominos, 1970
Marquee Moon Television, 1977
Achilles Last Stand Led Zeppelin, 1976
Encore: Purple Rain Prince, 1984
One of the best things about early January - better, even, than the merciful end to the dreaded Holiday Season - is the plethora of "top ten" or "best of" or "my opinion matters" lists regarding popular culture. Fortunately for you, dear readers, you are already plugged in to the the only opinion that really matters. And we loooooove making lists of stuff.
The year Two-Thousand and Seven was an odd one: The recorded music scene was unusually terrible, but that mediocrity was compensated - perhaps overcompensated - by better than usual years in both (and especially) film and (in the DC area, at least - and in spite of impossibly shitty venues) live music. Books - well that's always tough to judge, since we don't often read books in the year of their release (and we're making some concessions here). And what else is there, really? Lists follow below, and top selections may or may not be (but hopefully "may") expanded upon in further detail before the end of the month.
5/ Superbad
4/ No Country for Old Men
3/ Ratatouille
2/ Juno
1/ Zodiac
The Year in: Recorded Music
5/ Living With the Living -- Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
4/ Magic -- Bruce Springsteen
3/ We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank -- Modest Mouse
2/ In Rainbows -- Radiohead
1/ Wincing the Night Away -- The Shins
The Year in: Live Music
5/ Wilco -- June 21, Merriweather Post Pavilion
4/ Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band -- November 12, Verizon Center
3/ The Shins -- October 22, Merriweather Post Pavilion
2/ Neko Case -- August 16, Nightclub 9:30
1/ The Polyphonic Spree -- June 30, Nightclub 9:30
The Year in: Books
5/ -- open-- (We didn't read enough 2007 books in 2007)
4/ The World Without Us -- Alan Weisman (reading now, see #5)
3/ The Yiddish Policeman's Union -- Michael Chabon
2/ American Creation -- Joseph J. Ellis
1/ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- J. K. Rowling
The Year in: Television
5/ Who cares?
4/ Seriously, though, it's television.
3/ I mean, who watches TV anyway?
2/ Okay, fine....
1/ Arrested Development (on DVD)
Okay, even though the Mook didn't specifically ask me to, I'll play along - mostly because I love a list, but even more because I love a list this misguided. Seriously, though, a deaf person could compile a more convincing list than this of "the best alternative rock" records. I know it's not his list, but it's just more evidence why life in the flyover states is to be avoided. There are people there that that might actually agree with this rubbish.
[EDITORS' NOTE: Following the Mook's lead, BOLD records are those we've heard in their entirety; italics are those that aren't worth anyone's time.]
1. Nirvana – Nevermind
2. Sublime-Sublime
3. Red Hot Chili Peppers-Blood Sugar Sex Magic
4. Pearl Jam-Ten
5. Green Day-Dookie
6. NIN-Pretty Hate Machine
7. The Smashing Pumpkins-Siamese Dream
8. The Beastie Boys-Pauls Boutique
9. Radiohead-OK Computer
10. Linkin Park-Hybrid Theory
11. No Doubt-Tragic Kingdom
12. Stone Temple Pilots-Core
13. Weezer-Weezer (The Blue Album)
14. Bush-Sixteen Stone
15. The Offspring-Smash
16. The Foo Fighers-The Colour and the Shape
17. Soundgarden-Superunknown
18. Blink 182-Enema of the State
19. Beck-Odelay
20. 311-311
21. Rage Against the Machine-Rage Against The Machine
22. Alice In Chains-Dirt
23. Janes Addiction-Ritual De Lo Habitual
24. Incubus- Make Yourself
25. U2-Joshua Tree
26. Oasis-What’s the Story Morning Glory
27. The Clash-London Calling
28. Rancid-And Out Come the Wolves
29. The Cure-Disintegration
30. The Ramones-The Ramones
31. Radiohead – The Bends
32. Hole-Live Through This
33. Gin Blossoms-New Miserable Experience
34. Social Distortion-Social Distortion
35. System Of A Down-Toxicity
36. Live-Throwing Copper
37. Tool-Undertow
38. Everclear-So Much for the Afterglow
39. Alanis Morisette-Jagged Little Pill
40. Korn-Follow the Leader
41. Sex Pistols-Never Mind the Bullocks Here’s the Sex Pistols
42. Violent Femmes-Violent Femmes
43. The Pixies-Doolittle
44. R.E.M.-Green
45. Jimmy Eat World-Bleed American
46. The Presidents of the United States of America-Self Titled
47. Primus-Sailing the Seas of Cheese
48. The Smiths-The Queen is Dead
49. The White Stripes-White Blood Cells
50. Garbage-Garbage
51. Cake-Fashion Nugget
52. Faith No More-The Real Thing
53. Depeche Mode-Violator
54. Jeff Buckley-Grace
55. Prodigy-The Fat of the Land
56. Soul Asylum-Grave Dancers Union
57. The Cult-Sonic Temple
58. The Police-Outlandos D’Amour
59. New Order-Power Corruption and Lies
60. Counting Crows-August and Everything After
61. Marilyn Manson-Antichrist Superstar
62. Pavement-Slanted and Enchanted
63. Coldplay-Parachutes
64. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones- Let’s Face it
65. Fugazi – 13 Songs
66. Rage Against The Machine – Evil Empire
67. The Cure – Head On The Door
68. The Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie Pt. 1
69. Pennywise-Full Circle
70. Fat Boy Slim-You’ve Come Along Way Baby
71. Weezer – Green Album
72. The Strokes-Is This it
73. Talking Heads-Remain in Light
74. Foo Fighters – Foo Fighters
75. U2 – War
76. Blur – Blur
77. Devo-Q: Are We Not Men A: We Are Devo
78. Linkin Park – Meteora
79. The Replacements-Tim
80. Audioslave – Audioslave
81. The Cure – Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
82. Dave Mathews Band-Under the Table and Dreaming
83. Joy Division-Unknown Pleasures
84. Beastie Boys – License to Ill
85. INXS-Shabooh Shoobah
86. Stone Roses-The Stone Roses
87. REM – Automatic for the People
88. White Zombie-La Sexorcisto
89. Rise Against-Siren Song of the Counter Culture
90. Candlebox – Candlebox
91. Blondie-Parallel Lines
92. Nine Inch Nails – Downward Spiral
93. Bad Religion-Stranger Than Fiction
94. Alice In Chains – Facelift
95. Blur – Parklife
96. Pearl Jam – Vs
97. The Pretenders-The Pretenders
98. The Smiths – The Smiths
99. The Killers-Hot Fuss
100. Sonic Youth-Goo
101. REM – Document
102. Nirvana – In Utero
103. Police - Zenyatta Mondatta
some years back, soo suggested that as a christmas gifts to each other, we could each compose the equivalent of a mix tape for each other of the "essential music" of our collections. the details of "essential music" were left to us to determine. (for example, i expected a CD of nothing but guided by voices, pavement, and the pixies from emma.)
as it had happened, a few years earlier - in 2000 - i had composed just such a mix. it followed my standard rules (which shall be defined momentarily), and was certainly never intended for public distribution. i don't even recall why i compiled it, save that it was conveniently easy to do when my then employer was in the midst of moving offices, and much of my work day was spent putting lab supplies into boxes. in the spirit of soo's request, though, i composed an accompanying volume, titled - creatively - 2003, following and continuing the same mix rules.
now, i can't speak for the group, but i know soo and i never followed through. in fact, the only CD's i ever received were from a good friend of the good doctor who has since passed out of my life, so i expect not much came of the idea elsewhere, either. but in 2005, still with the intention of distribution at this point only to soo, i compiled yet a third volume. and by that time i was on itunes and was able to compile the three volumes into a playlist called "the whole shebang." and that, dear readers, is what follows - after the rules, naturally, and draw your conclusions as you will.
these songs, obviously, must be from CD's which i owned at the time of compilation.
there shall be only one artist per mix. in this case, the rule applies across volumes, so that a song shall not appear on volume three which is by an artist who appears on a previous volume. similarly, artists who transcend groups shall not appear multiple times. for example, one must choose between a ryan adams solo song or a whiskeytown song, or a wilco song and an uncle tupelo song.
a cover song and a song by the original artist shall not appear together either.
no "themed" sides (if this were a tape) - that is, no clustering of "slow song" and "fast songs". or any other theme, for that matter, but slow/fast is the most common.
and that's the list of rules.
these are my rules. whether or not you choose to play by them is up to you.
the other list follows now.
--------------------------------
"carry the zero," built to spill (keep it like a secret)
"march of the pigs," nine inch nails (the downward spiral)
"achin' to be," the replacements (don't tell a soul)
"wallflower," bob dylan (the bootleg series)
"in the aeroplane over the sea," neutral milk hotel (in the aeroplane over the sea)
"abegail anne," jeremy enigk (return of the frog queen)
"red-eyed and blue," wilco (being there)
"wishlist," pearl jam (yield)
"heroes," david bowie ("heroes")
"eurotrash girl," cracker (kerosene hat)
"little time bomb," billy bragg (workers' playtime)
"losering," whiskeytown (strangers almanac)
"ball and chain," social distortion (social distortion)
"bob," NOFX (white trash, two heebs, and a bean)
"no surprises," radiohead (OK computer)
"texas river song," lyle lovett (step inside this house)
"ohio river boat song," palace music (lost blues and other songs)
"big brown eyes," the old 97's (too far to care)
--------------------------------
"i remember a time when once you used to love me," the dirty three (horse stories)
"bad days," the flaming lips (clouds taste metallic)
"more yellow birds," sparklehorse (it's a wonderful life)
"big boys," elvis costello and the attractions (this year's model, demo bonus track)
"my big mouth," the posies (dear 23)
"holmes," the grifters (crappin' you negative)
"jersey girl," tom waits (heartattack and vine)
"holiday," the get-up kids (something to write home about)
"halah," mazzy star (she hangs brightly)
"let's save tony orlando's house," yo la tengo (and then nothing turned itself inside out)
"aisle five," twin cam (stealing souvenirs)
"village green preservation society," the kinks (village green preservation society)
"carry me," tim easton (the truth about us)
"fast car," tracy chapman (tracy chapman)
"run for your life," the beatles (rubber soul)
"range life," pavement (crooked rain, crooked rain)
"blue moon revisited (song for elvis)," the cowboy junkies (the trinity sessions)
"highway patrolman," dar williams (badlands: a tribute to bruce springsteen's 'nebraska')
"the man comes around," johnny cash (american IV: the man comes around)
--------------------------------
"ball & biscuit," the white stripes (elephant)
"divorce song," liz phair (exile in guyville)
"powderfinger," neil young (rust never sleeps)
"right as rain," decatur (well-worn persuasion)
"thirteen," big star (#1 record/radio city)
"little red corvette," prince (1999)
"one chance," modest mouse (good news for people who love bad news)
"gone for good," the shins (chutes too narrow)
"a thousand miles from nowhere," dwight yoakam (dwightyoakamacoustic.net)
"sloop john B," the beach boys (pet sounds)
"mona lisas & mad hatters," elton john (honky chateau)
"the slow descent into alcoholism," the new pornographers (mass romantic)
"savory," jawbox (for your own special sweetheart)
"the things that you say that you do," dressy bessy (dressy bessy)
"everyday people," sly & the family stone (anthology)
"out of time," the rolling stones (metamorphosis)
"the scientist," coldplay (a rush of blood to the head)
"night is the day turned inside out," beulah (the coast is never clear)
"what i'll remember most," over the rhine (ohio)
"suspicious minds," elvis presley (a life in music)
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there's a very good reason reasonable people hate pitchfork. it can be summed up easily today, actually, with the divulgence of a little game i like to play whenever they post a list. now first of all - i love lists; i love that they force you (or me, rather) to rank things, to make difficult choices, to think critically about what you like and why. i think it's a guy thing. secondly - and i'm just stating this as full disclosure - i actually like pitchfork. i've been pointed in the direction of some music i may not otherwise have found because i read daily. yes, they're pretentious, but they still have a far better track record than, say, new musical express.
anyway, as i mentioned, i have this game i play whenever they deign to post some new list. to wit: i scour the list for the few - records? songs? whatever? - of which i have heard. so today, when they offered up their top one hundred songs of the year, of course i checked it out. and i played my game. and how do you think i fared? how many songs, out of one hundred, do you think i possessed some vague knowledge of prior to seeing this list? keep in mind - this is coming from a music website i read daily.
well, i'll tell you. but first i'll tell you i cheated. i didn't mark just the songs i'd heard or heard of. i counted them if i'd simply heard of the artist. that's right, even if i had no idea of what the song in question sounded like, if i knew simply of the existence of artist that recorded it, i made a slash mark on my tally. so NOW how many of these illustrious songs do you think i knew?
twenty-four. seventy-six percent - over three quarters - of the songs on their list were by artists entirely foreign to me. and this is not a conservative number. i mostly don't even know what the people that recorded these songs sound like. ponder, if you will, that a tally of the songs on their list that a regular reader has actually heard firsthand still reaches, if i am not mistaken: only one - "goin' against your mind," by built to spill (clocking in way up there at #72). so fuck you, pitchfork. i'm glad you're on hiatus until after the new year. by then i might be able to stomach clicking on the link once more.
[UPDATE: okay, so there are actually two songs. my mistake. and thanks, emma.]
