Songs 220 to 230

See, here's why no one should buy a hamster for their children. Because if you do, you will look up after 10 minutes of watching the hamster wander around in its little "boy in the plastic bubble" ball, and realize you and the dog are the only ones left in the room. Why? Because children have the attention span of hamsters, and they--unencumbered by "boy in the plastic bubble" balls--have hit the high road to greater adventures. Thank god ours is a rental. Oh, and it's named Suji not Sunji like I thought. And yes, your two cats will tag team it on the dining room table, knocking the cage to the floor, leaving you to wonder, "Jeezy Creezy, do I have to make a run to Petsmart for a Suji-clone?! What did that little furry cupcake (I'm trademarking that nickname, which came straight from my son) look like again?" Then, you will spy a wobbling dust bunny and sigh with delight, that you--in fact--are spared explaining to Ms. PreK teacher (while writing a nice check for Suji2) how your negligence is truly limited only to hamsters. Let's relax to a little music, shall we, and forget that we've been pee'd on by a furry cupcake.

Song 220: Augustana, "Boston." I found this on an iMix for Scrubs I think. It has that Scrubs slo-mo montage high mournful quality. Ah, the drum fill. Welcome back old friend! This song seems of a piece with so much that's out there now, like that song about a good day or bad day or some kind of calendar event that they played all the time for a while. It's not bad; it's just there. (It would be cooler if this song were secretly about the band, wouldn't it.)

Song 221: Cary Brothers, "Ride." Begins with a more complex instrumentation than most emo stuff and has a nice reverb-y sound. The music is more interesting than the vocals, which kind of fade into a sound sweep. Maybe that's the idea, which would be odd given he's a "singer/songwriter." It does get repetitive toward the end. But, full-on props for covering a Thompson Twins song on the MySpace page, though the original's better.

Song 222: Field Mob f/ Ciara, "So What." I bought this song for one line that has struck me with joy every single time I hear this song on our local urban radio station: "Ladies and gentlemen, Ciara!" It's just delivered with such perfect pitch and anticipation. I LOVE IT! The song has a turn of the century Outkast feel; nice Romeo/Juliet ride song.

Song 223: Christina Aguilera, "Ain't No Other Man." I heard this driving to a lunch meeting the other day. It pops! She can sing, maybe a bit too much, but gosh, how does she do it so fast? I really like the sample and the scratchy scratchin' 78-feel. Production is all in this genre, dear readers, and she's got it going on there.

Song 224: Ciara f/ Chamillionaire, "Get Up." I thought I'd give Ciara a try on her own. She's pleasant enough, kind of like a new Aliyah. Mr. Chamillionaire is barely on this song. She seems like the upper register Beyonce.

Song 225: Del Amitri, "Tell Her This." The vocals have more depth and warmth than most MOR/AOR. There's a Pogues-quality to the music. But it's been run through a shiny filter, so it has the simulation of despair without the bad teeth that might go with it.

Song 225: DJ Kool, "Let Me Clear My Throat." I bought this because of a YouTube video I caught on VideoDog, starring CaptainPeppito. Trust me, all of you have heard this song, dear readers, you just might not know its title. It is a transcendental signifier--equally at home in crack dens, fancy arenas, porch hangouts, frat parties, and SkyShows. I dare you not to shake it! I can't find a link to DJ Kool, so here's the inspirational video.

Song 226: Drive-by Truckers, "Gravity's Gone." Post-roots rock with jangly guitars, aviator shades, and too small plaid pearl button shirts. Nice turns of phrase. I think this is better music live than on Memorex. Still, isn't it nice to break up the rap and emo with some sawdust to clear the palate?

Song 227: Feist, "Mushaboom (Postal Service Remix)." Electronica with lilting vocals that are mixed nicely above the beeps and boops. Appropriately driving. Gets quite busy around the mid-point where the layers become less Missoni and more LLBean. Then, it cleans out again.

Song 228: Fergie, "London Bridge." Oh, please, you like it, too. It's Bow Wow Wow smashed up with the Spice Girls sprinkled with some "from the hood" sassiness by way of the Abercrombie and Fitch at the Galleria. Perfect summer disposable tune; good beats and production.

Song 229: The Finn Brothers, "Anything Can Happen." This is another Scrubs song. It's very inspirational and motivational; driving drum and guitars full of potential . . . somethingness. It's a fine song, but that anything can also be a guest appearance on a Wiggles video singing with Captain Feathersword.

Song 230: Gomez, "Hamoa Beach." I think this must have sounded better in the songbite. It sounds kind of lamer in the long version. Oh well.

135 to go.

Songs 218 and 219

Whew, this should bring me up through the end o' July--which is great because it's almost the end of August. Because I'm so good at keeping current with this blog, I started another (see the new sidebar). Also, we saw Ricky Bobby last night. HI-larious; there's something surprisingly appealing about Will Ferrell (he's kind of like the male Reese Witherspoon--way winning). Oh, and I bought the whole of the Tony Bennett Stepping Out cd online. It's so beautiful; I just love those hushed Fred Astaire ballads. You know, this is weird to say, but there are parts of this album that remind me of Lil' Jon. Listen for yourself and figure out what I mean (you know you're intrigued now, dear reader!). Okay, I need to get back to cutting fabric, so here are my last two July songs. I got both these off the indie singer/songwriter spotlight on iTunes. Always a dangerous combo (oy, the coffeehouse), but these are pretty good.

Song 218: Rose Melberg, "Take Some Time." She has a light voice, very melodic with a kind of hush, but not overly little-girly. The song flows along nicely, lots of "ooo-s." The intermittent piano works well, too. Pretty.

Song 219: Thao Nguyen, "Chivalry." Rolling guitar intro with an alt-country kinda vibe (viet-country?). She has an Edie Brickell-like bleat in her voice. The quick-step pacing is nice. The guitar pickin' midway is quite bluegrass-like. Surprising.

146 to go.