I’m posting this for the sole purpose of making sure my roomate Dave is never more than an internet connection away from hearing this song. He’s been known to get cranky when he can’t. It’s from Blind Melon’s second record, released just months before frontman Shannon Hoon’s fatal cocaine overdose.

I never felt that Blind Melon got a fair shake because they will forever be known only as the band that sings that “No Rain” song. Dave thinks about it like “No Rain” is a song from the radio. The stuff on Soup is actually Blind Melon. It’s the same way I think of “Creep.” It’s a song that’s generally associated with Radiohead, but real Radiohead is stuff like “The National Anthem.” Unfortunately for Blind Melon, their iron lung didn’t get a chance to sustain them long enough to make a greater impression.  So I’m going to try to do my part to share something else.  Also their cover of the Schoolhouse Rock classic “Three is A Magic Number” and, because I mentioned it, “The National Anthem.”

 Blind Melon - Vernie [3:16m]: Play in Popup | Download
 Blind Melon - Three is a Magic Number [3:14m]: Play in Popup | Download
 Radiohead - The National Anthem (Live) [4:58m]: Play in Popup | Download

Riding home from seeing Ned Cannon on Saturday Night, we all tuned in to KRCL, which still has volunteer DJs on the weekend.  I think we lucked out with the guest DJ that night, he played us some psychedelic stuff. Specifically “In the Land of the Few” by Love Sculpture, “Ticket to Ride” by Vanilla Fudge, and “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” by Moving Sidewalks (the latter two being Beatles covers).  I want to share all three with you because they are choice, but the only one I could get my hands on was the Love Sculpture song.  And I’m okay with that.  For a band with relatively no celebration surrounding it, this song sounds way ahead of its time.  At least it did driving back from Provo on Saturday night.  Wikipedia doesn’t even think this song is notable enough to merit an article, but I think it’s excellent.  There are a few moments, such as the opening, which sound like it was definitely recorded in 1970, but most of the song feels no more than fifteen years old.  Like it could’ve been part of a psychedelic revival.  I feel really good sharing this with you, because I don’t expect you to have found it on your own.  No real reason to.  But now it’s here and you can share it with all your friends!!

 Love Sculpture - In the Land of the Few [3:58m]: Play in Popup | Download

I got sent this little baby a while ago, and its been sitting on my desktop collecting dust ever since. I popped it open today, I visualize like a can of beer, and it was still good. Dust didn’t bother it all. Yay music.

Check it out, Joseph Arthur is an artist who can’t decide what to do, paint or make music, or maybe he does both well. And at the same time, I hear. I like this song for the special wah and because its simple and his voice is enjoyable. Oh, and he’s from Ohio. If thats weird, sorry.

Joseph Arthur | Myspace | Buy Vagabond Skies

 Pretty Good Company - Joseph Arthur [3:05m]: Play in Popup | Download

Okay, I said some things about Sigur Rós last week that weren’t entirely friendly. This is largely due to my irrational hatred of them (I’ve decided to make Quarashi my personal pinnacle of Icelandic music, judging Björk to transcend borders).  I felt a little bad, because a lot of people really enjoy Sigur Rós, and if you’re one that might, but don’t yet know it (it seems to be the rational thing).  So here are the two tracks that I enjoy.  “Svefn-g-englar” I know from the Vanilla Sky soundtrack, and “Starálfur” you may know from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.  I think I mentioned that already.  Anyhow, songs I do enjoy.  Enjoy them yourself.

 Sigur Rós - Svefn-g-englar: Play in Popup | Download
 Sigur Rós - Starálfur [6:47m]: Play in Popup | Download

I heard the new Sigur Rós song, “Gobbledigook” from the forthcoming Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust, on the radio last night.  I have to admit I’m a little smug about it sounding like an actual song rather than a movement in a suite.  The guitar sounds like a normal, strummed guitar; the drumming reminds me of Animal from the Electric Mayhem; and the vocals sound like words.  I don’t care what language the song was written in, Sigur Rós songs never sound like they have lyrics so much as vocalise accompaniment.  This, ladies and gentlemen, is your precious Sigur Rós playing a rock ‘n roll song.

I will admit that my dislike for Sigur Rós is mostly irrational.  I quite enjoy “Svefn-g-englar” and “Starálfur” a fair amount, but on the whole I find the Icelandic forest nymphs pretty bland unless the music is accompanying something.  I’ll cite “Starálfur” being used in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou as a prime example of Sigur Rós being well used (that song also features a brief bit of elusive strummed guitar), but generally the whole aura of the band seems so convoluted and self-congratulatory that I’m immensely turned off by them.  So I present to you my petty victory over post-rock.

P.S. Please don’t misunderstand, I’ve nothing really against post-rock, I’ll cite certain Mogwai songs and Nine Inch Nails’ Ghosts I-IV as examples of enjoyable stuff.  I just hate Sigur Rós so much.

 Sigur Rós - Gobbledigook [3:08m]: Play in Popup | Download

I was working on a project for my wonderful LtM counterpart, Jen, when I came across some really weird covers using Skreemr. Turns out nobody has a regular album version of “Mr. Crowley” on Internet, but they do have Ozzy covering “Stayin’ Alive.” Yeah, that “Stayin’ Alive.” This simply seemed strange at first, until I thought about the history of things, the Bee Gees released “Stayin’ Alive” back in ‘76 while Ozzy was still with Black Sabbath. I really don’t want to ponder the significance of this, but I hope it’s no more than, “Hey, wouldn’t it be funny to get Ozzy to sing a disco song? We could even get Frank Zappa’s kid to play guitar! It’s so wacky!” Those are my hopes.

After I found that, I had to do a little research and discovered that Dweezil and his brother Ahmet covered Britney Spears’ breakout hit “Baby, One More Time” for the film Ready to Rumble. This doesn’t strike me as nearly so odd, since it’s been done by Travis and Fountains of Wayne, but I think it serves the post well.

Still could not find the album version of “Mr. Crowley.”

 Ozzy Osbourne w/ Dweezil Zappa - Stayin' Alive [4:42m]: Play in Popup | Download
 Dweezil and Ahmet Zappa - Baby One More Time [4:11m]: Play in Popup | Download