Songs That Saved Your Life

Cleaners from Venus - “Tukani (Monday Is Grey)”...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:53:00 -0700

Cleaners from Venus - “Tukani (Monday Is Grey)” (5.02MB mp3 file)

Okay. While there are huge gaps here and there that need to be filled in (for examps, I don’t know shit about the Rolling Stones — yes, it’s true, DEAL WITH IT), for the most part, I am relatively knowledgeable about a lot of music, and a lot a styles/genres, but none more so than English dudes in the late ’70s on through the ’80s. That’s my wheelhouse. Those are my jams. Sarah Records? On it. Factory Records? Please. Postcard Records? Of course. Rough Trade? Doy. And while I’ll listen to everything from country to punk to the grimiest of hip-hop, give me records by a pasty dude from the U.K. and I’ll get excited like you wouldn’t believe.

I was in Portland, Oregon, for a comedy festival during the most recent Record Store Day, and I cruised three or four shops to see what they had to offer. (OF COURSE I bought all of the special Orange Juice reissues — see the opening paragraph of this entry again explaining What I’m Into.) The third store I walked into was playing a record that made me stop in my tracks, and two steps into the doorway, I asked the clerk what it was. “It’s the Cleaners from Venus reissue,” he said, explaining it was a group — or, more accurately, basically one main dude — who only released his stuff on cassette back in the early ’80s. “What?!” I asked. “How do I not know who this is?! It sounds just like something that would have been on Sarah Records or the like!” He laughed, fished the record out of the bin for me, and wrote the name of the man responsible for the tunes on a Post-it note: Martin Newell. I bought the album immediately.

I don’t have a working turntable at the moment, so thankfully the record came with a download code; I downloaded the mp3s when I got home, and sat at my desk and listened to the jams on my headphones. Holy crap. I looked up Martin Newell and read along as I listened, thinking, How the hell had I not heard of this guy before?! I was almost mad about it! This guy! These songs! They should have been in my life sooner! The album I bought in Portland was a re-release of the previously cassette-only On Any Normal Monday, but I needed more. I headed to Amoeba on Sunset on a mission, and I promptly cleaned out the Cleaners from Venus section, very pleasantly surprised that there were other CD reissues of this guy’s cassette releases! (I suppose just because I haven’t heard of someone, that doesn’t mean they are super duper obscure, heh.)

So, you guys! Cleaners from Venus! Martin Newell! Get into it! I can’t stop listening to ALL of their jams! Constantly!

The Beautiful South - “I’m Your No. 1 Fan”...

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 22:13:00 -0800

The Beautiful South - “I’m Your No. 1 Fan” (4.11MB mp3 file)

A week or two before my freshman year of high school began, we (all of my fellow 14-year-old future ninth-graders) had to meet on campus for freshman orientation. I assume this is common with most high schools in this country (and colleges as well), but if you’re unfamiliar, it’s basically an opportunity for the faculty and current students to acclimatize new students to their new environment and show them around, so that they at least have some idea of where things are and can try to keep standard freshman harassment to a minimum. I rolled up to the school on that August day with a group of friends, all fully prepared to goof off and laugh at everyone when, a few minutes into the assembly, the student council representatives from every grade arrived to welcome us, and we all laid eyes on the hottest dude we had ever seen in person in our young lives. Chris Thompson was on the student council and was this unique (and charming) hybrid of Punk Rock Dude and Man About Campus. He was devastatingly good looking, and was also somehow “alternative” while also being really well-known and friends with just about everyone; I would come to learn that this guy spanned every genre, every clique. He delivered his speech and my friends and I whispered to each other, variations of “WHO IS THAT GUY?! HOLY CRAP, HE’S FINE/CUTE/HOT!” (enter whichever “cool” phrase used to describe attractive guys at the time), and when the principal announced his name, I think we all exhaled at the same time: “Ahhhh, Chris Thompson.”
We couldn’t stop talking about this guy all day, and when we got back to my friend’s house, we found her older sister’s middle school phone book and, of course, looked him up. (Did your schools do this? Our middle school put out a yearly phone book with every student’s address and phone number, and that shit should have seriously just been named THE PRANK CALL MANUAL, because that’s certainly all we used it for.) Being even more of a balls-to-the-wall off-putting extrovert than I am now (if that’s possible), I wrote down his number and called him that evening. Not kidding. The conversation went something like this:

“Hey, is this Chris Thompson?” I asked when a male voice answered.
“Yeah…?” he replied.
“Hi, my name is April, and I’m going to be a freshman this year. I saw you at freshman orientation and I just wanted to tell you that you’re pretty much the hottest guy I’ve ever seen,” I said, matter-of-factly.
(laughing) “Haha, uh, thanks! Hey, come up and introduce yourself at school, okay?” he offered.
“OKAY! COOL! YEAH! I will! … Uh, okay, see you next week then.”
(still chuckling) “Okay, bye.”

In the middle of my first day of high school, I spotted Chris in the hall and walked right up to him and introduced myself. I said something to the effect of, ” Hey, I’m April, I’m the girl who called and told you you were hot,” and he laughed again and said, “Nice to meet you,” and we chatted for a bit between classes… but little did I know that a lifelong friendship was blossoming. Chris could have been a total dick — I mean, think of every ’80s high school movie ever, or Jordan Catalano’s never-talking-to-Angela-in-front-of-anyone-else antics — and could have told everyone that some lame freshman girl called his house to tell him he was hot and “Haha, GOD, can you BELIEVE her?! Who does she think she is?! What a WEIRDO,” etc, but he was nice to me from the start and remained so during our years at school together. He always greeted me in the halls and soon he was introducing me to his friends and giving me rides home when I missed the bus (turned out he lived pretty close to me), and we traded mixtapes and went to shows together (They Might Be Giants and The Queers are two very fond memories I have), and even though he was Cool Guy On Campus and two grades ahead of me, he never belittled me and often made a point to include me in things. (I went to prom with him and his awesome girlfriend Lis and their group of friends one year when my date bailed on me at the last minute.) We never dated, which of course crushed me at the time, but we always had fun hanging out as pals. I always appreciated that Mr. Cool Upperclassman Guy gave the typical high school hierarchy a big “fuck you” and kicked it with my freshman/sophomore nerdy ass.

Chris went to college in Colorado, and I was obviously bummed when he moved, but when he was home for summers and holidays we still hung out and went to shows and stuff, and have continued to keep in touch all these years. He’s among my oldest and dearest friends, and I’m so grateful to him for helping make my high school experience a shockingly great one. (I know, I know, I’m weird.)

This song came on in the car today, and I thought of him, thought of how, given the rigid high school social code, he absolutely did not have to be kind to me, much less be my friend — but he was, and he did, and I still appreciate it.

I was handed down a bike with a crooked old wheel
but I rode it down a million lanes the way that you made me feel

you didn’t have to love me
where others got rid
you didn’t have to treat me like a very good friend
but I’m glad that you did

The Lucksmiths - “Good Light” (3.91MB mp3 file)...

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 00:24:50 -0700

The Lucksmiths - “Good Light” (3.91MB mp3 file)

I’m not saying this to sound weirdly braggy, but I’m usually pretty okay at the end of relationships, as far as freaking out goes. I mean, I’ll freak out, but I’ll do it alone, at home, and I’ll keep the phone at bay — and not because I necessarily have some superhuman willpower, but I just put myself in the other person’s shoes and really think about being on the receiving end of unwanted affection, and I don’t want to be the person someone out there is cringing about. Ugh. So I usually faithfully stick to that important no-contact phase.

But once this dude had me really sprung, and when we broke up I was inconsolable. I missed him so much and just wanted to talk to him one more time. And one more time. And then just this last time, I promise. And if you just call me back it will be the last time, I swear. Even while I was dialing the numbers, I’d think, “I’m really fucking this up right now.” I knew it! I was all too aware of it! But I’d call anyway, because of that whole just-wanting-to-hear-his-voice thing. I went against all advice I’d ever given friends of mine; I didn’t recognize myself. It was so dumb, and I knew better, but I couldn’t stop. I had never missed anyone as deeply as I missed him.

This song came on today and I thought of him, and I thought about how what I’d done in the end probably tainted the good thing we’d had in the beginning, but I hope I didn’t blow it entirely; I hope he still has some fond memories. I know I do.

I hope someday you’ll see me
even briefly
in a good light

Bat for Lashes - “Daniel” (5.75mb mp3 file) I worked...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 12:48:00 -0700

Bat for Lashes - “Daniel” (5.75mb mp3 file)

I worked at MTV when this album came out, and after editing a few interviews with (the very pleasant and lovely) Natasha Khan, I listened to this single and really liked it — and then realized that if I really liked this, I had to finally admit that I liked Kate Bush, because this song is about one degree away from “Running Up That Hill.”

I always walked a hard line when it came to Kate Bush: I hated her, and that was mainly because I directly blamed her for the existence of Tori Amos; I thought if A begat B, and B sucks, then A must suck as well. I went to high school with a bunch of girls who worshipped Tori Amos — they were in the drama club and dyed their hair red, too, and scribbled her nonsense lyrics from “Cornflake Girl” or whatever on their notebooks and wore flowy lacy clothes and thought that they, too, were all deep and mystical. Ugh. This annoyed me SO MUCH, which was the very definition of irony (and a symptom of my own previously held terrible “overly feminine = weak” mentality), because I DRESSED LIKE MORRISSEY and who in this world is easier to hate than a teenager obsessed with Morrissey?! But I just couldn’t get down with Tori Amos. Her lyrics sounded like Dr. Seuss stuff to me, with all that talk about cornflakes and raisins and sneezing and rabbits and Mr. Zebra, and then there was the kind of fake edginess and college-student-just-discovering-atheism of singing about crucifying yourself. Oof.

But now, as an adult, there is room in my life for the Kate Bush-esque ladies of the world, the mystical women who wear head scarves and lacy robes flowing gently in the breeze, who have impossibly long hair and wear lots of dramatic eye makeup and speak softly about “signs from the universe.” I’m letting them in; I’m coming to appreciate them — except you, Tori Amos. Your shit still makes zero sense to me.

David Frizzell - “I’m Gonna Hire a Wino to Decorate...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:06:00 -0800

David Frizzell - “I’m Gonna Hire a Wino to Decorate Our Home” (4.64MB mp3 file)

Okay, I know I’ve already written quite a few things about my Southern upbringing, but once in a while I’ll recall a vivid memory from my childhood and immediately wonder how/why I’m not barefoot, wearing bib overalls and a straw hat and chewing on a piece of hay right now (the South is like my family — I’m allowed to make fun of it and you’re not, heh), like a “Hee Haw” extra. This is one such time.

Every so often I’ll get a part of a tune in my head, and will have to stop for a minute and think, “Wait, is that a real song?” and then consult the Internet for details. Remnants of this song have breezed in and out of my head for a while now, sometimes staying dormant for several years at a time before resurfacing. Just this past weekend it came back, bringing with it a clear memory of my mom playing this record on the stereo in the big scary (refinished, yet still scary) basement of my stepdad’s house that we had recently moved into. (I had either just turned — or was about to turn — 5.) My parents loved this song (especially my mom — she probably still does), and you need to keep in mind that I’m talking about parents here, which means irony doesn’t even enter into the equation. They just wholly and completely love(d?) this song, full stop. I remember my mom talking about how great this guy’s voice was, really laying the praise on thick. I would hear this song quite a bit in the following years, until I was just old enough to know that I was supposed to roll my eyes and scoff at whatever my parents liked, regardless of merit (if any).

So when this song crept back into my head this weekend after a years-long hiatus, I looked it up. I Googled the words I could remember, and immediately couldn’t believe that it has the word wino right there in the title. Come on. I half expected the photo on the cover of the single to have a dude with two teeth blowing on a jug marked with three X’s. Then as I listened to it again through (somewhat) experienced 32-year-old ears, I had a hard time coming to terms with it being a real song, not a jokey Ray Stevens (heard a lot of his stuff growing up, too) thing. I mean, someone wrote the line “I’m gonna hire a wino to decorate our home” and meant it sincerely; this isn’t a jam from some country version of Weird Al or anything. Also, it’s not unusual for a country song to be about drankin’, but the woman in this ditty is basically encouraging her husband’s alcoholism, and enthusiastically so! It’s not like, “Hey honey, you drink far too much and I’m worried about you, so how about you pull back a little?” but “Dear, you go out and get stupid drunk literally every single night, so what I’m going to do is make it easier for you to do so right here! And you can even pretend to molest me like you do the poor bartender at your usual dive!”

Paula Abdul - “Forever Your Girl” (5.84MB mp3 file)...

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:11:00 -0800

Paula Abdul - “Forever Your Girl” (5.84MB mp3 file)

Growing up, I spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ house in Savannah. The road in front of their house was only paved about 15 years ago, so I spent many a hot summer day in the middle of this (not at all busy) street, building sandcastles (dirtcastles?) and making mud pies with the help of their garden hose. I also spent a great deal of time on this dirt road, barefoot, with my little pink-and-grey boombox, making up dance routines to top-40 hits. A lot of time. My younger cousin would join me occasionally, but I did not mind one bit tearing up that dirt dance floor solo-style.

Yesterday, as I was walking around my neighborhood, I passed two young girls (probably about 10 years old) in their driveway, making up their own dance routines. I watched as they tried to perfect their amateur choreography, reprimanding each other if one missed a cue, remembering my time, barefoot on the dirt road, rehearsing my made-up moves to this song playing over and over on the little pink-and-grey boombox I rested atop my grandparents’ mailbox.

Swing Out Sister - “Breakout” (4.1MB mpe file)...

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:32:00 -0700

Swing Out Sister - “Breakout” (4.1MB mpe file)

Although I was just 7 years old when this song was a hit, I was obsessed with the video, as I thought the lead singer was one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen. (A few years later, I also thought she was the chick in the Exclamation perfume commercials, but I was wrong.)

I love this song and think it’s an irrefutable jam, but after all these years I still think about this video at least once a month, and also seriously entertain (with absolutely zero irony, I assure you) the possibility of trying to bring back this look. If I had flawless skin/teeth/lips like this lady, I’d be getting that blunt cut and constantly rocking red lipstick in a heartbeat, no joke.

And here’s some mind-blowin’ shit for you: When I got older and got into “cooler” (although that’s up for debate) stuff, I found out that the two dudes in this band used to be in A Certain Ratio and Magazine, respectively. WHAT! I know, right?

Joe Jackson - “Cancer” (6.89MB mp3 file)(This is a...

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:17:00 -0700

Joe Jackson - “Cancer” (6.89MB mp3 file)

(This is a guest post from my brilliant friend Chip Pope, responsible for the genius character and music of R.O. Manse.)

When I was 13, the Joe Jackson album Night and Day expanded my view of “hit” music. It drew from a variety of sources I had never heard in pop music, or had heard but didn’t seem to notice. Jackson managed to stuff Salsa, Bossa Nova, and even Classical (however limiting that blanket description) influences into easily digestible four-minute songs. Instantly, a lot of other pop songs I liked became insipid and simplistic in comparison. My friends didn’t particularly care for it, especially since Van Halen and other types of metal were in vogue at the time. I later learned that, as a child, Jackson had a love of all different sorts of music when his friends were primarily interested in the popular music of his day (Beatles, Stones, etc.). Jackson liked these, but wanted more, wanted to broaden his horizons; it’s part of why he started writing music. It’s fitting that almost 20 years later he would expand the musical horizons of a nerdy kid somewhere in Texas. I feel that as the sands of pop music have sifted over time, Jackson is an underappreciated flower in that soil, barely growing under the shadow of the similar (and more successful) Elvis Costello. But I remember. And I appreciate. (By the way, Jackson was veering off in different directions away from traditional pop much sooner than Costello, not that the “when” matters. But maybe it does.) “Cancer” wanders a bit more than most of the songs on Night and Day, but it’s notable for an amazing, deeply felt (yet playful) piano solo and its darkly humorous lyric. You can imagine this song being played at a really cool Lower East Side dance marathon (a dance marathon possessed of a modicum of wit?) in 1982. But it probably wasn’t.

Tony! Toni! Toné! - “Let’s Get Down” (6.84MB...

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:37:00 -0700

Tony! Toni! Toné! - “Let’s Get Down” (6.84MB mp3 file)

The other day I was listening to KDAY (best radio station in Los Angeles) in my car when this jam caught my ear. I had to get out my phone and Shazam it, as I’d never heard it before and missed the DJ’s announcement of the song. (I bought the cassingle of “If I Had No Loot” back in the day, and that’s as far as I went with the triple T.)

After hearing the first verse/chorus combo (ignore the guy rhyming at the beginning), I realized this song sounded just like another one I was very familiar with — but just to make sure I wasn’t crazy, I played it for Andy once I got home.
“Tell me what song you think this sounds like.”
He hummed along for a second and replied, “‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’?”
“YES!” I said. “Isn’t that crazy?”

So yeah, listen to the song above and then try to tell me it’s not a smoothed-out R&B version of the Nirvana hit. Weird, right?

50 Cent - “Wanksta” (5.02MB mp3 file) In between...

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:02:00 -0700

50 Cent - “Wanksta” (5.02MB mp3 file)

In between classes in college, I used to kill big chunks of time in the library’s computer lab, and my favorite thing to do in that lab was to look through the files other students had saved on the computers. One day I came across the beginnings of a paper written about 50 Cent’s song “Wanksta,” (oh, I didn’t start college until I was 23, so I’m not as young as this story makes me seem) and I immediately copied & pasted the whole thing and e-mailed it to myself. I wish I knew which class it was for and what the exact requirements of the assignment were (and the grade this person received on the finished product), but those details will forever remain mysterious. Below you will find the text exactly as I found it (and again, this was written by a college-age adult). Enjoy.

I choose the song Wanksta. Mainly because it effects and relates to most people today. To those who are false advertising their lives, living that of which their not. Living that or saying or believing to be something their not, what ever it may be. According to this song, it’s claiming to be a gangster, but their fake, so therefore you’re a Wanksta.

The well known rapper by the name of 50 cent has released the single Wanksta in the year of 2002 off of the sound track 8 mile. Which is also featured on his up coming album. A Wanksta is a fake gangsta. A Wanksta can appeal to anyone. Those of teenager, young adults, to adults. Considering that they are the one’s who would listen to the song Wanksta. The artist 50 cent also produced a video of the song Wanksta. The music video gives a better idea of what a Wanksta is and does. Meaning also, a wanksta isn’t only saying what he is but at the same time doesn’t do what he says he is.

Eve 6 - “Inside Out” (8.36MB mp3 file) Every Tuesday...

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 17:15:19 -0700

Eve 6 - “Inside Out” (8.36MB mp3 file)

Every Tuesday night, my BFF Chip does karaoke at a bar on our street, and every other Tuesday or so, Andy and I join him. This past Tuesday was significant, as it marked the day I learned the actual name of this dumb Eve 6 song; a guy started singing it, and I saw the title on the screen and thought, “Wait, I know this song…?” I laughed because when this ditty was a hit, Millie and I only knew it as “Tender Blender,” which is what we called it after we stopped laughing at that “Wanna put my tender heart in a blender” lyric.

“Some guy is singing Tender Blender, haha!” — text I sent to her moments later

The Music Ministry of Bellevue Baptist Church - “That’s America to Me” (?) (link...

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:23:00 -0700

The Music Ministry of Bellevue Baptist Church - “That’s America to Me” (?) (link to video)

First and foremost, this has become one of my favorite things of all time.

About six or seven years ago, David and I were staying at my grandparents’ house in Savannah over the Fourth of July holiday, flipping channels one night when we were unable to sleep (thanks to my granddaddy’s championship snoring echoing throughout the entire house). I can’t remember if the channel showing this gem was of the public access or strictly religious variety, but we stopped and stared in awe at this dude’s sweet moves and couldn’t take our eyes off the screen until the whole production was over. (As soon as we returned home, I Googled furiously and eventually found the performance on DVD, which I immediately purchased.)
While this entire musical is incredible (and nationalistic and jingoistic and pretty much insane), our favorite number was “That’s America to Me” — so much so that it became our catchphrase, frequently used describe any stereotypically “dumb American”/Idiocracy-esque behavior we witnessed, e.g.:

April: “Hey, look at that guy eating four Big Macs while driving that Hummer with the ‘Keep Honking, I’m Reloading!’ bumper sticker on the back!”
David: (singing) “That’s America to meeee…”

Willie Nelson - “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”...

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 23:03:00 -0700

Willie Nelson - “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” (2.18MB mp3 file)

Last week, one of Andy’s friends from Portland moved to town and invited us to a game night at his new house. We arrived and discovered we’d be playing charades, a game I unfortunately had not participated in since probably ninth grade. But I was ready to dive in, and we were given four slips of paper and told to write something relating to these four categories: movies, music, people, and miscellaneous. (“Top Gun,” The Cure, Tom Hanks, and Batman, if you’re curious about what I tossed into the bucket.)
There was a “too obscure” rule in place dictating that if half of the people on the opposing team hadn’t heard of what/who was written on the paper, you could draw again and choose another to act out. During my turn, I pulled out a slip of paper with “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” written in thick block letters; I immediately knew what this was referring to, and figured the whole room would as well, so I assumed I didn’t even need to invoke the obscurity rule. I pulled some sweet silent moves — pointing to my eyes, making a sad face, fluttering my fingers while mimicking rainfall — but the closest guess I got from a teammate was “Sad eyes in the rain.” Huh? Was I just really terrible at this game? (Very likely.)
When my time ran out, I held the slip of paper up and announced what it said, while every person in the room except one stared at me blankly and a few of them shouted variations of “What is that?” or “What does that mean?” or “I have no idea what that is.” The one guy was on the opposing team, and said timidly, “It’s a Willie Nelson song, right?”
“Yeah! It’s a Willie Nelson song!” I exclaimed. “I thought it was a huge hit for him…? I mean, am I that much older than you guys? I’m only 32. Oh, I grew up in the South and my stepdad played it a lot, so maybe that’s how I know it? I’m sorry, you guys,” I apologized to my team, “I thought it was a pretty big song that everyone knew.” I think we ended up losing the game, but thankfully by more than just that one point.

Bobby Birdman - “I Will Come Again” (3.40MB mp3...

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:00:00 -0700

Bobby Birdman - “I Will Come Again” (3.40MB mp3 file)

When I first moved to Los Angeles, I spent at least three or four nights a week at the UCB Theatre, seeing any show I possibly could. (“This is like our Peach Pit,” my friend Michael once said about how often we hung out there.) During one of these nights, a sweet girl came up to me and asked, “Are you April?” and then proceeded to tell me that she used to read the zine I made in high school. (!) How tiny is the world? I freaked out, hugged her, and we talked for a few minutes until the show started and we had to find our seats.
Later, I returned home to find a MySpace friend request from her (that tells you about how many years ago this was), and after approving it I checked out her profile and this song, which she had embedded in her page, immediately started playing. And when it was over, I played it again. And again. And again. And then a few minutes later, I found the album online and bought it. And then played this song some more.

Jeffrey Lewis and the Junkyard - “Roll Bus Roll”...

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Jeffrey Lewis and the Junkyard - “Roll Bus Roll” (8.92MB mp3 file)

I was lucky enough to spend two weeks in Australia last month; the first week was for work, and the second week was spent in Melbourne and beyond with my buddy Darren Hanlon. He was on tour, and I joined him and his lovely band for the last few shows, two of which were at the Port Fairy Folk Festival in beautiful Port Fairy, Australia.

They took a slight detour to pick me up from Avalon Airport one afternoon, where I joined them in their tour van for the few hours left on the journey to Port Fairy. Shelley, in the front seat and therefore in charge of the iPod, pressed play on this song and everyone cheered. I had never heard it before, but I had a bit of an “Almost Famous” tour bus moment as I sat and watched everyone sing along, bobbing my head and smiling while we drove through the beautiful Australian countryside.

Manic Street Preachers - “Miss Europa Disco Dancer”...

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 15:48:52 -0700

Manic Street Preachers - “Miss Europa Disco Dancer” (3.55MB mp3 file)

Whenever I would play Know Your Enemy around the house, David would always make it known that he liked the “brain-dead motherfuckers” song the best, so that is what this jam came to be known as between us.
“Did you put ‘Brain-dead Motherfuckers’ on that mixtape?”

Nick Lowe - “I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass”...

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 18:16:00 -0700

Nick Lowe - “I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass” (7.34MB mp3 file)

A few weeks ago, Andy came over to my apartment, spotted my bass guitar, opened his laptop, played this Nick Lowe tune and figured out the bass line in about two seconds flat (what a show-off). Since then, he’s enjoyed playing along with it at some point during every day, so I’ve heard this jam about 1,200 times in recent weeks. (But I’m not complaining.)

Delta 5 - “Mind Your Own Business” (4.99MB mp3 file)...

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Delta 5 - “Mind Your Own Business” (4.99MB mp3 file)

So, this is the second song I decided I’d try to learn on bass. Did you read that? Second song. Ever. I first put my hands on a bass guitar a week ago, and now I think I’m just going to play this. Yeah. Overshot it a bit. My fingers are still killing me from trying to figure this out for hours tonight. I’ll have to come back to this one.

Au Pairs - “Come Again” (5.28MB mp3 file) Since...

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Au Pairs - “Come Again” (5.28MB mp3 file)

Since moving to Los Angeles, I’ve made goals for myself every year — but attainable ones, not crazy shit like, “Be a movie star!” or “Win an Oscar!” or anything like that. (Not knocking you if those are your goals, but I’m a shitty actress.) In 2010, I acheived some pretty amazing (to me) comedy goals (perform at a festival, work on a TV show), so I decided that in 2011 I’d learn to play bass. Although I like a bit of everything (for the most part), my favorite genre of music is post-punk, which has a heavy focus on funky or angular bass lines, and my favorite parts of a lot of my favorite songs are the sweet bass licks.

I wanted to get a head start on next year’s goal, so I went over to David’s house for my first lesson. After I picked up his bass guitar for the first time, he taught me how to play the bass line to this — my favorite Au Pairs song — in about 30 minutes. (I mean, he taught me the notes — I’m not trying to act like I’m some savant that was slappin’ like Victor Wooten on my first try.) It was so exciting! I bought my own bass the next day and I’ve probably listened to this song more in the past few days than I had in the whole of my life, as I’m trying to perfect my technique.

Pulp - “His ‘n’ Hers” (5.79MB mp3 file)...

Sun, 28 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Pulp - “His ‘n’ Hers” (5.79MB mp3 file)

I know I must speak for at least a few other people when I say that just listening to certain Pulp songs can have the same effect as watching porn. Seriously. This is just one of the straight-up sexiest songs I’ve ever heard. Straight dudes (and gay ones, I suppose, but I can’t speak with certainty on the appeal of Pulp to gay men): If you bring a girl home and the lights are down low and this song is playing in the background, you’re probably getting some. Know that. So be prepared and go buy some Pulp records.