i'll probably post this on myspace too

I am bored (not bored enough to get through some of the stuff I want to read, apparently, which is kind of sad because honestly theres a lot of it and it's not that I feel it's a chore, I just can't find the time to give to it [you know, regardless of right now]). Anyway, I decided to do something that someone on another blog I read did. I'll turn on my mp3 player and hit shuffle, then list the first 10 songs that come up and comment on them. No matter what they are. (unless I get one of those silent untitled tracks that some albums have as filler). Here goes.

1. "Race for the Prize" by The Flaming Lips. This is probably my favorite song on The Soft Bulletin. I listened to it god knows how many times when I first got the album, and as such I usually skip it when I listen to my music shuffled. I've just been overexposed to it. It's a really awesome song though. I love a good song about scientists racing to save lives, even if they are just human beings after all.

2. "Romantique" by Felix da Housecat. Not my favorite Felix da Housecat tune. It's got a slower tempo than the other Felix songs I like and no insane hooks. It's got some interesting sections but other than that it's not a favorite.

3. "Young American Freak" by Material Issue. Oh god. Talk about overexposed. I must have listened to Telecommando Americana 6500 times in 2004. This is far from the best song on the album and it's really pretty much just a standard Material Issue song. It's got some decent parts to sing along to in the car, but again it's nowhere near their best song for any purpose. And it's got this really silly sounding keyboard section at the end. Any song with someone yelling FREAK! FREAK! FREAK! isn't gonna stand up to repeated listens, probably.

4. "Come on Eileen" by Dexy's Midnight Runners. I love the 80s (volume 4 with Michael Ian Black so fucking DONE with his life). I pretty much love all of the 80s 1-hit wonders for the same reasons everyone else does. They're usually catchy and dance-able, even though I don't dance (in public). This is definitely a song that's awesome fun to sing in the car, and the breakdown can be amazing. The only other thing I can think of about this song is that I'm pretty sure theres a pornstar named Cum on Eileen, and that's pretty lewd.

5. "Section 23 (Get Up and Go)" by The Polyphonic Spree. I'm not the hugest fan of the Polyphonic Spree's newest album, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy songs from it. My main criticism of the album was actually that all the songs start to sound the same by the time you've listened to all 12 of them, but a number of them are great fun to listen to just randomly in a shuffle mix. This one is no exception, and listening to it outside of the context of the album I really enjoy it a lot. It's got most of the good things I like about The Polyphonic Spree contained in one song, so that's pretty cool.

6. "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" by The Arcade Fire. This album was hands down my top pick for #1 whatever year it was that it came out (04?). I've come to appreciate this song more, as on my first few listens I thought that the album didn't really click until about the 4th song. This has maybe become my favorite track on the album. It sounds very isolated in a kind of chilling way, and it's an interesting look at youth I think.

7. Well, number 7 was "Come Together" by Weezer, but I accidentally hit the skip button when I picked up my mp3 player to read what the song was, so I didn't listen to it. It's not a good song.

8. "In Aeroplane over the Sea" by Neutral Milk Hotel.
And one day we will die
And our ashes will fly
From the aeroplane over the sea
But for now we are young
Let us lay in the sun
And count every beautiful thing we can see
This song is beautiful. The whole album is about Anne Frank, I'm pretty sure. I have a pretty distinct memory of reading some of the more emotional or climactic moments in The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay while waiting for a bus in the rain, and then listening to this album on the way home. I don't know why that's significant, but it's something that sticks out to me.

9. "All My Life" by Foo Fighters. This song is kind of a holdover in my collection from when I was in high school. I still enjoy some of their early stuff, but their later stuff is pretty bland and sometimes unlistenable. This song is just a kind of boring single from their kind of boring album One by One. I should really delete it from my player, but I'm not that kind of person.

10. "Marla" by Grizzly Bear. I don't know what this song is or why it's on my mp3 player. Honestly. It's sort of haunting and eerie. It's a pretty soft song but it's got some interesting noisy sections and sounds going on in the background. Pretty decent stuff, I'd probably be interested to listen to more of it. I have to wonder how this got on my mp3 player though.

BONUS 11. Only because that Weezer one was kind of lame. "Wookie Prisoner - Detention Block Ambush" composed by John Williams. Jesus. If it wasn't already readily apparent, I am a giant geek. Yes, I have Star Wars music on my mp3 player. And not just the main theme or the recognizable leitmotifs from the score, but the actual entire scores for all three of the original trilogy movies. I mean christ, Wookie Prisoner? Is that really necessary to have pop up in between a Talking Heads song and an Apples in Stereo song? For me it is I guess. It's pretty exciting music though, I must admit.