January 19, 2006
What the HELL am I listening to?
Howdy!
Ok�so, firstly I need to tell you that I was the lucky winner in My Friend Smed�s Mystery CD contest.
I�ll tell you more about it as we get to the end, but basically what happens is you receive a CD and then give it a review. You get no hints what so ever as to who the artists are, or what the name of the song is, and then try to guess that as well. While I was at it, I also tried to give it an honest review and state how much I liked the song.
Stay tuned tomorrow (I know all of you are thinking, �Tomorrow? There�s no way in hell Clipchick will actually be able to post something 2 days in a row. Isn�t that a major violation of the laws of reality?�) as I will be posting some follow up information about this CD and some other tidbits.
So, without further ado, I present to you:
CLIPCHICK�S MYSTERY CD REVIEW . (For some reason, I�ve got �The New Zoo Review� theme song going through my head. Wonder why?)
1. Hmmmm�this is a nice intro to the CD, as there�s not officially any music. Cool synthesizer though. Guy says he likes beer. Hey-me too!
2. I know I should know this one. Very similar to the Jam, in their old school days. Can�t be the Jam though, because there aren�t any English accents. By the way, what the hell are they saying, anyway? �Glad I�m Punk�? �Got junk in the trunk�? �Plant a�thunk�?
3. This is so not a photograph. Makes me wish for the days in the 80�s when I had pink hair. By the way, this is not a photograph, this is not a photograph, photograph, photograph. I had to count how many times they had to tell me this. It�s only 11 times.
4. Blues with a cool funky cowbell beat. I did think of W1ll Farr3ll and the SNL skit. Sounds like Clapton/Dio/Black Sabbath and Muddy Waters all rolled up into one awesome, yet admittedly funny-looking band. Nice and bluesy with a rock fusion. Great guitar. Makes me want to shake my little tush on the dance floor. Byrds/Creedence/Skynard-ish. I know I will hang my head in shame for not figuring out this artist.
5. Van Halen-One of my most fave songs ever! Wait, though�these 5 glasses of wine are making me forget the title. Could it be �Best Part of a Man�? Yeah. That�s it, I just had to hear good ole Mr. Roth sing it first. BTW, VH is only really wonderful when Mr. Hagar isn�t in it. My favorite line-�bending over isn�t planned��the perfect spot in the CD for this song.
6. REM-Life�s Rich Demand. I love the guitar riff on this song. Surprisingly, the vocals are quite articulate. If I had to listen to Are We Men on a regular basis, I would feel lucky if this were one of the songs. An early song, so it�s not as pretentious as usual. You can tell this song is really about the music, the melody, and not so focused on the �message�. A real treat. I had forgotten all about this song.
7. ????? Sounds like David Cassidy. Be-bobby, but in an enduring way.
8. This song is Berlin-ish. Missing Persons? VERY 80�s. I mean, it�s awesome, don�t get me wrong. It just so happens that �80�s� is the way I describe it-a perfect mix of synthesizer, a be-bobby beat, a catchy chorus, and gracious guitar solo.
9. I.Have.No.Idea. Interesting, yet out there. Sounds sort of waitress-ish. Has a way of growing on you and sticking in your mind. Hard to forget.
10. �What is the law�? Adam Ant? I know I should know the title to this one��Who Makes the Rules? Someone else!� Yet another song with magnificent use of cowbell. I�ll probably have to look this one up or I�ll drive myself crazy! �The only place to go from here is the house of pain�. Quick, go here and tell me what it is!
11. This CD then jumps rather suddenly into�The Sugarcubes. I can tell it�s the band and not solo Bjork because the guy in the band is unmistakable. What the heck is his name? I love Bjork�s voice-it�s impossible to confuse her distinctive voice. I love the clarity and pureness of it. She also has the ability to make anything sound perky. This one sounds like everyone�s skipping around happily while they�re singing, but they happen to be singing about a Motorcrash. The Cure�s another band that does that kind of thing. Perky music filled with doom and gloom lyrics.
12. Cool Psychedelic Rock, circa J.Starship but not quite-ish. How�s that for an impossibly bad sentence? This naming songs and bands without any guideline or help or clue sure starts giving a person a nice-sized complex rather quickly. There�s always something in the back of your mind telling you that you should know what you�re listening to. Either way, this song�s got that lovely organ infused music and wild drum beat that makes for a fantastic song.
13. �Look at these, my child bearing hips. My red ruby lips�. Here we go down that path of self-shame �You used to listen to this damn song but now you�re so damn old and forgetful that your mind�s going to fail you and make you look stupid in front of your peers� walk. The scenery�s nice, at least. Either way, though, I�m going to take this song�s advice and wash that man outta my hair too. Sounds like fun.
14. Maybe early Who? The lead singer sounds like an amped up Roger Daltry, and the frantic and talented drums could easily be Keith Moon, but I�m not really sure. I am pretty sure I�ve never heard this song before. It borders on really cool surf music, but it�s just a tich too fast for that. There�s a pretty nifty explosion towards the end that made me snort my wine out of my nose, though.
15. Aha. This has GOT to be the English Beat. You just can�t mistake the voice. It�s actually amazing me how the singer�s voices tip me off before the music does. Can�t remember the title, however. A little piece of Clipchick trivia: General Public was my first concert. I wasn�t even in High School yet, and my parent�s wouldn�t have let me go. So I stayed at my hippy friend�s house that night and her parents drove us to the concert before watching the Dead New Year�s concert on public television. They gave us a joint, but we honestly had no idea what to do with it. So, we gave it back to them when we got home. I swear that's the truth.
16. I�m thinking this has got to be The Psychedelic Furs or maybe the Smiths. The singer doesn�t quite sound like Morrisey, though. If you want to talk about a distinctive voice, though, this guy�s GOT IT. I know this, I swear. It�s just not surfacing. It�s that band on all of the 80�s movie soundtracks that starred Molly Ringwald but deserve so much better than to be described the way I just did. I can�t help it, though. It�s an accurate description, and a true one, if not a good one.
17. Nice farty, perky bass line. Debbie Harry? No�sounds like a boy/girl band like Roxanne, but better. Most likely an UK band. Catchy chorus �We want to do what we want forever�. I mean really, who doesn�t? This song fits right into the 80�s UK bands, like the Thompson Twins. Nice, slow, fade out too.
18. Cool, cool, COOL! The girl�s voice isn�t ringing any bells for me (SURPRISE!) but the guy sounds familiar. Another poppy, UK style song, but also addictively catchy. I�ve got to listen to it about 100 more times, and then maybe I�ll admit that I still have no idea who this is. Maybe.
19. Mellow song, kind of sounds weak after the energy of the previous song. The percussion is softer, not as emphatic, and the singer sounds as if he�s sitting in a pile of damp rags and would rather be off somewhere else drying his pants. Maybe it�s just the placement on the CD. Maybe I just ripped on one of the biggest music legends of all time. Really can�t see how, though�
20. Wow! This one�s eclectic. This song reminds me of Smed�s extensive range and taste in music. (This is also an elegant way of saying that I have no idea what this song is). When in doubt, compliment the host. It�s very rare that I can�t find words to describe things, but here�s one of the exceptions. This song leaves me speechless, and stumped.
21. Garage Band sound. I�ve heard this maybe once or twice before, I think. Butthole Surfers? Possibly the Jam? Can�t detect and accent though�and then *poof* The song is gone. A shorty�
22. This song�s about smoking. I am in love with it. The back beat�s in the style that sounds like a horse prancing. Cowboy rock-ish. Did I mention that I�ve quit smoking cut down on smoking a few days ago? I love this song right now. It�s neato. Cool surfer music style guitar solo, with the double strumming. Sounds like the good parts of all of the Mexican Polka songs I�m subjected to in my neighborhood. I, however, only get to hear the tuba bass line, as my neighbors are assholes big fans of bass lines.
23. �Smoking Cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo�. �Flowers on the wall, it don�t bother me at all�. Shit. How can I not know this freaking artist? I feel like a Typical American right now, in that I�ve heard this song all my life, at all different stages of my life, in all different social circles, and I could never, EVER, even under extreme torture, tell you who sings it, or what it�s called. But, I can sing you every lyric, because I know THAT much. Gosh, I feel so�average right now.
24. �Starry Night, Sunny Days�.I always thought it should be that way�. Very 70�s pop-ish. Another song I�ve heard a lot. It almost sounds like Steely Dan, if Steely Dan suddenly had to change careers. Sort of like if a construction worker had to become a shoe salesman. In other words, it�s really not like that at all.
25. �Last night, I didn�t get to sleep at all�. Sister, I hear you! I can even hear the exhaustion in your voice as you struggle to stay on pitch. You know what it is? I think I�ve heard this song exclusively while riding on elevators. Take my advice-you�d fall asleep much more quickly if you just listened to your own song. Blech! I�m sure it� a popular song for someone, just not me.
26. I remember hearing this song with my Mom as we drove around in the car when I was a kid. What I love best about this song is the perfect clarity of this woman�s voice. She�s trained, you can tell by the way she�s got all the tricks of volume, emphasis on the right words in order to convey the meaning of the song. She puts her emotion in her voice, and in her work. Amazing and talented. The music itself is pretty subdued during most of this, in order to showcase her voice, the lyrics, and the melody. It�s a really nice ending to an overall fabulous album.
I�m much better off from listening to this CD, and I know that to be a fact, Jack.
To find out just how wrong, wacky, and waaaaaaay off base I am, go over NOW and check out Smed�s Site for a good giggle.
Remember, tomorrow, I�m going to post my reasons for doing this, and how in the heck a guy from Indiana and a Clipchick from the Bay Area can get involved in something like this.
Feel the Mystery yet?
~Toodles!~
clipchick at 2:46 p.m.
All thoughts, ideas, and musings are � Clipchick. Please don't snipe my stuff!
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