Bootleggin In The New Millineum...

Being the complete music nut that I am, I freaked out today when a guy at work showed me this site. I have about one thousand disks of live shows, but this site has stuff I have never seen. The Tori Amos and Phish sections are both fantastic. As a matter of fact I am currently downloading the Tori show I saw last year at the Murat. Check it out. You will be amazed... B

That Little Yellow Fucker...

You all know who I am taking about. I was talking to Scott today and was reminded of one of my least favorite experiences on the phone. I was calling AOL to cancel a subscription that one of my siblings had signed up for. I had to call three times. I did not think the first 2 assholes would actually cancel it, so I hung up and called back. The third guy finally did it. Credit Card companies are the same way. When you call to cancel "free" services it takes forever. Has anyone else had problems like these? Feel free to vent... B

New Music Tuesday...

This week I am going to try out a new segment here in the Congo. Being as Tuesday is the nation record release day, I going to offer you up my opinions of some new wax fresh off the presses. I will not limit myself to music released today but all recent releases and advances are fair game. This week's album is Forget Cassettes Instruments of Action.

Forget Cassettes should be Forget The White Stripes. Cassettes has a similar 2 person girl/boy line up except the roles have changed. Anyone who says that The White Stripes are cool because Meg, a girl, plays the drums is just plain wrong. Nothing against her, but she sucks. Cassettes takes a harder edge to garage sound and Beth and Doni rock hard. Beth's hauntingly sweet yet edgy, and sometimes screaming with rage and anger, vocals and Doni's complex 5/4 beats with interesting and not over used double bass beats make for an great listen. The fact that they venture into more complex territory than their garage rock brethren really separates them from the pack. The debut album Instruments of Action has sleepy, lullaby lows and screaming, cathartic highs. Think of the Kinks at a hardcore show saying "hmmm, maybe we could do that...". In the beginning it is kind of strange but it works well. Song highlights include "Like Tiny Swords" and Beth's description of a May/December relationship in "Bruce Wayne". This album is fresh at a time when most everything is the same lo-fi rip off. Definitely check it out. B.

Arranging Your Records Autobiographically...

There is a great scene in my favorite move, High Fidelity, in which Dick comes over to Rob's apartment and finds him depressed and sorting his records. Dick asks Rob if he is sorting them chronologically or alphabetically. Rob's response is that he is doing neither, he is sorting them autobiographically; if he wants to find Fleetwood Mac Rumors he has to remember that it is in the fall of '74 pile and that he bought it for someone else but kept it for personal reasons. Dick's response is a very appropriate: "No fucking way!"

The other day I was think about this because I am about to sort my album collection. This task takes no less than six to eight hours. I was also thinking about my top five favorite songs and what they are. I realized that my top five favorite songs, whatever they are at the moment, are so because they are extremely important autobiographically. These songs may not be the best or most representative, but they take me someplace long gone. Music maybe aurally stimulating, but some songs bring back all senses to a specific time and place. So, without further ado, here are my All Time Top Five Songs for Autobiographical Reasons:

5. Pearl Jam - Black - Year: 1994 - Memory: This was my first real girlfriend's favorite song. I was a young kid with long black hair in braids. We listen to it on headphones we were sharing on a bus to Old Indiana Amusement Park.

4. Phish - Sample in a Jar - Year: 1996 - Memory: I had been listening to a tape of the song I had made from Tim James and was really digging it. I some how managed to score tickets to see them at Deer Creek that summer. It was an amazing show and they encored with this song. I was a huge fan ever since. Over 52 shows later, that one is still my favorite.

3. Pharcyde - She Keeps Passin Me By - Year: 1996 - Memory: This is a story for another time. Trust me it's a good one. Sprunger, you where there...

2. Big Head Todd and the Monsters - Bittersweet - Year: 1997 - Memory: The band I was in at the time, At Random, or to some of the Proximity girls, The Bearded Seals, played this song all the time. I think it is a great song and it is a lot of fun to play.

1. Tori Amos - Winter - Year: 1995 - Memory: A girl that I had a huge crush on and was my best friend at the time introduced me to this song. She could play piano and sing very well and would play this all the time. I still get chills.

What are your top songs for autobiographical reasons? B.