Monday Morning Shuffle: The Long Band Name edition

There's a lot to take care of this morning before we actually get to the shuffle.

First thing, after my Kanye Sucks post last week, i found this video today with Common's new single featuring, of course, Kanye:

I really like it when these two work together (The Food off of Common's Be album was the shit.) and this song is really no different. I definitely feel it and i can't wait for Common's new CD, even if Kanye is going to manhandle and take over every song he's on. Common balances him out pretty well i'd say. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Also, i found a record store in Flagstaff this weekend that was going out of business and had a bunch of music on sale for 20%-25% off and of course i went nuts. I always feel justified in buying a ton of music at once because usually i'm just stealing it and i feel like i'm all square with the recording industry by buying 5 CDs a year. So here's what i picked up and i'm really excited to load them all onto the iPod and dive in.
The Beta Band - The Three E.P.S (and if you don't recognize the significance of me buying this CD in a local indie record store and talking about it on this blog then you need to go rent High Fidelity right now and watch it until you get it.)
Johnny Cash - Super Hits (This isn't an official Cash album, just one of those random compilations. It had some good songs on it and some that i haven't heard before so i picked it up.)
Johnny Cash - American V (Nole recommended this CD a long time ago and since i stole American IV i thought it was the least i could do for Johnny's estate.)
Death Cab for Cutie - We Have The Facts and We're Voting Yes (I'm a big fan of Plans, but my overall Death Cab knowledge and context is lacking, so i picked it up.)
Thrice - Vheissu (I know, i'm really late on this one but the Dustin Kensrue solo CD has me digging back into Thrice a bit. I already listened to it on the way home from Flag, and i like it so far.) And here is Dustin's performance on Letterman the other night, just for fun:

Talib Kweli - Quality (On VINYL bitches. Yeah, beat that. I already have this CD but the chance to have it on wax for 25% off was just too good to pass up. And yes, having this album makes me cooler than you. Now all i need is a record player and i'll be good to go.)
Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Yes, i missed this by about 7 years but so what? I've recently gotten back into the Fugees -- and all of their spin offs -- and knew that i really needed to give this CD a lot of attention. Why hasn't she done anything else recently? Come on Lauryn, come back, we need you.)

Let me know if you want me to send you any of these albums for your own collection. I'm hoping to start posting a weekly wish list for music and hopefully we can all start sharing and not buying as much (To kick the wish list off, i heard the new Andrew Bird album leaked last week. Someone get their hands on it and send it to me eh?)

Also, the new Fall Out Boy is streaming on Myspace, if anyone is interested.

On with the shuffle:
1. Plush (acoustic) - Stone Temple Pilots
Between stints in rehab and time spent with former members of G&R, Scott Weiland made some damn good music. This is one of my favorite songs of the grunge 90s, right next to Pearl Jam - Jeremy. It has a really catchy chorus and i just help but sing along. The acoustic version here is really nice. Just one guitar and Scott, whose voice sounds better here than it did on the actual album version.

2. Suzie Q - Credence Clearwater Revival
Ahhhhh the Credence. They just remind me of Big Lebowski no matter what and there's nothing wrong with that. This song has a kind of Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog feel to it for me. It's like, i like it once i'm listening to it, but if i don't get passed the first couple seconds then i'm just never going to listen to it. It has a cool sound to it, and it's a fun song when in the presence of people named Suzie, but that's about it. Upon closer inspection, i really do like the beat and the guitar in this song. I'm actually surprised that no rapper has sampled the drums yet. It would be a pretty mellow track. This is why i need to become a DJ.

3. Mess - Ben Folds Five, off of The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
This was my first Ben Folds song. My good friend Courtney gave me this CD freshman year of college because she said it reminded her of me. Which is interesting seeing as though this is easily Ben Folds' most depressed CD. I guess i was a little more sad and Emo at that point of life, which is too bad, but hey, i'm still here and it seems that i made it through OK.
This song really did catch my ear because at the time, i was a complete Mess. It fit, and the sound and feel of the song is one of those that just affects your heart when you hear it. I think my most poignant memory of this song is being really damn drunk on a vacation back in Phoenix and Erika had to drive me home in my own car (how she got home, i can't remember) and i just remember being effected by this song and yeah. Deep semi-painful memories there. Let's just move on.

4. On My Own - Black Eyed Peas, off of Bridging the Gaps
Imagine a time before London Bridges, before My Humps, before that cracked out little whore Fergie forsook her Kids Incorporated upbringing and began teaching completely inappropriate lyrics to every kid in America between 8 and 17. Can you picture that time? Yes it existed, and once upon that time a hip-hop group called the Black-Eyed Peas made an album so socially conscious and thought-provoking that their label wouldn't even release it. My God, how they've fallen.
Bridging the Gaps is a bad-ass album from a group that used to tour with Ozomatli and J5. This song includes vocals from Les Nubians and Mos Def. Do you think Mos would be caught dead on a Black-eyed Peas album now? Let's hope not.
It really makes me sad what's become of this band. They used to be awesome, now, well...we know what they are now.

5. Stadium Arcadium - Red Hot Chili Peppers, off of Stadium Arcadium
This song reminds me so much of Californication that it's almost disheartening. It's almost as if they have a formula for writing title tracks or something. It starts with some mournful, yet catchy, guitar riff, in comes the drums, then Keidis' voice with some profound and obscure lyric. They really are quite similar and i just noticed that today for the first time.
Well i won't let one little realization ruin this song for me. It's no secret that i really like this album and the title track here really does fit the whole ebb and flow of the entire 2-disk set. Another thing i really find myself enjoying about this song is the harmonies in the chorus. Flea's voice actually adds a ton of texture to this song (and on Make You Feel Better, another good song on the album) and it really sounds like the whole band is singing and believing in what the song and the band is about. I like it. A lot. Now, a little variety would be good for next time.

More this week. Promise this time. I've been saving up some good topics for a while. Keep an eye out.

(I didn't realize this until now but 4 of 5 bands in the shuffle today have 3-word names, and the 5th band has a 4-word name. Weird. We know not the insanity of the shuffle button.)