Monday Morning Shuffle

Another nice musical weekend...i finally sacked up and with the help of a birthday gift certificate to best buy, bought a really nice surround sound package to go with my really nice TV. The musical importance of this is that my new surround sound receiver comes with an iPod dock. I just plug it in, the same way you would to charge it, and the iPod plays through all 5 speakers and the sub-woofer. It can also be controlled from the remote control and the menu pops up in the corner of the TV so you can see where you're scrolling. It also charges while connected...
It's a pretty awesome feature and one that i'm sure will keep me listening to music even more than i already do.

On with the Shuffle:
1. New Desert Life - Further Seems Forever, off of The Moon is Down
FSF has more reincarnations than the Buddha himself but i think this one is my favorite. I would have passed up on every Dashboard song i'd ever heard to keep this one together.
This album, along with Yellowcard - One for the Kids and Taking Back Sunday - Tell all your Friends, was my baptism into the world of "emo", so to speak. Sophomore year of college. I was pissed about pretty much everything and this seemed like the perfect music to connect with, at the time.

2. How Come - Ray LaMontagne, off of Trouble
We've been over him a few times, but this is definitely one of the better songs on the album. If you haven't started listening to Ray yet, definitely give him a shot. That's all i can say...

3. Bow Wow W0w - Snoop Dogg
This is one of my favorite main stream rap songs ever. I love the beat, absolutely love it. I can blast this in my car like nobodies business. The collaboration between Snoop and Dre is just classic and i love Snoop's delivery back when he was just getting started. It seems like he worked a little harder on his rhymes then...
Anyway, i was at Pussycat Lounge Saturday night...and i friggin hate that place...but, the DJ is always really good. He plays a really good mix of classic rock, 80s rock, hip hop, old school, everything...and he gets really creative with how he mixes it all together. He plays the most obvious riff of a song just to get everyone excited and then he goes away from it as a tease, only to bring it back a minute later, just at the moment everyone is going, "I know i heard that beat...i'm mad he didn't play the whole song.." It's exactly the kind of DJ i like to think i would be, and i really am considering getting some tables and learning how to spin. I don't even care if i get any good, i just want to spin for my friends one night, at one party, and i would be happy. I think i'd be good. Anyway, i was thinking on Sunday morning about my 5 absolute staple beats that i would have to spin every night:
1. Ain't No Fun - Snoop
2. Juicy - Notorious BIG
3. That Girl is Poison - Bel Biv Davoe
4. Pistol Grip Pump - E40
5. Boyz In the Hood - Eazy-E

4. Summersong - The Decemberists, off of The Crane Wife
This song falls on the side of Decemberist songs that i actually like. In fact, The Crane Wife is probably my favorite album from them so far. I don't know why i like this song and i don't like others...i think the music is more full and rich and so it's not the vocals i notice so much as it is the Sea Shanty quality that the music has. The hook and chorus are just more compelling than other songs i've heard. This is a good one though.

5. Smiley Faces - Gnarls Barkley, off of St. Elsewhere
Does Charles Barkley like Gnarls Barkley? These are the thoughts that keep me up at night...

As sick as i am of hearing Crazy as every one's ringback tone of their cell phone, i still like it. (I think that i don't get sick of popular songs as fast as everyone else because i don't listen to the radio...) but this song really kicks ass. There's a lot of other good tunes on this CD but this one is definitely one of my favorites. I love the old school/new school hybrid of their music. There's some Doors -esque organ in this song and the beat just seems like something the Temptations should be singing over. If you have only heard Crazy and are writing Gnarls Barkley off, i suggest you check out the rest of their album.
It's not very often that the Labels let something this experimental (it's experimental today...wouldn't have been 30 years ago...which makes it retro-cool) slip through the cracks.
In fact, when this song ended, an old Al Green song came on right after and i thought that i had accidentally turned the shuffle button off and it was playing another Gnarls' song...interesting.

Alright, i have a huge busy day so i'm licking the stamp and mailing this Shuffle in just a little bit. Still, such a good way to start the day...