Post-Marathon Monday Morning Shuffle

Alright, so i haven't mentioned it in a long time but i did, in fact, run (well, some of the time) the PF Changs Rock And Roll half-marathon yesterday. I had a blast and was kicking myself the entire time for not training harder for it. A combination of shin-splints, knee issues and general chaos/laziness prevented me from really getting into a strict training regimen. Fortunately for me i spend 20-30 hours a week walking briskly around a concrete-floored restaurant serving Italian food so i wasn't completely unprepared, actually i felt great the entire time. And a day later, i feel pretty damn good all things considered. I'm definitely doing it again next year and if i can actually commit to training maybe i'll do the full 26.2. We'll see. But i highly recommend the event to all of you. The organizers really do a great job, everyone is out and having fun, and for a guy who really doesn't get caught up in too many moments, i'll admit that i got caught up in all of yesterday's activities. Crossing the starting line at 8am and crossing that finish line at 11am really were two highlights of my 2007 so far. It was a ton of fun. And you don't really even need to run the whole thing to enjoy it. A quick walk can get you around the course in 3 to 3.5 hours and it really is fun for the whole family. Get a group together and do it next year. Seriously.
As far as the music goes, well i have to say i was kind of disappointed. It's not that the bands weren't good, because they were (highlights include the country-bluegrass band at mile 5, the guy who just backed his truck up to the course, plugged into an amp and started ripping off huge guitar solos on mile 2 -- even though i don't think he was one of the official bands --, and to the steel-drum orchestra that literally had no fewer than 30 people on a single stage around mile 10) but on the half-marathon course there was about 1 band per mile and you just cruise right by them in about 4 seconds so there's really no way of telling whether they're good or not, you can't really listen to an entire song and there's really no way of getting charged up to keep running unless they are, by total chance, playing your favorite song right as you happen to walk by. So the Rock and Roll part of it was really minimal.
Also, since i had my dad with me and we walked about 9 of the 13 miles (albeit a brisk walk, somewhere in the range of a 12-14 minute mile), we talked most of the time. So i didn't even listen to my iPod.
I thought music was going to be a huge part of this thing, and it wasn't. I'm not disappointed by any means, it's just not that relevant of a topic to discuss on this blog anymore, especially after i slept through the Gin Blossoms concert last night. Oh well, on with the shuffle.

1. Neon - John Mayer
Kind of an out of character choice for my iTunes, but let me attempt to justify it. I picked up on John Mayer my freshman year of college in 2001. Way before he was linked to Jessica Simpson, way before he had a full band, way before he even had a full length album out. I even went and saw him in concert at the Fillmore in Denver. The ladies didn't even throw their panties on stage. It was just this really talented guitarist with a decent voice singing songs about love and life and doing fun cover songs and making some pretty decent jokes on stage. It was just a nice laid-back show all around. I was, admittedly, a fan. And i was downloading his songs off of Kazaa (or maybe it was even still Napster then, i can't remember) and everything i found was exactly like the concert. Just a guy and his guitar, the way i like it. The guy even had the balls to do his own version of Radiohead-Kid A, which you won't be surprised to hear that i liked a lot, before i even heard the real version on Kid A (don't beat me up Laura, please.) And then for some reason he released a full-length CD of all the songs i had downloaded acoustic, but with drums and bass and electric guitars and keyboards and he just entirely fucked it all up. This song, Neon, was the biggest disappointment of the post-acoustic John Mayer era because it really is a catchy song with a tremendous guitar part that was even more impressive when played on an acoustic, AND he could sing a long while playing this super-hard part. So anyway, i still listen to some of his early acoustic stuff with a touch of sadness at his then-inevitable sellout. If you can find this song acoustic, it's a good one that hasn't gotten old yet.

2. Rock And Roll - Mos Def, off of Black on Both Sides
I was hoping we'd get some Mighty Mos Def on the shuffle today because this was the weekend of Mos for me. Danny came into town Saturday night and hooked me up with Mos' new album, True Magic (which, if the first song is any indication, is going to be REALLY good) and i watched 16 Blocks on HBO last night, which i really liked in theaters and thought Mos did a great job in. So anyway, this was my least favorite Mos CD but this is one of the tracks i liked. It's a really simple track with a really good beat and very few rhymes. Mos is talking about the history of music and calls out some of the most popular artists as being fakers in the history of rock and roll and giving -- how do the kids say it? -- "props" to the people he thinks are real. For example, "Elvis Presley ain't got no soul/ Chuck Berry is rock and roll/ you may dig on the Rolling Stones but they didn't come up with that shit on their own." or my favorite, "Kenny G ain't got no soul/John Coltrane is rock and roll."
And then at the end of the song, following in line with the whole "Rock and Roll" theme of the album, it just goes all metal and there's some hardcore drums and screaming and yeah. They did this a lot on the album and i liked the concept, it just didn't work for me. Too much LinkinPark/JayZ collaboration for me.

3. A Long December - Counting Crows, off of Films About Ghosts
Originally this was one of my all-time favorite Counting Crows songs but it has kind of faded on me. It's not bad, i'm just used to it and the Nah-nah-nah-nah's wear on me now instead of inspiring me to sing a long. I don't know why this happens. I can sing to the nah-nah-nah's on Journey's Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' all day.
That being said, i think the Counting Crows are one of the most underrated bands of my middle/high school years. They really were great and Adam Duritz really sealed the deal by having the hottest girlfriends in the world despite the fact that he was, without a doubt, heinous. If an ugly lead singer banging Courtney Cox doesn't signify the power of music, well i just don't know what does (although i guess now that she's married to David Arquette we can completely say that she has zero taste in men.) Moving on.

4. Ruby Falls - Guster, off of Ganging Up on The Sun
Once again, Guster has put together an album that i can't stop listening to. The other morning at work (i wear my iPod when i'm opening the restaurant because i'm anti-social) i listened to it 2 times in a row. I've talked about them before but they are really underrated in my book. They got railroaded into that college, frat-boy rock genre and perhaps it's their own fault but on every CD i've heard, they consistently put together thought-provoking and profound lyrics and sing them using different styles and harmonies over some pretty innovative melodies and musical ideas. They bring in a lot of different styles, instruments and influences and it really keeps things fresh. My only criticism would be that their CDs, upon first listen, all sound the same, but when you dig a little deeper there are some intricacies that the casual (read: college frat-boy) would definitely miss. And, if nothing else, there has to be something to say about consistency right?
This song in particular starts off in your typical, straight-forward rock fashion but then around minute 4 it breaks down into this psychedelic sounding melody with a muted-trumpet solo over it. It's not some fascinatingly groundbreaking move, but it's different and interesting and innovative and completely pleasant to listen to.

5. Blackbird - Crosby, Stills and Nash
This is a Beatles cover sung by Stephen Stills off of their greatest hits album. CSN was a great band and their tight, high harmonies are absolutely responsible for many of the harmonies you hear today (I'm looking at you AFI). They really were talented musicians and if you've been too busy restricting your classic-rock listening to Led Zeppelin or The Who, i highly suggest you take a crack at CSN. It's kind of amazing how their protest songs about Vietnam ring true today. The song Ohio is about US Soldiers shooting students at Kent State College during a Vietnam protest...could you imagine the shit that would hit the fan if that happened today? And we barely remember it even happened. What a country.

Alright, that's enough for today. Check some of this music out and let me know what you think.

Monday Morning Shuffle

Welcome to the 3rd installment of Monday Morning Shuffle. And in other news, if anyone would like to start training for the PF Changs Rock and Roll half marathon with me, it'll be a great way to get exposed to some great music, and not a bad way to lose 20 lbs. I'm starting today, who's with me?


1. Baba O’Reilly – Pearl Jam live
This song, originally by the Who, is one of Pearl Jam’s favorite covers to play live. I saw them do it in high school at Desert Sky (Now Cricket) Pavilion. It had rained all day and was still raining when the concert started. We went anyway and took Hefty bags with us to keep dry. We cut arm and neck holes and stood there looking like the California Raisins waiting for the rain to stop. It cleared up and Eddie Vedder walked on stage and said, “The only reason we scheduled a tour through Arizona was to get out of the fucking rain.” And then they blew into a thrashing version of Evenflow that sent the muddy grass into a turmoil and cast the voices of this throng of people into the desert sky. Suffice to say it was an amazing concert and one of my favorites of all time. Luckily for us, Pearl Jam released a series of double-disk live albums and this song and all others are pretty damn easy to find live. Check them out, or better yet, go see Pearl Jam live if you have an opportunity. Even after all these years, you won’t be disappointed.

2. Ideas vs. Protocol – Rajiv Patel from The Retaliation for What They’ve Done to Us.
I get the feeling that every song coming up on this space is a great one and that I’m just completely suckling every song by every artist that comes up. That isn’t completely the case, I just really like music and I don’t have a ton of songs on my iTunes that I don’t like. The Retaliation for What They’ve Done to Us is a CD but it’s also a side project from the band Before Braille, one of the best Mesa/Tempe local bands around. Rajiv is their supremely talented guitarist and he has been apart of a ton of tremendous side and solo projects. Ideas vs. Protocol is just one song of 6 songs but it’s one of those CDs that just flows from song to song. They’re all interconnected and move seamlessly from song to song. In actuality this is a 27-minute instrumental rock opera that only gets messed up because the CD has to break in between tracks. They performed this act, if you want to call it that, only once at the Mesa Women’s Center in front of about 40 people. Nobody really knew what to expect but there were a lot of musicians and artists in the crowd with their jaws hanging open during the performance. Then, as soon as the music ended and after the applause had died down, people just turned around and said, “I’m going home to write songs.” Or “I’m going home to paint.” And I don’t know if it’s as inspirational listening to it on the CD but it is still damn good. And to be honest, if you want a 30-minute workout, plug this thing in, and work along with the beat of it. If you’re anything like me, the lows and the highs will coincide with your heart rate. And just because I like this CD so much, and because it’s probably hard to get, I’d be more than happy to burn it or IM it to anyone interested.

3. Callin’ Baton Rouge – Garth Brooks on The Hits
One of the greatest karaoke songs of all time. And one of the only country songs I like. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I love Garth. I spent more than a few drunken nights with my good friend Danny playing Madden and singing Garth at the top of our lungs. Good stuff.

4. One of Them – Jurassic 5 on Power in Numbers
A semi-decent song on a pretty good album. Highlights include What’s Golden, High Fidelity and I Am Somebody. And since I don’t really have anything else to say about that, Charlie 2Na is the most laid-back dude on the planet. When I saw them in Denver, he walks out on stage and in his trademark low voice, says “Deeeeennnnnnvvvvvveeeeerrrrr Cooooooollllllooorrrrraaddddooooo.” And he was wearing sweat pants and slippers. Quality.

5. Hey Leonardo – Blessid Union of Souls on Walking Off the Buzz
You just can’t deny BUOS. At all. They’re one of the most underrated pop acts of the mid- to late-nineties. They defined my Senior Prom, taught us about how love can overcome all kinds of things, including racist fathers and they articulated some pretty serious adolescent thoughts for those who took the time to listen. And all that was culminated by seeing them in concert at the Chandler Ostrich Festival, one of Arizona’s truly great venues. HA. If you have the CD, and I know you do, give it a play soon. You won’t regret it.

That’ll do it for this week’s shuffle. I think we’ll probably see me dig deep into the record collection for a special little treat on Wednesday.