Fuck Affluenza!

Wake up each day / Stumble out of your tomb / Who are you / When all you do is consume? / When are you satisfied / When they're always making something new? / A zombie's still a zombie / In J. Crew / The mall's a graveyard / But it's like Heaven to you

Summer-Brain

It's still summer in my mind:



I felt the grass on my chest in the open field
And I knew there was nothing left for me to feel
Airplanes above cross the sky under a haze
In the morning time, we didn't think about our days

The wind was blowing through our hair as we lied down
And we could feel under our backs that the earth was round
Lazy today, lazy tonight and later on
All we had to do was nothing at all, under the sun

KMVP - "Nobody's Down with Sexist Movies"

Why do all the girls in The Warriors
Have to entice the boys upstairs
Have to entice the boys upstairs
Before, before, before, before they pull the knife?
If I was a girl in The Warriors
I would have cut them in the streets
I would have cut them in the street
And watched and watched and watched
And watched the bastards bleed

And of course, you don't even notice
Because you grew up watching The Warriors
And this thing is so deep inside of us
That it takes some very bizarre form

Why are all the girls in Thrasher
Either virginal or sluts?
And they all hate each others guts
And watch and watch and watch
And watch the boys have fun
If I was a girl in Thrasher
I'd start a radical girl-gang
And we'd stop feathering our bangs
And skate and skate and skate
And build a wicked half-pipe

And of course, you don't even notice
But it's poisoning your brains
You deny what's totally obvious
Then rewind and watch that shit again

And who says Ally Sheedy
Needed a makeover
To get herself a lover?
Who needs those anyway?
When I was Ally Sheedy
And I got myself a boyfriend
Well, all the time I spent with him
Was time I threw away

And of course, you don't even notice
But I see it everywhere
And my heart curls up and grows cold
As the snowflakes that fell from her hair

My Second Favourite Built To Spill Song

Some things you can't explain
Like why we're all embracing conventional wisdom
In a world that's just so unconventional

My favourite Built To Spill Song

When I was a kid, I saw a light
Floating high above the trees one night
Thought it was an alien
Turned out to be just God

...

If you're not sure who not to believe
Who has better reason to deceive?

Eight minutes, forty-two seconds, and every note is necessary. This song is perfection.

Is There A Better Song About Being Closeted?

Belle & Sebastian - "Seeing Other People"

We lay on the bed there
Kissing just for practice
Could we please be objective?
'Cause the other boys are queuing up behind us
There's a hand over my mouth
A hand over the window
Well, if I remain passive
And you just want to cuddle
Then we should be okay
And we won't get in a muddle
We're seeing other people
At least that's what we say we are doing

So, how are you feeling?
I don't think you could be dealing
With the situation very well
You take a lover for a dirty weekend
That's okay
When it's over
You are looking at the working week
Through the eyes of a gigolo

You're kissing your elbow
You're kissing your reflection
And you can't understand
Why all the other boys are going
For the new, tall, elegant rich kids
You can bet it is a bitch, kid
But if they don't see the quality
Then it is apparent
That you're gonna have to change
Or you're gonna have to go with girls
You'd be better off
At least they know where to put it

We lay on the bed there
Kissing just for practice
Could we please be objective?
'Cause the other boys are queuing up behind us
There's a hand over my mouth
A hand over the window
Well, if I remain passive
And you just want to cuddle
Then we should be okay
And we won't get in a muddle
We're seeing other people
At least that's what we say we are doing

Yummy, Yummy Punk Rock Girls

Leather jackets 
Stupid boyfriends 
Poor report cards 
Life is just a ball 
High-top Chucks and bubblegum 
And oh, my gosh, I'd love to love them all 
They're so cool 
Their style's never cramped 
Too much of everything 
And everyone is amped 
Well, don't get hot and bothered 
Listen, I know I got problems 
I also know 
Just what this goofy world needs:

Yummy, yummy punk rock girls (x4) 
I wish they were all punk rock girls 

The smartest of the smartest 
And the sweetest of the sweetest
They're the most 
Me and Dr. Frank have both decided 
That we love them more than toast 
I wish they'd let me share their bubblegum 
And let me hang with them 
And life would be so fun 
I should be sedated 
'Cause my heart is all inflated 
I guess I gotta get me one or two 

Yummy, yummy punk rock girls (x4) 
I wish they were all punk rock girls 

I don't know where I'm going 
But I know just where I'd like to be: 
With my punk rock girlfriend kissing me 
Let's go!

Underrated White Stripes Song: "Who's To Say?" (Blanche Cover)

Maybe it's "underrated" because not enough people seek out the White Stripes' B-sides, and probably even less people know who Dan Miller is.

"Who's To Say?," the flip-side of the White Stripes' I Just Don't Know What To Do with Myself single, was written by Detroit mainstay Dan Miller and performed as far back as at least 1998 by Jack's and Dan's short-lived band 2 Star Tabernacle. Since then, Dan has reworked the song as part of his current group Blanche's 2004 album If We Can't Trust the Doctors.

In un-White Stripes fashion, Jack and Meg don't put much of their own spin on "Who's To Say?" I still prefer the White Stripes' version, however, which is why I'm posting theirs. As much as I'd like to call some of the song's lyrics brilliant, I realize it may be a little grandiose of a compliment, so I'll just leave it at this: I fuckin' love them:

Who's to say this time I've wasted
Someday won't get used?
Maybe if you come around
I'll start to get enthused

...

Who's to say that I'm obsessed
With everything you do
Just because it seems my schedule
Seems to shadow you?
Who's to say that tired
"There's more fish in the sea"?
I don't mind treading water
'Cause you're the one for me

You say that by now
I should know you'll never love me
But who's to say that what has never
Been will never be?
What has been will never be?

The Dandy Warhols - "Genius"

My favourite Dandy Warhols song. "Genius," from their first album Dandys Rule OK? (Tim/Kerr Records, 1995), showcases the band at its song-writing best: perfect pace, depressingly self-effacing lyrics which Courtney Taylor-Taylor sings with just the right amount of emotion, all topped with a heart-wrenching climax. Every note is where it should be. "Genius" is definitely the most underrated Dandys song, at least amongst my friends.

I sometimes get frustrated that the Dandy Warhols haven't written a song nearly as good as "Genius" since "Big Indian" (my second favourite Dandy Warhols song) which came out eleven years ago. But "Genius" alone pretty much makes up for all of the Dandy's missteps.

I know to say
Things I never meant to
To seem a little more sane
'Cause that's what it takes

I can jive with that.

The White Stripes - "Hand Springs"

I've always visualized the lyrics to this song written out as a story rather than line by line, as lyrics are usually written. Thus, I've taken it upon myself to add punctuation and separate the lyrics into paragraphs where I deem appropriate:


"Hand Springs"

I took my girl to go bowling downtown at the Red Door, after an argument I started 'cause I thought she didn’t like me anymore. I can't help it: sometimes, I feel pitiful, and of course, she's so young and beautiful.

I bought us two glasses of Coke; that's her favourite, and I wanted to make up for earlier. But I dropped her glass, and it broke, so I just gave my glass to her.

She laughed, and so did I in our lane. Then, she went to the vending machine to buy a candy cane, but right next to that was a boy I knew with a spring in his hand playin' a country pinball machine called "Stand by Your Man." I saw him talk to her, but I stayed in my lane and played my game steady and was thinkin' of a day when I'd be too old to throw a ball this heavy.

But I guess I'm young now, so it's easier to knock 'em all down. Then I looked and saw her say to him, "You really hittin’ that ball around." And he’s lookin' at her the way I did when I first met her: I can see in his face white flowers and cups of coffee and love letters.

I was sorry to interrupt their game, but I went and did it anyway. I dropped my red bowling ball through the glass of his machine. I said, "Are you quick enough to hit this ball, Mr. Clean?" I was scared to lose her, so I couldn't help being mean.

And that ended both of our games. I said I was sorry, but my girl left with him just the same. I thought how much I hate when love makes me act this way. I was bent over a broken pinball machine in a bowling alley, and I threw it all away.

Well, isn't it all just a big game?

Best Coast = Best Summer Or Sunny-Day Music: Best Coast Edition

It finally feels like summer today - because it's sunny, and I don't have to work which means I can finally hit the beach. Or go for walk. Or do whatever I want outdoors and enjoy it, even if my headphones broke yesterday, and I'm too cheap to buy a new pair right away. And what better way to hit the beach or bum around the city all day than by listening to one of my favourite bands, lo-fi-turned-hi-fi, sun-baked California fuzz-poppers Best Coast? As the following songs and lyrics I've highlighted show, their music was tailor-made for summer:




We were lookin' for the sun
We knew it'd give us loads of fun
(Always, always)
(Always, always)

...

I was lookin' for a change
And then you saved me from this place
(Always, always)
(Always, always)

And there is so much magic
In the warm and summer night
(Always, always)
(Always, always)

We were lookin' for a sunny adventure
Sittin' in our chairs
Wind in our hair

We were lookin' for a sunny adventure
You know that I don't care
Wind in our hair




All year long
We wait for sun
At the beach
We come undone

...

Everybody chillin', we ain't worried 'bout shit
Everybody chillin', we ain't worried 'bout a thing

I understand life of the beggar
Lookin' at the ocean
Oh, shit this is way iller
Callin' my mama
Tell her not to worry
I'm a man in the wild
And the wild is the best
I digress
This might just be hit or miss
My intentions all summer
Have simply just been this:
Mantain and keep my brain sane
Very little ragin'

...

Mmm, ain't worried 'bout a thang
Mmm, give a damn, we ain't worried 'bout a thang
Ain't worried' bout a thang
Ain't worried 'bout a thang
Everybody good, we ain't worried 'bout a thang
Everybody good' we ain't worried 'bout shit




Don't plan at all
'Cause making it up is so natural


Lyrically, "Buy Nothing Day" isn't particularly summery, but I like its sentiment of freedom and going with the flow. It's what summer should be all about.

Prepare To Bleed, Prepare To Bruise

Toronto’s Polaris Prize-winning hardcore punk band Fucked Up are playing a free show at the Fortune Sound Club tonight. My name’s on the guest list, and I am pumped beyond belief. This is going to be that high-energy punk show I’ve been craving since Japanther two years ago, and like at Japanther, I’m prepared to bleed and bruise again.

Every time I listen to “Son the Father” (among other Fucked Up songs, of course), I just want to scream the lyrics at the top of my lungs, and now, I’ll finally get my chance.





Father, father, come see what I've built
Made civilization out of the Nile silt
Built your monuments out of my brother's bones
Exalted your word in flesh-bound tomes

It's hard enough being born in the first place
Who would ever want to be born again?
It's taken this long just to get to this place
So what's the point in ever being born again?

Papa, papa, come and watch me play
The whole world before me I laid to waste
Built Jerusalem out of these hidden worlds
But I won't share it with the other boys and girls

It's hard enough being born in the first place
Who would ever want to be born again?
It's taken this long just to get to this place
So what's the point in ever being born again?

More embarrassed than I'd hoped to admit
The living embodiment of perfect
A reversed Oedipal complex
Based on power and not on the sex

More embarrassed than I'd hoped to admit
The living embodiment of perfect
A reversed Oedipal complex
Based on power and not on the sex

Daddy, daddy, are you proud of me?
I did it all for you because of what I believe
The sins of he father carried out by the son
From Cain and Abel until the last living life is done

It's hard enough being born in the first place
Who would ever want to be born again?
It's taken this long just to get to this place
So what's the point in ever being born again?
Again (x7)

Again we stand slack-jawed
As our fates are moved by the hand of God
A god (x4)
A god is what we see as we stare into his Papal eyes

Rainy Day Music: Cat Power Edition

"I Don't Blame You" was the first Cat Power song I ever heard and remains my favourite Cat Power song since, but I never really paid attention to the lyrics until last night. "I Don't Blame You" is heavily rumoured to have been about Kurt Cobain, and it's easy to see why:


Last time I saw you, you were on stage
Your hair was wild, your eyes were red
And you were in a rage
You were swinging your guitar around
'Cause they wanted to hear that sound
But you didn't want to play
And I don't blame you

I don't blame you

Been around the world in many situations
Been inside many heads in different positions
But you never wanted them that way
What a cruel price you thought that you had to pay
And that for all that shit on stage

But it never made sense to them anyway
Could you imagine when they turned their backs
They were only scratching their heads
'Cause you simply deserve the best
And I don't blame you

I don't blame you

They said you were the best
But then, they were only kids
Then you would recall the deadly houses you grew up in
Just because they knew your name
Doesn't mean they know from where you came
What a sad trick you thought that you had to play
But I don't blame you

They never owned it
And you never owed it to them anyway

I don't blame you

I Feel Like We All Know A Geoffrey Ingram

A track by one of my favourite post-punk/indie pop bands the Television Personalities. "Geoffrey Ingram," from their first album And Don't the Kids Just Love It (Rough Trade, 1981) is simple, catchy, jangly and lo-fi with mundane lyrics with just-above-drab delivery - so much of what I love in music. I just love the way frontman Dan Treacy drops off on the lyric "Geoffrey is that kind of guy / Who always gets away with that sort of thing":


Geoffrey's got a nice new suit, he bought it yesterday
Ten pounds in an Oxfam shop near Hammersmith/Broadway
All the kids admire him, Geoffrey is the face
Geoffrey is the kind of guy
Who always gets away with that sort of thing

Geoffrey shops at Safeways, it's got everything he wants
He fills up his pockets with baked beans and blancmange
And all the girls on the tills smile at Geoffrey
He's the kind of guy
Who gets away with that sort of thing

Just like Geoffrey Ingram (Geoffrey Inngg-raaam!)
Just like Geoffrey Ingram (Geoffrey Inngg-raaam!)
Just like Geoffrey Ingram
Geoffrey always gets home as it starts to rain

Me and Geoff went to a jam gig, we got there too late
The Marquee was sold out, and it was only five-past-eight
But Geoffrey got us on the guest list, please don't ask me how
Geoffrey is the kind of guy
Who always gets away with that sort of thing

Geoffrey gets away with that sort of thing

Just like Geoffrey Ingram (Geoffrey Inngg-raaam!)
Just like Geoffrey Ingram (Geoffrey Inngg-raaam!)
Just like Geoffrey Ingram (Geoffrey Inngg-raaam!)
Just like Geoffrey Ingram (Geoffrey Inngg-raaam!)
Just like Geoffrey Ingram (Geoffrey Inngg-raaam!)
Just like Geoffrey Ingram (Geoffrey Inngg-raaam!)