Even we, who weren't chosen up till yesterday, are holding onto tomorrow.

I issued my sister a challenge recently (and, in doing so, issued the same challenge to myself). "Come up with a CD of twelve songs representing your favorite bands, artists, or composers. I need this for reasons." I have no idea why I chose twelve songs, it just sounded right at the time. Predictably this proved to be hard for me. After no small amount of frustration and panic, I decided to limit myself to the music I put on my phone as that would seem to mean I needed these songs with me at all times. But once the list was done I realized I still didn't know why I picked these songs. I had picked them on a whim? On a feeling? More than a feeling? In trying to figure out just what connected me so deeply to this seemingly haphazard assortment of tunes, I decided it would be a waste not to write it down. I also still have this blog. It is a blog about music, apparently, and what I think about it. So that led to my first blog post or 2014 (just in time!). So, without furthermore and somethingorother, I present:

Love Is Jargon 2014 [!]: The Playlist The Album
  1) the Mountain Goats ~ Going To Queens
  2) Queen ~ Somebody To Love
  3) Styx ~ Fooling Yourself
  4) The Beatles ~ Watching Rainbows
  5) Jim Croce ~ One Less Set of Footsteps
  6) Joe Strummer ~ Coma Girl
  7) The Delgados ~ The Light Before We Land
  8) Fool's Garden ~ Welcome Sun
  9) the pillows ~ Hybrid Rainbow
10) The White Stripes ~ You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)
11) Third Eye Blind ~ My Time In Exile
12) Jethro Tull ~ Skating Away (On the Thin Ice of a New Day) [Live]
[Link]

  1) the Mountain Goats ~ Going To Queens
I hope you can appreciate how hard it is to accurately put into words an intangible feeling like how much I love the Mountain Goats. Now, I'm not sure how much I love Going To Queens in comparison to, say Amy (AKA Spent Gladiator). That song has more plays than Going To Queens; as do several other Mountain Goats songs. Really, I could have chosen another song. This is simply supposed to represent the Mountain Goats and John Darnielle in this compilation of my favorite artists. Nevertheless... there's something about this track. The simple production, the lack of unnecessary instruments, the ghostly sing-song of John and some girl whose name I don't even know singing about abstractly melancholy love- I will know who you are yet, I will know who you are yet. Anyway, that's what I like about this song: absolutely everything about it.

  2) Queen ~ Somebody To Love
Queen was a major part of my adolescence. In the sixth grade, when I was developing my own musical tastes through the only medium at my disposal (i.e. my parents CDs in the basement), I found Queen's Greatest Hits [Vol. 1]. Actually, this one might have been a cassette. Remember those? This was a CD (or whatever) full of infectiously catchy songs. I'd love to say I was instantly drawn to Somebody To Love and that it instantly was and always shall be my favorite Queen song. But it wasn't. I liked Bohemian Rhapsody. It's only now that I hear Somebody To Love and really connect with it. Who knows, maybe years from now I'll hate Somebody To Love, but right now when I hear it on the radio at work I'm struck with this realization that I fucking love this song and feel I always will. Y'know, in the moment anyway.

  3) Styx ~ Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)
Styx was, and is, (and due to that whole sixth-grade-developing-my-own-musical-identity thing will forever stay) my favorite band of all time. Yes, other bands are more successful. Other bands have had a greater influence on music. Other bands didn't write Mr. Roboto. I don't care. I love Styx and own and love all their albums. No joke, the first time I went to meet an ex-girlfriend's parents, I played this song in the car. It was a source of comfort and stability from a time when I was really trying to figure myself out and I'm really trying to open up to you guys and this isn't easy for me so don't laugh. Moving on.

  4) The Beatles ~ Watching Rainbows
Yes, my favorite Beatles song is technically an unreleased outtake. Watching Rainbows is really just John ruining a take of what would become I've Got A Feeling. That's why the lyrics are half mumbled. That, though, is part of the beauty. This was a free-flowing string of lyrics made up on the fly. It has all the soul of the Let-It-Be-era compositions, but with an off-the-cuff freedom to it.

  5) Jim Croce ~ One Less Set of Footsteps
Photographs & Memories: His Greatest Hits was on pretty regular rotation in my car throughout high school. This is ridiculously fun to belt out on long car rides and I do it more often than I'd likely admit in person. Jim Croce was an incredibly talented songwriter with a distinctive voice and we lost him far too soon.

  6) Joe Strummer ~ Coma Girl
Let's get back to that sixth grade thing. I have some great memories of staying up late playing Star Wars: Battle For Naboo on N64 down in the basement with The Clash's London Calling in my CD Walkman. Now, I realize my nostalgia is not ours, but damn. Just soak in all the things that have ended since then. I wish I could force people to experience what I feel when I listen to London Calling. I am not a benevolent god. Oh, right, this song. This song isn't on London Calling. In fact, this is Joe Strummer solo. But that doesn't matter. This is the best road trip music. From the opening riffs, to the rock steady rhythm, to way Joe sings it. Pure. Perfection. That's why I chose this over any track from London Calling to represent St. Joe Strummer. It simply stands alone better.

  7) The Delgados ~ The Light Before We Land
From the swell of the strings moving into the explosion (seriously, there's no other way to describe it) of drums that signals the opening of the song, you now this is going to be good. I love The Delgados for their unique instrumentation, primarily. However, I have to point out the beautiful, haunting, lilting chorus. I'm well known for being a bit of a sad sack- I prefer rain to sun, Earl Grey to anything fruity, marmalade to jelly- a touch of bitterness suits me for the most part. That sentiment is perfectly encapsulated in this song:  before we let euphoria convince us we are free, remind us how we used to feel before when life was real. So soak it in a while.

  8) Fool's Garden ~ Welcome Sun
Fool's Garden is a very recent addition to my list of favorite bands. They're a German group raised on Britpop. Lot's of Beatles influence present here. I have Oliver Knörzer and Powree's fantasy web comic Gaia to thank for this one. In the notes for the comic The Letter of Jael Bara 077 it is mentioned that the lyrics for one of the main character's songs is based on the Fool's Garden song Autumn. Now, I'm not crazy about Autumn; it's a good song for sure, but after listening to the rest of the discography I really think Welcome Sun might be my favorite. Unless we're talking full albums, then it's everything on Go and Ask Peggy for the Principal Thing.

  9) the pillows ~ Hybrid Rainbow
This was my post-break up song on more than one occasion. I learned all the words and the translation of all the words. I can play it- poorly- on my guitar. It has a great melody and, more importantly, great energy. The live version leads in with Yamanaka yelling "Can you feel?" and there's nothing funny or engrish about it. He doesn't hit all the note on key in that version, but he sings with conviction. While I can't say it's my favorite pillows song at this point, it holds a very special place in my heart and I hope it never leaves.

10) The White Stripes ~ You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)
I saw Jack White at Bonnaroo this year and it was magical. He led off the set with Icky Thump, wigged out over paper lanterns with a childlike wonder that I seriously envy, and at one point thanked everyone for doing their jobs. My boss has never thanked me for doing my job while simultaneously transitioning into Alone In My Home. It was a hell of a time. Emphasis on hell at certain parts of the week, but it was also an amazing memory. I hope to make more memories like it in the coming years, at least until the money runs out. Those tickets are expensive.

11) Third Eye Blind ~ My Time In Exile
I love Third Eye Blind. Still. I am fairly confident I am the only one. Or at least I was before I tried to get a ticket to one of their shows. Sold out day one and they weren't cheap! I'm not sure where this horde of people who won't laugh at me for belting out Never Let You Go is, but I love them and hate them and want them to give up their ticket so I can see this band before they die out cold and alone. Or not, as it were.

12) Jethro Tull ~ Skating Away (On the Thin Ice of a New Day) [Live]
This is quite possibly the greatest live album ever recorded (Jethro Tull Live! Bursting Out [1978]) and this is my favorite song on the album. The non-live version is great as well. But this. This. This. Just... uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhggggg. They nailed it. I realize some of you may not like Jethro Tull (or know that the lead singer/flautist is Ian Anderson and that the band is named after English agriculturalist Jethro Tull) and that's fine. Just know that your opinion is wrong, you are uninformed, and I hate you.

So, there you have it. I limited my explanations to what I could type (free thought, unedited) before the song finished playing. I did better on some than others, but it was a nice challenge nonetheless. In addition, I just finished my fourth ten-hour in a row at the hospital, so if none of this makes sense... Well, then I've done better than I'm expecting. Please be kind.

I would urge anyone interested to take up this challenge as well. Better yet, make CDs and trade them anonymously with your friends. Then get together and see what happens. I'd love to hear what happens.

You are coming down with me, hand in unloveable hand.

So, when I said "We're back." I had some pretty good ideas ready; however, those ideas proved too ambitious (as they usually do). So, to satiate the hunger of the (maybe) three people who read this, I have an album of Mountain Goats covers that came out last year. I just found out about it two nights ago, so it's still new to me and hopefully will be to you as well. If you're not familiar with the Mountain Goats, just know that lead singer-songwriter John Darnielle is one of the most brilliant lyricists of his generation. Needless to say, I'm a big fan and this certainly isn't the last you'll be hearing from me about his work.

The link to the entire album stream is here: [http://tallahasseeturnsten.tumblr.com/].

They're charging $8 for the download, which isn't bad for a 15 track album. Now, if you're too cheap to buy it, but wish to have it on your choice of mp3 device... I'm not saying there's a Firefox extension you can use to rip the individual tracks from the stream, but there totally is. Google is a better friend to you than I will ever be in this case. Besides, I already toss you lovely readers more free music than I likely have any legal right to. So enjoy 'Tallahassee Turns Ten'. Here's a quick breakdown we'll call:

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The Good:
- I absolutely love Mooner's blues-rock flavored cover of Southwood Plantation Road. It's a little Black Keys and a little John Darnielle- a perfect combination somehow. I ended up downloading their three EPs because I liked it so much.
- Miracles of Modern Science's take on of Idylls of the King is also good. It's fairly straight-forward, but a little brighter, like a lazy Sunday afternoon in the sun.
- Laura Stevenson's lilting version of No Children is sung with a wink and put a smile on my face.
- But I think my favorite track is Great Gray Buildings' Oceanographer's Choice cover. It almost sounds like something nostalgic from the 90s, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

The Bad:
- Kimya Dawson ruined one of my favorite Tallahassee tracks with her very special brand of "Look at me! I'm so fucking indie and unmotivated!" lazy vocals. She really took the song and made it her own; unfortunately, in this case, that isn't a good thing.

The Ugly:
- The weird not-harmony in the vocals of Dawson's version of Game Shows Touch Our Lives.
Just. Terrible.
I was hoping she would at least sing "People say friends don't destroy one another/What do they know about friends?" with some emotion. Ok, maybe I'm being a little tough on Kimya Dawson. I don't know what I expected from someone who hasn't done anything noteworthy since the Juno soundtrack.

A more surprising disappointment was Andrew Jackson Jihad's cover of Alpha Rats Nest. Now, Rats Nest isn't one of my favorite Tallahassee tracks. AJJ didn't ruin it. That's the problem: it's completely unremarkable. It isn't bad, but it doesn't stand out, you know? I guess I was just expecting a little more from them.
All in all, a very good bunch of covers and a somewhat rare example of a full-album cover project. 9/10 - Would listen to again. And again and again.

Men At Work (Not to be confused with Men Without Hats)

[Eye-catching_Picture.jpg]

We're back! Or something reasonably close, anyway. All links are dead until I re-up them to somewhere that isn't mediafire. I'm working full time now and generally spend my off time catching up on books, movies, TV shows, and video games I haven't gotten to. This means several things for this blog: 1) I'm not downloading as much music as I used to, 2) I'm not listening to as much music as I used to, and 3) I'm not writing as much as I used to. Now, this likely won't do much to the blog as I had no readers to begin with and hardly ever updated.

Be that as it may, we are still back.

The future is unwritten.

Well it's been an entire month since my last post, but I'm back in the swing of things (hopefully). Let's catch up; we haven't talked in a while. So how about this nice weather in NE Ohio? I've been able to wear shorts and keep the window open these past few days. Even though I'm a little suspicious of its intentions, I think I'll trust it- for now anyway. What have you been up to? Read any good books? I just started Chris Salwicz's Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer last night, and I'm really enjoying it. As you may have gathered from my previous posts, I like Joe alot. If he's not your cup of tea, my apologies, this will be another Strummer-heavy entry, for I have tracked down quite a few gems recently. The first is a semi-reunion with Mick Jones, his Clash bandmate and friend, for The Fire Brigades Union at Acton Town Hall (just one month before his untimely death from a heart attack, December 22, 2002). You can grab it here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/6aqmiarahm2847q/Joe%20Strummer%20%28ft.%20Mick%20Jones%29%20Acton%20Hall%202002.zip

The second gem I found is a duet cover of Bob Marley's Redemption Song Strummer did with Johnny Cash. It seems a fitting tribute to all three. That one is here: http://www.4shared.com/audio/JiglRV8Y/2-12_Redemption_Song__Bob_Marl.html

Well this turned out shorter than I had planned, but the music really speaks for itself. We'll just say I'm easing  back into blogging. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them. It'll give me something to read all week, and maybe even some ideas for future posts.

Oh, and since I've gotten a few requests, all future downloads will be in easy to open .zip format rather than .rar. I'll be throwing up new links for all previous entries very soon.

Well the trees grow, the river flows, and its water will wash away my sin.

Since Spring has decided to give us a little preview (at least here in BG) I've decided to give all of you a little preview too. This week's entry is about only one band and one album. I give you:

Noah and the Whale - The First Days of Spring
http://www.mediafire.com/?tou1jxwqtxi

I was originally planning a mixtape for Spring, but I wasn't sure what to do with this week's entry since Single's Awareness was so recently. Maybe I'll still do a mix, it isn't quite Spring yet. Until then, enjoy this album. It has everything that makes me think Spring- it's a little melancholy, a little slow; like waking from hibernation. It also has two lovely instrumental pieces framing my favorite track, the upbeat and energetic Love of An Orchestra. This really needs to be experienced as a whole, so take some time to sit outside and listen to it. Maybe take a walk and listen to it on your iPod or other choice of portable listening device.

Short entry, short week. Happy Sort of Spring.

Everything dies, baby. That's a fact.

February 14- Valentine's Day Single's Awareness Day. I hope all of you are happily committed to someone else; but if you recently broke up with someone, then do I have some good news for you. We're both single! Now obviously there isn't enough of me to go around, so you'll have to make do with this mixtape of breakup songs (look I even made you a mixtape to show my ever growing love and devotion to you, dear readers). There are two versions because one of the songs is full of rudies.

[LIJ] Mixtape #7- Love Is Jargon
"You cussing at me?" version:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/gk84g130lw3sz55/%5BLIJ%5D%20Mixtape%20%237-%20Love%20Is%20Jargon.rar
"Don't you cuss and point at me" version:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/g26hzsjps144csz/%5BLIJ%5D%20Mixtape%20%237-%20Love%20Is%20Jargon%20Clean.rar

This is like a choose your own adventure mixtape of heartbreak. Follow the story below and enjoy the ride.
Start:
1) Your Love Alone Is Not Enough- Manic Street Preachers
The breakup is coming. Like a sagging roof, you know it will fall, it's just a matter of when. I believe I mentioned this song in a previous post (The Girl Rock Mixtape, under The Cardigans) about how much I like Nina Persson's voice. Well here it is. Not the happiest of songs, but I love the duet.
If the breakup is a good healthy one with no hard feelings go to track 2.
If you're optimistic and feel like you'll be fine relatively soon, go to track 3.
If it's messy, go to track 4.

2)Hurricane J- The Hold Steady
This is the ok breakup song. It's never painless, but Craig Finn seems to have a good reason and hopefully both parties will be fine in a month or so. Congrats! Good End!

3)Feel A Whole Lot Better- Tom Petty
Yeah, you don't need him/her. You'd be better off without them anyway. You're too good for them and if they don't see how awesome you are... Well, choose what happens. You tell em, Tom Petty.
If you're upset, but overall optimistic, proceed to track 5.
If !@%$@#%@%$@#$%%&$^#%@#!, go to track 4. (If you downloaded the clean version, your results may vary)

4)F*** You/Forget You- Cee-Lo Green
Cee-Lo Green is half of Gnarls Barkley, in case his voice sounds familiar. This is (obviously) the angry breakup song. Still, it's fun and upbeat. Good for a laugh(?). Are you bitter about the breakup?
Yes- Go to track 6.
No- Yes you are, go to track 6.

5)Train In Vain- Manic Street Preachers
I know I used this song last week, but it is my favorite Clash song. To keep it fresh though, I used a cover. I do enjoy the Manic Street Preachers... Anyway, you feel pretty good, maybe you'll get over it soon. Congrats, Neutral End.

6)The Calendar Hung Itself- Bright Eyes
I love angry/desperate Connor. It's almost a shame he's mellowed out because this is a great track. Anyway, this is about as angsty as this playlist will get. Sunk into pity and self-loathing yet? Proceed to track 7.

7)Down In the Hole- James Taylor
Oh James, will you never win? Life is tough, the nights are long and cold, and you are now apparently homeless and living in a hole in the ground. If you feel like singing an uplifting ballad about your lost love, go to track 8 (you know deep down that you want to).

8)Since You Been Gone- Rainbow
This song was written by Russ Ballard, guitarist for Argent. I've been trying to track down one of his solo albums, but they're (predictably?) hard to find. Regardless, rock on, forever aloners, rock on.
If you plan to try and call him/her, go to track 9.
If not, but you're still sad and have a British accent, go to track 10.

9)Operator (That's Not the Way it Feels)- Jim Croce
Jim Croce is the master of melancholy songs. If you get the chance, grab Photographs & Memories - His Greatest Hits, a fairly comprehensive collection. Jim's been a favorite of mine since around 8th grade. Some songs just connect with you and never get old. Don't mess around with Jim.
Go to the bonus track.

10)The Scientist- Coldplay
If you're sad and sorry and begging for forgiveness because it was obviously all your fault, you've reached your destination. Bad End.
Continue to the bonus track anyway.

BT) You Can't Always Get What You Want- The Rolling Stones
Because, in the words of the great sage Jagger: "You can't always get what you want; but if you try sometimes, you might find, you'll get what you need."

So, if you got a Bad End or Neutral End, go find some friends and something strong and shout your laments to the moon. Hell, even if you got a Good End, do it anyway. It sounds fun. And remember to be aware of single people today. We can be together alone.

Raise a toast to Saint Joe Strummer. I think he might have been our only decent teacher.

At the time I am writing this, I have 145.10G of music spanning 27,964 songs, 2,525 artists, and more genres than you can likely imagine. Even trying to group songs into the most general of categories seems like an insurmountable task. I've recently found myself throwing Alternative Rock on anything that takes more than ten seconds to sort and I feel a bit guilty about that. I've also found myself wondering just how specific I need to be- is this Breakcore or Noise Rock? Does anyone else even use these terms? What makes this song Punk and this one Punk? How do I categorize the new Bright Eyes album? He's always been Folk rock (right?) but this is more electronic (isn't it?). If the band is a well known Indie Rock band that recently signed to a major label but didn't change their style, should they still be filed under Indie Rock? Who actually cares? The answer always comes to me from the most unlikely of places; namely the most genre bending artist I can think of. When I find myself in genre trouble, Saint Joe Strummer comes to me speaking words of wisdom: "I'd like you to write 'Punk Rock Warlord' with Warlord being one word." You may or may not be familiar with Joe Strummer depending on your knowledge and interest in late 70s proto-punk bands. He was the lyricist, rhythm guitarist, lead vocalist, and co-founder of the English rock (?) band The Clash. He was also in a number of other groups pre and post-Clash including The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, and The Mescaleros. Throughout his participation in all of these bands, and even within single albums by any one of his bands, he blends genres so seamlessly into an album its as if they didn't exist in the first place. So rather than worry about genres, I put on The Clash or The Mescaleros and make peace with the fact that whatever I label it, it's music that I enjoy. That was yesterday. Today, I have another mixtape for you, dear readers.

St. Joe Strummer of England
http://www.mediafire.com/file/s894logvtr0m6od/%5BLIJ%5D%20Mixtape%20%236-%20St.%20Joe%20Strummer%20of%20England.rar

1) Intro
Just a little spoken word track. I'll let you enjoy this one for yourself.

2) Should I Stay or Should I Go?
The actual first track. I hate using terms like 'entry level' because I feel it gives a off a vibe of pretentiousness that I neither have or condone. For lack of a better word though, this is entry level Clash. You may have heard this song or a cover of it in a movie or on the radio. You may not have known it was a song by The Clash. Either way, it doesn't diminish its worth or quality, you're just more likely to have heard it. And now I vow to never use the term 'entry level' unironically ever again.

3) City of the Dead
City of the Dead is the B-Side to Complete Control, the first single from their self titled album. I found this track a while ago in a compilation of B-sides and unreleased material and it has become one of my favorite Clash songs; mostly for the line "Don't you know where to cop/That's what New York Johnny* said/You should get to know your town/Just like I know mine". Just struck a chord with me. I love Joe's writing.
*This is in reference to The New York Dolls' lead singer and guitarist Johnny Thunders.

4) Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad
This song wins the award for Most-Often-Stuck-In-My-Head-Out-of-Nowhere. I don't know what triggers it, but again and again I'll start humming it and it winds up stuck in my head. Give Em Enough Rope isn't even my favorite Clash album.

5) Coma Girl
This track is from Strummer's post-Clash work with his backing band The Mescaleros. There's something about this song that really gets to me- in a good way. It brings back nostalgic memories of a summer roadtrip that never actually happened. That's just the image I always get in my head. It's one of those songs that just makes me feel good (along with The Violent Femmes' Please Do Not Go, The Rolling Stones' You Can't Always Get What You Want, The Pillows' Hybrid Rainbow, and several more in case you were wondering). It's definitely my favorite Mescaleros song.

6) Johnny Appleseed
This is another great Mescaleros song. It doesn't capture the same feelings I get from Coma Girl, but it comes close. The two Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros albums I have are great; the third, not so much (But that's just my take on it). All three are pretty different from most of his albums with The Clash; more folk-world-rockabilly sounding. Genres cannot contain this man.

7) Ramshackle Day Parade
Three Mescaleros tracks in a row? It's more likely than you think. Ramshackle Day Parade is a folk-rock ballad with an emphasis on the rock half of the equation. The beginning almost sounds like U2 but it slowly turns into a slow jam folk ballad with a choir in the background that gives it a world music feel.

8) The Card Cheat
This is probably The Clash's most layered song. Some people say its overproduced but I like it. Even if its a little busy in the background, I like the melody and how the piano interlocks with it. This is one of my old favorites from London Calling.

9) Trash City
Trash City is a track by Latino Rockabilly War, a band Strummer was in between The Clash and The Mescaleros. It's Rockabilly, a genre that for all intents and purposes is just punk-folk. Bonus points to Joe for using Kalamazoo in a song more than once.

10) Train In Vain
I'll talk about this more later in the month. Just know that it is my all time favorite Clash song.

11) Midnight Jam
Midnight Jam is another Mescalaros track. well, technically, it's just recordings of Strummer doing introductions to songs on his radio show over a slow jam. I thought it would be a good track to end on.

BT) In the Pouring Rain
Finally, your bonus track for this entry is an otherwise not recorded live track. It has some of my favorite Clash lyrics of all time, though they're hard to pick out in the recording. This one may take a few listens, but they're enjoyable listens so it all works out.

So in the words of the Hold Steady "Raise a toast to Saint Joe Strummer. I think he might have been our only decent teacher." Don't fear the genres.