Middle-aged Dummies are back and bursting at the "themes" to get going! Full theme ahead! (5 Viewers)

[Chaos34]

I've recovered from Halloween so back to listening. Waymore's Blues. Wow. Dr. Octopus with the best sounding one yet. I'll revisit that many times. I'd prefer a better vocal, but those of you on good systems, turn that muthu up. Mr. Telephone Man. Meh, not my thing but tip the cap for trying and failing to capture a little early Jackson Five. The best part of this song will be the coming super villain write up. Umlaut music is all over the place. I wanna be Fred Flintstone! I'm gonna need another break to recover from umlaut music.

 

[Ilov80s]

Theme: 31 Best Albums of 1984

21. So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry) by R.E.M.

Album: Reckoning
Released: April 9

Roxanne You don't have to put on the red light. Those days are over. You don't have to sell your body to the night. When reading those words, you probably hear Sting in your head (you probably are also wondering if I posted the wrong song write-up) That sound your mind is conjouring is the sound that gave us R.E.M. Roxanne was such a big hit in 1979 that Stewart Copeland's brother and Police mananger, Miles Copeland III, was able to convince A&M records to let him open his own label: International Record Syndicate aka I.R.S. They would instantly become one of the pre-eminent college rock and new wave labels in the world bringing bands like The Go-Gos, Fine Young Cannibals, Oingo Boingo and General Public to the ummm general public. The label even had their own regularly airing show on MTV to promote their new artists. The Go-Gos were I.R.S.'s initial smash success but a college band from Athens would slowly grow, building their audience to eventually even out sell The Police themselves.

So. Central Rain charted at 85 in the U.S. as the first single off the album- a bit of a disappointment from their debut's lead single, Radio Free Europe. Time would give R.E.M. the last word though as Reckoning eventually went gold and has landed on numerous best of the decade lists. It was 1 of 5 gold records R.E.M. would deliver for Miles Copeland's hip young label. However, they would leave for Warner Brothers after Michael Stipe's dissastisfaction with International Record Syndicate's inability to distribute their records internationally. The label folded in 1996 after one last Buzzcocks release.

So. Central Rain

R.E.M. · Reckoning · Song · 1984

open.spotify.com

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#21: GANG OF FOUR - NATURAL'S NOT IN IT

I've been listening to Gang of Four for awhile now, but mainly only Entertainment! which of course is a great album. I know I've taken others from that one, but landed on this. One of the few I didn't pivot off my main album of listening for an artist. Part of that reason is until about a year ago I would have told you they only have a couple albums in the late 70s/early 90s. I remember quickly looking on spotify a while ago and thinking I only saw a bunch of live albums on the platform from that time, but not other albums. I started listening to others recently and really loved the variety and liked all the albums.

Recommended listening: I would stress to start with Entertainment! and go from there if you like this at all and are unfamiliar. I know I have seen Damaged Goods and maybe Ether and/or Glass. All were in contention for the song here. Paralysed was the other I was deciding between at the end, and I also like I all of Solid Gold. I like that you start hearing tweaks to their sound right away. I hear bands like DEVO in the debut, and Can in the 2nd album. Then you get to the 80s and I start hearing a sound more like Duran Duran, but still sounding like Gang of Four. I was listening to Hard while shoveling this morning at work, and would recommend that one, as well as Content from 2011.

Next: I seem to gravitate to this region of the country a lot for music. One of my MAD31 artists were from the area, as is a punk band in my top 10. We will knock out another hip hop group before getting away from that for about a dozen picks.

I’m shuked that they were not on shuke’s list.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#21 songs

kupcho1 – rain

Raindays and Mondays - The Carpenters


Eephus – Single (Named) Ladies

To Sir with Love – Lulu


Charlie Steiner – songs from Mad Men

C'est Magnifique - Christina Hendricks


simey – train songs

Barbara's Song - Ian Noe


Yambag – Metal songs from 1988-1992 that became the gateway into the world of music for a young Yambag

Eagle Fly Free – Helloween


Dr. Octopus – guitarists I’ve seen live

Waymore's Blues - Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country (Daniel Donato)


Yo Mama – World’s Worst Superheroes

Mr. Telephone Man - New Edition


Mrs. Rannous – umlauts

Anarchy In The U.K. - Green Jellö


KarmaPolice – songs from artists not on shuke’s list

Natural's Not In It - Gang of Four


Don Quixote – Afrobeat

African Jive (Moto) (Spotify) - **** Khoza (Malawi / South Africa)


JMLs secret identity – songs in D#Minor, the saddest key of all

Scar Tissue (Spotify) - Red Hot Chilli Peppers


-OZ- - song / music moments from the Marvel cinematic universe

The Chain - Fleetwood Mac


Mt. Man – Number, Please

555 - Jimmy Eat World


Pip’s Invitation – songs from albums produced and/or engineered by Todd Rundgren

It's All Too Much - It's All Too Much


falguy – songs by 31 different Canadian artists

Here For a Good Time - Trooper


Raging weasel – name-checking Beatles or their songs

I Dig Rock and Roll Music - Peter, Paul and Mary


jwb – songs that sound great on a decent 2-channel system

Song for America – Kansas


scorchy – songs by Manchester(-ish) artists

Do The Du - A Certain Ratio


titusbramble – Grand Theft Auto, specifically the 3D era

West Coast Poplock - Ronnie Hudson (SA - Bounce FM)


shuke – Saxytime

Spooky (Spotify) - Dusty Springfield


Ilov80s - One song from each of the 31 best albums of 1984

So. Central Rain - R.E.M.


John Maddens Lunchbox – Batman

Mercenary (Spotify) - Panic! at the Disco


Mister CIA – Texas Places in Song Titles

Abilene, Prettiest Town - George Hamilton IV


El Floppo – Mallet Rock

Change - Tears for Fears


landrys hat - favorite Side 2 Track 1s from my record collection

Temperature's Rising - Galaxie 500 - Today (1988)


rockaction - Songs that state the genre they’re in

Indie Rokkers - Soccer Mommy


ditkaburgers - Girl Groups X Boy Bands

Can't Help Falling In Love - A*Teens


MrsKarmaPolice – Animal Kingdom

The Lovecats - The Cure


Tau837 – Hair metal

More Than Words - Extreme


DrIanMalcolm – Songs about New York

Juicy - Notorious BIG


higgins – Instrumentals with places in the title

Full Moon - Dave Weckl


Zegras11 – New wave

She Drives Me Crazy - Fine Young Cannibals


Chaos34 - Post Surf Rock Surf Rockish (80s fwd)

Uncertain Times - Raveonettes


krista4 – Chicagoland

Chi-Town – The Cribs


Anonymous Mystery Theme Dictator - ???

I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry


MAC_32 – Songs to play during (and after) a funeral

Angel's Son - Sevendust

Krista loves the Beatles so much that she put my song title twice, the second time in place of the artist. It’s Steve Hillage.

And I double checked my submission: I had it correct, unlike RW with Ringo’s name.

 

[KarmaPolice]

#21: GANG OF FOUR - NATURAL'S NOT IN IT

I've been listening to Gang of Four for awhile now, but mainly only Entertainment! which of course is a great album. I know I've taken others from that one, but landed on this. One of the few I didn't pivot off my main album of listening for an artist. Part of that reason is until about a year ago I would have told you they only have a couple albums in the late 70s/early 90s. I remember quickly looking on spotify a while ago and thinking I only saw a bunch of live albums on the platform from that time, but not other albums. I started listening to others recently and really loved the variety and liked all the albums.

Recommended listening: I would stress to start with Entertainment! and go from there if you like this at all and are unfamiliar. I know I have seen Damaged Goods and maybe Ether and/or Glass. All were in contention for the song here. Paralysed was the other I was deciding between at the end, and I also like I all of Solid Gold. I like that you start hearing tweaks to their sound right away. I hear bands like DEVO in the debut, and Can in the 2nd album. Then you get to the 80s and I start hearing a sound more like Duran Duran, but still sounding like Gang of Four. I was listening to Hard while shoveling this morning at work, and would recommend that one, as well as Content from 2011.

Next: I seem to gravitate to this region of the country a lot for music. One of my MAD31 artists were from the area, as is a punk band in my top 10. We will knock out another hip hop group before getting away from that for about a dozen picks.

I’m shuked that they were not on shuke’s list.

This was the one i was referring to in his thread when kupcho made his post about xtc.

 

[Chaos34]

Chi-Fi break for a Chi-Fi find. When I write about this I'm shooting from the hip, so I double check myself sometimes. I said something about not seeing ribbon tweeters available until pushing $400. Well, HiVi, who's one of the first Chinese brands to take audio seriously, has these available for $189. That's right about what I spent on the amp and speakers yesterday. I should be getting the better sound for the price. My new amp will be significantly better than HiVi's built in amps. My bigger drivers and cabinets should also give my purchase an advantage, and I can easily swap woofers to have two audiophile drivers in mine if needed; but those HiVis have several things going for them. They just have lots more tech. Bluetooth is convenient. Optical in for television hookup. Bass and treble knobs. Full featured remote control. It's a very nice deal compared to everything in its price range. Ribbon tweeters might get too much hype, but they are game changers for dispersion across varied listening areas, getting that big soundstage sound, and most importantly to me, sounding very natural and accurate to acoustic instruments. Not sure what to make of the pvc baffle, but they give it a good sales pitch. HiVi says they tuned them for the near field. For pc, I bet they're pretty fantastic. Too bad they didn't include a sub out. That 4" woofer needs a sub. There's simple workarounds.

 

[Eephus]

#21: GANG OF FOUR - NATURAL'S NOT IN IT

I've been listening to Gang of Four for awhile now, but mainly only Entertainment! which of course is a great album. I know I've taken others from that one, but landed on this. One of the few I didn't pivot off my main album of listening for an artist. Part of that reason is until about a year ago I would have told you they only have a couple albums in the late 70s/early 90s. I remember quickly looking on spotify a while ago and thinking I only saw a bunch of live albums on the platform from that time, but not other albums. I started listening to others recently and really loved the variety and liked all the albums.

Recommended listening: I would stress to start with Entertainment! and go from there if you like this at all and are unfamiliar. I know I have seen Damaged Goods and maybe Ether and/or Glass. All were in contention for the song here. Paralysed was the other I was deciding between at the end, and I also like I all of Solid Gold. I like that you start hearing tweaks to their sound right away. I hear bands like DEVO in the debut, and Can in the 2nd album. Then you get to the 80s and I start hearing a sound more like Duran Duran, but still sounding like Gang of Four. I was listening to Hard while shoveling this morning at work, and would recommend that one, as well as Content from 2011.

Next: I seem to gravitate to this region of the country a lot for music. One of my MAD31 artists were from the area, as is a punk band in my top 10. We will knock out another hip hop group before getting away from that for about a dozen picks.

We're going to see Gang of Four on their farewell tour in May. It'll be the fourth or fifth time I've seen them, each with a different lineup. I saw the original lineup back in the early 80s. Singer Jon King and guitarist Andy Gill reformed the band around 2010 with new guys on bass and drums and put on a great show at the Fillmore. King left the band shortly thereafter and Gill soldiered on with a new singer, whom I didn't care for. I saw them once and swore never again although Mrs. Eephus saw that lineup a couple of times without me.

Gill died a month or so before Covid hit and I thought that was the end of the line for Go4. Surprisingly, Jon King got back together with the original drummer Hugo Burnham and took the band on the road with Sara Lee back on bass after a 40 year absence and the guitar player from Slint. They put on a great show although I was hit by a piece of flying plastic when King smashed a microwave oven with a hammer. Now they're touring with Ted Leo of all people on guitar and Gail Greenwood from Belly on bass.

 

[Raging weasel]

#21 songs

kupcho1 – rain

Raindays and Mondays - The Carpenters


Eephus – Single (Named) Ladies

To Sir with Love – Lulu


Charlie Steiner – songs from Mad Men

C'est Magnifique - Christina Hendricks


simey – train songs

Barbara's Song - Ian Noe


Yambag – Metal songs from 1988-1992 that became the gateway into the world of music for a young Yambag

Eagle Fly Free – Helloween


Dr. Octopus – guitarists I’ve seen live

Waymore's Blues - Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country (Daniel Donato)


Yo Mama – World’s Worst Superheroes

Mr. Telephone Man - New Edition


Mrs. Rannous – umlauts

Anarchy In The U.K. - Green Jellö


KarmaPolice – songs from artists not on shuke’s list

Natural's Not In It - Gang of Four


Don Quixote – Afrobeat

African Jive (Moto) (Spotify) - **** Khoza (Malawi / South Africa)


JMLs secret identity – songs in D#Minor, the saddest key of all

Scar Tissue (Spotify) - Red Hot Chilli Peppers


-OZ- - song / music moments from the Marvel cinematic universe

The Chain - Fleetwood Mac


Mt. Man – Number, Please

555 - Jimmy Eat World


Pip’s Invitation – songs from albums produced and/or engineered by Todd Rundgren

It's All Too Much - It's All Too Much


falguy – songs by 31 different Canadian artists

Here For a Good Time - Trooper


Raging weasel – name-checking Beatles or their songs

I Dig Rock and Roll Music - Peter, Paul and Mary


jwb – songs that sound great on a decent 2-channel system

Song for America – Kansas


scorchy – songs by Manchester(-ish) artists

Do The Du - A Certain Ratio


titusbramble – Grand Theft Auto, specifically the 3D era

West Coast Poplock - Ronnie Hudson (SA - Bounce FM)


shuke – Saxytime

Spooky (Spotify) - Dusty Springfield


Ilov80s - One song from each of the 31 best albums of 1984

So. Central Rain - R.E.M.


John Maddens Lunchbox – Batman

Mercenary (Spotify) - Panic! at the Disco


Mister CIA – Texas Places in Song Titles

Abilene, Prettiest Town - George Hamilton IV


El Floppo – Mallet Rock

Change - Tears for Fears


landrys hat - favorite Side 2 Track 1s from my record collection

Temperature's Rising - Galaxie 500 - Today (1988)


rockaction - Songs that state the genre they’re in

Indie Rokkers - Soccer Mommy


ditkaburgers - Girl Groups X Boy Bands

Can't Help Falling In Love - A*Teens


MrsKarmaPolice – Animal Kingdom

The Lovecats - The Cure


Tau837 – Hair metal

More Than Words - Extreme


DrIanMalcolm – Songs about New York

Juicy - Notorious BIG


higgins – Instrumentals with places in the title

Full Moon - Dave Weckl


Zegras11 – New wave

She Drives Me Crazy - Fine Young Cannibals


Chaos34 - Post Surf Rock Surf Rockish (80s fwd)

Uncertain Times - Raveonettes


krista4 – Chicagoland

Chi-Town – The Cribs


Anonymous Mystery Theme Dictator - ???

I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry


MAC_32 – Songs to play during (and after) a funeral

Angel's Son - Sevendust

Krista loves the Beatles so much that she put my song title twice, the second time in place of the artist. It’s Steve Hillage.

And I double checked my submission: I had it correct, unlike RW with Ringo’s name.

Still can't believe I did that

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

Songs in D Minor​

21 - Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Scar Tissue​

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

m.youtube.com

Lyric - Scar tissue that I wish you saw
Sarcastic mister know-it-all
Close your eyes and I'll kiss you, 'cause
With the birds I'll share

Source - https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/red-hot-chili-peppers/scar-tissue
https://singingcarrots.com/song?song=red-hot-chili-peppers-scar-tissue

Sadness Quotient - 6/11 - This is a hard song to pin down. Sad, happy, uplifting, depressing.

Comment - RHCP are always an interesting band to listen to. Not sure they are fully appreciated to be honest.

Next Up - Next up a song from Las Vegas

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#21: GANG OF FOUR - NATURAL'S NOT IN IT

I've been listening to Gang of Four for awhile now, but mainly only Entertainment! which of course is a great album. I know I've taken others from that one, but landed on this. One of the few I didn't pivot off my main album of listening for an artist. Part of that reason is until about a year ago I would have told you they only have a couple albums in the late 70s/early 90s. I remember quickly looking on spotify a while ago and thinking I only saw a bunch of live albums on the platform from that time, but not other albums. I started listening to others recently and really loved the variety and liked all the albums.

Recommended listening: I would stress to start with Entertainment! and go from there if you like this at all and are unfamiliar. I know I have seen Damaged Goods and maybe Ether and/or Glass. All were in contention for the song here. Paralysed was the other I was deciding between at the end, and I also like I all of Solid Gold. I like that you start hearing tweaks to their sound right away. I hear bands like DEVO in the debut, and Can in the 2nd album. Then you get to the 80s and I start hearing a sound more like Duran Duran, but still sounding like Gang of Four. I was listening to Hard while shoveling this morning at work, and would recommend that one, as well as Content from 2011.

Next: I seem to gravitate to this region of the country a lot for music. One of my MAD31 artists were from the area, as is a punk band in my top 10. We will knock out another hip hop group before getting away from that for about a dozen picks.

We're going to see Gang of Four on their farewell tour in May. It'll be the fourth or fifth time I've seen them, each with a different lineup. I saw the original lineup back in the early 80s. Singer Jon King and guitarist Andy Gill reformed the band around 2010 with new guys on bass and drums and put on a great show at the Fillmore. King left the band shortly thereafter and Gill soldiered on with a new singer, whom I didn't care for. I saw them once and swore never again although Mrs. Eephus saw that lineup a couple of times without me.

Gill died a month or so before Covid hit and I thought that was the end of the line for Go4. Surprisingly, Jon King got back together with the original drummer Hugo Burnham and took the band on the road with Sara Lee back on bass after a 40 year absence and the guitar player from Slint. They put on a great show although I was hit by a piece of flying plastic when King smashed a microwave oven with a hammer. Now they're touring with Ted Leo of all people on guitar and Gail Greenwood from Belly on bass.

That is definitely on brand for Ted Leo.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

Batman​

21 - Panic! At the Disco - Mercenary​

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

m.youtube.com

Relevant Lyric - "Hey mister!" the bellman says
"I can only recall last's night hotel, " I said
So he replies, "Then how do you manage?"
I dodge the blast, and apologize for collateral damage

Batman Vibe Score - 8/10 - This song at least appears to have been written specifically with Batman or a similar vigilante type in mind

Where to Find - Batman: Arkham City - The Album

Quick Hit Comment - The search for songs for this crazy adventure sometimes wielded some unexpected results. Like here

Next Up - Has been indirectly mentioned already

 

[Yo Mama]

World’s Worst Superheroes #21

Mr. Telephone Man
Artist - New Edition (1984)

Strengths - Has one of those super long cords for his home landline so he can roam throughout the house when talking to his lady; is still called a genius despite simply installing apps for people in a brightly lit store in the mall

Weaknesses - Can be hard to connect with if he is in a remote location; he’s always looking down at his phone so he’s easily distracted and bumps into things a lot; if you call him for help he’ll give you a 6-hour window for his arrival time; super annoying at concerts - just put that stupid thing down and enjoy the show already!


There Goes My Hero

Situation - You’re trapped on a remote planet under the control of the Galactic Empire. You’ve stolen the plans to the evil force’s new Death Star and need to find a way to transmit those plans to the Rebel forces.

You: [shaking phone vigorously] “This thing isn’t working. I need a telecommunications specialist, and I need one now!”

Mr. Telephone Man: [screeches up in his vintage DeLorean, jacket sleeves rolled up, ponytail blowing in the wind] “You rang? Haha, good one!”

You: “Mr. Telephone Man, there’s something wrong with my line. When I dial Princess Leia’s number, I get a click every time.”

MTM: “No problemo, my man. I’ve got just the thing.” [reaches into car and retrieves a massive suitcase connected to a handset the size and weight of a cinder block]

MTM: “This is state of the art technology, it’s called cellular. Look, no wires!” [points antenna towards the sky and dials a bunch of numbers and somehow connects, adjusts antenna] “Can you hear me now? Good.”

Princess Leia: [muted and distant] “Help me, Mr. Te—pho— -an! You’re m- only ho—!” [call disconnects]

MTM: “Hmm, she must be flying through a wormhole or driving through a tunnel or something. Let me call her back. Check out this cool new function. It’s called speed dial - I preprogram my favorite numbers and then just push one button to call.” [pushes #1]

Phone: “Welcome to Sexy-Time Adult Chat. For just $4.99 a minute, you can. . . “

MTM: [hangs up quickly] “Oops, hehe. Wrong number.” [pushes #2]

Phone: “WELCOME TO MOVIEFONE!”

MTM: [hangs up again] “This doesn’t seem to be working. Do you have dime for a pay phone? I can call 4-1-1 to get Admiral Ackbar’s number.”

[tie fighter screams overhead]

You: “Do I have a what for a what? You’ll call what? Why are you trying to call anyway, nobody calls anyone these days. Just send a text!”

MTM: “Good idea!” [pulls out flip phone, starts furiously hitting numbers] 7, 7-7-7, 4-4-4, 6-6, 2-2-2, . . .

Storm trooper commander: [raises weapon] “Hold it right there! You’re under arrest, you rebel scum!”

[credits roll]

 

[Dr. Octopus]

22.

Who? – Daniel Donato

What? – Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country

Where? – Stone Pony Summer Stage, Stone Pony

When? – 2024

Why? – What Billy Strings is to bluegrass DD is to Country. I saw the band open for .moe the first time and frankly I thought they were the much better band. Glad they came back as a headliner for an inside show a few months later. This kid can play, with such a unique style. Jam band Americana is right in my wheelhouse.

 

[Chaos34]

You: [shaking phone vigorously] “This thing isn’t working. I need a telecommunications specialist, and I need one now!”

Mr. Telephone Man:

This is where I started laughing.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Is there supposed to be a video episode on the playlist? Haven’t listened yet but just noticed that.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

4 songs in and it’s been a coherent playlist- albeit an easy listening one.

I’ve liked Ian Noe since @simey first introduced him to us.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Song 5 puts a quick end to the easy listening portion of the playlist

 

[shuke]

#21: GANG OF FOUR - NATURAL'S NOT IN IT

I've been listening to Gang of Four for awhile now, but mainly only Entertainment! which of course is a great album. I know I've taken others from that one, but landed on this. One of the few I didn't pivot off my main album of listening for an artist. Part of that reason is until about a year ago I would have told you they only have a couple albums in the late 70s/early 90s. I remember quickly looking on spotify a while ago and thinking I only saw a bunch of live albums on the platform from that time, but not other albums. I started listening to others recently and really loved the variety and liked all the albums.

Recommended listening: I would stress to start with Entertainment! and go from there if you like this at all and are unfamiliar. I know I have seen Damaged Goods and maybe Ether and/or Glass. All were in contention for the song here. Paralysed was the other I was deciding between at the end, and I also like I all of Solid Gold. I like that you start hearing tweaks to their sound right away. I hear bands like DEVO in the debut, and Can in the 2nd album. Then you get to the 80s and I start hearing a sound more like Duran Duran, but still sounding like Gang of Four. I was listening to Hard while shoveling this morning at work, and would recommend that one, as well as Content from 2011.

Next: I seem to gravitate to this region of the country a lot for music. One of my MAD31 artists were from the area, as is a punk band in my top 10. We will knock out another hip hop group before getting away from that for about a dozen picks.

I’m shuked that they were not on shuke’s list.

The list is a work in progress.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

Round 21 - Anarchy in the UK - Green Jellÿ

Gotta love comedy rock.

Originally named Green Jellö, they had a slight trademark infringement issue.

Per Wikipedia:

Green Jellÿ's version of "Anarchy in the U.K." is a parody cover of the original with added Flintstones references. The song originally appeared as "Anarchy in Bedrock" on Green Jellÿ's (then Green Jellö's) Triple Live Möther Gööse at Budokan album. William Hanna and Joseph Barbera took offence to this version and to Green Jellÿ mocking The Flintstones but later relented, as this version was featured on the soundtrack to the Flintstones film that was released in 1994.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

KarmaPolice – songs from artists not on shuke’s list

Natural's Not In It - Gang of Four


Don Quixote – Afrobeat

African Jive (Moto) (Spotify) - **** Khoza (Malawi / South Africa)

Great kick *** back to back songs. I say that as I lie on the couch listening. It made we want to get up at least.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

The moviefone reference

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

Thanks to Mago de Oz, I made it through 15 songs on Lou's walk today.

Finisterra is very long

If you've read the previous posts, you know that it was only supposed to be the fifteen minute finale. Sorry about that.

I know we have had our share of proggy goodness in these adventures to increase our endurance, but a 15min song is still a very long song.

Better watch out, or I'll make you listen to Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

#21: GANG OF FOUR - NATURAL'S NOT IN IT

I've been listening to Gang of Four for awhile now, but mainly only Entertainment! which of course is a great album. I know I've taken others from that one, but landed on this. One of the few I didn't pivot off my main album of listening for an artist. Part of that reason is until about a year ago I would have told you they only have a couple albums in the late 70s/early 90s. I remember quickly looking on spotify a while ago and thinking I only saw a bunch of live albums on the platform from that time, but not other albums. I started listening to others recently and really loved the variety and liked all the albums.

Recommended listening: I would stress to start with Entertainment! and go from there if you like this at all and are unfamiliar. I know I have seen Damaged Goods and maybe Ether and/or Glass. All were in contention for the song here. Paralysed was the other I was deciding between at the end, and I also like I all of Solid Gold. I like that you start hearing tweaks to their sound right away. I hear bands like DEVO in the debut, and Can in the 2nd album. Then you get to the 80s and I start hearing a sound more like Duran Duran, but still sounding like Gang of Four. I was listening to Hard while shoveling this morning at work, and would recommend that one, as well as Content from 2011.

Next: I seem to gravitate to this region of the country a lot for music. One of my MAD31 artists were from the area, as is a punk band in my top 10. We will knock out another hip hop group before getting away from that for about a dozen picks.

I’m shuked that they were not on shuke’s list.

The list is a work in progress.

It does cover a lot of ground.

 

[Chaos34]

Song 5 puts a quick end to the easy listening portion of the playlist

i know some don't care for the hard transitions, but simey to yambag has been my favorite part of this endeavor.

 

[Chaos34]

Thanks to Mago de Oz, I made it through 15 songs on Lou's walk today.

Finisterra is very long

If you've read the previous posts, you know that it was only supposed to be the fifteen minute finale. Sorry about that.

I know we have had our share of proggy goodness in these adventures to increase our endurance, but a 15min song is still a very long song.

Better watch out, or I'll make you listen to Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

Jönäthän Lïvïngstön Séägüll

Fixed your post

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

Dr. Octopus – guitarists I’ve seen live

Waymore's Blues - Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country (Daniel Donato)

I like this. When the song changed, I let it play on.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

What were the odds of Dusty Springfield, Lulu and Karen Carpenter on the same playlist? Plus Peter Paul and Mary.

 

[Yo Mama]

You: [shaking phone vigorously] “This thing isn’t working. I need a telecommunications specialist, and I need one now!”

Mr. Telephone Man:

This is where I started laughing.

Awesome!

Big thanks to @KarmaPolice on this one! I had total writing block on this the other day and he suggested the douchey guy with the huge vintage cell phone. From there all the ideas of trying to connect / transmit using a stream of outdated old phone technology came to me. It was already turning into a book so I even had to cut a bunch out (modem/fax screech, searching through a phone book, star-69 on a prank call from Chewbacca).

The joke I wish I kept in was when Mr. Telephone Man is on the phone he gets an incoming call (ring tone: Whose phone is ringing? Mine! Mine!). To show off his new upgrade called Call Waiting that he pays only $3.99 extra a month for, he switches over to answer and it’s a spam call from Tatooine Solar to see if he wants to take advantage of an exciting new grant program from the Empire to switch to green energy.

 

[Yo Mama]

By the way, “Star-69 on a prank call from Chewbacca” sounds like one of those fake Action Bronson lines.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Loved the last two Texas songs a real lot.

 

[KarmaPolice]

#21: GANG OF FOUR - NATURAL'S NOT IN IT

I've been listening to Gang of Four for awhile now, but mainly only Entertainment! which of course is a great album. I know I've taken others from that one, but landed on this. One of the few I didn't pivot off my main album of listening for an artist. Part of that reason is until about a year ago I would have told you they only have a couple albums in the late 70s/early 90s. I remember quickly looking on spotify a while ago and thinking I only saw a bunch of live albums on the platform from that time, but not other albums. I started listening to others recently and really loved the variety and liked all the albums.

Recommended listening: I would stress to start with Entertainment! and go from there if you like this at all and are unfamiliar. I know I have seen Damaged Goods and maybe Ether and/or Glass. All were in contention for the song here. Paralysed was the other I was deciding between at the end, and I also like I all of Solid Gold. I like that you start hearing tweaks to their sound right away. I hear bands like DEVO in the debut, and Can in the 2nd album. Then you get to the 80s and I start hearing a sound more like Duran Duran, but still sounding like Gang of Four. I was listening to Hard while shoveling this morning at work, and would recommend that one, as well as Content from 2011.

Next: I seem to gravitate to this region of the country a lot for music. One of my MAD31 artists were from the area, as is a punk band in my top 10. We will knock out another hip hop group before getting away from that for about a dozen picks.

I’m shuked that they were not on shuke’s list.

The list is a work in progress.

Why do you hate great music, @shuke ??

 

[jwb]

jwb – songs that sound great on a decent 2-channel system

Song for America – Kansas

Sorry for the long song. But there's like eight different parts / time changes, so it works.

Earlier in this thread @Mrs. Rannous mentioned Kansas as one of the groups that could/should appear. And indeed, I thought "oh yea, Kansas." I like Kansas (and am going to see them this summer, too), but I always forget they are a superb progressive rock band. You wouldn't know it from the radio, where it's a steady diet of Carry On / Dust / No Return, but Kansas has some serious prog chops. This song is a great example of it - a little bit of Yes / ELP / Styx going on here, complete with three minutes of bright, keyboard-driven music before anyone starts singing. It sounds great, but really opens up on a good system, with keyboards coming from seemingly all sides. Fun song, and I'm hoping they play this one when I see them.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

Umlaut music is all over the place.

It really was a journey. I was surprised by much of it. But there were so many interesting things to discover. I'm glad I picked this theme.

 

[Eephus]

I expected an early 2000s UK chillout cover of "Anarchy in the UK" from Green Jelly but it turns out I was thinking about Lemon Jelly instead.

The Staunton Lick

Lemon Jelly · LemonJelly.ky · Song · 2000

open.spotify.com

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

jwb – songs that sound great on a decent 2-channel system

Song for America – Kansas

Sorry for the long song. But there's like eight different parts / time changes, so it works.

Earlier in this thread @Mrs. Rannous mentioned Kansas as one of the groups that could/should appear. And indeed, I thought "oh yea, Kansas." I like Kansas (and am going to see them this summer, too), but I always forget they are a superb progressive rock band. You wouldn't know it from the radio, where it's a steady diet of Carry On / Dust / No Return, but Kansas has some serious prog chops. This song is a great example of it - a little bit of Yes / ELP / Styx going on here, complete with three minutes of bright, keyboard-driven music before anyone starts singing. It sounds great, but really opens up on a good system, with keyboards coming from seemingly all sides. Fun song, and I'm hoping they play this one when I see them.

Try Cheyenne Anthem. It's just lovely.

 

[titusbramble]

I expected an early 2000s UK chillout cover of "Anarchy in the UK" from Green Jelly but it turns out I was thinking about Lemon Jelly instead.

The Staunton Lick

Lemon Jelly · LemonJelly.ky · Song · 2000

open.spotify.com

fbg doesn't like image links but that album is indeed a banger

 

[Chaos34]

Back to listening. When I'm in the mood I'm deep diving Gang of Four. I'm familiar with their work, but clearly not enough. Don Quixote's list is still in the lead for me. What a jam. The rhythm section doing some heavy lifting while first a sax and then guitar steal the show. I'm still hopeful he chose a favorite of mine for his theme, but not confident. Scar Tissue sounded great. I love RHCP and don't care if you don't. Fleetwood Mac is always welcome here and The Chain can both flatter and challenge your speakers. That kick drum to start is gold. That bass around 3 minutes distorts easily at high volumes. Then Lindsay does Lindsay things. Thumbs up to the remaster. Jimmy Eats World is always welcome too. Good choice....

Okay, I'm done with the playlist. I'd just keep making the same kind of comments on every song. I liked it all. I forwarded it to my kid. She'll put it on the PA at work. She's a much tougher critic than me, but know what? She keeps asking me for these.

 

[krista4]

This is where I started laughing.

Strengths - Has one of those super long cords for his home landline so he can roam throughout the house when talking to his lady;

And this is where I starting laughing.

 

[titusbramble]

GTA #22 - Scientist - Your Teeth In My Neck (K-Jah, III)

A track that should be familiar to alumni of countdowns here, as this track got into my 31 of my round the world list, but it is here as the best of K-Jah, playing apparently a selection of reggae and dub but every track is off Scientist's album Scientist Rids The World Of The Evil Curse Of The Vampires. Kind of a cool quasi-concept album, and again another case of the devs picking their music (presumably) to limit possible permissions issues, which seemingly didn't limit litigation further down the tracks anyway. Nice chilled track, and happy to include it as the best of what K-Jah has to offer.

GTA #21 - Ronnie Hudson - West Coast Poplock (Bounce FM, SA)

Bounce FM plays a bunch of funk, disco, soul and other similar tracks, and is hosted by The Funktipus, voiced by George Clinton, and West Coast Poplock is my pick off of it. Not my favourite station by any stretch of the imagination, but this track revisits something I said in a previous writeup in that the game (San Andreas) used a lot of tracks that were heavily sampled by (in game) contemporary tracks - most peoples first reaction to this track would be "wait, that's where 2-Pac got the lyrics from?", which, if you've been reading throughout, would add to me referencing Woman to Woman where he got the beat from and make you wonder what he actually did that was original in the slightest. It wasn't just Pac, the list of artists that sample this is pretty extensive, none of which detracts from the fact that this is a fine tune in and of itself

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

[reaches into car and retrieves a massive suitcase connected to a handset the size and weight of a cinder block]

And I really laughed right here. Made me think of the handy dandy phone Michael J Fox used in Doc Hollywood. They weren't exactly pocket-sized.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

MAC_32 – Songs to play during (and after) a funeral

Angel's Son - Sevendust

This song is very touching. I assume there's a personal story there.

 

[Chaos34]

most peoples first reaction to this track would be "wait, that's where 2-Pac got the lyrics from?"

My reaction was even worse. I thought, oh sure, rip off tupac.

loved the song. made me think "funk" would be a fun theme for another draft. it's probably been done.

 

[Chaos34]

Before we started I shared a little with Krista about a music thing I'm having fun with. I'm using AI and digital audio workstations. A high % of today's music is made with daws. Been that way for 15 years. AI is just making the situation for old school studios worse. I told her, as much as AI is hated, I almost chose AI music for my theme. 31 decent songs was too much though. It's still a baby and most of it is weak sauce.

This sounds pretty good though.

eta: I was the 12th listen for that. It posted 6 hours ago. The algorithm knows me all too well.

 

[Chaos34]

jwb – songs that sound great on a decent 2-channel system

Song for America – Kansas

My mind wanders. I was thinking about old school studios because of this choice. It was recorded at Studio in the Country in Louisiana. As the name suggests it's in a rural location. The idea was to build a state of the art studio from an antebellum plantation house in the middle of nowhere so musicians could focus on their craft away from the distractions in LA, NY and Chicago. All Kansas through The Point of No Return was recorded there. I think it's evident the idea worked for Kansas.

pic of them in the control room

 

[Eephus]

Before we started I shared a little with Krista about a music thing I'm having fun with. I'm using AI and digital audio workstations. A high % of today's music is made with daws. Been that way for 15 years. AI is just making the situation for old school studios worse. I told her, as much as AI is hated, I almost chose AI music for my theme. 31 decent songs was too much though. It's still a baby and most of it is weak sauce.

This sounds pretty good though.

eta: I was the 12th listen for that. It posted 6 hours ago. The algorithm knows me all too well.

There was an AI project a few years ago to complete Beethoven's 10th symphony based on some snippets he wrote before his death and a model built from his compositional catalog.

Home | Beethoven X - The AI Project

Feature Documentary | When Beethoven died in March 1827 a part of his legacy were 40 sketches for a 10th unfinished symphony. An AI completed Beethoven's 10th symphony

www.beethovenx-ai.com

 

[Yambag]

21's (had a tough time connecting with this list, not sure why)

Caught My Attention
**** Khoza: African Jive
Jimmy Eat World: 555
Panic at the Disco: Mercenary
Notorious B.I.G.: Juicy (Not a big rap fan, but I really liked this and might need to explore)
The Cribs: Chi-Town
Sevendust: Angel's Town

Known
New Edition: Mr. Telephone Man
Chili Peppers: Scar Tissue
Fleetwood Mac: The Chain
Dusty Springfield: Spooky
REM: So. Central Rain
Tears For Fears: Change
Cure: Lovecats
Extreme: More Than Words
FYC: She Drives Me Crazy
Katy Perry: I Kissed a Girl

 

[Yo Mama]

Selections:

31. If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next - Manic Street Preachers

30. Hear The Drummer Get Wicked - Chad Jackson

29. Pick Up The Pieces - Average White Band

28. Virtual Insanity – Jamiroquai

27. Another Chance - Roger Sanchez

26. Living On My Own - Freddie Mercury

25. Sharp Dressed Man - ZZ Top

24. Better Off Alone - Alice Deejay

23. Love Is The Drug - Roxy Music

22. By The Time I Get To Arizona - Public Enemy

21. I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry



Incorrect guesses:

Songs that give advice

Bands That Have Never Been in My Kitchen

Songs by artists who have headlined Glastonbury

Songs featuring the Mellotron

Fear mongering

Song titles that could be part of geometry proofs

Bands who have a member whose first or last name is a James Bond reference

Bands with family members

Songs that reference a location in another country

Songs that have nine or more words in the title

Songs that mention famous streets

Bands who had a member mysteriously disappear, get declared dead, but no body has ever been found

Songs that reference footballguys user names

Songs without a guitar

Song titles that are commands

First two words of song titles in order of lyrics from The Youngbloods’ Get Together

Songs about resilience in the face of adversity

Songs about the importance of progress

Songs to make people overthink and speculate about an imaginary theme that doesn't really exist

31 songs that MADs submitted in prior MAD rounds, but judge disqualified because the submitting MAD failed to get the long-form birth certificate of all band members before submitting

Songs NOT produced by Todd Rundgren

Artists without umlauts

Songs Sam Rockwell has danced to in a movie

Songs about navigating and adapting to a constantly changing world

Songs credited to more than one songwriter

UK top ten singles

Singles released by UK artist/bands

31 British Isles Songs That Did Not Appear in the MAD British Isles Countdown

Non-guitar driven songs

Songs in 4/4 time

Broadway shows

Songs that all charted in the same six countries:
UK
Australia
Germany
France
Ireland
Netherlands

Songs under 5 minutes

Songs where artists let out excessive vocalizations of the “ahh,” “ooh,” “dee,” etc. variety

A break up and starting over

Things that will drive a bunch of middle aged dummies who are trying to find a pattern go crazy

Stages in Rustoluem’s marriage

Guinness World Records

Songs that can qualify for other people’s themes

Songs by people with facial hair

All songs use an instrument with keys

Songs that are the narrative arc of a divorce

Addiction

Songs with 125 BPM or more

Songs that sample other songs on the list

Songs representing different Nicholas Cage movies / characters

Songs

This is your life, Krista

Something to do with Tina Turner/abused women

Detailing Britney Spears’ descent into madness.

 

[Eephus]

Detailing Britney Spears’ descent into madness.

I believe we have a winner

 

[Yo Mama]

#21: GANG OF FOUR - NATURAL'S NOT IN IT

I've been listening to Gang of Four for awhile now, but mainly only Entertainment! which of course is a great album. I know I've taken others from that one, but landed on this. One of the few I didn't pivot off my main album of listening for an artist. Part of that reason is until about a year ago I would have told you they only have a couple albums in the late 70s/early 90s. I remember quickly looking on spotify a while ago and thinking I only saw a bunch of live albums on the platform from that time, but not other albums. I started listening to others recently and really loved the variety and liked all the albums.

Recommended listening: I would stress to start with Entertainment! and go from there if you like this at all and are unfamiliar. I know I have seen Damaged Goods and maybe Ether and/or Glass. All were in contention for the song here. Paralysed was the other I was deciding between at the end, and I also like I all of Solid Gold. I like that you start hearing tweaks to their sound right away. I hear bands like DEVO in the debut, and Can in the 2nd album. Then you get to the 80s and I start hearing a sound more like Duran Duran, but still sounding like Gang of Four. I was listening to Hard while shoveling this morning at work, and would recommend that one, as well as Content from 2011.

Next: I seem to gravitate to this region of the country a lot for music. One of my MAD31 artists were from the area, as is a punk band in my top 10. We will knock out another hip hop group before getting away from that for about a dozen picks.

I really liked this one. I’ll need to dive further into these guys.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Selections:

31. If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next - Manic Street Preachers

30. Hear The Drummer Get Wicked - Chad Jackson

29. Pick Up The Pieces - Average White Band

28. Virtual Insanity – Jamiroquai

27. Another Chance - Roger Sanchez

26. Living On My Own - Freddie Mercury

25. Sharp Dressed Man - ZZ Top

24. Better Off Alone - Alice Deejay

23. Love Is The Drug - Roxy Music

22. By The Time I Get To Arizona - Public Enemy

21. I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry



Incorrect guesses:

Songs that give advice

Bands That Have Never Been in My Kitchen

Songs by artists who have headlined Glastonbury

Songs featuring the Mellotron

Fear mongering

Song titles that could be part of geometry proofs

Bands who have a member whose first or last name is a James Bond reference

Bands with family members

Songs that reference a location in another country

Songs that have nine or more words in the title

Songs that mention famous streets

Bands who had a member mysteriously disappear, get declared dead, but no body has ever been found

Songs that reference footballguys user names

Songs without a guitar

Song titles that are commands

First two words of song titles in order of lyrics from The Youngbloods’ Get Together

Songs about resilience in the face of adversity

Songs about the importance of progress

Songs to make people overthink and speculate about an imaginary theme that doesn't really exist

31 songs that MADs submitted in prior MAD rounds, but judge disqualified because the submitting MAD failed to get the long-form birth certificate of all band members before submitting

Songs NOT produced by Todd Rundgren

Artists without umlauts

Songs Sam Rockwell has danced to in a movie

Songs about navigating and adapting to a constantly changing world

Songs credited to more than one songwriter

UK top ten singles

Singles released by UK artist/bands

31 British Isles Songs That Did Not Appear in the MAD British Isles Countdown

Non-guitar driven songs

Songs in 4/4 time

Broadway shows

Songs that all charted in the same six countries:
UK
Australia
Germany
France
Ireland
Netherlands

Songs under 5 minutes

Songs where artists let out excessive vocalizations of the “ahh,” “ooh,” “dee,” etc. variety

A break up and starting over

Things that will drive a bunch of middle aged dummies who are trying to find a pattern go crazy

Stages in Rustoluem’s marriage

Guinness World Records

Songs that can qualify for other people’s themes

Songs by people with facial hair

All songs use an instrument with keys

Songs that are the narrative arc of a divorce

Addiction

Songs with 125 BPM or more

Songs that sample other songs on the list

Songs representing different Nicholas Cage movies / characters

Songs

This is your life, Krista

Something to do with Tina Turner/abused women

Addiction ... to love.