Buzz passes me A Musical Baton, and even though I already answered these questions a few months ago, I'll happily run with it again. My musical taste definitely comes in flavors of the month, and I enjoy seeing what I'm into at different times. So let's see ... what was the question again?
Total volume of music files on my computer
24.26 GB. 5073 songs. Wow. Didn't realize I'd added so many recently. Got a bigger hard drive now, and gave up on my rule of keeping my music under 20 GB.
The last CD I bought
Off the iTMS just today, Bruce Springsteen's "Devils and Dust". Booklet included! I like that. Haven't really listened to it yet, except for the title track, which I like.
Song playing right now
Coincidence? I think not ... The Manic Street Preachers, "I Live To Fall Asleep", which I got from Buzz. Thanks again! It really does help.
Five songs I listen to a lot, or mean a lot to me
Like I said, definitely flavors of the month.
• I just rediscovered a CD I'd bought I don't know how many years ago. I put it on shuffle, and it starts off with drum and bass (I always find myself responding to this heartbeat), and this beautiful mellow mournful voice sings,
"She said, darling, I'm in love with your mind ..."
Had me at hello. (Sorry, it's a theme with me lately.) And I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I've listened to this song about 50 times just this week. So, yeah, Richard Thompson, "I Misunderstood", from "Rumor and Sigh"
• Rammstein, "Amour", from "Reise, Reise"
Rammstein are an odd fit in my collection. Metal really isn't my thing at all, I just don't connect with all that rage. But these guys grow on me with every listen. Till Lindemann, the singer, has a way of growling and purring all in one, and man, does he have a fucked-up idea of love! A lot of his ... umh ... love songs is really not the right word ... compare love to war and battle, and this one is no exception. He describes love (amour) as a wild beast that will chew you up and spit you out, and at the end of the song, he begs, "please please poison me". That is *SO* me. (Kidding. I think I like it just because it is so far away from me.)
• PJ Harvey, "Fountain", the iTunes originals version. (I like this series - it has the artist talk about the song for a minute or so, and then you get the song. And some of them, like this one, are re-recorded just for iTunes.)
"Fountain" opens with just the bass playing the melody, and like I said, I really respond to that. Hits me right in the chest, in a good way. There's a line a in Grönemeyer song, "Der Mann ihrer Träume muss ein Bassmann sein" - "the man of her dreams must be a bass guitarist", and ... yeah. I dig it. PJ's voice soars above the bass, and tells this cute little story that would sound very naughty if you told it in your own words. From her, it's sweet and powerful at the very same time.
• You didn't think I'd get by without a dose of Elvis? Tough to pick just one ... runners-up are
- "Rocking Horse Road" from "Brutal Youth"
- "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" from "Blood and Chocolate"
- "Just About Glad", the "KFOG Live from the Archives" version, much more wistful than the pissing angry punk version from "Brutal Youth"
- "My Science Fiction Twin" from "Brutal Youth"
But the winner is: Elvis Costello, "Sulky Girl" from "Brutal Youth"
Brutal Youth has turned quickly into one of my favorite Elvis albums, and not just because I got it from a friend of mine. (Thank you, Jeff!) I have claimed "Sulky Girl" to be MY song. That man just writes the best lyrics.
"Sulky girl ... I saw you practising your blackmail faces" always makes me grin.
• last but not least, another rediscovery. I know I've listened to The Jam and to the Style Council, but I've never really paid much attention to them. And then Paul Weller, long gone solo, puts out an album of covers, and I am amazed at what he picked ... I know all the songs! And they're all so different! One from Gil Scott-Heron. One from the Neville Brothers. Bob Dylan. And - and this, surprisingly and delightfully, this is the best one! - Gordon Lightfoot. He covers Gordon f***ing Lightfoot! When did this become cool again? So here you have it: Paul Weller, "Early Morning Rain", from "Studio 150".
Five people to whom I’m passing this baton (and no, I am not sorry, you're free to drop it):
Silvia who really wants to share her love of "Mendocino" with the world
Rich, on whose blog I really only stayed for about 23 seconds today because baseball is not for me :^)
Mark, whom I haven't seen in much too long (thanks for playing on the book thing! That was great dialogue. I love when you can truly hear the people speak.)
Tom who just discovered They Might Be Giants. Let's see what else he has up his sleeve.
Andrea who posted a book meme I may just have to answer next ... oh wait ... I think I already did. Alright, close enough.
Whoops--I guess I forgot I had seen this before on your site. Oh well, thanks for doing it again!
Posted by: Buzz Andersen | May 21, 2005 at 01:44 AM
My pleasure. :-)
Posted by: Elkit | May 21, 2005 at 09:57 AM
Brutal Youth is a great album. It's one of my favorites, too. I always loved Elvis best when he just kicked up the tempo and sang like a thug--Big Tears, being one of my all time favorite Elvis songs.
Plus, I love to hear him play his electric guitar, which he never, ever does enough of. He's really a hell of a guitar player.
He does a couple of understated tunes on Brutal Youth which are fantastic. "You Tripped At Every Step" and "Clown Strike" come to mind. "Rocking Horse Road" is gorgeous.
"You Tripped At Every Steps" also reminds me of a theory I've had for a long time--do you think Elvis has a shoe or a foot fetish? I mean, go through his albums--there are a ton of songs about shoes and steps.
Posted by: ricky | May 24, 2005 at 03:14 PM