Random Music Thursday

Are you ready to rock?

Out On The Town - Fun - I like this band. I do not feel like they put on a very good live show. But as far as this album goes and I do not know much of their earlier stuff, I like it. But after hearing them perform live on several different things I was pretty disappointed with their lead singers abilities. I think he owes a fair amount of what he does to auto-tune and that is unfortunate. But, it is a good album and nice to listen too.

Champagne Supernova - Oasis - I hate this band and this song must be coming off of a soundtrack or something. I am not even going to look. I think the the Gallagher brothers are overrated and I am so glad that their moment in the sun is gone. WASTE OF TIME.

Farewell To Earnest - Darjeeling Limited Soundtrack - This is a nice track from an interesting film. I think what I like best about the films by Wes Anderson are the soundtracks. They never fail to entertain.

Dust Bowl Dance - Mumford and Sons - This is a band that I like a lot. I was surprised at how much I liked them and when I saw them in concert that feeling did not change one bit. They are just a solid and fun band and their sound grows on you. This song is off of their first album and their second album is just as good. I highly recommend seeing them live if you get a chance.

Strange Days - The Doors - This is a great, great song. I really like everything by the Doors even if Jim Morrison was a big fat drunk. The band itself was really solid and the sound they put out without a bass player was really impressive.

Catch you later cats. 

Random Music Thursday

and away we go

Two Legs - Mark Foggo - I always like starting things off with a little ska. It makes my toes tap and my head bob and brings a smile to my face. I just wish that ska was as popular as it used to be. But if it was really mainstream then, to be honest, I would probably not enjoy it that much. I am just that kind of a jerk.

No Restrictions - Men At Work - Aaah, one of Australia's great bands. They are for sure a product of the 80's but the music they put out was infinitely listenable. It was just great, great pop music but also had some serious lyrical depth as well. This song is a good example of that for sure.

Mount Morgan - The Middle East - I can't really say much about this band. I think I picked them up as part of a big music download I did and I really do not know much about them. I do like the ambient nature of this song and of their other songs that I have heard. But I am not even sure what part of the world they come from. I do hope you enjoyed the listening experience. They remind me a little bit of Joy Division and I like that a lot. I can picture myself clothing my eyes and leaning back with my headphones on while the music washes over me.

Wintertime Love - The Doors - There is not much that I can say about the Doors that has not been said by other far more talented writers then myself. I like the Doors and I their music always brings me back to high school. But that is because I spent far to much time with my ears plugged into sixties music.

Poor Boy - Electric Light Orchestra - You got to love some ELO. If you don't then I serious question if you even really like music. There is just something about this band that makes them super enjoyable to listen to.

The Doors

“If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern.”

― William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell


I am not really a fan of Oliver Stone at all. In fact I really think that the best thing he has ever done was to write the original 'Conan the Barbarian' film and pretty much everything else has been overwrought shite. But since I have Netflix and I find myself with a lot of time on my hands right now. I end up watching a lot of movies as I apply for jobs and as I work on my writing. This means that sometimes I watch things that I would not watch at other times in my life. One of those films which I watched just today was Oliver Stones' 'The Doors'.

I hate to say it, but, I like this film. Now I am not sure if that is because I like The Doors as a band. Because I really do. I love their music and in high school I spend a lot of time listening to just The Doors, Jimi Hendrix and Cream. So I really kind of immersed myself in their music and in the ideas of Jim Morrison. Now as I grew older I also began to realize that while I really enjoyed the music and liked his singing, as a person Jim Morrison was seriously flawed and had a serious drug and alcohol problem. In the movie it is really easy to get the impression that he is high or drunk almost all of the time so it is not a real shock that he died young. Though to be fair it seemed like a lot of those musicians from that time period were competing to see who could die the youngest and in the most extreme way or the saddest. (Look at that, I got sidetracked)

The other reason that I think I probably enjoy the film is because of the presence of Val Kilmer. While it is true that Kilmer has become somewhat of a sad joke now there was a time when he was arguably the biggest actor in the world. I really enjoyed his work in almost every film of his (Not Batman Forever) that I have ever seen pretty much regardless of the subject matter. Seeing him put on Jim Morrisons' skin is almost freaky because near as I can tell he almost becomes him. His method style of acting can become unnerving for the people around him because he almost becomes the role and when he is playing a dangerous or deranged character he goes all in and there does not seem to be a separation from  the stage to the real life.

I want to recommend a couple films of his for you to watch along with 'The Doors' film. The first is a film that I have talked about before .'Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang'

This film also stars Robert Downey Jr and I think is vastly underrated and kick started the comeback for RDJ. He is amazing and so is Valk Kilmer in this one. The other film is one called 'The Salton Sea'

He plays a drug addicted Jazz Musician in that one. Check them out and you will see a couple of really excellent performances. 

More Music (The Doors)

Another Monday and another installment of my music library. We are almost finished with the D's and today we are checking out The Doors. I like The Doors. I do not listen to them all of the time and that is mainly because in high school I wore out several tapes listening to them. But every now and then when I pull them back out I am reminded of why I enjoyed them so much. One thing that I really enjoyed about them was that they did not have a bass guitarist they used bass keyboards and I always thought that was pretty cool. If I am correct and I am not going to check so you can just deal with it. Their first album came out in 1967 and their last was in 1971. I am not counting any of the albums released after Jim Morrison died. Why would I? Without him the band wasn't the same. I am hoping I can show you some songs that were not on the radio much because those same songs are still being played on classic radio even now and that is just sad.

"The Alabama Song" is one of my real favorites.



"People Are Strange" is another song that I just really like. It did get some radio play.



"Spanish Caravan" is just a great, great song.



"Five To One" something about this one I just really like as well.



This one is off of their last album "L'America". I love it's strangeness.



See you tomorrow with the last group in the letter D in my collection. I wonder who it will be?