::School Week:: Steely Dan - My Old School

YACHT ROCK!!! Yes, I admit it. I LOVE Steely Dan. Perhaps I may be a little biased on this considering my dad and his 10 brothers and 3 sisters all basically raised me on this music, but they are an incredibly talented band. Family events seldom go by without either Pretzel Logic or Cant Buy a Thrill being played at least once.

Anyway, this song, "My Old School," is finally one of those positive songs I was talking about. Donald Fagen gets all nostalgic about his old school during the verses and then the chorus...wait. Crap. "Im never going back to my old school." So I guess this isn't a positive song about school. And it turns out the song is also about how a girl dumped him. Well, shucks. Next song will have to be a positive one then.

 I remember the thirty-five sweet goodbyes
When you put me on the Wolverine
Up to Annandale
It was still September
When your daddy was quite surprised
To find you with the working girls
In the county jail
I was smoking with the boys upstairs
When I heard about the whole affair
I said oh no
William and Mary won't do
CHORUS:
Well I did not think the girl
Could be so cruel
And I'm never going back
To my old school

Oleanders growing outside her door
Soon they're gonna be in bloom
Up in Annandale
I can't stand her
Doing what she did before
Living like a gypsy queen
In a fairy tale
Well I hear the whistle but I can't go
I'm gonna take her down to Mexico
She said oh no
Guadalajara won't do

CHORUS

California tumbles into the sea
That'll be the day I go
Back to Annandale
Tried to warn you
About Chino and Daddy Gee
But I can't seem to get to you
Through the U.S. Mail
Well I hear the whistle but I can't go
I'm gonna take her down to Mexico
She said oh no
Guadalajara won't do

CHORUS 

::School Week:: Andrew Bird - Measuring Cups

Andrew Bird the whistling minstrel from Chicago has been on this blog before, but this song fits the week so well. At first, I wasn't a huge fan of this album, The Mysterious Production of Eggs but the more and more I listen to it, its probably becoming my favorite.

This song, "Measuring Cups" immediately grabs you with the "bum buh buh bum" hook at the beginning and holds you all the way to the final abrupt ending. It's also about something that I myself agree with which is that some methods of learning and the act of censorship are ruining some children's development. You have no idea how mad I was when I heard that some school tried to ban Mark Twain from their curriculum. Anyway here are the lyrics, which are probably some of my favorite ever. Also, I promise there will be some scholastic themed songs that are positive this week. Just let me find some first.


get out your measuring cups and we'll play a new game
come to the front of the class and we'll measure your brain
we'll give you a complex and we'll give it a name
get out your measuring sticks and we'll play a new game
can't have the cream when the crop and the cream are the same
liquid or gas no more than the glass will contain
so you talk about a hand of glory
a tale that's rather grim and gory
is it just another children's story
that's been de-clawed?
when the tales of brothers Grimm and Gorey
have been outlawed
I think they're gonna make you start over you don't want to start over
put your backpack on your shoulder be the good little soldier
take your places now
'cause we're all predisposed
measuring cups play a new game
front of the class measure your brain
give you a complex give it a name
put your backpack on your shoulder
be the good little soldier
it's no different when your older
you're predisposed
that's all for questions now
the case is closed!

::School Week:: The Smiths - Headmaster Ritual

This week, since most colleges are kicking off another semester, I thought I'd look into songs about school. Songs that reminisce about the good old days, songs that sing the joys of learning, or, perhaps the more accurate topic, songs about how much school can suck.



First off, I will not be putting KISS on this list. I'm sorry to any KISS fans, but I don't consider them a real band. A real band, The Smiths, did however put out an album called Meat Is Murder and that is where my first entry is from. The Smiths are a very influential band that led rise to many indie bands of today.

This song is called "Headmaster's Ritual." Morrissey, the lead singer, croons in every sense of the word here as his eccentric voice sings of how awful school can be for a child between tortured puppy dog moans. Johnny Marr's distinctive guitar arpeggios float along with a shiny, bright tone that give the song that Smiths feel. I suppose not really the best, happiest song to kick off a semeseter, but still a good song.

Belligerent ghouls
run Manchester schools
spineless swines
cemented minds
Sir leads the troops
jealous of youth
same old suit since 1962
he does the military two-step
down the nape of my neck
I wanna go home
I don't want to stay
give up education
as a bad mistake
mid-week on the playing fields
Sir thwacks you on the knees
knees you in the groin
elbow in the face
bruises bigger than dinner plates
I wanna go home
I don't want to stay

Belligerent ghouls
run Manchester schools
spineless bastards all
Sir leads the troops
jealous of youth
same old jokes since 1902
he does the military two-step
down the nape of my neck
I wanna go home
I don't want to stay
give up life
as a bad mistake
please excuse me from the gym
I've got this terrible cold coming on
he grabs and devours
kicks me in the showers
and he grabs and devours
I wanna go home
I don't want to stay

::Names Week:: Flight of the Conchords - Carol Brown

And to finish off Names Week is the grand finale: Flight of the Conchords - Carol Brown, from their second album I Told You I Was Freaky. This album accompanied the second season of their short lived hit show which portrayed two struggling Kiwi musicians trying to make it in the Big Apple. This is the song with the  most names dropped in it all week so I thought it'd make a good culmination entry.

Just watch and laugh and let the sappy hilarious lyrics and the bosa nova, 8-bit sounds tickle your humor button. Bret and Jemaine are truly the kings of humorous folk duos. Ooo, we can eat cereal.

Loretta broke my heart in a letter
she told me she was leaving and her life would be better
Joan broke it off over the phone
after the tone, she left me alone

Jen said she’d never see me again
When I saw her again, she said it again
Jan met another man
Leeza got amnesia
just for got who I am

Felicity said there was no electricity
Emily, no chemistry
Fran ran, Bruce turned out to be a man
Flo had to go, I couldn’t go with the flow
Carol Brown just took a bus out of town
But I’m hoping the you’ll stick around

[Ex-Girlfriends]
He doesn’t cook or clean
he’s not good boyfriend material
[Jermaine]
Ooh, we can eat cereal
[Girlfriends]
He’ll lose interest fast
His relationships never last
[Jermaine]
Shut up, girlfriends from the past
[Girlfriends]
He says he’ll do one thing
and then he goes and does another thing
[Jermaine]
Oh, who organized all my ex-girlfriends
into a choir and got them to sing?
[Girlfriends]
ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh ah-ah
[Jermaine]
Mmm Shut Up
[Girlfriends]
Ahh ahh ahhh aha ah
[Jermaine]
Shut up girlfriends from the past

Mimi will no longer see me
Britney, Britney hit me
Paula, Persephone, Stella and Stephanie
There must be fifty ways the lovers have left me
Carol Brown just took a bus out of town

Love is a delicate thing
It could just float away in the breeze
[Girlfriend]
He said the same thing to me
[Jermaine]
How can we ever know
we’ve found the right person in this world?
[girlfriends]
He means he looks at other girls
[Jermaine]
Love is a mystery
It does not follow a rule
[Girlfriends]
He’ll always be a boy
He’s a man who never grew up
[Jermaine]
I thought I told you to shut u-u-up
Ahh ahh ahhh ah-ah-ah [continued]

Mona you told me you were in a coma
Tiffany you said that you had an epiphany
Would you like a little cereal
Who organized this choir of ex-girlfriends?
Was it you, Carol Brown Was it you Carol Brown

Carol Brown just took a bus out of town
But I’m Hoping that you’ll stick around
Stick around do do do do do do
Stick around do do do do do
Srick around do do do do
Stick around

::Names Week:: Mister Heavenly - Charlyne

Mister Heavenly is a new hodgepodge of musicians from Man Man, Modest Mouse and The Islands and one actor you may have heard of before. The awkward king of everything indie, Michael Cera on bass. The strange combination makes for a great supergroup though. Nick Thornburn's (The Islands) soft crooning voice paired with Honus Honus' (Man Man) rough growl make for an interesting vocal sound.

This song "Charlyne," is a reverby rock'n'roll doo wop song that beckons back to songs like "Sandman" or anything by Chuck Berry. I'm really looking forward to see where this band goes because they show a lot of promise. Lyrically its about that girl who you just can't get away from no matter how hard you try, even though you know she'll ruin you. Come on we all know one.

 Behind every single heartbeat
is another unsung malady
You don't know, but you hum along like you do
Play the fool

You thought you could learn to love me and rule me
and hide all your sorrows in a Harley
and get all your kicks off acting crazy
When push comes to love,
you just ain't strong enough to let it go

Before you know it,
you're wrapped up in her web

Before you know it,
you're way in over your head

Before you know it,
you're finally in her bed

In the middle of the night,
in the middle of the street,
and you tear your hair
and you burn your sheets

Screaming
Charlyne, Charlyne! (x4)
and I always play the fool for Charlyne

::Names Week:: Brian Eno - Cindy Tells Me

This is the second track I've taken from this album on this blog. It's a bit of a surprise to me that Brian Eno would be the first to accomplish such a feat, because lets face it, some of Brian Eno's stuff is just a little too weird. However, he is a ground-breaking musician, and can write some dern tootin good songs.

"Cindy Tells Me" has so much going on in the verses. The fuzzy guitars, reggae upstroked guitars, chopsticky piano and "Woooo's" then give way to a stripped down chorus until a static-y Brian Eno noise once again breaks the simplicity of it. Great lyrics too!

Cindy Tells Me, the Rich Girls Are Weeping
Cindy Tells Me, They've Given Up Sleeping Alone
And Now They're So Confused By Their New Freedoms
And She Tells Me They're Selling Up Their Maisonettes
Left the Hotpoints to Rust in the Kitchenettes
And They're Saving Their Labour For Insane Reading.

Some of Them Lose - and Some of Them Lose
But That's What They Want - and That's What They Choose
It's a Burden - Such a Burden
Oh What a Burden to Be So Relied On.

Cindy Tell Me, What Will They Do With Their Lives
Living Quietly Like Labourer's Wives
Perhaps They'll Re-acquire Those Things They've All Disposed Of

::Names Week:: Simon and Garfunkel - Cecilia

Simon and Garfunkel are one of those duos that transcend their duality by becoming a whole. You can't have one without the other. I mean, Paul Simon made a pretty good career on his own cranking out albums that topped charts and were great albums to boot, but his work with his gangly, afro-ed pal are where the magic was made.

Their best known album, Bridge Over Troubled Water contained most of the hits, including this one, "Cecilia." Its stomp, stomp, clap off time rhythm and chug along acoustic guitar combine with their perfect-pitch harmonies to craft a song about the troubs and tribs of a cheating girl. I couldn't help but put this song on the list.

Cecilia, you're breaking my heart 
You're shaking my confidence daily 
Oh, Cecilia, I'm down on my knees 
I'm begging you please to come home 

Cecilia, you're breaking my heart 
You're shaking my confidence daily 
Oh, Cecilia, I'm down on my knees 
I'm begging you please to come home 
Come on home 
[ 
Making love in the afternoon with Cecilia 
Up in my bedroom (making love) 
I got up to wash my face 
When I come back to bed 
Someone's taken my place 

Cecilia, you're breaking my heart 
You're shaking my confidence daily 
Oh, Cecilia, I'm down on my knees 
I'm begging you please to come home 
Come on home 

Jubilation, she loves me again, 
I fall on the floor and I'm laughing, 
Jubilation, she loves me again, 
I fall on the floor and I'm laughing

::Names Week:: Guster - Ramona

Ahh, Guster. I used to listen to a lot of Guster in my high school days. I must have listened to this album, Keep it Together, 5 times a day for a few weeks during one stretch. I just remember loving their sense of not taking themselves so seriously and just making music because it was fun. Since then we've grown apart a little bit. I mean we still talk now and again and catch up over some coffee and assorted pastries, and its a lot of fun, but we're just so busy its hard to coordinate our schedules. I mean I've got Radiohead, and Wilco to take care of now on top of my numerous other favorite bands. And Guster's got its own thing going on now too. But we make time still and that's all that counts.

This song, was one of my favs from said album. "Ramona" is a soothing acoustic bongo-ey sing-a-long song that moves you to sway back and forth even though you hate it when people sway back and forth to a song, especially all those girls you see on the MTV that start swaying, close there eyes and stick their hand in the air shouting "OH my god, this is my song." Then they sing the first few lyrics of the song and completely forget about it and start making out with the nearest guy. But I digress. I guess I'm just mad because I'm never the nearest guy. I have lousy luck when it comes to proximity. Anyway. Its got a bluegrass vibe to it too that only adds to the tranquility. Ryan Miller and Adam Gardener have voices that fit so well together its like peanut butter on a playing card. I have no idea what that simile is supposed to mean.

Ramona, where have you been?
I couldn't go to sleep till you came in
Ramona, you're Miss Oklahoma
and you miss Oklahoma
I'll get you what you want
There were days when a refrain
Would brighten our corner of Hickory Lane
When you would sing that song for me
Just like your favorite singer
Why'd you have to be so nice?
A wink and a girlish smile
And why'd you have to punch my eye?
That was something
but I still want you to stay
When I was younger and thought of myself
[ From : http://www.elyrics.net/read/g/guster-lyrics/ramona-lyrics.html ]
I never dreamed I'd become like this
A snap of your fingers,
and end to the arguments
Anything for you, love
There were days when a refrain
Would brighten our corner of Hickory Lane
When you would sing that song for me
The only one you know
But I know now, not at the start,
We're going to pieces, we're falling apart
So won't you sing that song for me
just like your favorite singer?

::Names Week:: Franz Ferdinand - Eleanor Put Your Boots Back On

Franz Ferdinand are one of those early 2000s "popular indie new wave revival" bands along with The Kaiser Chiefs and  The Bravery. Not necessarily ground-breaking by any means and sometimes annoying, but they can write some pretty good songs. Hailing from Scotland, these guys hit it big with their first, self-titled album and then released their second album You Could Have it So Much Better and then kind of lost steam after that. They released a third album Tonight: Franz Ferdinand and are apparently working on a new one, but I'm not really that interested in finding out to be honest with you.

This song is from their second album and is a departure from their usual energetic guitars and dancy drum beats. It focuses on their soft side a bit with the ponderous piano and gather-'round acoustic guitar. The best parts of this song are the reverby-spy guitar and synth interludes that burst out from the choruses and make you feel like you just jumped and are drifting slowly back to Earth much like the lyrics suggest. This song also just made me realize there are a lot of really good songs about Eleanors.

Eleanor put those boots back on
Kick the heels into the Brooklyn dirt
I know it isn't dignified to run
But if you run You can run to the Coney Island rollercoaster
Ride to the highest point and leap across the filthy water
Leap until the Gulf Stream's brought you down

I could be there when you land
I could be there when you land

So Eleanor take a Greenpoint three-point turn
Towards the hidden sun
You know you are so elegant when you run
Oh if you run
You can run to that statue with the dictionary
Climb to her fingernail and
Leap, yeah take an atmospheric leap
Let the jet stream set you down

I could be there when you land

So Eleanor put those boots back on
Put the boots back on and run
Come on over here 

::Names Week:: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Colleen

What's in a name? Well, turns out a lot. This week I'm going to focus on songs that blatantly call out a girl's specific name. What better way to get their attention than calling out their name in a song, yeah? Girls love that stuff right? And lets face it guys, a major factor in us picking up guitar is to swoon women. Name dropping in songs may not always have romantic intentions though as some of my picks may show. It could also just be a big F-you to said person. Anyway, here's a few songs that make use of monikers.



This was the song that made me want to do Name Week. It popped up on my iPod today and I hadn't heard it in a while. I'm not a huge fan of all of Ted Leo's music, because sometimes its a bit too pop-punk for me, but he's got a few jems here and there. He's got a style that on the outside that's kinda gooey, catchy safe-punk, but looking deeper there's a lot more going on. Plus he's just an all around cool guy.

This song is from his 2007 album with the Pharmacists called Living With the Living. Its, like I said, a catchy fun pop punk song about a girl named, you guessed it, Colleen. Its a standard, verse chorus verse chorus and pretty expected instrumentation, but its just so happy. Plus, only using things that rhyme with Colleen through most of the song takes some talent.

Colleen – never to be crowned queen, never an evergreen
Floating above the scene as still as a figurine
Expressionless, so serene, but I know what makes you scream
So don’t you run out of steam – I know you, Colleen
It’s been all messed up since the very beginning
But you act so tough, people think that you’re winning
And everyone wants something from Colleen
Colleen - perpetually between what is and what could have been
Floating through your routine every day since you were fifteen
And as rosy as you make it seem, I know life for you ain’t been a dream
To have to deal with the things you’ve seen while they work you like you’re a machine
Machines break down, but you can’t break with them
It’s too late now, so don’t break the rhythm
And everyone wants something form Colleen
Colleen, if ever you walk into a dead-end street, come clean –
Don’t say that it’s all in your mind because I know what you mean – Colleen
It’s been all messed up since the very beginning
It’s too late now, ‘cause we’re already in it
And everyone wants something from Colleen
(and no one gets ‘cause she’s no one’s Colleen)

Wilco - I Might

I am on a huge Wilco kick right now. You don't even know, man. Since the early 90's this band has been cranking out tunes of all sorts of genres and making albums that sound like what an album should sound like. Each different record has its own different feel and mood but still manages to keep a sense of Wilco-ness to it.

This new track from their upcoming 8th studio album, The Whole Love. I am really, really looking forward to this album simply because of this cut from it. "I Might" sounds a little like it could be from the Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or A Ghost is Born era, but its got something else to it too but I'm not really sure what it is. I'm excited to discover what it is when I hear the rest of the album. Its got a happy-poppy bass line that jumps all over the place and the rest of the instruments come and go as they please offering some organ here and a guitar burst there. The doodoodoo's combined with the vibraphones at the end are just plain brilliant. Buy this album when it comes out. There are some strange choppy lyrics too that are very different from Wilco, but still great. Im guessing at a few of them here.

Was i wrong
All night long
Was so hot
I was thinking sun
I can’t deny that I felt oh oh oh
Some guys a little thing I know
It’s alright
I done a lot of crawling all around..
It’s alright
It’s so cold
And i was pissing blood
It’s in the ... everybody
Let it taste let it go
I don’t know
Cut his neck bad shaving and low blow slow mo
It’s alright
You won’t set the kids on fire
Oh but I might
Come on …
Come on I am home
..slim gym … clean .. is a murder
That’s right
When you’re gonna find .. 
oh, you're still mine
It’s alright
It’s alright
It’s alright
You won’t set the kids on fire
I might
It’s alright
It’s alright 

The Slip - The Soft Machine

The Slip is a three piecer from Massachussets consisting of two brothers on drums and guitar and a bassist. You may recognize them from the terrible game Guitar Hero (I cant really criticize here, I was obsessed with it for a while too). They had a song you could unlock called "Even Rats" on there that got me in to them.

Anyway, they have other music than that one song it turns out and its not all that bad. This song, "The Soft Machine" is pretty neat. Its got a great slide guitar slipin' and slidein' all over the place and a tinkerin' vibraphone plinkin' about. And the distortion on the rhythm is a nice touch as well. Check it out. Also, if you want to hear the cool psychedelic intro song to this song called "First Panda in Space" click here. Its molds from chaotic noises perfectly into the calmer "Soft Machine."

Love is homeless
Where is
Love is shapeless
Who needs
Love is dangerous
Love is true

The more you give the soft machine
The more you give the song
I would live for you with all my
Give to you with all my
Daggers and swollen kisses
And so that is proof that love is death


There's no ear that would or could Listen to all there is to say
About small wooden toys
Or broken shells, tiny bells or songs about a lady

The more you clean the soft machine
The more you lead me on
I would live for you with all my
Give to you with all my
Daggers and swollen kisses
And so I think that that is proof that love is death