Radcliffe has decided that you can't have that reaction anymore. All songs by all bands are now what everyone listens to, and are to be fully expected to be heard at every fast food joint. Kindly retrain yourself. (See above.)

Wife told me she caught a Triple Shot of David Allen Coe on the ride home yesterday:

"World's Greatest Country Music Song"
"Long Haired Redneck"
"Willie and Waylon and Me"

Now, you can find all the 90s and 00s schlock country you want around here, but rarely do you hear anything such as this.

while out for happy hour last night, a well-intentioned friend asked me, "Do you listen to Basia?" I kept a straight face and said, "well, yes, I'm familiar with her, but I don't have any of her albums." And he said, "Well, I was just listening to her earlier today, and I thought of you. Her first album is really all about making new beginnings for yourself."

Should I be insulted? Of course not... he's a good guy. And he invited me out for 2.95 lemon drops, so I shouldn't complain, but Basia... really???

I saw this movie on the plane from Amsterdam (it was like the only good movie they had). It was cute, and enjoyable, but I was really surprised to see how well it was reviewed (97% on Rotten Tomatoes). I thought it was really fluffy in places, and clumsy in others (entire sections of the film were basically boring music videos). I gave it 2.5/4 stars.

Houma has people of means?

fixed

"MMM MMM MMM MMM"

"Winds of Change"

right?

haha. YES! I knew these as well.

I have heard Imogen Heap at Old Navy and then Elliott Smith at a Subway of all places. I am guessing Old Navy had some hip Starbucks cd that they were playing and the Subway must have just had a fan of ES that worked there. Neither of them are that shocking to have heard, but certainly unexpected.

The conversations I have about music with people (mainly coworkers) just makes me realize that I care way more about it than them. They don't care to know who sings what, they just want something that is catchy. I avoid talking about music with my coworkers.

I'm very particular about who I talk about music with at work. There are only a select few of us that know that sometimes the best music is NOT the stuff you hear on terrestrial radio. I would say there's only maybe 2-3 people at work that know more than the average person about music, and still not as much as me (and compared to some of you, I even feel lame in that respect).

I'm very good at playing the middle man when it comes to music conversations. I try very hard not to pass judgment on people who listen to stuff I find sub-par (the old adage "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" works). I dunno, I love music so much that even to talk about the crappy stuff is still more exciting than talking about something I'm not interested in.

Actually, I had a conversation with my sister earlier today about how it's sad when people my age (and it starts even younger) stop seeking out new stuff. Like the thing Tanner posted about getting tickets to Billy Joel... that's so sad. Why accept that THAT'S the only thing worth pursuing? I'm not trying to belittle anyone's taste. Everyone has their time in life where there are certain songs that remind you of happier times, but to limit yourself to only listening to those artists seems really unsatisfying and counter-productive, at least to me. Not that I'd expect everyone to know everything about all types of music, but I just find it sad when people can't emerge from their safe zone long enough to find something else out there. It's very xenophobic in a lot of ways.

As for the Old Navy/Starbucks comps, I can't really say anything negative about that. If you can turn on a listener to something new and different, it's a good thing, regardless of the delivery format.

Yeah, that's true. I am just a bit suspicious of them though because I don't know of anyone personally that said they started listening to someone because of a starbucks comp. Either way, no biggie. Just two places that stuck out to me as sort of an odd place to hear them. But, Imogen Heap is sort a "border state" in regards to music. Her music (along with Frou Frou) seems a bit more accessible to the general public in its poppiness compared to someone like Bjork who some find easy to hate, so I am not THAT shocked to have heard her in Old Navy. Just unexpected.



I think most of the Obnish didn't get this emphasized as young children by their parents.

I reserve being an uber-music snob for those who clearly know nothing about music and think a good music argument is about whether or not Jessica Simpson is better than Fergie and decide that they should tell me that the music they hear from my workstation is irritating and dumb. Although some on Obner may agree with that sentiment about my tastes, at least it's coming from a foundation of knowing what the hell they're talking about. For most of my coworkers, music is entertainment, not art and that means there is no one at work I have the luxury of communicating about music with. My snobbery is limited and I try and keep it in check because even I ask questions like, "Who did the original version of Across the Universe"

Also, the namesake of the first Russian band to be on MTV was...........................................Gorky Park.

obner's different... we're all douchebags in our own special way here, some more so than others. It's all good.

I think i'm kinda at this point actually. I still seek out stuff that's "new to me" but not newly recorded and buy new albums from artists that i already like or that have some affiliation with artists that i already like. But I've just about completely lost interest in checking out the debut album of some group of young twenty-somethings that are getting hype in the indie community.

I know that most people who reach this point do it from their priorities changing as they get married, have kids, and just don't have the same time and interest in staying current. That's not my story...I've just slowly lost interest in trying to separate the wheat from the chaff among new stuff. I have magazines and stores that I trust implicitly when it comes to reissues and lost classics, but I guess I just don't trust any sources on new music and have grown tired of trying to find new stuff that has much appeal to me when i know "the search" takes time away from listening to stuff I already know and love. Maybe my current attitude will change if I stumble on something new that i love but its been awhile and it seems less and less likely to happen when I've lost interest in spending the time actively searching for the next new great thing.

sufjan's band was an embarrasment wearing those butterfly wings

I can definitely identify with this. I still check out (and buy) new releases, but nowhere near the volume I used to. After getting a giganews account I was exposed to an incredible volume of older music that was new to me, and since then I guess I've just become more aware that there's a ridiculous number of great albums from decades past that I've never heard. And I'm not talking about listening to old obscure shit for the sake of namechecking, just rediscovering some old stuff, like Del Shannon's Further Adventures of Charles Westover and this Pebbles series of garage and psych rock from the 60s. All unbelievable and frankly more interesting than anything I've heard in awhile.

I get where you two are coming from, but just the mere fact that you're seeking stuff that is NEW TO YOU is evidence that all hope is not lost. I'm talking more about the people who don't seek out anything new-- new or old. It's one thing to know (like with me and Duran Duran) that you're automatically going to buy something because it's what you know and it's what you like. It's another thing if I ONLY bought Duran Duran stuff, or if I ONLY listened to "Rio" over and over again. Those are the people I'm talking about.

And you're right, there's plenty of old stuff that's gone undiscovered by many people. I wish I had the ambition/desire/money to go back and buy everything I ever thought might be interesting. Instead I rely on the generosity of the obnish!

btw, that Porter Wagoner is great, Chas... thanks again.

i came home from work and my friend told me that amy winehouse died and i really believed her.

I rely solely on Radcliffe to suggest stuff to me

I like a mix of old and new. I still get out and about and hear new stuff I like from bars and younger friends and all that. And, I'm a big fan of a variety, so a different sound coming through brightens up my listening world. But, I do go through periods where I'll listen to primarily older stuff for a few weeks or something.



Oh...and speaking of music conversations with friends...I remember a while back this girl was saying she never really got into the Ramones, and I said, well, I always like the old punk stuff and her response was... yeah, me too...but I never really considered the Ramones punk. They're just a surf rock band. If I didn't already know, I'd have to ask what the fuck she was smoking. (She's one of those types who think the Sex Pistols and the English in general have some sort of monopoly on all things punk.)