What listening to this album made me think of: Being in a seedy Buffalo bar (probably Sutter's), because when I'm trying to peel the soles of my shoes off a sticky linoleum floor while drinking an Alabama slammer is the only time I really enjoy listening to AC/DC. Review: I don't really like AC/DC. As previously stated. Much like I don't really like the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, or Bruce Springsteen. Don't try to convince me with arguments. The heart wants what the heart wants, and it's not AC/DC. "Shook Me All Night Long" is a great song, though. How I felt after: My feet and ankles hurt.
Random fact I learned about this artist/album: Mutt Lange's real name is Robert John. I know this because Robert John "Mutt" Lange is splashed right across the front of the CD.
Today's album:Quest of the Dream Warrior (David Arkenstone)
Length: 53 minutes
Activity: Treadmill run/incline walk
What listening to this album made me think of: Being a strong, lean New-Age replicant (because it had moments where it reminded me of the Blade Runner soundtrack). Finding my inner courage—which I did when the line "Feel your beating heart; touch the empty sky" played. I tried to do just that and nearly fell off the treadmill because I lost my center, and almost my balance. It's funny I felt this pennywhistle-inspired fearlessness, because I told my therapist tonight how much of my feeling lately has been stoically muted into a comfortable yet somewhat dreadful, sad limbo. I guess music still has the effect to dredge up something, which is nice to know. Review: I didn't think this randomly selected album was going to work for a run (seems better suited for stretching), but it was surprisingly and thankfully energizing. How I felt after: Good. Very good. So good, in fact, that it tricked my brain into thinking I was satisfied with the spicy red-pepper soup with yogurt sauce I had for dinner. Dumb brain.
Random fact I learned about this artist/album: That this is the second album in a trilogy, based on a fantasy story David Arkenstone concocted (no surprise there, even though I didn't know this). Also that there's a fold-out map of the fantasy world this album is set in that should've come with the CD. I'll have to look in my CD book where I keep all my album liners to see if this is indeed true. I don't feel like getting up now, though. I'll circle back with news later. Maybe.
Note: This is, for now, labeled "Day xxxxx" because I actually have a bunch of blog entries to fill in for the last month or so that I've been too lazy to do.
Today's album:The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do (Fiona Apple)
Length: 43 minutes
Activity: Treadmill run/walk
What listening to this album made me think of: Autumn evenings. My awesome plaid pants that I'd like to wear again soon around town. Walking around NYC in the chilly night air until that perfect cozy gastropub pops up—there had better be mussels fra diavolo and crusty warm bread to dip. A long, booze-soaked night listening to live music. Review: I couldn't find my headphones, so it was hard to hear anything other than growls and raw anger and wailing over the whir of the treadmill. That worked well enough, though. I'll listen to this for real tomorrow while I'm working. How I felt after: An angry and cynical yet determined robot.
Random fact I learned about this artist/album: Fiona Apple is referred to as "Feedy" on this album. That kind of creeps me out.
Why I'm doing this:See Day 1. Also jump-starting this again because I'm once more hovering on the edge of that slippery slope, as well as flirting with a return of my gestational diabetes (except I'm not gestating this time). My doctor wants to run bloodwork again in six months, and my birthday is coincidentally six months from today, so: to possible new beginnings, better blood, and traction.
What listening to this album made me think of: My friend Matt "Buck X" Lerner, because he first played it for me in college when we were at a stir-fry dinner together. He's still one of my favorite people.
The end of college. A guy I pined for 20 years ago, previously mentioned, because I did a cover of "Do You Love Me Now?" and he liked it. I don't know if he just said that to humor me, but I didn't fucking care. Review: What a rawkkkkkkin' album. I didn't mean to type so many k's, but the letters in the second row of my keyboard appear to be giving me trouble, so they just all flooded out at once as I pounded on the "k." But rawkkkkkkin' fits, so kkkkkkkeeping it.
My favorite song is "No Aloha." The Hawaiian vibe, her voice, everything. Also, I'm the best at purring, "And now we die. Oooooooh, all the treats." I say it/sing it whenever I can slip it into casual conversation. How I felt after: Like playing the guitar. Like a bad-ass. Like no one can ever fuck with me (says the person who is stretching).
Random fact I learned about this artist/album: Didn't know till this very moment that Spike Jonze and Kim Gordon directed the video for "Cannonball." Cool.
Today's album:Booth and the Bad Angel (Tim Booth and Angelo Badalamenti)
Length: 48 minutes
Activity: Stretching
What listening to this album made me think of: I had to take some time off to start this thing, even
though I tried to start it in August. I went down for an extended visit
with my parents in Florida, and between eight-hour workdays followed by
10-hour theme park/kid shifts, there was no free time. Zero. Zip. Which
was fine for bonding, but not for things like this. Whatever this is.
So now I'm back. This album reminds me of the second time (out of three) I returned to the same trade-publishing house in the industrial park that I fled shortly out of college to become an "entrepreneur" (more on that with a few future albums in my collection).
The powers-that-be stuck me this time around in an office in No Man's Land (probably to spite me for leaving the first time), and I was free to fill this dead zone all day long with my glorious music. The only other person was who there with any regularity was a woman named Esther who managed a magazine for the industrial paint industry. She was nice, though I did some freelance work for her once proofreading a chart all about specialty veneers, which made me want to blow my brains out.
Anyway, I listened to this album over and over that year, especially when I was bent over that chart. Review: This is one of my favorite albums (it's the guy from James and the guy who did the instrumental Twin Peaks music). It's just lovely. I don't have much else to say. How I felt after: The way I usually feel after listening to this album—a little haunted, a little like I'm falling out of the sky, a lot like getting into my car and speeding down to the ocean in the middle of the night and drinking myself into a stupor.
Random fact I learned about this artist/album: Tim Booth played Judas in a Passion play.
What listening to this album made me think of: The girl I worked with who gave it to me after she heard me listening to the English Patient soundtrack and the Peter Gabriel Passion album and figured I would enjoy this. I politely accepted it and meant to listen to it at some point, but I think it just unintentionally ended up in the back of the CD book. It also reminds me of the Spike Lee movie Inside Man with Denzel Washington, which had a very cool Bollywood-style song during the opening credits called "Chaiya Chaiya," except that was much better than this. Review: A cover of "I Put a Spell on You" on here made me want to die. You can't beat Screamin' Jay on this one. Actually, the whole thing made me want to die. I'm tired and want to go to sleep and don't want to listen to anymore.Which bums me out, because I thought I'd really dig this. I do think her name is pretty rad, though. And I sort of liked "Mish Fadilak." How I felt after: Cultured? Nah.
Random fact I learned about this artist/album: Natacha was born in Belgium but is of Egyptian ancestry and likes to sing most of her songs in Arabic. She also collaborated with Belinda Carlisle on an album.
What listening to this album made me think of: Fuck everything. Review: Fuck everything.
How I felt after: Fuck everything.
Random facts I learned about this artist/album: Kanye West said "Sleep to Dream" contained one of the best opening lines of a song he's ever heard: "I have never been so insulted in all my life." The entire song is the shit, actually. Macy Gray also supposedly tried to cover this song and couldn't because she said it was too difficult.
