out of my head

Out of My Head - Fastball (pops)

What can I say? I love organ-based rock. From Fastball to ELO to the Allman Brothers, I'm obsessed (to a certain extent) with the use of the funny little keyboard that time forgot. Also, farfisas and clavichords.

I guess it ties into my appreciation for jangle-rock, which is loosely defined as "hey, you got a twelve-string, I've got a tambourine, let's jam!". Examples are the Byrds, Tom Petty, the Gin Blossoms, certain R.E.M. tracks, and most Fountains of Wayne songs. To some extent, I like jangle-rock because it leaves instrumentation aside and focuses on song-writing and arrangement, or doing more with less. It's sort of like the classical tradition of chamber music or string quartets (more on that later).

Speaking of music, I've got two weird requests for my intrepid (and knowledgable) readers. One, get me a copy (I don't care how, if you know what I mean) of All the Pain Money Can Buy, Fastball's breakthrough album. Shouldn't be too hard to find, but I'm hitting a brick wall. Two, get me a copy of the new East Village Opera Company album that came out today.

No, I haven't sold out to the classical music mafia. The East Village Opera Company does classical opera arias and cantatas with modern arrangements, so the whole thing comes out sounding a lot like late-70's Queen. The basic band set-up is two guitars, two vocalists, a bassist, a drummer, and a string quartet. I've heard bits and pieces of their stuff, but I want to hear more before commiting to a purchase.

Anyway, I've probably bored the non-music geeks in the audience, so let's move onto something the whole family can enjoy: no-holds-barred mixed martial arts. Did you see the Ultimate Fighter last night? What a fight. I honestly couldn't believe how strong Jason looked in comparison to Jorge. He was passing and escaping like no tomorrow. I guess it shows that Matt Hughes does know a thing or two about how to corner, because Matt's advice was one of the keys to Jason's victory. Although I believe overall, having Chuck Liddell as your regular trainer is more helpful than a few weeks at the UFC's Las Vegas training center.

Also, I'd be lucky to do one revolution on a scarecrow drill, much less do 204 like Joe did. The dude is obviously a machine sent from the future to take names, kick ass, and chew bubblegum.

Since they don't have any bubblegum in the future, after all.

That's enough for me for one night. I still might do a weekly podcast (no narration from me whatsoever, just songs) as a supplement to my daily ramblings, not a replacement.