BassHunter - Boten Anna

A month ago we had a lot of relatives from The Netherlands visit for a while and during their stay I traded songs with the husband of my wife's cousin. Among the excellent songs there were several I had never heard - mainly because they popular in Europe but not here. One caught my eye (so to speak) called Boten Anna by BassHunter. Very hip techno dance beat. At first I had thought it was Dutch, but after listening to the lyrics I couldn't figure it out - maybe something about Anna and a Boat. Later I looked it up and it's Swedish and it's about a bot in an IRC channel not a boat in a channel of water. But it seems there have been spoof songs - by the Dutch of course - that talked about boats. I think it would be great to do a mix of Boten Anna with Dreamboat Annie by Heart (from Seattle). That would make the circle complete.

I know a bot,
her name is Anna, Anna is her name
And she can ban you, ban you so hard
She cleans up our channel
I want to tell you that I know a Bot

PS -
Check out this Sinterklaas Boot spoof video - most awesome! Those clever Dutch...

King Missile - Jesus Was Way Cool

I think I first heard this many years ago when I was living in Ballard, sometime back in the early 90's. There was a lot of great 'alternative' music but this one stuck in my head - Jesus Was Way Cool.

I just have to put the lyrics in here.

Jesus was way cool
Everybody liked Jesus
Everybody wanted to hang out with him
Anything he wanted to do, he did
He turned water into wine
And if he wanted to
He could have turned wheat into marijuana
Or sugar into cocaine
Or vitamin pills into amphetamines

He walked on the water
And swam on the land
He would tell these stories
And people would listen
He was really cool

If you were blind or lame
You just went to Jesus
And he would put his hands on you
And you would be healed
That's so cool

He could've played guitar better than Hendrix
He could've told the future
He could've baked the most delicious cake in the world
He could've scored more goals than Wayne Gretzky
He could've danced better than Barishnikov
Jesus could have been funnier than any comedian you can think of
Jesus was way cool

He told people to eat his body and drink his blood
That's so cool
Jesus was so cool
But then some people got jealous of how cool he was
So they killed him
But then he rose from the dead
He rose from the dead, danced around
Then went up to heaven
I mean, that's so cool
Jesus was way cool

No wonder there are so many Christians

Natalie Merchant - As I May Know The Word

One album that I consistently enjoy is Tigerlily from Natalie Merchant. Just about every song on the album is rich and powerful. One in particular that I consider a signature of the album is I May Know The Word (sample). When I worked at Amazon I would listen to my iPod when I was working late and most folks had left - its quiet energy somehow helped me get in the groove and get stuff done.

Thomas Dolby - One of Our Submarines

There is something about Thomas Dolby's music that creates a vivid sense of an other world - it evokes stories of an alternate historical scientific timeline. I think this is intentional, the title of this album The Golden Age of Wireless seems to me to echo that thought as well. This song - One Of Our Submarines - has all the musical hooks that I enjoy from the whole album.

Also check out his work on sonification - turning real-world data and turning that into sound and music. The music of the Sun is amazing.

Anna Nalick - Breathe

A good friend has been visiting us over the weekend with her two kids - it's so fun to have more kids running around the house, especially her 1 1/2 year old toddler. The weather has been fantastically clear and we headed out to the mountain bike trails near our house. Amazingly we only met one other group biking in the forest.
Our friend brought a set of CDs and I fell in love with the song Breathe (2AM) from Wreck of the Day (sample) - I'm sure I've heard it somewhere but can't recall. I don't know how long this will be a favorite, but it will always remind me of bright sunlight streaming through the trees on this peaceful weekend.

Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire

There are so many great songs from Johnny Cash and I picked this one because it's one of his earliest and shows what a powerful singer he was. The other day I went out with the engineers on my team at work to play pool near Pioneer Square and found Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash on the jukebox - and found a live cover by Social Distortion which rocked pretty well, but I prefer the Cash version.

Ring of Fire (sample)

The Beat Farmers - Big Ugly Wheels

The Beat Farmers are a one of a kind band. I like all their songs, they have a good folk twang but the songs that really give a kick are those with Country Dick Montana - a rare character in any era. Some friends and I saw this group at a small venue - some bar or club somewhere - and they played and rocked all night. Country Dick had a long coat on, beer in one hand and belted out songs like "Big Ugly Wheels" like there was no tomorrow. Awesome. Here's a great ode to Country Dick.

The Beat Farmers - Big Ugly Wheels

I met her in El Centro
In the men's room of a bar
We consummated our relationship
In the front seat of my car

Well, Big Ugly Wheels
Rollin' on down the line,
Big Ugly Wheels
Draggin' that gal of mine
Home

Motor life is so sinful
Her home is on the road
Each night she's with another truck stop man
Who's carryin' a heavy load

She want's me to be true to her
She comes home once a month
Her mustache caked with vomit
Teeth marks on her butt!

Well, Big Ugly Wheels
Rollin' on down the line,
Big Ugly Wheels
Draggin' that gal of mine
Home

The B-52's - Private Idaho

Many days were spent partying to this album - weekends, weeknights, road trips. I'm not sure what it is about the B-52's that I like the most - the great beach guitar, the crazy vocals or the surreal lyrics. It's all good. Very very good.

The B-52's - Private Idaho (sample)

The Call - Let the Day Begin

This is another great song that transports me back to college and right after. I'm not sure how mainstream or popular The Call was with everyone, but I really enjoyed this song and others. It's a great tune for getting up and moving.

Let the Day Begin - The Call

Here's to the teachers in the crowded rooms
Here's to the workers in the fields
Here's to the preachers of the sacred words
Here's to the drivers at the wheel

Here's to you my little loves with blessings from above
Now let the day begin
Here's to you my little loves with blessings from above
Now let the day begin, let the day begin

Bruce Cockburn - If A Tree Falls

This song actually was the first one I've ever purchased online. I enjoy it immensely each time I hear it, from the first time I heard it on the radio all the way to today on my little blue ipod. There's something about the quick tempo of the music and the nearly spoken pace of the vocals that gives it an almost magical enchantment. Also, this song has my favorite quote - "... Hacked by a parasitic greedhead scam... "

Bruce Cockburn If A Tree Falls - you can even listen to a snippet here

Ray Charles - What'd I Say

My first song of the blog and the first for this year -
Ray Charles - What'd I Say (Parts I & II).
Man when I hear this, I just have to get up and dance. The straight and true 50's rythym and blues charged me up in college so many years ago. The sound of the solo organ, buzzing and bopping then joined by the cool but earnest piano notes have an elemental energy that still gives me a kick.

100 Songs

This past Christmas I received $100 as a gift from my mother in-law and I've been mulling over how to spend it. At the same time, the songs on my trusty blue iPod from two years ago have become a bit repetitive - I only have a 1000 songs, and it took a while for that to happen, but it's time to broaden my horizons. So, today I decided that each week I'll go online to buy a song and then post my thoughts.

The music that I currently have isn't in one category or genre, but I wouldn't say it is very broad either - mostly rock and jazz, some R&B, folk and classical.
If you have a favorite song or artist, or would like to recommend something you feel I should hear, just drop a comment here and we'll see what happens.