Professor Murder and whatever else

So I didn't make it to the Blondes show last night. I was quite sad, but didn't feel like driving my death trap of a car to any place other than the mechanic. And since they don't fix cars at the Beachland Tavern, I wasn't there. However, I did finally take it somewhere to have it looked at, so hopefully everything turns out ok.

In other news, I mentioned yesterday that there would be Professor Murder pics today. So, without further ado, here they are:

Here's one of the band.


And here's another one. I had a wonderful time, but it had to be the first show maybe ever where I felt OLD. The kind of feeling where you might actually be the oldest person there besides the bartenders. The feeling you get when you don't want to tell the cute girl you're talking to how old you are because you're worried she'll give you a nice smile and walk away, never to be seen again. Yes, the 18-20 crowd was out in full force at the b-side Sunday night. I decided that I wasn't going to drink too much, since I got pulled over on Thursday after the Rentals show (nothing bad happened, just a f'n hassle and a half). Anyway, I had to maneuver my way around the water cooler all night since it was getting so much use from the young'ins. Plus, the band has very little material, so the set was ultra-short. But, well worth the $5. I missed em at the Ratatat show on St. Patrick's Day, so it was cool to finally see them. Good stuff.

And, I got my first comment on yesterday's post. AND, it was from someone I'd never even met before (to my knowledge). I guess that means that people might actually be reading this thing. With that in mind, maybe I'll try a little harder to make these a little more quality filled. So, since I haven't done one of these in a while, here's the tracklisting for my forthcoming fun run! In ABC order.

1. !!! - Heart of Hearts (Somebody was playing stuff at the b-side as Professor Murder was setting up. This song was heard, and it's my favorite from Myth Takes. I'm still miffed that I missed !!! at the Grog this past May. I haven't heard a lot of hype for Myth Takes, but it's one of my favs of 2007.

2. 2 Live Crew - The Fuck Shop (Mainly for the GnR intro and the Van Halen riff. And of course the filth.)

3. A-Trak - Get Em High vs. Heartbeats (Mash-ups tend to have a extremely limited shelf life, but this one's been in the rotation for a few months. Maybe it's because I'm a fan of both songs. That always helps. This and the Jay-Z/A-Ha one from The Rub's It's The Motherfucking Remix Vol. 2 are probably my all-time favorites.

4. Bobby Brown - Every Little Step (Self explanatory.)

5. Boz Scaggs - Lido Shuffle (Play this in ANY bar worth a shit and watch the place go berzerk. I'm not kidding. I was at one once and the dude behind the bar gave me the biggest smirk/head nod ever and turned it the fuck UP. Must be the woah's.)

6. Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again (For my $, the best DM song ever. Peak period Depeche Mode and peak period New Order cannot be f'd with, no matter how many goofs jack it.)

7. Gil Mantera's Party Dream - Super Plus Ice Festival (The day they finally get off their duffs and play this live is the day I'll stop screaming for it at every show. GMPD is just a little more proof that Youngstown Rocks The Motherfucking Hardest.)

8. The Hives - A Little More for Little You (A little while back, I mentioned that this was my favorite song from Tyrannosaurus Hives. It still is.)

9. LCD Soundsystem - Tribulations (Until the second album came out, this was my favorite LCD Soundsystem tune. Now it's probably Someone Great. Also, Tribulations was played while Professor Murder was setting up at the b-side Sunday.)

10. Michael Jonzon - Burnin Up (One of the most played songs on the old iPod. I'd have to say that this one might be the highlight of Chromeo's Un Joli Mix Pour Toi mix CD. And's that's saying something.)

11. New Order - Temptation (Another jam played Sunday night. I think I've heard this one every time I've ever been at the b-side as a matter of fact. Not my favorite New Order song (that would be a tie between the Substance versions of Bizarre Love Triangle and True Faith) but I still like this one.)

12. Professor Murder - Free Stress Test (I was in the mood.)

13. Public Enemy - Brothers Gonna Work It Out (PE is a perennial workout favorite. It always gets me going. This one, in my opinion, is the most underrated PE song in history. However, my iPod has the version from their Greatest Hits CD, so it doesn't have the awesome intro contained on Fear of a Black Planet. Win some, lose some.)

14. Rod Stewart - Young Turks (I tend to couple this with Lido Shuffle. If you see me out and one comes on the jukebox, the other's not far behind.)

I think (hope) that's it. Let's hope the car gets fixed ASAP.

Until Then,
Later.

True Hardcore

A few posts back, I mentioned that I had a 30% off coupon from Borders and I planned to use it on either the Monster Squad DVD or the recently reissued The Freed Man CD from Sebadoh. The coupon expired yesterday, so I decided to use it yesterday on the Sebadoh disc. I decided on it for two reasons. Reason number one being that unbeknownst to me until I saw it in person, the Monster Squad DVD comes in one of those paper covers over the case that seem to be quite popular these days. Borders puts those plastic guards over their (non literature) merchandise to discourage theft, and the case tore a little of the paper cover. I like my stuff to be in 100% mint condition at all times, so my choice was made. Reason number two was simply that Sebadoh was cheaper.

The total after the 30% discount and tax came to $10 and change. I didn't want a bunch of bills, so I gave the lady $21. I was in a big hurry to get to the gym (I'll get to that later) so I wasn't paying attention when she only gave me change back with no bills. It wasn't until a few hours later that I realized I was missing a ten dollar bill. I was just gonna let it slide, but I was cajoled into giving Borders a call to straighten it out. I called em today and everything's cool. I got my ten bucks a few hours ago, and I couldn't be happier. The albums good, too. I'm never been the biggest Sebadoh fan (mainly because I never really knew anyone that listened to them when they mattered) but the tape loops and samples remind me of a hip hop record. However, this isn't the reissue I pegged as almost completely unnecessary yesterday. That'll get mention later.

The next order of business was the YMCA. In the summertime, I very much prefer to run outside. However, it was raining so I made the trip to the gym. I'm not crazy about the place, since the clientele seems to skew toward parents and their children. Not a lot of people my age around those parts. So after writing them off for years and years, I decided to give the Hives a try and stocked the iPod shuffle with the one-two punch of Veni Vidi Vicious and Tyrannosaurus Hives. The maelstrom of rock that followed was incredibly unexpected. The major conclusion that I came to after listening to the albums had to be that the major single of each album (Hate to Say I Told You So and Walk Idiot Walk respectively) are easily the worst songs on each album. Best songs (as of today): Outsmarted for VVV and A Little More for Little You for TH. That'll probably change a few dozen times as I get more acquainted with the albums. One more thing: I'll be the first to admit that I had been all wrong about the Hives. Sometimes I get surprised like that, and get proved very, very wrong. That happened with the Hives.

In other news, I recently obtained a copy of the reissue of the seminal album from MF DOOM known as MM...Food?. It went out of print a few years back for sample violations, but the new version is almost 100% intact. The only noticeable difference occurred in the last track, Kookies. It sounds like a remix, and the Cookie Monster sample is gone. The beat also sounds completely different. Needless to say, the remix is horribly inferior to the original. There are so many Fantastic Four samples and other uncredited stuff on the original that I was actually surprised that it stayed intact. I didn't get to watch the accompanying DVD, but it's not worth whatever they're charging for the album. Instead of wasting your money on the crappy reissue, why not get at me for a original 2004 version unopened! If anyone wants it, let me know and I'll make it happen. In closing, I'll post a video to watch. I'm pretty sure this one is taken from the aforementioned DVD. Here's MF DOOM in a good quality live performance of Beef Rapp:



Until Then,
Later.