Skip to main content

Money talks, but it don't sing and dance and it don't walk

An update on my recent perusal of the iTunes store: I added a few more songs to the library over the weekend. I'm down to a few dollars left on the gift card and I'm unsure as to what else I should purchase. For now, here's a review of the latest.

"America," "September Morn" and "Forever in Blue Jeans" by Neil Diamond
One of Neil Diamond's greatest hits collections was a staple of many family car trips growing up. So were collections of Simon & Garfunkel and John Denver hits. I never disliked any of these songs, but once I got my own Walkman, I kinda went off into my own world. Now these songs are on my iPod. Is this progress?

"Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin
It still amazes how maudlin songs were regulars on the pop charts in the Seventies. (See also Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)" and Eric Carmen's "All By Myself" for starters.) Of course, Ugly Kid Joe's version in the Nineties seemed to fit in with grungy gloom. Chapin's original still sticks with me though.

"Sleeping Awake" by P.O.D.
There are certain moments in P.O.D.'s songs that have a certain melodic bite. Forty-three seconds into this track (the "do you see what I see" part) caught me as I watched the Matrix Reloaded credits roll in the theater. I can't say it changed my opinion of the band overall, but I've always dug this song.

"Pay to Cum" by Bad Brains
This version from the American Hardcore soundtrack is also known as the 7" version, one of three different recorded versions. Though it's slower than the ROIR version, I prefer this one above all. H.R. doesn't rush through his lyrics and the band sounds tighter. It's sure nice to have this version to replace my crappy-sounding MP3 that I downloaded back in college.

"(Nothing But) Flowers" by Talking Heads (video)
I credit Clerks II and my interview with Nate Mendel for why I got into this song. I'm not so sure I'm at a point where I can jump headfirst into Talking Heads, so I'm taking this one song at a time, months at a time.

"Mein" by Deftones (video)
Despite really digging White Pony back when it came out, my interest in the Deftones has been a song-by-song since then. I never checked out Deftones or Saturday Night Wrist, but caught wind of a few tracks along the way. This one in particular grabs me immediately with its drum fill and chord progression. I'm glad to see the band has aged well despite some of their contemporaries.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Go Where You Wanna Go

It's been a year since I moved away from Lakewood, and even though I could relocate to a new place as a newly-single guy, I've chosen to stay where I am. I enjoy living in North Dallas/Richardson given its central location, being not too far away from places I have enjoyed going to in my fourteen-plus years living in Dallas County. Living in Lakewood for nine years was critical for me, but I am glad I don't have homeless people going through my garbage, my street getting shut down like it's Mardi Gras on Halloween night, and I don't have to answer to the not-so-friendly landlords who bought my old place. I have a new housemate moving in at the end of the month and I have many reasons to be excited as he's been a friend for many years. Couple that with a humongous  new record store opening in nearby Farmers Branch , shows to see, and a quick trip to Los Angeles for something very cool (for which I reveal at a later date) and I'm happy to say fall is sha...

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Catherine Wheel

Originally posted: Tuesday, August 29th, 2006 Despite managing to release five proper albums, Catherine Wheel was one of those bands that always seemed to slip past the mainstream rock crowd. Yes, they got some nice airplay in their day, but people seem to have forgotten about them. You may hear “Black Metallic” or “Waydown” on a “classic alternative” show on Sirius or XM or maybe even on terrestrial radio, but that’s about it. For me, they were one of most consistent rock bands of the ’90s, meandering through shoegazer, hard rock, space rock and pop rock, all while eluding mainstream pigeonholing. Led by the smooth, warm pipes of vocalist/guitarist Rob Dickinson (cousin of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson), Catherine Wheel featured Brian Futter on lead guitar, Dave Hawes on bass and Neil Sims on drums. They weren’t a pretty-boy guitar band, but they weren’t a scuzzy bunch of ragamuffins either. Though the band hailed from England, Catherine Wheel found itself more welcome on American air...

Socials

 Hey, everyone! You can find me on several other platforms: http:/ http:// themeparkexperience.substack.com http:// Instagram.com/ericjgrubbs http:// TikTok.com/@ericjgrubbs http:// threads.net/ericjgrubbs http:// ericjgrubbs.bsky.social Thanks!