Yet another example of my exquisite timing

I'd been letting an awful lot of those special vitaminwater caps collect dust this summer and decided tonight that I should probably hurry up and cash them in before they—


Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me, right?

Nope. Promotion ended Monday. Nice.

So, here I now sit with, I don't know, 30-40 of these caps that are totally useless. I may look more into what can still be done with them, but I won't be getting my hopes up too high. Besides, I've got bigger fish to fry these days. (And who needs your dumbass MySpace site when I've still got free music via Tumblr anyway?)

Seriously though, if I can be forgiven for overlooking this stupid expiration date, it's because of the mild shitstorm I've just found myself in—albeit a shitstorm of sudden employment possibilities, so hopefully the connotation of the term is just as much positive as anything.

I am preparing to train tomorrow for a transcribing position that will allow me to work from home and make a few extra bucks. This would be in addition to the copywriting position that's also offering work from home on flexible hours with more extra bucks. And then there's the old restaurant wanting me to stay on at least one shift a week while most of my time is taken up at the new country club job.

So suddenly, I'm looking at possibly holding down four part-time jobs. And considering the money I'm going to need heading into these possibly brutal final four months of the year, then yes, the timing is indeed exquisite.

But all of this said, while I've certainly had posts in mind for BMC here (two of which I began, but have yet to complete), hopefully you can understand that things have been a tad bit hectic these past few weeks. And while I fully intended to squeeze in a few items before this blog becomes inundated with posts relating to the NFL season, it appears that I may actually have to be content with creating those other types of posts during football season.

As I said, this final third of 2009 is gearing up to be a pretty wild ride, so I'm trusting that if nothing else, I will have plenty of things in addition to the usual to write about. I'm not sure how I'll hold up physically or mentally as we enter 2010, but damned if I'm not anxious to find out.

Cashing in more caps

Round Two:


The second disc from continued Sync purchases was made rather quickly. A few tracks from that last disc ("Shoulda Known" and "She Left Me For Jesus") were largely thanks to reading Andy Langer's suggestions in his Esquire. So with this disc, I did a quick bit of backtracking via the magazine's website and found three back years of columns usually titled something along the lines of "Best Songs You Didn't Hear."

Here's the first 14 I happened to download:


1. "Jingle Bells" — Julian Koster

ANDY SAID:

"It's been said that the violin is the closest instrument to the human voice, but we're going with the singing saw. In a perfect world, Koster's ultracreepy take on this yuletide standard would be in heavy rotation at Home Depot. Best of all, no bells, just saw."

I SAY:

"I give myself for props for finding a 'reason' to post that on the Tumblr in the middle of the summer. Way to go me."

2. "The President's Dead" — Okkervil River

ANDY SAID:

"Whether you hear this meticulously detailed assassination anthem as a protest song, a revenge fantasy, or just a rumination on know-where-you-were moments, it's a ballsy piece of songwriting."

I SAY:

"This song is totally tits. The small details of the day are wonderful enough, but when the three snare pops correspond to the lyrical 'three shots to the head,' the groove really kicks in."

3. “Hush, Hush” — Omar Kent Dykes & Jimmy Vaughan

ANDY SAID:

"In Texas, they say, 'Simplicity don't need to be greased,' which goes a long way toward explaining why this all-star Austin collective's low-down, no-bullshit take on a Jimmy Reed classic is so instantly spellbinding. Just add pulled pork and a Shiner."

I SAY:

"The kind of song I wished they played more often at Lone Star, but luckily I don't hang out there very often anymore."

4. “One Last Round” — Ron Sexsmith

ANDY SAID:

"Rarely has the notoriously meticulous Sexsmith crafted a better melody and narrative than this one -- in which what seems like a gorgeous drinking song on first pass reveals itself as a sharp comment on American consumption."

I SAY:

"I'd be willing to listen to other stuff this guy's done. Good tune that sticks with you longer than you'd imagine on first listen."

5. “Body Baby” — Pharoahe Monch

ANDY SAID:

"Upstaging and outshining Jay-Z on the remix of Amy Winehouse's 'Rehab' may have been this Queens MC's highest-profile moment of the year, but that cameo only hints at the genius of this retro-themed, Elvis-bashing, juke-joint-styled single."

I SAY:

"One of my favorite shower songs when I'm in a hurry. Gets me moving almost as much as Mocean Worker."

6. “Fat Children” — Jarvis Cocker

ANDY SAID:

"The British have a grand tradition of unleashing relentlessly sneering rants, and this ex-Pulp leader is gamely carrying the torch. On a Stooges-meets-Cheap-Trick anthemic blast, power chords and snappy drums belie a narrative so snippy, Cocker outright calls children "maggots," accusing them of trying to kill him for his cell phone."

I SAY:

"I really liked 'This Is Hardcore,' so this track (the reviews don't hurt either) will probably make me pick up 'Jarvis.'"

7. “Up To The Mountain” — Solomon Burke

ANDY SAID:

"The self-proclaimed king of rock 'n' soul has impeccable taste in duet partners: It would take a Ray LaMontagne/Emmylou Harris pairing to find two better voices."

I SAY:

"It really is a beauty."

8. “One Of Us Is Gonna Die Young” — The Ark

ANDY SAID:

"This quirky hand-clapper has more spunk in one chorus than the Killers manage to muster on their entire new record."

I SAY:

"A Swedish glam rock band? Really?"

9. “Auctioneer” — The Broken West

ANDY SAID:

"There's a glut of fashion-obsessed L. A. bands. This one uses the piano, hand claps, tambourines, and lush choruses -- but only in short bursts. Any remaining Matthew Sweet and Jellyfish fanatics will fall for this tale of an intimidating chanteuse."

I SAY:

"I can always appreciate a little good piano, and that's some damn fine piano."

10. “Grounds for Divorce” — Elbow

ANDY SAID:

"As it should, this tightly wound Zeppelinesque foot-stomper reeks like a bartender's rubber mat; it's about a bender at the corner pub, in which the 'seldom-seen kid' in the chorus is the dead friend they're toasting. Cheers."

I SAY:

"Yes, it seems like this might be the time in their careers for me to begin paying attention to them."

11. “Rag and Bone” — The White Stripes

ANDY SAID:

Called it "the summer song we needed" on the June 19, 2007 edition of The Andy Langer Show.

I SAY:

"Did Jack White just get done owning this decade or what?"

12. “Punkrocker” — Teddybears (featuring Iggy Pop)

ANDY SAID:

"A sneering condemnation of Hot Topic--inspired faux punk that resonates almost wholly because it's coming from Iggy Pop."

I SAY:

"Another Swedish band, but probably the one I'm less likely to remember to look for more from since my liking of this song is heavily based on Iggy being a part of it."

13. “Kick, Push” — Lupe Fiasco

ANDY SAID:

Gave the "brilliant skateboarding anthem" Best Chorus for The 2007 ESKY Awards.

I SAY:

"Surprisingly effective storytelling for a tune that feels so light, and yes, that chorus is pretty sweet too."

14. “James Alley Blues” — Wilco

ANDY SAID:

"A seven-year-old live recording of an 80-year-old tune, and the best Wilco recording you've never heard."

I SAY:

"I've been putting off actually buying anything from Wilco for a variety of reasons, but mostly just because so many people I know love them and still listen to them all the time, so I basically hear a lot of their stuff in different backgrounds. But I know the time is coming soon when I finally break down and purchase 'Summerteeth,' 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,' and whatever else everybody insists I must have. I certainly enjoy them, but the amount of overpraising fans I know sort of makes me resentful for no really good reason."

Progress, not perfection.

Anyway, a few other things I'd like to post this month before football season begins and, well, writing about anything else has to wait for a real lull. I'll try to keep posting.

Look! Something genuinely useful on MySpace!

I soon discovered a frequent companion to my cigarette purchases when I tried the vitaminwater with the white cap on it. I'm not crazy about some of the flavors and I usually opted for the XXX flavor (acai, blueberry, and pomegranate) until the white-capped sync flavor (described as "berry-cherry") began showing up in the coolers at the gas stations.

Normally, there's some sort of throwaway copy on the bottles that's supposed to induce a chuckle, but one evening while sitting in a court-ordered group therapy session where one person was blathering on about whatever it was that struck them as an injustice, I actually read the thing and how the MySpace music promotion worked.

Now, I'm not exactly a serial downloader of music. And I certainly haven't spent as much on actual purchases of compact discs in recent years—at least not when compared to how I was a decade ago.

But I was almost always drinking vitaminwater—and as of late, more of this sync stuff.

So I decided that while the bottle caps just contained another alphanumeric code that I see on the bottom of every cap for every other beverage I consume and then throw away without a second thought, I actually began saving the sync caps.

Before I knew it, I had 10.

Now, while my initial hope was just to go and download many of the same songs I had at one time or another used for my profile, the site instead directs you to Amazon.com's music page. And while that initially caused a little bit of concern, it instead proved to be totally hassle-free.

Better yet, each cap earns you roughly a buck and a half in credit, while most downloads are priced at $0.99.

So before we get to how my trial run went, seeing as how I'm still drinking this stuff and still collecting caps, I'm also running low on ideas. Or maybe I'm just eager to ask for suggestions (E-MAIL: murtskered [at] gmail [dot] com). It's getting fun making new mix CDs, like I was in high school again or something.

That said, here's the initial playlist that made me giddy:


I think the track arrangement is pretty obvious; I simply went shortest to longest—and it actually worked out pretty well:

• "Blue Orchid" was actually the first song I downloaded because I for some reason still unknown to me do not own "Get Behind Me Satan." The White Stripes are a band I was slow to come around to, but I'll stand by my assertion that their more recent work is superior to the early material I wasn't as enthusiastic about—although both the video and the actual song, "Fell In Love With A Girl," were legendary, of course.
• The Strokes version of "Mercy Mercy Me" was downloaded mostly just because it's The Strokes and that's good enough for me. It's not my favorite cover song of the moment (and that would've been the first thing I downloaded had they actually had it), but overall, I think the band's version is effective.
• I haven't bought a Weezer disc since the green album, but I'm almost always a fan of their singles and "Troublemaker" is one that can rival the enthusiasm I had for "Buddy Holly."
• Keane's "Is It Any Wonder?" was one of the few songs I actually liked hearing at work. Initially, I related to the lyrics and applied them to my own failed relationship at the time, only to learn that it's actually about the Iraq War.
• The first song transition that made me smirk was the ending line from Keane asking, "Is it any wonder that I feel betrayed?" and led to the synth groan of "Shoulda Known" from Atmosphere that Robert Christgau called beatmaster Ant's "catchiest hook in years." Indeed. Another album I need to buy (just because the title alone is flat-out awesome), as evidenced by the other Atmosphere track I downloaded, "Your Glass House."
• Digitalism's "Pogo" has always been a song I've been a fan of since I first heard it on a year-end mix my friend makes every Christmas. I even made it the profile song for my website's own MySpace page and have no intention of ever changing it. Instant good mood, every time. Wolf Parade's "Shine A Light" also comes courtesy of the damaged year-end disc a friend made a few years back.
• The Chicago Blackhawks really couldn't have picked a better song to be played after every goal the team scored than "Chelsea Dagger." Jeff Cagle posted the Fratellis on his Tumblr each time the Hawks won in the playoffs and while I never once grew tired of hearing the tune, I'm hoping we can actually get it posted 16 times for next year's Stanley Cup.
• Much like that Wings cover by the Foo Fighters I linked to, I especially wanted to find Franz Ferdinand's cover of Gwen Stefani's "What You Waiting For?"—but no such luck. I did however manage to grab the band's version of Blondie's "Call Me," which definitely ain't bad.
• Death Cab For Cutie's "Soul Meets Body" mirrors the Keane tune in that I also discovered the song at work and the song leads into an Atmosphere selection—a transition also mildly amusing with the repeated "melody softly soaring through my atmosphere" leading to the band of that name.
• Another justification via title alone, this time from Hayes Carll: "She Left Me For Jesus"
• And lastly, the disc ends with T. Rex's "Jeepster," which was a tune I came across on Tumblr and just found myself playing repeatedly.
  

So obviously the first disc here was composed moslty of songs found through Tumblr, work and old mixes made by friends. The second disc took a little bit of a different twist, which I'll get to next time. And as for the third, well that, dear reader, is where you come in.

Until then, I'll just be sitting here drinking this damned pinkish-purple beverage, collecting caps and enjoying the tunes.