Friday Music Day

FMD 3/30/12: Mama Tried

128 Comments

After putting together my 16-title top-ten albums list last week, I felt a bit sheepish about one in particular, Merle Haggard and the Strangers' Mama Tried (1968, their third album of the year). Partly because I first heard it last October, and partly because I wasn't sure I had given it a thorough enough listen.

But this week, I took some time to listen to it this week (it's only 32 minutes — 37 with bonus traks — so I've given it a good dozen, and it's confirmed its place on that pedestal for me. Four of the twelve songs, including two well-known covers ("Folsom Prison Blues," and "Green Green Grass of Home"), talk about a convict's time in prison on a serious charge (life without parole, shot a man in Reno, about to be executed). Maybe it's just a theme he went with on a few, but in hearing the other songs about jealousy, loneliness, and a hard upbringing, I almost feel that this is a concept album, the story of a murderer, and I'm trying to decipher exactly who he killed. Two of the jealousy songs are especially chilling sung by the same man who's sings of "when they'll lead me through that door and burn my life away." He'll "always know when you've been cheating... don't forget it either," and warns his woman who's talking to the milkman and iceman that "If you don't Run 'em off, I'll swear you're cheating on me." So, did he kill his woman, someone she actually cheated on him with, or just an innocent flirting delivery man? And does the "Little Old Wine Drinker" who moved to Chicago after his woman left with another man for Florida pursue that woman, or does getting burned by her make him more jealous in a later relationship?

So, it's a concise little album, without some of the broader themes (anti-hippie, pro-Jesus, etc) that would show up over the next six albums/three years. I love concise little albums.

Musically, he and the Strangers seem to be in the sweet spot between the simpler-sounding early albums while still keeping that subtly-swinging Bakersfield sound that would again sound broader in a few years. In that way, it reminds me of OutKast's ATLiens, where Organized Noize pushed as much as they could out of a limited palette of sounds and options. (That's my fave OutKast album, fwiw.)

I may also have put this on the pedestal because it was my first Hag experience. I bought the double-album reissue of Mama Tried/Pride in What I Am back in October on my birthday. Ten days later, I went back to the record store for the three other double-album packages they had in stock. Mama Tried doesn't have most of my favorite Hag songs, but it does fit together better than anything else I've heard.

For your listening pleasure, may I present a lip-synching "performance" of the title track. If you don't dig it, disregard the review above and leave the album alone.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxQbvSjQy9A

OK, now that you've read my ramble, share your random ten.

128 thoughts on “FMD 3/30/12: Mama Tried”

  1. Sharon Von Etten "Serpents" Tramp
    Arcade Fire "Haiti" Funeral
    Rolling Stones "Let It Bleed" Let It Bleed
    Spencer Davis "I Can't Stand It" Best of
    Wilco "Via Chicago" Summerteeth
    eels "Daises of the Galaxy" Daises of the Galaxy
    Art Blakey "Along Came Betty" Moanin'
    Jayhawks "Sweet Hobo Self" Tomorrow the Green Grass (Legacy Edition)
    Cults "Never Saw The Point" Cults
    Heartless Bastards "Into the Open" All This Time

    1. Oooh look at you with your hipster-approved list of indie faves, classic rockers, jazz standards (drummer no less), and alt-country. Who do you think you are, some sort of college radio DJ?

      2. I probably could have gotten a little more cred if I worked in a safe hip hop track, something like DOOM, instead of eels.

    2. Ah, Summerteeth. I think that might be my favorite Wilco record, actually. Though, to be fair, I haven't really given their other stuff the in depth listen that I ought.

    3. i picked up all the time a couple weeks ago. from the first few moments of "into the open" i thought, yeah, i'm going to like these guys.

        1. yeah, that's a nice track too. i've gone through the album more than a few times, and i can't really think of a track that i don't like.

    4. What do you think of Ms Van Etten?

      Killer version of "Serpents".
      httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6DPkJFox3g&feature=related

      1. I am about half a listen in. It is going to take me a few more spins to give a fair comment but I have a feeling this will grow on me just fine.

  2. .
    .
    Wilco - "Either Way" Sky Blue Sky
    Tom Waits - "Way Down In The Hole" The Wire Soundtrack
    Shinedown - "Sin With A Grin" The Sound of Madness
    Johnny Cash - "Green, Green Grass of Home" At Folsom Prison
    The Hold Steady - "Joke About Jamaica" Stay Positive

    Jeff Tweedy - "In A Future Age" Sunken Treasure Live
    Coconut Records - "Drummer" Davy
    The Black Keys - "Set You Free" Thickfreakness
    The Pogues - "Squid Out Of Water" Hell's Ditch
    Johnny Cash - "Won't Back Down" American III

  3. Caroline Smith & the Good Night Sleeps - "Tying My Shoes" - Backyard Tent Set
    Beastie Boys - "Sure Shot" - Ill Communication
    Clipse - "Nothing Like It" - We Got It 4 Cheap Vol. 1
    John Legend - "Save Room" - Once Again
    Cat Power - "Aretha, Sing One For Me" - Jukebox
    Cold War Kids - "Robbers" - Robbers and Cowards
    Kinks - "Set Me Free" - Ultimate Collection
    Juelz Santana - "This Is Me" - What the Game's Been Missing
    Cat Power - "Red Apples" - The Covers Record
    Thunder in the Valley - "Come Now Virginia" - Where Oh Where Oh Where

  4. 'Easy' - The Commodores The Ultimate Collection
    'Peace of Mind' - Boston Boston
    'A Little Bit of Abuse' - The Kinks Give the People What They Want
    'Lawyers Guns and Money' - Warren Zevon Excitable Boy
    'The Temporary Blues' - The Features Some Kind of Salvation

    'I Dont Want to Know' - Fleetwood Mac Rumours
    'This Man He Weeps Tonight' - The Kinks Arthur... (Bonus track)
    'Marie Provost' - Nick Lowe Basher:The Best of Nick Lowe
    'Rock and Roll Girls' - John Fogerty Centerfield
    'Fooled Around and Fell In Love' - Elvin Bishop Band

    last month, I picked up The Little Willies latest effort called For the Good Times. As with their first album, its a cover of a bunch of old country songs. I've had one song stuck in my head all week long, its called 'Diesel Smoke Dangerous Curves'. The way the Willies do that song, oooooh it send shivers down my spine. Its so smokey and sultry!

    Here is an older version of that song by Doye O'Dell
    httpv://youtu.be/S0-rAvlTZN0

  5. 1. Imagination -- Elvis Costello
    2. The Week of Living Dangerously -- Steve Earl
    3. Get Down (Parts I and II) -- Wire
    4. Your Generation -- Generation X
    5. How Long Will My Baby Be Gone -- Buck Owens
    6. Big Rock Candy Mountain -- Harry McClintock
    7. I See the Rain -- The Marmalade
    8. Voodoo Child -- Jimi Hendrix
    9. No One Fell Asleep Alone -- The Handsome Family
    10. Surfer Girl -- The Beach Boys

    Bonus: A Good Flying Bird -- Guided By Voices

    1. I am sure this has come up before but that Marmalade tune is killer.

      1. Agree, I have a friend who gave me a flash drive with 550! songs of late 60s early 70s british psychedelia.

        1. It was also on the set I sent you several years back--along with a bunch of other late 60s early 70s British psychedelia...

          1. Yes it was, I love that playlist and still listen often. Now going through ipod history.... It was the one you sent. Thanks! There's probably about 4-6 songs that are on both playlists.

            1. I knew it! (heh.)

              I exchanged mix-tapes with a friend for about a decade. Half of what he laid on me was late 60s early 70s psychedelia from both sides of the pond. Opened my eyes to a lot of great music that had slipped through the cracks.

  6. .

    * Very Ape - Nirvana - In Utero
    * What to Do - Meat Puppets - Meat Puppets II
    * Atlanta - Stone Temple Pilots - No. 4
    * Dumb - Nirvana - Live at Reading
    * Backstreets of Town - Husky Burnette - Facedown in the Dirt
    * In C with Canons and Bass - Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble - In C Remixed (T. Riley and N. Muhly)
    * We R in Control - Neil Young - Trans
    * Barstool Blues - Neil Young - Zuma
    * Live for the Future, Long for the Past - Leyland Kirby - Intrigue and Stuff, Vol. 1
    * The Becoming - Nine Inch Nails - Still

    Currently I'm debating whether to get the newest Meshuggah or Mars Volta albums. Leaning toward no on both, but still occasionally listening to samples to see if something convinces me. I did get the newest Demdike Stare album, but haven't listened yet.

    1. I did get the newest Demdike Stare album, but haven't listened yet.

      Ooh, let me know how that one is. I'm quite interested.

        2. Yeah, I tried Triptych and didn't get into it as much as I thought I might. I do prefer the Andy Stott EPs.
          (The comparison discussed Dec/Jan.)

  7. .
    .
    01. Time Waits For No One - Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock 'n' Roll
    02. Swing Low Sweet Chariot - Ladysmith Black Mambazo - LBM & Friends
    03. Let's Spend the Night Together - Rolling Stones - Singles Collection
    04. Tears of Rage - Dylan & the Band - The Basement Tapes
    05. Scarecrow People - XTC - Oranges & Lemons
    06. Fascinating Rhythm - Mel Torme - The Velvet Fog
    07. Sweet Hitch-Hiker - CCR - Chronicle
    08. Mr. Songbird - Kinks - The Village Green Preservation Society
    09. Why Don't You Do Right? - Peggy Lee - Essential Jazz Singers
    10. Storm Windows - John Prine - Great Days

  8. .

    01. Symphony X - "Heretic", Iconoclast
    02. Deep Purple - "Burn", "Burn
    03. Amon Amarth - "Friends of the Suncross", Once Sent from the Golden Hall
    04. Mercyful Fate - "Evil", Melissa
    05. Eluveitie - "Of Fire, Wind and Wisdom", Spirit
    06. Bolt Thrower - "Zeroed", Mercenary
    07. Judas Priest - "The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)", Hell Bent for Leather
    08. Slough Feg - "Tell Tale Heart", The Animal Spirits
    09. Kamelot - "Moonlight", The Black Halo
    10. Dream Evil - "In Flames, You Burm", Dragonslayer

    1. 10. Dream Evil - "In Flames, You Burm", Dragonslayer

      I always thought Dream Evil kind of sold out with Dragonslayer -- A little too much fire, not enough brimstone. That could just be me, however.

      1. For me, I prefer more fire and less brimstone, so I feel perfectly ok with it. (also, Dragonslayer was their debut, so it would be a fast-as-hell sell out if that were true.)

  9. Wherever I Go - Steve Earle - Trancendental Blues
    Black Betty - Ram Jam - Super Hits of the 70s
    Get Up (Sex Machine) - James Brown - 20 Greatest Hits
    Why Can't This Be Love? - Van Halen - 5150
    Drive - REM - Automatic For The People
    No Surrender - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Born in the USA
    Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel - Shaking the Tree
    State of Love and Trust - Pearl Jam - Singles Soundtrack
    By the Sword - Slash (featuring Andrew Stockdale) - Slash
    Still of the Night - Whitesnake - Whitesnake

    This might be my first FMD in over a year. Vacation day today except I'm still doing work from home.

  10. 1. Kanye West “Who Will Survive in America?” My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
    2. Beyoncé “I Care” 4
    3. Bonnie “Prince” Billy “Grand Dark Feeling of Emptiness” Ease Down the Road
    4. Katy B “Broken Record” On a Mission
    5. Priscilla Ahn “A Good Day (Morning Song)”* A Good Day

    6. The Field “I Have the Moon, You Have the Internet” Yesterday & Today
    7. Merle Haggard and the Strangers “Big Time Annie's Square” Someday We'll Look Back
    8. Sonic Youth “(I Got a) Catholic Block”* Sister
    9. The Cinematic Orchestra ft. Patrick Watson “To Build a Home (Radio Version)” To Build a Home (Versions)
    T. Twilight Circus Sound System “Bord” Horsie

    E. Ben Charest “Cabaret Aspirateur” Les Triplettes de Belleville*
    B. So So Radio “Walls” Dustcovers

    *Notes:
    5. EAR introduced me to this acoustic-type singer/songwriter gal. Some decent songs, but this one is great. It reminds me of Beth Orton's ballads on the ChemBros albums, but instead of beats showing up in the third minute, there's a heavy echo and it fades out, like she's holding down a piano pedal on all the sounds (including her voice). Then she takes her foot of the pedal and it stops short of a full fade. I want a ten minute remix by the Orb. It's songs like this that make me listen full through OK but not great albums that I might not otherwise pay attention to: I never know where I'll find a gem.

    8. Friday in Lent.

    E. Enjoyable OST to have on your music player for playing in Random, though the whole album may play like a player on random. This is the song the aged Triplets play in the nightclub, on the vaccuum and fridge etc.

    B. Had to put in a twefth this week as I still so love this record. The drums at the end of this song, man.

  11. AMR - Are you going to the Merle Haggard concert in July? He's with Kris Kristoferson.

    1. I had a presale code for that show too. I actually checked on tix but there was nothing good in presale. I might try to pick up tix on the street for that Merle-Kristofferson,

      1. Was thinking of doing the same thing. Let me know if you actually give it a go.

  12. 1. Mind Spiders - You Are Dead - Meltdown
    2. Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes - Merriweather Post Pavilion*
    3. Koji Kondo - Super Mario Brothers Theme - Super Mario Brothers
    4. The Who - Bargain - Who's Next**
    5. Clear - Ready to Ride - Clear
    6. Dillinger Escape Plan - When Acting As a Particle - Ire Works
    7. James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream - James Blake
    8. Buddy Rich - The Beat Goes On***
    9. Orbit - XLR8R - XLR8R
    T. Lydia Loveless - Bad Way to Go - Indestructible Machine****

    *indie fave
    **classic rocker
    ***jazz standards (drummer, no less)
    ****alt-country

    I listened to the Hunger Games soundtrack the other day, because the artist lineup (Arcade Fire, Decemberists, Civil Wars) interested me a bit. Weirdly enough, one of the more memorable songs was from Maroon 5.

      2. After "...Like Jagger" they're dead to me

        Yep - channel changing time for me when that one comes on.

    2. I've been watching The Voice. And enjoying it way more than I probably should. I kind of like Adam Lambert. Never listen to any of his music, but this is about the third or fourth compliment I've heard lobbed Maroon 5's way in the past week, all from people with excellent musical taste. Is it possible there's something there?

        2. Is it bad that in my mind I immediately went "LEVINE!" when I hit that part? I think that reflects poorly on me. And I neither watch "The Voice" or like Maroon 5.

      2. Hmm... I'd say probably not? "Moves like Jagger" is a pox the occasionally catchy tune they really can't make up for. I liked their first CD back in the day, though. Nothing special by any stretch, but it was catchy, inoffensive pop music.

        This particular song is notable because it sounds absolutely nothing like them. You can tell who's singing, but the rest of it is completely different. Then again, I liked both Taylor Swift songs I hear don the soundtrack, and I usually detest her, so maybe it just caught me in a really good mood?

        1. I'm listening now. Sounds more like something Peter Gabriel would do.
          Not-Detestable, unlike the rest of their CV.

  13. no time for a set today, but here's a nice little throwaway pop track from Two Door Cinema Club I just uncovered the other day:
    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srhwBnIDhqk

  14.  
     
    1. “pablo and andrea” – yo la tengo – electr-o-pura
    2. “pumpin’ 4 the man” – ween – pure guava
    3. “capitol city” – wilco – the whole love
    4. “drops in the rive” – fleet foxes – sun giant
    5. “inflammatory writ” – joanna newsom – the milk-eyed mender
    6. “tuesday heartbreak” – stevie wonder – talking book
    7. “goodbye pork pie hat” – charles mingus – thirteen pictures: the charles mingus anthology
    8. “complicated” – by divine right – all hail discordia
    9. “angel” – belly – star
    10. “solace” – scott joplin – piano rag

    1. I've been on such a podcast kick lately that I've not really given "The Whole Love" proper attention. I'm almost ashamed that I can't really sing along with one song, especially since I have all their other albums pretty much memorized.

  15. .

    1. Here We Go Again SR-71
    2. One Love/People Get Ready Bob Marley & The Wailers
    3. Regulate Warren G
    4. A Kind of Magic Queen
    5. Two Steps Behind Def Leppard

    6. Strange Currencies R.E.M.
    7. You Evanescence
    8. Death of Seasons AFI
    9. Unemployable Pearl Jam
    10. Statues Foo Fighters

    Bonus: The Invisible Man Queen

    I am really starting to get annoyed with my iTunes. Every week, I get a similar “random” selection of tunes which always include repeats from previous weeks’ “random” selections. These “random” repeat selections are always crap that I don’t ever listen to. Like this week: SR-71, Queen, Evanescence…really? They’ve all been represented on my FMD posts a lot more frequently than they deserve. With 13,000 songs (~1,500 albums) to pick from, you’d think I’d get variety I’m proud of. Instead, I get a disproportionate number of songs that embarrass the h*ll out of me. I know I could go in and select “skip when shuffling” on all of them but I don’t have the time. Magoo, I may have to take a page out of your playbook and begin pruning purging some of the collection.

    1. Well, iTunes is a big pile of crap (in my opinion, at least, although I haven't used it in about 4 years or so), so there's that.

      Also, being embarrassed by Queen does not compute.

        1. I just use winamp to play songs, but I just manage my files in Windows as opposed to within a music playing software. I also pretty much refuse to get an iPod ever, so no need for iTunes. My Walkman works quite well.

      4. No, you're right, having Queen in my collection (in and of itself) is not embarrassing. I'm just tired of the fact that I own their Greatest Hits albums (I & II) and it seems like they show up every week. The embarrassing comment was directed more towards the other two, and the multitude of other junk stuff I have on iTunes which I can't even explain. I literally have 12 Evanescence albums or EP's, 6 Alanis albums, 5 Christina Aquilera albums, Daughtry, 2 ATC albums, 4 Britney albums, Dan Fogelberg, Dan Hill (Sometimes When We Touch!!!), Venga Boys, Eiffel 65, Black Eyed Peas, Toto's Greatest Hits...the list goes on. Lest I offend anyone by including an artist they're particular to, I've listened to d*mn near all of these albums enthusiastically at one time or another.

        1. Lest I offend anyone by including an artist they're particular to...

          By no means should you be particularly worried about offending anyone with musical tastes (me in particular). I've gone on record here as disliking The Hold Steady, and no one's lynched me, yet. And as long as we're talking about crappy albums we own, I think I still have ReLoad sitting around somewhere....

          1. Last week it was "Best Albums", this week we could do "Crappiest Albums".
            I'm not a huge fan of The Hold Steady either though I can at least see the appeal. I can't figure out what I was thinking with a group like Aqua making it's way into my repertoire.

        3. I literally have 12 Evanescence albums or EP's, 6 Alanis albums, 5 Christina Aquilera albums, Daughtry, 2 ATC albums, 4 Britney albums, Dan Fogelberg, Dan Hill (Sometimes When We Touch!!!), Venga Boys, Eiffel 65, Black Eyed Peas, Toto's Greatest Hits...the list goes on.

          You're dead to me Corn.

        4. 12 Evanescence albums or EP's, 6 Alanis albums, 5 Christina Aquilera albums, Daughtry, 2 ATC albums, 4 Britney albums, Dan Fogelberg, Dan Hill (Sometimes When We Touch!!!), Venga Boys, Eiffel 65, Black Eyed Peas, Toto's Greatest Hits

          I don't understand why the highlighted text is included in this list.

          1. "Cristina Aquilera" would be a great cheesy-house pseudonym for a more serious dance-music producer.
            Like Jichael Mackson, only that's not a cheesy house pseudonym.

    2. I've got an inordinate amount of crap in my music library, I usually do all my shuffling from stuff I give three stars or over. That narrows it down to about 8000 songs. Still a pretty wide net to cast, only now it doesn't catch quite as many old shoes.

      1. Then there's this. I apparently don't even know how to use iTunes. You can set to shuffle from only particular "starred" songs!?!

        1. I use Mediamonkey and custom criteria playlists are just about my favorite thing ever, but I remember there was at the very least a way in iTunes to make the higher ranked stuff play more often in Genius or party shuffle or whatever, I think.

          If nothing else, you should be able to make a smart playlist, setting the criteria to "songs over 2 stars" and then play a song in there, then set the track order to 'random'.

          1. Thanks, I'll see what I can do. Also, I'll be coming through your neck of the woods this afternoon on my way to New York Mills. Better to go up 71 from Sauk or 29 from Alex?

    4. Well, I do my shuffle off my iPod (16G Nano), so it only gets songs I've picked to be in my top 3000 or so of the moment. (Plus, EAR and I share iTunes, and no need to share her stuff.)

      1. That said, I don't have that extent of garbage in my library. I might have crappy CDs, but I've never bothered to import them.

  16. "You'll Be In My Heart" - Phil Collins - Tarzan Soundtrack
    "Constructive Summer" - The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
    "Chicken Payback" - The Bees - Free The Bees
    "Stranded in the Jungle" - The Cadets - I Want You(B Side)
    "Traffic and Weather" - Fountains of Wayne - Traffic and Weather
    "If You Wanna Be Happy For The Rest Of Your Life" - Jimmy Soul - Don't Release Me(B Side)
    "Jealousy" - Natalie Merchant - Tigerlily
    "Crazy Times" - Jars of Clay - Much Afraid
    "Rockin' Pneumonia" - Johnny Rivers
    "Take Me Home" - Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth

    Bonus: "Put Us Back Together Right" - Headlights - Kill Them With Kindness

    Yup, this is a pretty accurate breakdown of what I listen to.

    1. Yup, this is a pretty accurate breakdown of what I listen to.

      Phil Collins, Tarzan Soundtrack excepted (I hope.)

      1. A fair number of Disney/Broadway soundtrack songs pop up for me. I have no other Phil Collins anywhere in my library though.

    2. "Crazy Times" - Jars of Clay - Much Afraid

      I listened to this song last week. I hadn't heard it in a while, and it sent me on a weird Jars of Clay kick for the remainder of the day.

      1. I saw it come up in the list, wrote it down, and skipped to the next song. I might break out an old CD of theirs this weekend though.

    1. I really like this idea. Stripped of their context and breathless hype, you get a better feel for the music on its own merit.

    2. I hope that's what I did with my "Mama Tried" review above.
      I also tried this with the Beatles and Radiohead a few years ago and concluded that I hold a minority opinion.

      2. Well, right. I think you did a good job with it. You actually made me want to try it out - and it's certainly not an album I would've sought out on my own.

        I hold a minority opinion on Beatles and a majority opinion on Radiohead.

  18. Can of Corn suggested listing the crappiest albums we own. I'm game.

    I own:
    Tom Jones' Greatest Hits
    Shania Twain's Come On Over
    Collin Raye's Direct Hits
    and...
    The Full Monty Soundtrack.

      1. So it would make Shania Twain look like crap still?

        (sorry, I have a special hatred in my heard for Sgt. Peppers'. To begin, I didn't like any of the music, but mostly its because I worked with a guy back in college that played it, on repeat, constantly.)

        1. so you're saying, to hate that album, all you needed was a little help from your friends?

      2. I've already listed mine above...there are worse ones in my collection, but I've already lost free and don't want to risk banishment or censorship a'la forbidden zone infractions.

    2. I'm not sure I can play this game. I don't own any "crappy" LPs/CDs; any that have worked their way into the "crappy" zone have long been gone.

      I have a lot of guilty pleasures that others would consider crappy, though. And you know what? Too bad!

      1. I have a lot of guilty pleasures that others would consider crappy, though. And you know what? Too bad!

        I'm with RhuRu on this one. In fact, I wouldn't even consider them "guilty." I'm well past caring if I'm cool. I have 3 kids, a dog, a minivan and live in the suburbs. Nothing about me says "cool." I either like it or I don't. That is the only criteria I use. In fact, I have a lot of music in common with Can of Corn. I immediately pulled up the Dan Hill on the iTunes when he mentioned him!

        1. Yeah, there's a part of me that loves that Tom Jones CD.

          Collin Raye though, I'm embarrassed of my 15-year-old self.

        2. Yeah, I've sold like 5 CDs in my life (and lost a few more) and I still have times that I wish I had them:

          Metallica ReLoad
          Ice Cube Lethal Injection
          Onyx Bacdafucup

          Likewise, I have some bad CDs in my collection, but they're more like Tricky's late albums, things I bought for a reason but just didn't like. I can't think of anything I'm truly embarassed of. Like Cheaptoy, ReLoad might be tops (if I hadn't lost it).

      3. Same here. I have a strict "all thriller no filler" policy for my I-pod. That doesn't mean I don't have a few guilty pleasures (Like Phylo I haves me some Tom Jones greatest tracks).

    3. I guess my crappiest list would consist almost solely of late 90's nu-metal stuff that I liked in high school and still listen to nostalgically.

      Korn
      Powerman 5000
      Cold (one of the 5-bajillion bands Fred Durst signed once he got famous, similarly, I owned Puddle of Mudd's first album at one point, but got rid of it, and any Limp Bizkit I had, pretty quickly)
      Incubus
      Staind

      1. I might be with DG on this if I still have some of that stuff leftover from different times. The only difference is I don't still listen to any of it nostalgically.

        1. I still like the 90's Korn albums (and have cheerfully accepted abuse from friends and co-workers for that proclivity). The others have one or two songs that I just can't bring myself to delete from the library.

        1. Yes. My ex-girlfriend loved it even more than I did, though, so when we acrimoniously broke up, it took away the need to ever hear that or any other Puddle of Mudd song again.

      3. I like Cold's Year of the Spider, actually. It was kind of sappy, high-school angsty stuff, but the guy had a decent voice, and they seemed to be one of the few bands of their ilk with any sort of soul in them.

      4. I heard Incubus on the Spawn Soundtrack (That might be on my crappy list, but I recognized that it was mostly crap shortly after I bought it), and the only thing I could find was their debut EP, Enjoy Incubus, which sucks and wasn't very nu-metal or anything interesting.

        1. Yeah, Incubus probably != nu-metal, but they're a late-90's rock band with a DJ, so it was close enough for these purposes.

          (also S.C.I.E.N.C.E, Make Yourself, and Morning View are much better than their debut - and the only ones of theirs I still have)

  19. 1. The Stone - Dave Matthews Band - Before These Crowded Streets
    2. Beautiful Things - Andain - no idea the album
    3. Jambi - Tool - 10,000 Days
    4. Mary Pretends - Fuel - Sunburn
    5. Dance With You - Live - The Distance to Here
    6. Who's Crying Now - Journey - Greatest Hits
    7. Dance, Dance - Fall Out Boy
    8. Tripping Billies - Dave Matthews Band - Crash
    9. Say Goodbye - Dave Matthews Band - Crash
    10. White Wind - School of Seven Bells - Ghostory

    Jeez... where did Dave come from. You'd think I were a big fan. Well... I was.... back in the 90's.

    Disappointed no Skillet came up. Saw them a couple weeks ago. First rock concert I've been to in years (I'm NOT counting Oak Ridge Boys!).

  20. Are there rules on embedding videos? I've really been digging this song lately, and wanted to share it (I recommend just listening without watching the first time, just to give that voice it's due).

        1. Since you might not know, there are two ways to embed here. Using your above link, either of the following would work:

          httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZGn4LncY0g

          httpv://youtu.be/aZGn4LncY0g

          (Emphasis added by me, don't include it; you must have the v present in order for embedding to work.)

  21. I wanted to try running to classical music - some items from that playlist:

    1) Shostakovich: Symphony #10 in E Minor, Op. 93 - Allegro
    2) Prokofiev: Symphony #1 in D, Op. 25, "Classical" - Allegro
    3) Prokofiev: Symphony #1 in D, Op. 25, "Classical" - Finale: Molto Vivace
    4) Mendelssohn: Symphony #3 in A Minor Op. 56 - Allegro
    5) Beethoven: Symphony #7 in A, Op. 92 - Allego Molto
    6) Boccherini: Quintet in G, Op. 60 No. 5, G. 395 - Allegro Giusto
    7) Scarlatti: Sonata #9 in A Minor - Allegro
    8 ) Scarlatti: Sonata #24 in G Minor - Allegro
    9) Scarlatti: Sonata #7 in D - Toccata
    10) Scarlatti: Sonata #22 in A - Toccata

    1. someone mash that up with a karaoke track.

      Every time I would get annoyed with him, he'd put in something that made me dig the performance. (But as soon as I'd be grooving, he'd switch and start to annoy me.)

      Still, better than the Weeknd? Unlikely.

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