Friday Music Day

Friday Music Day: June 17, 2011

44 Comments

I'm almost done with my summer mix. I've got about 105 minutes and CDs are only 80 minutes long. I might do like one 60 minute disc and one 35 minute disc to cover songs with cursing (like the Weeknd and Shabazz Palaces). Then I won't have to cut so much.

When previewing some of the songs last night, CER asked me about rapping. What is rapping? How is it different from singing? &c. I didn't really know how to explain it: singing without melody but more rhythm, talking with a beat. I figured it'd be easier to show her, so I filtered my iTunes to Hip-hop*, sorted by year. The earliest I have imported is Eric B and Rakim's Paid in Full, and that's all I have for the 80's (somewhere, my Slick Rick is sitting on a shelf, waiting to be imported). So I pulled up the title track and showed her the prototypical rap flow. After that, I skipped forward to Das EFX "They Want EFX", the Pharcyde "Passing Me By", and Cypress Hill "Loco en el Coco"**.

*I'm very diligent about genres in my iTunes. I keep it under a dozen. So, no distinctions between indie rock, classic rock, country rock, lo fi rock, prog rock, punk rock, folk rock, modern rock, etc. Just rock. (Though country rock might end up in country.)

**No need to screen for lyrical content if it's in Spanish.

I'd like to share more with her, maybe with a CD I could burn, or an iPod playlist (she borrows my wife's iPod -- full of P&W and folk-rock -- from time to time). It should all be clean in lyrics and subject (so nothing like the radio edit of "I Want to Get High"). I'm not even sure if what I played was halal enough. You got any suggestions? (It doesn't need to be stuff 20 or more years old like my first few there, newer stuff is just as good, I just don't know any of it by heart enough where I can make it to the skip button about two lines before the cussing, violence, drugs, or sex begins.)

Or, if you've got nothing (Cheaptoy, Rob, Beau), just drop your own random dozen.

44 thoughts on “Friday Music Day: June 17, 2011”

  1. Yeah, sorry dude. The only think that comes to mind is my Fresh Prince album (a few songs with sexual references in them, but mostly clean as a whistle). Brand New Funk is fantastic and probably fits your description.

    John Anderson--Money in the Bank
    Gary Allan--What's On My Mind
    Ben Folds--Lullabye
    Stormy Blue--I Give My Love To You
    Shania Twain--When
    Garth Brooks--Papa Loved Mama
    Gin Blossoms--29
    Tom Fogerty--Going Back to Okeefe Bokee
    Brooks & Dunn--A Few Good Rides Away
    Ben Folds--Narcolepsy

  2. I have a new mp3 player (8 gig!) lets see how it shuffles with a incomplete library in it.

    'The Beat' - Elvis Costello This Year's Model
    'Store Bought Bones' - The Raconteurs Broken Boy Soldiers
    'Pretending' - Eric Clapton Clapton Chronicles:The Best of Eric Clapton
    'Back in the Saddle' - Aerosmith
    'Aint Even Done With the Night' - John Mellencamp The Best I Could Do

    'Canary in a Coalmine' - The Police Zenyatta Mondatta
    'Up On Cripple Creek' - The Band
    'Look A Little on the Sunny Side' - The Kinks Everybody's in Showbiz
    'She's A Rainbow' - Rolling Stones
    'Don't Look Now' - CCR Willie and the Poorboys

  3. Best I can do is "Bring the Noise".

    This week's playlist starts off at 11.

    01. Spinal Tap - "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight", This Is Spinal Tap
    02. Nevermore - "Forever", Dreaming Neon Black
    03. Nightwish - "Come Cover Me", Wishmaster
    04. King Diamond - "The Invisible Guests", Them
    05. Grave Digger - "Hell To Pay", The Last Supper
    06. Meshuggah - "The Exquisite Machinery Of Torture", Chaosphere
    07. Heimdall - "The Emperor", Hard As Iron
    08. Queensrÿche - "Gonna Get Close To You", Rage For Order
    09. Slayer - "Hallowed Point", Seasons In The Abyss
    10. Sonata Arctica - "The Power Of One", Silence

  4. WMP set on shuffle — some more new additions…

    “Where is My Love?” – Blackfield, Blackfield
    “My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone)” – Chilliwack, Wanna Be a Star
    “Thoughts (Part II)” – Spock’s Beard, V
    “Hot Fun” – Stanley Clarke, School Days
    “Darktown Riot” – Steve Hackett, Darktown
    “Chilean Pipe Song” – Stanley Clarke/Al DiMeola/Jean-Luc Ponty, The Rite of Strings
    “Crowing” – Toad the Wet Sprocket, Super Hits
    “Strange Dreams” – Frank Marino, Juggernaut
    “He’s Gone Away” – Charley Hayden/Pat Metheny, Beyond the Missouri Sky
    “…Remember” – Stuart Hamm, Outbound

  5. Maybe take a look at "Not Afraid" by Eminem? Th radio edit is reasonably clean and uplifting. The danger, I suppose, is that she likes it and looks for more Eminem...

      1. Thanks for the tips, gentlemen!

        I haven't paid attention to anything Em's done since "Just Lose It", I'll check that out. I was actually wondering if he had anything decent, he's such an enunciative rapper and skillful lyricist when he's not killing the women in his life or mocking celebrities.

        "Kick Push" is probably exactly what I'm thinking of.

  6. a lot of stuff of the lucy ford EP is fairly clean, and it's a good summer album besides. "free of dead" might be my choice, though it has word "damn", and a couple of adult themes. kids might get a kick out of the hardee's interlude though...

    i. “cow hooking blues” – mississippi john hurt – avalon blues
    ii. “snail shell” – they might be giants – john henry
    iii. “trailways bus” – paul simon – songs from the capeman
    iv. “what a wonderful thing” – al green – i’m still in love with you
    v. “desert song” – edward sharpe & the magnetic zeros – up from below
    vi. “good intentions paving company” – joanna newsom – have one on me
    vii. “baby, come on home” – solomon burke – home in your heart
    viii. “poor places” – wilco – yankee hotel foxtrot demos/outtakes
    ix. “myself when i am real” – charles mingus – thirteen pictures: the charles mingus anthology
    x. “take me with u” – prince & the revolution – purple rain

    b: “black” – danger mouse & daniele luppi - rome

    2. Hmmm, I have Lucy Ford in my iTunes, and I skipped over it thinking about "the Woman with the Tattooed Hands", "Guns and Cigarettes", and "Don't Ever [Tolberting] Question That" and passed over it.

  7. Explosions in the Sky - "Yasmin the Light" Those Who Tell The Truth...
    Flogging Molly - "Tobacco Island" Within A Mile Of Home*
    The Josh Davis Band - "Go Lightly" Bluebird
    Jay-Z - "Excuse Me Miss" The Blueprint 2
    The Strokes - "Meet Me In The Bathroom" Room On Fire

    Wilco - "Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (Again)" Summer Teeth
    Shinedown - "Sin With A Grin" The Sound of Madness
    Kanye West - "Bad News" 808s & Heartbreak
    Coldplay - "Shiver" Parachutes
    Dinosaur Jr. - "Budge" Bug

    *Same tune as The Pogues' "Streams of Whiskey"

    1. Jay Z and Kanye would be good rappers for my daughter if I could think of anything appropriate.

  8. Moved a lot of things off of and on to my iPod last night, wanting more hip-hop due to my daughter's query. Lets see what shows up:

    1. Marit Bergman* “Bang Bang” The Tear Collector
    2. Shannon Stephens “Seems I'm Never Tired” The Breadwinner
    3. Marit Bergman “It Would Have Been Good” 3.00 A.M. Serenades
    4. Young Man “Problem” Daytrotter Session
    5. Jimi Hendrix “Red House” Blues

    6. Meat Puppets “Comin' Down” Too High to Die
    7. Einstürzende Neubauten “Nnnaaammm” Ende Neu
    8. Palace Music “Gulf Shores” Lost Blues and Other Songs
    9. Porneau for Pyros* “Packin' .25” Porneau for Pyros
    T. The Weepies “Hideaway” Hideaway

    B. The Spring Standards “Little Bug” No One Will Know

    Notes:
    *Okay, we've got two songs about gun violence, but this isn't really what I was looking for.

    Unless I misremember someone here sharing my views, I'm the only person I know of that prefers PfP to any other Perry Farrell act. I was bummed when I heard that Jane's Addiction was reuniting: there went any future PfP albums: Poof! Now, let's hear more Dave Navarro guitar. I am glad that I got to see PfP on tour (with Mike Watt on Bass) before the JA reunion.

    1. What's it called when you see (or in this case, hear) something that you've not seen (or heard) before and then someone says something about it that same day?

      Case in point, your list has a PfP song which prompts a Perry Farrell/PfP/Jane's comment...then, (and I didn't even know I had this song on my iPod) he shows up on my list!

        1. Heh, yeah. But I was under the impression that there was some aphorism to describe the occurrence, like "déjà vu" (but not that).

          Maybe I'm misremembering...

          1. you could erroneously chalk it up as an example of irony, just like everyone else (like rain on your wedding day, to use a musical example).

            2. It would be ironic if you had rain on your wedding day... if you met her while seeding clouds.

        1. Well it's a lock then, this mornings happy coincidence was serendipity! After seeing PfP on AMR's list I stumbled across a Perry Farrell song on my iPod that I didn't even know I had.

      3. Man, did you send me down a time-wasting rabbit hole this afternoon.
        I know what you're talking about. It's like the "AMR-CoC Effect" only it's named after someone else.
        On the PiPress's old "Bulletin Board" it would sometimes be brought up. (Does the PiPress still have that?)

        I remember it happening in middle school. New vocab word would then show up in a book or magazine article I was reading for fun.

        Still can't think of the term.

  9. .
    01 Synchro Series: Synchro System - King Sunny Ade - Synchro Series
    02 Song About a Man - Deer Tick - Born on Flag Day
    03 Southbound Again - Dire Straits - Dire Straits
    04 Midnight Sun - Cal Tjader - Mambo with Tjader
    05 Reconnez Cherie - Wreckless Eric - Big Stiff Box Set
    06 Sara - Bob Dylan - Desire
    07 Hands Off She's Mine - English Beat - I Just Can't Stop It
    08 Bluebird - Paul McCartney - Band on the Run
    09 Aja - Steely Dan - Aja
    10 Ana Ng - They Might Be Giants - Left of the Dial

  10. AMR: A lot of Jurassic 5 would work. I can't immediately think of which songs are curse-free since I really don't pay much attention to such things, but there are a lot of them.

    A lot of De La Soul would fit. Early stuff, not recent. The majority of Run DMC will work for you, as will a lot of Beastie Boys. Common, Mos Def and Nas have a lot to offer, though it's primarily adult in nature; as in, most of it is politically-minded and over the head of children, so they might get nothing out of it.

    It's hard to come up with these because I don't shield my daughters from swear words and therefore don't pay much attention to what songs have them (if a song dropped them every other word, that would be a little much, but a mention here or there is nothing). I don't think there's any particular benefit or meaning to shielding them from them. Sexual or violent lyrics are another story, but the girls know there are words meant only for adults and that doesn't bother them.

    2. I actually had some good thoughts after I posted this: Digable Planets, Lauryn Hill, and Jurassic 5.

      Rather than just something quick and ephemeral, I'd like something that she could listen to deeply if she felt like it, so I want some high-quality hip-hop that will show her a large range of styles. She's only 7.9 years old. I'd really hate having to explain the use of n-words. My wife would definitely fight me if I gave her something I hadn't scrubbed. I probably care less than she does, but my kids do know that there is music I have that I don't want them to listen to, I scamble to skip tracks and stuff like that. Just like Beer and Scary Movies, some music is only for when you're older.

      The first year I dated EAR (senior year HS), I bought Christmas presents for her sisters, a CD each. I found two great ones that I thought matched their tastes for screaming deals in a record store cutout bin. Sister #1, who was probably 15, got Underworld Second Toughest in the Infants. Sistern #2, who was probably 12 or 13, got The Pharcyde's Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde (with "Oh $#!+" and "Pack the Pipe"). Her parents quickly removed it from her posession. Yeah, I mis-judged.

      I've got two possible Jay-Z songs! "Hard Knock Life" and "Anything"!

      1. Oh, I definitely wouldn't touch the n-bomb either. I don't lump that in with garden-variety swear words, so I didn't even think to make the distinction.

        Lauryn Hill might be my favorite artist, but her solo stuff doesn't really skew toward hip-hop. Wyclef's does, and he's great, but again most of his music is very adult thematically.

        Good call on Digable Planets, and you won't get any argument from me about Jurassic 5. Oh! Arrested Development might work. It's a bit silly, but most assuredly kid-friendly.

        1. Lauryn Hill: "Lost Ones," which I cared about ten times more than the rest of the album (which I still cared about plenty). Out of memory, although it's serious, I think it's completely clean and righteous. And now that I have it in iTunes, I can remove those annoying classroom interludes!

          AD: I'm afraid to pull this out and see how dated it sounds. And would "People Everyday", "Mr Wendal", or "Tennessee" translate to the under-ten set? ("I had to knock the ni--a out just for being rude", "A Man, a human in flesh but not by law", and "Climb the trees my forefathers hung from" are discussions I don't want to get into). I never listened to anything after the first album: should I have?

          1. They never really evolved past their first album.

            Not that we have the same children, but I've already talked with Skim about the history of racism in this country, and she's handled it without trouble.

  11. .

    1. OutKast Last Call
    2. Kenny Chesney She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy
    3. The Black Keys These Days
    4. Perry Farrell/Thievery Corporation Revolution Solution
    5. America Tin Man

    6. R.E.M. Ignoreland
    7. Madonna Lucky Star
    8. Evanescence My Immortal
    9. New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Adagio For Strings
    10. Gnarls Barkley Charity Case
    bt: 3 Doors Down The Road I'm On

  12. Well, I suppose it's fitting and unsurprising my list was full of rap this morning

    01. Rich Boy - "Off the Court" from 12 Diamonds
    02. Bun B ft. Juvenile & Webbie - "Pop It 4 Pimp" from II Trill
    03. Obits - "Widow of My Dreams" from I Blame You
    04. UGK - "Candy" from Underground Kingz
    05. The Raveonettes - "Love Can Destroy" from Chain Gang of Love
    06. The Wrens - "This is Not What You Had Planned" from The Meadowlands
    07. UGK - "Da Game Been Good to Me" from UGK 4 Life
    08. Project Pat - "Ghetty Green" from Ghetty Green
    09. Queens of the Stone Age - "Another Love Song" from Songs For the Deaf

    And at this point I messed something up on my shuffle, so I had to restart.

    10. Clipse - "Keys Open Doors" from Hell Hath No Fury

    I think pretty much every song here would be inappropriate, though.

    MURS might be good, I haven't listened to his more recent stuff but MURS 3:16 was great. I would think there's probably some Aesop Rock stuff that would work, as well. My favorite stuff is southern and most of it is full of not terribly friendly subject matter, but I think there are a few songs that got popular that might be good. The one that comes to mind immediately is "Ice Cream Paint Job" by Dorrough. You may need radio edit as there are a couple of n-bombs on the album versions, but the subject matter is fairly safe and the beat slaps.

  13. May as well give a random 10...

    Reel Big Fish, "Where Have You Been", Cheer Up!
    Apocalyptica, "Faraway", Amplified: A Decade of Reinventing the Cello
    K's Choice, "Shadowman", Almost Happy
    Toni Braxton, "Unbreak My Heart", Secrets
    Lifehouse, "All in All", Lifehouse
    Johnnie Blend, "Lighthouse's Tale"
    Lifehouse, "Everything", No Name Face
    Marty Haugen, David Haas, "Let Us See Your Kindness (Psalm 85)", Psalms of the Church Year
    Apocalyptica, "One", Amplified: A Decade of Reinventing the Cello
    Moby, "Extreme Ways", Bourne Identity (Soundtrack)

    This list has a lot of my favorites, but man, is it depressing.

  14. AMR, check out Macklemore's "My Oh My" for a good, clean rap song about baseball (specifically the 95 Mariners).

    1. and i suppose "i-76" by g. love could be considered a good, clean rap song about basketball.

  15. Welcome to the Masqurade -- Thousand Foot Krutch
    One More -- Superchick
    Wish You Well -- Thousand Foot Krutch
    Forgiven -- Skillet
    The Difference -- Philmont
    Bring the Ruckus -- Manafest
    Stand Up -- Remedy Drive
    Belong With You -- Remedy Drive
    Beaming -- Relient K
    Tidal Wave -- Owl City

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