Project 2010

OK, so things have been busy. Not sure how great my updating will be for the next week or three. Here goes nothing:

One of the really interesting things about this project is that some bands just sound a little bit better when you're not listening to an entire 50 minutes of them at a stretch. I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business / The Early November totally fits into this category for me. Every time one of their songs pop up I really like it, yet I seem to be loath to just listen to one of their albums straight though, and as much as I really love The Decembrists, I think I like them more when they just pop up randomly for 3-6 minutes and then go away for a little bit. Today I heard "The Engine Driver" from The Decembrists.



One of the really great things about this project is finding songs that I may have overlooked. For example some songs might be on a Say Anything double album that at some times might be a little bit grating. On the other hand, apparently "Every Man Has A Molly" is somewhere in there. and yes, we all do.

Project 2010: Day 7X

Today I listened to two different versions of 10,000 Maniacs "Eat For Two." One was the original album version and the other was the MTV Unplugged version. (Sidenote- the Unplugged shows were really great, and it's a shame that MTV decided that music wasn't a really interesting thing to have on TV. Oh well. Not an original thought by any means, but there it is).

The two versions could not be more different. Sure, same words, same band, same singer, but the album version is much faster and practically uptempo, where the Unplugged version is mournful. The Unplugged version seems much more faithful to the feeling of the lyrics of the song, but the album version also has its merits (by the way, it's off of Blind Man's Zoo).

Project 201: Day 76 - The E's!

Sodastream is a guitar player and cello player from Australia. I have their album "The Hill For Company." I saw them opening for Saturday Looks Good to Me in an Ann Arbor, Michigan basement several years ago. Today I listened to "A Drum" and it is just an incredibly beautiful song. The vocals for this duo are just really wonderful. I couldn't find anything good to embed, but the link above sends you to their discography page and has lots of tracks that you can listen to.

In the same vein of kinda mellow songs, I got to Dashboard Confessional's "Dusk and Summer." I have a pretty strong love for Dashboard. His "So Impossible" EP's is one of my favorite song cycles.



Started the "E's" today with R.E.M.'s "E-Bow The Letter." I think I talked about R.E.M. yesterday, so I'll give it a rest for a minute.

Apparently bands were really into E songs with hyphens, because I also heard Beck's E-Pro. Who doesn't love a little bit of Beck on a Thursday?



Finally, I heard Iron and Wine's "Each Coming Night." Samuel Beam makes some really beautiful music, and this is a really good example of what he does. I think a lot of people would recognize he cover of "Such Great Heights" that was on the Garden State soundtrack.

Project 2010: Day 75- Dreaming and Driving

Today I got to song 1,458 of 6,804 on my iPod. This brought be through Dreaming songs and into Driving songs.

OK. I know. People hate the Dave Matthews Band. I get it. I do. But they have some songs that I really enjoy. Today I got to "The Dreaming Tree" which is one of those songs that I really like. I apologize. I know I'm not supposed to.



I also got to Sufjan's "That Dress Looks Nice on You," which, of course, made me really happy.

I also happen to really like Brandon Boyd of Incubus' voice. I've been hearing a lot of his songs, and every time I've enjoyed it. Today i heard "Drive"



I know I have already documented my R.E.M. love. But today was "Drive." How do I not share that?



Finally, I heard something and had to check to see what the heck it was. I was incredibly surprised at the answer. Like shocked. This is Bright Eyes?

Project 2010: Day 74

I've taken a few days off of Project 2010 to listen to the new Paste sampler as well as to do stuff over the weekend. Also, work has been crazy busy, but today I got back on track. So far not too many standouts, but there was this:



The Refreshments are ridiculous. That's really all I have to say about that, but they are fun. I can't pretend as if this is actually a good song, but I do enjoy it. It is certainly no "Banditos":



Also heard one of my favorite Phish songs today, "Down With Disease." You can probably pinpoint the year this video was made just by looking at it.



I was actually surprised by how few songs started with the word "down" as opposed to "do" or "don't."

Project 2010: Day 71

Here I am in Don't land...

And also apparently stuck in the 1990's for the moment as I sang every word to Oasis' "Don't Look Back In Anger." Even weirder, I totally have that jacket that Noel Gallagher is wearing, and I wear it all the time. Mine is definitely not as old as this song is.



Speaking of the 90's, another of the "Don'ts" I listened to is Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop." I know, I know, the song is much older than that, but I associate the song with Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign, since it was the campaign's theme song. It was also the time that they came back together for a couple of years. Anyways, makes me think back to a time where things were about to go on an upswing, and I'm hoping that's where we are again in history.



Then, I somehow spent the rest of the afternoon listening to this. It's a compilation of different Code Talking stations. I find it equal parts creepy and fascinating. One of the tapes from The Conet Project was the inspiration for the title of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album, and an piece of that code talker is on the album (track 4 on the site).

Project 2010: Day 70 (figured it out again) - Do

Today I continued my love affair with Nada Surf. Heard "Do It Again" which isn't technically the title track to "The Weight Is a Gift," but still has the lyric that the album's title comes from.



The Flaming Lips put on one of the best shows I have ever gone to. It was like going to an idealized, yet twisted, New Years celebration. It was entirely about being happy and having a good time. There are people in costumes dancing on stage, confetti, MASSIVE balloons and thousands of fans dancing and jumping and singing non-stop. Beyond that, they are one of the most original bands of our time. So, hearing "Do You Realize," the song that really brought me back to The Flaming Lips was a welcome moment this morning.



Wow. Well, today has been unexpectedly good (a weird thing to say when listening to your own iPod, but whatever). Also hit "Do You Want To" by Franz Ferdinand. Made me want to get up and dance. Of course I didn't.



I got to song #1,384 of 6,779 and made if from the "Do's to the "Don'ts)