Aaaaand Still Raining

The gray sky has almost transformed Los Angeles into a place where quiet introspection in nicely lit warm rooms is the only weapon we have against the weather. But tomorrow or the next day people will be out and about again and the little Eastern interlude will be all but forgotten.

152. He's Wearing My Bathrobe - Don Was from 'Backbeat (Music From The Original Motion Picture)'

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Don Was for his work producing 'Suicaine Gratifaction', the great Paul Westerberg album. Westerberg hasn't worked with anyone since. However, a ten minute jazz noodle-fest is almost too much for me to take. I bought this album thinking it was the OTHER 'Backbeat' soundtrack which has a whole slew of indie/punk rockers imitating The Beatles in Hamburg as teenagers in strip clubs on meth. Which is awesome. This limp nonsense is supposed to evoke the world that Stu Sutcliffe left the band for, the heady intellectualism of jazz. But Coltrane Don Was ain't.

153. She - Green Day from 'Dookie'

This was a breakthrough song for these guys and I have never liked it a bit.

154. Sorry - Patty Larkin from 'Regrooving The Dream'

I don't remember hearing this song. While she's on I suppose she's fine, good voice, good guitar playing, good production, but I forget her and I vaguely resent her for trying to make me remember.

155. Your Time Is Gonna Come - Led Zeppelin from 'Led Zeppelin I'

And a giant stomps the countryside.

156. Ticket To Ride - The Beatles from '1'

But fails to crush this hardy bunch of travelers who roam from town to town charming the villagers with their harmonies and verve.

157. If You Wear That Velvet Dress - U2 from 'Pop'

True to form I like the one album that U2 fans have very little use for. It's all wrong and that's why I like it.

158. Cousin Sally Brown - Doc Watson from 'The Doc Watson Family'

A violin and then some serious strumming. Gorgeous.

159. Welcome To The Jungle - Guns N' Roses from 'Appetite For Destruction'

What can be said about this song? These guys came along at a time when anything that smacked of heavy metal was a total JOKE and they blew all that shit out of the water. Everyone credits Nirvana with banishing hair bands from the mainstream but Guns N' Roses struck the first blow.

160. Sadly Mistaken - Pimp Fu from 'Raw Fushi...t'

Timothy moved from Brooklyn and left a treasure trove of weirdness behind that I then digitized. Here he makes an answering machine message out of the Emperor from Star Wars...hilarious.

161. Wrecking Ball - Neil Young from 'Freedom'

Neil is at the top of his game here. I first got into this album in France when I took the CD out of the University of Orleans library.

162. Sold You An Alibi - Superdrag from 'Head Trip In Every Key'

Stumbling onto this band at Cat's Cradle with Melody is still one of the more joyous musical moments I've ever had. Spoon has shot to major fame but these guys are just as deserving. I hope the world catches on.

163. On Broadway - Neil Young from 'Freedom'

Staggering.

164. Super Bad - James Brown from '20 All Time Greatest Hits!'

Yes, James. Yes, you are super bad.

165. Blue Line Swinger - Yo La Tengo from 'Prisoners Of Love (Disc 2)'

Tedious.

166. All Shook Down - The Replacements from 'All Shook Down'

In hindsight and in context this song gets more heartbreaking with every listen.

167. Nothing Of The Kind - Jimmie Dale Gilmore from 'Spinning Around The Sun'

This album is like an oasis that rises up out of the desert, seems to be a mirage, and then is not. It is real.

168. Drive All Night - Bruce Springsteen from 'The River (Disc 2)'

If he says 'baby' or 'darlin' or one more time I'm gonna...okay, I'm not gonna do anything but I wish I could.

169. Lullabye - Ben Folds Five from 'The Unauthorized Biography Of Reinhold Messner'

I have yet to hear a song from Ben Folds that does not move me. Plus Melody used to serve him coffee in Chapel Hill and she said he was a nice guy.

170. So What! - Jane's Addiction from 'Kettle Whistle'

Perry Farrell strikes me as something of a bully. And if you are gonna be a bully you'd better back it up. And he doesn't really back it all the way up. So what indeed.

171. Black Man - Stevie Wonder from 'Songs In The Key Of Life (Disc 2)'

Not a great song. There are songs about race that are great songs. This is not one of them. Just because something is socially conscious doesn't make it great art.

While I was writing this blog a call came through to the office and a sad man threatened me and tried to scare me. I laughed at him. I don't think he liked that. The lawyer representing him is on vacation and something about his case had upset him. He is a small human being. Maybe he'll grow but I doubt it.