Random Access Music Thoughts Spurred By iTunes

Just randomly shooting out an entry based on my iTunes shuffling…

- Is it needy of me to ask when the heck Girl Talk, a.k.a. Gregg Gillis, is going to release a new album? It’s been about three years at this point, and whether it’s relying on samples of popular music again or a completely original effort, as Wikipedia hints at, I’m eager to hear what he’s got planned next.

His last effort, All Day, came out in 2010. Originally, I didn’t like it as much as 2008’s Feed The Animals, but as time has gone on I think I appreciate it more. I think from start to finish, it just seems to flow better, whereas Feed The Animals has more rigid stops and starts. Feed The Animals is an album I sing along to in my car, whereas All Day is more appropriate for a 71-minute work session.

- Speaking of albums I like to play in the background or my headphones while working, I think that’s going to be my eventual judgment on Random Access Memories. Of course, as others have noted, there was no possible way it could live up to the great media campaign and hype and teaser videos.

However, I’m fine with that, and I’m still glad they did all of that. I mean, I’m a pro wrestling fan, so the whole thing reminded me of another great countdown and tease – the WWF debut of Chris Jericho, and his return against Randy Orton. Heck, I even stole the idea for my own blog, and it worked great in terms of raising anticipation.

So basically, you can’t ever go wrong with a countdown clock, and with teasing. I guess that’s the moral of the story… Oh, you wanted to know about Random Access Memories? Well, it’s solid. “Get Lucky” is by far the standout track, so it was smart to use it as a single, while the rest of the album is more of a mellow groove. Hence, a good CD to get some work done to, but I imagine “Get Lucky” is the only song that’ll end up on one of my playlists.

- Here is a random listen / watch on YouTube recommendation: “Chillin’” by Wale with Lady Gaga. For somewhat inexplicable reasons, Lady Gaga is dressed normally. (Maybe because it is inexplicable?)

Like everything else I write about, the song has actually been out for years, and Lady Gaga’s presence doesn’t make it sound any different than a generic Wale or 2000s-era rap. However, there is something to be said for artists just making something that sounds good, even if it doesn’t break fantastic new ground. So, good job by both of them.

All album artwork is taken either from Wikipedia, or in the case of Daft Punk, their official website.

The First Annual Random Music Awards, hosted by Steve

To randomly celebrate by 550th post (this one right here), I thought the best thing to do would be to award some random songs. I am arbitrarily making up these categories as I sit here. If you're one of the artists, feel free to send me a check for $500 - for shipping - and I'll send you your glorious award. And everyone else, feel free to nominate others for some awards, or to heap glorious praise upon me for my 550th entry or just "me" in general.


- Best Love Song Involving The Holocaust: "Alive With The Glory Of Love" by Say Anything. First, I've always liked this band for the simple reason that its name is based on the absolute best John Cusack movie. Some people swear by High Fidelity, but that just gets hype because it's about music. He acts like a conceited asshole that entire movie. No, I much prefer Say Anything as a straight-up romantic comedy.

Second, I also like Say Anything because they have incredibly catchy songs like this... even though it involves the Holocaust, you know. I'm a sucker for just about any kind of pop punk, so this song and "Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too" are both good to move. (Although, this one is much, much better than the other.) Say Anything also does a neat cover of "I Got Your Money", which was originally done by Old Dirty Bastard. You can find it on Punk Goes Crunk, purchasable here. Speaking of covers...


- Best Acoustic Covers of Rap Music by a White Girl: Karys Rhea shushyermouth. I was originally going to give this award to Karys Rhea, a singer I really liked on YouTube who did a bunch of acoustic covers of artists like Usher, M.I.A., The Beastie Boys and others, but she took down all of her videos. Womp womp womppppp. So, while I support her still, because she has a nice voice and what not, I'm (not so secretly) disappointed that she took down all the covers. Shame!

Therefore, the winner by default is shushyermouth, mostly because I like her YouTube name, and even though she is Asian (maybe?) and not white. Her video is the one above. I was tempted a bit by the version by Karla Davis, but I didn't quite care for her rant at the beginning of the video. Just get to the coverin', not the moralizing!


- Best Music Video For A Song I Don't Like At All: "Come Into My World" by Kylie Minogue. YouTube must know that I don't really care for the song, since it won't let me embed the video, which you can watch here. The use of repetition in the video is awesome, and reminiscint of "Star Guitar" by The Chemical Brothers, except that's a song I actually like. And because I can actually link that video, you can see it above. (Sorry, Kylie. I still think you're mad attractive though.)


- Best Job Deciphering Daft Punk Tunes: tombola2004. It's linked above. All I can say is, good work. That's a job well done, tombola2004. It's a proud day for your family.


- Best Chorus In An Otherwise Bad Song: "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" by Weezer. The lyrics from this song are horribly whiny and wimpy, but that chorus? That's good times. I don't give an eff about Rivers eating meatloaf even though he don't eat meat.


- Best 1990s Song That Almost Everyone Universally Likes: "No Diggity" by Blackstreet. We used to play this song all the time at college parties, because girls liked to dance to it (and girls liked to dance when they were drinking) and because it was one of the few rap songs my prickly roommate liked.