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Top 5 On Friday
What, Music Memoirs has the summertime blues already? Don't they know there ain't no cure for the summertime blues?Top 5 Albums that Cure the Summertime BluesDifferent Light - The BanglesWelcome Interstate Managers - Fountains Of Wayne Just Won't Burn - Susan Tedeschi The Subdudes - The Subdudes Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes - Jimmy Buffett If you already have a case of the summertime blues, I have a solution. Listen to The Subdudes' Need Somebody right here. Just picture yourself at an outdoor show, accompanied by several hundred Subdudes fans, holding a cold beer and swaying back and forth, trying not to spill a drop. Every now and again, you'll hear some half-drunk crazy-ass shout out an extended rebel yell.
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Thursday Thirteen - Fortune Edition
About John Doe...
 If you are a John Doe (X) fan, you'll be pleased to know that he's got a new album coming out soon, on Yep Roc Records. Originally released as an EP in 1998, Doe added 5 previously unreleased songs and titled the new full-release project, For The Best Of Us.If you want a sneak peak, click here for a listen to A Step Outside. It's quite rocking, with none of the twang we've come to expect from his solo recordings of late (and his work with The Knitters.)
Take Me Back Tuesday
This week, the ladies of Music Memoirs bring us rain. Err, no, I mean a post about rain. And since we in the Boston area were informed yesterday that a new record was recently set for "the highest rain totals in two consecutive months," I'd really rather not dwell on the rain. But I'll play along...What songs make you think of rain or a rainy day?Save It For A Rainy Day - The JayhawksFeels Like Rain - John HiattRhapsody In The Rain - Lou ChristieWhat songs make you think of storms?Storms - Fleetwood MacEye Of The Hurricane - David WilcoxThunderstruck - AC/DCDid you ever listen to music to soothe yourself during a particularly nasty storm? (What music was it, if you can remember)Yes. During a typhoon in Guam, I listened to REO Speedwagon's Ridin' The Storm Out album. No, it didn't soothe me one teensy bit. Typhoons and hurricanes are not fun.
What kind of music do you like to listen to on a rainy day?Something that will counter the bleakness of the weather: power pop!
Lucky?
Hubby's fortune when we got Chinese food the other day: No, I'll read this and think, "Some stupid white guy wrote that!"
Psychedelic Sunday
 Dino's Song - Quicksilver Messenger ServiceSan Francisco in the mid-late 60's was a proving ground for acid-rock and acid-folk. Although The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane were the epitome of the local bands, a little band called Quicksilver Messenger Service held their own. Dino Valenti, who penned that classic "why can't we all just get along" song, Get Together, led the band. I guess this is his song. Dig the ga-roovy guitars, but try to overlook the lame lyrics and enjoy. (And it's all right baby, I'm in love with you,And it's all right, I would never make you blue or try to play with you.) Maybe Dino can blame the acid.
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 While participating in Thursday Thirteen yesterday, I saw a link at Great Day's blog to join a tribute to September 11 victims, 2996. I clicked through to read up on it. Blogger D. Channeler Roe's project will involve 2,996 bloggers each paying tribute to one of the victims of 9/11. I felt I had to sign on. So, on September 11, I'll post a tribute to Navy YN2 Melissa Rose Barnes, who perished at the Pentagon. I don't know what I'll say or how I'll do it, but I hope to honor her life.If you'd like to join in, please visit 2996 by clicking here. So far, he's at 10% participation, so there is quite a long way to go, but only a relatively short time until September 11. If you don't wish to participate, perhaps you could simply spread the word.
A different twist to the meme this week, but I'm game. Play along if you like.First: Pick 5 of your favorite artists.
John Hiatt
Fleetwood Mac
The Jayhawks
Bruce Springsteen
Patty Griffin
Second: Pick your favorite song off their last album. (if their last album was a greatest hits album...go to their last studio album)
Love's Not Where We Thought We Left It - John Hiatt from Master of Disaster 
Bleed To Love Her - Fleetwood Mac from Say You Will 
Tailspin - The Jayhawks from Rainy Day Music 
O Mary Don't You Weep - Bruce Springsteen from We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions 
Love Throw A Line - Patty Griffin from Impossible Dream 
Thursday Thirteen
Thirteen Ways I Love Summer
1. Drinking ice cold bottles of quality beer. If your name's Bud or Ice Mountain, you're not in my cooler!
2. Drinking it while lounging in the shade.
3. Cooking on the grill almost every night.
4. Driving with the top down!
5. Listening to retro music...Motown, 60's and 70's pop, and blues.
6. ICE CREAM!
7. Taking Sunday "destination food" drives with the family. Last summer, we sought out ice cream, but this year it's BBQ.
8. Hearing, "MOM, the ice cream man's coming!"9. Stopping by a neighbor kid's lemonade stand.10. Having a cold beverage on the beach.11. Inhaling the coconutty/tropical scent of tanning lotion. (Even though tanning is bad, bad, bad for your skin!)12. Eating al fresco.13. Dipping my toes in the cold Atlantic, then deciding to wade just up to my knees. How do you enjoy summer?View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Soundtrack for Painting
I'm painting my living room (Blonde by Sherwin Williams, which is exactly the color of my favorite Dunkin Donuts iced coffee with cream). Of course I have music playing blasting from the huge Infinity speakers!
What's playing:
All of the living room windows and the front door are open to take advantage of this lovely, low-humidity, 70-something first day of summer. Do you think the neighbors will mind hearing me sing along to, OOO Baby Baby or Jimmy Mack?
Memes Gone Wild
Lyndon has tagged me for a meme. How can I refuse him, since he's a regular participant here? I'm not taggin' anyone, so only play along if you care to!Now, on with More Than You Needed To Know About Nat:5 things in my fridge:- Fat-free milk - for the Weight Watcher
- Firefly's BBQ Sauce - Because I can't go out to eat there every day.
- Cilantro - So versatile.
- Boar's Head Salsalito Turkey - It's so good on toasted Arnold's Health Nut Bread, with a slice of Montery Jack and some spicy mustard.
- Hershey's Chocolate Syrup - For choco milk, as an ice cream topper, or just to lick off fingers.
5 things in my closet: (well, besides the typical clothing and shoes)- A can of coins I need to take to the Coinstar
- Photos
- A dead Panasonic video cam - It's really old and huge, from about 1993
- Bottles of alchohol - since College Boy is home, I have to hide it somewhere.
- Ironing Board and Iron
5 things in my purse:- Burt's Bees lip balm
- Bare Minerals Nude Lip Gloss - The best stuff ever!
- A teeny brush
- A pen with the Brittania flag on it
- Atomic Fire Balls
5 things in my car:- A cd holder filled with burned cds
- An empty bottle of Poland Spring water
- A pink visor - For wearing when I drive topless
- Winter driving gloves I need to store away
- iPod FM transmitter - So I can listen to my own tunes instead of radio
Music Memoirs seems to be enjoying that trip down memory lane lately. This week's trip:Let's see; I turned 16 in the summer of '73. What the heck was I listening to?Name three artists you were listening to at the age of 16.Three Dog NightChicagoElton JohnName three songs that remind you of being 16.Crocodile Rock - Elton JohnBrother Louie - StoriesLove Train - The O'JaysName three albums you played over and over and over at age 16.Band On The Run - WingsThere Goes Rhymin' Simon - Paul SimonGoodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
Some Days I Feel Old...
 Like when I see Sally Field hawking Boniva, the anti-osteoporosis drug. The ad aired on Good Morning America this morning, and I nearly spit out my coffee. First, Inna-Gadda-Da-Vida is used in the Fidelity Investment ads, and now this. I'm quitting tv for good when Diane Keaton or Candice Bergen signs on as a spokeswoman for Depends. I swear.Now, ladies, go drink some fat-free milk or have a yogurt or something.
Psychedelic Sunday - Father's Day Edition (with bonus)
 In honor of Father's Day, I'm posting one of my dad's old favorites, Johnny Cash. Back in the dark ages, when I was a kid, dad would wake us up by blasting an album from the console stereo he was so proud of. Cash was a staple in that wake-up repertoire, and this one tops the list of "songs that remind me of dad." From 1964, just at the dawn of the psychedelic era, here's Johnny Cash's Ring Of Fire.Powered by Castpost Dad, baby bro, and Nat, 1958.The bonus?
Top 5 Songs That Remind Me Of Dad
Ring Of Fire - Johnny Cash
The Lonely Bull - Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
Dock Of The Bay - Otis Redding
Yakety Sax - Boots Randolph
Cement Mixer - Liberace
 From Toothpaste For Dinner
Maybe I should write my blog in wingdings. Wouldn't that be just E-VILE?
Thursday Thirteen
 I've seen at least one post referring to Ann Coulter and her new book. I read the cover today, which is about all I can stomach. I know that everyone's not going to agree on this, but that's fine. I have a twisted sense of humor, and no apologies about it! So, I present....
Thirteen Uses For Ann Coulter
I've made up a rule here. She would require no extra training to be used in any way.
1. Put her on all fours and stick a 1/2 inch thick slab of oak on her. Voila! Instant coffee table. 
2. Prison nurse in a Maximum Security Prison - No, no additional training here. They're sociopathic prisoners. Who cares if she knows how to nurse or not?
3. Paris Hilton's Personal Assistant - It would serve her right to have to take orders from a vapid, self-centered, publicity hound.
4. If you turned her upside down, her hair would make a great toilet brush.
5. One of the extras that gets stepped on in a Godzilla remake.
6. Wal-Mart greeter. Oh wait. She'd scare the customers. Never mind.
7. Firestarter - A big stack of her books would make a roaring fire in my fireplace.
8. Chuck E. Cheese - She could dress in the giant mouse suit and listen to kids scream and holler at the birthday parties on weekends. Added Bonus: We won't have to see her face or listen to her.
9. Receptionist at Planned Parenthood - She just answers the phone, makes appointments, fetches coffee, and files papers, all without the opportunity voice her opinions. That might just kill her, though, and I wouldn't want to be responsible for that.
10. Mannequin at Kmart, modeling Jaclyn Smith clothing line. Or maybe in the swimsuit section modeling a lovely muumuu and curlers in her hair.
11. God's whipping girl. Let tornados, floods, hurricanes, fires, disease, and pestilence reign o'er her domicile and spare the rest of us.
12. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Balloon - Her ego is inflated enough for this to happen. Unfortunately, you might hear more than one kiddo screaming, "Mommy, take me home. That big lady balloon is scary!"
13. Road Kill Collector - Of all of the jobs I've seen on Dirty Jobs With Mike Rowe (The Discovery Channel,) this is one for Ann. She'd be enjoying the great outdoors and doing the drivers a great service.
Add your own in the comments. And keep it clean, please. I may dislike this woman, but I have to draw the line somewhere!View More Thursday Thirteen ParticipantsGet the Thursday Thirteen code here!
Take Me Back Tuesday
Oh, Music Memoirs slams a home run with this one! I love trippin' through the past...play along in the comments, if you like!Musical Firsts: (How many can you remember?)
First CD/Album Purchased: Album, of course. First one I remember purchasing with my own $$ was The Osmonds' Osmonds (circa 1970.)
Yeah, baby, Donny was still Sweet And Innocent!
First Concert: Sonny & Cher at the York County Fair, York PA.
First Over 21 Show: Oh geez. We really didn't classify things that way. I guess it would have been some stupid cover band in a Navy club!
First Musical Obsession: The Beatles
First Musical Crush: The Monkees (All of them, but I *heart* Mickey!)
First Musical/Musical Movie: Mary Poppins
First Stereo: One of those stupid record player/8 track combos from Sears.
First Portable Device/Player: An Aiwa "walkman" that played tapes and radio. I remember it was pretty heavy and definitely didn't fit in a pocket.
Looked like Sony's, but it was all black. First Musical Format Owned (i.e. LP, Cassette, 8 Track, CD) - 45's and LP's, baby!
First 45/CD Single Purchased: I'm going to guess here. I think it's Steely Dan's Do It Again or America's Horse With No Name.
New Releases - June 13, 2006
 Let's see what's new this week!
I Love Rock N' Roll - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - reissue
Suitcase - Keb' Mo'
The Promised Land - Del McCoury
Getting Somewhere - Allison Moorer - A new CD and a new husband (She married Steve Earle in August of last year.)
Boston - remasters
Paris 1919 - John Cale - reissue
On Tour - Brandi Carlile
Waterloo To Anywhere - Dirty Pretty Things
The Entire Combustible World In One Small Room - Don Dixon
Chasing The Sun - Indigenous
Sinner - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
12 Gardens Live - Billy Joel
Public Radio - The Legends
Rather Ripped - Sonic Youth - PICK OF THE WEEK
Begin To Hope - Regina Spektor
Catch Flame - Paul Weller
Fisherman's Blues - The Waterboys - reissue of a classic
Earth To America - Widespread Panic
Thank You, Cheap Trick!
 To Cheap Trick: Thank you for Rockford. This is the most rockin' Cheap Trick since Heaven Tonight. It's thrilling, bone-shaking fun from Welcome To The World all the way through to Decaf. When I saw you in Pensacola at Springfest in 1998, I knew you still had it in you. Even my 13-year-old (at the time) had a blast and went running for a Rick Nielsen signature guitar pick. (He liked them just as much as 3 Doors Down, whom he'd seen earlier in the evening.) Rockford is quite a welcome surprise in 2006!
To those who relish looking down their nose at Cheap Trick's brand of power pop, I scream, "What the hell is wrong with you?" Power pop is, at its core, good old rock and roll, with the emphasis on the rock. No, it might not carry anything but love (you won't find angst and melancholy and political statements,) but to that I reply, "So friggin' what?!" Rock music serves a whole lotta people in a whole lotta different ways. Why not have fun with all of them? Listen up: Come On Come On Come On - Cheap TrickPowered by Castpost
Psychedelic Sunday
 Today, it's The Byrds for you.
Since it's the day for your finest Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes, I thought I'd post a little Byrds tune more remembered as a hit for The Doobie Brothers (#35 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart in 1973), from their Toulouse Street album. The song was written by A. Reid Reynolds. This song can be found on The Byrds' release, The Ballad Of Easy Rider, recorded after Gram Parsons' short stint in the band. His country-rock influence remained, even after he went on to form The Flying Burrito Brothers with Chris Hillman.Jesus Is Just Alright - The Byrds Powered by Castpost
Top Five On Friday
It's Friday, but who cares? It is still raining in New England, and it's not supposed to go away until Sunday! Oh well. We still got the music in us!Top 5 songs from a movie or Broadway ShowI'll go with B'way shows in mine. And don't laugh. I know nothing about musicals of the past ten years. Skid Row - From Little Shop Of Horrors - Come on, this one was very inventive. Who'd ever have thought a B'way musical would include a song about the down and out on Skid Row?Man Of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote) - from Man Of La Mancha - Soaring and full of Don Quixote's bravado. Inspiring.Tonight - from West Side Story - Maria and Tony sing the most perfect love song ever in a musical. Edelweiss - from The Sound Of Music - The most tender, beautiful folk song.A Wonderful Guy - from South Pacific - I used to wail along with "I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love with a WON-DER-FUL GUUUUUYYYYYYY!" It wasn't pretty, but I didn't care.
 Thirteen Random Thoughts I Had While Working Out
1. I would rather be taking a nap right now.2. She should not be wearing that. 3. How can one person produce that much sweat?4. I love that the treadmills have built-in TV monitors.5. That means I can watch Rachael Ray cook chili while I walk away a measly 207 calories!6. That old guy can barely walk, so how is it he can work out on a rower for 30 minutes?7. iPod earbuds suck. Those little black foamy cover things are disgusting. 8. I want some ice cream.9. Bo and Hope are still involved in the on/off relationship? I have not watched "Days of our Lives" in about 8 years, but it seems that not much has changed (besides Sami's weight!)10. Only 6:32 left in the random treadmill program! Woo hoo!!11. I still want some ice cream.12. Watching a repeat of last night's Sox game (they lost to the Yankees again!) is not fun. 13. I burned up two whole points. It sure is easier to put on than to take off!View More Thursday Thirteen ParticipantsGet the Thursday Thirteen code here!
 GomezGomez's moody, We Haven't Turned Around, from the American Beauty soundtrack was one of the first songs I downloaded back in Napster's heyday. (I don't need a lecture, please, about what's legal or illegal in downloading. I was full of naivete in those early days of file swapping.) That song was in heavy rotation in the Music Match Jukebox that I just had to download after I discovered Napster. Their new release, How We Operate, has its ups and downs, but ultimately reveals that there is hope for mainstream rock. Yes, really; it doesn't have to be indie to be good. Here's How We Operate, from the album of the same name. I love songs that start out so mesmerizingly slow and gentle, then build layers upon layers of sound until there's a cacaphony surrounding you. Listen for guitar, banjo, violin, drums, and some synthesizer, all over the driving beat established early in the song. Powered by Castpost
RIP Billy
 Billy Preston, 1946 - 2006
Many of the obits are referring to Preston as "The Fifth Beatle," but that is a title shared by more than one guy (including Clapton and Harry Nilsson.) I'll remember Preston best as the guy who had one of the finest performances ever captured on film: his soaring That's The Way God Planned It from The Concert For Bangladesh. Oh, and for that outrageously huge 70's afro. I don't even think the above shot captures it at its largest!RIP, Billy.
Evil Mixmania
How evil of Patriside to have us post our dark side (or evil) mix on 6/6/06! I'll bet he can feel the flames of hell burning his behind right now!
Here's my mix. It's not so much "evil" as it is dark. And I hope none of it is offensive to the recipient.
1. The Raven - The Alan Parsons Project - Parsons lifted this one right from Edgar Allen Poe's classic poem. The piece is from one of Parson's more obscure albums, Tales Of Mystery & Imagination, which is classed up by readings from actor Orson Welles.
2. Pills For Sara - Winterpills - Reminds me of that scene in "Terms Of Endearment," when Shirley McLaine yells at the nurse to get some drugs for her dying daughter. "She's in PAIN," the Winterpills sing.
3. I Know What You Did - Wilshire - For my inner stalker. (Yes, it's INNER. Be not afraid.)
4. Dear God - XTC - My skeptic self is revealed.
5. Rain - Patty Griffin - She hurts and you feel it when she sings.
6. John Wayne Gacy, Jr. - Sufjan Stevens - Stevens again. He writes a gut-wrenching song about a serial killer. Want to read about his crimes? Right here.
7. I Must Be High - Wilco - "You always wanted more time to do what you always wanted to do. And now you got it, and I must be high to say goodbye." The ultimate in low self-esteem.
8. Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight - Whiskeytown - One of those tears in the beer songs. I love those.
9. My Shit's Fucked Up - Warren Zevon - Besides the filthy title, this song is about a visit to the doc. I love that he has the doc explaining his health this way. Yes, I'm a bit twisted. 10. I'm Waiting For The Man - The Velvet Underground - "The Man" is their herion dealer.
11. Hanging Tree - Tim Easton - Bitter breakup song. "Why don't you pick up and go, you've already let me know that I'm nothing to you anyhow. Who is the weak one now? You don't need me 'cause you don't need. Anyone in here can read the writing on the hanging tree. Why don't you leave?"
12. Signing Your Name - Susan Werner - What a lovely, dark, sad song. And Susan's voice is so mournful here. She seems to be telling the story from the perspective of a widow whose husband is long dead. Freaking sad.
13. Casimir Pulaski Day - Sufjan Stevens - Devastating account from Stevens' life. It's brutal and dark and beautiful.
14. Concrete Sky - Beth Orton - "And there's a concrete sky, falling from the trees again and you know now why it's not coming round too soon. It's harder than a heartbreak, too. It's tough enough what love will do." Seems pretty dark to me.
15. Tony - Patty Griffin - Patty writes about a classmate who offs himself.
16. Where Is My Mind? - Pixies - Yes, where is it? For those days, which seem to be growing in number as I age, when I wonder just WHERE IS IT?
17. Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd - Oh, there's my mind. It's become comfortably numb.Happy 6/6/06 to all of you mixmaniacs!!
Note: Thursday Thirteen is directly below this post.Janet of The Art Of Getting By writes about everything you can think of and always titles her posts with a line from a song lyric. That clever woman!
I love her posts about teaching, since she teaches third grade and I'm mom to a third-grader. Actually, even if I didn't have a third-grader, I'd come away from reading the teaching posts learning something and appreciating what a young teacher's experiences.
This one, Put Me In Coach, hit right home with me. With the school year wrapping up in most communities, field days are upon us! And I, like Janet, dreaded these school competitions. No matter how much the adults ensure the kids that, "This is just for fun," the kids know better. It's dog-eat-dog out there in the school yard.
Read the post, here. Look at her, she's center field!
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