No stupid rants about assholes on Twitter, retarded music trends, idiots on TV or what-have-you tonight. I am very tired and in a surprisingly good mood. Oh well. Don’t worry, I’m sure something will piss me off soon enough.
Soul Asylum
James AT 16 (Heavy Medley)
Soul Asylum may be an also-ran of the grunge-era but I always dug them. I remember seeing the video for “Just Like Anyone” as an ultra-geeky teenager and falling in love with the Angelic Claire Danes. I owned all their popular albums but over the years have managed to misplace most of them. I should give Grave Dancers Union another spin sometime.
Soul Asylum was always straddling the line between pure pop and college-rock/punk and this medley shows their wide variety influences that most likely led to their signature sound. Recorded live at the Whiskey-A-Go-Go in 1988, this 11-minute epic is a medley of heroic proportions, covering 13 songs from various genres and periods. The madness knows no bounds and it includes “The Cross” by Prince; “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield; “I’m Waiting For The Man” by Velvet Underground; “Birth, School, Work, Death” by The Godfathers; “Damaged Goods” by Gang of Four; “Play that Funky Music” by Wild Cherry; “Free For All” Ted Nugent; “Oops Upside Your Head (aka “I Don’t Believe You Want To Get Up and Dance”) by The Gap Band; “Body Slam” by Bootsy’s Rubber Band; “Staying Alive” by The Bee Gees; “Wishing Well” by Terrence Trent D’Arby; “Get Down Tonight” by KC And The Sunshine Band and finally “Peaceful Easy Feeling” by The Eagles.
Wow. That has to be the only time anyone every combined Gang of Four and The Eagles.
R.E.M.
Mandolin Strum
Belong (Live)
Orange Crush (Live)
Star Me Kitten (Demo)
Losing My Religion (Live)
Organ Song
I have a love/have relationship with R.E.M., with every album of theirs I love there is at least one other I hate. And they were partially responsible for “Shiny Happy People” which is something I still have not forgiven them for. I’d have to be some sort of emotionless monster not to like “Everybody Hurts” however, which is the single from which these B-sides are culled from.
One of my best high school memories was caused by “Everybody Hurts” and allow me to indulge.
My senior year was pretty awesome schedule-wise. I had an art class second period, an independent study that was also an art class third period, lunch fourth period and then a study hall fifth period. Basically the middle of my day was made up of art and doing nothing. Good times. Anyways, for that study hall I volunteered to be a teacher’s aide in the science library, which was a great gig because no one ever used the science library as it was at the far end of school (and it was a science library). So most of the time I got to sit on an ultra-comfy couch, read comics and listen to the radio while the librarian went out to smoke.
One day some amazingly hot girls came into the library to “study” and in a rare instance of clique-crossover, decided to talk to me. Using their womanly ways they convinced me to change the radio from the oldies station (the librarian’s choice) to the local alternative station. Right then “Everybody Hurts” came on and all three of us just layed on the couch and listened to the song in silence. Very John Hughes of us I know but at the time that moment seemed to mean something.
But enough about my overly dramatic high school days, as I said before, these songs are from two different singles of “Everybody Hurts.” Some of them are kind of scratchy though, and I apologize for the sub-par quality.