monzyummylunch

I'm still fighting this horrible spring virus. But my appetite is back, with a vengeance, and for lunch today I had a corned beef sandwich on WG bread with beer mustard, an apple, a Breakstone's Cottage Doubles and I brought an orange I may pound later. Onward. I've had requests for things here during my guest-blogging stint, and I now turn to the top of the stack. Monsieur writes last month, "I would like to suggest a new music-related posting in which Monz comments on 10 random tunes on his iPod (similar to The Onion's A/V Club "Random Rules"). Monz could explain why he likes the tune, where/when he first heard the tune, etc. We loyal readers yearn to know more about what 'makes Monz Monz.'"

Well, Monsieur, I'm way too sick and tired to write up 10 tunes so I'll split this entry in two. I'm good for 5 now and 5 another day! Let's dive into my iPod! Hold on, I'm flipping through . . . hold on . . . . OK . . . .Five Random Tunes:


1: "Elbow Blues" by the 88 from their LP "Kind of Light." I first discovered this band one night at one of the best gigs I ever saw -- Gwendolyn and the 88 at the Hideout. Gig dignity was all over the place as this band ripped through an acoustic set to a very very small but appreciative audience. After the gig, I bought their 2nd CD and went online to check them out a little more. I went to their website where they kindly offered this tidbit from their first LP as a free download (hint: I think it's still there!) and it kicked my ass. Ouch.


2: "The Good in Everyone" by Sloan from "One Chord to Another." I first heard these guys on a local radio station in the very early nineties. Then they seemed to disappear from local radio. One day in the later nineties, I was bored as hell with rock and remembered them -- I went to their website and wound up ordering a random LP of theirs just to see what would happen. Well, what happened was it changed my life! This was the first tune on the LP, and I never looked back. Sloan! They restored my faith in rock n' roll!


3: "The Adultress" by the Pretenders, currently from the "Pirate Radio" box. A more recent addition to my 'pod, this tune brings back memories of when their second LP was the new one, and I taped it and slapped it into my walkman. I was working at my dad's place that summer and I'd drive to work with him. He used to listen to AM talk radio blasted really loud, so I'd plug into my Walkman and crank this. If only I knew what I was getting into . . .

4: "Crow Jane" by Skip James from the classic LP, "Today!" One of the sprightliest, jauntiest tunes about murdering your chick ever recorded! OMG! Skip is easily the angriest, most miserable bluesmen ever to walk the earth (he really was -- research him if you get a chance). Kudos for that! I first heard this when my brother bought me the LP many years ago. You really gotta hear this, the music (a solo acoustic guitar) sounds like he's about to play the happiest tune ever. Then he starts singing in his ghostly falsetto about killing Crow Jane. The dichotomy never ceases to freak me out and leave me muttering to myself.


5: "I'll Run the Jack on You" by Dave Cloud from the seminal "Song I will Always Sing." Low-fi rockin' madness! From the indelible retro accapella intro, to the repetitive riff that just drives you straight to rock n' roll nirvana. It's got everything: distorted guitars, revenge fantasy lyrics, pounding drums and vocals unlike anything you've heard in rock n' roll.

This was just a random sample from the currently 7+ thousand tunes on my pod. Whew!