jyuenger » 2010 » December

Songs get stuck in my head. Sometimes it’s the last thing I heard ( which is then replaced by the next thing ), and sometimes it’s an old melody that comes roaring out of a far corner of my brain, hooks in, and won’t let go. This is an actual psychological condition ( there are two excellent books on the subject : Oliver Sacks’ Musicophilia, and This Is Your Brain On Music by Daniel J. Levitin ) that I suffer from, although I don’t think of it as, you know, an affliction. I started learning to listen ( I mean, really listen – you’d be surprised at how many people, even accomplished musicians, don’t – or can’t ) at a very young age, when I realized that I derived an intense, almost physical pleasure from music, and I think of listening as a skill that is a lifetime in the making. I have learned to abstain from humming, whistling, desk-drumming a song that’s in my head, because those things make people crazy. Anyway, it’s absolutely miraculous that years of playing guitar in front of blaring stacks of amps didn’t damage my hearing ( the owner of the rehearsal studio where we wrote most of Astro-Creep : 2000 told me that we were the loudest band he’d ever had in there ), but I know that my grasp of music comes from having learned to pay attention, not some superhuman ability to hear dog-frequencies.

We’ve Got A Fuzzbox And We’re Gonna Use It : Love Is The Slug

We’ve Got A Fuzzbox And We’re Gonna Use It : Love Is The Slug

So a couple of weeks ago, I woke up with this song, which I hadn’t heard in something like 23 years, playing in my head – non-STOP. Wacky British cartoon punk chicks with a winning melody, clever, dynamics-creating production by Martin Rushent. You remember the Monty Python sketch where Michael Palin has the tape recorder in his nose, sticks his finger up there to press the stop button? I wish. Usually when this happens, I can hit ‘stop’ by auditioning the offending track on iTunes, but, for whatever reason, there’s only a demo version of this one on there, not the recording that I was trying to get out of my skull. It seemed pre-ordained, then, that just a few days later, while browsing in a musty, dusty, up-a-flight-of-rickety-stairs record store, I found a mint 12″ pressing. Here it is, sorry if it gets stuck in your head.

100 Good Reasons To Kill Myself Right Now

|December 28, 2010 | Found Images

Via A Journey Round My Skull.

Carolina In My Mind

|December 28, 2010 | Found Sounds

Are you smiling and tapping Your foot? If not, why the fuck not? This is, like, the feel-goodest song of all time.

James Taylor : Carolina In My Mind

James Taylor : Carolina In My Mind

Molly McGuire

|December 28, 2010 | Found Sounds

In the mid 90s, Kansas City produced several bands who loosely shared a sound which was quite different from what was going on at the time ( yes, I call it the Kansas City Sound ). I’ve been revisiting some of these groups lately : Shiner, Season To Risk, and Molly McGuire.

01. Molly McGuire : Stand By

01. Molly McGuire : Stand By

02. Molly McGuire : ” One Day Blue “

02. Molly McGuire : One Day Blue

Leon Russell

|December 28, 2010 | Found Images

.. I mean, just look at the guy.

See It Now

|December 27, 2010 | Found Images

rrrrrr

|December 27, 2010 | Found Images

Via Vintage Psychedelics.

Port Arthur : Ghost Town

|December 26, 2010 | Photos By J.Yuenger, Travels

Oświęcim

|December 26, 2010 | Found Images

Photo by Danny Ghitis.

Furry Observer

|December 25, 2010 | Found Images

.

|December 25, 2010 | Found Images

Via Fuck Yeah Street Lights!

Serge, My Man.

|December 25, 2010 | Found Images

Via Jewahl.

Time For Bed

|December 25, 2010 | Found Images

Via Shelby Rude.

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|December 24, 2010 | Found Images

Capricorn

|December 22, 2010 | Found Images, Found Sounds

Happy birthday to us.

Motörhead : Capricorn ( Alternate Version )

Motörhead : Capricorn ( Alternate Version )

On The Road Again

|December 19, 2010 | Found Images

Number of dead deer spotted on the side of the highway : eight, the most I’ve ever seen in one day. I’m a city boy and I don’t know such stuff ( I just do eyes ), but I guess this is the time of year when the poor creatures venture out of the woods looking for food.