If Six Was Nine

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

71 44 Hours Remain!

Don't forget to fill out your entry in If Six Was Nine's year-end poll! Send yours to gforce1718@aol.com, they're trickling in, hehe.
Bren 1:08 AM

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

As if the movie weren't mind-blowingly awesome enough...

Now you can also buy the soundtrack for Wes Anderson's "The Life Aquatic." Along with the usual Mark Mothersbaugh genius, and some tracks from David Bowie and Devo and the Zombies and Joan Baez, the real cake-taker is Sau Jorge's renditions of David Bowie classics in Portuguese. When I saw the film and heard the acousitc-only Jorge version of "Life on Mars," I nearly shed a tear.

This one is on the top of my Christmas list, as should it be on yours.

Rebecca C. Brown 1:28 PM

Monday, December 13, 2004

Somebody Told Me That You're At A Place Called Vertigo With No Phone And Our Time Is Running Out To Take Me Out To The Boulevard Of Broken Dreams Until I Found A Reason For The Devil Tryin' To Break Me Down . . . But We'll All Float On (Alright!)

2004 In Review: The Poll

One year ago today was the day Paul posted the rules for last year's "Pazz & Jop"-style poll for the best songs and albums of 2003. I think we should do it again, and I'd be happy to compile it.

Reposting Paul's rules:

1. There will be two categories: "Best Album of 2004" and "Best Song of 2004"
2. Only albums with 2004 release dates are eligible.
3. Only songs from albums with 2004 release dates and songs released as singles in 2004 are eligible.
4. Each participant will be given 50 points to be distributed among selections in each category - that is, 50 points to distribute among albums released in 2004, and 50 points to distribute among songs released in 2004. This distribution will be subject to the following constraints:
1. Only whole points - no fractions of points - may be given.
2. No more than 15 points may be awarded to any one album or song (the idea here being that if you're truly inclined to give substantially more than 30% of your points to any one album, you've probably been seduced by some kind of novelty.) Point allocations in excess of 15 will be rounded down to 15. (The idea here being that this site is full of would-be cheaters.)
3. You need not allocate all 50 points in either category - in case you are, for instance, disillusioned with the past year in music.
5. Point allocations are to be emailed to gforce1718@aol.com no later than 11:59 PM on December 31, 2004. I will compile the results.

Anyone and everyone is invited to make a submission, the more the better.

UPDATE: In the comments to this post, we're gathering an informal group of nominations for songs and albums. There is no need to adhere strictly to them in your ballot, but they are there nonetheless to jog our collective memories regarding the sonic highlights of 2004. Feel free to add your potential selections to the pile.
Bren 10:17 AM

Saturday, December 11, 2004

Live 105 Not So Silent Night: The Review

In the spirit of promotional radio shows, I will give a quick review of each band, focusing somewhat on myself instead of each individual band, and without fleshing out or adding nuance to any particular review. And I shall end with my "hit single", a letter grade per band. So let's begin:

Taking Back Sunday: Im a sucker for anyone who swings the mic around during performance, but how did a genre as offensive as screamo become the new pop-punk? This is greatly angering the youth of America. And it made me miss At The Drive-In. C

Muse: I'd been dying to see this band live, and I was not dissapointed. HUGE arena-rock riffs by three amazing musicians. A little too spot on - for a bunch of really talented players, I would have liked to see some solos, but such is a nature of using samples in some sections (which, in itself, is the nature of only having three players and trying to get a big sound). A-

Interpol: I know I'm in the rock critic wannabe minority by not liking Interpol, but after tonight I can see what the fuss is about. A very chill show, some incredibly well-layered songs, not enough to get me to but a CD but I was impressed. B+

The Killers: The band I was here for. Honestly, a tad dissapointed - for a record that has so much energy, the live show feels a bit like a Vegas lounge act. I would have liked to see the singer sweat. But spot-on playing otherwise. B

Franz Ferdinand: Decent - Im not a fan, but the music they played aside, they have a lot of energy in their live show, which never hurts. A sort of toned-down Mooney Suzuki, but they can't be spited for trying. B

Modest Mouse: At this point, Id been on my feet for 5 hours, and I wish I'd had more energy to give them my respect. Modest Mouse was FANTASTIC - a very tight band (even with two drummers!), the appropriate amount of energy per song, just enough jamming to be interesting without wandering off into noodling territory. I've only come to like Modest Mouse after the last album (which is less my fault than theirs - I didn't make a grab for pop success), but I'd see them live again in a heartbeat. A

Thank you all, you've been a wonderful audience, be sure to keep tuning in to see what we've got in store.
Andy J 10:15 AM

Friday, December 10, 2004

The RS 10

Rolling Stone just did another top 500 list, this time of the greatest songs of all time. But let's trim the fat. By stripping away everything 1989 and earlier, we find that RollingStone's top 10 songs since the advent of the 90's are:

1. Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (10)
2. U2 - "One" (36)
3. Sinead O'Connor - "Nothing Compares 2U" (162)
4. Eminem - "Lose Yourself" (166)
5. REM - "Losing My Religion" (169)
6. Outkast - "Hey Ya!" (180)
7. Beck - "Loser" (200)
8. Radiohead - "Paranoid Android" (256)
9. Jeff Buckley - "Hallelujah" (259)
10. Pavement - "Summer Babe" (286)
Runners up include Eminem again ("Stan"), Bonnie Raitt ("I Can't Make You Love Me"), Eric Clapton ("Tears in Heaven") and Radiohead again ("Fake Plastic Trees"). For the flanel types out there, the first non-Nirvana grunge band to make the list was . . . actually, none did (unless Pavement counts). No Pearl Jam, Soundgarden or Alice in Chaines, or the lesser bands that pretentious music critics liked, such as Screaming Trees, The Melvins, and so on. Furthermore, the lack of Tool, Folds, NIN, Rage, Garbage, Pumpkins etc is troubling. Then again, I'm just amazed that those RS hipsters showed enough restraint to keep Strokes, White Stripes and Interpol songs off the list.

Anyway, let's take this decade-by-decade concept out for a spin, as I am unable to sleep right now...

RollingStone's Top 10 Songs of the 1950's:
1. Chuck Berry - "Johnny B Goode" (7)
2. Ray Charles - "What I'd Say" (10)
3. Chuck Berry - "Maybellene" (18)
4. Elvis Presley - "Hound Dog" (19)
5. Johnny Cash - "I Walk the Line" (30)
6. Buddy Holly - "That'll Be the Day" (39)
7. Little Richard - "Tutti Frutti" (43)
8. Elvis Presley - "Heartbreak Hotel" (45)
9. Little Richard - "Long Tall Sally" (56)
10. Jerry Lee Lewis - "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" (61)
Runners up: Bo Diddley, Elvis and Eddie Cochran.
First female entry from the 50's: The Chantels - "Maybe" (195)

RollingStone's Top 10 Songs of the 1960's:
1. Bob Dylan - "Like a Rolling Stone" (1)
2. Rolling Stones - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (2)
3. Aretha Franklin - "Respect" (5)
4. Beach Boys - "Good Vibrations" (6)
5. Beatles - "Hey Jude" (8)
6. The Who - "My Generation" (11)
7. Sam Cooke - "A Change Is Gonna Come" (12)
8. Beatles - "Yesterday" (13)
9. Bob Dylan - "Blowin' in the Wind" (14)
10. Beatles - "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (16)
Runners up: Hendrix ("Purple Haze"), The Ronettes ("Be My Baby") and the Beatles again ("In My Life"). Swap the positions of the top two Beatles songs, and have Jimi bump that third Beatles song, and I'll be happier.

RollingStone's Top 10 Songs of the 1970's:
1. John Lennon - "Imagine" (3)
2. Marvin Gaye - "What's Going On" (4)
3. Beatles - "Let It Be" (20)
4. Bruce Springsteen - "Born to Run" (21)
5. Derek and the Dominos - "Layla" (27)
6. Led Zeppelin - "Stairway to Heaven" (31)
7. Bob Marley - "No Woman No Cry" (37)
8. David Bowie - "Heroes" (46)
9. Simon & Garfunkel - "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (47)
10. The Eagles - "Hotel California" (49)
Runners up: Sex Pistols ("Anarchy in the UK"), Al Green ("Let's Stay Together") and Bob Dylan ("Tangled Up in Blue", my personal fave btw).
I hate to repeat this, but . . . first 1970's female song: Donna Summer - "Hot Stuff" (103).

Lastly, RollingStone's Top 10 Songs of the 1980's:
1. The Clash - "London Calling" (15)
2. Grandmaster Flash - "The Message" (51)
3. Prince - "When Doves Cry" (52)
4. Michael Jackson - "Billie Jean" (58)
5. Bob Marley - "Redemption Song" (66)
6. The Police - "Every Breath You Take" (84)
7. U2 - "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (93)
8. Prince - "Little Red Corvette" (108)
9. U2 - "With or Without You" (131)
10. Prince - "Purple Rain" (143)
Runners up: Public Enemy ("Bring the Noise"), Tracy Chapman ("Fast Car") and Tom Petty ("Free Fallin'").
That's a big "ouch!" for Madonna and for 80s-era REM. It's time I had some Tylenol.

Other randomness...
-The Beatles led all artists in total songs with 23.
-The 500th song? Boston's "More Than a Feeling". And that's better than "Betterman" or "Don't Change Your Plans" how exactly?
-No Cat Stevens? Bah.
Bren 2:07 AM