Darth Drabek

Popped in my favorite Frank Black mix CD today and I guess I'm not the only one who's been listening to the rotund bard lately... FB & the Catholics - I've Seen Your Picture "I went a waaaaaays on the road that I was on"

Haha, that song is classic. Camper's cover of Pictures of Matchstick Men is one of my favorite covers ever. A while ago I considered starting a thread about favorite cover tunes, because I'm fascinated by different versions of the same song. Also, people could get informed if one of their favorite bands got covered by somebody else's favorite band in another genre - that sort of thing. But we have a pretty lively music discussion here anyway and I wouldn't want to dilute the current music & lyrics threads.

R.E.M. - Crush with Eyeliner More ridiculous Michael Stipe lyrics.... "She's a sad tomato." I mean, come on. Song rocks though.

Wow.... Chevy Chase had joke parties? I didn't think he had any friends.

It was a mistake picking her, precisely because she lacked the qualifications. But that lack of qualifications (and through that, confidence) might have led to her toeing the line drawn by greater judges - which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned, but the conservative base wants someone who has the cojones to break legal precedent. Now that's something that even the most conservative appointees have yet to do. Once you're on the Supreme Court, you don't have to worry about re-election, or riling up the base. All you gotta do is uphold the Constitution - and it doesn't really matter what the other branches want you to do. Checks and balances, baby. Nobody's gonna overturn Roe v. Wade. I also think it's a little funny that Stubborn George bowed so quickly to the will of "the people" in this instance. (When I say "the people" I essentially mean "his people" of course) Dance, puppet, dance.

What happened to "Stick to yer guns" Georgie? I guess it's okay to admit a mistake as long as your base says it's a mistake.

Ah, I remember those days of sweet anticipation. Waiting for the sequel to the greatest game of all time. Le sigh.

Here's a triple shot of awesome: Old 97s - Indefinitely Tom Waits - Old '55 Afghan Whigs - Faded

I was just listening to that album two days ago. It's one of my favorites of his, cause I just love that dirty, rootsy feel. In the morning I want my coffee, And in the evening I want my dope, And in the afternoons I'm drinking At the new house of the pope. Current listening: Van Morrison - Moonshine Whiskey

Steve Earle - Angry Young Man

I think I've already commented in one of these music threads about what a great song "Brothers in Arms" is.... and "Lover, You Should've Come Over" is the second-greatest thing Jeff Buckley ever did (next to his cover of "Hallelujah" which is vastly superior to both the Cohen original and the Rufus Wainwright cover IMHO). "Frank Sinatra" by Cake was the song that pried me from the pop station the rest of the junion high listened to - well that and "Burden in My Hand" by Soundgarden. I have collected the entire Cake catalog, something I have done with only a few bands. Heh, I don't even have the complete works of Soundgarden (missing the Screaming Life/FOPP E.P.) and they may be my favorite band. Thank you for admiring my avatar, Mr. Schmarth - The Stranger has resided below my name since August 2004. "that's a mighty fine sasparilla."

The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed. It's simple, and it sets the hook. The intro sentence to the first book of Stephen King's recently completed Dark Tower saga. I remember reading about King reminiscing about writing that book: "That sentence was clean. The rest of it might have been puff and blow, but that, that was clean."

I listened to Cake's Motorcade of Generosity album twice yesterday. I like it much more than their recent effort, Pressure Chief. They are just starting to get their sound together and you can tell they're just loving it. Especially "Jolene."

mc chris played my old college town last Thursday. Alas, now that I am a working man living four hours away, I could not go. I bought (yes, bought!!!!) three albums recently: The Twilight Singers - Blackberry Belle Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers So now I've joined the club of people who know what an awesome song "Alcoholiday" is.

Hello again everybody - I have been living without the internet or cable TV at my new apartment, somewhat like a 21st century monk. I am much too busy to post at work, but I will occasionally check up on things from a library or somewhere else with free internet access. But for now, I give you one of the Stones' greatest forays into country music: "Dead Flowers" The Rolling Stones Well when you're sitting there in your silk upholstered chair Talkin' to some rich folk that you know Well I hope you won't see me in my ragged company Well, you know I could never be alone Take me down little Susie, take me down I know you think you're the queen of the underground And you can send me dead flowers every morning Send me dead flowers by the mail Send me dead flowers to my wedding And I won't forget to put roses on your grave Well when you're sitting back in your rose pink Cadillac Making bets on Kentucky Derby Day Ah, I'll be in my basement room with a needle and a spoon And another girl can take my pain away Take me down little Susie, take me down I know you think you're the queen of the underground And you can send me dead flowers every morning Send me dead flowers by the mail Send me dead flowers to my wedding And I won't forget to put roses on your grave - yeah! Take me down little Susie, take me down I know you think you're the queen of the underground And you can send me dead flowers every morning Send me dead flowers by the U.S. Mail Say it with dead flowers in my wedding And I won't forget to put roses on your grave No, I won't forget to put roses on your grave

I vote Ender for mod! But no Eldar in WOT makes me a saaaaaad panda.

Authority Song is great! My dad had the old Mellencamp tapes and I remember thinking he was singing something completely different that didn't heighten my respect for Johnny Cougar.... "I fight with Dorothy and Dorothy always wins... Oh, I fight with Dorothy and Dorothy always wins!"

Another of my favorite Dylan songs: Shelter from the Storm 'Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form. "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm." And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured I'll always do my best for her, on that I give my word In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm. "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm." Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved Everything up to that point had been left unresolved. Try imagining a place where it's always safe and warm. "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm." I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail, Poisoned in the bushes an' blown out on the trail, Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn. "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm." Suddenly I turned around and she was standin' there With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair. She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns. "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm." Now there's a wall between us, somethin' there's been lost I took too much for granted, got my signals crossed. Just to think that it all began on a long-forgotten morn. "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm." Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount But nothing really matters much, it's doom alone that counts And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn. "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm." I've heard newborn babies wailin' like a mournin' dove And old men with broken teeth stranded without love. Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn? "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm." In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes I bargained for salvation an' they gave me a lethal dose. I offered up my innocence and got repaid with scorn. "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm." Well, I'm livin' in a foreign country but I'm bound to cross the line Beauty walks a razor's edge, someday I'll make it mine. If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born. "Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."

I give you an overlooked Bob Dylan gem from his 1978 album, Street Legal: Changing of the Guards Sixteen years, Sixteen banners united over the field Where the good shepherd grieves. Desperate men, desperate women divided, Spreading their wings 'neath the falling leaves. Fortune calls. I stepped forth from the shadows, to the marketplace, Merchants and thieves, hungry for power, my last deal gone down. She's smelling sweet like the meadows where she was born, On midsummer's eve, near the tower. The cold-blooded moon. The captain waits above the celebration Sending his thoughts to a beloved maid Whose ebony face is beyond communication. The captain is down but still believing that his love will be repaid. They shaved her head. She was torn between Jupiter and Apollo. A messenger arrived with a black nightingale. I seen her on the stairs and I couldn't help but follow, Follow her down past the fountain where they lifted her veil. I stumbled to my feet. I rode past destruction in the ditches With the stitches still mending 'neath a heart-shaped tattoo. Renegade priests and treacherous young witches Were handing out the flowers that I'd given to you. The palace of mirrors Where dog soldiers are reflected, The endless road and the wailing of chimes, The empty rooms where her memory is protected, Where the angels' voices whisper to the souls of previous times. She wakes him up Forty-eight hours later, the sun is breaking Near broken chains, mountain laurel and rolling rocks. She's begging to know what measures he now will be taking. He's pulling her down and she's clutching on to his long golden locks. (now, my favorite stanza) Gentlemen, he said, I don't need your organization, I've shined your shoes, I've moved your mountains and marked your cards But Eden is burning, either brace yourself for elimination Or else your hearts must have the courage for the changing of the guards. Peace will come With tranquility and splendor on the wheels of fire But will bring us no reward when her false idols fall And cruel death surrenders with its pale ghost retreating Between the King and the Queen of Swords.

I think it's quite good. Kudos to you and your imagination!

Warren Zevon "The French Inhaler" How ya gonna make your way in the world, woman When you weren't cut out for working When your fingers are slender and frail How ya gonna get around In this sleazy bedroom town If you don't put yourself up for sale Where will you go with your scarves and your miracles Who's gonna know who you are? Drugs and wine and flattering light You must try it again till you get it right Maybe you'll end up with someone different every night All these people with no home to go home to They'd all like to spend the night with you Maybe I would, too But tell me How ya gonna make your way in the world, woman When you weren't cut out for working And you just can't concentrate And you always show up late You said you were an actress Yes, I believe you are I thought you'd be a star So I drank up all the money, Yes, I drank up all the money, With these phonies in this Hollywood bar, These friends of mine in this Hollywood bar Loneliness and frustration We both came down with an acute case And when the lights came up at two I caught a glimpse of you And your face looked like something Death brought with him in his suitcase... Your pretty face (It looked so wasted) Another pretty face (Devastated) The French Inhaler He stamped and mailed her "So long, Norman" She said, "So long, Norman"

I just got a job writing for a newspaper, so all my hobbies will go by the wayside within a week. While in college I played bass in one band for two years, and played guitar and sang in another band. Now it will be back to the open-mic circuit, if I can find one in my new town. The free beer perk of being in a band let me become a discriminating beer drinker. I have visited quite a few wineries with my parents, so I also am an aspiring wine snob. I used to work out a lot. I played football and baseball in high school. In the future, I want to work somewhere with a company softball team.

My two cents: Metallica didn't "go gay" by using pedal steel or writing softer stuff for Load and Reload. Yes, those albums were bad, but it was because most of the songs were boring and forgettable, not because they weren't thrashfests. Some of the better songs were slower (Bleeding Me and Until it Sleeps come to mind). St. Anger is possibly the worst album I have ever heard, and it had plenty of "thrash" to it. It was a vain attempt to recapture the fan base which considered them softies and left them. Apparently, Lars & co. thought by playing longer songs really fast they could recall Master of Puppets-era greatness. They must have forgotten that for that to work, you need interesting songs. So to those who whined and whined about how Metallica went soft, partial blame goes to you for the atrocity that is St. Anger. I remember my first reaction to St. Anger: "Did Kirk quit the band too?" Also, that review of Pavement pretty much nails the indie-rock scene. There were plenty of indie-scenesters at my college, and what an incestuous group they were. It was hard as hell to get a gig at the punk/indie club in town for my old band, although we could play at another bar twice a week if we wanted. I always said it was because we washed our hair too often. Maybe we needed bigger black frames for our glasses. Or maybe we weren't skinny enough. My favorite Pavement album is Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (although I think repeating the title is quite unneccessary).

Haha... it's a Wiggin joke. From the books. No offense on your name!