ROM Spacknight Custom Bound Comics

(Liner Notes Not Yet Complete)

This is my entry into the Puddle Cutter Mix CD Exchange V.2. This is actually the third part of a trilogy of mix CD’s that I have made in the past few months. Some of the same artists and genres show up. I have stayed away from metal and hip hop for the most part. Perhaps they will be included in future volumes. Perhaps there will be no more future volumes? Who fucking knows. Anyway. On to the CD.

1. Bob Dylan – The Man in Me

It’s Bob Dylan. It’s on the Big Lebowski soundtrack. What more do you need?

2. Songs: Ohia – Farewell Transmission

The album Magnolia Electric Company has been in steady rotation for a couple months. I have also been digging on the live album Trials and Errors as well, which has an even more Neil Youngish vibe. There are just so many great lines in all of these songs. My favorite from this particular song is, “Here comes midnight with the dead moon in its jaws.” Dunno. I think that’s fuckin cool.

3. Ween – Chocolate Town

I think that I mentioned in the liner notes to V.1 that I love Ween. I love the shit outa Ween. I think that they are one of the most talented bands out there. A lot of people treat them like a novelty act because many of their songs are funny or just straight up weird. The thing is they have some really poignant lyrics in some of their tunes. I was going to include one of their ballads for this mix but I couldn’t settle on just one. I had this song stuck in my head a few weeks ago and thus it appears on yer CD.

4. Frank Black and the Catholics – St. Francis Damn Disaster

I must admit, I am not a fan of the Pixies. They are ok. I wouldn’t ask someone to turn it off or anything but I myself would probably not put it on. Well. A friend of mine kept insisting that I check out Dog in the Sand. I took his advice and gave it a few spins. Honestly it didn’t do anything for me at first. A week went by I realized that these songs had kinda stuck in my head. Went back and gave it a real listen and what do ya know. I dug the fuck outa it. This song in particular stuck out. The way in which the river is anthropomorphized is brilliant.

5. Alexander ‘Skip’ Spence

6. Oren Bloedow and Jennifer Charles – Lamma Badha

Jennifer Charles has one of the sexiest voices in music. She was first brought to my attention by Dan the Automator’s Lovage record. I went on to check out her band Elysian Fields and that led me to this odd CD. It is Jewish folk songs from Spain. I recommend all of her stuff. Did I mention she’s totally hot?

7. Allison Kraus – Take Me for Longing

Here comes the country part of the mix. Yeehaa! I loves me some banjos.

8. Bobby Gentry – Ode to Billy Joe

I love this southern gothic stuff. This is one of those perfect pop songs. The arrangement, lyrics, and overall mood make it a classic.

9. Lee Hazelwood – Summer Wine

It was hard to pick a Lee Hazelwood song for this comp. So many good ones. Most of them are ‘bout drinkin and wimmen. This is the guy who wrote These Boots are Made for Walkin’ for Nancy Sinatra. I would recommend The Complete MGM Recordings, A Cowboy in Sweden, and For Every Solution There is a Problem to start out.

10. The Rolling Stones – Dead Flowers

Next to murder ballads I think songs about drugs are pretty kick ass. So many great songs have been written about drugs or while on drugs. This is a proven fact and no one knows more about the drugs than the Stones I suppose. Maybe I like these songs since I myself have not done heroin and this is a way of living vicariously through the lyrics.

11. Eugene McDaniels - Supermarket Blues

A Track List to a Recent Mix

A track list has been demanded and I must respond to my fans. This mix CD was a commissioned project. Meaning I did not make it on a whim or out of boredom. It was requested. All I knew at the beginning was that I had to include the song 'Sea Legs' by The Shins. The entire mix was created with that in mind. These things tend to have a mind of their own once I start them. Many songs that I wanted to put on there just didn't fit into the overall sensibility of the album. Wait. What was that last sentence? I might be taking this too seriously. Seriously. What I meant to say was the mix needed to have mad steez.

One might also notice that this CD is similar to the mix I made for the Puddle Cutter exchange. It includes some of the same artists and genres. This might be considered a companion to that disc. For the next exchange I plan on finishing the trilogy. Anyfuckingways, on the the track list.

1. Cantor de Mambo - Os Mutantes
From what I remember this song is a sarcastic take on the whole mambo craze. I believe it is about a conceited mambo artist who wishes to make it big in America so he can have a nice Cadillac and live in Hollywood.

2. Take it Easy My Brother Charles - Jorge Ben
One thing I have noticed about some of the songs in the tropicalia movement is how repetitive the lyrics can be. Some people have told me it's annoying. I dig it.

3. Subway Bound for Hell - Exuma
I want people to know about Exuma! I will put him on every damn mix ever! Well. Probably not. A song about Satan or Hell or something was requested so I dug this one up. In retrospect I would put 'Exuma the Obdeh Man' instead.

4. Intimate Secretary - The Raconteurs
Jack White and friends put on a sorta Beatles meets Zeppelin vibe. It's forgettable pop music with nonsensical lyrics. Sorta a guilty pleasure for me.

5. Sea Legs - The Shins
Another 'The' band. As I mentioned before this is the song that this whole mix revolves around. Kinda a late era Beck thing going on here. I should have put 'Go it Alone' by Beck after this but couldn't think of the song at the time. I guess this CD is kinda a rough draft.

6. Mambo Sun - T-Rex
One of the best band names ever. One time a co-worker told me my new boss was in a T-Rex cover band called T-Rextasy. This is a real band. My boss, however, was in no way associated with it.

7. You're so Vague - Queens of the Stone Age
It should be noted that I meant to put QOTSA covering 'Never Say Never' by Romeo Void. Oh well. Even Pete Muthafuckin Moss screws up sometimes. This song is kinda a cover of 'You're so Vain'. I think. Not really. Moving on...

8. Lion's Teeth - Mountain Goats
The driving rhythm of this song seemed to go well with the previous track. It is always hard to pick one song off of a concept album since they are meant to be listened to as a whole. This song stands pretty well on its own though.

10. Turn it Up - The Flaming Lips
Though Wayne Coyne has bought a little too much into his own hype lately I still love this band. This is a track from way back when they made fun acid soaked indie rock. I first heard it on the soundtrack to Love and a .45. If I recall correctly this movie was pretty sweet. Well. I was doing a lot of drugs back then. Maybe I should re-watch it. Nah. Why ruin a good memory. Kinda like the time I saw Toy Story on acid. It was a damned amazing experience. I refused to watch the movie since then in fear that it won't live up to the impossible expectations I have.

11. Three is a Magic Number - Blind Mellon
I always think of the scene in Mouse when I hear this song. All you need is an In n Out Burger, a giant skateboarding mouse, and this song. Bliss.

12. This is the Way - Devendra Banhart
Part of the new freak folk movement, Banhart's voice quivers like a Doves era Mark Bolan. Oh yeah. This song has the line, "This is the beard/I'm always growing". So, like, I can totally relate to this shit.

13. Loretta - John Prine
I was first introduced to Townes Van Zandt through the tribute album Poet. (Well technically I was exposed to him much earlier when Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson covered Pancho and Lefty but I had always thought that was a Willie song.) Loretta remains one of my favorite songs by Townes. Great lyrics throughout and just a tad bittersweet.

14. Return of the Grievous Angel - Gram Parsons
I'm not sure if I can think of a better vocal pairing than Gram Parsons and Emmy Lou Harris. This song is my favorite. The imagery he invokes is stunning, especially the Elvis reference at the end. "I met up with a king/On his head an amphetamine crown". One can only hope for a good saloon in every town dammit.

15. Nasty Dan - Johnny Cash
I felt compelled to put a Johnny Cash song on this here CD. I chose this one 'cause I wanted a little levity at the end of this thingy.

16. You can Count on Beer - David Allen Coe
I like David Allen Coe. I like beer. Again, a little fun and the end of the CD. I think this song is from the Take This Job and Shove It movie. I haven't seen it yet but the album cover shows a monster truck crashing through the foreman's trailer. Awesome.

17. Buyin' Back - Lee Hazelwood
I love this guy. He's kinda considered an outsider artist by some. This category doesn't quite fit when you consider he wrote a little hit with Nancy Sinatra called 'These Boots are Made for Walking" and Phil Spector's sound owes a lot to him.. Most of his songs deal with lost love and booze but he has a wry sense of humor about it no matter how low things get.

Do Office Drones Dream of an Electric Happy Hour at T.G.I. Friday's?

Soon I will be joining the ranks of the nine to fivers and weekend warriors. This is something I have been avoiding all my life but as my schooling comes to an end so must my wild years. I wonder how I will adapt to change.

Am I going to become one of them? Waking up at the same time everyday? Eating my meals at the same time every day? Looking forward to the weekends? Will I be slave to the clock?

I see these folks come into my restaurant all the time in a hurry because they only have half an hour for lunch, then they wait in line to eat on the weekends with the rest of the sheep. It somehow seems pathetic.

The one comfort I have is the fact that I will still be in the industry which automatically elevates me above regular douchebags. I can still bathe in my disdain for civilians. I'll try to keep rockin' folks.

So if you see me with my wife and kids waiting fifteen minutes for a table on a Saturday night, kill me. They shoot horses, don't they?

Music:

Stonehenge - Spinal Tap

Holy Diver - Dio

Defender - Manowar

Stand Up and Shout - Dio (by request)

The Ballad of Dwight Fry - The Melvins

Shotgun - Junior Walker and the Allstars

If 6 was 9 - Jimi Hendrix

Bury My Body - The Animals

(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below We're all Gonna Go - Curtis Mayfield

Built for Comfort - Howlin' Wolf

Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya - Dr. John

Tupelo - Steve Cropper, Pop Staples, Albert King

A.J. The House Fly - The Barkays


Films:

C.H.I.P.s Clips
For Your Height Only

An Excerpt:

"Someone buy me a fucking drink." I say this much too loud. People are staring at me, some look on in disgust. I am completely oblivious to the fact that I spilled my last two beers and have long since been cut off. Brett grabs me and leads me to an open table.
"I'll get you a drink. Just sit here and calm down." He returns to the bar to order. I look suspiciously at the beverage he places in front of me moments later.
"Did you fucking just fucking bring me fucking water?"
"Nah man, its a gin and tonic. Drink up."
"Why is it in a fucking pint glass?"
"Keep it down. The bartender thinks its for me." I take a sip. Too fucking sweet.
"What the fuck is this?"
"Dude, its a gin and tonic. You're so fucked up that you can't tell. Just drink it and chill the fuck out."
I take a few more sips of the shittiest gin and tonic I've ever had then grab the case of beer I somehow managed to procure earlier and head to the door.
"Fuck this place. Lets all go to my house and do some real drinkin'." Again, I say this much too loud.



I would like to thank Brett for lying about the Sprite as well as sincerely apologize to the Bartender at the Clinton Street Pub.

Not Quite Vegan