What’s in your pocket?

A ipod, of course, and it’s a sign of my age that I can't stop referring to it as a “walkman.”  It’s equally a sign of Apple's fine marketing that I am not representative in having this tic. 

A few months ago, the question “what’re the top ten songs on your ipod?” flew about the Internets.  Most of those who bothered to respond lied, of course.  Responders also tended to post song titles with no explanation of review, because of course those who were cool enough knew them and those who weren't should simply trust in their taste and go look them up.  Props to Randy McDonald for posting explanations with his song videos.  After all, these lists were interesting because of what they said about the person owning the ipod, not for the music itself — that’s why people lied.  But it always is possible to discover stuff that you never even knew you liked.   

So here’s my real top-ten list, with reviews and explanations and the occasional video.  Plus, a view of a typical suburban subdivision in Ponce, as mentioned in a previous post.

(10) “Frijolero,” by Molotov.  Mexican hip-hop, sort of, because it’s got tubas in the background.  The main verses have a Mexican guy complaining about the goddamned pretentious gringos, while the refrain has an American saying, “Don't call me gringo, you f--kin’ beaner, stay on your side of that goddamn river.”  The Mexicans have a better argument, and the rhymes are damn clever.  Frex (I've translated):  “We guarantee our debts with all our oil, even though we dunno who gets to keep the spoils.”

(9) “Candyman,” by Christina Aguilera.  Any doubts that I am being honest should now be put to rest.  Anyway, back in the 1990s I was one of those morons who would dress up in a pinstripe suit and stupid fedora, wear a long keychain, and head out to one of the clubs near the intersection of Broadway and Columbus in San Francisco to go swing dancing.   “Candyman” is straight-up swing revival, with some amusingly risqué lyrics.  Plus, I like Christina Aguilera.

(8)  “Joder,” by Los de Abajo.  More Mexican hip-hop, although the rhyme style is like nothing you hear in America.   And like Molotov (and Akwid, and Don Abusivo, and all the good Mexican rappers) they use lots of brass and accordions ... think of it as polka-mariachi-rap.  The album is called Cybertropic Chilango Power, which tells you more than you need to know about the group.  The song is political, with the refrain of “Así nos quieren joder” and lots of sampling of Mexican newscasts.  Highly recommended, probably better if you speak Spanish.

(7)  “Runaway,” by Bon Jovi.  Hey, dude, I grew up during the Eighties, and I loved this song.  Especially when I first started driving, even if it was getting old in the tooth by then.  It’s right up there with “Burning Up,” by Madonna, which had to be the wish-fulfillment anthem of every male heterosexual teenage virgin in 1983.  (See below.)  Rock on, homies.

(6)  “Alfie,” by Lily Allen.  Now this song is just like totally hilarious.  First, it's got this weird old-fashioned pre-rock melody, something you’d hear on the soundtrack of a Monty Python episode.  Second, it’s got Lily Allen with that totally sexy working-class accent, the British equivalent of Melanie Griffith in Working Girl.  Third, it's about a woman whose little brother sits home and smokes a whole hella lot of marijuana.  Like, totally cool, and who cares if some would call it bubblegum pop?  There’s a reason why Lily Allen is so popular across the pond.  (I will say though that the video, well, it disappoints.)

(5)  “Fit But You Know It,” by the Streets.  If hip-hop had been invented in a boring British suburb, this is what it would sound like.  The dude doesn’t rap, he talks, but with the beat.  This one is about spotting a hot chick on line in a fast food restaurant while on vacation and trying to decide whether or not to hit on her. He’s got others about returning a late video to the store, arguing over what to watch on television, and (for all I know) deciding what to wear in the morning.  Opening lyric:  “I reckon you’re about an eight or a nine, maybe even 9½ in four beers time.”

(4)  “Son of Detriot,” by Kid Rock.  Carlos posted an earlier sample from Kid Rock’s oeuvre.  “Son of Detriot” is not dissimilar.  Now, unlike “Forever” the newer tune is pure hard rock, more ZZ Top than Limp Bizkit.  He likes his whiskey straight up, daquiries they make him ill.  He don’t like no new wave techno bands around.  He’s gonna drink a couple dozen beers, go out and jam some gears, he’s a long-haired red-necked rock-n-roll son of detroit.  With props to Run DMC and, of course, ZZ Top.  Goes real well with the Bon Jovi song above, good stuff to drive too fast to.  Not that I do that anymore.

(3)  “Public Warning,” by Lady Sovereign.  Now this is the best of British hip-hop, what they call grime and I call very very very very good.   The rhymes are very clever, and spoken at about 128 rpm ... it flies.  Totally unlike the slow plodding shoot-yourself turn-it-off crap that’s been ruining way too much of American hip-hop over the past decade.  And she’s got that same cool-*ss low-class accent (to American ears) as Lily Allen.

(2)  “Noche del Amor,” by Andy López.  Luke, I think, would hate this song.  As would Kid Rock.  It is exactly the kind of new wave techno that he does not want around.  Even I am embarrassed about it, and more than a little surprised to find it so high on the play count.  I blame it on, you know, when I’m out on a long run.  Yeah, long runs, that’s the ticket. 

(1)  And finally, the number one song on my ipod, “Atrévete-te,” by Calle 13.  Great lyrics, like seriously funny.  (If at times, in mildly bad taste.  As in listen carefully to hear what else explodes around the abdomen besides intellectual women exposed to reggaetón.)  Clarinets instead of brass.  If you listen closely, you can hear the Puerto Rican accent, too ... every word that should end in “r” ends in fact with a “l.”  And finally, like I said, a view of your typical suburban development in southern Puerto Rico.  (No, not the screen shot below.)  Enjoy!

Comments

[Carlos]

My number one is this (be kind and right-click to save first):

http://www.umassdrumline.org/media/audio/2003/paranoid_android.mp3

I trust no explanation is necessary.

[Noel Maurer]

I enjoyed it, but sir, I would request an explanation. Not at all what I would have expected.

[Carlos]

It's pretty simple. Setting aside its charm, it's different enough to survive a fair amount of play, and familiar enough to play a fair amount.

[Martin Wisse]

"Second, it’s got Lily Allen with that totally sexy working-class accent"

Fake working class accent, as Lily Allen is as working class as the queen.

[Noel Maurer]

I'm sure that this is something that's common knowledge Over There, but honestly the only thing that I know about her is that I kinda liked her first album. I guess I could google, but would you mind explaining for our clueless American readers, which would include me? What should I know about her that I don't?

[Noel Maurer]

And even if the accent is fake, it works. C'mon, Martin, you didn't have any fun listening to it? Not even a little? None?

[DaveMB]

Hey, Go UMass! We have a rather good marching band (apparently the best in the East) and the deputy director for drums, Tom Hannum, seems to be something of a celebrity in the marching band world. The percussion section of the band mostly stays together in non-football season and performs by itself, doing stuff like this.

I've had an IPod only since Christmas, and I'm still in the middle of my first project with it, playing my entire "record collection" in alphabetical order by title. So far the most amusing juxtaposition has been the "Gloria" section of Haydn's Nelson Mass and "Gloria" by Van Morrison.

Here's the first ten songs on mine:

Acadian Driftwood -- Richard Shindell
Ache For You -- Ben Lee
Across the Alley From the Alamo -- Asleep at the Wheel
Adore -- Knots and Crosses
Again Today / Hiding My Heart -- Brandi Carlisle
Ain't Misbehavin' -- Claude Hopkins and his Orchestra
Ain't No Time of Year to Be Alone -- Mark Erelli
All Night Long -- Asleep at the Wheel
All Those Expectations == Peter Bjorn and John
All Through Cryin' -- James Hunter

My collection has a lot of recent indy/folk (so I know and like Lily Allen) and some oddities like Gilbert and Sullivan and a bunch of 20's and 30's pop. I'm a big fan of WFUV in NYC.

[Noel Maurer]

From my end, you might as well have written in Cyrillic ... I recognize precisely none of them. That's why I inveighed against the unexplained list! More narrative, please.

Of course, if it's just alphabetical order, then there's probably not any interesting info or stories there.

While I'm here, Lily Allen is considered folk? What exactly is folk music, then? She's not really what I have in mind when I hear the term.

[DaveMB]

WFUV calls its main programming "City Folk" -- it's a mix of what might really be called folk (e.g., Bob Dylan, Richard Thompson and imitators) with some classic rock stuff -- here's a list of their listeners' choices for best artists ever:

http://www.wfuv.org/music/best/essentialartists.html

and here's the listener favorite albums of 2007:

http://www.wfuv.org/music/best/bestof07.html
But "folk" crosses over into the genre called "indy", of whom I suppose Wilco are the flagship act. And the indy people are early adopters of non-US stuff, of which Britpop is a favorite segment.

The Brit music market seems to understand how to make pop songs in a way the mainstream US market doesn't. For example, James Hunter, who made my accidental first ten, is a young white British man who thinks he's Sam Cooke.

[Marcia]

Wow, reading all of this reminds me that I barely use my iPod for music anymore - it's almost all podcasts all the time. That, or meditation and yoga. Selected highlights from my Top 25 Recently Played, a list I'm skeptical about:

Bus Stop - The Hollies: Yes, the oldie. I sing along. I love the melody and story.

Deep Relaxation Mind Retreat
Sleep, Little One
Anti-Insomnia Music

All produced by Stin Hansen via http://www.mythoughtcoach.com

The Shot Heard 'Round The World - Schoolhouse Rock: I think this was left over from when the girls and I would sing along in the car, and that was over two years ago.

and finally...
Teen Titans: Cyborg's Theme

(About eight seconds in its entirety.)
http://files.titansgo.net/audio/music/Teen_Titans_-_Cyborg's_Theme.mp3

[Josh]

Lily Allen is Keith Allen's daughter:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Allen
(Not that anyone on the west side of the Atlantic has ever heard of Keith Allen.) Not working class by a long shot.

[Noel Maurer]

Josh: Nope, never heard of him. But it makes sense now! Of course, I'm still not sure that there's anything wrong with Lily Allen having a working class schtick that doesn't match reality ... her songs aren't exactly that high on the social commentary tip.

Or is there something that I'm missing? I get the feeling that there is. Help?

Marcia: hmmm. I got my list of "most played." Recently played includes such gems as:

"Panama," by Van Halen. Eighties hard rock, white boys on dope stuff.
"Cobrastyle," by the Teddybears. Cheesey modern dance-like crapola.
"Get the Truck Loaded," by the Rednex. I will let Carlos comment on that one.
"Quien," by Gerardo. He's the guy many people mistakenly believe goes by the moniker "Rico Suave."

So not the right metric.

But ... parenthood. Wow. Looking forward to it. I think.

[Michael]

Wow! Thanks! That Calle 13 guy I've heard before but hadn't taken the time to find out who it was! (Puerto Rican radio assumes you'll know already, because what loser wouldn't be listening to music with his friends anyway?)

I reread your Ponce post from way back. It still speaks to me. We've decided to stay at least another year -- oh, and we picked up one of those stray dogs. It cost about $200 to eliminate the mange, but the result is a really amiable dog. Several people have already told us, "Oh, a stray! A stray is the most loyal dog you'll ever have." There's a peculiar relationship between Ponceños and their stray dogs. Sort of emblematic of the bittersweet thing that is life in Ponce.

[Dennis Brennan]

A lot of this is going to be skewed by the fact that my 3-4 years worth of playcount statistics got wiped out by my last hard drive format/OS reinstall:

10) Ave Maria (Josquin Desprez). I loves me some 1500s music. The last lines "O mater Dei, memento me, Amen" are my cell phone ringtone-- this is partly because it's beautiful music, partly because it gets my wife's goat.

9) Blue Suede Shoes (Elvis): My 2-year old is one of the world's youngest Elvis fans, and I play this through my ipod speakers. He sings and dances to it. (The only other Elvis song that he seems to like is Jailhouse Rock).

8) Hide and Seek (Imogen Heap). Now a famous cliche from an SNL skit.

7) Sanvean (Lisa Gerrard)

6) Shadow Magnet (Lisa Gerrard again) (I listen to Dead Can Dance & affiliates a lot at work since music with words in English is too distracting)

5) Drops of Jupiter (Train)

4) Chop Suey! (System of a Down)

3) Silence (Hans Zimmer's soundtrack to The Thin Red Line) (listening at work, again)

2) Breaking Free (High School Musical soundtrack). Um, that'd be the kids again.

1) Orpheus in the Underworld (Offenbach). My kids call this the "jumping song".

[Carlos]

My comment? long-term exposure to the Rednex is detectable by CT scan.

The last CD I listened to was Concerto Koln/Sarband's Dream of the Orient, a collection of classical music done "in the Turkish style" from the 1780s and 1790s, paired with genuine Ottoman music.

The last mp3: Jeannie Riley's Harper Valley PTA. though there has been Van Halen content before that. (Two tracks from 1984; guess which.) Also Sadat X's Escape From New York, and where the hell did I pick up _that_?

Looking through my music list is a little like going through a creepy uncle's attic. The banjo, the M-16, the headless mascot costume, the black velvet painting of Ernest Hemingway? each item probably made sense at the time of acquisition.