Christmas Wrapping

My favorite X-mas song. An oldie ('80's) and goodie. I almost skipped Christmas '06, but instead, just as in the song, I ended up rejoicing, "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas. Couldn't miss this one this year."

Singing the Blues

I haven't had the greatest of months lately. OK, you may not have any compassion for my situation, but it hasn't been a total life of leisure here. I've been slammed with health, family, career, guys, and even car issues. It's enough to make me escape the world by curling up on the couch and drowning out the voices in my head with a string of trivial talk shows on the boob tube. Then one afternoon, I was inspired by a segment on the radio about the Complaints Choir. They sing of gripes regarding everything from the toilet paper always running out to love not lasting forever. (There's never enough of what you want, is there?) Their music is as painfully poignant as that of Morrissey or Damien Rice. But there's an added sense of dark humor that makes you first laugh at each kvetch, then realize that the point is depressingly sad because it's true, and finally you shrug your shoulders and are consoled by the fact that, hey, at least the choir and its audience are finding some enjoyment in all of this human misery. I think I'll start taking voice lessons and live in Finland.

Nerdcore

This summer I heard about this type of music called nerdcore which is basically techie hip hop. Like the O.G. (original genre), nerdcore has infectious beats, is aggressive, articulate, and hilariously clever to those who can dig the lingo. The O.G. had Tupac and Biggie, among many others, and nerdcore has at least one rivalry -- between east coaster MC Plus+ (well, his crib is @ Purdue U., Indiana) and west coaster Monzy (who got his street cred from MIT). Check these rhymes from the left coaster's first single So Much Drama in the PhD, out on Typedef Jam Records.

I control my flow better than TCP

By the time you've rhymed one line, I've already busted ten;
You rap in exponential time and I'm big-O of log(n).

Even skanky fat hoes give you denial of service

Real gangstas sip on Yacc; instead you generate a parser

DWORD to your moms, I came to drop bombs;
I've got more rhymes than San Jose's got dotcoms.

Your mom circulates like a public key,
Servicing more requests than HTTP.
She keeps all her ports open like Windows ME,
Oh, there's so much drama in the PhD.

Oo

Current song on infinite replay:

Oo


By Up Dharma Down

Melancholy Baby

Songs to be blue to

• True - Spandau Ballet
• Ghost - Indigo Girls
• Sara Bareilles - Gravity
• The Smithereens - In A Lonely Place
• Chantal Kreviazuk - Surrounded
• Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over
• Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter
• Gary Jules - Mad World
• Lauryn Hill - Ex Factor
• James - Out To Get You
• Jason Mraz - Absolutely Zero
• Stevie Wonder - Lately
• Paula Cole - I Am So Ordinary
• Sarah McClachlan - Do What You Have To Do
• Simply Red - Holding Back The Years
• The Smiths - How Soon Is Now
• U2 - All I Want Is You
• Glashaus - Wenn Das Liebe Ist
• Tori Amos - China
• Lush - For Love
• Third Eye Blind - Deep Inside Of You
• The Cure - Untitled

Best Covers

Everything old is new again. And better.

• Wishing on a Star / The Cover Girls / Rose Royce?


• One Fine Day / Natalie Merchant / The Chiffons


• I'll Take You / General Public / The Staple Singers


• Summer Breeze / Jason Mraz / Seals & Crofts


• Melissa / Indigo Girls / Allman Brothers Band


• It's Too Late / Gloria Estefan / Carole King


• Emotion / Destiny's Child / Bee Gees


• I Will Survive / Cake / Gloria Gaynor


• Mercy Mercy Me / Robert Palmer / Marvin Gaye


• The Beat Goes On / Britney Spears / Sonny & Cher


• Lately / Boyz II Men / Stevie Wonder


• Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing / John Legend / Stevie Wonder


• Overjoyed / Mary J. Blige / Stevie Wonder


• Higher Ground / Red Hot Chili Peppers / Stevie Wonder


• Wild Horses / The Sundays / The Rolling Stones


• Sweet Jane / Cowboy Junkies / The Velvet Underground


• Dancing Barefoot / U2 / Patti Smith Group


• Sailing / 'N Sync / Christopher Cross


• Feeling Alright / Paul Weller / Joe Cocker


• It's My Life / No Doubt / Talk Talk


• Love Will Tear Us Apart / Nada Surf / Joy Division


• Come on Eileen / Save Ferris / Dexy's Midnight Runners


• Pour Some Sugar On Me / Emm Gryner / Def Leppard


• King of Pain / Alanis Morissette & Sting / The Police


• Love Song / 311 / The Cure


• Mad World / Gary Jules / Tears For Fears


• Frontin' / Jamie Cullum / Pharrell


• Why Do I Lie? / Luscious Jackson / (Not a cover, but it's very retro)

What's on my mind?

. . . . . . stumbling on happiness . . . . . . Overjoyed, Mary J.'s cover . . . . . . finding out too much about someone on the internet . . . . . . ghetto smart . . . . . . ethical living . . . . . . slackers . . . . . . baggage . . . . . . Summer Breeze, Jason M.'s cover . . . . . . solitude . . . . . . You and I Both, Mr.A-Z . . . . . .