Anachronistic & Impulsive, Part II

CD’s don’t have “sides” likes records, but if they did, this would be side 2:

10. VNV Nation - Legion: this band has been around for about 10 years, but they’re relatively new to me, and this song has become a favorite. This CD gets its title from this song, and it’s very much the heart of the CD.

11. Covenant - Leviathan: it was hard choosing a track for this spot on the disc - I almost went with a Front Line Assembly song. But Leviathan provided the right mood for transitioning from VNV Nation to Skinny Puppy. It’s really hard to find a decent lead-in to Skinny Puppy.

12. Skinny Puppy - Hardset Head: this track is from the final Skinny Puppy album. Unlike other Skinny Puppy fans I know, I think this album is their best. It was completed after the death of one of the band members, and it provides a very real sense of closure and finality for the band. As one of the most high-tech bands out there, I also think it was a brilliant move to give this album such a low-tech sound: lots of guitars, keyboards that sound like they’re from the early-80s, and even some actual singing.

13, Ralph Stanley - O Death: even harder than transitioning to a Skinny Puppy song, is transitioning away from one. With this track I went with something thematically similiar, but musically as different as possible. This is a voice-only song that always sends chills down my spine. It’s from the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack

14. They Might Be Giants - She’s Actual Size: this was runner-up for my choice of a song to sing at my wedding reception. But my voice wasn’t nearly good enough to pull this one off, so it’s probably a good thing I didn’t choose it.

15. Tuscadero - Nancy Drew: continuing with the tone of silliness laid down by TMBG, we go in a more punkish direction. Ater lambasting her parents for throwing out all her childhood memorabilia, including her collection of Nancy Drew books, the singer frets “I had never forgotten about them / how will I get along without them / I feel so unsteady / oh Nancy, I miss you already.” So it’s a goofy, sentimental song. I guess I’m a sucker for that kind of thing.

16. Man or Astroman? - The Sound Waves Reversing: this instrumental track is just a short b-side from a 7″, but I love its energy. I’m not as crazy about this band as some other folks: the 50s sci fi/outer space/surf guitar theme is a cool idea, but after a number of albums all in the same vein, it gets old.

17. Jawbreaker - Jinx Removing: these guys from San Francisco were the “it” punk band in the 90s. This track is buried towards the end of the great album “24 Hour Revenge Therapy,” and it’s a very cool little love song.

18. REM - These Days: it may seem odd to put an REM song in the middle of a punk set, but this actually fits right in. When assembling the track list for this disc, I had room for just one more, short song. After fretting for a while I picked this one. Like other 80s alternative bands that went big (U2, Depeche Mode), they did their best work before becoming mega-stars. By the time the “Document” album made REM huge, their best days as music writers were already behind them.

19. NoMeansNo - He Learned How to Bleed: this song was my mantra during grad school. It’s a song about coping, so I guess I found the work pretty grim. (Beware the many typos in the transcription of the lyrics that I’ve linked to).

20. Steven Jesse Bernstein - Party Balloon: I know I’ve put a lot of links in this post, but if you only read one of the linked pages, read this one. It’s the only adequate description I’ve found of Steven Jesse Bernstein’s work. The only thing lacking from that description is that it doesn’t mention his sense of humor. While there is plenty of sadness in the “Prison” album, there’s also a lot of humor, albeit of the bleak variety. It’s hard to explain why I closed the disc with this track. This poem is challenging and covers an awful lot of emotional ground, and I wouldn’t say it provides a sense of closure, but it does provide a sense of at least closing the door for the night.