FIV5ONG5 :: FIV5BAND5

BEACH SIDE PROPERTY :: Always reminds me of Seattle. I love the raw energy of this song, and the poetic lyrics. The whole album is a triumph of lo-fi goodness, and remains my favorite Modest Mouse album of all time.

"We're going union like they say.
We'll buy the congregation
then, one day, you'll find us sitting
in your chairs with big ideas of stocks and shares..."

HEART COOKS BRAIN :: Probably one of the lesser-known songs on their most acclaimed album ever, but it is my favorite. I love the noodly guitar throughout, and the cyclic nature of the lyrics--over and over again.

I'm on a road to god don't know or even care;
my brain's the weak heart
and my heart's the long stair.
I tried to get my head clear
I push things out through my mouth
and get refilled through my ears.

LIFE LIKE WEEDS :: Initially, I skipped over this song due to the harsh and abrasive intro, but once I got through it once I immediately recognized the epic sweep of the song as a masterpiece--and once held the title of "favorite song ever."

All this talking all the time and the air fills up,
up,
up
until there's nothing left to breathe.
Up until there's nothing left to speak.
Up into the better parts of space.

I CAME AS A RAT :: This was my introduction to Modest Mouse. I remember hearing it while watching a snowboarding video over a decade ago, and got hooked by the chorus. My Modest Mouse addiction started when I finally understood what Isaac was saying during the rest of the song. Amazing!!

It takes a long time but god dies, too
but not before he'll stick it to you.
I don't know, but I've been told--
you'll never die and you'll never grow old.

THE WORLD AT LARGE :: Lyrically, this song surpasses any other that Isaac has written. Haunting and poetic, strong images, and so relatable to me personally.

The moths beat themselves to death against the lights
adding the breeze to the summer night.
Outside water-like air was great
I didn't know what I had that day.
Walk a little farther to another to another plan,
you said that you did but you didn't understand.
I know that starting over's not what life's about
but my thoughts were so loud I couldn't hear my mouth.

ROYGBIV :: The combination of hearing this song for the first time ever in conjunction with this fan-made video permanently ingrained it into my mind. And that is no complaint--it was the start of a beautiful relationship.

DAWN CHORUS :: One of the first Boards of Canada tunes I've ever heard, off of their great and eerie album Geogaddi. These guys are masters of warmth and lo-fi mixing.

IN A BEAUTIFUL PLACE OUT IN THE COUNTRY :: One of the more recent tunes I've had the pleasure of discovering, and I look forward to discovering even more on their brand-new release!

PEACOCK TAIL :: My early favorite, invoking images of paradise and peacocks. You can almost hear the mini umbrella in the drink, it's just perfect.

EVERYTHING YOU DO IS A BALLOON :: With an infectious beat like the one in this song, it would be futile to resist jiving. Long and hypnotic, add in the creepy edit, and we have a YouTube classic.

RIVER EUPHRATES :: It took me a long time to listen to early Pixies, but oh the glory I found when I finally did. This song has such a fun vibe to it, but with somewhat darker lyrics, which I just love. The whole album has that feel to it, with a Biblical sense of doom.

Dead sea make you choke
one sip from the salty wine
Dead sea make you float

I BLEED :: This is the first Pixies album I ever bought, and love (almost) every track on it. My favorite, if I have to choose between DEAD and I BLEED, has to be I Bleed. I just love Kim Deal's chunky bass sounds and the way Frank Black's voice tears through space as he screams.

As loud as hell
a ringing bell
behind my smile
it shakes my teeth
and all the while
as vampyres feed
I bleed

ED IS DEAD :: Another fun, macabre song that gets me chanting, "Ed! Is! Dead!" D-E-A-D spells it, spells it. Sounds even better on vinyl. I was lucky enough to get a UK release of Surfer Rosa and Come On Pilgrim dual-release on one disc. So. Good.

She's just rotting in stupid bliss
With music on her bars uh
Her face burning in the L.A. sun
She got no got no fear of cars
I dedicate my strand cruiser
to the memory of her

MOTORWAY TO ROSWELL :: I first heard this song as I left the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, and thought it sounded like the Pixies but wasn't sure until I got home and did some research. Easily the best song on the album.

On a holiday
So many miles
Looking for a place to stay
Near some friendly star
He found this mote
And now we wonder
How could this so great
Turn so shit
He ended up in army crates
And photographs in files
His tiny boat
Sparked as he grazed it
He started heading for the motorway
And he came right now.

DIG FOR FIRE :: Honestly, I am not a fan of later Pixies material. I only slightly like this song, even, and don't care for any of the other songs on this album. That will probably work out in my favor eventually, when I finally give it an honest chance again and suddenly have an entire album of "new" music to enjoy.

there is this old man
who spent so much of his life sleeping
that he is able to keep awake for the rest of his years
he resides
on a beach
in a town
where i am going to live

RHINESTONE EYES :: What has been said is the last Gorillaz album ever is, in my opinion, the greatest Gorillaz album ever. So much to like about it, especially the post-pop sheen and the 80's retro vibe it all gives off. But what I love the most is its focus on plastic and the mess we've made of our one and only planet Earth.

Helicopters fly over the beach
same time everyday, same routine
a clear target in summer
when skies are blue.
It's part of the noise when winter comes
it reverberates in my lungs
nature's corrupted
in factories far away.

BILL MURRAY :: There's that fat bass I know and love. This has a classic Gorillaz sound to it, and a haunting, repeating chorus, that strikes a chord in my heart:

Too many days to get lost.
Many, many people I've known
got lost...

NEW GENIUS (BROTHER) :: I remember not really digging this track to begin with until I saw it included in some sort of "Soul" mix. I thought that was silly, but gave the song a second chance and it rose to the top of my favorites on this album, beating out the tired classics like "Tomorrow Comes Today" and "Clint Eastwood."

Brother, sister, too,
do what you must do.
Don't trust people you meet.
They might promise you
that the river ain't deep.

EVERY PLANET WE REACH IS DEAD :: Post-blues, industrial-pop love song about a love of life lost. The title alone makes me smile, and was an early sign that I would love this song.

I lost my leg like I lost my way
So no loose ends
Nothing to see me down
How are we going to work this out

PINK PLASTIC BAGS :: Damon Albarn recorded this album while on tour in America. It is very minimal, especially compared to his last albums, but delivers the expected quality with layers of haunting harmonies.

They're just
little pink plastic bags
rollin' down a highway
alone.
They don't know where they're goin'
they're just kinda floating...

ELECTRIC FENCE :: This might have been the very first Califone song I heard, after being tempted by a YouTube recommendation of this video, which featured a short clip of the focus of my obsession at the time: Isaac Brock. The slow and dirty beat intrigued me, and once the lyrics started flowing, I was entranced and a shiver rushed over my skin as Tim Rutili said the lines:

mayflies all explode when they come to the coils at the driving lanes under blocks of fake light.

SPIDER'S HOUSE :: Roots & Crowns was released to critical acclaim, so when I finally picked it up, I should have expected the greatness that erupted. Such layered tracks, lovingly crafted, and I adore the album art. Spider's House is their most "accessible" song on the album, with horns that would make even Jon Brion envious.

the icicles chime fingerings lost in the motions of our hands sit just as you are lost in the crime carry the choir age and peel after the quiet bleeds peel and age familiar peace in the pain pulling you wrong in soft belief and midnight finish a violent quiet freeze the carnival fighters are sharing a bed tonight bruised in the hay the circle around the brawl divides in frozen rain on spiders house after the quiet bleeds peel and age familiar peace in the pain raindrops tremble and wait to freeze on spiders house

VAMPYRING AGAIN :: Admittedly, when I first picked up this album--my first Califone purchase--I was less than impressed, and my listens devolved into regularly skipping an unhealthy number of tracks. It took a few years for it to really sink in how truly amazing each track is on this. The three-part opening track is a shoegaze dream mixed with a hearty dose of moonshine, but as of right now, my favorite track is the raucous Vampyring Again.

a clean line moonlight bends a collarbone drink strung tight strung tight wheel along the artery the streetlights drift the eye-beams collide slow dissolve the car-chase draining gasoline shines a skin across the water barely touching now sad eyes when you're vampiring again carry your violence light carry the moonlight seed the sleep in your eye the blue of the pilot light mask maker heart fire eater throat rice water brain perfect stray perfect stray dead friends shade your sad eyes when you're vampiring again by the cold unflattering light carry the glass in your jaw carry the flatlands in the base of your spine the city is rusting there the weather never cared barely touching now spilling down the stairs for this time around tight pretend imperfection imperfection imperfection carry your violence light carry it like a lost limb itches and aches a second you cant forget carry your violence light carry the moonlight seed the sleep in your eye the city is rusting there

SMOKEY MTN DOUBLE :: My first foray into Tim Rutili's projects was this album: Jimmywine Majestic, purchased at a used CD shop in Bellevue, WA. It is one of my most-played albums to date. A perfect mix of blues-rock and cryptic lyrics to keep me eternally intrigued. What glee swept over me the day I found this silly music video for my favorite track:

smokey mountain trash shoulda not gone down on you jimmywine found a hole like a fresh concussion grinning smokey mountain double up put the sleeper hold on me honey mustard got no shame voice of reason let it ring if you need a sin big legged woman feel like i'm in a hurry bread and butter greased you honey mustard miles and miles

SPILLED MILK FACTORY :: I love Ugly Casanova. Rutili's laid-back style combined with Brock's manic and coarse vocals, all with a spacey post-folk sheen on it. The opening track--Barnacles--is one of the most sad and beautiful songs I've ever heard. However, my favorite track by far is this, thanks to its fevered and stumbling lyrics.

mumble had a rumble as i stumbled down the stairs
smellin' just like lumber but my baby don't care
we went uptown, downtown, everywhere between
there was so much spilt milk we could have had a factory
silver poor house, plastic lungs, my bones
if you take another look
gills of wine, slow on five I know
when you're railin' on another, babe
sweat-basted teenagers lookin' all around
I see your babies crawlin all over the ground
they go goo-goo gah-gah, what the hell's that mean
not even I know where I am so don't go look for me

RAISIN :: This is just a bonus instrumental track that I happen to really enjoy for its moodiness. Maybe I'm weird, but I absolutely love it when bands have short one-to-two-minute long "songs" in between their longer, more "complete" tracks.