I love bands!

[vovat]

rockinlibrarian did an extension on the survey I did way back when (which is to say about two weeks ago), where she answered the rest of the questions for her top artists. I guess I might as well do the same thing. I'm going to skip the questions that I already answered back then, though.


1. They Might Be Giants

1) What was the first song you ever heard by this artist?
Probably either "Istanbul" or Particle Man." I think I thought they were catchy, but not particularly great.

2) What is your favorite album of this artist?
I always say Lincoln, although perhaps "Disc 2 of Then" would be more accurate, since that's how I first heard that album. That would also allow me to count "It's Not My Birthday" and "Nightgown Of The Sullen Moon," both of which kick jazzsammich's ass. (I wonder if anyone will actually catch that reference.) All of the first five are really cool, though. Apollo 18 and John Henry are serious contenders for the top spot, with A18 having the advantage in that it doesn't have any songs I particularly dislike. With Lincoln, it took "Santa's Beard" some time to grow on me, and I have to be in the right mood to like "Lie Still, Little Bottle" and "You'll Miss Me." JH has "Why Must I Be Sad?", which kind of drags; as well as "Spy," with its somewhat tedious ending. Incidentally (and I might as well do this for the other artists as well), my LEAST favorite album of theirs (not counting live albums and rarities collections) is Mink Car.

3) What is your favorite lyric that this artist has sung?
I don't know that I can possibly answer that. "Kiss Me, Son Of God" definitely comes to mind as one of my favorite lyrics, though:

"I built a little empire out of some crazy garbage called the blood of the exploited working class
But they've overcome their shyness
Now they're calling me 'Your Highness'
And a world screams, 'Kiss me, son of God.'"

And later on in the same song:

"I look like Jesus, so they say
But Mr. Jesus is very far away
Now you're the only one here who can tell me if it's true
That you love me, and I love me."

(Hmm, that's another good rhyming trick, now that I think about it.)

4) How many times have you seen this artist live?
Possibly upwards of twenty, by this point. I lost count some time ago.

6) What is a good memory you have considering the music of this artist?
Just listening to their albums for the first time was exciting for me. I tend to associate the band with the summer of 1997, when I first really got into them.

7) Is there a song of this artist that makes you sad?
"The End Of The Tour" has kind of a sad vibe to it.

8) How did you get into this artist?
The whole long, involved, and probably totally boring story is told here.


2. XTC

1) What was the first song you ever heard by this artist?
I really can't remember. When I first started getting into them, some of the songs sounded really familiar. That could just mean they had similar structures to other songs I'd heard, but I suppose it's possible that I heard some of them on the radio when I was a kid, since that was apparently something that could actually happen back then. I think the first song I heard all the way through while actually knowing it was an XTC song was "Life Begins At The Hop," the first track on Upsy Daisy Assortment.

2) What is your favorite album of this artist?
Definitely Skylarking. My least favorite is probably Go 2.

4) How many times have you seen this artist live?
None, which isn't surprising, since they stopped playing live when I was, like, four years old.

5) What's your favorite song of this artist?
I'm not totally sure, but "Burning With Optimism's Flames" is definitely near the top of my (non-existent) list.

7) Is there a song of this artist that makes you sad?
"Wrapped In Grey" is pretty emotional, I think.

8) How did you get into this artist?
Like many bands on this list, I think it was largely an extension of my love for TMBG. I wanted to check out other bands that had a TMBG connection, and XTC was mentioned in the song "XTC Vs. Adam Ant" (which I don't really like that much, but that's beside the point). I found out a little about them on the Internet, and listened to a few samples of their songs (although not full songs, since I WAS working on a 486 and all). This eventually led me to buy a copy of the aforementioned Upsy Daisy Assortment. That was in the spring of 1998, I believe. That summer, I picked up a used copy of Nonsuch, and things escalated from there.


3. Frank Black

1) What was the first song you ever heard by this artist?
I think it was "Sir Rockaby," on Radio TMBG.

2) What is your favorite album of this artist?
Teenager of the Year, which is long, but good all the way through. I'm not sure about my least favorite. Possibly Pistolero, although there are quite a few cool songs on there.

4) How many times have you seen this artist live?
Once with the Catholics, twice with the Pixies

5) What's your favorite song of this artist?
I guess the technically correct answer is "Velouria," since he wrote and sang it. But my favorite song that was released under the name "Frank Black," rather than "Pixies," is probably "Bullet."

6) What is a good memory you have considering the music of this artist?
Listening to Frank and Pixies albums on the train while going to Drexel was pretty fun.


4. Camper Van Beethoven

1) What was the first song you ever heard by this artist?
Border Ska

2) What is your favorite album of this artist?
Probably Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart, with the self-titled album in second place. My least favorite is II & III.

3) What is your favorite lyric that this artist has sung?
"So just be glad you live in America
Just relax and be yourself
'Cause if you didn't live here in America
You'd probably live somewhere else"

And this is really spoken, rather than sung, but I feel I should mention it anyway:

"Later that day she gives birth to their son. Born with gingham snakeskin cowboy boots and three umbilical cords he is within hours cursing his parents in some otherworldly alien language. And he mutters in perfect English in his sleep, while sucking his mothers breast, his twisted utopian visions. She looks at him terrified and says, 'Remember, I'm holding you responsible for all of this.'"

6) What is a good memory you have considering the music of this artist?
Seeing them in concert for the first time was pretty exciting.

7) Is there a song of this artist that makes you sad?
No, I can't think of one.

8) How did you get into this artist?
Actually, they're mentioned in the TMBG FAQ as another band that TMBG fans might like. I'm not entirely sure why I chose them to check out further, but I can say that I hadn't actually heard any of their music before buying one of their albums. I just thought they sounded cool based on what I read about them on the Internet, including their lyrics. I think the titles might have also helped. Among other songs, CVB has instrumentals called "(We Workers Do Not Understand) Modern Art" and "We Eat Your Children." And one of their best titles is for something that's barely a song at all, "Broadcasting Live From The MCI-Worldcom-ATT-Chrysler-Daimler-Mitsubishi-Phillips-BASF-LG-Phillip Morris-BP-Texaco-Pfizer-AOL-Time-Warner-Boeing-Microsoft-Aeroflot-United-Yoyodyne Coloseum, Strom Thurmond City, Mars." [1] Anyway, I don't think I would buy an album based on so little information nowadays, but I'm glad I did back in 1999.


5. The Young Fresh Fellows

1) What was the first song you ever heard by this artist?
I guess it was "Rock 'n' Roll Pest Control."

2) What is your favorite album of this artist?
This One's for the Ladies, with Totally Lost being my least favorite.

4) How many times have you seen this artist live?
None. I don't think they really play live anymore, except occasionally in Seattle.

5) What's your favorite song of this artist?
Hmm, tough choice. Maybe "Sittin' On A Pitchfork"?

6) What is a good memory you have considering the music of this artist?
Finding three of their albums on cassette for $2 or less each at a music store during winter break for my senior year of college. I've since bought all of those albums on CD (which was pretty much necessary, since my tape player ate Electric Bird Digest, and the CD version of Totally Lost has some extra tracks), but being able to get so much great music for such a low price was awesome.

7) Is there a song of this artist that makes you sad?
Not that I can think of.

8) How did you get into this artist?
Well, I guess it was mostly the fault of TMBG again, this time for referencing the band in their song "Twisting." John Flansburgh's side project, Mono Puff, also did a cover of the Fellows song "Hillbilly Drummer Girl." I thought they were worth checking out, and I liked the song samples from Amazon, so I went ahead and ordered the CD that contained both of their first two albums.


6. "Weird Al" Yankovic

2) What is your favorite album of this artist?
Hmm, maybe In 3-D, with Alapalooza as the worst.

3) What is your favorite lyric that this artist has sung?
I think it might be the second verse of "Everything You Know Is Wrong":

"I was walking to the kitchen for some Golden Grahams, when I accidentally stepped into an alternate dimension, and soon I was abducted by some aliens from space who kind of looked like Jamie Farr. They sucked out my internal organs, and they took some Polaroids, and said I was a darn good sport; and as a way of saying thank you, they offered to transport me back to any point in history that I would care to go. And so I had them send me back to last Thursday night, so I could pay my phone bill on time."

4) How many times have you seen this artist live?
Four. An Al show was actually the first real concert I saw, back in my senior year of high school.

5) What's your favorite song of this artist?
Probably "Everything You Know Is Wrong." Either that or "Albuquerque." You can tell I'm a big fan, because I listed originals instead of parodies. {g}

6) What is a good memory you have considering the music of this artist?
When I went to HersheyPark for my dad's company picnic, only to find out that Al was playing there that day. That had to be one of the most fortuitous coincidences of my life.

7) Is there a song of this artist that makes you sad?
Um...no, I wouldn't say so.

8) How did you get into this artist?
I think most kids like Al, but for me, he was the first artist I ever really got into. My brother and I first started getting his albums on cassette when I was in high school, and I listened to them constantly.


7. Tori Amos

1) What was the first song you ever heard by this artist?
I really couldn't tell you.

2) What is your favorite album of this artist?
I know Little Earthquakes is the popular favorite, but I personally prefer Under the Pink. My least favorite is To Venus and Back, which has some good songs, but also quite a few tracks that are only memorable for being, like, ten minutes long. I guess that was Tori's jam phase.

3) What is your favorite lyric that this artist has sung?
Probably the lyrics to "Mr. Zebra," which don't really make any sense, but that's the beauty of it.

4) How many times have you seen this artist live?
Six, I believe. I think she's tied with Ben Folds for the artist I've seen live the second most times (after TMBG). Actually, I've also seen Corn Mo live six times in some capacity or other, counting the time he showed up at a Ben show to sing one song. He definitely wins the record for the artist I've seen the most times without ever seeing him as a headliner. That's probably not an uncommon thing for people who go to see a lot of no-name local bands, but that's not my way. Anyway, I'm supposed to be talking about Tori, not Corn Mo, right? Okay, let's get back on track here.

6) What is a good memory you have considering the music of this artist?
Hmm, I can remember listening to Little Earthquakes at college on the Fourth of July in 1998, while watching the fireworks from my window. I guess that's a good memory.

7) Is there a song of this artist that makes you sad?
I think I used to find "Mother" kind of emotional. Just the way she sings it, I suppose. I know some fans have a really emotional connection to her songs, but that isn't really the case for me.

8) How did you get into this artist?
My dad actually had a tape of LE, which I never once heard him listen to. I decided to check it out in the summer of 1998, and liked it, so I made myself a copy. After that, I bought some of her other albums (usually used or on sale) from record stores near my school.


8. Neko Case

1) What was the first song you ever heard by this artist?
Timber

3) What is your favorite lyric that this artist has sung?
"Last night I dreamt that I hit a deer with my car."

4) How many times have you seen this artist live?
Five, counting the time I saw her as part of the New Pornographers. I'm planning on seeing her again next month, so that will mean that, if all technicalities count, there will be a four-way tie for the artist I've seen second most in concert.

5) What's your favorite song of this artist?
Probably "Guided By Wire"

6) What is a good memory you have considering the music of this artist?
Hmm, this is a pretty minor memory, but I remember driving home from work one evening while listening to a mix tape with "No Need To Cry" on it, and realizing how beautiful that song is.

8) How did you get into this artist?
bethje was a fan of hers first, and put a few of her songs on mix tapes and CD's for me. It took a little while for her music to click with me, but once it did, it was amazing.


9. Laura Cantrell

1) What was the first song you ever heard by this artist?
I think it was "Lee Harvey Was A Friend Of Mine."

2) What is your favorite album of this artist?
Well, she only has three, but I'd say the first, Not the Tremblin' Kind, remains my overall favorite.

3) What is your favorite lyric that this artist has sung?
I'm pretty sure she didn't write "All The Same To You," but I must congratulate whoever did for coming up with a lyrical masterpiece:

"I'd like to buy the world an aspirin
And slip it in their Coke
If it would do any good,
I'd try and tell the world a joke."

Then, later in the same song:

"Jesus, Jesus
Won't you tell me, how'd you do it?
You know I wouldn't trust the world
Half as far as you threw it."

6) What is a good memory you have considering the music of this artist?
Seeing her live in concert last month.

7) Is there a song of this artist that makes you sad?
Yeah, of the artists I listen to, she might sing the songs that I personally find the saddest. "Early Years" immediately comes to mind. I know a lot of songs with much sadder lyrics, but there's something about the way she sings that song that gets to me.

8) How did you get into this artist?
Back in the early days of eMusic, they had a subscription service that let you download as many songs as you wanted. They've since decided to change the policy, apparently due to people with high-speed connections and lots of free time downloading pretty much everything on the site. I had dial-up at the time, so I wouldn't say I was part of this problem, but I still got a lot of cool music. I got the songs from some of the Frank Black albums I didn't have yet, and got into artists like the Posies, Belle and Sebastian, and, of course, Laura. I knew her from her vocals on TMBG's "The Guitar," and thought I'd check out her solo work. I think this was around when I started realizing that country music could be cool, and one of two things that I remember attracting me to a lot of her songs was the mandolin. The other was Laura's voice, which I still think is one of the best female singing voices out there.


10. Hypnotic Clambake

1) What was the first song you ever heard by this artist?
The Feldmans

2) What is your favorite album of this artist?
Kent the Zen Master is my favorite. I think my least favorite is still their most recent one, Mayonnaise, although that HAS been growing on me.

3) What is your favorite lyric that this artist has sung?
"When the pathological liar lies, he's not really lying
When the hypochondriac dies, he's really dead
The jam goes on paper, the butter on bread
Brain cells are teased, gray matter appeased
When you eat steak, it's a wake for a cow
Sizzlin' bacon's one for a sow."

4) How many times have you seen this artist live?
Once

5) What's your favorite song of this artist?
Possibly "The Philosopher," the song I quoted two questions ago. As of late, I've also become quite enamored with "Psychedelic Polka."

7) Is there a song of this artist that makes you sad?
I can't think of one.

8) How did you get into this artist?
They were actually another band mentioned in the TMBG FAQ, and compared not only to TMBG, but to CVB, a band I was really getting into at the time. They played a concert in the park near my school for Earth Day in 1999, and I thought they were great. I used the last of the cash I had on me to buy a copy of Square Dance Messiah, which I listened to a lot after that. Eventually, I got all of their albums.


While on the subject of bands, I made a comment on this post of obsessical's about how I dream of being in a band, but I can't sing or play any instruments. There's a little more to it than that, though. I think it would be cool to write songs, record them, perform them on stage, and all that. On the other hand, I have no desire to live on the road for considerable parts of the year, get in fights with other band members, or be exploited by record company lowlifes. Most of the bad stuff seems to boil down to money, so I guess I'd want to be a musician who didn't have to rely on it for a career. I guess that means my real dream in this respect would be to win the lottery and THEN become a musician. Since I don't even buy lottery tickets, I don't see much chance of this happening. More realistically, I suppose I could pursue music as a weekend thing. Of course, not knowing anything about music is still a major stumbling block, but this is all hypothetical anyway. It's just that there are different levels of hypothetical, you know?

[1] This actually makes me think that a "best song titles" thread might not be a bad idea.

Comments

[travspence.livejournal.com]

You could play the tambourine like Betty and Veronica did in the Archies. :-)

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't exactly have a sense of rhythm, either. {g}

The thing is, I think I MIGHT be able to write songs, if I worked hard enough at it. Not necessarily GOOD songs, but possibly not horrible ones, either. Since I don't know about music, though, I would imagine that anything I wrote would have to be pretty simple. I mean, I know diddly-squat about chord progressions.