30 Day Song Challenge Day 30 - Your Favorite Song at This Time Last Year

Without a doubt, the album I was driving Kathy crazy with at this time last year was my still recently acquired copy of the eponymous debut from Broken Bells. And if there's one track on that album I listened to repeatedly, it was the album's closing track.

So, I end my 30 Day Song Challenge with my favorite closing track of 2010, off my second favorite album of 2010. The band is Broken Bells, the album is Broken Bells and the song is "The Mall and Misery." My favorite track by far, parts of it feel like it could have emerged from a band like Tears for Fears in the 80's-but without the mullets and sweaters-and other parts feel more contemporary. And feel how instead of fading or ending it just kind of vanishes at the end. Ah! Enjoy.

30 Day Song Challenge Day Twenty Nine - A Song From Your Childhood

Hanging out and listening to music with my parents wasn't all childhood misogyny; many of my best memories include listening to music. And in accordance with it being Mother's Day and all, I'd like to say Happy Mother's Day to my mom, my wife, my grandma, my mother-in-law, my sister, and all the other moms out there. Seriously, Moms do good work.

Also in accordance with Mother's Day, and to refute the idea that all of my word and song associations which go with my mother relate through the lens of guilt, here's a bit of pure enjoyment I can recall: My mother, upon receiving a CD copy of this album, listened to it start to finish while singing along and dancing through the house. Especially vivid is the final track to this album, so that is what I'm picking.

The band is The Moody Blues, the album is Days of Future Passed and the song is "Nights in White Satin" so sit back, revel in the amazing prog-rockness of it all, and enjoy.



Other finalists: "Tuesday Afternoon" from the same album, "Little Red Riding Hood" by Sam the Sham and the Pharohs and pretty much anything off of Weird Al Yankovic's Dare to Be Stupid.

30 Day Song Challenge Day Twenty Eight - A Song That Makes You Feel Guilty

So, for years as a child I would bristle whenever I heard a woman singing a song on the radio. I would also call my mom out for singing along with a song if it was being sung by a guy. "Mom, that's a man singing, it's not supposed to be sung by a girl. I'm sure my mother was none too pleased about this. She probably feared I'd turn into some chauvinistic asshole who belittles his wife and crushes beer cans on his head. But I eventually got over it and plus, beer is meant to be consumed from special glasses which provide adequate surface area on which bubbles can form and proportioned openings so the aroma of the beer can fully penetrate your nasal passages while you drink. Duh. Pfft, cans.

Anyway, I got over it. I let my mother sing along with the radio. I even learned to love Grace Slick, Stevie Nicks, Janice Joplin and from them decided that some woman definitely know how to rock.

But every time I listen to a song sung by a female voice, I feel guilty about my preadolescent sexism. So today, you get to hear a song from kind of a super group of 90's girl band stars.

The band is Wild Flag, and the track is from the Future Crimes/Glass Tambourines 7" (released on Record Store Day 2011) and it's called "Future Crimes." And I hope you enjoy it. (my options for the video were this weird photo tribute or live videos with sub-par sound, so I chose audio quality)

30 Day Song Challenge Day Twenty Seven - A Song That You Wish You Could Play

Every one. Every single song ever.

Maybe not...there's a lot of crap.

This song is from a band called The Slip, off their album Eisenhower which has the most unfortunate opening track ever, "The Children of December," which upon hearing I had to fight the urge to write off the entire rest of the record. But I had heard "Even Rats" on NPR's World Cafe so I knew there was likely to be at least one other gem. And I was right. The song in question is called "Airplane/Primitive" and the only reason I can't play it is because I've never actually tried to figure it out. One of these days, I will. I mean, come on, I can play "Stairway to Heaven" and I can stumble through "Dust in the Wind," I should be able to figure this one out. Right?

30 Day Song Challenge Day Twenty Six - A Song That You Can Play on An Instrument

For the record, instruments I can play in descending order of proficiency (not counting various tiny percussion toys): Drums, guitar, bass guitar, keyboard percussion (marimba, vibraphone, xylophone), harmonica, piano (very small amount of those last two).

Instruments on which I can play the forthcoming tune: Drums, guitar (but not the solo), bass.

I also have been known to sing occasionally, and singers often call their voice their "instrument." As for the song, I will only give one line of introduction.

This is a song about hope.

30 Day Song Challenge Day Twenty Five - A Song That Makes You Laugh

For the last verse especially, this song makes me chuckle.

The song is by Nerf Herder, off their 1996 self titled album, and the song is "Van Halen."

"Is this what you wanted?/Sammy Hagar?/Sammy Hagar/Is this what you wanted man?/Dave lost his hairline/But you lost your cool, buddy/Can't drive fifty-five/I'll never buy your lousy records again."



Also, happy Star Wars Day. May the 4th Be With You. Awesome how today coincided with day 25 of the challenge and I happened to pick a band whose name is inspired by a line from Star Wars.

30 Day Song Challenge Day Twenty Four - A Song That You Want to Play At Your Funeral

The syntax is all wrong. "A song that you want to play at your funeral." First off, I'll have nothing to do with any songs being played at my funeral. I'll be dead. Second off, I always think of a second thing to add to a list.

The year is 1970. The band is The Beatles. The song is "Let it Be" off of the aptly titled Let it Be. Please remember, everyone, that this was their last studio album. And possibly my favorite. Better than the White album, even. And, my daughter once fell asleep in my arms as I sang this song to her. My heart melted kind of a lot.

30 Day Song Challenge Day Twenty Three - A Song That You Want To Play At Your Wedding

Considering I'm already married, I probably don't need to pick a new song.

Amongst the number of songs that were played at our wedding, our first dance as a couple was to Rod Stewart's version of "That's All" but my favorite bit of the dance was the last of the "wedding party" dances during which we invited everyone to dance.

Bobby Darin singing "Beyond the Sea." Because we're just awesome and classic like that.

30 Day Song Challenge Day Twenty Two - A Song That You Listen To When You're Sad

Just listen to it. It's by The Antlers, off their 2009 debut Hospice. It's called "Kettering" and it's indicative of the entire amazing album.

30 Day Song Challenge Day Twenty One - A Song That You Listen to When You're Happy

Again, skipped a day. My bad.

I just like listening to music when I'm happy, any music. But I guess I have to come up with something, huh?

Alright then, I chose a song off Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros' 2009 album Up From Below which I'm sure you've heard in six hundred car commercials, two dozen sitcoms and a limitless number of trailers for Indie films. It's called "Home" and it's a pretty positive and happy tune.



Best use of this song ever found here:

30 Day Song Challenge Day Twenty - A Song That You Listen To When You're Angry

Oh. My. Hm. I tend to, um, well...?

I just flipped through my iPod and pretended I was pissed off and stopped at the first song I would want to listen to, which just happens to be "How Soon is Now?" from 1985's Meat is Murder by The Smiths. So that's my answer this time. And you get the full nearly seven minute version, especially for readers of the blog!

30 Day song Challenge Day Nineteen - A Song From Your Favorite Album

Okay, so I was trying really hard not to repeat any albums or even any bands. But, I've already played a song off my current favorite album, a song off my favorite album from last year, and my all time favorite album from my all time favorite band.

So instead, you're getting a song from my second-favorite album of the moment. It's called "Down By the Water" off The Decemberists' 2011 release The King is Dead. I think it's awesome and also kind of sounds like "The One I Love" from R.E.M.'s 1987 release Document.



You be the judge:

30 Day Song Challenge Day Eighteen - A Song That You Wish You Heard on The Radio

Woops, skipped a day. My bad.

Today's song is a brand new song, which is on an album that hasn't been released yet. But that's not why it's not on the radio. It's not on the radio because radio stations tend to not play music from this band, leastways not traditional commercial radio stations.

The song is called "Helplessness Blues" and it's off the upcoming Fleet Foxes album Helplessness Blues.



Also good for day four, a song that makes you sad. Also good for day 3, a song that makes you happy.

Seriously, I cried once today while listening to this song, and smiled all the way through it another time. But today was kind of a hard day. see here

30 Day Song Challenge Day Seventeen - A Song That You Hear Often on the Radio

This one was really hard.

And I don't fully understand the visuals in this video.

NPR's "All Things Considered" Theme Music, engage!

30 Day Song Challenge Day Sixteen - A Song That You Used to Love But Now Hate

In 1995, I guess I was entering my "rebellious" phase, though I recently discovered that I wasn't so much rebelling as going through the acts of rebellion, because my parents weren't the type of parents that required rebellion. They were/are pretty awesome parents. I guess I just wanted them to set boundaries so I could push them. Anyway, I got into the band Everclear and in particular, their album Sparkle and Fade. I listened to the CD for something like four months straight.

As I got older, I stopped listening to it and then one day, I think just before college, I did a purge of my CD collection and sold a handful of discs to a used record shop (probably Vintage Vinyl as that was my store of choice in those days), including that Everclear CD. I had listened to each and every one of the CDs I had and I remember very definitely throwing this one in the "get rid of this crap" pile.

Actually, listening to it just now, I can say that while it's not a very good song, it's not a particularly terrible song, so maybe I just negated the whole "pick a song you used to love but now hate" but please let it be known that at one time I loved this song, then I hated it, and now I sort of listen to it with a hint of nostalgia and just a whiff of "what was I thinking?"

The song is "Strawberry" off Everclear's 1995 release Sparkle and Fade. I'ma go demand my parents set a curfew now, just so I can rebelliously break it by at least two hours.

30 Day Song Challenge Day Fifteen - A Song That Describes You

What follows is a transcript of the conversation preceding this post.

Elliot: Day fifteen, a song that describes me. Kathy?

Kathy: (with a pen between her teeth) "Teach me Tiger."

Elliot: Okay...how about another one.

Kathy: ...

Elliot: Okay, if they have it on youtube, I'll post it.



By April Stevens, released in 1959 as a single.

I...don't know, readers. I just...don't...know.

30 Day Song Challenge Day Fourteen - A Song That No One Would Expect You to Love

Types of songs I hate:

Anything by Nicklecrack/Creed/any one of a dozen carbon copy bands; way-too-twangy country; manufactured corporate pop; the specific type of country song where the guy sings about how his woman done left him and took the dog and he's got tears in his eyes.

The exception: The Reverend Horton Heat, 1999, "Where In The Hell Did You Go With My Toothbrush?" from Holy Roller.

30 Day Song Challenge Day Thirteen - A Song That Is a Guilty Pleasure

The fact that I like the original song is a guilty enough pleasure, but I get so much enjoyment out of the Literal Video version of Tears For Fears' "Head Over Heels" off their 1985 Release Songs From the Big Chair.

"Now the rabbi's walking right behind me/I don't know why he is following me/maybe he wants this book?"

30 Day Song Challenge Day Twelve - A Song From A Band You Hate

Ugh. Don't care what album it's from. And you can figure it out. That's how much I hate this band.



FYI Nicklecrack: Doctor Hook and the Medicine Show did it way better:

30 Day Song Challenge Day Eleven - A Song From Your Favorite Band

No. Brainer.

The first track off their first full length, I give you "Seven" by Sunny Day Real Estate, from Diary, 1994.