A Sweet Unrest

The Contrast Podcast - Skin

I have a poem to post so I hope I can get to that soon.  But today is about tunes because there's a new Contrast Podcast out.  This week we continue our musical exploration of the human body with an episode about skin.

I'm always pleased when I can play something by Palo Alto's finest:

The Donnas - Skin Tight

Actually, I can almost always think of a Donnas song to fit any CP theme. They sing about the same thing all the time, but they do it in so many different ways.  This is one of my favorites though.

***

And while I'm here, a little SNL detour. Motherlover was fine, but the best thing about it was that it got me to finally watch the first one.  Now this is funny:    

 

One of the reasons this gets me is that it's only slightly more outrageous than a lot of real R&B songs. They quote a bit of R. Kelly, from this:

R. Kelly - Your Body's Callin'

and it's perfect because he has released songs almost as crazy as  D*** In A Box, only not as comedy.  My friends and I used to belt this one out at the top of our lungs whenever it came on the radio, no alcohol necessary, partly because it we thought it was hilarious and partly because we really liked it.

Anyway, I like that Justin Timberlake can see the humor in his own genre of music. 

The Contrast Podcast - 1963

This week on The Contrast Podcast we are all about 1963.  Lucky for me, Grant-Lee Phillips was born that year so I got to play one of my favorite songs.  This one has such a warmth to it, such understanding for those of us who may feel like we don't know which end is up most days.  Like all his best songs, it manages to be both down-to-earth and transcendent all at once.

Nothing is for sure

Sleep still in my eyes

Fumbling for the door

She doesn't like to face the morning light

Nothing is for sure

As I begin my days

Glasses are a blur as

My world's about to spin the other way

Amen.

Grant-Lee Phillips - Nothin' Is For Sure

The entire album is lovely.

Hard Bargains

This is me having a Dane moment.  Except, you know, without her amazing eye or her mad technical skillz.  But I always want to photograph these places.  I read a little thing in the business section of the New York Times that predicted record stores would be completely gone in ten years.  And that was last year, so only nine years left?  What will become of us?

The inside of this place is exactly what you'd want, and I found this for only  $2.99.  Which is absolutely criminal, and yet much appreciated as I didn't own a copy.

American Music Club - Firefly

The Contrast Podcast - Sirens

This week's Contrast Podcast is devoted to songs with sirens in them.  I listened to it late last night while walking circles upon circles upon circles around our tiny sitting room, trying to settle a very fussy baby.  And I couldn't have asked for better company.  As usual, it's filled with great stories, a variety of wonderful songs and plenty of silliness and it was exactly what I needed.   

I had a hard time choosing between the track I did play on the podcast and something from my much-loved  Sirens of Song compilation CD.  So let's have something from that today.  On a disc full of moody, haunting music, this is usually the standout for me.  

Nina Simone - Since I Fell For You

A Song About California

Last week I spent a few days in Southern California.  As a San Francisco native I think I'm legally required to dislike Southern California but here's a secret: I don't.  Sure, some of the things people say about it seem true- traffic, smog, silicone implants everywhere you turn (and they are mesmerizing.  Even I can't stop staring.)  But on the bright side it's nice and warm and sunny, they have lots of pretty flowers, you can put your feet in the ocean without a wet suit, and the citizens dress with more of a festive flashy exuberance than we do up here in the chilly, nerdy north so people watching is fantastic.

I had this charming tune on repeat well before the trip came up.  It falls into one of my favorite categories of songs- dancey with great lyrics.  It's about your body being one place while your head is somewhere else, something the yoga teachers of the world are forever preaching against but seriously, how hard is mindfulness?  And aren't some things (the DMV, the the security line at the airport...) more easily endured if the mind is allowed to wander?  What is an imagination for?

And ps, this seems as good a place as any to say that I am so, so happy that Leah is back blogging.  She's thoughtful, interesting, on top of everything and she always makes me laugh too.