Here’s a discussion of my selections for the Eargasm mix, Volume 13 of the Green Monkey Music Project, guest-hosted by the bodacious Barbara.

Dig For Fire – The Pixies
Moment of Eargasm: 0:17
This song starts out normally enough, bassline, some percussion, a little guitar riff. Go ahead and tap your foot to it. Nice, eh? Then, when the kick drum and snare start, you realize, oops, I am off the beat! The Pixies often would do slight tweakings of the pop music soup they swam in (doing parts of many songs in a 6/4 time signature, for example). I just love how it throws me off when the drums come in, I guess.

Good Times – Sam Cooke
Moment of Eargasm: 1:30
This is a different kinda eargasm, one more tied to the lyrics, and the delivery of those lyrics:

It might be one o’clock and it might be three
Time don’t mean that much to me
I ain’t felt this good since I don’t know when
And I might not feel this good again

To me, it’s just this urgent call to passion, to living, to love. Then the damn song ends shortly after. Goddammit! I thought we were gonna let the good times roll!

Eye Know – De La Soul
Moment of Eargasm: 0:26
The album 3 Feet High And Rising is just wonderful. The songs are so pure, so fresh, even after all these years. All of the samples are used expertly, and seamlessly integrated. Every time it kicks in, I get a thrill hearing the little loop of whistling from Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay”.

Maria Bethânia – Caetano Veloso
Moment of Eargasm: 1:43
Wow, look at that cover. He looks sad. He made this album while living in England, exiled by the Brazilian government for political reasons (in a nutshell, the Brazilian gov’t was populated with reactionary jerks). His sister Maria Bethânia was also a musician, and stayed in Brazil while Veloso was in exile. This song is a message to her, looking for hope in his homeland, but at the same time not being that hopeful. For me, the moment of eargasm occurs when the strings kick in with a quick little trill after the line “She has given her soul to the devil, but the devil gave his soul to God”.

Sweet & Center – U.S. Maple
Moment of Eargasm: 0:56, 1:06
I’ll say this yet again. In twenty years, everyone is going to realize how awesome U.S. Maple is. You can be one of the early adopters, or you can wait. But, why wait? This song has a nice little buildup before it gets chugging. And chug it does. When it gets going, I think of it as a lurching, drunken robot (something a little less comical than Bender, though). I love the moment the transition begins to drunken robot, at 0:56. I also love the high guitar squeal at 1:06, which is perhaps the robot punching someone in its way.

Indian Summer – Luna
Moment of Eargasm: 4:41
This is one of those uncommon occasions when the cover of a song outshines the original. In this case, it’s Luna covering a Beat Happening song. This song is probably my best example of an eargasm, and you really need to listen to the whole thing build up to it. It’s an awesome, head-nodding piece of a guitar solo that happens at 4:41. You’re welcome.

Hi, I am getting ready to attempt to assemble the delicious new Green Monkey Mix Eargasm, helmed by the lovely Barbara.

It appears that two people picked the same song that gave them an eargasm. Allison, since you chose the song after it had already been picked, would it be okay for you come up with an alternate song to (Antichrist Television Blues)?

Bubs has been very busy, but I have confidence he will be able to submit his choices to Barbara before tomorrow’s arbitrary deadline. Until then, he’s going to have to explain why he likes Classical Gas so much.

01 – Exit Music (for a Film) – Radiohead [barbara]
02 – O Mio Babbino Caro – Puccini [barbara]
03 – Old Bloody Orange – Hawksley Workman [barbara]
04 – Bones – Radiohead [barbara]
05 – Bleeding Heart Show – the New Pornographers [barbara]
06 – Buona Sera – Louis Prima [barbara]
07 – Monster Hospital – Metric [allison]
08 – This Heart’s On Fire – Wolf Parade [allison]
09 – Age of consent – New Order [allison]
10 – Fake Palindromes – Andrew Bird [allison]
11 – Always Crashing in the Same Car – David Bowie [allison]
12 – Price of Gas – Bloc Party [allison]
13 – Black Metallic – Catherine Wheel [westcoast walker]
14 – Interstellar Overdrive – Pink Floyd [westcoast walker]
15 – Cherry-Coloured Funk – Cocteau Twins [westcoast walker]
16 – More Than This – Roxy Music [westcoast walker]
17 – The Last Beat of My Heart – DeVotchKa [westcoast walker]
18 – Only Shallow – My Bloody Valentine [westcoast walker]
19 – (Antichrist Television Blues)- Arcade Fire [bap]
20 – Svo Hljott – Sigur ros [bap]
21 – Teardrop (Massive Attack cover)-José Gonzales [bap]
22 – Cold Days From The Birdhouse – The Twilight Sad [bap]
23 – Untitled #8 – Sigur ros [bap]
24 – How To Disappear Completely – Radiohead [bap]
25 – Maybe Tenderness – Gintare [imaginary reviewer]
26 – Untitled #3 – Sigur Ros [imaginary reviewer]
27 – Southern Accents – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers [imaginary reviewer]
28 – Helicon 1 – Mogwai [imaginary reviewer]
29 – Nandodemo – Dreams Come True [imaginary reviewer]
30 – Concerto de Aranjuez (Adagio) – Rodrigo [imaginary reviewer]
31 – Simple Twist of Fate – Bob Dylan [sean]
32 – It’s a Wonderful Lie – Paul Westerberg [sean]
33 – Deep Red Bells – Neko Case [sean]
34 – Elegant Transaction – Loose Fur [sean]
35 – I Love You Golden Blue – Sonic Youth [sean]
36 – Angelitos Negros – Roberta Flack [sean]
37 – Dig For Fire – Pixies [splotchy]
38 – Good Times – Sam Cooke [splotchy]
39 – Eye Know – De La Soul [splotchy]
40 – Maria Bethania – Caetano Veloso [splotchy]
41 – Sweet & Center – US Maple [splotchy]
42 – Indian Summer – Luna [splotchy]
43 – Peter Gunn Theme – Henry Mancini [bubs]
44 – James Bond Theme – Monty Norman Orchestra [bubs]
45 – Fear Is A Man’s Best Friend – John Cale [bubs]
46 – Heartbreak Hotel – Elvis Presley [bubs]
47 – There’s No Home For You Here – White Stripes [bubs]
48 – Patricia – Perez Prado [bubs]

UPDATE:

Allison’s choices have been updated.

Bubs’ choices have been input.

There will be no Classical Gas on this mix. Repeating…
There will be no Classical Gas on this mix.

I recommend you high-tail it to Barbara’s place to see what her Green Monkey Masterness has cooked up for the latest GMMP Mix.

Yes, there are openings available. Sign up to participate at her blog!

Here’s a discussion of my selections for the Six Degrees of GMMP mix, Volume 12 of the Green Monkey Music Project, guest-hosted by the wondrous Beth.

Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G III – Wendy Carlos
I was originally going to include something from the soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange but it was longer than I remembered. Even still, this piece clocks in at over five minutes. I don’t know if people in general like this kinda music or not. I dig it.

Walter Carlos – Momus
So, Momus wrote a song about Wendy Carlos, the performer/arranger of the previous selection. Well, he actually wrote it about Walter Carlos, which was what Walter was before he was Wendy. Carlos actually sued Momus for releasing the song, which resulted in it being removed from subsequent pressings of The Little Red Songbook.

Movies In My Head – The 6ths
The 6ths is basically a side project of the Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt. In this side project, on each song he collaborates with a different music dynamo. Merritt worked with Momus on the first track of the 6ths album Hyacinths and Thistles. Merritt works with Georgia Hubley of Yo La Tengo on this irresistibly catchy track.

Stockholm Syndrome – Yo La Tengo
What, you want me to explain this connection to you? Georgia Hubley is in Yo La Tengo. Yo La Tengo plays this track. The bassist James McNew handles the singing duties in this pretty little song.

No Train To Stockholm – Lee Hazlewood
Connection = 2 songs with Stockholm in the title. I was thinking about including a song by Peter, Bjorn and John (they’re from Stockholm) but decided against it. MizSplotchy does not like Lee Hazlewood. I have to listen to this song with the headphones on.

These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ – Nancy Sinatra
Okay, maybe Lee Hazlewood isn’t to everyone’s tastes, but he did write this wicked song. Check out that classic, descending bassline!

Volume 12 of the Green Monkey Music Project is completed and available for download!

If the participants of this mix want to discuss their own selections, please feel free to do so! I’ll put a pointer on this post if you end up posting about it on your own blog (or you could always just add comments here, I suppose). Be sure and explain the links from one of your selected songs to the other!

==========================
SIX DEGREES!
==========================

Rules and Theme Details

The Participants Discuss Their Selections:
Beth!
Beckeye!
Dr MVM!
Glassmeow!
Barbara!
Allen L!
Splotchy!

The Songs:
All of Beth’s songs
All of Allen L’s songs
All of Barbara’s songs
All of Beckeye’s songs
All of Dr MVM’s songs
All of Glassmeow’s songs
All of KS’ songs
All of Splotchy’s songs

Track Listing
01 – Boom Boom- John Lee Hooker [beth]
02 – Gloria – Van Morrison feat John Lee Hooker [beth]
03 – Gloria: In Excelsis Deo Gloria – Patti Smith [beth]
04 – E-bow the Letter – R.E.M. feat. Patti Smith [beth]
05 – Wang Dang Doodle – Hindu Love Gods [beth]
06 – Boom Boom Mancini – Warren Zevon [beth]
07 – If William Shatner Can I Can Too – Jeff Daniels [allenl]
08 – Common People – William Shatner [allenl]
09 – Heroes – David Bowie [allenl]
10 – Vive Le Rock – Adam Ant [allenl]
11 – Hello, I Love You – The Doors [allenl]
12 – Poor Girl – X [allenl]
13 – Human Behaviour – Bjork [barbara]
14 – Human Behaviour – The Decemberists [barbara]
15 – National Hum – The Constantines [barbara]
16 – Chorus of Wolves – Woodpigeon [barbara]
17 – While You Wait for the Others – Grizzly Bear [barbara]
18 – Talk Show Host – Radiohead [barbara]
19 – Sandy – John Travolta [beckeye]
20 – Domino – Squeeze [beckeye]
21 – From a Whisper to a Scream – Elvis Costello [beckeye]
22 – The Comedians – Roy Orbison [beckeye]
23 – Thunder Road – Bruce Springsteen [beckeye]
24 – One Step Up – Eddie Vedder [beckeye]
25 – American Squirm – Nick Lowe [drmvm]
26 – What’s So Funny About Peace Love And Understanding – Elvis Costello [drmvm]
27 – I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Everyday – The Pogues [drmvm]
28 – Don’t Come All Cowboy With Me Sunny Jim – Kirsty MacColl [drmvm]
29 – Life During Wartime – Talking Heads [drmvm]
30 – Banana Chips – Shonen Knife [drmvm]
31 – Birds in Perspex – Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians [glassmeow]
32 – And Your Bird Can Sing – The Beatles [glassmeow]
33 – Pretty Persuasion – R.E.M. [glassmeow]
34 – Little Black Egg – Minus 5 [glassmeow]
35 – Working Class Hero – Tin Machine [glassmeow]
36 – The Authority Box – Robyn Hitchcock and The Venus 3 [glassmeow]
37 – Makes No Sense At All – Husker Du [ks]
38 – Rebel Rouser – Duane Eddy [ks]
39 – Check Your Bucket – Eddie Bo [ks]
40 – Long Way Down – Bowery Electric [ks]
41 – Boy Blue – Electric Light Orchestra [ks]
42 – Electricity – Orchestral Manueovres In The Dark [ks]
43 – Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G III – Wendy Carlos [splotchy]
44 – Walter Carlos – Momus [splotchy]
45 – Movies In My Head – The 6ths [splotchy]
46 – Stockholm Syndrome – Yo La Tengo [splotchy]
47 – No Train To Stockholm – Lee Hazlewood [splotchy]
48 – These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ – Nancy Sinatra [splotchy]

Congratulations to the following participants, who are now proud recipients of the Green Monkey Master badge!

Allen L (Allen, this might actually be your fourth go-around! Sorry for missing you previously)
Dr MVM

Wear your Green Monkey Master Badge with pride!

Thanks also to Volume 12’s guest host, Beth!

The newest edition of the Green Monkey Music Project, guest-hosted by Beth, is almost ready for publishing.

For those in the know who want to know, here’s the track listing.

01 – Boom Boom- John Lee Hooker [beth]
02 – Gloria – Van Morrison feat John Lee Hooker [beth]
03 – Gloria: In Excelsis Deo Gloria – Patti Smith [beth]
04 – E-bow the Letter – R.E.M. feat. Patti Smith [beth]
05 – Wang Dang Doodle – Hindu Love Gods [beth]
06 – Boom Boom Mancini – Warren Zevon [beth]
07 – If William Shatner Can I Can Too – Jeff Daniels [allenl]
08 – Common People – William Shatner [allenl]
09 – Heroes – David Bowie [allenl]
10 – Vive Le Rock – Adam Ant [allenl]
11 – Hello, I Love You – The Doors [allenl]
12 – Poor Girl – X [allenl]
13 – Human Behaviour – Bjork [barbara]
14 – Human Behaviour – The Decemberists [barbara]
15 – National Hum – The Constantines [barbara]
16 – Chorus of Wolves – Woodpigeon [barbara]
17 – While You Wait for the Others – Grizzly Bear [barbara]
18 – Talk Show Host – Radiohead [barbara]
19 – Sandy – John Travolta [beckeye]
20 – Domino – Squeeze [beckeye]
21 – From a Whisper to a Scream – Elvis Costello [beckeye]
22 – The Comedians – Roy Orbison [beckeye]
23 – Thunder Road – Bruce Springsteen [beckeye]
24 – One Step Up – Eddie Vedder [beckeye]
25 – American Squirm – Nick Lowe [drmvm]
26 – What’s So Funny About Peace Love And Understanding – Elvis Costello [drmvm]
27 – I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Everyday – The Pogues [drmvm]
28 – Don’t Come All Cowboy With Me Sunny Jim – Kirsty MacColl [drmvm]
29 – Life During Wartime – Talking Heads [drmvm]
30 – Banana Chips – Shonen Knife [drmvm]
31 – Birds in Perspex – Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians [glassmeow]
32 – And Your Bird Can Sing – The Beatles [glassmeow]
33 – Pretty Persuasion – R.E.M. [glassmeow]
34 – Little Black Egg – Minus 5 [glassmeow]
35 – Working Class Hero – Tin Machine [glassmeow]
36 – The Authority Box – Robyn Hitchcock and The Venus 3 [glassmeow]
37 – Makes No Sense At All – Husker Du [ks]
38 – Rebel Rouser – Duane Eddy [ks]
39 – Check Your Bucket – Eddie Bo [ks]
40 – Long Way Down – Bowery Electric [ks]
41 – Boy Blue – Electric Light Orchestra [ks]
42 – Electricity – Orchestral Manueovres In The Dark [ks]
43 – Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G III – Wendy Carlos [splotchy]
44 – Walter Carlos – Momus [splotchy]
45 – Movies In My Head – The 6ths [splotchy]
46 – Stockholm Syndrome – Yo La Tengo [splotchy]
47 – No Train To Stockholm – Lee Hazlewood [splotchy]
48 – These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ – Nancy Sinatra [splotchy]

Participants, if I have anything incorrect, please let me know and I will correct it. After I get my hands on one last little squirmy little bugger of a song, this mix will be published.

Excelsior!

Another Green Monkey Master gets their chance to helm a mix!

Check out the details over at Beth’s place!

Sign up by leaving a comment on her post. Spaces are available, but going fast!

Volume 11 of the Green Monkey Music Project is completed and available for download!

If the participants of this mix want to discuss their own selections, please feel free to do so! I’ll put a pointer on this post if you end up posting about it on your own blog (or you could always just add comments here, I suppose).

==========================
POWER POP!
==========================

Rules and Theme Details

The Participants Discuss Their Selections:
Domboy!
Allen L.!
Splotchy!
Bubs!
Beth!

The Songs:
Splotchy
Bubs
Domboy
Allen L.
Tenacious S
Lulu
Beth

Track Listing
01 – Surrender – Cheap Trick [splotchy]
02 – Twist Top – The Clean [splotchy]
03 – Substitute – The Who [splotchy]
04 – Boys Don’t Lie – Shoes [splotchy]
05 – Life on the Line – The Raincoats [splotchy]
06 – Go All The Way – The Raspberries [splotchy]
07 – Feelin’ Alright – Len [splotchy]
08 – The Electric Version – The New Pornographers [splotchy]
09 – Take Me Out – Franz Ferdinand [bubs]
10 – Dreaming – Blondie [bubs]
11 – Cruel To Be Kind – Nick Lowe [bubs]
12 – Crawling to the USA – Elvis Costello [bubs]
13 – Girls Talk – Dave Edmunds [bubs]
14 – Everybody’s Happy Nowadays – The Buzzcocks [bubs]
15 – Ever Fallen in Love – The Buzzcocks [bubs]
16 – Basket Case – Green Day [bubs]
17 – Ca Plane Pour Moi – Plastic Bertrand [domboy]
18 – The Don – The View [domboy]
19 – Crazy Taxi – Andy Hui [domboy]
20 – Mr Brightside – The Killers [domboy]
21 – Get Over You – The Undertones [domboy]
22 – Baby Talk – Generation X / Billy Idol [domboy]
23 – Go Square Go! – Glasvegas [domboy]
24 – We’re All Going To Die – Malcolm Middleton [domboy]
25 – Everybody’s Girl – Rick Springfield [allenl]
26 – I Wanna Be With You – The Raspberries [allenl]
27 – My Life Still Sucks (in a Bad Way) – The Andersons [allenl]
28 – I Knew The Bride – Dave Edmunds [allenl]
29 – Starry Eyes – The Records [allenl]
30 – I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend – The Rubinoos [allenl]
31 – Where Have You Been All My Life – Fotomaker [allenl]
32 – Your Daddy Don’t Know – Toronto [allenl]
33 – Town Called Malice – The Jam [tenaciouss]
34 – Do Anything You Wanna Do – Eddie and the Hot Rods [tenaciouss]
35 – Better Things – The Kinks [tenaciouss]
36 – Cynical Girl – Marshall Crenshaw [tenaciouss]
37 – Suddenly Cool – The Methadones [tenaciouss]
38 – Terror Bends – My Teenage Stride [tenaciouss]
39 – Rubella – Smoking Popes [tenaciouss]
40 – You Made Me Like It – 1990s [tenaciouss]
41 – Friday on My Mind – Easybeats [lulu]
42 – I’ve Been Waiting – Matthew Sweet [lulu]
43 – There She Goes – The Las [lulu]
44 – Heart – Rockpile [lulu]
45 – Less Than Zero – Elvis Costello [lulu]
46 – Jailbreak – Thin Lizzy [lulu]
47 – Girl of My Dreams – Bram Tchaikovsky [lulu]
48 – Going Down to Liverpool – The Bangles [lulu]
49 – The Box Tops – The Letter [beth]
50 – Big Star – Don’t Lie to Me [beth]
51 – Big Star – September Gurls [beth]
52 – REM – Jesus Christ [beth]
53 – Alex Chilton – Thing for You [beth]
54 – The Replacements – Alex Chilton [beth]
55 – In the Street – Cheap Trick [beth]
56 – What’s Going Ahn – The Posies [beth]

Here’s a discussion of my selections for the Power Pop mix, Volume 11 of the Green Monkey Music Project.

What the heck is power pop? You can read various definitions on the web and still not have a clue. It became clear to me how unclear the concept was when I started looking for my selections.

Surrender – Cheap Trick
From Heaven Tonight, their third album. I have absolutely no doubts about this song’s power poppiness. If you open up a dictionary to the page with the entry on power pop, chances are it will play this song.

Twist Top – The Clean
Another fantastic pop song from The Clean. You really should consider picking up their two-disc Anthology collection, or risk me calling you a loser.

Substitute – The Who
Some really nice early power pop from The Who. I had a strong hankering to include A Quick One, but this one is more straightforward and rockin’.

Boys Don’t Lie – Shoes
The Shoes were a somewhat obscure (to people outside of Chicago, at least) power pop group hailing from Zion, Illinois. Pretty vocals, heavy-but-not-too-heavy guitars, the recipe for a perfect power pop song.

Life on the Line – Raincoats
A band and album that I discovered several years ago, but quickly became one of my favorites. This song has one of my favorite lines in any rock song, a combination of great lyrics and awesome vocal delivery: “Her logic was too tangled, I couldn’t untangle it”. I don’t know… I might be stretching the concept of power pop with this one. This song I was the most unsure of. Still, it has great guitar and nice drums. It’s power pop to me, dammit.

Go All The Way – The Raspberries
Okay, if someone said I couldn’t use Cheap Trick’s Surrender as an example for power pop, I would use this song instead. The chorus is so pretty, and the opening guitar riff is so rocking. I would not be surprised if Angus Young of AC/DC wore out a few 45’s of this song.

Feelin’ Alright – LEN
Okay, I substituted this song at the last minute for Big Country’s In A Big Country. I have just heard that BC song too many damn times. This has a nice pop feel to it, and for some reason I like that they use the word “dumb” in the lyrics.

Electric Version – The New Pornographers
Something from this millenium? Well, okay. This is a great pop song from a great power pop band.

I have some good news for the stellar participants in previous Green Monkey mixes who were awarded a GMMP Master badge, but never had the opportunity to helm their own mix.

Due to a very exciting development, I’ll probably be able to do mixes in a way similar to my original GMMP mixes. I will just need song title and artist provided, and I’ll most likely be able to provide the music.

Green Monkey Masters!

NOW IS YOUR TIME.

Manx
Barbara
Beth
Bubs
J.D.
Lulu

We’ll obviously be doing the mixes one at a time, to prevent my head from exploding.

As a GMMP Master, you get to pick the theme, number of participants, and number of songs per participant.

So, start a-thinking. The mixes will be initiated in the order that people submit their mix rules.