Feed Your iPod vol. XLVII: Honey, Let Me Sing You a Song

Watched When in Rome over the weekend, I wasn’t expecting Citizen Kane or even Hot Tub Time Machine (which I also caught, more on that after the video, small spoiler warning if you have not seen it) but I figured that a movie starring Veronica Mars, Gob Bluth, Sonny Crockett, The Penguin, The Piemaker, and Ghostface Killah at the very least has to be watchable. But not so much despite a few funny gags. But in the movie there is a song by Matt Hires that keeps popping up on my iPod every once in awhile and I thought I’d share it.

Honey, Let Me Sing You a Song – Matt Hires



Back to Hot Tub Time Machine, what is with all the revisionist Cleveland sports history going on lately? First Nike created the biggest did I see what I think I just saw moment possibly ever (or at least in the history of advertising) when they had Michael Jordan missing The Shot. Then in Hot Tub Time Machine, a squirrel keeps John Elway from completing The Drive. What’s next, is there going to be a Lost deleted in the upcoming DVD release where in flashsideways world we learn Jose Mesa actually earned the save in game seven of the 1997 World Series?

Feed Your iPod vol. XLVI: God's Gonna Cut You Down

Asides from my yearly countdown, I rarely talk about mash-up even though I am constantly search for new interesting combinations of songs. Here is one that topped my list of Best Mash-Ups of 2006 list which is unlike your standard mash up which typically takes the vocals from one track and puts it over the music of another one. On his version of God’s Gonna Cut You Down, DJ Schmolli takes the Johnny Cash vocals, but instead of one song to put it over, he stripped down four different songs to one part to create a new instrumental. The backing track included the drums from Led Zeppelin’s When The Levee Breaks, the bass from Beastie Boys Sabotage, the guitar from Ted Nugent’s Cat Scratch Fever, and the lead guitar from The Beatles Come Together. To download the complete product, head over to Mashup Town.

Feed Your iPod vol. XLV: Delicate

My head still hurts from the Lost finale and my lengthy write up of the show (see Whatever Happened Happened). While I have Lost on my mind, I thought I’d go back to one of my favorite song placements from the show, Delicate by Damien Rice that closed out a season one episode where Hurley humorously ran out of battery life. Below is the clip from the show and under that is the song as a whole.

Delicate – Damien Rice

Feed Your iPod vol. XLIV: Aisle 10 (Hello Allison)

There is probably a reason why I never do a Next Big Thing post because since sporting a Hootie and the Blowfish t-shirt in high school a good year before they got over played on the radio I have pretty much gone O-fer in predicted what unknown bands would go big. Take Scapegoat Wax, with their quirky rap subjects and live instrumental based beats, I would have put money on them being the heir apparent to the Beastie Boys. They were even signed to their Grand Royal record label and Aisle 10 (Hello Allison) came in at number fourteen on my Best Songs of 2001 list. Then Grand Royal folded and one album later, released by Hollywood Record which is known for being the label to all the Disney stars, the group disbanded. But Aisle 10 (Hello Allison) is worth discovering.

Aisle 10 (Hello Allison) - Scapegoat Wax

Feed Your iPod vol. XLIII: 40 Dogs (Romeo and Juliet)

Here’s a song that I have been listening a lot to for no specific reason, just has a high repeatable to it.

40 Dogs (Romeo and Juliet) - Bob Schneider

Feed Your iPod vol. XLII: The Wanderer

Johnny Cash released his final album earlier this week (I assume) but due to my Olympic obsession I haven’t gotten around to give it a listen yet. So I thought I would highlight a song by Cash that some may have missed. The Wanderer is an odd song. Stuck at the end of U2’s eurotrash album Zooropa yet sung by the country icon who had been trolling in obscurity for most of the previous decade (the song was recorded a year before Cash hooked up with Rick Rubin that resurrected his career). And yet it all worked.

The Wanderer – U2 featuring Johnny Cash

Feed Your iPod vol. XXXXI: Just Ain't Gonna Work Out

When coming up with a list of anything that is 100 deep, I can understand how daunting it is to digest it and you may overlook things that you do not recognize it. If that was the case for my list of The 100 Best Songs of 2009 and you just skimmed over Mayer Hawthorne at #55 because he hasn’t gotten much radio airplay, here is hoping you give a look at him today and see why his soul-infused song landed on the chart. And I am still just getting to know him myself because I never checked out the video for Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out until writing this up leading to these two reactions, 1) I really should have had this on my 50 Best Music Videos of 2009 list and 2) what, dude’s white? Either way, here’s hoping Mayer gets his breakout in 2010.

Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out – Mayer Hawthorne

Feed Your iPod vol. XXXX: Mykonos

We are almost two weeks before I run down my 100 favorite songs of 2009 (if you want to voice your opinion on your favorite, please send me an e-mail of your ten favorite to ScooterKSU(at)aol(dot)com for The 9th Green’s Readers Favorite Songs of 2009 Poll, you can even win free music, click here for full information on how) and I thought I would give quick mention to a song that should fair very well on the list that I have not talked about and many of you may have not heard of, Mykonos by the Fleet Foxes.

Mykonos by the Fleet Foxes sounds like Bruce Springsteen if he were part of Crosby, Stills, Nash and sometimes Young. And the accompanying video “(which may also show up on next week’s Best Videos of 2009) is a geometry teacher’s dream. And for those that are fans of free, you can currently download this song at that price over at RCRD LBL. Merry Christmas.

Mykonos – Fleet Foxes

Feed Your iPod the CD vol. II

Feed Your iPod was created to highlight songs that may not have been hits, or even released as singles, but deserve a much bigger audience. And now I have posted enough for a second CD. Of course Feed Your iPod is just a catchy title and any of these can be for any mp3 devise, just your computer and now you can make a CD out of them as the first set comes in at 78:57. You can even help create volume three by emailing me (or use the comment section) song suggestions and a short description on way everyone should have it on their iPod for me to post. Click the links below to be taken to iTunes or the Amazon MP3 widet at the bottom where you can sample the songs or use the label function to scroll through what I had to say about these songs when I originally posted about them and full song previews.

1. Slow Dancing in a Burning Room – John Mayer

2. Two Wrongs – Wyclef Jean featuring Claudette Ortiz

3. Breakdown – Handsome Boy Modeling School

4. Like a Feather – Nikka Costa

5. Fireflies – Rhett Miller Featuring Rachael Yamagata

6. I Got Mine – The Black Keys

7. Bold as Love – Jimi Hendrix Experience

8. ‘Til I Get Over You – Michelle Branch

9. If God Would Send His Angels – U2

10. Hitchhiker Joe – Rugburns

11. Summertime – D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince

12. On the Radio – Regina Spektor

13. Summer in the City – The Lovin’ Spoonful

14. Broken Hearted – Eric Clapton

15. Mass Appeal – Gang Starr

16. We’re Going to Be Friends – The White Stripes

17. Follow the Leader – Eric B. and Rakim

18. Regulate – Warren G featuring Nate Dogg

19. Spin the Bottle – The Juliana Hatfield 3

Feed Your iPod vol. XXXIX: Soldier

Being Veteran's Day today, here is a song for all the soldiers, past and present out there. Thank you for your service and for the current ones, come home safely.

Soldier - Anna Nalick

Feed Your iPod vol. XXXVIII: Spin the Bottle

If there was one reason to pick up the Reality Bites soundtrack it was because my favorite U2 song All I Want Is You is among the track listing (keep in mind this was long before iTunes or even Napster). And with all due respect to the breakout star amongst the great eighties tunes, Lisa Loeb, the second standout track on the album was Spin the Bottle, a quick jolly romp reminiscent of the great middle school days when the spinning the bottle was the way to tell someone you liked them long before Vanessa Hudgens discovered a cell phone.

Spin the Bottle – The Juliana Hatfield 3

Feed Your iPod vol. XXXVII: Regulate

Tomorrow is the debut of Hip Hop Honors celebrating the twenty-five years of seminal rap label Def Jam. And to do a little honoring of my own I am highlighting one of my personal songs that the label produced that seems to get lost in the cracks in the annals of rap history. This despite being one of the few rap songs that even non-rap heads can appreciate (I remember a guy in high school who wore nothing by Metallica t-shirts who would walk around singing the Nate Dogg parts all the time) thanks to the late back rhymes of Warren G, a sing-a-long hook courtesy of Nate Dogg (and with all due respect to Mary J. Blige, he is the best of all time), and samples provided by Michael McDonald and Young Guns, where the title comes from. I dare you to press play and not instinctively sing along with ever word.

Regulate - Warren G and Nate Dogg



Be on the look out for more Def Jam related content later this week with the latest Lyrics Quiz.

Feed Your iPod vol. XXXVI: Follow the Leader

Jay-Z drops his latest Blueprint tomorrow (except in the places where you can already buy it which kind of defeats the special release date, but anyways, look for a review tomorrow). In the first official single Run This Town, Jay spits, “Please follow the leader. So Eric B. we are microphone fiend.” This of course is a reference to the classic Eric B and Rakim track. Odd that Jay shout outs Eric B in the song, even though it is Rakim that is the Microphone Fiend. But here is the other track Jay mentions from the seminal rap duo. And if we are lucky, we may see the long awaited Rakim solo album actually released October 20.

Follow the Leader – Eric B. and Rakim

Feed Your iPod vol. XXXV: We're Going to Be Friends

Tomorrow is Labor Day which means summer is unofficially over. At least for those that the season didn’t at the first bell of the school year. Nothing better brings in the season for fall, especially for those whose autumn begins with that first bell, then We’re Going to Be Friends which chronically the first day of school and even starts off with the line, “Fall is here, hear the yell, back to school, ring the bell.”

We’re Going to Be Friends – The White Stripes

Feed Your iPod vol. XXXIV: Mass Appeal

My buddy Doug cued me on a project he is doing to find ever song DJ Premier ever produced which is a pretty lofty task. For those that are wondering, “Who is DJ Premier?” he is the production half of the seminal rap group Gang Starr. And for those who are wondering, “Who is Gang Starr?” – shame on you. I used “seminal” for a reason. Here is a primer for those that don’t know, Mass Appeal which coincidentally was probably the group’s biggest hit.

Mass Appeal – Gang Starr

Feed Your iPod vol. XXXIII: Broken Hearted

Eric Clapton is one of those artists that it is nearly impossible to have one favorite song of. His catalogue is so extensive and diverse; you really cannot single out one. But with a gun to my head, I may have to go with Broken Hearted. While the album version (which the link below goes to) came during his electronic era where he became fascinated the drum machine (which was to rock bands in the late nineties, what the auto-tuner is for rappers today: overused). But where the song truly shines is in the acoustic setting where the video below come from with some help from John Mayer.


Broken Hearted – Eric Clapton

Feed Your iPod vol. XXXII: Summer in the City

Here is one for the youngins that don’t realize there was music recorded before they were born. In fact this song even outdates me by more than a few years. Summer in the City comes to mind mostly because the last two days have topped off here at over 90 degrees after an extremely mild summer so far. Since I had it this far without the air conditioner being turned on I decided a couple weeks ago that I would try to go the whole summer without it. Thanks to the mini-heat wave I spent the last two days sweating profusely as I walk around in nothing but my boxers to stay cool. And whenever I sweat profusely, I think of this song because it just sounds like the musical version of sweat.

Summer in the City – The Lovin’ Spoonful

Feed Your iPod vol. XXXI: On the Radio

With the recent release of her latest album, I went back and took a listen to some of the earlier work of Regina Spektor. Fidelity may have been the song the broke her and featured on a few television shows, but my favorite of hers is still On the Radio. It is hard not to enjoy a singer-songwriter on the piano wax poetic about November Rain.

On the Radio – Regina Spektor

Feed Your iPod vol. XXX: Summertime

Tomorrow is the unofficial start of summer where I hopefully am able to defend my McGavin family croquet title. Of course the official start of summer comes when I first hear Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. So adjust the bass and let the alpine blast.

Summertime – D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince

Feed Your iPod vol. XXIX: Hitchhicker Joe

I rarely listen to the radio anymore but occasionally will turn it on in the car when I forget the iPod or a CD. Even then I will flip through the fifteen preset stations without finding anything before signing to talk radio. Mostly because the radio playlist are so consolidated but the local rock station for some reason (thankfully) dusted off The Rugburns Hitchhiker Joe which took me right back to college when I played their album fairly often and even saw them in concert one. Fun fact: Rugburn Steve Poltz was the dude in Jewel’s You Were Meant for Me video (not the one directed by Sean Penn) and co-wrote the song. And who knew there was a video for Hitchhiker Joe?

Hitchhicker Joe – The Rugburns

>