Shocking motivation, bizzare stories, and sublime covers.

A friend on facebook posted a song by Sublime and it caused me to revisit some of the more obscure Sublime albums that I have. There is one in particular that I really like and it was the Sublime Asocustic Bradley Nowell and Friends album. Although it wasn't much song length wise, consisted of various sound qualities, and even featured some song previously released, it managed to capture some great intimate moments in the gone too soon singers career. There is a song on the album that is an amalgamation of bits of original songs and a cover by the Orange County "cowpunksurfabilly" band called The Ziggens. I decided to check them out and they are a pretty good band. They remind me of a mix of 90's college rock, barn burner country, and a little Weird Al style zaniness (in both vocal styling and comedic lyricism). I'm pretty glad I decided to look them up.

Brad Nowell - Mary/Big Salty Tears (Ziggens Cover)

The Ziggens - Big Salty Tears

The Ziggens - Really Bad Sunburn

I am a big podcast dork and about a year ago I stumbled on a collection of old radio broadcasts of a show called Coast to Coast AM: With Art Bell. If you're not familiar with the show or who Art Bell is you are in for a treat. The radio show is a late night call in talk show and the format is focused on the bizarre, creepy, and interesting things in life. The topics range from callers ghost stories, to talking with guests about FBI profiling, to speaking with people who claim to be time travelers, to storm chasers. The show runs pretty much all through the night, starting at 12AM to around 4AM. As you can guess the show gets a bevy for strange and interesting callers. The show is still around, however the thing that really makes the show pop, for me at least, is the host Art Bell. Mr. Bell sadly ended his talk show career in the mid 2000's, but began hosting the show in the early 90's, leaving quite a collection of broadcasts behind. His inquisitive nature, and cool smoky low voice set a perfect compliment to the shows format. He also has a led a very interesting life due to the show. To give you an example of one of his most memorable episodes, he had a caller that claimed to have a bottomless hole in his back yard. Art, being the host he is, ran with it and interviewed him, and then took callers reactions to the story afterward. The man was pretty convincing, would not give his location unless provided with some form of compensation. That's really the essence of the show. Piquing the listeners interest and then bringing you to the edge of belief and disbelief. It makes for some really fun listening. You can find a lot of his episodes on YouTube. I really recommend checking out this list that has some classic episodes. 

The Chapin Sisters - Digging A Hole

Tom Waits - Way Down In The Hole


I am a very undisciplined person. I don't have a good diet, I don't exercise like I should, I often forget to do important things. I have tried so many different things to get my life in order, from setting scheduled reminders to do chores, to programming sound notifications on my phone, to having my computer nag me to do things. It just isn't working. However, I have not given up. In the last few years smart wearable technology has become a popular thing. Mostly in the fitness world. I have always wanted to try out one of these gadgets and now that the price of them has become decently affordable I took the plunge and purchased myself a Pebble Time smart watch. My thinking is this, in order to me to learn some discipline and get into a routine I need more drastic measures than reminders on a screen. I need something probably short of shock therapy, to get me ass in line. It just so happens that the Pebble does this in a not so shocking, but vibration sort of way. I am pretty tech savvy and have a bit of programming knowledge so I am going to set up the watch to vibrate on my scheduled reminders. I really believe that this might be the approach that helps me get my shit together fitness/diet wise. I have the want (boy, do I have the want!) but I need a harder way to not avoid the things I need to do. Maybe I should just hire someone to scream "YOU NEED TO DO THE DISHES!" or "PUT THAT TACO BELL DOWN"...maybe I need a naggy significant other. NOTE: Brad in no way is disrespecting any gender with this comment. It is only posted for comedic effect. He thinks that all genders can be equally naggy, and knows that in most cases it's for the benefit of the other person.

Shock Treatment Movie Soundtrack - Shock Treatment

I know I posted a different version of this song previously and I feel like that's cheating a bit so here is another one.

Weezer - The Good Life

The Wonder Years - Came Out Swinging

An Introduction to a different world and a few music history lessons.

There has been massive construction going on around my town, I swear it feels like every road is either closed or cut down to 1 lane. I get it I live in a state where there is limited time to do road construction, but whoever decided to do this much at once deserves a big slap in the face with a dead trout fish. Not only does it cause traffic, but it also brings out the asshole in people. A few days ago I was cut off (almost in an accident) 3 times. I have noticed that customers at work have been extra grouchy, no one smiles or uses common manners. Is everyone an asshole, or is it just me? I mean I am trying to be cool, calm and collected and not jump into the idiot pool with them. I know in my last post I wrote about choosing kind words and thinking about what you say before you spew negativity, but I guess you have to release your rage somehow. I like to do it through the power of music. This song by one of my favorite "get happy bands" sums it up quite nicely. So today I am creating a new genre, I call it happy-rage. Songs that are fun and intended to make you smile while also allowing you to release all that negativity. What is your favorite happy-rage song, leave a comment below.

Reel Big Fish - Everyone Else Is An Asshole

Another from the Big Fish...the alternate version

Reel Big Fish - You Don't Know (Skacoustic)

This is the funkiest song I have ever heard. Betty was way ahead of her time when it came to music. She was also married to Miles Davis.

She met Miles Davis in 1967 and married him in September 1968. In just one year of marriage she influenced him greatly by introducing him to the fashions and the new popular music trends of the era. In his autobiography, Miles credited Betty with helping to plant the seeds of his future musical explorations by introducing the trumpeter to psychedelic rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix and funk innovator Sly Stone. The Miles Davis album Filles de Kilimanjaro (1968) includes a song named after her and her photo on the front cover.

Miles believed that Hendrix and Betty had an affair which supposedly hastened the end of their marriage, but Betty denies this. Hendrix and Miles stayed close after the divorce, planning to record until Hendrix's death. The influence of Hendrix and especially Sly Stone on Miles Davis was obvious on the album Bitches Brew (1970), which ushered in the era of jazz fusion. The origin of the album's title is unknown, but some believe Miles was subtly paying tribute to Betty and her girlfriends. In fact, it is said that he originally wanted to call the album Witches Brew—it was Betty who convinced him to change it" - Wikipedia

Betty Davis - They Say I'm Different

Lately I have been super into the animated Adult Swim show Rick And Morty. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, it's about the adventures of an insecure awkward teenage boy, Morty, and super drunk, super dickish mad scientist grandpa, Rick. They travel all over the galaxy and get into all sorts of hi jinks.  The show is pretty damn funny, absolutely strange, and at time can be super deep. The episodes consist of things like visiting a planet where everyone is nice but one a year they have a "purge night" where they release all their rage, or they make a remote that can receive TV shows from other planets and other dimensions, or dropping off a not so space loving Dad at a daycare full of clones so Rick and Morty can sell illegal guns to interplanetary hit men and then go to Blips and Chitz (an otherworldly Dave and Busters knock off). The animation and creativity that goes into this show is astounding. The show has featured some great tunes as well. One of the more memorable, deep moments is scored by a song by Chaos Chaos called Do You Feel It. Even if you aren't the biggest animation fan, I highly suggest checking this show out.

Chaos Chaos - Do You Feel It

This song just caught my ear...I think I need to spend sometime with The Hotelier. Great lyrics, a little emo, but really cool sounding.

The Hotelier - An Introduction To The Album 

I love me some Solomon Burke. Such a soulful voice! Yes, this was on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. No, I am really not a fan of the movie, but I have seen it more times than I would like. However, my parents had both volumes of the soundtrack and they are fantastic. This song is what brought me to love soul music so much. It brings me memories of riding in the family Chevrolet Celebrity (which became my first car) blasting the soundtrack. This is a staple of my journey into music.

Solomon Burke - Cry To Me

I am an old man who likes dancing, kind words, and pretty songs.

I feel this year has been the year of constant negatives. Shootings left in right in the news, crazy politicians and constant bickering/trash talking between their followers, hate towards people who are different than us, but just trying to live their lives and make it by the same as us, constant construction (at least where I am). It seems like everyone is angry, or depressed, or sad. It's fucking insane. I heard this song last night while listening to an old podcast of Loveline with Dr. Drew and Adam Carolla. It's the title track off the 1994 album Question The Answers by a band called the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The whole song is great, but here are the lyrics to the chorus...

Kinder words here we could pick
A kind approach might do the trick
Hurt you, hurt me, well that needs to stop
Kinder words here we could choose
We've kind of got a lot to lose
The temperature we need that to drop

I really wish this song would come back into rotation because I think we all could benefit from the wise words this song has to offer. This world is dark enough without us adding more negativity. Maybe it's just me wishing to see things through rose colored glasses, or maybe it's the due to the advancement of technology that we all have a platform to stand on and news that we'd never normally hear about is getting to us faster than ever. I don't know. What I do know is right now there is way to much negativity in this world and we all need to do our part to change that. We are all humans and we all deserve a break, regardless of what we believe to be right. Everyone fucks up, no one is perfect. Cut a little slack. Think about that the next time you get on your soapbox or rage. Be peaceful, be caring, be kind, be open minded, take care of yourself and each other my friends.
 The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Kinder Words
 
Quite sometime ago I woke up from a night of hard partying and said to myself, "Man, I am to old for this shit." To old to spend the day recovering fron the night before. To tired to stay up until 4AM. I can no longer wake up foggy headed trying to piece the night together. Don't get me wrong, I had some epic fun times and there are days where I miss having that sort of crazy fun with my friends, but there is that point when you realize that there is more to life and slowing your roll is needed. I think this song captures that moment perfectly. The addition of Chance The Rapper makes this song even more epic.
Snakehips - All My Friends (Feat. Tinashe, Chance The Rapper)


I found this gem on a Reddit post. Rips is from Beantown (Boston), MA. The first time I heard them I seriously got out of my chair and started dancing. I would call their sound modern funk, with a twist of psychedelic chilled out soul. They haven't really been around long, they only have a few E.P.s out, but they play tighter than a wet jelly jar on a muggy afternoon. This particular song is super addictive and has a ska-like vibe to it. If you know anything about me you know I am a sucker for a killer horn section. The tempo changes are masterfully done, and super clean. The lyrics are pretty solid and fun to sing with. The vocalist reminds me a bit of John Popper of the band Blues Traveler, which is definitely a compliment. Every song I have head by them is totally dance-able. Keep an eye out for these cats, as they are currently touring and in the process of making a full length album! If they don't make it big it would be a crying shame. 
Ripe - Talk To The Moon

Waves of blue, wet mist, hot sun. Cool breeze, hissing silent crash, toes sinking into the sand. Row, row row, your float, gently to a shore, merrily, barely coasting along, out here life seems like a dream.
Kidstreet - Song (studio version)
Sky of blue, endless space, golden rays. Dry air, roaring wiping wind, freedom like the birds. Fly, fly, fly away into the horizon. Your worries shed and dissipate behind you, scattered and falling to the earth below.
Kidstreet - Song (string version)

A public service announcement from your local music nerd...

If you are new or just coming back to this blog just a heads up, it's a mess. A lot of the more "recent" posts still have broken links. If you delve deeper into the archives (on the lower right hand side) most of the song titles will lead to the youtube video. You might have to go back quite a bit. I will be working like mad to get it all sorted out but it's gonna take a while (probably a long while as I have over 150 posts to fix). I will work from most recent to oldest. Your best bet is to wait a few week or two and come back and you should see some changes. Sorry for any frustration (believe me it's frustration on my end too).

Cover This

So it's been a while (You should read that in the voice of Arron Lewis from the band Staind...you know the song) since I have posted here. Damn near 3 years, maybe more I didn't pay close attention to the date before starting this post. I'd like to say I am back at it, but you know how that works around here, so I am not going to make any promises I can't keep. Would I like to continue bringing you great music? Hell yes! Am I lazy and forgetful? That also is a resounding "Hell yes!" I will say though that this recent bout of music fever that hit me has been lots of fun. that being said I will do my best to keep this trend going.

Firs of all I want to make you aware that the format here is going to change. Before I would link to a song that you could download. Unfortunately, the service I used to provide the downloads is no longer around. This sucks, but it is also a good thing. I no longer have to worry about providing links to songs and feeling bad about ripping the bands off in a sense. In the last 3 years technology has came a long way. We now have things like Spotify, and YouTube, and the good ol' Googler if you really want to find the music. So what is the format change you ask?   Nothing too crazy. Instead of posting the download files I am just going to make YouTube playlists (RopBopBlog actually has a YouTube channel now! That you can subscribe to! Wowee!)  I figure I'll still write blurbs and pick songs like I used to but I will link to the YouTube videos. Every few weeks I will make a playlist of the best of the best songs that I have posted. That way if you don't like to read my rambling, you don't have to. Of course I will be picking the songs for the playlists, however if you like a song a lot, make a comment on the post. I'll be sure to put it on the playlist. At some point, I will try my hand once again at making a RopBop Podcast, but it's on the back burner for the time being. As always I will be willing to take any suggestions you have for songs, and if you feel so inclined, write a little about the song and what/why you like it. I'll put it up (unless it's extremely crossing the line offensive). I don't want this blog to be all about my tastes in music. There are various ways you can get in contact with me. Leave a comment on this very blog, Send me an e-mail (link in sidebar) or if you know me facebook,text, or talk directly to my face (I mean if you want to talk to my feet you can do that too, but I would be really weirded out by that). That being said...let's get down to business!

I recently created a playlist of cover songs I had laying around. I love a good cover song! Some of these you may know, and some you may not. I would implore you to go and seek out the originals if you don't know a song. It just might lead you to discovering a new jam!

Cover This: A RopBop Cover Mix

I will post the playlist with links to the original songs below.

1. Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - D.A.N.C.E. (Justice Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCnBrrnOefs

2. Foo Fighters - Kiss The Bottle (Jawbreaker Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZTvqUvgYCI

3. Little Richard - I Feel Pretty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7BQRGXFLJs

4. Kepi Ghoulie - Kiss The Girl (Little Mermaid Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXmLRHnoSAs

5. Joeseph Gordon-Levitt - I Don't Want To Live On The Moon (Seasme Street Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIq8jLj5TzU

6. Post Modern Jukebox - Creep feat. Haley Reinhart (Radiohead Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFkzRNyygfk

7. Antoine Dufour - Hide And Seek (Imogen Heap Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4OLQB7ON9w

8. Regina Spektor - Chelsea Hotel No. 2 (Leonard Cohen Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pekuZglq-Sg

9.Ellie Goulding - Tessalate (Alt-J Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg6BwvDcANg

10. Lauren O'Connell - Graceland (Paul Simon Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDXzLeFUkpc

11. The Gits - A Change Is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x31YyQqf2ys

12.Paramore - Use Somebody (Kings Of Leon Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnhXHvRoUd0

13. The Protomen - I Drove All Night (Cindy Lauper Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y1TZXc5DiY

14. Metric - Don't Think Twice It's Aright (Bob Dylan Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-Y3KfJs6T0

15. M. Ward - Rave On (Buddy Holly Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IUV-QxwlRM

16. Schneider TM & Kptmichigan - The Light 3000 (The Smiths Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-cD4oLk_D0

17. Seu Jorge - Life On Mars (David Bowie Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v--IqqusnNQ

18. Taylor Swift - Riptide (Vance Joy Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ_1HMAGb4k

19. Wye Oak - Mother (Danzig Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gq8LeKfuiM

20. Miley Cyrus - Summertime Sadness (Lana Del Rey Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVjsGKrE6E8

21. Lissie - Ship Song (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4VWKbZkIcM

It is not dead, It's heart just beats at a slower pace

It's been a while sing I have done anything with this blog. It might be a long time before I make another post. I really have about a million excuses I could give, but who wants to read all that drivel. So I'll just say I am sorry and move on. Sorry.


Lately I have been into this band from New Jersey Called The Front Bottoms. I think the reason their music resonates with me is because it takes me back to my pop punk roots. I consider the punk phase in my music genealogy, the point where I really started to branch out and become interested in music.The Front Bottoms music is filled a happy sadness that is really found in young adulthood. The wild rebellious shell that screams I don't give a fuck on the outside, but if you manage to even so much as crack the seam you would be flooded with a mess of emotional garbage. I honestly wouldn't even consider their music to be pop punk, but for some reason it brings me back to those bands that helped me get through my late teens/early 20's. Those nights when I was pining over some girl, or mad at the world for God knows what reason. They make me miss those days, even though I really don't.

Tonight I was lurking on Youtube and I came across both of these videos from the Black Cab Sessions. I love it when live music is so good it gives me goosebumps.

 
“Shut up…let me tell you, LET ME. Every time I look at your face or even remember it, it wrecks me. And the way you are with me and you’re just fun and you shit all over me and you make fun of me and you’re real. I don’t have enough time in any day to think about you enough...I don’t even think about women anymore. I think about you.”
― Louis C.K.

 

Podtastic

Surprise! It's the first episode of The RopBop Radio Show! Edit: Surprise it's no longer avaliable...maybe someday I'll repost it when I have time. If you really want to hear it, shoot me an e-mail.