Disqus - Latest Comments for ken

Re: Name That Tune, Game Thirty-Three | Popdose

ken — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:17:23 -0000

Not positive on this but #4 sounds like "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" by Daft Punk.

Re: Dw. Dunphy On…Vinyl

ken — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 09:11:59 -0000

This phenomenon is less likely to happen now that 95% of my listening is done with CD's or mp3's but there are certain vinyl-era records I still remember which songs had skips and I still hear the phantom skips whenever I hear a given song.

Re: No Concessions: “Juno”

ken — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 09:35:36 -0000

I also felt the opening scene with Rainn Wislon was a bit forced but the whole thing was redeemed soon enough. Consider it like a band who didn't get to soundcheck before a gig, the first song's gonna sound bad but it'll work out just fine in the end. It's been a looong time since I've been this impressed by a movie. And everyone (and i mean EVERYONE) I've talked to about it loved it.

One thing my brother pointed out to me that I hadn't noticed was the complete absence of mobile phones in the movie, not a single one anywhere. Certainly a conscious choice and a good one at that as it won't date the movie. Very little about the movie (a few of the musical references) tipped its' cap as to when it was supposed to take place.

Re: Mix Six: “Up From the Underground”

ken — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 09:56:10 -0000

The perfectionist drummer in me had to check in to confirm that the drums in "Whip It" are real (and spectacular). Also, gotta make a slight correction on the use of four on the floor. While the choruses of "Teen Spirit" certainly feature a steady 'four on the floor rhythm', the verses don't really. Think of every beat in a 4/4 measure having a kick drum on it, ie: "Heart of Glass" by Blondie or "Miss You" by the Rolling Stones. That's all.

Re: Jesus of Cool: John Hughes, Sixteen Candles, and a Kiss…of Death

ken — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 05:44:49 -0000

While this was certainly a good overview of three bands championed by John Hughes, you could make the case that there were an equal amount of bands who went on to bigger and better things following their association with Mr. Hughes. Also consider that the average lifespan of a band is pretty similar to that of a player in the NFL (3-5 years) so the downward arc of some of the careers may have already begun before their music appeared in one of Mr. Hughes films.

I've also seen both the Psychedelic Furs and Simple Minds perform live within the last five years and each band performed their big "John Hughes Film Hit" with glee and no apparent duress. In both cases the requisite hit in question was just one of an enormous string of great songs that spanned the impressive careers of both bands.

Re: A parade … of LIES!

ken — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:07:11 -0000

Perfect Robert. Just perfect. I had to do a double take myself when I saw that Bhutto cover. I just assumed I got an old Parade in my Chicago Tribune but no, apparently accuracy isn't worth the time or money to correct it. As much as I loathe and hate Parade at the same time, I read it EVERY DAMN WEEK. Don't forget Marilyn Vos Savant (the world's smartest lady, who apparently has nothing better to do than solve lame reader-submitted riddles) and James Brady whose "In Step With" is almost as inane as gold ole Wally Scott.

Just like Family Circle, it waits there every time just waiting to suck.

Re: Mix Six: “Frickin’ Awesome Drummers”

ken — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:55:34 -0000

Not to pick nits here but it's Jeff Porcaro you guys are talking about, Steve Porcaro is a keyboard player. Jeff's the one who played on all those records and then died (literally, look it up) in a bizarre gardening accident.

I'm with youse on Porcaro, Brzezicki and Aronoff and also wish to nominate a few more obscure guys like Ben Daughtrey who at age seventeen played the hell out of the drums on Squirrel Bait's two albums and Pat Brady who manned the tubs for the seldom heard but sublime Moving Targets from Boston.

Re: The Popdose Guide to Material Issue

ken — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 08:05:10 -0000

Nice work Darren. As a fellow Chicagoan, I witnessed MI's rise to fame from the ground up as well. As they were first starting out, I interviewed them at my high school radio sataion in the 80's--they also played a 'social' at our high school-- then I played them at my college station when IPO came put and had the honor of playing them at several commercials stations after that, so as I 'graduated' to bigger and better situations, so did they.

Jim was one cocky bastard but he backed it up with writing great songs. So sad that the subject of so many of his great songs--girls--was ultimately what did him in.

My only quibble with your song selections would be the lack of "She's Going Thru My Head" and "Chance of a Lifetime", two early live staples that I feel should've been huge hits.

Re: Name That Tune, Game Four

ken — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:55:45 -0000

#16 "Happy Birthday To Me" Cracker That's the only one that I knew that hasn't been guessed correctly already.

Re: Better Late Than Never: Prince & the Revolution

ken — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:05:39 -0000

It's all about who lights that fire the first time. Like a lot of teenagers who also liked 'rock', we were torn, I mean Prince just shredded the guitar, but then he wore all those frilly outfits, what's a hetero teen male to do?

For me it was the older sister of my best friend Darren, Heather was her name. Heather was the embodiment of the perfect, blonde, hot seveteen year-old 'big' sister, the girl next door who wore a string bikini everyday in the summer I went over to Darren's house every day that summer, as he had a pool and both his parents worked and left Darren and his big sister alone. We'd sit around, eat Tombstone Pizzas and watch MTV. Heather was pretty cool about letting me and Darren listen to whatever music we wanted but she got to pick out stuff once in awhile. One day when she was tired of our Billy Idol, Van Halen and Def Leppard, she put on Purple Rain and proceeded to dance (in her bikini) to the entire album, including a sultry special dance for "Darling Nikki". I was hooked and can't hear any song off Purple Rain without thinking of Heather.

Did that sound too much like Penthouse Forum Letter?

Re: Why You Should Like … Lush

ken — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:10:33 -0000

How weird that just last week, I put Lush on my lala que and got Spooky on Friday. It was the first time I herd that album since college as my roomie was a huge 4AD fan and had everything.

Re: Sugar Water: January’s almost over.

ken — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:24:49 -0000

I'm with you on the January hate but let me tell you, one day you will miss steam heat. I mean if you're fortunate enough to move from your current apt to another place with radiators, then I'll stand corrected. Until you have to endure forced air heat, you'll hate January a litle less than I do.

Re: Motion Picture Soundtrack: “Momma Told Me Not to Come”/ “Spill the Wine”

ken — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:39:26 -0000

So many great music cues in one of the greatest films of the last 10-15 years. There's not a bad song on either soundtrack album. And some gems that didn't make the cut too (Andrew Gold's "Lonely Boy"). Among the deleted scenes: a great sequence cut to Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk", pure genius.

Re: Lost MP3 of the Week: Foreigner, “Cold As Ice”

ken — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:05:28 -0000

I second the mention of "Juke Box Hero". Local H do a superb non-ironic cover of it live sometimes.

Re: Political Culture: No Sex, Please, Weâre American

ken — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 08:51:06 -0000

Nice work, Jon. I'd love to see a follow up article about the FCC's idiocy regarding radio. In this Post-Janet Jackson world (almost as tired a phrase as post-9/11) radio has gone completely bonkers, exising any and all songs with even the slightest mention of a dirty word. For decades, radio programmers (myself included) played songs with slight, discreet expletives: "Who Are You?" (The Who) "Money" (Pink Floyd) and "Lawyers, Guns & Money" (Warren Zevon) and since Janet flashed her milk fountain for a millisecond, they're all gone, likely forever. You could argue that all those songs have been played enough on the radio (and you might be right) but still its the principle.

Re: The Three Strike Rule: “Friday Night Lights” Update

ken — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 06:57:01 -0000

Let's not forget, this was the same network that cancelled "Freaks & Geeks" but it's not like anyone involved with that show (Apatow, Rogen, Cardellini, Franco, Segal, Feig etc) ever went o to do anything of substance.

Re: The Popdose Guide to Lloyd Cole

ken — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 07:13:54 -0000

RW - Yeah, the Moonlighting reference boggled me for a bit, then it hit me.

Andy- I did go to that site but couldn't download the Camera Obscura songs, they appear to have expired. Sadly, so did the Buff Toms live stuff on the same site, which would've been great for my next Pop Dose Guide.

Steve - Amen, brother. He is kinda famous in the UK, just not here. It's the Robbie Williams syndrome.

WHarris - Easy Pieces is tough to beat (for me Rattlensakes edges it out, tho). I also sort of rediscovered Love Story in doing this guide, a forgotten classic.

Urs - Thanks for the high praise. The math works out, you and Lloyd are roughly the same age, so you were experiencing the same stuff at the same time.

Harry Lime - It's funny, I only used about half of my rare bonus track stash. If he ever wanted, Lloyd could make a mint releasing all the rare unheard stuff that wasn't on Etc.

John Hughes - It's not even that i dislike Mainstream, there's some quality material on there for sure. It just gets a bit slow on Side Two and I realized that pretty much this entire guide was positive reviews (except maybe Bad Vibes) so I had to quibble with SOMETHING. It does speak to the strength of his material though.

Broad - Guilty as charged.

And if you've gotten this far, I should note that I do my own blog as well with a fair amount of music content. Just click on my name above and I link to it. I am on the blogrolll but failed to identify myself properly.

Re: Hooks ‘N’ You: Midget, “Jukebox”

ken — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 07:58:52 -0000

I'd love to see one of those Pete Frame-type trees on all the WEA-affiliated labels. Hell, I used to work for Cema (Capitol, EMI, Virgin, Chrysalis, etc) and that was equally confusing. Why not a family tree of the original Big Six?

And Will, you mention Jolene. A former member of that band is a good friend of mine and I'm sure he'd love for me to let you know that John Crooke and David Burris (singer/guitarist and guitarist/singer, repsectively) are in a great newish band called Lamps which also features Vicki Petersen (Bangles) and Peele Wimberly (Connells). You can find their latest EP on iTunes.

Re: The Cassingle Vault: Siouxsie and the Banshees, “Peek-A-Boo”

ken — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 08:15:25 -0000

As a big Siouxie fan from back in the day, lemme tell you Jeff, put Twice Upon a Time on your Lala queue, it's a great overview of the key singles. I guarantee you'll recognize two or three tracks.

Re: Name That Tune, Game Seven

ken — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 18:16:02 -0000

21. Might be Thunderclap Newman?

23. Definitely from Exile In Guyville (can't mistake that Brad Wood production) but the songs escapes me.

And for the record, I just saw this now and without looking got 1,2,4,7,10,18,19,22.

Re: Name That Tune, Game Seven

ken — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 18:45:00 -0000

Yup, that's it Eric. Damn you. I get an assist though, right?

Re: Name That Tune, Game Seven

ken — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:29:55 -0000

21 sure sounds Townshend-esque, hence my Thunderclap Guess, then I tried The Who's "Amazing Jouney/Sparks" to no avail. Am I in the ballpark?

Re: Name That Tune - Game Nine

ken — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 20:59:41 -0000

Damn, I had like 9 of these, but 8 of them were already identified. I figured I'd be the one to tip in "I Do The Rock" by Tim Curry.

My sole contribution is that Clip 8 is "The Fitted Shirt" by Spoon.

Re: A Dozen Seasons: Richard Julian @ Genghis Cohen

ken — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:22:34 -0000

Sunday Morning... has been sitting in my growing pile of promos I want to listen to, this post was the impetus I needed to make that happen.

Unfortunately, the promo pile of stuff I HAVE to listen to has been winning lately.

Re: The Three Strike Rule: “How I Met Your Mother” (CBS)

ken — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:47:25 -0000

I'm a newcomer to HIMYM this year and I love it. It almost makes me forget those other thirtysomethings who lived and played together in NYC.

I like the single-camera, non-laugh track stuff but more importantly, the characters are well definied. Neil Patrick Harris is superb as is the always reliable Jason Segel and Alison Hannigan and Josh Radnor are new to me (except for Amercian Pie) but great. And tell me Colbie Smulders (Robin) isn't one of the hottest women of television.

The strike allowed me to aquaint myself with a lot more episodes from past seasons, so I'm almost caught up. I hope it gets a chance to have one more season.

Re: Name That Tune, Game Twelve

ken — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:33:07 -0000

12. Lucky Number by Lene Lovich

Re: Listening Booth: Duffy, “Rockferry”

ken — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:05:27 -0000

I love "Mercy" which is why it's slightly disappointing the rest of the album isn't as spritely. I'll give it a chance but wished the album was more energetic.

Re: The Three Strike Rule: Brothers & Sisters (ABC)

ken — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:10:45 -0000

I also love the 'thirtysomething of the Aughts' vibe, especially with Olin and Wettig (and Skerritt) and have grown to like Calista Flockhart again. Also remarkable is that three of the leads (Joe, Sarah and Kevin are all doing superb jobs of cocncealing Aussie/British accents).

I haven't seen Sunday's epi yet (TiVo'd it) but it seems like Ken Olin's emergence on camera is merely to offer alternative paternity for Rebecca which will then greenlight the inevitable Justin/Rebecca hookup. Those two have acted a lot more like jealous lovers than platonic siblings. Thier realtionship has always had the vibe of a John Irving novel.

The Isaac/Nora relationship feels forced to me. Almost as forced as the aborted Chevy Chase/Sally Field pairing.

That said, I'm glad it's back, it also has a "Once and Again" (another ABC nighttime soap) feel to go with it's resemblance to thirtysomething.

Re: Lost in the ’90s: Echo & The Bunnymen

ken — Fri, 16 May 2008 08:32:30 -0000

My favorite from "Reverberation" has always been "Gone, Gone, Gone". A good, underrated album.

Re: Name That Tune, Game Seventeen

ken — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:34:28 -0000

#25 "History Lesson Part II"- Minutemen.

Cool, I got the coolest song of the bunch, I'm surprised Dr. Corndog didn't, what with corndog being an integral part of that song and all.

Re: Name That Tune, Game Nineteen

ken — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:14:24 -0000

#13 "Warsaw" by Joy Division

Re: Know Your Local Record Store: Turn It Up!

ken — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:53:13 -0000

Well, I live in the Chicago metro area so we have no shortage of excellent record stores. The closest (and best) to us is a husband and wife-owned store called The Old School Records in Forest Park, Illinois. They have tons of vinyl (new and old), CDs, VHS tapes, DVDs, cassettes and more. The owners can speak authoritatively on that Dub Reggae CD your considering as well as the Scott Walker CD in the bins and everything inbetween. They also have a considerable online presence as well. Top notch.

Re: Name That Tune, Game Twenty

ken — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 23:05:58 -0000

# 2 "Sliver" Nirvana

Re: Name That Tune, Game Twenty-Three

ken — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:42:40 -0000

4) I'm Not Your Mother - Blake Babies
15) Sister Christian - Night Ranger
17) My Sister - Juliana Hatfield Three

Re: Name That Tune, Game Twenty-Four

ken — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:21:34 -0000

23 Step Right Up - Tom Waits Ken/Gaper's Blog)

Re: Name That Tune, Game Twenty-Seven | Popdose

ken — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:13:59 -0000

12. Right Place, Wrong Time - Dr. John

19. Ideology - Billy Bragg

Re: Name That Tune, Game Twenty-Seven | Popdose

ken — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:21:26 -0000

Ooh, and I forgot to add:

9. Everybody's Happy Nowadays - Buzzcocks

Re: Name That Tune 28: Coverville Edition | Popdose

ken — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:36:44 -0000

15. Once Bitten, Twice Shy - Ian Hunter

Disqus - Latest Comments for ken

Re: Name That Tune, Game Thirty-Three | Popdose

Re: Dw. Dunphy On…Vinyl

Re: No Concessions: “Juno”

Re: Mix Six: “Up From the Underground”

Re: Jesus of Cool: John Hughes, Sixteen Candles, and a Kiss…of Death

Re: A parade … of LIES!

Re: Mix Six: “Frickin’ Awesome Drummers”

Re: The Popdose Guide to Material Issue

Re: Name That Tune, Game Four

Re: Better Late Than Never: Prince & the Revolution

Re: Why You Should Like … Lush

Re: Sugar Water: January’s almost over.

Re: Motion Picture Soundtrack: “Momma Told Me Not to Come”/ “Spill the Wine”

Re: Lost MP3 of the Week: Foreigner, “Cold As Ice”

Re: Political Culture: No Sex, Please, Weâre American

Re: The Three Strike Rule: “Friday Night Lights” Update

Re: The Popdose Guide to Lloyd Cole

Re: Hooks ‘N’ You: Midget, “Jukebox”

Re: The Cassingle Vault: Siouxsie and the Banshees, “Peek-A-Boo”

Re: Name That Tune, Game Seven

Re: Name That Tune, Game Seven

Re: Name That Tune, Game Seven

Re: Name That Tune - Game Nine

Re: A Dozen Seasons: Richard Julian @ Genghis Cohen

Re: The Three Strike Rule: “How I Met Your Mother” (CBS)

Re: Name That Tune, Game Twelve

Re: Listening Booth: Duffy, “Rockferry”

Re: The Three Strike Rule: Brothers & Sisters (ABC)

Re: Lost in the ’90s: Echo & The Bunnymen

Re: Name That Tune, Game Seventeen

Re: Name That Tune, Game Nineteen

Re: Know Your Local Record Store: Turn It Up!

Re: Name That Tune, Game Twenty

Re: Name That Tune, Game Twenty-Three

Re: Name That Tune, Game Twenty-Four

Re: Name That Tune, Game Twenty-Seven | Popdose

Re: Name That Tune, Game Twenty-Seven | Popdose

Re: Name That Tune 28: Coverville Edition | Popdose

Re: Political Culture: No Sex, Please, Weâre American