Posted by Amanda Marcotte February 15, 2008 in Uncategorized, Illicit Sex, Friday Random Ten and a Cat Pic
Image by Ann.
Image by Ann.
Ten songs at random from your iPod or other MP3 playing device or software. Leave ‘em in comments. Here’s mine:
- “Disco Dance With You”–Teki Latex
- “Favorite”—Neko Case
- “Woman”—Wolfmother
- “Superheroes”—Daft Punk
- “The Oogum Boogum Song”—Brenton Wood
- “No War No Hate”—Red London
- “Infiltrate”—Sean Paul
- “Hallucinex”—Stereolab
- “Glory Days To Come”—Johnossi
- “Class War”—The Exploited
In honor of Bitterest Day, some good, bitter songs.
“No Pussy Blues” by Grinderman (Nick Cave’s new band):
“Beautiful World” by Devo:
“The KKK Took My Baby Away” by the Ramones:
Name some of your favorite blatantly bitter songs in comments.
54 Responses to “Friday Random Ten “The Bitterest Day” Edition”
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My favorite bitter song at the moment would have to be “Fool” by Jim Waive and the Young Divorcees, an excellent local (central VA) country act. Key refrain: “If you see me dancin’ with somebody else / it’s ‘cause I don’t love you no more”
clip available here: http://www.jimwaive.com/mp3/fool.mp3
Bitterest song? Oh how about Dear God by XTC.
Um…pretty WTF day on my shuffle:
1. Common- Testify
2. Muse- Soldier’s Poem
3. Thom Yorke- The Eraser
4. Ghostface Killah- Momma
5. Ghostface Killah- Clipse Of Doom
6. The Twilight Sad- Last Year’s Rain Didn’t Fall Quite So Hard
7. Muse- Intro
8. Gorillaz- Last Living Soulds
9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Warrior
10. Gorillaz- Every Planet We Reach Is Dead
Let’s see 10 more:
11. Elliott Smith- The Biggest Lie
12. The Hold Steady- First Night
13. Elliott Smith- Condor Ave.
14. The Thermals- Returning To The Fold
15. TV On The Radio- Wolf Like Me
16. Belle & Sebastian- To Be Myself Completely
17. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah- Gimme Some Salt
18. Elliott Smith- Pitseleh
19. Liars- Houseclouds
20. Herbert- Something Isn’t Right
Just off the top of my head, “All Your Way” by Morphine always came off as a bit bitter. Although the first song in this random list might qualify:
1. I Used To Say I Love You by Robyn Hitchcock
2. Mount Zion by Desmond Dekker
3. Rejoice and Be Happy by The Violent Femmes
4. Behind a Painted Smile by The Isley Brothers
5. Country Pie/Brandenburg Concerto #6 by The Nice
6. That’s How You Got Killed Before by The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
7. Bob’s Funk by The Moog Cookbook
8. Lady Madonna by Booker T. & the MGs
9. Down Brownie by ZZ Top
10. I Ain’t Superstitious by The Jeff Beck Group (my favorite use of music in Casino, I think right before the cheaters get busted by Ace Rothstein)
And my favorite Barney Gumbel line:
Barney: I’m Barney Gumble, and I’m an alcoholic.
Lisa: Mr Gumble, this is a girl scout meeting.
Barney: Is it? Or is it that you girls can’t admit that you have a problem?
FRT - The “I hope she e-mails me back soon” edition:
1. “The Gas Face”, 3rd Bass
2. “Telephone Line”, Electric Light Orchestra
3. “Funkytown”, Pseudo Echo
4. “88 Lines About 44 Women”, The Nails
5. “Space Oddity”, David Bowie
6. “Lucky”, Radiohead
7. “Money”, The Flying Lizards
8. “Time”, Alan Parsons Project
9. “Somebody’s Baby”, Jackson Browne
10. “House Party”, J. Geils Band
The, I hate my sinuses edition:
10. Breath of Life–Erasure
9. Detour Ahead–Billy Holiday
8. Sinner, Please Don’t Let This Harvest Pass–Jessye Norman
7. I’m Beautiful–Bette Midler
6. Isaac–Madonna
5. Der Geist hilft unsrer Schwachheit auf (BWV 226–Bach)–La Chappelle Royal, Herreweghe
4. Lord, Help Me to Be–Alice Coltrane
3. Sin Gun Chaser–Modes Mouse
2. Isolation–Joy Division
1. Resist–Melissa Ethridge
1. Now I Know - The Thorns
2. Disappointed - The Connells
3. Eres Mi Vida - Mocha Lab
4. Joey - Concrete Blonde (soon to be veep nominee)
5. Erie Canal - Bruce Springsteen
6. Shankill Butchers - The Decemberists
7. Just Walk Away - Doug Kwartler
8. Carbon Monoxide - Cake
9. A Change Would Do You Good - Sheryl Crow
10. Extravagant Living - Student Film
Bonus:
Satellite - Guster
Best bitter song:
Sad Songs & Waltzes (Aren’t Selling This Year) - Willie Nelson
Our 3-year-old has been grooving to Annie Lennox singing “Why” the past week or so. But my favorite for pure drama queen bitterness has always been Maltby & Shire’s “I don’t remember christmas”.
(And I have no effing clue where my ipod is. I think the cat stole it.)
“Take Out The Trash” by They Might Be Giants, although it’s more happily vengeful than bitter, per se.
And for bitter songs–Ani DiFranco’s “Untouchable Face”
Bitterest Song Nomination: The Wind That Shakes The Barley. I have the Dead Can Dance version but I’ve heard others. Northern Ireland has about 400 years of bitter.
The Random 10 or so with Gogol Brodello Bookends!
“Start Wearing Purple” - Gogol Bordello
“From Now On” - Eve Monsees & The Exiles
“Felicity” - Fred Neil
“Respira” - Ojos De Brujo
“Looks Like Rain” - Fred Neil
“Who The Fuck?” - PJ Harvey
“Butterfly Thing” - Tanya Donelly
“Walk Away From Love” - Eliza Gilkyson
“Male Model” - Sleater-Kinney
“Stupid Is As Stupid Does” - South San Gabriel
“All Saints” - David Bowie
“Hayyamatri” - Zein Al-Jundi
“Think Locally Fuck Globally” - Gogol Bordello
“Oh Lonesome Me” by Neil Young. No one sings it with just the right amount of whine as he does.
Anything by Richard Thompson, but “When I Get to the Border” will do.
My “Daytona 500″ Random Ten:
01. Sirius/Eye in the Sky [06:26] — Alan Parsons
02. Comfortably Numb [06:26] — Pink Floyd
03. The Waiting [04:00] — Tom Petty
04. Never Before [1997 Remix] [04:00] — Deep Purple
05. Long Distance Runaround/The Fish [live] [13:23] — Yes
06. Kuiama [11:21] — ELO
07. Voodoo Child [15:00] — Jimi Hendrix
08. Do You Feel Like We Do [13:52] — Peter Frampton
09. Remember the Future [15:44] — Nektar
10. Smells Like Teen Spirit [04:55] — Nirvana
Post Valentine’s Day Regrets Edition
“Living In My Head” - The Nightcrawlers
“Good Thing” - Fine Young Cannibals
“A Last Request(I Want Your Sex Part III) - George Michael
“Alarm Call” - Bjork
“Milk It” - Nirvana
“Better Version Of Me” - Fionna Apple
“Problems” - Bran Van 3000
“The Kiss” - The Cure
“I’ve Got It Bad” - Edwyn Collins
“Tunderbirds Theme” - Barry Gray
OT, but did anyone else think Lori Gottlieb’s piece in the Atlantic could have been read as satire? Or is she in the Sessions Stepp/Hoff Summers model and I just haven’t heard of her yet?
1. Your Children Left With The Stranger — Devoid of All Mercy
2. Outer Dark — The Gault
3. Requiem for Shattered Timber — Caina
4. Satori Part IV — Flower Travellin’ Band
5. Fin — Akitsa
6. The Chase is Better Than The Catch — Motorhead
7. Sons of Pioneers — Japan
8. Kilmonick — The Rein Sanction
9. Candy Wrapper — The Makes Nice
10. IV — The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath a Cloud
Jeez, most bitter, that would be like most of my current music collection. I’m gonna have to go with the entire CD of Scott Walker’s The Drift. Those songs make me seriously want to kill myself.
1. Now I Know - The Thorns
2. Disappointed - The Connells
3. Eres Mi Vida - Mocha Lab
4. Joey - Concrete Blonde (soon to be veep nominee)
5. Erie Canal - Bruce Springsteen
6. Shankill Butchers - The Decemberists
7. Just Walk Away - Doug Kwartler
8. Carbon Monoxide - Cake
9. A Change Would Do You Good - Sheryl Crow
10. Extravagant Living - Student Film
Bonus:
Satellite - Guster
Best bitter song:
Sad Songs & Waltzes (Aren’t Selling This Year) - Willie Nelson
Bitterest song? The Scottish traditional “I Will Go,” sometimes called McLeod’s Lament.
The whole thing is uptempo until the last verse, which starts on tempo, them slows dramatically:
When the King’s son came along
He called us all together
He said “brave hielan’ men
Will ye fight for my father?”
I will go, I will go
I’ve a buckle on my belt
A sword in my scabbard
A redcoat on my back
And a shilling in my pocket
I will go, I will go
(Chorus)
I will go, I will go
When the fighting is over
To the land of McLeod
That I left to be a soldier
I will go, I will go
When they brought us all on board
The lasses were singing
But the tears came to their eyes
When the bells started ringing
I will go, I will go
When we reached the foreign shore
And saw the foreign heather
We knew that some would fall
And would stay there forever
I will go, I will go
Chorus
When we came back to the glen
The winter was turning
Our goods lay
in the snow
And our houses
were burning
I will go
I will go ….
I know it’s not quite the right holiday, but “Christmas in New York” by the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl has got to be on that list.
1. Derrick Harriott : Being In Love
2. Howlin Wolf : Evil
3. The Shangri-Las : Out In The Streets
4. Bill Fay: Til The Christ Comes Bacl
5. Elvis Presely : Return To Sender
6. Hugh Masekela : Joala
7. Guns N Roses : Sweet Child O Mine
8. Harry Nilsson : Jump Into The Fire
9. Los Shakers : Siempre Tu
10. The Vibrators : London Girls
Not just bitter but eerie, listening to Bonn Scott write his suicide note: “Ride On” by AC/DC.
“Ride On” is one of my favorite AC/DC songs.
The simple and raw guitar arrangement, the great solos, and really interesting lyrics - magnificent…
Like the Scottish song. If you wanna reach back to the 80’s, it’s probably “(You Ain’t Worth The) Salt In My Tears”>
the all time best bitter song would be “Untouchable Face” by Ani Difranco
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JCeeCAMbv4w
Ani Difranco - Untouchable Face Lyrics
think i’m going for a walk now
i feel a little unsteady
i don’t want nobody to follow me
‘cept maybe you
i could make you happy you know
if you weren’t already
i could do a lot of things
and i do
tell you the truth i prefer
the worst of you
too bad you had to have a better half
she’s not really my type
but i think you two are forever
and i hate to say it but
you’re perfect together
so fuck you
and your untouchable face
and fuck you
for existing in the first place
and who am i
that i should be vying for your touch
and who am i
i bet you can’t even tell me that much
two-thirty in the morning
and my gas tank will be empty soon
neon sign on the horizon
rubbing elbows with the moon
a safe haven of sleepless
where the deep fryer’s always on
radio is counting down
the top 20 country songs
and out on the porch the fly strip is
waving like a flag in the wind
y’know, i don’t look forward
to seeing you again soon
you’ll look like a photograph of yourself
taken from far far away
and i won’t know what to do
and i won’t know what to say
except fuck you…
i see you and i’m so perplexed
what was i thinking
what will i think of next
where can i hide
in the back room there’s a lamp
that hangs over the pool table
and when the fan is on it swings
gently side to side
there’s a changing constellation
of balls as we are playing
i see orion and say nothing
the only thing i can think of saying
is fuck you…
For bitter, how about “Bloddy Motherfucking Asshole”, by Martha Wainwright?
Playing today:
1. That’s Mathematics–Tom Lehrer
2. The Entertainer–Itzhak Perlman/Andre Previn (after Scott Joplin)
3. New Blowtop Blues–Dinah Washington
4. Pastillas Para No Soñar–Joaquin Sabina
5. Short Ride in a Fast Machine–Adams; Alsop w/Bournemouth Symphony
6. Highwire–Rolling Stones
7. I Wanna Be Evil!–Eartha Kitt
8. Tea and Thorazine–Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire
9. It’s Over Now–Carmen McRae
10. La non demande en mariage–George Brassens
Fully half of Jackson Browne’s song catalog could be considered bitter. But I still like him as an artist…
This one’s pretty bitter. It was inspired by a real breakup, too.
1. Australopithecus - Modest Mouse
2; Auf eine Christblum I - Christianne Stotijn
3. It Goes Without Saying - Nico Muhly
4. Im wunderschonen Monat Mai - Matthias Goerne
5. Pace non trovo - Juan Diego Florez
6. Trigga Hicccups - Menomena
7. La mia natura - Nek
8. Break My Fall - Tiesto
9. Human - Goldfrapp
10. Chelsea Hotel No. 2 - Rufus Wainwright
This is off topic but I thought you’d be interested in the first ever Canadian F-Word Blog Awards. Pandagon has been nominated in the Best International Feminist category.
Of course, maybe the nice guy Barnies of the world would be less bitter if Mao had come through with his offer of ten million Chinese women to the US…
For most bitter song, my vote goes to “Somewhat Damaged” by NIN.
“Pepper” - The Butthole Surfers
“Elvis Ate America” - Bono w/ Howie D
“The Ballad of John Henry” - Johnny Cash
“My Name is Mud”(Live) - Primus
“John, I’m Only Dancing” - Bowie
“Backwater” The Meat Puppets
“I Wanna Be Your Dog”(Live) - Iggy Pop
“Sweating Bullets” Megadeth
“Driftin’” Pearl Jam
“House of Pain” Faster Pussycat
Bitter songs?
“Don’t Hold Your Breath”, Dave Dobbyn
“The biggest companies in the world in conference in Geneva by the lake side,
Warm smiles, friendly faces - peace proposals in briefcases.
Lines of borders on the map on the table, they replaced with dotted lines.
We read about it in free newspapers - then they started to unwind,
Within a week all the refugees of the world lived in five star hotels
Twenty four hour roomservice - free telephone, no bills
And the trucks got through to africa, into eritrea and the sudan
Laden down with western surplus - it served it’s purpose
Eased a conscience or two
She said don’t fool me now i believe every word that you said
Don’t fool around while it’s sounding so good darling
Don’t fool me now when what you believe could come true
Don’t hold your breath…. don’t hold your breath
The U.S. Congress voted Texas back to the Mexicans - California to the Jews
Huge tracts of Arizona to the Navajo - Nevada to the Sioux
And the twelve tribes of israel got down in Gaza for the last time
By the time they got to the West Bank, baby it was Palestine
And the French stopped nuking the Pacific - they planted trees in Brazil instead
And they made Antarctica a world park baby - plenty of ozone above your head
She said don’t fool me now i believe every word that you said
Don’t fool around while it’s sounding so good darling
Don’t fool me now when what you believe could come true
Don’t hold your breath…. don’t hold your breath
All of my innocence long since turned to dust
I carry my cynicism like a tourist with a camera
And you and me my sweet darling, we’ll grow old with grace
And our children will grow up in the valley of love
They’ll be so damn well educated, they’ll be so concerned
We’ll sit back with our arms folded - watch’em change it, watch it burn
She said don’t fool me now i believe every word that you said
Don’t hold your breath…. don’t hold your breath…..
A good bitter song is Coheed & Cambria’s “The Velorium Camper II: Backend Of Forever”
My Random 10
1. Muse - Thoughts of a Dying Atheist
2. System of a Down - Psycho
3. Estevan Carlos - Track 16
4. Spacehog - Anonymous
5. Utada Hikaru - Time Will Tell
6. Tool - Hooker with a Penis
7. Sonic Youth - Macbeth
8. Damien Rice - Woman Like a Man
9. Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - I Wants to Stay Here
10. Radiohead - Pearly
1. “Love Me” The Willies
2. “Arrival” Dar Williams
3. “G.E.S.” Nellie McKay
4. “Another Love Song” We’re About 9
5. “Mariella” Kate Nash
6. “Bad Reputation” Joan Jett
7. “Take the ‘A’ Train” Duke Ellington
8. “Hour Follows Hour” Ani DiFranco
9. “You Can Have My Husband” Saffire and the Uppity Blues Women
10. “Woman” John Lennon
Hmm…love, power, and women. Nice mix!
(Sorry if this is a duplicate post)
A good bitter song is Coheed & Cambria’s “The Velorium Camper II: Backend Of Forever”
My Random 10
1. Muse - Thoughts of a Dying Atheist
2. System of a Down - Psycho
3. Estevan Carlos - Track 16
4. Spacehog - Anonymous
5. Utada Hikaru - Time Will Tell
6. Tool - Hooker with a Penis
7. Sonic Youth - Macbeth
8. Damien Rice - Woman Like a Man
9. Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - I Wants to Stay Here
10. Radiohead - Pearly
“I’m not Lisa” by Jessi Colter. A little whiny, but just the right amount bitter.
I don’t know about the most bitter song, but I’ve always thought “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” is the world’s most bitter Christmas carol, although you have to listen to all the verses to fully appreciate it.
It’s especially bitter if rendered in a minor key, like Sam Phillips and Bruce Cockburn have done.
Bitterest song (or at least most vindictive): Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan
(showing my age)
Phil Collins’ “I Don’t Care Anymore”
And there’s another one from the ’80s- Paul Carrick, I think?
“Don’t Shed a Tear For Me”
The bitterest song I know that’s not about a romantic/family relationship is The Moneygoround by the Kinks.
And we could probably have a long discussion over the bitterest Elvis Costello song. How would we choose?
Lastly, no discussion of bitter songs is complete without mentioning Drimble Wedge and the Vegetations.
jTuba — Good call. But Idiot Wind might be even bitterer.
louise FTW! I’m a Phil-head, not ashamed to admit it…
Argos Acid - Chris Moss Acid
Who Put the Jung in the Jungle Drums - The Homosexuals
Gimme Gimme Gimme - unknown, from Synthesizer Spectacular
SCHUBERT: Impromptus, D.899 - No. 1 in c, Allegro molto moderato - Alfred Brendel
BACH: Das Musikalische Opfer: Ricercar a 3 - Chris Breemer
Sugagaki #2 for Conlon - Henry Kaiser
I Don’t Understand [fragment] - Wire
Herbert - Stiiv
Acid Police - The Boredoms
H.C.T.F.R. - Colin Newman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbtv16Fh0L8
For you, The matthew show- one of my faves!
mountain goats- “no children”
that’s bitter
Dear God - Sarah McLachlan cover
Bleed Like Me - Garbage
Satin In A Coffin - Modest Mouse
Beauty is Within Us - Yoko Kanno
Big Bad World One - Jonathan Coulton
Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head - They Might Be Giants
Hellbound 17 1/2 (theme from) - Primus
Under The Gun - Supreme Beings of Leisure
Cells - The Servant
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood - Neko Case
god, I love bitter songs! londg day working the psych unit- I’m harboring homicidal ideations for one particular psychiatric nurse. okay: I just want to tell her to fuck the fuck off. damn I feel better! and not so bitter!
(oh, and as a major Arab Strap fan: most of those songs fit the bitter love requirement- picking just one is difficult)
1. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists- “Tell Balgeary, Balgury is Dead”
2. Mouth of the Architect- “Baobab”
3. Alec Empire- “Point of No Return”
4. Screeching Weasel- “American Suicide”
5. Arab on Radar- “Capt. Mouth”
6. The Delgados- “Is This All That I Came For?”
7. Versus- “Underground”- um, they were good at the bitter.
8. Mendoza Line- “Assisted Living”
9. Dismemberment Plan- “The City”
10. Battalion of Saints A.D.- “Freedom”
random not so stabby, anymore, bonus:
Ladytron- “Last One Standing”
1. “Negasonic Teenage Warhead” Monster Magnet
2. “Pulling Teeth” Green Day
3. “Your Cheatin’ Heart” Hank Williams, Sr.
4. “I Been Tired” Pixies
5. “Seeing Things” Black Crowes
6. “Santa Monica” Everclear
7. “Celebrity Skin” Hole
8. “Sour Times” Portishead
9. “It Ain’t Me, Babe” Johnny Cash
10. “Hating You for Christmas” Everclear
Another great bitter Nick Cave song is “Scum” . It always makes me laugh when after a sting of horrible insults he comes out with “hey four eyes”.
Drunken Lullabyes by Flogging Molly
Poisonous Look-alike by Warren Zevon
Diamonds are forever by Shirley Bassey
Walk through the fire from the Buffy musical
Stickit by Skinny White Chick
And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
Half-breed by Cher
You never even call me by my name by David Allan Coe
Barrett’s Privateers
Hallelujah, I like k.d. lang’s cover
From Angelia Sparrow: “You never even call me by my name by David Allan Coe” (The ONLY C&W song I love!)
Well, a friend of mine named Steve Goodman wrote that song,
and he told me it was the perfect country and western song.
I wrote him back a letter and I told him it was not the
perfect country and western song because he hadn’t said
anything at all about momma, or trains, or trucks,
or prison or gettin’ drunk. Well, he sat down and
wrote another verse to this song and he sent it to me and
after reading it I realized that my friend had written the
perfect country and western song. And I felt obliged to include
it on this album. The last verse goes like this here:
Well, I was drunk the day my momma got out of prison,
And I went to pick her up in the rain.
But before I could get to the station in the pick-up truck,
She got runned over by a damned old train.
bitterest song? “a little piece of heaven” by avenged sevenfold. lol.
1. “Get Me Gone” - Fort Minor
2. “Lilac Wine” - Jeff Buckley
3. “The Last Kiss” - AFI
4. “Zero” (smashing pumpkins cover) - Evanescence
5. “Chilly Will” - Spank Rock
6. “Early Winter” - Gwen Stefani
7. “Rock Hard” - Beastie Boys
8. “The Product” - Olmeca
9. “Given Up” - Linkin Park
10. “Lurch” - Dillinger Escape Plan
Led Zeppelin–Heartbreaker
Enya–Deora Ar Mo Chroi
The Arctic Monkeys–A Certain Romance
The Arcade Fire–Intervention
The Clash–Jimmie Jazz
‘As Long As You’re Mine’ from Wicked
The Clash–Wrong Em Boyo
The Beatles–With a Little Help From My Friends
Aqualung–Another Little Hole
The Beatles–Let It Be
(rather Beatles and Clash-heavy this week. Odd.)