My Thermos

Oh Hell, I Don't Know What Day it Is

So apparently I've missed a couple of my regularly scheduled posting thingies - let's see if we can catch up.

Tuesday Tunes - Week 52 (from Oct 6th)

What is the best music to chill out to?

This is hard as I don't have a real standard for this. I will say that it doesn't need to be instrumental, or acoustic, or even quiet. Let's just say I don't know how to define it, but I know it when I hear it...

What artist do you think of when you see the word "calm"?

Oddly, the first artist to come to mind is Cowboy Junkies because I just love their catatonia inspired version of Sweet Jane. If I think about it longer, not sure that is the best description of them but for the sake of brevity, let's go with that.

How does music help you to become calm or more relaxed?

Oh - this is a doozy of a question, and if I sat down and really tried to answer it it would probably require quite a bit more space than I would devote here. I guess the way I can explain this best is to do a comparison.

For some, music is background. It is white noise while their brain focuses on something else. They don't interact with it.

For me, music is always the focus, even when I'm doing something else. There is music playing now (Gov't Mule - New World Blues) and even though I am writing, I am still listening and and processing what I am hearing. If I really stop to examine my behavior, I am tapping the side of the keyboard in between typing bursts. Music is grounding for me. Perhaps it occupies the portion of my brain that would otherwise wander, keeping it on track.

What's really great is when I can fully commit to the listening experience - that is when it is most relaxing. Sitting at a live show, or listening to a favorite with headphones and just absorbing it completely. Distractions to a minimum and hearing every note, it's the ultimate escape really.

Top 5 On Friday - Week 194 (from Oct 9th)

Top 5 songs to soothe the savage beast

This is actually a good one to go together with the above as I get to give some specific examples.

"Dreams" - The Allman Brothers Band

See my Dreamy post from a couple of weeks back for an amazing video of this.

"Sweet Jane" - The Cowboy Junkies

I joke about this being catatonic, but it is really only partially a joke...

"Eyes of a Stranger" - Queensryche

Actually, this whole album gets a ton of play from me when I'm working, maybe something about displaced energy but it really does an outstanding job of getting me focused on tasks when I am otherwise distracted

"Aja" - Steely Dan

Quite possibly the world's most perfect song. Love the rise and fall, the ebbs and tides, etc..

"The Köln Concert" - Keith Jarrett

This brilliant and entirely spontaneous recording is really just astonishing. He is lost in it, we get to come along for the ride.

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Don't Go - There is more after the jump!! Continue reading "It's Tuesday, or Friday - No It's Tuesday Again" »

Word associations this week: Tell us the first, song, band/artist, album or anything music related that comes to mind when you see these words:

Space: Space Station #5 - Montrose
Party: (Ain't Nothing But A) House Party - J. Geils Band
Darkness: Beware of Darkness - George Harrison
Reading: Why Johnny Can't Read - Frank Zappa
Touch: I Have The Touch - Peter Gabriel
New: New Song - The Who
Gone: Long Time Gone - Crosby, Stills & Nash
Jazz: Jazz is Dead
Song: Slow Song - Joe Jackson
Bag: Papa's Got A Brand New Bag - James Brown

Hard this week, but fun

SB

Today's Mission:

Word association - You tell us what musical, band/artist, song, album etc each word makes you think of:

Technology: Digital Man - Rush
Exercise: Jumping Jack Flash - The Rolling Stones
Punch: Punch & Judy - Marillion
Temperature: Hot 'Lanta - The Allman Brothers Band
Fire: Burn Down the Mission - Elton John
Clothes: Look Sharp - Joe Jackson
Doll: Shabby Doll - Elvis Costello
Sweet: Rock Candy - Montrose
Makeup: Lipstick Sunset - John Hiatt
Drunk: What's the Use of Getting Sober (When You're Gonna Get Drunk Again) - Joe Jackson

Hmm - nice list. I did good.

What's on your list?

Word Association: Tell us the first band/artist/song/album that comes to mind when you see these 10 words:

Ending: Cause We've Ended as Lovers - Jeff Beck
Long: Long Black Veil - The Band
School: My Old School - Steely Dan
Teen: Nineteen Forever - Joe Jackson
Crazy: Crazy Love - Van Morrison
Search: Looking for Clues - Robert Palmer
Baby: Coney Island Baby - Lou Reed
Shoes: Those Shoes - The Eagles (Runner Up was Sailin' Shoes by Little Feat, a coin toss between the two really)
Mellow: Mellow - Elton John
Window: At My Window Sad and Lonely - Billy Bragg / Wilco (from the excellent and oft mentioned Mermaid Ave releases)

Via The Music Memoirs

Headed out to dinner with family soon but ran across this book meme from Elle over at Maxwell the Tattooed Boy and thought I would post this up before we left.

Below a list of 100 books. Bold the ones you've read, italicize the ones you are interested in, and leave the ones you aren't alone. Fun!

Here goes: Continue reading "Book List Meme" »

My wonderful wife Gina recently posted her 100 Things About Moi and even though we have been together for 16 years, I learned quite a bit about her from it. Thinking that it might be interesting for others to have the chance to learn some obscure things about me, I decided to copy the idea here for My Thermos. Credit also goes out to our new friends Elle and Cardiogirl for the inspiration.

And because I needed to add one for my clever play on words title to be accurate, here are 101 things I think are interesting about me: Continue reading "101 Proclamations" »

I was recently asked over on Pownce what music came out this past year that I liked or that touched me in some way, and I have to admit it was a really tough question. When I was finally able to put together a response, I thought why just waste my response over there where no one will read it when I can post it here on my blog and have even more people not read it.

So here it is, my top 10 albums of 2007

1) Wilco - Sky Blue Sky

I've written about this before but it must be said again - this is just an amazing record. Containing picture perfect pop songs and a return to their more melodious times, I would say this ranks up there with Being There - and that says a lot.

2) The Cowboy Junkies - At The End Of Paths Taken

I've been a fan ever since I first heard The Trinity Sessions and what I call the catatonic version of the VU's Sweet Jane. I don't think I've ever been disappointed with a release of theirs but this one is particularly strong. Mike Timmons calls it a collection of songs that "hint at themes of inevitability, finality, not exactly pre-determination, but a sense of running out of choices, a sense of being at the end of paths taken."

3) Band of Horses - Cease To Begin

I really just discovered these guys a month or so ago. I originally heard a track from their Debut Everything All The Time and it just clicked with me. I queued up both albums on my Yahoo Unlimited and have been hooked ever since. Both are good but Cease To Begin is better. I guess they get compared to The Shins and such but to me they are far superior - after all they appear on this list and The Shins don't.

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I hear you - you think I forgot to finish or that I messed up. You think "boy that Scott has sure lost it, where are the rest?"

Actually, that's it. I could only think of the three. How sad is that?

It could have to do with the fact that I still use the terms record and album, perhaps I'm not up with the new stuff. These kids today and their music, I just don't understand it.....

Anyway, that's it - my pick of the top 10 albums of the past year.

Now it's your turn to tell me what I missed? Can you fill in the rest?

SB