Muzak

Random 11, Vol. 11 (Does any numerologist want to take a stab at the significance of that?)

Fire up the jukebox, don’t skip over anything, and take the first eleven that pop up. [Norbizness]

1. On Every Street — Dire Straits — Infused with a sentimental melancholy yet it still feels good to listen. And the lyrics. — 8/10
2. A God In an Alcove — Bauhaus — Did Bauhaus record all their tunes in an empty warehouse to get that ambience? — 6/10
3. It’s the Law — Social Distortion — Channeling a Johnny Cash sensibility through Mike Ness’ nasal cavity. — 5.5/10
4. Pain Lies on the Riverside — Live — This song pre-dates the time I gouged out of my own head any goodwill I may have once had for Live, along with the piece of brain that harbored the full lyrics of their relentlessly popular 1994-95 offering Lightning Crashes, which I had been subjected to no less than 11,680 times. I’ll not forgive you either, popular radio. As such, this song is retroactively down rated. — 3/10
5. This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I’m on This Song — System of a Down — Hard drivin’ like you expect from SOAD. Bonus points for the great title. — 7/10
6. Fuck Tha Police — NWA — Your Montag is a adherent of the East Coast school, but NWA gets points for their place in history, and the infectious beat backing up this track. — 6.5/10
7. Triad — Tool — Favoritism prevails when I rate Tool songs. — 8.5/10
8. Sifting — Nirvana — Bleach was where it was at with Nirvana, and is the only one of their albums I have committed to my mp3 device. (Though to be fair, Never Mind would have made the cut if my computer had been able to read it.) This song is very great. — 8/10
9. Shake Your Rump — Beastie Boys — Excellent track off cult favorite Paul’s Boutique, the beat lushly filled out with myriad samples compiled by the genius Dust Brothers. — 7.5/10
10. Sonic Wasteland — Hunger — The main refrain of this song is, “I’m a killing machine.” Which I just love. I was once embarrassed on the job when I delivered the line — deadpan — to a co-worker, without turning around to look first, only to discover that he was speaking with the boss at the time, who may or may not have been impressed with my unique wit. How is a stiff, serious-minded, management-type to react to one of their charges calling out, seemingly for no reason, “Hey, John— I’m a killing machine!”? Up-rated for the great refrain, then down-rated for the trouble it once got me in. — 5/10
11. Crackity Jones — The Pixies — Great example of why I love the Pixies. It’s only downfall: it’s too short. — 8/10

Bonus #12 Invisible Kid — Metallica — Your Montag has the dubious distinction of actually liking St. Anger. I think that must put me in the 99.9 percentile of Metallica fans. (Or is it the 0.01 percentile?)

Average rating this week was 6.6, which is about par for the course with my muzak collection. Or, to use the scoring system I devised last week, I have +, =, =, -, +, =, +, +, +, =, + for an aggregate of +5.

[Cross-posted at Braindead Shithead.]