Geek Mix

From Wikipedia: "The word geek is a slang term, noting individuals as "a peculiar or otherwise odd person, especially one who is perceived to be overly obsessed with one or more things including those of intellectuality, electronics, gaming, etc."

Geek stuff seems to be 'in' right now, which is fine by me. I've been one for years, and a little social acceptance isn't a horrible thing, although I honestly don't care one way or the other. I'm also an unabashed Star Wars fan, and today's release of the Clone Wars is as good an excuse as any to geek out today.

30 Century Man (Scott Walker) - The Jigsaw Seen
Bleached Bone Fields - We'll Write
Do You Believe In Magic? - The Format
Fly Me To the Moon - Frank Sinatra
It Is Pitch Dark - MC Frontalot
Man on the Moon - R.E.M.
Paranoid Android - Radiohead
Sci-Fi Kid - Blitzen Trapper
Skullcrusher Mountain - Jonathan Coulton
Subterranean Homesick Alien - Radiohead
Sunshine Superman - Donovan
White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane

Hype - Buy - Look

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth

Because I've had a crappy week. End of the world songs.

It's the End of the World - REM
Measure of a Man - We'll Write
The Geeks Were Right - The Faint

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Best of March

This is over a week late, but I've been pretty busy with work and school. That being said, there's been some really good bands that've released some really good songs in March. Here's the best of them:

I Will Follow You Into the Dark (Death Cab for Cutie) - A Fine Frenzy
- I saw this one performed life at the Iron Horse recently - one of the best covers that I've seen of this song.

Snakes and Ladders - Basia Bulat
In The Night - Basia Bulat
- I came across Bulat via NPR's all songs considered, and really like her energy and sound - it's got a lot of spirit.

Going On - Gnarls Barkley
- The other track after Run that I really got into from Gnarl Barkley's latest release, the Odd Couple.

Buffalo - Kathleen Edwards
Goodnight California - Kathleen Edwards
- Edwards was just in Vermont, and I wasn't able to make it out to see her, something that I was a bit bummed out about. These two tracks are the best off of her latest release, Asking for Flowers.

Punch Bowl - Punch Brothers
- One of the guys from Nickel Creek and some friends with their latest project. Their first album is fantastic, and this is a fun song.

Living Well is the Best Revenge - R.E.M.
- R.E.M.'s latest song is really catchy - I haven't really listened to REM extensively, but I think that I'm going to - their latest album sounds really good.

New Soul - Tristan Prettyman
- Lastly, that song that has been on the iPod commercial has already been covered - by Tristan Prettyman, who does a fantastic rendition of the song.

Hype - Buy

Cover and Original: Have You Ever Seen The Rain?

Have you ever gotten one of those songs stuck in your head, and just can't find it, and can't figure out where you heard it?

I've come across this problem recently when I was watching TV with GE's commercials touting their green initiatives - one of them, regarding water recycling, had a cover of CCR's Have You Seen The Rain? Great song, but I couldn't place the title.

Secondly, this was a really cool cover version, and only through a little searching did I find that it was performed by Juju Stulbach - a version that I still haven't been able to find anywhere, although someone said that it was due out on iTunes sometime next month, which I'll really be looking out for.

However, here's a couple other covers to tide you over. Teenage Fanclub's is okay, not great. It's a little too emo sounding. R.E.M. has a really good cover of it. Quality's not great here, but they do a good rendition. Hi Hopes's version is okay, while I really like the Bishop Allen version. None of these really take off from the original that much, but they're not the worst covers out there.

Have You Ever Seen The Rain (Creedence Clearwater Revival) - Teenage Fanclub
Have You Ever Seen The Rain (Creedence Clearwater Revival) - R.E.M.
Have You Ever Seen The Rain (Creedence Clearwater Revival) - Hi Hopes
Have You Ever Seen The Rain (Creedence Clearwater Revival) - Bishop Allen
Have You Ever Seen The Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival

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iTunes Free Music of the Week

Here's this week's free stuff from iTunes:

Cheap and Cheerful - The Kills
Ay, Ay, Ay - Karyme Lozano
Walk Like an Egyptian - The Puppini Sisters
Living Well is the Best Revenge - R.E.M.