Merry Christmas #9: Aimee Mann's Off The Wall Christmas Concert 2008

Here's a great little holiday treat for you (better late than never)... A Christmas Concert by Aimee Mann from just a few days ago... great sound quality, lots of christmas songs, lots of goofing around, lots of star studded guest appearances, lots of fun. Originally broadcast on WXPN, Public Radio, PA.


Aimee Mann's Off The Wall Christmas Concert
12/13/2008 - Glenside, PA
(FM broadcast)

01 - WXPN intro
02 - Show intro (Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies)
03 - Calling On Mary [AM]
04 - Paul F. Tompkins intro & banter
05 - Sleigh Ride [AM & PFT]
06 - Nelly McKay (wearing a big red corset) intro & banter
07 - Sleigh Ride (cont’d) [NMK-sung in high voice]
08 - Grant-Lee Phillips (in snowman costume) intro & banter
09 - Sleigh Ride (cont’d) [GLP]
10 - Aimee banter & film introduction
11 - Film pt.1 (The Ghost of Christmas Past) [GLP, Michael Penn, PFT]
12 - Paul F. Tompkins comedy routine #1
13 - Snow Miser, Heat Miser [AM, PFT, GLP, NMK]
14 - Paul F. Tompkins comedy routine #2
15 - I’ll Be Home For Christmas [AM]
16 - Christmastime
17 - Take Me Away [NMK]
18 - Nelly with Rudolph toy
19 - A Christmas Dirge [NMK]
20 - The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) [AM]
21 - Film pt.2 (The Ghost of Christmas Present)
22 - Wise Up [AM]
23 - Save Me [AM]
24 - Aimee introduces Amos Lee
25 - Winter Wonderland [AM & AL]
26 - Christmas In Prison [AL]
27 - Baby I Want You [AL]
28 - Paul F. Thompkins introduces “Willie Nelson”
29 - Voices Carry [as sung by “Willie Nelson” and AM]
30 - Film pt.3 (The Making Of The Christmas Movie) w/Michael Cera
31 - Aimee introduces Grant Lee Phillips
32 - You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch [GLP & AM]
33 - An Old Fashioned Christmas [GLP wAM]
34 - Winter Glow [GLP]
35 - Banter
36 - “The Hanukkah Fairy” (Morgan Murphy) appears
37 - The Immaculate Conception of the Hanukkah Fairy [MM]
38 - Film pt.4 (The Ghost of Christmas Future) [wJohn C. Reilly & Michael Cera]
39 - Freeway [AM]
40 - Dear John [AM]
41 - Long Shot [AM]
42 - Encore Break and Station IDs
43 - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) [All, including GLP in a Rudolph costume]

Download: Aimee Man: Off The Wall Christmas Concert 2008 (zipped)

Some Stuff Santa Brought

Some of the great stuff I got from Santa this year:

Music:

• Ryan Adams, Cardinology
(only 1 new album from Ryan this year? Slacker!)

• Against Me!, Acoustic EP
had a few songs from this, but not the entire thing... awesome

• Kings of Leon, Only By the Night
Am looking forward to hearing this whole thing... review to come

• TV on the Radio, Dear Science
Same with KOL...

• Ike Reilly Assasination, We Belong to the Staggering Evening
I posted 1 song from this a while ago on the blog, nice to hear the whole album!

• AC/DC, Black Ice
Walmart exclusive, and STILL one of Sony's biggest selling albums of the year

• Buckcherry, Black Butterfly
Josh Todd never disappoints!

• Wye Oak, If Children
Local kids (UMBC) make good... on Merge Records, too!



DVDs:

• Monster Road
(Doc portrait of Clay Animator Bruce Bickford)

• The Last 1948 Show
(The Classic Series that preceded and inspired Monty Python)

• The Dark Knight
(along with the rest of America)

• Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Season 6
(Food Items Solve Crimes)


Video Games:

• Dead Space (Xbox360)
Survival/Horror/Action in Space

• Gears Of War 2 (Xbox360)
Blockbuster Sequel to one of my favorite games

• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Xbox360)
dark side of the force... cooooool

• The Orange Box (Xbox360)
5 of the best games ever made (2007's game of the year) all on one disc, on sale for 20 bucks!


Libations:

• Lump Of Coal
(mmmmmm... favorite Chocolate Stout)

• Rogue Chocolate Stout
(mmmmmm...)

• Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel
(had others from them, can't wait to try!)

• Porto Feist 1995 Vintage Port
(hand painted lettering on the bottle!)

• a Healthy mix of Old Dominion and such from Tim
(awesome! awesome! awesome! thank you!)



Various Awesomeness:

• NYT Obama Victory Issue, sealed in plastic
(GREAT IDEA, DAD!)

• 2 x Vintage Macintosh Ads (Think Different) Framed!

• Radioactive Octopus vs Frogmen

• Mad Magazine collection of Star Wars Parodies over the years

• Colored Pencils (w/ pad)

• Stuff White People Like (book)

• Clothes!

etc... etc... etc....

And the greatest gift of all?

• Delivering the Kidney Stone!
Sniff... It's a Cristmas Miracle!

Thank you everyone for what is probably my best "haul" of fantastic presents, I still can't believe this is the year we all decided to "cut back"!!!! I hope you all like what we got for YOU! I know we sure enjoyed giving them all to you! Merry, Merry Christmas, and I look forward to a new 2009 just around the bend! (Go Obama!)

Christmas Wishes DO come True (Merry Christmas #8)

Well, God Willing, it seems like I have passed my kidney stone, just about 10 pm Christmas night. The past 72 hours have been absolute hell, and every muscle in my body is pained and exhausted. The little F#CKER was about the size of a "Nerd" candy and predominantly black.

I don't have much music here with me while in Baltimore (other than the awesome new stuff I got and am still sifting through), so for a late Christmas Night gift, I am posting a collection of all the Pearl Jam Christmas Fan Club Singles from every year released (up until this year, of course!)

A great collection of fantastic rarities (Angel, Driftin', etc) and bizzare ramblings and b-sides (ramblings 1 and 2, Olympic Platinum) and some awesome covers (Ramones, Dead Boys, Split Enz, Elvis, etc), these Vynl 45's come every year* to a member of the Fan Club, and these are every one of them from 1991 - 2007.

Merry Chrismas. I will sleep like the Baby Jesus in the manger tonight.

Tracklist Includes:

1991
-Let Me Sleep (Unreleased)
-Ramblings I (Unreleased)

1992
-Sonic Reducer (Dead Boys cover)
-Ramblings II (Unreleased)

1993
-Angel (Unreleased)
-Ramblings III (live in Indio, CA 11/5/93)

1995
-History Never Repeats (Split Enz cover, live with Neil & Tim Finn)
-Sonic Reducer (Dead Boys cover, live with Joey Ramone)
-Swallow My Pride (Green River cover, live)
-My Way (Elvis cover with Elvis' cousin Terry, live)

1996
-Olympic Platinum (Unreleased)
-Smile (live in Barcelona, 11/21/96)

1997 (joint effort with R.E.M.)
-Happy When I'm Crying (Unreleased)
-Live For Today - R.E.M.

1998
-Soldier of Love (cover by Arthur Alexander)
-Last Kiss (cover by J. Frank Wilson)

1999
-Strangest Tribe (Unreleased)
-Driftin' (Unreleased)

2000
-Crown of Thorns (Mother Love Bone cover, live)
-Can't Help Falling In Love (Elvis cover)

2001
-Last Soldier (live)
-Indifference (with Ben Harper, live)
-Gimme Some Truth (Lennon cover, live)
-I Just Want To Have Something To Do (Ramones cover)

2002
-Don't Believe In Christmas (Sonics cover, live)
-Sleepless Nights (Everly Brothers cover, live with Beck)

2003
-Reach Down (live, with Chris Cornell)
-I Believe In Miracles (Ramones cover, live)

2004
-Someday At Christmas (Jackson 5ive cover)
-Betterman (w/ Walmer High School choir from South Africa)

2005
-Little Sister (with Robert Plant, live)
-Gone (demo)

2006
- Love Reign O'er Me (The Who cover)
- Rockin' In The Free World (N. Young cover w/ Bono and The Edge-U2)

2007
- Santa God (Unreleased)
- Jingle Bells (James Pierpont cover)

Download: Pearl Jam: Fan Club Christmas Singles 1992-2007 (zipped)

* 1994 was the only year they didn't send one, but 1995's made up for it with a double vynl version with 2 albums sent...

Q: When are 2mm more painful than 35mm?

A. When It's a Kidney Stone.

Yesterday evening Alicia and I had dinner with my Mom and Amanda, and during dinner (possibly before) I started getting a weird, dull ache in the lower portion of my back. I assumed it was from carrying presents for the past few days, especially the TV we got for Alicia's Mom and Dad for Christmas, which I was carrying all by myself. Although Back pain is not really a problem I usually have an issue with, I thought " Oh well, I guess I'm getting older..."

After dinner we did a touch more shopping, finishing off the complete list, but the back ache was a bit worse. I laid on the floor, and Alicia showed me some back stretching and relaxation excercises, which DID feel good, but nothing seemed to work.

I went to use the restroom, and while there, became CONSUMED with a ferocious pain now in my front and abdomen. I got a terrible chill, teeth chatering and most of my muscles spasming and contracting involuntarily.

I really wasn't that scared, because at this point I pretty much knew exactly what it was.

11 Years ago, at the ripe old age of 21, I had my first kidney stone. I took an ambulance to the ER in Brooklyn (a. I didn't have a car. b. seriously thought I was dying). Once I passed that one, the doctor told me that if I was 21 and havng a stone, then my body just is going to keep making them, and he could pretty much gurantee that I would have them for the rest of my life.

11 years go by with no incident, but the loaded gun has been pointed at the back of my head the entire time.

I came out of the bathroom last night, and told Alicia with nearly 100% certainty that I had a stone, and needed to go to the ER right now. (it was now 11:30 at night, David Letterman had just come on the tv) She drove us to St. Joseph's er, mercifully only a 5 minute ride (have I mentioned that the Holiday Inn we stay at is in just about the most convenient location in the world?)

Checked in to the ER, was in triage about 15 minutes later (15 looooong minutes of agony, as well as a TV in the waiting room blaring Mike Huckabee on False News) and they weeled me into a room where I proceeded to die and ressurect, not unlike the Phoenix.

4:00am the worst appeared over, so they sent us home with a doping of morphine, a prescription for Percoset, and a bunch of paper strainers to pee into until it passes.

Got a few hours of sleep, awoke for 2 x conference calls for work, and I am officially taking it easy today (not that my body would allow me to do anything differently, anyway!

And to my ever anxious parents, Congrats, you are now Grandparents for the second time! This new baby's name is "Calcie" and she is 2 mm...

let's hope I get 11 more years of peace after this one...

Merry Christmas to me.

Merry Christmas #5: Paul Simon

Here is a fantastic 2-disc bootleg of Paul Simon Live at the Beacon theater in NY, December 2000. A fantastic show with fantastic sound quality. This will make a great gift for someone who's hard to buy for, trust me!

Paul Simon
Beacon Theater, New York, NY
December 8, 2000


(1) That's Where I Belong (3:31)
(2) Graceland (5:06)
(3) One Man's Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor (3:36)
(4) You're The One (5:02)
(5) 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover (4:52)
(6) That Was Your Mother (3:31)
(7) Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard (3:11)
(8) The Teacher (4:14)
(9) Spirit Voices (4:38)
(10) Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes (7:18) =>
(11) You Can Call Me Al (5:13)
(12) Old Friends/Bookends (2:59)
(13) Homeward Bound (2:59)
(14) I Am A Rock (3:50)
(15) Darling Lorraine (7:02)
(16) Old (2:27)

(1) The Boy in the Bubble (6:39)
(2) American Tune (4:21)
(3) The Coast (5:35)
(4) Late In The Evening (6:48)
(5) The Late Great Johnny Ace (4:13)
(6) Hurricane Eye (6:07)
(7) Proof (5:48)
(8) Still Crazy After All These Years (5:52)
(9) Pigs, Sheep, and Wolves (4:09)
(10) Mrs. Robinson (5:11)
(11) The Boxer (6:58)
(12) Kodachrome (3:32)


enjoy!

Download: Paul Simon: Live at the Beacon Theater, NYC, December 2000 (zipped)

Merry Christmas #4: String Theory / Plush Christmas Party 2008

Merry Christmas #1: Fecal Matter

Since it's December (already) I decided to start to break out some real rarities and nice finds from deep in my collection, the type of stuff that might even make a good Christmas present for someone you know!

What better place to start than Nirvana? Here is their first demo tape from 1985, called Fecal Matter. The sound is not great, but it sure is a piece of history.

From Wikipedia:
Fecal Matter was a short-lived band from Aberdeen, Washington, that formed in late 1985. It was the first band conceived by Kurt Cobain, who would become famous as the frontman of the seminal grunge band Nirvana. Other significant members included Dale Crover and Buzz Osborne of the Melvins, which would also become highly influential. The band's only known demo tape, entitled Illiteracy Will Prevail, has become a much sought-after rarity among Nirvana fans, as it features the first songs written and recorded by Cobain.

History:
The band was formed in late 1985 and consisted of Cobain on guitar and vocals, Dale Crover on bass, and Greg Hokanson on drums. In December that year, Hokanson left the band. Later that month, Cobain and Crover went to Cobain's aunt's house in Seattle with a large book of lyrics and recorded the demo Illiteracy Will Prevail on a 4-track.[1] Cobain performed guitar and vocals, while Crover played bass guitar and drums.
In January 1986, Buzz Osborne joined as bassist and Mike Dillard joined as drummer. According to Michael Azerrad's Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana, Cobain thought Osborne did not take the band seriously enough and refused to buy a bass guitar amplifier.[2] In February, Fecal Matter disbanded and the Melvins recorded their debut EP.
After Fecal Matter disbanded, Cobain began passing the demo tape around to friends and peers in hopes of starting a new band. Cobain was particularly proud of the tape. To him, the tape showed that he did have talent. He had wanted to start a band with friend Krist Novoselic for some time. After hearing the tape (and particularly liking "Spank Thru") Novoselic agreed to form a band in mid-1986. That band would later be known as Nirvana.
The song "Spank Thru" was the only one from the tape to be officially released; it featured on the 2005 Nirvana rarities album Sliver: The Best of the Box. However in March 2006, incomplete poor-quality clips of many of the songs were leaked on a Nirvana website. One week later, three full songs from the demo were briefly hosted on a MySpace site; "Sound of Dentage", "Bambi Slaughter" and "Laminated Effect". The clips were confirmed as authentic by Mike Ziegler (and others who have heard the demo) on a website popular with Nirvana collectors. The source of the three full songs remains unknown.


here's the tracklist:

01. Sound Of Dentage
02. Bambi Slaughter
03. Laminated Effect
04. Accusations (Clip)
05. Class of '86
06. Class of '86 (Clip Version)
07. Boatakk (Clip Version)
08. Boatakk (Full w/ Instrumental)
09. Anorexorcist (Clip Version)
10. Love My Family (Unknown) & Anorex
11. Vaseline (Unknown)
12. Spank Thru
13. Blathers Log (Clip Version)
14. Blathers Log
15. Buffy's Pregnant
16. Buffy's Pregnant (Part 2)
17. Downer


Download: Nirvana: Fecal Matter Demo Tape, 1985 (zipped)

Like I said, the sound quality is about what you would imagine the first recored demos of Kurt Cobain would be (rough at best) but for a collector or rock fan, this might just make their Christmas!

enjoy.