Culture Greyhound

The key is to listen to the lyrics – they’re pretty horrible.

Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.

290. Les Claypool – Iowan Gal

Where do I begin?  Les is one of my all-time favorites, and his past decade work will be represented well on this list through his Oysterhead project, solo work, and songs from his main band Primus.  Needless to say, I’m a die-hard fan; I first discovered Les and Primus back in 1996 when my cousin Joe brought Pork Soda to my house during a Christmas visit.

Claypool’s solo work is weirder and leans toward jam-band noodling sometimes, but “Iowan Gal” is good ol’ Les, mostly just him and his mighty bass guitar slapping, popping, and showing off.  It’s funky, humorous, and a return to form from the great weird one.

Continue reading

Quick post before going out tonight, last week’s overnight trip home messed up my blog-writing schedule, trying to keep this thing updated as much as possible.

A new feature on the AV Club’s site delves deep into the riches (and utter garbage) that is the compilation series NOW! That’s What I Call Music.

Check out the first post, which describes in detail (on a track-by-track analysis) of the first bestselling album in the series, probably the most pop-sporadic of any of the albums – it covered a larger time period of hits than the albums that were to follow.  I mean, where else are you going to find an album that features songs from Radiohead, Backstreet Boys, and Aqua on the same disc?

After that little read (and additional YouTube nostalgia trip) how could you not want to come back for more?  I know I’ll return – this is some fine, funny writing about one of my favorite things to read and write about – the pop of the past.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/introduction,38249/