Ben Godwin - Drinking Gasoline

“The rats are running in the subway/the fat cats are choking in the cream/the roaches are crawling in the plumbing/and the dinosaurs are drinking gasoline.” Kinda hard to talk about my dinner with these images in mind =:-) A few weeks back I shared the theatricality of Ben Godwin, and trust me that’s all still evident on this cut. But tonight I just want to focus on his irony, humor and philosophy.

The dinosaur drinking gasoline has humored me and haunted me. One never knows an artist’s purpose, which is great because we start making our own references and purposes for understanding. So, on certain days I hear this as really really funny.

Then, there are those days I ponder the fact that our gasoline, according to the childish science books I read, came from dinosaurs that somehow all died together in a manner that eventually ended up in huge pits underground. So is there a deeper meaning intended? The dinosaurs drinking their ancestors. Hmm. As the “fertile crescent” and “cradle of civilization” are quickly disappearing from our textbooks and being replaced by “wild, demonized hordes of uncivilized brutes” (the new correct answer on the NCLB multiple choice history tests) one can only wonder if Ben is making other connotations. Doesn’t matter, because either way it’s wildly entertaining. Shoutout to Outsize Shoes (can’t walk you out of these kingsize blues). Ben Godwin

Spottiswoode & McMahon - Ukranian Girl

“Such a pretty girl in a leather dress”. Starting off this showcase with subway sounds, this a perfect humpday song. Get out the appetizers and your favorite drink and get ready for severe macho weirdness. The instrumentation here is what attracts me first. It’s a simplistic complexity that keeps the ears very pleased. Almost like toy casios played alongside toy beat boxes and bongos. The melody that the singer smiles with is also pleasing. The words. Hmm. Well, chauvinistic fits the bill. But we need to be reminded of our basic instincts from time to time. We are, after all, only human. “She’s a champagne bottle on a subway seat. Such a lovely face, such a lovely girl. In such an ugly world.” And the ending of the song slowly gets more and more exciting in a james bond bacharach sorta way. Thanks! Spottiswoode & McMahon

Natalie Cole – Criminal

“What I need is a good defense”. Take some popular songs and fill them up with true, heartfelt soul and you have a magic, delicious, indescribably perfect slow melt-in-your-mouth buttery sensation the will move your body to places that are seldom reached in this era of instant gratification. “I need to be redeemed.” This is a soul that reaches deep within and grabs my feet up through the sinews and wakes up the boogie dreams that have been long placed on the shelf. The church is alive tonight! “It’s all about love!” Sing it, Natalie! “I stand accused!” Beautiful. With a shout-out to Leavin’, another song we all know in another context, but is squeezed sincerely with this powerful interpretation. Natalie Cole

Fresh Fabrik - On 'n' On

“You turn me on and on and on.” It’s Monday, and most of you know me by now. I need a blasting wake up song to get me going, and this one fits the bill perfectly! Starts off with great harmony voices, but kicks in quickly with loud guitars and drums to get me up on my fee, bouncing around the kitchen waiting for the coffee to drip through the filter. Hit replay four times because this one just isn’t long enough to wait for the frozen waffles to cook. And that lead guitar! Fantastic – at one point the guitar and the voice meld as one. Scrumptious! Shoutout to Life Is Passing By. The title alone makes me want to get out there and start the new day fresh and alive, and the music helps get my butt into action. Fresh Fabrik

Today's postings

These two songs are emotional and hit my heart in a powerful way, so I thought it best to let the artists speak for themselves. . .

Rickie Lee Jones - Where I Like It Best

Where I Like It Best

I wanted to pray
I wanted to let you go on your way
I wanted to know why they laid there
dying in the streets
next to the restaurant
where people were eating and yes
I wanted to pray

How do you pray in a world like this?
You know, I see the people on tv and they
close their eyes and they
bow their heads and they say
"Let Us Pray"
and it feels so cold and meaningless
and I wanted to pray
and I said
tell me father
tell me mother,
heavenly mother
and they said

when you pray
pray alone by yourself
in the secret room of your heart

you are the prayer
your eyes are the prayer
your hand on your cheek
you are the prayer
those words you want to speak
they are the prayer
that dance you make
when you're by yourself


Rickie Lee Jones

The Uprising - Edge Of Forever

Edge Of Forever

Read the news today and it's been declared perpetual war.
Leaders plan to bring all the world to its knees.
Plan to shut down every mind and dam all the rivers of peace.
Paper didn't even say what it is we're fighting for.

I've heard the Pharisees talk about the road to redemption.
Well, no thanks, I choose my soul to keep.
Even if I should stumble and fall down to sleep,
Let the morning and the sunrise be my resurrection.

Falling in love with you. A river runs right through the desert.
Falling out of touch with the world on the edge of forever.

I watched Fox news today and it's been declared an orange alert.
Our leaders plan to bring all the world to its knees.
They plan to shut down every mind and dam all the rivers of peace.
TV didn't even say what it is we're dying for.

Falling in love with you. A river runs right through the desert.
Falling out of touch with the world on the edge of forever.


The Uprising

Bone-Box - Toasting The God Of Graceless Living

Yes! I’m ready for a down-home Saturday night with the piano tinkling an intro to a drummer and a coupla violins as I warm up to “I’d rather live from a suitcase full of bricks, give up our home.” Life is no better than this, really. Philosophical musings while I dance wildly. “I’d rather live with errant thoughts.” Yep, the Pharisees won’t like this, but heck with them – they forget Christ was never mad at anyone except the religious folks. “I’d rather take my chances that I’ll not be heaven blessed. I’ll take my chances and be damned like all the rest.” Not really. These folks know Christ is not that way. “I’ll be upright in no time! Another toast to the God of graceless living!” Yep, imagine, just imagine if you would. Christ ate and drank with sinners. Made wine at weddings. Chewed out religious folks. Said “the kingdom of God is within.” Easy to love that man. And I love this music. “Let’s sit and stew awhile and recover.” Fun sneaky-pete style steel guitars add sweet sweet flavors to this dance. Thanks, Jay and Lone Lady for brightening up my Saturday with smiles. Shoutout to Talking Christ Down From The Cross. Bone-Box

Feb 23 Eartaste Podcast Ready For Download

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Swampdawamp - I'm Feeling Saturday

“Whatcha feelin’ baby?” Ah, I’m feeling just right. Friday night catfish fry – sweet peppers on the side with a coupla enchildas. I’m feeling just fine, thanks for asking. I’m lovin’ the loud guitars with the lightly pounded drums – very cool. “Monday mornin’ I fall down and Tuesday’s gone. I’m sobered up by Wednesday. Thursday night is on and on.” Fine singing. You know, every once in awhile I borrow someone’s car and they’re listening to the only radio station up here in the hills. It plays “classic rock” all day, and it makes me wonder why people don’t make music like that anymore. Just good old rock music with guitars, bass, drums, and no gimmicks. The truth is – there’s lots of people doing it, as you can attest by listening to eartaste a few times. And Swampdawamp fits in just perfect with any act living in the past 50 years. Good old fashioned southern-fried rock. “Line up the shots on the bar, take the lady right there on your left.” Thanks for the guitar & drum solos guys – tasted just right! Shoutout tonight for Sometimes, which slows the dance down, but that’s good. Fine slow dancing with the woman on my left. Swampdawamp

Hazy Davys - Teenage Diplomats - Reviewed

The first album released by an eartaste label artist has been reviewed by Davide Ravera here: Forum. Thanks, Davide!

purchase "Teenage Diplomats"

Starcode - Another Day

Perfect song to wake up to! The guitars wake me up, then the singer says, “Brace Yourself!” I’ve braced myself up with a great cup of Sumatra and some thick, warm oatmeal. As I play it again I’m ready now to move, move, move. Love the rhythm guitarist holding his fist against the strings as he beats out the rhythm. Then the really cool lead guitar interplay with the synth – marvelous flavors. “I hope that I can play the part!” It’s time to greet another day! Feels great! And, as the song fades out, there’s a promise by the end of the day there will be “peace of mind”. Super shoutout for Go Away, another great wake-up and dance around the room before going to work song! “We’re all watching!” Starcode

The Red Button - She's About To Cross My Mind

“She’s about to cross my mind again – this happens to me all day long. I think I’ve got her off my mind, and then – the memories go on and on.” Quiet, peaceful, not quite mournful way to start humpday. Fun dance, but I’m not going to break a sweat with this pleasant groove. That’s okay because I just ate a homemade hoagy for the first time in ages. Two layers of meat, three layers of veggies, and two layers of cheese, broiled for 7 minutes – perfect. Which reminds me of this song – it’s perfect – not too long, not too short. Lots of thought went into the wonderful production, the lyrics are decent and the music extremely tasty. Shoutout for Ooh Girl, which starts off with a string quartet to add some flavor to some nicely strummed guitars which quickly engulf the strings and introduce some brilliant harmonies. “Six o’clock I hear a knock – she breezes through the door and throws her hat on the sleeping cat.” Love it! The Red Button

The Larch - Gravity Rocks

“Prepare for launch”, and then as the engines take off we Venture into the realm of space surf rock!!! Great way to start sweating off that dinner – this instrumental may have a 60’s feel, but there is still some really tasty guitar work. This perfect little cut is also timed perfectly. After 2 minutes of dancing in this gravity, the shout-out Radio Free Alpha Centauri is a dance tune that helps to free me from gravity with it’s swirling feel that sends me twirling all around my living room “searching the void for a shortcut through time”. The Larch

The Aggrolites - Mr. Misery

“Do you see that? Do you hear that? Woah, there goes Mr. Misery!” Well, this “misery” is certainly the type I like to hear. Good, funky, feet-moving beat! I had rice and beans for dinner and they have a special way of making me feel. I want to think about Mr. Misery, but the instruments keep me thinking about how cool, funky & pleasing the music is. There’s a clue toward the end when we hear, “She’s gone now, so play the music and let’s party.” Guess he was miserable until he suddenly realized the freedom her leaving brought him. It’s cool with me, because this is definitely one of those tunes I would play at any party! And, the shoutout would also be played to get the party into a dancing mood: A.G.G.R.O – very much fun! The Aggrolites

Pellucid Error - Sore (Emblem)

There are days that simply call for relaxing. The ear needs to relax, but this is much more than simple relaxation music. Last year I started making a list of songs that would appear on my personal remake of 2001 a Space Odyssey. Well, this is a new one to add. Starts off with a slightly classical feel on modern synthesizers, but quickly adds flavor upon flavor till the desire to add piles of crushed basil becomes overwhelming. Instrumental pesto dreams. And this dream entails me on a space walk outside the ship with a full view of earth. So, if you can imagine what I mean – relaxing while walking in space – then you can imagine this beautiful tune. It may help the imagination if you knew the title of this album is soul evolution, an apt title. A shout-out for Burning Water. Pellucid Error

The Majestic Twelve - Condoleezza, check my posse

Okay, let's face it. I'm 98% sure this song is tongue-in-cheek irony on the state of the world. However, even if I'm wrong, it can still be taken that way by intelligent folks. The music is tasty buttery popcorn fun - some cool guitar licks, great bouncy pop dance. Add to all that the absolute weirdness of hearing Rush Limbaugh repeated over and over as of he were a lyric. Which he is. Anyway, I'll let you decide for yourself:


I think I'll buy myself a home in San Diego
I'll buy some Mexicans to clean it every day!
I'd buy Canadians, but they're all friggin' lazy
That's where the hippies went when Dubya won the day

Oh oh oh oh, I will rule the world forever
I'm straight and white and male, American and free
Oh oh oh oh, Condoleezza check my posse
Clarence Thomas, Halliburton, mass destruction, me!

I'm sure that Europe is a lovely place to visit
My wife would love to go there every single year (sing!)
But they're just puppies (yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap yap)
They need to shut their yaps, the big dog's over here

Oh oh oh oh, I will rule the world forever
I'm straight and white and male, American and free
Oh oh oh oh, Condoleezza check my posse
Bill O'Reilly, Diebold Systems, mass destruction, me!

Here we go!

I can't believe I bought that land in California,
My stupid summer home just slid into the sea!
At least old Uncle Sam is going to rebuild it
My country loves to lend a hand to folks like me

Oh oh oh oh, I will rule the world forever
I'm straight and white and male, American and free
Oh oh oh oh, Condoleezza check my posse
Jerry Falwell, Coors Foundation, mass destruction, me!

Ann Coulter, Ann Coulter, Ann Coulter, Ann Coulter
Rush Limbaugh, Rush Limbaugh, Rush Limbaugh, Rush Limbaugh
Sean Hannity, Sean Hannity
Tucker Carlson, Tucker Carlson
Paul Wolfowitz, Paul Wolfowitz

Oh oh oh oh, I will rule the world forever
I'm straight and white and male, American and free
Oh oh oh oh, Condoleezza check my posse
Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

LOL!!!

There is a really cool shout-out on this, called Grandfather. Okay, I'll accept that as a new grandfather, I'm a bit nostalgic when hearing this song. "My children all grown and with child/The fires don't burn like they did before." Slow, but tasty.

Another shoutout to Trapped Out Of Water, "I could be there, I could be real/Understand everything you feel/Bleeding it out, suffering in doubt." Thanks to the Majestic Twelve for a majestic day of music. The Majestic Twelve

Koopa - Pop Rock Factory

“I got this song from a pop rock factory.” Yep, I remember pop rocks fondly. Fizzed on your tongue & turned it purple. Moms just knew they caused cancer. Just like this music. Spreads through my ears like a cancer. Just won’t stop bouncing around in my skull. This is a good cancer. You know, the kind that lives in the stars. Don’t get upset about my flippancy – there are lots of meanings for the word.

Anyway, good times are being built here by Koopa, kick back and enjoy them. It’s definitely a fun song, with lines like “It’s gonna be a #1” and “It’s time for harmony.” My favorite part about this group is that there doesn’t seem to be a huge ego running the show here – two singers are sharing the lead vocals! That’s not a common occurrence. “This song will be in your head!”

A massive shout-out for another pure fun song with lyrics to keep me rolling on the floor laughing all day, Mini Skirts. “She wants guys to stare so she can act like they’re not there.” Thanks for getting me up and dancing, guys! Koopa

Feb 16 Eartaste Podcast Ready For Download

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Ben Godwin - New World City

“Come away with me and we’ll have ourselves a life!” Imagine Kurt Weill moving to New Orleans and working for 20 years in a nightclub before moving out to LA where a film producer asks him to write a musical about New York that gets rejected by the film industry but opens to wild crowds on Broadway. If you can imagine that, then you have a good picture of Ben's music. “Trade the stubborn farmland for a million neon lights!” Picture 100 dancers behind the singer onstage. “We’ll look away while the violence carries on.” The pianist is keeping the bass player and drummer busy pumping rhythm to a holy beat. “We’ll make a new religion out of rusty cars.” The break has a six ring circus of dancers doing different moves – a taste for the inner eyes of my mind. As you can expect, I’ll have to listen 100 times to catch all the action. And I will. Willingly.

A shout-out for the title tune, Skin And Bone, complete with oompa cabaret flavors: “Poverty’s a crime in the poorhouse and the punishment is life. The lucky ones work in the slaughterhouse and the rest go under the knife. Hunger is a crime in the madhouse where the gunners are running with that, and liberty runs on consumption – is anything wrong with that?” A dance filled night of musical theatre coming to a stage near you soon. In the meantime, check out this cool record. Ben Godwin

Plain White T’s - Write You A Song

“I don’t know how to make lots of money. I got debts that I’m trying to pay. I can’t buy you nice things like big diamond rings, but that don’t mean much anyway.” It’s a favorite songwriter theme – trying to tell a girl that the life of a musician is hard, but I lo-o-o-ve you, so please accept me. Every songwriter has that song in them, but few pull it off. Oh, there’s a bunch of good ones and a few absolutely excellent ones, and I’m taking a big step and saying this version is one of the excellent ones, destined to be a classic. “I will write you a song – that’s how you’ll know that my love is still strong.” I don’t know if anyone has actually fallen for a song like this – would love to hear stories - but it’s still beautiful, nonetheless. Mostly acoustic with some superb harmonies & tasty lead guitar building up the romance in a waltzing sort of way. Shout out today goes to Tearing Us Apart. Nice records, guys! Plain White T’s

Liza & The Wonderwheels – We Are The Media

“I think it’s funny; this guy looks so serious. Yet sincerity like that cannot be faked. He just thanked Jesus Christ and private enterprise for winning a business prize.” This is fantastic. Lyrics from an editorial viewpoint. You’d never guess by reading these interesting thoughts that music could be perfectly applied. But, I assure you, my ears are licking their lips over the music – these extremely interesting lyrics are simply gravy (or whipped cream if you prefer it) on a scrumptious meal. “I’ve got the story that none of this is innocent, and all the money is kept at the bank. Can you lie when talking to a client? I mean, not too much, but isn’t it inherent?” It gets deeper yet – picture yourself as a songwriter, lyricist, musician, artist, or heck, any job I can picture right now – and read this: “I make it up and you call me enterprising. You need ideas to sell your advertising.” Even working behind the counter at a fast food joint is a commercial nowadays. Thanks, Liza, for the philosophical essay disguised as a fun pop song! Liza & The Wonderwheels

Dustin's Bar Mitzvah – Catholic Boys

The choir boys are busy singing their praises when someone kinda giggle/growls, then opens up with “I want to put the fear of God in your heart and make you read the Bible from the very start and you’d better be sure your hair is nice and clean.” Okay, so maybe I can’t hear right. I’m eating my chili, wiggling the bottom ½ of my body and taking a bite out of my chicken filet burger while listening to this for the umpteenth time. Not because I have to, you understand. I want to. This is great fun to listen to, and because of that I kinda wanta know what he’s truly saying. Doesn’t really matter a whole lot, this is great tasting music. “I want to tell you that you can’t do this, you can’t do that/oh you can’t touch this, you can’t touch that/you got to go and see the priest for a little chat/ tell him what you’ve done.” The greatest fun is the tempo changes. They’ve actually made it sound as if they were speeding up at the spur of the moment without giving the drummer warning – it’s a perfect live feeling that’s really difficult to do. And it’s fantastic that the drummer plays along so well – with a smile, you can hear it in his sticks. Thanks guys, & a shout-out for Young Pretender, another stand-out cut. Dustin's Bar Mitzvah

Slipknot - Opium Of The People

Wake up! It’s Monday! Wake up the world! The guitars are planning to rule the world, and what fun that will be! Wake up those ears and taste the power! Get lots of exclamation points! You have to! Because this entire cut is an exclamation of Apple Spice Oatmeal with Maple Syrup overflowing along the edges! Whew! If your head isn’t banging with this, you’re a lost cause. Shout-out to a completely different flavor with Vermilion – which is a powerful musical composition. As the narrator is crying out his denials about his future, the music is building, building and he’s saying, “I won’t let this build up inside of me.” Both his vocal tones and the music prove his statement as false, but at the same time I just know he wants to believe it’s true. Beautiful work, guys! Slipknot

Aggrolites - Work To Do

“There’s a lot of work to do, no more time to play.” Ah, my cool music friends, lend me your ears. Your bouncing reggae beats have me playing while I work. I can move my body to the left, and my body to the right, as I bake some homemade brownies that flavors up my night. Thank you for the California rasta vibrations that groove the flavor through my tastebuds my good good friends. Good good time for all, and I know, my friends, you play at your work and work at your play. Thanks! Aggrolites

Feb 10 Eartaste Podcast Ready For Download

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Cleaning Up The Desk Saturday

This collection of singles from major labels are always sorta sitting here, so I went through them all and picked those that are worth savoring – bunches are in the pile that I’ll never talk about, but you probably heard them on the radio or MTV anyway. I’m making lasagna as I listen to the entire set and choosing the best, most fully developed and flavorful spices.

Rumble Strips - Born Bored

The first layer of lasagna today is the noodles. They need to be cooked just right. Let’s face it, noodles, in and of themselves, are boring. “I was born with a glazed look in my eye”. But, add just the right mount of bass and percussion and even the most stringent attempt at being boring is impossible. So, while the narrator is bored, the song is far from it. Rumble Strips

Zutons - It's The Little Things We Do

This next layer is probably the busiest. The tender meat, the sauce, and the right touch of spices. This song is great fun, so I won’t give the story away. Suffice it to say, the song is about a good, old fashioned hangover; but – this song is so busy with spices that I wouldn’t like to hear it with a hangover. “It’s payday today just for having a good time.” This is a party song that will help bring you to the point of wondering the next day if it was all worth it. A big, resounding YES! The garlic is the secret. Zutons

Lostprophets - Can't Catch Tomorrow

Catchy tune whether you can catch tomorrow or not. Another layer of perfectly cooked noodles. “I see a million people change but I will stay the same.” These guys have fun harmonies just like the layers in this fine dish I’m preparing. It’s hard to put get the noodles from the strainer to the baking dish because the grooves in this music has me bouncing all over the kitchen. Great job guys! Lostprophets

Noisettes - Don't Give Up

“Sometimes they’ll want to cut you down/Gotta scratch that itch cause the time is now/They tell you you gotta have a heart of steel/If you wanna keep up can you afford to feel?” The wham! Rock on! Try pulling the sauce from the pot into the baking dish! Yep, you can picture it! Splatters all over the kitchen from me swirling around dancing with a ladle in hand! No sweat – will clean it up. And as the narrator’s singing “don’t give up I keep adding mozzarella – ooh sounds great! Shoutout to Scratch Your Name. Noisettes

Nelly Furtado - Maneater (Unplugged)

Okay, confession as I lay another layer of noodles. This is not the A side. Maneater filled the airwaves last year – deservedly. But this version is great fun and deserves to be heard by more than the best fans. All of Nelly’s fans buy the singles, I’m sure, but this cut placed on the flip of a single is joyous to eartaste. Great performance! Nelly Furtado

Eric Prydz Vs Floyd - Proper Education

As I layer on yet more sauce, cheese, noodles, thin layer of sauce and all the rest of the mozzarella I really enjoy this mash-up. I’m putting my creation in the oven for 90 minutes and contemplating how this song sounds so natural – like it was always meant to be this way. Many mash-ups are audities (aural oddities), but this dance version sounds as if the song always wanted to sound this way. I’ve always liked this song because I’ve been intimately involved in education, and often, very often, want to say “Teachers, leave those kids alone”. In education it’s almost like the kids who start learning are a threat to the teacher. Anyway, thanks for bringing this song back to the public eye, Eric! Prydz Vs Floyd

Feb 9 Eartaste Podcast Ready For Download

http://eartaste.podbean.com

Plain White Ts - Come Back to Me

“I will always see your face/When I'm awake and when I'm dreaming/Cause I believe there's a place for you and me in this crazy world.” Had some of that good mushroom spinach pizza tonight, with some green olives added to spice it up. Laid off the wine. This romantic rocker is all the wine one needs for a Friday night of love. These guys are rockin’ my socks off, too. “I love the way we stay up late/The way you laugh at your mistakes/I love everything about you.” This guy is nuts in love, and I love that. Of course, he’s not perfect, obviously, because the one he is singing about so passionately is no longer there. “If you come running back to me I'll be here waiting.” I can only wonder if he had been that passionate about her when she was there? So, yes, the song is full of whine, but with a fantastic melody and guitars! Good, loud, dancing guitars! Turn it up! With shoutouts to the “hidden” song, a beautiful acoustic version of “Hey Delilah!” Plain White Ts

Spocks Beard - Skeletons At The Feast

Ah, a fine oak saturated petite sirah after a perfect meal of leftover stuffed peppers over jasmine rice. This instrumental composition is designed to take me to places I can only dream of in lucid moments of rock perfection. Spocks Beard has managed to transport me beyond my dreams into a world of dramatic color and flavors. I am traveling among heavens seldom reached. As the colors mold the meticulous sanity I’ve encountered on this journey I both mourn and sail at the brilliant silence encountered at the end of the tune. Spocks Beard

The Red Button - She's Going Down

Starting off hump day with a fresh drink of happiness. “She just melts in the sunshine, yeah!” The joyful sounds, especially the happy-go-lucky marimba flavors, put a big smile on this man’s face. Actually, a close listen shows some pretty “down” lyrics, but the happy hermans hermits type melody keeps me singing along without worrying word meanings in my meandering brittle brain. Excellent harmonic flavors and harrisonesque guitars to start off a nice smooth tequila sunrise evening! With kudos and shoutout to a rockin’ Cruel Girl. The Red Button

Jukebox The Ghost - Spiraling

A 2 track homemade CD popped into my mailbox and presented me with flavors I was not prepared for. Having just eaten something new called “Steak Fingers” at Dairy Queen (it’s really a fingernail amount of hamburger wrapped in some sorta breading & deep fat fried into a glob), I was prepared for unwrapping a buncha bad tasting music. Bad food kinda puts me in a blah mood, even on hump day. Boy, I am happy the food didn’t keep me from opening up envelopes!

This is a sneaky song, the kind I like tasting over and over. “She leaves with a smile borrowed from a movie reel”. The lyric invites me to listen, even as I feel the need to get up and move in a spiral. “He trips on sidewalk cracks and he never looks back.” You know I’m moving fast when we hear “And I spun around/I spun around/because it was beautiful!” The instrumental break is an exquisite interplay between piano and guitar that I can’t recall ever being done before on a pop record, tho it feels so natural here. I feel like I’m hearing something completely new and different with a hope for the future of pop music to expand it’s horizons, yet the band does not go out of it’s way to shock or be weird. It’s all absolutely instinctive rock/pop in a new and exciting way. Special shoutout to “Hey Maude”. These guys have not released their CD yet, however are graciously allowing free downloads at Jukebox The Ghost.

Parker Jacobs Munns - Welcome To This World

Born Feb 5, 2007 at 12:31 PM California time. I'm listening to lots of music, but am too jazzed to write about it at the moment. Thanks to my daughter for making me a Grandpa! So, a great shoutout to Erin for being patient for 9 months. Keep that patience for 18 more years & you'll have a great time! And a huge shoutout to Jake, who will probably have less time to put out albums now, but I'm sure they'll have even deeper meaning as the new child ages!

Liza & The Wonderwheels – Eddie Come Down

“Wash the buggie wugs down the drain.” In my reviews I mention the fun of a margarita or beer with dancing, and of course, lots of carbs – I know because some of you write me about them. This very cool song is perfect to remind all of us that moderation is important. From what I can understand, Eddie overindulges in either alcohol, or drugs, or both. So, I feel the need to mention moderation in all things is best for a long and healthy life. That said, this wonderful confection of a song is great fun to listen to with tempo changes and vocal gymnastics to thrill the best ears. The guitar player, who shines on all the cuts, continues his great work here. “Watch a ball of string unwind.”

A shout-out for the great cover of a song I’ve loved forever, Machine Gun Smith. The key is a few pitches higher here, and I love the way country has it’s final syllable mysteriously missing when Liza sings it, but Machine Gun Smith is just as pertinent today as it was when it first appeared. Smith is the terrorist, and as much as Americans hate to admit it, old Smith (notice the name is NOT Arabic) is terrorizing little countries, much as white people are still in the process of terrorizing citizens in smaller countries throughout the world. And the beat goes on – the truth never changes, even after 20 plus years. Liza & The Wonderwheels

Arrested Development - It's Time

“With every black that gets the dough to start moving up you see the whites packing up to move away from us/And now the suburbs are the ghettos and the inner cities is renovated with lofts and looking nice and pretty/Because our ghetto is really all inside our minds.”

Wow. This truth hurts in a world where America is proclaiming to be the beast that will introduce democracy around the world. This truth shows what we are truly exporting – the hatred that lives within and plans to oppress everyone who does not belong to the “elite”.

Picture the slumlords that would do nothing when the inner cities were full of minorities. Today, of course, they’ll build-to-suit to anyone with money, and that happens to be mostly white folks. I love the way that Arrested Development put it; the ghetto is really inside our minds.

Let’s face it, the rich are planning to stay far away from the poor, no matter what we call the place – and in America, the rich are mostly white, and the poor are mostly “minorities”. I use quotes for minorities because even that is in the mind – it’s perpetuated by the capitalist democracy we live in, because obviously you can’t have rich people without poor people making them rich.

“There’s no way I’m gonna give up right now/We gotta push thru some way & some how/I wanna live for good in every way”. The best part of this story is the music is grooving. I made stuffed peppers and rice tonight, and it tastes good with this song tapping my feet and encouraging me up to move.

“Out in the streets It’s like were rollin’ the dice/It seems our heroes are dying away.” Well, perhaps, but I’m seeing Arrested Development and like minded people to be the heroes that are going to keep the big issues alive in the public psyche. Arrested Development

U2 - Window In The Skies

“The shackles are undone/The bullets quit the gun/The heat that's in the sun/Will keep us when there's none.” This starts the song as I grab another forkload of stuffed pepper. I’m looking over at the cherry cheesecake that this song is leading me toward and I feel good being alive with this double helping of love between Arrested Development and U2. “If you let me in your heart/And out of my head/Oh can't you see what our love has done ?” U2 w/ Leonard Cohen B-Side or U2 w/ Live performances B-Side or, if you’d like to wait 2 weeks, U2 w/ Leonard Cohen & Live performances B-side. Why do they do this to fans?

Valentines Day Gift Suggestions

Something new and different here at eartaste – talking about albums. I’m sure you don’t want your romantic valentine gift to last 3 minutes, like most of the songs I dig up here =:-) I have a box of 40 different new “Various Artist” type albums, most of which I’ll not talk about for the simple reason they have a lotta flaws. I present my top ten list of good taste and excellence, especially since the CD you choose may replace the box of chocolates this year. On a personal note, I was very surprised at the cost of a box of good chocolate – which lasts about 10 minutes in my house. You can actually purchase 3 or 4 albums for the price of a box of chocolates, and the memories will last forever. Do I sound like a time-life commercial yet? Yeah, I know, let’s move on . . .
We’ll start with #2 on my list and save #1 for later.

#2 Its A Beautiful Thing

If I were putting together a mix-tape of favorite songs for my sweetheart with eartaste in mind, this would not be far from my personal choices. It includes fantastic hits from the 90’s, but few of the overworked ones. 19 songs by The Jam, The LA’s, James, Shed Seven, Pulp, Gene, The Housemartins, The Cranberries, Weezer, The Cure . . . very tasty. As usual with mix-tapes you have to include the weird and mysterious, so the final hit is designed to be played after the romance is consummated and you’re lying together contemplating the weirdness of everything that just happened, if you know what I mean – Serge Gainsbourg & Bridgett Bardot. Its A Beautiful Thing

#3 Bellylicious 2

If you’re a dancing couple, this one is new and perfect. The album title attracts eartaste, but the music is even better. Theoretically made for modern belly dancing, you can actually do any type of dancing to this great mix. The artists are mostly unknown to me, but include Beirut Biloma, Said Mrad, 7 Days In Egypt, Alien the DJ & much more. Overall excellence, with lots of middle-eastern flavors. Bellylicious 2

#4 Luxury Soul 2007

This beautiful 3 CD collection is perfect for those who desire a long, smooth romantic evening, complete with a meal, a long drive, and lots of sensuality. If you hunger like I do for good old-fashioned R&B from time to time without an overabundance of hip-hop rap, this is perfect. Good, old-fashioned soul singing with current musical sensibilities. I dread listing just a few, because it makes it sound like they’re the best of the lot, when actually there isn’t one bad cut on this tasteful collection. A.J., Maysa, Ian Martin, Brigette, 2 Way, and 30 other artists. Definitely romantic, and will be flavorful any day of the year. Luxury Soul 2007javascript:void(0)
Publish

#5 Marvin Gaye And Kim Weston - Take Two

This was released on CD once before, but has been out of print and is, of course, a must-have for any romantic collection. So, grab it while you can. All the hits are included, of course, but there’s not a bad cut on this collection. Historical, and always current. “What good is a fire if he don’t have a flame?” A 19 course meal of love. Scrumptious! “One can have a dream, baby/Two can make that dream so real.” Marvin Gaye And Kim Weston

#6 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - The Love Collection

This love collection is special because of all the tasty songs that are seldom heard. There are a few hits, but for the most part this is a collection of 18 true love songs that are perfectly romantic. And the person that put the collection has a sense of humor that I truly appreciate. The pairing of “You Really Got A Hold On Me” with “and I Love Her” is genius, pure genius. Highly recommended collection if your lover likes to dance close. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles

#7 My Funny Valentine - Vintage Songs Of Love 1932-1956

I don’t usually like these collections of moldies because a few turkeys are usually thrown in. This one is solid, all good songs by classic singers. Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, and many more. A full hour and 16 minutes worth of old-fashioned romance. Good gift for your spouse if you’re feeling quirky, or you’re looking to surprise your grandparents or great-grandparents with a valentine’s gift. My Funny Valentine

#8 Some Classical Love

Two new classical releases in my stack here are actually quite good for romantic purposes. The first is simply called “Classical Love.” It’s a 2 CD set with classical love melodies from popular movies (Bridgett Jones Diary, Clear And Present Danger, and 25 others). This well-thought out arrangement of tunes is a pleasant listen. I can imagine going to a concert and hearing them arranged in this order. Classical Love.

The other is not specifically released for Valentine’s Day, but is still a perfect valentine’s gift this year, Baroque ‘N Roll Classic fm. While good listening any time of year, this 2 CD collection is is laden with heavenly romantic flavors from Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, Gluck and more. Wonderful. Baroque ‘N Roll

#9 Nicky Spence - My First Love

Honesty is necessary here. I do not like this type of music. For lack of better description, I’ll call it opera. It’s a guy singing his heart out something like pavorrotti does, who calls himself opera, so that’s what I’ll call it. Anyway, my wife likes this kind of stuff (Sarah Brightman comes to mind), and though I have never grown to appreciate it, I do appreciate her, so I would purchase something like this for her and simply pray she listens to it in her car when she's alone. If you have someone like that on your list, I’ll admit that this guy does not make me cringe as much as most of the opera stuff that came out recently. Nicky Spence

#10 Diana Ross And The Supremes - The Love Collection

I saved this one for last. It’s mostly a greatest-hits collection, and most people probably have most of these songs in their collections already. I know I have about a dozen collections that hold most of these songs. There is one that caught my ear this time around that is not commonly available – “My Funny Valentine”. This is a budget-priced release, so is therefore worth picking up to add this cut to your collection. Of course, if you don’t have a hits collection by the Supremes, then perhaps this is a must-have for you this year, because after all, “You Can’t Hurry Love”. It also has the funniest song title for Valentine’s Day this year: “I Guess I’ll Always Love You.” Has nothing better to do, I guess =:-) Diana Ross And The Supremes

#1 Complete Motown Singles 1958-1966

Diamonds and pearls are, of course, #1, and if you’re thinking of giving a $600 piece of jewelry this year, you might consider this collection. The jewelry only comes out on special occasions, but this collection, you’ll find, will take up many many moments of pure, unabashed dancing and swooning. These sets were released late in 2006, and are the best thing you could buy anyone who collects music. I’m calling it the number 1 Valentine’s Day gift because these are all limited editions, and may not be available at Christmas time (though I certainly hope several more sets from 1967 on will be).

This collection far surpasses the excellent Motown Top Hits Box Set, which is still a perfect gift for the budget-minded. That set includes every hit, and is a great listen, but the complete singles set is exactly that – all the A sides, and all the B sides, including many rare songs that have never before appeared on CD – some had never even appeared on albums, as there were singles that failed to make a mark on the world even if they taste good to my ears.

A few years back the world received a beautiful gift called The Complete Stax-Volt Singles collection, which rocked my world along with many of my friends. The sets have long stayed on my play list, and will continue to remain because the folks at Stax-Volt knew how to make ears hungry. Vol 1, Vol 2, Vol 3. When those came out, I had discussions with several friends about how cool it would be if Motown did the same thing. We decided Motown had just too many releases, and such a project would be too much for anyone to undertake. Thankfully, we were wrong.

As with any fine jewelry, there are some extremely minor flaws. Motown tried from time to time to enter the field of Country & Western. Since this is a compete collection, those are included. I am thankful that they only tried from time to time =:-) Beauty, however, is only beauty because of the flaws. And because this is 98% pure Hitsville soul, you cannot go wrong by making a gift out of any one of these collections. If you are ready to purchase the entire necklace, you will make the love of your life extremely happy this year!

Motown Complete Singles Vol 1
Motown Complete Singles Vol 2
Motown Complete Singles Vol 3
Motown Complete Singles Vol 4
Motown Complete Singles Vol 5
Motown Complete Singles Vol 6

Feb 2 Eartaste Podcast Ready For Download

http://eartaste.podbean.com

Faithless – Bombs

So much heaven, so much hell
So much love, so much pain
So much more than I thought this world could ever contain

One bomb, the whole block gone
Can't find my children and dust covers the sun
Everywhere is noise, panic and confusion
But to some another fun day in Babylon
I'm gonna bury my wife and dig up my gun
My life is done so now I got to kill someone

Faithless

Timz – Iraq

“You killed my family and I should say thank you?” While this is old-skool 80’s rap, there is a bit of eastern flavor in the background samples to help bring the theme around. After reading about the schools getting blown up again this week, this song just makes it all come to a head in the emotional department. And, my body can groove along as the tears flow. “There’s a war going on outside/no birds round here – just bullets that fly.” Thanks Timz, for helping me to feel. Timz

Razorlight - Teenage Logic

“I’ll be falling from this – what are you falling from?” Had Digiorno’s Garlic Bread Supreme tonight. Not bad at all for a frozen dinner. Fit the feel of this song – the very beginning is ripped from a record everyone wishes never happened, and loved anyway. The tune in question was covered in the 90’s by pepperstomp. Never fear, tho, the arrangers did some work to make this become original, and one has to admire the fact they were willing to knack a bit off from an oldie but goodie. Good & bouncy, the pepperoni and sausage are mere toppings. “Falling in love seems like such a waste of time”. Ha! Five seconds later he’s asking her to “stay all night", then “stay another night". One thing I promise is the garlic breath will stay all night, so I’ll be dancing alone with My Sharona & Razorlight tonite. “No teenage logic here!” Razorlight