Introducing: me. Unplugged.
I realized just recently (this morning) that I had never introduced myself to the people who were regular readers of Tree-Lounge (all 4 of them), and to the blossoming subscribers to the new AuralFitness. Old readers – you know me as the guy that kept sending Rob reminders to update, even after he had lost all of his 50 states project. New readers – you probably just assumed I had been here for a while. Well, you were wrong. I’m new.
Remember in 5th grade when all the kids had to go around the classroom and say their name, favorite food, and favorite type of music? Well, when I went to elementary school the only thing different was the name – the food and music were usually the same. Most kids answered “Joe Smith, Pizza, Rap” or “Joe Smith, Pizza, Rock.” If you had to do the exercise again in 6th grade (I did) one thing changed – the music. Kids were well on their way to becoming better than everyone else, groups formed, and I got left out. In the early-mid 90’s usually this meant that everyone changed their music to “Alternative Rock.” Funny that a 12-year-old would know what alternative rock was, because I had no idea what it was an alternative to. I was one of those. If it played on Rev105, it was good. And my favorite food was pizza.
Somewhere along the line I met Rob. He had a car with an awesome stereo and no roof. We talked music. It turns out that we’re both stubborn assholes when it comes to music – musical chauvinists to the core.
Anyway, enough with introductions. I’m Stu. You may refer to me as “Stu.”
Horace Andy – Do You Love My Music?
Onto the real issue: a real post. I was planning a huge post about the “Unplugged” situation. I saw a commercial the other day about something that I consider a travesty of modern music – Korn. Better yet, Korn Unplugged. Unplugged is a gimmick. It’s always been a gimmick. I watched a few of the video clips available on MTV.com (don’t visit the link, it’s not worth it), and decided I had enough. “Unplugged” is a producer’s dream – the band shows up and plays a playlist that has been picked out by everyone but the band. The arrangements of the band’s own songs are probably not even written by the band, and the abundance of purple backlighting makes me dizzy.
So, if you want some depressing, truly unplugged music – here it is.
Hank Williams – Angel of Death
Townes Van Zandt – Black Crow Blues
Iron & Wine – Sodom, South Georgia
Willie Nelson – Blue Rock Montana/Time of the Preacher (Medley)
Nick Drake – Parasite
Robert Johnson – Cross Roads Blues
Steve Earle – Tecumseh Valley (T. Van Zandt Cover)
Also, for all you Mac users out there. I have made a little widget for your dashboard. It’s an early version, so let me know if there are any bugs. I don’t have Vista yet, but I will soon. Maybe I’ll have a sidebar gadget sometime in the summer.
Download HERE – The only desktop widget you’ll ever need.
Picture from Empireempire.org. Check it out.
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