The Glowing Edge

Category: Bands & Music

  • My Dad is in a Fake Rock Band

    Ice: Dad, your band’s not a real band, is it?
    Dad: What do you mean?
    Ice: Well, real bands play their own music and your band only plays other people’s music.
    Dad: That’s true. We’re what you call a cover band. That means we mostly play songs that other people have already made famous.
    Ice: Yeah, so you’re not a real band.
    Dad (conceding the point): No, we’re not a real band.

  • boyfriend sweater

    I may have outdone myself. This is one of the best mixtapes I’ve made so far. Comforting, with boyfriend-scented memories and a slow dance or two. Eminently listenable, it’s the perfect mix of blues, folk, pop, indie, and rock-n-roll. A little bit of cheery whistling, some harmonica, even some faux snake rattles (REO, in homage to the 8-track that was permanently jacked into the Husband’s mom’s LeBaron, in which we had our first date. Hooray for bench seats!). The only thing this mix doesn’t have is more cowbell. And I can live with that.

    Beloved / Minnie Driver
    Banana Pancakes / Jack Johnson
    Ruby / Utah Carol
    Darlin’ Do Not Fear / Brett Dennen
    I Was Meant for the Stage / The Decemberists
    F-Stop Blues / Jack Johnson
    I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight / Bob Dylan
    Frosty / Albert Collins
    Home / Daughtry
    Keep On Loving You / REO Speedwagon

  • what’s your crazy thing?

    It came up while hangin wit my tribe this weekend. What would you love to do? What’s the idea you keep stowed away because you think people will laugh or because you think it’s a little out of the realm of possibility?

    The Husband: Not own a car.
    True, he’s a stay-at-home kinda guy. The original homie. (Heh.) Couple that with a desire to save the earth and an absolute adoration of public transportation of every variety and you have a man on a mission. His dream may never become a reality, since he’s married to a raving Scion xB fanatic. (I want an underbody light kit in purple for mine.)

    Jenn: Do a bike tour of Italy.
    A stay-at-home mom, my girlfriend Jenn just decided one day to get in shape and by golly she did. She signed up for a spinning class and hasn’t looked back. When we were walking the five city blocks uphill from the pub where we danced like maniacs until 1 am, I was droopy as an old dishrag and she was smiling and humming and trying not to laugh at the pathetic picture I made. She rocks. She rides. Giro come il vento, donna!

    Fred: Take the fam on a 6 month tour of the USA.
    Or maybe he said a year. The father of a three-year-old and an infant, he may just be insane, or he may go that way during the trip. Although he did say he thought they should be a bit older first. Actually, I think it’s kind of retro-cool. Didn’t families do this in the 50’s? The whole Route 66 thing?

    Me: Winter over at the south pole.
    Like, be a real Polie, not just one of the zillions who flit down to spend a week ostensibly researching while actually sucking down cargoloads of alcoholic beverages and racking up street cred for later. I get excited just thinking about the design challenges of the new Admunsen-Scott station. I have a whole string of ideas like these: hike the AT, climb the 14’s in CO, blah blah blah. Hey, I did three homebirths, I’m obviously unbalanced.

    JD: Tour with a band.
    This is a man who just can’t get enough of the rock and roll life. His band gigs twice a month or more in the area, but the thought of big buses, roadies, and fame-n-glory calls him. Eyeliner? Sure, if it will get him on the tour.

  • one more day

    Here’s the playlist which is the soundtrack of my life for this past week and maybe the one coming too. It’s inspired by the Wood Brother’s simple and profoundly affecting tune “One More Day.” Listen to it when you’re feeling melancholy but want to remember that life goes on. In addition to the Wood Brothers, a gem in this list is #3 “Emily,” in which the central character pleads with his woman to not send him packing (he’s on his last drink), and utters this woeful line: “I lost my good fedora…” Those were the days.

    1. It’s Coming Down, Cake
    2. Passenger Seat, Death Cab For Cutie
    3. Emily Please, Luke Doucet
    4. Ode to My Family, The Cranberries
    5. Crooked Teeth, Death Cab for Cutie
    6. Daria, Cake
    7. Oh My, Mellowdrone
    8. Summer Skin, Death Cab for Cutie
    9. Alright, Ledisi
    10. One More Day, The Wood Brothers

  • adding gomez

    to the 20th anniversary rock-n-roll mixtape. I fell in love with Gomez when I heard their smooth and quirky tune “These Three Sins” on the Catch and Release soundtrack. Then I found their body of work to be an incredibly diverse, with something for nearly every mood. They definitely give the impression that they are at their best in live performances. These two tracks will serve as some of the slower (but still bounce-in-your-seat) tunes. So, now adding, from the disc How We Operate:

    1. Woman! Man!
    Which has the feel of a live-venue audience singalong, doesn’t it? Who can resist singing “sha-la-la”?

    2. Girlshapedlovedrug
    Totally fun lyrics, and the name brings back memories of Prince (DanceMusicSexRomance) and Gwennie S. (LoveAngelMusicBaby)…

    Cheers, Gomez!

  • how things feel today

  • anniversary mixtaping to do!!

    Working on the 20th Anniversary Rock n Roll Mixtape, kinda have a “twos” theme goin’ on for obvious reasons. This has to be a playlist that incites one to kick off the chandelier shoes (or male equivalent) and dance like an idiot while singing at the top of one’s lungs and maniacally playing air drums. And there have to be a couple of breaks for breathing (or slow dancing, anniversary kissing, and other PDA’s). Plus at least one (woops, make that two) guilty pleasure songs. I’m not necessarily going for content here, just atmosphere. It’s what we’ll play in the car on the way to our big night out, and later cruising on the Blue Ridge Parkway before we hike Mt. Mitchell. Here’s what I have so far:

    1. Wolfmother, “Love Train” and “Woman”
    2. Red Hot Chili Peppers, “The Zephyr Song” and “Hump de Bump”
    3. The Killers, “Mr. Brightside” and “When You Were Young”
    4. Live, “Heaven” and ?????

    And obviously, I need to choose something from Cake… I’ll keep working.

  • cakewalk

    Cake-inspired playlist for upcoming trip:

    Walk On By, Cake, Prolonging the Magic
    Ooh La, The Kooks, Inside In Inside Out
    If the Rain Must Fall, James Morrison, Undiscovered
    Somewhere Only We Know, Keane, Keane Live from London
    Let Me Go, Cake, Prolonging the Magic
    How Will He Find Me, The Weepies, Live
    Bouncing Around the Room, Phish, Lawn Boy
    You Part the Waters, Cake, Motorcade of Generosity
    Home, Great Northern, Trading Twilight for Daylight

  • nothing to lose with mat kearney

    This guy is a signficant part of the soundtrack of my life right now. I think his best song is the acoustic version of In the Middle, which I’ve only seen on iTunes. Still, go to his myspace page and listen to all the ones he has up there. Rolling Stone didn’t like him (no link for them, then), but I think he’s pretty awesome. I can’t figure out what kind of music this is; some kind of fusion of acoustic guitar (or pop) and laid back rap in a very compelling voice and point of view. I like.

  • what the Ice is listening to

    1. Relient K
    2. YYZ, Rush (see above)
    3. Raised in Harlem, !Hero: The Rock Opera

    What an awesome kid I have.