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Due to a mixture of Red Bull and Vodka, I'm here growing up in a musical home and being a fan of Punk music I have always had a preference for live albums. I know they are not as great as going out to see a live band but unless you are offering to babysit and convince Windy that it would be better then dinner and a movie, shut your face! There have been a lot of great ones released by the record companies such as 7 Seconds and most of the Live In A Dive series. But my favorites are the bootlegs. No longer purchased from someone's trunk, there are a surprising number of good quality recordings available for free and some are even, at least sorta, semi-legal (my attorneys remind me to remind you to research the laws for music download and file sharing in your area...then disregard them Boo-Ya)!
I love a good singer-songwriter, too. Clever, simple songs are my favorite. And if they include zombies, robots, monkeys and even ninjas when things get personal, well all the better. So I don't know if this is some kind of time travel back to the Temple Bar in Santa Monica, 2006 or an incredible artifact from a simpler time. Either way, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage Jonathan Colton!
I found a series of videos on YouTube of this performance and as I was getting ready to start ripping the audio it dawned on me that someone else probably already has and not surprisingly, I was right! The video was originally by Gle3nn and mp3 versions worked by spiffworld. The video and the audio are both very good and the set list is like a Greatest Hits record. Yeah, the kind that still somehow misses your favorite song you knew was gonna be there.
1. The Future Soon
2. Skullcrusher Mountain
3. First of May
4. Shop Vac
5. I Feel Fantastic
6. Baby Got Back
7. Creepy Doll
8. Big Bad World One
9. I Crush Everything
10. Code Monkey
11. You Ruined Everything
12. Tom Cruise Crazy
13. Re: Your Brains
It's a pretty awesome set with just enough banter and just the right pace. I have been stitching to it almost religiously since I got it and I have to say it really is a great listen. There are a couple other complete shows of JoCo available but this one is just the right length. Just like me. You didn't think I would just let that go, did you?
My personal favorites are "Big Bad World One" which has inspired a new sampler and "You Ruined Everything". Despite what the guy in the crowd would have you believe, it's a touching song NOT about ninjas. I honestly pictured Kadie and I dancing at her wedding to this song. If she grows up "getting" me enough that we would actually dance to Jonathan Coulton at her wedding, I can assure you, I will die a happy man. Now go download it and stitch something awesome before it's too late. After all, it's gonna be the future soon.
Weezer has a lot to answer for. Their self-titled debut, lovingly referred to as the Blue Album saw non-stop play in my Discman in my freshman year in high school. The follow-up was everything I could have wanted at the time. I was moving past Nirvana but had only just started to find Bad Religion and NOFX. They both also established that ten seemed to be the perfect number of songs on a Weezer album.
Since then I have listened to every Weezer record and have my likes and dislikes with each one (mostly dislikes). But now comes the strangely titles, and even strangely-er covered, Hurley
Musically speaking it honestly sounds like it should have been the third album. The weird pop of the blue album is back and with it the out-of-nowhere screams and more obviously heartfelt lyrics that became the downfall and eventual rise of Pinkerton.
But Can You Stitch To It?
I believe you can. I can and have and will. So neener-neener! The first three songs are my favorite and they follow a musical slide. The rest of the album doesn't feel like a progression through songs so much as a Weezer radio show: "Here have some songs in no particular order". Sometimes this can kill a stitch session for me. Sometimes you just want to sink into the music regardless of if it's a symphony, Metallica's Black Album or a jungle sounds relaxation disc. Think I sound like a artsy jackass? Well, I do but I am still right. Go stitch to your favorite album on shuffle. I'll wait. Really, you like that? ... ... See what I mean. Your brain was caught off guard when the order was changed. For Hurley I think this isn't really a problem. Maybe due to the eclectic mix of material they have released, I don't know, but everything does sound like a Weezer song, so it all kind of mixes well even if it doesn't necessarily flow. The deluxe edition adds four more songs. Two I really like are the way-out-of-left-field "All My Friends Are Insects" and the live and acoustic "Viva La Vida"
All in all its a good album and an enjoyable listen. It touches a little on most types of "rock" music and when I was at Starbucks stitching and the album ended I put it on again while I finished the letter I was working on. That should say enough I guess.Comments people! Have you heard Hurley? What did you think? What else are you listening to while you stitch? Post here or go have a go at a discussion on the new Facebook fan page!
