Pink and Blue

So, my job started consuming my life, I saw LL Cool J with the LOX and Clipse, I moved to Brooklyn, saw the Bouncing Souls at Coney, saw T.I. again and took a vacation to see Weezy upstate, I went back to college, I quit my job, etc etc. Long story short, I was not contributing anything here anymore. Now I am.

This song just recently came to my attention, I know I've heard it before, closer to when it came out, but I must have not known the title.

Pink and Blue by Outkast

Much to my chagrin, it is not a cover song.

Pink and Blue by the Mountain Goats

he doesn't want us back

With me taking so long between posts, my life is completely different with every post. Recently, I got evicted by my landlord whose name is Michael Jackson. His name is really Michael Jackson, and he basically said the opposite of this song:

I Want You Back - Jackson 5

But I don't even care. This house is cold, and I live in a basement with no doors and no windows. So maybe it's time to leave.

Top Songs to listen to when being evicted:

1.Everything's Just Wonderful - Lily Allen
2.Nobody Don't Dance No More - Kano
3.Burning Down the House - Talking Heads
4.Going to Georgia - Mountain Goats
5.Cold World - GZA

A few days ago I saw the Count Basie Orchestra live here at Seton Hall. Fantastic show, and the drummer, Butch Miles, is absolutely amazing.

So what else is new in my musical world? New Jay-Z song is trash. New Decemberists is great. Camera Obscura slowing taking over my world. In fact, let's put some songs up.

Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken - Camera Obscura
Razzle Dazzle Rose - Camera Obscura

And while I'm posting songs, this is for all of the haters I live with who can't appreciate good stuff:

(Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry - Darlene Love

Oh, and I am pretty broke. These days money is for cigerettes, intoxicating substances, and maybe food. Luxury items are just no on the bill these days. So I am starting the Fund To Get MC Abstract Douchipster Enough Money to Buy This:




He even has the wallabies on!

Also, I have been told that he is a jerk, but I really want this to happen to me.

Special Ed

"I'm the Magnificient" by Special Ed

The guitar on this song is so sunshine happy. I like how it's mixed down below the drums a bit too. It's like the mountain goats doing hip hop, nice and lo-fi.

100th POST!!!

This is the 100 post here at Cigarbox Guitars, and it's been a while since I posted, so I decided to bum everyone out. It's what I do.



Well, the new Mountain Goats album Get Lonely (with some of my favorite cover art in a long time) came out a week ago. I can officially declare it a success. John Darnielle finally sounds comfortable in a studio, and the atmosphere of his songs reflect it. Also, as the album focuses on a breakup, this is one of the most depressing albums I have ever heard.

Get Lonely - The Mountain Goats
The titular track from the album is one of the most heartbreaking. As Darnielle describes the difficulties of finding comfort in life after a breakup, it sounds as if he could break down at any second. The chorus is that break down, as he breaks from life to "get lonely". The strings in the chorus are devastating. They add weight to his words and truly make this a more accomplished composition than alot of his other studio work.

New Monster Avenue - The Mountain Goats
If anything negative can be said about this album, it's that too many of the songs are too slow moving. This is not one of those songs. In the same way that the strings were the driving force behind the song "Dilaudid" on last year's album The Sunset Tree, here the drums give this song a nice propulsion. The drums are constant, and the drama in the lyrics seems to rise and fall with them.

also...


New Amsterdam - Elvis Costello
Not to be completely depressing, I will add this. I took the title of the Mountain Goats album Get Lonely to be a call up to the great Elvis Costello album Get Happy. The cooler Elvis made this an album of quick squirts of amazing songwriting, and his vocals melodies have never been better. Also, I was in Amsterdam earlier this year, so any song with that place in the title I will enjoy right now.

(as a quick aside, Elvis Costello's recent cameo in The Ballad of Ricky Bobby where he has no lines and just sits next to Mos Def is freaking fantastic)

hail satan!

Sometimes I like to grow mini obsessions with groups where they dominate what I listen to for a while. Since February The Mountain Goats have been mine. The group is basically just John Darnielle, his offbeat voice, and his often furious acoustic guitar. They have a new album coming out on August 22nd, and there is a song from it that was released. I also posted a classic.

Woke Up New - Mountain Goats
While I can't say Darnielle is really blazing new trails and trying new things with this song, he definitely doesn't disappoint. He keeps his voice as intimate as possible throughout this song as he sings of the aftermath of a breakup. The delivery (especially the hushed chorus of "what do I do/without you") keep this song endearing. This is a good thing because the lyrics would have been fairly melodramatic without Darnielle knowing how to deliver them. When Darnielle says lines like: "the first time I made coffee for just myself, I made too much of it, but I drank it all, just cuz I know you hate it, when I let things go to waste," you can hear that this isn't a song about a guy who is sad, but about a guy trying to adjust to a new life.

Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton - Mountain Goats
Just a story about a group of guys trying to make it as a Death Metal band. Well, there is more to the song, some themes of youthful conviction and nostalgia (kinda makes me think of the band Brian Adams was a part of in the song "Summer of '69"). But we all know the real reason to listen to this song is the chanting of 'Hail Satan!" at the end of it.

july the 4th

Oscar Wilde said that, "Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious." I am using that quote as an excuse to not care about being patriotic on this 4th day of the 7th month and just sit in my room and listen to music. I also decided to post some songs with America in the title (and yes, I just typed the word America into my iTunes search and picked the best ones).

America - M83

Cheesy drum machine + synths galore + 2 french guys = a song that somehow makes it onto a post on July 4th.

See America Right - The Mountain Goats

A song that is part of an album long story about a couple who get consumed by the drink in Tallahassee. A devastating portrait of the American dream turned on its head.

Surf Wax America - Weezer

Just to show I'm not all doom and gloom, here is one of the best summer songs ever. I can't explain why the lyrics "you take your car to work, I'll take my board" aren't cheesy, but when Rivers says them here (years before becoming a huge wank) he sounds genuine as can be.

MC Abstract Douchipster's 10 Songs

I figured for my first post I would put up 10 songs for one reason or another. Mostly these are just the songs I am into right now. Some have sentimental reasons, some are just songs I decided I wanted others to hear.

Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime - Beck

A song that means alot to me for certain reasons, but you might know it from the "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" soundtrack. Originally performed by a band called The Korgis, it's performed here by a scientologist named Beck Hansen. Try not to be moved by the vocal performance from Beck as he longs for lovin. Also, check the Jon Brion production (yes, that guy from the Kanye album) as he tries to do his best Nigel Godrich impersonation.

Peacocks - The Mountain Goats

I had alot of trouble picking just one song from this group as I have grown an obsession with John Darnielle's muppet-like voice. But the strength of his songs and lyrics make the voice endearing. Darnielle may not be a virtuoso on the guitar, but few people today are writing songs as personal and as craftful as he does on a regular basis.

I Would Hurt a Fly - Built to Spill

Built to Spill is one of the greatest bands of the 90s no doubt. Each song of thiers has more innovation, emotion, and kick ass sections than most bands out today have in thier entire catalogue. Also, singer/songwriter/guitarist Doug Martsch, is as close to an actual God as anyone in rock has ever been.

Get Set - Kano ft. Low Deep, Ghetto, Big Seac, and Demon

Time to change it up with one of the best MCs out of the truly blossoming UK hip-hop/grime scene. This song was featured on the compilation "Run the Road vol. 2" which was the sequel to one of the most important (and great) compilations to be released in the last 10 years. I originally heard this song from a guy named Mikey, and he liked it. I do too. The beat is sick, and the rhymes are too. This is the new age grime, indeed.

Little Derek - Sway

Sway is truly about to explode. He has more mainstream upside than any MC in England, he's got better rhymes than anyone out today, and he is a Newcastle United fan. All of this adds up to my favorite new artist and your future favorite new artist. I met him, too.

My Sentimental Melody - Magnetic Fields

Yes, the Magnetic Fields sing mostly love songs. Yes, the songs are written by Stephin Merritt, who is a homosexual. Yes, the love songs are mostly sung by a man about men. This should not stop anyone, straight or gay, from listening to this brilliant man. The melodies are perfect, the production is fantastic, and the lyrics are universal enough to appeal to anyone with a heart. HOLY SHIT, this guy can write the perfect love song.

Fog - Radiohead

Baby alligators, nuff said. I figured for my first post I had to put something by the greatest band in the world. This is probably my favorite Radiohead B-side because while it's too WIERD a song even for Radiohead to put on an album, it's also too GREAT a song to not love it. Radiohead gave experimentation a heart.

Death to Everyone - Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

Anyone who knows me could have guessed that there would be something by this guy here. This song is an acceptance of the most basic fact of life, that "it's gonna come". The production on this song (and on this whole album) makes you feel like you are sitting in a dark room with Bonnie (real name Will Oldham) as he sings this dark song to you, adding a creepy effect to an album with creepiness to spare. If you plan on listening to this guy alone at night, it is best to not be near any razors or ropes long enough to make a noose.

Bellona - Junior Boys

In a perfect world, this song would have OWNED dance floors when it came out. I can't really explain why I included this song here on my first post. I guess I just always thought these Canadians deserved more acclaim. Heart-felt vocals along with a glitchy dance beat all put into a pop song that owes as much to Daft Punk as it does to Timbaland.

R.A.G.U. - Ghostface Killah ft. Raekwon

Between me and the Green Hornet, this blog is definitely gonna have a strong predilection for the Wu-Tang clan and Wu associated projects. My favorite member of Wu recently put out arguably his best album and this is one of my favorite songs from it. This song could have fit in perfectly on Raekwon's album "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx". Raekwon's storytelling is as good as it has ever been, and no two MCs work together better than these two men. Fishscale is easily one of the best albums of 2006 and this song is a classic example of the genius of the Wu.