The Capitol Records building in Hollywood is (probably) going condo: [link]

I ... I can't believe I'm about to ask this:

If I really really REALLY like My Chemical Romance (Oh, hush. Stop giving me that look.), what other bands would you recommend to me?

(They're so ca-yute! And tortured! And surprisingly, talented musicians who care deeply about their fans, so I don't know if I'd actually like any other bands in their genre, but I figured I'd ask.)

While I can't answer Jilli's question, I *can* post my frankenmix. You are warned: these are the Liner Notes of DOOM. Also, this is handily posted over at my livejournal for anyone who wants to see the liner notes + artwork + download link. And it's emailed to BR@gmail. Here we go:

LIKE THE GHOST OF A HAND

The Categories:

1. The first song you'd put on a mix tape for somebody you were attracted to

11. A song with a year in the title

RACHEL YAMAGATA - 1963

Well, 11 is pretty obvious. But I've like Rachel Yamagata since her album first came out; she did for me in junior year what Fiona Apple did for me in high school--that is, give me a voice to sing to and emote with. But when you listen to this song, wouldn't you send it to your crush? It embodies that light, happy feeling I associate with new love. I find it to be magical/I feel like I'm loving you in 1963/Flowers in my hair/Little bitty hearts upon my cheek

2. A song that makes you think of BTVS that was never used on the show

DAWN LANDES - SUSPICION

It's got that slightly off, dark quality to it; while I think it's probably too far from mainstream for the producers to ever have actually used it on the show, can't you just imagine Buffy, hiding and looking beyond a brick wall at Faith, or Angel, or Xander and Willow, and thinking, "why can't I just be there?" If you can't, I can. Hence this song. suspicion, suspicion/can make you weak/like running, you're running/trying to speak

3. Cross-genre cover song (such as a soul musician covering a country song)

THE CHAPIN SISTERS - TOXIC

Anyone who's known me in the last four years knows that I developed a sort of pathetic adoration of Certain Pop Stars, of which, I confess, B. Spears was one. I also have a healthy love of covers of pop songs. This is really just one in a pretty large library of pop-goes-alternative covers I have, but it's also one of my favorites, because it really showcases that pop songs aren't really that simplistic or vapid in comparison to less mainstream artists. I mean, I'm never going to say that Britney's lyricists are The Magnetic Fields or anything, but I listen to this and I end up being haunted. The Chapin Sisters do a lovely job of conveying the longing/wary mix evident in this song. With the taste of your lips/I'm on a ride/You're toxic I'm slippin' under

4. Quotes another song, either in the music or words – bonus points if by the same artist

BARENAKED LADIES - BRIAN WILSON

Okay, I cheated on this. I had no idea what songs quoted another--I mean, the absolutely only one I could think of was "Like I Love You" (Justin Timberlake) where he does a shout-out to Pharell halfway through, but since I used Jup later, I didn't want to do so here. So I googled. And it turned out that, in this utterly random ode BNL did to the Beach Boys singer, they quote the title of a BB song. Plus, well. I love BNL. And if you want to find me I'll be out in the sandbox,/wondering where the hell all the love has gone./Playing my guitar and building castles in the sun,/and singing "Fun, Fun, Fun."

5. Makes you want to get high, drunk, or, if it's your druthers, dizzy & giddy from spinning around in circles KANE - THE HOUSE RULES

Okay, ya'll. Due to Recent Events in Fandom, I have become re-obsessed with this band. I mean, I liked Christian Kane a lot during his time on Angel, and like every other AtS fangirl out there I squeed all the way through CK singing at Lorne's. And when a couple tracks of CK started floating around, well, I got into those too. But I never looked any further until this month, when Supernatural fandom exploded and suddenly CK was everywhere--and everyone was sharing the music of his band, KANE. It's really good. Really, really good. (Though I'm getting some serious, "SA, what the hell are you listening to?" looks from my friends.) This song in particular is my pick-me-up song, my alternate-life song, where if I was, you know, completely (continued...)

( continues...) different, I'd probably be the chick goin' out to the honky-tonks on a Saturday night in Podunk, Tennessee. It's fun as hell to sing, and makes me want to exploit my youth and go out, get fucked up, raise some hell and kick up some shit. Around eleven o'clock when the front door locks/and the boys start raisin' the bottle/and the girls do the thing with the mardi gras beads/yeah, you know they're gonna show 'em if they got 'em

6. Features a great bridge

12. A song about traveling

PATRICK PARK - SOMETHING PRETTY

This song has more or less been attatched permanently to Firefly fandom because it more or less exemplifies Mal; which is how I came across it. It's twangy and alt-country and, completely randomly, it was on "The OC Mix 2" soundtrack. Go figure. But I love it becuase it's so desolate and lonely, and the first rising movement just makes me swoon, a little. Or, in my room, alone, wave my arms around and go, "YES! Yes! That's it, man, that's it!" At the most I’m a glare,/I’m the hopeless son who’s hardly there./I’m the open sign that’s always busted./I’m the friend you need, but can’t be trusted.

7. A song released the year you turned 21 (you didn't have to know about it then)

SPOON - I TURN MY CAMERA ON

And here, I show my age. Yeah, this was released last year in '05, and if you're a Veronica Mars fan, you probably heard it on the promos. Or, if you're like me and adore Spoon, you heard it from their latest album. It's got a sort of head-bopping beat and their trademark weird-but-catchy vocals. I dig it. Great walking music. Whe n I turn my feelings on /I turn my feelings on inside/Feel like I'm gonna ignite /I saw them stars go off

8. A song dedicated to your nemesis (or who you imagine your nemesis to be)

9. A song about committing a crime

10. A song from a tribute or charity album

JOAQUIN PHOENIX AS JOHNNY CASH - FOLSOM PRISON BLUES

Ha, three in one. Yeah, the "Walk the Line" soundtrack isn't *technically* a tribute album, except in the way that it totally is. I think it might be just a little blasphemous that I like Joaquin-as-Johnny as much as I do Johnny himself, but ce la vie. This is just such a great cover. And what worse nemesis is there than isolation, lonliness, and dependance? Plus, best line about crime ever. When I was just a baby,/My Mama told me, "Son,/Always be a good boy,/Don't ever play with guns,"/But I shot a man in Reno,/Just to watch him die

13. A song that does not feature a guitar or a piano as the main instrument

EDITH PIAF - LA FOULE

The accordion! Ha! This is from my month-long fling with French music, and what came out that was not only an appreciation for a language I will never be able to pronounce, but also Edith Piaf. She's like the Billie Holiday of France. I actually have no idea what the title means, or what any of the song means. But it's very pretty. Je revois la ville en fete et en delire/Suffoquant sous le soleil et sous la joie

14. A song by a band that you could have, but didn't, write about for Lost in The Grooves

26. A song by a band with an awful name

THE CAT EMPIRE - HELLO HELLO

I adore this crazy Australian band. They're funky and bouncy and groovy and have a name that means they will never go mainstream, until they do. For those of you who don't know what Lost in the Grooves is, well, it's a book by one of my favorite people ever and you should buy it right now. The premise is a book full over overlooked musical marvels, the best songs you've never heard. And I bet none of you have heard this, and it's great. Therefore: listen. Walking down the street/with some evil in my eye/and some thoughts in my head/that were making me feel high

15. An upbeat song about a sad thing.

THE POLICE - ROXANNE

Dude. Nothing better than a song you can dance to about a person in love with a prostitute he or she will never be able to be with. If this song needs more explaining, where have you been for the last twenty years? I loved you since I knew ya/I wouldn’t talk down to ya/I have to tell you just how I feel/I won’t share you with another boy

16. Midnight driving in the rain music.

GRANT LEE BUFFALO - MIGHTY JOE MOON

This is the perfect track for two very specific reasons: 1) this song is about the Kentucky/Tennessee border line, and since I pass the Cumberland Gap every time I go from home to school, I get a little thrill about this song; 2) I listened to this song in the middle of the night drive home last Friday and it was so ridiculously perfect for the mood I was in and the atmosphere of the night, there was no other choice. GLB (who has at least three separate versions of his name) has captured some of the slightly creepy rural beauty that is Apaplachia, and some of the legends that drive it. I love this track so very much. Have you been to the Cumberland Gap oh no/Fix your eyes on the green of the map oh no/Where the Appalachians rise oh no

17. More cowbell: A song containing that essential instrument

CAKE - SHORT SKIRT, LONG JACKET

I cheated on this one too! I have no ear for the cowbell. I used a list of songs-with-cowbells to find one that I not only liked, but actually owned. It's pretty surprising just how many songs include cowbells. Listen closely: it's really quite easy to hear when you're looking for it. Also, everyone loves this song. It's fun and weird and funky. With fingernails that shine like justice/and a voice that is dark like tainted glass/She is fast, thorough, and sharp as a tack/She’s touring the facilities and picking up the slack/I want a girl with a short skirt and a long, long jacket

18. A song that reminds you of your first love

MICHAEL JACKSON - THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL

My first love was Matthew Goldberg, a sort of step-cousin (but not really, because he was the son of my dad's ex-wife's before he and my mother married's sister and they sort of kept in touch but only occasionally and matt and I were in the same grade; welcome to tennesse.) He had the Michael Jackson 2-disc HIStory cds (shut up, I know I'm showing my age) and we used to listen to them in his room and never-but-almost fool around; and I wanted so badly for him to tape them for me because I didn't have a cd player and I loved good ol' MJ. But then Matt moved away, and it took ten years before I got the cds for myself. Hey pretty baby with the/High heels on/You give me fever/Like I’ve (continued...)

( continues...)

never, ever known

19. A song that references some kind of technology

COLDPLAY - PARACHUTES

This is a punk-ass song choice, and I know it. Not only is it only 46 seconds long, it has barely any words. But a parachute is technology, yo. And this is what happens when you work in 80 minute limits. in a haze, a stormy haze

20. A song with a chorus that compels you to sing along or that you cannot not dance to

OK GO - A MILLION WAYS

FUCKING LOVE THIS BAND. Okay, not only do I sing along with this song no matter *where* I am, in the car, on the sidewalk, or in the classroom, when the *band memebers* dance to the song, you know you have to as well. Cutting, edgy, dancey, and just all-around kickass. As soon as the first guitar lead comes on, I'm in heaven. And then the CHORUS! Sit back, matter of fact, teasing, toying, turning, chatting, charming, hissing, playing the crowd./Play that song again, another couple Klonopin, a nod, a glance, a half-hearted bow./Oh such grace, oh such beauty, and lipstick and callous and fishnets and malice./Oh Darling, you're a million ways to be cruel.

21. A song that starts with a bassline

CARMEN MCRAE - JUST A LITTLE LOVIN'

Well, I have no idea where I got this song, but I got it recently, and I just adore it. It's surprising, for me, that one single phrase repeated for three minutes can get neither boring or repetitive, but there's gotta be something in the music, because this is three minutes of pure audital pleasure. Love. just a little lovin'/early in the morning

22. A song that relates to science

RYAN ADAMS - POLITICAL SCIENTIST

Another punk choice. But, as Mr. Name-Removed-to-Protect-the-Fucktard would tell me, "Political science is a social science." Therefore, this song. And, I confess, I really did want to get some Ryan Adams on here. She forgets to write him anyway/What's red and white and nearly over/Political scientist

23. A song you sing (or would sing) to your pet and/or child

SIMON AND GARFUNKEL - The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)

This is the song my momma used to sing to get me to sleep. I wish she still did. I love this song, so, so much. It's what I will one day sing to my children. I grew up on Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel; I think, in many ways, S&G (also with a healthy dose of the Gilberto family and other Brazilian jazz artists) defined the framework I have for music in my mind. I got no deeds to do, no promises to keep/I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep

24. A song that haunts you

BILLIE HOLIDAY - NO GOOD MAN

I honestly believe that Holiday didn't record anything I wouldn't find haunting. She simply has that quality about her. The slow, building emotion that sweeps you away; the way you feel for her as if you were experiencing what she is describing yourself. This song speaks to me of Georgia and sweet tea, summer garden parties and the girl that wants to get away but her momma won't let her because it's good for the family. Her sadness is palpable. I ought to hate him and yet I love him so/For I require/Love that’s made of fire/And in his arms/I find/I always get that kind

25. A song that you would sing to yourself if you were ever in a dire situation and needed it to keep going FIONA APPLE - PAPER BAG

This song is in here for three reasons: 1) Fiona Apple defined my high school experience; 2) this song, despite being depressing, has the kind of wry pessimism I find oddly comforting; 3) this is the only song I actually know all the words to and is in my range, so that I could feasibly belt it out at a moment's notice (and have). But then the dove of hope began its downward slope/And I believed for a moment that my chances/Were approaching to be grabbed/But as it came down near, so did a weary tear/I thought it was a bird, but it was just a paper bag

27. A song that even when you know it's time to LEAVE the BAR someone can put on the jukebox to make you stay

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE - CRY ME A (continued...)

( continues...) RIVER

This has *been* my last call song. Okay, I take back one thing from number 25--I do know all the words to this song (as I do every word on this album, JC Chasez's album, and all three NSync albums) but this boy is so far out of my range that I have to have the music to sing it, hence number 25. I promise you, for anyone who has any aspirations to go out drinking with me to the point of utter intoxication, if you say "SA, we must leave! We have work/school/war tomorrow!" and Justin Timberlake comes on the jukebox, I will say (stumblingly and drunkenly) "NO! The world waits for Juppy!" and proceed to not only sing every word, but boogie like there's no tomorrow. Conversely, if someone wants to *keep* me at the bar when I'm trying to leave for work/school/war, this will have the same effect. In a certain way, J. Timberlake (or JC Chasez, or NSync) is my kryptonite. While I hope all of you already own this song, I understand the sad truth that some poor souls haven't been converted to the Way of the Jup, but that's okay. "Cry Me a River" is here for you. We'll get you through it. I know that they say/That somethings are better left unsaid/It wasn't like you only talked to him and you know it/(Don't act like you don't know it)

SA, the Edith Piaf song is "The Crowd", and the line you quoted goes:

"I see again the city in festival and delight/suffocating beneath the sun and beneath joy."

What a life she had.

[link]

If I really really REALLY like My Chemical Romance (Oh, hush. Stop giving me that look.), what other bands would you recommend to me?

I've had "Helena" stuck in my head for a few days now after hearing it on the radio a couple times. They do remind me of other bands (in that before I knew it was them, I couldn't remember who it was by but thought I knew), but I can't think of which. For some reason, The Used is coming to mind, but I haven't heard but one song by them a long time ago and I didn't really like it, so I think they may just be connected temporally.

Also, tina, I noticed you were getting into Ladytron back in...November. I love Ladytron a whole lot. If you're still interested, nearly every track on 604 is great ("Playgirl" was my first and the one that hooked me), and I second Broom's rec of "Seventeen," and I highly highly recommend "Blue Jeans," which is just gorgeous.

Oh, and I figure people in here might care: I bought the Sneaker Pimps' Becoming X the other day at Half-Price Books. Curse me for going ten years without "Low Place Like Home."

The 59th Street Bridge Song

This was going to be my song with a great bridge if I got stuck. ;)