Singing In My Sleep

Dispatches: Michael Jackson 1958-2009

July 14th, 2009 § 3

Fig. 1: Michael Jackson, seventh of nine kids/lead singer of the Jackson five

On the afternoon of June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson suffered cardiac arrest at his rented home Los Angeles. He was pronounced dead two hours later. At the age of fifty, one of the music industry’s brightest stars burned out, and in its wake we witnessed possibly the most modern death our collective consciousness has ever experienced.

The day’s already been taken to “where were you when it happened” proportions. I suppose I’ll always remember the moment my roommate ran downstairs to tell me the news. Early in the afternoon, only web-rag news outlet TMZ was reporting MJ dead – in a conflicting account, the AP declared he had just slipped into a coma. We tuned in to CNN for confirmation, catching the start of the media blitz: helicopter shots of hundreds of people (and already one Michael impersonator) gathering outside the UCLA Medical Center. I scoured the Internet, refreshing the LA Times website every few seconds. My roommate started checking celebrity Twitters accounts. Before I’d heard the news, I was supposed to be heading to a meeting downtown. There was no doubt I’d be late.

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Back in full swing!

July 11th, 2009 § 0

To all the people/spambots that follow this blog:

After a month long hiatus from working on Singing In My Sleep, I’m back to trying to get a few posts in a week. The list that I just put up turned out to be the longest to date, and beyond having to come up with all those images, I’d had a busy June in my proffesional life. Please keep on checking back, as I promise to be back on my game as far as the site is concerned. Also, a reminder to all non-spambots to please comment and get discussions going on the comments section of every post. Word.

Thanks much for your continued readership and support.

Best,

Joaquin

Top Ten Most Awkward Inter-Band Message Songs

July 11th, 2009 § 7

What follows is a list of the top ten most awkward inter-band message songs. These songs are the bi-product of turmoil within some of the greatest acts in rock’s annals. Most of these cases are intrinsically tied to crumbling relationships (romantic and otherwise) and crisscrossed lines of miscommunication; they are the stuff of fan speculation and infamous innuendo. These are the stories of the personal train wrecks that have led to some great songs (and some awkward lyrics). These are not merely dis songs. These songs are much rarer, mostly because a veil of subtlety must be applied when writing a song about the failings one of your co-workers. Making them even harder to pin down is the fact that most musicians would never admit to penning a song about their own bandmates.

The rules are simple: to be included on the list, the song must have been written by someone within a band or musical partnership about someone else within that band or musical partnership, usually with the intent to send that person a message. No songs written after the parties have exited a band can be included (John Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep?,” for example, would not make the cut), nor can songs that were made awkward retroactively after a bad breakup (so Carly Simon and James Taylor’s cover of “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You,” can’t be counted, although it was later made awkward by an acrimonious divorce). The songs are counted down from ten to one, least to most awkward.

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7. Bon Iver - For Emma

May 27th, 2009 § 1

Fig. 1: Justin Vernon, singer/songwriter/cabin dweller

I’ve listened to Bon Iver’s “For Emma” a good ten times today. I’ll definitely listen to it another ten times tomorrow. I’ll most probably extend the run the day after that. A bit ago, I finally kowtowed to a year’s worth of good reviews and bought For Emma, Forever Ago. I’ve only had the album a month now, but in that month, the song has passed the rest of the cuts on the album and shot to the top of my personal charts (AKA my Itunes “Top 25 Most Played” playlist). I’ve been playing this song on repeat, non-stop for about a week or two now, and the trend doesn’t really have an end in sight.

This really isn’t a new phenomenon by any means. I do this sort of thing all the time. I’ll hear a song once, get hooked onto something about it, and decide I need to hear it roughly a million more times, consecutively. I’ll listen to it at home, in the office and in my car. Roommates, neighbors and my own tired ear drums can’t be spared the constant barrage: the same old chords, those identical hooks, the familiar sound of my finger pressing “back” on my Ipod’s click-wheel. And one day, just like that, the constant play will cease. I’ll go back to being a normal person with normal listening habits – until the day I get hooked onto another song.

Strange? Maybe. A bit compulsive? Definitely. A singular pattern of behavior? Certainly not.

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Dispatches: Long Haired Blues

May 25th, 2009 § 0

Fig. 1: 50 Cent, rapper/impresario/dude who got shot nine times

Recently, authorities in Florida reported that a young aspiring rapper perpetrated a series of stickups in the Gainesville area. The hip-hop wannabe had successfully robbed a Hungry Howie’s Pizza joint but was caught after a botched attempt to case a convenience store. The reason for the crimes? Not some hard luck story about the sad state of the economy. No malicious revenge plot. Not even an affinity for Hungry Howie’s famous flavored crust. When the hoodlum was asked why he did it, he had only two words for police.

Street cred.

Yes, street cred. In the world of hip-hop, street cred is a major factor in any rapper’s success story. It destroyed Vanilla Ice. It catapulted 50 Cent to stardom. It’s possible that Curtis Jackson may be the only individual who could say that getting shot nine times could produce positive results. Street cred can’t be faked. It’s respect within the community - to truly be of the people and with the people. In other music scenes, respect and credibility is tangibly estimated, just as in rap, but in a different fashion. In fact, it may be determined by fashion itself. Fashion and style may not dictate credibility, but it’s the clearest indicator. Of course, anybody could go into a thrift store and walk out with a youth athletic league t-shirt, and tight jeans, but that doesn’t give that person “indie rock street cred”. So what does? What, besides knowledge of the complete working knowledge of the discographies of Yo La Tengo and Pavement allows one to walk their way through a indie rock show naturally and coolly?

Simply put: it’s the hair.

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5. The Top Ten Albums That Have Changed My Life (So Far): The Strokes - Is This It (UK version)

May 21st, 2009 § 0

Fig. 1: Julian Casablancas, Stroke/frontman/Converse spokesperson

Growing up as a music fan in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, I heard a lot about the untimely death of rock and roll. An excessive amount of my time was spent listening to music critics and artists alike lamenting the fate that had befallen rock music since the fall of grunge. Moreover, I spent about as much time listening to these same commentators (much like Yoda) predicting the emergence of “another”. What they got was disappointment in the form of Marilyn Manson and Hole (both harder acts that streamlined their sound for mass consumption but still failed to bring balance to the Force) and salt in the wound in the form of Limp Bizkit and their cock rock peers. But with the new millennium came the light in the emergence of the “the” bands. They were fresh, garage dwelling, thrift store clad boys (and Karen O.) led by a bunch of greasy haired kids from New York City - and they were here to save rock and roll.
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6. The Smiths - How Soon Is Now?

May 14th, 2009 § 0

Click above for the second SIMS comic!

1. What You’re Listening To

April 29th, 2009 § 2

Fig. 1: Sam

Spotted: At the Ra’anana Immigration Absorption Center (via video chat) in Ra’anana, Israel, at 3:31 PM, March 31, 2009

SIMS: What’s your name?
S: My name’s Sam.

SIMS: What do you do?
S: I work at an Israeli production company called Media Communication.

SIMS: What are you listening to?
S: I’m listening to “Evil Urges” by My Morning Jacket.

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New “What You’re Listening To” Format

April 29th, 2009 § 0

Hey all -

Just wanted to clarify that I am 1) establishing a new format for the “What You’re Listening To” segment (so that they come in batches now instead of individually) and that 2) I will be reposting the first “What You’re Listening To” in this first batch and deleting the older post. I wanted to make sure no one was confused by any of this, meaning I am assuming people read this blog enough to be confused by such dealings, which may or may not be presumptuous. Check it out!

-Joaquin

Dispatches: Big American Assholes

April 16th, 2009 § 0

Fig. 1: Wes Scantlin, frontman of Puddle of Mud/international rock star

Blogger’s note: Excerpted from my old travel blog. Written June 2008 (Pre-Obama and the rest of the world liking the US again).

It’s the summer of 2008 and I’m backpacking through Europe. At the moment, I’m in London England.

One morning, I’m perched on top of a stool at the bar attached to my hostel having a pint. Suddenly, I get this really uneasy feeling in my stomach. At first I think it may be the fish or the chips or both on my plate, but then I realize it’s the fact that Puddle of Mud has just come over the stereo at a really unnecessary volume. After a bit, the song fades out along with the overwhelming desire to attack my own ears with a pick axe. The feeling returned pretty much instantly returns a second later when Limp Bizkit comes on.

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