Tuesday Tracks with Nick

Two Nicks rocking out to Dire Straits. I was so hardcore back then...

5 amazing songs. 1 crappy day of the week. This isn't a top-5 list. These aren't even my favorite songs. But they're songs that I'm listening to right now or songs that I feel need to be listened to. I imagine that I probably could turn this into a wonderful weekly post. But I'm probably never going to be motivated to do this again on a Tuesday, so there's a good chance that this might not appear next time on a Tuesday. There might not be music. It might not appear again at all. Enjoy.


1) "Celebrated Summer"- Hüsker Dü

For some reason, for the past month (maybe 2), I've been getting into what I like to call "Pre-Nirvana Alternative", which is a bit of a misnomer because the label wasn't widely used yet. This is also a bit of a change of pace and style for me. As anyone who's been in my room knows, I've got two posters: one Iron & Wine poster and another Explosions in the Sky poster. (I also have a Flight of the Conchords poster, but does that really count?) Neither band is really pushing speed records, and while EitS is oozing with melancholy and ennui, they are lacking in the anger and angst department. It's been pleasantly surprising to see how much I've been listening to Hüsker Dü. There is nothing like going down the highway with your windows down (not by choice though, my AC is broken) and this blaring as you go 70 mph. In fact, as the tempo picks back up after the interlude, I have found myself all too often subconsciously pressing the accelerator even more. Before I knew it, I was hitting 85 or 90. Hüsker Dü will be the world's first band to coerce someone to get a ticket without the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Anyway, this band was a direct influence on Nirvana and another band that will pop up later, the Pixies.


2) "The Sun"- The Naked and Famous

This is more of a plug for TNaF's whole album than this particular song. On Passive Me, Aggressive You, there really isn't a weak song. According to my iTunes, it is 49.2 minutes of pure electro-pop-rock joy. And I haven't even shown you "Punching in a Dream", "Young Blood", or "Girls Like You". Do yourself a favor and download this whole album. Then do yourself another favor and go to your room, close the door, and watch this version of "The Sun" (Warning: NSFW). While they went for more "naked" than "famous" in this video, the end result is visually stunning. And oh yeah, hehe, boobs.


3) "If I Can't Change Your Mind"- Sugar

Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you the most perfect pop song ever written. No, it might not have the beat or danceability of a Lady Gaga song, and Bob Mould (who was also the guitarist for Hüsker Dü) is no Justin Bieber, but it is pop in it's purest and sweetest form. While it might not be musically daring, especially by today's standards, it is simple and straightforward. The acoustic (12 string?) guitar hook brings you in, and the lyrics make you stay. Like most pop songs, it's about love, particularly the unrequited variety. The words seem almost quaint,

And all throughout the years
I've never strayed from you my dear
But you suspect I'm somewhere else
You're feeling sorry for yourself
Leaving with a broken heart
I love you even still
But if I can't change your mind
Then no one will

This is something that seems to be missing in today's pop music. There is very little pretense anymore. As the AV Club put it, "I don't mean to be rude, but...music is fucking you tonight whether you like it or not. It's just going to happen". And, yes, while lyrics like "Leaving with a broken heart/I love you even still" sound a bit naive, isn't it nice just to hear it and smile, even for a little bit? In fact, romantic dedication as a musical theme appears so little now, you almost want to transport yourself back 1992, when the very thing seemed possible. (Yes, 3-year old Nick still believed in true love back then. It wasn't until I had my heart broken in kindergarten that I started drinking the whiskey to drown my sorrows...)

A second-by-second analysis á la Chuck Klosterman:

0:00 - 0:05 I'm glad to know that everything in the 90s had a nice, sunny golden hue. In fact, if you only saw music videos from that time, you'd assume that behind the Berlin Wall there was a giant flashlight, which bathed the world in an evening glow.

0:05 - 0:09 Apparently, Bob Mould came up with the That 70's Show circle 7 years before the show even existed. I can only hope he got royalties from that. Come on, it launched the careers (?) of Ashton Kutcher and Topher Grace. He should be banking.

0:09 - Rest of Video I know that I said that this is probably one of the most lyrically heartwarming videos I have ever heard, but we just take a look for one second at Bob Mould's eyes throughout pretty much the entire video? Dear God, hey Subject of the song! DO NOT change your mind! When you get back and feel all sorry for thinking about how he was sleeping around on you, he's probably going to kill you. There are only two possibilities here: Either he is drunk and that's his "drunk look" or he's rather pissed off that you've been telling the whole town that he's been having an affair. Either way, this is only going to end in a hospital.

Bonus: A solo "cover" by Bob Mould and a cover by the Decemberists!


4) "Landungsbrücken raus" - Kettcar

Dieses Video ist einfach meine Ausrede, einen Beitrag auf Deutsch zu schreiben. Ich kann jetzt schon meine Freunde hören (Goddamnit, Nick! You German spy!) Ich wollte eigentlich seit langem einen deutschen Post schreiben, aber ich hatte noch nicht die Gelegenheit. Ich hab dieses Lied ausgewählt, weil das mich immer an Deutschland erinnert, wenn ich das zuhöre. Ehrlich bin ich noch nie in Hamburg (Muss sich bald ändern!), aber wenn ich an Deutschland denke, kommt mir diegleiche Bilder vor. Schnee. Keine Sonne. Es ist bei uns hier in Texas gerade 37 Grad Celsius. Solche Bilder verdienen auf jeden Fall applaus. Naja, der Text ist ein bisschen melancholich aber ist das auch nicht manchmal Deutschland?


5) "Don't Watch Me Dancing" - Little Joy

Ahh, another song that reminds me of Germany. This whole album got me through the first 2 weeks of living in the student dorms in Tübingen without internet. I sit at my desk play a dumb strategy computer game (like the ones our parents play) and listen to this album. This song always stood out to me, probably because of the singer's delicate voice. Also, maybe, because I can relate to the song. "Don't watch me dancing" is probably what I should be screaming at the top of my lungs whenever I (poorly) attempt to dance. However, if I'm dancing, I'm probably already too drunk to care by that point. But the song also touches the sensitive, maybe even romantic part of me that I (unfortunately) have. The song is about a dancer who catches the eye of a guy who's too shy to talk to her, but he works up the courage and things somehow workout happily ever after. Sounds great and heartwarming, just like "If I Can't Change Your Mind", however it almost pushes the sappiness too far. At the end of the song, I think I'd rather be Jackal Onassis, banging women and living the rockstar lifestyle without caring. But then again, that's not me. No matter what, I'll probably always be that guy who can listen to songs like "Don't Watch Me Dancing" and "If I Can't Change Your Mind".

-Nick (Everybody just chill!)