When life seems full of of clouds and rainAnd I'm full of nothin' but painWho soothes my thumpin' bumpin' brain?Nobody

I have been on a massive uploading project, in a quest to fill my iPod.

I have loaded around half my cds so far, and the tally stands at 2078 songs, 9.28 gigs... which clocks in at around 5.7 straight days of music.

By the time I finish, it should be double that.

It has been an interesting project and a pleasant diversion from the Bullshit in the Bayou, as well as from another Top Secret Project that is putting a terrible strain on my 6 remaining brain cells. They are currently engaged in a mutiny and are trying to escape through my left eye.

In the past, I would have quelled such a rebellion by indiscriminately killing off a few million of them, but now that there are only six left, I have to handle them with Kid Gloves.

Anyway, as I sift through all of this music, I have rediscovered some great music that I have forgotten about. I also have a new appreciation for the lost art of the "album." For you youngsters, musical artists used to record entire "albums" that were worth hearing. That means you would throw on the "album" (disc) and listen to the whole thing.

The Rolling Stones were masters of this lost art. (Emphasis on "were." See, e.g., Exile On Main Street, Sticky Fingers, Beggar's Banquet, Some Girls and Let It Bleed) So were the Beatles and Led Zeppelin (see, e.g., Rubber Soul, Revolver,, Abbey Road and II, III, Physical Graffiti and Houses of the Holy.)

In more recent times, say, during the last 15 years, Nirvana managed to smack a few out of the park as well. (Emphasis on "smack." See, e.g., Nevermind, Incesticide, Unplugged and In Utero.) Radiohead, Pearl Jam, U2, the Beastie Boys (now, the uninitiated, narrow-minded among ye are saying, "WTF? The Beastie Boys? Pick up Paul's Boutique, or ask me nicely and I will burn you a copy. It is the best hip hop album ever made. Trust me on this one.) and the Chili Peppers have also managed this feat on more than one occasion.

A few truisms apply in any era of music:

1. Johnny Cash rules. Know it. Live it. Don't forget it.
2. If you haven't listened to The Unforgettable Fire in a while, do so. It still holds up.
3. Tenacious D have recorded the 2 best songs ever about Sausage and Fucking, respectively.
4. Jay Z is the H-to-the Izzo-vah, Nelly has some damn catchy tunes and Snoop can kick it old school, but Dr. Dre is the King Who Begat Them All.
5. Nobody currently recording music makes better alone-in-the-car-volume-all-the-way-up-sing-along-at-the-top-of-your-lungs-and-not-give-a-flying-fuck music than Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters. Nobody. (There is a reason one of his lyrics were the first title on the first entry of this blog.)
6. Back when he was black, and human, Michael Jackson created the greatest grooves since James Brown in Billie Jean. I hated it at the time, but I listen now, and it is amazing. Dr. Dre could cut that track up and make, like, 50 songs out of it.
7. And speaking of James Brown, give the drummer some, baby.
8. Has anyone ever gone from Great to What The Fuck Was He Thinking and back to Great more times than David Bowie?
9. "I'm a street-walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm" is the Most Bad Ass Lyric in history. Thank God for Iggy Pop. (There is a reason this was the second lyric used on this blog.)
10. My running pace (8-ish minutes per mile) matches the rhythm of the Strokes first album.


Well, I could go on all day, but Will Friggin' Danger and family are rolling into town in a couple hours.

Keep it real.