Friday Random Ten, Back to a Norm

Woke up, got online, shuffled the iPod (takes a while; now at 18,503 songs - I worked on culling out lousy ones from comps I put on there en masse), and here's what came out:


1. "Calypso Bop" - The Emanons - Jungle Exotica

One of a million good, cool, obscure '60s instrumentals. A bit distinguished by the (vaguely) calypso beat.


2. "Thoughts and Words" - The Byrds - Younger Than Yesterday

Lovely song -- I'm a little put off by the odd swing into a major-key chorus, but it's okay. I used to have a strange, unreasonable dislike of this group, based entirely on "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn Turn Turn." I've gotten over that, not least because The Byrds went through so many lineup/stylistic changes, it's hard to just say you have a blanket dislike for them -- maybe for a certain version of them, but for everything they did?

Some funny backwards guitar on the break . . . oh, and on the final chorus repeat now and outchorus. Kinda out of place but it works somehow.


3. "Caroline" - The Fortunes - Beat of the Pops 01

From another downloaded comp of pop songs. Not quite "Walk Like a Man" on the intro, but an incredible simulation. Dopey. Almost bubblegum, but without any of the interesting production you usually find in bubblegum music. Completely by-the-numbers. Not calculated, I think these guys mean it, but they don't seem to have an original bone in their bodies.

Short, at least - 1:59. Worth keeping just for variety.


4. "Save Your Kisses for Me" - Brotherhood of Man - Bubblegum Classics Volume 2

Ah, speaking of bubblegum music! Here's how you do a fun, silly pop song. Massive stereo separation, beautifully-recorded drums (great full kick drum sound!), "Penny Lane"-imitative horns (all over on the left channel), syrupy but PRECISE strings.

Oooh. Damn it ends on a cheesoid lyrical/musical conceit. Okay, that sours the whole thing somewhat. Ick.


5. "Mask of Death" - J. Trombey - Dawn of the Dead

Stock library cue used by George Romero in the 1979 movie - someone online put together a great comp of all the library tracks he used into an alternate soundtrack (as opposed to the one that just has the original score tracks by Goblin).

Trying to remember where this track shows up in the film. I think it's when the heroes are refilling the helicopter at the deserted airport before getting to the mall.

Oh, there's a second bit to it that's definitely the first scene where they're checking out the stores in the mall.

And now a third section used in another place in the film. Romero really chopped this one up to use well in three or more places. Actually this one's a bit long and sedate to keep on the iPod - I need to have it somewhere as potential backing for a show, but it's not much to listen to in this context.


6. "Blarney's Stoned" - Alan Hawkshaw - The Sound Gallery Volume One

On the other hand, here's exactly the kind of instrumental to keep. Late '60s UK jazz-pop. Love this stuff.


7. "Darts of Pleasure" - Franz Ferdinand - Die Fetten Jahre Sind Vorbei

Oh, goodness gracious, something by an actual current rock band of some repute and popularity! There goes my cool hipster rep!

I like this band, though I only have this song by them and have heard a handful of others (one of them is in our Dance Dance Revolution game and tends to get stuck in Berit's and my heads). Got this from what appears to have been the soundtrack to some German film - it had LOTS of good tracks of many styles/periods. B & I always say we have to get more by them, but we never get around to it.


8. "Mary" - Brazilian Bitles - Antologia

As their name might suggest, a '60s group from Brazil specializing in Beatles covers (or Beatles-style songs) in Portuguese. Actually pretty good. This one is "I've Just Seen a Face" ("Mary" takes the place of "falling"). Probably lyrically nothing to do with the original, of course. Yeah, nicely done.


9. "Gee Girl" - Andy Kim - Bubblegum Classics Volume 5

Jeez, what is this with the easy-listening mix this morning? This is another fun bubblegum song, but damn I'd like something with some balls for chrissake!

Actually a rather pretty one, with a simple, elegant arrangement. But come on, yesterday on the train I had a great mix of stuff that included songs like this with Frank Zappa, The Stooges, Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, and The Yardbirds. Where's some of that?


10. "I Am the Walker" - The Creation - How Does It Feel to Feel?

Well, not here, but close. It's a "nugget" and I dug it.

A bit busy, really, lots of ideas in search of a song -- feels like two different "verse" ideas spliced together with a chorus from somewhere else. Oh, really pretty outchorus.


Well, enough of that. Got a few more posts to get to, and a big housecleaning to do before the parents come by tomorrow. Whee.

Friday Cat Bogging - Hooker, The Sickly Boy

So, Hooker's been bugged by something with his left ear for a while now, and we were intending to take him to the vet next week about it. We figured it was ear mites again -- when we got Moni (a street stray) she brought them in. We had to do a program of ear drops and cleaning with both of them for a while (not fun), and it seemed to go away.

Then, he was scratching the one ear all the time. So, we thought the mites were back -- though it seemed odd that it was just the one ear on him, and she didn't have them at all.



So, vet next week. We thought. Then yesterday he jumped on my lap while I was at the computer, looked me in the eye, and mewed a few times -- his usual demand for attention. I started by scratching his ears as usual, and got a surprise. His left ear was swollen and felt like there was a grape inside it. I immediately called the vet.

The woman on the phone, once I described it, said it was pretty obviously an aural hematoma and I should bring him in at once. So Berit and I rescheduled our 6.30 pm meeting for 10.00 pm (upcoming theatre tech job, more on that soon), and got Hooker over to our vet.



Aural hematomas usually come when a cat has an ear irritation of some kind (mites, infection, etc.) and is scratching it all the time. Hooker, it turns out, doesn't have mites, he has an infection. So, we're back to two kinds of drops in his ears and a liquid antibiotic squirted in his mouth twice daily. Yeah, big fun. Odd, he'll sit perfectly still in Berit's lap and let her cut his claws, but the ears? God, he hates it. We're gonna have claw marks all over us the next few weeks.

As a reward after the drops, we give him (and Moni, as we can't avoid it) some soft food. Which also means that for the next few weeks, every time we go into the kitchen, we will be followed by two yowling cats, who think it means they get a special treat now.



We could go for surgery on the ear to deal with the hematoma, but really that's just for cosmetic purposes. It'll go away by itself, and with the ear infection dealt with, it shouldn't return. However, he will have a deformed ear. Kind of a boxer's or cauliflower ear. Oh, well. He'll still be cute.

Also, as he has a heart murmur and epilepsy, surgery is slightly risky, and as there's no risk in letting it heal on its own, no choice for us as far as we could see. He seems such a hale, hearty boy, it's weird that he's the sickly one. She was an emaciated street stray, who's still stunted, and looks like the one who should have the problems, but it's the big bruiser we keep schlepping to the vet.



So, deformed ear to come. Here are shots where you can mostly see it in it's once-perfect form.

Now it's time for the drops. Wish us luck. Godspeed.