It's been a bad week for pigs

It's been a bad week for pigs.

But then again, music wise, it's never really been a good week for pigs. Granted, pigs aren't alone in this category, yet, were there such a thing, they would surely take first prize. Fascist pig, Filthy pig. Fat pig. Stupid pig etc etc. Hell, even the Three Little Pigs (lets face it) were assholes. In acknowledgement of that unhappy fact and in tribute to our little pink friends, Letters Have No Arms takes a look at pigs in song.
 

 

'You were right
I was battling you, trying to prove myself
I tried to bury you with guilt; I wanted to prove you wrong
I've got nothing better to do than pay too much attention to you
It's sad, but it's not your fault
Self-righteous and rude
I guess I lost that cool
Tapping 'til I drive you insane
I'm self-righteous, but never right
So laid back, but so uptight
Destroying your patience to tolerate me
With all the negative spirit I bring'

 

Sebadoh - The Freed Pig

 

'I wanna try and fly
I wanna try and die
I wanna be a pig
I wanna fuck a car'
 

Sparklehorse - Pig
 

'hey pig
yeah you
hey pig piggy pig pig pig
all of my fears came true
black and blue and broken bones you left me here all alone
my little piggy needed something new'
 

Nine Inch Nails - Piggy
 

 'when i was a baby i was so happy
i played with my friends in the mud'

Weezer - Pig

'Breathe in
you gotta read my clues for you to follow
cos when everything goes black again
nothing really matters anymore
could tear at any moment
penetrate
could tear at any moment
attack attack.'

 White Rose Movement - Pig Heil Jam

Other People's Songs

So we haven't done a covers post in quite a long time and were feeling quite guilty so we're gonna make up for it. And our timing is perfect because...

The Sarcastic Dharma Society
...happen to have a new covers album out. I have good news and even better news and amazing news about it, which one do you want to hear first? The good news is that we're talking covers of such artists as Julie Doiron, Why?, Mount Eerie, and Pedro the Lion. Even better news is the fact that you can download the whole thing over at cllct.com. How about I tell you the best news about the album then? Here goes: It's good.

Bad Bad Things (Andrew Jackson Jihad Cover)
"And then I grabbed the knife and I let the blood out of your throat
And I smashed those tiny mirrors inside of your skull
And I got to thinking: if I don't go to hell when I die I might go to heaven"

Simeon's Dilemma (Why? Cover)
"But I still hear your name in wedding bells
Will I look better or will I look the same rotting in hell?
You're the only proper noun I need; hurry."

First Day of My Life (Bright Eyes Cover)
"This is the first day of my life
Glad I didn't die before I met you
Now I don't care, I could go anywhere with you and I'd probably be happy"

Other cool covers that either are or will soon be embarking on a 'round the blog in 80 days mission:


Little Pictures - Buddy Holly (Weezer Cover)

We Are Scientists - Hoppipolla (Sigur Ros Cover)

Dawn Landes - Young Folks (Peter, Bjorn and John Cover)

Zooey - Father to a Sister of Thought (Pavement Cover)

The Twilight Sad - Half a Person (The Smiths Cover)

Emiliana Torrini - Sound of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel)

Ian McGlynn - Mistaken for Strangers (The National Cover)

First Aid Kit - Tiger Mountain Peasant Song (Fleet Foxes)

Winter Gloves - Someone Great (LCD Soundsystem Cover)



*illustrations on the left by Maxwell Loren Holyoke Hirsch (yes, I know, with that name how can you not be talented?)

Christmas Post #112: Christmas is... Presents!

Weezer - The Christmas Song
Cocoon - Christmas Song
Irene - Christmas On the Beach

Via Audio - Presents
I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business - The Best Happiness Money Can Buy
El Perro Del Mar - You Can't Steal a Gift
Low - One Special Gift
Doris Day - Christmas Present


*illustrations by the wonderful Betsy Streeter*

Also see:
Christmas Post #111: Christmas is... Snow!
Christmas Post #113: Christmas is... Home!
Christmas Post #114: The Things That Really Matter

Summer Here Kids! (part 1)

"It can't be just me
That's working it out
These songs that we've chosen
And what they're about
 

Are we after the same thing?
Am I crossing a line?
I'm checking the lyrics
I'm pressing rewind

All through the night
They begin to take shape
From the crack of the vinyl
To the hiss of the tape!

Play and record
Held down together
Tabs pushed off
So you can't tape over it ever

A couple of friends
Hanging out with each other
Just swapping songs
To soundtrack our summer"  

Art Brut - Sound of Summer

 

Grandaddy - Summer Here Kids

   

    "Ice baby,
I saw your girlfriend and she was
Eating her fingers like they’re just another meal
But she waits there
In the levee washes
Mixin’ cocktails with a plastic-tipped cigar"

Pavement - Summer Babe (Winter version)

   

    "That summer feeling is gonna haunt you the rest of your life"

Jonathan Richman - That Summer Feeling

    

 "On an island in the sun
We'll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can't control my brain"

Weezer - Island in the Sun

A little folkier than the original:

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The Brooke, A Tiny Ocean:

"Jamie" (Weezer)

from the 'Roaring Nineties' compilation -

download it for free from cllct!

Bonnie Prince Billy:

"World`s Greatest" (R Kelly)
from his 2007 album "Ask Forgiveness"

Emmy the Great:

"Where Is My Mind?" (Pixies)

Existential Hero:

"If Winter Ends" (Bright Eyes)

from his cover album "Barely Covered" -

download it at cllct

Mallu Magalhaes:

"Folsom Prison Blues" (Johnny Cash)

The Magic Numbers:

"There Is a Light That Never Goes Out"

(The Smiths)

*******************************

No nightmares last night

Sebadoh - Dreams
"In my dreams, I react as my true self"

Weezer - Only in Dreams

The Magnetic Fields - Asleep and Dreaming
"I've seen you when your ship came in, and when you train was leaving"

Chasing Dorotea - Dreamer (Acoustic)

Get Well Soon - Your endless dream
"One by one they tear up your heart with their coldness and word, one by one you stop to feel your bleeding knees and heart, and everything that's real"

dEUS - Dream sequence #1
"My little dreamone, you O. K.? I'm thinking about you everyday. Along with your smile, I took my belongings . Along with the sunshine, I went away. There is a space here, there is a void, I need to find, a little more time gimme time.

Of all of the fuckups that I do, I've saved up the best one for you"

After winning the game, the player is given the option to start the game again in "Hard Mode"

This little pixellated black screen you see here once generated a significant amount of pondering for my brother and I. Circa, oh, I would say 1988.

We jumped, pushed and pulled. Kicked, punched and shouted. But nothing happened. We did it again and again and again. We were stuck and couldn't for the life of us get any further, we couldn't even get back out of the room.

It drove us mad.
It was hopeless.

You have to remember this was pre-internet days. No cheats.
No 'how-to' hints. Just our 10 and 11 year old brains respectively.

It had taken a long time to reach this point, and so this in itself was an accomplishment. I remember looking forward to getting into this room. But once we were there, well of course we wanted to go further, beyond this (now cursed) screen.

Of course we did eventually figure it out, and of course another, more difficult, obstacle appeared soon afterwards. (I remember fire, spikes and difficult jumps).

And at some point, we just stopped playing it altogether.

Anyway, a Crystal Castles song reminded me of being in this room, this place without exit or escape, the repetitive bleeping, the frustration...

Crystal Castles – Alice Practice

+ some others:

Weezer - Heart Songs
No Age – Teen Creeps
Rappers Delight Club – When we were Kids
Flight of the Conchords - Inner City Pressure