Trademark-Infringing Tune Tuesdays: Season 2 VOL IV

Because this is the off season and there's nothing better to do, because there are approximately 2,357,861 days until football season (that's just a guesstimate, give or take a few), and because it's Tuesday and you need a pick-me-up, I'm presenting "Trademark-Infringing Tune Tuesdays". Trademark-Infringing Tune Tuesdays is an off-topic post that will feature a band playing a song by a different band each week. Some you may have heard and, hopefully, some will be completely new to you.

In keeping with last week's theme of loud, out of control music, this week's Tune was originally written by one of the loudest, out of control bands in rock, The MC5. The MC5, or Motor City 5, was formed in Detroit (oh.... MC5, I get it) and saw the height of their popularity in the late 60s. Their first album is one of the few live debut albums out there. Kick Out the Jams is proto-punk at its loudest, garage-y best. The Detroit band was on the more militant edge of the counter-culture movement, and one of the more amusing things to hear is the opening track on Kick Out the Jams, Ramblin' Rose, which is preceded by "inflammatory rhetoric" urging the audience towards "revolution", and that "it's time to move, it's time to get down with it!" I never did care much for a lot of the hippy/ counterculture politics, although it's definitely intriguing to hear that speech and the language they used during that volatile time. What I do care for is loud rock, and Kick Out the Jams has more than enough of that.

The title track of that debut, Kick Out the Jams is one of the most heavily covered songs in hard rock. If you ever hear someone yell "KICK OUT THE JAMS, M*****F****R!" at a show, cover your ears, you're about to hear yet another version of a great, eardrum rupturing song. This particular version by Pearl Jam is a great one, by a band that truly embraces the art of the cover. Pearl Jam seems to know when to take a song in a completely different direction from the original, and they know when to leave a song as is. Kick Out the Jams was left as is. For a song like this, if it's loud and fast, the rest is just gravy. Enjoy!

(ED: I almost forgot.... NSFW!!)

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to run through a wall now.

Tune in next week when Trademark-Infringing Tune Tuesdays will feature........ another band playing a song by a different band!

Funny Things Eli Gold and Phil Savage Said During the 2010 Iron Bowl

The other night, I was discussing with some friends how I could probably watch the 2010 Auburn-Alabama game 500 times and still enjoy it. So how does good old CSS reward me for a day of hard work when I get home? A full replay of the Iron Bowl. Not only that, but a version I've never seen before: the Crimson Tide Sports Network version. Here are a few things Eli and Phil said during the game that I find humorous or amusing in hindsight. It is 50-50, you know? (ed.: some may be paraphrased; I don't have Tivo, and I'm not a very quick typer)

• "As the sun begins to sink down and peep through the clouds, Bear is saying, 'Get this cloud out of here, I'm ready to watch some football'" -Eli
• "You have to control yourself in big games like this and Nick Fairley didn't right there." -Phil, after the Fairley unsportsmanlike penalty, but before McElroy gave Auburn fans the finger
• "Staunch crimson-clad defense forces Newton to unload the ball or take a sack" -Eli
• "McElroy wisely tosses the ball out of bounds" -Eli
• "Talk about kryptonite to Cam Newton, how does 21-0 sound?" -Phil
• "................................." -Eli, regarding the Adams catch ruled out of bounds
• "...Ziemba, who is making a forgettable 50th start." -Phil
• "Alabama doing an unbelievable job tonight" -Phil, after the first play of the second half
• "O brother..." -Eli, after the second play of the second half
• "[Alabama's defense] seems to have lost their zip as to knowing what plays are coming" -Phil, some point during the 3rd qtr, who seemed to notice the same thing I did
• "The game is on now. Alabama's offense has to score" -Phil, at 4:25 in the 3rd, who seemed to notice something we knew at 14:04 in the 3rd
• "How many times over the years, have we seen special teams play a role in the Iron Bowl?" -Eli, after the Carr fumble
• "Well that was a big loss right there" -Phil, 4 plays later
• "Grandma, get your heart medicine ready. It's going to be one of those finishes." -Eli
• "[Auburn scores] on the Rolex/ Bromberg's scoring drive... and the Tigers lead 28-27" -Eli
• "Well that's overcoming adversity..." -Phil, regarding Bama picking up an inch during Auburn's 24-0 comeback in a particularly rude Bryant-Denny Stadium
• "You know, I don't want to say we told you so...." -Eli
• "I never believed in a million years, up 24-0 that Alabama would lose by one point 28-27" -Phil
• "Seeing the aftermath, the Auburn team celebrating on your logo, on your home field, it's salt in the wound." -Phil

Sure, you could probably do that for any team's announcers knowing the results of a game, but it's just so much more fun with them.

Trademark-Infringing Tune Tuesdays: Season 2 VOL III

Because this is the off season and there's nothing better to do, because there are approximately 2,357,861 days until football season (that's just a guesstimate, give or take a few), and because it's Tuesday and you need a pick-me-up, I'm presenting "Trademark-Infringing Tune Tuesdays". Trademark-Infringing Tune Tuesdays is an off-topic post that will feature a band playing a song by a different band each week. Some you may have heard and, hopefully, some will be completely new to you.

If you like a nice clean guitar sound, look away. If you enjoy music with several layers and complex harmonies, bail out now. If a guitar with a nasty distort, a simple drum kit banging out a straight rock beat, and wild vocals are your thing, join the party. Garage rock band The White Stripes live DVD Under Blackpool Lights featured a cover of Bob Dylan's Outlaw Blues. This performance is a great example of the style the White Stripes were known for. Lots of folks out there knock Meg's drumming as a detriment to Jack's guitar playing. BOLLOCKS! Meg's garage sound and simple style accentuate Jack's heavy guitar sound and intense, screaching solos. Anything cleaner, anything more complex, anything other than Meg would make the White Stripes something else. Not bad, just not the Stripes. And damn if that Stripes sound isn't freaking cool!

Note the verse of Jack the Ripper at the end. For those not in the know (including myself until I happened across this video), Jack the Ripper was a pretty bad song written by a pretty bad musician who called himself Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow. Screaming Lord Sutch released some pretty bad albums in the 60's and 70's, despite the help of some pretty good artists, including Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. So I learned something. Knowledge is power. Except in this instance. This knowledge, is in fact, useless.

Tune in next week when Trademark-Infringing Tune Tuesdays will feature........ another band playing a song by a different band!