Mark Stratton's Blog: AGGASPLETCH, page 6

55 – If it Feels Right…Turn Up The Night (iPod Challenge)

A rumble of thunder

I’m suddenly under

Your Spell…

With those words, the opening track of Black Sabbath’s album “Mob Rules” explodes out of your speakers not unlike a thundering horde. Considering the usual gothic sludge the murk-metal rockers were recording, this was out of the ordinary. Granted, “Paranoid” was an uptempo song but nothing quite like this.

I became acquainted with this song when I was a testosterone addled teenager. It was perfect for me at that time. Nowadays, I listen to it t...

The Day of the Game and What it Means to Me – Ohio State/Michigan

There are those who say the Alabama/Auburn rivalry is the best in college football. There are those who swear by the Army/Navy game and others who will say Harvard/Yale or Stanford/Cal. There are even some deluded souls who would trot out the Oregon/Oregon State rivalry as the best. Lest we forget the USC/UCLA rivalry…oh what the hell, let’s forget them as well.

Those with sense, style and serious knowledge know the Rivalry to end all Collegiate Rivalries is the Michigan/Ohio State Rivalry. Lo...

iPod Challenge Announcements

Hi there…

Just a note that with the Thanksgiving holidays next week, there will be no iPod Challenge posts. This is mainly due to people traveling and what not, and I want to take the week off. And bunnies…

When we return the week after the break, we’ll wend our way to number 51. Because Christmas and Christmas music, we’ll interrupt the regular countdown for my Top 10 Christmas songs. Just because. And bunnies, I’m sure. After the holidays, I’ve got some guest posts lined up and I am quite exc...

56 – Nobody Told Me and I’m Still Annoyed (iPod Challenge)

Nobody told me..

I had to find out about Muse by watching the Grammy’s. Never mind that there was nothing else on TV that night worth watching. Springsteen had no idea when he was complaining about 57 Channels and Nothing on, try 200+! So, I’m stuck watching the Grammy’s and I hear this group that appears to have swallowed the entire catalog of Queen whole and spit it back up with a twist.

Muse was that band. Still is, so far as that goes.

Damn, they were good. I really enjoyed what I heard so I...

57 – No Shutting Up Involved (iPod Challenge)

What can I say? I like silly love songs…

I’m not sure where I first heard this song. It could’ve been from watching a video on VH1, it could’ve been when watching the movie “She’s All That” (don’t judge), or it may have been on the radio. Don’t know, don’t care. Certainly not at this point.

What I do know is that it’s a charming, yet slightly eccentric song with some interesting lyrics. I do know that Leigh Nash’s voice is a wondrous and unique instrument. There is a slight sound of the pixie t...

58. Sorry Julie, But This is THE Version (iPod Challenge)

Coltrane nailed it..

I mean no disrespect to Julie Andrews, but Trane cut the definitive version of this piece. Without verbal language, he says so much more than any lyrics ever could.

I mean, just listen with care and you’ll see.

Thanks for reading.

59. Lithium Flower (iPod Challenge)

Eddie Wilson would say, “Words & Music, man…words & music”

I came under the spell of Ghost in the Shell through the acclaimed anime. I then read the manga which added to my enjoyment and confusion. After some time, I found out there was a series, “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex” based on the manga�. Of course, I realized that with an anime series, there would be music for sale as that is how anime rolls. I found the first of the GiTS:SAC albums before I ever saw the show and was quite...

60 – Why Does This Song Make Me Want to Drive? (iPod Challenge)

I blame Kevin Costner.

I blame Costner because I now automatically associate driving montages with this song. Every time I hear this song, over head shots of vehicles driving down two lane roads in summer flash through my head. Sometimes they are even VW Microbus’s with James Earl Jones riding shotgun, although they used to be me riding a motorcycle somewhere in Iowa or Wisconsin even though I never made it there on a motorcycle. All of this because Costner was in a movie about wanting to have...

61 – Was Sal Paradise Right? (iPod Challenge)

A big shout out to my friend Eric for this one…

I don’t listen to nearly as much new music as I used to, but I know I sample more than many my age do. One reasons is friends and one in particular. His name is Eric, and if he isn’t my best friend he certainly is in the discussion. I’ve known him for more than a decade and in many ways he’s like a kid brother who is smarter than I am. And I don’t hate him for it.

One morning he says to me, “You really need to check out The Hold Steady and the son...

62. I’ll Tell Ya How Do I Feel If You Want – (iPod Challenge)

They might be ‘Hitless Wonders’ to the vast majority of people.

I knew when I finished reading ‘Hitless Wonder: A Life in Minor League Rock and Roll” earlier this year that the very next thing was to check out their music. So, I started at the beginning by finding their first two releases on Amazon, which wasn’t hard or expensive. The full length debut album, “Twister” was solid, from first to last. The only real single from the album, “How Do You Feel” had all the hallmarks of an early 90′s p...