CollisionWorks

So, besides listening to songs titled after this day by X, Dave Alvin (well, the same song as the X one, in very different versions) and The Beach Boys, what else is there to do?

Well, I plan to spend most of it here indoors at home writing sections of my two plays that open in August.

One, Everything Must Go (Invisible Republic #2) is a follow up to Invisible Republic #1: That's What We're Here For (an american pageant), which was a look at how things may have not quite gone the way they should in the USA post-WWII, done as a trade-show patriotic revue. This new one is a dance-movement-speech-piece detailing a day in the life of an advertising agency, ultimately about selling and a country where everything has a price and the intrinsic value of anything is only equal to its market price.

The other show, Spell, is a cheery piece about a woman who regards herself an American patriot and has committed a terrible, murderous crime in, as she sees it, an act of revolution against a USA government that has become illegal and un-Constitutional and must be overthrown - she'd prefer a new Constitutional Convention, but feels that's even less likely than armed revolution.

So, appropriate work for this gloomy patriotic day, with the thunderheads coming in.

As should be noted and read this day, here are the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America.

Sheila O'Malley over at The Sheila Variations is always good for posts on American History, and I'm sure she'll have more today - she's already posted yesterday on John Adams' letter to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776, and today on July 4, 1826 (the day on which John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died).

In non-patriotic but glorious news for film buffs, a NEARLY-complete print of Fritz Lang's Metropolis has been FOUND! Over a quarter of the original cut of the film has been assumed lost forever for years, and now about 85% of that quarter has appeared in a newly discovered print.

The story is at GreenCine Daily.

In any case, no new cat pictures today, unfortunately, but along with the Friday Random Ten, I'll do another music-geek meme that appeared in a couple of blogs I read today:

Post a List of Your Favorite Albums of Every Year from the Year You Were Born to the Present.

Never thought of this list before, and I'm as list crazy as most music geeks (see: High Fidelity), so here's 40 years of the albums I prefer, behind a cut, because that's a long-enough list to want to hide (and I'm sure more than a few of you won't give a damn anyway). I list some runners-up as well, because it was nearly impossible to choose in some years - and there are plenty of top albums for me that aren't here, the "runners-up" are just for time when I really had to sit and choose between albums for the top spot. I also chose to limit this to "pop music" albums, so as not to wind up having to decide if I wanted to throw Einstein on the Beach or various albums by The Firesign Theatre into my mental competition.



1968: We're Only In It for the Money by The Mothers of Invention

runners-up: White Light/White Heat by The Velvet Underground and The Beatles by The Beatles
1969: Abbey Road by The Beatles
1970: Fun House by The Stooges

runner-up: Loaded by The Velvet Underground
1971: Electric Warrior by T.Rex
1972: Roxy Music by Roxy Music
1973: Raw Power by The Stooges

runners-up: Berlin by Lou Reed, and Over-Nite Sensation by Frank Zappa
1974: Diamond Dogs by David Bowie

runners-up: Here Come The Warm Jets and Taking Tiger Mountain (by strategy) by Brian Eno
1975: One Size Fits All by Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention

runners-up: Horses by Patti Smith, Metal Machine Music by Lou Reed, Blood On The Tracks by Bob Dylan, and Orchestra Luna by Orchestra Luna
1976: The Third Reich 'n Roll by The Residents

runner-up: Station To Station by David Bowie

honorable mention: The Modern Lovers by The Modern Lovers (demos recorded 1971-1973)
1977: Talking Heads '77 by Talking Heads

runners-up: Low by David Bowie, Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols by Sex Pistols, and My Aim Is True by Elvis Costello
1978: The Modern Dance by Pere Ubu

runners-up: Easter by The Patti Smith Group, and Germ-Free Adolescents by X-Ray Spex

honorable mention: Not Available by The Residents (recorded c. 1972-1976)
1979: London Calling by The Clash

runners-up: Fear of Music by Talking Heads, Duty Now for the Future by Devo, Metal Box/Second Edition by Public Image Limited, and Lodger by David Bowie
1980: Los Angeles by X

runners-up: Soldier by Iggy Pop, Remain in Light by Talking Heads , and Scary Monsters (and super creeps) by David Bowie
1981: Dark Continent by Wall of Voodoo

runners-up: New Traditionalists by Devo, and The Catherine Wheel by David Byrne
1982: Big Science by Laurie Anderson
1983: Trouble in Paradise by Randy Newman

runners-up: Punch The Clock by Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Swordfishtrombones by Tom Waits, and Violent Femmes by Violent Femmes
1984: Purple Rain by Prince & The Revolution

runner-up: She's So Unusual by Cyndi Lauper
1985: Rain Dogs by Tom Waits

runner-up: Little Creatures by Talking Heads

honorable mention: VU by The Velvet Underground (recorded 1967-1968)
1986: Blood & Chocolate by Elvis Costello & The Attractions

honorable mention: Live/1975-85 by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
1987: The Lion and the Cobra by Sinead O'Connor

runners-up: Sign 'o The Times by Prince, and Opus Dei by Laibach
1988: Surfer Rosa by Pixies

runners-up: I'm Your Man by Leonard Cohen, Lincoln by They Might Be Giants, and Let It Be by Laibach

honorable mention: You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, volumes 1 & 2 by Frank Zappa
1989: Mosquitos by Stan Ridgway

runners-up: Key Lime Pie by Camper Van Beethoven, Paul's Boutique by Beastie Boys, Spike by Elvis Costello, The Mekons Rock 'n Roll by The Mekons, Tin Machine by Tin Machine, and 3 Feet High and Rising by De La Soul
1990: Flood by They Might Be Giants

runners-up: Boomania by Betty Boo, and Goo by Sonic Youth
1991: Achtung Baby by U2

runner-up: Nevermind by Nirvana
1992: Am I Not Your Girl? by Sinead O'Connor

runners-up: Apollo 18 by They Might Be Giants, Our Finest Flowers by The Residents, I, Jonathan by Jonathan Richman, and Dry by PJ Harvey

honorable mention: Onobox by Yoko Ono (collection)
1993: Exile in Guyville by Liz Phair

runners-up: Rid of Me by PJ Harvey, Last Splash by The Breeders, Let's Knife by Shonen Knife, The Story of My Life by Pere Ubu, and Zooropa by U2
1994: The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails

runner-up: Motorcade of Generosity by Cake
1995: 1. Outside by David Bowie

runners-up: Ray Gun Suitcase by Pere Ubu, Tilt by Scott Walker, and (What's the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis
1996: Odelay by Beck

runners-up: Regretfully Yours by Superdrag, and The Murder Ballads by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
1997: Time Out of Mind by Bob Dylan

runners-up: Earthling by David Bowie, and the soundtrack to Lost Highway
1998: Pennsylvania by Pere Ubu
1999: Long Tall Weekend by They Might Be Giants

runner-up: Mule Variations by Tom Waits
2000: American III: Solitary Man by Johnny Cash
2001: "Love and Theft" by Bob Dylan
2002: Heathen by David Bowie

honorable mention: The Day the Earth Met The Rocket from the Tombs by Rocket from the Tombs (recorded 1975)
2003: Elephant by White Stripes

runners-up: Reality by David Bowie, and Fire by Electric Six
2004: Not So Much To Be Loved As To Love by Jonathan Richman

runner-up: Has Been by William Shatner

honorable mention: SMiLe by Brian Wilson
2005: Another Day on Earth by Brian Eno (by default)
2006: Hello Young Lovers by Sparks

honorable mention: Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards by Tom Waits (collection)
2007: I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me from being the Master by Electric Six
2008: (thus far) Because Her Beauty Is Raw and Wild by Jonathan Richman (by default)

Damn. If I'd have known how long making that list was going to take, I wouldn't have bothered starting . . . that took forEVER!

And back in the iPod, here's a Random 10 out of 26,130 tracks:

1. "Down In The Valley" - Johnny Cash - Legend
2. "Garner State Park Concert Spot - Houston TX" - radio promo, late '60s
3. "Big Business" - David Byrne - The Catherine Wheel
4. "This Land Is Your Land" - Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper - Root Hog or Die!
5. "Gonna Leave You Baby" - Sammy Lewis/Willie Johnson Combo - Sun Records: The Blues Years 1950-1958 vol. 8
6. "Next In Line" - Johnny Cash - From the Vaults vol. 2
7. "You Can't Take It Away" - Tawney Reed - Backcombing
8. "New Special Squad" - Guido & Maruizio De Angelis - Beretta 70—Roaring Themes from Thrilling Italian Police Films
9. "Vacation in the Mountains" - The Cleftones - For Sentimental Reasons
10. "Girl in Tears" - Phluph - Phluph

Have a good 4th, friends . . . I'm now off, as always on this day, to watch 1776 again . . .