Some solipsism (not unusual, obv.): Sometimes the net gets me down. I recently got an email from someone I don't know that said, in effect, "I know who you are and why you're avoiding me, someone you know told me all about you, and har har har I'm not interested in talking to you anymore, so har har har don't bother replying." And I'm like, "Who are you?" Weirdly depressing.

Dave Queen was in town this weekend; he leaves tomorrow. Hung out w/him Friday and Sunday; amazingly good fun both times. (Sunday, i.e. last night, we were out till 5 a.m. talking, along w/the currently blog-vacationing A. Gunn.) He and I both like to talk and make ridiculous connections and crack on pop culture, though he's better at it than I am. Topics included: the Eagles (watch SW's music section for more), Olivia Newton-John, the myriad differences and similarities between Canada, the U.S., and London; the relative ease of buying weed in Vancouver; drugs; alcohol; writing writing writing. Acres more, of course, but it would be difficult to do it all justice. The NYC trip last weekend was amazing, ridiculous fun; hanging w/Dave has been just as good. And yes, I will talk about NYC soon, but I'm in kind of a meh place for blogging lately, partly because I've been writing a bit more than usual for the paper and elsewhere, and partly because I've wanted some quiet-ish time to experience not explicate. I'll try and be back more fully soon, though.

I seriously doubt, by the way, that I'll read a better piece on Hunter S. Thompson's aftermath than Yancey's (though Tom Wolfe's one for the Wall Street Journal is also pretty terrific, if quite a bit different).

I've been ridiculously busy these past couple weeks, partly with this cover package about music-industry changes (I wrote the first two, about Starbucks and Seattle's KEXP; I'm pretty happy w/the first one though I should've clarified that I don't think Starbucks' music expansions will impact indie retail too much, or at least nowhere near as much as chains), and partly with being in New York much of last week and during the weekend. I'll file a lengthier report later; first, I'm trying to get my review of Kiki & Herb Will Die for You written so I can put (most of) my music section to bed.

So what have I been doing lately? Oh, you know, the usual--making chocolate, talking to sex bloggers, that kind of thing. related: The Stranger has now discovered that chocolate looks like poopie. we eagerly await further developments in satire's cutting edge, while trying not to fall asleep at the same time.

Michaelangelo Matos, your votes have been counted.

ALBUMS
1. United State of Electronica (Mannheim) 233rd
2. Gretchen Wilson: Here for the Party (Epic) 46th
3. DFA Compilation #2 (DFA) 61st
4. The Hold Steady Almost Killed Me (Frenchkiss) 31st
5. Devin the Dude: To Tha X-Treme (Rap-a-Lot) 122nd
6. The Streets: A Grand Don't Come for Free (Vice) 7th
7. Rio Baile Funk: Favela Booty Beats (Essay import) 99th
8. Sonic Youth: Sonic Nurse (DGC) 37th
9. Big & Rich: Horse of a Different Color (Warner Bros.) 39th
10. Kanye West: The College Dropout (Roc-a-Fella) 1st

SINGLES
1. Black Leotard Front: "Casual Friday" (DFA) 135th
2. Gretchen Wilson: "Redneck Woman" (Epic) 16th
3. Jay-Z: "99 Problems" (Roc-a-Fella) 2nd
4. Portobella: "Covered in Punk" (Island, U.K.) 212th [three mentions]
5. M.I.A.: "Galang" (XL) 8th
6. Usher ft. Ludacris & Lil Jon: "Yeah!" (Arista) 3rd
7. Brandy ft. Kanye West: "Talk About Our Love" (Atlantic) 118th
8. Britney Spears: "Toxic" (Jive) 5th
9. The Walkmen: "The Rat" (Record Collection) 17th
10. Big & Rich: "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" (Warner Bros.) 21st

The interweb is a powerful thing. Take this new group blog I'm going to be contributing to, which began as a random ILM post and is now a semi-juggernaut with ten contributors already signed up and two posts as of this writing. I'm due to take my place fifth in the queue for the first disc. Should be fun. UPDATE: I have now done my duty as the fifth person in the queue. Have a look.

C700MB Go! 1959
1. Miles Davis: “So What”
2. Ornette Coleman: “Lonely Woman”
3. John Coltrane: “Giant Steps”
4. Kenny Dorham: “Spring Is Here”
5. Dave Brubeck: “Take Five”
6. Duke Ellington: “Pie Eye’s Blues”
7. Art Pepper + Eleven: “Move”
8. Thelonious Monk: “I Mean You”
9. Jimmy Heath: “Who Needs It”
10. Wynton Kelly: “Softly, As in a Morning’s Sunrise”

11. Charles Mingus: “Better Git It in Your Soul”
12. Philly Joe Jones: “Battery Blues”
13. Elmer Bernstein: “Frankie Machine”
14. “Fractured Fairy Tales”
15. Phil Phillips With The Twilights: “Sea Of Love”
16. The Fleetwoods: “Come Softly to Me”
17. The Drifters: “There Goes My Baby”
18. Sam Cooke: “Chain Gang”
19. The Coasters: “Run Red Run”
20. The Isley Brothers: “Shout Pt. 1 & 2”

21. Little Willie John: “Leave My Kitten Alone”
22. Earl Gaines: “White Rose (Theme)”
23. Mighty Sparrow: “Simpson (The Funeral Agency Man)”
24. Lord Melody: “Crazy Love”
25. Mighty Spoiler: “Father Christmas”
26. Franco et L’O.K. Jazz: “Rhythmo De Nostro Amor”
27. The Manhattan Brothers: “Ishumelosheleni”
28. Miriam Makeba & the Skylarks with Spokes Mashiyane: “Uile Ngoan’a Batho”
29. Paul Mwanga: “Muana Nkento Bebele”
30. Jimmy Reed: “Take Out Some Insurance”

31. Roscoe Shelton: “Say You Really Care”
32. Bobby Bland: “I’ll Take Care of You”
33. Howlin’ Wolf: “I’ve Been Abused”
34. Sonny Boy Williamson: “Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide”
35. Wilbert Harrison: “Kansas City”
36. Little Richard: “Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey”
37. James Brown: “I’ll Go Crazy”
38. Chuck Berry: “Almost Grown”
39. Charlie Ryan: “Hot Rod Lincoln”
40. Johnny Cash: “Five Feet High and Rising”

41. Frankie Miller: “Blackland Farmer”
42. Stonewall Jackson: “Waterloo”
43. Ray Price: “Heartaches by the Number”
44. Lefty Frizzell: “Long Black Veil”
45. The Louvin Brothers: “Knoxville Girl”
46. Marty Robbins: “El Paso”
47. Johnny Horton: “The Battle Of New Orleans”
48. Hawkshaw Hawkins: “Soldier’s Joy”
49. Webb Pierce: “I Ain’t Never”
50. George Jones: “Who Shot Sam”

51. Ronnie Hawkins: “Forty Days”
52. Chan Romero: “The Hippy Hippy Shake”
53. Johnny Kidd & The Pirates: “Shakin’ All Over”
54. Link Wray & The Raymen: “Raw-Hide”
55. Vince Taylor & His Playboys: “Brand New Cadillac”
56. Jackie Morningstar: “Rockin’ In The Graveyard”
57. Mac Rebennack: “Storm Warning”
58. Fats Domino: “I’m Gonna Be a Wheel Someday”
59. The Genies: “Who’s That Knocking”
60. The Boss-Tones: “Mope-Itty-Mope”

61. Ronnie Dawson (The Blond Bomber): “Rockin’ Bones”
62. Ritchie Valens: “La Bamba”
63. The Chordettes: “No Wheels”
64. Bob McFadden & Dor: “The Mummy”
65. Edd Byrnes: “Kookie’s Mad Pad”
66. Rod McKuen: “No Pictures, Please”
67. Charles Kuralt: “The Greenwich Village Poets”
68. Carl Sandburg: “On Beatniks”
69. Allen Ginsberg and Margaret Mead: “Origins of the Term ‘Beat Generation’”
70. Jack Kerouac & Steve Allen: “October in the Railroad Earth”

71. Bill Evans Trio: “Blue In Green”
72. Chet Baker: “It Never Entered My Mind”
73. Ella Fitzgerald: “They Can’t Take That Away from Me”
74. Jo Stafford: “Blues in the Night”
75. Billie Holiday: “All the Way”
76. Frank Sinatra: “I Don’t Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You”
77. Nat King Cole: “Midnight Flyer”
78. Laurel Aitken: “Boogie In My Bones”
79. Theophilus Beckford: “Easy Snappin’”
80. Derrick Morgan: “Lover Boy”

81. Spokes Mashiyane: “Banana Ba Rustenburg”
82. Manuel D’Oliveira et les San Salvador: “Yen Vavanga”
83. Trio Bow: “Année 59”
84. Lala Mpenzi: “Yaseen Mohamed And Saada”
85. Camille Feruzi & L’Orchestre Mysterieux: “Cha Cha Cha Bay”
86. Asha Bosle: “Kali Ghata Chhaye”
87. Santo & Johnny: “Sleep Walk”
88. The Viscounts: “Harlem Nocturne”
89. Eddie Cochran: “Somethin’ Else”
90. Freddie Cannon: “Tallahassee Lassie”

91. Richard Berry & the Pharaohs: “Have Love, Will Travel”
92. Little Anthony & the Imperials: “Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop”
93. Frankie Ford: “Sea Cruise”
94. Charles Brown & Amos Milburn: “Educated Fool”
95. Joe Tex: “Charlie Brown Got Expelled”
96. Ray Charles: “What’d I Say Pt. 1 & 2”
97. Mongo Santamaria: “Afro Blue”
98. Abbey Lincoln: “Afro-Blue”
99. Helen Humes: “You Can Depend On Me”
100. Lambert, Hendricks & Ross: “Twisted”

101. Patsy Raye & the Beatniks: “Beatnik’s Wish”
102. The Marquees: “Santa Done Got Hip”
103. The Harmony Grits: “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”
104. Hank Ballard & The Midnighters: “The Twist”
105. The Olympics: “(Baby) Hully Gully”
106. Jackie Wilson: “Lonely Teardrops”
107. The "5" Royales: “I Know It’s Hard But It’s Fair”
108. The Gay Poppers: “You Better Believe”
109. Jimmy Jones: “Handy Man”
110. The Eternals: “Babalu’s Wedding Day”

111. The Fascinators with Jesse Stone Orchestra: “Oh Rose Marie”
112. The Impacts: “Canadian Sunset”
113. Norman Fox & the Rob-Roys with Sid Bass & His Orchestra: “Pizza Pie”
114. The Rock-A-Teens: “Woo-Hoo”
115. The Delicates: “Black & White Thunderbird”
116. The Mystics: “Hushabye”
117. The Passions: “Just to Be with You”
118. The Flamingos: “I Only Have Eyes for You”
119. The Shirelles: “Dedicated to the One I Love”
120. Dion & the Belmonts: “A Teenager in Love”

121. The Impalas with the LeRoy Holmes Orchestra: “Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home)”
122. The Everly Brothers: “(‘Til) I Kissed You”
123. Huey (Piano) Smith: “Would You Believe It (I Have A Cold)”
124. Barrett Strong: “Money (That’s What I Want)”
125. Richard Wylie: “Money (That’s What I Want)”
126. Billy Graves: “The Shag (Is Totally Cool)”
127. J.J. Jackson: “Oo-Ma-Liddi”
128. Sammy Price: “Honky Tonk Caboose”
129. Tarheel Slim: “Number 9 Train”
130. Bobby Darin: “Mack The Knife”

131. “Quick Draw McGraw (Main Title)”
132. Hal Singer: “Blue Stompin’”
133. Richie Kamuca: “Blue Jazz”
134. Fred Jackson: “Duck Fever”
135. “Peabody’s Improbable History”
136. Spencer And Spencer with the Sonia Pryor Choir: “Russian Band Stand”
137. Spike Jones & His Band that Plays for Fun, Paul Frees (Dracula) & Loulie Jean Norman (Vampira): “I Only Have Eyes for You”
138. The Miracles: “Bad Girl”
139. The Falcons: “You’re So Fine”
140. The Carlos Brothers: “Tonight”

141. The Knockouts: “Darling Lorraine”
142. The Admirations: “The Bells of Rosa Rita”
143. The Sheppards : “Island of Love”
144. The Fantastics: “There Goes My Love”
145. The Skyliners with Lenny Martin & the Orchestra: “This I Swear”
146. The Chantels: “Goodbye To Love”
147. Lloyd Price: “Where Were You (On Our Wedding Day)?”
148. The Capris: “Indian Girl”
149. The Clovers: “Love Potion no. 9”
150. The Turks: “Rockville U.S.A.”

151. Audrey Bryant : “Let’s Trade A Little”
152. Professor Longhair: “Cuttin’ Out”
153. Jimmy Beck & His Orchestra: “Pipe Dreams”
154. Ernie Fields & His Orchestra: “In The Mood”
155. Addrisi Brothers: “It’s Love”
156. Larry Williams: “Little School Girl”
157. Otis Rush: “All Your Love (I Miss Loving)”
158. Jesse Fuller: “Everybody Works At My House But My Old Man”
159. John Fahey: “St. Louis Blues”
160. Allen Ginsberg: “America”

Part of the idea behind the C700 Go! series has been to do "clean-up" discs, covering stuff that wasn't used the first time around, covering five-year periods. Therefore:

Mine the Gap: 1988-92
1. Tony! Toni! Toné!: “Feels Good”
2. Bell Biv Devoe: “Poison”
3. Neneh Cherry: “Buffalo Stance”
4. Cypress Hill: “The Phuncky Feel One”
5. A Tribe Called Quest: “Check the Rhime”
6. Organized Confusion: “Fudge Pudge”
7. Brand Nubian: “Feel So Good”
8. De La Soul ft. Q-Tip: “A Roller Skating Jam Named ‘Saturdays’”
9. Eric B. & Rakim: “Juice (Know the Ledge)”
10. N.W.A: “Straight Outta Compton”
11. Public Enemy: “Can’t Truss It”
12. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth: “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)”
13. The Pharcyde: “Ya Mama”
14. Downtown Science: “Out There But in There”
15. Aly-Us: “Follow Me”
16. Black Box: “Everybody Everybody (Le Freak Mix)”
17. Maurice: “This Is Acid (Radio Edit)”
18. Altern-8: “E-Vapor-8 (Inciner-8 Mix)”
19. CLS: “Can You Feel It (Perpetual Motion Dub)”
20. Moby: “Go”
21. Beltram: “Energy Flash”
22. Deee-Lite: “Good Beat”
23. Pierre’s Phantasy Club: “Dream Girl (Wet Dream Mix)”
24. Laurent X: “Machines”
25. Meng Syndicate: “Sonar System”
26. Eden Transmission: “I’m So High”
27. Madonna: “Deeper and Deeper”
28. Lisa Stansfield: “What Did I Do to You?”
29. Londonbeat: “I’ve Been Thinking About You”
30. Color Me Badd: “All 4 Love”
31. Janet Jackson: “Alright”
32. New Edition: “If It Isn’t Love”
33. Jody Watley ft. Rakim: “Friends”
34. Johnny Gill: “Rub You the Right Way”
35. Guy: “D-O-G Me Out”
36. Tevin Campbell: “Round and Round”
37. P.M. Dawn: “Even After I Die”
38. Jonathan Richman: “I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar”
39. Hindu Love Gods: “Raspberry Beret”
40. Tom Petty: “Runnin’ Down a Dream”
41. Mekons: “Club Mekon”
42. John Prine: “All the Best”
43. Garth Brooks: “Friends in Low Places”
44. Jimmie Dale Gilmore: “Don’t Go Looking for a Heartache”
45. Michelle Shocked: “Anchorage”
46. Neil Young & Crazy Horse: “Over and Over”
47. Teenage Fanclub: “What You Do to Me”
48. Ride: “Time of Her Time”
49. Matthew Sweet: “Evangeline”
50. Nirvana: “Sliver”
51. Pixies: “Allison”
52. Bikini Kill: “Suck My Left One”
53. Blake Babies: “I’m Not Your Mother”
54. The Go Betweens: “Rock and Roll Friend”
55. Heavenly: “Our Love Is Heavenly”
56. Voice of the Beehive: “I Say Nothing”
57. The Feelies: “Invitation”
58. Sonic Youth: “Theresa’s Sound-World”
59. My Bloody Valentine: “Swallow”
60. R.E.M.: “Me in Honey”
61. The Vulgar Boatmen: “Change the World All Around”
62. Morrissey: “Interesting Drug”
63. The Magnetic Fields: “100,000 Fireflies”
64. Superchunk: “100,000 Fireflies”
65. Marshall Crenshaw: “Someplace Where Love Can’t Find Me”
66. Danny Elfman: “The Simpsons Main Title Theme”
67. Pet Shop Boys: “Left to My Own Devices”
68. Saint Etienne: “Nothing Can Stop Us”
69. U2: “The Fly”
70. Happy Mondays: “Step On”
71. Primal Scream: “Loaded”
72. Praga Khan: “Injected with a Poison”
73. T99: “Anasthasia”
74. Gordon Edge: “Cmpnded (Edge *1 Mix)”
75. Second Phase: “Mentasm”
76. Human Resource: “Dominator (The Beltram Mix)”
77. Messiah: “Temple of Dreams”
78. System 01: “Drugs Work”
79. Rythim Is Rythim: “Salsa Life”
80. Acen: “Trip II the Moon Pt. 1 & 2”
81. NRG: “Feel the Fury”
82. Krome & Time: “This Sound Is for the Underground”
83. Project One: “Roughneck”
84. SL2: “On a Ragga Tip”
85. Blame: “Music Takes You (2 Bad Mice Remix)”
86. The Prodigy: “Everybody in the Place (Fairground Remix)”
87. DJ Hype: “Weird Energy”
88. EPMD: “You Gots to Chill”
89. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince: “Summertime”
90. K-Solo: “You Mom’s in My Business”
91. Gang Starr ft. Nice & Smooth: “DWYCK”
92. Boogie Down Productions: “Love’s Gonna Get’cha (Material Love) (7” Radio Edit)”
93. Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs: “I Got to Have It”
94. Double XX Posse: “Not Gonna Be Able to Do It”
95. Kool G Rap & DJ Polo: “Ill Street Blues”
96. Naughty by Nature: “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright (Ghetto Bastard)”
97. Salt-N-Pepa: “Shake Your Thang (Club Mix)”
98. Ultramagnetic MC’s ft. Tim Dog: “A Chorus Line (Original 12-Inch Mix)”
99. Soul II Soul: “Back to Life (How Ever Do You Want Me)”
100. Roxanne Shanté: “Go on Girl”
101. Beats International: “Dub Be Good to Me”
102. Dawn Penn: “You Don’t Love Me (No No No)”
103. Chaka Demus & Pliers: “Murder She Wrote”
104. Shelley Thunder: “Kuff”
105. Nardo Ranks: “Burrup”
106. Ninjaman: “Murder Dem”
107. Buju Banton: “Bogle Dance”
108. Dance Conspiracy: “Dub War”
109. DJ Aphrodite: “Raw Motion”
110. Dub Collective: “Take Me Away”
111. Jaydee: “Plastic Dreams”
112. The Age of Love: “The Age of Love (Watch Out for Stella Club Mix)”
113. Mescalinum United: “We Have Arrived”