The Life and Times of the Creatively Stunted

This post was actually done yesterday, but due to technical problems I couldn’t post it until this morning. So cover your eyes, pretend it’s Thursday, and enjoy “Living Life”.

There’s not much I could say about the next song that it can’t say for itself. “Living Life” stands as one of the strongest examples of Daniel’s songwriting. His lyrical skill, when it’s on point, is absolutely unmatched, and these are some of the best words Daniel has written.

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Unfortunately, an overabundance of business at work cost me a day here, but rest assured, I will make sure Mr. Johnston gets his full, much deserved 5 songs here this week.

I am finding that the hardest part of this week’s theme is choosing the songs. I knew there were a lot of songs I would want to include, but the more I work on it, the more songs go onto the list as possible posts. I could do a Daniel Johnston song-a-month and still not even scratch the surface of his brilliance. With that being said, I’ve decided not to hold back and go with one of my absolute favorite recordings today, “Hey Joe” off of 1983’s Hi, How Are You album.

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We enter the last week of march with the music of one of my favorite songwriters of all time, Daniel Johnston.

When I first heard Daniel Johnston’s music, I don’t think I was ready for it. I kind of wrote it off as lo-fi strangeness, and while I didn’t think it was bad, I wasn’t particularly interested in exploring it any further. Cut to a year and a half later. I read a few little blurbs Tom Waits and Death Cab for Cute had written about their covers for the Late Great Daniel Johnston tribute album, and decided to give his music another listen. In all honesty, I didn’t even realize it was the same artist who I had previously written off until I really started listening.

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Time for yet another new ongoing feature based on one of my all time favorite time wasters: the eBay.

eBay has effectively sucked up countless hours of my productive life, typically hours in which I was being payed to do something else. I’m fascinated by the things that show up there. So in honor of those brave sellers who are willing to post the bizarre, the outrageous, and the down right unbelievable, Creatively Stunted is proud to present Viva La eBay!

Our first offering comes to us from Pittsburgh, Pa. in the form of 3 million + records, CDs, and tapes. Ladies and gentlemen, we give to you The World’s Greatest Music Collection!

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Of course, the week after I decide to re-start my blog things get busy. Sorry to those of you who have visited and found nothing new. I’ll work hard to rectify that over the coming weeks.

Song-a-Day will return next week with an all new theme, but today I’m debuting a new feature called “Discovered”, in which I post cool things I found on the internet. Our first venture is into that of trompe l’oeil, or visual art designed to “trick the eye”.

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The final day of Superhero Song week has arrived, and what better way to end than with one of my all time favorite instrumental tracks: Yo La Tengo’s “Green Arrow”.

I have no idea if this song was actually named after the superhero Green Arrow. I’m sure I could look it up on the internet, but it doesn’t really matter. The fact that it shares a name with Oliver Queen’s alter-ego is good enough for me to include it here. And it truly is a song that I feel should be heard by everyone.

Several years ago I was inspired to write a short essay about this song. I honestly don’t feel I could describe it any better now than I did then, so here, for your enjoyment, is a reprinting of that essay.

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We find ourselves back in the realm super power inspired music for the fourth Superhero Song. This one comes to us from producer, composer, and musician extraordinare, Jon Brion.

I first discovered Jon Brion through the Punch Drunk Love soundtrack and was immediately infatuated. His sound and instrumentation was so unique and different, a strange blend of dark and uplifting. I soaked up everything of his I could, from scores to old band recordings to bootleg performances from The Largo. One of the most heavily listened to album was Brion’s solo project “Meaningless”, the album on which “Walking Through Walls” can be found.

“Walking Through Walls” is one part Beatles and one part Elliott Smith (he and Brion were friends, with Brion producing several of Smith’s later tracks). It’s a great intersection of Brion’s apparent influences, and his own personal style that extends to all those he works with. Top all of that with a few perfectly hidden f-bombs, and you have a poppy, “walk tall” anthem that’s hard to get out of your head

19. Jon Brion - Walking Through Walls

As you’ve probably noticed, my Superhero Songs selections are typically not songs about superheroes. Thus far I have chosen songs whose titles invoke the idea of superheroes, though, for the most part, are not directly about super powers or super powered individuals. Well, I’d be remiss if i didn’t include some songs that directly reflect our iconic comic book heroes, so without further adieu, I present The Flaming Lips’ “Waitin’ for a Superman”.

There are literally hundreds of Superman themed songs out there. R.E.M.’s “Superman”, Big Head Todd’s “Resignation Superman”, 3 Doors Down’s “Kryptonite”, The Spin Doctors’ “Jimmy Olsen’s Blues”… the list goes on and on. Hell, even RuPaul has a Superman themed track. Of course, Superman is an absolute of pop culture iconology, but why so much interest in The Man of Steel? Sure, he’s fast. Sure, he’s strong. Sure, he’s bulletproof. But to me these things have always been drawbacks. What fun is a character who is 99% invulnerable? I like my heroes to have weakness, and that may be why The Flaming Lips’ “Waiting for a Superman” is my favorite of the bunch.

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The second song in our Superhero Songs list comes from a lesser know band, but one that is definitely worth exploring.

There was a period around 2001 when, for the first time in years, I became very open to new music. Not that my tastes were closed before, but during that period I began to explore a much wider variety of music that I ever had previously, and my musical tastes now are heavily reflective of the sounds I discovered over those 2 years. This exploration was mostly due to the amount of time I spent with a dear friend by the name of Jeff Fal. Jeff was into all kinds of music, but especially that which would be classified as “indie rock”. We would often sit around his house playing video games and listening to CDs. He was the one who introduced me to Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Neutral Milk Hotel, Belle and Sebastian, and a whole host of other artists who have become some of my absolute favorites. Among these giants were a ton of smaller bands as well. One of those was The Ladybug Transistor.

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What better way to return to the Song-a-Day world than with week based on one of my favorite themes … Superheroes. Yes, it’s nerdy, but so am I, and the older I get, the more I love ‘em.

We open with what is arguably my favorite Magnetic Fields track. In a catalogue that holds so many truly amazing songs, “Strange Powers” has always stood out to me. Its infectious rhythm and synth tracks combined with Stephen Merrit’s truly visual lyrics to make a track that easily and frequently gets stuck in my head. Not to mention the guitar riff during the bridge, which manages to be very simple yet still bursting with energy. The whole piece feels like a celebration. And while the song may not be talking about the same kind of “strange powers” that someone like, say, The Hulk would possess, it is still a perfect fit on this week’s list.

16. The Magnetic Fields - StrangePowers