CruelNails Radio

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A new music mix has been posted. You can either listen to Numerophobia through the MP3 Stream link or by dragging and dropping the RSS Podcast icon into your iPod.

"I am Adding and Subtracting. I'm Controlling and Composing."
A new music mix has been posted. You can either listen to Numerophobia through the MP3 Stream link or by dragging and dropping the RSS Podcast icon into your iPod....

"I Got It. I Got It. I Got Your Number From the Wall."
I've recently moved to a new office building and I don't really know the people who are outside when I go out for a smoke. They seem like good enough people, I guess - nobody really sticks in my mind. Except for one guy...

"I Drop Lines You Can Feel, Like Braille."
Whenever crowds protest Bush, why do they go straight to Hitler? Don't get me wrong, I'm far from a Bush fan - but the Hitler comparison is a little too flippant for my comfort...




"I Got It. I Got It. I Got Your Number From the Wall."
I've recently moved to a new office building and I don't really know the people who are outside when I go out for a smoke. They seem like good enough people, I guess - nobody really sticks in my mind. Except for one guy...

"I Drop Lines You Can Feel, Like Braille."
Whenever crowds protest Bush, why do they go straight to Hitler? Don't get me wrong, I'm far from a Bush fan - but the Hitler comparison is a little too flippant for my comfort...

Welcome to CruelNails Radio
Howdy ...

Welcome to CruelNails Radio"Sit back and enjoy the real McCoy. Our new air of authority. Our sentinel of misery."
I was going to post something about the four-year anniversary of the war ... but it really depresses me too much to even write about. Only thing I thought, over the weekend, is that - since the Iraq War has gone on longer that WWII, shouldn't it ... feel like we're at war?

"Sensitive Thugs. Ya'll All Need Hugs."
OK, maybe I'm just slow - but this whole fight over whether presidential aides can be required to testify under oath? Haven't I already seen this show? ...

"Sensitive Thugs. Ya'll All Need Hugs."
OK, maybe I'm just slow - but this whole fight over whether presidential aides can be required to testify under oath? Haven't I already seen this show? ...

"One Love - Who Said It? I Know Whodini Sang It."
You know, there really aren't words that can fully express how sad this makes me. At the risk of being an old fogey this is not my hip-hop ...

"God Is An American ..."
A new music mix has been posted. "bowieone." is the first of two mixes covering the career of David Bowie ...

"Bounce, Like Your Ass Had The Hiccups ..."
How ironic is it that Kurt Vonnegut died this week? Honestly, when you look at the events of the past couple of weeks ... Don Imus, Anna Nicole Smith's baby daddy, Sanjaya ... doesn't it kind of feel like we're in a bad sequel to 'Breakfast of Champions' ...

"You've Been Sitting Down For Too Long ..."
So, I was all ready to post the second part of the David Bowie mix - and I will soon - but decided not to. I don't know about anyone else, but I've had a pretty long, hard, and stressfull week. And, to be honest, as much as I love Bowie, sometimes a brotha' just gotta' dance ...

"The Harder they Come, The Harder They Fall - One And All"
Ok, I swear the second David Bowie mix is coming. However, with the world looking as jacked up as it's looked this past week, I thought this mix might be more appropriate. "Train to Skaville" is exactly what it sounds like. An hour of solid Caribbean jams ...

"And Daddy Doesn't Understand It. He Always Said She Was Good As Gold."
So, I was going to write something about the Virginia shooting last week - but what is there to say, really? What I do find interesting is how it so quickly and easily fell into the usual 13 stages of public tragedy. What are the 13 stages of public tragedy? Glad you asked ...

"Put On Your Red Shoes And Dance The Blues ..."
Back from vacation, with photos, a video, site updates, and the second half of the David Bowie mix ...

"I Could Drink A Case Of You..."
It's been a while since I posted just a random music mix and I figured what better time could there be to post one than a 3-day weekend? The May Music Mix contains new tracks by Timbaland, Queens of the Stone Age, Prince, Arctic Monkeys, M.I.A, Randy Newman and more. It's available as an MP3 Stream, podcast or individual files. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

It Was 40 years Ago Today ...
Hello, again. The June Music Mix is now available through either the MP3 Stream, by podcast, or by individual files. The theme of this month's mix is an homage to the fortieth anniversary of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ...

It Was 40 years Ago Today ..."Raven hair and ruby lips, sparks fly from her finger tips ..."
So I was going to post today about a weird sense of ennui I've been going through today. I'm trying to decide if this recent feeling is due to just random uneasiness or if this is the start of changes in my life. The last time I felt this way, I got a new job and moved from Austin and this feeling hadn't come back since then. So, I was going to post something about that but - since then - a new more important thing has presented itself in my life. I think one of the people I work with is a witch ...

"Raven hair and ruby lips, sparks fly from her finger tips ..."
So I was going to post today about a weird sense of ennui I've been going through today. I'm trying to decide if this recent feeling is due to just random uneasiness or if this is the start of changes in my life. The last time I felt this way, I got a new job and moved from Austin and this feeling hadn't come back since then. So, I was going to post something about that but - since then - a new more important thing has presented itself in my life. I think one of the people I work with is a witch ...

"The industry just a better built cell block. A long way from the shell tops and the bells that L rocked ..."
So the story that Bush lost is watch is "ludicrous". Ok, it probably is. Why would people so easily believe such a ridiculous claim? After all, in the past seven years, Bush has only lost our economic surplus, the respect of most of our allies, the hearts and minds of Iraqis, the support of his own party, the trust of the majority of the American people, a fourth of the Pentagon, two World Trade Centers, three planes, thousands of innocent Americans, thousands honorable military men and women, Osama Bin Laden, and the majority of Louisiana and Mississippi. So, obviously, the idea that he would lose a watch is, in fact, "ludicrous" ...

"I Don't Want to Start Any Blasphemous Rumours, But I Think That God's Got A Sick Sense Of Humor ..."
So every Friday night Friday Schneider has a radio show on Sirius that's just fantastic. After listening to the show, this past Friday, I threw together this mix - which ended up sounding like a party at John Hughes' house - circa 1985. You can either listen Party Out of Bounds through the MP3 Stream link or by dragging and dropping the RSS Podcast icon into your iPod. When you're done, let me know what you think of this mix, past mixes, or what type of mixes you'd like in the future. Party Out of Bounds 1) B-52's - Party Out Of Bounds 2) Aha - The Sun Always Shines On TV 3) A Flock of Seagulls - Waiting (If I Had A Picture of You) 4) Eddie Grant - Electric Avenue 5) Human League (Keep Feeling) Fascination 6) Berlin - Masquerade 7) ABC - Poison Arrow 8) Bananarama - Cruel Summer 9) General Public - Tenderness 10) Go-Go's - Head Over Heels 11) INXS - What You Need 12) Missing Persons - Words 13) Echo and the Bunneymen - Lips Like Sugar 14) REM - Superman 15) Bangles - Going Down to Liverpool 16) Sparks - I Predict 17) M - Pop Musik 18) Oingo Boingo - Weird Science 19) The Cure - Just Like Heaven 20) Depeche Mode - Blasphemous Rumours 21) Duran Duran - My Chauffeur 22) OMD - If You Leave 23) Cyndi Lauper - She Bob 24) The Fixx - One Thing Leads To Another 25) Scandal - Goodbye To You 26) Wall of Voodoo - Mexican Radio 27) The Housemartins - Happy Hour 28) The Smiths - Panic 29) Fishbone - Party At Ground Zero

"You Could Be A Part-Time Model. But You'd Probably Still Have To Keep Your Normal Job ..."
This has been one of those weird anti-climatic Mondays. We had a pretty large promotion at 2am this morning. I've been sitting around and waiting to tackle any issues that may have come up, except there doesn't seem to be any issues. Ergo, not much for me to do today. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've been so busy this past week and a half, I've barely been able to come up for air. So a slow day is welcomed, it's just hard to shake the feeling that I should be doing something. One thing I can do is pimp ...

"Sookie, Sookie, Sookie, Sookie, Sookie, Soul ..."
So, the summer is starting and I wanted to do something a little different for July. I decided that this month will be Soul Appreciation Week on CruelNails Radio. I'm going to try to post a soul-related podcast each week for you all. The first is The Soul Shack, an hour of funky lil' known soul tunes that I compiled from my own collection and from sites like Soul Sides, Ear Fuzz, Vinyl Vulture, and other online soul-spots. These tunes are available through an MP3 Stream, by dragging and dropping the RSS Podcast icon into your iTunes, or by individual files. When you're done, head over to the CruelNails Radio Forum or leave a comment below and let me know what you think ... I dare you to stay still during this mix ....

"Eddie Murphy Taught Me That Back At The House ..."
So this Saturday, I'm Tivo-ing Live Earth - because I'm nothing if not a sucker for music festivals. However I got to admit that this one has given me some pause. I'm not entirely certain that the point of this show is. In the past, the point behind these shows were pretty obvious. Live Aid was held to rid Africa of mass starvation (and thank god Live Aid was there to end that, right?) Live 8 - in addition to the dodgy name - was a little more vague. There was no money being raised, but it was more of a protest concert, trying to force the worlds' leaders to end world dept. While not immediately successful, it did publicize the issue and has helped to make a little change, I guess. Live Earth is being held to .... do what exactly? It's not being held to raise any money. I don't really buy that it's being held to raise awareness of the issue. I mean, I think everyone is pretty friggin' aware of the issue at this point. And, if someone is not aware or doesn't believe in global warming, is a gyrating Madonna really going to convince them? On top of that - how is this concert not going against what they are preaching about? I mean, even if we are to buy into the theory that our joe-public superstars are globally conscious - do you think Kanye West is going to stop flying on Jet airliners? Are we expected to believe that all the people going to these stadiums are car-pooling? Furthermore, isn't the fact that this is on tv in the first place against their goal? Isn't one of the recommendations to reduce peoples' reliance on non-green electricity by getting them to turn off their televisions? While I'm sure I'll enjoy seeing Crowded House, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Police, etc. tomorrow - wouldn't the truly responsible thing be for us all to stay home and not watch it?

"I Need You! You! You!"
Ok, Soul Appreciation Month is continuing this week with someone who might possibly be the most soulful man on earth - Solomon Burke. First a little background ... Solomon Burke came onto the scene over four decades ago. From 1961 to 1968, Burke released over 30 singles, including "Cry to Me", "Got to Get You Off of My Mind", and "Tonight’s the Night". While a friend and influence on just about every major soul singer in the 60's (Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Ben E. King. etc.), he never caught the breaks that he deserved. The pitifully disrespectful way African American artists were treated in the 60's and 70's resulted in Solomon jumping from label to label and contract to contract, never being allowed to stay at one place long enough to truly build a profitable following. For quite some time, the majority of money Solomon made to feed his ... ahem ... 21 children came from the funeral business, specifically a chain of funeral homes he ran on the West Coast. Inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, his influence loomed large over rock musicians of the 60's and 70's. Perhaps the best example of his influence is that, once word got out that Joe Henry was producing Solomon Burke's' return to secular music in 2002 ("Don't Give Up on Me") - within a month, original and unreleased songs came streaming in from Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Tom Waits, and Van Morrison. In addition, Van Morrison - not known for his generosity - even wrote the liner notes for Solomon's follow-up "Make Do with What You Got". Not to be outdone - when Solomon started work on his first country album, the excellent "Nashville", he was immediately joined by Dolly Parton, Gillian Welch, Emmylou Harris, Patty Loveless, and Patty Griffin. What I'm saying, then, is simply this. If you haven't listened to Solomon Burke, you haven't listened to soul music, period. Note: These tunes are currently available through an MP3 Stream or by dragging and dropping the RSS Podcast icon into your iTunes ...

"One, Two, Three - Black Star Shines Eternally ..."
OK, so last week I posted a mix that (for the most part) looked at where soul came from - not that Solomon Burke is slowing down any. This weeks posting in Soul Appreciation Month is centered on soul's recent past and future - specifically neo-soul. A combination of old school R&B spirit with new flavor, neo-soul incorporates many acts (The Roots, Common, Erykah Badu, D'angelo, etc.) This mix is concentrating on my personal favorite neo-soul group, Black Star. In 1998, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Hi-Tek released Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star. While the rest of hip-hop was dealing with the fallout of the 2Pac/Biggie shootings and - thanks to Puff Daddy - drowning in bling and Ma$e - Black Star quietly dropped 45 minutes of tunes about their life, where they grew up, and the state of hip-hop. Since 1998, Mos Def and Talib Kweli keep promising to return to the study for a second album. However, other than the occasional guest appearance and reunion for festivals or Dave Chapelle, it's never happened. Perhaps they're too busy with their (mostly inferior) solo albums, movies, broadway shows, or maybe they realize that any follow-up would almost certainly pale in comparison. Mos certainly learned this when following up his Black on Both Sides solo debut with the solid (while underwhelming) The New Danger. So Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Still Black Star contains my favorite tracks from their debut album, solo albums, and guest appearances. Until a true follow-up album appears (if it ever does) this should hold you over. This mix is available through an MP3 Stream, by dragging and dropping the RSS Podcast icon into your iTunes, or by individual files ...

"Love & Happiness ..."
So for the third week of Soul Appreciation Month, I'm posting a mix of tunes by the master, Al Green. I figured most everyone on earth already knows Al's "hits", so this mix consists of lesser known album tracks and a handful of live tracks. This mix is available through an MP3 Stream, by dragging and dropping the RSS Podcast icon into your iTunes, or by individual files. Enjoy!

"We'll Call Him Nate ... If It's A Boy."
I believe the new Prince album comes out today (it has been streaming on MSN Music for the past week). It's kind of sad that years ago I'd be counting down the days until a new Prince album and nowadays I'm just pretty sure it's coming out today. What is odd to me is that, for the third album in a row (after Musicology and 3121), the reviews have been between good to outstanding and I'm just a little better than underwhelmed. So, the question is - when Prince is concerned - are the average music reviewer too easy to impress or am I too hard to impress?

"We'll Call Him Nate ... If It's A Boy."
I believe the new Prince album comes out today (it has been streaming on MSN Music for the past week). It's kind of sad that years ago I'd be counting down the days until a new Prince album and nowadays I'm just pretty sure it's coming out today. What is odd to me is that, for the third album in a row (after Musicology and 3121), the reviews have been between good to outstanding and I'm just a little better than underwhelmed. So, the question is - when Prince is concerned - are the average music reviewer too easy to impress or am I too hard to impress?

"You Don't Have To Watch Dynasty To have An Attitude."
So, I was thinking of the best way to end Soul Appreciation Month and I figured, since my first podcast - about a year and a half ago - was a collection of Prince, it only made sense that the final Soul Appreciation mix would also be a mix of Prince tunes. Also, taking in account my thoughts about Prince's current musical output, you'll notice a near lack of anything recorded within the past two decades or so. Housequake contains extended mixes, demos, unreleased stuff, album tracks, songs written for other artists, and a few oddities. It's available as an MP3 Stream or podcast. Sorry about the lack of individual files - but there were just too many to post seperately. Hope you enjoy it ....

"I'm So Like A Pip. I'm So Glad It's Night."
Some random thoughts ...

"Because I Got The Trash And You Got The Cash, So Baby We Should Get Along Fine."
So I come today to say goodbye to something that has been part of our lives for years now. No, not him. Not him either. Non lui, neanche. I'm speaking, of course, of the Weekly World News. Yes, the last new issue of the Weekly World News was released today. After this week, who will tell us what is going on with Bat Boy? Will Bat Boy ever live in peace? Will he ever find love? Will he ever grow into Bat Man? We'll never know ...

To Whom It May Concern:
Hi, David was kind enough to let me take over his little space on the Web for a brief period of time. My name is Jonathan Silverman. You might remember me from some of my TV and Movie work - like 'Weekend At Bernies' I and II, 'In Case of Emergency', 'Caddyshack II', 'Little Big League', 'The Odd Couple II', 'The Single Guy', and many other productions that you have spent time and energy to avoid ...

To Whom It May Concern:"You Can Be My Black Kate Moss Tonight."
This month's mix contains tunes by Kanye West, Crowded House, Prince, Outkast, Alison Krauss, Spoon, Common, and a Bee Gee's cover by Ray LaMontagne and Damien Rice. It's available by mp3 stream, podcast, and individual files ...

"They Talk To Me. Birds Talk To Me if I Go Down On My Knees."
First off, I emailed everyone on my team to make sure they knew how much dedication it takes for me to leave my apartment and come into work since, right now, it's so hot in Texas playgrounds are exploding. But that's not what I came here to write about today. No, I came to right about Karl Rove. Once Karl Rove announced that he was resigning, Democrats have been acting like they have been granted the biggest gift on Earth. For the life of me, I can't figure out why ...

"He Knows Where She's Going As She's Leaving. She's Headed Towards The Cheatin' Side Of Town."
So I've been listening to The Eagles a lot these past few days. A very negative trait I posses (or, at least, negative from the stand-point of my wallet) is that every once in a while, I'll get in the mood to hear some artist and end up buying damn near everything that artist has ever recorded. Which is how I came about spending $45 on Eagles tunes this weekend (damn your easy purchasing functionality, iTunes! Damn you to hell!!) Now, obviously, whether The Eagles' hits were "good" is purely subjective. I have plenty of friends that believe that the peaceful-easy-feeling soft-country-rock that The Eagles specialized in pretty much signaled the death of inventive rock music for, at least, a decade. I can certainly see where these friends are coming from. But I do like the tunes. Sue me. One thing I have learned is that - once you get past the hits - there ain't a damn thing there. Most artists have a few hidden gems, stored away in album tracks or B-sides. A few songs that, while not released as singles, are truly stand-out tracks. The Eagles were not those artists. In fact, not only do The Eagles not have any hidden gems, any- and everything by The Eagles that did not end up on Best Of Volume I or II is pretty much crap. And not even interesting crap. Just badly rewritten, badly sung, badly performed, lazily produced crap. Have you ever sat through The Greeks Don't Want No Freeks, their "disco/new wave" song? I wouldn't recommend it. The only exception to this is "James Dean". Don't get me wrong, it's a smelly turd of musical ineptitude. But, in it's 3 minutes and 38 seconds, it sums up everything people hated about The Eagles and that whole Laurel Canyon 70's-rock period. "searing" guitars, , unnecessary 4-part harmony, and truly insipid lyrics: James Dean, James Dean, I know just what you mean. James Dean, you said it all so clean and I know my life would look alright if I could see it on the silver screen. You were the low down rebel if there ever was even if you had no'cause. James Dean, you said it all so clean and I know my life would look alright if I could see it on the silver screen. It took 3 people to write that. Anyway, I got into this Eagles mood because I just finished reading Hotel California: The True-Life Adventures of Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Mitchell, Taylor, Browne, Ronstadt, Geffen, the Eagles, and Their Many Friends. While I enjoyed the book, I realized that (other than Crue's The Dirt, of course) every book about every music scene is essentially the same. People come together, become friends/lovers, write/record music, become famous, turn on all of their original ideals, burn out in a flurry of coke and booze, live to long for "the simpler times". I should not that, since I've just started reading Fargo Rock City : A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota, I probably should be less concerned with the relative same-ness of music books and spend the energy convincing myself that I don't actually need the own the entire recorded oeuvre of Motley Crue ...

"Summer Days Driftin' Away, To Uh-oh Those Summer Nights ..."
So, since we're heading into the final dog days of summer - I thought this would be nice time to post a mix of Summer tunes. Now these aren't necessarily songs about Summer (although there are certainly some of those). it's a bit more subjective. This is a 2-hour mix of songs and sounds that either make me think of Summer just sound great during the summer - lounging at the beach, barbequeing at the pool, or just skipping work. Oh, and if you don't have an iPod? No worries. Just click on the lil' play button, below, and you can listen to the mix right here.

"Your Career Was A Typo, Mine Is Written Like A Haiku ..."
Last night I went to see Etta James, Al Green, and B.B. King. It was a great show - despite the fact that nowadays B.B. King seems to enjoy talking to an audience more than performing for said audience. But I guess once you hit 81 years, you can pretty much do whatever you want on stage. There was, however, one moment that collectively gave the audience pause. About 15 minutes into his set, Al Green remarked, "I've been listening backstage and I've heard some great music but I haven't heard anybody say anything about Jesus!" You could almost feel the audience collectively think, "Whoa there - we paid to see Reverend AL GREEN, not REVEREND Al Green." Luckily, after a jawdroppingly beautiful version of 'Amazing Grace', the moment had passed. However, I do have to give big-ups to God. Wait a minute - come back! Let me explain. So there is this gorgeous woman that lives at my complex. Seriously, in the words of the worldly poet, Steven Tyler, this girl is "F.I.N.E. Fine." After complaining for a month that she seemed to had disappeared, she suddenly showed up at the pool again yesterday. So, I stepped to her and got a shoulder that couldn't have been colder if she were made of ice. Which to be honest, based on ... I don't know ... my whole life, I kinda' expected. However, shortly after I was efficiently dismissed, a friend mentioned that she had come out to the pool to read ... a bible. And she had a notebook with "JESUS" written across the cover. So, here's where I gotta' give God a pound (much like Deion Sanders used to after scoring touchdowns). For years now, people have grown less and less enamored with religion. What with priests' "special relationships" with their male flock and the seemingly never-ending line of "holy" men and women who have turned out to be somewhat less than ... people are turning away from God. So God, being no dummy, realized that he needed a hook. Something to pull people back to church. A marketing tool - like those What Would Jesus Do bractlets but less easy to mock. Obviously, he's realized that his best chance is an army of missionaries. But not just any army - an army of crazy-ass hot women. Lord knows (pun intended) that straight men are generally powerless to the allure of hot chicks and are willing to do anything they say. So who better to tell men to get right with God than an army of video-babes? It's like the Kiss Army - only not so much with the Satan. So, while this hot woman obviously decided that I may not necessarily be worth saving, it's still a damn fine plan. So much respect G. Game recognize game.

"Gunter Glieben Glauchen Globen ..."
The latest mix has been posted. These Go To 11 go back to the world of acid-washed jeans, mullets, Jack Daniels, and aqua-net. You can listen to this mix on your iPod, by subscribing to the CruelNails Radio podcast, or listen to it right here These Go To 11 1. Detroit Rock City - Kiss 2. F.I.N.E. - Aerosmith 3. Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi 4. Turn Up The Radio - Autograph 5. Trampled Under Foot - Led Zepplin 6. Fire Woman - The Cult 7. Home Sweet Home - Motley Crue 8. Renegade - Styx 9. Welcome To The Jungle - Guns 'N' Roses 10. Still Of the Night - Whitesnake 11. Metal Health - Quiet Riot 12. We're Not Gonna' Take It - Twisted Sister 13. Talk Dirty To Me - Poison 14. Eruption / Hot For Teacher - Van Halen 15. Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne 16. Silent Lucidity - Queensryche 17. Rock Of Ages - Def Leppard 18. Thunderstruck - AC/DC 19. Kiss Me Deadly - Lita Ford 20. Round And Round - Ratt 21. Holy Diver - Dio 22. Roller - April Wine 23. Ace Of Spades - Motorhead 24. Shake Me - Cinderella 25. Rock You Like A Hurricane - Scorpians