Halloween Mix

Some tunes from my Halloween Horror '07 playlist. Put it on random and enjoy.

Band of Horses - Is There a Ghost
Counting Crows - The Ghost in You
Counting Crows - Ghost Train
Daniel Johnston - Casper The Friendly Ghost
Johnny Cash - (Ghost) Riders in the Sky
Kristin Hersh - Your Ghost
Rollins Band - Ghostrider
Psychedelic Furs - The Ghost In You
Raveonettes - Attack of the Ghost Riders
Spoon - The Ghost Of You Lingers
White Stripes - Walking With A Ghost
Roky Erickson & the Aliens - I Walked With a Zombie
REM - i Walked With a Zombie
Danny Elfman - This Is Halloween
Ryan Adams - Halloween Head
Soul Coughing - Unmarked Helicopters
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Stagger Lee
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Death Is Not The End
Jeff Tweedy - Sugar Baby
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Crow Jane
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Red Right Hand
Ryan Adams - Brown Sugar
Bob Log III - Boob Scotch
Babes In Toyland - Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft
Johnny Cash - Hurt
Tom Waits - Hoist That Rag
Magnolia Electric Company - Werewolves Of London
Ralph Stanley - O Death
Coasters-Down in Mexico
Jay Farrar - Voodoo Candle
Nirvana - Lake Of Fire
Pacific Gas and Electric - Staggolee
Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Chile
Damien Jurado - Pink Moon
Alice In Chains - Them Bones
Nine Inch Nails - Hurt
Pine Valley Cosmonauts - Oh Death
Gary Jules - Mad World
Berzilla Wallin - Conversation With Death
Grant Lee Buffalo - Demon Called Deception
Reverend Horton Heat - Psychobilly Freakout
Ryan Adams - Vampire
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
Billy Bragg & Wilco - Hoodoo Voodoo
Harry McClintock - Big Rock Candy Mountain
Robert Johnson - Me and the Devil Blues
Violent Femmes - Country Death Song
Bob Log III - Big Ass Hard On
Dusty Springfield - Spooky
John Lee Hooker - Graveyard Blues
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - The Curse Of Millhaven
Modest Mouse - Bury Me With It
Toadies - Possum Kingdom
Toadies - I Burn
Ronnie Dawson-Rockin' Bones
Ben Gibbard - Thriller (live)
Jeff Tweedy - Be Not So Fearful
Kasey Chambers - We're All Gonna Die Someday
Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar
Dandy Warhols - Hells Bells
Tom Waits - Dead And Lovely
Ryan Adams - I See Monsters
Hives - Die, All Right!
Sonics - Psycho
Drive-By Truckers - People Who Died
Nirvana - Where Did You Sleep Last Night
Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Cave Singers - Dancing on Our Graves
White Stripes - Astro/Jack The Ripper
Nine Inch Nails - Dead Souls
Jackie Morningstar - Rockin' in the Graveyard
Ryan Adams - Note To Self: Don't Die
Townes Van Zandt - Waitin' Round to Die
Scott H. Biram - Blood Sweat & Murder
Brakesbrakesbrakes - If I Should Die Tonight
Nine Inch Nails - Burn
Roky Erickson & the Aliens-Bloody Hammer
Nine Inch Nails - I Do Not Want This
Son House - Death Letter
Interpol - Evil
M. Ward - Undertaker
Wilco - Hell is Chrome
Roky Erickson & the Aliens-Two Headed Dog (Red Temple Prayer)
Menomena - Rotten Hell
bloom - All Good Girls Dig Graves
Nine Inch Nails - Something I Can Never Have
Nine Inch Nails - Closer
Uncle Tupelo - Graveyard Shift
Eels - Your Lucky Day In Hell
Tom Waits - Everything Goes To Hell
Breeders - Hellbound
Tom Waits - Get Behind the Mule
bloom - Don't Tell a Dead Man How to Die
Scott H. Biram - Raisin' Hell Again
Jeff Mangum - I Will Bury You In Time
Band of Horses - The Funeral
Concrete Blonde - Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)
Subrosa - Buzzard
Eels - Going to Your Funeral Part 1
Frank Black - Deadman's Curve
Grateful Dead - Candyman
Radiohead - Creep
Damien Jurado - Oh Death Art With Me
Guided By Voices - Teenage FBI
Buster Johnson - Undertaker Blues
Caitlin Cary - Please Take The Devil Out Of Me
Grandpaboy - Vampires & Failures
Gothic Archies - Scream and Run Away
White Stripes - Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground
M. Ward - Dead Man
Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead Or Alive
Frank Black - Sugar Daddy
Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put A Spell On You
Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Put A Spell On You
Frank Black - Ed Is Dead
Okkervil River - For Real
Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me
Steve Earle - The Devil's Right Hand
Marilyn Manson - The Beautiful People
Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil
Social Distortion - Mommy's Little Monster
Gnarls Barkley - The Boogie Monster
Beck - Devil's Haircut
Wilco - Candy Floss
Band - The Devil Went Down to Georgia
Bright Eyes - Devil Town
Grateful Dead - Friend Of The Devil
Drive-By Truckers - Where the Devil Don't Stay
Daniel Johnston - Devil Town
INXS - Devil Inside
Murder City Devils - Tell You Brother
Eels - My Beloved Monster
Daniel Johnston - I Killed the Monster
Marilyn Manson - Sweet Dreams (are made of this)
Band of Horses - Monster
Frank Sinatra - Witchcraft
Sonics - The Witch
Adam Sandler - Werewolves of London
Long Winters - Scared Straight
Ryan Adams - Afraid Not Scared
Neko Case-Things That Scare Me
Blasters - Dark Night

Broken Flowers

Film #54 of my '07 list was Broken Flowers.

My NetFlix rating: 3.5 stars
Jamie says: Bill Murray is hilarious...oh wait wrong movie
RIYL: Lost in Translation, Jim Jarmusch

Official Site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

Darjeeling Limited

Film #53 of my '07 list was The Darjeeling Limited.

My NetFlix rating: 4 stars
Jamie says: More quirky, visually appealing goodness from Wes Anderson
RIYL: Life Aquatic, Royal Tenanbaums

Official Site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

You're Gonna Miss Me

Film #52 of my '07 list was the Roky Erickson documentary You're Gonna Miss Me.

My NetFlix rating: 4 stars
Jamie says: Awesome soundtrack plus family drama = Fascinating
RIYL: The Devil and Daniel Johnston, Psychedelic rock

Official Site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

2007 Reading List - Books #1-40

Here's a recap of the first forty books of my '07 50 book challenge:

1. Martin Dressler - Steven Millhauser
2. The Boys From Old Florida - Buddy Martin
3. An American Family - Harry Crews
4. Profiles in Courage - John F. Kennedy
5. What is the What* - Dave Eggers
6. I Love You More Than You Know - Jonathan Ames
7. White Noise* - Don DeLillo
8. Fiskadoro - Denis Johnson
9. US Guys - Charlie LeDuff
10. Willful Creatures - Aimee Bender
11. Decoding the Universe - Charles Seife
12. Twin Study* - Stacy Richter
13. The Complete Maus* - Art Spiegelman
14. We Have Always Lived in the Castle* - Shirley Jackson
15. The Cheater's Guide to Baseball - Derek Zumsteg
16. The Road - Cormac McCarthy
17. Baseball Between the Numbers* - Jonah Keri
18. But I Like It - Joe Sacco
19. Chuck Klosterman IV - Chuck Klosterman
20. Watchmen* - Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
21. No One Belongs Here More Than You - Miranda July
22. V For Vendetta - Alan Moore and David Lloyd
23. The Dead Fish Museum* - Charles D'Ambrosio
24. You Don't Love Me Yet - Jonathan Lethem
25. Rant - Chuck Palahniuk
26. Falling Man - Don DeLillo
27. In the Heart of the Sea - Nathaniel Philbrick
28. A Feast of Snakes* - Harry Crews
29. Complications - Atul Gawande
30. Mere Anarchy - Woody Allen
31. The Yiddish Policemen's Union - Michael Chabon
32. Best of American Splendor - Harvey Pekar
33. Chester Square - Jaime Hernandez
34. Reasons to Live - Amy Hempel
35. Surveillance - Jonathan Raban
36. Scar Lover* - Harry Crews
37. The John Fante Reader* - John Fante
38. Palestine* - Joe Sacco
39. The Braindead Megaphone*- George Saunders
40. Facing the Music* - Larry Brown

* = Highly recommended

Previously: My 2006 reading list and my 2005 reading list.

Facing The Music

Book #40 on my reading list was Larry Brown's Facing the Music.

Facing the Music is Brown's outstanding 1984 debut featuring ten excellent short stories. Half Raymond Carver and half Amy Hempel the stories are inventive, intoxicating and damn good. Plus you know you're a bad ass writer when Bloodshot Records does a compilation for you. Highly recommended.

Larry Brown on Wikipedia

The Braindead Megaphone

Book #39 this year was George Saunders' new essay collection The Braindead Megaphone.


Saunders appearing on Letterman? And the Colbert Report? I never thought I'd see the day. Looks like The Braindead Megaphone may be the book that finally hits the big time. Odd that his first non-fiction collection would be the thing to pique people's interest, but I guess a MacArthur genius grant and a Guggenheim Fellowship will do that for you. Anyways it couldn't happen to a better writer, and as a proud member of the Saunders Army I'm thrilled to see it.

Little known Saunders factoid: "Pastoralia" was the inspiration for the Cavemen in the Geico commercials. How sweet is that? Nick Kroll I believe you owe Mr. Saunders a thank-you note.

Oh ya, and the book itself? Excellent. Hilarious, heart-felt, innovative. But then again it's Saunders so what would you expect?

Saunders fan page

Blue Dragon

I finally beat Blue Dragon this weekend. Clocking in at about 50 hours of game play spread over three discs it was quite the accomplishment (if I do say so myself). I especially dug the boss battle song "Eternity" which has to be the cheesiest most awesomest tune I've ever heard (check it in the clip below). Not digging the Achivements though...seriously no achivement for beating the game? What's up with that?

Grindhouse: Death Proof

Film #51 of my '07 list was Grindhouse: Death Proof.

My NetFlix rating: 3.5 stars
Jamie says: Tarantino Does Austin
RIYL: Death Race 2000, Christine, Tarantino dialogue

Official Site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

A History of Violence

Film #50 of my '07 list was A History of Violence. Given the 50 milestone I'd like to say I watched something more intriguing, like Citizen Kane or Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman but alas it is what it is.

My NetFlix rating: 3.5 stars
Jamie says: Can you say plot twist?
RIYL: Maria Bello, Ed Harris as a bad guy

Official Site
Rotten Tomatoes reviews
Wikipedia

Palestine

Book #38 this year was Joe Sacco's Palestine.

Want to understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Skip your newspapers and read this. Sacco goes behind the lines to deliver an inside look at the people behind the war. Sadly we're about 15 years out from when this was written and not all that much has changed.

Wikipedia page for the book
Fantagraphics Sacco page

The John Fante Reader

Book #37 on my list was The John Fante Reader.

An excellent intro to Fante's work, the Reader is a well collated survey of his writings including pieces from his novels, short stories and correspondence. The NY Times blurb on the back reads 'Either the work of John Fante is unknown to you or it is unforgettable" which I have to agree with. After reading this one I immediately went out and ordered Ask The Dust, so expect to see that one on my list soon. Must read for Kerouac fans.

Fante on Wikipedia...or maybe that's Wikipedia on Fante?

Scar Lover

Book #36 on my list this year was good ol' Harry Crews' Scar Lover.


Southern Gothic, Faulknerian...call it what you want Crews is the shizzle. This one sorta reminded me a bit of Ken Kesey's Sometimes a Great Notion which about a good a compliment as they come. Highly recommended.