GUTEN “TAG,” MEIN ARSCH

Pete Vonder Haar (A Perfectly Cromulent Blog) has shit on my dinner table tagged me with a meme, and since those who live by the meme die by the meme, I am honor bound to play along.

Pete, you may have escaped without dipping your toes in the Punchbowl, but what goes around, comes around. Heh.

Anyway, here are the details:

List ten songs that you are currently digging... it doesn’t matter what genre they are from, whether they have words, or even if they’re no good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying right now. Post these instructions, the artists, and the ten songs in your blog. Then tag five other people to see what they’re listening to.

Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of comedy on my car’s XM radio, but I can always pull a list of ten songs out of my ass. So here goes:

1. Richard Cheese, “Baby Got Back”
   Hip-hop, Vegas lounge style. In Mr. Cheese’s version, you can actually understand the lyrics. One night while dining out at a popular Atlanta restaurant, the Bar Entertainment Guy actually played this version of the song, and The Mistress and I nearly shat ourselves laughing.
   
   
2. J. Ralph, “One Million Miles Away”
   This tune may sound vaguely familiar to you, as it was used in a popular and long-running Volkswagen ad. It stands on its own as a fine piece of contemporary music.
   
   
3. The Who, “Eminence Front” (live version)
   One of the better songs from the latter-day incarnation of The Who.
   
   
4. David Chevan and the Afro-Semitic Experience, “Sha Shtil”
   A traditional Yiddish tune, jazzed up.
   
   
5. Frank Zappa, “Dupree’s Paradise” (live version)
   From the album Make A Jazz Noise Here, this cut has some amazing horn work.
   
   
6. Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks, “The Laughing Song”
   Never fails to put me in a good mood.
   
   
7. Alamaailman Vasarat, “Mamelukki & musta leski”
   Music that beggars description. They call themselves a “Finnish group playing horny and punky secret agent brass music.” Klezmer-metal? Kosher-kebab-punk? Whatever it is, it’s downright infectious. This song is from their 2000 debut album Vasaraasia.
   
   
8. Green Day, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”
   These guys reinvented themselves nicely with their album American Idiot, from which this cut is taken.
   
   
9. The Shins, “New Slang”
   The Garden State soundtrack is a rarity: a compilation of tunes that is both an integral part of the movie and that works beautifully as a stand-alone album.
   
   
10. Frank Zappa, “Peaches en Regalia”
    From the landmark Hot Rats album. If you are not thoroughly familiar with this one, shame on you.

Now, who to slap with this honorable memely task?

• Karen, of Verbatim (a music lover from ’way back)
  
  
• Jim, of Patriside (another Zappa aficionado)
  
  
• Lu, of skip to my lu (to see if she’s really compatible with Jim)
  
  
• Zonker, of Thunder and Roses (’cause anyone with a Quality Mullet has gotta know some good tunes!)
  
  
• Roxanne, of Rox Populi (creator of the Friday Random Ten)

Now, go thou and do likewise!