Enthusiastick Journal

anxious. anx·ious. angk-shuh s. full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune

5. "Feel Good Inc" by Gorillaz

The lead single off Gorillaz sophomore studio album, its 2005 rise to popularity helped to cement the band's reputation as more than a one-trick pony. It may seem a little upbeat to be appearing on this list, but in addition to being a great song its also a fundamentally creepy one. From the raucous laughter in the background to the the persistent two-note "feel good" riff, there are certain contexts in which this song still sends a shiver down my spine.

4. "Caring Is Creepy" by the Shins

Track 1, side 1 of the Shin's debut album Oh, Inverted World, this song also appeared on the soundtrack of Garden State, helping assure that as far as the pretentious indie rock scene was concerned the Shins were officially passe (nothing is any good, after all, if any people like it.) I don't know what it is about this song; its not my favorite song by the Shins. But it has some indefinable quality in common with later Beach Boys stuff that earns it the number four spot. Can you tell I had some trouble with songs for this week? And next week could be even tougher. Hoo boy.

3. "Edit" by Regina Spektor

There is an argument to be made that this song doesn't fit with the rest of the album (Begin To Hope, 2006.) The lyrics are exceedingly terse, while there's a complexity to the music that belies that stark simplicity of the talented Ms. Spektor's other tracks. Debate rages on the internet as to whether the "white lines" in the song's lyrics are a reference to drugs or blank sheets of paper (the fact that both "Doctor Roberts" and "Uncle Albert" appear in other songs, one by the Beatles and one by Paul McCartney, makes me suspect the latter.) Whether its writer's block or addiction, its a song about failure, and it makes me nervous.

2. "Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades" by Brand New

I won't wax on too long about this song, as I fully expect it to make at least one more appearance on a 5 songs list, and wouldn't be surprised to see it make its way to number 1 elsewhere. I love this one unreservedly, both music and lyrics. But I thought it over and decided that, whatever mood it exemplifies, anxious is not it. So it clocks in at number 2, a song about the perils of getting everything you wanted, about the horror of ambivalence, about sex that may be rape, forever telling a simple truth: "this - is - so - messed - up."

1. "I Know Who You Are But What Am I?" by Mogwai

I believe this is the first instrumental on the countdown so far, and certainly the first to make it all the way to the top. I'm not a huge Mogwai fan, and in fact only became aware of them thanks to qcjeph, the esteemed author of Questionable Content. Stuart Braithwaite, one of the band's co-founders, is quoted in the Wikipedia article as saying, "I think most people are not used to having no lyrics to focus on. Lyrics are a real comfort to some people. I guess they like to sing along and when they can't do that with us they can get a bit upset." I'm certainly a whore for lyrics, but there's really something to the simplicity of this song, the way it builds upon a theme, piling more and more on without ever threatening to collapse. It makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and its sublime.

Next week: 5 songs for feeling apathetic.

angry. an·gry. ang-gree. feeling or showing anger or strong resentment; expressing, caused by, or characterized by anger; wrathful.

5. "Kill You" by Eminem

There's a playfulness to the anger of this song which somehow doesn't manage to dilute its simple and oft-repeated core message: "You don't wanna fuck with Shady or Shady will fuckin' kill you." Released as the second track on his sophomore album in 2000 (and the first one containing actual music,) I didn't really hear this song until several years later, sometime in the middle of college. In addition to being modified to be thablueguy's theme song at one point, its also the song that provided the tipping point for my admitting I liked Eminem.

4. "There's No 'I' In Team" by Taking Back Sunday

If the anger in the last song is playful, then this one exemplifies the ways in which I am an Emo Potato (I am both angry and sad.)

As a side note: Taking Back Sunday is one of the only bands I can un-ironically say I liked better before they sold out. This song is from their 2002 sophomore album Tell All Your Friends. Later the band would lose two of its core members (they went on to form Straylight Run) and to this day I have no earthly idea why they didn't simply change their name -- except the obvious reason, they had gained some popularity with the name and were looking to capitalize on it. In my opinion, however, the band that began releasing albums in 2004 and continues to tour under the name Taking Back Sunday bears little resemblance to the original. But I digress.

This song was written as a response to an earlier intra-band dispute, a response to Brand New's "Seventy Times Seven" which is supposedly about the very same fight. And while both are songs of betrayal and frustration, there is an underlying rage in the Taking Back Sunday song that firmly earns it the number four spot on this list. "Best friends means I pulled the trigger," howl the dual vocals. "Best friends means you get what you deserve."

3. "Napoleon" by Ani Difranco

In Nick Hornby's High Fidelity there's a moment where the protagonist, Rob, describes via inner monologue being so angry that he doesn't end up seeming angry at all. So angry that he's shaking, that his voice quivers, and so the overall impression is of someone experiencing an entirely different kind of emotion. That quiet anger, the anger which seethes, is what this song is all about. I'm not ashamed to admit that for a long time in my life I turned to Ani Difranco when I wanted music that was genuinely about feeling something, and I still turn back to her from time to time. This song is from here seventh studio album, Dilate, released in 1996 and then covered on the first CD of her 1997 live album Living In Clip. I am perhaps ashamed to admit how much (and for how long) I over-identified with the lyric: "And I guess that you dialed my number 'cause you thought for sure that I'd agree. And I say 'baby y'know I still love you, but how dare you complain to me?'"

2. "Bro" by Goldfinger

Now we're getting to the good stuff. I may not have much in the way of out-and-out angry music in my collection (its never really been my thing.) But this song, from Goldfinger's third album Stomping Ground (released in 2000) is always good for a little turning on, cranking up and just screaming. Its not complicated, and perhaps its not all that good (Goldfinger, like me, was just dabbling in angry music.) Still, before I had Linkin Park to work with, I had Goldfinger and their simple injunction: "Don't fuckin' smile, just get the fuck away from me! Get! The fuck! Away!" It worked then and, to their credit, it still works now.

1. "Ventilator" by Acumen Nation

I remember distinctly the first time I ever heard this song, crammed in between several people in a car with the volume turned up to just the right level of insanity (loud enough to make the bones in your skull ache, but not to actually make your ears bleed.) I had been living with thablueguy less than a year and had begun to absorb some of his taste in industrial, but after an initially bad experience was doing so slowly and cautiously. I knew that I liked vnv nation, that I didn't much care for Skinny Puppy. I knew that the more ridiculously 80s a band was the more likely I was to at least be able to enjoy it. So Acumen Nation, a solidly industrial band from Chicago, came as something of a surprise to me. I have no idea what album this song is from, when it was released. I'm not entirely confident of all the lyrics (although some, like "If you think you're hurting now you ain't seen nothin' yet" are unmistakable.) But its etched into my soul and I love it unreservedly. Its 6:00 minutes of pure angry musical perfection.

Next week: 5 songs for feeling annoyed.

aggravated. ag·gra·vat·ed. ag-ruh-vey-tid. made worse or more severe; intensified; annoyed; irritated; exasperated.

5. "The Last Polka" by Ben Folds Five

I honestly expect Ben Folds to show up on this list a lot; musically speaking he's one of my "go to" guys. Still its interesting to me to see him in the #5 spot two weeks in a row. This particular number is from his band's self-titled debut album released in 1995. It details a relationship on the edge of break-up, but for my money what really sells the song is the piano part. Folds seems to rail against the ivory keys in an increasingly desperate flurry as the song goes on (this is particularly noticable if you listen to the live version from his 2002 "Ben Folds Live" album). There's also something about the crescendoing fervor with which he sings the bridge: "he said 'well I hate that its come to this, but baby I was doing fine - how do you think that I survived the other twenty five before you?"

4. "One Step Closer" by Linkin Park

A guilty pleasure to be sure, Linkin Park nevertheless does certain primitive emotions very well, in an admittedly fairly raw and childish sort of way. This is the single that put them on the map in 2001, and though it has been and is overplayed it remains one of their best efforts. What better song to evoke feelings of aggravation than one whose break consists of nothing more than lead vocalist Chester Bennington shouting, "Shut up when I'm talking to you." OK, so its kind of a terrible song and they're pretty much a terrible band, but for me at least the song still works when I'm in exactly the wrong mood.

3. "The Way I Am" by Eminem

There's nothing quite like listening to rich and talented people complain about the pressures of their success. In this second single from his sophomore album released in 2000 Eminem did his level best to piss off pretty much everyone who was responsible for making him famous. Certainly the move was carefully calculated to cultivate his image, and ultimately endear him even more to his legions of fans - and it worked. That doesn't change the fact that the song also works, nor does it change the honesty that makes it so effective. "If you tempt me my tank is on empty," growls Marshall Mathers, in a perhaps earnest threat to assault anyone who bothers him when he's out in public with his daughter.

2. "Nugget" by Cake

The moment the first discordant strains of this song hit my ear I'm snapped instantly into its groove. That's hardly unusual for Cake, but this song from their 2006 sophomore album is unusual, or at least unorthodox by their standards. The repetitive verses paint evocative images, a technique frontman John McCrea has honed over the years. But then he drops a straightforward chorus of "Shut the fuck up," and his back-up singers chime in to say the same. There are other songs that are good when you want to sing along and tell the world to shut up (see the Simple Plan single of the same name, or entry #4 on this list) but there's something about the seductive rhythm of this song that makes it work particularly well.

1. "Killing In The Name" by Rage Against the Machine

Once again this week the #1 spot is occupied by a band that, if I'm being honest with, I'm not as familiar with as I should be. I didn't get into Rage Against the Machine until well after they broke up. In 1993 this was their first single, which sparked much of their subsequent fame and controversy. It has become one of their signature songs, and with good reason. I like it for several reasons, but it appears on this list mostly because of frontman Zack De La Rocha's willingness to shout "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me," sixteen times in a row, and his ability to pack more fervor into each successive repetition. Think what you like about the band and their politics (and, for that matter, their reunion appearances, scheduled for later this Spring); it doesn't change the fact that this song defined impotent rebellion for an entire generation of angry young men.

Next week: 5 songs for feeling amused.

I'm starting a new project here on the old livejournal. Its partially inspired by a recent Friday fill-in-the-blank of rollick's, and partially by loopygirl's super awesome AlphaGeek. And partially its just something I thought would be fun to do. If I do it the way I'm currently envisioning, it'll take over two years to complete. I'm hoping to stick with it that long.

I'm going to create a list of 5 songs for every LJ mood.

You may notice I didn't say Top 5s, which is significant, given my obsession with High Fidelity. I've blogged in the past about my difficulty calling anything my Desert Island, all-time favorite. These are intended as snapshots; 5 songs that fit the mood in question, in my opinion, at the point in my life when they were written. Which means I also won't be revising them; if I think of (or discover) a song so good that it absolutely should have been on the list, then I'll probably make mention of it in a separate post. But the lists themselves will stand as they're originally posted, for better or worse.

I would not be particularly surprised, given the proliferance of LJ communities like thefridayfive to discover that there is already someone doing this.

Its also worth mentioning that the LJ mood list is patently ridiculous. It omits any number of common moods and doubles up on others, which will force me to make fine distinctions. It lacks a "wistful" but has a "nostalgic." Its got both a "dorky" and a "geeky." Some of these, such as "thirsty" and "nauseated," will almost certainly be a challenge to put to music. And "exanimate"? Who the Hell even knows what that means without resorting to a dictionary?

There are over 100 of these things in a standard LJ mood set. Allowing for one a week and a couple weeks off a year, this is quite a long term commitment to make. But I'm eager to get started.