It's time for another installment of the Green Monkey Music Project!
Green Monkey Master Bubs hosted the latest go-round, dubbed The Lenten Mix aka the "Man You Know This Shit's No Good For You" mix.
The criteria for songs in this mix was as follows:
You can download all of the participants' songs by clicking on "The Lenten Mix" link above, or just my songs by clicking here. Have a seat in the handbasket, folks...here we go!
"Walk on By," Bishop Allen
And who is this teenager?
With martydom on his mind?
Who's gonna ride the bus today
And who helps him to decide?
I wanna walk all over you, Jesus
Jesus, will you walk on by?
I'm over you, Jesus
You ain't no friend of mine
The first time I heard this song was at my old job. The guy who sat next to me was playing it on his computer and I couldn't really make out the lyrics. I heard "Jesus" mentioned once or twice, and I dug the awesome beat, so I thought maybe it was some gospel-inspired rock tune like "Spirit in the Sky." I bought it on iTunes and the first time I listened to it, I was like, "oohhhhhhh shiiiiiiiit." I've tried not to like it, but that beat is just too catchy. So now I just pretend like I can't understand the lyrics. Although, I'm not really sure if it's completely blasphemous. Most of the verses seem to be referencing the war in Iraq and terrorist activity (like Mr. Teenage Bus Bomber above), so I'm not sure if this is a "if there was a God, why would he let bad stuff like this happen" kind of song, or if it's a "the terrorists just need to let Jesus into their hearts and they'd stop being assholes" kind of song. Or it could just be an anti-Bush/anti-religious right song, because those are all the rage.
"Hey Man, Nice Shot," Filter
A man has gun
Hey man, have fun
Nice shot, man
I liked this song when it first came out, and then when I found out that it was about Budd Dwyer, it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. If you don't know, Dwyer was a Senator and the Treasurer of PA. As Treasurer, he was convicted of accepting a bribe. Although he (and others) maintained his innocence, he faced a possibly long jail sentence. The day before he was to be sentenced, he called a press conference, during which he put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger...on live TV. I didn't actually see the event, but I remember watching the news footage right after. Apparently, there were kids home from school for a snow day (I can't remember if I was home at the time or not, although my school rarely called snow days) and many of them witnessed this. I just think it's nasty, and writing a song to basically congratulate a desperate man on his "nice shot" just seems horribly tasteless.
"Gold Dust Woman," Fleetwood Mac
Rock on gold dust woman
Take your silver spoon, dig your grave
Heartless challenge
Pick your path and I'll pray
No one really knows for sure what this song is about, as Stevie Nicks once said she couldn't even remember herself, but that "it couldn't have been all about cocaine." Maybe not all, but I'm sure quite a bit of it was! Those first two lines strongly suggest drug use, although the spoon implies that it's heroin, and Stevie's drug of choice was definitely coke. Maybe she sprinkled it on her her Cheerios in the morning, who knows? I've just always interpreted the song to be about Stevie trying to deal with her sudden fame and breakup with Lindsey Buckingham the best way she knew how - through the nose.
"Credit in the Straight World," Hole
Go for credit in the straight world
Look a dealer in the eye
Go for credit in the real world, won't you try?
I got some credit in the straight world
I lost a leg, I lost an eye
Go for credit in the real world you will die
I could have really picked any Hole song and it would have been about drugs or being a skanky ho. What else is Courtney Love gonna sing about? I've never owned Live Through This, but I borrowed the tape from this guy I knew in college and ended up keeping it a really long time. I was surprised by how much I liked it. This song was originally my favorite (not so much anymore), and it turns out that it was actually a cover of a Young Marble Giants song. To make it her own though, Courtney added some stuff at the beginning about being so high she can't walk.
"Anything Goes," Guns N' Roses
I been thinkin' bout
Thinkin' bout sex
Always hungry for somethin'
That I haven't had yet
That's the beginning of the song, before it gets completely filthy. I'm being a prude today, so I'm not posting the 2nd verse in which, it seems, Axl may be banging a girl in a dumpster full of cigarette butts, dirty diapers, and greasy banana peels. At least that's the image that my brain always conjures up when I hear this. There are definitely dirtier songs than this, but something about this just makes me feel queasy. It's like when the guys from G N'R say "anything goes," I believe it. Orgies? Yup. Midget trannies? The more, the merrier. Goats? It wouldn't be a party without them! Nothing is off-limits with these dudes.
Green Monkey Master Bubs hosted the latest go-round, dubbed The Lenten Mix aka the "Man You Know This Shit's No Good For You" mix.
The criteria for songs in this mix was as follows:
Each song you pick has to have something about it that makes you think "uh-oh, could I go to hell for listening to this?" It has to contain enough references to sex, drugs or violence that, even as you enjoy listening to it, you know it's not really good for you...it might even be harming you in some way. I'm talking sleaze. Mind the blasphemy, though. Please.Unfortunately, my very first choice broke the "no blasphemy" rule, but I had to include it because it was the first song that popped into my head when I saw the theme rules.
The mix will be limited to 8 people who will each contribute 5 song choices. Get it? A total of 40 songs, one for each day of Lent. Years from now you'll be able to listen to it and reflect on your sins, doing penance for each song. It'll be a character builder.
You can download all of the participants' songs by clicking on "The Lenten Mix" link above, or just my songs by clicking here. Have a seat in the handbasket, folks...here we go!
"Walk on By," Bishop Allen
And who is this teenager?With martydom on his mind?
Who's gonna ride the bus today
And who helps him to decide?
I wanna walk all over you, Jesus
Jesus, will you walk on by?
I'm over you, Jesus
You ain't no friend of mine
The first time I heard this song was at my old job. The guy who sat next to me was playing it on his computer and I couldn't really make out the lyrics. I heard "Jesus" mentioned once or twice, and I dug the awesome beat, so I thought maybe it was some gospel-inspired rock tune like "Spirit in the Sky." I bought it on iTunes and the first time I listened to it, I was like, "oohhhhhhh shiiiiiiiit." I've tried not to like it, but that beat is just too catchy. So now I just pretend like I can't understand the lyrics. Although, I'm not really sure if it's completely blasphemous. Most of the verses seem to be referencing the war in Iraq and terrorist activity (like Mr. Teenage Bus Bomber above), so I'm not sure if this is a "if there was a God, why would he let bad stuff like this happen" kind of song, or if it's a "the terrorists just need to let Jesus into their hearts and they'd stop being assholes" kind of song. Or it could just be an anti-Bush/anti-religious right song, because those are all the rage.
"Hey Man, Nice Shot," Filter
A man has gunHey man, have fun
Nice shot, man
I liked this song when it first came out, and then when I found out that it was about Budd Dwyer, it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. If you don't know, Dwyer was a Senator and the Treasurer of PA. As Treasurer, he was convicted of accepting a bribe. Although he (and others) maintained his innocence, he faced a possibly long jail sentence. The day before he was to be sentenced, he called a press conference, during which he put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger...on live TV. I didn't actually see the event, but I remember watching the news footage right after. Apparently, there were kids home from school for a snow day (I can't remember if I was home at the time or not, although my school rarely called snow days) and many of them witnessed this. I just think it's nasty, and writing a song to basically congratulate a desperate man on his "nice shot" just seems horribly tasteless.
"Gold Dust Woman," Fleetwood Mac
Rock on gold dust womanTake your silver spoon, dig your grave
Heartless challenge
Pick your path and I'll pray
No one really knows for sure what this song is about, as Stevie Nicks once said she couldn't even remember herself, but that "it couldn't have been all about cocaine." Maybe not all, but I'm sure quite a bit of it was! Those first two lines strongly suggest drug use, although the spoon implies that it's heroin, and Stevie's drug of choice was definitely coke. Maybe she sprinkled it on her her Cheerios in the morning, who knows? I've just always interpreted the song to be about Stevie trying to deal with her sudden fame and breakup with Lindsey Buckingham the best way she knew how - through the nose.
"Credit in the Straight World," Hole
Go for credit in the straight worldLook a dealer in the eye
Go for credit in the real world, won't you try?
I got some credit in the straight world
I lost a leg, I lost an eye
Go for credit in the real world you will die
I could have really picked any Hole song and it would have been about drugs or being a skanky ho. What else is Courtney Love gonna sing about? I've never owned Live Through This, but I borrowed the tape from this guy I knew in college and ended up keeping it a really long time. I was surprised by how much I liked it. This song was originally my favorite (not so much anymore), and it turns out that it was actually a cover of a Young Marble Giants song. To make it her own though, Courtney added some stuff at the beginning about being so high she can't walk.
"Anything Goes," Guns N' Roses
I been thinkin' boutThinkin' bout sex
Always hungry for somethin'
That I haven't had yet
That's the beginning of the song, before it gets completely filthy. I'm being a prude today, so I'm not posting the 2nd verse in which, it seems, Axl may be banging a girl in a dumpster full of cigarette butts, dirty diapers, and greasy banana peels. At least that's the image that my brain always conjures up when I hear this. There are definitely dirtier songs than this, but something about this just makes me feel queasy. It's like when the guys from G N'R say "anything goes," I believe it. Orgies? Yup. Midget trannies? The more, the merrier. Goats? It wouldn't be a party without them! Nothing is off-limits with these dudes.
Comments
I haven't heard that Bishop Allen song before and I like a lot of their stuff, so bonus, yo!
Nice dirty mix. You're going to hell for sure.
Thank you! Great choices all!
I was one of those kids home from school who saw the Budd Dwyer thing on live TV. I'll never forget it. Still, I loved that song before I knew what it was about (for years I thought the explanation was an urban legend), and I can't stop now.
Nice mix!