I Don't Think I'm Gonna Last Very Much Longer

After another long break, the Cuddle is back, sweltering in some of the hottest weather we've seen here in Buffalo in July in ages. The entire East Coast seems mired in this heat wave, and what better way to celebrate sweating to death just breathing than an Ideological Cuddle Mix Tape. This means to be a series of mixes based on Summer themes. What better way to start than...

The Ideological Cuddle Sticky, Steamy Summer Mix

1. "Ten Cent Pistol" - The Black Keys - from Brothers
2. "Chest Fever" - The Band - from Music From Big Pink
3. "Evil" - Howlin' Wolf - from His Best: Chess 50th Anniversary
4. ""You've Got A Killer Scene There, Man"" - Queens of the Stone Age - from Lullabies To Paralyze
5. "And Then (The Hexx) (extended version) - Pavement - from Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition
6. "Ventilator Blues" - The Rolling Stones - from Exile on Main Street
7. "Shade (I Know You, Pt. 4)" - Morphine - from At Your Service
8. "Red Clay" - Freddie Hubbard - from Red Clay
9. "Too Much Sorrow" - The Greenhornes - from Dual Mono
10. "The Lure Would Prove Too Much" - The Twilight Singers - from A Stitch in Time EP
11. "300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues" - The White Stripes - from Icky Thump
12. "Prison Girls" - Neko Case - from Middle Cyclone
13. "Root Down (And Get It)" - Jimmy Smith - from Root Down
14. "Angels and Fuselage" - Drive-By Truckers - from Southern Rock Opera
15. "What Needs Must Be" - Dead Meadow - from Old Growth
16. "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down" - Miles Davis - from Bitches Brew
17. "Ogeechee Hymnal" - Baroness - from Blue Record
18. "Sunstroke" - Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - from Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
19. "I Still Want To Be Your Baby (Take Me Like I Am) - Bettye LaVette - from The Scene of the Crime
20. "Neglekted" - The Afghan Whigs - from 1965
21. "Run Thru" - My Morning Jacket - from Okonokos

Until next time, chill. And listen.

I'm Going To Stop Pretending That I Didn't Break Your Heart

Greetings Ideological readers. Today's post has a very somber tone, as our beloved US men's hockey team was thwarted from attaining an improbable gold medal by none other than Sidney Crosby in overtime (and yes, those of us in Buffalo who follow hockey could have told you that he would be the one to beat Ryan Miller - we've seen it way too many times). We're still very proud of our team and its silver medal, but being rewarded for losing is never the way to go.

What better way to "celebrate" our collective melancholy than with a post about Mark Oliver Everett and the Eels. Unquestionably modern rock's greatest hopeless depressive, Everett has lived the life to back it all up. Check out his fantastic autobiography Things the Grandchildren Should Know for the full details of how absolutely fucked up his life has been - available from the official Eels website here.
He is truly an artist who has channeled his pain into great art. Sometimes, as with the Eels latest album - End Times, Everett takes depression to the extremes and ends up barely listenable. When he's on, though, his songs are achingly beautiful and, in paradoxical fashion, almost uplifting.
There's no bad place to start with the Eels. Their first "official" album (Everett put out two albums as E in the early 1990s), Beautiful Freak, almost became nothing more than a one hit wonder vehicle, as its first single, "Novocaine for the Soul" hit big. With time, the album was recognized as the quirky masterpiece that it is. Some find Electro-Shock Blues (written in the wake of his sister's suicide and mother's death from cancer) to be the "essential" Eels record, but 2000's Daisies of the Galaxy is better, for my money (not that you can go wrong with the Eels - all of their albums are solid). As outlined in this previous post from the Decade's Best List, With Strings: Live at Town Hall is another favorite of ours from the Eels catalogue, for its reworking of classic Eels tunes and perfectly-chosen covers.
For the uninitiated, here are some of our favorite Eels tracks in chronological order (links to tracks courtesy of Lala.com):
From Beautiful Freak:
"Spunky"
"Beautiful Freak"

From Electro-Shock Blues:
"Going to Your Funeral - Part I"

From Daisies of the Galaxy:
"Grace Kelly Blues"
"It's a Motherfucker"
"Wooden Nickles"
"Jeannie's Diary"

From Souljacker:
"Dog Faced Boy"
"Souljacker Pt. I"
"Bus Stop Boxer"

From Shootenanny!:
"Dirty Girl"
"Saturday Morning"

From Blinking Lights and Other Revelations:
"Blinking Lights (For Me)"
"Suicide Life"
"Railroad Man"
"I'm Going To Stop Pretending That I Didn't Break Your Heart"
"Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)"
"If You See Natalie"
"Losing Streak"

From With Strings: Live at Town Hall:
Screw it, you need to hear the whole thing: HERE

From Useless Trinkets:
"Fucker"
"Mr. E's Beautiful Blues (Remix)"
"My Beloved Mad Monster Party (BBC)"

From Hombre Lobo:
"That Look You Give That Guy"
"In My Dreams"

From End Times:
"End Times"
"Little Bird"

Sit back, relax, don't have any sharp objects nearby, and enjoy.
And, oh yeah, screw you, Sidney Crosby.

I Want To Talk About You

Ah Valentine's Day. A time for love, romance, lust, desire... and a time when a lot of my fellow gentleman have no idea how to set the mood. We here at The Ideological Cuddle are here to help. Today, we present the first in a planned set of mixes for Sunday's holiday. Hope you enjoy them (and not all may be "typical" for the holiday).
First up, a mix of jazz for loved ones. It breaks my typical rules about using only one song per artist per play list (or mix CD, depending on the purpose), but I couldn't do a mix like this one justice without using multiple Coltrane and Miles Davis tunes. It has to start with the title track of this post - Coltrane's trademark balad (PS - the version in the player below is not the version I would have chosen - would have gone with his Prestige version from 1958). Enjoy the selections below:

UPDATE - PLAYER REMOVED (sorry....)

Until next time, spend time with the ones you love and listen.