Friday Music

Back after a brief hiatus….

First up — for ‘s birthday, one of her favorite Duran Duran b-sides. This was from the recording sessions of Seven and the Ragged Tiger — and, unlike a lot of b-sides, is a song that they sometimes perform in concert (I’m fairly sure we saw them do this in Jones Beach, NY in 99). Duran Duran – “Secret Oktober.”

Another track she (and I) both like — which we were reminded of as we watched a retrospective on “The Prince of Paisley Park” last night on VH1. From the glory days before he went all God Warrior on us. Prince – “Raspberry Beret.”

A while back I posted tracks from Bitter:Sweet (“The Mating Game”, for example — the track used in the Korbel ads). They’ve got a new album out, and it’s just as good. Swingy, retro-electronica/trip-hop kinda stuff, as usual. LOVE IT. Bitter:Sweet – “The Bomb.”

Brought to my attention by , here’s some seriously hard, seriously loud and (thank god) seriously POLITICAL metal. Seriously. Plus, fronted by a woman who (thankfully) keeps the Cookie-Monster-Voice roaring to a minimum. Otep – “Confrontation.”

A track we heard on the way back from The Minion’s college, on one of the area college stations. I had no idea that the band was a side project of Jack White from The White Stripes — I only had a snippet of remembered lyrics to track down the song — but now I’ve definitely got to hear more. The Raconteurs – “Level.”

Another track from the same station, during the same set. Again, I tracked it down by lyrics. I love the internet. MGMT – “Electric Feel.”

Enjoy, and remember the usual caveat: If a link gives you trouble, try copy-and-paste.

Here Comes The October Surprise…..

US Special Forces cross into Pakistan to attack Al Qaeda militants.

One thing that concerns me about this story is the ominous intonation of the phrase “the opening salvo in a much broader campaign.”

After eight years of seeing the Bush administration engage in activities which I would have previously dismissed as the worst ravings of tin-foil-hat conspiracy theorists, that phrase instantly brings to mind the thought of an “October Suprise”, where triumphant US Special Forces capture or kill Bin Laden — targeting him in the location where the Administration has known he is all along…..and just in time to give McCain the ecstatic jingoistic bump he needs to take the election.

I’d like to think that such a thing is far-fetched paranoia — and yet, at this point, is anything truly outside the realm of possibility where these people are concerned?