Northern Ireland Playlist #3 - you'll notice i'm still stuck in the '90s

When I started this blog I lamented the fact that 99% of all blogging is nothing but self-indulgent ramblings that are completely inconsequential to anyone but the writer. I've tried to make this blog interesting over the past month or so in the interest of my friends actually wanting to know what I'm doing halfway across the world and subsequently showering me with comments about how much they miss me. Today's post, however, falls squarely in the useless 99%. If you are not interested in how I spent my day shopping and what (awesome) music I've been listening to in the last week, just go to Boing Boing and please check back tomorrow. I promise it'll be better.

Upon waking up today I was reminded of the fact that I ran out of food before my family visit weekend. All that was left for me to eat this morning were apples, peanut-butter and celery (which all go pretty well together) as well as cereal (no milk) and pasta sauce.
So I trudged down to the local Tescoe's to stock up. Here's the thing about grocery stores in N. Ireland: they seem to cater to the New York City idea of buying groceries every couple of days as appetite warrants rather than the rural New York idea of filling the pantry with bulk items that'll last a month or two.
In this frame of mind, all perishables are set to expire within three to five days of purchase. How the fuck am I supposed to eat a tub of cream cheese or hummus in three days, Tescoe? (I warned you about this entry)

But, all of this cream cheese related anger can be waived with a bangin' playlist. Most of what I hear in the outside world of pubs and clubs consists of "I Kissed a Girl," "When I Grow Up," and other gayer-than-gay songs.
Did you know boy bands are still really, really big over here? Have you ever heard of Boyzone or Girls Aloud or Westlife? Me neither. And it's not just fifteen year-old-girls - our 50-something, male cab driver (after lamenting America's sizable "coloured" population) put on a live Kylie Minogue album. Europe, you are so gay and you don't even know it.

Here's what I've been sheltering myself with, presented to you in embedded videos. Have you noticed how much I like putting videos in my blog entries? If a picture says a thousand words than a moving picture must say 24-thousand words per second.

1. The Eels - Fashion Awards
2. The Pogues - Sally MacLennane
3. Harvey Danger - Radio Silence
4. Wings - Jet
5. Happy Mondays - Stop On
6. Radiohead - Just
7. Cold War Kids - Something Is Not Right With Me
8. Faith No More - Malpractice
9. The Good, The Bad and The Queen - Green Fields
10. Goldfrapp - Happiness
11. Muse - The Small Print
12. Green Day - Hitchin' a Ride


Start it out quiet




Check out Paul's mullet and double-necked guitar friend!


How high do you think the Mondays were during the conception and shooting of this video? On a scale from 8 to 10? You're twistin' my melon, man!


My favorite video from a band known for making great videos


For all the movement in this video why is it so boring?


The second creepiest song off of Angel Dust. It's about being awake during surgery. Shivers!


Nothing seems more British to me than this concept album about England. I'm sure British people would disagree with me, though. It is, in all fairness, no Girls Aloud.


Goldfrapp has the solution to the Cold War Kids' problem - it's not just movement that makes the video, it's perpetual movement shot in one steady-cam shot. And ice-cream-coloured suits.


The most straight-forward rocker on the awesome Absolution. I still haven't got Black Holes and Revelations, because I'm an old man who fears change and stays consistently five years behind all popular music...


...as evidenced by the fact that I never got the memo that Green Day is strictly for tweens now. What a killer album Nimrod is. Do you remember this video? I sure don't. It's like Green Day saw The Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight, Tonight" video and said, "We can do that... with a Betty Boop giraffe!" The rest was non-history.