Watch, repeat!Watch, repeat!Watch, repeat!Watch, repeat!Watch, repeat!Watch, repeat!Watch, repeat!

Now brace yourself for the utter fabulosity that is…The Gossip!

I heard a song on the radio today that sent me straight to that happy place in my head where I’m in the scene of that movie when the song is playing and all of those emotions I had the first time I saw the film were instantly ingrained in my heart and soul!

So, I thought I’d do a quicki countdown of songs from movies that send me to that place:

“Perfect Day” Lou Reed, Trainspotting: When Mark Renton overdoses on heroin at Mother Superior’s and the rug beneath him sort of envelopes him and sinks into the floorboards…Great song, Fantastic film! My fave quote from the film: “It’s SHITE being Scottish! We’re the lowest of the low. The scum of the fucking Earth! The most wretched, miserable, servile, pathetic trash that was ever shat into civilization. Some hate the English. I don’t. They’re just wankers. We, on the other hand, are COLONIZED by wankers. Can’t even find a decent culture to be colonized BY. We’re ruled by effete assholes. It’s a SHITE state of affairs to be in, Tommy, and ALL the fresh air in the world won’t make any fucking difference!” (and yes, I can recite it on command!)

“My Sharona” The Knack, Reality Bites: While it’s not a pivitol scene or anything, something about that song in that movie and the little squooshy dance Janeane Garofalo does inside the gas station just makes me giddy! One of my fave quotes: “At the beep, please leave your name, number, and a brief justification for the ontological necessity of modern man’s existential dilemma, and we’ll get back to you.”

“Try a Little Tenderness” Otis Redding, Pretty In Pink: You know the scene! Who doesn’t?! When Duckie lip synchs and dances all over Iona’s music store…John Cryer at his finest! (And hottest!)  Fave quote: Annie Potts character Iona says, “I know I’m old enough to be his mother, but when the Duck laid that kiss on me last night, I swear my thighs just went up in flames! He must practice on melons or something.”

“You Never Can Tell” Chuck Berry, Pulp Fiction: You know the scene where Mia & Vincent enter the dance contest at Jack Rabbit Slims and they do their own (now iconic) versions of the twist. You know, the point in the movie before everything goes to shit! Ha! Fave quote: Quentin Tarantino’s character Jimmy: “I don’t need you to tell me how fucking good my coffee is, okay? I’m the one who buys it. I know how good it is. When Bonnie goes shopping she buys SHIT. I buy the gourmet expensive stuff because when I drink it I want to taste it. But you know what’s on my mind right now? It AIN’T the coffee in my kitchen, it’s the dead nigger in my garage.”

“Hold Tight” Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mich & Tich, Death Proof: The girls are in the car, Lanna (pot dealer/friend) is driving and “Jungle Julia” requests this song at the radio station where she works. It comes on while she’s explaining “For your information, Pete Townshend, at one point, almost quit The Who. And if he had, he would have ended up in this group, thus making it Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick, Tich and Pete. And if you ask me, he should have.” But then, you know, that crazy Stuntman Mike has to go and kill them and all! Quote: Stuntman Mike, “Because it was a fifty fifty shot on wheter you’d be going left or right. You see we’re both going left. You could have just as easily been going left, too. And if that was the case… It would have been a while before you started getting scared. But since you’re going the other way, I’m afraid you’re gonna have to start getting scared… immediately!”

I had more, but I have to admit that my brain was boggled by some of the ones I wanted to include. What are your “transporter” songs? (songs that transport you to a movie scene”

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I had long ago given up on Metallica. Sure, I spent nearly half my life loving the band and all they produced, but something dramitcally changed when Jason Newstead left. It’s as though I left as well. Jason was a Metallica fan to begin with before auditioning to fill the void that Cliff Burton’s accidental death left. While I owned (and still do) all of their albums, I simply stopped listening. I gave up on them. It wasn’t as though I thought they had “sold out” or any of that nonesense. I guess I had outgrown them? I don’t know. What I do know is that I was recently asked by a friend to make a mixtape of their greatest hits so-to-speak and upon doing so I rediscovered what it was that attracted me to them in the first place.

Specifically the way that the lyrics and musical artistry evolved and morphed over the years. The classical guitar side was still there (that the universe for Kirk Hammett!) and Lars Ulrich’s ever thumping double-bass drum style was always holding steady, James Hetfield’s masculine growl will always have a special place in my heart, but the mood of what Metallica was and what they meant to their fans was changing, too.

With the release of the album “Load” it seemed a great rift was forming between old school metal heads and newer Metallica fans. With the release of “Load” the bay area headbangers also chopped their long locks for sharper more modern hair dos. You’d think it was an utter betrayal of all that was metal! The way fans barked at one another in the parking lots before conerts about who was the true fan or how Metallica have finally, after all these years, sold out to the man!

I never bought into the hype and found it all pretty silly. It was always about the music for me. I remember the first time I saw the band on television, it was the Grammy’s and they were nominated for “…And Justice For All” and I was blown the fuck away! I mean…WOW! The fury and the passion I saw in them was just unfathomable. I had never experienced anything like it! Mind you I was neck deep in a full on NKOTB obsession at the time, but I was blind-sided by this whole metal thing.

Years later and my obsessions took on a darker, heavier tone. Long gone were my Jordan Knight posters and fan-girl sighing over the magical day we’d be married (gag). My music collection grew from Debbie Gibson and Salt ‘N Pepa to Metallica, Motley Crue and more. But Metallica always held  the spotlight when the headphones hit my lobes.

My freshman year of high school was met with historical music releases: Metallica’s black album, Guns ‘N Roses Use Your Illusion 1 & 2 and of course Nirvana’s Nevermind! Huge stuff! It was amazing and fantastic. It felt like a revolution! It felt like the second coming of a radical social movement…only it was just music and nothing really ever came of the social side of things since we were all getting stoned and making out and headbanging to said music and forgetting all of our injustices the minute the stereo power button turned red.

Yes, Metallica’s black album was a big deal. I loved it. Everyone did! A friend of mine who played guitar spent every non-school minute learning each track on guitar and would then call me to play it over the phone. We had pet names for the band member (Fuzzy, etc…). We speculated on what the band was doing right NOW! We watched their home video “A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica” a kajillion times. It was a daily ritual to discuss Metallica as an entity and not merely a band.

Things went south in my life in major ways and one thing I held onto was my love for Metallica and their music. So when “Load” came out I did all I could to absorb every lyric and melody into my very soul. the difference for me with this album was a more intellectual yet emotional vibe. I can’t really explain it, but ever song holds a moment in time for me.

Certain tracks specifically invoke an image or moment or day where it was playing and the emotions come running back. Like a certain hottie’s house I spent the night at to escape from abuse (why oh why didn’t I sleep with him?). Or hanging out in the part with Marlboro Lights, the latest issue of Rolling Stone, a #1 combo from Taco Bell and my best friend Q! *Sigh* Those were strange times. Sprinkled with goodness atop a heaping load of shit that was my life. Good thing I mostly remember those sprinkles!

More albums followed of course, but for some reason none stuck to me the way “Load” did (ew, don’t be gross). I respect the band and all that they have contributed to this world. While I don’t like any of their new music, I will always be in awe of the boys from the bay who blew me away all those years ago.

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Please watch this funny and inspiring video (3 mins) and vote for the video (registration took 20 seconds) so that Fat Fancy can get a business grant…because seriously? They rock!

In lieu of my usual music countdown today I thought I do something even better…Free Music!

16VOLT back catalog for FREE!!!!
Nope, we aren’t smoking crack. You can now download the whole deal. No
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View the full post at
http://16volt.com/archives/2009/05/28/16volt-back-catalog-for-free/