No One Gives Two Fucks For Bela!

Sunday is TV theme song day here at Pop Zeus!



Howard Shore (composer), Martin Landau (actor) "Beware"

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Listen, I can break the rules any time I want. Sunday doesn't always have to be TV songs. Plus i'm running out of good ones. Movies are good too though, right? One of my favorite movies ever is Tim Burton's Ed Wood. How can you not have chills running down your spine while Bela Lugosi (played by Martin Landau) delivers his stirring speech from 'Bride Of The Monster'? POOL DA STRINGK!!

Eye Of Newt & Hoof Of Deer, With This Potion I Disappear!

Deerhoof "Come See The Duck"

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This song just flat out fucking rocks. I don't know where this version of "Come See The Duck" by Deerhoof came from, but it kicks exponentially more ass than the album version. The first time I saw Deerhoof most of the crowd was laughing, as if they weren't to be taken seriously. A few songs in and the whole crowd was grooving to it, cursing themselves for laughing. Its okay though, I thought it was silly the first time I heard it too. In fact I hated it.

Two of my friends (who write for another music blog) got really into Deerhoof a while back. It seemed like thats all they would ever play. One morning after a drunken night of debauchery and them playing Deerhoof at my house, I walked out of my bedroom and into the living room to find them STILL PLAYING DEERHOOF. I had to lay down the law. Banning Deerhoof from my premises for at least a month, I went on with my day as usual. But later the music started creeping back into my head like a sickness. I had a Deerhoof headache.



Weeks later, I still hadn't shook my Deerhoof headache. I cured it by seeking out some of the tracks I remembered from that night. "Come See The Duck" was the first song I heard. Now I play this song probably once a day. It fucking rocks. So it may not hit you right away, but you will eventually dig Deerhoof. Hall & Oates too. Their music works the same way.

Deerhoof website

In My Darkest Hour

Obituary "The End Complete"

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In my younger days, I'm talking 7th to 10th grade, I was a straight up metal head. I used to wear torn jeans and Metallica t shirts and listen to the metal station that came on at night in Chicago. The station's call letters escape me now, but I do remember there was a DJ named Scott Loftus because once I called up and won concert tickets. The tickets were to a ZZ Top concert though, so I never claimed them.

This mystery station ran the gambit of hard rock to metal. This means they would play everything from Enuff Z'Nuff to Morbid Angel. I never got into the Sunset Stripish hard rock bands. No, the heavier the better for me. Megadeth, Slayer and Metallica were my favorites, as well as death metal bands like Death and Obituary. You need stuff like this to listen to when you're young. You have so much confusion and aggression that sometimes you just need to pound it out.



Obituary's "The End Complete" was one of the first death metal songs I fell in love with. At times on their album (of the same name) the music would slow down like they were driving a really heavy truck up a steep hill. Then the truck would reach the peak and come racing down the other side of the hill faster than ever before. I've actually experienced that first hand in the Rocky Mountains, except instead of a truck it was a Toyota Corolla. My brother told me he saw some metal band once that just played real slow dirging songs. When somebody yelled out "Play faster!" they replied "We can't! We're not that good!".

I still have an affinity for heavy metal, but I just don't pay much attention to it anymore. It seems like i'm not hearing anything new anymore (with the exception of Mastodon). So turn up "The End Complete" and harken back to a simpler time, a time when I would sit alone in my basement writing down the names of bands I heard on the radio and then desparately trying to find them at the record store in the mall. Basically the days before the internets existed.

Filled Up With Air It's Very Evil & Impressive...

Mission Of Burma "Dead Pool"

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Mission Of Burma has a few "hits". Songs like "Academy Fight Song" and "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" didn't tear up the billboard pop charts, but anyone worth their weight in Rough Trade imports has heard those songs a billion times.

Those songs are great, but my hands down FAVORITE all time Mission Of Burma song has got to be "Dead Pool" from 1982's "VS." (my fav record of theirs as well). Something about this dirge always reminds me how great and how loud these magnificent bastards are.

I remember when I saw them live they were so loud I hand to stand back a little. And this show was OUTSIDE. You gonna let them get away with that, Spinal Tap?!

I Might Be Wrong

Helium "Pat's Trick"

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The first time I ever heard Helium was on Beavis & Butthead. One of their videos was on and the boys were commenting on how the lead singer chick looked sleepy. Mary Timony truly did look like she just woke up on harsh sedatives in that video.

Helium is no more now, gone the way of so many other 90s indie rock bands that I hold so dear to my heart. Mary Timony is still making records, but they just don't rock as hard as "Pat's Trick" here does. So bang your long red curly hair to this track. You think she was talking about the dude from Simply Red?

High Speed Dubbing

The Observers "Dubbing With The Observer"

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The Obsevers (not to be confused with a Portland punk outfit of the same name) were the house band for Kingston reggae producer Niney the Observer in the 1970s. A lot of his best work can be found on the great Blood & Fire compilation Niney And Friends: Hit Sounds From The Observer Station.

But this isn't about Niney, it's about the Observers! This dub track from Trojan's Dub Box Set (god I love them Trojan box sets) has been an all time high on my playlist. Dub music may sound all the same to some people, but this one always stands out from the rest for me.

Pollard's Vision (A Horse I Once Bet On In the Kentucky Derby)

The Takeovers "Fairly Blacking Out"

The Takeovers "The Public Dance"

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Anyone who knows me knows that all musical roads of mine lead to Robert Pollard (of Guided By Voices). If you don't know who he is, i'll give you the short version of the story. He was a school teacher in Dayton, OH for years while at night he would rock out with his friends and drink beer. Familiar story, except that said Mr. Pollard turns out to be a musical genius, tossing off perfect pop gems even while sitting on the toilet. (Gross, but true)

So he quits the day job, makes Guided By Voices a full time thing and for 21 years they secure a small but rabidly loyal fan base (me being one of the most rabid). He breaks up GBV in 2005, but it doesn't matter because aside from countless GBV records he's been putting out side projects for years under various names. So that the was the "Short" version.

The Takeovers is another one of the most recent of Mr. Pollard's musical adventures. It came out at the same time as two other "side project" records of his, which is a testament to his prolific nature. "Fairly Blacking Out" is pure Pollard gold. The opening line "She said that's a cute cat yeah/weather really dumped on us last year" is just the kind of cryptic thing i've come to expect from him.

Although almost everything he touches turns to pop gold (My very website, POP ZEUS! is named after one of his songs), there are always a few misfires. The Keene Brothers "Blues & Boogie Shoes", which came out the same time as the Takeovers' "Turn To Red", pissed me off so bad I wanted to throw it out the window of my car. To me it sounds like a Mike & the Mechanics record, just total 80s cheese. See? I don't give EVERYTHING a good review!

Snork You, Snorkhole.

Sunday is TV theme song day here at Pop Zeus!



Theme from "The Snorks" TV show

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You may remember the Snorks. You may not. I really hope you don't. The Snorks was a Saturday morning cartoon loosely (and i use the term "loosely" loosely) based on the Smurfs. Okay, they were basically the Smurfs underwater.



I don't remember actually watching this show, but I remember that it existed. And I even remember seeing it on a show that previewed what the new saturday morning cartoons were going to be for the upcoming season. Remember that? That was back when they actually used to have Saturday morning cartoons and children woke up that early. I believe the particular show that previewed the hotly anticipated "Snorks" was hosted by Soleil Moon Frye of "Punky Brewster" fame. Or maybe it was Tempest Bledsoe of the"Cosby Show". Either way, I've really embarrassed myself here.

2 Headed Goat Boys

The Mountain Goats "Two Headed Boy"

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To my knowledge this is my first Mountain Goats post.

For shame, Kevin, they're one of yr favorite artists!

I know, I know, but I always thought them to be to obvious for Pop Zeus!

You Fool! Nothing is too obvious for Pop Zeus! You wrote a piece on Cyndi Lauper's Goonies Song for fuck's sake!

You right, black wardrobed man who lives in my record collection, you right....

*ahem* sorry bout that.



One indie stalwart covering another is always enough to make the bone skinny, bespectacled, ironic t shirt wearing crowd salivate. Even when one indie darling doesn't even get the words or the song right. But you see, the Mountain Goats covered Jeff Mangum's Neutral Milk Hotel epic "Two Headed Boy" (from the greatest record of all time 'In The Aeroplane Over The Sea') and fucked it up, but they added a harmonica! So it's still kinda cool. Head Goatman John Darnielle even apologizes in advance for fucking up the song, which makes it even more okay.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to do battle with the black wardrobed man over tomorrow's post. He wants to write about Wang Chung's soundtrack to 'To Live And Die In L.A.'. Duh! Sunday is TV theme song day! NOW who's the crazy one?!?

The Lit Lif

Mr. Lif "Home Of The Brave"

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Mr. Lif pulls no punches. Mr. Lif tells it like it is. Mr. Lif is not afraid to speak his mind. Etc, etc, ad nauseum. Although all these statements are true, they seem a little banal. The fact is that Mr. Lif is rapping about politics with grace the likes of which I haven't seen since Chuck D in the days of Public Enemy.

If yr a big Toby Keith fan (of "I Love This Gay Bar" fame) and a Bush supporter (are there any left by the way?), then this will seriously agitate you. In fact, even if you consider yourself a patriot with a "love it or leave it" attitude, you'll want to leave this song. But really, the reason why artists like Mr. Lif write songs like this is because they care about this country more than the "patriots" do and they want to expose truths and wake everyone else up, not just bury their heads in the sand and pretend everything is peachy.

So pour some lighter fluid on that flag (country of your choice) and turn up the bass (or treble if thats what yr into), it's Mr. Lif with "Home Of The Brave"!

Sonic Temple

Danger Of Cults "Haydn's Pussycat Magazine"

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I know very little about Danger Of Cults aside from the fact that he (she? they?) is (are?? was??) a last.fm user. I was directed to Danger Of Cults' last.fm page by way of recommendation. See, we share a lot of the same tastes in music, and I was intrigued by the things I saw on their list that I didn't recognize.

I also followed a link to their Myspace page, and found wonderful music to behold. It's trancey electronic stuff, but I rather like it. Sort of a soundtrack for dropping acid at Evergreen Plaza mall on the south side of Chicago and waking up in the dressing room of the Men's Big & Tall Store, wondering how it came to this.

Mala Leche? Que Lastima!

Mala Leche "Golicker"

Mala Leche "Medicator"

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Time for another write up on one of my friend's bands. Well, I guess Mala Leche could be considered friends of friends. But I have hung out with one of the dudes from the band a few times, whether he remembers it or not. We discussed Paul MacCartney's 'Chaos & Creation In The Backyard' at a bowling alley. But I digress.

Mala Leche is a Los Angeles pop/punk (?) outfit. They play up tempo rock n roll at various venues around town. "Golicker" is a Pixies-ish romp that Mala Leche (which translates as "bad milk" I believe) brands as their own. Every time i've seen this band I thought they were fantastic, so it's high time I presented them to the readers of Pop Zeus!

Mala Leche Official Website

Avengers Assemble!

The Avengers "Paint It Black"

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The Avengers (not to be confused with the British TV show nor the super hero group containing Iron Man & Hawkeye) were part of the first wave of American punk bands. Hailing from San Francisco, their lead singer/songwriter/chanteuse Penelope Houston made them stand out from the rest.

Their 4-Song EP was produced by Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, now farting and muttering his way through the airwaves on Los Angeles' "Indie" 103.1, a radio station I do NOT recommend aside from Jonesy's show. Here the Avengers take on the Stones' "Paint It Black" with a ferocity the likes of which ye have never seen. Rumour has it these days the Avengers have gone bad, hooked up with the Mandarin and Fin Fang Foom and are plotting world domination.

Yeah, Here's a DOLLAR!

Wyclef Jean "Perfect Gentlemen"

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Here's the way I think this song came about. Wyclef and his posse were out partying at a strip club in New York, and he decided to get a lap dance. He looked into the stripper's eyes and saw more than just a ho dancing for singles, but a real woman with real feelings. At least that's what this song leads you to believe.

Wyclef takes a Christ like approach to going to strip clubs ("you calling her a hooker? let he who is without sin cast the first stone!"). I'm sure even Jesus knows that there's no sex in the champagne room, but does he know how hard these girls really work? I may not agree with Wyclef here, but this song is custom built for the strip club. I can't help its catchiness, hence here it is. Although I can't help listening to it without feeling I've just been hustled by some ho after it ends.

Read Or BLEED

Sunday is TV theme song day here at Pop Zeus!

Okay, so i've been away for a while. Truth be told I've been working like a japanese beaver this week, and fell a little behind. But fear not faithful four readers of Pop Zeus, I'm back with a vengeance and a back volume of posts so it won't ever happen again!



"Reading Rainbow" Theme Song

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Anwyay, this week's tv theme song is from Reading Rainbow. You may remember this show, hosted by Levar Burton, a show dedicated solely to books for kids. But why actually read the books when you could just watch a tv show about books?

I remember at one point on the show Levar Burton said that if you ate too much ketchup you would turn pink. Being a big fan of ketchup, i was concerned for a second. But then I realized it was a joke. I wasn't THAT stupid...

Way Back In '94

"I Wrote This Song A Long Time Ago" Chappelle's Show

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One of the funniest things I've seen lately has been on the new "Lost Episodes" of Chappelle's Show where an unearthed 2Pac song make its premiere to a bewildered club crowd. Its so ridiculous that I guess you just have to see it, but here's the song anyway.

Wyclef Jean "If I Was President"

Mos Def "Close Edge"

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In addition to the "2Pac" song, I've also added a few performances from Dave Chappelle's show. As I've mentioned recently in my Block Party write up, Chappelle obviously has his finger on the pulse of what's known to some as "intelligent" hip hop and some of these artist have given the best performances of their careers on his show. Enjoy Wyclef Jean's stirring version of "If I Was President" as well as a laid back Mos Def doing "Close Edge" while cruising around the streets of New York City with Chappelle.

Hey Dave! Come back and do another season already!

Pop So Sweet It Deteriorates Yr Teeth

Lily Allen "Smile"

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Here's something a little out of character for me. I admit I have rather eclectic tastes, but straight up pop music (at least from modern times) is something I rarely recommend to anyone. However, I can't deny the sugary sweet pop confection presented here by Lily Allen.

"Smile" has a nice ska-ish backbeat, and she sings in her real british accent, which I always applaud (even when Robert Pollard of Guided By Voices does it, and he's not even british). The song's subject matter is a little darker than it may appear on the surface. Even though the song is sing songy and sun-shiney, the lyrics confess to taking joy from another's misery, albeit misery of comeuppance.

I know summer's almost over, so I can only assume that this song just missed becoming the anthem to some Coke commercial, purely based on its sound and not it's substance.

Sloth Loves Chunk!!!

Sunday is TV Theme song day here at Pop Zeus!



Cyndi Lauper "Goonies R Good Enough"

The Advantage "Goonies 2"

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Okay, so Sunday is not ALWAYS TV Theme Song day here at Pop Zeus, but it's usually something tv/movie/pop culture related. I've decided that today is the day to put up Cyndi Lauper's "Goonies R Good Enough" (or is it "Enuff"?) song, a track i've been meaning to put up here since day one of Pop Zeus!

This was one of my favorite movies in my younger days, and I owned this soundtrack on vinyl as well. I've since lost it, but I remember it being absolutely horrible except for this Cyndi Lauper track, which is still one of my favorite drunken singalong songs.

I've also enclosed the Advantage's fantastic rendition of the 'Goonies 2' video game theme song. You may remember a post of mine on the Advantage a while back. The Nintendo game was a 'video game only' sequel of sorts to the hit film, complete with a nonsensical "story line"' complete with eskimos and plenty of hidden passage ways. So enjoy a slice our my (our??) youth!

Oh Boy! I also found the music video for "Goonies R Good Enough" on YouTube. This can only be described as an "epic", broken up in two parts! The video features many of Lauper's friends from her "wrestling era", back when it seemed her only friends were hairy, sweaty men like Capt. Lou Albano (what exactly was he a "captain" of, by the way?) and the Iron Sheik. Get ready for about thirty minutes of complete nonsense, with appearances by the Goonies themselves!

A New Level... Of Condiments

So it's come to this. Pop Zeus' first ever podcast. I've included some songs artists I've talked about here on the site, some I haven't. It's a veritable hodge podge of tastes sure to appeal to one or two! So if you feel like going for a walk or a jog, or just have an hour you wanna kill, download this here and see what's been happening on the playlist over at Pop Zeus Headquarters. (By which i mean my Chevy)

POP ZEUS! PODCAST #001

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POP ZEUS! PODCAST #001
01. Thunderbirds Are Now! "Who Wants To Fight?"
02. The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band "Twenty Five Miles"
03. Ew Ew Ew "Defenstration"
04. Dead Kennedys "I Fought The Law"
05. Clipse "Stuntin' Y'all"
06. "Erased"
07. High On Fire "Cometh Down Hessian"
08. John Berenzy Group "Vice Verses"
09. Hieroglyphics "Throw It In Ya Grill"
10. T. Rex "Metal Guru"
11. The Lit Life "Tarantulaser"
12. Birdmonster "Ice Age"
13. David Bowie "Be My Wife"
14. Cinemechanica "Bruckheimer"
15. Kool Keith aka Project Polaroid "The Overviewer"
16. Meshuggah "Autonomy Lost"
17. Elvis Costello "The Imposter" (Live @ Concert For Kumpuchea, 1979)
18. New York Dolls "Human Being"
TRT 55:41

Throw Ya Nose In Tha Air!!!

Flotation Toy Warning "Losing Carolina; for Dursky"

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Being pretentious is not always a bad thing. Just look at Radiohead, they're pretentious as fuck and everybody loves them. Flotation Toy Warning come from a slightly different school of pretentiousness. See, the band members claim to be arctic explorers and historians from the 19th century. So I guess that dictates them as the CRAZY sort of pretentious.

However, Flotation Toy Warning's music can border on the transcendent at times. The London based band's debut record, 'Bluffer's Guide To The Flight Deck', is chock full of soaring melodies and floating, Sigur Ros-like dream translations. Perhaps while the band's members were wrestling polar bears and "doing science" in the arctic, they saw the face of god there as well, and decided to write music about it. Or perhaps they're just 'i'm-so-much-better-than-you' art students dicking around while cashing in their trust funds. Beats me. You make the Beach MTV call!

Flotation Toy Warning Official Website

I'm Only Writing This Cause I Hate It

Help She Can't Swim "My Own Private Disco"
Help She Can't Swim "The Danse Party Turned Into A Wake"

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If you only listen to "My Own Private Disco", Help She Can't Swim can easily be likened to a British Sleater-Kinney. But dig deeper into their record 'Fashionista Super Dance Troupe' and you'll find that there's actually only one girl in this band. Suckered you in, didn't it? Well it suckered me, anyway.

Comin' straight outta Southampton UK, Help She Can't Swim claims to hate everyone and everything in the world. Well, their music reflects that spiteful statement. Dance punks with keyboards is essentially what they are, and they spit venom that makes you want to get on the dance floor. Now once yr out there, you may want to hit someone, but that's entirely up to you. A tip for those of you who intend on getting violent on the dance floor: Don't hit anyone with one of those plastic patio furniture chairs. It'll just bounce right off and you'll end up looking foolish.

Help She Can't Swim Official Website

And Do I Detect A Hint Of Juniper?!?

Hazel "Lazy H"
Hazel "Green Eyes"
Hazel "Blank Florida"
Hazel "Chasing After James"

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I call the 90s the 'indie rock heyday'. I call it that because despite the fact that a lot of my all time favorite bands (Pavement, Guided By Voices, Sonic Youth, Sleater-Kinney, etc.) were at their creative peaks, there were a shitload of bands coming out with one or two albums that were just as good, specifically on the Matador, Touch & Go and Sub Pop labels. Bands like Pond, Helium, Come & Hazel.

Hazel's "Are You Going To Eat That" was given to me by brother, I guess just because he had too much to listen to at the time. It quickly became one of my favorite records. Hazel hailed from Portland and played on bills with bands like Elliott Smith's Heatmiser, never really getting in on the spotlight like other indie darlings.

What set Hazel apart from other bands was the fact that they had two lead singers, a male and a female. Now I know that doesn't sound so different nowadays with bands like Mates Of State and Postal Service harvesting hits with the same method, but Hazel's brand of power-pop (especially on "Lazy H") stills sounds rather off kilter to me. A good off-kilter.

Also, looking at the CD booklet for "Are You Going To Eat That" right now, I remember that the band looked like yr usual indie rock nerds except for one guy who appeared to be about thirty years older than the other members. Another no-no in the indie world. Yr not allowed to have old guys in the band anymore. They all have to be skinny guys in ironic t shirts or super hot girls who every kid in the audience wishes was their girlfriend. Hats of to Hazel for shattering indie rock's strict, gestapo-like set of guidelines.

Some good information on what happened to Hazel can be found here.

Ain't Nobody Humpin' Around...

Out Hud "Hominid Hump"

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Out Hud is not the type of music I'd usually listen to, kind of an electro dance rock thing, but they do contain guitars sometimes, which is all it really takes to woo me. Out Hud features members of the band !!!, who i saw a few years ago live and impressed me, but when I bought their record 'Louden Up Now' I was severely disappointed.

I've collected scattered singles by Out Hud, the best being songs like "Dear Mr. Bush, There Are Over 100 Words For Shit And Only One For Music. Fuck You, Out Hud" and "Hair Dude, You're Stepping On My Mystique". It seems had more clever song titles than they had patience for one another, as they broke up a while back. Nevertheless, I will continue to play "Hominid Hump" alone when nobody's looking. Don't tell the rockers. Or the mods. Or the mockers.

?Donde Esta El Punk Rock?

The Zeros "Beat Your Heart Out"
The Zeros "Handgrenade Heart"
The Zeros "Don't Push Me Around"
The Zeros "Cosmetic Couple"


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In 1976, four mexican kids from Chula Vista (a city sandwiched betwwen Sand Diego and Mexcio) formed a band based on their heros: The New York Dolls, the Stooges, Bowie, KISS & The Velvet Underground. Obviously they didn't have the same musical taste as most kids their ethnicity and age group, but they were ahead of their time. And although they've been long since forgotten except by the survivors of the late 70s SoCal punk scene, the Zeros have influenced more than a few bands that would come after them.

Known as the "mexican Ramones" to some, the Zeros were just amalgamating their favorite musicians into their own new brand of power pop. The band recorded singles for Bomp records in 1977, and wouldn't record again until 1980, right before they broke up. So although the Zeros were short lived, songs like "Don't Push Me Around", "Handgrenade Heart" (curiously, Green Day had a release called "Heart Like A Hand Grenade", and I think those guys based quite a bit of their sound on the Zeros, as well as many other bands of that era. Green Day, blech!) and "Beat Your Heart Out" have a timeless quality. That of a band playing with a lot of energy and a lot of love for rock n roll, before that "punk" term even started boucing around.

More Than Meets The Eye!

Sunday is TV Theme song day here at Pop Zeus!



Transformers Cartoon Theme Song

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Today I present to you the theme from the Transformers cartoon of the 80s. As you can tell by listening to the song, there must have been a lot of action going on during the opening credits, as the sound of many lasers and explosions can be heard throughout. Very impressive indeed. What wasn't nearly impressive back in the day were the Gobots, universally believed to be a poor man's Transformer. I will admit however that I had a few. Hey, they were cheaper!!

An Ode To Burt

Don Williams "If Hollywood Don't Need You (Honey I Still Do)"

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I'll admit it. I haven't seen ALL of Burt Reynolds' films. But I can still attest to being a big fan. You see, Burt Reynolds is what I like to call the quintessential movie star. Every time I see a limo in L.A., I simply assume it to have Burt inside it. Every impressive mansion with guard towers containing machine gun turrets I see, I figure it must be the abode of Mr. Reynolds.

Some may have noticed way back in my KISS post, that I have a Smokey & the Bandit era framed portrait of Mr. Reynolds on my wall. It will remain on my mantlepiece until my dying day.

Now I don't know when Don Williams wrote this song (was it the Smokey & the Bandits era or the Lassiter era?), and I don't even know who the singer is, actually. I do know that this is a beautiful song that has a nod to Burt Reynolds in its chorus, and that's enough for me.

I Forgot To Remember To Forget

The Forget "Fireworks School"

The Forget "Knives Come Out (God Damn Radio)"

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It's a well known fact that here at Pop Zeus! I am a complete shill for bands that contain friends of mine. Hence, today's post is about The Forget, a fantastic L.A. power pop band that I would like even if they all weren't very good friends of mine.

I met the members of the Forget when I first moved to Los Angeles from Chicago. I was friendless, and decided to see if there were any Guided By Voices fans here by way of Postal Blowfish, GBV's fan club/email list. I was surprised to be immediately invited down to Torrance (home of Eddy Adams/Dirk Diggler) for an 'Isolation Drills' listening party. This is where I met the group who would become very close friends of mine from that point on.

Back when I met them, the Forget were a Guided By Voices cover band called either Expecting Brainchild or Gaping Blue Vagina, I forget! Although it was a lot of fun, they grew tired of covering their favorite band and decided to pen their own pop gems. The GBV influence is there, but so is the influence of all the other fantastic music the Forget listens to adamantly. See, these guys are hardcore music fans just like me (part of why we get along so well). In fact, you can check out their musical musings over at the Record Robot, Pop Zeus' brethren page and the reason why i'm here.

"Fireworks School" is as fun as they come, and the idea of it is pretty cool. Imagine if there were a fireworks school, or camp that you could go to as a kid. Despite the occasional blown off finger, I think it would be the summer of a lifetime! "Knives Come Out (God Damn Radio)" is an anthem to end all power pop anthems. Well, actually I hope it isn't, I happen to like power pop anthems!

Why Can't Shit Like This Happen On MY Block?

Talib Kweli "Get By"

Dead Prez "Hip Hop"

Kanye West "Jesus Walks"

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So last night I watched 'Dave Chappelle's Block Party', expecting to be disappointed. I was, in fact, enthralled. Chappelle collected the best and brightest of contemporary hip hop and r&b to perform at his own personal block party in Brooklyn, and hired genius director Michel Gondry to document the whole thing. The result was a high energy documentary that was funny and moving at the same time.

I've loved hip hop for a long time. If you're a regular reader of Pop Zeus!, you'll know my stance on the current state of hip hop. It's a scene overcrowded with talentless thugs, but the seriously talented artists manage to shine through the bullshit just enough to make me still appreciate the art form. Chappelle assembled such artists for his film. Artists like Talib Kweli, Mos Def, the Roots, and even a Fugees reunion. It's worth watching if you're a fan of any of these artists.

So for today's post, I've decided to put a few tracks performed by some of the artists at the block party. Dead Prez's "Hip Hop" is kind of like the theme to the movie. Listen to the lyrics and you'll get it. It's the anthem to pure hip hop music, untouched by corporate bullshit and the "bling bling" lifestyle.

Having Wasps Hurled At You By A Fiery Teenaged Vixen

Be Your Own Pet "Take That Walk"

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Every article I read about Be Yr Own Pet seems to mention how hot their teenages, female lead singer is. I have yet to see a picture that supports this notion. All the pictures I've seen are skewed or artsy. I'm not saying I don't believe it, I'm just saying it hasn't hit me square in the eyes yet.

Be Yr Own Pet made quite a splash at this year's SWSW in Austin, i hear. No, this is one band I actually DID NOT see while i was there. A rarity, I know. However I heard from a fellow attendee that they were the type of band that climbs up into the rafters and hangs upside while playing. And assualting and jumping into their audience. You know, one of THOSE bands.

"Take That Walk" is quite a nice song, though. It makes me wonder how they can shock you with this one in concert. Perhaps they bring a wasp's nest on stage during the chorus and throw it into the audience. That would clear me out very quick. I'm allergic!!

See You At the Mall My Friend!!

Grim Reaper "See You In Hell"

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I remember seeing this video on Beavis & Butt-head once. It was one of the funniest I've ever seen on there. Grim Reaper's singer looks like he may have a slight case of down syndrome, but it doesn't stop him from hitting those high notes. "Can I make you an offer... you CAN'T REFUUUUUUSE!!!!"

One question: If this song was written for a "friend", why would you wish them eternal damnation in the fires of hell? Why not say "See you at lunch my friend!". I guess if they were a really good friend of yours, and you knew you were hell-bound, you'd want to see them there to support you. This would clearly make YOU a very bad friend. You're not invited to lunch with us. You douche.