Friday Funtime: San Franciscan Nights

I spent much of the past two weeks in San Francisco, my former home and eventual home again someday. Said goodbye to one dear friend (R.I.P. Angela Welch) and hello to numerous others - some former co-workers and happy-hour revelers, some fellow music fanatics. Saw many of my favorite former haunts - neighborhoods, restaurants, bars, shops - and a few new ones too. Made my usual pilgrimage to Amoeba Music, the world's greatest record store, where I am incapable of spending under $50 once I get going. And attended the annual Bridge School Benefit concert, Neil Young's annual undertaking to raise funds for the Bridge School, which aids children with speech and physical impairments to learn and express themselves.

Here are some highlights from the Bridge show, plus a few of the things I bought at Amoeba.

1. Adam Sandler (!) and Neil Young, "Powderfinger"
2. Chris Martin, "Viva La Vida"
3. No Doubt, "Simple Kind of Life"
4. Wolfmother, "Woman"
5. Gavin Rossdale, "Comedown"
6. Monsters of Folk, "Man Named Truth"
7. Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs, "Baby Blue"
8. XTC, "King for a Day"
9. Pet Shop Boys, "Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend"
10. Neil Young, "Comes a Time"

Beach Boys, "Be True to Your School"

Damn if this isn't the most fucking fascist pop song ever:

Beach Boys, "Be True to Your School"

Of course, this comes from someone who's never been capable of being true to any school - a perpetual free agent, as it were.

Recap of recent San Francisco trip to come in tomorrow's Friday Funtime. Please don't mind my periods of silence here - I haven't had as many new thoughts of late.

Pop Argot

Jefferson, "I Love You This Much"

Origins of the power ballad? Not really, and not just because "I Love You This Much" wasn't a hit. Jefferson (not to be confused with my beloved interstellar flying contraption), the nom de disque of former Rockin' Berries vocalist Geoff Turton, seems to have been rather influenced by Nilsson's "Without You," a more likely candidate as progenitor of the species. It's lightweight, but don't take "I Love You This Much" lightly: there's a thoughtful and poetic sweetness to Jefferson's longings, and the melody is pretty enough that you can easily overlook the lack of a refrain.

And that album artwork is simply perfect for the song: the serenity of domestic bliss as so many of us idealize it. May each of us have someone who loves us this much. White picket fence optional.