All the great post-Pinkerton Weezer songs you missed.

Over the years, as everybody pretty much lost all interest in a post-Pinkerton Weezer, I still always made sure to give every release a solid couple of listens... Just in case... and along the way I discovered some really great songs interspersed amongst the Hashpipes, Beverly Hills, and Franks & Beans.... So, for all of you who loved Weezer way back when, but have never heard any full albums after THE TWO, I meticulously handpicked a playlist chock full of really really fantastic songs that sadly got lost in the noise of crappy singles. Seriously, all of the songs on this playlist are freakin great! Some of them - especially from “Everythjng will be Alright in the End” - have that sound we’ve all been hoping for over the years, but just never noticed! SO, here ya go! I waded through the crap, to get these hidden gems into some ears and hearts. Enjoy.







MYKEE’S WEEZER SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

SURPRISE! A shitty Weezer covers album is here!

SURPRISE! Riding on the tails of success of their Toto cover, Weezer surprise dropped a full album of cover songs today, another self titled ‘color’ record being called “The Teal Album” - Continuing to prove themselves as the #1 most consistently underwhelming and disappointing band in the history of popular music. They put out two beloved masterpieces, and then flop after flop of boring radio rock nonsense for a good 15 years straight! There’s always a few gems hidden in each album, but, come on already! Give us what we want! Every time they release another self titled album with a color name, there’s always that hope that MAYBE they brought it back to the goodness of Blue, or when there’s an album with a weird name, there’s hope that MAYBE they brought it back to the goodness of Pinkerton.. but, nope.. Pork & Beans, every damn time! Now, don’t get me wrong, this is a pretty solid collection of covers, but godamn, the selection of songs could have been pulled from a folder labeled “Songs that EVERY FREAKIN BAND EVER covered from 1996-2005” - So many obvious and over done songs! Like freakin ‘Sweet Dreams’ ‘Take on Me’ ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’ and ‘Billie Jean’ - and on top of it, they did each one of those songs EXACTLY like the original! Sometimes my mind drifted for a moment, and I thought I was listening to the real version.. They might as well have just recorded vocals over a karaoke track! If you’re gonna do such unoriginal covers, at least make em your own and do something different and exciting! THAT being said, the other half of the record has some better choices (still kinda ‘meh’ though) like ‘Happy Together’ ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ and even Sabbath’s ‘Paranoid’ - and it’s like they changed their mind halfway through recording the album and decided to start putting their Weezer sound on the songs, and the album gets much more entertaining and fun to listen to! All in all, if a Weezer covers album came out back in the day, when all these covers were a bit more fresh, I would have ate this thing up and loved every second! But, these days, it would have been awesome to hear this band put their own spin on some deeper cuts and some more beloved songs.. I mean, doing TLC’s ‘Scrubs’ is kinda neat, but also kinda embarrassing and dumb.... I dunno... it’s worth a listen i guess, but the whole album just kinda feels like every Weezer album since the Green album; forgettable and underwhelming. Ah well, at least they’re consistent. • I listened to the whole thing during my traffic filled commute to work, and had some thoughts to get out. So, now i can get on with my day. See ya.

The Long Lost "4-Crack Sessions"

Around 2002-2005 i lived in Florida and New Jersey... during those times i spent a lot of time alone, smoking weed, and recording LOTS of weirdly beautiful (but mostly crazy and insane) music on my 4-track.. These recordings were converted to digital files a few years later.. then after the "Great hard drive crash of 2009" seemingly lost to the ages.

Now, in a glorious twist of fate, my dear friend Matthew has uncovered the feared lost masterpieces on an old harddrive! So, here i present to you some of my most musical genius moments of insanity and thought provoking journeys into the mind of a slightly insane, creative, lonely, lost, and inspired Mykee.

(Including: recordings of beautiful classical guitar melodies with my stoned self going back and singing nonsense lyrics over top, a made up language, a talking Simpsons watch from Burger King, a story created around the play and literary classic Our Town, song about my old chihuahua, a cover of "That Thing You Do" from the movie of the same name, a couple emotional ballads, and a song about two buttholes getting stuck together.)

My Favorite Records of 2013

1. Islands - Ski Mask
2. Avantasia - The Mystery of Time
3. Ghost - Infestissumam
4. Various Artists - The Songs of Tony Sly: A Tribute
5. Huntress - Starbound Beast
6. Clutch - Earth Rocker
7. Weedpecker - S/T
8. Protest the Hero - Volition
9. Bad Religion - True North
10. Har Mar Superstar - Bye Bye 17
11. Saves the Day - S/T
12. Uncle Adic and the Deadbeats - Mind Control
13. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

Honorable mentions:

Jellyfish - Radio Jellyfish: Live Radio Broadcasts 1993

Mykee Dreams of Metal

I was going to a Halloween show that Ghost, Huntress, and Pentagram were playing. J.T. Turret was selling merch for Pentagram, so Bobby Liebling and I were discussing the giant pile of Saxon vinyl he was selling, and some of the new shirt designs J.T. helped him make. Then i went outside to smoke a cigarette in the basement of the parking garage, and when i came back up in the elevator, the doors opened and three police had their guns drawn, waiting for us to exit. I knew they weren't for me so i didn't even stop and just walked right passed them. They wanted my friend Patrick Swayze/Steve Buscemi who kept trying to get me to take the rap for them sneaking into the show (which some how was how i ended up in the show as well, cuz i never got a ticket, but the doorman just accepted that i was supposed to be there) but they just had their identical twin go to jail for them instead. So i ran back inside (as best as you can in a dream!) right in time to catch Ghost just about to begin! Papa Emeritus came out and they started playing "Return of the Warlord" by MANOWAR!!! I was losing my shit! My favorite song, by one of my favorite bands, played live by GHOST! Jerome Thomson and I were losing our shit singing along and going crazy for it, and The Nameless Ghouls noticed and pointed and gave us thumbs up! Then Papa Emeritus grabbed a little top hat and was dancing around being silly (which was so weird!!) i snapped a few pictures on my phone. Then i was hanging out at the Huntress merch table/bar with Jill Janus and she served me a PBR and shot of whiskey. Some random rock band with a chick singer started playing and they were singing a Cardigans song which was very awesome! but they had endless technical difficulties, so i went up to see if i could help, and to look at the setlist to figure out what the name of the Cardigans song was they played. I couldn't figure either out, so i went back to the merch/bar, and realized i left my beer on the stage, which turns out the guitarist had drank! So Jill gave me TWO more, and filled a glass of whiskey all the way to the top! it was time to get DRUNK. Then i looked over to Pentagram merch table and Dan Bedford was sitting back there now rubbing cheez doodles on his forehead and feeding them to some other dude back there with them. it was pretty damn weird, even in the dream.

andddddddddd that seems to be all i remember for now.

There was a lot more, but it's too bits and piecesy to try to get it down.. just wanted to share some of that weirdness..

I recorded a black metal version of "French Navy" by Camera Obscura

A Classic Mykee Misdventure, Revisted.

I was drunkenly telling somebody this story last night, and i couldnt really remember most of the details.. so i went through the old blogs to locate my original telling.. and man.. it still rules.. so.. let us revisit a classic Mykee adventure from the days of yore:


April 17, 2007  (today marks the 5 year anniversary of this fateful night. fucking crazy how time flies man)


So.......... Last night i went to see my friend's band BUCKSHOT FACELIFT play at Lit.. on the way into the city, i was waiting for my N train.. and drinking a 24oz can of keystone light (classy).. and a train came from the other direction, and when it pulled away i saw a cop standing there across the tracks.. he was looking at me drinking my booze.. and he put up his hand as if to say 'stay right there'.. then he said, 'you cant drink that here, stay right there' (apparently i read his hand signal correctly) .. then my train began to approach the station, and i pointed to my headphones as if to say 'sorry i can't hear you' .. and then i said 'sorry, i cant hear you!' and gave him a thumbs up, and got on the train and left.. so THAT ruled.... then i ate a xanax and met up with nick and ashley at their apartment.. i drank a 22 of old english (more class) and danced to some bob marley.. then we went to Lit... BUCKSHOT FACELIFT was awesome.. they freaking rule.. and i love them all... and we drank alot more... and i was pretty wasted already.. then me and nick and ashley and dan went to Annex for some sorta dance party thing their friend was DJing in the basement.. and drank lots and lots of free PBR's and danced and danced and danced.. and it was a wonderful time... nick and ashley left.. me and dan fucked around and danced some more.. they played amy winehouse... i got excited... danced and made out with some hot chick.. then danced with the hottest chick in the place.. made out with her a bit... dance dance dance... drinking peoples unfinished beers off tables.. annnnnnnnnnd then we left... we walked to the corner of Allen st, embraced one another, and parted ways for our respected subway stations... i decided to take the scenic route, and stopped by Bside for some more drinks.. hung out with sara and protected her while she counted the money and closed the bar... then continued on my way home... got a delicious hot dog with some oniony stuff and CHEEEESE on it.. got a bit on my jean jacket, licked it off, and hopped on the train.. which was the Q, cuz i figured i'd change it up a bit... forgetting the Q stops at 57th street... which it did.. so instead of waiting for the N at 57th, i just got out and started walking towards the 59th street bridge.. the time is now probably around 530am.. the hustle and bustle of city life is slowly beginning.. and my drunk ass is dancing down the street listening to some Mock Orange, playing some mean air drums.. singing loudly.. loving drunken life.. so.. i finally get to the bridge.. and start walking on the upper roadway.. which apparently has no walkway for humans, or any shoulder of any sort at all.. just two lanes of speeding ass cars and walls.. so i hopped the wall and walked on the outside edge with all the construction and shit, jumping over obstacles and looking at the sunrise and the water.. quite nice.. but then the construction area ended.. and i had to hop back into the road..... so... i continued walking.. not minding one bit of it.. then i notice some flashing lights comin up behind me.. and a police paddywagon van thing pulls up next to me, i take out a headphone and they say 'you can't be walking up here! you're gonna get yourself killed!' and i said 'hey man, i'm just trying ta get home, and i like the view, sorry, i'll be careful..' and they said they would slowly follow behind me until i got to the end of the bridge, so i could be safe (i was thinking that maybe a RIDE woulda been prudent.. but, i guess thats against the rules or something).. so i put my headphone back in, lit up a smoke, and starting walking again, singing loud, playin some airdrums, dancing it up.. with my own personal police escort following behind me keeping me safe... king in the castle.. so... bout 5 minutes later i see a real cop car pull up next to me, white guy cop driving, young black chick cop riding shotgun.. and they said i couldnt be walking up here and made me get in the back of the cruiser.. i asked if i could smoke in there and they said no.. and started driving me off the bridge... i took it all in stride.. not minding a second.. enjoying the scenery, shooting the shit with the cops (through the metal gate separator).. appreciating the ride, and being in the back of a cop car (which has like ZERO leg room! can't a criminal get a little comfort? apparently not..) and as we went around the bend, and approached the end of the bridge, i see 2 cop cars had set up a sweet roadblock, doors open, flashing lights, only thing missing was cops with drawn pistols in the cracks of the open doors.. so i asked my cops "is that for ME?" .. and they said 'Yup.. we kept getting calls about a guy walking in the middle of the road on the upper roadway of the 59th street bridge.. so they wanted to catch him.. you.." .. i was HONORED! i couldnt believe it.. i felt like a real criminal or something! i started cracking up, and said 'that's AMAZING' and they laughed.. the roadblock let us through.. we turned the corner and pulled over.. the chick cop got out and let me out.. we exchanged names and pleasantries, shook hands, i thanked them for the ride, apologized for the inconvenience.. (they liked me).. i put my music back on, lit up another smoke.. and continued onward on my journey home.. still had quite a way to go from the end of the bridge to my home.. so i was walking and walking and dancing and dancing and smoking and singing and airdrumming and rocking and enjoying the sunrise and the nice steady drizzle of mist falling from the sky... around 36th ave i decided to hop up on this wet marble ledge and walk on it like a balance beam for a bit, then i decided to jump to the next one, which was at a right angle infront of me... bad idea.. as i lept, my feet slipped out on the slick wet marble, my body went in the air, then my knee slammed into the ledge, ass smashed on the concrete, and the back of my head came about an inch away from busting open on the marble ledge that i had just throw myself off of..... i laid there in the wetness for a few minutes, getting rained on.. recovering.. regaining my wits (maybe in shock).. after a bit, i got my broken, bruised, abused drunk ass body up out of the water and limped the rest of the way home, holding my knee, laughing my ass off the whole way......... the end.

music is life. literally.

The universe is a symphony.. created by strings (see: string theory) vibrating at certain precise and different frequencies, making every atom and particle and every piece of matter in existence different from the next.. depending on the frequency.. therefore CREATING all known matter in existence in all the universe.. and that is why there are SO many endless different types of THINGS in the universe.. because the different vibrations are endless...

Vibrations create sound.. creating notes.. all these different notes harmonizing together creating the immense symphony of the universe, which is LIFE... vibration is life.. sound creates life (in a way) .. therefore.. life IS music, LITERALLY.. and music IS life, LITERALLY... so.. perhaps the reason we humans (well most of us) have such a strong connection with music, and feel it so deeply inside.. in ways we cant even describe.. is because we ARE music.. everything IS music.. music is life.. we are life.. we are music.. the feeling is almost spiritual.. i know music is the closest thing i've felt to spirituality and oneness with myself, and the universe.. the closest thing i've felt to 'Religion'.. so, i guess in a way, i would consider music my 'Religion' .. and not in a crazy sorta way.. in a 'soulful' sorta way.. its beautiful to think about really.. MUSIC IS THE CREATOR.. the whole universe is an intricate beautiful symphony.. and we are living it.. living in a giant beautiful HARMONY.. we are a living breathing symphony of matter.. life.. music.. beauty.. live it.. feel it..

marinate on that for a bit.....

The Problem With Going To Sleep Early For Once...

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

(repost of a weird dream I had a little over a year ago)

The problem with deciding to get my tired ass to sleep early for once is I have dreams about ladies in senate, trying to get some sorta house zoning bill passed.. and taking inspiration from a They Might Be Giants song, she realizes she can filibuster 'vigilantly'.. reciting the words to songs from the Little Mermaid soundtrack, explaining each verses deeper meanings as they go.. and everybody in senate was so annoyed.. then it was off to the wilderness with some 'EXXXTREME' friends.. and i almost dropped an expensive ass video camera while base jumping off a huge mountain into the parking lot of the shopping center i had my first 2 jobs at when i was younger.. only to be met there by Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, who picked me up in a Honda Element. And i was having such a crazy day and i wanted someone to talk to, so i was whining to him about stuff, and telling him i wished he still had a mouth so we could talk... and he showed me that he actually, contrary to the portrayal of Deadpool in the Wolverine Origins movie (not the actual Deadpool from the comics), he DID still have a mouth and we could talk.. and i decided a cigarette would be really good, but he made me wait a few minutes cuz he had the AC going in the car.. and we drove past the old pool club in the neighborhood i grew up in, and there was a lady sitting on her front lawn, watching her kids play with toys.. she was all sexy and skinny and over tanned and rich and desperate housewives-ish, complaining to her kids that her foot really hurt, and Deadpool now turned into my friend Chris Catapano (who if you know him, makes it even weirder) and he wouldnt drive off cuz he was getting turned on by the crazy housewife lady's rants.. and i was even thinking that she was lookin to get banged by some strapping young poolguy-esque dude, and i was thinkin bout goin to talk to her bout it.. but then i was at my parents house trying to fix an old Nintendo i had plugged into the washing machine.. and i ended up hacking a game of Castlevania so i had Mario AND a side scrolling jet fighter with lasers to shoot at the same time as Mario's fireballs, and i was fucking shit up.. crazy ghosts and monsters.. and i told my dad the Nintendo works just fine.. then i opened the freezer for some icecream, but there wasnt anything good in there, and i turned to check out this shelf full of lotsa random toys and old stuff.. and i saw all my old electric toothbrush sets i used to have when i was little, a Mickey Mouse one... and some others, that i didnt really have in real life.. and i was wishing i still had the one He-Man one i used to have.. and my dad said that it was at my grandma's house, and i could go get it! but i had to probably do some chores for her.. 

Then i got a call from my friend Beth, who told me she found a way to take regular disposable lighters, and make them super strength and indestructible, and she was gonna start selling them and make lots of money, and she gave me a whole bunch of them, and i went to the gas station and picked up a whole tray of lighters for her to use to start up her new business venture.. but then i was playing some old school computer games with a friend, and we got stoned, and then my friend Dennis, (whom i worked with in the kitchen at Shaffer City a long time ago, who is now as of very recently BACK in the kitchen there) knocked on the door and asked if we wanted anything on the side of---- and i responded YES before he even finished asking, cuz for some reason i knew that he was making us some big ass microwave pizzas, and he put pasta and BBQ sauce on them, and cut them up in really fucking weird shapes.. 

(This is a picture i saw the other day that musta inspired my brain to have Dennis cut those pizzas up so weird.. i wish i could go back to sleep and eat them!)

Then we turned on the TV and the senate lady was still filibustering vigilantly, with Little Mermaid songs, talking about how Ariel is telling little girls how to feel pretty in the morning by counting the number of cocktail shrimp they put on their eyes when they wake up... =\ 1-2-3... .......... and then i guess i woke up.... and now its 4am... and.... dammit! no more going to sleep early!

-MM

The Saddest Dream I've Ever Had.

This was almost 2 years ago now, but the feelings drudged up from it still resonate in me sometimes.

October 22, 2008:

i was about to start attending the harry potter school.. and i was taking some sort of entrance test that you take over the computer on webcam with one of the wizards, in one of the classrooms there.. and he was doing hand signals that i had to interpret.. but they were so easy.. like he would point to the left and ask 'which way am i pointing?' and i was playing around cuz i didnt think it was that big a deal, and cuz the questions were so easy... but i guess there were deeper aspects of the questions and answers that i didnt quite pick up on.. and i ended up getting a low rating or classification or whatever and it was upsetting.. but didnt matter too much.. it jus gave me a different sized emoticon on the schools chat room or some shit =\ .... so anyway... then i was in the hallways and the school was under attack by soul suckers, and i saw some of the teachers all fucked up and stumbling around, telling everybody to run and hide... and i didnt know where to go.. and i saw the soul suckers floating down the hallways touching everybody and killing them... they were some floaty scary mother fuckers, with long fucked up black robes and hoods with no faces, floating around touching people with their long boney fingers.. the school was sorta set up like the middle school that i went to (which comes up in lots of my dreams for some reason) and i tried standing up against a pillar but it didnt seem safe.. and eventually i couldnt hide or run anywhere else and i saw one comin, so i laid down on the floor, face down, next to someone else as it was coming.. and i closed my eyes and jus tried to be still, and i felt this weird feeling when it touched me, like being zapped, but not a sharp electrocute, it was heavy and shook my whole being, like a real heavy cloudy vibration shock, real deep to the core.. then i opened my eyes and the whole world was veiled in grey and shaky and blurry like i was looking at it through some other dimension (kinda how Frodo sees the world when he's got the Ring on, in the LOTR movies).. or a weird cloudy wavy grey bubble.. then slowly... everything started to become clear again and i could see around me, but i wasnt in the school anymore, i was lying on this pile of round woven wicker disc type things, in a stack, each one was probably bout 3 feet across.. and they were all filled with lots of different colored balls, like ball pit ball size, but they were soft, and i was lying on top of the top one, on the balls, face down with my arms and legs draped over the sides, and i slowly woke up and got up, and looked around and i was out in this beautiful courtyard garden type place with lots of beautiful flowers and greenery all around.. it was all bright and a lovely temperature, and all these people were sitting at long picnic table type tables, doin arts and crafts, and jus talking, and eating, just hangin out, feeling good and seeming pretty content and happy.. and i looked around, and it was all these random people from my life, and others i didnt know, but man, there were some random faces i hadnt thought of in YEARS... and they were all smiling and happy.. and then i noticed Sense Field was playing at a nice volume all around... i'm pretty sure it was the song 'Here Right Here'.. (you can hear the song HERE.. its kinda suiting and weird that my brain picked that to be playing when i woke up in heaven..) and i saw some lady standing up walkin around, and she smiled at me, and i was so confused, but i asked 'is this heaven?' and she said it was... and i was like 'wow.. Sense Field... how suiting.. i always thought they would probably play Sense Field in heaven..' (i dont think i've ever actually thought that.. but in my dream i thought that i had.. haha who knows..) it was jus perfect.. and it made sense.... then the reality of what the fuck was happening started to sink in.. and i started to get super sad.. cuz i was dead.. and in heaven... and i had so much unfinished stuff left to do with my life.. deep, helpless, sadness sunk in.. and it was even worse cuz i was thinking, wow, i'm in heaven and i'm STILL feeling sadness? that's pretty fucked up.. and then i was being shown around by some lady with blonde hair.. and i was so sad and kept crying.. real hard and deep.. and i had a little toy tomato in my hand that i was playing with, like a stress ball or something, jus pushin on it, and weeping while we walked... she said my mom was here, and had killed herself after she heard i died... i was jus like 'oh' .. then we crossed a big expanse of desert looking area, but it only took a minute or so... and we got to some racketball type courts, and people were playing racketball against the walls.. and i saw some guy who i didnt recognize but he looked kinda familiar, kinda like he was maybe my father, but he wasnt... weird.. he was wearing a white headband and big sunglasses.. and he was like 'mykee is that you? hi!' but i walked past him cuz i saw my mom playing racketball with my parents gay friend, Mark, that my dad has known since he was real young.. he's a real close familly friend, and a super nice dude.... so i see them playin together, and i go over to them, and i'm jus so fucking sad... and i say hi to mark and shake his hand, and my mom comes up to me and says 'welcome home' ... sheesh... then i'm jus standing there with my head down jus playin wit the toy tomato.. sorta sulking... the saddest i could ever imagine feeling.. . and she's like why are you so sad... and i jus break down... balling my fucking eyes out, and we're sitting on the floor and she's holding me and i'm fucking crying like a little baby in her arms, hugging her.. and i'm like 'mom why did you kill yourself?' and she said that when she saw in the newspaper that the soulsuckers had killed me she just didnt want to deal with the pain and loss, so she just commited suicide.. (and i was able to see the scene in my head while she told me, i saw her sitting at the kitchen table with a newspaper article cut out in front of her, and i saw the toy tomato there too on the table...) and i was fucking crying and hugging her and she was holding me.......on a racketball court.... in the middle of a desert.... in heaven........ and then i woke up.......

Time Flies When You're Dead!

Today marks the anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death.. SIXTEEN FUCKING YEARS AGO!!!! How the fuck old are we getting??
I remember my dad picking me up from lacrosse practice after middle school in 7th or 8th grade. I hopped in the car and he says "The singer of one of your bands killed himself today."
My young little heart skipped a beat..
"I can't remember who..  I think it starts with an N?" he said.
my immediate thought was "NOFX??! FAT MIKE?!! No way! He wouldn't do that!"
and he said "No, that's not it"
Then we turned on the radio -and with timing so perfect it coulda been set up- heard; "Kurt Cobain, lead singer and guitarist of the band Nirvana, was found dead today at his home in Seattle, Washington. He was 27 years old."
My poor angst ridden, mid-pubescent, voice cracking, flannel shirt wearing, shoulder length 'Sun-In' lightened hair having, 'depressed' , young teenage self was completely shell shocked! It actually hit me pretty hard! Kurt Cobain was my official idol back then! (my parents were a little disturbed by the poster i came home with that had his face all huge and just said underneath it "I Hate Myself And I Want To Die" -Kurt Cobain")
I wrote a paper that year, before he died, entitled 'What I Wanna Be in 20 Years' (or some shit like that) and it had a picture of Kurt with an arrow pointing to him that said 'ME!', and it said all this dumb shit about how i'll be a famous rockstar living in a 666 story tall mansion in Death Valley, California and married to a Victoria Secret super model, and play in an 'alternative-grunge-rock band' and bleach my hair and get blue contact lenses.. pretty ridiculous teenage idol worshipping nonsense. But.. yeah.. Nirvana, and Kurt Cobain, were a big deal to me!
So, that sunny April 8th back in 1994, when Big Papa Shaffer rolled up to pick me up from school, and I heard that life shattering news on the radio..  was a pretty big day in my young formative musical life... 

ME!

Please feel free to share your 'I remember where I was when....' story for the day Kurt Cobain died, in the comment section below!

MY OFFICIAL TOP RECORDS OF 2009!

I know everybody has compiled and posted their 'Best of 2009' lists already (most of them even before '09 was over!) But I like to give myself a little bit of time, after the change of the new year, to sit down with every record I've come to love over the past 365 days of my musical life, and really take them in. Review them in my heart and mind and earholes, and start compiling the long ass list of titles that really hit me hard over the past year (which before i narrowed it down, was at 128 records!!) This is not necessarily the 'BEST' records of the year, just the records that, I personally, took the most enjoyment out of listening to. The ones that I could not stop listening to for days and days straight after I got them. My favorites of my favorites.

I was going to write a little something about each one, but after the craziness I put myself through just trying to narrow it down to a nicely trimmed list of 20, I decided it shall remain just that; a list.

So without further ado, I now present...

Mykee's Top 20 Records of 2009!

  1. R. Kelly - 'Untitled'

  2. Mariachi El Bronx - 'Mariachi El Bronx'

  3. Propagandhi - 'Supporting Caste'

  4. Revocation - 'Existence is Futile'

  5. Big Business - 'Mind the Drift' 

  6. The Protomen - 'Act II - The Father of Death'

  7. Baroness - 'Blue Record'

  8. Metric - 'Fantasies'

  9. Mastodon - 'Crack the Skye'

10. Cursive - 'Mama, I'm Swollen'

11. Steel Panther - 'Feel the Steel'

12. Biffy Clyro - 'Only Revolutions' 

13. The Dear Hunter - 'Act III - Life and Death'

14. Goatwhore - 'Carving Out the Eyes of God'

15. Antony & the Johnsons - 'The Crying Light' 

16. Dream Theater - 'Black Clouds & Silver Linings'

17. Dave Matthews Band - 'Big Whiskey & The GrooGrux King'

18. Hello Nurse - 'Whambulance'

19. Camera Obscura - 'My Maudlin Career'

20. Devin Townsend Project - 'Ki'

Now, that was just the absolute bee's knees, cream of the crop, most favorite favorite tops of the year for me. #1-20. In order. I had to narrow that down from a muuuuuch larger list of favorites... SO, the next list (just in alphabetical order) is some other records from 2009 that were also very much a big part of my musical year, and really got me real good in that nice musical part of the soul. 

We can consider each and every one of these albums #21.

• Anaal Nathrakh - 'In The Constellation of the Black Widow'
• As Tall As Lions - 'You Can't Take it With You'
• Behemoth - 'Evangelion'
• Ben Folds - 'Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella!'
• Between The Buried And Me - 'The Great Misdirect'
• BLK JKS - 'After Robots'
• Brand New - 'Daisy'
• Brandi Carlile - 'Give up the Ghost'
• Brendan Benson - 'My Old, Familiar Friend'
• Built To Spill - 'There Is No Enemy'
• Celeste - 'Misanthrope(s)'
• Charles Spearin - 'The Happiness Project'
• Coalesce - 'OX'
• Cobalt - 'Gin'
• Coconut Records - 'Davy'
• Company of Thieves - 'Ordinary Riches' 
• Converge - 'Ax to Fall'
• Crystal Antlers - 'Tentacles'
• The Decemberists - 'The Hazards of Love'
• Dethklok - 'Dethalbum II'
• Devin Townsend Project - 'Addicted'
• Doomriders - 'Darkness Come Alive'
• Easy Star All*Stars - 'Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band
• Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - ST
• Eluveitie - 'Evocation I: The Arcance Dominion'
• Fact - 'Fact'
• Few And Far Between - 'We're All Safe'
• Goblin Cock - 'Come With Me if You Want to Live'
• GWAR - 'Lust in Space'
• Green Day - '21st Century Breakdown'
• Jay Z - 'The Blueprint 3'
• Immortal - 'All Shall Fall'
• ISIS - 'Wavering Radiant' 
• Islands - 'Vapours'
• Jeremy Enigk - 'OK Bear'
• Julian Casablancas - 'Phrazes for the Young'
• Lucero - '1372 Overton Park'
• The Mars Volta - 'Ochtahedron'
• Megadeth - 'Endgame'
• Mew - 'No More Stories are Told Today, I'm Sorry, They Washed Away'
• Morrissey - 'Years of Refusal'
• Muse - 'The Resistance' 
• Neko Case - 'Middle Cyclone' 
• NOFX - 'Coaster'
• Paramore - 'Brand New Eyes'
• Peculiar Gentlemen - 'The Difference'
• Phoenix - 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix'
• Rancid - 'Let the Dominoes Fall'
• RX Bandits - 'Mandala'
• Scale The Summit - 'Carving Desert Canyons'
• Silversun Pickups - 'Swoon'
• Tegan & Sara - 'Sainthood'
• Týr - 'By The Light of the Northern Star'
• Weezer - 'Raditude'
• 3 - 'Revisions'  

Well, that wraps up another year of wonderful, life affirming, soul lifting, spirit soaring, gut wrenching, ass bleeding, mouth watering, heart beating, booty shaking, eye watering, ear loving, MUSIC!  I hope some of you can discover some great new records from this list I've worked retardedly hard on putting together. I really do put my heart into this sorta endeavor, I hope somebody will appreciate it, and take away as much as I would.

We're only 2 weeks into 2010 and there's already a handful of fantastic albums bombarding my ears with awesome sounds =) it never ends! and it never will! LONG LIVE MUSIC! 

ENJOY YOURSELF.

-MM

You Hear About the Andrew W.K. Conspiracy? (Another Random Ass Mykee Dream)

My pals over at METALSUCKS.net have been following a weird story about Andrew W.K. possibly being a couple different people! (Check out their latest post about it HERE!)

So, i guess it's been in my head a little bit, cuz last night it made its way into my dream..

I had just played at Madison Square Garden, i dont know what band i was in, and i dont even really remember playing the show.. i just know we had just finished our set.. and my friend Evan and I were jus sitting on stage in foldable beachchairs, jus talkin nonsense to the crowd.. he was acting like an old fisherman, telling old tales from the sea.. it was kinda awkward tho, cuz he wasnt really delivering any good material, and milking the opportunity a little too much.. cuz there was still a packed ass house! but then backstage, Andrew WK was talking to the record exec business people and they were saying he's getting too old, and they were bringing in a new AWK.. and it was this little tan indian kid (who couldntve been more than 12 years old) with a thick hitler mustache, kinda like that one dude from Sparks (because apparently in my world AWK rocks a hitler mustache, even tho the real AWK that they were firing didnt have one...... yeah...) and Andrew came to the door that opens onto the back of the stage and told us what was going on and that he was leaving the game now and he was pissed and sad..... and i wouldn't have it!! so, with fire in my eyes, i went after the lil indian kid and tried to beat his ass real bad, but i jus couldnt catch him! him and his lil white friend were running all around the stadium, totally mocking us and laughing the whole time! and i jus couldnt get him... but then finally i had him at the front of the stage on the floor.. i was sitting on the edge of the stage, and he was standing in front of it and i had him caught in my legs, but i just couldnt land a punch in his face.. then my friend Matt was next to me helping hold him down, and he clocked him one real solid good one right square in his face! he was all stunned like a Punch Out character, on the cusp of being knocked out.. that shut him up REAL quick! then i gave him a few solid jabs right to his face also, and we had him up on stage and really totally brutally pummeled him.. he was a bloody mess, with his clothes all torn up and shit... and he was laying there in his mess and i was sitting next to him tellin him how fucked up he looked, but that it still kinda looked pretty cool (i wasnt trying to make him feel better, i was totally being an asshole) .. then me and Matt went back to the dressing room to get our shit and leave, and they had stolen all our stuff!! our jackets and backpacks! and it was really cold out! There was this lady and man record exec talking on a couch and we tried to ask them what happened and they were seriously just blatantly ignoring us and kept on talking! we were right in their face like 'are you REALLY just completely ignoring me right now?!' and they jus kept goin on and on bout their business.. while i'm screaming 'No no no no no!' looking everywhere for my backpack and sweater and shit.. and we couldnt see the kids anywhere, or hear them, but for some reason we knew they were laughing at us, and it pissed me off even more! but then i just gave up and called my dad to come give me a ride home... and i woke up. Damn.

-MM

The Majestic Beauty that is Sigur Rós.

Sigur Rós is one of my favorite bands ever.

They make some of the most beautiful music out there.. their latest record (which is pretty much my number one pick for 2008, and WAY the fuck up there in my 'OF ALL TIME' category, which, if you know me, is a pretty damn huge thing to say!) 'Með suð í Eyrum við Spilum Endalaust' (which means, With Buzzing in Our Ears We Play Endlessly) is a fucking brilliantly luscious, sprawling, dreamy, epic, glorious, beautiful piece of art.

i've been completely in love with it since it sank its soft, loving claws into my heart and soul, when it first came out last year.. but upon purchasing it on vinyl the other day, the flames of adoration and love were rekindled a hundred times over! Holding a copy of one of your very favorite special albums on vinyl is always a lovely feeling. Seeing the cover art all big and nice, slicing open the side, gently taking out the record, putting it on the turntable, carefully putting the needle at the beginning of the first track... the crackles... and then, the beautiful beautiful sound.

Even though you pretty much have no idea what they're even singing about, (unless you do your nerdy research like me!) this record really stirs up the emotions. The feeling is definitely there. The songs themselves absolutely cross over the language barrier, and it hits you soft and sweet right at the core. FEEL IT! Pure, beautiful, raw, emotion.. at it's purest, most instinctual, absolutely universal in essence.. what we are all made out of... MUSIC.

i love this record. i love this band. i highly recommend giving it a listen.


This track, Ára bátur, is probably my favorite.
Honestly, one of the most beautiful pieces of music i have ever had the pleasure of hearing.




(translation)

Ára bátur (Row boat)

You tried everything
Yes, a thousand times
Experienced enough
Been through enough
But you it was who let everything
Into my heart
and you it was who once again
Awoke my spirit

I parted, you parted

You stir up
Emotions
In a blender
Everything in disarray
But it was you who was always
There for me
It was you who never judged
My true friend

I parted, you parted
(hopelandic)

You sail on rivers
With an old oar
Leaking badly
You swim to shore
Pushed the waves away
But to no avail
You float on the sea
Sleep on the surface
Light through the fog

(hopelandic)

Sigur Rós - "Með suð í Eyrum við Spilum Endalaust"

A Brief History Of The Newest Metal Sub-Genre To Emerge From Brooklyn....

DOWNSYNDROME-CORE!

(an in-depth analysis, and more shocking evidence of this growing sub-genre, after the jump.)

The roots of Downsyndrome-Core can be traced back to the early days of avant garde music and unusual artists.
In the 1950's, One notable act is: 

Refresh Your Cynical Soul!

Trials and tribulations of your day to day life got you down?  Feeling like everything is meaningless and futile? Feel like you haven't truly smiled or had a good soul refreshing laugh in far too long?   Well... that shit pretty much never goes away.. so learn to accept it... 
BUT, these lil videos here are a guaranteed smile and have the power to maybe even brighten your day just a little bit..  the precious innocence of a life not yet tainted by the harsh realities of this corrupt Michael Jackson-less world, the pure unadulterated joy and happiness exuding from these pure natural bags of meat and bones.. its just absolutely beautiful. Enjoy. 
















Allow yourself a minute to give pause and reflect on your life. Try to relate to the unabashed joy these precious innocent children are experiencing. Let go of the asinine,  trivial problems that eat away at your mind, body, and soul every day. Try to really live your life, and feel true happiness. Babies possess the answers to all the mysteries of the universe, only growing up in this horrible society and world really sucks the magic right out of us all. We can learn a thing or two from their infectious, angelic, natural little selves.  Breathe.


-MM

SlIPKNOT Better Watch Out! This Kid Is The 'Next Big Thing!'

Well.. He's definitely a 'big thing' alright... so, i guess it's written in the stars for him!

The big fat semi-retarded stars!

..and oh man, that evil penetrating gaze -that begins around the 1:13 mark- really pierces deep into the depths of the soul... i think after watching this video, that 'next big thing' of a man has devoured a little bit of each of our souls...

(Note: If you pause the video at exactly 1:13, and stare into it's eyes.. you can actually FEEL your soul being torn asunder, and merging piece by piece, with his primal, earth dwelling mass of a demonseed 'soul' of a 'big thing' of a 'man'..

Be wary, young journeymen.. Doom and misfortune lie ahead!)

(Another Note: If you look into a mirror at exactly 7:06pm (which technically, if you think about it, is 6:66pm), under the macabre ambiance of a pink and yellow lava lamp, and you repeat the word 'Psychosocial' 6 times, then pull down your pants and grab your ankles....... 'The Big Thing' will appear in the mirror and french kiss you, deep and passionately (do NOT attempt to resist this!) He then will begin to suck out the remainder of your soul. And, right before leaving your empty shell to rot on the floor of your dirty bathroom, he takes his one long, black nail polished pinky nail, and gently tickles the spot between your asshole and balls (and/or vagina), AKA; 'grundle, taint, gooch, chode'... gently whispers the rest of the Slipknot song 'Psychosocial' into your anus, and disappears back into the dark netherworld wastelands.)

Oh well... Totally worth it!

-MM

(ya can't realllly hate tho.. this dude's just doin his thing.. feeling some musics.. embracing the outlet.. gettin some energy out.. havin a good time.. enjoying himself.. yaknow?  gotta have respect for that...... he's jus a little scary... ohwell.)

(Video, once again, lifted from my favorite ol' metal blog, METALSUCKS.NET)

AMAZING DAY FOR NEW RELEASES!!!

"One good thing about music, when it hits, you feel no pain." -Bob Marley

Let the never ending, ever flowing flood of new music crash over me!

You dont need to breathe when you're drowning in the life affirming floods of MUSIC!

"Radio, radio, radio, radio, radio, radio, radio.. When i got the music, i got a place to go!" -Rancid

September 29th, 2009

Dethklok - "Dethalbum II"

Alice In Chains - "Black Gives Way To Blue"

The Avett Brothers - "I and Love and You"

Zero 7 - "Yeah Ghost"

Paradise Lost - "Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us"

Revocation - "Existence is Futile"

Paramore - "Brand New Eyes"

AFI - "Crash Love"

Strung Out - "Agents of the Underground"

Austrian Death Machine - "Double Brutal"

Dizzee Rascal - "Tongue N' Cheek"

Robert Earl Keen - "The Rose Hotel"

-MM

If Ya Want Somethin Done Right.....

Call in the pros!

Just Another Insane Dream My Brain Decided To Have...

I guess this first part stems off of the fact that maybe i'm a lil nervous cuz i'll be playing in a band again, and have to go through learning lots of songs, and being sure of how to play them, and comfortable, before getting on stage and preforming..... but anyways....