I'm having a passionate love affair with a song called "Red Right Ankle" by The Decemberists. I was introduced to it by a mix CD that one of Jacob's labmates made, which Jacob brought home and played at me until I started to like it. The track listing reads like a correctly filled-out Application For Indie Cred, being composed of a half-dozen bands I've never heard and at least four that I've never even heard of. Not that I'm any good standard, since I never hear about anything, but still.
One of the other things on the CD that I'm swooning over is a song by Air called "Mike Mills". That's a fairly common and unremarkable name, so I'm not too sure if it's got any connection with Mike Mills the bespectacled, frizzy-haired, girly-voiced geek who plays bass for R.E.M. and who was my rockstar crush of choice when I was in high school. For the record, I am prepared to swear upon a stack of any religious tome you may provide that I didn't know the name of the song until I'd already decided I liked it. And I'm over him anyway. Red Right Ankle is much cuter.
Posted by dianna at October 13, 2005 02:55 PMI looked it up cause I really want the song to be about REM Mills, but itÂs probably about the artist who`s done graphic work for them. The Minutemen wrote a song about Stipe (it`s called something ridiculous like "Song for the Lead Singer of REM") back in the eighties. It`s definitely time for a Mike Mills tune. Maybe a tribute to that red rhinestoned outfit he wore in the "What`s the Frequency, Kenneth?" video. At least I think it was red, and from that video.
Posted by: jason at October 14, 2005 11:45 AMI'm not sure I've ever seen the particular red rhinestoned outfit in question, but the time could also be ripe for a tribute to the Out of Time era haircut and glasses. A theme of general roundness would prevail, although, to be fair, the band members with noncircular hair weren't too far behind in looking goofy that year.
Posted by: Dianna at October 14, 2005 03:55 PMMills always looked to me like a really fussy PTA mom.
Pretty much the whole band except for Stipe look like AlzheimerÂs patients allowed to dress themselves on their birthday. I canÂt remember but maybe thatÂs what the Minutemen song was about: dude, donÂt you every get embarrassed by your bandmates?
Posted by: jason at October 14, 2005 04:13 PMMan, no way. The other 3 band members (2 now) may look like goofballs but at least they can play instruments. All Stipe's got going for him is a mumbly voice and a tendency to wear skirts, and he can't even have haircuts anymore.
Posted by: Dianna at October 14, 2005 04:36 PMWhich was the album whose liner notes included an airbrushed version of Stipe's high-school portrait, in which he had a huge head of pretty-boy hair?
And does "Red Right Ankle" have any relationship to "Red Right Hand" by Nick Cave? What a great song. And what a great song name formula, come to think of it. "Green Left Nut," or what have you.
Posted by: katie at October 15, 2005 01:19 PMThe Decemberists had a hella catchy radio single. I take it the rest of their stuff isn't nearly as poppy or catchy, but then, I haven't taken the time to actually listen to any of it. Anybody care to make a spot-evaluation?
Posted by: poot at October 17, 2005 05:26 AMGreen Left Nut. I like it.
I have been wondering about the Hand/Ankle thing. Then again, I wondered about Red Right Hand versus the Right Hand Of Doom (isn't that what it's called?) in Hellboy, which is almost certainly not really related. And yet again, when I first listened to the song without paying close attention I thought it was about "your redneck uncle" and later "your red right angle".
Posted by: Dianna at October 17, 2005 09:05 AMthere is a decemberists poster in christine's new kitchen.
Posted by: michele at October 17, 2005 11:29 AM