J

3/23/20

Dear Andrew,

Whelp turned 41 yesterday and I guess whatever. 

I know I've played Reggie and the Full Effect a little bit for you.  You may or may not know that Reggie released a record in 2008 called "Last Stop Crappy Town"   The record is very different when it comes to Reggie's music... more serious.  In fact, James Dewees (he's the guy behind Reggie, maybe better known for playing with The Get Up Kids) was going through some serious rehabbing when he wrote this record.

Did you notice the name of this song?  It's really called "J" 

J references, I believe J St. which was a stop on the subway James took every day on his way to rehab.  The whole record sounds and feels like a runaway freight train on its way to hell, up until the very end.  I dig the record although it's pretty dark, and there's some scream-singing going on.

Today's song, which is probably the most commercial sounding, also features some of this screaming stuff.  I'm curious what you think of it?  For some reason, I forgive Reggie when he goes all scream-o on me.  But most people I know can hardly stand it.

Stay safe in your house quanrenteening!

HUGS
Brady

YouTube refers to this song as J Train.  Neat neat neat.  

Playing Dead

Today I woke up with a lovely (sad) little song by a fun little group called Reggie and the Full Effect. 

I've blogged about this band before, which more or less is one guy, James Dewees.  It seems like what he was doing with this group was a complete joke, made obvious by his horrible lyrics and alternative bands "Hungary Bear" and "Common Denominators" who made appearances on the first 4 albums. 

Then in 2005, things seemed to change for Reggie and Full Effect with the release of the album "Songs Not to Get Married To."  Even though the bad lyrics remained, the tone seemed to shift from sadder to more serious, and seems to have remained that way ever since.  (James Dewees was going through a divorce as he wrote this album) 

I'm bad at explaining it all really, I think you'd have to hear a Reggie and the Full Effect album to understand what this band it all about.  The music is catchy, the lyrics are campy but it's all so fun and really good when it comes down to it. 

So today's song is the last track from the album "Songs Not to Get Married To" it's called PLAYING DEAD, and I really think it's a great track.  Listen and decide for yourself if you agree with me.

If this is all too Emo for you, it might be exciting to hear that I've now blogged about enough songs to fill another compilation disc which of course means I'm going to give away a compilation on this here blog.  It's "The Songs Stuck in Brady's Head Volume 9."  Can you believe it?!?!?

So, I won't make it too complicated this time, but it's probably my most awesomest giveaway yet!

First of all, here's what you're eligible to win, the compilation disc, obviously:

And along with it (this is a leftover from Christmas) a $50.00 Amazon gift card:

This is real money that I'm giving away right here on my blog!

So, this time in order to be eligible, you need to go to my Facebook page (not my personal FB page, THE SONGS STUCK IN MY HEAD FB page) where I've posted the link to this blog.  Make a comment, and post a video, or YouTube clip of the song that's stuck in your head.  If you lie then you will be disqualified.  If no song is stuck in your head, then post a video of your favorite song.  Just post a video.  OK?

If you don't have a Facebook account because Facebook is evil (let's be honest) then just comment below and you will also be eligible for a prize. 

I will randomly pick a winner and announce who it is on the Facebook page a week from today, January 25th. 


I love you all with affection unspeakable. 

N

Today's song comes from the cleverly titled album "Last Stop: Crappy Town" by Reggie and the Full Effect. 

This kind of music is as "hard-core" as I get.  I've been amused by this band for years, mostly because it seems it was all started as a joke.  James Dewees was the keyboard player for The Get Up Kids and started Reggie as a side project.  His earlier albums are hilarious at times, mocking 80's Brit-pop, Finnish grunge bands and hardcore punk. 

But as this band's music has evolved it feels like it's become more serious.  I could be wrong- maybe I'm not cool enough to be in on the joke-  Pretty sure I'm not.  Here's the song for you.  For those who care it's the final track of the album. 

According to the websites I've visited, Dewees wrote this album while taking the subway from his house in Brooklyn to a rehab facility.  The album feels apocalyptic in a way, as if your on a ride on some runaway train to hell, or Provo, Utah. 

Since we're on the subject of hellish train rides, I'll tell you my worst train ride experience, not that you care...

In 2002 I was in Italy by myself.  While I was visiting Venice, the good people of Italy decided to have a train strike.  My itinerary had me in Venice for one day, and because of the strike I was stuck there for 3 days. 

I was in my early 20's at the time.  Venice is a nice place, and I may appreciate it more now, but I felt like there wasn't enough to see to be stuck there for 3 days.  Thankfully, the strike ended, and I was anxious to buy my ticket to the next stop on my itinerary-  Florence. 

"I'll have one ticket for Florence," I said in my best Italian.

"The trains aren't going to Florence because of the strike" was the response.

"But the strike is over"

"Not completely..."

WHA???  With regret, I purchased my ticket for Rome- and decided Florence would be for another visit in the future. 

If you've ever been on a European train ride, you'll know that unless you paid a fortune for tickets, the train makes several stops.  So where do you think my train stopped along the way? 

No, Not Provo, Utah.      

My proudest moment as an Italian speaker was going into the business office (in Florence) of this disorganized train company and demanding a refund on my ticket- and I got it!