Mad World Mix Tape

The old adage is to write what you know.  If so, somebody needs to give this post’s featured artist, Richard Walters, a hug. Or arrest him. Or at least do some serious investigating of his family and friends.  For the level of first-person dysfunction on display in some of Walters’ best tunes is remarkable.  But if Law & Order SVU (not to be confused with the ill-conceived Subaru sponsorship driven Law & Order SUV ) taught us anything, it's that dysfunction can be fascinating. As long as it's not our own. Drug abuse , spousal abuse , inappropriate sexual encounters and self-loathing are all on display in Richard Walters' work, rendered in an unforgettable falsetto voice. It’s gloriously disturbing and beautiful at the same time. I first heard Richard Walters and this post’s featured tune “Elephant in the Room” in the audition round of So You Think You Can Dance a few seasons back (a program whose over-40 male heterosexual audience undoubtedly numbers in the t

This post’s feature track, “ Normal Life ” by July for Kings, is one of several awesome tunes from their 2002 debut album, Swim .  But don’t just take my word for it. The reviewer at allmusic.com declared July for Kings as Pearl Jam wannabes and Swim as “shallow”, “overly earnest” and “emotions by the numbers” awarding it a full star and a half and encouraging people to “dive in at their own risk”. Oh, wait.  Crap. One and a half stars out of five?  Wow. That’s like Spinal Tap Shark Sandwich territory.  I mean if Swim was a movie, we’re talking Bennifer’s Gigli .  Not even bad Adam Sandler, but Gigli . Damn. Given this dramatic difference in opinion, one is left to conclude one of the following: 1. My musical taste blows. 2. Allmusic.com got it wrong. As allmusic.com is one of the most popular sites of its kind, and MWMT is um, well, not, I accept that I have not earned the benefit of the doubt.  And while I am not willing to cop to my taste blowing (or sucking), I will ce