M is for the moan, and the miserable groan
from the pain that She felt when I was born

O is for the oven with it's burnin' heat
where She stood makin' sure I had something to eat

T is for the time that She stayed up at night
and took my temperature when I wasn't feelin' right

H is for the hard earned money She spent
to keep clothes on my back and try to pay da' rent

E is every wrinkle I put on Her face
and every worry that I caused when I stayed out late

R The last letter R is that She taught me Respect
and for the room up in Heaven that I know She'll get

Originally submitted months ago, but posted only now because Grant is a stoner.

Maria and Prisilla of the Sweet Pups were nice enough to let Timothy Rysdyke and I take pictures of and talk to us about their practice space in Crybaby, keytars and semi-recently being robbed.

• Timothy Rysdyke
• Drum Loft

How long have the Sweet Pups been in this space?
Since we started the band in July. Just two bands share this space.... He wanna redo the whole room because it’s like a gross boy room. We wanna rip down a bunch of the flyers and add a bunch of egg cartons because we are right next to the smoking room so everybody can hear everything we do... Here is a lot of drum kit stuff, that doesn’t belong to anyone, in the loft. We could probably utilize this space better, so it’s stacked far against the wall so the vibrations don't make anything fall onto anyone.

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Megan’s recent post about how KISS, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the Doors polarize listeners inspired a lot of chatter about the merits of the latter. (I don’t give a damn about KISS or RHCP, really. Y’all can debate about ’em till Gene Simmons’ tongue turns burnt sienna, for all I care.)

I maintain that most Doors haters haven’t delved deeply into the LA band’s catalog, and therefore have a superficial and/or distorted perception of them. Scattered among the Doors’ six albums proper, cut with the original four members, are many excellent songs. You can loathe Jim Morrison’s “poetry” or his alleged self-importance and self-mythologizing or body odor, but you have to have tin ears not to appreciate some of the Doors’ music’s serpentine beauty and psychedelic grandeur.

Haters gonna hate™ (Line Out commenter Chris Jury thinks the Doors “had no business making music”; harsh and so very wrong), but in the spirit of trying to convert or initiate at least a few readers, I’ve compiled what I think represents the group’s best material that hasn’t been overplayed on radio, jukeboxes, film soundtracks, TV programs, or your uncle’s home stereo system (not to imply that many of those songs aren't worth your precious time; most of them are). Which means I’m going to exclude “The End” and “When the Music’s Over,” which are mighty and sublime epics in which you should luxuriate at least once a year. Would the climax of Apocalypse Now be so momentous without the former scoring it? No. Recognize its majesty.

So, finally, here are the tracks with which I will make my case for the Doors’ greatness and relevance, even in 2012, even with the knowledge that “Horse Latitudes” exists. “Ride the snake,” motherfuckers.

01 The Crystal Ship (The Doors)
02 End of the Night (The Doors)
03 You’re Lost Little Girl (Strange Days)
04 My Eyes Have Seen You (Strange Days)
05 I Can’t See Your Face in My Mind (Strange Days)
06 Strange Days (Strange Days)
07 Unhappy Girl (Strange Days)
08 Moonlight Drive (Strange Days)
09 Not to Touch the Earth (Waiting for the Sun)
10 The Unknown Soldier (Waiting for the Sun)
11 Five to One (Waiting for the Sun)
12 The Soft Parade (The Soft Parade)
13 Peace Frog (Morrison Hotel)
14 Waiting for the Sun (Morrison Hotel)
15 Indian Summer (Morrison Hotel)
16 L’America (L.A. Woman)

I know you guys decided that KISS is one of the worst/most annoying/least listenable bands (worse than even the Red Hot Chili Peppers), but look what it did for Avery. He's gonna be a fucking badass by the time he's eight.

Emergency? Dial (719) 26-OATES. Srsly. Try it today.

All this week they're kicking off the Fall Fund Drive with Coffee for the Kids. Each day, a different Caffe Vita location is donating 10% of their sales to Vera—today's location is Caffe Vita on Capitol Hill. Tomorrow it's Queen Anne, Thursday is Pioneer Square, Friday is Fremont, Saturday is Phinney Ridge, and Sunday is Seward Park.

If you can't make it out to get a cup of coffee, you can also donate online—you can make a one-time donation in any amount or you can sign up for monthly donations, too. Click here to learn more about the Vera Project and see what your donations will do.