Pretty self-explanatory; the topic came up when we were at a bar and someone said that "Crimson and Clover" by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts was the best cover song ever. A-haha.
Ryan's Top 5:
1. "Everybody's Talkin'" - Harry Nilsson - This is definitely one of my favorite songs of all-time, so you bet your ass it's my favorite cover song. Fred "Not Harry Nilsson" Neil apparently performed a version of this song that pre-dates this one. Go figure!
2. "All Along the Watchtower" - Jimi Hendrix - This is the quintessential example, for me; nothing wrong with the Dylan version, but the Hendrix rendition is iconic rock.
3. "I Fought the Law" - The Clash - Once again, I like older versions of the song, but The Clash definitely knows how to amp up the ass-kickery. I'm fairly sure The Clash could cover anything and I'd like it better.
4. "I Will Survive" - Cake - Cake does the song in their own particular styling. Notably, they amend this lyric: "I should have changed my fucking lock / I would have made you leave your key." See that? They added the word "fucking." Brilliant!
5. "Stand By Me" - John Lennon - This narrowly defeats Van Halen's cover of "You Really Got Me," which loses points because The Kinks are one of my favorite bands. Anyway, I guess it's not a given that this version is incredibly superior--if you're a big R&B fan--and I'm not--so in the end this wins. Also, I like John Lennon. A lot.
Dan's Top 5:
1. Aretha Franklin - Respect (orig. by Otis Redding) - This is the only instance I can think of where the song's meaning is essentially transformed. When Aretha sings it, her womanhood is an essential element of the song.
2. Johnny Cash - Hurt (orig. by Nine Inch Nails) - Easily the newest original on the list to be covered, and by a man who was a living legend. If the Man In Black wants to sing your song, you know it's good.
3. Cream - Crossroads (orig. "Cross Road Blues" by Robert Johnson) - OK, I haven't heard the original, but "Crossroads" is my favorite Cream song.
4. Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower (orig. by Bob Dylan) - While I agree almost 100% with Ryan's selections, I've allowed myself one overlapping listing. This is it, because Jimi rocked and Dylan's got plenty of other good songs. He can spare one.
5. The Dropkick Murphys - The Fields of Athenry (orig. recorded by Danny Doyle) - Gains the quality of being much more easily adapted to sports scenarios.
Honorable Mention: Van Halen - You Really Got Me (orig. by The Kinks), Gnarls Barkley - Reckoner (orig. by Radiohead) - only omitted because it's not been released, Joe Cocker - With A Little Help From My Friends (orig. by The Beatles), Creedence Clearwater Revival - Heard It Through the Grapevine (orig. by Gladys Knight and the Pips) - omitted because it's too damn long.
Tim's Top 5:
1. If Not For You – George Harrison - The slide guitar on If Not For You works so magically, I don’t even know how to explain it. I think this is one of the greatest love songs ever recorded, not that you’ll be able to tell from that recording. And as much as I love Bob Dylan, his version of his own song just doesn’t measure up. It sounds like he was borrowing some of Hendrix’s work from All Along the Watchtower and makes it a fluff pop song. Harrison’s recording is a sincere and plaintive cry, almost an elegy in advance. The fact that it also works so well on All Things Must Pass means it would be sacrilege to put any lower down the list.
2. Hard to Handle – Black Crowes – I am a fan of Otis Redding’s version, but it’s not even a close contest. The Black Crowes completely reinvent this song and make it sound completely current (both for 1990 and 2009) and I was in disbelief when I actually opened the liner notes of Shake Your Moneymaker and saw that Otis Redding wrote the song. It’s the quintessential Black Crowes song, the best on what is an absolutely phenomenal album, and this song works blissfully well with the country-tuned sounds that they bring to the table on the album.
3. Slut – Big Star* - I include it solely because it’s on a released album, the inaptly titled “Columbia – Big Star Live at Missouri University” album that is inaptly titled, since 1) it’s not really Big Star (hence the asterisk -- it’s the second iteration of Big Star -- Alex Chilton, Jody Stephens, and two members of the Posies (Auer/Stringfellow), since Chris Bell had died long before the “reunion” show), and 2) there is no such thing as Missouri University. Nice try. But it is a phenomenal performance overrun with exuberance that far outpaces the comparatively turgid and horribly produced Todd Rundgren original. A faster tempo and the less enunciated voice of Alex Chilton prove the key here. If I ever put together a band, there is absolutely no way we would not cover this song in the style Big Star does. “S-L-U-T…she may be a slut, but she looks good to me.”
4. Do Ya – Matthew Sweet – Another live cover, this one is documented on Live From 6A, a compilation CD of recordings from Late Night with Conan O’Brien. It’s the lone track on the album that wasn’t actually performed on the show; they did the track as the sound check before the show. It’s a song that’s uniquely Matthew Sweet, perfect for his voice and unassuming tone and captures the superb musicians that he always surrounded himself with for his albums and tours. ELO isn’t a great band, but they are made to create good covers (OK Go almost made the list for covering “Don’t Bring Me Down,” but it’s hard to say their version is definitively better than the original. No such problem here.)
5. I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better – Tom Petty – There’s nothing quite so ironic as getting on this list by covering a band who made their career by covering other people’s songs. But it worked for Tom Petty, who included this version of a Byrds hit on Full Moon Fever. The cleaner digital production is 99% of the reason that this song improves upon the Byrds song, which is one of their best. But the recording is dated, tinny, contains a heavy tambourine and sounds like a hit song played on an AM radio (unsurprisingly). Petty’s song is a much clearer recording and seems a note higher, matching the song more closely with its lyrics.
Honorable mention: 99 Problems – Jay-Z – I exclude this because it’s not really a cover, even though it takes its title and chorus from Ice-T’s cut of the same name. But if it were a cover…oh, it’s on the list; Harvey Danger – Save It For Later – Harvey Danger was way too good a one-hit wonder band to burn out as fast as they did; Draggin’ the Line – R.E.M. – this one-note performance is on the Austin Powers: the Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack, and is easily the best thing about that horrific movie. Why more people don’t cover Tommy James songs is well beyond me. They’re a guaranteed success – Mony Mony and I Think We’re Alone Now were both hits for later artists, this song is awesome, and Crimson and Clover just begs to be covered (although apparently the Joan Jett fan Ryan mentioned already thinks that job's done); All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix; It Ain’t Me Babe – The Turtles, Quinn the Eskimo – Manfred Mann - I lump these in because they’re all Bob Dylan covers. Covering Bob Dylan is obvious, but only a few stick out as real successes. The Turtles capture a sardonic taunting tone to a song that Dylan left untouched, Hendrix simply created a new song, and Manfred Mann recorded a ludicrously catchy but still inexplicable song.
Showing posts with label bob dylan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bob dylan. Show all posts
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Top 5 Songs About Death
Ryan was watching High Fidelity on the road to Virginia, and felt the need to text this topic to me so we wouldn't forget to do it. For me at least, it wasn't hard at all to leave off any songs from the aforementioned list now immortalized in literature and film. So without further ado...
Dan's Top 5:
1. "Keep Me In Your Heart" - Warren Zevon - The rare case (actually, I'm unsure if there's ever been another case) where the songwriter himself knows that he hasn't got much longer to live. Sadly, I remember that at the time the song was released, I didn't know who Zevon was. I thought he might have been one of those "boring" songwriters that the 70's produced far too many of. Only after I got hooked on Excitable Boy did I realize the connection. To this day, one of the very few songs that can get me choked up.
2. "Do You Realize??" - The Flaming Lips - Very cheery-sounding for a song about death (really, there's no death occurring, but it is a reflection on mortality) To quote the lyrics: "Do you realize that everyone you know someday will die? And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know you realize that life goes fast. It's hard to make the good things last" It does what I like death songs to do - focus on the good parts of life. And how can you not do that on an album featuring pink robots?
3. "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist" - Muse - I'm really surprised that this song has such a happy-sounding chord progression in the chorus. The music seems in direct contrast to the feeling of the lyrics. I mean, such an upbeat chorus doesn't sound like it fits with the lyrics "eerie whispers trapped beneath my pillow" and "Are you afraid to die?" But hey, I don't question Matt Bellamy, and neither should you.
4. "I Grieve" - Peter Gabriel - I remember being shocked seeing a new Peter Gabriel with no hair and a white goatee when he released his 2003 album, Up. After hearing that this was his darkest album ever (I disagree - that accolade goes to PG III) I always skipped this song out of pure fear that I would be too depressed. However, it surprisingly has an uplifting section towards the middle/end of the song. Do yourself a favor and don't just read the lyrics though.
5. "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" - Radiohead - Widely considered Radiohead's first really good song, and off of what is probably my personal favorite album. More haunting than anything, I don't know of any Radiohead fan who doesn't like it. (Then again, most Radiohead fans are so in love with the band that they call you an infidel if you even state you're open to the possibility that there can be a greater band on the face of the planet. That's my only worry about claiming to be a Radiohead fan - that I'll look like an asshole.) Anyway, this song is a solid choice to round out the Top 5, and I don't think I've given Radiohead a shout-out lately.
Ten honorable mentions in no order: "Don't Fear The Reaper" - Blue Öyster Cult, "When The Man Comes Around" - Johnny Cash, "I Don't Like Mondays" - The Boomtown Rats (regarding a senseless school shooting in America), "American Pie" - Don McLean, "Paint It, Black" - The Rolling Stones, "Eleanor Rigby" - The Beatles, "Candle In the Wind" - Elton John, "A Day In The Life" - The Beatles, "Tears In Heaven" - Eric Clapton (probably number 6 - a song about his four-year-old son is pretty powerful.), "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" - Monty Python
Ryan's Top 5:
"The night Laura's daddy died. Sha na na na na na na na na! Brother what a night it really was. Mother what a night it really... angina's tough! Glory be!"
1. "Casimir Pulaski Day" - Sufjan Stevens - Sufjan Stevens is a Christian, and this is a song written from a Christian perspective. That said, this song reflects loss on a personal level, without espousing any view of Why Death Happens To Who It Does; on the contrary, the speaker of the song is at a loss for understanding. The singer can't understand why "He takes and He takes and He takes..." The music is beautiful and sounds almost optimistic (the lyric "Oh the glory!" begins new verses). I don't know, the disparity between music and lyrics gives me the sense that there is, in fact, an understanding of death to be had, it's just impossible to realize it when someone close dies. Who needs a drink?
2. "A Minor Incident" - Badly Drawn Boy - The concept of this song alone is brilliant. Written by Damon Gough for "About a Boy," this is supposed to be the suicide letter Fiona writes to her son Marcus, put to music. You've got to appreciate the verbal irony of referring to the event as a "minor incident." (I'm a big fan of irony.) And it's just Damon Gough, acoustic guitar, and harmonica. Excellent.
3. "Five Years" - David Bowie - The lyrics are pretty epic. "Five years--that's all we've got!"
4. "Eleanor Rigby" - The Beatles - Where do all the lonely people belong anyway? Asking questions that don't have answers seems to be a trend on this list...
5. "Hurricane" - Bob Dylan - I was obsessed with this song for a brief period in high school, and it feels like I haven't played it since. Anyway, here's Dylan the storyteller on display. And I really, really like the way he sings, "pool of bluuuud."
Honorable mention: "Let It Be," by The Beatles; "Brick" by Ben Folds Five; "Don't Fear the Reaper" by BOC; "Not Dark Yet" by Bob Dylan; "Mack the Knife" by Bobby Darin; "Five Years" by David Bowie; "Hey Joe" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience; "Shortly Before The End" by OK Go; "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" by Monty Python.
Tim's Top 5:
I had started a list like this that was limited to songs about murder, so my list is kind of guided in that direction, though I'm generally happy with it anyway.
1. "O Valencia" by The Decemberists - The Crane Wife is an awesome album if I recall correctly. Unfortunately, I never have a chance to recall correctly because I'm so enamored with this song that I never make it much beyond The Perfect Crime 2 before I have to go listen to it again. It's on the hyper-literate side, having been lifted pretty directly from Romeo & Juliet (Valencia is pretty much in the place of Mercutio). But it fits the category, given that Valencia utters a dying cry with her blood still warm on the ground.
2. "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin-To-Die Rag" by Country Joe and the Fish - My parents had the Woodstock 3LP set, this was about the only thing from it that I find essential to this day. It's stretching a bit to put it in the category here, but it is an entire song themed on the death of people in Vietnam and the title eliminates any lingering doubts I have about putting it in here. One of the most bitter, but brilliant, sets of lyrics after concocted, it was Dead Kennedys before Jello Biafra.
3. "Lucifer" by Jay-Z - Again, this is a song that's themed on murder and revenge, rather than strictly death. But it's one of Kanye's best use of samples and it's a fantastic song even out of context, which is the reason I was reminded how awesome it is (it plays over the end credits of an episode of Entourage in season 2 or 3).
4. "Not Dark Yet" by Bob Dylan - This song is a stretch to include because it's more about dying rather than death. But it's Dylan at his creative pinnacle in Time Out of Mind and was used beautifully in Wonder Boys, which is itself a masterful elegy.
5. "American Pie" by Don McLean - This song may be the only reason ordinary people remember Buddy Holly in another 20 years. His music has largely fallen into the void along with pre-sequined jumpsuit Elvis Presley so that it's just not heard on the radio. But Don McLean created a song that's about Buddy's death but also about most everything that happened for the next ten years that doesn't wear out its welcome at over 8 minutes. And he had the prescience to do it several years before hating on Vietnam became politically necessary.
Honorable mention: "Murder Was The Case" by Snoop Dogg; "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" by The Killers; "Traditional Irish Folk Song" by Denis Leary; "What Sarah Said" by Death Cab for Cutie; "A Fond Farewell" by Elliott Smith
Dan's Top 5:
1. "Keep Me In Your Heart" - Warren Zevon - The rare case (actually, I'm unsure if there's ever been another case) where the songwriter himself knows that he hasn't got much longer to live. Sadly, I remember that at the time the song was released, I didn't know who Zevon was. I thought he might have been one of those "boring" songwriters that the 70's produced far too many of. Only after I got hooked on Excitable Boy did I realize the connection. To this day, one of the very few songs that can get me choked up.
2. "Do You Realize??" - The Flaming Lips - Very cheery-sounding for a song about death (really, there's no death occurring, but it is a reflection on mortality) To quote the lyrics: "Do you realize that everyone you know someday will die? And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know you realize that life goes fast. It's hard to make the good things last" It does what I like death songs to do - focus on the good parts of life. And how can you not do that on an album featuring pink robots?
3. "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist" - Muse - I'm really surprised that this song has such a happy-sounding chord progression in the chorus. The music seems in direct contrast to the feeling of the lyrics. I mean, such an upbeat chorus doesn't sound like it fits with the lyrics "eerie whispers trapped beneath my pillow" and "Are you afraid to die?" But hey, I don't question Matt Bellamy, and neither should you.
4. "I Grieve" - Peter Gabriel - I remember being shocked seeing a new Peter Gabriel with no hair and a white goatee when he released his 2003 album, Up. After hearing that this was his darkest album ever (I disagree - that accolade goes to PG III) I always skipped this song out of pure fear that I would be too depressed. However, it surprisingly has an uplifting section towards the middle/end of the song. Do yourself a favor and don't just read the lyrics though.
5. "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" - Radiohead - Widely considered Radiohead's first really good song, and off of what is probably my personal favorite album. More haunting than anything, I don't know of any Radiohead fan who doesn't like it. (Then again, most Radiohead fans are so in love with the band that they call you an infidel if you even state you're open to the possibility that there can be a greater band on the face of the planet. That's my only worry about claiming to be a Radiohead fan - that I'll look like an asshole.) Anyway, this song is a solid choice to round out the Top 5, and I don't think I've given Radiohead a shout-out lately.
Ten honorable mentions in no order: "Don't Fear The Reaper" - Blue Öyster Cult, "When The Man Comes Around" - Johnny Cash, "I Don't Like Mondays" - The Boomtown Rats (regarding a senseless school shooting in America), "American Pie" - Don McLean, "Paint It, Black" - The Rolling Stones, "Eleanor Rigby" - The Beatles, "Candle In the Wind" - Elton John, "A Day In The Life" - The Beatles, "Tears In Heaven" - Eric Clapton (probably number 6 - a song about his four-year-old son is pretty powerful.), "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" - Monty Python
Ryan's Top 5:
"The night Laura's daddy died. Sha na na na na na na na na! Brother what a night it really was. Mother what a night it really... angina's tough! Glory be!"
1. "Casimir Pulaski Day" - Sufjan Stevens - Sufjan Stevens is a Christian, and this is a song written from a Christian perspective. That said, this song reflects loss on a personal level, without espousing any view of Why Death Happens To Who It Does; on the contrary, the speaker of the song is at a loss for understanding. The singer can't understand why "He takes and He takes and He takes..." The music is beautiful and sounds almost optimistic (the lyric "Oh the glory!" begins new verses). I don't know, the disparity between music and lyrics gives me the sense that there is, in fact, an understanding of death to be had, it's just impossible to realize it when someone close dies. Who needs a drink?
2. "A Minor Incident" - Badly Drawn Boy - The concept of this song alone is brilliant. Written by Damon Gough for "About a Boy," this is supposed to be the suicide letter Fiona writes to her son Marcus, put to music. You've got to appreciate the verbal irony of referring to the event as a "minor incident." (I'm a big fan of irony.) And it's just Damon Gough, acoustic guitar, and harmonica. Excellent.
3. "Five Years" - David Bowie - The lyrics are pretty epic. "Five years--that's all we've got!"
4. "Eleanor Rigby" - The Beatles - Where do all the lonely people belong anyway? Asking questions that don't have answers seems to be a trend on this list...
5. "Hurricane" - Bob Dylan - I was obsessed with this song for a brief period in high school, and it feels like I haven't played it since. Anyway, here's Dylan the storyteller on display. And I really, really like the way he sings, "pool of bluuuud."
Honorable mention: "Let It Be," by The Beatles; "Brick" by Ben Folds Five; "Don't Fear the Reaper" by BOC; "Not Dark Yet" by Bob Dylan; "Mack the Knife" by Bobby Darin; "Five Years" by David Bowie; "Hey Joe" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience; "Shortly Before The End" by OK Go; "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" by Monty Python.
Tim's Top 5:
I had started a list like this that was limited to songs about murder, so my list is kind of guided in that direction, though I'm generally happy with it anyway.
1. "O Valencia" by The Decemberists - The Crane Wife is an awesome album if I recall correctly. Unfortunately, I never have a chance to recall correctly because I'm so enamored with this song that I never make it much beyond The Perfect Crime 2 before I have to go listen to it again. It's on the hyper-literate side, having been lifted pretty directly from Romeo & Juliet (Valencia is pretty much in the place of Mercutio). But it fits the category, given that Valencia utters a dying cry with her blood still warm on the ground.
2. "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin-To-Die Rag" by Country Joe and the Fish - My parents had the Woodstock 3LP set, this was about the only thing from it that I find essential to this day. It's stretching a bit to put it in the category here, but it is an entire song themed on the death of people in Vietnam and the title eliminates any lingering doubts I have about putting it in here. One of the most bitter, but brilliant, sets of lyrics after concocted, it was Dead Kennedys before Jello Biafra.
3. "Lucifer" by Jay-Z - Again, this is a song that's themed on murder and revenge, rather than strictly death. But it's one of Kanye's best use of samples and it's a fantastic song even out of context, which is the reason I was reminded how awesome it is (it plays over the end credits of an episode of Entourage in season 2 or 3).
4. "Not Dark Yet" by Bob Dylan - This song is a stretch to include because it's more about dying rather than death. But it's Dylan at his creative pinnacle in Time Out of Mind and was used beautifully in Wonder Boys, which is itself a masterful elegy.
5. "American Pie" by Don McLean - This song may be the only reason ordinary people remember Buddy Holly in another 20 years. His music has largely fallen into the void along with pre-sequined jumpsuit Elvis Presley so that it's just not heard on the radio. But Don McLean created a song that's about Buddy's death but also about most everything that happened for the next ten years that doesn't wear out its welcome at over 8 minutes. And he had the prescience to do it several years before hating on Vietnam became politically necessary.
Honorable mention: "Murder Was The Case" by Snoop Dogg; "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" by The Killers; "Traditional Irish Folk Song" by Denis Leary; "What Sarah Said" by Death Cab for Cutie; "A Fond Farewell" by Elliott Smith
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Top 5 Songs with Colors in the Title
This needs no explanation, but it is good to know that Ryan and I can still come up with list ideas while he's on the phone driving cross-country. (It's also good to know where his priorities lie.)
Dan's Top 5:
1. "Golden Brown" - The Stranglers - The Stranglers released their first album in 1977 and were originally considered a punk group. I mean, just listen to "Peaches" and you'll wonder how they ever came up with a song this chill and... acoustic. On the other hand, the song is about heroin. To quote Wikipedia: "Many buyers were seemingly unaware of the meaning of the lyrics, which contain metaphorical references to heroin. This may have been further confused by different band members claiming that the song was about desertification, imperialism and as said in a recent interview, 'toast'."
2. "Little Red Corvette" - Prince - I don't know how you guys feel about Prince. Actually, let me rephrase that. I don't care how you guys feel about Prince. To me, this is probably the song that epitomizes the 80's. Any imagery that this song elicits has to take place at night, preferably in a big, extra-materialistic city.
3. "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" - Grandmaster Flash and Mellie Mel - This is probably the only song in the history of ever that is both (a) blatantly advocating against drug use and (b) cool as all hell.
4. "Yellow Submarine" - The Beatles - "In the TOOOOOOOWWWWWN..." You hear those words emanating from master vocalist Ringo Starr, and you know it's time to grab hands and sit Indian-style on the floor and sing along. It's by far the best children's song for that's also listenable for adults. Also evidence that the Beatles were taking drugs. Not because of the lyrics, but because they let Ringo sing.*
5. "Black Bugs" - Regurgitator - I'm guessing that everyone who's reading this hasn't heard this song before. So here's a Youtube video link. Though it was made in 1997 and the band is an obscure Aussie alternative group, it kicks ass. It's very New Wave, or so it seems to me, with the synthesizer and punchy bass line. Or maybe I can't get over the last list we did. Anyway, the song is about wasting your life playing video games. I can both relate, as I do play video games on occasion, and rejoice, as I don't devote my life to them.
Honorable mention: "Yellow" - Coldplay, "O Green World" - Gorillaz, "Back In Black" - AC/DC, "Black Magic Woman" - Santana, "Red Dust" - Zero 7 (I really, really wanted to put this on the list), "Red House" - Jimi Hendrix, "Red Rain" - Peter Gabriel, "Orange Crush" - R.E.M., "White Light/White Heat" - The Velvet Underground (Already on one of Rob's Top 5's), "Behind Blue Eyes" - The Who, "Blue" - Yoko Kanno, "Mr. Blue Sky" - Electric Light Orchestra
* - joke stolen from Bill Hicks.
Ryan's Top 5:
"Golden Brown" and "White Lines"...well played sir. I'll go with five different ones, but these would probably make my list.
1. "The Village Green Preservation Society" - The Kinks - If there was a better poem crafted last century, I haven't heard of it. "We are the Sherlock Holmes English-speaking vernacular / Help save Fu Manchu, Moriarty and Dracula!" You try rhyming 'vernacular,' gun-slinger. This could be the song that inspired 1,000 fantasy baseball team names...if any of them fit the length. Believe me, I've tried.
2. "Mr. Blue Sky" - ELO - This for me is an ultimate Happy Song, as evidenced by the fact that I put it on my renowned "Graduation Joy" CD. Brilliance.
3. "White Light/White Heat" - The Velvet Underground - This is also one of the best Side A Track 1's, along with "Radiation Ruling the Nation" by Massive Attack. Cough. Ironically, I may be the only person who prefers "Who loves the Sun?" (one of my all-time favorite songs), which was also a Side A Track 1--and in "High Fidelity."
4. "White Riot" - The Clash - This would have been a pretty cool concert.
5. "Paint It, Black" - The Rolling Stones - In retrospect, seeing songs 3-5 behind song #2 seems a bit odd... Fortunately for ELO I am a lazy, lazy man. Anyway, this song deserves all the accolades it can get, but I'll add one: it's the only song on "Singstar Rocks!" that I am good at. (Actually, is that an accolade?)
Honorables: "Golden Brown" by The Stranglers, "White Lines (Don't Do It)," "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse, "White Room" by Cream, "Golden Years" by David Bowie, "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix Experience, and any number of songs I am probably forgetting.
Tim's Top 5:
I had initially had five different colors in my list. Screw that.
1. Bob Dylan - Tangled Up In Blue - It's one of my favorite songs ever, I've discussed it before, I have little to add except that the word blue definitely fits this category.
2. Muse - Supermassive Black Hole - Yeah, I love this song too much for words. It's one of the few songs I have to blare. The music is fantastic and begs to be played at supermassive volumes and the lyrics also demand to be belted in the car.
3. Rolling Stones - Paint It, Black - It's one of my favorite tracks on Guitar Hero III, it's a song that has a title involving a comma, it's a perfect track for the Full Metal Jacket soundtrack, and aside from possibly the electric version of Layla, I can think of no song that more accurately defines and somehow personifies classic rock.
4. CCR - Green River - This is one of the songs that defines CCR, and frankly, it defines CCR as amazing. It's no "Fortunate Son", but that's about the only problem I have with it. It masters that down-home country feel that made CCR so readily accessible to people who aren't generally into rock.
5. The Cyrkle - Red Rubber Ball - It's one of my favorite 60s pop songs ever, even though it's embarrassingly simple and pretty juvenile. This wards "Pink Moon" off the list only because Red Rubber Ball is at least a bit semi-respectable because it's co-written by Paul Simon.
Honorable mention: Pearl Jam - Yellow Ledbetter - a non-album track that somehow still became a recognized song for alternative radio. I think it's better than anything that made the Ten album and I have a hard time believing it came from the same era of Pearl Jam; The Jayhawks - Blue, if I hadn't adopted the different color thing, this is #4 on the list.; Nick Drake - Pink Moon, George Baker Selection - Little Green Bag, R.E.M. - Orange Crush, Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze, The Who - Behind Blue Eyes; Fountains of Wayne - Red Dragon Tattoo
Dan's Top 5:
1. "Golden Brown" - The Stranglers - The Stranglers released their first album in 1977 and were originally considered a punk group. I mean, just listen to "Peaches" and you'll wonder how they ever came up with a song this chill and... acoustic. On the other hand, the song is about heroin. To quote Wikipedia: "Many buyers were seemingly unaware of the meaning of the lyrics, which contain metaphorical references to heroin. This may have been further confused by different band members claiming that the song was about desertification, imperialism and as said in a recent interview, 'toast'."
2. "Little Red Corvette" - Prince - I don't know how you guys feel about Prince. Actually, let me rephrase that. I don't care how you guys feel about Prince. To me, this is probably the song that epitomizes the 80's. Any imagery that this song elicits has to take place at night, preferably in a big, extra-materialistic city.
3. "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" - Grandmaster Flash and Mellie Mel - This is probably the only song in the history of ever that is both (a) blatantly advocating against drug use and (b) cool as all hell.
4. "Yellow Submarine" - The Beatles - "In the TOOOOOOOWWWWWN..." You hear those words emanating from master vocalist Ringo Starr, and you know it's time to grab hands and sit Indian-style on the floor and sing along. It's by far the best children's song for that's also listenable for adults. Also evidence that the Beatles were taking drugs. Not because of the lyrics, but because they let Ringo sing.*
5. "Black Bugs" - Regurgitator - I'm guessing that everyone who's reading this hasn't heard this song before. So here's a Youtube video link. Though it was made in 1997 and the band is an obscure Aussie alternative group, it kicks ass. It's very New Wave, or so it seems to me, with the synthesizer and punchy bass line. Or maybe I can't get over the last list we did. Anyway, the song is about wasting your life playing video games. I can both relate, as I do play video games on occasion, and rejoice, as I don't devote my life to them.
Honorable mention: "Yellow" - Coldplay, "O Green World" - Gorillaz, "Back In Black" - AC/DC, "Black Magic Woman" - Santana, "Red Dust" - Zero 7 (I really, really wanted to put this on the list), "Red House" - Jimi Hendrix, "Red Rain" - Peter Gabriel, "Orange Crush" - R.E.M., "White Light/White Heat" - The Velvet Underground (Already on one of Rob's Top 5's), "Behind Blue Eyes" - The Who, "Blue" - Yoko Kanno, "Mr. Blue Sky" - Electric Light Orchestra
* - joke stolen from Bill Hicks.
Ryan's Top 5:
"Golden Brown" and "White Lines"...well played sir. I'll go with five different ones, but these would probably make my list.
1. "The Village Green Preservation Society" - The Kinks - If there was a better poem crafted last century, I haven't heard of it. "We are the Sherlock Holmes English-speaking vernacular / Help save Fu Manchu, Moriarty and Dracula!" You try rhyming 'vernacular,' gun-slinger. This could be the song that inspired 1,000 fantasy baseball team names...if any of them fit the length. Believe me, I've tried.
2. "Mr. Blue Sky" - ELO - This for me is an ultimate Happy Song, as evidenced by the fact that I put it on my renowned "Graduation Joy" CD. Brilliance.
3. "White Light/White Heat" - The Velvet Underground - This is also one of the best Side A Track 1's, along with "Radiation Ruling the Nation" by Massive Attack. Cough. Ironically, I may be the only person who prefers "Who loves the Sun?" (one of my all-time favorite songs), which was also a Side A Track 1--and in "High Fidelity."
4. "White Riot" - The Clash - This would have been a pretty cool concert.
5. "Paint It, Black" - The Rolling Stones - In retrospect, seeing songs 3-5 behind song #2 seems a bit odd... Fortunately for ELO I am a lazy, lazy man. Anyway, this song deserves all the accolades it can get, but I'll add one: it's the only song on "Singstar Rocks!" that I am good at. (Actually, is that an accolade?)
Honorables: "Golden Brown" by The Stranglers, "White Lines (Don't Do It)," "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse, "White Room" by Cream, "Golden Years" by David Bowie, "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix Experience, and any number of songs I am probably forgetting.
Tim's Top 5:
I had initially had five different colors in my list. Screw that.
1. Bob Dylan - Tangled Up In Blue - It's one of my favorite songs ever, I've discussed it before, I have little to add except that the word blue definitely fits this category.
2. Muse - Supermassive Black Hole - Yeah, I love this song too much for words. It's one of the few songs I have to blare. The music is fantastic and begs to be played at supermassive volumes and the lyrics also demand to be belted in the car.
3. Rolling Stones - Paint It, Black - It's one of my favorite tracks on Guitar Hero III, it's a song that has a title involving a comma, it's a perfect track for the Full Metal Jacket soundtrack, and aside from possibly the electric version of Layla, I can think of no song that more accurately defines and somehow personifies classic rock.
4. CCR - Green River - This is one of the songs that defines CCR, and frankly, it defines CCR as amazing. It's no "Fortunate Son", but that's about the only problem I have with it. It masters that down-home country feel that made CCR so readily accessible to people who aren't generally into rock.
5. The Cyrkle - Red Rubber Ball - It's one of my favorite 60s pop songs ever, even though it's embarrassingly simple and pretty juvenile. This wards "Pink Moon" off the list only because Red Rubber Ball is at least a bit semi-respectable because it's co-written by Paul Simon.
Honorable mention: Pearl Jam - Yellow Ledbetter - a non-album track that somehow still became a recognized song for alternative radio. I think it's better than anything that made the Ten album and I have a hard time believing it came from the same era of Pearl Jam; The Jayhawks - Blue, if I hadn't adopted the different color thing, this is #4 on the list.; Nick Drake - Pink Moon, George Baker Selection - Little Green Bag, R.E.M. - Orange Crush, Jimi Hendrix - Purple Haze, The Who - Behind Blue Eyes; Fountains of Wayne - Red Dragon Tattoo
Friday, June 6, 2008
Top 5 Songs to Blast While Driving
Note that this is not just "Top 5 Driving Songs," which would be harder. Songs like "Low Rider," "Little Green Bag," and "1979," for example, strike me as great driving songs, but not ones that you can blast or really rev your engine to. There's a specific feeling of power intended in this list. So without further ado...
Dan's Top 5:
1. Van Halen - "Panama" - I think this is an ideal choice for #1, because it was invented to be a driving song. After the band read a review criticizing them for writing songs about partying, women, and cars, they realized that the last bit was inaccurate. Thus, "Panama" was written. Coincidentally, also the first Van Halen song I was exposed to.
2. Stellastarr* - "My Coco" - I know this primarily as my "baseball-season-is-starting" song, but really, it's a good choice for driving as well. I tend to want to jump off of furniture when the first snare hit comes along, so acceleration is a good substitute for that.
3. Spencer Davis Group - "Gimme Some Lovin'" - An amazing driving song, even if you've never seen Days of Thunder. The hairs on my arm stand on end when the organ kicks in, as I always imagine playing this song live in front of a thousand screaming people.
4. Styx - "Come Sail Away" - not an obvious choice, but it became our true-to-life "Bohemian Rhapsody" (which I would include if it weren't for Wayne's World) when our car full of people all sang along. It's got both a vocal-intensive soft part, and a rocking out part. Try it next time it comes on the radio. The more people that join in, the better.
5. Muse - "Stockholm Syndrome" - It's hard to pick just one Muse, song so I picked the most suitable one that wasn't on Black Holes and Revelations, to show that I actually know Muse well enough to make the call. This is in my Top 5 Muse songs for sure (ahem).
Honorable Mentions, in no particular order: Bon Jovi - "Livin' On A Prayer," Sammy Hagar - "I Can't Drive 55," Iron Maiden - "Run To The Hills" (a serious contender for #5), Keane - "Everybody's Changing," Queen - "Hammer To Fall"
Ryan's Top Five
1. Muse - "Knights of Cydonia" - I love all of these songs (and all of my honorable mentions), putting them in order was difficult. That said, I don't know of a safer route than Muse, and you cannot go wrong with "Knights of Cydonia." I spent my 2006 fall travel season blasting this song, speeding, and shirking work at Baker.
2. Queen - "Don't Stop Me Now" - This song is like a tour de force. Freddie Mercury never slows down, for a good three minutes. You don't either. Or I don't, anyway--I have to yell every word. "I'm a rocketship on my way to Mars, I'm a satellite, I'm out of control, I'm a sex machine ready to reload, like an atom bomb, I'm about to woah woah woah EXPLODE!" Sheer brilliance. Bonus points for its association with "Shaun of the Dead."
3. Badly Drawn Boy - "Born in the U.K." - Damon Gough's obvious homage to his hero, Bruce Springsteen. This song is so fucking rocking, and opening with "Pomp and Circumstance" and piano? Ah, yes.
4. Journey - "Don't Stop Believin'" - This song is cheese-tastically brilliant. I adopted it as my own personal anthem in 2003 when the Royals lucked their way into playoff contention. I have never looked back. (Though it has gotten considerably harder to "believe" in the Royals.) Anyway, I will not ever be able to say No to this song after this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=CzEIcWm5Lmg&feature=related . They cut the video off but I swear to God he is going to scream "Don't stop! Believin'!" exactly at 0.0 in the game.
5. Van Halen - "Panama" - Damn it, I can't say no to this one either. I tried to write something for "Livin' on a Prayer" (which I don't even really like, except at max volume speeding in a car), but my heart wasn't in it. This song deserves another Top 5 nod. Was also great in "Superbad."
Honorables, in no order: "Zero," Smashing Pumpkins (the ultimate anger song), "Stockholm Syndrome," "Helter Skelter," "Run," Gnarls Barkley, "Baba O'Riley," "Rebel, Rebel," "London Calling" and "London Burning," "My Coco," "Mr. Brightside," "Take Me Out," Franz Ferdinand, "Invincible," Muse, "Search and Destroy," Iggy & the Stooges, "Bohemian Rhapsody." Phew.
Tim's Top 5:
1. "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen – Like #2, this isn’t because the song begs to be played loud, it’s because it just begs to be played constantly, and if I play it loud enough, I can hear the piano intro and Clarence Clemons’ saxophone for several minutes after it’s over.
2. "Tangled Up In Blue" by Bob Dylan – On the list solely because I did this on Friday driving to work. I just about never turn my stereo up loud, but it’d been a long time since I’d heard this (which is on my short list of favorite songs ever). It’s not exactly a rocker, but it’s satisfying and is right on the list with Thunder Road of songs where I’m impressed that I actually manage to know nearly all of the words, despite the fact that they are both biblical in length.
3. "Free Fallin’" by Tom Petty – Ok, yeah, this is because of Jerry Maguire. You know what, screw you. You’re not cool either if you’re reading this.
4. "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse – Why this Muse song? Because I listen to XM, this is what they play with far more frequency. I have, however, decided that Knights of Cydonia is my favorite song to run to, having listened to it three times consecutively while I was wrapping up my five mile jaunt last week. Still, the sound of this song just gets better with astounding volume.
5. "All These Things That I’ve Done" by The Killers – It’s a long song with a lot of parts to it, and the extra volume adds even more depth to it. When the drums roll in at 52 seconds in, it demands to be blared.
Honorable mention: "Sugar, We're Going Down" by Fall Out Boy - I hate me too, but when you can hear the second guitar coming in at the beginning of the song, it's worth it; "Zoo Station" by U2 - This is entirely because of About a Boy. More people need to make movies so that I can more fully enjoy music.
Dan's Top 5:
1. Van Halen - "Panama" - I think this is an ideal choice for #1, because it was invented to be a driving song. After the band read a review criticizing them for writing songs about partying, women, and cars, they realized that the last bit was inaccurate. Thus, "Panama" was written. Coincidentally, also the first Van Halen song I was exposed to.
2. Stellastarr* - "My Coco" - I know this primarily as my "baseball-season-is-starting" song, but really, it's a good choice for driving as well. I tend to want to jump off of furniture when the first snare hit comes along, so acceleration is a good substitute for that.
3. Spencer Davis Group - "Gimme Some Lovin'" - An amazing driving song, even if you've never seen Days of Thunder. The hairs on my arm stand on end when the organ kicks in, as I always imagine playing this song live in front of a thousand screaming people.
4. Styx - "Come Sail Away" - not an obvious choice, but it became our true-to-life "Bohemian Rhapsody" (which I would include if it weren't for Wayne's World) when our car full of people all sang along. It's got both a vocal-intensive soft part, and a rocking out part. Try it next time it comes on the radio. The more people that join in, the better.
5. Muse - "Stockholm Syndrome" - It's hard to pick just one Muse, song so I picked the most suitable one that wasn't on Black Holes and Revelations, to show that I actually know Muse well enough to make the call. This is in my Top 5 Muse songs for sure (ahem).
Honorable Mentions, in no particular order: Bon Jovi - "Livin' On A Prayer," Sammy Hagar - "I Can't Drive 55," Iron Maiden - "Run To The Hills" (a serious contender for #5), Keane - "Everybody's Changing," Queen - "Hammer To Fall"
Ryan's Top Five
1. Muse - "Knights of Cydonia" - I love all of these songs (and all of my honorable mentions), putting them in order was difficult. That said, I don't know of a safer route than Muse, and you cannot go wrong with "Knights of Cydonia." I spent my 2006 fall travel season blasting this song, speeding, and shirking work at Baker.
2. Queen - "Don't Stop Me Now" - This song is like a tour de force. Freddie Mercury never slows down, for a good three minutes. You don't either. Or I don't, anyway--I have to yell every word. "I'm a rocketship on my way to Mars, I'm a satellite, I'm out of control, I'm a sex machine ready to reload, like an atom bomb, I'm about to woah woah woah EXPLODE!" Sheer brilliance. Bonus points for its association with "Shaun of the Dead."
3. Badly Drawn Boy - "Born in the U.K." - Damon Gough's obvious homage to his hero, Bruce Springsteen. This song is so fucking rocking, and opening with "Pomp and Circumstance" and piano? Ah, yes.
4. Journey - "Don't Stop Believin'" - This song is cheese-tastically brilliant. I adopted it as my own personal anthem in 2003 when the Royals lucked their way into playoff contention. I have never looked back. (Though it has gotten considerably harder to "believe" in the Royals.) Anyway, I will not ever be able to say No to this song after this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=CzEIcWm5Lmg&feature=related . They cut the video off but I swear to God he is going to scream "Don't stop! Believin'!" exactly at 0.0 in the game.
5. Van Halen - "Panama" - Damn it, I can't say no to this one either. I tried to write something for "Livin' on a Prayer" (which I don't even really like, except at max volume speeding in a car), but my heart wasn't in it. This song deserves another Top 5 nod. Was also great in "Superbad."
Honorables, in no order: "Zero," Smashing Pumpkins (the ultimate anger song), "Stockholm Syndrome," "Helter Skelter," "Run," Gnarls Barkley, "Baba O'Riley," "Rebel, Rebel," "London Calling" and "London Burning," "My Coco," "Mr. Brightside," "Take Me Out," Franz Ferdinand, "Invincible," Muse, "Search and Destroy," Iggy & the Stooges, "Bohemian Rhapsody." Phew.
Tim's Top 5:
1. "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen – Like #2, this isn’t because the song begs to be played loud, it’s because it just begs to be played constantly, and if I play it loud enough, I can hear the piano intro and Clarence Clemons’ saxophone for several minutes after it’s over.
2. "Tangled Up In Blue" by Bob Dylan – On the list solely because I did this on Friday driving to work. I just about never turn my stereo up loud, but it’d been a long time since I’d heard this (which is on my short list of favorite songs ever). It’s not exactly a rocker, but it’s satisfying and is right on the list with Thunder Road of songs where I’m impressed that I actually manage to know nearly all of the words, despite the fact that they are both biblical in length.
3. "Free Fallin’" by Tom Petty – Ok, yeah, this is because of Jerry Maguire. You know what, screw you. You’re not cool either if you’re reading this.
4. "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse – Why this Muse song? Because I listen to XM, this is what they play with far more frequency. I have, however, decided that Knights of Cydonia is my favorite song to run to, having listened to it three times consecutively while I was wrapping up my five mile jaunt last week. Still, the sound of this song just gets better with astounding volume.
5. "All These Things That I’ve Done" by The Killers – It’s a long song with a lot of parts to it, and the extra volume adds even more depth to it. When the drums roll in at 52 seconds in, it demands to be blared.
Honorable mention: "Sugar, We're Going Down" by Fall Out Boy - I hate me too, but when you can hear the second guitar coming in at the beginning of the song, it's worth it; "Zoo Station" by U2 - This is entirely because of About a Boy. More people need to make movies so that I can more fully enjoy music.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Top 5 side a, track 1's
Having temporarily resuscitated the blog and doubled our production from last month, I figure I should up the ante once more before I leave the country for a week so I can finally buy the new Nine Black Alps album.
I had concocted my list a great deal of time ago, but never posted the homage, so here it is. My only preamble would be that I'm not going to snipe songs that I enjoy on an individual level because as great as "Gimme Some Lovin'" is, I don't know that it suits the album it introduces at all...so I don't mention it in the list.
Rob’s Top 5:
1) “Janie Jones” by The Clash from the album The Clash [UK]
2) “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye from the album Let’s Get It On
3) “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana from the album Nevermind
4) “White light/White Heat” by The Velvet Underground
5) “Radiation Ruling the Nation” by Massive Attack
Having lent out my copy of the novel ages ago and never having it returned unto me, I can't provide you whatever analysis Hornby would here.
Tim’s Top 5:
*The US version of The Clash led off with “Clash City Rockers”, not nearly the track Janie Jones is, hence, I have to leave it off my list because I’ve never heard the UK album in its pure unaltered form. So, although my list looks a fair amount like Rob's, it's not the same.
It is also not a coincidence that four of the five albums (the first four) would rank among the top 50 on my list if I were ever to venture into such a fool's errand.
1) “Tangled Up In Blue” by Bob Dylan from the album Blood on the Tracks - I have, throughout many periods in my life, been certain that this is my favorite song. I'm not entirely sure why or how it reached this status, but it is Dylan's finest hour. He'd moved away from his overtly political period, gone through his diversions into Nashville Skyline and a period of underwhelming material that history has essentially overlooked. All the lyrics are memorable, even though they never really add up into one coherent story and are essentially dispensable -- Dylan himself has continued to change the lyrics after the album was released -- but the song essentially captures the story of a man wandering, which seems to describe Dylan himself for most of the decade preceding the song, trying to find himself in folk music, electrified rock, Nashville country, only to find himself in a new place with no direction -- the only thing to do was to keep on keepin' on. And so he did, and this is the result.
2) “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye from the album What’s Going On - Edwin Starr's "War" might typify what the post-Reagan generations will typify as a protest song from the 1960s, but this is the perfect protest in my mind. While other protest songs might inspire anger or motivate you to lash out, this is a seductive plea for humanity, not the dispatching of violence with another kind of violence. Until you really listen to the lyrics, you could have just mistaken it for another Marvin Gaye track. The song itself is so richly layered, part orchestral, part celebration of life and friendship, and part pleading for hope. It's the song that saved and destroyed Motown, and a lead-in to an uneven, but fantastic album that no one should be without. Combine this song with "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" and "Mercy Mercy Me" and Marvin Gaye accomplishes more with those tracks than most great artists will in an entire career of singles.
3) “Rocks Off” by The Rolling Stones from the album Exile on Main Street - Exile is widely regarded as The Rolling Stones' finest album, and I'm not one to argue. It's certainly the only one I own, though a case could be made for Let It Bleed or Sticky Fingers. The song is almost the antithesis of What's Going On, while there's ostensible production, everything about the track sounds extremely raw and conveys a sense that you're actually in the same room with the band that just isn't present on any other song I can recall. It's pure energy, both frenetic and kinetic, with a half-dozen instruments and vocals taking the lead at some point. The rest of the Stones' work may only be rock 'n' roll and generally likeable, but this IS rock 'n' roll, defined. It is also worth mentioning that the producer of this track, Jimmy Miller, also was the producer on the aforementioned "Gimme Some Lovin'". Pure genius.
4) “London Calling” by The Clash from the album London Calling - While #1 and #5 on the album seem to convey a sense of unfettered optimism, London Calling is their polar opposite -- a near-suicidal screed -- that the world was facing impending disaster. It was not a subtle message, whether it was burning up in the sun, nuclear war, a new ice age, floods, or, yes, zombies. It has a screamed urgency that creates a perfect counterpoint to the fatalistic and apocalyptic inevitability. In a world certain to be wiped away in a nuclear explosion, perhaps the best you can hope for is to drown first. If you're ever facing nuclear annihilation, take the song with you to your bunker. You'll understand.
5) “Mother We Can’t Get Enough” by The New Radicals from the album Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too - That's right I'm installing "new classic status" after a list of safe ones. The New Radicals' album was totally overlooked because the only reason people bought it (myself included) was "You Get What You Give", the ubiquitous song of 1999, ranking right up there with "Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen". With the lead single and a price of $6.99 when I bought it at Best Buy, I had little to no intention of listening to the rest of the album. Thankfully, I did. From the Yoko Ono-ish voice saying "Make my nipples hard, let's go!", this song and most of the album is pop mastery that explains easily why Gregg Alexander (the primary member of The New Radicals, as well as the producer of the album) has since become a leading producer of other music. This track, however, ranks as the pinnacle of the album, despite its too-obvious attacks on consumer culture. The rest of the album fails to reach this point, although there are three or four other semi-essential tracks, including "Jehovah Made This Whole Joint For You" and astoundingly "You Get What You Give".
Honorable mention: "Help!" by the Beatles from the album Help!; “Thunder Road” by Bruce Springsteen from Born to Run; "The Boy in the Bubble" by Paul Simon from Graceland
Ryan's Top Five
I'm a bit surprised, I didn't expect my Top 5 to turn out like it did...but I felt compelled to go with the new-one-among-some-old-safe-ones strategy, which led to me bumping some worthy contenders. But I digress.
1. "Imagine" by John Lennon from the album Imagine - Well, this is one of the best songs ever written, so, you know. It gets downplayed (even by myself) because of its omnipresence and, as Jack Black would put it, it's obviousness. Oh well.
2. "Purple Haze" by the Jimi Hendrix Experience from the (US) album Are You Experienced? - Personally, I prefer songs 3-5 on my list, but you cannot underestimate the legendary sound of this song's opening guitar riff. Led off one kick-ass album, to be sure, and one of the best albums from one of the best decades of music (excluding, of course, the 1890s).
3. "London Calling" by The Clash from the album London Calling - What Tim said. No argument here--much like song #2 on my list, this song wastes absolutely no time in kicking ass.
4. "Hells Bells" by AC/DC from the album Back in Black - And this one too. I'd be lying if I said I was the biggest AC/DC fan in the world, but that's only because I know too many other fans who are obsessed. Surely this is one of the greatest classic rock albums of all-time. I'm a big fan of ominous openings, and frankly ominousness in general; the bells here achieve said goal. Bonus points for being a better sports intro song than Welcome To The Jungle (says I).
5. "The Crane Wife 3" by The Decemberists from the album The Crane Wife - Well, here's my new one, but this song really is awesome. "The Crane Wife" is definitely one of the best albums of this decade and a masterpiece of, as Colbert put it, "hyper-literate prog rock." This song adeptly sets the tone for the rest of the album, which gels quite well.
Honorable mentions (lots, and in no order, except for the first two): "Baba O'Riley" by The Who [Who's Next], "Back in the USSR," "Sgt. Pepper," and "Taxman" by the Beatles, "Who Loves the Sun?" by The Velvet Underground [Loaded], "Take a Bow" by Muse [Black Holes & Revelations], "My Name Is Jonas" by Weezer [Weezer], "The Sounds of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel [Sounds of Silence], "Gotta Get Up" by Harry Nilsson [Nilsson Schmilsson], "Space Oddity" by David Bowie [Space Oddity], "Five Years" by David Bowie [Ziggy], "Fight Test" by The Flaming Lips [Yoshimi], and "Go-Go Gadget Gospel" by Gnarls Barkley [St. Elsewhere]. Phew.
Dan's top 5:
I'm a bit unsatisfied with my list, since I feel like (a) I'm cleaning up after two pretty good lists by simply listing obvious omissions, and (b) there's not too much that's fresh or original about my list. I'm sure that I'll probably regret it once I stumble on something I missed on Wikipedia within the next few hours. I also maintain Tim's criterion of a decent-to-good album is also necessary for inclusion. That being said...
"Baba O'Riley" by The Who from the album Who's Next - I remember making a mix CD of the best tracks ever. The scheme was, I would pick the best track 1, the best track 2, et cetera until I ran out of room on the CD. So naturally, track one of that CD is my number one here. I remember looking through a lot of potential candidates before firmly deciding on this one the second I saw it. The "synthesizer" intro (actually just created using the arpeggio effects on a Lowrey home organ) is one of the best introductions to a song I've ever heard, and it blossoms into all-out rocking shortly thereafter.
"Wouldn't It Be Nice" by The Beach Boys from the album Pet Sounds - Barry would give me so much shit for this one, since it's such an obvious choice. I had to include it though, since none of you other jerks decided to give props to one of the best pop albums ever. Probably the album's most recognizable song, as well, and the epitome of chamber pop.
"Space Oddity" by David Bowie from the album Space Oddity - One of Bowie's masterpieces, I think it's a shame that it hasn't been mentioned yet. Even though it sounds dated, especially when compared to everything else Bowie has done, it's still a masterful bit of songwriting and performance. Loses just a few points because the song tends to overshadow most of the rest of the album (at least in my eyes. Yes, I do realize how much "Memory of a Free Festival" kicks ass.)
"Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" by the Killers from the album Hot Fuss - My new classic status is bumped up to #4 instead of the usual #5, simply because Hot Fuss was such a great album. This first kickass track was a sign that this band was fresh and new, sort of the same way Jacqueline was a great start to Franz Ferdinand's eponymous debut. Of course, if I had chosen that one, it would have been way too obvious that I was sucking up to Tim. This way, it's a bit more subtle.
"Tom Sawyer" by Rush from the album Moving Pictures - I doubt anyone else from the Top 5 likes progressive rock at all, much less Rush. I figured I'd give credit to this album, and this song in particular, which is probably Rush's biggest hit. It was a major step forward in the 80's synthesizer era, as it was released in 1981. This album, along with Van Halen's 1984 album, would prove that synthesizers could be used in rock music and still kick ass.
Honorable Mention - "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel from the album Bridge Over Troubled Water, also most of Ryan's honorable mentions.
I had concocted my list a great deal of time ago, but never posted the homage, so here it is. My only preamble would be that I'm not going to snipe songs that I enjoy on an individual level because as great as "Gimme Some Lovin'" is, I don't know that it suits the album it introduces at all...so I don't mention it in the list.
Rob’s Top 5:
1) “Janie Jones” by The Clash from the album The Clash [UK]
2) “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye from the album Let’s Get It On
3) “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana from the album Nevermind
4) “White light/White Heat” by The Velvet Underground
5) “Radiation Ruling the Nation” by Massive Attack
Having lent out my copy of the novel ages ago and never having it returned unto me, I can't provide you whatever analysis Hornby would here.
Tim’s Top 5:
*The US version of The Clash led off with “Clash City Rockers”, not nearly the track Janie Jones is, hence, I have to leave it off my list because I’ve never heard the UK album in its pure unaltered form. So, although my list looks a fair amount like Rob's, it's not the same.
It is also not a coincidence that four of the five albums (the first four) would rank among the top 50 on my list if I were ever to venture into such a fool's errand.
1) “Tangled Up In Blue” by Bob Dylan from the album Blood on the Tracks - I have, throughout many periods in my life, been certain that this is my favorite song. I'm not entirely sure why or how it reached this status, but it is Dylan's finest hour. He'd moved away from his overtly political period, gone through his diversions into Nashville Skyline and a period of underwhelming material that history has essentially overlooked. All the lyrics are memorable, even though they never really add up into one coherent story and are essentially dispensable -- Dylan himself has continued to change the lyrics after the album was released -- but the song essentially captures the story of a man wandering, which seems to describe Dylan himself for most of the decade preceding the song, trying to find himself in folk music, electrified rock, Nashville country, only to find himself in a new place with no direction -- the only thing to do was to keep on keepin' on. And so he did, and this is the result.
2) “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye from the album What’s Going On - Edwin Starr's "War" might typify what the post-Reagan generations will typify as a protest song from the 1960s, but this is the perfect protest in my mind. While other protest songs might inspire anger or motivate you to lash out, this is a seductive plea for humanity, not the dispatching of violence with another kind of violence. Until you really listen to the lyrics, you could have just mistaken it for another Marvin Gaye track. The song itself is so richly layered, part orchestral, part celebration of life and friendship, and part pleading for hope. It's the song that saved and destroyed Motown, and a lead-in to an uneven, but fantastic album that no one should be without. Combine this song with "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" and "Mercy Mercy Me" and Marvin Gaye accomplishes more with those tracks than most great artists will in an entire career of singles.
3) “Rocks Off” by The Rolling Stones from the album Exile on Main Street - Exile is widely regarded as The Rolling Stones' finest album, and I'm not one to argue. It's certainly the only one I own, though a case could be made for Let It Bleed or Sticky Fingers. The song is almost the antithesis of What's Going On, while there's ostensible production, everything about the track sounds extremely raw and conveys a sense that you're actually in the same room with the band that just isn't present on any other song I can recall. It's pure energy, both frenetic and kinetic, with a half-dozen instruments and vocals taking the lead at some point. The rest of the Stones' work may only be rock 'n' roll and generally likeable, but this IS rock 'n' roll, defined. It is also worth mentioning that the producer of this track, Jimmy Miller, also was the producer on the aforementioned "Gimme Some Lovin'". Pure genius.
4) “London Calling” by The Clash from the album London Calling - While #1 and #5 on the album seem to convey a sense of unfettered optimism, London Calling is their polar opposite -- a near-suicidal screed -- that the world was facing impending disaster. It was not a subtle message, whether it was burning up in the sun, nuclear war, a new ice age, floods, or, yes, zombies. It has a screamed urgency that creates a perfect counterpoint to the fatalistic and apocalyptic inevitability. In a world certain to be wiped away in a nuclear explosion, perhaps the best you can hope for is to drown first. If you're ever facing nuclear annihilation, take the song with you to your bunker. You'll understand.
5) “Mother We Can’t Get Enough” by The New Radicals from the album Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too - That's right I'm installing "new classic status" after a list of safe ones. The New Radicals' album was totally overlooked because the only reason people bought it (myself included) was "You Get What You Give", the ubiquitous song of 1999, ranking right up there with "Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen". With the lead single and a price of $6.99 when I bought it at Best Buy, I had little to no intention of listening to the rest of the album. Thankfully, I did. From the Yoko Ono-ish voice saying "Make my nipples hard, let's go!", this song and most of the album is pop mastery that explains easily why Gregg Alexander (the primary member of The New Radicals, as well as the producer of the album) has since become a leading producer of other music. This track, however, ranks as the pinnacle of the album, despite its too-obvious attacks on consumer culture. The rest of the album fails to reach this point, although there are three or four other semi-essential tracks, including "Jehovah Made This Whole Joint For You" and astoundingly "You Get What You Give".
Honorable mention: "Help!" by the Beatles from the album Help!; “Thunder Road” by Bruce Springsteen from Born to Run; "The Boy in the Bubble" by Paul Simon from Graceland
Ryan's Top Five
I'm a bit surprised, I didn't expect my Top 5 to turn out like it did...but I felt compelled to go with the new-one-among-some-old-safe-ones strategy, which led to me bumping some worthy contenders. But I digress.
1. "Imagine" by John Lennon from the album Imagine - Well, this is one of the best songs ever written, so, you know. It gets downplayed (even by myself) because of its omnipresence and, as Jack Black would put it, it's obviousness. Oh well.
2. "Purple Haze" by the Jimi Hendrix Experience from the (US) album Are You Experienced? - Personally, I prefer songs 3-5 on my list, but you cannot underestimate the legendary sound of this song's opening guitar riff. Led off one kick-ass album, to be sure, and one of the best albums from one of the best decades of music (excluding, of course, the 1890s).
3. "London Calling" by The Clash from the album London Calling - What Tim said. No argument here--much like song #2 on my list, this song wastes absolutely no time in kicking ass.
4. "Hells Bells" by AC/DC from the album Back in Black - And this one too. I'd be lying if I said I was the biggest AC/DC fan in the world, but that's only because I know too many other fans who are obsessed. Surely this is one of the greatest classic rock albums of all-time. I'm a big fan of ominous openings, and frankly ominousness in general; the bells here achieve said goal. Bonus points for being a better sports intro song than Welcome To The Jungle (says I).
5. "The Crane Wife 3" by The Decemberists from the album The Crane Wife - Well, here's my new one, but this song really is awesome. "The Crane Wife" is definitely one of the best albums of this decade and a masterpiece of, as Colbert put it, "hyper-literate prog rock." This song adeptly sets the tone for the rest of the album, which gels quite well.
Honorable mentions (lots, and in no order, except for the first two): "Baba O'Riley" by The Who [Who's Next], "Back in the USSR," "Sgt. Pepper," and "Taxman" by the Beatles, "Who Loves the Sun?" by The Velvet Underground [Loaded], "Take a Bow" by Muse [Black Holes & Revelations], "My Name Is Jonas" by Weezer [Weezer], "The Sounds of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel [Sounds of Silence], "Gotta Get Up" by Harry Nilsson [Nilsson Schmilsson], "Space Oddity" by David Bowie [Space Oddity], "Five Years" by David Bowie [Ziggy], "Fight Test" by The Flaming Lips [Yoshimi], and "Go-Go Gadget Gospel" by Gnarls Barkley [St. Elsewhere]. Phew.
Dan's top 5:
I'm a bit unsatisfied with my list, since I feel like (a) I'm cleaning up after two pretty good lists by simply listing obvious omissions, and (b) there's not too much that's fresh or original about my list. I'm sure that I'll probably regret it once I stumble on something I missed on Wikipedia within the next few hours. I also maintain Tim's criterion of a decent-to-good album is also necessary for inclusion. That being said...
"Baba O'Riley" by The Who from the album Who's Next - I remember making a mix CD of the best tracks ever. The scheme was, I would pick the best track 1, the best track 2, et cetera until I ran out of room on the CD. So naturally, track one of that CD is my number one here. I remember looking through a lot of potential candidates before firmly deciding on this one the second I saw it. The "synthesizer" intro (actually just created using the arpeggio effects on a Lowrey home organ) is one of the best introductions to a song I've ever heard, and it blossoms into all-out rocking shortly thereafter.
"Wouldn't It Be Nice" by The Beach Boys from the album Pet Sounds - Barry would give me so much shit for this one, since it's such an obvious choice. I had to include it though, since none of you other jerks decided to give props to one of the best pop albums ever. Probably the album's most recognizable song, as well, and the epitome of chamber pop.
"Space Oddity" by David Bowie from the album Space Oddity - One of Bowie's masterpieces, I think it's a shame that it hasn't been mentioned yet. Even though it sounds dated, especially when compared to everything else Bowie has done, it's still a masterful bit of songwriting and performance. Loses just a few points because the song tends to overshadow most of the rest of the album (at least in my eyes. Yes, I do realize how much "Memory of a Free Festival" kicks ass.)
"Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" by the Killers from the album Hot Fuss - My new classic status is bumped up to #4 instead of the usual #5, simply because Hot Fuss was such a great album. This first kickass track was a sign that this band was fresh and new, sort of the same way Jacqueline was a great start to Franz Ferdinand's eponymous debut. Of course, if I had chosen that one, it would have been way too obvious that I was sucking up to Tim. This way, it's a bit more subtle.
"Tom Sawyer" by Rush from the album Moving Pictures - I doubt anyone else from the Top 5 likes progressive rock at all, much less Rush. I figured I'd give credit to this album, and this song in particular, which is probably Rush's biggest hit. It was a major step forward in the 80's synthesizer era, as it was released in 1981. This album, along with Van Halen's 1984 album, would prove that synthesizers could be used in rock music and still kick ass.
Honorable Mention - "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel from the album Bridge Over Troubled Water, also most of Ryan's honorable mentions.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Top 5 Lyricists
Lyrics are what compels me more than music, and this list is to honor those who have realized that lyrics are important and not to just be shoved in between the catchy instruments. I will give one example of their writing, though all of these definitely have much more to offer.
Tory's Top 5:
1. Conor Oberst - The front man for Bright Eyes who started writing music when he was about 13, and put out about 20 songs written from the time between age 13 and 15, all showing the technique of an established poet. It isn't so much cleverness of the lyrics, but the use of rhyme along with half-rhyme, assonance and alliteration to make lines fit together. Has also established about 4 other bands."There's a dream in my brain, that just won't go away, it's been stuck there since it came a few nights ago / and i'm standing on a bridge, in the town where i lived as kid with my mom and my brothers / and then the bridge disappears and i'm standing on air / with nothing holding me."
2. Damien Rice - Simply an incredible writer. Pairs music with his songs perfectly, and writes what some could say are the most depressing songs in existence, but always sings them with an incredible beauty. "Cheers darlin, I got years to wait around for you / Cheers darlin, I got your wedding bells in my ear / cheers darlin, you gave me three cigarettes, to smoke my tears away."
3. Maynard - Fronting Tool, Maynard James Keenan writes some of the most enigmatic lyrics to ever be written, but they still hold the ability to be poignant at least in meaning. He's also appeared in A Perfect Circle and has another band he's put together Puscifier. "Some say a comet will fall from the sky / followed by meteor showers and title waves / followed by faultlines that cannot sit still / followed by millions of dumb-founded dipshits / some say the end is near / some say we'll see armageddon soon / certainly hope we will /i sure could use a vaction from this / stupid shit, silly shit, stupid shit."
4. Roger Waters - I am an immense Pink Floyd fan, so much that they are one of my favorite bands, as fandom goes. One of the whole points behind Pink Floyd is obviously the trippy lyrics. "Oh, how I wish, how I wish you were here / we're just two lost souls swimmin in a fish bowl, year after year / runnin over the same old ground, and hav you found / the same old fears / wish you were here."
5. Cedric Bixler-Zavala - This may be premature, or a current bias, but these lyrics are some of the most awkward things I've ever read, and that's all there is to say about it. Oh, he sings for The Mars Volta, but stared with the band At the Drive-in. "You must have been phlegmatic in stature / the gates of thanos are spread-eagle wide / you let the shutters make sackcloth and ashes / out of a blind man's picaresque heart."
Ryan's Top 5:
This is a good idea for a list, but I'm feeling a bit boring, as you'll see, so all my answers would probably make the editors at Rolling Stone happy--which means, of course, that my list sucks.
1. John Lennon - For me it was a close call between Lennon and Simon, but I'm going to have to go with the walrus on this one. I don't believe that songs are simply poetry put to music. Occasionally, Paul Simon can write songs that, while great, are more poetic than musical (see: The Dangling Conversation, which is like a poem with background music. Good, though). Anyway, not much sense trying to explain Lennon's greatness, so here's a random quote: "Always know sometimes think it's me / But you know I know when it's a dream / I think I know I mean, ah yes / but it's all wrong / that is I think I disagree / Let me take you down..."
2. Paul Simon - Not to discount Garfunkel's contribution to the band--namely, big hair--but Simon has an amazing way with words. You want examples, I mean, take your pick--The Boxer, I Am A Rock, Sound of Silence, Mrs. Robinson, America, etc. etc. etc. "Hello darkness, my old friend / I've come to talk with you again / Because a vision softly creeping / Left its seeds while I was sleeping / And the vision that was planted in my brain / Still remains / Within the sound of silence." Bonus points for never burning out and producing crap (see: McCartney, Paul), and also solving apartheid in South Africa with Graceland.
3. David Bowie - "I'm an alligator, I'm a mama-papa coming for you / I'm the space invader, I'll be a rock 'n' rollin' bitch for you / Keep your mouth shut, you're squawking like a pink monkey bird / And I'm busting up my brains for the words." I think that pretty much says it all.
4. Harry Nilsson - There were rumors in 1970 that if Paul left the band, Nilsson could've stepped in. That, of course, would have led to Nilsson, Lennon, and Ringo all dying of liver failure by 1973, but it's still neat to think about. "Have you ever watched a moonbeam / As it slid across your windowpane / Or struggled with a bit of rain / Or danced about the weathervane / Or sat along a moving train / And wondered where the train has been..."
5. Paul McCartney - Has done just about everything possible to soil his musical record as of late, but he wrote some of the best songs ever recorded: Eleanor Rigby, Yesterday, Hey Jude, etc. As we've all heard these songs nine-hundred times, I'll forego the lyrics.
Honorable mentions: I won't try to sneak these guys in this time around, but I do think, given some more time, they could be on this list: Sufjan Stevens, Damon Gough (Badly Drawn Boy).
Dan's Top 5:
1. David Bowie - I think that if I have to explain Bowie to you, you're not worth talking to. A candidate for being overlooked lyrically, though, since the music is so strong. "And you / You can be mean / And I / I'll drink all the time / 'Cause we're lovers / And that is a fact / Yes we're lovers / And that is that."
2. Warren Zevon - Songwriting with sardonic dark humor? Sign me up. Honestly, Werewolves of London, though his greatest hit, isn't very indicative of his true talent. "I'm very well aquainted with the seven deadly sins / I keep a busy schedule trying to fit them in."
3. Damon Albarn - Blur, Gorrilaz, The Good The Bad and The Queen. They're all good. "She says theres ants in the carpet / Dirty little monsters / Eating all the morsels / Picking up the rubbish."
4. Paul Simon - It still astounds me that with all he did in Simon and Garfunkel, he still had enough left in him for a very good solo career. That rarely ever happens. "When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school it's a wonder I can think at all / And though my lack of education hasn't hurt me none, I can read the writing on the wall."
5. Colin Meloy - The Decemberists are, according to Colbert, "hyper-literate prog rock," and that couldn't be possible without Colin Meloy. Though I've had their music in my possession for quite some time, I truthfully have only been listening for the last few days. But their specialty for morose sea shanties and upbeat songs about myriad fictional characters lands them a spot in the Top 5. "And they tell her not to say a thing to cousin, kindred, kith or kin or she'll end up dead / And they throw her thirty dollars and return her to the harbour where she goes to bed, and this is how you're fed."
Honorable Mentions: Harry Nilsson, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney, excluded as they've been named by Ryan, who did them adequate justice.
Tim's Top 5:
1. Bob Dylan - No question here. Stuck Inside of Mobile (With the Memphis Blues Again), Idiot Wind, Tangled Up in Blue, All Along the Watchtower, It Ain't Me Babe, all great songs...and he would win for My Back Pages alone if it really came down to it. Time Out of Mind's tracks like Love Sick and Not Dark Yet continue the tradition, even if his last two albums aren't really worth mentioning. Who else could have written The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll and actually turned it into a decent song?
2. Bruce Springsteen - Few artists could have put together an album like The Rising without coming off as a dreadfully trite assemblage of flag-waving garbage. But it's just the sheer volume of great songs that Springsteen has written that involve characters without making them as repetitive as things like Ben Folds' solo work where nearly every song has to have named characters. Born to Run, Thunder Road, Brilliant Disguise, American Skin -- this is great stuff.
3. John Lennon - He does lose some for his all-too-sentimental period around Double Fantasy, but he wrote the Beatles' best material. Imagine, Tomorrow Never Knows, Happiness is a Warm Gun, Instant Karma...McCartney is good, but not on this level...and seriously, McCartney wrote a song called Biker Like an Icon.
4. Elliott Smith - He picked up the John Lennon introspective torch, but took it way farther. Ballad of Big Nothing is one of the best written songs I've heard even though it's extremely simple. Figure 8 may have been his lyrical peak with Stupidity Tries, Son of Sam, but Either/Or isn't far off and From a Basement on A Hill has some great stuff.
5. Noel Gallagher - Sure, I was in high school when (What's the Story) Morning Glory came out, but it had some songs that really struck me as well-crafted -- Don't Look Back in Anger, Some Might Say, really everything except for She's Electric and Chapagne Supernova. And I prefer Definitely Maybe with Rock n' Roll Star and Cigarettes and Alcohol, which really warrants (by itself) a spot higher than 5th.
Honorable mention: Bernie Taupin (hard to admit, but in the 1970s, Elton John actually recorded decent music); Neil Young, Adam Schlesinger/Chris Collingwood (since they're two people, I had to settle for honorable mentioning them), Billy Corgan.
Tory's Top 5:
1. Conor Oberst - The front man for Bright Eyes who started writing music when he was about 13, and put out about 20 songs written from the time between age 13 and 15, all showing the technique of an established poet. It isn't so much cleverness of the lyrics, but the use of rhyme along with half-rhyme, assonance and alliteration to make lines fit together. Has also established about 4 other bands."There's a dream in my brain, that just won't go away, it's been stuck there since it came a few nights ago / and i'm standing on a bridge, in the town where i lived as kid with my mom and my brothers / and then the bridge disappears and i'm standing on air / with nothing holding me."
2. Damien Rice - Simply an incredible writer. Pairs music with his songs perfectly, and writes what some could say are the most depressing songs in existence, but always sings them with an incredible beauty. "Cheers darlin, I got years to wait around for you / Cheers darlin, I got your wedding bells in my ear / cheers darlin, you gave me three cigarettes, to smoke my tears away."
3. Maynard - Fronting Tool, Maynard James Keenan writes some of the most enigmatic lyrics to ever be written, but they still hold the ability to be poignant at least in meaning. He's also appeared in A Perfect Circle and has another band he's put together Puscifier. "Some say a comet will fall from the sky / followed by meteor showers and title waves / followed by faultlines that cannot sit still / followed by millions of dumb-founded dipshits / some say the end is near / some say we'll see armageddon soon / certainly hope we will /i sure could use a vaction from this / stupid shit, silly shit, stupid shit."
4. Roger Waters - I am an immense Pink Floyd fan, so much that they are one of my favorite bands, as fandom goes. One of the whole points behind Pink Floyd is obviously the trippy lyrics. "Oh, how I wish, how I wish you were here / we're just two lost souls swimmin in a fish bowl, year after year / runnin over the same old ground, and hav you found / the same old fears / wish you were here."
5. Cedric Bixler-Zavala - This may be premature, or a current bias, but these lyrics are some of the most awkward things I've ever read, and that's all there is to say about it. Oh, he sings for The Mars Volta, but stared with the band At the Drive-in. "You must have been phlegmatic in stature / the gates of thanos are spread-eagle wide / you let the shutters make sackcloth and ashes / out of a blind man's picaresque heart."
Ryan's Top 5:
This is a good idea for a list, but I'm feeling a bit boring, as you'll see, so all my answers would probably make the editors at Rolling Stone happy--which means, of course, that my list sucks.
1. John Lennon - For me it was a close call between Lennon and Simon, but I'm going to have to go with the walrus on this one. I don't believe that songs are simply poetry put to music. Occasionally, Paul Simon can write songs that, while great, are more poetic than musical (see: The Dangling Conversation, which is like a poem with background music. Good, though). Anyway, not much sense trying to explain Lennon's greatness, so here's a random quote: "Always know sometimes think it's me / But you know I know when it's a dream / I think I know I mean, ah yes / but it's all wrong / that is I think I disagree / Let me take you down..."
2. Paul Simon - Not to discount Garfunkel's contribution to the band--namely, big hair--but Simon has an amazing way with words. You want examples, I mean, take your pick--The Boxer, I Am A Rock, Sound of Silence, Mrs. Robinson, America, etc. etc. etc. "Hello darkness, my old friend / I've come to talk with you again / Because a vision softly creeping / Left its seeds while I was sleeping / And the vision that was planted in my brain / Still remains / Within the sound of silence." Bonus points for never burning out and producing crap (see: McCartney, Paul), and also solving apartheid in South Africa with Graceland.
3. David Bowie - "I'm an alligator, I'm a mama-papa coming for you / I'm the space invader, I'll be a rock 'n' rollin' bitch for you / Keep your mouth shut, you're squawking like a pink monkey bird / And I'm busting up my brains for the words." I think that pretty much says it all.
4. Harry Nilsson - There were rumors in 1970 that if Paul left the band, Nilsson could've stepped in. That, of course, would have led to Nilsson, Lennon, and Ringo all dying of liver failure by 1973, but it's still neat to think about. "Have you ever watched a moonbeam / As it slid across your windowpane / Or struggled with a bit of rain / Or danced about the weathervane / Or sat along a moving train / And wondered where the train has been..."
5. Paul McCartney - Has done just about everything possible to soil his musical record as of late, but he wrote some of the best songs ever recorded: Eleanor Rigby, Yesterday, Hey Jude, etc. As we've all heard these songs nine-hundred times, I'll forego the lyrics.
Honorable mentions: I won't try to sneak these guys in this time around, but I do think, given some more time, they could be on this list: Sufjan Stevens, Damon Gough (Badly Drawn Boy).
Dan's Top 5:
1. David Bowie - I think that if I have to explain Bowie to you, you're not worth talking to. A candidate for being overlooked lyrically, though, since the music is so strong. "And you / You can be mean / And I / I'll drink all the time / 'Cause we're lovers / And that is a fact / Yes we're lovers / And that is that."
2. Warren Zevon - Songwriting with sardonic dark humor? Sign me up. Honestly, Werewolves of London, though his greatest hit, isn't very indicative of his true talent. "I'm very well aquainted with the seven deadly sins / I keep a busy schedule trying to fit them in."
3. Damon Albarn - Blur, Gorrilaz, The Good The Bad and The Queen. They're all good. "She says theres ants in the carpet / Dirty little monsters / Eating all the morsels / Picking up the rubbish."
4. Paul Simon - It still astounds me that with all he did in Simon and Garfunkel, he still had enough left in him for a very good solo career. That rarely ever happens. "When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school it's a wonder I can think at all / And though my lack of education hasn't hurt me none, I can read the writing on the wall."
5. Colin Meloy - The Decemberists are, according to Colbert, "hyper-literate prog rock," and that couldn't be possible without Colin Meloy. Though I've had their music in my possession for quite some time, I truthfully have only been listening for the last few days. But their specialty for morose sea shanties and upbeat songs about myriad fictional characters lands them a spot in the Top 5. "And they tell her not to say a thing to cousin, kindred, kith or kin or she'll end up dead / And they throw her thirty dollars and return her to the harbour where she goes to bed, and this is how you're fed."
Honorable Mentions: Harry Nilsson, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney, excluded as they've been named by Ryan, who did them adequate justice.
Tim's Top 5:
1. Bob Dylan - No question here. Stuck Inside of Mobile (With the Memphis Blues Again), Idiot Wind, Tangled Up in Blue, All Along the Watchtower, It Ain't Me Babe, all great songs...and he would win for My Back Pages alone if it really came down to it. Time Out of Mind's tracks like Love Sick and Not Dark Yet continue the tradition, even if his last two albums aren't really worth mentioning. Who else could have written The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll and actually turned it into a decent song?
2. Bruce Springsteen - Few artists could have put together an album like The Rising without coming off as a dreadfully trite assemblage of flag-waving garbage. But it's just the sheer volume of great songs that Springsteen has written that involve characters without making them as repetitive as things like Ben Folds' solo work where nearly every song has to have named characters. Born to Run, Thunder Road, Brilliant Disguise, American Skin -- this is great stuff.
3. John Lennon - He does lose some for his all-too-sentimental period around Double Fantasy, but he wrote the Beatles' best material. Imagine, Tomorrow Never Knows, Happiness is a Warm Gun, Instant Karma...McCartney is good, but not on this level...and seriously, McCartney wrote a song called Biker Like an Icon.
4. Elliott Smith - He picked up the John Lennon introspective torch, but took it way farther. Ballad of Big Nothing is one of the best written songs I've heard even though it's extremely simple. Figure 8 may have been his lyrical peak with Stupidity Tries, Son of Sam, but Either/Or isn't far off and From a Basement on A Hill has some great stuff.
5. Noel Gallagher - Sure, I was in high school when (What's the Story) Morning Glory came out, but it had some songs that really struck me as well-crafted -- Don't Look Back in Anger, Some Might Say, really everything except for She's Electric and Chapagne Supernova. And I prefer Definitely Maybe with Rock n' Roll Star and Cigarettes and Alcohol, which really warrants (by itself) a spot higher than 5th.
Honorable mention: Bernie Taupin (hard to admit, but in the 1970s, Elton John actually recorded decent music); Neil Young, Adam Schlesinger/Chris Collingwood (since they're two people, I had to settle for honorable mentioning them), Billy Corgan.
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