Gr00vus's Favorite 50 Songs - 1: Synchronicity II (2 Viewers)

[Gr00vus]

Covers covers covers

38. Bad Girls:  I know Groovus likes Jamiroquai but it's a shame the Bolsheviks missed when shooting Anastacia
Anastacia & Jamiroquai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xyyJIFrr2w

37. Under the Pressure:  Sorry to come off like an old grump but I've sparred with the cool kids about this band before.  It's a decent four minute song stretched out to nine.
No covers available

If you want a Jamiroquai experience of Bad Girls without Anastacia, I highly recommend this 2003 live performance of it by them in Verona.

I agree with you about Under the Pressure to a degree. I often just skip back or ahead once the beat dies off 2/3 through and bail on the instrumental/soundscape stuff at the end.

 

[Gr00vus]

"Where the beat goes on, there you've been and gone."

33: Sensation, Bryan Ferry, 1985

Though there were much bigger hits off this first completely post Roxy album, Boys and Girls, for whatever reason this track is the one that sticks with me the most. It's an 80's wall of sound. I like the string section warm up at the beginning bookended with the sad chello at the end. At this stage of his career Ferry's own vocals have become so indistinct in terms of the words sung, his voice is just one more element of the soundscape rather than the vehicle for delivering clear semantic intention. The guitar work is exceptional. But I think the standout of the track are the "backing" vocals. They're almost more frequent than Ferry's own vocals, and are what really deliver the punch and meat of this song. The rhythm is understated yet funky.

I have no idea who to credit for the instruments on this one. Ferry and Roxy had already begun to engage in a Steely Dan approach to recording a few albums ago in terms of personnel applied to their tracks (partially by necessity as Roxy members would come and go so frequently). If you look at the wikipedia page for this album, it's an insane list of musician credits, but no attribution for a given song. Also if you look closely enough, you'll see multiple people in those credits who were part of/played for, you guessed it, Chic (including Alfa Anderson).

I'd like to believe it's Nile Rodgers playing rhythm guitar on this one, with David Gilmour playing the leads. But there are so many guitarists credited on the album I can't be sure. Whoever it is, both parts are stellar.

And now the drums. Omar Hakim gets primary credit for the album, but Andy Newmark is there too (we met him back on song 50, playing on Young Americans for Bowie). I can't be sure who it is playing on this track. Again I'd like to think it's Omar Hakim. Why? Because I'm pretty sure he's the best drummer I've ever heard. So I'm going to spotlight him here as I don't think I have another track he plays on in my top 50 (though he's on a ton of songs that just missed the cut, like Bowie's Dancing With The Big Boys which is one of my favorite Omar tracks).

Chances are you've heard his work and not known it, as he's recorded with a ton of top artists. At the time this album came out, Omar may have been the hottest studio drummer around (Tony Thompson was right there too), doing studio work for Bowie, Sting, Dire Straights, George Benson, Roy Ayers, Anita Baker, Mick Jagger, Phillip Bailey and many others. He came up in the same N.Y. scene that spawned Chic, though he started out in a more jazz direction than Tony Thompson, Thompson playing with Chic, Hakim eventually playing with Weather Report. As evidence here's Omar playing Cantaloupe Island with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Stanley Clarke live in 1991. It's not the solo that's the thing here (though it is marvelous), it's what he's playing behind the other musicians. Perfect.

I first came to realize who he was due to The Dream Of The Blue Turtles album (he's one of those "jazz guys" @El Floppo mentioned earlier), where he shone on tracks like Dream Of The Blue Turtles and Children's Crusade. I got to see that band live on the ensuing tour and he just blew me away on the live renditions of those songs and Bring On The Night/When The World Is Running Down, along with everything else. From there I read up on all the other stuff he'd done, listened, etc. His technique and chops are insane. But what makes him the greatest to me is his ability to seemingly play whatever comes into his head, as soon as he thinks of it, and have it come out the way he felt it. It's like he can express any thought he has through the drums. He's so smooth, yet funky, powerful - whatever the song needs, he gives it. Even when he's playing stuff I'd have thought impossible, he's got this fluidity and grace. And once he's done a thing I can't think of any other, different, better way it could have been played.

I'm certain there are drummers out there who might be just as good in all these ways, but I haven't heard them. On this thanksgiving day, I say thanks to Omar Hakim for his music and inspiration.

Anyway, getting back to this song, I might be on another island here in my appreciation for it, but maybe @Mike Damone is with me (if he's who people have implied he is). I really love this song, its sumptuous, sensuous feel. People may resent the "descent into effete crooning" Ferry committed to from this point on in his career, but I'm a big fan.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

My problem with Ferry (& Bowie, for that matter) is that he never sold me on the fact that he MEANT what he sang. Ferry's record's always sounded pretty, but he kinda set himself up as looking on passion with an arched eyebrow - "Ah, so this is how humans should express what they feel".

My favorite singer of all time is Otis Redding. Intellectually, I know Otis didn't dig down so deep on all of his records that it became life vs death - but damned if he couldn't make me feel that it was on every last one of them.

Bryan Ferry is the complete opposite, to my ears. 

 

[wikkidpissah]

My problem with Ferry (& Bowie, for that matter) is that he never sold me on the fact that he MEANT what he sang. Ferry's record's always sounded pretty, but he kinda set himself up as looking on passion with an arched eyebrow - "Ah, so this is how humans should express what they feel".

My favorite singer of all time is Otis Redding. Intellectually, I know Otis didn't dig down so deep on all of his records that it became life vs death - but damned if he couldn't make me feel that it was on every last one of them.

Bryan Ferry is the complete opposite, to my ears. 

I like the choice to add my own criteria to what the artist offers as much as to just surrender to the experience as singers/players like Redding make necessary. In fact, i might actually find it more sustaining to have the song and the performance on equal standing. You're right, U-H - there's nothing quite like gettin' killed, but it's only part of the musical experience.

 

[wikkidpissah]

"Where the beat goes on, there you've been and gone."

33: Sensation, Bryan Ferry, 1985

Though there were much bigger hits off this first completely post Roxy album, Boys and Girls, for whatever reason this track is the one that sticks with me the most. It's an 80's wall of sound. I like the string section warm up at the beginning bookended with the sad chello at the end. At this stage of his career Ferry's own vocals have become so indistinct in terms of the words sung, his voice is just one more element of the soundscape rather than the vehicle for delivering clear semantic intention. The guitar work is exceptional. But I think the standout of the track are the "backing" vocals. They're almost more frequent than Ferry's own vocals, and are what really deliver the punch and meat of this song. The rhythm is understated yet funky.

I have no idea who to credit for the instruments on this one. Ferry and Roxy had already begun to engage in a Steely Dan approach to recording a few albums ago in terms of personnel applied to their tracks (partially by necessity as Roxy members would come and go so frequently). If you look at the wikipedia page for this album, it's an insane list of musician credits, but no attribution for a given song. Also if you look closely enough, you'll see multiple people in those credits who were part of/played for, you guessed it, Chic (including Alfa Anderson).

I'd like to believe it's Nile Rodgers playing rhythm guitar on this one, with David Gilmour playing the leads. But there are so many guitarists credited on the album I can't be sure. Whoever it is, both parts are stellar.

And now the drums. Omar Hakim gets primary credit for the album, but Andy Newmark is there too (we met him back on song 50, playing on Young Americans for Bowie). I can't be sure who it is playing on this track. Again I'd like to think it's Omar Hakim. Why? Because I'm pretty sure he's the best drummer I've ever heard. So I'm going to spotlight him here as I don't think I have another track he plays on in my top 50 (though he's on a ton of songs that just missed the cut, like Bowie's Dancing With The Big Boys which is one of my favorite Omar tracks).

Chances are you've heard his work and not known it, as he's recorded with a ton of top artists. At the time this album came out, Omar may have been the hottest studio drummer around (Tony Thompson was right there too), doing studio work for Bowie, Sting, Dire Straights, George Benson, Roy Ayers, Anita Baker, Mick Jagger, Phillip Bailey and many others. He came up in the same N.Y. scene that spawned Chic, though he started out in a more jazz direction than Tony Thompson, Thompson playing with Chic, Hakim eventually playing with Weather Report. As evidence here's Omar playing Cantaloupe Island with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Stanley Clarke live in 1991. It's not the solo that's the thing here (though it is marvelous), it's what he's playing behind the other musicians. Perfect.

I first came to realize who he was due to The Dream Of The Blue Turtles album (he's one of those "jazz guys" @El Floppo mentioned earlier), where he shone on tracks like Dream Of The Blue Turtles and Children's Crusade. I got to see that band live on the ensuing tour and he just blew me away on the live renditions of those songs and Bring On The Night/When The World Is Running Down, along with everything else. From there I read up on all the other stuff he'd done, listened, etc. His technique and chops are insane. But what makes him the greatest to me is his ability to seemingly play whatever comes into his head, as soon as he thinks of it, and have it come out the way he felt it. It's like he can express any thought he has through the drums. He's so smooth, yet funky, powerful - whatever the song needs, he gives it. Even when he's playing stuff I'd have thought impossible, he's got this fluidity and grace. And once he's done a thing I can't think of any other, different, better way it could have been played.

I'm certain there are drummers out there who might be just as good in all these ways, but I haven't heard them. On this thanksgiving day, I say thanks to Omar Hakim for his music and inspiration.

Anyway, getting back to this song, I might be on another island here in my appreciation for it, but maybe @Mike Damone is with me (if he's who people have implied he is). I really love this song, its sumptuous, sensuous feel. People may resent the "descent into effete crooning" Ferry committed to from this point on in his career, but I'm a big fan.

I think Boys & Girls was my last makeout record. I was already with Scary Mary by then (and i was too old for "the make" by the time i was a widower), but we broke up a LOT the first couple years (that's when she married a guy for 12 days who who proposed to her on the dance floor - if the right kind of breakup song is in your top 30 i'll tell that story then) so there were still chances to invite young ladies in with delicious intent. Roxy's Avalon was my go-to record until it got too much a rep so Sensation et al was a proper changeup (with Keith Jarrett's Koln Concert - which i could play every note of upon a woman's body - at the ready for closing) to have a girl in for "quick line before we go out again". I just found Roxy/Ferry's music perfect that way - didn't intrude on a nice chat but ready to pick up the action if sum'n hit sum'n in the nexussexusplexus. Awwww, YEEah....

A very frustrating part of coming upon songwriting late in life has been getting others to participate in one's delusion. Not being a player, i cant just have a jam (good singer, but not enough range to put myself out there as that) and turn that into a musical partnership but must convince someone with minimal evidence to help you work on your stuff. It's only a couple times, with friends, and only worked out for short periods. I'll Craigslist it when the peeps are gone if i dont find someone on my own by then.

Nonetheless, one of the greatest frustrations is never having gotten past a drum machine working on tracks. Keys are inviting, notes are scrumptious, words add texture, but the pie aint baked til the beat browns the crust. Fills & flourishes turn a Rambler into a Porsche and the beat drives it home. The trick will be to get the right beatmaster to stop over for mixed metaphors some time.....

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I like the choice to add my own criteria to what the artist offers as much as to just surrender to the experience as singers/players like Redding make necessary. In fact, i might actually find it more sustaining to have the song and the performance on equal standing. You're right, U-H - there's nothing quite like gettin' killed, but it's only part of the musical experience.

Otis had a better band, too. 

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Good song by Ferry, even bigger fan of the song that follows it on autoplay.

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qeZFx4f-67w

 

[Gr00vus]

Good song by Ferry, even bigger fan of the song that follows it on autoplay.

 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qeZFx4f-67w

It's a really good album. You have to be in the mood for it, but if you are, it's one of those albums you can listen to start to finish and not resent a moment of it.

 

[Gr00vus]

My problem with Ferry (& Bowie, for that matter) is that he never sold me on the fact that he MEANT what he sang. Ferry's record's always sounded pretty, but he kinda set himself up as looking on passion with an arched eyebrow - "Ah, so this is how humans should express what they feel".

My favorite singer of all time is Otis Redding. Intellectually, I know Otis didn't dig down so deep on all of his records that it became life vs death - but damned if he couldn't make me feel that it was on every last one of them.

Bryan Ferry is the complete opposite, to my ears. 

I think your take is somewhat accurate. There is a sort of disembodied quality to his vocals. I find that the counter balance of the excellent supporting vocalists brings it back into the human sphere, and that the blend can be sublime.

 

[Gr00vus]

"When God gets his rest because six days are just too rough, I can only pray he doesn't forget about me."

32: Pressure And Time, Rival Sons, 2011

But you said there'd be no Zeppelin on this quiz! There's a bit more gospel flavor here than you'd get in a Zeppelin tune, yet the similarity is pretty obvious. The guitarist (Scott Holliday) is no Jimmy Page, but he and bassist Robin Everhart provide an excellent riff here. I didn't realize it until my wife pointed it out, but for months after first hearing this song I'd randomly start humming that riff out loud. Jay Buchanan isn't a complete Plant carbon copy, but he provides the same ragged drive through his vocals. Michael Miley leans on the bell of his ride from the outset and never lets up. Usually that would get annoying quick, but it works great here, slamming the numbers on top of a pretty funky, yet powerful, beat. I really like the lyrics as well, a simultaneous exhortation to work your butt off to get what you want and a simple contemplation about what you really need, what is enough?

Though they are derivative of Zeppelin, and Sabbath (on some of their earlier work), they give me hope that rock and roll isn't quite dead yet.

 

[wikkidpissah]

"When God gets his rest because six days are just too rough, I can only pray he doesn't forget about me."

32: Pressure And Time, Rival Sons, 2011

But you said there'd be no Zeppelin on this quiz! There's a bit more gospel flavor here than you'd get in a Zeppelin tune, yet the similarity is pretty obvious. The guitarist (Scott Holliday) is no Jimmy Page, but he and bassist Robin Everhart provide an excellent riff here. I didn't realize it until my wife pointed it out, but for months after first hearing this song I'd randomly start humming that riff out loud. Jay Buchanan isn't a complete Plant carbon copy, but he provides the same ragged drive through his vocals. Michael Miley leans on the bell of his ride from the outset and never lets up. Usually that would get annoying quick, but it works great here, slamming the numbers on top of a pretty funky, yet powerful, beat. I really like the lyrics as well, a simultaneous exhortation to work your butt off to get what you want and a simple contemplation about what you really need, what is enough?

Though they are derivative of Zeppelin, and Sabbath (on some of their earlier work), they give me hope that rock and roll isn't quite dead yet.

aint even Zep-derivative. more like BadCompany-derivative and BadCo was derivative 40 yrs ago. no texture at all - barely a lick & a scream even. wikkid's first ! of the countdown

ETA: good beat, ya

 

[Uruk-Hai]

aint even Zep-derivative. more like BadCompany-derivative and BadCo was derivative 40 yrs ago. no texture at all - barely a lick & a scream even. wikkid's first ! of the countdown

Yikes - wikkid bringing some harsh on a Saturday.

I'll both agree and disagree with the pissah:

I have never heard this song or band before. They sound competent, though really generic, to me. And I'm not sure that we need any more '70s-sounding AOR bands these days (one of my wheelhouse genres, just in case anyone thinks I'm a hater on principle). 

HOWEVAH - based on this one record - they are already better than Bad Company. Bad Company's boring sludge was the death-knell of AOR and was an aural Quaalude, even though the singer was talented. Their cover of "Young Blood" may be the most embarrassing mainstream rock record of the '70s (and that's saying something).

Anyway, myself being a Grand Funk fan from way back, I can see why this record appeals to Groovus. At least the drummer - unlike Donnie Brewer - doesn't sound like he's sweating just trying to keep time.

 

[Gr00vus]

"Wake up late, honey, put on your clothes, take your credit card to the liquor store."

31: Nightrain, Guns N Roses, 1987

Are we all familiar with Nightrain? Thunderbird's big brother, 17.5% ABV fortified wine. This song is that drink. It crashes along and leaves you wrecked at the end. I'm not a huge Axl fan in general, but he delivers a pretty syncopated, almost funky vocal over the top of this blistering rock tune. All the instruments are as they should be in an ode to penny alcohol - rough, aggressive, yet fun. If you can't rock out to this, there's no hope for your soul.

 

[Gr00vus]

"So we just dip, g'along, stand up."

30: Get Down, Groove Armada featuring Stush and Red Rat - Calvin Harris Remix, 2007

*** EDM ALERT *** EDM ALERT ***

We go clubbing now. There's no real deep meaning here, don't bother looking. If you listen closely to this with headphones, you can catch my favorite part of the song, the low register demand to get down, sometimes hidden under the more staccato suggestion to get down. Stush channels her inner Dale Bozzio here, I can understand some finding that annoying, but I enjoy it on this track. Calvin Harris gives this a great treatment, livening things up quite a bit over the original version. Either let this song grab you by the seat of your pants and get going, or get out. But whatever you do, get down.

 

[wikkidpissah]

"So we just dip, g'along, stand up."

30: Get Down, Groove Armada featuring Stush and Red Rat - Calvin Harris Remix, 2007

*** EDM ALERT *** EDM ALERT ***

We go clubbing now. There's no real deep meaning here, don't bother looking. If you listen closely to this with headphones, you can catch my favorite part of the song, the low register demand to get down, sometimes hidden under the more staccato suggestion to get down. Stush channels her inner Dale Bozzio here, I can understand some finding that annoying, but I enjoy it on this track. Calvin Harris gives this a great treatment, livening things up quite a bit over the original version. Either let this song grab you by the seat of your pants and get going, or get out. But whatever you do, get down.

Problem is, at my age, if i dip AND galang i can't stand up and be screechy for a while afterward and might even step on my own bushie and scream....

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Problem is, at my age, if i dip AND galang i can't stand up and be screechy for a while afterward and might even step on my own bushie and scream....

Words to live by.

 

[Gr00vus]

Problem is, at my age, if i dip AND galang i can't stand up and be screechy for a while afterward and might even step on my own bushie and scream....

Yet you've still captured the essence of the song in a single incomplete sentence! You may not dance it, but at least you felt it (or are doing a reasonable facsimile of feeling it for my sake).

 

[wikkidpissah]

Yet you've still captured the essence of the song in a single incomplete sentence! You may not dance it, but at least you felt it (or are doing a reasonable facsimile of feeling it for my sake).

Righteous dance tune, my brother, no doubt. And i luuuuv dance tracks. Plus, the dance floor is an aesthetic-free zone (except for Elaine Benes's vanilla vice).

ETA: There was some Groove Armada on your also-ran list, n'est-ce pas? Dug that, too

 

[Gr00vus]

"I'm hot, young, running free, a little bit better than I used to be."

29: Livewire, Motley Crue, 1981

Was this the official start of hair bands? I wouldn't suggest the song itself as an exemplar of hair band rock. It's closer to regular old heavy metal. But the visual aesthetic is starting to firm up at this point for the band. You can see it in the video, where they steal heavily from KISS, but with even more hair spray. In truth, you should probably skip the video, unless you're looking for source material that must have inspired some of This Is Spinal Tap. Also, probably don't read all the lyrics - there's some major sexual/physical assault type stuff happening there. I can't imagine how that song would go down today were it released with those lyrics.

Then there's the interesting decision to cut time in the C section, with questionable choices made on Tommy Lee's part with the discoish 16th notes, particularly when he moves them to the cowbell for a measure. Kids, don't throw percussion instruments into your song unless you're experienced at playing them. Beyond that, Lee struggles through the whole sloppy passage with this rhythmic idiom. Tommy Lee was/is an excellent drummer, but I bet he'd like to have another shot at that part of this track.

Now you're asking, why is this song here on this list? Well, because the rest of it rocks. The double bass drum opening, Nikki Six hammering the bass, the tight breaks throughout (particularly to close), Vince Neil screaming with some actual tonal quality, the cowbell break at the end (one of the most appropriate applications of the cowbell in a rock song, making up for the unpleasantness of its inclusion earlier). But the stars of this show are Mick Mars's guitar riffs. Right from the get go, he has you. I could listen to that riff for hours.

 

[El Floppo]

"I'm hot, young, running free, a little bit better than I used to be."

29: Livewire, Motley Crue, 1981

Was this the official start of hair bands? I wouldn't suggest the song itself as an exemplar of hair band rock. It's closer to regular old heavy metal. But the visual ascetic is starting to firm up at this point for the band. You can see it in the video, where they steal heavily from KISS, but with even more hair spray. In truth, you should probably skip the video, unless you're looking for source material that must have inspired some of This Is Spinal Tap. Also, probably don't read all the lyrics - there's some major sexual/physical assault type stuff happening there. I can't imagine how that song would go down today were it released with those lyrics.

Then there's the interesting decision to cut time in the C section, with questionable choices made on Tommy Lee's part with the discoish 16th notes, particularly when he moves them to the cowbell for a measure. Kids, don't throw percussion instruments into your song unless you're experienced at playing them. Beyond that, Lee struggles through the whole sloppy passage with this rhythmic idiom. Tommy Lee was/is an excellent drummer, but I bet he'd like to have another shot at that part of this track.

Now you're asking, why is this song here on this list? Well, because the rest of it rocks. The double bass drum opening, Nikki Six hammering the bass, the tight breaks throughout (particularly to close), Vince Neil screaming with some actual tonal quality, the cowbell break at the end (one of the most appropriate applications of the cowbell in a rock song, making up for the unpleasantness of its inclusion earlier). But the stars of this show are Nick Mars's guitar riffs. Right from the get go, he has you. I could listen to that riff for hours.

was never a crue fan... and after the last couple songs, I was worried the wheels had fallen off this thing (at least for any convergence of shared music taste). but I'm digging this tune... even the goofy slow cowbell break.

 

[Gr00vus]

was never a crue fan... but I'm digging this tune... even the goofy slow cowbell break.

Another thing I like about it is that they retained the rawness of it. Later albums they'd polish off all the rough edges, but here they're left in tact. Overall that makes it stand out among their songs for me, even though it does also come with some imperfections.

 

[wikkidpissah]

"I'm hot, young, running free, a little bit better than I used to be."

29: Livewire, Motley Crue, 1981

The other 2 hair metal songs in your countdown were on travel days for me, of which i was glad. I don't have much to say about WWF, BttF flix, South Park, hairbands, Conan, ComicCon, hyperfitness, gourmet coffee and the other generational things i simply dont get that Groovemeisters (those closing in on 50  - inc. my 48yo son and many FFApper pals) wrap their lives around. What's the deal with thatl?!

 

[Gr00vus]

 my 48yo son

Your what?!?!?

 

[wikkidpissah]

Your what?!?!?

i mentioned him as part of my inspiration for putting a comment/story to each one of your selections

I have a biological son who i never had much to do with a couple years younger than you, groovy, and your "grow up" records are all ones he woulda grown up on, so this all just adds an element to enjoying your list.

never had much to do with him but feel a connection with him because it was his Mafia-daughter mother's fam going after me for knocking her up that caused me to run away from home and began my early start on adulthood, hippiedom and a peripatetic life's course. he runs three garages, reputed to be chopshops, around Brockton MA

 

[Gr00vus]

i mentioned him as part of my inspiration for putting a comment/story to each one of your selections

never had much to do with him but feel a connection with him because it was his Mafia-daughter mother's fam going after me for knocking her up that caused me to run away from home and began my early start on adulthood, hippiedom and a peripatetic life's course. he runs three garages, reputed to be chopshops, around Brockton MA

Yes you did, sorry I didn't remember that. I'm getting old though, can't remember 5 minutes ago much less three weeks ago.

That's a heck of a thing. You ever contact him?

 

[rockaction]

"I'm hot, young, running free, a little bit better than I used to be."

29: Livewire, Motley Crue, 1981

Was this the official start of hair bands? I wouldn't suggest the song itself as an exemplar of hair band rock. It's closer to regular old heavy metal. But the visual aesthetic is starting to firm up at this point for the band. You can see it in the video, where they steal heavily from KISS, but with even more hair spray. In truth, you should probably skip the video, unless you're looking for source material that must have inspired some of This Is Spinal Tap. Also, probably don't read all the lyrics - there's some major sexual/physical assault type stuff happening there. I can't imagine how that song would go down today were it released with those lyrics.

Then there's the interesting decision to cut time in the C section, with questionable choices made on Tommy Lee's part with the discoish 16th notes, particularly when he moves them to the cowbell for a measure. Kids, don't throw percussion instruments into your song unless you're experienced at playing them. Beyond that, Lee struggles through the whole sloppy passage with this rhythmic idiom. Tommy Lee was/is an excellent drummer, but I bet he'd like to have another shot at that part of this track.

Now you're asking, why is this song here on this list? Well, because the rest of it rocks. The double bass drum opening, Nikki Six hammering the bass, the tight breaks throughout (particularly to close), Vince Neil screaming with some actual tonal quality, the cowbell break at the end (one of the most appropriate applications of the cowbell in a rock song, making up for the unpleasantness of its inclusion earlier). But the stars of this show are Nick Mars's guitar riffs. Right from the get go, he has you. I could listen to that riff for hours.

was never a crue fan... and after the last couple songs, I was worried the wheels had fallen off this thing (at least for any convergence of shared music taste). but I'm digging this tune... even the goofy slow cowbell break.

Livewire is the greatest Motley Crue song Motley Crue will ever write. I am the young and running free/A little bit better than I used to be. Cause I'm alive/I'm a livewire. But it's Mick Mars, not Nick. Likely a typo, knowing the song so well and all.  

 

[Leroy Hoard]

I only like a handful of mc songs, but this one gets the thumb.

 

[Gr00vus]

I only like a handful of mc songs, but this one gets the thumb.

@Leroy Hoard 's take on the "most interesting man in the world" schtick. "I don't always listen to Crue, but when I do, it's Livewire."

Also, I guess I should have applied the  to this one.

 

[wikkidpissah]

Yes you did, sorry I didn't remember that. I'm getting old though, can't remember 5 minutes ago much less three weeks ago.

That's a heck of a thing. You ever contact him?

His mother lived two doors down from my auntie who i spent school vacas with. Her dad & bros were serious crims - her highrise-construction union boss father fell off the 11th floor of a job site & it just made him mad (on his feet in 3 wks) and brother Charlie died in a shootout with police years later after a 5-city car chase because he had a pound of drugs and a dead 19yo girl in his trunk, no kidding - and, if she hadnt been a HS senior (i was a soph), didn't start to show til graduation & wasn't married off to one of the ol' man's "foremen" (they're still together) who raised him as theirs, i'd be dead.

Saw the kid a few times in his childhood yrs when i visited auntie as an adult, auntie always kept my secret and agreed to give him my # if he or his mom ever asked, but they never did. Has two kids - never seen my only grandchildren. Such is life....

 

[Gr00vus]

His mother lived two doors down from my auntie who i spent school vacas with. Her dad & bros were serious crims - her highrise-construction union boss father fell off the 11th floor of a job site & it just made him mad (on his feet in 3 wks) and brother Charlie died in a shootout with police years later after a 5-city car chase because he had a pound of drugs and a dead 19yo girl in his trunk, no kidding - and, if she hadnt been a HS senior (i was a soph), didn't start to show til graduation & wasn't married off to one of the ol' man's "foremen" (they're still together) who raised him as theirs, i'd be dead.

Saw the kid a few times in his childhood yrs when i visited auntie as an adult, auntie always kept my secret and agreed to give him my # if he or his mom ever asked, but they never did. Has two kids - never seen my only grandchildren. Such is life....

Man, straight to dead - no marry her or else first?

That's a tragic story. And you yada yaddaed the hook up on top of it.

 

[rockaction]

His mother lived two doors down from my auntie who i spent school vacas with. Her dad & bros were serious crims - her highrise-construction union boss father fell off the 11th floor of a job site & it just made him mad (on his feet in 3 wks) and brother Charlie died in a shootout with police years later after a 5-city car chase because he had a pound of drugs and a dead 19yo girl in his trunk, no kidding - and, if she hadnt been a HS senior (i was a soph), didn't start to show til graduation & wasn't married off to one of the ol' man's "foremen" (they're still together) who raised him as theirs, i'd be dead.

Saw the kid a few times in his childhood yrs when i visited auntie as an adult, auntie always kept my secret and agreed to give him my # if he or his mom ever asked, but they never did. Has two kids - never seen my only grandchildren. Such is life....

Jesus, wikkid. That's gotta be beating on your soul. That you took the time to write about it speaks volumes.  

eta* Not that I'm beating on you; you've just brought it up a bunch recently and it seems to be wearing on you. Best of luck on that front.  

 

[wikkidpissah]

Man, straight to dead - no marry her or else first?

That's a tragic story. And you yada yaddaed the hook up on top of it.

I was 15 when he was conceived - no marriage option. Patty had forcefully taken my cherry stem (i been scared of big-chested girls ever since) in my auntie's basement the year b4 & we diddled around every vacation. bingo -

 

[wikkidpissah]

Jesus, wikkid. That's gotta be beating on your soul. That you took the time to write about it speaks volumes.  

eta* Not that I'm beating on you; you've just brought it up a bunch recently and it seems to be wearing on you. Best of luck on that front.  

well, i'm old and it was the launchpad of my life, so....

but there's another reason. i have another "just biological" son, in part because of the first one. in the last year of her life, my Mary released me to see other women. she even recommended one (a lounge singer we both knew) and that one took me up on it. we saw each other when i wasn't taking care of Mary, but she took a contract to work the lounges of a Vegas casino chain that summer, so.....

this gal calls me up in October, says she's in Reno, wanna have lunch. i was mad at her for the way she left, but i said OK. unbeknownst to either of us, we met while the OJ verdict was being announced, so that was weird. then she kinda ran a scam on me - she told me that, since she was about to turn 40yo, she really wanted to have a kid while she could. since i was brilliant & beautiful and had told her the story of my 'teenage mistake', she knew i could handle the emotional criteria of being an absentee father without being a creep about it, so i was her choice for donor. she was freaky serious about getting me to agree to have nothing to do with the kid and, when i did, i found out why.

i was making jokes about whether i got to contribute my heritage into a jar or the genuine article when this gal asked, "What if it's a fait accompli?" i had knocked her up that summer, you see, and she flipped it on me. hell, i was married to a dying woman whose "illicit' medication needs were wiping me out, had a pretty big drug prob myself and she swore i'd never be down for a penny (she even paid for the lawyers who drew it up). so i went along.

I ended up getting a little involved, because Boomer (his last name was Rang til she got married, so what else am i gonna call him?) was born 9 wks preemie & it was hairy for a while. his mother had moved back to Reno & kinda needed me thru this. My Mary was in hospice by then & i really needed to be connected to some life, so.....

Mary died the next month, which set off my drug & emotional probs bigtime and i just had to leave Reno to kick, but i visited mother & child quite a few times over the early years and, when she moved back to her home state, she had Boomer call me regularly. Then she got married and her husband wouldnt let either of em talk to me. I thought sure Boomer would call me fo sho when he got legal (he's 22 now and the drummer in a metal band), but he never has.

so, yes, my "legacies" trouble me deeply. thx for asking....

 

[Leroy Hoard]

@Leroy Hoard 's take on the "most interesting man in the world" schtick. "I don't always listen to Crue, but when I do, it's Livewire."

Also, I guess I should have applied the  to this one.

My 4 fingers to go with that thumb would be

Looks That Kill

Too Young Too Fall in Love

Kickstart My Heart

Home Sweet Home

 

[rockaction]

well, i'm old and it was the launchpad of my life, so....

so, yes, my "legacies" trouble me deeply. thx for asking....

No sweat -- for the first -- and no #### for the last. Really.  

I love your Mary. You eulogize her well. She's done well by you.  

 

[rockaction]

On With The Show is my favorite MC song, for what it's worth. Frankie died just the other night/Some say it was suicide...

 

[Gr00vus]

I was 15 when he was conceived - no marriage option. Patty had forcefully taken my cherry stem (i been scared of big-chested girls ever since) in my auntie's basement the year b4 & we diddled around every vacation. bingo -

The tragedies just keep multiplying.

These are some pretty big gut punches you've lived through. Don't know how I'd have handled all that stuff, can't blame anyone for handling it however they need to and stay sane (as long as they're not hurting others in the process, which you don't seem to have done).

 

[Gr00vus]

My 4 fingers to go with that thumb would be

Looks That Kill

Too Young Too Fall in Love

Kickstart My Heart

Home Sweet Home

I'd also have accepted 10 Seconds To Love.

 

[wikkidpissah]

(as long as they're not hurting others in the process, which you don't seem to have done).

that was the toughest thing of all. because i am a quick read of people, have a pretty strong vocabulary and am quite competitive, i am surgically and sociopathically brilliant at being cruel in the moment. but i beat myself up so much afterward, i'd suffer almost as much as my victims. the only time the gloves were totally off was my first coupla years playing pro poker high. Deconstructing the personalities of others for fun & profit got that bee out of my bonnet (i tend to exhaust rather than reform my bad habits), finally leaving me with the capacity & restraint to be a good person, which i eventually realized was the best thing to be.

 

[Gr00vus]

that was the toughest thing of all. because i am a quick read of people, have a pretty strong vocabulary and am quite competitive, i am surgically and sociopathically brilliant at being cruel in the moment. but i beat myself up so much afterward, i'd suffer almost as much as my victims. the only time the gloves were totally off was my first coupla years playing pro poker high. Deconstructing the personalities of others for fun & profit got that bee out of my bonnet (i tend to exhaust rather than reform my bad habits), finally leaving me with the capacity & restraint to be a good person, which i eventually realized was the best thing to be.

That's a screenplay you need to write - not necessarily dutifully autobiographical, but a Hunter S. Thompson kind of thing.

I was an ### hole early on in my young adulthood, self defense mechanism. Eventually, as I got older and more comfortable with myself (which took a ton of work), that's kind of left my life. Much better off all around.

 

[wikkidpissah]

That's a screenplay you need to write - not necessarily dutifully autobiographical, but a Hunter S. Thompson kind of thing.

I was an ### hole early on in my young adulthood, self defense mechanism. Eventually, as I got older and more comfortable with myself (which took a ton of work), that's kind of left my life. Much better off all around.

i tried a fictionalized (i called it "the narrative truth") memoir of that time, but it instantly got wrapped up in Scary Mary. i dont think that was a bad thing and i thought my take was brilliant - i tried to write in the language of me high on flake (dense, free associative. frantic ####), wrote several chapters then had a couple of heart attacks and subsequently couldnt get into my coke head without getting chest pains. it's all for the best, though - many people, including several FFAppers, have read it and not one has been anxious to tell me what they think, which is the worst reaction a writer can get.

 

[Gr00vus]

i tried a fictionalized (i called it "the narrative truth") memoir of that time, but it instantly got wrapped up in Scary Mary. i dont think that was a bad thing and i thought my take was brilliant - i tried to write in the language of me high on flake (dense, free associative. frantic ####), wrote several chapters then had a couple of heart attacks and subsequently couldnt get into my coke head without getting chest pains. it's all for the best, though - many people, including several FFAppers, have read it and not one has been anxious to tell me what they think, which is the worst reaction a writer can get.

Were you writing for laughs, pathos, or trying to split the difference?

 

[Gr00vus]

"There's a blue whale beached by a spring tide's ebb..."

28: King Of Pain (Live at Villa Manin, Italy), Sting, 1993

I know you think you've heard this one before, and many times. However, first of all, this isn't the Police, this is another kick ### band that Sting put together for his Ten Summoner's Tales tour in 1993. We met two of the players of this 4 piece back in song 41 - David Sancious (keyboards) and Dominic Miller (guitar). Vinnie Coulliuita replaces Manu Katche on drums. Vinnie is a drummer's drummer. He's won 10 awards as "best drummer overall" in the annual Modern Drummer Magazine readers' polls. He can pretty much do anything on drums you could think of. Yet here on this track he plays it simple, no busyness at all, just a hi-hat flare here and there. It's a lesson for all drummers, play what the song needs, nothing more.

The song begins somewhat familiarly, a slight variation on the original album cut. Sancious gives things a slightly different flavor with his keyboards, and Vinnie plays it a bit straighter than Stewart Copeland did on the original track. As things move along, it's all pretty by the original song book. Miller begins his guitar solo with a faithful rendition of Andy Summers's original track solo. And then he goes absolutely haywire. If you don't listen to the rest of the song, do me and yourself a favor and at least listen to the solo, which begins at about 2:55 in this audio. Don't stop listening until Sting kicks back in with the vocals a couple minutes later. It's probably my favorite live guitar solo I've ever heard. The musicality of it is off the charts, he takes you all kinds of places with it.

I also enjoy the audience interaction with the song as well. If you manage to last through the whole song, you'll be treated to Vinnie laying a smooth as silk closing fill to end the song - just to remind you that he has the all the chops at his disposal should he choose to deploy them. 

If you want to see it performed, I believe it's this clip. It's worth it just to see how effortlessly Miller lays that solo down. It lets you see a bit of Villa Manin, which seems like a great venue to see a show at.

I think this is the only live track I've got in my top 50, which I guess means this is my favorite live track of all time.

 

[wikkidpissah]

Were you writing for laughs, pathos, or trying to split the difference?

You mentioned Hunter Thompson. My own wretched version of that - i'm insane, life's insane, let the comedy & tragedy fall where it may. Bathos, pathos, hippie dippie ethos. Pretty awful, but i'll PM you a couple chapters if you like.

 

[Gr00vus]

You mentioned Hunter Thompson. My own wretched version of that - i'm insane, life's insane, let the comedy & tragedy fall where it may. Bathos, pathos, hippie dippie ethos. Pretty awful, but i'll PM you a couple chapters if you like.

Lay it on me coach.

 

[krista4]

I'm sorry that wikkid's kids don't have him in their lives.  You probably wouldn't have been a great dad at 16, or while mourning your Mary, but you'd be a great dad now.  I hope the 22-year-old in particular comes around and realizes he could use your wisdom and love.

I haven't posted much in this thread because most of the songs aren't my cup of tea, but I wanted you to know how much I've enjoyed reading it all.

 

[shuke]

If you want to see it performed, I believe it's this clip.

Not a huge Sting/Police fan but this is outright awesome.

 

[wikkidpissah]

"There's a blue whale beached by a spring tide's ebb..."

28: King Of Pain (Live at Villa Manin, Italy), Sting, 1993

I know you think you've heard this one before, and many times. However, first of all, this isn't the Police, this is another kick ### band that Sting put together for his Ten Summoner's Tales tour in 1993. We met two of the players of this 4 piece back in song 41 - David Sancious (keyboards) and Dominic Miller (guitar). Vinnie Coulliuita replaces Manu Katche on drums. Vinnie is a drummer's drummer. He's won 10 awards as "best drummer overall" in the annual Modern Drummer Magazine readers' polls. He can pretty much do anything on drums you could think of. Yet here on this track he plays it simple, no busyness at all, just a hi-hat flare here and there. It's a lesson for all drummers, play what the song needs, nothing more.

The song begins somewhat familiarly, a slight variation on the original album cut. Sancious gives things a slightly different flavor with his keyboards, and Vinnie plays it a bit straighter than Stewart Copeland did on the original track. As things move along, it's all pretty by the original song book. Miller begins his guitar solo with a faithful rendition of Andy Summers's original track solo. And then he goes absolutely haywire. If you don't listen to the rest of the song, do me and yourself a favor and at least listen to the solo, which begins at about 2:55 in this audio. Don't stop listening until Sting kicks back in with the vocals a couple minutes later. It's probably my favorite live guitar solo I've ever heard. The musicality of it is off the charts, he takes you all kinds of places with it.

I also enjoy the audience interaction with the song as well. If you manage to last through the whole song, you'll be treated to Vinnie laying a smooth as silk closing fill to end the song - just to remind you that he has the all the chops at his disposal should he choose to deploy them. 

If you want to see it performed, I believe it's this clip. It's worth it just to see how effortlessly Miller lays that solo down. It lets you see a bit of Villa Manin, which seems like a great venue to see a show at.

I think this is the only live track I've got in my top 50, which I guess means this is my favorite live track of all time.

Love Sting. Have loved him since i first saw the video in my "Sting @ the Sockhop" story of him and his Police mates walking up Mulholland strumming palm fronds and singing "Bring on the Night" in that video which preceded MTV, was never on it and i've never been able to find online. Because I thought he needed the contrasting genius/ego of his equals and because he employed the least original musician who ever made a substantial living in Branford Marsalis in his first solo efforts, i've always preferred his Police work to his solo work. Then again, Shape of My Heart would be my walk-up song if it wasn't so mellow and i even liked the lute stuff & tunes from The Last Ship. But that's some STUFF right there in your vid. Sting @ ease, the Euro audience and that solo, maaaan, thassum####. Kinda Steve Vai/Stevens w an Edge edge. Yeah, BoyEEEE!

 

[Gr00vus]

Not a huge Sting/Police fan ...

I predict some off days for you in subsequent countdown entries...

 

[higgins]

28: King Of Pain (Live at Villa Manin, Italy), Sting, 1993

The whole concert is great!