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MAD - Artist - Round 4 - #1's have been posted (3 Viewers)

I don't know, I am getting nervous that I messed it up and have another Feeling That Way/Anytime situation on my hands. ;)

This isn't a Trial By Fire, so feel Happy to Give us your best, whether you feel it's Sweet and Simple or Somethin' To Hide.
Lovin' You Is Easy, but please wait Patiently if I make mistakes. I wasn't Raised on Radio.

ETA: yours was better, I could only think of the one.
 
Marr #2 / Collaboration #1 - The The - "Slow Emotion Replay" (1993)

By process of elimination, I think The The's 1993 record Dusk is the greatest album that Johnny has been associated with in his long career. His solo collections have some fine songs that I've tried to highlight in this countdown but there's also a lot of stuff that just doesn't move me. The albums Marr recorded with Modest Mouse and The Cribs aren't among my favorites by either band. Electronic emulated their dance music influences by being a singles band that didn't seem to care about albums. Which leaves us with The Smiths and The The. Johnny is best known for the former of course but their albums are collections of (great) songs more than cohesive artistic statements. The Queen Is Dead comes closest to being a unified work but the band began falling apart shortly afterwards. The The has always been essentially a solo project of Matt Johnson and his projects seem to be constructed as statements of whatever (mostly dark) thoughts were on his mind at the time. Dusk is a cycle of loss and (sort of) redemption that followed the death of Johnson's younger brother.

Johnny was a full member of The The when Dusk was recorded. His hand and harmonica playing mouth is evident throughout the record but especially on "Slow Emotion Replay". His harmonica leads off the intro, his chugging rhythm guitar propels the verse and his Smiths-like arpeggios sweeten the chorus as Johnson sings "Everybody knows what's going wrong with the world / But I don't even know what's going on in myself". It's a great song that isn't even diminished by its 90s tuned snare backbeat.

 
2. Magic Power
Album: Allied Forces (1981)
Writers: Rik Emmett, Mike Levine and Gil Moore
Lead vocals: Rik Emmett
Chart history: US Hot 100 #51, US Mainstream Rock #8; Canada #14
Video?: Yes
Lyrical category: Inspirational/hockey coach

Alert: This is Track 2 of Allied Forces. Or, for KarmaPolice, "the one that sounds like Journey."

"Magic Power" is one of the greatest songs ever written about the effect that music can have on people. It's also the song that most obviously symbolizes the symbiotic relationship Triumph had with its fans. Those letters that the band read in the "Rock & Roll Machine" documentary from fans who were despondent enough to consider suicide but carried on in part because of the inspiration they drew from Triumph's lyrics? I would bet you that "Magic Power" was the key song for a lot of those people.

Rik Emmett said on Behind the Vinyl that the song was inspired by something he did in childhood: sleep with a transistor radio under his pillow. "It was like my passport to a whole other universe." With the success of "Hold On" and "Lay It on the Line," he was now that person on the radio, and the song is written from that perspective.

"Magic Power" was the second and most successful single from Allied Forces, and Triumph's first song to reach the top 10 on the then-new Mainstream Rock chart (called Top Rock Tracks at the time.) I first came upon it via its video in rotation on MTV in 1982, which was a live track taken from a concert in Baltimore that would sometimes air on the channel in full late at night. I did not hear the studio version until I started listening to the FM rock stations in Philly a year or two later.

Like "Hold On," the song begins with an acoustic-guitar-and-synths passage, though Mike Levine's synths carry more of the melody this time. (Emmett told Behind the Vinyl that "Stairway to Heaven" inspired many songs that started quiet, got loud and ran for more than 3 minutes, and this was one of them.) Emmett's lilting voice on the first verse and proto-chorus draws you right into the song's main message of music's ability to inspire, and represents one of the best vocal performances he ever gave.

Something's at the edge of your mind
You don't know what it is
Something you were hoping to find
But you're not sure what it is
Then you hear the music
And it all comes crystal clear
The music does the talking
Says the things you want to hear

I'm young, I'm wild and I'm free
Got the magic power of the music in me
I'm young, I'm wild and I'm free
Got the magic power of the music in me


At this point, the tempo picks up and Emmett's electric guitar chimes in. As he sings the second verse, it seems like he is having a conversation with his own guitar.

The second verse is the pivotal one because it draws you in to the universe of a fan who is feeling bad about themselves but finds solace in the radio. This must have been how a lot of those letter-writers saw themselves. Tellingly, the fan depicted is a woman -- by the '80s, Triumph's audience was not a sausage-fest like Rush's, thanks to their sound being, as Uruk-Hai put it, a cross between Foreigner and Judas Priest.

This character is "actually me," Emmett said, "but when you change pronouns in a song, it opens up your audience. When we had this as a hit, all of the sudden we had females showing up to the gigs."

She climbs into bed
She pulls the covers overhead
And she turns her little radio on
She's had a rotten day
So she hopes the DJ's
Gonna play her favorite song

Makes her feel much better
Brings her closer to her dreams
A little magic power
Makes it better that it seems


The power chords kick in with the "Makes her feel much better" line and the tempo increases again, while the synths give way to an organ and we get to the Big Chorus:

She's young now, she's wild now, she wants to be free
She gets the magic power of the music from me
She's young now, she's wild now, she wants to be free
She gets the magic power of the music from me


That leads to a ringing transitional passage that wouldn't sound out of place on a Journey or Boston record, and then to Levine's bass playing a countermelody that sets up the bridge, whose lyrics are also pivotal to the song's main message, and which probably led many fans to think "how did you know what was going on in my head?" The music here recalls the dynamics of The Who, which Emmett gives credit to in the Behind the Vinyl interview.

You're thinking it over
But you just can't sort it out
Do you want someone to tell you
What they think it's all about
Are you the one and only
Who's sad and lonely?
You're reaching for the top
Well, the music keeps you going
And it's never gonna stop
It's never gonna stop
It's never gonna, never gonna, never gonna, never gonna stop


The last "stop!" is sung emphatically (Emmett: "that's a high D; at my age I can't sing them anymore") and then Emmett begins his first guitar solo, which is brief and sets up the third verse, whose first two lines bring into the mix a little of the "ordinary person struggling against the world" theme that Emmett employed in other songs.

The world is full of compromise
And infinite red tape
But the music's got the magic
It's your one chance for escape
Turn me on, and turn me up
It's your turn to dream
A little magic power
Makes it better than it seems


The instruments are really cooking now -- this is an incredible car radio song, for those of you looking for something to add to your road trip mixes -- and then we get the next iteration of the Big Chorus:

I'm young now, I'm wild now, I want to be free
Got the magic power of the music in me
I'm young now, I'm wild and I'm free
Got the magic power of the music
I got the music in me


"Magic Power" ends like "Hold On" does, with Emmett soloing his heart out in between the "magic"s and the "power"s, and this passage made for an incredible ending in concert.

I got the power
I got the magic
She's got the power
She's got the magic
She's got the power
She's got the magic
She's got the power
She's got the magic


The song sounds so "easy" but it had a difficult birth. "We loved the song, we just couldn't figure out how to record it properly and make it sound like Triumph," Levine told Behind the Vinyl. They solved their problem when someone (he doesn't remember who) said, "What would The Who do with this?" And that led to some of the elements that made the song work; otherwise "we were prepared to drop it."

"Magic Power" is another song that never left the setlist after it was introduced and has the fourth-most documented live performances after "Rock & Roll Machine," "Lay It on the Line" and my #1. (Weirdly, it was not performed at the 1981 Cleveland show broadcast for the King Biscuit Flower Hour, or was cut from the broadcast.) Often it was the next-to-last Emmett-sung song of the show, with my #1 being last. It even appeared on the Emmett-less Edge of Excess tour, with Rick Santers singing. It was featured at their 2008 reunion shows and, fittingly given its connection to the fanbase, was the last of three songs played at the band's surprise gig at a 2019 fan event, and thus the last song heard in the documentary (before the end credits). It's also been performed consistently by Emmett at his solo shows.

Levine: "In concert, this song was really, really special to play, because we didn't have to do anything. We would start the song, the audience would start singing, and we couldn't hear ourselves play, it was so loud. You would get chills."

In the Worldwide Countdown, Andy Dufresne selected Magic Power at #8.
 
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The video that MTV played, taken from a 1982 concert in Baltimore; this version has a slow "breakdown" at the end as opposed to the studio version's fast coda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19rTrFhC3aE
There was a video with the studio version, but MTV preferred to play the live Baltimore version (I can see why, this one's kind of cheesy; Emmett said they hated the soundstage videos shot for this song, "Allied Forces" and "Say Goodbye"): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRYSbIqz6QM
Live version from Ottawa in 1982: https://youtu.be/O2TLUhfbrm4?t=2579
Live version from the US Festival in 1983: https://open.spotify.com/track/15fcmI2Bx8zEHruqlGpK2W?si=0e9254166de94662
Live version from Dallas in 1983 or 1984: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN-_V6BB7kQ
Live version from Stages: https://open.spotify.com/track/0TH2uG0LTvgOmzmIZFaA0V?si=588c76c6d64347f6
Live version from Montreal in 1985: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--UpdU49wgc&list=PLAOGal7pIOOja5LI2eECigrzKZ_weiy_x&index=2
Live version from Detroit in 1986, broadcast on FM radio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2Z2v9pLUKc
Live version from Halifax in 1987, included on the A Night of Triumph DVD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQNma7xjMGE
Live version from South Padre Island, Texas in 1988: https://youtu.be/kb-40NOXmU8?t=1940
Live version from Milwaukee in 1993, with Rick Santers on lead vocals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KqPDEZvjzs
Live version from Sweden Rock Festival in 2008: https://open.spotify.com/track/3CmWllXXG9YDEqYbM8HSuW?si=cefd3334d13143b1

Rik Emmett discusses "Magic Power" for Behind the Vinyl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK_OfYZ56Vs
Mike Levine discusses "Magic Power" for Behind the Vinyl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnS1MoY-IwU

Merely writing about this song makes me emotional. But there is one I rank even higher, because it was the one that most connected with tween/teen me, and because it's probably the best showcase of all the musical elements Triumph brought to the table. You know what it is if you read my contributions to the Worldwide Countdown thread. But no one reads my posts, so you'll find out in a few days.
 
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2. Magic Power
Album: Allied Forces (1981)
Writers: Rik Emmett, Mike Levine and Gil Moore
Lead vocals: Rik Emmett
Chart history: US Hot 100 #51, US Mainstream Rock #8
Video?: Yes
Lyrical category: Inspirational/hockey coach

Alert: This is Track 2 of Allied Forces. Or, for KarmaPolice, "the one that sounds like Journey."

"Magic Power" is one of the greatest songs ever written about the effect that music can have on people. It's also the song that most obviously symbolizes the symbiotic relationship Triumph had with its fans. Those letters that the band read in the "Rock & Roll Machine" documentary from fans who were despondent enough to consider suicide but carried on in part because of the inspiration they drew from Triumph's lyrics? I would bet you that "Magic Power" was the key song for a lot of those people.

Rik Emmett said on Behind the Vinyl that the song was inspired by something he did in childhood: sleep with a transistor radio under his pillow. "It was like my passport to a whole other universe." With the success of "Hold On" and "Lay It on the Line," he was now that person on the radio, and the song is written from that perspective.

"Magic Power" was the second and most successful single from Allied Forces, and Triumph's first song to reach the top 10 on the then-new Mainstream Rock chart (called Top Rock Tracks at the time.) I first came upon it via its video in rotation on MTV in 1982, which was a live track taken from a concert in Baltimore that would sometimes air on the channel in full late at night. I did not hear the studio version until I started listening to the FM rock stations in Philly a year or two later.

Like "Hold On," the song begins with an acoustic-guitar-and-synths passage, though Mike Levine's synths carry more of the melody this time. (Emmett told Behind the Vinyl that "Stairway to Heaven" inspired many songs that started quiet, got loud and ran for more than 3 minutes, and this was one of them.) Emmett's lilting voice on the first verse and proto-chorus draws you right into the song's main message of music's ability to inspire, and represents one of the best vocal performances he ever gave.

Something's at the edge of your mind
You don't know what it is
Something you were hoping to find
But you're not sure what it is
Then you hear the music
And it all comes crystal clear
The music does the talking
Says the things you want to hear

I'm young, I'm wild and I'm free
Got the magic power of the music in me
I'm young, I'm wild and I'm free
Got the magic power of the music in me


At this point, the tempo picks up and Emmett's electric guitar chimes in. As he sings the second verse, it seems like he is having a conversation with his own guitar.

The second verse is the pivotal one because it draws you in to the universe of a fan who is feeling bad about themselves but finds solace in the radio. This must have been how a lot of those letter-writers saw themselves. Tellingly, the fan depicted is a woman -- by the '80s, Triumph's audience was not a sausage-fest like Rush's, thanks to their sound being, as Uruk-Hai put it, a cross between Foreigner and Judas Priest.

This character is "actually me," Emmett said, "but when you change pronouns in a song, it opens up your audience. When we had this as a hit, all of the sudden we had females showing up to the gigs."

She climbs into bed
She pulls the covers overhead
And she turns her little radio on
She's had a rotten day
So she hopes the DJ's
Gonna play her favorite song

Makes her feel much better
Brings her closer to her dreams
A little magic power
Makes it better that it seems


The power chords kick in with the "Makes her feel much better" line and the tempo increases again, while the synths give way to an organ and we get to the Big Chorus:

She's young now, she's wild now, she wants to be free
She gets the magic power of the music from me
She's young now, she's wild now, she wants to be free
She gets the magic power of the music from me


That leads to a ringing transitional passage that wouldn't sound out of place on a Journey or Boston record, and then to Levine's bass playing a countermelody that sets up the bridge, whose lyrics are also pivotal to the song's main message, and which probably led many fans to think "how did you know what was going on in my head?" The music here recalls the dynamics of The Who, which Emmett gives credit to in the Behind the Vinyl interview.

You're thinking it over
But you just can't sort it out
Do you want someone to tell you
What they think it's all about
Are you the one and only
Who's sad and lonely?
You're reaching for the top
Well, the music keeps you going
And it's never gonna stop
It's never gonna stop
It's never gonna, never gonna, never gonna, never gonna stop


The last "stop!" is sung emphatically (Emmett: "that's a high D; at my age I can't sing them anymore") and then Emmett begins his first guitar solo, which is brief and sets up the third verse, whose first two lines bring into the mix a little of the "ordinary person struggling against the world" theme that Emmett employed in other songs.

The world is full of compromise
And infinite red tape
But the music's got the magic
It's your one chance for escape
Turn me on, and turn me up
It's your turn to dream
A little magic power
Makes it better than it seems


The instruments are really cooking now -- this is an incredible car radio song, for those of you looking for something to add to your road trip mixes -- and then we get the next iteration of the Big Chorus:

I'm young now, I'm wild now, I want to be free
Got the magic power of the music in me
I'm young now, I'm wild and I'm free
Got the magic power of the music
I got the music in me


"Magic Power" ends like "Hold On" does, with Emmett soloing his heart out in between the "magic"s and the "power"s, and this passage made for an incredible ending in concert.

I got the power
I got the magic
She's got the power
She's got the magic
She's got the power
She's got the magic
She's got the power
She's got the magic


The song sounds so "easy" but it had a difficult birth. "We loved the song, we just couldn't figure out how to record it properly and make it sound like Triumph," Levine told Behind the Vinyl. They solved their problem when someone (he doesn't remember who) said, "What would The Who do with this?" And that led to some of the elements that made the song work; otherwise "we were prepared to drop it."

"Magic Power" is another song that never left the setlist after it was introduced and has the fourth-most documented live performances after "Rock & Roll Machine," "Lay It on the Line" and my #1. (Weirdly, it was not performed at the 1981 Cleveland show broadcast for the King Biscuit Flower Hour, or was cut from the broadcast.) Often it was the next-to-last Emmett-sung song of the show, with my #1 being last. It even appeared on the Emmett-less Edge of Excess tour, with Rick Santers singing. It was featured at their 2008 reunion shows and, fittingly given its connection to the fanbase, was the last of three songs played at the band's surprise gig at a 2019 fan event, and thus the last song heard in the documentary (before the end credits). It's also been performed consistently by Emmett at his solo shows.

Levine: "In concert, this song was really, really special to play, because we didn't have to do anything. We would start the song, the audience would start singing, and we couldn't hear ourselves play, it was so loud. You would get chills."

In the Worldwide Countdown, Andy Dufresne selected Magic Power at #8.
Funny - I never knew the name of this song. I always assumed it was something like Young, Wild, and Free.
 
2.
Strange Currencies-R.E.M.
From Monster (1994)


Automatic for the people is, in my opinion, R.E.M. best album, but Monster is my favorite… and my favorite song off monster is “Strange Currencies.”
Ironically, of all the songs on Monster, Strange Currencies sounds like it could have been on AFTP. A song about unrequited love, this song came out at the same time as the end of my first real relationship. I guess, because of that, this one always stuck with me. It just reflects a wonderful mix of hopelessness and desire. Anyway, this song is just perfection in 4 minutes. perfect in every aspect.
 
For those following along, this week’s Deep Dive is keeping with the Avian theme, with the unfortunately not from Kansas, Jayhawks. Nowhere near as big as the eagles, sadly they seem to be underrated.

From Minnesota with a country rock sound, they had influence on Uncle Tupelo, among others.

Admittedly, I first listened to this band only for their name as I erroneously assumed they were from the third greatest place in the US. (Lawrence, KS) over the years I’ve liked a lot of their stuff but haven’t gotten deep yet.

It’s tempting to use them for a future countdown.
Moving on from birds to locations with an obvious pivot point.
To a rock band formed in Topeka, KS in 1973. I’ll always remember playing a few of their songs in marching band.
With 16 albums, it might be a challenge to get through the works of Kansas. But I’ll carry on.
 
2.
Strange Currencies-R.E.M.
From Monster (1994)


Automatic for the people is, in my opinion, R.E.M. best album, but Monster is my favorite… and my favorite song off monster is “Strange Currencies.”
Ironically, of all the songs on Monster, Strange Currencies sounds like it could have been on AFTP. A song about unrequited love, this song came out at the same time as the end of my first real relationship. I guess, because of that, this one always stuck with me. It just reflects a wonderful mix of hopelessness and desire. Anyway, this song is just perfection in 4 minutes. perfect in every aspect.
I had always liked this one but it really shot up my list after hearing it surface on The Bear. I had forgotten just how good it was.
 
Candlebox #3
Song: Sometimes
Album: Happy Pills (1998)


(Youtube Version) Sometimes
(Live version ) Candlebox - Sometimes (Live - Seattle)

In time I'll decide, in time I'll decide to move on
Change directions, watch the tides
And we borrow too much
And form restrictions, we form lines
And we separate you from me
But sometimes
Sometimes we carry more weight than we own



This album had 3 songs released as singles (and all three showed up as on the playlist), but “Sometimes” wasn’t one of them. That’s obviously both a disappointment and a surprise to me. It’s a soft and slow song at heart, sentimental and thoughtful. There are some acoustic versions of it, and a number of the live versions have just Kevin Martin playing guitar and singing to start out, with the rest of the band eventually joining in.

Mostly, this is a song that sticks with me, that hits me in the heart. It’s more about a relationship being fractured apart, but sentiments of it feel true in many parts of my life. Perhaps especially the chorus highlighted above. Obstacles, troubles, limitations, rules. Things can that push us a bit apart, whether or not they mean to. And certainly the feeling of carrying “more weight than we own”. But yeah, mostly I just listen and sing along and love this song. Sometimes (ha?) the Candlebox song I want to hear the most.


Next on the countdown, now maybe putting this at #1 is too cliche’. But I did it anyway.
 
Thoughts on the #3s from artists I know well:

Yes -- "And You And I" is a gorgeous epic and the best of three outstanding songs on Close to the Edge. It was the best performance of my first Yes show in 1987.

Tweedy/Wilco -- "California Stars" is one of the best tracks on Mermaid Ave. and a great example of how Woody Guthrie's lyrics are timeless.

My Morning Jacket -- "One Big Holiday" is their signature song (it is usually their show closer and they named their annual festival after it), the third guitar epic from It Still Moves that I mentioned earlier, and my #1 from them. My first MMJ show was in May 2003, a few months before It Still Moves came out, and when they went into this, I was all :eek: . I still get like that all these years later.

P-Funk -- "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" is the archetypical P-Funk song as good as any example of what makes them special. My wife, who knows almost nothing about funk music, had heard of this song before I met her because George and co. performed it in the movie PCU. It was also the opener of their Lollapalooza 1994 set that I saw in Philly and it blew my face off.

Bee Gees -- "Nights on Broadway" is one of their gems and an exquisitely constructed song. Again, name a better opening trio than Nights On Broadway-Jive Talkin'-Wind of Change -- it's really hard.

Thoughts on the #2s from artists I know well:

Yes -- I picked Yours Is No Disgrace in my 1971 countdown (favorite songs from that year that were not on Tim and Bracie's lists). What I said there:

2. Yours Is No Disgrace -- Yes (from The Yes Album)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fUudna1Xuw

With Steve Howe taking over on guitar, Yes made a huge jump in quality -- and popularity -- on their third record, The Yes Album. The new lineup spent months writing and rehearsing in mid-1970, and the new material bore many fruits from those efforts. Most impressive was the nearly 10-minute opener, which not only contains some extraordinary and fluid guitar work from Howe and some of Chris Squire's most melodic bass playing, but also, in contrast to how the band is stereotyped, took on current events in the lyrics. This is an antiwar anthem, and a powerful one, telling the soldiers that they had no choice but to fight and they weren't to blame for the situation.

The structure of the song is far more complex than what the band had attempted on its first two albums, and consisted of several sections that were developed separately in rehearsals and then stitched together -- but the flow and consistency of the song doesn't make that obvious. It heralded a very high level of composition and performance that the band would achieve in the next 2 years, which remains unmatched by most artists, and which would make them one of the top acts of the decade, even when some of their post-1972 albums fell flat.

I saw Yes in 1987 and 1991 and this was performed both times. At the 1991 show, which featured an 8-piece version of the band (Squire, singer Jon Anderson, guitarists Howe and Trevor Rabin, keyboardists Rick Wakeman and Tony Kaye, and drummers Bill Bruford and Alan White), they opened with a spectacular 20-minute version of this.

Tweedy/Wilco -- "Jesus, Etc." is one of the songs that rotates as my #1 Wilco. It was written before 9/11 but I've always associated it with that, because it tapped into what my friends from the NYC music scene and I were feeling in 2002. These are some of Tweedy's very best lyrics and melodies, and the performance is exquisite, both in the studio and in concert.

My Morning Jacket -- "Mahgeetah" was the perfect bridge between At Dawn and It Still Moves. It's plaintive and breathy like the former but rocks out like the latter. The band works it into a frenzy in concert, usually saving it for late in the set or the encore.

P-Funk -- "Bootzilla" is nutso, in the best P-Funk way. But he still gets down just for the funk of it.

Bee Gees -- "More Than a Woman" is a compelling listen, whether its the Bee Gees' version or Tavares'. Strip it of its disco touches and it's still a great soul song.
 
Listened to the #2 playlist. Other than my own song:
  • Favorites already known to me:
    • Triumph - Magic Power
    • Our Lady Peace - Superman's Dead
    • Eurythmics - Would I Lie to You?
    • Radiohead - No Surprises
  • Favorites new to me:
    • Walkmen - We Can't Be Beat
    • Built to Spill - Carry the Zero
    • The The - Slow Emotion Replay
    • The Pretty Reckless - Blame Me
    • Lindsey Stirling - Masquerade
    • Robyn - Show Me Love
This is my favorite playlist so far. I listened to it at least 5 times to figure out the songs I wanted to highlight. Great way to set the stage for the #1 round.
 
1's PLAYLIST

What is the name of your artist?What is your FBG Screen Name?#1 -
The WalkmenScoresmanThe Rat
The Clashkupcho1London Calling
Ryan StarYambagYou and Me
YesYo MamaRoundabout
Built To SpillThe Dreaded MarcoCar
Johnny MarrEephusJohnny Marr--There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (Live)
The Pretty Reckless Raging Weasel 25
Jeff TweedyDr. OctopusI’m the Man Who Loves You
JourneyKarmaPoliceStone In Love
Lindsey Stirling-oz-Roundtable rival
TriumphPip's InvitationFight the Good Fight
Our Lady PeaceMACStarseed
Mötley CrüeJWBLooks That Kill
https://open.spotify.com/track/1Cznl5CD5aaEYMfJq1l9Hd
The Airborne Toxic EventZegras11Sometime Around Midnight
Annie LennoxMrs. RannousSweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
Whitney HoustonCharlie SteinerI Didn't Know My Own Strength
My Morning Jacketlandrys hatPhone Went West (Live Vol 3 Bonnaroo)

RobynJohn Maddens LunchboxDancing on My Own
Tim MaiaDon QuixoteGostava Tanto de Você
https://open.spotify.com/track/6eDMElxeeKXs4DHTb0dGP0?si=IXTgXKZkRoieTWHS2Pczng
Parliament FunkadelicUruk-HaiOne Nation Under A Groove
One Nation Under A Groove - Funkadelic (1978) (youtube.com)
Lord HuronKarmaPoliceMeet Me In the Woods
R.E.M.TuffnuttLosing My Religion

RadioheadTitusbrambleStreet Spirit (Fade Out)
CandleboxMt.ManFar Behind
Eddie VedderTau837Black
The Bee GeeszamboniHow Deep Is Your Love
Fred EaglesmithMister CIAWilder Than Her
Ringo Starrkrista4Walk With You
Big Room/Deep Big RoomzazaleThe Underground
 
My recording of Sometime Around Midnight two months ago at Boise Knitting Factory


And it starts sometime around midnight
Or at least that's when you lose yourself for a minute or two
As you stand under the bar lights
And the band plays some song
About forgetting yourself for a while
And the piano's this melancholy soundcheck to her smile
And that white dress she's wearing
You haven't seen her for a while
But you know that she's watching
She's laughing, she's turning
She's holding her tonic like a crux
The room's suddenly spinning
She walks up and asks how you are
So you can smell her perfume
You can see her lying naked in your arms
And so there's a change in your emotions
And all of these memories come rushing
Like feral waves to your mind
Of the curl of your bodies
Like two perfect circles entwined
And you feel hopeless, and homeless
And lost in the haze of the wine
Then she leaves with someone you don't know
But she makes sure you saw her
She looks right at you and bolts
As she walks out the door
Your blood boiling, your stomach in ropes
Oh, and your friends say, "What is it?
You look like you've seen a ghost"
Then you walk under the streetlights
And you're too drunk to notice
That everyone is staring at you
You just don't care what you look like
The world is falling 'round you
You just have to see her
You just have to see her
You just have to see her
You just have to see her
You just have to see her

You know that she'll break you in two
 
The Airborne Toxic EventZegras11Sometime Around Midnight
The Airborne Toxic EventZegras11Gasoline
All I Ever Wanted
Wishing Well
Does This Mean You're Moving On
Hell and Back
Changing
Faithless
Hollywood Park
I Don't Want to Be Here Anymore
All at Once
Happiness Is Overrated
Something You Lost
Welcome To Your Wedding Day
Missy
Papillon
California
Come On Out
https://open.spotify.com/track/5NUwYC6py4ebKmBb1bGj4a?si=0e39910cf7a14780
Change and Change and Change and Change
Half Of Something Else
The Winning Side
The Losing
Poor Isaac
Time To Be A Man
Bride and Groom
Glory
Hole In My Heart
Numb
Strange Girl
It Doesn't Mean A Thing
The Walk
 
The Airborne Toxic EventZegras11Sometime Around Midnight
The Airborne Toxic EventZegras11Gasoline
All I Ever Wanted
Wishing Well
Does This Mean You're Moving On
Hell and Back
Changing
Faithless
Hollywood Park
I Don't Want to Be Here Anymore
All at Once
Happiness Is Overrated
Something You Lost
Welcome To Your Wedding Day
Missy
Papillon
California
Come On Out
https://open.spotify.com/track/5NUwYC6py4ebKmBb1bGj4a?si=0e39910cf7a14780
Change and Change and Change and Change
Half Of Something Else
The Winning Side
The Losing
Poor Isaac
Time To Be A Man
Bride and Groom
Glory
Hole In My Heart
Numb
Strange Girl
It Doesn't Mean A Thing
The Walk

It it currently sometime around midnight here. Life imitates art.
 
#1 Funkadelic - "One Nation Under A Groove"

Feet don't fail me now

I guess George Clinton got fed up with AOR radio stations not playing Funkadelic records, so he slid this slinky dance song out and it smashed.

The percussion in it is like nothing I've ever heard. The beat's not on the one and it's not really on the three - it's just there, kind of floating around. Voices are dipping in and out. This record has cocaine written all over it.

Fun fact: I dated a woman who, when this song came around the playlist, asked "Is this Michael Jackson?".
 
Round 1 - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - The Eurythmics

The one that started it all. From their second album of the same name.

It was the 80's. I was at a party, and one of my friends wanted me to hear this new song by some group I'd never heard of. She called the radio station to request it. We talked while we listened and hoped it would come on. Thank you K101. (Anything but soft, relaxing favorites.) I miss that station.
 
Lindsey Stirling-oz-Roundtable rival

From her second album, shatter me, this is the song that drew my attention and made me a fan. It helped that the title song with Lzzy Hale is on the same album. There’s not a whole lot more i need to say, but check Lindsey’s Behind the scenes video and the YouTube music video if you’re interested. It’s a but cheesy but I love it.

The video - The art, the set, the storyline, the “fighting”
 
1. Fight the Good Fight
Album: Allied Forces (1981)
Writers: Rik Emmett, Mike Levine and Gil Moore
Lead vocals: Rik Emmett
Chart history: US Mainstream Rock #18
Video?: Yes
Lyrical category: Inspirational/hockey coach

"Fight the Good Fight," my #1 Triumph song, pretty much encapsulates everything about them that was great: memorable riffs, guitar pyrotechnics, shifting dynamics, interesting rhythms, dazzling guitar solos, impressive singing and rocking the hell out. The band itself may have considered it their signature song, as it was the final encore at almost every concert they played from 1983 onward.

"Fight the Good Fight" was never released as a single (probably due to its length of 6 and a half minutes) and did not have a video made for its studio version, but still managed to hit the top 20 on the Mainstream Rock chart thanks to plenty of FM radio airplay, and to be in rotation in the early years of MTV thanks to the network's decision to frequently feature a live version from a 1982 concert in Baltimore. This was where I first came across the song and I was hooked instantly.

"It was a great concert song," Mike Levine said on Behind the Vinyl (he devoted some of his "Magic Power" segment to this song). "And it was a great album radio song. It was very cool to have both those songs cooking all the time on the radio. We used that as the encore for forever. Fun to play, lots of great pyro in it. We had what was called the 24-bomb salute. We had this big truss custom made right at the front of the stage. At one point in the song, 24 flashpots would go off. It all happened within 5 seconds, there would be clouds of smoke. We had a great, great concert experience. You came to see Triumph, you went home with a smile on your face and you were sweating like a pig."

Like a lot of the top-tier Rik Emmett-sung songs, "Fight the Good Fight" starts with an acoustic guitar-and-synth passage, but unlike with "Magic Power" and "Hold On," that gives way to power chords, bass and drums before the vocals come in. Those power chords form one of the most memorable riffs the band ever came up with, and they are juxtaposed with some nimble work from Levine and Gil Moore that could pass for Jones and Bonham.

Each verse comes with two parts, the first played over the previously introduced power chords, bass and drums and the second featuring a shift into a bass-driven melody, the return of the synth, and a higher-register vocal from Emmett.

The days grow shorter and the nights are getting long
Feels like we're running out of time
Every day it seems much harder tellin' right from wrong
You got to read between the lines

Don't get discouraged, don't be afraid, we can
Make it through another day
Make it worth the price we pay


The lyrics are as "inspirational/hockey coach" as it gets, and drive home one of the band's central themes, keeping positive in the face of adversity. The second verse, which follows the same structure as the first, has religious imagery, which has prompted much discussion over the years.

The Good Book says it's better to give than to receive
I do my best to do my part
Nothin' in my pockets I got nothin' up my sleeve
I keep my magic in my heart

Keep up your spirit, keep up your faith, baby
I am counting on you
You know what you've got to do


“My mom was a very religious person,” Emmett told Louder in 2024. “I was steeped in Christianity until I was about twelve, then I thought: ‘Wait a sec. I’m not buying into this idea of the Resurrection and an afterlife – I don’t want to be a hypocrite.’ When I opted out, it caused a big fall-out with my mom. I was her golden boy, singing first soprano in the church choir. My aunt Joan was actually dying of cancer when I wrote that song, and we talked about St. Paul saying to The Corinthians you gotta fight the good fight. But my take on that was that it needn’t necessarily be a religious thing. These days I’m a secular humanist, but I still believe the human spirit is a very powerful thing. Question is, are we going to use it like Putin uses it, or are we gonna use it like, say, Nelson Mandela used it?”

"My aunt was dying of cancer. What can you tell someone who is facing the last challenge of this life? Or - what will you tell yourself?" Emmett told Songfacts in 2021. "If you're in a rock band called Triumph, what message can you share with the people listening to a song on the radio, or standing on their chairs, out in an arena? Everyone gets to decide what their own 'good' fight will be, but everyone should be encouraged to discover it, and do it. In this, St. Paul was on the mark. It's about resilience. It's about persistence. It's about finding a calling when things get bleak."

Despite not being aimed at AM radio, this song has a Big Chorus, the difference from the band's singles being that it has loud power chords played over it.

Fight the good fight every moment
Every minute every day
Fight the good fight every moment
It's your only way


As we transition from the first chorus to the bridge, the tempo slows down and the acoustic guitar returns, and Levine's bass appears to start a conversation with Emmett's vocal, which sings what may be the band's most yearbook-quote-worthy lines:

All your life you've been waiting for your chance
Where you'll fit into the plan
But you're the master of your own destiny
So give and take the best that you can


That last word, "can," is sustained for a few seconds and leads in to the return of the power chords, out of which we get Emmett's guitar solo, one of his most lyrical ones that reaches crescendo after crescendo. The block from "can" to the end of the guitar solo may be my favorite musical passage in the entire Triumph catalog, and was extraordinarily exhilarating to witness in concert.

The power chords return to take us into the third verse, which ups the intensity of the vocal and touches on a theme we know from "Stairway to Heaven," which clearly was an inspiration for this song:

You think a little more money will buy your soul some rest
You'd better think of something else instead
You're so afraid of being honest with yourself
You'd better take a look inside your head

Nothing is easy, nothing good is free
But I can tell you where to start
Take a look inside your heart
There's an answer in your heart


We then get a second go at the Big Chorus and an extra bit after it that sets up the coda:

Fight the good fight every moment
Every minute every day
Fight the good fight every moment
Make it worth the price we pay

Every moment of your lifetime
Every minute every day
Fight the good fight every moment
Make it worth the price we pay


After the sustained "pay" we get an even more sustained "yeaaaaaah" and three guitar tracks going at once, one of which rips off a solo of great range. This is probably where the smoke bombs happened in concert. The studio version fades out here, but live, there was usually some sort of grand climax, since it was the last song of the night.

"Fight the Good Fight" has the third-most documented live performances of any Triumph song, and appeared in the middle of the set on the Allied Forces tour before taking up its position as show closer starting with the Never Surrender tour; it even had that honor when sung by Rick Santers on the Edge of Excess tour. It was a spectacular closer to the first concert I went to without my parents, a moment I will always remember.

"Fight the Good Fight" was the most popular Triumph song in the Worldwide Countdown. Zamboni took it at #6, Doug B took it at #11, Val Rannous took it at #16 and I took it at #18. While "Lay It on the Line" dominates with the younger crowd, "Fight the Good Fight" seems to be the favorite of middle-aged dummies everywhere.

Video that MTV played (live version taken from a 1982 concert in Baltimore): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLHadAOjdeo
Live version from Cleveland in 1981, aired on the King Biscuit Flower Hour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw_ciG9-WC8
Live version from the US Festival in 1983: https://open.spotify.com/track/703pPJzcmL6vxBygasqXfz?si=861cb50fe88646ed
Live version from Stages: https://open.spotify.com/track/5FBhy79C8cGZwRKBUs2qpa?si=2a165da38af744b8
Live version from Montreal in 1985: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW8bVjdBvGA
Live version from Detroit in 1986, aired on FM radio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2EigxSv5Q8
Live version from Halifax in 1987 (included on the A Night of Triumph DVD): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-lGhKrypb0
Live version from Sweden Rock Festival in 2008: https://open.spotify.com/track/11nLZRIz7f41crmSrPZ6qL?si=c7cedbdd1766478d

Thank you all for following me on my journey as I revisited my tween/teen years.
 
1. I Didn't Know My Own Strength (I Look to You, 2009)

Another song that sounds like Whitney could have written it about herself, I Didn't Know My Own Strength was written by Diane Warren, a modern-day Carole King with a more than impressive list of hits recorded by other artists across multiple genres starting in the 80's and continuing through to today.

To me, this is similar in tone to A Song for You, in that it reflects back on an eventful life and while not a confession, it feels cathartic and even like an appropriate final message to us.



On February 11, 2012, Whitney was found unconscious in her bathtub at the Beverly Hilton. Paramedics were called, they were unable to revive her and pronounced her dead at the scene. The cause of death was officially stated as drowning and the effects of coronary heart disease and cocaine use. Additional drugs were found in her system as well but were not listed as contributing factors. I know there are folks close to her that believe foul play was involved, but I think given her lifelong delicate build, the hard living she endured away from the public eye simply caught up with her. I have refrained from delving into this side of her life in order keep the focus on her voice and output, plus since I didn't pay close attention to her personal life at the time, I don't feel 'qualified' to get into it here. I will say, though, that going into this endeavor, I held strong negative feelings towards Bobby Brown, feeling that he was the one who introduced all the bad elements into her life. Through my research of Whitney's catalog and life, I have let go of those feelings, as I see him as a tragic figure in this as well, maybe more so, even though he's still alive, because unlike Whitney, Bobby had no one keeping bad influences away early in his career, he was allowed to indulge in drugs and alcohol at far too young an age, and his addictions were never denied him. Regardless, Whitney's life away from the public eye was complicated and tragic, and she was taken from us far too early.

I feel like there's more to say but I can't find the words, so I'm going to borrow and rework part of Clive Davis' comments at the pre-Grammy party just two days after her death:

Whitney was a beautiful person and a talent beyond compare. She graced the stage with her regal presence and gave so many memorable performances over the years.


22 American Music Awards
16 Billboard Music Awards
15 Billboard Year-End Awards
2 BRIT Awards
55 Cash Box Year-End Awards
2 Dove Awards
2 Primetime Emmy Awards
8 Grammy Awards
2 Grammy Hall of Fame entries
19 NAACP Image Awards
6 People's Choice Awards
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Member
9 Soul Train Music Awards
14 World Music Awards
31 Guinness World Records
 
1. Fight the Good Fight
Album: Allied Forces (1981)
Writers: Rik Emmett, Mike Levine and Gil Moore
Lead vocals: Rik Emmett
Chart history: US Mainstream Rock #18
Video?: Yes
Lyrical category: Inspirational/hockey coach

"Fight the Good Fight," my #1 Triumph song, pretty much encapsulates everything about them that was great: memorable riffs, guitar pyrotechnics, shifting dynamics, interesting rhythms, dazzling guitar solos, impressive singing and rocking the hell out. The band itself may have considered it their signature song, as it was the final encore at almost every concert they played from 1983 onward.

"Fight the Good Fight" was never released as a single (probably due to its length of 6 and a half minutes) and did not have a video made for its studio version, but still managed to hit the top 20 on the Mainstream Rock chart thanks to plenty of FM radio airplay, and to be in rotation in the early years of MTV thanks to the network's decision to frequently feature a live version from a 1982 concert in Baltimore. This was where I first came across the song and I was hooked instantly.

"It was a great concert song," Mike Levine said on Behind the Vinyl (he devoted some of his "Magic Power" segment to this song). "And it was a great album radio song. It was very cool to have both those songs cooking all the time on the radio. We used that as the encore for forever. Fun to play, lots of great pyro in it. We had what was called the 24-bomb salute. We had this big truss custom made right at the front of the stage. At one point in the song, 24 flashpots would go off. It all happened within 5 seconds, there would be clouds of smoke. We had a great, great concert experience. You came to see Triumph, you went home with a smile on your face and you were sweating like a pig."

Like a lot of the top-tier Rik Emmett-sung songs, "Fight the Good Fight" starts with an acoustic guitar-and-synth passage, but unlike with "Magic Power" and "Hold On," that gives way to power chords, bass and drums before the vocals come in. Those power chords form one of the most memorable riffs the band ever came up with, and they are juxtaposed with some nimble work from Levine and Gil Moore that could pass for Jones and Bonham.

Each verse comes with two parts, the first played over the previously introduced power chords, bass and drums and the second featuring a shift into a bass-driven melody, the return of the synth, and a higher-register vocal from Emmett.

The days grow shorter and the nights are getting long
Feels like we're running out of time
Every day it seems much harder tellin' right from wrong
You got to read between the lines

Don't get discouraged, don't be afraid, we can
Make it through another day
Make it worth the price we pay


The lyrics are as "inspirational/hockey coach" as it gets, and drive home one of the band's central themes, keeping positive in the face of adversity. The second verse, which follows the same structure as the first, has religious imagery, which has prompted much discussion over the years.

The Good Book says it's better to give than to receive
I do my best to do my part
Nothin' in my pockets I got nothin' up my sleeve
I keep my magic in my heart

Keep up your spirit, keep up your faith, baby
I am counting on you
You know what you've got to do


“My mom was a very religious person,” Emmett told Louder in 2024. “I was steeped in Christianity until I was about twelve, then I thought: ‘Wait a sec. I’m not buying into this idea of the Resurrection and an afterlife – I don’t want to be a hypocrite.’ When I opted out, it caused a big fall-out with my mom. I was her golden boy, singing first soprano in the church choir. My aunt Joan was actually dying of cancer when I wrote that song, and we talked about St. Paul saying to The Corinthians you gotta fight the good fight. But my take on that was that it needn’t necessarily be a religious thing. These days I’m a secular humanist, but I still believe the human spirit is a very powerful thing. Question is, are we going to use it like Putin uses it, or are we gonna use it like, say, Nelson Mandela used it?”

"My aunt was dying of cancer. What can you tell someone who is facing the last challenge of this life? Or - what will you tell yourself?" Emmett told Songfacts in 2021. "If you're in a rock band called Triumph, what message can you share with the people listening to a song on the radio, or standing on their chairs, out in an arena? Everyone gets to decide what their own 'good' fight will be, but everyone should be encouraged to discover it, and do it. In this, St. Paul was on the mark. It's about resilience. It's about persistence. It's about finding a calling when things get bleak."

Despite not being aimed at AM radio, this song has a Big Chorus, the difference from the band's singles being that it has loud power chords played over it.

Fight the good fight every moment
Every minute every day
Fight the good fight every moment
It's your only way


As we transition from the first chorus to the bridge, the tempo slows down and the acoustic guitar returns, and Levine's bass appears to start a conversation with Emmett's vocal, which sings what may be the band's most yearbook-quote-worthy lines:

All your life you've been waiting for your chance
Where you'll fit into the plan
But you're the master of your own destiny
So give and take the best that you can


That last word, "can," is sustained for a few seconds and leads in to the return of the power chords, out of which we get Emmett's guitar solo, one of his most lyrical ones that reaches crescendo after crescendo. The block from "can" to the end of the guitar solo may be my favorite musical passage in the entire Triumph catalog, and was extraordinarily exhilarating to witness in concert.

The power chords return to take us into the third verse, which ups the intensity of the vocal and touches on a theme we know from "Stairway to Heaven," which clearly was an inspiration for this song:

You think a little more money will buy your soul some rest
You'd better think of something else instead
You're so afraid of being honest with yourself
You'd better take a look inside your head

Nothing is easy, nothing good is free
But I can tell you where to start
Take a look inside your heart
There's an answer in your heart


We then get a second go at the Big Chorus and an extra bit after it that sets up the coda:

Fight the good fight every moment
Every minute every day
Fight the good fight every moment
Make it worth the price we pay

Every moment of your lifetime
Every minute every day
Fight the good fight every moment
Make it worth the price we pay


After the sustained "pay" we get an even more sustained "yeaaaaaah" and three guitar tracks going at once, one of which rips off a solo of great range. This is probably where the smoke bombs happened in concert. The studio version fades out here, but live, there was usually some sort of grand climax, since it was the last song of the night.

"Fight the Good Fight" has the third-most documented live performances of any Triumph song, and appeared in the middle of the set on the Allied Forces tour before taking up its position as show closer starting with the Never Surrender tour; it even had that honor when sung by Rick Santers on the Edge of Excess tour. It was a spectacular closer to the first concert I went to without my parents, a moment I will always remember.

"Fight the Good Fight" was the most popular Triumph song in the Worldwide Countdown. Zamboni took it at #6, Doug B took it at #11, Val Rannous took it at #16 and I took it at #18. While "Lay It on the Line" dominates with the younger crowd, "Fight the Good Fight" seems to be the favorite of middle-aged dummies everywhere.

Video that MTV played (live version taken from a 1982 concert in Baltimore): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLHadAOjdeo
Live version from Cleveland in 1981, aired on the King Biscuit Flower Hour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw_ciG9-WC8
Live version from the US Festival in 1983: https://open.spotify.com/track/703pPJzcmL6vxBygasqXfz?si=861cb50fe88646ed
Live version from Stages: https://open.spotify.com/track/5FBhy79C8cGZwRKBUs2qpa?si=2a165da38af744b8
Live version from Montreal in 1985: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW8bVjdBvGA
Live version from Detroit in 1986, aired on FM radio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2EigxSv5Q8
Live version from Halifax in 1987 (included on the A Night of Triumph DVD): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-lGhKrypb0
Live version from Sweden Rock Festival in 2008: https://open.spotify.com/track/11nLZRIz7f41crmSrPZ6qL?si=c7cedbdd1766478d

Thank you all for following me on my journey as I revisited my tween/teen years.
Excellent choice, obviously. I don't even recall what I picked over this one in that countdown, but they had to be killer songs because this one is so damn good.
 
The Bee GeeszamboniHow Deep Is Your Love
It wasn’t easy coming up with my #1 song for the Bee Gees. But after seeing The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart documentary (again, highly recommended if you haven't seen it) a few months ago, it became clear that “How Deep Is Your Love” had to be it.

As keyboardist Blue Weaver emotionally describes it here, the song first came about when Blue was at the Le Château d'Hérouville, where as mentioned at #2, "More Than A Woman" was also recorded. Producer Robert Stigwood asked Barry to write the best love song he could for the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The great composer Chopin had once stayed at the chateau and Blue started noodling around with Chopin's Prelude in E Minor, based on a chord Blue knew resonated with Barry's voice. From that demo, Blue and the boys brought it to their studios in Miami, added the elegant dynamic electric piano along with the brother's harmonies, and the rest is history. A slice of near pop perfection, in my opinion, and one of the most beautiful love songs ever written. It's also fitting that the song plays over the ending of the movie:


I hope you enjoyed the up-and-down, diverse career arc of this long underappreciated band (thanks @simey for the earlier shout out). For me, it's penance for young zamboni despising them when growing up in the 1970s as a card-carrying member of the Kiss Army. Fortunately, my musical tastes expanded and appreciated different kinds of music, and the Bee Gees are right near the top of the list I've come to truly respect.

And echoed thanks to @Zegras11 and others that helped guide another great MAD countdown
 
Last edited:
1.


Song: I’m The Man Who Loves You
Artist: Wilco
Album: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Year: 2003


All I can see is black and white
And white and pink with blades of blue
That lay between the words I think
On a page I was meaning to send her
You I couldn't tell if it bring my heart
The way I wanted when I started
Writing this letter to you

… If I could you know I would
Just hold your hand and you'd understand
I'm the man who loves you


If I was King of the World, this is what “pop” music would sound like.
 
The Bee GeeszamboniHow Deep Is Your Love
It wasn’t easy coming up with my #1 song for the Bee Gees. But after seeing The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart documentary (again, highly recommended if you haven't seen it) a few months ago, it became clear that “How Deep Is Your Love” had to be it.

As keyboardist Blue Weaver emotionally describes it here, the song first came about when Blue was at the Le Château d'Hérouville, where as mentioned at #2, "More Than A Woman" was also recorded. Producer Robert Stigwood asked Barry to write the best love song he could for the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The great composer Chopin had once stayed at the chateau and Blue started noodling around with Chopin's Prelude in E Minor, based on a chord Blue knew resonated with Barry's voice. From that demo, Blue and the boys brought it to their studios in Miami, added the elegant dynamic electric piano along with the brother's harmonies, and the rest is history. A slice of near pop perfection, in my opinion, and one of the most beautiful love songs ever written. It's also fitting that the song plays over the ending of the movie:


I hope you enjoyed the up-and-down, diverse career arc of this long underappreciated band (thanks @simey for the earlier shout out). For me, it's penance for young zamboni despising them when growing up in the 1970s as a card-carrying member of the Kiss Army. Fortunately, my musical tastes expanded and appreciated different kinds of music, and the Bee Gees are right near the top of the list I've come to truly respect.

And echoed thanks to @Zegras11 and others that helped guide another great MAD countdown
You ran a really tricky gauntlet, zam. I honestly thought you were gonna load up your Top 10 with obscure '60s outtakes :lol:

Bravo, my friend.
 
The Bee GeeszamboniHow Deep Is Your Love
It wasn’t easy coming up with my #1 song for the Bee Gees. But after seeing The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart documentary (again, highly recommended if you haven't seen it) a few months ago, it became clear that “How Deep Is Your Love” had to be it.

As keyboardist Blue Weaver emotionally describes it here, the song first came about when Blue was at the Le Château d'Hérouville, where as mentioned at #2, "More Than A Woman" was also recorded. Producer Robert Stigwood asked Barry to write the best love song he could for the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The great composer Chopin had once stayed at the chateau and Blue started noodling around with Chopin's Prelude in E Minor, based on a chord Blue knew resonated with Barry's voice. From that demo, Blue and the boys brought it to their studios in Miami, added the elegant dynamic electric piano along with the brother's harmonies, and the rest is history. A slice of near pop perfection, in my opinion, and one of the most beautiful love songs ever written. It's also fitting that the song plays over the ending of the movie:


I hope you enjoyed the up-and-down, diverse career arc of this long underappreciated band (thanks @simey for the earlier shout out). For me, it's penance for young zamboni despising them when growing up in the 1970s as a card-carrying member of the Kiss Army. Fortunately, my musical tastes expanded and appreciated different kinds of music, and the Bee Gees are right near the top of the list I've come to truly respect.

And echoed thanks to @Zegras11 and others that helped guide another great MAD countdown
You ran a really tricky gauntlet, zam. I honestly thought you were gonna load up your Top 10 with obscure '60s outtakes :lol:

Bravo, my friend.
lol - that would be trying too hard to be that guy. Their greatest success also happens to be their best material, at least to my ears.
 
I made my own top 31 lists for 8 of the MAD 4 artists. Part 1:

Yes

1. Roundabout (Yo Mama #1 -- BINGO)
2. Yours Is No Disgrace (Yo Mama #2 -- BINGO)
3. South Side of the Sky (Yo Mama #7)
4. And You And I (Yo Mama #3)
5. I've Seen All Good People (Yo Mama #10)
6. Siberian Khatru (Yo Mama #12)
7. Starship Trooper (Yo Mama #4)
8. Changes (Yo Mama #21)
9. Heart of the Sunrise (Yo Mama #9 -- BINGO)
10. The Gates of Delirium (Yo Mama #30 (Soon section))
11. Ritual (Nous Sommes du Soleil) https://open.spotify.com/track/5yNgz81bgXvDnvSXBkLQZb?si=64a49267b4c542ea
12. Owner of a Lonely Heart (Yo Mama #6)
13. Long Distance Runaround/The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) (Yo Mama #5)
14. Tempus Fugit (Yo Mama #28)
15. Don't Kill the Whale https://open.spotify.com/track/4JvjCMPpXVldRhM0mxheub?si=ee2de194c71548dd
16. Going for the One (Yo Mama #29)
17. America (Yo Mama #20)
18. I See You (Yo Mama #16)
19. Perpetual Change https://open.spotify.com/track/5s7e5gqLeSqKioiq8SKas2?si=14fec5763f944f68
20. Lift Me Up https://open.spotify.com/track/0KpvMmpUFIMVpY14ypSdBB?si=6c0ba2e6f494448e
21. Close to the Edge (Yo Mama #8)
22. Sound Chaser https://open.spotify.com/track/5sY77QMQ0tA6LBLsjhGPGm?si=6c81ca533b7048cb
23. Parallels https://open.spotify.com/track/73RVbX3YhvDYTSyrzKguSi?si=32746971c37141ec
24. Does It Really Happen? https://open.spotify.com/track/1zufZTtgoMmcmdzkzax4mb?si=002acb71ea614282
25. Survival (Yo Mama #27)
26. Astral Traveller (Yo Mama #19)
27. I'm Running (Yo Mama #15)
28. Time and a Word https://open.spotify.com/track/3YAVGVNo3dw7XaichKkrp4?si=67a0e50607544639
29. Rhythm of Love (Yo Mama #18)
30. I Would Have Waited Forever https://open.spotify.com/track/4MDGCtIGRtm5ma5g3Szaj6?si=2fb9893fedb54a4e
31. It Can Happen (Yo Mama #26)

Wilco

1. Jesus, Etc. (Doc Oc #2)
2. Monday (Doc Oc #6)
3. Spiders (Kidsmoke) (Doc Oc #24)
4. Impossible Germany (Doc Oc #25)
5. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart https://open.spotify.com/track/3HWxpLKnTlz6jE3Vi5dTF2?si=676bb7fd39c74d5f -- I'm a little shocked this wasn't in the top 31
6. Theologians https://open.spotify.com/track/2CJpJK9awyjKS98KOPfivw?si=f93b0b972c7343ff
7. At Least That's What You Said https://open.spotify.com/track/263uAmDYMkK8pU07QAnBKe?si=e9bff08e76e34175
8. I Got You (At the End of the Century) (Doc Oc #19)
9. Random Name Generator https://open.spotify.com/track/3OLFY7NpyJDH8NyvMVBSHF?si=a098fa8657904f61
10. Can't Stand It https://open.spotify.com/track/1QBbFLiBCOElhEJVhsMNcl?si=1e3fb28d12b94e69
11. Bull Black Nova https://open.spotify.com/track/4c33I7s8VE6FBFvcC3tGsh?si=b5b787a7a4634eef
12. Outta Site (Outta Mind) (Doc Oc #12 — BINGO!)
13. Misunderstood (Doc Oc #4)
14. One Wing https://open.spotify.com/track/3I4lhgvXVrpcxZqR62ch2e?si=e71cbb801fcf40ad
15. I'm the Man Who Loves You (Doc Oc #1)
16. Heavy Metal Drummer (Doc Oc #26)
17. Sunken Treasure (Doc Oc #23)
18. Handshake Drugs https://open.spotify.com/track/355J7qEdLN8pfUS0QtEuDl?si=d6bdade87a634a4b
19. When You Wake Up Feeling Old (Doc Oc #10)
20. Casino Queen (Doc Oc #29)
21. You Satellite https://open.spotify.com/track/5uqAExkzk0GVPEVXZ0Dgft?si=c7954e9d0ed145a8
22. Via Chicago (Doc Oc #16)
23. Hummingbird (Doc Oc Last 5 Out)
24. I Am Not Willing (ft. Syd Straw) (Doc Oc #9)
25. Hate It Here https://open.spotify.com/track/2bjQJzyJfKlHSNDwvmcOBv?si=654f6e86c31a45c0
26. Walken https://open.spotify.com/track/3oMZxyUvL8eIle5ELMHgDW?si=03e8619db1964276
27. I'm a Wheel https://open.spotify.com/track/6EW4wn0jYactEMzy8UccWR?si=348244c1275a4a05
28. One by One (Doc Oc #22)
29. Art of Almost https://open.spotify.com/track/3K2kLHKtefoldJfA40NFMX?si=06db7fde60304cbe
30. Hotel Arizona https://open.spotify.com/track/79l56dFDradGJ7l82xTCBJ?si=c953a8f575154f0e
31. On and On and On https://open.spotify.com/track/15IXY8FJTdtMABsIlaHm6u?si=e8f4b77153d44ce8

My Morning Jacket

1. One Big Holiday (Landry #3)
2. Run Thru (Landry #9)
3. Steam Engine (Landry #8)
4. Dondante (Landry #25)
5. Lay Low (Landry #5)
6. Tropics (Erase Traces) https://open.spotify.com/track/2IYcYenD9VvS4F6JQr4XiJ?si=0ded4deeab1444f0
7. Off the Record (Landry #29)
8. In Its Infancy (The Waterfall) https://open.spotify.com/track/586xTt5pjcKlr5CS2a1dkp?si=abb9ebc3c98f4853
9. It Beats 4 U https://open.spotify.com/track/6hPygReEE2VhnMoYNQNxaE?si=f7f7f216fb28429e
10. I Will Sing You Songs (Landry Last 5 Out)
11. I'm Amazed (Landry #30)
12. Golden (Landry #12 -- BINGO)
13. Wordless Chorus (Landry #14)
14. Anytime (Landry #20)
15. Compound Fracture https://open.spotify.com/track/2cbt59PL0tmgCsYNbM4PYk?si=de38a6a66be64a4e
16. Spring (Among the Living) https://open.spotify.com/track/6pjwFpZIBilzFigGqRQVh3?si=0de732db61f243ad
17. Holdin' on to Black Metal (Landry #18)
18. The Way That He Sings (Landry #21)
19. The Bear (Landry #22)
20. Wasted https://open.spotify.com/track/3Gm0Rv6kDwCxsgIZbDrAam?si=5b45fa22fbeb4c7c
21. Remnants https://open.spotify.com/track/57pNEZwimj5L6M47mAbEy1?si=8426b8173abe4c68
22. Phone Went West (Landry #1)
23. At Dawn (Landry #31)
24. Touch Me I'm Going to Scream, Pt. 2 (Landry #15)
25. They Ran (Landry Last 5 Out)
26. Mahgeetah (Landry #2)
27. O Is One That Is Real https://open.spotify.com/track/3CDA3dgqJJjpekV2dJtwzu?si=a91eb8a5182e468b
28. Thin Line https://open.spotify.com/track/3RR15itvwRuUl2s06uEYNG?si=7dd420ad5f854ea3
29. Like a River https://open.spotify.com/track/2wPmtuyV1bxBZWApCRLQJJ?si=a5ac53c57fe44826
30. Cobra (Landry #13)
31. Easy Morning Rebel https://open.spotify.com/track/6SrmqsqFhHcmBxZgJyk2A9?si=cfc38135c6704f1a

P-Funk

1. Super Stupid (Uruk #12)
2. Red Hot Mama (Uruk #19)
3. Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker) (Uruk #3 -- BINGO)
4. One Nation Under a Groove (Uruk #1)
5. Maggot Brain (Uruk #4)
6. Can You Get to That (Uruk #26)
7. Flash Light (Uruk #11)
8. Cosmic Slop (Uruk #22)
9. Up for the Down Stroke (Uruk #6)
10. Mothership Connection (Star Child) https://open.spotify.com/track/7rLAPi81R7qlVqgXfykdEL?si=ef07a6a3475048ae
11. Funkentelechy https://open.spotify.com/track/5uQ9lDKORWOuaXkiYQ1AtC?si=2dda2a5c5a0f420b
12. You Hit the Nail on the Head https://open.spotify.com/track/67RGFA8cwln0HYEL0LwFo8?si=9ae41911feb54e1f
13. I Bet You https://open.spotify.com/track/1eNkiMjZKstmcsg8rcCHft?si=e0970be1f96747d6
14. Standing on the Verge of Getting It On (Uruk #9)
15. Cholly (Funk Getting Ready to Roll) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTXBfwFehlk
16. Bop Gun (Endangered Species) (Uruk #24)
17. Testify (Uruk #8)
18. (Not Just) Knee Deep https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av2vgiYAlXY
19. Balance https://open.spotify.com/track/2pqDA40ebFXwZOCDJHz16v?si=e7e06374bb1e4ba0
20. Night of the Thumposorus Peoples https://open.spotify.com/track/4NhQ4NXZqj76WPU82XsLgs?si=5f1b9ee5c5d14e15
21. I'll Stay https://open.spotify.com/track/5ZjLReKZ5EErHjlblKedFv?si=e0b83814008a4f76
22. Get Off Your *** and Jam (Uruk #31)
23. Chocolate City https://open.spotify.com/track/0tkokbqEygQIxlQ8oap3KN?si=c02fd73a1a254395
24. P.Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up) (Uruk #14)
25. A Joyful Process https://open.spotify.com/track/12XwZRIizsosodfqHyEP9s?si=8f6c22e8f35d45a9 -- this is the instrumental that teases "Jesus Loves Me" in its intro; an absolute must-listen for Bernie Worrell fans
26. You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks https://open.spotify.com/track/1alxqrqIYG7YIlaCmwzl6p?si=cf82a5cb3c56497e
27. Into You https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEEMGsEj-kQ
28. Loose Booty https://open.spotify.com/track/0ycCUxj18ReKqnLaf8Gtuz?si=352041fe153c4aae
29. Do That Stuff (Uruk #28)
30. Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop) https://open.spotify.com/track/1CF0sciAivQS8U1lDphUJ5?si=d66a1cd54ab54aa8
31. Who Says a Funk Band Can't Play Rock? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KkGkr6N0rk
 
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Part 2:

R.E.M.

1. Fall on Me (Tuffnutt #3)
2. Radio Free Europe (Tuffnutt #7)
3. Ignoreland https://open.spotify.com/track/3d3ZNcICP3hdkovGj4YMqI?si=51fbd2a6fb584700
4. Can't Get There from Here https://open.spotify.com/track/3uftyv2SS2I6umRFchzG3t?si=7bb5220e8841475e
5. Bang and Blame (Tuffnutt #25)
6. Nightswimming (Tuffnutt #9)
7. At My Most Beautiful https://open.spotify.com/track/5Knohtj8UsTpFZsTCkMZWx?si=7562654a69f349f4
8. Try Not to Breathe (Tuffnutt #29)
9. So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry) (Tuffnutt #5)
10. Leave https://open.spotify.com/track/5lpaTYULgbKAwtvpkPjyrZ?si=79406ba2abbd41b6
11. Losing My Religion (Tuffnutt #1)
12. Texarkana https://open.spotify.com/track/7HiCcbCUj5KmyM1vsfIUlO?si=976bff40ed864f7a
13. Country Feedback (Tuffnutt #14)
14. Begin the Begin (Tuffnutt #21)
15. (Don't Go Back to) Rockville (Tuffnutt #22)
16. Daysleeper (Tuffnutt Last 5 Out)
17. Crush with Eyeliner (Tuffnut #15)
18. Driver 8 (Tuffnutt #20)
19. King of Birds https://open.spotify.com/track/0UC7PmiavPOlFq0rEOfN6e?si=957cc2a0bf564bff
20. Superman (Tuffnutt "bonus" because he didn't include covers)
21. Talk About the Passion https://open.spotify.com/track/3TwnJaaOD5g33YHH8dufSM?si=88fdc8efefef4c85
22. Sitting Still https://open.spotify.com/track/2PwXk4HTk63MaP8oaAUt7F?si=26ce8e4bb42e4945
23. Wolves, Lower https://open.spotify.com/track/5HZzcCLbX2LY4IP5qPRcqj?si=f995990643c042ad
24. Hyena https://open.spotify.com/track/4GXr2a7dHK5MkRlITyYUFs?si=d82e5f6a8d89483d
25. Star 69 (Tuffnutt Last 5 Out)
26. The Flowers of Guatemala https://open.spotify.com/track/3JGq2WvLc8u39Jk3s9CaHI?si=79e064b831c24fe3
27. Man on the Moon (Tuffnutt #11)
28. Pretty Persuasion (Tuffnutt #17)
29. Find the River (Tuffnutt #13)
30. Sweetness Follows (Tuffnutt #24)
31. The Wake-Up Bomb https://open.spotify.com/track/5mrDY7N4ZLInCJiwOX67py?si=77cb3e58321448cb

Radiohead

1. Knives Out (Titus #13)
2. Paranoid Android (Titus #3)
3. Planet Telex https://open.spotify.com/track/37JISltgxizbDAyNEEqkTY?si=7f2cbb52d5bb45da
4. Lucky https://open.spotify.com/track/14xj58ZexBaEaHARb11Cqs?si=e9d014d6fc5544ba
5. No Surprises (Titus #2)
6. Street Spirit (Fade Out) (Titus #1)
7. Optimistic (Titus #20)
8. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (Titus #15)
9. The National Anthem (Titus #14)
10. A Punchup at a Wedding (Titus Last 15 Out)
11. Just (Titus #12)
12. Idioteque (Titus #6)
13. Pyramid Song (Titus Last 15 Out)
14. There There (Titus #4)
15. Black Star (Titus #31)
16. All I Need (Titus #29)
17. Electioneering (Titus #17 -- BINGO)
18. Everything in Its Right Place (Titus Last 15 Out)
19. Morning Bell https://open.spotify.com/track/4h37RgtBg9iynN3BIL5lFU?si=869e692f0df44c26
20. Let Down (Titus #18)
21. The Bends (Titus Last 15 Out)
22. My Iron Lung (Titus #19)
23. Airbag https://open.spotify.com/track/7c378mlmubSu7NGkLFa4sN?si=05fd15ba5fb64fd8
24. Karma Police (Titus #9)
25. Myxomatosis https://open.spotify.com/track/3MW7yZK3kKtjsmJpsvBwyf?si=0e3175cc9db5470c
26. 2+2 = 5 (Titus #27)
27. How to Disappear Completely (Titus #8)
28. Creep (Titus #7)
29. Subterranean Homesick Alien (Titus Last 15 Out)
30. You And Whose Army? https://open.spotify.com/track/7Hg6a7tZsVTkXnBUepjZU6?si=b389ce02241d46c8
31. Lotus Flower https://open.spotify.com/track/2QeutlLcJf2V1cMUUsDFT1?si=e89aee91dc01448a

Pearl Jam

1. Even Flow (Tau #20)
2. Alive (Tau #2 -- BINGO!)
3. Breath https://open.spotify.com/track/7jzRpu6nsY5WlBmQqinQ43?si=26b0ee96d5ec4937
4. Blood https://open.spotify.com/track/72oiKwTwejHrwUxJ7Nur8r?si=0c46b0b2506d4210
5. Corduroy (Tau #14)
6. Immortality (Tau #25)
7. I Got Id (Tau Last 10 Out)
8. Animal https://open.spotify.com/track/2EzaNI2kE2AoBfJ8mRZLSJ?si=818580213c1f47df
9. Porch (Tau Last 10 Out)
10. Leash https://open.spotify.com/track/52FlqmFHKaTV0dDMEe0F4F?si=5d05cb8c67a346a9
11. Release (Tau #9)
12. Present Tense https://open.spotify.com/track/679zqcQuKakOGI93NPCqB8?si=5abda9c052224bd7
13. Rearviewmirror (Tau #3)
14. Given to Fly (Tau #7)
15. Whipping https://open.spotify.com/track/0zwjhaBWQEs7LUkuIZFRtl?si=e1a5be5d950c4c85
16. Brain of J. https://open.spotify.com/track/2ciZyChQxTYWayapgNRivS?si=092bf4a8c3214596
17. Jeremy https://open.spotify.com/track/62nQ8UZVqR2RMvkJHkcO2o?si=e313c30308764fa2
18. Last Exit https://open.spotify.com/track/3g9QJOXLmC8lWnbvA0D0hl?si=80f5c068ddc34cbe
19. Go https://open.spotify.com/track/7M1L2Cv5025QeywNsdfPDK?si=eed72765b9c148fd
20. Not for You (Tau #8)
21. Red Mosquito https://open.spotify.com/track/53W0AL4qdOb5IpCxJM4AdE?si=aab8c98f85914310
22. Nothing as It Seems (Tau #13)
23. Love Boat Captain (Tau #30)
24. Hail Hail https://open.spotify.com/track/5cpnyC2TLztgxOWNzoxqbY?si=98fe7789083a4b8b
25. State of Love and Trust (Tau #4)
26. Why Go https://open.spotify.com/track/337kipThk7s7nHJ8POg1jK?si=50c94bba0fa24bdd
27. Indifference (Tau #11)
28. Daughter https://open.spotify.com/track/53eJFr4Mfbw5PXJ01K6cFw?si=fd5c36ead0d44bf7
29. Better Man https://open.spotify.com/track/2B98ljvzqpCVgt5reTHq28?si=5097949c91c24fad
30. Yellow Ledbetter (Tau #22)
31. Black (Tau #1)

Bee Gees

1. Jive Talkin' (Zamboni #31)
2. Stayin' Alive (Zamboni #12)
3. You Should Be Dancing (Zamboni #19)
4. Nights on Broadway (Zamboni #3)
5. Night Fever (Zamboni #6)
6. Lonely Days (Zamboni #15)
7. Wind of Change (Zamboni #5)
8. I Started a Joke (Zamboni #27)
9. To Love Somebody (Zamboni #17)
10. I Can't See Nobody (Zamboni #4)
11. How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (Zamboni #13)
12. I've Gotta Get a Message to You (Zamboni #24)
13. Tragedy https://open.spotify.com/track/6UXXeFqMBGiqjkzQzkMT3E?si=7f6e660f6a0a467c
14. More Than a Woman (Zamboni #2)
15. You Stepped into My Life (Zamboni #26)
16. Words (Zamboni #30)
17. Fanny (Be Tender With My Love) (Zamboni #10)
18. Love You Inside Out (Zamboni #28)
19. Run to Me (Zamboni #23)
20. If I Can't Have You (they released their own version in 1977) https://open.spotify.com/track/24mEsJJhJeManXMz28UkNR?si=79ac26ebe9134f94
21. Massachusetts (Zamboni #9)
22. One https://open.spotify.com/track/2TXQsN854jne8GXWbd3SJx?si=2d8ec83ed9e54e47
23. New York Mining Disaster 1941 (Zamboni #11)
24. Edge of the Universe (Zamboni #18)
25. Love So Right https://open.spotify.com/track/2rVxsVGLFssDfM5B9BUL0K?si=78c14a91d06e4aa6
26. Spirits (Having Flown) https://open.spotify.com/track/74NEN5TosrOFdVmAVvTf4a?si=5938872cd29c41a7
27. Children of the World https://open.spotify.com/track/6JoL0YswuCLj9hVLPRC83y?si=cb6a28919da74938
28. Boogie Child https://open.spotify.com/track/4RL4cG2Ob0ecRi42Ve26O2?si=775ed1e870b64223
29. Mr. Natural https://open.spotify.com/track/2C86Vf9K43LG8GWCHObAzP?si=ff747af304d3483e
30. (Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away (they released their own version in 1979) https://open.spotify.com/track/3s5now5Z4NpovVoKAc5ERb?si=a1ec02a1e04f4fce
31. How Deep Is Your Love (Zamboni #1)

Interesting that Zamboni's #1 is my #31 and his #31 is my #1.
 
Tim MaiaDon QuixoteGostava Tanto de Você
https://open.spotify.com/track/6eDMElxeeKXs4DHTb0dGP0?si=IXTgXKZkRoieTWHS2Pczng
I’m not sure if there is a chalk #1 for Tim Maia, but I think Gostava Tanto de Você would be in the running. It was one of the biggest hits of Tim Maia’s career. This was the first song from Tim Maia that I heard, and it prompted me down the rabbit hole of exploring more of his music.

Features that combination of funk, soul, and samba again. Song title translates to “I Loved You So Much.” Another song about missing someone who left him.

Não sei por que você se foi
Quantas saudades eu senti
E de tristezas vou viver
E aquele adeus não pude dar...

Você marcou na minha vida
Viveu, morreu
Na minha história
Chego a ter medo do futuro
E da solidão
Que em minha porta bate...

E eu!
Gostava tanto de você
Gostava tanto de você
I have no clue on why did you go away
I felt your absence so much
And my life will be filled with sadness
And that goodbye I couldn't say...

You were important in my life
Lived and died
In my history
I am even afraid of
what is to come
And of loneliness
That knocks on my door

And I
I loved you so much
I loved you so much

Translation link

Hope you enjoyed my run through Tim Maia’s music. Happy to see many listing some of his songs as new to me like’s throughout. I’ll share a Spotify playlist a bit later once I re-check things in there and think of any bonus songs should add.

And thanks as always to @Zegras11 for running, and @KarmaPolice for the playlists.
 
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The Clashkupcho1London Calling
Chalkiest of chalk picks, London Calling is by far my favorite Clash song. You've all probably heard it a thousand times, but there's a little to unpack here that may be of interest.

First, a somewhat obvious observation from songfacts:
This is an apocalyptic song, detailing the many ways the world could end, including the coming of the ice age, starvation, and war. It was the song that best defined The Clash, who were known for lashing out against injustice and rebelling against the establishment, which is pretty much what punk rock was all about.

But did you know that
Joe Strummer was a news junkie, and many of the images of doom in the lyrics came from news reports he read. Strummer claimed the initial inspiration came in a conversation he had with his then-fiancee Gaby Salter in a taxi ride home to their flat in World's End (appropriately). "There was a lot of Cold War nonsense going on, and we knew that London was susceptible to flooding. She told me to write something about that," noted Strummer in an interview with Uncut magazine.

According to guitarist Mick Jones, it was a headline in the London Evening Standard that triggered the lyric. The paper warned that "the North Sea might rise and push up the Thames, flooding the city," he said in the book Anatomy of a Song. "We flipped. To us, the headline was just another example of how everything was coming undone."

And the title?
The title came from the BBC World Service's radio station identification: "This is London calling..." The BBC started using it during World War II to open their broadcasts outside of England. Joe Strummer heard it when he was living in Germany with his parents.

Those "beeps" at the end?
At the end of the song, a series of beeps spells out "SOS" in morse code. Mick Jones created these sounds on one of his guitar pickups.

Did the Clash love their fans? You know they did.
London Calling was a double album, but it wasn't supposed to be. The band were angry that CBS had priced their previous EP, The Cost of Living at £1.49, and so in the interests of their fans they insisted that London Calling be a double LP. CBS refused, so the band tried a different tactic: how about a free single on a one-disc LP? CBS agreed, but didn't notice that this free single disc would play at 33rpm and contain eight songs - therefore making it up to a double album! It then became nine when "Train in Vain" was tacked on to the end of the album after an NME single release fell through. "Train" arrived so late on that it isn't on the tracklisting on the album sleeve, and the only evidence of its existence is a stamp on the run-out groove and its presence on the end of side four. So in the end, London Calling was a 19-song double-LP retailing for the price of a single!
:lmao:

But I think my absolute favorite thing about the song is this verse ringing in the age of punk (ok, so maybe a couple of years after the fact).

London calling, now don't look to us
Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust


Thanks again to @Zegras11 and @KarmaPolice for running the madness.
 

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