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MAD's ROUND 2!! # 1's have been posted!! (2 Viewers)

Beastie Boys #8 - Jimmy James
Album - Check Your Head (1992)

Peacockin'
Ad-Rock: 0, MCA: 0, Mike D: 1, Beastie Boys: 0, Greater NYC: 0

Name Rockin'
The Blacks, Puerto Ricans, and the White people too

Rhyme Squawkin'
Yeah people how you doing? There's a new day dawnin'
For the Earth mother, it's a brand new mornin
For such a long while, there's been such a longin'
But now the sun is shinin', let's roll back the awnin'


Yo Mama Talkin'
I was worried after the new (at the time) IP/sampling laws that the Beaste Boys would have a hard time living up to their previous greatness. But once I heard this first track, I knew I was in for a kick-butt album. There was some sampling but they needed to get approvals first this time (including from the Jimi Hendrix family since the song was meant as a tribute him and used a couple of his songs). It of course also has a portion from our MAD friends Cheap Trick to kick things off.
 
Mike ShinodaJust Win BabyOne More Light

This is the first song in my top 31 from the Linkin Park album One More Light. It peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot Rock and Alternative Songs chart.

As noted in the quotes below, the band was inspired to write this song about a long time friend who passed away from cancer. The friend, Amy Zaret, worked for Warner Bros. Records for 25 years. The band surprised some of the people who worked at WBR with the song, and they reacted very emotionally to it.

I get that. Having lost some close friends and family, I can't listen to this song without getting emotional.

After Chester's suicide on July 20, 2017, the band selected One More Light as their next single. Shinoda wrote this about the song then:

"One More Light was written with the intention of sending love to those who lost someone. We now find ourselves on the receiving end. In memorial events, art, videos, and images, fans all over the world have gravitated towards this song as their declaration of love and support for the band and the memory of our dear friend, Chester. We are so very grateful and can't wait to see you again."

In 2021, Kerrang ranked the top 20 Linkin Park songs of all time and ranked One More Light at #6. Here is their writeup on the song from that ranking:

As has been noted endlessly over the past few years, it’s impossible to view the band’s final release with Chester without the tragic perspective of his loss. Even on their softest ever album, however, there was a compelling, heartfelt simplicity to One More Light’s title-track – a tribute to a friend who passed with cancer, an unguarded ode to resiliency – that made it stand out even before the subsequent tragedy. Listening now, of course, its message is overloaded with poignancy. As a final statement of Chester’s towering legacy, one has to believe it’s a moment of which he’d be proud. ‘We saw brilliance, when the world, was asleep, there are things that we can have, but can’t keep…’ Try not to tear up…

In 2020, Metal Hammer ranked the top 25 Linkin Park songs of all time and ranked One More Light at #18. Here is their writeup on the song from that ranking:

The title track to Linkin Park’s 2017 album and at the time of writing, the final track the band have released. It’s the second single to be released following the death of Chester Bennington, and the band pay tribute to their friend and bandmate in the official video, produced by DJ/programmer Joe Hahn.

“It has been incredibly emotional to work on this, and especially to watch it. I feel that by doing it, we not only faced some of our biggest fears, but it enabled us to use our talents to bring some light to people who need it,” he said following the video’s release.

“I think about the people who connect with the band, outside and inside our circle. This video is a gesture of good will to the people who want that connection.”

In an interview with Kerrang!, Mike Shinoda said that the song was written about a friend of the band who had tragically died of cancer.

“We had a friend who worked for the record label for a long time and came up with us from years and years ago. She started out in radio promo and was basically driving us to the local radio stations in the U.S. Midwest, eventually getting promoted and promoted. At some point last year, I suddenly heard that she’d got cancer – and then all of a sudden she had died,” he said.

“We knew we absolutely had to write about what happened. It’s a sad song, but the pay-off is that when something dramatic and painful like that happens, the most important thing to do is to connect with the people you love and remind them you care about them.”

In 2023, Loudwire ranked all of the Linkin Park singles to that point and ranked One More Light at #15. Here is their writeup on the song from that ranking:

This song should never be played without a dry Kleenex or handkerchief nearby. The title track to the One More Light album features some of Chester Bennington’s most touching vocal work, penned about the death of a close associate of the band from their early days who had recently passed from cancer.

Upon the death of Chris Cornell, the band dedicated the song to him during their performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Then, after Bennington’s death months later, the song was posthumously released by the band with a Joe Hahn video featuring footage of Bennington interacting with fans at different stages throughout the band’s history. In an interview with the Zach Sang Show during promotion of the One More Light album, Mike Shinoda commented that in spite of the horrible inevitability of loss, the song is about letting people know that you care.

Here is a great fan lyrics video for the song.

Here is a video of the band playing the song at the Chris Cornell Tribute. Chester was close friends with Cornell and couldn't get through the song without choking up.

Here is a video of the band playing the song at Chester's Tribute. Mike struggles to get through it.

Here is a video of Mike singing it live in London, and the audience sings the whole song with him. Very cool.
 
8. Lay Down Sally

This is the first of three songs from the After Midnight (1981) album.

Another staple of their live set, this is the first of what John Duffey called their 'Acid Grass' songs. For all the fun they had with their other songs, they really cut loose with this one; it's tough to catch if you're not paying attention, but you can hear Ben scatting during the refrain, and when they played it live, he would put on sunglasses and give a little Elvis-like shimmy as well.
 
ears for FearsJohn Maddens LunchboxPale Shelter (Vocals Curt)
Great song
Agreed - my top TFF song and probably one of my overall favorite songs from the '80s.
 
8.
Paper in Fire- John Mellencamp
from The Lonesome Jubilee Album


Paper in Fire is the 1st of 3 songs highlighted from the 1987 album... all the 3 songs make the top 8 of my countdown. Paper in Fire was the first single released after the great success of Scarecrow and peaked at #9 on Billboards. Now hitting the peak of his 80s fame, John Mellencamp was blending rock and roots into his own kind of American music... adding a fiddle, accordion and steel guitar to this one.

From Rolling stone interview: "After Scarecrow, the critics all kinda went, "Whoa, now we gotta pay attention to this guy." I think "Paper in Fire" is the ultimate John Mellencamp song. I wasn't trying to be on the radio anymore. Radio was on my side. There wasn't any Woody Guthrie influence. There wasn't any Rolling Stones influence. There wasn't a Bob Dylan influence. I made the decision, much to everyone's dismay, to use violins and accordions, and incorporate an Appalachian sound of original country. I tried to figure out how to make that work in rock & roll."

Love the lyrics on this one...

There is a good life right across this green field/And each generation stares at it from afar/But we keep no check on our appetites/So the green fields turn to brown like paper in fire.

The line, "We keep no check on our appetites," is taken from the 1963 movie Hud, starring Paul Newman. The line is said by Melvyn Douglas' character: "You don't respect nothing. You keep no check on your appetites at all. You live just for yourself."

Mellencamp liked the movie so much, he named one of his sons Hud.
 
8.

  • Song: Marry Me
  • Album: Decoration Day
  • Released: 2003
  • Lead Vocals: Mike Cooley


Another song by the Truckers, and Cooley in particular, that could have fit in the Stones Exile on Main Street era.



Well, my daddy didn't pull out, but he never apologized
Rock and roll means well, but it can't help tellin' young boys lies
A baby on the way's a good enough reason to get you out alive
Get you out without having to swallow any pride

All my friends are restless, all they do is talk it down
Two or eight lanes, it don't matter, it's just another town
There's a fool on every corner, on every street, in everyone
And I'd rather be your fool nowhere than go somewhere and be no one's

So marry me, sweet thing, won't you marry me?
Your mama thinks I beat anything she's ever seen
Well, this old town's alright with me, there's nowhere I'd rather be
Long as they stay mad at one another, they can't get mad at me
 
David BowieBinky the DoormatHeroes
Fripp's guitar is so haunting here.

Also love Bowie's performance of this with Queen, et al. at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert back in 1992 shortly after Freddie passed. Mick Ronson filled in incredibly on guitar - he passed just a year later.
 
Way behind on stories and talking about my songs. I am way more caught up with listening and reading through the thread, so now I won't feel like a hypocrite by not participating in the rest. Anyway....


DRY BONE VALLEY - This was the song that sparked the fun discussion with the 8yo about what we thought the songs were about and what the title could mean. I said that I thought it was somebody running from a saber-toothed tiger through a valley littered with huge skeletons. A couple days later she said she thought about it more, and decided that the thing they are running from was the huge bones in the valley coming back to life and chasing him. Me: "honey, that might be the most metal thing I've ever heard". Her: :confused:

WORD TO THE WISE - Some of my favorite guitar work from Brent in here. There's a part in the ending solo where I think it feels like he has to catch his breath during music, if that makes sense. Love it.

THE LAST BARON/THE HUNTER - After listening to the playlist a couple times I realized I kept coming back to these two songs together because they are the most Brent songs of the playlist. I talked about his struggles before they recorded Crack the Skye - I feel the solo at the end of the album, which means the end of Baron is some of his best work and it feels like he is releasing something. The Hunter is dedicated to his brother who passed while hunting, and that solo is just beautiful.

ANCIENT KINGDOM - I think I said as much elsewhere, but the 30secs of music starting at the 2:25 might be my favorite of their stuff. The way that Bill comes in after the solo starts and they sound together - epic metal.

HALLOWEEN/QUINTESSENCE - Ah, the sound effects pairing. Like the previous two, these two kept getting put together. It took me a bit to realize it was because of the "floating" guitars in both of them. Sounds great in the headphones around the 4min mark of Halloween when the guitars are flying overhead and the end of Quintessence has the weird high pitched effect in the mix. I thought it was a good lead up to the weirdness that is...

CLANDESTINY - During the relistens, I think this was the song that changed my mind the most on and started me thinking about doing the hole album. In the flow of Emperor of Sand, it stands out as the oddball to me. Blistering at the start then morphs into the odd synth in the middle with odd effects. It was one I was likely to skip, but now it's one of my favorites on the album.

FORGED BY NERON/CAPILLARIAN CREST - We are squarely in the final 10 I warned was more firmly into the heavier/older stuff that might not click as much. Neron is a fun as hell B-Side they did. I wanted something on there from stuff they did for movies. Brent composed the Jonah Hex soundtrack and some of you might remember they were extras in Game of Thrones during the epic Hardhomme episode. They also did a song for the show that I like, but didn't think flowed as well but will be including in the final playlist for a bonus. Capillarian Crest is just some epic drumming. One of my favorites from one of my favorite albums. I expected it to be one that clicks with the fewest people though. If listening to the playlist, it's a nice build up to another heavy track off Emperor of Sand...
 
The JamPip's InvitationTales from the Riverbank
RöyksoppJMLs secret identity8 - Oh, Lover feat Susanne Sundfør

I knew about 3-4 Jam songs heading into this (and I don’t think any have been listed yet) - but have enjoyed them and loved this song.

Royksopp - I had heard the name but didn’t know the music at all. I’ve got a bit bored with classic rock and have loved discovering “new to me” bands/songs in recent years (these things sure help) and while they still wouldn’t really be in my wheelhouse, I’ve really liked what I’ve heard and it’s cool to hear interesting dance music. I look forward to the playlist.
 
Lastly, if anyone can explain to me what #s 3 and 5 are below, well, TIA
1. Rock
2. Indie Rock
3. Crank Wave
4. Alternative Rock
5. Bubblegrunge
Question answered by listening to "the DJ" highlighting my Wrapped 2024. Apparently Snail Mail qualifies as Bubblegrunge. Not sure what else (could it be a genre of 1???) though.
 
8. Nina Simone, I Put a Spell on You (from I Put a Spell on You, 1965)

Not much explanation needed for this one. One of Nina Simone’s most famous songs. A cover of the song by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins; but, while he took a sarcastic/ironic approach to the song, Nina Simone’s approach is more straightforward, with dramatic horns and strings.

Wiki tells me Screamin’ Jay Hawkins originally wrote it with the straightforward intention, but took the sarcastic approach after a night of drinking while eating chicken and ribs before recording.
 
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Lastly, if anyone can explain to me what #s 3 and 5 are below, well, TIA
1. Rock
2. Indie Rock
3. Crank Wave
4. Alternative Rock
5. Bubblegrunge
Question answered by listening to "the DJ" highlighting my Wrapped 2024. Apparently Snail Mail qualifies as Bubblegrunge. Not sure what else (could it be a genre of 1???) though.
I think stuff like Charly Bliss and others.

ETA: found a playlist and it listed others like Hop Along, Bully, and Cherry Glazerr that I recognized.
 
8. Nina Simone, I Put a Spell on You (from I Put a Spell on You, 1965)

Not much explanation needed for this one. One of Nina Simone’s most famous songs. A cover of the song by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins; but, while he took a sarcastic/ironic approach to the song, Nina Simone’s approach is more straightforward, with dramatic horns and strings.

Wiki tells me Screamin’ Jay Hawkins originally wrote it with the straightforward intention, but took the sarcastic approach after a night of drinking while eating chicken and ribs before recording.
I liked her version but I have to admit, it's tough to hear that song not being screamed by Screamin' Jay.
 
Right thread this time,

I dont have much in terms of writeups for Sia songs until probably number 1 which I did reserve for my personal favorite despite this being a chronological list. We're about to begin her album "This is Acting" which are all songs she wrote for other artists that ended up not being recorded. This includes songs that were written with Katy Perry, Alicia Keys, and Adele in mind.

Doing a chronological list for Sia made a ton of sense due to how she transitions throughout her career, but I definitely miss the building excitement of the writeups when you get to the top 10 and they are all your personal favorite songs.
 
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night SweatsAAABatteriesHowling at Nothing

Who likes to drunk dance? Top 10 drunk dancing song right here.
 
Wasted on the Way

Like Pip stated, it's a Nash tune about CSN (and Y) - all the time wasted on stupid arguments/etc. And yes, for you sharp-eared folks, that's Timothy B. Schmit singing harmony too.

For What It’s Worth

Springfield song (so Neil and Stills represented). It's basically THE Buffalo Springfield song - if you know nothing else by them, you know this. One of the most famous protest songs of all time. But these two guys were part of an even better one that we'll hear later.
 
Wasted on the Way

Like Pip stated, it's a Nash tune about CSN (and Y) - all the time wasted on stupid arguments/etc. And yes, for you sharp-eared folks, that's Timothy B. Schmit singing harmony too.

For What It’s Worth

Springfield song (so Neil and Stills represented). It's basically THE Buffalo Springfield song - if you know nothing else by them, you know this. One of the most famous protest songs of all time. But these two guys were part of an even better one that we'll hear later.
I haven’t commented much on these guys because I’m a big fan and so familiar they’ve just been more of a warm blanket than a discovery. Even being forced to leave out a bunch of Neil stuff, the list has been all classics.
 
Röyksopp
8 - Oh, Lover feat Susanne Sundfør

Year - 2022
Appears on - Profound Mysteries II
Vocalist - Susanne Sundfør
Key Lyric - Oh, my lover
You made me feel like no other
Touching me deeper than others
Making me feel I was wanted

Notes
1- In my opinion and many others, Susanne Sundfør is the best collaborator Röyksopp use. This song is by far her best vocal, as her upper range gets tested and she comes through and makes this song outstanding.

2- From pitchfork
“Oh, Lover” has the opulent Nordic melancholy of Röyksopp’s best pop collaborations, combining dilatory synth, chugging disco groove, and Susanne Sundfør’s wind-swept vocals; the result is like weeping away your heartbreak in a chic Norwegian aparthotel.

3- From ipropoganda
The original version of "Oh, Lover" captures the listener's attention with its dreamy, atmospheric qualities, and the NTO Remix adds a layer of complexity that will undoubtedly make it a fan favorite. Susanne Sundfør's ethereal vocals meld seamlessly with Röyksopp's signature electronic soundscapes, creating a track that is both captivating and innovative. With a runtime of around seven minutes, the remix allows for an immersive listening experience that showcases the best of Röyksopp and Sundfør's talents.

Running Vocal Count
Röyksopp - 6
Robyn - 5
Susanne Sundfør - 4
Karin Dreijer - 2
Maurissa Rose - 1
Gunhild Ramsay Kovacs - 1
Alison Gsldfrapp - 1
Jamie Irrepressible - 1
Karen Harding - 1
Kate Havnevik - 1
Sample - 1
Instrumental - 3

Where to find
Melody A.M - 1
The Understanding - 2
Röyksopp’s Night Out - 1
Back to Mine Series - 1
Junior - 2
Senior - 1
Late Night Tales Series - 1
Do It Again EP - 3
The Inevitable End - 2
Profound Mysteries I - 0
Profound Mysteries II - 2
Profound Mysteries III - 5
Other/Non Album Songs - 3

Year
1999 - 1
2001 - 0
2002 - 1
2005 - 2
2006 - 1
2007 - 1
2008 - 0
2009 - 2
2010 - 1
2013 - 1
2014 - 4
2016 - 2
2022 - 8

Next up we have perhaps my biggest surprise in the rankings. Its such a gorgeous underrated Röyksopp track. Its sooooo ****ing smooth.
 
Always loved that Temple of the Dog album. Say what you will but those “big 4” Seattle Bands breaking and thriving at the same time was pretty exciting and I’m glad to see Pearl Jam is still going almost as strong.

Yup. I kind of wish I was a bit younger when that all broke. Mid to late 20's, was dating a girl with a kid and doing the adult thing, and somewhat missed the excitement when it was happening.
 
Always loved that Temple of the Dog album. Say what you will but those “big 4” Seattle Bands breaking and thriving at the same time was pretty exciting and I’m glad to see Pearl Jam is still going almost as strong.

Yup. I kind of wish I was a bit younger when that all broke. Mid to late 20's, was dating a girl with a kid and doing the adult thing, and somewhat missed the excitement when it was happening.
Yes, I’m a little younger as I was 21/22 at the time so saw Soundgarden and Alice In Chains, and even Mudhoney, each a few times and followed all of it in real time. It was a shot in the arm music needed. I don’t know, I had fun?
 
My memory is faulty, but this is the best I can piece together. I was sixteen in 1989 when I got my first Soundgarden album. It was Louder Than Love. I would instantly purchase their others upon hearing it. Not one to really know which way the winds were blowing from my podunk town on the map, I was then seventeen in 1990 when I got my first Sub Pop compilation. Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soungarden, and others were on it. Mother Love Bone's Apple was an album I listened to the summer of my junior/senior year of high school. Green River became an instant favorite of mine because of their Bowie (who I barely knew) and Dead Boys covers. The cassette that had the Rehab Doll/Dry as a Bone EPs was stellar. I hadn't put it together, but people had got wind of the Seattle scene. Just that they had distribution in the alternative/punk stores in my area meant that they had already broken big. They were so much bigger than they probably had imagined from the start.

Ain't nothing to do . . .

I very much remember when Andrew Wood died and the surviving members of those bands (Mother Love Bone and Green River and Soundgarden) put out the Temple Of The Dog album. Everything about it was a bit heavy and sociopolitically foreign to me. The complete and utter rejection of all things normal and bourgeois, from the "carcassless" meals in the liner notes (which I always read from other bands but was never quite arrested like the testimonies Temple Of The Dog members wrote about Wood) to the general sentiments of the lyrics themselves. It was everything to love and hate about where that Seattle scene was going, that record.

I personally was underwhelmed by it even though I took much notice. I wondered where my Green River and Mother Love Bone would go now, and that actually turned into a musical and sociopolitical disappointment to me. It turned into Pearl Jam. Mudhoney was much different. From the ashes of Green River, Mark Arm and company would create something I could totally relate to, somehow fusing Blue Cheer with punk and making the sludge make sense. So heavy and so much wah wah pedal going on. I liked heavy metal, so I dug Mudhoney.

The Seattle scene was so interesting to everyone watching. Nirvana just blew it up. It was all very weird. I always considered them the lesser of musicians and band along the way, and they played such a small role in my adoption of the scene that even though they were the most memorable to a nation, they were the least influential musically, or so I thought and at least as far as I was concerned. Weird.

Anyway, Cornell weaved his way through that scene and sang on the Temple Of The Dog record and became rock star God big beyond his wildest dreams, something that obviously couldn't quell whatever demons he had inside of him (or exacerbated those demons—one will never know). So sad. RIP.
 
Tears for Fears
#9 - The Tipping Point

Appears - The Tipping Point
Year - 2021
UK Highest Chart Position - Did Not Chart
US Highest Chart Position - Did Not Chart
Key Lyric - Life is cruel, life is tough
Life is crazy, then it all turns to dust
Will you let them out?
Will you let them in?
Will you ever know when it's the tipping point, the tipping point, the tipping point, the tipping point, the tipping point?

Notes
1- The album and song title are the culmination of years of frustration, grief and just life in general including the pandemic

2- Roland’s wife since they were teenagers was Caroline. She died in 2017

In 2007, he says, Caroline hit menopause. “And then the wheels came off, and she went from being extremely feisty and spirited and up, and so charismatic, to hitting depression. And menopause was probably a smokescreen.”

“Caroline was a little bit lax and naughty when she would see doctors. She wouldn’t be 100% honest, she would talk about menopause: she would talk about empty nest syndrome – that became the next one, and it wasn’t that at all. It was a number of things. And it was her liver, cirrhosis, and that was a long time coming.”

Caroline never stopped drinking. “Which is partly my fault because I’m a drinker, too. If I’d known that was the reason …” He trails off. “But I didn’t. I don’t know how commonly known it is that alcohol is far more dangerous for a woman than it is for a man, and the problem was Caroline used to match me.

She developed alcohol-related dementia. “So it was five years of hell where I became her carer,” says Orzabal. “

It was while Caroline was ill that Orzabal began to write several of the songs that appear on The Tipping Point. “I needed some respite from the constant illness, the constant dysfunction, and as per usual, as I’ve always done all my life, they went into lyrics and songs,” he says.

3- The album was a critical and commercial success, giving the band their sixth UK Top-5 album and highest chart peak in 30 years when it debuted at number 2 on the UK Album Chart. It also reached the Top 10 in numerous other countries including the US, Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, Belgium and The Netherlands. It became the band's third US top-ten album on the chart and their first release to achieve this since their 1989 album The Seeds of Love. The tracks "The Tipping Point", "No Small Thing", "Break the Man", "My Demons", "Long, Long, Long Time", and "Rivers of Mercy" were released as singles to promote the album.

4- This is one of the few Tears for Fears songs where both share the vocals at the same time. The Hurting is another. They must only do it on title tracks lol. Even Seeds of Love has both, but not at the same time.

Where to find
The Hurting - 4
Songs from the Big Chair - 2
The Seeds of Love - 0
Elemental - 1
Raoul and the Kings of Spain - 1
Everybody Loves a Happy Ending - 5
Ready Boy and Girls - 1
The Tipping Point - 4
Greatest Hits only - 1
B- Sides - Other/Non Album Songs - 4

Year
1981 - 2
1982 - 0
1983 - 5
1984 - 0
1985 - 1
1986 - 1
1989 - 0
1993 - 1
1995 - 2
2004 - 5
2014 - 1
2017 - 1
2021 - 1
2022 - 3

Next up, well we know what it is anyway. Pale Shelter
 
Tears for Fears
#8 - Pale Shelter

Appears - The Hurting
Year - 1982
UK Highest Chart Position - #5
US Highest Chart Position - Did Not Chart
Key Lyric - When you don't give me love
You gave me Pale shelter
You don't give me love
You give me cold hands
And I can't operate on this failure
When all I want to be is
Completely in command

Notes
1- The video, which features a number of odd juxtapositions (including a police officer directing traffic and a live alligator in a swimming pool), is notable for the scene of an imprint of a giant iron on a runway at Los Angeles International Airport, with steam apparently coming off the tarmac, onto which Smith and Orzabal walk, and another scene in which the pair walk into a sea of flying paper aeroplanes, with one of them hitting Orzabal directly in the eye.

2- Written by Roland Orzabal, but vocals here are by Curt, this song is about being disappointed in a relationship. It was originally released as a single in March 1982 under the title "Pale Shelter (You Don't Give Me Love)," and failed to chart. It was re-released in April 1983 as the third single (After "Mad World" and "Change") taken from the debut album The Hurting

Where to find
The Hurting - 5
Songs from the Big Chair - 2
The Seeds of Love - 0
Elemental - 1
Raoul and the Kings of Spain - 1
Everybody Loves a Happy Ending - 5
Ready Boy and Girls - 1
The Tipping Point - 4
Greatest Hits only - 1
B- Sides - Other/Non Album Songs - 4

Year
1981 - 2
1982 - 1
1983 - 5
1984 - 0
1985 - 1
1986 - 1
1989 - 0
1993 - 1
1995 - 2
2004 - 5
2014 - 1
2017 - 1
2021 - 1
2022 - 3

Next up, we start hitting a few big hits. Which one will it be?
 
Selected favorites from the #8s . Sneaking this one on before the 7s show up. There definitely was a lot to enjoy, and trimming this down to “selected” instead of “half the songs” proved very difficult once again. Shuffled as always.


Familiar songs:
I Need to Know - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Bird Set Free - Sia
Whiskey in the Jar - Thin Lizzy. I might have heard this once or twice…
I Put A Spell On You - Nina Simone. Getting into her very well-known performances
Pale Shelter - Tears for Fears

New discoveries:
Christopher Street - Tanya Donelly
333 - Against Me!
Alice Childress - Ben Folds
Oh, Lover - Royksopp
I’m Bad Like Jesse James - John Lee Hooker)

Shuffle Adventures:
Shuffle hit some huge hits (and great songs) from David Bowie, Prince and Kid Rock. With a more unknown (but still greatly appreciated) QotSA/Josh Homme song in between “U Got the Look” and “Bawitdaba”.
 
Know I'm behind on write ups, this is by far the busiest time of year for me as I'm sure I previously mentioned, but my #7 pick is the undisclosed artist I mentioned in the breakdown of who did what I picked - it's a B-side to what I think is the main artist's best track, and a cover of a song everyone here will have heard before. Just not this version. Homme played drums on this so it counts
 
Known-to-me favorites from #8:

U Got the Look
Pulled Up
For What It's Worth -- We might never have heard of Stills or Young without this song, Buffalo Springfield's only major hit during their short career. The first "anthem of a generation" written by any of CSNY, it was written as a reaction to the Sunset Strip curfew riots.
Heroes -- Arguably Bowie's most emotional song. When he ended his Live Aid set with this, I got all the feels.
Paper in Fire -- There's a good case to be made that Lonesome Jubilee is Mellencamp's best album.
Reach Down -- Absolutely epic. Probably my #1 non-Soundgarden Cornell song.
Pretty Good
Kill the King
 
Wasted on the Way

Like Pip stated, it's a Nash tune about CSN (and Y) - all the time wasted on stupid arguments/etc. And yes, for you sharp-eared folks, that's Timothy B. Schmit singing harmony too.
Daylight Again was mostly recorded without Crosby. It was going to be a Stills/Nash duo album. Schmidt was brought in to flesh out the harmonies. Then Atlantic Records said they were not interested in releasing the record unless Crosby was involved. He was deep in the throes of his cocaine addiction, barely functional, but Stills and Nash reluctantly summoned him. He added vocals to some of the material that had been worked on, and two songs from an abandoned Crosby solo album recorded in 1978 were salvaged and added to the record, with Stills and Nash adding harmonies to those. While the record gave them a commercial renaissance, the resulting tour was a disaster, with Crosby disappearing from the stage at times, and shortly thereafter Crosby had his fateful encounter with the Dallas police that would send him to jail and prompt him to get clean.

During the Stills/Nash sessions, they recorded a cover of Dear Mr. Fantasy that ended up on the 1991 CSN box set: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogpQoPCLMgA
 
8. Tales from the Riverbank
Album: Non-album B-side (1981)
Released as a single? B-side of Absolute Beginners

This B-side, which came to be revered among their fanbase, sounds little like anything else in The Jam's catalog. The slow burner is driven by a chilling bass line from Bruce Foxton and some Eastern-style guitar harmonics from Paul Weller. Each note is rife with emotion. And yet, when the tempo picks up just after 1:30, the dynamics sound a little bit like those of their original heroes, The Who. The melody is impeccable and leads one to question why this wasn't selected as an A-side. (Wiki says, without citation, that some at Polydor thought it should have been the A-side instead of Absolute Beginners.)

The lyrics contrast Weller's memories of running carefree in the meadows as a youth with the cynicism of adulthood:

Paradise found down by the still waters
Joined in the race to the rainbow's end
No fears no worries just a golden country
Woke at sunrise, went home at sunset

Now life is so critical, life is too cynical
We lose our innocence, we lose our very soul

True it`s a dream mixed with nostalgia
But it`s a dream that I'll always hang on to
That I'll always run to
Won't you join me by the riverbank

Weller likely also thinks of this song as special, as he re-recorded it (under the title "The Riverbank") for the B-side of his 1998 single Brand New Start.

Weller solo version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYcFLjyt3UA
Remixed alternate version (faster tempo, with horns) that appears on the Direction Reaction Creation box set: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re2jGxAb9JI
Fire and Skill 1981 disc (paired with That's Entertainment): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RORXOKWShBM
Radio 1 performance, included on The Jam at the BBC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ2j7vE-xwo. Both live performances use the alternate version arrangement.

Cover #8: War
Version 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5WbdF1bcYw
B-side of Just Who Is That 5 O'Clock Hero? import single (1982)
Version 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEvGYu0rSRM
Included on expanded version (12" or double 7") of Beat Surrender single (1982)
Writers: Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong
Original or best known version: Edwin Starr

This Motown classic, originally performed by The Temptations, was a US #1 hit for Edwin Starr and has been covered countless times over the last 50-odd years, as its subject matter unfortunately never goes out of date. The Jam laid down two versions of it. "Version 1", which appeared as one of two B-sides on the Just Who Is That 5 O'Clock Hero import single, is about a minute longer and sticks pretty close to the seething funk arrangement of Starr's version. Version 1 also appears on the deluxe version of The Gift. "Version 2" was an extra track on the expanded version of the Beat Surrender single. It also appears on the Extras compilation and the Direction Reaction Creation box set. It's brisk and funky and features ample help from a horn section and female backup singers, as well as Bruce Foxton doing his best Pino Palladino impression. Version 1 sounds more '70s and Version 2, more '80s.

At #7, a song that represented a tremendous leap in Paul Weller's songwriting that Weller almost scrapped.
 
8. Tales from the Riverbank
Album: Non-album B-side (1981)
Released as a single? B-side of Absolute Beginners

This B-side, which came to be revered among their fanbase, sounds little like anything else in The Jam's catalog. The slow burner is driven by a chilling bass line from Bruce Foxton and some Eastern-style guitar harmonics from Paul Weller. Each note is rife with emotion. And yet, when the tempo picks up just after 1:30, the dynamics sound a little bit like those of their original heroes, The Who. The melody is impeccable and leads one to question why this wasn't selected as an A-side. (Wiki says, without citation, that some at Polydor thought it should have been the A-side instead of Absolute Beginners.)

The lyrics contrast Weller's memories of running carefree in the meadows as a youth with the cynicism of adulthood:

Paradise found down by the still waters
Joined in the race to the rainbow's end
No fears no worries just a golden country
Woke at sunrise, went home at sunset

Now life is so critical, life is too cynical
We lose our innocence, we lose our very soul

True it`s a dream mixed with nostalgia
But it`s a dream that I'll always hang on to
That I'll always run to
Won't you join me by the riverbank


Weller likely also thinks of this song as special, as he re-recorded it (under the title "The Riverbank") for the B-side of his 1998 single Brand New Start.

Weller solo version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYcFLjyt3UA
Remixed alternate version (faster tempo, with horns) that appears on the Direction Reaction Creation box set: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re2jGxAb9JI
Fire and Skill 1981 disc (paired with That's Entertainment): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RORXOKWShBM
Radio 1 performance, included on The Jam at the BBC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ2j7vE-xwo. Both live performances use the alternate version arrangement.

Cover #8: War
Version 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5WbdF1bcYw
B-side of Just Who Is That 5 O'Clock Hero? import single (1982)
Version 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEvGYu0rSRM
Included on expanded version (12" or double 7") of Beat Surrender single (1982)
Writers: Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong
Original or best known version: Edwin Starr

This Motown classic, originally performed by The Temptations, was a US #1 hit for Edwin Starr and has been covered countless times over the last 50-odd years, as its subject matter unfortunately never goes out of date. The Jam laid down two versions of it. "Version 1", which appeared as one of two B-sides on the Just Who Is That 5 O'Clock Hero import single, is about a minute longer and sticks pretty close to the seething funk arrangement of Starr's version. Version 1 also appears on the deluxe version of The Gift. "Version 2" was an extra track on the expanded version of the Beat Surrender single. It also appears on the Extras compilation and the Direction Reaction Creation box set. It's brisk and funky and features ample help from a horn section and female backup singers, as well as Bruce Foxton doing his best Pino Palladino impression. Version 1 sounds more '70s and Version 2, more '80s.

At #7, a song that represented a tremendous leap in Paul Weller's songwriting that Weller almost scrapped.
The Guardian ranked what they thought were Paul Weller's 30 best songs and listed Tales from the Riverbank at #19. Here's what they said:
Pastoral psychedelia of a sort, albeit shot through Weller’s grimy early 80s lens – “life and death are carried in this stream”, he sings – and there’s a dark undercurrent to the music. Tales From the Riverbank is the perfect example of the Jam’s willingness to release superb, A-side quality songs as B-sides.
All but one of my top 8 Jam songs made that list.
 
#7's PLAYLIST
#7 -
PrinceRamsay Hunt ExperienceLet's Go Crazy
Tanya DonellyplinkoAre You Experienced?
Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix, 1993
Talking Headskupcho1Cities
Sia FurlerScoresmanUnstoppable
Los LoboseephusLa Bamba
The Seldom SceneCharlie SteinerStompin' at the Savoy
Kid RocksnellmanMidnight Train to Memphis (NSFW)
Against Me!scorchyManic Depression (Laura Jane Grace solo)
MastodonKarmaPolice Andromeda
Neko CaseMister CIAMadonna Of The Wasps
Faith No MoreJBBreakfastClubEasy
black midiJuxtatarotAscending Forth
Nina SimoneDon QuixoteDon’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, from Broadway-Blues-Ballads
Beastie BoysYo MamaPaul Revere
Drive-By TruckersDr. OctopusWhere the Devil Don't Stay
Jimmy Buffet-OZ-Nobody from Nowhere
The JamPip's InvitationDown in the Tube Station at Midnight
RöyksoppJMLs secret identity7 - Daddy’s Groove - Vocals by Röyksopp
Nick Cave and the Bad SeedssalterifficI'm gonna Kill that Woman
CSNYjwbJust a Song Before I Go
Roger ClyneMt. ManToday Belongs to the Light
David BermanThe Dreaded MarcoAdvice to the Graduate
David BowieBinky the Doormat1984
Pointer SistersMrs. RannousI'm So Excited

IncubusMAC_32Out From Under
John MellencamptuffnuttCheck It Out

Sufjan Stevens Ilov80sMystery of Love
Mike ShinodaJust Win BabyPlace To Start / Over Again
Chris Cornell Raging Weasel Exploder
Josh HommetitusbrambleMercy Mercy Me
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night SweatsAAABatteriesLove Don't
Kim MitchellSullieRockland Wonderland
Thin LizzyzamboniJailbreak
Collective SoulfalguyRun
Tears for FearsJohn Maddens LunchboxHead Over Heels (Vocal Roland)

Cheap TrickFairWarningI Want You To Want Me
John Prinelandrys hatSam Stone

Ben FoldsHov34Still Fighting It
Tom PettyZegras11Breakdown
Scott Hutchison snevenelevenThe Loneliness & The Scream
The New PornographersNorthern VoiceAll The Old Showstoppers
John Lee HookerDrIan MalcolmOne Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer

This is of course classic. And it's only half of Thorogood's song in terms of length, as Thorogood smashed together 2 John Lee songs for his. But still.
Rainbow Sam Quentin Long Live Rock and Roll
Pyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyzazaleString Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11, TH 111: III. Scherzo. Allegro non tanto
 

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