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

I thought we were making a playlist from the groups we've done in the MAD's. Slade and the Pointer Sisters are ready to contribute.

We can do that too :shrug:
I’m pretty sure Genesis has an epic 20 minute song about the journey of the three Magi while on peyote.

That time will be offset by the 2 minute punk/rap ode by the Beastie Boys to the Hanukkah Festival of Lights.
 
Los Lobos have a pretty good Christmas album.

Blur and Gorillaz released one holiday single each but it's a tough call to pick the less bad one.
 
Mike ShinodaJust Win BabyGiven Up

This is the 3rd song I have in my top 31 from the Linkin Park Minutes To Midnight album.

In 2020, Metal Hammer ranked the top 25 Linkin Park songs of all time and ranked Given Up at #13. Here is the writeup on the song from that ranking:

Definitely the heaviest song on Linkin Park’s third album Minutes To Midnight, and it features is swear word! Yup, Chester Bennington drops the F-bomb pretty early on into Given Up – not the squeaky clean spiky-haired singer we previously knew. But that’s not the only thing to note here, Chester also manages to deliver a throat-searing 18 second scream!

Compared to the majority of Minutes To Midnight, this is the most frantic track on the record, with a punked-up percussion and turbo-charged instrumentation like it’s a race to the finish.

“Woah! He said ‘****!’ That was most people’s first reaction upon hearing the heaviest track on the Minutes To Midnight album, with the LA band abandoned their long-standing ‘no swearing’ policy to let Chester B have a good old rant in the chorus,” wrote Paul Brannigan for TeamRock’s Top 10 Best Linkin Park Songs.

“Cleverly introduced by hand claps, pretty much guaranteeing the song’s status as a future live favourite, Given Up is a pure rager, with Bennington turning in a truly fantastic vocal performance.”

In 2021, Kerrang ranked the top 20 Linkin Park songs of all time and ranked Given Up at #12. Here is an excerpt about the song from that ranking:

The heaviest – and, arguably, best – song on Minutes To Midnight is a serrated stand-out amongst the high-sheen of that third Linkin Park full-length. Rolling in on a revved-up punk-rock engine, dropping an F-bomb that gobbed on the band’s previously unblemished image and generally thrashing about like their lives depended on it, this was a chaotic counterbalance to the calculated polish elsewhere. Also, Chester’s lung-busting 18-second scream is still an utterly remarkable battlecry…

Chester said this about the song:

On how the song came about, Chester said, "Given Up. That song went through some different vocal ideas, I mean, most of the songs kinda went through like mass amounts of changes, and I think Given Up probably had like 20 different versions of it." Rob adds, "Started off with Brad clapping his hands and shaking his keys. It was called 21 Stitches, I remember." Chester continued, "Yeah, right, and it kinda started more, a little more punk with the vibe, and then we kinda like mellowed that out and gave it a little more melody in the verses and stuff. I was going for something like really heavy right off the bat, but the chorus came right away. And the bridge, you know, that was kinda, like, we got stuck at that point and Mike was like, you know, 'just kinda like say something that you would actually say,' you know, like, meaning like out of frustration or in that moment in a movie, you know, that the lyrics can relate to, like, 'what would you do?' And so I just started to going off, pretty much. And the 18 seconds scream was kinda like a joke at first but it ended up staying which is like, I always end up doing something during one of the records I wish I didn't. It's good, but, like, I wish I didn't do it cause I've had to perform it every night, you know? Crawling was my first experience with that cause the chorus is like one long note and then, you know, with this one 18 second scream which is not easy to do every night."

Mike said this about the scream:

"One of our most notorious moments is this big scream on the bridge of Given Up. I think it's a 17- or 18-second-long scream. I had organized the song, and Chester hadn't gotten familiar with the structure of the song when he was singing it. I had written a lot, or most of, those lyrics, I think, and he had just learned them; he was reading them off of a piece of paper. We got to the bridge, and he knew that he was supposed to scream "Put me out of my misery," but he didn't know how many measures that part was. So he just held the note as long as he possibly could. He was having a really good day in the studio. He had a ton of control, and he got to that point and just let it go well into the next chorus. I don't remember exactly how far. And he's like, "I don't know how long just to scream that part." I'm like, "Dude, I'm not touching that vocal. That was amazing. I'm just going to rearrange the song around what you just did.""

Turn up the volume for this one!
 
I think Eephus has already done this though. I definitely have a Xmas draft Spotify playlist already with Good “Swing” Wenceslas.
We did a Xmas draft in 2016. The rules were overly complex and made minimal use of dice.

This time around, I'm envisioning full palooza mode with randomly selected daily categories and collaborative playlists


 
It's Friday night and I've got the urge to post youTube's of songs I like.

Previously selected song in this thread, Blue Arrangements performed by Stephen Malkmus. Nearly selected this guy over Neko Case. Easily a top-10 favorite guitarist, and possibly top-4.
 
Tonight we get one of the 2 Mastodon songs that are so good they made the cut for my daughter's playlist.

Favorite song from them overall is a tough one, but this would be in the running. Straight ahead rocker that if not favorite song overall probably has my favorite 30secs of their music in it. :headbang:
Tonight??
Is it Saturday am?
in Beijing, yes
I'm so confused
 
Tonight we get one of the 2 Mastodon songs that are so good they made the cut for my daughter's playlist.

Favorite song from them overall is a tough one, but this would be in the running. Straight ahead rocker that if not favorite song overall probably has my favorite 30secs of their music in it. :headbang:
Tonight??
Is it Saturday am?
in Beijing, yes
I'm so confused
So am I. You said tonight we get a new Mastodon song. I asked if it's being posted tonight. You asked if it's Sat AM. It's not SAT AM where I am at but it is SAT AM in China.
 
Tonight we get one of the 2 Mastodon songs that are so good they made the cut for my daughter's playlist.

Favorite song from them overall is a tough one, but this would be in the running. Straight ahead rocker that if not favorite song overall probably has my favorite 30secs of their music in it. :headbang:
Tonight??
Is it Saturday am?
in Beijing, yes
I'm so confused
So am I. You said tonight we get a new Mastodon song. I asked if it's being posted tonight. You asked if it's Sat AM. It's not SAT AM where I am at but it is SAT AM in China.
Are you sure it's not Thursday?
 
Tonight we get one of the 2 Mastodon songs that are so good they made the cut for my daughter's playlist.

Favorite song from them overall is a tough one, but this would be in the running. Straight ahead rocker that if not favorite song overall probably has my favorite 30secs of their music in it. :headbang:
Tonight??
Is it Saturday am?
in Beijing, yes
I'm so confused
So am I. You said tonight we get a new Mastodon song. I asked if it's being posted tonight. You asked if it's Sat AM. It's not SAT AM where I am at but it is SAT AM in China.
And I thought you were being sarcastic with the "tonight?", meaning I'm a ding dong and forgot the schedule of when these are released. :lol:
 
I'm even further behind than I was before.

Known-to-me favorites from #18:

Feed the Tree
Uh Oh, Love Comes to Town
Danko/Manuel -- I think this was taken in GP4
Carry Me -- Wind on the Water is a surprisingly good album from the "George and Ringo" of CSNY, Crosby and Nash. Carry Me, partly inspired by the death of his mother, is one of Crosby's best songs. I've seen him perform it twice, once with CSNY in 2006 and once with Nash in 2007.
Cat People (Putting Out Fire with Gasoline)
Cochise -- First thing I heard from Audioslave, knew they were gonna be legit
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
Blues Before Sunrise
 
18. Mr. Clean
Album: All Mod Cons (1978)
Released as a single? No

In the first entry from All Mod Cons I mentioned that the album may have saved The Jam's career, and Paul Weller being inspired by Ray Davies when he was writing its songs had a lot to do with the album's success. The album didn't get much more Kinks-ian than on this track, clearly influenced by A Well Respected Man but with more bite. Davies is ambiguous on how we are supposed to feel about his character, but Weller sneers at his character. "Class issues were very important to me at that time," Weller told The Guardian. "Woking has a bit of a stockbroker belt on its outskirts. So I had those images – people catching the train to Waterloo to go to the city. 'Mr Clean' was my view of that."

If you see me
In the street
Look away
'Cause I don't ever want to catch you
Looking at me
Mr. Clean
'Cause I hate you
And your wife
And if I get the chance
I'll f#ck up your life
Mr. Clean
Mr. Clean
Is that seen?

You'd think such contemptuous lyrics would be backed by punk wallop, but they're not. In fact, it may have been the most "mainstream" sounding track The Jam had recorded up to that point, with keening guitars and loping rhythms that wouldn't have sounded out of place on commercial FM stations in the US, had our country been paying attention to Weller and co. at the time.

Live Jam version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRKrkpB7eXE
Fire and Skill 1979 disc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGHwEvwS0aQ
Fire and Skill 1982 disc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO6QO3fH59c
1979 live version included on the deluxe edition of Setting Sons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb4wTh1xrtA

Cover #18: Every Little Bit Hurts
Demo of unknown-to-me origin; first released on the Direction Reaction Creation box set (1997)
Writer: Ed Cobb
Original or most famous version: Brenda Holloway

Brenda Holloway's 1964 hit ballad for Motown was also recorded by several of The Jam's influences and contemporaries, including The Spencer Davis Group, The Small Faces and The Clash. The Jam's own attempt boasts a sparse piano-and-acoustic guitar arrangement that is nothing special but allows Weller's impassioned vocal to shine.

At #17, one the the band's first forays into psychedelia, which became part of a massively successful single.
 
Known-to-me favorites from #17:

Heaven (Talking Heads) -- This was played at the memorial for a musician whom I crossed paths with during my Lost Years. I couldn't hold it in.
Long May You Run -- Ranked #67 in my Neil countdown. What I said there: "One of Neil's most sentimental and most quoted songs, this one means a lot of things to a lot of people. But it's actually about a car. Neil loves cars. It's also the only song from Neil's duo album with Stephen Stills that really holds up. The rest of it is not A-grade material from either of them, and has a lot of the "layered b------t" production of the time that Neil hated. Not surprisingly, live acoustic versions are often where this song shines the most."
The Jean Genie
He's So Shy
Minutes to Memories
Seasons -- Singles soundtrack FTW!
Battle of Who Could Care Less
Shadow of a Doubt (Complex Kid)
From Blown Speakers -- my #1 New Pornographers song. I have taken it in several drafts here.
 
17. The Dreams of Children
Album: Non-album single (1980)
Released as a single? Yes (UK #1; double A-side with Going Underground)

The psychedelia-tinged The Dreams of Children was a radical departure from The Jam's sound as it stood in early 1980, and was intended to be another statement of musical growth. It was selected as the A-side of the band's first single after the Setting Sons album, but a mistake at the pressing plant resulted in the single being labeled as a double A-side. The intended B-side, Going Underground, which more closely resembled the Setting Sons sound, was the song that attracted more attention and did the heavy lifting to get the Jam its first UK #1 single. But The Dreams of Children is also one of the band's best. Reflecting the Beatles obsession that would be displayed even more obviously with Start! (#23 on this list) a few months later, The Dreams of Children also repurposes the Taxman bassline, this time as a guitar riff, and also shows off Fab Four production/arrangement trickery like backwards passages (including the word "thieves" from the chorus of Thick As Thieves, a Setting Sons album track) and trumpet flourishes. Rhythmically, the tune was more of a piece with their recent material, and the bassline sounds a bit like that of The Eton Rifles, their smash single from a few months prior. The lyrics contrast the carefree optimism of young children with the soul-crushing adult world.

I fell in love with the dreams of children
I saw a vision of all the happy days
I've caught a fashion from the dreams of children
But woke up sweating from this modern nightmare, and
I was alone, no one was there
I was alone, no one was there


Music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK2UahaiKKU
Dig the New Breed version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=623IfFtb8o8
Fire and Skill 1980 disc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X23LJgU4CRI
Fire and Skill 1982 disc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuyWwj_WPQk

Cover #17: Waterloo Sunset
Demo recorded during sessions for Sound Affects (1980); included on deluxe edition of that album
Writer: Ray Davies
Original or most famous version: The Kinks

More successful than their version of Dead End Street because of how the music churns along, Waterloo Sunset still suffers from Paul Weller being unable to capture the nuances of Ray Davies' vocal. (As mentioned before, they did find a way around this which will be seen later.)

At #16, a hard-charging song that is the clear standout on the album it comes from.
 
I just discovered that the Pointer SIsters made a recording for Sesame Street in 1976.

So here is a bonus track complete with animation.
I was hoping that was going to be on your list. I used to love that song.
I was juuuust a bit too old for Seame Street. I was ten when it started and living in Germany, so I didn't see any of it. Glad I could include it here. Maybe I should sub it in on the Spotify playlist, since one of my picks isn't on there.
 
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night SweatsAAABatteriesHey Mama

Not that my write-ups are any good but my apologies for falling behind - work has been crazy lately.

Anyway, I had mentioned that some who are familiar with Rateliff would maybe be surprised to see this song this low. First, the top 20 songs of any artist we choose we are going to love so it's kind of picking between your favorite kids - you have them you just to hate to say it out loud ;) I kid - but this song is fantastic lyrically:

Better start acting like
This here's a race
You ain't gone far enough to say - At least I tried
You ain't worked hard enough to say - Well I've done mine
You ain't run far enough to say - My legs have failed
You ain't gone far enough
You ain't worked hard enough
You ain't run far enough to say - It ain't gonna get any better


It's like Jimmy V said - don't ever give up.
 
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night SweatsAAABatteriesLook It Here

This is my second selection from the self-titled album, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. Several more to come from my favorite album of theirs.

Look it Here could maybe be the single song I could pick to introduce someone to the band - it has everything.....The soulful and powerful voice from Rateliff - the rock and roll - the energy - the big sound of the band with the sax, trumpet and drums. I love everything about it.

Look it here, baby I'm coming home
On my knees, baby, yeah
Look it here, baby I'm coming home
Crying now, hear me plead
 

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