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Middle Aged Dummies!! Artists #1's have been posted!! (7 Viewers)

#4 "I Was Made To Love Her"

I've taken this song in so many drafts here, there's not much new for me to add in comments about it. Coupla things, though:

1. I've always wondered if Suzy was white (or if the singer's family was rich and hers was poor) based on the parents' disapproval of the relationship.

2. There's no real verse/chorus structure on this record. It's just keeps winding up and winding up - like a Sugar Ray Leonard bolo punch on eternal loop.

3. This is yet another example of a '60s song by a black artist that has a wonderful guitar line, but it often gets lost when discussing the song because there's not endless wankery like......oh, I don't know....let's pick someone entirely at random.......I just opened the dictionary and the word "Clapton" came up.

4. Stevie Wonder lets out one of the best non-James-Brown screams in rock history on this one. He was like 16 or 17 years old.... it's not fair.
 
Foo FightersJust Win BabyThe Pretender

The Pretender is the third song I chose from Echoes, Silence, Patience And Grace, the Foos' 6th studio album. The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard US Alternative Rock chart and #1 on the US Mainstream Rock chart. It was nominated for 3 Grammy awards -- Best Rock Song, Record of the Year, and Best Hard Rock Performance -- and won for the latter (Best Hard Rock Performance).

Videos:
About this song:

In a 2007 interview with XFM, frontman Dave Grohl stopped short of explaining the meaning behind "The Pretender", but alluded its roots go to political unrest of the time it was written. Grohl noted: "That's the thing with lyrics, you never want to give away specifics, because it's nice for people to have their own idea or interpretation of the song. But, you know, everyone's been ****ed over before and I think a lot of people feel ****ed over right now and they're not getting what they were promised, and so something to do with that."

Grohl also told XFM "The Pretender" was not initially planned for the album and happened really quickly:

That song didn't happen until later on in the session. We didn't go into making the record with that song and it happened after we recorded a lot of stuff. Up until that point, I didn't know if we had a good opening song or not. So after we recorded it, I thought, "oh this is perfect, we have the song to open the record," and it just became everybody's favorite song. ... It's the type of song that I look forward to opening shows with and it came together really easily... We put that song together in, I don't know, a day, whereas a lot of the other songs we worked on for weeks.

In 2020, Kerrang ranked the top 20 all-time Foo Fighters songs and ranked The Pretender #5. This is their writeup:

Opening with a melancholic passage openly indebted to The Beatles’ While My Guitar Gently Weeps and closing with that furious demand of ‘Who are you?’ nodding to The Who’s infamous smasher titled the same, The Pretender feels like Foo Fighters staking their claim to rock’n’roll immortality. Produced by the legendary Gil Norton and possessed of a singular smashing energy, it won over the few dissenting voices in our community claiming that this band didn’t have what it took to be true Monsters Of Rock. Ironically, Dave himself has noted that the track was inspired subconsciously by the Sesame Street sing-along One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other. We’d love to see Kermit The Frog jumping in the pit for this!

In 2023, Consequence of Sound ranked what they characterized as all 156 Foo Fighters songs up to that point, ranking The Pretender #7. Here is their writeup:

The first (and best) track off Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, “The Pretender” carries over both the aggression and violins from the Foo’s previous effort, merging what was separated on In Your Honor into one bracing single. Grohl’s rage-filled vocals question authority, bite back against conformity, and yet he never distances himself from the listener. Does the message end up an afterthought to said listeners? Absolutely, but that’s only because Grohl writes better hooks than most other “rock” stars of our era. He’s too busy engaging his audience both on record and on the road to be concerned about boring ol’ messages, anyway.

Earlier this year (2014 article was updated "4 years ago" but includes songs from their album released this year), Spin ranked what they characterized as all 152 Foo Fighters songs up to that point, ranking The Pretender #12. Here is their writeup:

Grohl’s radio-ready songmaking style of choice has left plenty of room for dynamic shifts and shimmies, but offered little space in the way of true epics. “The Pretender” comes close, with an intro bitten off of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” before quickly hitting the crunch-crunch highway that fans and detractors alike are all too familiar with. As rock’s most outspoken careerist, it’s no surprise that Dave’ll “never surrender.” But more indicative of his legacy might be the chant of “Who are you? Who are you?” at the end. The other band that sang that has yet to surrender either.
 
Been awol for a bit once again. Wanted to post this version of my #5 Can I sit Next To You Girl because it's the original singer Dave Evans and although he's not bad, it's certainly a bit too cookie cutter for the band and think it's safe to say they made the right choice to move to Bon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biaGJ_4rEzE

I dig the intro. I would have expected these lyrics to be Bon lyrics but obviously was written before he came to the band.

Another interesting tidbit is that Malcolm is playing a good chunk of the solos.


As for my #4 Highway To Hell there's not a lot to say. It's a classic. I'm sure everybody recognizes it after the first three notes.
 
4 - Sigur Ros - Viðrar vel til loftárása (Good Day for an Air Strike) - 1999

I think this is the song that originally made me love the band. There is a long, but gorgeous intro with piano and Gilmour-esque sliding guitar, eventually giving way to Jonsi's distant, yet calming vocals. And of course an epic drum and string climax at 7:54.

This song also features one of the best music videos I've ever seen. It's very moving and was somewhat controversial at the time of its release. It centers around a love interest between two young boys in Iceland in the 1950s. It won several awards, and is worth watching. And if the spotify song is too long for you, the video cuts out most of the intro and removed over 2 minutes.

 
4.
L.A.- Elliott Smith
of the Figure 8 album


"LA
Things are never done, car's parked in the sun
Living in the day
Last night I was about to throw it all away"


If you've ever played Guitar Hero (5 I think) you may have heard this one. Its my favorite off Figure 8 and is a pretty straight forward rock song. I admit I may have this ranked WAY higher than many other Elliott fans would... but, for me, this one just hits. It certainly is one of his more upbeat songs. I love the guitar work on this one. The "chunky" little riff in the chorus is so good. This is a guitar driven song, with some pockets of nice melodies... lyrics are just ok but I love the " LIVING IN THE DAAAAAY, LAST NIGHT I WAS ABOUT TO THROW IT ALL AWAAAY" Idk... just love this song
 
Among the new-to-me songs or songs I recognized by title but couldn't remember what they sounded like from #6 that I liked include:

The Eye
Blame It on the Tetons
The Crane Wife 3
21st Century Breakdown
No Name No. 5
Skin Deep
Everybody Knows -- may be my favorite Ryan Adams so far
Keep Your Hands Off My Power Supply -- may be my favorite Slade so far
Electric Worry -- Yep, this is basically a ZZ Top song
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner -- had forgotten this was an antiwar ballad
Ride On -- sounds very different from the usual AC/DC stuff. Intriguing.
Chill Out Tent -- great performances by all, and kind of funny
Go Back -- the drumming is insanely good
I Don't Need No Doctor -- I know Humble Pie's version but had never heard Ray's, which may as well be a completely different song
Outside -- I haven't listened to Sonic Highways in forever and forgot what it sounded like aside from The Pretender
She's in Parties
Wheat Kings
Border Song -- If this was called "Holy Moses" I would have known what it was before listening
 
Shine a Little Love

It's disco ELO!!!

Well, sort of. Yes, the Discovery album is certainly influenced by disco to a degree - they turned up the bass on most songs and started losing the strings - but most feel more like a half rock/half disco mix. That said, this one is easily the most likely to hit a "all your favorite disco hits of the 70's" soundtrack. It's pretty fun too - hard to find anything at fault here.
 
Shine a Little Love

It's disco ELO!!!

Well, sort of. Yes, the Discovery album is certainly influenced by disco to a degree - they turned up the bass on most songs and started losing the strings - but most feel more like a half rock/half disco mix. That said, this one is easily the most likely to hit a "all your favorite disco hits of the 70's" soundtrack. It's pretty fun too - hard to find anything at fault here.
In fact, just before this album was recorded, Lynne fired the band's three-person string section and used orchestras when he needed them. The in-house string section was temporarily re-hired to appear in the promo videos for Discovery songs such as this and Don't Bring Me Down.
 
One more Reece track yet to come and it can give me chills if I stop and let it.
If this is what I think it is, the women in the crowd of my second TOD show absolutely swooned when he performed it.

Inexplicably, if this is what I think it is, said track was not performed at my first TOD show despite it being on their current album at the time.
 
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Shine a Little Love

It's disco ELO!!!

Well, sort of. Yes, the Discovery album is certainly influenced by disco to a degree - they turned up the bass on most songs and started losing the strings - but most feel more like a half rock/half disco mix. That said, this one is easily the most likely to hit a "all your favorite disco hits of the 70's" soundtrack. It's pretty fun too - hard to find anything at fault here.
In fact, just before this album was recorded, Lynne fired the band's three-person string section and used orchestras when he needed them. The in-house string section was temporarily re-hired to appear in the promo videos for Discovery songs such as this and Don't Bring Me Down.

and on the keyboards no less!
 
Shine a Little Love

It's disco ELO!!!

Well, sort of. Yes, the Discovery album is certainly influenced by disco to a degree - they turned up the bass on most songs and started losing the strings - but most feel more like a half rock/half disco mix. That said, this one is easily the most likely to hit a "all your favorite disco hits of the 70's" soundtrack. It's pretty fun too - hard to find anything at fault here.
In fact, just before this album was recorded, Lynne fired the band's three-person string section and used orchestras when he needed them. The in-house string section was temporarily re-hired to appear in the promo videos for Discovery songs such as this and Don't Bring Me Down.

and on the keyboards no less!
Yeah, at least for Don't Bring Me Down (which has no strings). So I don't know what that was about.
 
Ok, to elaborate on what I was saying the other day - the track featuring the main sample of my #4 pick:


And then the orchestral version of the end result

 
The Hold Steady “Realistic” Dream Setlist Song 28: Slapped Actress

They come in for the beating, sit in stadium seating.
They're holding their hands out, for the body and blood now.
We're the directors, our hands will hold steady.
I'll be John Cassavettes, let me know when you're ready.


Album: Stay Positive (Song 4 of 5)

Year: 2008

# of Times Seen Live:11 of 38 shows

The Story: One thing I love about traveling with my son vs my wife is that we walked almost 10 miles around Amsterdam today and not once did he ask me to slow down or insist that we take a tram or uber. All that's to say it’s midnight here, my legs are killing me, and I can’t think of anything remotely interesting to write about Slapped Actress- just another epic song to close out another great THS record.
 
Damon Albarn song #4

Blur - "Popscene" non-album single (1992)


In hindsight, "Popscene" is ground zero for Britpop but at the time it made little impression on the UK charts stalling out at #32, lower than two singles off their debut album.

Blur's sound is more frenetic than usual and almost grungy if you take away the horns. It is one of those songs that assimilates decades of English Pop-- there's a bit of Bowie, some Jam, some Punk all rolled up and put into new packaging. I love how Damon just spits out the title of the song almost as an afterthought just to get to the alright.

Popscene is also the name of a long-running club night in San Francisco that's been putting on shows around the Bay for over a quarter century. The promotion is an imprimatur of local cool and has exposed me to lots of great bands and fun nights out over the decades including as recently as last weekend.

Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/track/3ZYYnEBVTsMutqF8zDF5Vw

Early performance of the song on BBC 4 (1991)
 
The Hold Steady “Realistic” Dream Setlist Song 28: Slapped Actress

They come in for the beating, sit in stadium seating.
They're holding their hands out, for the body and blood now.
We're the directors, our hands will hold steady.
I'll be John Cassavettes, let me know when you're ready.


Album: Stay Positive (Song 4 of 5)

Year: 2008

# of Times Seen Live:11 of 38 shows

The Story: One thing I love about traveling with my son vs my wife is that we walked almost 10 miles around Amsterdam today and not once did he ask me to slow down or insist that we take a tram or uber. All that's to say it’s midnight here, my legs are killing me, and I can’t think of anything remotely interesting to write about Slapped Actress- just another epic song to close out another great THS record.
Some days this is my favourite Hold Steady song.
 
I listened to Talking Sh!t on a Pretty Sunset for the first time today and I thought it was amazing.

Very cool. Might very well have been in my Top 31. I might do my Top 31 MM tracks after we're done. See how they compare with Marco's 31.
I fully intend to post my top 31 of some of the artists from this countdown I'm most familiar with, including Genesis, Rush, Phish, Rundgren and Stevie.
 
I listened to Talking Sh!t on a Pretty Sunset for the first time today and I thought it was amazing.

Very cool. Might very well have been in my Top 31. I might do my Top 31 MM tracks after we're done. See how they compare with Marco's 31.
I fully intend to post my top 31 of some of the artists from this countdown I'm most familiar with, including Genesis, Rush, Phish, Rundgren and Stevie.
I thought about doing this too, particularly with Modest Mouse, Spoon, The Hold Steady but it feels like a lot of work.
 
Hoo-boy! Those #4s!

As I mentioned last night, I'd been through the first dozen or so and felt that were all very good. Today I listened to the balance, and...they're all still very good! Really not a single one that I didn't enjoy at least a bit.

In addition to some known favorites I already mentioned, I think the following could be - can't say for sure until I do my full relisten - my favorite new-to-me songs from these artists:

"Don't Tame a Hurricane" by Slade
"The Regulator" by Clutch
"Pieces" by Dinosaur Jr.
"The French Inhaler" by Warren Zevon
"Nutshell" by Alice in Chains
"Popscene" by Blur
"Stigmata Martyr" by Bauhaus
"Gift Shop" by The Tragically Hip

Also wanted to give a special shout-out to "Shine a Little Love" by ELO - I'd forgotten this song entirely and loved hearing it again.
 
I thought about doing this too, particularly with Modest Mouse, Spoon, The Hold Steady but it feels like a lot of work.

If it feels like work, then that's maybe not such a hot idea. If I did it, it'd be purely fun and purely for myself -- and not thought about a ton. I'd draw the line there. It'd be more of a one-off what-strikes-me-at-the-moment kind of thing. I also wouldn't expect anyone to even listen to it or to read it. Maybe just have the potential for interested parties to comment.
 
I listened to Talking Sh!t on a Pretty Sunset for the first time today and I thought it was amazing.

Very cool. Might very well have been in my Top 31. I might do my Top 31 MM tracks after we're done. See how they compare with Marco's 31.
I fully intend to post my top 31 of some of the artists from this countdown I'm most familiar with, including Genesis, Rush, Phish, Rundgren and Stevie.
I thought about doing this too, particularly with Modest Mouse, Spoon, The Hold Steady but it feels like a lot of work.
I'm the guy who ranked every song taken in the geographical countdowns against each other, so this is nothing for me. :laugh:
 
I thought about doing this too, particularly with Modest Mouse, Spoon, The Hold Steady but it feels like a lot of work.

If it feels like work, then that's maybe not such a hot idea. If I did it, it'd be purely fun and purely for myself -- and not thought about a ton. I'd draw the line there. It'd be more of a one-off what-strikes-me-at-the-moment kind of thing. I also wouldn't expect anyone to even listen to it or to read it. Maybe just have the potential for interested parties to comment.
Yeah, this is how I would approach it. There won't be any serious academic rigor going on.
 
The new-to-me (or forgotten) songs from #5 that I liked included:

Talking Sh!t About a Pretty Sunset -- Holy moly, this is a masterpiece
Riviera Paradise -- At the beginning it seemed like it was going to turn into Down by the River, but it didn't 😞
The Sporting Life -- Great melody
All St. Day -- Haven't listened to Elena's Tomb in forever, this is a gem
Simulation Swarm -- Excellent arrangement and it seems like Adrianne Lenker is singing with the cadence of ... Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock
Miss Misery -- yeah, I sort of remember this, it's very well-crafted
Grip -- forthright
When the Stars Go Blue -- also a great melody
Cheap 'N Nasty Luv -- not the most uplifting lyrics, but the music slams
Dreaming of 4000 -- A few years ago I listened to each ELO album up through Time once. I didn't remember this but it's pretty cool.
Cypress Grove
They Always Come
Kingdom of Rust
Held
Grace, Too -- epic
I Remember -- enchanting
 
I listened to the #5 playlist.

Excluding my own song, I already knew that I liked these songs:
  • Police - Don't Stand So Close To Me
  • Kinks - Lola
  • Chicago - Just You 'N' Me
  • Alice In Chains - Heaven Beside You
  • Queen, David Bowie - Under Pressure
  • Heart - Crazy On You
  • Simon & Garfunkel - The Boxer
On first listen to this playlist, these were the unfamiliar songs I liked the best:
  • Brandi Carlile - The Joke - my favorite by her so far
  • Modest Mouse - Talking **** About a Pretty Sunset
  • Ryan Adams - When The Stars Go Blue
  • Spoon - Held
Another great playlist!

I have been putting the songs I identify in these posts in a spreadsheet. I'm up to 234 songs. So far that group of songs includes at least one song from 41 of the 46 artists in the countdown.

Almost caught up!
 
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get them fries ready 🍟 got some ketchup to do here ...

She's In Parties

outside of the well-worn "Bela", this are prolly their most widely known original tune (Ziggy being a cover, of course) to those outside the circles - see the attached vid for proof - also holds the distinction of being the last official release of the band's '79-'83 run ... this were the farewell to the troops.

dominated by Danny's winding guitar wails - perhaps his most expressive playing ever laid down ... if it doesn't grab ya right away, don't bother - but do check yer pulse.

the graveyard scene/the golden years/she's in parties/it's in the can

bonus personal bump for being the subject of the first full back tattoo i ever saw ... the single release cover were meticulously inked on a young lady i met in the mid 80s ... mind you, these were the days looong before everybody and their f****** mom started getting work done - so to see such a piece, especially on a senior at Paul VI high school, no less, and on the back! were mind blowing. i absolutely adored her, and spent more time in Jersey (Clifton) courting her than i care to let on - let's just say it became mutual, once she got over my "accent" (she were polish/ukraine, and sounded every bit of that Slavic mix). she passed in her 20s under murky circumstances, never really got the full story - still after 30 or so years 🖤

back to the 'haus, and that vid - legend has it the three "co-stars" became increasingly frustrated/bored with Peter being featured (art imitating life) ... the romp around the pole and dancing from Danny and David J at the end were improvised as a result - they were done as a group, but left us with an amazing banger.

Stigmata Martyr (live)

from their "In The Flat Field" debut, which is as crucial a post-punk platter as anything the horn rimmed rankers will ever cop to ...

folk may think "OMG! GOFF! like, devil and anti-Christianity stuff, amirite!!!?!??"

no. it really weren't about that for the most part ... moar Victorian romance and intrigue and horror, at least to the earlier wave ... not to say the more nefarious themes did not exist in certain quarters, but, let's just say it ain't exactly Black Metal 🤘

the lads took a right flogging to some of the religious canons, sure ... this being the most urgent - wish i heard this tune back on my first week of Latin in HS, 'cuz Petey delivers with such conviction - woulda been kindred.

this live version cranks the swats up quite a bit ... there are a certain undeniable power in their delivery - as tuff as the album version are, this prolly aces it, tbh - that's saying a ton, considering the brilliance of the studio track.

🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇🦇
 
Wednesday was a wash for me, but let me get caught up with some selected (and shuffled) #4s. Definitely some favorites new and old here.

*Homeward Bound - Simon & Garfunkel
*Angel, Won’t You Call Me - The Decemberists
*Walking on the Moon - The Police. “So Lonely” is the one that sticks with me, but this would be my #2.
*Can I Sit Next to You - Spoon. Possibly my favorite from them in this countdown.
*Down With Disease - Phish. Oh, right. I know (and really like) this one!
*I Was Made to Love Her - Stevie Wonder
*Popscene - Blur
*The Regular - Clutch
*The Gift Shop - The Tragically Hip
*L.A. - Elliott Smith
*Isis Unveiled - Trail of Dead - Really enjoyed this song. Also a favorite, if not necessarily #1.
*I’m A Man - Chicago.
 
Geriatric pet update.

We have two cats left after Cassidy died last year. One is Nassau, his 13-year-old biological half-sister. She is tiny to begin with and has been losing weight. Her blood test in April indicated hyperthyroidism. We went through this last year with our other cat Boo.

She is a more complicated case as her degree of hyperthyroidism is milder than you would expect from her degree of weight loss.

Testing last week indicated that her T4 level is a bit higher than it was in April, but that there is something else going on.

Her vitamin B12 level is very low, indicating her body is not absorbing it correctly. This is usually due to one of two things. The first is a pancreas issue, but her numbers there are normal. The second is an intestinal issue. That usually means IBD or small-cell lymphoma. You can get a biopsy to find out for sure but it’s $3500, so we can’t do that.

She is getting another blood test today to determine the extent her thyroid is healthy/functioning. This will determine whether she can get the radioiodide treatment that cures hyperthyroidism, which Boo got last year. If she’s not a candidate for it then she’ll have to go on pills.

She will have to go on B12 supplements. We are deciding whether to do pills or injections.

Then we will have to decide how we will treat the intestinal issue. Most likely with steroids under the assumption it’s IBD.
Nassau is having her radioiodide treatment on Monday. Because of a miscommunication we hadn’t gotten her final pre-procedure X-rays and bloodwork done, so I am at the vet with her to take care of that now.
 
Geriatric pet update.

We have two cats left after Cassidy died last year. One is Nassau, his 13-year-old biological half-sister. She is tiny to begin with and has been losing weight. Her blood test in April indicated hyperthyroidism. We went through this last year with our other cat Boo.

She is a more complicated case as her degree of hyperthyroidism is milder than you would expect from her degree of weight loss.

Testing last week indicated that her T4 level is a bit higher than it was in April, but that there is something else going on.

Her vitamin B12 level is very low, indicating her body is not absorbing it correctly. This is usually due to one of two things. The first is a pancreas issue, but her numbers there are normal. The second is an intestinal issue. That usually means IBD or small-cell lymphoma. You can get a biopsy to find out for sure but it’s $3500, so we can’t do that.

She is getting another blood test today to determine the extent her thyroid is healthy/functioning. This will determine whether she can get the radioiodide treatment that cures hyperthyroidism, which Boo got last year. If she’s not a candidate for it then she’ll have to go on pills.

She will have to go on B12 supplements. We are deciding whether to do pills or injections.

Then we will have to decide how we will treat the intestinal issue. Most likely with steroids under the assumption it’s IBD.
Nassau is having her radioiodide treatment on Monday. Because of a miscommunication we hadn’t gotten her final pre-procedure X-rays and bloodwork done, so I am at the vet with her to take care of that now.
Bummer, hope it all works out!
 
Round 4 thoughts:

Lots of greatness on this playlist.

New to me songs I liked from Modest Mouse !!!, Decemberists, Trail of Dead, Sigur Ros, Big Thief, Elliott Smith, Ryan Adams, ELO, Dino Jr, Doves, Prodigy, Tragically Hip, and Deadmau5

Chicago - I always thought if Shaft had a cool white sidekick, this would be his theme song. Great song.

Spoon - this was the song I was first introduced to by Spoon in a draft here (I think the six words or greater draft). My favorite Spoon song.

Other top known to me songs from Police (my #2), SRV (1), Rush (5), Steely Dan (2), Daft Punk (1), Alice In Chains (2), AC/DC (2), Foos (3), S&G (5ish). I’m not mentioning a number of other known songs I like that aren’t in my personal top 5s.
 
Knew 15 of the 4's, 16 if I count the Chicago cover. This is my favorite playlist so far with only a couple songs I didn't like and a bunch I liked alot.
Since I liked so many I'm just going to highlight the likes by artists that don't usually do much for me. In playlist order
Genesis,Big Theif, Elliot Smith,Ryan Adams,Phish, Warren Zevon, The Hold Steady, Bauhaus and Deadmau5.
Great job this round and like Sting sings "keep it up"
 

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