Middle Aged Dummies!! Artists #1's have been posted!! (2 Viewers)

[plinko]

After my post above, I would like to announce that I have moved myself up to @Pip's Invitation level posting, even for just one day.

We can be heroes!

 

[plinko]

@Don Quixote did you hear the sonic boom?

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Early, bizarre interview with bandleader Conrad Keely, pre-Source Tags. Bear through it for a brief exchange about The Wall.

Say what you will, this kid turns out to be one of the American* artistic geniuses of our generation

https://youtu.be/h7LQbVKjNhg

* actually born in London

Which leads me to, since its two core members met in high school on Oahu, would that make them the best rock band out of the Aloha State and by about a million miles?

My familiarity with such things is not great, so, sure?

 

[Pip's Invitation]

After my post above, I would like to announce that I have moved myself up to @Pip's Invitation level posting, even for just one day.

I, I remember…

 

[Tau837]

Breakdown by album for my top 31 Foos list:

2 - Foo Fighters (1995)
3 - The Colour And The Shape (1997)
4 - There Is Nothing Left To Lose (1999)
3 - One By One (2002)
6 - In Your Honor (2005) - double album
2 - Skin And Bones (2006) - live album
3 - Echoes, Silence, Patience, And Grace (2007)
0 - Greatest Hits (2009)
3 - Wasting Light (2011)
3 - Sonic Highways (2014)
1 - Saint Cecilia EP (2015)
1 - Concrete And Gold (2017)
0 - Medicine At Midnight (2021)
0 - But Here We Are (2023) - just released on June 2
0 - B-Sides

Play time for the 31 song list is 2:20.

 

[otb_lifer]

@Zegras11 : in some of the other countdowns, we posted a "first 5 out". Do you have any preference on this, i.e., do you encourage or discourage this?

My first post of the #31's will be Tuesday at around 6pm MT, 8pm ET. If people want to start posting those Monday, that would be great. I didn't keep my last 5. LOL

Wouldnt last 5 outs being posted early spoil the surprise for will it/wont it be included?
I know most of my last 5 outs for the Stranglers would be what other people consider top 31 songs for the band.

As if everyone knows 31 songs by the Stranglers...

Since some posters think it would take away from the top 31, I'll wait and post my 32+ list after the countdown.

They had surprise surprise, 31 top 50 hits in the UK, over a dozen top 20 albums and hits all around the world.
Just not in the US.

this ^

hell, i'll know more of the Stranglers selections than, say, the likes of Chicago - we shouldn't use such broad brushes - Stranglers s*** is solid, and deep.

folks will see

 

[Mister CIA]

I've exposed myself to 10 or 11 Sigur Ros songs, ever. One is included on my top 100 all time song list.

 

[rockaction]

I’m gonna take a JML fairness tactic and tell you all there’s no way I’m reading about the personal attachments to forty or fifty bands. Just can’t do it. So I’ll spare you all the Daft Punk write-ups and just let the songs do the talking. No context required. Dance music!

 

[Scoresman]

I've exposed myself to 10 or 11 Sigur Ros songs, ever. One is included on my top 100 all time song list.

May i ask which one out of curiosity?

 

[Dr. Octopus]

I’m gonna take a JML fairness tactic and tell you all there’s no way I’m reading about the personal attachments to forty or fifty bands. Just can’t do it. So I’ll spare you all the Daft Punk write-ups and just let the songs do the talking. No context required. Dance music!

I may comment on some of mine. I hope some people find the songs enjoyable and want to explore him on their own. I may read people’s song posts, I may skim some - I hope to be able to get through every playlist timely. The music will be the most important part of the experience for me.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

@Zegras11 : in some of the other countdowns, we posted a "first 5 out". Do you have any preference on this, i.e., do you encourage or discourage this?

My first post of the #31's will be Tuesday at around 6pm MT, 8pm ET. If people want to start posting those Monday, that would be great. I didn't keep my last 5. LOL

Wouldnt last 5 outs being posted early spoil the surprise for will it/wont it be included?
I know most of my last 5 outs for the Stranglers would be what other people consider top 31 songs for the band.

As if everyone knows 31 songs by the Stranglers...

Since some posters think it would take away from the top 31, I'll wait and post my 32+ list after the countdown.

They had surprise surprise, 31 top 50 hits in the UK, over a dozen top 20 albums and hits all around the world.
Just not in the US.

this ^

hell, i'll know more of the Stranglers selections than, say, the likes of Chicago - we shouldn't use such broad brushes - Stranglers s*** is solid, and deep.

folks will see

I’m excited to hear them. I took one of their songs in the U.K. Countdown but admittedly it was one of their better known songs. My knowledge isn’t deep with them

 

[Scoresman]

Good timing for me. Wife just got a new job that has her back in the office so I can blast the playlists while working all morning/day.

 

[Scoresman]

I’m probably going to appreciate the write ups more for the bands/artists I don’t know very well. It’s also why I’m providing what I’ve been providing.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

@Zegras11 : in some of the other countdowns, we posted a "first 5 out". Do you have any preference on this, i.e., do you encourage or discourage this?

My first post of the #31's will be Tuesday at around 6pm MT, 8pm ET. If people want to start posting those Monday, that would be great. I didn't keep my last 5. LOL

Wouldnt last 5 outs being posted early spoil the surprise for will it/wont it be included?
I know most of my last 5 outs for the Stranglers would be what other people consider top 31 songs for the band.

As if everyone knows 31 songs by the Stranglers...

Since some posters think it would take away from the top 31, I'll wait and post my 32+ list after the countdown.

They had surprise surprise, 31 top 50 hits in the UK, over a dozen top 20 albums and hits all around the world.
Just not in the US.

this ^

hell, i'll know more of the Stranglers selections than, say, the likes of Chicago - we shouldn't use such broad brushes - Stranglers s*** is solid, and deep.

folks will see

I’m excited to hear them. I took one of their songs in the U.K. Countdown but admittedly it was one of their better known songs. My knowledge isn’t deep with them

You’re about to hear some weird, some interesting, some misogynistic and some great stuff. Sometimes all in 1 song.

Out of the 31 singles to make the top 50 in the UK, I am only including 17 of them. 5 of my 32-38 are singles.

Will do a brief introduction of the band soon.

 

[Don Quixote]

@Don Quixote did you hear the sonic boom?

I did not, but seeing that some others heard it where I am in Alexandria. Think I was inside with the AirPods on giving my playlist a last listen at the time.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I’m probably going to appreciate the write ups more for the bands/artists I don’t know very well. It’s also why I’m providing what I’ve been providing.

This is why I was leaning towards posting some thoughts. I am new to them, so it's not like I am the one who should be educating people on Dino Jr., either, so it probably won't be overly long.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Currently listening to a series of Stranglers EP's on YouTube. Love the sound of Greenfield's keyboards.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

The Stranglers

Quick Comparison - The Doors
Mainly because of the keyboards from Dave Greenfield doing his Ray Manzarek impressions. His solos are often carefully rehearsed free form lol. This stood them apart from the other punk acts of the time and also allowed them to move effortlessly into new wave and then adult pop.

The Drums
Jet Black was the veteran of the band and almost 40 when punk hit, the rest of the band were over 25 when the youth ran wild in 1977. Black was a steady force who complemented the ferocious bass playing from band driving force Jean Jacques-Burnel .

Vocals and Guitar
Hugh Cornwall
With a degree in Biochemistry and Post Grad work in Sweden, Cornwall was the intellect of the band. Jean Jacques Burnel idolised him as he developed his own voice. Cornwall had an aggressive vocal, but often with the dry wit and wry delivery familiar to the english middle class. He sung 80% of the material, with JJB singing 19% of the rest. He grew bored of the band in 1990 and became much more true to his middle class roots with solo material and his interests.

Bass and Vocals
Jean Jacques-Burnel
The baby of the band and in the shadow of Cornwall until he found his confidence. A highly credentialled martial artist, he is a 7th dan Black belt at Karate. The son of french immigrants, he suffered abuse at school but became proud of his heritage and has an album of material recorded entirely in french...wasnt bad actually. His bass playing is an assault on the ears and aggressive in nature. Not as aggressive as his vocals on the early material. He soon mellowed and took over the band. This led to issues with Cornwall, who eventually departed. The band soldiered on and under the direction of JJB maintained their attraction as a live draw to this very day.

Black and Greenfield continued with the band until ill health and eventually death saw their roles end.

A couple of quick notes
Cornwall and JJB took heroin for a year for artistic inspiration.

They were arrested and deported numerous times, mainly from Sweden lol. The cover of their single Nice in Nice (Nice as in Niiiiiice, Nice as in the city in France) had them in handcuffs following one of their arrests.

Often criticized for rampant misogyny, they didnt apologise. Their gigs as a result had more men at them than any other artist i can recall.

Some wiki to help explain further

While their aggressive, no-compromise attitude had them identified by the media with the emerging UK punk rockscene that followed, their idiosyncratic approach rarely followed any single musical genre, and the group went on to explore a variety of musical styles, from new wave, art rock and gothic rockthrough the sophisti-pop of some of their 1980s output

The Stranglers' early sound was driven by Jean-Jacques Burnel's melodic bass, but also gave prominence to Dave Greenfield's keyboards. Their early music was also characterised by the growling vocals and sometimes misanthropic lyrics of both Burnel and Hugh Cornwell. Over time, their output gradually grew more refined and sophisticated. Summing up their contribution to popular music, critic Dave Thompson later wrote: "From bad-mannered yobs to purveyors of supreme pop delicacies, the group was responsible for music that may have been ugly and might have been crude – but it was never, ever boring.

 

[Mt. Man]

Small foreword for my Alice in Chains list of 31:

I’m ranking based on the first release of the song on an album. Which is certainly not always what I’d consider the “best” version of the song. Certainly several songs will get a boost from Live performances, but that’s not the primary focus. This also means that I’m considering only one song “eligible” from the Unplugged album.

This wasn’t a decision made lightly. Well, it’s me, so it probably was. Though also a way to challenge myself on a familiar subject. Along with giving the later album(s) and what few B-sides there are a deeper listen.

That left me with 94 songs for me to rank. Not a Herculean task, but still an endeavor. I will most likely include a last five out list. I make absolutely no promises about ranking all the way down to 94. I’ll include write-ups and a link or two of alternate versions of most songs. Nothing too lengthy, knowing me.

Oh, and the profile picture? Those are the Claymation dolls (/puppets/what have you) used in the video for “I Stay Away”.

 

[Charlie Steiner]

I have some free time, so I guess I'll take my turn now...

Donald Fagen and Steely Dan are a fairly known commodity to the demographic that hang out here, and as such, many of you will have your own opinion already.

I'm not here to change it.

In fact, you may feel more entitled to have chosen my artist than me once you get to the end of the list and find your favorite(s) not on it, especially as it contains only 23 songs instead of 31.

As for the specifics of Mr. Fagen, the only real 'facts' one needs to learn about him, that can't be gleaned sub textually from his solo album The Nightfly, is that his drive for perfection in his songs rivals Stanley Kubrick in making movies, which also explains why the actual 'band' of Steely Dan was only consistently Fagen and his partner in perfection, Walter Becker, and why his/their songs have stayed relevant to me 50 years and counting.

As for why I chose him and his band, I'll paraphrase myself from earlier in this thread. Steely Dan's debut album caught my attention when I was only seven years old, and their successive songs that got airplay threaded themselves through my life while never becoming a 'thing' like other musical fads I went through growing up.

As for the list itself, I have applied his desire for perfection by only selecting my 'must-have' songs from his entire repertoire.

 

[Mister CIA]

I've exposed myself to 10 or 11 Sigur Ros songs, ever. One is included on my top 100 all time song list.

May i ask which one out of curiosity?

It's a love story, if that helps.

 

[Zegras11]

Down to this many left to go...

	2	Just Win Baby	Foo Fighters
	16	Ghost Rider	Porcupine Tree
	18	landrys hat	Doves
	20	Neal Cassady	Frank Zappa
	27	zazale	deadmau5
	28	simsarge	BTO
	29	DrianMalcom	Bruce Springsteen
	30	Zamboni	Simon and Garfunkel
	33	ditkaburgers	Beyonce
	34	Val Rannous	ZZTop
	37	Doug B	Heart
	43	Manster	Les Claypool
	45	Northern Voice	The Tragically Hip
	46	otb_lifer	Bauhaus
	51	titusbarmble	The Prodigy

 

[titusbramble]

just fleshing out the back end of the list with newer material

 

[shuke]

Pips and @Anarchy99 do such good professional looking writeups that I am very self conscious about how sloppy mine is.. but anybody who took part in my hair metal thread will be used to my style

My write ups will absolutely suck. Maybe 2 sentences if you guys are lucky.

 

[landrys hat]

Doves list is in.

 

[plinko]

This song didn't make it but check out a pretty dope video

 

[zamboni]

Doves list is in.

This is what it sounds like when Doves is in.

 

[Tau837]

Submitted Foo Fighters list.

 

[Zegras11]

Awesome. Just cornholed over Fat Tires before the Cure concert with @The Dreaded Marco

Cool guy. Thanks for thr beer!

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I've got a typically janky writeup ready to go, but I'll post a handful of tracks that missed the cut, leading into the big day.

Here's one now! Luna Park

Jason Reece can sound like Lou Reed when he wants to.

Pips and @Anarchy99 do such good professional looking writeups that I am very self conscious about how sloppy mine is.. but anybody who took part in my hair metal thread will be used to my style anyway

Here's another one ... Some fans may consider it blasphemy that this didn't make my 31, but so it goes, I had to spread it out. Pip has more info on the Neil Busch saga than I do.

Baudelaire

I probably would have had this in my top 31 TOD, but I am not too familiar with the later stuff. And I wouldn't have limited myself on Source Tags, it's their best album by orders of magnitude.

I don't really know what happened with Busch. He fell out with Keely and Reece during the Worlds Apart sessions and I don't remember reading anything that went into detail about why.

My Neil Busch story is that when I saw TOD at a surprise show at the Khyber Pass Pub (Philly's equivalent of CBGB), Busch was at their merch table as I was walking out and I told him that Source Tags was the best album I'd heard in years.

Early, bizarre interview with bandleader Conrad Keely, pre-Source Tags. Bear through it for a brief exchange about The Wall.

Say what you will, this kid turns out to be one of the American artistic geniuses of our generation

https://youtu.be/h7LQbVKjNhg

This is trolling before we had a word for that.

This song didn't make it but check out a pretty dope video

Way more conventional-sounding than where they were when I left off with them. The Wiki entry for the album quotes them as saying they were listening to a lot of '80s music when they recorded it. You can tell on this track.

I don't think I realized that eventually your band took after mine and started titling their albums with Roman numerals.

Today I learned the band broke up a few months ago.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

I’m gonna take a JML fairness tactic and tell you all there’s no way I’m reading about the personal attachments to forty or fifty bands. Just can’t do it. So I’ll spare you all the Daft Punk write-ups and just let the songs do the talking. No context required. Dance music!

I was just planning on one or two lines plus a link to a live version, if available.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

Slade

Members: Noddy Holder (mostly vocals, guiar), Jim Lea (Bass guitar, keyboards, violin), Don Powell (drums), and Dave Hill (guitar)

Years active: 1966-1991

Genre: Rock - mostly glam with some punk, blues, jazz, and classic rock thrown in.

They made 14 albums and had several non-album single releases. Holder and Lea wrote all but four of the songs on my list, which I will note on the day. Someone in their camp has curated all their stuff, much like Queen has. Many of the tracks (on YouTube at least) have casette sounds included. Just pretend you are cruising in your Ford Escort like you're hot stuff.

Slade is spelling challenged. Deal. I didn't know YouTube had a language filter until I searched for "C U M On Feel The Noize". To get a search result, substitute "come". Really? Who is looking for porno on YouTube?

There are definitely bangers to be had here. Accept no substitutions. (Quiet Riot, we're looking at you.)

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

Awesome. Just cornholed over Fat Tires before the Cure concert with @The Dreaded Marco

Cool guy. Thanks for thr beer!

You're welcome. Given the time you're going to be putting into this countdown it was the least that I could do. Nice meeting you as well.

 

[plinko]

This song didn't make it but check out a pretty dope video

Way more conventional-sounding than where they were when I left off with them. The Wiki entry for the album quotes them as saying they were listening to a lot of '80s music when they recorded it. You can tell on this track.

Sung by a later member of the band, Jamie Miller, who recently joined Bad Religion. We’re all on the senior circuit now, folks

 

[Val Rannous]

Down to this many left to go...

Major apologies - between an insane work schedule, and a multiple week run-in with bronchitis, I'm going to have to bow out and not submit a list. I know, my fault for not pushing and getting something done earlier. Hope you guys have fun.

 

[Don Quixote]

Alright, I worked up a last five out for Jorge Ben Jor last night. I think zegras said those can be posted today, so I’ll post before I get sucked into the work day.

I don’t think my last five out will really spoil too much and view these more as bonus tracks. I won’t write up everything as we go along — part of my enjoyment of Jorge Ben Jor is because, not understanding Portuguese, I can just let the music wash me over, enjoying the groove while sitting outside on a summer day with a nice cocktail and a good book. Mostly don’t need to think or comprehend too much about it to enjoy.

I present some write-ups below as a bit of an introduction to his work, but I don’t expect to write up this much on everything.

Umbabarauma, Mano Brown and Jorge Ben Jor

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

Umbabarauma is a rap-oriented version of Ponta de Lança Africano (which eephus had on his Worldwide countdown) that was released in anticipation of the 2010 World Cup. The YouTube video link is a music video version with Jorge Ben Jor at the mic. This one is in last five out as opposed to my 31 because:

Spoiler

Do I really need to put this in spoiler? Fine. The original is most definitely on my list, and opted against including both. Just enjoy some extra excellent music.

Suffering + Shmiling, Dead Prez, Jorge Ben Jor, Talib Kweli, Bilal + Positive Force

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

Jorge Ben Jor’s songs frequently combine African and Brazilian music traditions with western rock. Fela Kuti showed up a few times in the Worldwide countdown (including in mine). This is a cover of the Fela Kuti song. It was on the Red, Hot + Riot album that was a tribute to Kuti, with proceeds going to AIDS awareness.


Filhos de Gandhi, Gilberto Gil & Jorge Ben Jor

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

Some may recall that I had a Gilberto Gil song in my worldwide countdown. Jorge Ben Jor and Gilberto Gil did an excellent album together that is basically a jam session where they just have some fun playing together (a couple of new songs, but mostly play each other’s songs) that was thrown together in a couple of days with some improvisation. This one did not make my final 31 because it is more of a Gilberto Gil song, and decided its nearly 10 minute length may be too much for playlist tolerance. But it is one of my favorite tracks from the album.


Hermes Trismegisto e sua celeste tábua de esmeralda, Jorge Ben Jor

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

I posted this one earlier when I was not sure if doing last five out. I mentioned that I had seven songs from Jorge Ben Jor’s A Tábua De Esmeralda album. This is the title track; decided a bit too esoteric on its own for the 31, as the lyrics are just Jorge Ben singing along to the text of the Emerald Tablet in Portuguese. This may be one case where having some of that understanding of what it is about increases the appreciation of the song. But I love the melody to it, and the female backing vocals that come in as well.


Ze Canjica, Jorge Ben Jor

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

This song is from Força Bruta, which is my second favorite album of his after A Tábua De Esmeralda. I did not include much from that album because not on Spotify; I know many of y’all love Spotify and the last time I complained about Spotify, I talked about harpsichords, so I’ll leave it there. Considered including this one at #31 because I love the harmonica at the beginning and could have been a good playlist beginning. I’ll post here instead.

 

[falguy]

My songs aren't in chronological order or a favorite worst to first style. There were way too many top 10 favorites, so I just put a list together based on the pace of the songs on a playlist. So many great songs were left off the list, but that is just a testament of how great Brother Ray was. I chose songs that were on both YouTube and Spotify. Last year, Spotify finally had a lot more Ray songs put on the site, but there are still many left off. Some of it seems to do with the different record labels. A lot of the songs I chose were influenced from being raised on Ray. A few others were from hearing them as an adult. He made amazing music all the way up to his final album.

I'm looking forward to your list and many others .

I also chose to present my 31 songs in an unsorted order. I tried to mix up the playlist to spread out the Bon vs Brian songs. I have many more pre-Back in Black (i.e. Bon) songs than post. I tend to enjoy most songs on the earlier albums. On the Brian stuff, apart from Back in Black I tend to like a few songs on the albums but much of the other stuff seems like filler. I did add 1 song that, I suspect, few people will have heard, Probably not truly in my top 31 but wanted to add for fun. I almost excluded the monster hits that we've all heard a million times but decided to keep them - mostly because I wasn't sure where to draw the line on a few of them.

I'll have some comments some days and none others.

 

[worrierking]

"The reason I put the skull with my glasses on every album is because it reminds me not to take myself seriously. Most people do take themselves seriously in this job, but so as long as I have that skull wearing my glasses beaming back at me from my luggage tags and ****, it tends to remind me before it's too late, that I better lighten up a little bit."- Warren Zevon

 

[tuffnutt]

Was going to do a mini write up about Elliott Smith and his music but ran out of time... so instead I'll link a nice article from The New Yorker from a couple months ago about Elliott Smith and his death which is coming up on 20 years now. For those of you who know little about him, I hope you give it a read. He was to me the best singer/songwriter of the late 90s/early 2000. His voice was quiet, frail, and haunting... it was also fleeting. He was just 34 when he died. He has inspired countless indie artists... like Phoebe Bridgers, Conor Oberst, Dinosaur Jr, Jimmy Eat World, Sufjan Stevens, Fleet Foxes, Death Cab for Cutie and Big Thief... just to name a few.
Anyway... I'm off to Memphis for a couple days, going to catch a Ryan Adams show tomorrow night. Really looking forward to @Dr. Octopus list on him.

The Lingering Beauty of Elliott Smith

 

[zamboni]

Simon & Garfunkel is in

 

[Charlie Steiner]

Simon & Garfunkel is in

Sail on, silver girl.

 

[Northern Voice]

My artist was The Tragically Hip and I happened to see a Hip cover band on the weekend at our local craft beer festival.

It's hard to describe the cultural impact the Hip have had in Canada but the songs are all just such a part of day to day lives up here, so distinctly Canadian sounding and about Canadian history good and bad. Gord Downie, songwriter and lead singer was always outspoken in trying to make the world a better place, fighting for native rights and shining a light on some of the the worst parts of our historical governments. He also wrote some of the biggest rock anthems (in Canada) in the 80s and 90s and some of the most beautiful, complex, thoughtful songs of the era. I saw them a half dozen times over the years, including in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario, a few times in Toronto, including on their final tour and in the namesake town of perhaps their greatest song (and a pretty great brewery - Bobcaygeon.

Downie died of brain cancer in 2017 at 53 years old. I was at a music festival in Southern Ontario a few months before he passed and the incredible number of tributes to him was amazing to see, a true Canadian legend and icon.

This list has been really hard - they have 13 studio albums and 2 EP's the run from 89-98 is particularly outstanding. Here's how I think I've landed on album representations:
The Tragically Hip (1987) - 0
Up to Here (1989) – 3
Road Apples (1991) – 3
Fully Completely (1992) – 6
Day For Night (1994) – 4
Trouble at the Henhouse (1996) - 3
Phantom Power (1998) – 4
Music @ Work (2000) – 1
In Violet Light (2002) - 2
In Between Evolution (2004) – 2
World Container (2006) – 1
We Are the Same (2009) – 1
Now for Plan A (2012) – 0
Man Machine Poem (2016) - 1

 

[Raging weasel]

I'm not going to post a last 5 out for Clutch, just a couple tracks from their first and last albums to show their evolution.
They started out as a punk/metal band heavily influenced by Bad Brains. These 2 tracks appeared on their first EP released in 1991.
Wicker
Passive Restraints

They next went through a stoner rock phase before morphing into the hard rock band they are today. Their albums contain varying styles and sounds so please don't write them off if you don't like the first couple tracks you hear. This song was just released last week after I had sent in my list
Railroad Daisies

As far as I know I'm the only Clutch fan on this board. Hopefully I can change that.

 

[Raging weasel]

My artist was The Tragically Hip and I happened to see a Hip cover band on the weekend at our local craft beer festival.

It's hard to describe the cultural impact the Hip have had in Canada but the songs are all just such a part of day to day lives up here, so distinctly Canadian sounding and about Canadian history good and bad. Gord Downie, songwriter and lead singer was always outspoken in trying to make the world a better place, fighting for native rights and shining a light on some of the the worst parts of our historical governments. He also wrote some of the biggest rock anthems (in Canada) in the 80s and 90s and some of the most beautiful, complex, thoughtful songs of the era. I saw them a half dozen times over the years, including in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario, a few times in Toronto, including on their final tour and in the namesake town of perhaps their greatest song (and a pretty great brewery - Bobcaygeon.

Downie died of brain cancer in 2017 at 53 years old. I was at a music festival in Southern Ontario a few months before he passed and the incredible number of tributes to him was amazing to see, a true Canadian legend and icon.

This list has been really hard - they have 13 studio albums and 2 EP's the run from 89-98 is particularly outstanding. Here's how I think I've landed on album representations:
The Tragically Hip (1987) - 0
Up to Here (1989) – 3
Road Apples (1991) – 3
Fully Completely (1992) – 6
Day For Night (1994) – 4
Trouble at the Henhouse (1996) - 3
Phantom Power (1998) – 4
Music @ Work (2000) – 1
In Violet Light (2002) - 2
In Between Evolution (2004) – 2
World Container (2006) – 1
We Are the Same (2009) – 1
Now for Plan A (2012) – 0
Man Machine Poem (2016) - 1

Glad you got this in, they are one of my favs!

 

[kupcho1]

Gord Downie

Is this not the most Canadian name ever?

 

[plinko]

I'm not going to post a last 5 out for Clutch, just a couple tracks from their first and last albums to show their evolution.
They started out as a punk/metal band heavily influenced by Bad Brains. These 2 tracks appeared on their first EP released in 1991.
Wicker
Passive Restraints

They next went through a stoner rock phase before morphing into the hard rock band they are today. Their albums contain varying styles and sounds so please don't write them off if you don't like the first couple tracks you hear. This song was just released last week after I had sent in my list
Railroad Daisies

As far as I know I'm the only Clutch fan on this board. Hopefully I can change that.

I’ve seen Clutch like ten times homie

Excited for your take, I imagine each fan would have a disparate set of faves

 

[Raging weasel]

I'm not going to post a last 5 out for Clutch, just a couple tracks from their first and last albums to show their evolution.
They started out as a punk/metal band heavily influenced by Bad Brains. These 2 tracks appeared on their first EP released in 1991.
Wicker
Passive Restraints

They next went through a stoner rock phase before morphing into the hard rock band they are today. Their albums contain varying styles and sounds so please don't write them off if you don't like the first couple tracks you hear. This song was just released last week after I had sent in my list
Railroad Daisies

As far as I know I'm the only Clutch fan on this board. Hopefully I can change that.

I’ve seen Clutch like ten times homie

Excited for your take, I imagine each fan would have a disparate set of faves

Awesome! Ive seen them 6 times and will make it 7 in July.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I'm not going to post a last 5 out for Clutch, just a couple tracks from their first and last albums to show their evolution.
They started out as a punk/metal band heavily influenced by Bad Brains. These 2 tracks appeared on their first EP released in 1991.
Wicker
Passive Restraints

They next went through a stoner rock phase before morphing into the hard rock band they are today. Their albums contain varying styles and sounds so please don't write them off if you don't like the first couple tracks you hear. This song was just released last week after I had sent in my list
Railroad Daisies

As far as I know I'm the only Clutch fan on this board. Hopefully I can change that.

I don’t know much about Clutch but I seem to know a lot of people who like them. For some reason there is a big overlap between Ween fans and Clutch fans.

 

[Raging weasel]

I'm not going to post a last 5 out for Clutch, just a couple tracks from their first and last albums to show their evolution.
They started out as a punk/metal band heavily influenced by Bad Brains. These 2 tracks appeared on their first EP released in 1991.
Wicker
Passive Restraints

They next went through a stoner rock phase before morphing into the hard rock band they are today. Their albums contain varying styles and sounds so please don't write them off if you don't like the first couple tracks you hear. This song was just released last week after I had sent in my list
Railroad Daisies

As far as I know I'm the only Clutch fan on this board. Hopefully I can change that.

I don’t know much about Clutch but I seem to know a lot of people who like them. For some reason there is a big overlap between Ween fans and Clutch fans.

You've mentioned that to me before and I still haven't listened to Ween. Mostly because I forgot who you were talking about lol

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I missed Chicago at their peak, as I was 6 when Terry Kath died, so when I got into their early material in high school and college, I viewed them as a legacy band and never made a point to try to see them in concert. Because of that, I have only seen them once, in Camden, NJ, in 1995, and only then because they were sharing a bill with Crosby, Stills and Nash. The bands alternated opening/headlining on that tour, and at my show, Chicago played first. The setlist isn't documented anywhere, but between looking at the band's average setlist for 1995 and recalling what I can remember, I think it went something like this:

Saturday in the Park
Questions 67 & 68
Old Days
You're the Inspiration
Free
Hard Habit to Break
Look Away
What Kind of Man Would I Be?
Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon: Make Me Smile / So Much to Say, So Much to Give / Anxiety's Moment / West Virginia Fantasies / Colour My World / To Be Free / Now More Than Ever
Beginnings
Just You 'N' Me
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
Hard to Say I'm Sorry/Get Away
I'm a Man
If You Leave Me Now
25 or 6 to 4

Another thing happened that night that was Chicago-related, but I didn't realize it at the time. CSN opened their set with Turn Back the Pages, a Stephen Stills solo song from 1975 that was released as a single but was not a major hit. I figured that the choice was because the song's profile had been raised by being included on the band's 1991 box set, so now most fans would know what it was, and/or because it was a reference to two legacy acts touring together. I did not realize until many years later that the song had been performed live by Chicago. Terry Kath's first replacement was Donnie Dacus, who had played on two Stills solo albums in the mid '70s and co-wrote Turn Back the Pages with him. In 1978, Chicago occasionally included Turn Back the Pages in its sets, with Dacus singing. One such performance is on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya6s4jUA5eE. So the choice was Stills paying homage to his old collaborator, who had been fired by Chicago long before.

My #31 song is an uncharacteristic rocker from Peter Cetera. No, not that one.