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Bryan Adams is playing in Cleveland tonight, there are a bunch of stans here at my corner bar. Quite a rowdy crew. I’m calling dibs for Dock Ock to do him next
There was a band on my suburban block the other day, which was odd (my neighborhood is not a block party neighborhood. It has a strict HOA. For another time, I suppose). Anyway, I could hear them clear as a bell in my yard. For some odder reason than existing and being in my neighborhood, they busted into "Heaven" and the crowd all started singing along. I thought it was supremely odd at that point. First off, to be in a band and decide to learn to play Bryan Adams's "Heaven." Secondly, for the crowd to start singing along.
Maybe a resurgence in the old balladeering career of Bryan Adams???
That's cool. I think I disliked it then, but I might be a year or two older than you. I know, I know, I seem so young *sighs*. I just remember thinking the song was treacle, though that wasn't the word I used to describe it then.
I'll tell you what, though. The other day? Stuck right in the old cranium, that's for sure.
When you're lying here in my arms
It isn't so hard to believe, we're in heaven
Okay, I'm Hippling. I haven't gotten to the twenty-eights because I've been swamped with stuff. Warning was an underrated Green Day album and we've had two off of it so far. The other stuff I'll have to look at to weigh in on. Or I'll probably just wait for 27s tonight.
I missed Cleveland talk earlier, but it's a pretty cool city if you're looking for ways to be entertained. The flats (?) were interesting. I was in town about two-plus decades ago for a Red Sox series in late May. I remember the heat and getting sunburned. I remember the Sox sweeping and loving it. But I remember going out and having a pretty good time with my girlfriend at the time. It also will go down as the time I drank the whole hotel bar from the fridge, ran up a bill, and watched Rushmore on the television at the hotel, with the movie utterly blowing my mind, especially the montage with Creation's "Making Time" in the background. That was like a bolt out of the blue.
Okay, I'm Hippling. I haven't gotten to the twenty-eights because I've been swamped with stuff. Warning was an underrated Green Day album and we've had two off of it so far. The other stuff I'll have to look at to weigh in on. Or I'll probably just wait for 27s tonight.
Okay, I'm Hippling. I haven't gotten to the twenty-eights because I've been swamped with stuff. Warning was an underrated Green Day album and we've had two off of it so far. The other stuff I'll have to look at to weigh in on. Or I'll probably just wait for 27s tonight.
For most people, there comes a time when your body/mind/spirit says NOPE to the bar scene. For me it was around 35 because I was married for the second half of my 20s so I guess I had “reserve” built up.
Nice! Have you started listening to their stuff on your own or just liked all you've heard so far?
My next 5 picks feature a couple more style/sound changes including their early punk metal days so may lose luster for some.
Also enjoying your Slade picks,knew very little of them before this .
Yeah, I had to put in a request for Book of Bad Decisions. I had some time to skim the discussion without really listening to much, but after I saw the title "In Walks Barbarella" I simply had to find out what the heck was going on. Loved the funk, and when spotify started the next song on the album it was,,, quite different. Stylistically, these dudes are all over the map - in a good way. So far, I've heard some funk, some blues, a little Sabbath, a little Soundgarden, a little I have no idea what the hell I just listened to but I know it like it ("Gone Cold"). I'll be continuing to tune in here just to see where this rabbit hole goes. Thanks, @Raging weasel !
There are a couple more tracks from that album on my countdown (up?) but not until after 3 more style changes.
And thanks to you 2 for listening and hope you like most of the remaining tracks!
I like the pace of the reveals. I can make it through everything shuffling through the playlist while walking Lou.
I'm getting better at recognizing the artists based solely on the song's intro. The only one of the #28s that I couldn't figure out even after a verse and chorus was the Phish song. I wasn't expecting to hear a Sonics cover, especially by Heart but I guess there's a Seattle connection. Chicago should have probably sent Sly Stone a royalty check but he would have just blown it.
Okay, I'm Hippling. I haven't gotten to the twenty-eights because I've been swamped with stuff. Warning was an underrated Green Day album and we've had two off of it so far. The other stuff I'll have to look at to weigh in on. Or I'll probably just wait for 27s tonight.
For most people, there comes a time when your body/mind/spirit says NOPE to the bar scene. For me it was around 35 because I was married for the second half of my 20s so I guess I had “reserve” built up.
It's probably not much of a secret that songs with Layne will dominate the overall list. There's just a small clump of newer stuff at the higher numbers. #27, which will be posted later today, will be a Layne song. No one will agree with everything, but hopefully you'll enjoy the path the list takes!
The Good, the Bad and the Queen - "The Poison Tree" from Merriland (2018)
Albarn must have had it with one word band names because he gave his third group a name that's a mouthful. TGTBATQ is a supergroup of sorts with Simon Tong of the Verve on guitar, Clash bassist Paul Simonon and Afrobeat legend Tony Allen on drums. They made two albums, a self-titled recording in 2007 and Merriland eleven years later.
Merriland is supposedly Albarn's post-Brexit statement. It's mostly a somber affair with lyrics that reference loss and past glories. "The Poison Tree" closes the album with an exquisitely sad breakup song. I guess you could insert the UK and EU in there somewhere but there's no need to. I love how Tony Allen's drumming snakes its way around the melody and strings. His death in 2020 at the age of 79 probably puts an end to the band. This song is a lovely send-off if that's the case.
I probably should have thrown more bangers at the start of the Albarn 31 but I found myself gravitating to the melancholy ones when I did my deep dive. This song is a good example; I listened to Merriland when it came out but it didn't blow me away. It's grown on me since.
Okay, I'm Hippling. I haven't gotten to the twenty-eights because I've been swamped with stuff. Warning was an underrated Green Day album and we've had two off of it so far. The other stuff I'll have to look at to weigh in on. Or I'll probably just wait for 27s tonight.
For most people, there comes a time when your body/mind/spirit says NOPE to the bar scene. For me it was around 35 because I was married for the second half of my 20s so I guess I had “reserve” built up.
I'm old. The only time I go to bars is when I'm out of town/on vacation (usually with my wife and one or both of our daughters ) or before a show with my concert-going friends. So, not that often.
Some favorites from the 29s:
ToD, Daft Punk, Stevie W., Ray Charles and the Hip.
Bryan Adams is playing in Cleveland tonight, there are a bunch of stans here at my corner bar. Quite a rowdy crew. I’m calling dibs for Dock Ock to do him next
There was a band on my suburban block the other day, which was odd (my neighborhood is not a block party neighborhood. It has a strict HOA. For another time, I suppose). Anyway, I could hear them clear as a bell in my yard. For some odder reason than existing and being in my neighborhood, they busted into "Heaven" and the crowd all started singing along. I thought it was supremely odd at that point. First off, to be in a band and decide to learn to play Bryan Adams's "Heaven." Secondly, for the crowd to start singing along.
Maybe a resurgence in the old balladeering career of Bryan Adams???
Last month Bryan Adams headlined the arena where the Warriors play. I'm surprised he's still playing big venues outside of Canada. He hasn't had a big US hit in almost 30 years but he's still quite popular in the UK for some reason.
1983…freshman year of high school and a significant formative period for me musically. I owned the cassette of this album and used to crank this one up on my boom box! Let us not forget MTV was geared up by this time, so videos were a thing making this song more accessible as well. Problems, problems, problems…nothing but frustration in this one and that mood is conveyed early on with Ray’s tormented scream. The guitar work here is reminiscent of a few popular early Kinks songs that will make their appearance later in my countdown.
Woke up in a panic,
Like somebody fired a gun
I wish I could be dreaming,
But the nightmare's just begun.
There's flooding in the basement,
There's water all around.
There's woodworm in the attic
And the ceiling just fell down.
I'm in a state (state)
Of confusion (whooooh).
I'm in a state (state)
Of confusion (whooooh).
All the dirty dishes
Are still in the kitchen sink.
The tumble dryer's broken,
Now the telly's on the blink.
My girlfriend's packed her bags
And moved out to another town.
She couldn't stand the boredom
When the video broke down.
Don't know why I feel so bad.
Is it the weather, or am I going mad?
Don't know why I feel this way.
I don't know whether I'm coming or I'm going,
Can't cover up 'cause it's obviously showing.
It's a state (state)
Of confusion (whooooh).
We're in a state (state)
Of confusion (whooooh).
I don't know whether I'm coming or I'm going.
Should feel happy, should feel glad.
I'm alive and it can't be bad,
But back on planet Earth they shatter the illusion,
The world's going 'round in a state of confusion.
Standing on an island
In the middle of the road.
Traffic either side of me,
Which way will I go?
I should've stayed at home,
I should have never come outside.
Now I wish I never tried
To cross the other side.
I'm in a state (state)
State of confusion (whooooh).
It's a state (state)
Of confusion (whooooh).
Lyin' awake in a cold, cold sweat,
Am I overdrawn, am I going in debt?
It gets worse, the older that you get.
No escape from the state of confusion I'm in.
State of confusion I'm in.
Whooooh
Hard Way Home--not super familiar with Brandi Carlile but liking what I've heard so far and I like some other artists in her wheelhouse, probably influenced by her. Need more.
Home By The Sea---this and That's All from an earlier list are very nostalgic for me. I heard that album so many times in '83/'84. Good memories.
Paul---like I said upthread, this is my favorite song by Big Thief. It jumped off the speakers and grabbed me the first time I heard it. So great.
Winding Wheel--one my favorites from RA
Billy Breathes--enjoyed another song from Phish. Should've been listening before now.
Do I Have To Talk You Into It---first duplicate from my 31 and I love the other 3. Anything You Want would've wound up in my top 31 after revisions, though.
Now for a definite change of pace from my previous couple songs (and why my personal playlist will be sorted chronologically rather than by ranking).
This album was the last to include guitarist Anthony Phillips, and the last without Phil Collins. It’s crazy to think most of these guys were only around 20 when they made this.
I’m a sucker for the more dreamy/pastoral songs on the Genesis catalog, and this definitely fits the bill - with overlapping 12-string guitars by Phillips and Rutherford.
Love the lyrics in this, capped off at the end with:
A pawn on a chessboard
A false move by God will now destroy me
But wait, on the horizon
A new dawn seems to be rising
Never to recall this passerby, born to die
This is the first of 6 songs I chose off the album In Your Honor, which is a double album. While the album and its songs were nominated for 5 Grammys, it didn't win any, which was a bit of a surprise IMO, even moreso in hindsight.
Grohl decided against an acoustic record, saying "I have to have loud rock music in my life somewhere", and decided to make a double album, with "one CD that's all the really heavy rock ****" and another "that's really beautiful, acoustic-based, lower dynamic stuff", which Grohl described as "the bottle and the hangover"...
After the album was finished, Grohl stated that he hoped that the Foo Fighters were most remembered for this record. He described it as "just the most ****ing kick-*** thing we've ever done" and said, "If someone asked me which Led Zeppelin album to buy, I would tell them Physical Graffiti, because it has such a wide dynamic and it shows the range that band had. And that's what we wanted to do with this album."
Scratchy guitar lures you into the wondrous chug of "End Over End," which is just a great, plain rock song filled with enthusiastic vocals and a tight cohesion of the band. It's a bit generic, in the spine-tingling arena rock vein, but by the same token it's also a fist waving, lighter swaying burner.
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
youtu.be
The “Rita” that is the subject of Rita Jeep is Brazil’s “Queen of Rock”: the late, great Rita Lee. Jorge Ben wrote this when he was touring with Os Mutantes (who some may remember from the Worldwide countdown), and is a bit of an ode to her. Rita Lee was a founding member of Os Mutantes before going on to have a very successful solo career. As I was taking a look for some Rita Lee nuggets that may want to share in this thread, I came across the news stories that she passed away last month. Obituary here if interested in learning more about her. So, consider this post an RIP to Rita Lee.
I’ll add that this won’t be the last Os Mutantes connection in my countdown…
27 - Sigur Ros - Ágætis byrjun (A Good Beginning) - Ágætis byrjun - 1999
The list's first song off their acclaimed second album, this is the title track. The song, which translates to " A Good Beginning", is written about the experience and ultimate disappointment of releasing their first album Von.
This is a more intimate, acoustic song, different from the rest of the album.
A wonderful live version was included in their concert film. In fact I kind of regret not including this version on the playlist as I find it superior to the studio version.
“Get Born Again” was actually released twice in 1999, appearing on Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (a greatest hits album) in June, and then on Music Bank in October. It, along with “Died” (which, spoiler, did not make the list) were the last two songs recorded with Layne. Anyway, for me this song very much has a rhythmic element, where the guitar and bass do a lot of work while the words almost hang in the background.
Next in the countdown, you should watch your head.
There was a band on my suburban block the other day, which was odd. (My neighborhood is not a block party neighborhood. It has a strict HOA. For another time, I suppose.) Anyway, I could hear them clear as a bell in my yard. For some odder reason than existing and being in my neighborhood, they busted into "Heaven" and the crowd all started singing along. I thought it was supremely odd at that point. First off, to be in a band and decide to learn to play Bryan Adams's "Heaven." Secondly, for the crowd to start singing along.
My father was visiting for my kid's HS graduation and I drove him the 3-plus hours home this morning. I checked my work email when I dropped him off and suddenly my afternoon had been filled with Zoom calls that I couldn't take on the road. So I checked in early to the Courtyard Marriott in my hometown, planning to work till 5 then go get food and bar hop at some of my old haunts. Instead, I watched the end of the Phillies game on my laptop, decided I didn't feel like driving anywhere so walked over to the Outback across the parking lot, had some cheese fries and one beer, and am now back in the room ready to fall asleep at 8:45 pm. Getting old sucks. But at least I won't wake up hung over.
Oh, and I'm still only half-way through the 28s, Maybe I'll get stuck in traffic on the drive back tomorrow and have time to finish it and the 27s.
Certain to be the feel-good song of the #27 playlist, We All Die Young is off the to be honest, not that all well received 2018 release I'll Be Your Girl. I liked this release of digital files (as you'll see two more tunes pop up on the countdown later on down the line). I thought Pitchfork summed it up quite nicely:
Since hitting peak fancifulness on 2009’s The Hazards of Love, the Decemberists have streamlined their music into something more direct and less fussy. Rather than carry on like the world’s most overqualified LARP convention house band, they’ve adopted a nomadic approach, running with whatever muse that presents itself at the moment.
So good... 8 1/2 minutes and I could have used 8 1/2 more. I almost wish there were no vocals in this. Not that they are bad. Just that the instrumental is that good.
New York, New York - What a pleasant surprise! My favorite Ryan Adams so far...personal playlist material. I am not sure what I was expecting. Part of me thought we might be getting a Minnelli/Sinatra cover.
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