Middle Aged Dummies!! Artists #1's have been posted!! (13 Viewers)

[Yo Mama]

For my list, especially because of how much the band changed over time, I ranked the songs 1-31 for the reveal but my playlist will be chronological so it flows better and shows how the band progressed over time.

I think it’s fun to see the reveals in preference order to see what everyone’s favorite songs are, even if it’s just favorites at the time of ranking.

 

[jwb]

I would suggest adding “random” as an option in addition to “in order of favorite” and “chronologically”.

I will be one of these as well assuming nobody takes the artist. Part 2 won't be either of these options for me as well.

Yup, me too. To me, random is far more interesting.

 

[Zegras11]

Look at all the Random Dummies in here ....

 

[New Binky the Doormat]

Look at all the Random Dummies in here ....

btw ...I did mine on a most favored basis, but it changes daily or by mood - and there are 50 others that I would have loved to have on here ...

used the @krista4 decision-maker over several different days and then used the averages ...

so that seems pretty nerdy looking back on it.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Look at all the Random Dummies in here ....

It's easy to explain in my case - I'm a coward

 

[krista4]

Like I can see you slapping your forehead going, "This shouldn't be so hard."

Yeah, something like that.

Though, since the issue seems to be whether a list is in order of preference or not (99% of the time this comes up because someone says "why is song X ranked here?"), perhaps "this is ranked from favorite to least favorite" and "this is not ranked from favorite to least favorite" are the only options needed.

Or, even simpler, just a yes or no option on “ranked in order of preference.”

 

[KarmaPolice]

I know the original start to these was doing in ranked order, but for me that was way too hard to do when we got to one artist format. Dino I could at least come up with tiers and it wasn't bad, but the next artist I couldn't do it, or the love for #1 wouldn't be that much different than for #31 and I would be shuffling the order forever. My playlist is designed as telling a story of the band and setting it up to flow with my core idea. That took a lot time and tweaking, I really don't want to chop it up for ranked presentation for the thread, so you all will be getting it in the long-wided story presentation too.

 

[KarmaPolice]

The above post is the reason I will go postal if somebody randomly also picks that metal band.

 

[Yo Mama]

I know the original start to these was doing in ranked order, but for me that was way too hard to do when we got to one artist format. Dino I could at least come up with tiers and it wasn't bad, but the next artist I couldn't do it, or the love for #1 wouldn't be that much different than for #31 and I would be shuffling the order forever. My playlist is designed as telling a story of the band and setting it up to flow with my core idea. That took a lot time and tweaking, I really don't want to chop it up for ranked presentation for the thread, so you all will be getting it in the long-wided story presentation too.

That’s a lot of words when you could have just said what @Uruk-Hai did.

 

[plinko]

Also the above post is the reason I will go postal if somebody randomly also picks that metal band.

Don’t worry bout me

 

[Galileo]

While I appreciate the effort of those who tried to organize their lists based on a "flow" of some kind, that method is simply lost on my pea brain given how the songs are being revealed. I have zero sense of flow for any of the artists here. Essentially, the songs are being revealed in isolation. I do not have the capacity to digest song #5 and register how it fit conceptually with #6 let alone #10, #20, #30, etc. That said, I am sure I can find a different level of appreciation for flow if/when we share playlists of just a single artist, and I know many plan to do that at the end. I do find myself curious as to which songs people like over others, so I find some enjoyment in seeing the ranked favorite lists. I need to reserve any and all "flow" related judgement for when I can listen to the playlist of just the individual artist. Just my $0.02

 

[KarmaPolice]

While I appreciate the effort of those who tried to organize their lists based on a "flow" of some kind, that method is simply lost on my pea brain given how the songs are being revealed. I have zero sense of flow for any of the artists here. Essentially, the songs are being revealed in isolation. I do not have the capacity to digest song #5 and register how it fit conceptually with #6 let alone #10, #20, #30, etc. That said, I am sure I can find a different level of appreciation for flow if/when we share playlists of just a single artist, and I know many plan to do that at the end. I do find myself curious as to which songs people like over others, so I find some enjoyment in seeing the ranked favorite lists. I need to reserve any and all "flow" related judgement for when I can listen to the playlist of just the individual artist. Just my $0.02

No, as far as just listening as we do it's just random songs. I don't expect the flow to be obvious just on listening 3x per week, that's what I am going to use the posts about songs to talk about - why I thought songs matched up or why I did it the way I did. That way IF anybody decided to give the playlist a spin afterwards it might make more sense.

ETA: I will also highlight songs that are my favorites and what my top 5 are as we go along.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Also the above post is the reason I will go postal if somebody randomly also picks that metal band.

Don’t worry bout me

I think I am safe, as I don't remember anybody but me taking songs by them in any draft or playlist recently either.

 

[otb_lifer]

i definitely tried to flow the goff goodtness of Bauhaus somewhat ... started my peel with some deeper cuts of theirs - by way of introducing their love of the macabre and absurd ... i also took aim at featuring the meticulous musicianship that Danny's licks & the Haskin bros (David J & Kevin) rhythm section had to magnificently offer.

this is a great freakin' band, fronted by one of the more charismatic cats to ever trouble the floodlights - they clicked so damn goodt together, which is why i believe they flamed out so quickly - each warring slice of the pie thought themselves to be the impetus for the phenomenon (except for Kevin, i think)

don't really care for the "oh, goth ain't my bag" bullchit, either - i'm not here to sell it to ya, quite honestly ... and, for the millionth time, this ain't yer Spencers/Marilyn Manson/Hot Topic/Trenchcoat Mafia/Baggy Elephant Jeans/Hob Knob - Combat boots/rivethead/techno/industrial chit most of the hoi polloi associate the moniker with - that entire 90s "era" was an insult to the trappings of cats like the 'haus.

we better than those dumdums.

 

[Raging weasel]

Fans of the Walking Dead may recognize my upcoming #4 Clutch song. It was used in the season 2 mid season premiere while the bodies were burning.

 

[krista4]

I'm sad to report that OH and I did not get through any more of the #5s together, so you have only my boring commentary. In fact, so boring I'm not even going to post it. I'll just shout out my favorite new-to-me of the day, which was "Bullet" by Frank Black.

 

[rockaction]

In fact, so boring I'm not even going to post it.

I hate it when I start typing, read what I've typed and wonder, "Who the **** wants to read that? How boring." It has happened, believe it or not. (I know, I know, I can hear the doubters from miles away.)

I assure you we do read your posts.

 

[Tau837]

I finally listened to the #6 playlist.

Excluding my own song, I already knew that I liked these songs:

• SRV - Couldn't Stand the Weather
• Kinks - Waterloo Sunset
• Chicago - Saturday in the Park - my favorite Chicago song
• ELO - Turn to Stone
• Alice In Chains - Rooster

On first listen to this playlist, these were the unfamiliar songs I liked the best:

• Brandi Carlile - The Eye
• Modest Mouse - Blame It On the Tetons
• Decemberists - The Crane Wife 3
• Taylor Swift - Vigilante ****
• Ryan Adams - Everybody Knows - easily my favorite RA song so far
• AC/DC - Ride On - surprised I haven't heard this song before (or don't remember it), I like it a lot
• Ray Charles - I Don't Need No Doctor
• Spoon - Do You

Another great playlist!

I have been putting the songs I identify in these posts in a spreadsheet. I'm up to 223 songs. So far that group of songs includes at least one song from 40 of the 46 artists in the countdown.

Almost caught up.

 

[Zegras11]

#4's PLAYLIST

		#4 -
Todd Rundgren	New Binky the Doormat	When The **** Hits The Fan/Sunset Boulevard - YouTube Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. www.youtube.com
Jorge Ben Jor	Don Quixote	Os Alquimistas Estão Chegando os Alquimistas - 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
Brandi Carlile	JB Breakfast Club	Pride and Joy - Give Up the Ghost https://open.spotify.com/track/14tdoqjGs1mgjFFfif7rnC
The Police	Zegras11	Walking On The Moon Walking On The Moon The Police · Reggatta De Blanc (Remastered 2003) · Song · 1979 open.spotify.com - YouTube Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. www.youtube.com
Modest Mouse	The Dreaded Marco	The Stars Are Projectors The Stars Are Projectors Provided to YouTube by EpicThe Stars Are Projectors · Modest MouseThe Moon & Antarctica℗ 2000 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music EntertainmentReleased on... www.youtube.com
Genesis	Yo Mama	Dancing with the Moonlit Knight Dancing with the Moonlit Knight - 2007 Stereo Mix Genesis · Song · 1973 open.spotify.com
Stevie Ray Vaughan	Sullie	Little Wing (Official Music Video) Stevie Ray Vaughan - Little Wing (Official Music Video) 🍻 Buy me a beer…https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=BU7VHQ73FESDE SRV - Little Wing (Remaster HD)To Purchase a copy of this backing track follo... www.youtube.com
The Decemberists	kupcho1	Angel, Won't You Call Me Angel, Won't You Call Me? The Decemberists · Song · 2001 open.spotify.com Angel, Won't You Call Me Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupAngel, Won't You Call Me · The DecemberistsAlternative Rock X-mas℗ 2003 HUSH Records LLCReleased on: 2007-01-01Co... youtu.be
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead	plinko	Isis Unveiled The Century Of Self (2009) Isis Unveiled ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead · Song · 2009 open.spotify.com
The Kinks	Galileo	Muswell Hillbilly (1971 - Muswell Hillbillies) Muswell Hillbilly - Live The Kinks · Song · 1972 open.spotify.com
Rush	higgins	Subdivisions Rush - Subdivisions - Lyrics - HQ 720p Taken from the album "Signals" released in 1982. Lyrics:Sprawling on the fringes of the cityIn geometric orderAn insulated borderIn between the bright lights... www.youtube.com
Sigur Rós	Scoresman	Viðrar vel til loftárása (Good Weather for an Airstrike) - Ágætis byrjun - 1999 Viðrar vel til loftárása Sigur Rós · Song · 1999 open.spotify.com
Donald Fagen	Charlie Steiner	Deacon Blues Deacon Blues Artist: Steely DanClassics from www.session42.com#session42 www.youtube.com
Green Day	MAC_32	Homecoming Homecoming Green Day · American Idiot · Song · 2004 open.spotify.com
Big Thief	Ilov80s	Mythological Beauty Mythological Beauty Big Thief · Song · 2017 open.spotify.com
Daft Punk	rockaction	Around The World Daft Punk - Around The World (Official Music Video Remastered) Random Access Memories (10th Anniversary Edition) out now: https://daftpunk.lnk.to/RAM10sWatch more videos of Daft Punk: https://daftpunk.lnk.to/essentialsvi... youtu.be
Taylor Swift	Jpalmer	High Infidelity High Infidelity Taylor Swift · Song · 2022 open.spotify.com
Elliott Smith	Tuffnutt	L.A. Elliott Smith - L.A Figure 8 album www.youtube.com
Chicago	Pip's Invitation	I'm a Man I'm a Man - 2002 Remaster Chicago · Song · 1969 open.spotify.com
The Stranglers	John Maddens Lunchbox	Peaches - YouTube Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. m.youtube.com
Ryan Adams	Dr. Octopus	Gimme Something Good Gimme Something Good Ryan Adams · Ryan Adams · Song · 2014 open.spotify.com
Stevie Wonder	Uruk-Hai	I Was Made To Lover Her Stevie Wonder - I Was Made To Love Her Classic tune from good ol' Stevie Wonder. This is from the 20th Century Masters Millenium Collection. www.youtube.com
Slade	Mrs. Rannous	Can't Tame A Hurricane Can't Tame a Hurricane Provided to YouTube by BMG Rights Management (UK) Ltd.Can't Tame a Hurricane · SladeThe Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome℗ 1983 Perseverance Ltd. under exclusive lic... www.youtube.com
Phish	shuke	Down With Disease Down With Disease Phish · Hoist · Song · 1994 open.spotify.com
Electgric Light Orchestra (ELO)	jwb	Shine a Little Love Shine a Little Love Electric Light Orchestra · Discovery · Song · 1979 open.spotify.com
Frank Black	Mister CIA	Blizzard 1989 Blizzard 1989 Provided to YouTube by The Orchard EnterprisesBlizzard 1989 · Frank Black And The CatholicsThe Complete Recordings℗ 2015 Frank Black under exclusive license ... www.youtube.com
Clutch	Raging Weasel	The Regulator The Regulator Clutch · Blast Tyrant (Deluxe Edition) · Song · 2011 open.spotify.com
Dinosaur Jr.	KarmaPolice	Pieces Pieces Provided to YouTube by BWSCD, Inc.Pieces · Dinosaur Jr.Farm℗ 2009 JagjaguwarReleased on: 2009-06-23Auto-generated by YouTube. www.youtube.com
Warren Zevon	worrierking	The French Inhaler The French Inhaler - 2008 Remaster Warren Zevon · Song · 1976 open.spotify.com This one is full of classical music elements and form. Best Lyric: Loneliness and frustration We both came down with an acute case When the lights came up at two I caught a glimpse of you and your face looked like something death brought with him in his suitcase No other artist could have written this song.
Alice in Chains	Mt. Man	Nutshell Nutshell Alice In Chains · Jar Of Flies · Song · 1994 open.spotify.com
Queen	snellman	I Want It All I Want It All Queen · Song · 1989 open.spotify.com
AC/DC	falguy	Highway To Hell Highway to Hell AC/DC · Song · 1979 open.spotify.com
The Hold Stead	scorchy	Slapped Actress Slapped Actress The Hold Steady · Song · 2008 open.spotify.com
Damon Albarn	Eephus	Blur --- Popscene Blur - Popscene (Official Music Video) The official music video for Blur - Popscene Subscribe to the Blur official channel for all the best and latest official music videos, behind the scenes and ... www.youtube.com
Ray Charles	simey	Ray Charles - Busted (Official Audio) The official audio of Ray Charles' "Busted" from the boxset TRUE GENIUSOriginally record by Country music legend Johnny Cash, Ray Charles version of “Busted”... www.youtube.com Busted Ray Charles · Song · 2021 open.spotify.com
Doves	landrys hat	The Cedar Room The Cedar Room Doves · Song · 2000 open.spotify.com
Spoon	Hov34	Can I Sit Next to You Spoon - Can I Sit Next To You SPOON - HOT THOUGHTS. ALBUM OUT NOW ON MATADOR RECORDS. All digital preorders instantly receive 'Can I Sit Next To You' and 'Hot Thoughts' - http://smarturl.... www.youtube.com
Foo Fighters	Just Win Baby	The Pretender The Pretender Foo Fighters · Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace · Song · 2007 open.spotify.com
Simon & Garfunkel	zamboni	"Homeward Bound" - YouTube Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. www.youtube.com
Bruce Springsteen	DrIanMalcolm	My Love Will Not Let You Down My Love Will Not Let You Down (Live in New York City) Live in New York CityWatch - https://LegacyRecordings.lnk.to/BS_LiveInNYC!mlwnlydAbout:Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s first tour in 10 years ended w... www.youtube.com
The Prodigy	titusbramble	Out Of Space Out of Space The Prodigy · Song · 1992 open.spotify.com
Bauhaus	otb_lifer	Stigmata Marryr Stigmata Martyr Bauhaus · Song · 1986 open.spotify.com
Heart	Doug B	Nothin' At All Nothin' At All Heart · Song · 1985 open.spotify.com
The Tragically Hip	Northern Voice	Gift Shop Gift Shop The Tragically Hip · Song · 1996 open.spotify.com
deadmau5	zazale	Move For Me - Radio Edit Move For Me - Radio Edit Kaskade, deadmau5 · Song · 2008 open.spotify.com
Elton John	timschochet	Your Song - YouTube Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. www.youtube.com

 

[krista4]

Simon & Garfunkel	zamboni	"Homeward Bound" - YouTube Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. www.youtube.com
Elton John	timschochet	Your Song - YouTube Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. www.youtube.com

Woo-hoo! There go a couple of my #1s from these artists! Glad they showed up.

 

[Galileo]

#4 Muswell Hillbilly (1971 - Muswell Hillbillies)

Muswell Hillbilly - Live

The Kinks · Everybody's in Show-Biz (Super Deluxe) · Song · 1972

open.spotify.com

This is somewhat of an anti-conformity song about people being forced by the government from their old neighborhoods in the city into the sterile suburbs. Ray Davies from a 1972 interview with Circus Magazine recounts a sad personal story regarding his grandmother:
"it sounds very heavy and serious and it is." Ray warns, "it's just very disturbing to see this happen. They're knocking down all the places in Holloway and Islington and moving all the people off to housing projects in new towns. They say the houses they're tearing down are old and decayed, but they're not really. My gran used to live in Islington in this really nice old house, and they moved her to a block of flats, and she hasn't got a bath now. She's got a shower because there isn't room for a bath. And like she's ninety years old, she can't even get out of the chair let alone stand in the shower. They haven't taken that into consideration. And they knew she was going to move in because it's a new block and they took her around and showed her where she was gonna live and she didn't have any choice. They didn't think to help her in any way. It's just a lack of consideration for people. The government people think they are taking them into a wonderful new world but it's just destroying people." Later in the article Ray offers this about Rosie Rooke: “she used to me my mom's friend when they were about sixteen. They used to walk up Holloway Road, and all of the boys whistled at her because she was very big and well endowed and nice and shapely. She had a very sad life, drink and all of that, and she never felt fulfilled as a person. On the original demo for the album there was a whole song called 'Rosie Rooke.' Leaving Rosie Rooke behind is like leaving everything behind. She symbolized all that for me. She was what it was like and I didn't actually know her."

The song, whose name and album title is a playful tip of the cap to the Beverly Hillbillies, has a decidedly American flair to it. Ray and Dave Davies have expressed a fondness for Americana and its influence on the culture they grew up in. The group was also still looking for ways to re-connect to American audiences after their 4 year ban ended in 1969, so the slight country rock feel and lyrical references to America are rather intentional. This album did not do too well. Oddly, they did not release a single from it until a month or so after the album came out which probably didn’t help. I have more fondness for this album than many people. In fact, some think it is a bit of a misfit in the Kinks catalog. People seem to hate it or love it. I have 4 tracks from this album on my list, and there were a few others that narrowly missed, so I guess I am in the love it group. The title track here is my favorite. I even had it listed as my top ranked song for a while before it settled into 4th. I doubt most share this opinion, and I suspect it wouldn’t even make most other’s lists of 31, but that’s OK…my personal stand against conformity!!

The link I provided in the list is a live version released as part of Everybody’s in Showbiz. This is the version I was originally introduced to. I find it more energetic and lively than the original version from the album and thus it may appeal to a wider crowd. The same could be said for several of the tracks on Muswell which, I suppose, is one of the reasons the album is not highly regarded. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on perspective) the first minute is Ray introducing the band and being a little silly. The track here is listed as 3:10 but only 2 minutes worth of song. Even though I think the sound is better, sadly, this live version eliminates portions of the song. The lyrics below and the bonus link are from the original album and clocks in around 5 minutes.

Bonus Track: Slightly slower tempo full length original from the Muswell Hillbilly album:

Muswell Hillbilly

The Kinks · Muswell Hillbillies (Super Deluxe) · Song · 1971

open.spotify.com

Well I said goodbye to Rosie Rooke this morning
I'm gonna miss her bloodshot alcoholic eyes
She wore her Sunday hat so she'd impress me
I'm gonna carry her memory 'til the day I die

They'll move me up to Muswell Hill tomorrow
Photographs and souvenirs are all I've got
They're gonna try and make me change my way of living
But they'll never make me something that I'm not

'Cause I'm a Muswell Hillbilly boy
But my heart lies in old West Virginia
Never seen New Orleans, Oklahoma, Tennessee
Still I dream of the Black Hills that I ain't never seen

They're putting us in identical little boxes
No character just uniformity
They're trying to build a computerized community
But they'll never make a zombie out of me

They'll try and make me study elocution
Because they say my accent isn't right
They can clear the slums as part of their solution
But they're never gonna kill my cockney pride

'Cause I'm a Muswell Hillbilly boy
But my heart lies in Old West Virginia
Though my hills they're not green
I have seen them in my dreams
Take me back to those Black Hills
That I ain't never seen

Well, I'm a Muswell Hillbilly boy
But my heart lies in Old West Virginia
Though my hills they're not green
But I've seen them in my dreams
Take me back to those Black Hills
That I ain't never seen

 

[kupcho1]

The Decemberists
#4 Angel, Won't You Call Me?

This will probably be the ranking that rankles most Decemberists fans (other than ranking The Mariner's Revenge Song as low as I did).
What can I say? I like it a lot. It's a simple song, but for some reason has stuck with me over the years.

So here I am in corduroy
Catch it in your Polaroid
Thought it was an off night,
caught in such a warm light

I've deliberately left his post short. I'll have plenty to say about the top 3.

 

[Galileo]

I've deliberately left his post short.

Thanks...anyone who reads my post will need a break.

 

[Mrs. Rannous]

@Mrs. Rannous - maybe you said something (sorry, if so) but I don't see your #4 song on Spotify.

@KarmaPolice We checked. It's listed on Spotify as "Don't Tame a Hurricane". No idea why, but at least it's there.

When you get to my Number One, I would like the five minute version from The Amazing Kamikaze Syndrome please. The shorter version just won't do.

 

[Charlie Steiner]

4. Deacon Blues is the first of three songs from the album Aja to appear on my list.

For the uninitiated, Aja is arguably their most critically and commercially successful album, though at just seven songs it's nearly an EP.

This song got a little bit of a bump for sentimental reasons.

This involves the same girl from my Babylon Sisters story but happens a year or so before then. She had it on her mind one night that she wanted to go to a karaoke place. I had no intention of participating, but they did have some Steely Dan on their list, so I chose Deacon Blues, on the condition that she accompanied me.

Thank God for auto-tune.

As for the song, in Fagen's own words, it's "the fantasy life of a suburban guy from a certain subculture."

This is the day of the expanding man
That shape is my shade
There where I used to stand
It seems like only yesterday
I gazed through the glass
At ramblers, wild gamblers
That's all in the past

You call me a fool
You say it's a crazy scheme
This one's for real
I already bought the dream
So useless to ask me why
Throw a kiss and say goodbye
I'll make it this time
I'm ready to cross that fine line

Learn to work the saxophone
I play just what I feel
Drink Scotch whiskey all night long
And die behind the wheel
They got a name for the winners in the world
I want a name when I lose
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide
Call me Deacon Blues

My back to the wall
A victim of laughing chance
This is for me
The essence of true romance
Sharing the things we know and love
With those of my kind
Libations
Sensations
That stagger the mind

I crawl like a viper
Through these suburban streets
Make love to these women
Languid and bittersweet
I rise when the sun goes down
Cover every game in town
A world of my own
I'll make it my home sweet home

Learn to work the saxophone
I play just what I feel
Drink Scotch whiskey all night long
And die behind the wheel
They got a name for the winners in the world
I want a name when I lose
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide
Call me Deacon Blues

This is the night of the expanding man
I take one last drag
As I approach the stand
I cried when I wrote this song
Sue me if I play too long
This brother is free
I'll be what I want to be

I learned to work the saxophone
I play just what I feel
Drink Scotch whiskey all night long
And die behind the wheel
They got a name for the winners in the world
I want a name when I lose
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide
Call me Deacon Blues

 

[Don Quixote]

Jorge Ben Jor

Don Quixote

Os Alquimistas Estão Chegando os Alquimistas - 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

The song title translates to “The Alchemists Are Coming, The Alchemists” making it probably the happiest song that you will ever hear about Alchemists. It is the opening track on the A Tabua de Esmerelda album, which is the album my list has pulled from the most (album title is a reference to the Hermetic Emerald tablet, which is associated with alchemists).

This song’s placement here may be a bit influenced by its position there, as when I put on the album and this song comes on, it brings on more of a “good times are coming” kind of vibe for me. My typical time for putting the album on is after my work day is completed and just trying to relax and unwind.

I’ll drop this link which has a bit on the album and captures a lot of my feelings about it:

…Everything, including the occasional bit of orchestration, follows the sound of Ben’s voice. Even the emotional stakes were pitched low, a far cry from the heightened consciousness that tropicália had introduced; Ben’s primary concern, he told a reporter around this time, was that his music would “bring peace of mind and tranquility to those who listen to it.”

Remarkably, he succeeded. A Tábua de Esmeralda’s sweetness, its sense of self-assurance, transcends language. While its songs don’t shy away from the complexities of Brazilian society in the early 1970s, it wears them — and, by extension, trouble generally — lightly, buoyed by the conviction that one man’s pleasure is sufficient to keep the ills of the world at bay, even if only for a moment.

The light of Ben’s happiness and delight illuminates everything here, radiating from his guitar’s nylon strings and the grinning sound of his voice, all channeled through the guitar, bass, and drums of Trio Mocotó and reflected back in Paulinho Tapajos’ sunny production. Plenty of records aim to give pleasure; A Tábua, for all its simplicity, is bright enough to blot out pain….

 

[Mt. Man]

4. Nutshell (off Jar of Flies, 1994)

And yet I fight, and yet I fight
This battle all alone
No one to cry to
No place to call home

(Live Version) Alice In Chains - Nutshell (Live 2010)
(Unplugged Version) Alice In Chains - Nutshell

This song hit hard when released, and still hits hard in retrospect. There may be no better way to sum up Layne’s struggles with drugs and fame better than “If I can’t be my own/I’d feel better dead”. Which is fair, I suppose, given that Staley wrote the song with that no doubt on his mind. Nonetheless, it's certainly a sentiment that's incredibly easy to sympathize with. With which to sympathize. Both.

So yeah, not exactly a happy song, but one with a solid place in my heart. Both the JoF version and Unplugged. There it’s the opening song, so if you watch the video, at first there’s just Cantrell and Kinney before in walks Inez, Scott Olson, and then Layne just in time to deliver the first line. Powerful and haunting, in either form.

Next on the countdown, a question well served

 

[Yo Mama]

Based on the songs I know, this might end up as my favorite overall playlist in this whole exercise. Can’t wait to dig into the new stuff.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

4. I'm a Man
Album: Chicago Transit Authority (1969)
Writers: Steve Winwood and Jimmy Miller
Lead vocals: Terry Kath (first verse)/Peter Cetera (second and fourth verses)/Robert Lamm (third and fifth verses)
Released as a single? Yes (US #49 in 1971 (as B-side of Questions 67 and 68))

My favorite covers are those that maintain the best aspects of the original while adding something distinctive from the cover-er. And one of the best examples of this is Chicago's version of The Spencer Davis Group's I'm a Man, released on the debut album. Nobody in the band could match Steve Winwood's vocal, so they don't try; each of the band's three primary singers offers their own interpretation in a way that suits their individual strengths. Instead, they replicate the infectious beat and the organ washes, but slow the tempo down a little, more than double the length and go much heavier on the guitar and the drums/percussion -- the horn players perform on various percussion instruments instead of trumpet/trombone/saxophone. The result is an interpretation so exciting that it became an FM radio favorite and concert staple, often serving as a set closer or encore (it was the last song of the famed Tanglewood set, and despite being 10 years after its release, it was the first song they performed on their only SNL appearance, in 1979). It even charted when re-released as a B-side in 1971, on the flip side of Questions 67 and 68, a song from the debut album that the label decided to push again.
Tanglewood version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPZUgfOqAdg (the crowd was so nuts after this that they had to bring Terry Kath back out to tell everybody to go home)
Leonid and Friends version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rmOg4_8wD0 (they do bring in horns for the last two verses)
The SNL performance is not on YouTube.

At #3, a song that sounded like nothing else on the radio, then or now, and which was cut down by more than half when released as a single.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Ryan Adams

Dr. Octopus

Gimme Something Good Gimme Something Good Ryan Adams · Ryan Adams · Song · 2014 open.spotify.com

We return to Adams 2017 self titled album and to one of the first songs I remember getting significant airplay on rock radio. While the Adams fingerprints are all over it, I’d still believe it if you told me it was a 1973 Faces song.

 

[rockaction]

Nonetheless, it's certainly a sentiment that's incredibly easy to sympathize with. With which to sympathize. Both.

Nice catch there, Strunk. How's E.B. doing?

 

[Zegras11]

he Police

Zegras11

Walking On The Moon Walking On The Moon The Police · Reggatta De Blanc (Remastered 2003) · Song · 1979 open.spotify.com - YouTube Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. www.youtube.com

Still one of my fave concert moments. US Festival and this song was played with a full moon right over the stage...

 

[rockaction]

# 4 - Around the World - Daft Punk (Homework)

One of Daft Punk's first releases from 1997, this song paved the way for electronica to become concretized in Continental and other parts of Europe as the modern music and would trailblaze in the UK and North America, paving the way for electronic music to become even bigger than it already was. It flexed as number one on the U.S., UK, and Canada dance charts, with Blender magazine claiming that it "made Paris hip again and left house music hooked on retro."

From Wiki, Daft Punk describes the song thusly: "It was like making a Chic record with a talk box and just playing the bass on the synthesizer." It also is repetitive and trance-like. In 2017, computer scientist Colin Morris analyzed 15,000 Billboard Hot 100 hits for repetitiveness, based on compression algorithms. "Around the World" was found to be the most repetitive of the songs analyzed. It clocks in at 121 BPM.

Anyway, it became their huge hit of '97, and checks in at number four here.

 

[MAC_32]

Green Day

MAC_32

Homecoming Homecoming Green Day · American Idiot · Song · 2004 open.spotify.com

Any doubts I had about omitting this from my top 5 were squashed on an 8 minute car ride Saturday, May 6th. I left one of many middle school track meets with my middle son as I do too many dozen times each spring. He noticed I had been listening to a lot of Green Day recently (in preparation for this thing unbeknownst to him) so he asked that I play something he didn't know by them. A crooked smile came over me and I hit play. We were on our way, just carrying on like myself and that chatterbox always do when I cut him off at 2:23 and interjected out of conversation...'part 2.'

He looked at me with a crooked neck non-verbally asking 'why,' but per usual I didn't directly answer. We eventually carried back on about track racing er sumthin er other til we got to 4:02 and I stopped him mid sentence then blurted out 'part 3.' I noticed that's when it got his attention. The chatterbox was no more as he began to lose himself in music **love**. After a few moments of rare silence when we reached 5:20 and I said 'part 4'...it was game on. He was all in on this epic and there was no coming back.

I got a rock 'n' roll band
I got a rock 'n' roll life
I got a rock 'n' roll girlfriend
And another ex-wife
I got a rock 'n' roll house
I got a rock 'n' roll car
I play the **** out the drums
And I can play the guitar
I got a kid in New York
I got a kid in the Bay
I haven't drank or smoked nothin' in over 22 days
So get off my case, off of my case
Off of my case

He didn't even acknowledge me at 6:06 when 'part 5' left my lips as there was no getting him out of this track. He was drumming along like Tre wishing he knew what lyrics to anticipate next. We were nearing home as 'part 6' left my mouth and before I could get it out of my mouth he said 'dad, spin around the block, we gotta finish this thing!'

And that's how you know you've just exposed one of your sons to something unique. Something they may not remember forever. But I'm sitting here typing this out 3 months later thinking he will. Cause I'll get home from work multiple times per week and what do I hear bellowing from his room when he's not getting ready for whatever practice he has that night? Homecoming. And that's good enough for me. What a mother ****ing jam.

Nobody likes you
Everyone left you
They're all out without you
Havin' fun

 

[MAC_32]

Alice in Chains

Mt. Man

Nutshell Nutshell Alice In Chains · Jar Of Flies · Song · 1994 open.spotify.com

Foo Fighters

Just Win Baby

The Pretender The Pretender Foo Fighters · Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace · Song · 2007 open.spotify.com

Elton John

timschochet

Your Song - YouTube Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. www.youtube.com

#1's

Clutch

Raging Weasel

The Regulator The Regulator Clutch · Blast Tyrant (Deluxe Edition) · Song · 2011 open.spotify.com

The Stranglers

John Maddens Lunchbox

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

Warren G and The Presidents of the United States of America did them better...

...I kid, I kid! (or am I)

 

[krista4]

Based on the songs I know, this might end up as my favorite overall playlist in this whole exercise. Can’t wait to dig into the new stuff.

As I often do, I listened to the beginning of the playlist while doing dinner prep, and through the first 12 songs - Todd Rundgren's "White the **** Hits the Fan" through Sigur Ros's "song with a lot of diacritics" - they were all winners for me. Yes, even Rush's "Subdvisions," which I"ve always had a soft spot for.

Next up is Steely Dan, so... Kidding, I actually know "Deacon Blues" and like it just fine, so the streak will continue when I get back in there. I think the structure of the song is amazing.

Of those first 12, I'd like to call out Brandi Carlile's "Pride and Joy" as being beautiful and restrained, and Jorge Ben Jor's song as being joyous. Also, I saw that kupcho mentioned he didn't think the Decemberists tune would be as well received, but it's one of my favorite I've heard from them so far.

Given this strong start and that I know a bunch of favorites are coming, this is shaping up to be my favorite playlist so far.

 

[Mt. Man]

Nice catch there, Strunk. How's E.B. doing?

Not everyone is built for the Eats, Shoots & Leaves lifestyle

 

[krista4]

WHOA, I'm watching Jeopardy and just as I posted that, The Decemberists were one of the answers (or questions).

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Random thoughts on some of the known-to-me songs from #4:

When The **** Hits The Fan/Sunset Boulevard -- YESSSSSSSSSSSS! Perhaps the most representative track of the wild A Wizard, A True Star album, it's totally unhinged but rocks the hell out while doing so. The analog synth sounds are ungodly. You don't see it here, but I also love the way it segues into the next song, Le Feel Internacionale.
Walking on the Moon is about as ethereal as a reggae tune can get. Stewart Copeland's drumming is marvelous.
Dancing with the Moonlit Night is another Genesis tune that is almost as proggy as prog can get. Its intro conveys "English schoolboy" vibes but it quickly develops into a powerful and dynamic piece.
Stevie Ray's version of Little Wing is another track that gets me all emotional.
Muswell Hillbilly has an odd mix of British and American references but manages to tell a good story somehow.
Subdivisions is a monster. The synth lines, the expressive (by Geddy's standards) vocal, the subject matter that resonates with teenage outcasts, it's remarkably open and empathetic for a band considered by many to be insular and left-brained.
I never quite understood the lyrics of Deacon Blues but I love them. That they come with one of Fagen's best vocal performances helps. And the arrangement is perfection.
Around the World is one of those things I have a hard time getting out of my head once it's there.
I Was Made to Love Her is yet another joyous and heavenly vocal from Stevie. Pure emotion.
Down with Disease is one of Phish's best rockers and produces some epic jams in concert, sometimes arena-rocking but sometimes out there. It's also a song they like to fade out of and then back into later in a set. The coda is remarkable.
Shine a Little Love is another Bee Gees pastiche from ELO's Discovery album. Few things sound more 1979 than this.
Pieces was a new-to-me favorite from the US countdown.
Great harmonies on I Want It All.
Highway to Hell never gets old for me.
Yes, I'm in the "The Pretender sounds like Stairway to Heaven" camp.
My first exposure to Homeward Bound was in the TV movie Miracle on Ice, based on the 1980 US Olympic hockey team, where one of the players sings it on the bus. When I finally heard the S&G version I didn't expect it to be as fast as it was.
I think of Your Song as Elton's Piano Man -- overplayed and a little cheesy but structurally quite good.

 

[Northern Voice]

Oh my goodness, I don't remember my list and figured I had Gift Shop about this high, but my god I love this song. Obviously The Hip are a lot about the live experience and I think this might be the best studio song at catching that experience. It feels to me a bit more raw/less polished, a little looser.

And it does the slow build, quiet/loud thing I love so much in every band and basically calls for the switch --- "The pendulum SWINGS" <<cue guitars>> -- let's ****ing go.

Here it is as the first song in the encore in Toronto (from their concert DVD)

Here it is as the second last song they ever played live in their last show ever

 

[MAC_32]

Highway to Hell never gets old for me.

I'll never forget a middle aged cop from BFE western Ohio dancing to this at a 7th grade assembly with me turning to my buddies just shaking my head da **** are we doing here

 

[krista4]

At #3, a song that sounded like nothing else on the radio, then or now, and which was cut down by more than half when released as a single.

I'm assuming this is my #1 Chicago song. And the reason I love it is exactly what you mentioned: it sounded nothing like anything I'd heard on the radio before (I wasn't quite old enough to hear it on the radio on release, but later).

 

[krista4]

I’d still believe it if you told me it was a 1973 Faces song.

Ooooooh, that's a great comparison.

 

[krista4]

Charlie's story of doing "Deacon Blues" at karaoke made me think of watching "Succession" last night, and we got to the episode where Connor was doing karaoke at his pre-wedding party, and he chose Leonard Cohen's "Famous Blue Raincoat." One of my favorite moments of that show so far.

 

[krista4]

I forgot to shout-out The Stranglers' #5 for having not one, but two, pairs of parentheses in the song title. That's (really) going the (extra) mile.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I'm still on playlist #6 and won't finish before I head to bed, but just wanna bookmark that the sequence of Ride On -> Chill Out Tent -> Go Back -> I Don't Need No Doctor is <chef's kiss>.

 

[krista4]

I made OH listen to some tracks from ladies when he got home (I should clarify that he like ladies' music more than I do as a general rule). Started with today's Brandi Carlile tune as I wanted him to hear how great it sounded with less production. He agreed that that song was spectacular.*

Moved on to today's Big Thief song, which he also liked very much. Feeling rather confident and taking a big risk, I decided to try out "Vigilante ****" from Taylor Swift. When it ended, I told him who it was, and he was surprised and pleased** at how terrific it was.

*OK, he would never call something "spectacular," but he did like it.
**OK, he is never "pleased," but he did like it.

 

[Yo Mama]

Genesis #4 - Dancing with the Moonlit Knight

Album - Selling England by the Pound
Year - 1973

This is Genesis at the top of their Prog powers. As complex and powerful as their earlier epics, but more polished and “together” than those previous offerings. Not sure if that makes sense, but it does in my fuzzy brain right now.

This would be my top example to give someone to explain what progressive rock is.

 

[John Maddens Lunchbox]

#4 - The Stranglers - Peaches

- YouTube

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

m.youtube.com

Year - 1977
Album - Rattus Norvegicus
UK Chart position - #8
Vocals - Hugh Cornwell
Key Lyric - Will you just take a look over there
(Where?)
(There)
Is she tryin' to get outta that cli-tar-es?
Liberation for women
That's what I preach preacher man

Walking on the beaches looking at the peaches

Interesting Points
1- Their first big hit. After the debut single got messed up by the chart compilers spoiling a likely top 5 hit, this one was retribution. It’s probably the simplest of their songs and the catchiest. Shame about the lyrics lol

2- Given the lyrics, airplay was a significant problem. The B Side Go Buddy Go was given more airplay. Its a more standard 50s pastiche song though

3- This song wraps up the entire Rattus Norvegicus album making the list. 7 were automatic selections, but the last 2, Goodbye Toulouse and Sometimes were squeezed in with European Female and Toiler on the Sea making way.

4- After a night out at a reggae club by a black label chief they were considering, they heard the reggae music and were inspired to write this song. At least the music anyway. JJBs iconic heavy bass dominates the sound. Cornwells “cheeky lad” lyrics were written quickly. The grunting in the song was just for fun during a session, until the drummer Jet Black said to keep it in and they did.

5- The lyrics are highly sexist. Ogling womens breasts on the beach ie Peaches. The use of the word Clitoris is also highly inflammatory. The band defend the song as being tongue in cheek, like a bawdy postcard and men desiring women throughout eternity.

Summary to date
Year
1977 - 13
1978 - 5
1979 - 2
1980 - 0
1981 - 1
1982 - 1
1983 - 0
1984 - 3
1985 - 0
1986 - 1
1987 - 0
1988 - 2
1989 - 1
1990 onwards - 2

Where to find
Rattus Norvegicus - 9/9
No More Heroes -3/11
Black and White - 2/12
The Raven - 2/11
The Gospel According to the Meninblack - 0/10
La Folie - 1/11
Feline - 0/9
Aural Sculpture - 3/11
Dreamtime - 1/10
All Live and All of the Night - 2/13
10 - 1/10
1991 onwards - 0
B Sides - 1
Greatest Hits - 3
Standalone Single - 3

Running Vocal Count
Hugh Cornwell - 18
Jean-Jacques Burnel - 10
Other - 0

Rundown
#31 - Walk on By
#30 - Ugly
#29 - All Day and All of the Night
#28 - Meninblack
#27 - Goodbye Toulouse
#26 - Princess of the Streets
#25 - Sweden (All Quiet on the Eastern Front)
#24 - Duchess
#23 - Sometimes
#22 - La Folie
#21 - North Winds
#20 - No Mercy
#19 - 5 Minutes
#18 - Strange Little Girl
#17 - Shut Up
#16 - Bitching
#15 - Bring on the Nubiles
#14 - 96 Tears
#13 - Down in the Sewer
#12 - Hanging Around
#11 - Straighten Out
#10 - Nice ‘N’ Sleazy
#9 - London Lady
#8 - Always the Sun
#7 - Something Better Change
#6 - Skin Deep
#5 - (Get a) Grip (On Yourself)
#4 - Peaches

Next, probably the biggest surprise on my list is where i rank this track. Way higher than expected, but i love it

 

[Leroy Hoard]

My favorite 's:

When The Hits The Fan - Todd Rundgren
Walking On The Moon - The Police
Little Wing -SRV
Isis Unveiled - ...And You Will Know Us
Deacon Blues - Steely Dan
Shine A Little - ELO
Pieces - Dino Jr.
Blur - Popscene
Move For Me - deadmau5