Top 15 God Songs

Well, that was a long break between the last post and now, but life kind of got in the way of writing this list. So here it is, after the devil got his turn, its now god’s turn. Here is my top 15 “god” songs.

15 – Whenever God Shines His Light – Van Morrison with Cliff Richard

We kick off the list with a bit of a duet – an interesting pairing, but a nice little song.

14- God Protect Your Soul – Ed Harcourt

Ed Harcourt is an English singer-songwriter known for his atmospheric and diverse sounds. This track comes from his great debut album “Here Be Monsters.”

13 – God Bless This Mess – Sheryl Crow

For  the 13 spot, we go to Sheryl Crow’s protest song, “God Bless This Mess.” Simplistic in sound, this track has Sheryl expressing her strong criticisms of the US response to the 9/11 attacks. It’s a moving, yet very political track. Consider the following lyrics: “Heard about the day, that two skyscrapers came down. Firemen, policemen and people came from all around. The smoke covered the city, and the body count arise. The president spoke words of comfort, with tears in his eyes. Then he led us as a nation, into a war all based on lies, oh God bless this mess.”

12 – God Makes No Mistakes – Loretta Lynn

Some more from the “Van Lear Rose” album, with the passion of Loretta’s unique vocals coming to the fore in this country rock track.

11 – God Put a Smile Upon Your Face – Coldplay

You would most likely be familiar with this song, it was a huge hit and was all over the radio for a while, but I quite like it.  It is probably the sort of song that Coldplay fans would say is why they like them, yet at the same time, its also probably the type of song that those who hate Coldplay would say is a great example of why they don’t like Coldplay.

10 – God Told Me To – Paul Kelly

Paul Kelly has a lot of “god” songs (God’s Hotel, Surely God was a Lover, Glory Be to God, to name a few), but I have included this solid track from his “Stolen Apples” album. In this song, Kelly assumes the character of a religious extremist who has committed murder because he believes that god told him to. In the current times of terrorist attacks etc, it’s a thought provoking track.

9 – With God on Our Side – Bob Dylan

One of those early Dylan tracks, where Dylan has just an acoustic guitar, and a lot of lyrics to sing. A great track.

8 – All God’s Children – The Finn Brothers

From the excellent “Everyone is Here” album, Neil and Tim give us the sort of music that they have made a career out of. This song also addresses the god is a woman movement, with a line that I love:  “We're all God's children, And God is a woman. But we still don't know who the father is. I can't help thinking, there's a fortune riding, on the answer to that question.”

7 – If I Should Fall from Grace with God – The Pogues

The title track of an excellent Pogues album, this one is some more of that great celtic folk with attitude that you get from the Pogues.

6 – Secret God – Neil Finn

This time we get Neil Finn solo, from his brilliant “One Nil” album. This is a lush, atmospheric track that is almost a bit dreamy. Great piece of music.  And there may still be more Finn to come in this list!

I will post the top five next week. As I have previously said, any comments are most welcome, so please include them. As for some teasers about the top five - there is something Finn related, a quirky Aussie, a singer that is one of my favourites, some beautiful female harmonies, and a number one by a big name group which stands well clear at number one.

take care everone, and keep the comments coming.

Deano

Devil songs - the top five

Hi All Sorry about the delay with this post, but life kinda got in the way!! I know you were all waiting on the edge of your seats to see what the top five is, so here it is:

5 - The Devil’s been Busy – Travelling Wilburys What a band – this collaboration between Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Tom Petty , Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne is the ultimate example of a supergroup. After the hugely successful and brilliant first album, unfortunately Roy passed away, so the follow up (called volume three, just to confuse us) was released without his vocals. Although still an enjoyable listen, it is not as brilliant as the first. The Devil’s Been Busy is the fourth track from this album, a good little pop track.

4 - You’re the Devil in Disguise – Elvis Presley A UK number one single for the King, this is classic Elvis, with a catchy pop ditty. Lovely stuff.

3 - The Devil Went Down to Georgia – Charlie Daniels Band A great country music song, this narrative tells the story of a guy named Johnny who is challenged by the devil to a fiddle playing contest (as you do!). If the devil wins, he gets to take Johnny’s soul, Johnny’s prize if he wins is a golden fiddle. (Is it just me, or does the devil’s instrumental possibly sound better than Johnny’s, despite the song awarding the win to Johnny?)

2- Devil Inside – INXS A great rock track from INXS, possibly one of their harder songs. It contains a great hook, that immediately gets you into the song. Hutchene’s vocals also work really well on this track, the chorus being delivered in a breathy fashion.

1 - Sympathy for the Devil – Rolling Stones The top spot goes to this epic track from the Stones. What I really love about this song is how the repetitive beat increases in intensity throughout the track, with Jagger putting down a great vocal performance. I wouldn’t call myself a huge Stones fan, but this is one of their best. So there it is. Some used to say that rock and roll was the devil's music, and this list certainly doesn't dispel that comment! As a treat for the next list, its time to give God the right of reply. Look forward to your company for the next list, and as always, comments are most appreciated.

Top 15 "Devil" songs

Back in February, my wife and I took a little break down to Tasmania, a beautiful part of the world. We did a whole heap of different activities whilst down there, but one of the more different things (for us anyway) was that we took a ride on the Devil Jet, a jet boat that goes through the white water rapids of the Derwent River. It was great one, and has inspired this week’s list, which is all about the devil.

15 - The Devil’s Workday - Modest Mouse
I remember hearing the Modest Mouse song “Float On” on the radio, and being quite impressed, it was nothing like anything I had heard before. In recent times, I borrowed from a friend the album that “Float On” is from, and that was how I heard of this track, “The Devil’s Workday”, which allmusic.com describe as having a theatrical jolt.

14 - That Old Devil Called Love – Billie Holiday
Time for a change of pace, so I thought it would be nice to throw in a nice track from the jazz singing pioneer herself, Billie Holiday.

13 - Better the Devil You Know – Kylie Minogue
Ok, so to some of you I would have just killed every ounce of musical credibility that I might have, but for some reason, I don’t mind a bit of Kylie’s music every now and then. A nice little dance pop track coming from the early 90’s.

12 - Whiskey, You’re the Devil – The Pogues
I included this track on my booze-o list, and this is what I wrote back then: “When it comes to songs about alcohol, there are some artists that you would expect to feature prominently, and the Pogues are certainly one of them. If you are not familiar with them, they were an Irish rock group that sort of combined traditional Irish folk with the punk movement, the end result being a unique sound that is brilliant. In this track, they even take some lyrics from the traditional folk song “Whiskey in the Jar” and blend it into this song. Great, great stuff.”

11 - Devils and Dust – Bruce Springsteen
The title track from Springsteen’s 2005 folk album. Its one of the better songs on the album, but I find that I have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy this album. When I am in the mood for it, I think its brilliant, when I am not in the right frame of mind, I find it sounds like an annoying mumble of an album.

10 - Devil in her Heart – The Beatles
A doo-wop cover version with George on lead vocals, from their second album “With the Beatles”, I quite like this track. Its simple, and its got a nice feel to it.

9 - Who Put the Devil in You? – You Am I
A blistering rock track from You Am I’s “Deliverance” album. Their last good album, in my humble opinion.

8 - The Devil You Know – Split Enz
A great track from the “Conflicting Emotions” album, this showcases Neil Finn’s talents, although is overshadowed by “Message to My Girl” as the great track from this album.

7 - Speak of the Devil – Chris Isaak
Some more of that moody music that Chris is famous for. Great stuff.

6 - The Devil’s Inside Your Head – Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson
Another track from the excellent “Rattlin Bones” album. This one is stripped down, mostly acoustic, and could almost be some long lost mountain song.

At this point, I am going to leave you hanging, and say come back next week when the top five is revealed, although its probably not a difficult one to guess this time around. Take care everyone, and keep those comments coming…hehehe…

top ten "miles" songs

Hi All

Sorry I missed last week, but these things happen, and as I predicted, I would probably struggle to keep the weekly posts up, but not to worry.

Anyway, these weeks theme is the top songs with "miles" in the title. Normally I have a good little anecdote to tell you why I have chosen the theme, but this week, I don't have any such story. I think one of the songs came up on my ipod when I had it on shuffle mode, and then that got me thinking.

So here they are, the top 10 songs. As per usual, any comments, suggestions, alternative lists etc are most welcome:

10 - 100 Miles from Memphis – Sheryl Crow
Those of you that know me will know that I am a big Sheryl Crow fan, and I have all of her albums. However, I will be honest, this song is really just making up the numbers on this list. The title track from Sheryl’s most recent album, I found this album to be a little disappointing. The album sees Sheryl moving into a Motown inspired sound. There is nothing wrong with that per se, it sounds good, but to me, it sounds a bit like it could be anyone singing.

9 - Extra Mile – Paul Kelly
From Kelly’s album “Deeper Water”, this is a good song that rolls along in a laid back yet still catchy kind of way.

8 - 40 Miles – Troy Cassar-Daley
From Troy’s “Long Way Home” album, this Australian country music artist gives us a beautiful little country ballad. Troy has an underappreciated voice in my opinion.

7 - Five Miles Closer to the Sun – James Reyne
From Reyne’s second solo album “Hard Reyne”, this is a nice little song, and one of the better tracks of this, Reyne’s weakest album in my opinion.

6 - Forty Miles to Saturday Night – Paul Kelly
Another appearance by the brilliant Paul Kelly. This song is great, a rocker, inspired by a painting, that tells the story of having to travel forty miles to the pub, to start a big night out. Great stuff.

5 - Miles to Go – Nick Barker
Nick Barker is an Aussie singer songwriter, and in “Miles to Go”, which he co-wrote with Paul Kelly (who is doing quite well on this list!) he gives us a simple yet great track. The version I have is from his excellent album “C-Sides”, which was recorded as part of the Liberation Blue acoustic series, where artists are asked to rework some of their work, and then throw in some covers for good measure.

4 - I Can See for Miles – The Who
Its hard to provide a description of a song like this one, as it virtually has an epic feel to it. The tempo changes throughout the track, building up the tension, and in parts it almost has a psychedelic feel to it. A great rock song.

3 - Miles from Nowhere – Cat Stevens
I only recently picked up Cat Steven’s album “Tea for the Tillerman”, and I can honestly say that in my opinion this is one of the greatest albums of all time. I already knew songs like “Wild World” and the brilliant “Father and Son”, but I was unfamiliar with “Miles From Nowhere”, although I loved it right from the first listen. It starts off with a slow acoustic feel before getting more intense, and then it flicks back to the slow feel again. Lovely stuff.

2 - I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers
Not out of place on a list of the nerdiest looking pop stars, the Proclaimers made some great late eighties pop, and this song would still be a favourite of cover bands around the world. Its catchy, you can dance to it, and yeah, maybe it is a bit daggy, but what a great song.

1- 1000 Miles Away – Hoodoo Gurus
The top position goes to the great Aussie rock group Hoodoo Gurus, with their, to quote allmusic.com “..surprisingly effective life on the road ballad”. I remember seeing them life, and when Dave starts off singing the first bit of this song, it really sends shivers down your spine. Then that killer guitar riff and the full band come on in, and the song starts to rock. The lyrics are powerful, as they sing about the loneliness of business travel.

Top Ten - "New York" songs

The Grammy’s were held a few weeks ago, and Jay –Z’s Empire State of Mind song was widely tipped to win song of the year. It didn’t, but it picked up a rap award. This track is an ode to New York, which got me thinking about “New York” songs.

So my top ten this week is “New York”. However, my list is about songs with New York in the title, rather than songs that are necessarily about New York. Some on the list below aren’t really about NY, and there are many great New York songs that don’t feature New York in the title.

I have never been to New York, but know many friends and colleagues that have, and they all speak very highly of the place.

PS – list has been prepared very quickly today, apologies for any grammatical errors.


10 - Englishman in New York – Sting
A search of my music collection revealed that I only had 9 songs with “New York” in the title. So I had to find another, and this track from Sting just sneaks into the list.

9 - New York Telephone Conversation – Lou Reed
I think in an earlier post I talked about picking up Lou Reed’s Transformer last year and quite enjoying it. This is a quirky little song from it, but most enjoyable.

8 - New York – U2
From their great return to form album “All that you can’t leave behind”, this New York song is a great. Bono’s vocals suit the track beautifully, as he describes New York in song.

7 - Piazza, New York Catcher – Belle and Sebastian
I have a few friends that are big B & S fans, but I have never quite taken the plunge although I suspect if I did, I would really like their music. However, the quirky soundtrack to the film Juno contains a couple of their tracks, including this one, which is an enjoyable listen from start to finish.

6 - New York City Cops – The Strokes
The Strokes burst onto the music scene in 2001 with their blistering debut album, but it almost could have gone wrong for them. Their album was scheduled for release in September, and contained this song, which contains the line “New York City Cops, they ain’t too smart”, which if you remember back to what was going on in September 2001, was not going to endear you to the American public. As I understand it, the US release of their album was quickly changed to remove this track. Despite the lyric, it’s a great rock track.

5 - Sammy and Doofus and our Man in New York – James Reyne
A media release on Reyne’s website describes this song as “raucous white funk”, and that description alone is probably enough to make you worry about the worthiness of the song. Luckily for me though, I was pleasantly surprised about how great this song is. I have been a fan of Reyne’s solo work for a while, but he usually delivers ballads and rock songs, so this was a huge departure for him, but no less enjoyable, particularly as the lyrics were as cynical as ever. I am also led to believe that the doofus in the song is Richard Wilkins…hehehe

4 - New York State of Mind – Billy Joel
Although some people think he is a bit daggy, I like a lot of Billy Joel’s stuff, and this particular ode to New York is a fantastic ballad…not sure what else to say.


So now we get to the top three, and these songs stand out well above the rest of the list. All three could have made it to the number one spot, but there can only be one number one…


3 - New York Mining Disaster – The Bee Gees
An amazing, shivers down your spine type of song, this ballad takes place in a mine, and one of the trapped people, fearing they are going to die, produces a photo of his wife to show to Mr Jones. Sadly, last year there were several mining disasters – Chile had a happy ending for some, New Zealand not so. And now with the Christchurch earthquake, some would be going through this same feeling of being trapped in rubble. Its probably more poignant than ever now.

2 - New York, New York – Frank Sinatra
Time to inject some swing into the list, and where else to go but to Ol’ Blue Eyes himself. What can you say about this classic? Its infectious, it’s a toe tapper, and could very easily have made it into number one.


1- Fairytale of New York – The Pogues
I have given top spot to this classic Pogues track. One of the best Christmas songs of all time, this song is about some Irish immigrants, feuding in New York City at Christmas time. It is a wonderful song, bitter sweet at times, and uniquely Pogues, taking from the Irish folk tradition and giving it their own take.

Hills and Mountain songs - The Top 10

Ok everyone, welcome back to the top 20 Hills and Mountain songs. In the last post, I mentioned that there would be six hills, and four mountains in the top ten, with six songs by Aussies, two Brits, and two Americans and one group appearing twice in the top ten. How did you go with guessing what they might be?

10 - Kiss the Dirt (Falling Down the Mountain) – INXS
A great song to start off the top ten, this one starts with a simple three note strum and builds from there. Its typical INXS, with a bit of rock in there, but catchy enough to call it a pop song.

9 - Violet Hill – Coldplay
I talked about Violet Hill in the top 10 “V” songs, so I won’t go into this one again, other than to say I really enjoy this track.

8 - King of the Mountain – Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil were great at wrapping up some powerful rock music, with passionate vocal delivery, all in a few minutes of a song. This one is no exception. A great rock track.

7 - Kosciuszko – Midnight Oil
So there you go, Midnight Oil was the group that appears twice, and hey, Kosciuszko is a mountain, so whats wrong with including it on the list?? Another great rock song from the Oils.

6 - King of the Hill – Tim Rogers
One of the stand out tracks on Tim’s 2004 album Spit Polish, this is a great little song that just rolls along. Nice stuff.

5 - Lights on the Hill – Slim Dusty
I once heard this song described (possibly by Slim himself) as the happiest sad song ever written. And that is a pretty apt description for the track, penned by Slim’s wife joy. The song is about a nasty car accident, where a driver is blinded by the lights on the hill and ends up dying. But the music is totally upbeat and cheerful, almost at odds with the lyrical content. I really like the song, I hope that doesn’t say anything about me…

4 – The Fool on the Hill – Beatles
Given their extensive back catalogue, the Beatles seem to make regular appearances on my list. This is a nice little song, with Paul taking the lead vocals.

3 - Middle of the Hill – Josh Pyke
Josh Pyke has been getting a good run in my recent lists, probably more so that my like of his stuff would warrant, but he has had appropriate tracks for the recent themes. This one however, is a genuinely good track, and possibly my favourite Josh Pyke track. I really love the lyrics in this track. As a sample, check out this: “When i was a kid i grew up in a house, On a hill not the top not the bottom but the middle and i still remember where i cracked my head in the vacant lot theres a row of tiny houses there now and we used to light fires in the gutters and i could cool my head on the concrete steps but the girl down the street hit my sister on the head with a stick and we hid behind my father as he knocked on her parents door to tell them what she did but the parents were drunk so they really didn’t give a shit”. And so it goes on, great great stuff.

2- Blueberry Hill – Fats Domino
What a beautiful song, there is just no other way of describing it. Whenever I hear it, it always brings a smile to my face. Even yesterday, I flicked the TV on and there was an old Happy Days episode, and what song should be playing in the background…you guessed it, Blueberry Hill. Lovely lovely stuff.

1 - River Deep, Mountain High – Ike and Tina Turner
My top hills and mountain song goes to Tina Turner’s River Deep Mountain High. A classy rock song, I was first introduced to it via Jimmy Barnes cover, which is excellent, but you can’t beat Tina’s original. The accolades for this song are pretty high – producer Phil Spector claimed it to be his best work, and George Harrison described it as a perfect record from start to finish. Although the song is credited to Ike and Tina, Spector famously paid Ike to stay away from the studio, so that his controlling instincts would not interfere with the recording process, and its only Tina’s vocals that can be heard on the track. It has now become one of Tina’s signature tunes.

So there it is, my top twenty hills and mountain songs. All feedback welcome – what have I left off the list that should be there? And also, suggestions for future topics are also gratefully received.

Top 20 Hills and Mountain songs - PART ONE

Hi Everyone

This week’s theme is top 20 Hills and Mountain songs. I know that in the past, some have commented on my theme inspirations, and this one is no exception. I have just returned from a holiday with my wife, down to Tasmania. Amongst other things, we went to the Fed Cup tennis while we were there. Sitting in the tennis stadium, my seats faced the impressive looking mountains in that area. So that is the reason for the topic. And, you have to let me make one dodgy joke before we start – these are hill songs, not to be confused with Hillsong, the church movement!!!

Ok, onto the list. It’s a top twenty, and will be over two weeks. Here are 20-11.

20 - Big Rock Candy Mountain – Harry McClintock
An old, old song that came to my attention on the “O Brother Were Art Thou?” soundtrack. It is a country song about a hobo’s idea of paradise (eg. In the Big Rock Candy Mountains, The jails are made of tin. And you can walk right out again, As soon as you are in.)

19 - Hamilton Hill – Basement Birds
In earlier posts I have talked about enjoying the Basement Birds album, but this song is interesting because its an instrumental, the only instrumental on their album. When I went to see them live, before they started this song they introduced it by saying to the crowd “if you know the words to this next track, please sing along!”. Funny stuff.

18 - The Mountain – Hoodoo Gurus
This track comes from the Hoodoo Guru’s sixth studio album “Crank”, which contains the well known song “The Right Time”. The last track is a great song, “The Mountain”, which is pretty much exactly what you would expect from the Hoodoo Gurus…power rock, lovely stuff.

17 - Mountain – Chocolate Starfish
Does anyone remember Chocolate Starfish? They were huge for about five minutes in the nineties, having a hit with a cover of “You’re So Vain”, and also this song, “Mountain”, a great ballad. My wife recently picked up a 90’s compilation CD and we rediscovered this track. Great song.

16 - Its All Downhill from Here – Paul Kelly
From Kelly’s excellent “Comedy” album, I have often wondered if this song was autobiographical or not. The lyrics might indicate that its about struggling to adjust with being famous: “I was taught not to speak to strangers, But strangers always seemed to know my name, And they bought and sold my pleasure, my disgust and my shame.” But maybe I am on completely the wrong tram with that hypothesis.

15 - Lone Pine Hill – Justin Townes Earle
I was given Justin Townes Earle’s album “The Good Life” last year, and I really enjoy it. It’s a country album, containing a host of tracks that sound like they are old country standards, although most were actually written by Earle. This one is described by allmuisc.com as a “period gunman’s saga”.

14 - High on a Mountain Top – Loretta Lynn
I discussed Lynn’s “Van Lear Rose” in an earlier post, and this is another from that album, which was produced by Jack White from the White Stripes. This is probably a more traditional country sounding song than many others on the album, very enjoyable though.

13 - Misty Mountain Hop – Led Zeppelin
Some people may be shocked that this classic rock track is only #13 on my list, but the truth is, I actually don’t know the song very well. Led Zep IV has been on my must get albums list for some time, but I have just never got around to it. To be honest with you, I am not exactly sure where I have heard this song, probably on the radio, maybe at a friend’s place. Probably with more listens, it would shoot much higher up on the list.

12 - Mountain Dew – The Pogues
A traditional Irish folk song, this version was a bonus track on their album “If I should fall from grace with god”, the song is actually an ode to a drink (“But give me enough of the rare old stuff, That's made near Galway Bay, Come gougers all from Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim too, We'll give them the slip and we'll take a sip, Of the real old mountain dew.) For another piece of trivia, the classic Pogues song “Fairytale of New York” makes mention of this traditional Irish folk song (“And then he sang a song, The Rare Auld Mountain Dew, I turned my face away, And dreamed about you.”)

11 - Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Jimmy Barnes
Ok, I know I have committed a big sin by including the Aussie rockers version on the list, and not the original Motown version, but the truth is that I am more familiar with Barnesy’s version, and he does a good enough job with it. The first concert I ever went to was Jimmy Barnes for his “Soul Deep” tour, which was where he covered all these great soul tracks.


So there is part one, the top ten is coming up next week. To give you a bit of a hint, there are six hills, and four mountains in the top ten. Six songs are by Aussies, two Brits, and two Americans. One group appears twice in the top ten.

As always, feel free to leave your questions, criticisms, comments, thoughts or suggestions…

Back to School Special - Top Ten "Spelling" songs

Hi,

Sorry for the delay, but I have been on holidays, so only just getting back to this now.

Schools around the country have recently gone back to start the new school year, so this week’s list is a “back to school special”. The top ten spelling songs!!

So what do I mean by spelling songs – basically any song where at some point in the lyrics, the singer spells out a word. A couple of disclaimers – I am not including acronyms in this, so YMCA by the Village People is ineligible, likewise Back in the USSR by the Beatles, and a heap of songs with USA in the lyrics.

Only ten on the list this week, mainly because I haven’t had much time to do this, and also, I actually can’t think of too many songs at the moment (although there must surely be thousands out there!)

10 – That Word (Love) – The Rockmelons
Spelling: L-O-V-E
To start the list off, I will go with some early 90’s radio friendly pop from the Rockmelons, featuring Deni Hines on lead vocals. The spelling is in the chorus and is a major component of the song.

9 - I’m Henry The VIII, I am – Herman’s Hermits
Spelling: H-E-N-R-Y
Moving back in time, to the sixties, and Herman’s Hermits little novelty ditty about the former King. For some reason this song always makes me smile, particularly the bit after the first verse where they sing “second verse, same as the first”, and then proceed into the next verse. Interestingly, throughout the track, they use a rather cockney accent and pronounce Henry more like Enery. Late in the song, the spelling of Henry (in the conventional style) occurs.

8 – Asshole – Dennis Leary
Spelling: A-S-S-H-O-L-E
Hehehe – yes, I realize the irony of having a back to school special and then putting this song on the list, but hey, I never said I was a good role model! I remember this song from the 90’s, and at that time, it was considered to be stretching the boundaries a fair bit. I even remember a number of music video shows not even prepared to run it. It is basically Leary describing how much of a charming individual he is. The spelling occurs near the end, in almost a chant style.

7 - I’m a Man – Bo Diddley
Spelling: M-A-N
Featuring a killer blues riff, in this song Diddley basically proclaims his manhood. The spelling of M-A-N recurs throughout the song.

6 – ROCK in the USA – John Mellencamp
Spelling: R-O-C-K
Included for the spelling of ROCK, not USA. An ode to 60’s rock, this upbeat rocking track is from Mellencamp’s Scarecrow album. The spelling occurs in the chorus.

5 – Jimmy Jazz – The Clash
Spelling: J-A-Z-Z
London Calling by the Clash is one of my all time favourite albums. The Clash are usually lauded as a punk band, but there is far more than just punk in this album, with moments of reggae, ska, jazz, soul, rockabilly all shining through. Jimmy Jazz is one of those great songs, that probably doesn’t get its credit given how many other gems feature on the album. The spelling comes towards the end of the song.

4- Gloria – Van Morrison
Spelling: G-L-O-R-I-A
This song has virtually become a rock and roll staple. Not being a musician, I don’t know much about such things, but I am led to believe that this song is quite simple to play, so a lot of up and coming guitarists learn how to play it. I just enjoy it for what it is, a great rock song.


3 – Rumble – You Am I
Spelling: R-A-D-I-O
The only song on my list that doesn’t spell out a word from its title, this is a catchy rocker from Aussie band You Am I. It packs a punch from start to finish (and in a dodgy segue from me, it even has a punching theme by mentioning boxer Lionel Rose in the lyrics). The spelling is part of the chorus.

2 - Lola – The Kinks
Spelling: L-O-L-A or C-O-L-A
What a song! Ray Davies tale of meeting a boy who he thought was a girl has to be one of rock’s greatest, particularly the great power riff that begins the song. There is spelling throughout the song, of Lola, and also of its rhyme Cola. For some more useless trivia, originally the song mentioned coca cola, but this was changed to the more generic cherry cola, because the BBC had a policy against product placement.

1 – Respect – Aretha Franklin
Spelling: R-E-S-P-E-C-T
The top spot just had to go to Aretha’s anthem. The story of this song fascinates me. It was written and originally recorded by Otis Redding. The way Otis sings it, it is about a man coming home and expecting to get some respect from his woman. Aretha though, changed it around so that its about a woman expecting some respect from the man, and Aretha’s version has become a bit of a chick anthem. The famous spelling of RESPECT was not included in Redding’s version, and arguably it is Franklin’s delivery of these lines that makes her version so memorable.




So there you have it, our back to school spelling songs special. I hope you enjoyed, and as always, please post your thoughts/comments/suggestions below. I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers

Dean

Top 15 "Photography" songs

My beautiful wife has recently bought a new camera, and has been taking some photography lessons. I really admire her passion, and its great to see her really trying to develop her skills. It makes me look a bit silly in comparison, when my hobby of late seems to be writing meaningless music lists on the internet!!

Anyway, in honour of her, I thought this week’s theme would be photography. You might have to bear with me a bit here, because some of the songs might be a bit of a tenuous link to the theme, and many only have a fleeting reference, and are really about other things. It’s a top 15 this week. AND….I am really trying hard to get a list of songs that does not include Nickelback’s “Photograph”, which actually fits the theme well, and is probably Nickelback’s best song. But I don’t like Nickelback, so I don’t really want to have to include it….here’s hoping.

For each track on the list, I have picked a quote that shows you the photo/camera reference. Enjoy, and once again, feel free to comment and tell me what I have overlooked.

15 - Nightswimming – REM
(“The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago, turned around backwards so the windshield shows”)
I am not really a huge REM fan, I like their big hits, and hence the best of REM album that I have serves me fine. According to Wikipedia, Chris Martin from Coldplay called this the greatest song ever written. If that’s true, that is a massive call. It’s a nice enough ballad.

14 - A Boy Named Sue – Johnny Cash
(“I knew that snake was my own sweet dad, from a worn-out picture that my mother'd had”)
A novelty song, about a boy with an unfortunate name who tracks down his father and has words with him for giving him that name. But, once he understands the reason for it, he forms a slightly different view. Check it out if you haven’t heard it before.

13 - Picture – Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock
(“I found your picture today”)
People that know me know that I am a big fan of Sheryl Crow, and I must admit when I first heard of her pairing with Kid Rock, I was a little surprised. But it actually works quite well, with Sheryl’s sweet voice contrasting well with the rougher voice of Kid Rock. The song is well written, and tells the story of a troubled relationship. There is a great part in the song where they talk about how their respective characters are dealing with the breakup. Crow sings “I was heading to church”, whereas Rock sings “I was off to drink you away.”. For some reason, I have always liked that, it shows the contrast really well I think.

12 – Turning Japanese – The Vapours
(“I’ve Got Your Picture, I’ve got your picture”)
Time to throw in some great 80’s pop music. Although I am not really sure how to tackle the description for this one, as this song contains some downright filthy lyrics. Should I even mention that he “wants a doctor to take a picture” so he can ”look at you from inside as well”….hmmmmm….

11 - Send a Picture of Mother – Johnny Cash
(“and send a picture of mother if you can”)
The Man in Black makes his second appearance on this list. This song tells the story of two brothers who are in prison, one is due for release, but the other has to stay due to some poor behaviour whilst in prison. He laments the fact that he has to stay, and asks his brother to pass on his regards to his family, and then requests that he sends a picture of his mother. A moving song.

10 - I Only Understand Her in the Rain – Tim Rogers
(“I hate your old photos and the smiles that they contain, Yeh your old damn boyfriends, think I’ll leave ‘em out in the rain”)
When You am I released their album “Dress Me Slowly”, some editions had a bonus album of Tim Rogers, their lead singer, performing stripped back, acoustic songs with a collaboration called the Temperence Union. This collaboration contained a track called “Dreamin”. The song talked about feeling jealous after seeing photos of his partner with her ex. Fast forward a few years, and Tim’s solo album Spit Polish pops up with a track called “I Only Understand Her in the Rain”. The lyrics of this track sound mighty familiar. That is because it is the same song, but reworked to new music.

9 - Penny Lane – Beatles
(“In Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs, Of every head he's had the pleasure to know. And all the people that come and go, Stop and say hello.”)
Now either that barber doesn’t have many customers, or else he has a lot of photographs! Paul’s little ode to where he grew up is a lovely little song. Sometimes I feel, like with a lot of Beatles songs, it doesn’t get the credit it deserves, as it is overshadowed by many other better Beatles songs, but it just has a nice feelgood flavour to it.

8 - Bad Day – REM
(“It's been a bad day. Please don't take a picture”)
Another REM song on the list. For those that don’t know this song, its very similar in structure to “It’s the end of the world as we know it”. In fact, Bad Day came first, but was left unfinished for many years, and kind of morphed into “…end of the world…” Years later, when the best of was released, this song was finished and added to that tracklisting.

7 - Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) – Green Day
(“So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind”)
Perhaps the most misinterpreted song of all time, it actually about a break up, but seems to be used all the time in a good way, and I would hazard a guess that it would probably be one of the most popular wedding songs since its release. It is a great song though, a simple acoustic track, and a big departure from Green Day’s other songs.

6 - Picture This – Blondie
(“All I want is a photo in my wallet. A small remembrance of something more solid. All I want is a picture of you.”)
Blondie are a great band, I liked “Heart of Glass” before I even knew who it was by. From the excellent album “Parallel Lines” comes “Picture This”, which perhaps you could call Blondie-by-numbers, but I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s a great track, but quintessentially Blondie.

5 - Girls on Film – Duran Duran –
(“There's a camera rolling on her back, on her back”)
This was one of the first songs that came to mind when I thought of this topic, mainly due to the camera noises that occur at the start. I know the song is quite famous for its film clip, considered quite risqué at the time, but to be honest with you, I don’t watch many film clips and I can’t even recall if I have seen it. Nevertheless, it’s a great piece of 80’s pop.

4 - There Goes the Neighbourhood – Sheryl Crow
(“Get out the camera, take a picture, the drag queens and the freaks, are all out on the town”)
I am a big Sheryl Crow fan, and this is one of her best. From her brilliant “Globe Sessions” album, allmusic.com describes this as a “Stonesy rocker”. I can understand the comparison, but it doesn’t do this song credit to dismiss this as just another rock track.

3 - Take a Picture – Filter
(“Could You Take My Picture, Cause I won’t remember”)
A great piece of pop/rock from the late 90’s early 00’s. One of the things I like about making these lists is that sometimes I like to look up the songs and find out a bit more about them. I have always enjoyed the dreamlike melody of this song, but not taken too much notice of the lyrics, other than the chorus. Anyway, it turns out that it is about the lead singer getting drunk on an aeroplane and taking off his clothes (as you do!)…which now helps the opening line “Awake on my airplane, awake on my airplane...my skin is bare, my skin is theirs” to make a lot of sense.

2- Hey Ya! – Outkast
(“Shake it like a Polaroid Picture”)
New Zealand. 2001. I travel to New Zealand and whilst I am over there, I catch up with an Aunt/uncle and cousin, a teenage schoolgirl at the time. Her taste in music was a fair bit different to mine, and so she was playing a lot of hip/hop type music that didn’t do a lot for me. Except for one song which stood out, featuring a very catchy chorus: “I’m sorry Ms Jackson, I am for reeeealll”. I couldn’t get that out of my head for the rest of the trip. I then try and find out who it is from, and discover it is a group called Outkast.

Fast forward several years, and another catchy track, with the Polaroid picture line seems to be everywhere, on radio, in TV, in shops. Despite the massive exposure though, it doesn’t seem to outstay its welcome, and again stands out as being a great song from a genre that doesn’t normally appeal to me. It comes as some surprise when I learn it is from Outkast as well…and brings back memories to my New Zealand trip.

I still haven’t purchased an Outkast album (although did buy the download of this song from itunes), but perhaps I should give them a shot.

1- Kodachrome – Paul Simon
(I got a Nikon camera, I love to take a photograph, So mama don't take my Kodachrome away)
The top photography song by a long margin, how could you not give it to a song that has a type of film as its title, as well as namedropping a camera brand!! Away from the the photo thing, it also contains one of the best opening song lines there is: “when I look back on all the crap I learned at high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all.” That’s damn fine songwriting right there.



So there it is, my photography list. In my introduction, I mentioned that this was in honour of my wife, but having gone back to look at the list, and realized that it contained songs about skinny dipping, fighting with your father, being in jail, masturbation, being jealous, having a bad day, breaking up with your partner, dodgy neighbourhoods, and getting drunk and stripping on a plane, perhaps it wasn’t my finest choice of dedications!!!....sorry bout that wifey!!

Music Lists - Top Ten "Primate" songs

Has anyone seen that ad on the tv (I think its for red meat) where Sam Neill dances with an orangatang? For some reason that one always brings a smile to my face. So it got me thinking as a theme for the next list – “primate” songs. Now, for the pedantic followers of my list, yes, I am well aware that humans are also primates, but I have looked to the non-human varieties for this list.

So when it comes to primates in music, my first thoughts went to some bands – The Monkees, and from more recent times, Gorrilaz. The Screaming Jets had an album with a gorilla on the front of it, and the Hoodoo Gurus had a B Sides Collection called Gorilla Biscuit. Jack Johnson recorded the soundtrack to the children’s film Curious George, so he has an album called Curious George. Then there is the drumming gorilla from the Cadbury advertisement, I like that ad as well.

Coming up with songs though, has proved a bit more challenging. So this week’s list is only a top ten. Having said that though, there are some mighty good songs on the list.



10 - Monkey Girl – Toots and the Maytals.
Toots and the Maytals are an influential Jamaican reggae group. In the 2009 after Christmas sales, I saw a double best of for the ludicrous price of 50 cents, so I decided to give it a go. I like it, although not being a huge lover of reggae music, the album is a lot to digest in one go.

9 - Monkey with a Drum – Josh Pyke.
I have talked about Josh Pyke in a previous post, and this is another of his nice little songs from the Memories and Dust album.

8 - Monkey to Man – Elvis Costello.
My friend Jiggy lent me a copy of Elvis’s album the Delivery Man some time ago, and although I haven’t listened to it a lot, I have liked the few times that I have. Monkey to Man is one of the highlights on the album, a great catchy track.

7 - Monkey Wrench – Foo Fighters.
Ok, so maybe this really should be under a tool theme list, but its an out an out rocker from the Foo Fighters. Again, talking about my friend Jiggy, his recent wirelesscranium blog post discusses the Foo Fighters and sums them up pretty accurately I think.

6 - Theme from the Monkees – The Monkees.
There is no way I could leave this catchy little track of the list. Yes it’s a bit corny, but its very enjoyable.

5 - King Kong – The Kinks.
A great stomping rock song from the Kinks…great great stuff. It is a bonus track on the version of Arthur.... which I own, but I think it was a B Side to one of their big hits. I forget which one.

4- Monkey on a Wire – Shane Nicholson and Kasey Chambers.
Another track from the husband and wife duo on their “Rattling Bones” album, which I think I have drawn from for previous music lists. Apart from the title track, this is probably one of the highlights of that album.

3 - Ape Man – The Kinks.
At first listen, you could be forgiven for thinking Ape Man is a throwaway novelty song (with the simple but catchy chorus “I’m an ape man, I’m an ape ape man”) getting into your head. But once you start listening to the lyrics, you soon realize that its actually a bit of a paranoid song, about the threat of nuclear war (“I don’t feel safe in this world no more, I don’t wanna die in a nuclear war, I want to sail away to a distant shore, and live like an ape man”)

2 - Tweeter and the Monkey Man – Travelling Wilburys.
I know some people knock them, but I actually really like the Travelling Wilburys Vol 1, and would consider it one of my favourite albums of all time (I said one of, not the top). People not familiar with the album may know the radio friendly hits like Handle with Care and End of the Line, but Tweeter and the Monkey Man is nothing like that at all. On this track, Bob Dylan takes the lead and gives us a Dylan esque track. There is a funny moment on the “making of” documentary where George Harrison talks about this song, saying that Dylan and Petty went in a room and wrote it together, and George did not understand what they were doing or singing about.

1 - Everybody’s Got Something To Hide (Except for Me and My Monkey) – The Beatles
And the top song goes to this track with the epic title. A catchy rock number from the White Album. With so many great Beatles songs, its easy for good songs to get lost a bit, but this one has always stood out as a great track to me. Not that I have a clue what it is about though!!


So there it is. What other songs have I missed from the list? I was struggling to come up with too many that fit the theme.

All feedback most welcome...come on people, humour me that more that one person actually reads these posts!!!

"V " Songs - the top ten is revealed

Hi All

I am back, with the top ten “V” songs….check them out, post on the board to let me know what you think. Have I missed something good from the list?

Cheers
Dean


10 - Verisimilitude – Teenage Fanclub.
Some of my mates have been fans of the “Fannies” from quite some time now. I am only new to them in 2010, picking up their album Grand Prix, which I really enjoyed right from the first listen, although I probably still don’t know it as well as I probably should (I bought so much music in 2010 that I think some albums haven’t been given the attention they deserve). Whenever I listen to this song, it reminds me of a song by someone else, but I can’t think of what or who it is.
.
9 - Van Lear Rose – Loretta Lynn.
In an unlikely pairing, country singer Loretta Lynn, approaching her 70’s, teamed up with Jack White from the White Stripes (as producer) to come up with the critically acclaimed album, Van Lear Rose. I like this album, but probably not as much as some of the critics do, I can’t completely understand the hype. But the title track is a great one.

8- Voulez-vous – Abba
- Is it cool to like Abba ? I am not sure, but one thing I do know is that their music was well made, well crafted, and there is a lot more to it than just a simple throwaway pop song. This one is virtually trademark Abba, if there is such a thing.

7 - Vicar in a Tutu – The Smiths
Like Teenage Fanclub, my friends have been big fans of the Smiths for a while now, and in 2010 I finally took the plunge and purchased their opus “The Queen is Dead”. This is not normally the sort of music that I am into, but I gotta say, it’s a brilliant album, and I should have taken the plunge a lot earlier.

6- Vicious – Lou Reed
At the risk of sounding repetitive, I picked up Lou Reed’s Transformer album in 2010 as well, and Vicious is one of the highlights of the album. Its built around a three chord guitar riff, and sounds great.

5 - Violet Hill – Coldplay
In the lead up to the release of the Coldplay album Viva La Viva, they offered this song as a free download. So I downloaded it, and I gotta say, I think it’s a belter of a song. The rest of the album (which I don’t own) has been so overplayed that you hear it everywhere you go, but I still think this song holds up as a great track.

4 - Video Killed the Radio Star – Buggles
Another pop song, and what a song! Could it be one of the greatest one hit wonders of all time?

3- Very Strange, Very Cool – Four Hours Sleep (featuring Stephen Cummings)
Bill McDonald, from Paul Kelly’s band put together this side project called Four Hours Sleep. Its half a good album, with guest vocalists including Angie Hart, Charles Jenkins, Paul Kelly and others, but other tracks are basically just playing around with sounds, sampling things like a child running across floorboards etc. That stuff doesn’t do much for me, but the more conventional tracks are great. This one in particular is a belter. Featuring Stephen Cummings , the lead singer of the Sports, it tells the story of an old love.

2- Viva Las Vegas – Elvis Presley
This Elvis song has always been one of my favourites, I think I just find it so catchy, and it really does make Las Vegas sound exciting.


And….the number one goes to….

1 - Victoria – Kinks
The topic track goes to the Kinks, with the wonderful Victoria. This comes from the album Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), which is a concept album telling the story of a man who decides to relocate from Britain to Australia. Great rock song.

Top Twenty "V" songs - PART ONE

Hi All

In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned hoping that Paul Kelly’s recently released book, which he describes as a “mongrel memoir”, would be under the Christmas tree for me. And it was, and I have been reading it ever since. The concept of the book is that he takes one hundred of his songs, in alphabetical order, and then tells a story about them – his inspiration for the song, or other such lists and anecdotes.

Anyway, one thing the book revealed was that Paul does not have any songs beginning with the letter X or with the letter V. X is kind of understandable, but I would have thought the V wouldn’t be that rare of a letter. Indeed in Scrabble, its only worth 4 points, a mid range scoring letter.

So it got me thinking, what are some songs starting with V – and here it is, my top twenty “V” songs.

20 - Voices – Split Enz
When I first got Spellbound, the best of Split Enz, I considered this song to be one of (if not the) weakest on the album. Over time though, I have come to appreciate it a bit more. I would probably still say its one of the weaker ones, but that says more about the quality of the other tracks.

19 - Voices – Cheap Trick
From one Voices to another. Sometimes I listen to this Cheap Trick song and think it is great, other times I listen to it and don’t much like it. Interestingly. I Wikipedia-ed it, and this seems to be a common thread because, according to Wikipedia “The single has become one of the band's more widely known tracks. Critic Rick Clark of Allmusic described "Voices" as being "appealing melodic (albeit wimpy)" and Stephen Thomas Erlewine, also of Allmusic described it as one of Cheap Tricks finest songs. Critic Robert Coyne considers "Voices" to be Nielsen's "best ever ballad," but Dave Marsh of Rolling Stone Magazine described is as "disastrous" and "a ballad from a band that has absolutely no facility for ballads."

18 - Volunteers- Jefferson Airplane
I became familiar with this track from the soundtrack to one of my all time favourite movies, Forrest Gump. This is psychedelic rock, the sort of thing that you associate with the anti Vietnam War movement, exactly how it is used in the movie.

17 - Village Man – Travis
The B side to the single “Why Does it Always Rain on Me?”, this is a nice track without being anything brilliant

16 - Vampire Racecourse – Sleepy Jackson
This is the only song from this WA band that I know, it came on a free bonus cd that came with the Sunday paper one time. Quite a good little track

15 – Vampire – Antsy Pants
I became familiar with this track from the soundtrack to the movie Juno. A brilliant movie, with an interesting, quirky soundtrack. This song, as with several others on the soundtrack, is very kitch and if you weren’t in the mood for it, could be considered a bit annoying.

14 - Vienna – Billy Joel
Several years ago, I picked up Billy Joel’s greatest hits boxed set (I guess you would call it) very cheaply. It contains greatest hits volume 1-3, plus an extra disc that features people asking him questions about his music and him providing answers. On that disc, he talks about the song Vienna, and then a live version of the song is included. Its really a good track. It comes from the album “the Stranger”, which is on my list of albums to get one day, although just looking at the tracklist, I think I already have seven of the nine tracks already anyway (from the greatest hits), so its probably not one I need to rush out to pick up.

13 - Venus – Bananarama.
Some frivolous 80’s pop never goes astray on one of these lists…she’s got it, yeah baby, she’s got it.

12 - Visions of Johanna – Bob Dylan
Mr Zimmerman seems to be making frequent appearances on my lists - hardly surprising given how prolific he is. This is some folk/rock from the Blonde on Blonde album, featuring some stream of consciousness lyrics. Jiggy of the wirelesscranium blog considers this his all time favourite album, as do many others, but I find I have to be in the right mood to listen to it.

11- Vibrations in Air – Josh Pyke
I guess you would call Josh Pyke’s music indie folk. He writes melodic songs with insightful lyrics, and his music is enjoyable to listen to. I have his Memories and Dust album, which is where this song comes from


So there is part one of the list....with some great tracks coming up in the top ten. Do you have a favourite V song? any comments on the list so far? feel free to post a comment with your thoughts...

Top 15 "Year" songs

Hi All

With a new year now upon us, this week’s musical list theme is years. We know that Bryan Adams sung about the Summer of 69, Prince about 1999, the Smashing Pumpkins about 1979, the Whitlams about 1995 and Queen about ’39, but rather than focusing on specific years, I thought I would focus on songs with “year” or “years” in the title.

Its only a top 15 this week, and I will do the whole lot in one post so as to not clog up everyone’s facebook feeds. I hope you enjoy!

As always, comments, criticisms and topic suggestions are most welcome.

Happy New Year everyone!!!

15 – 99 Years – Vika and Linda.
A Paul Kelly penned track, performed by the Bull sisters. Seems like a pretty good combination to me, and a solid song to start the list with.

14 – Years May Come, Years May Go – Herman’s Hermits
I picked up a cheap best of from Herman’s Hermits several months ago, primarily for the songs “I’m into Something Good” and “No Milk Today”, great little pop songs from the sixties. I was surprised to discover some other gems on the best of, like this song. On the surface, it’s a simple song with pretty lyrics, but I got to say, when you dig a bit below the surface, the lyrics get you thinking.

13 – Anthem for the Year 2000 – Silverchair
From jingly sixties pop to some hard rock, the 13th position is taken by Silverchair’s hard rock. I like some of Silverchair’s stuff, but I have never really got into them in a big way, and certainly don’t rave over their music like some music critics. It’s a good track though. At the start I said I wasn’t including songs that mention specific years, but this one slips through the eligibility criteria because it contains the word “year” in the title.

12 – Golden Years – David Bowie
A good Bowie song, that almost has a bit of a funk/soul feel to it.

11 – Still Crazy After All these Years – Paul Simon
A sweet little song from Paul Simon.

10 – One More Year – Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson.
From their excellent collaboration album “Rattlin Bones”, this is a quiet slow tune. There are better on the album, but nonetheless, a solid track.

9 – Forgotten Years – Midnight Oil.
Some Aussie rock from our country’s cabinet minister. I like Midnight Oil, but wouldn’t consider myself a huge fan, its almost like there songs have been around, on the radio or whatever, but I have never taken the next step and got into them in a huge way.

8 – A Couple More Years – Jerry Lee Lewis (with Willie Nelson)
A few years ago I picked up a killer album (pardon the pun) where Jerry Lee Lewis, who I am guessing is probably in his seventies now, duets with a whole lot of musicians – John Fogerty, Ringo Starr, Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, etc. However, Jerry Lee shines through, dominating on the duets, in this very good album. From this album is a reflective song, A Couple More Years. Great stuff.

7 – Living Years – Mike and the Mechanics
Some might call this song daggy, but it is quite poignant I think. I remember it being a huge hit in the late eighties, the sort of song that was appealing to the chart followers as well as the blue rinse set. No doubt it probably gets played on golden oldies radio stations today.

6 – 50 Years – Uncanny X Men
If you thought Mike and the Mechanics was a bit daggy, then you will probably think the same about this sentimental track from this Aussie rock group. If you don’t know the song, here is a sample of the lyrics:
“Its nearly time we were leaving, well have one more for the road/It don’t mean nothing, it don’t mean nothing/So we gather around the table, raise our champagne in the air/It dont mean nothing, it don’t mean nothing/Cause we’ve got this night together well have here now forever/Don’t tell me now you can write me a letter, where will we be in Fifty years”. Its corny, but its great corny!!

5 – It Was a Very Good Year – Frank Sinatra
It would be wrong to leave the Chairman of the Board off the list, although I must say, this is not one of my favourite Sinatra tracks. I think I like the ones that swing a bit more. But it’s a nice song, and will always be memorable to me for the Simpsons parody, where Homer sings about drinking a very good beer!

4 – Good Year for the Roses – Elvis Costello
When I think of Elvis Costello, I normally associate him with the catchy pop of songs like Oliver’s Army or Whats So Funny About Peace Love and Understanding. I don’t normally think of ballads, which is strange, because he has some amazing slow songs, like Indoor Fireworks, and this one, Good Year for the Roses.

3 – Another Year Gone – Bob Evans
I think I downloaded this track from I-tunes, as a B-side, because I can’t remember which of Bob’s albums it is from, but it’s a lovely little song.

2 – Young Years – Dragon
A pop rock anthem, it’s catchy and a most enjoyable listen.

1 – New Years Day – U2
From one anthem to another, the number one spot given the time of year it is, must go to U2’s New Years Day. It’s a great song, featuring Clayton’s bassline, and Edge’s keyboard playing. I love the intro to this song, the keys, and then the scream from Bono. Its just great. According to the trusted source that is Wikipedia, the song’s lyrics started as love song from Bono to his wife, but somehow ended up being about the Polish solidarity movement.

So there you have it, my top “years” songs. Hope you enjoyed.

Happy New Year to all.

Musical List - Top Twenty "Rain" songs - PART TWO

Originally posted on facebook, December 2010

Hope you have enjoyed the rainy list so far…in the last post I gave you a little teaser about what was to come – I wonder if you were able to deduce any of the tracks on the top ten….

10 - Who’ll Stop the Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival.
This is from the great album “Cosmo’s Factory”, and despite being rock, it has a folk/acoustic feel to it, and a bit of a melancholy undercurrent.

9 - Kentucky Rain – Elvis Presley.
You can’t leave the King off this list, and Kentucky Rain is a good example of 70’s era Elvis.

8 - Rain – The Beatles.
An unheralded track from their experimental phase, Rain actually holds up pretty well as a solid track.

7 - Buckets of Rain – Bob Dylan.
A simple, but beautiful song from Bob’s great album “Blood on the Tracks”, I found this quote about the song by Oliver Trager, and I can’t do a better job of summing it up, so here it is: “Closing an otherwise desperate album with a light reappraisal of commitment, "Buckets of Rain" is a final Sinatra-like tip of the hat sung with the playfulness of an old Piedmont songster. Though Dylan seems to liken the relationship he describes here with the ferocity of a deluge, he plaintively sings to his love, describing in light, sensual brushstrokes why he still finds her special”

6 - Have you ever seen the rain? – Creedence Clearwater Revival.
The swamp rockers are back with another rain song. At my work’s Christmas party a few weeks ago, a covers band were playing this song, which prompted a bit of a crowd sing a long, and the song just evoked a really nice feel to it. Again, doing some research on the net about the song has prompted a host of explanations as to what the songs lyrics actually mean – was it about tension within the band, was it a Vietnam War protest song (with mean being a metaphor for bombs)?, or was it about the idealism of the 1960’s fading? It doesn’t really matter, it’s a great song whatever it means.

5 - I Love a Rainy Night – Eddie Rabbitt.
This is another of those songs which some might term a bit daggy, but I really like (and often feature on my lists). It was a country crossover hit for Rabbitt, and is a very catchy song. In an interesting piece of trivia, Rabbitt wrote the Elvis song “Kentucky Rain”.

4 - Why Does it Always Rain on me? – Travis.
This song was extremely overplayed at the time it was a hit, and I think a lot of people got sick of it, but revisiting it, I still think it holds up as a great song. When things are not going right for us in our lives, I think everyone can relate to the premise of this song.

3- A Hard Rain’s a Gonna Fall – Bob Dylan.
A great song from Dylan’s protest song repertoire, the lyrics take the form of questions and answers. As a general rule, I don’t like long songs, and this one clocks in at nearly seven minutes long, but when long songs are done well, they sound great.

2- Fire and Rain – James Taylor.
A lovely folk/rock ballad from Mr Taylor, this is a moody and introspective, and very sparce. I think it’s a beautiful track.

1- Rain – Dragon.
Possibly a controversial choice to pick a pop/rock track that is relatively simple in structure and lyrics compared to some of the others mentioned, but I happen to really like this song. Its just a great pop song, and the sort of song that I always want to sing along to, despite not being able to hit any of the notes!


So there it is, my rain songs list. I hope you have enjoyed it. Feel free to post your thoughts and let me know what songs I have left off that should be on the list.

Musical list - Top Twenty "Rain" songs - PART ONE

Originally posted on facebook, Dec 2010
Hi Everyone.

Sorry I am a bit late with the list this week – lots of stuff on at the moment!

Lately its been raining a fair bit in Melbourne (well maybe it just seems that way since in recent years it hasn’t been raining all that much!), so it got me to think, what would be the top 20 rain songs? Of the lists I have made so far, this one has been by far the hardest, in terms of settling on a final twenty, but also in terms of what order the tracks should be in. Every time I have looked at the list, I have tinkered with the order.

So here is the list – I am sure if I looked at it again I would continue to tinker with the order. I know the excitement of this list will be getting to you now. Will Milli Vanilli make an appearance? Will we all need to get stoned? (the music geeks will understand this!) Will we be able to stand the rain, or will we be singing in the rain? Will we only understand her in the rain?

Hope you enjoy it though!!

20 - Waiting for the Rain to Fall - Chris Isaak.
Its probably fair to say that Chris Isaak has more of a female than male fan base, but nevertheless I still think he is a very talented individual. His voice almost has a haunting quality to it, that I really like. This track is from his self titled album, and in some ways is the stereotypical Issak song about a wounded romance, but its still a nice track.

19 - Summer Rain – U2.
No, its not the Belinda Carlisle track, although for a pop song I actually don’t mind that one. This is a largely acoustic based track that is from their B sides 1990-2000 compilation. It’s a nice enough song, but nothing like the stadium rock that you would expect from U2.

18 - I Wish It would Rain Down – Phil Collins.
Some late 80’s adult pop from the bald drummer himself, this one almost has a bit of gospel influence to it. Nice song.

17 - Raindrops keep falling on my head – BJ Thomas (or John Farnham, take your pick) .
I have both versions in my collection, and there is not really much to say about this song, it’s a simple, catchy little number.

16 - Rainy Night in Soho – The Pogues.
I am a Pogues fan, and this is an interesting track because its not the fast paced, dirty Irish folk that we are used to from this group, but rather its romantic, evocative. A quick google search has revealed that some believe it is a song about whisky (Pogues lead singer Shane MacGowan’s struggles with alcohol are well known) but I think I would prefer to think of it as a sweet little love song.

15 - Midnight Rain – Paul Kelly.
From the underrated album “Nothing But a Dream” this is a nice, moody, atmospheric type of song. Although there are other better tracks on this album, it fits quite nicely and is a good track.

14 - After the Rain – The Angels.
After those moody, romantic songs, I gotta include some Aussie pub rock in the list, and this track by the Angels is a good one!

13 - Rain on the Scarecrow – John Mellencamp.
Allmusic.com describes this song as one that captures the hopes and fears of Middle America. I probably haven’t searched for such a deep meaning, I just like it as a rock song. There are better Mellencamp songs than this, but it’s a good track nonetheless.

12 - No Rain – Blind Melon.
Its 90’s mainstream pop/rock, but its good pop/rock.

11 - Summer Rain – Paul Kelly.
The opening track from Paul’s excellent “Wanted Man” album, this is a beautiful song. Kelly sings quite plainly (if you don’t like his voice you might find this annoying) but is accompanied by some lovely piano and cello. In writing this list and looking on the internet for some information, I have been shocked to discover that this song is essentially about sex (“"She comes and goes like summer rain / I wait all day for summer rain / And when she comes I smile again". ) I am hoping that Paul’s book, where he sheds light on some of the meanings behind his songs, is going to be under the Christmas tree with my name on it, so that I can find out more about this, and other songs.



So there it is, part one of the Rain songs. Part two coming up soon, and plenty to look forward to, with some of the biggest names in music on the list, two artists featuring twice, and a massive question that was a hit in the late 90's!

Musical list - Top Twenty "bird songs" - PART TWO

Hope you enjoyed part one of the bird list…now here are some seriously top birds…

10 - Birds and Ships – Billy Bragg and Wilco
– from the brilliant album Mermaid Avenue, whereby Billy Bragg and Wilco took unfinished lyrics from the folk singer Woody Guthrie, and put them to music. In this track, Natalie Merchant guest vocals, providing a beautiful ballad. Lovely stuff.

9 - When Doves Cry – Prince.
Some 80’s pop is very daggy, but I don’t think you could apply that term to this song, which is possibly Prince’s signature tune, and discusses some relationship difficulties.

8 - Bird in a Basement – Paul Dempsey.
Dempsey’s 2009 solo album “Everything is True” is well worth a listen. Although his voice is gravelly, he still manages to sound soulful and sometime melancholic. “Bird in a Basement” is one of the best tracks on the album.

7- Bird on a Wire – Jimmy Barnes and Troy Cassar-Daly.
Written by Leonard Cohen, this song has almost become a country standard. I also have a Johnny Cash version of it in my collection, but I actually really like the duet between Jimmy Barnes and Australian country singer Troy Casser-Daly, for Barnes’ duet album “Double Happiness”, which is a mixture of some really great songs, and some that don't do a lot for me. Jimmy’s rough vocals, beside Troy’s sweet vocals make it a real joy to listen to. Perhaps embarrassingly, I have to admit I have not heard the original Cohen version. I think I need to get me some Cohen in my collection!!

6 - Rockin Robin – Michael Jackson.
I am not a huge Michael Jackson fan, but I am usually in awe whenever I see footage of a young Michael, a child, belting out these amazing tracks with his amazing voice. Although it was a cover, I think Michael really made this song his own, and the simple lyrics probably suit the innocent vocal style that he had at the time. And it’s a very catchy track too!!

5 - Songbird – Bernard Fanning.
Fanning’s solo album “Tea and Sympathy” is a great album of country/folk music mixed in with pop, to give some great catchy music, with lyrics about love, loss and regret. Songbird is a great track, very catchy.

4 - Blackbird – The Beatles.
What can you say about Blackbird? It’s a lovely gentle acoustic ballad from Paul McCartney. Sweet, beautiful stuff.

3 - Three Little Birds – Bob Marley.
“Don’t worry, about a thing, cos every little thing, is gonna be allright.” Ok, I know its really cheesy, but I really love this reggae song, its just got such a lovely sentiment to it and is really nice to listen to.

2- And Your Bird Can Sing – The Beatles.
This song might not be as well known as other Beatles songs, but its every bit as good, in my opinion. From the Revolver album, its a rocking track, featuring a dual guitar melody. Great stuff.

1 - Eagle Rock – Daddy Cool.
This classic Aussie rock track just has to be the number one bid song. It’s a catchy, brilliant song. Not much more to say really!!

Did I leave your favourite bird off the list?????

Musical list - Top Twenty "Bird" songs - PART ONE

Originally posted on facebook, December 2010

At this time of year, a lot of music magazines and websites are producing their “top albums of the year” lists. In my case though, I think I have only purchased a handful of 2010 releases this year, so not enough to make a considered and informed list.

One album I have really enjoyed this year though has been the Basement Birds. A supergroup if you like, comprised of Josh Pyke, Kevin Mitchell (from Jebediah and Bob Evans fame), Kav Temperley (from Eskimo Joe) and Steve Parkin. These guys sing some nice harmonies and the album has got a really good feel to it. Its not groundbreaking or influential, its just a really nice listen. I also had the opportunity to see them perform live at the Forum, and that was a great gig.

So, in honour of the Basement Birds, I thought this week’s theme could be the top twenty “bird” songs. Here comes the first installment…..

20 - Sunsets (Birds of Prey) – Fatboy Slim –
I am not really much of a fan of electronica music, but I can take the odd song here or there, and at 3 and a half minutes, this one is OK, without being anything spectacular. In this track, Jim Morrison from the Doors is sampled.

19 - Bluebird – Jim White.
A little bit of alt-country. I still haven’t figured out Jim White yet, despite having his album “Drill a Hole in that Substrate and Tell Me What You See”, which Bluebird is from. It’s the sort of music that takes a while to grow on you, but there is quality there, and I think this album will continue to reveal itself over time.

18 - Dead Duck – Badly Drawn Boy.
A short little instrumental interlude on the About A Boy soundtrack. It’s a lovely little 40 seconds of music.

17 - Whistling Bird – Paul Kelly.
A nice little bluegrass track from Paul’s first bluegrass album, “Smoke”, where he teamed up with Uncle Bill. As with all of Paul Kelly’s work, this is a solid album, although there stronger tracks than this one.

16 - Bird Dog – Everly Brothers.
These two brothers produced some lovely harmonies, and some great pop tracks in the late 50’s and 60’s. This one comes from their rock and roll period. Possibly not one of their absolute best, I have always liked this song for some reason. Not sure why. A “bird dog” is a bit of a ladies man, so this song is a warning for the bird dog to stay from their “chick”.

15 - Pretty Flamingo – Manfred Mann.
My Dad likes Manfred Mann, so I remember this song being in the background a fair bit when I was a child. I guess it stays with you, and hence why it is included here. The “flamingo” mentioned in the song actually refers to a girl, 'cause her hair glows like the sun and her eyes can light the skies". Great 60’s pop.

14 - Songbird – Fleetwood Mac –
This Christine McVie ballad from Rumours features introspective lyrics, a beautiful track. Fleetwood Mac also have a another song that could have been included – the instrumental “Albatross” from early on in their career.

13 - Birds Fly Backwards – Ed Harcourt –
I have just recently got singer/songwriter Harcourt’s 2001 debut album “Here Be Monsters”, which features Birds Fly Backwards, and I am really starting to enjoy this album a lot. Harcourt sings with almost a fragility in his voice, and hence is able to make some really nice music.

12 - Parrot Fashion Love – Split Enz.
If you have been reading my lists to date, you would have noticed my penchant for daggy songs, and this one absolutely fits that category as well. But it’s a lot of fun, from the Dizrythmia album. I am sure some of you will be screaming at your computer screens that I could rate this song higher than some of the others.

11 - El Condor Pasa – Simon and Garfunkel –
Originally a Peruvian folk song, and translating to “The Condor Flies By”, Simon and Garfunkel adapted the song, adding his own lyrics in English. It’s a nice little folk song.

I will put the top 10 bird songs on tomorrow. Hope you are enjoying the lists, and feel free to make any comments…What bird songs would be flying into your lists? Also, what birds have I missed? And despite the court case, we are not going to be classing Men at Work's "Downunder" as a bird song!!

Booze-o Musical Top Twenty - PART TWO - the top ten is revealed

So here it is, the top ten Booze-o songs revealed!!!! (and a few of them seem to be as requested too)
Originally posted on facebook, December 2010


10 - Tubthumping – Chumbawumba
I have absolutely no idea what this song is about, or indeed what the title means, but it’s a very catchy track, from “I get knocked down but I get up again” line, through to the drinking references. A great bit of pop/rock from the nineties.

“Pissin' the night away, He drinks a whiskey drink, He drinks a vodka drink, He drinks a lager drink, He drinks a cider drink”


9 – Tequila – The Champs
What a memorable piece of instrumental music this track is? It probably needs no introduction. And no doubt, no matter where it is played, the crowd will always be ready to chant “tequila” at the appropriate time.

“Tequila”

8 - Streams of Whiskey – The Pogues
From the Pogues debut album, “Red Roses for Me”, this is classic Pogues. The song is actually a tribute to Irish poet and notorious drinker Brendan Behan.

“When the world is too dark and I need the light inside of me, I'll go into a bar and drink fifteen pints of beer, I am going, I am going, Any which way the wind may be blowing, I am going, I am going, Where streams of whiskey are flowing”

7 - Paycheques – Tex, Don and Charlie.
I picked up a Tex Perkins best of, which contains tracks from all aspects of his career, including the Tex, Don and Charlie collaboration (being Cold Chisel’s Don Walker and guitarist Charlie Owens). Aside from the tracks that I already knew, the Tex, Don and Charlie stuff stood out to me, and this track in particular. I love the witty line that I have listed below, which is repeated several times through the song.

“on weekends I perform miracles, I turn paycheques into wine, One working weeks' wage at a time”

6 - Rehab – Amy Winehouse.
How could we not include an artist with a surname "Winehouse" on the list? I probably could have picked many tracks from Winehouse’s second album “Back to Black”. But this one, the most well known, is the stand out. The song is retro sounding, with Winehouse’s booming voice conveying a bit of attitude.

“They tried to make me go to rehab, I said, "No, no, no"”

5 - Pass the Flagon – The Whitlams.
From the excellent Whitlams album “Undeniably the Whitlams”, this track features Stevie Plunder on vocals. Plunder was the groups guitarist who passed away before the band had their success. In this catchy ditty with a bit of country twang to it, Plunder sings about turning to the flagon to try and erase the memories of a woman.

“So pass the flagon down the line, It don't taste bad for such cheap wine”

4 - The Nips are Getting Bigger – Mental as Anything
A great Aussie rock group that usually keep their tongue firmly planted in their cheek, they manage to sing songs that are witty, but much better than a novelty song. Like many on this list, they could very easily have had other tracks on this list, but this song certainly fits the bill. The band sing about starting off drinking beer before moving on to drinking Jamaican rum. Great track.

“Sometimes I wonder, What all these chemicals, Are doin' to my brain, Doesn't worry me enough, To stop me from doin' it agai-ai-ain”

3 - A Pub with No Beer – Slim Dusty
Unlike the other tracks on this list that are focusing on the act of drinking, this song focuses on the shambolic impact that not being able to drink has! An anxious publican, a sober blacksmith that has to go home to his wife early, a cranky maid, a dry stockman, a tired swagman, a nervous dog awaiting for his master, they are all in this track. A masterpiece in the tradition of storytelling.

“there's-a nothing so lonesome, morbid or drear, than to stand in the bar of a pub with no beer”

2 - I Gotta Get Drunk – Little Willies
The Little Willies were a side project of songbird Norah Jones. Norah teamed up with a few of her friends to record a country music album, featuring a mixture of covers and original. This song is a cover of a Willie Nelson song. Norah’s version though is really enjoyable, and her voice does suit country music surprisingly well.

“There's a lot of doctors that tell me that I'd better start slowin' it down, But there's more old drunks than there are old doctors, So I guess we'd better have another round”


1 - Me and My Friend – Bob Evans
The untitled hidden track at the end of Bob’s second album “Suburban Songbook”, this song gets my vote as the best drinking/alcohol themed song. I think the reason why this one works so well for me is just how much I can relate to it. For me, most of the time that I spend drinking is really just to catch up with friends, and be more of a social experience. This theme I think is encapsulated perfectly in the lyrics to this song. It truly is a wonderful song.

As it might not be as well known as some of the other songs listed, I have put the lyrics in full below. I hope you enjoy it.


Me and my friend are walking to a bar on a cool winters evening underneath the stars
We'll find somewhere close we don't want to walk far
Nor do we want the hassle of a car
I'll order whisky and they'll order beer
The gourmet selection's intimidating here and sometimes what you know is the best way to steer
I say this ones my shout and my friend says cheers
This is some new joint that we've never been
Two lovers are fighting and making a scene
Some guy's setting up a karaoke machine
Let's find somewhere different where the carpet ain't clean

Me and my friend are walking to a bar on a cool winters evening underneath the stars
And we'll find somewhere new we don't want to walk far nor waste drinking money on a taxi car
My friends addicted to their mobile phone and they're constantly messaging someone back home with some inner fear of being alone
So for a short while my thoughts are my own
Walking round the corner a pub is in sight
Up there on the left just past those lights
We've been there before yeah that place is alright
Let's pull up a stool and settle in for the night
I love my friends I hope they love me too cos sometimes there is nothing better to do
Than to go out and get stuck in to a few
I'm gonna spend my time with a good friend like you


So there you have it, my second musical list down….keep the comments coming, and I will keep the lists coming.

And, I should also sign off the booze-o’s list by saying Cheers, Prost!, Bottoms Up, Slainte, Zum Wohl, L’Chaim, 'Op uw gezondheid', or whatever it is you choose to say!!

A Booze-o's musical top twenty - PART ONE

Originally posted on facebook, December 2010

Hi all. Thanks for the comments etc on the blues list that I posted earlier, so now its time for the next list.

Whenever I come home after going out for a drinks, or even when I have a drink at home, my wife likes to jokingly (I hope) refer to me as a booze-o. So given that the festive season is approaching, and tis the season for Christmas parties and the like, I thought it would be timely to present a booze-o’s top twenty tracks. It’s a fairly common subject in the world of music, so plenty of tracks to pick from. In addition, my friend Jeremy has just lent me a bunch of Tom Waits CD’s to listen to, and given Tom’s reputation, I think I am going to be hearing a lot more about this topic once I give them a spin!!

Please note that I am in no way condoning excessive consumption of alcohol, and if you are going to have lots of drinks this festive season, make sure you get someone else to drive.

When I discuss each track, I have also included a quote of the song lyrics.

Before we kick off the list, the first word needs to go to the great philosopher himself, Homer J Simpson: “When I was 17, I drank a very good beer, I drank some very good beer I purchased with a fake ID. My name was Brian McGee. I stayed up listening to Queen, When I was 17” ....hehehe...and now to the list.

20 - Nick Teen and Al K Hall – Rolf Harris.
A bit of a silly song to start with really. I know he’s a bit daggy, but I do like some of Rolf’s stuff for a bit of light hearted relief.

“So I said to Al, 'Al, be a pal, what do you really think?' He said to me, 'Boy, easy to see boy, smoking's kid's stuff, pour yourself a drink.' ….So quick as a wink, I took a drink, swigged a glassful down.First it seemed to hit me, then it turned around and bit me, And everything went all spinning round.”

19 - Red Red Wine – ub40
Continuing with the daggy theme, here is UB40 with their ode to red wine. I don’t have any of their albums, but they make frequent appearances on compilation CD’s, which is where I have this song.

“Red red wine I love you right from the start, Right from the start with all of my heart “

18 - One for My Baby (and one more for the road) – Frank Sinatra.
So from a novelty song, to British reggae, to crooning of the Chairman of the Board, Mr Sinatra. This is a nice little song, often covered, but to me, it almost has a bit of a sleazy bar-room feel to it.
“We’re drinking my friend, To the end of a brief episode, So make it one for my baby, And one more for the road”

17 - My Pal Alcohol. – Slim Dusty
I certainly am moving around genres in this list (alcohol knows no boundaries!!). Australia’s country music legend comes in at number 17, with his ode to alcohol, a straightforward little country song.

“good hard liquor is what I take, And my pal alcohol I love you so”

16 -Death of a Clown – Kinks
The Kinks are a great British band, and in this track Dave Davis sings all about a fading clown. It’s a lovely little song, and there is a lot more going on in this track than purely a drinking song.

“ I’m drowning my sorrows in whiskey and gin…So let's all drink to the death of a clown”

15 - All I Wanna Do – Sheryl Crow
Those that know me will know that I am a fan of Sheryl Crow’s music, and this is probably her most well known track. If this list was purely on the best song, this would be much higher in the list, but others to come represent the topic better. Nevertheless, all the action in this song takes place in a bar, where Sheryl and her drinking buddy are watching the surrounds, as they consume their drinks. It really is a great song.

“I like a good beer buzz early in the morning”

14 - Piano Man – Billy Joel
So, we move from Crow’s barroom story, to another song that is set in a bar. And what a song this one is. Once again, if this list was purely ranked on the best song, you wouldn’t see this one languishing at position 14. From start to finish, its just an amazing track, with all the characters in the bar described so well that you can instantly get a feel for what that bar would be like.

The other thing about this song, is that a lot of people associate the song with me (some will know exactly what I mean here, others will find that comment a bit cryptic), so there is no way I could make this list and not include Piano Man.

“Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness, But it's better than drinkin' alone”

13 - Whiskey, You’re the Devil – The Pogues.
When it comes to songs about alcohol, there are some artists that you would expect to feature prominently, and the Pogues are certainly one of them. If you are not familiar with them, they were an Irish rock group that sort of combined traditional Irish folk with the punk movement, the end result being a unique sound that is brilliant. In this track, they even take some lyrics from the traditional folk song “Whiskey in the Jar” and blend it into this song. Great, great stuff.

“Whiskey, you're the devil, you're leadin' me astray”

12 - Cheap Wine – Cold Chisel.
So, from the Irish sounds of the Pogues, we move to the Aussie rock of Cold Chisel. Although this song has been done to death on classic rock style radio stations, you can’t deny its suitability for this list, with the lyrics discussing things like sitting on the beach drinking rocket fuel, a concoction of Bacardi, vodka and tequila.

“I'm another world away, But I always feel at home, with my, Cheap wine and a three-day growth”

11 - Alabama Song – The Doors
A great song from the Doors debut album, I was surprised to learn that it is not an original, and it actually has its origins in German opera. That said, it sounds nothing like an opera at all, and when Jim Morrison sings the classic line below, you know he means it! The keyboards really make it a great catchy tune though.

“Well, show me the way, To the next whisky bar”

So there, you have it, part one of my look at drinking/alcohol songs. Please post any comments, thoughts, theories, suggestions, omissions, anything you like, and I will reveal my top ten, probably tomorrow...

I got the Blues - Part Two

Originally posted on facebook - late November 2010

10 – Mr E’s Beautiful Blues – The Eels.
This is the only Eels song I know, as it appeared on one of the compilation CD’s from the Panel. I don’t really know what its about, and maybe I am taking it out of context, but it just seems to put me in a good mood when I hear it, I think it’s the line “goddam right it’s a beautiful day” that features in the chorus.

9 – Goldfields Blues – Tim Rogers.
Tim is back, this time with an entry from his album "Spit Polish". I find this song very catchy, as Mr Rogers sings about heading across to WA on a plane, with a bar tab running. Great stuff.

8 – Singing in Vietnam Talking Blues – Johnny Cash.
If you aren’t familiar with this song, then the title of it pretty much sums up what it is. It is an incredibly simple song, but I find it quite moving. During the Vietnam War, Cash and his wife June went across to perform for the troops, and delivered in spoken word, Cash talks about the experience, and how scared they were, and how they would spend their days at the hospital talking to the injured, then perform at night. For some reason, it just really gets under my skin, a very powerful track. And for those of you that like Johnny Cash, you may not have seen the last of him on this list!!

7 - This Is Not a Song, It's an Outburst: Or, The Establishment Blues –
Rodriguez.
I have already talked about Rodriguez (see number 16), but this song is a cracker, probably accurately described as an outburst. Check out the opening lines to get the general drift of the song:
“The mayor hides the crime rate, council woman hesitates , Public gets irate but forget the vote date , Weatherman complaining, predicted sun, it's raining, Everyone's protesting, boyfriend keeps suggesting, you're not like all of the rest.”

6 – Summertime Blues – Eddie Cochran.
What a song!! What a great guitar hook!! What else can I say? This song just sums up the frustrations of being young perfectly. I love the part where he turns to his congressman for help, but is refused because he is too young to vote. Great, great stuff.


I know, the suspense is probably killing you, so here it is, the top five blues songs:

5 – Cocaine Blues – Johnny Cash.
I can’t really put my finger on what it is I like about this song, given the lyrics discuss some irresponsible behaviour, including a very poor attitude to woman (and ultimately shooting a woman!). But I think its Cash’s vocal delivery that does it for me, it really makes you get into the mind and understand the character that he is singing in, great stuff, with the Tennessee Three’s trademark rhythm keeping time.

4 – Yer Blues – The Beatles.
Who would have thought a song with such morbid lyrics (eg. “I’m lonely, wanna die”, “feel so suicidal, even hate my rock n roll”) would sound so good? But that’s what you get when you talk about the Beatles. A great blues song, that suits the “anything goes” vibe of the White Album perfectly!

3- Roadhouse Blues – The Doors.
Another great blues rock song, with Jim Morrison’s great vocals being showcased. One of the Doors best.

2- Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash.
Johnny’s third entry in this list is his best. Despite borrowing heavily (in melody and even some lyrics) from a little known Gordon Jenkins song “Crescent City Blues”, “Folsom Prison Blues” is a gem of a song, written in such a way that it elicits sympathy for an inmate who “shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die”. The song perfectly describes the frustrations of prison life, juxtaposed with the train the prisoner can hear. Although the prisoner hypothesizes about what the train passengers are doing (“they’re probably drinking coffee and smoking big cigars”), it’s the freedom they have that he really yearns, demonstrated by the fact that the train moves along, whilst the prisoner must stay still, behind the walls. This perfectly sums up the loss of freedom that comes with being in prison

1- Subterranean Homesick Blues – Bob Dylan.
The lead track on “Bringing It All Back Home” gets my vote as the best “blues” track. From its innovative film clip, to Bob’s frantic rambling of lyrics (including the brilliant line “you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows”), to the great tune that it is set to, its just an amazingly enjoyable listen.

So there it is, my first musical list. I hope you enjoyed it. Next list will be coming up soon....

Go Blues!!!