I've decided to dip into the Discography archives, which sort of makes me feel like Neil Young occasionally releasing some older or unfairly ignored material. In this case the material is neither old nor ignored, but I still thought it would be interesting to revisit the music and related commentary of one person for an entire year, in this case the esteemed Gary Beatrice. Over the course of the year I dumped all the blog posts, sent along via email, into one word document and at the end it was 244 pages (and that didn't even include my lengthy and inane posts because I wrote them here at the website). I'm starting with Beatrice and I'll release another batch every couple months. Your job is to come up with the appropriate title, based on an existing album title, to describe the collection - and you can't use my choice: Everybody Digs Gary Beatrice.
Guy Clark, Texas 1947
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| If you've thrown out the first pitch at a Reds game, not once, but twice, you're far cooler than I will ever be. The picture itself is pretty metaphoric, and I imagine myself at the plate being dusted as Beatrice rips me off once again in another Irrational League trade. |
Week 1
Guy Clark, Texas 1947
Initially I thought I'd send a Merle Haggard song but this Guy Clark song better captures my love for classic country music. This song has an infectious melody and is exquisitely sung, but it's all about the remarkable songwriting. Guy wonderfully captures the singer's innocence and youthful excitement, but more amazingly he manages to fully create a whole cast of villagers with simple throw-away lines around a simple event that must have seemed like a miracle in Texas circa 1947.
Prince, 1999
I haven't paid much attention to his recent music, but I still find it very sad to think about a world that does not include Prince. His music, his look, the whole package was intoxicating, and most of it sounds and looks every bit as great as it did when he recorded it. For my money, Prince's best is the first single to bring him massive crossover success 1999.
Life is just a party and parties aren't meant to last. Prince has passed but his music is eternal.
Ray Wylie Hubbard, Mother Blues
Ray Wylie Hubbard is a swampy styled blues guitarist from Texas who wrote "Up Against The Wall Redneck Mother" for Jerry Jeff Walker decades ago, a fun, but insubstantial hit which doesn't come close to capturing his style or his wry, witty observations, but still pays his bills. Those interested could better scratch the surface of his substantial body of work checking out songs like "Loose", "Rabbit", "Snake Farm" and "Screw You, We're From Texas". My personal favorite is "Mother Blues" an autobiographical tune which is a bit more restrained than his typical song, but every bit as brilliant.
While "Mother Blues" is thoroughly entertaining in its twists, turns and surprises, what makes it so unique to my ears is how in its final moment it clearly and without any irony celebrates a theme that is rare in popular music, especially in blues: his gratitude for the wonders of his life.
When I keep my gratitude higher then my expectations
Well, I have very good days.
Lucinda Williams, Blessed
Lucinda Williams is the best songwriter since Bob Dylan, and I don't know that there is anybody else even in the conversation. She may never top her brilliant back to back to back albums, Lucinda Williams, Sweet Old World, and Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, but if anything her career has become more interesting in the past decade plus as she's become more prolific and apparently more confident of her art. Many of the post Car Wheels albums have slow spots, songs that don't work, some albums I rarely return to at all. But I find even her swings and misses fascinating.
The title track to this underrated album has her at the top of her game and it ought to be played during every Sunday religious service. We are blessed by those around us, the saints, the sinners, those who we barely notice. God is everywhere. Let her voice and music wash over you and you'll believe.
Justin Timberlake, guilty pleasure? Hell no. This motherfucker knows how to act.
Outkast, Hey Ya
I was delighted by our group submitting two Nirvana covers in the same week. For one thing, I didn't know two Nirvana covers existed.
Nirvana was always a touchstone for me. I had always prided myself as somebody who had a firm grasp at what was going on in popular music, both on the charts and around the edges where the cool folks flourished. I even fancied myself as somebody who gravitated towards music a bit before it became popular and introduced it to others. And I loved the occasions when it felt like everybody who was anybody was listening to something really cool and we all listened together. But when Curt Cobain shot himself, besides grieving the obvious heartbreaking loss of his life and talent, I had to come to terms with the fact that I was old, at least at it applied to music. I would never again have an appreciation for much on the charts. I wouldn't have any idea what the cool people listened to, and if I heard popular music, chances are I had no interest in it.
But for one glorious summer it happened again. Everybody who had any serious interest in music was jamming to OutKast and their hits The Way You Move, Roses, and my personal favorite Hey Ya. I can't claim that I discovered them or introduced them to anybody, and as a rap act I am embarrassed to say I wouldn't even have given OutKast a listen if Hey Ya weren't so instantly damn catchy. But my dear Lord what a soulful, funky fun slice of pop heaven.
Jamey Johnson, Macon
I am as big a fan of Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson as anybody. Each of them are mining classic country but bringing their own passion, sensibility and personality to what they do. Their popularity gives me hope for the future of country music.
But for my tastes I'll take Jamey Johnson over each of them.
Johnson's recording career began in a more popular country vein, but he was obviously a Cash, Jennings fan who featured song writing chops and an incredible voice. By 2010's double album The Guitar Song, he was full bore alt country / Americana. I find the album riveting, compelling listening, and I am certain I've listened to it more than any other set released this decade.
The album includes about half dozen immediate classics, but to me Macon is the standout, primarily because of his voice and his powerhouse guitar climax.
Alabama Shakes, Hold On
I know there are better music services than I Tunes, but they were the first I discovered and I stuck with them. For many years they provided as many as a dozen free new songs weekly and I'd download every one of them. I would quickly delete the majority of the songs but a surprising number of them were quite good. This was how I first found Alabama Shakes and Hold On, and I found myself blown away almost as soon as Brittany Howard begin singing. I listened to the song a half dozen times in a row before I googled them, and until I did so I sincerely thought the lead singer was an African American man. Dave Kelley knew about them, apparently Patterson Hood had been praising them for sometime, and no wonder at that, with their strong Mussel Shoals sound that the Drive By Truckers were mining as well.
Dave Wallace argues that Howard needs a better band to reach her full potential, and that is probably a valid criticism. But she sure inspired them to soulful heights on this gem.
[editor's note: thematic week - covers better than the original]
Steve Earle famously said that Townes Van Zandt was the greatest songwriter ever and Earle would stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in his cowboy boots and scream that. Of course the fact that he named his son Townes tells you something as well.
Personally I'd take Dylan, but there is no denying Towne's songwriting brilliance.
The problem was that Van Zandt had severe mental health and addiction issues, which likely contributed to his notorious impatience with the recording process. A notorious wanderer, Townes had little interest in surrounding himself with a talented band or producer and even less interest in multiple takes of his performances. In his youth he had an interesting though limited voice, but as he aged hard living took that from him as well.
But he still had his songwriting right up until his death. And "Marie", one of the saddest songs I ever heard, about a down on their luck homeless couple and their unborn child, may be his very best song. But Townes' own version was so rough that I barely noticed it until the incomparable Willie Nelson brought his voice and personality to the tune giving it the performance it deserved.
Frankly I am surprised there aren't more TVZ covers. Most of the best known covers, including the entire Steve Earle "Townes" release, are of Van Zandt's best known songs, songs that he has at least some credible performances of. But there are some deep tracks like "Marie" that could make some careers.
X, The Have Nots
Dave Wallace has exceptional musical taste and he has turned me on to a ton of great music. We don't often disagree about music, but we disagree about X.
X was the third best band of the punk era behind only The Clash and The Ramones. Not only were they criminally underrated as a punk band, they remain one of the great underrated American bands of any genre. Four of their first five albums are well worth listening to, but I'd refer the uninitiated to their great two disk compilation Back to the Base.
What makes X so compelling is not just John Doe's songwriting, and the way he and Exene Cervenka traded vocals in such an unorthodox but hypnotic manner, but the tight, driving rhythm section with Doe on base and Bonebreaker on drums, and Billy Zoom's driving guitar work. Back to the Base includes an instrumental version of The Hungry Wolf and it is as powerful a rock anthem as you will hear, even without the great vocals and lyrics that the more well known version of the song features.
"The Have Nots" captures X with one of their best performances and also at a lyrical peak, emphasizing two of their common themes: the plight of the working poor (This is the game that moves as you play) and the Los Angeles music scene. Rock 'n' roll at its finest.
Old 97s, Four Leaf Clover
The Old 97s put the alternative in alternative country. That's not to say they aren't country. Hell, they're named after an old country classic "The Wreck of the Old 97". The wreck of the old 97 is a tale about a train wreck, and that train wreck imagery may tell you much of what you need to know about the band: in their best studio and live performances they teeter on the edge of spinning out of control into a massive train wreck without ever quite getting there.
If you like the Talking Heads or the Replacements and you also enjoy a little twang, you kinda haveta love the Old 97's.
They've been rocking for a quarter century and every album they've released has a song or two that is brilliant, but I believe their best material came from their second album "Too Far to Care" and it's rocking finale "Four Leaf Clover". I love how the drums drive this tune, seemingly speeding up as Rhett Miller and X vocalist Exene Cervenka sink into an endless depth of misery. Like so many of their best songs, the theme is the hellish, loveless life that Rhett's character experiences (which is itself hilarious given his voice, his looks and the way he shakes his ass). And like so many great Old 97 songs, the humor in "Four Leaf Clover" matches the music.
Just try to sit still while you listen to this. It can't be done.
Bob Dylan, Tangled Up In Blue
My favorite Bob Dylan song remains Tangled Up In Blue, and oddly enough considering his catalogue that's pretty much been the case for 35 years. I could not find the original studio version on You Tube, but you've probably all heard it. This is an excellent acoustic version with several different verses off of his highly recommended Biograph collection. My second favorite song is Visions of Johanna. After those two I have a tough time ranking his songs so I've decided to order these chronologically. In part I've organized it this way because several of you were looking for places to jump into his music, but mostly I've done it this way to make it easier on myself to identify the songs and comment on them where appropriate.
This helped me make a couple observations about Dylan's music and my tastes.
1) Although I consider Dylan the best songwriter of my lifetime, my favorites of his are based upon the sound of the songs more than the lyrics. This is most apparent by the nearly complete absence of his folk and protest music from my list. Blowing In the Wind, Times They Are Changing, A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall, are all clearly among his best songs, but I just don't listen to them because I don't find them musical enough.
2) Despite the fact that he had numerous great albums, a boatload of his best songs were never on traditional albums, but were singles, b-sides or songs never released outside of compilations. I don't think this is me choosing obscurities, I think it is more the fickle nature of Bob Dylan.
3) Dylan's comeback starting with 1997's Time Out Of Mind and continuing to a lesser extent through 2016, was almost unbelievable, especially in view of the garbage he released for more than a decade before that.
So:
From Biograph (the best greatest hits collection I've heard by the way, combining three disks of must haves, alternate takes, unreleased classics all organized thematically- a great jumping in set): Percy's Song, my only folk selection,
From Bringing It All Back Home: It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) and Maggie's Farm. BABH is considered by most critics to be one of his bests but I see it more as a transition album that doesn't flow the way his next several do. Bleeding captures the anger and pointedness of his protest music without sounding dated, and Maggie is a protest song that rocks and shows a sense of humor. The best version of Maggie is from an otherwise mediocre live album, Hard Rain.
From Highway 61: Like A Rolling Stone; Desperation Row; Highway 61 Revisited; It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry, Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues. A must own album, rational minds could favor the other four songs that I didn't select. Each song finds Dylan at a creative peak lyrically (I bet there are nearly a dozen phrases from this album that are now common to people who have no clue who Dylan is) and musically, with styles that range all over the roots map. The title track features a police whistle which somehow works.
Singles (can be found on Biograph and elsewhere: Positively Fourth Street, Can You Please Crawl Out My Window. Bob decided these songs didn't fit on 61 or Blonde. Maybe they don't, but either would have served as the best song in the entire catalog of several artists I love.
Blonde On Blonde: Visions of Johnanna, Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again. Blonde is also essential rock music, every bit as creative but a bit less manic than 61, perhaps because it was recorded with some brilliant Nashville session musicians.
The Basement Tapes: Crash On The Levee, You Ain't Goin' Nowhere, Please Mrs. Henry, Clothes Line Saga. Basement was recorded in secret with The Band and not released until the mid seventies (and then released a couple years ago as a six disk set as part of the Bootleg series). Each of these songs find Dylan and The Band having the time of their life playing dozens of old time instruments and styles on songs that are mostly warm and funny but sometimes apocalyptic (Levee). Basement was the polar opposite of the Sgt. Pepper era music released at the time and miles better. You can make a compelling argument that it influenced more alternative country music than anything released since it.
John Wesley Harding: I Dreamed I Saw St. Augestine, All Along the Watchtower. His most underrated album, JWH sounds similar but a bit more polished than Blonde with a series of shorter straight forward songs, several with strong biblical themes. Again, not much like late sixties radio.
Nashville Skyline: Girl From The North Country. A lot of critics praise this straight country album but I find it somewhat slight. I love this duet with Johnny Cash, however, and their voices work great together.
Self Portrait: Minstrel Boy (The Bootleg Series re-release). Minstrel Boy is, of all things, a vocal track with the Band and their voices somehow sound great in this context.
Greatest Hits Volume 2: Quinn The Eskimo. Basement tapes classics beginning to leak out. Again great but unorthodox Dylan/Band vocals
New Morning: Went to See the Gypsy, Day of the Locusts. At the time this was considered his first comeback album, he hadn't sold much since Blonde and he hadn't had much critical praise since Harding, but I see this as a decent album that happens to feature a couple great forgotten songs about Elvis and about Dylan's refusal to accept an honorary degree.
Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid: Knocking on Heavens Door. I'm not sure if this his most covered song, and there are some good versions out there including Warren Zevon's. But nobody's surpassed the original.
Blood On The Tracks: Tangled Up In Blue; Shelter From The Storm; If You See Her, Say Hello, Idiot Wind, Buckets of Rain. Blood was the great comeback, and for my money it is his best album, too. These are some of the most heart wrenching break-up songs ever put to music, all exquisitely recorded. As with Highway 61, you can prefer the other tracks on this set and I'd have no argument.
Desire: Isis (the live track from Biograph is even better). One of Bob's long standing songwriting technique is to take a historic or biblical character or image and turn it into his own historic fiction and he returns to that with pretty good effect on Desire.
Street Legal: Changing of the Guards. I think this was an unfairly ignored album. I suspect listeners were put off by the strong gospel style background vocals which foresaw
The Christian Era Bob Dylan
Dylan had obviously read the bible but I sure didn't see a literal interpretation of it coming. Here's the weird thing. The three albums, Slow Train Coming, Saved, and Shot of Love, were mostly lousy, even though they sometimes featured some crack musicians. But somehow a number of unquestionably great songs emerged from this bizarre phase. Check out Every Grain of Sand, Groom Still Waiting At The Alter (which, in classic Bob style, didn't qualify for inclusion among these wretched albums until later pressings), Heart of Mine, I Believe in You, Solid Rock.
Infidels: Jokerman, Neighborhood Bully. These are two exceptional songs from one of the very few good albums he released between 1976's Desire and 1997's Time Out Of Mind. And it isn't a great album, it's just enjoyable and features these tracks which I consider to be among his best.
Oh Mercy: Everything Is Broken. Somehow in the midst of two lost decades Dylan recorded a great rock tune.
Lost track: Series of Dreams (can be found on Bootleg 8). Somehow in the midst of two lost decades Dylan recorded an even better rock song. And he decided not to release it.
Time Out of Mind: Not Dark Yet, Trying to Get to Heaven, Standing In The Doorway, Million Miles.
Love & Theft: High Water (For Charley Patton), Summer Days, Mississippi
Modern Times: Thunder on the Mountain, Working Man's Blues #2
Tempest: Pay In Blood, Roll On John, Duquesne Whistle, Tempest
And then he found his muse. Legendary musicians tend to get undue praise even when releasing adequate material. This is decidedly not the case with Dylan's return to prominence. The best of his turn of the century original material is every bit as compelling as the music he released when he was in his twenties, and if anything it benefits from his age, wisdom, and awareness of his own mortality.
There you go. I think that's 52 songs (with only one link).
Tom Waits, Picture in a Frame
I am a sucker for a great love song, a song that unapologetically exposes the character's passion in no uncertain terms. When the love song is sung by one of popular music's most unique vocalists, Tom Waits, who at times sings with naked, raw emotion, the results are transcendent.
Frankly, Picture In A Frame, is an incredibly simple song with only a few lyrics, but as you'd expect from Waits, those few lyrics present love in a unique but universally understandable way. The character takes the brazen step of framing the photo of his love interest and suddenly the world is different. The world is better, even the sunrise has changed.
I simply can't listen to this song without responding emotionally.
John Prine, In Spite of Ourselves
The first time I heard "In Spite of Ourselves" I thought it was an enjoyable novelty song. The humorous observations this couple makes about each other are over-the-top, bawdy and quite funny, especially since the female lead is the wonderful but deadly serious Iris DeMent. But the slapstick humor is only part of the story. This is a love song that captures the passion between a long time married couple better than most any "serious" love song I've heard. Over time each other's quirks only serve to strengthen their bond. In spite of ourselves, we're the real door prize. Indeed!
Amy Winehouse, You Know I'm No Good
Amy Winehouse was the first musician that I was a big fan of at the time who died at the peak of her powers. I was too young to appreciate the sixties legends at the time, and there have been a slew of my favorites who've passed on since then, but to the best of my recollection each of them had peaked. Winehouse left us some great music and performances, but I believe she could have been a giant. To me she sounded like a 21st century version of a rat pack vocalist fully immersed in the music and the themes of modern life.
I love "You Know I'm No Good" and it also makes me terribly uncomfortable. Lyrically and vocally Winehouse spews self hatred and anger, and if I sent the correct version the rapping at the instrumental break that break only serves to intensify those feelings.
It may be better to burn out than it is to rust, but not at 27.
The Gourds, Gin and Juice
Ok, I admit that Gin and Juice is offensive in every way. I generally do not care for songs that reference bitches and hos, nor do I love the genre of bluegrass versions of rock songs. But damn this song rocks, and I do not view it as a parody of the original as much as a tribute (although the Gourds surely knew this was funny, especially since they maintained the references to Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Compton). And these two points constitute my entire justification for including it in this blog. Actually point three: I love the line "Got my mind on my money and my money on my mind."
[editor's note: thematic week - guilty pleasures]
Alicia Keys, No One
Her first couple disks were somewhat soulful. She is incredibly attractive. Bob Dylan references her in a recent song.
OK, I'm just making excuses. I have no logical explanation for it but I love Alicia Keys.
And it isn't just the somewhat creative, Prince-covering Alicia Keys when she first came to prominence. I mean, when she went pure pop, diva mode with As I Am, I went right with her, perhaps deeper than ever. I can recall no time in my past when I fell so hard for somebody whose claim to fame is that she makes pleasant pop, but there you have it.
There was a time when I had dozens of artists whose disks I bought immediately, without regards to reviews or advance notice. Today I am an old conservative cheap fart, and I only act rashly with regards to acts like Lucinda Williams, Beck, My Morning Jacket, Wilco, Jack White, Gillian Welch, and, of course, Alicia Keys.
James Brown, Sex Machine
Any serious music fan recognizes James Brown's brilliance and his influence. I can't imagine what soul or R&B would sound like without Brown, and his influence on rap and hip hop is obvious by the frequency in which his music is sampled. People my age who were young adults when Prince and Michael Jackson were dominating the air waves, surely recognized that JB not only influenced the two of them musically but visually as well.
James Brown is not underrated by any means. But I find it odd that people don't play his music today.
To my ears the best of his studio recordings aren't dated in the least and still sound phenomenal. Songs like Sex Machine would fit right into urban, classic rock, and even roots/NPR formats. I suspect that Brown is remembered as such a visual musician that his studio recordings are roundly ignored or forgotten, which is why I intentionally included a non-video You Tube clip of this song. You can't possibly listen to this without seriously elevating your mood. And you only need your ears although I suspect your entire body will react.
Bottle Rockets, Welfare Music
I love The Drive-By Truckers and Uncle Tupelo and debating which band is better and which was more responsible for the advent of alt.country, Americana, roots rock, No Depression, whatever it is... But there is a third band that should absolutely be in that conversation: the pride of Festus, Missouri, the Bottle Rockets.
Part of the reason that The Bottle Rockets are criminally overlooked is that their albums tend to have their share of filler. I'd stack "The Brooklyn Side" up against anything in the genre, but even it has three or four songs that I never need to hear again, unlike, say "Anodyne". On the other hand, a playlist of the Bottle Rockets 15-20 best songs would stand up with any band's over the past couple decades.
Fans and critics credit the band for their ability to channel Merle Haggard one moment and Crazy Horse the next, but I believe Brian Henneman isn't given enough credit for his song writing. His style is very direct story-telling, and in many ways it reminds me of Tom T Hall, another vastly underrated song writer. Henneman's forte, and he displays it best in Welfare Music, is twofold: first he has the ability to establish characters that listeners to relate to with just a lyric or two. Secondly he can present the characters, warts and all, and typically still leaves the listener sympathizing with these flawed, but real Americans.
John Hiatt has covered Welfare Music. If that doesn't convince you that Henneman's a great songwriter than nothing ever will.
Wilco, At Least That’s What You Said
Cyndi and I have something in common. I am a Wilco boy. And I've got it bad.
I may have lost some alt.country cred last week when I argued that the Bottle Rockets are at least as good as Uncle Tupelo. Well Gary may kick me off the blog today.
Jeff Tweedy and Wilco have far exceeded the music of Sun Volt and Jay Farrer in his numerous post Uncle Tupelo incarnations. And, in fact, alt.country or not, Wilco's music is better than Uncle Tupelo's. Maybe not more important, certainly not more influential. But better.
I've read the lyrics to At Least That's What You Said, and the best I can tell they don't mean a thing. And that is fine by me. This is all about a great band stretching out and sounding outstanding. Like Cyndi, this is one of many Wilco songs that never fails to put me in a good mood.
Son Volt, Windfall
Part of the reason I've been disappointed with Jay Farrar's post Uncle Tupelo output is quite unfair to him. In my opinion he peaked with the very first song from his very first album.
Son Volt sounds fantastic on Windfall, and Farrar's voice, which I am not always wild about, works perfectly with this melody. I can't help but feel I am sitting next to him as he hits the next time zone while switching over to the AM dial.
More than anything though, I love the chorus. I do not know a song that has a more genuinely sincere and caring sentiment than "May the Wind Take Your Troubles Away".
Iggy Pop, Lust for Life
I was and I remain a tremendous David Bowie fan. But I was surprised and puzzled by the outpouring of grief at his death. Dave Wallace and I had a conversation about it, my point being that I didn't think he was tremendously popular, and I certainly didn't think he was as influential as, say, Lou Reed. Dave made the points, ones that I believe were accurate, that Bowie hit so many styles that his influence was broader than his sales reflect, and perhaps more importantly, he was a good, friendly, giving man, and so his musician friends truly grieved his surprising passing.
To Dave's point, very early in his career, before he had a ton of success and money of his own, Bowie made tremendous contributions to the careers of Ian Hunter, Iggy Pop, and, yes, Lou Reed.
But I am posting about Iggy Pop.
As much as I love the music of Iggy and the Stooges (and I believe it was Dave Marsh who said that the Stooges made punk rock for fans who found The Sex Pistols and The Clash to be a bit too mellow), my favorite Iggy Pop music came from his Bowie albums, and nothing more so than the dynamic Lust For Life.
Lust For Life has the driving drum driven sound that glam era Bowie frequently featured, but it is very true to Pop ("hypnotizing chickens"? "of course I've had it in my ear before"?).
Has there ever been a song whose title better describes the song itself? How many hours will it take you to get this riff out of your head? Why would you ever want to?
The Feelies, Real Cool Time
Dave Wallace and Dave Kelley have introduced me to tons of great music over the years. On most of these occasions, they helped me appreciate acts I had some familiarity with but hadn't given a fair shake. Sometimes they recommended acts I'd read about but never listened to. When Dave Wallace introduced me to The Feelies I'd never even heard their name. I instantly loved them and never stopped. And as I recall, Dave introduced them because they were Lou Reed's opening act at a show we were attending, and Dave's review of them was positive but not overwhelming.
The Feelies have one trick, but by god it's a beauty. Their first album was titled "Crazy Rhythms" and their five piece, two drum band builds every song around crazy driving drum/guitar sounds. Lyrics don't matter, vocals are muffled, but the music explodes, and never more so than on this cover of an Iggy and The Stooges song. I don't know how a band can be so brilliant and so unknown, but I sure am happy Dave introduced them to me.
[editor's note: thematic week - best use of a song in a movie or TV]
U2, All I Want Is You
U2 was less than a decade into their existence when they were arguably the best band in rock music. But I found it very distasteful that they decided to make that argument themselves. And that's what I took away from the Rattle and Hum movie, that U2 was important and Bono was incredibly important. All of the Bono-isms that cause some people to hate him (and some people, like me, to both hate him and love him) can be traced back to this movie and soundtrack. "Charles Manson stole this song from the Beatles now we're stealing it back." "Am I bugging you? I don't mean to be bugging you."
Even worse Rattle and Hum was one mess of a movie, with several live performances that just didn't work.
But much of the studio work on the Rattle and Hum soundtrack stands among their best music, which is saying something. In my opinion nothing shows U2 in all its glory than the simple love song that closes the soundtrack and plays over the movie credits "All I Want Is You". The song peaks beautifully around a spectacular performance by The Edge and one of my favorite string sections in rock music. They could have skipped the movie and most of the live music on the soundtrack, and let the rest of the world recognize them as the best band in rock of their era.
Violent Femmes, Blister in the Sun, and Kool and the Gang, Jungle Boogie
Charlie Rich, Life's Little Ups and Downs
If Charlie Rich is remembered today it's for the mid-seventies MOR country pop like The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, which is a shame, because he made some fantastic songs on Sun Records.
Listen to Rich's vocals on this deceptively simple song and hear how well he captures the complex emotions that I never would have thought could be captured in a song. The singer expected a promotion and he and his wife, who had barely been getting by, had big plans. But he didn't get it and now he deals with the guilt and the heartbreak of knowing that he let her down and he has to be the one to break that news to her. And her answer? A very sincere, it's ok, no one wins the brass ring every time.
What a relationship, what a whirlwind of emotions, and it's all captured in a beautiful three and a half minute song.
Velvet Underground, Sweet Jane and Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run
I am a registered republican and I've voted for the republican candidate for president for 32 years even when I've had to hold my nose (I'm looking at you George W.). I am not voting for Donald Trump.
I agree with everything Miranda said about his sexual assault on women and the way in which he and his supporters have tried to spin it as just the use of dirty words. But I'd made up my mind before that. It's also not because he is clearly not pro-small business like I am. It's also not because he has no domestic or foreign policy besides a few catchy but meaningless slogans. It's not because he is an awful human being, although all of these are contributing factors.
I am not voting for Trump because he is full of hatred and bigotry, because instead of being the inclusive person that the Republican Party and candidate needs to be, he embodies all of the stereotypes that the worst elements of the party need to abandon. Hopefully his disastrous campaign causes the party to reform around economic stability, reduced regulation, and a more inclusive and liberal social agenda.
Here are my two favorite songs. I hope you enjoy them and they take your mind off of the election.
Whiskeytown, Dancing With the Women at the Bar
Bruce Springsteen has recorded several exceptional songs about his difficult relationship with his father, and the reviews that I've read about his book make it sound that their relationship is also a theme of the book. I have no idea if Ryan Adams had challenges with his father, but the character in Dancing With The Women At The Bar sure does. Even worse, the protagonist seems to have inherited the sins of his father, "dancing" (and surely much more) just like dear old Dad.
But what makes this song hit me so hard is Adam's vocals. When he sings the refrain he captures such a wide range of conflicting emotions, the thrill involved in his behavior, the remorse for what he is doing, the anger at his father.
Ryan Adams has a number of exceptional solo albums, but the first true Whiskeytown album, Strangers' Almanac, from which this song comes, is as good as any of them.
Staple Singers, I’ll TakeYou There
If his girls didn't know it, Pops Staples had to realize that "I'll Take You There" could and would be interpreted romantically and sexually. I don't think it was more than fifteen or twenty years ago that I realized the Staple Singers were gospel singers and this song was religious. That just gave me another reason to love it. Between the great bass line, Mavis' singing and the sisters' harmonies, "I'll Take You There" can't help but raise my spirits.
I've mentioned this before but I love songs that sound like they are about to spin out of control. This guitar driven song goes beyond that. "Don't Get Excited" sounds like a train whose breaks gave out and which is about to go careening off the tracks. But it's not just the Rumour who barely seems able to control themselves. Graham Parker, while ordering us not to get excited, loses all self control with the "Don't get excited!" he screams right before the instrumental break. This is a brilliant finale to their fantastic album Squeezing Out Sparks.
[editor's note: thematic week - favorite holiday songs]
Blind Boys of Alabama and Mavis Staples, Born in Bethlehem
I love Christmas but I generally don't listen to a ton of Christmas music. Typically I don't pull out our collection until the week before the holiday.
For the past decade or so I've strongly preferred the old Christmas classics from the pre-rock era, especially if it's broadcast on an AM radio (searching for a truer sound). Chief among this is Sinatra's I'll Be Home For Christmas. The sentiment always got to me, presumably a young man serving his country, missing his sweetheart at holiday time. He will be home, but then the crushing reality "if only in my dreams".
But I'm not completely immune to Christmas music performed in a modern style. Perhaps because The Blind Boys of Alabama and Mavis Staples are both artists who perform spiritual music year round, I find their Christmas music especially compelling. "Born In Bethlehem " rocks the house down, and would be the highlight of a Blind Boys live performance even in mid July.
Old Crow Medicine Show, 8 Dogs 8 Banjos
I understand and share everybody's concern about the presidential election. But you can't stay down. I tried lifting your spirits with gospel songs, I tried raising you up with fast songs. By God, if you can't get your toes tapping and your body bouncing with this bawdy, rocking number from the world's most rocking and best live bluegrass band, Old Crowe Medicine Show, then there isn't anything I can do to help you.
If nothing else I bet I made Dave Kelley feel pretty good for three minutes.
The Replacements, Little Mascara
Thirty years after its release and I still think The Replacements' "Tim" is as brilliant as a rock album is going to get. It is the album in which The Replacements transitioned from speed/thrash/punk to a top notch guitar and lyric driven alternative band. If you listen to the four albums that preceded "Tim" you might consider Paul Westerberg a decent songwriter but nobody could have anticipated the songwriting leap he would make here, a leap that, if anything, enhanced the band's musical energy, at least for a short time. "Little Mascara" is both the band and Westerberg at their best.
"Little Mascara" is about a young divorcing couple, and surprisingly given The Mats almost complete lack of interaction with women at this time, the song sympathizes with the young mom
For the moon you keep shooting
Throw your rope up in the air
For the kids you stay together
You nap 'em then you slap 'em in a highchair.
And I love how in the first two verses the crying protagonist (with a little mascara left to dry) is presented somewhat meekly:
"All you ever wanted was someone to take care of you"
But the final verse is likely closer to the truth
"All you ever wanted is someone Daddy's scared of."
I highly recommend Trouble Boys, a band bio released earlier this year, for anyone interested in The Replacements. It is not a feel good book; it argues, reasonably in my opinion, that The Replacements would have rivaled REM if not for their aggressive self-destructive ways, not just in their alcohol and drug abuse but in their rampant mental illnesses.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Hysteric
Karen O is the vocalist, pianist, and face of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, in my opinion one of the best rock bands of the 21st century. The band made a series of loud, rollicking records and EPs that could be categorized as garage or alternative depending upon who was doing the categorizing. Then they made the unorthodox decision of releasing It's Blitz, a record which was somewhat softer and more melodic, highlighting Karen O's voice. I think it worked like a charm, and It's Blitz remains one of my favorite albums since Y2K.
"Hysteric" in particular finds her in fine form. Her vocals, the humming and whistling, and the evocative lyric "You suddenly complete me" makes for a beautiful, sensuous song.
I met you at JC Penny. I think your name tag said "Jenny".
Or better yet
Cause when our eyes did meet, girl you could tell I was packing heat. Ain't no use in wasting time getting to know each other.
But best of all is the chorus punch line, one that only Prince could pull off:
I want to get with you
And your sister
I think her name's Debra.
I hope you all have a wonderful 2017.
Three songs, three father/son relationships. Actually, three healthy and positive father/son relationships. Even the healthiest of them are filled with challenge.
Mike Cooley is my third favorite Drive-By-Trucker songwriter but he nails it in Daddy's Cup. Superficially about auto racing, Daddy's Cup is all about the driving need for a child to make his father proud. After a poor debut dad tells son that if he quits now it will haunt him all his life. But does Dad say that, or is that the son hearing what is "expected" of him? After all the cup he wants to win is Daddy's cup.
In Outfit, Jason Isbell reveals how difficult, and important, the father and son relationship is from Dad's perspective. Son is leaving for the hope of a better life, and Dad just can't help but give him some final (southern) advice, the real point of which is, you better not give it away, you better not paint the homes of rich folk like I do. Tinged with regret, Outfit has to be the best father/son relationship song I've heard from the father's perspective, and how old was Isbell when he wrote it? Maybe 28 or so? Not yet a father.
But Hiatt, in his simple, understated style, may capture it all the best in his Your Dad Did. He may be losing his job, spending more than he has, quietly laughing while Mom disciplines their children, but when it comes right down to it he's done what his father has and nothing much more. But then, Hiatt's character realizes, that ain't all bad. After all, he loves his wife and kids. Just like his Dad did.
Patty Smith, Piss Factory
Is there a better and more influential musician than Patti Smith who is not in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame? I can't think of any.
"Piss Factory" is nothing less than brilliant social commentary skewering the left (it isn't exactly pro-Union) and the right (Patti has no idea what her employer manufactures, piss she supposes).
The brilliance of the song extends beyond the lyrics, which angrily captures the discontent and hopelessness of the working poor, into the musical and vocal presentation. Smith uses a style that is closer to spoken word than singing, but it is hypnotically beautiful, and forces you to listen.
Now that she is an acclaimed writer and Bob Dylan selected her to accept his Nobel Prize her music will get the attention it deserves.
Rolling Stones, Dead Flowers
"Dead Flowers" may not be the best Rolling Stones song ("Gimme Shelter" is), but it is one of their best. Likewise "Dead Flowers" may not be their most influential song (maybe "Satisfaction"?), but it is one of their most influential. It also, I bet, is their most covered song. Not bad for a song that was not one of their sixty or so singles, and one they rarely played live.
First of all, as with most everything on their brilliant four studio album run, Beggar's Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main Street, the band is in top form, particularly the Watts/Wyman rhythm section. But significantly, and perhaps because of Gram Parson's influence, when Keith Richards brought this country song to Mick Jagger, Mick sang it straight and not tongue in cheek as he did on several other country songs.
Today "Dead Flowers" is considered a cornerstone in the ultimate Americana / alt.country playlist. Likewise the Stones are recognized as one of the rock acts that helped to make country music (and, sadly, heroin, the dead flower in the song) cool. But all of that is secondary to the fact that this is simply a killer song.
[editor's note: thematic week - best guitar song or guitar solo]
B J Shaver is a renowned songwriter, writing dozens of country tunes for Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and others among the stalwarts of traditional country music. But his son, Eddie, grew up in the 80's and found himself gravitating towards the guitar monsters of that time frame, particularly Eddie Van Halen (whom he was not named after). Dad and son played together and the result was this perfect country song that rocks to high heaven.
Soon after this recording Eddie Shaver died of a heroin overdose.
Let's not let this happen to our children.
The New Pornographers, Bleeding Heart Show
So, The New Pornographers are some kind of modern music, alternative rock super group. Frankly, I only know the amazing Neko Case, and I think of them as Case fronting a rock band. But even at that, she doesn't really front them.
I have no idea what this song means, and the song is enjoyable, but suddenly and unexpectedly it becomes frickin' great in the last minute or do when Case leads the "Hey Ya" chorus. At that time it becomes the greatest, most pleasant ear worm in many years, maybe decades.
The New Pornographers are named after the famous Frank Sinatra quote "Rock 'N Roll is the new pornography".
Listen at your own peril, because this will stick in your craw for days. But in a good way.
My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges
"It ain't evil if it don't hurt anybody."
Is Jim James a hippy or a libertarian?
I don't know and I don't care, at least 2/3 of the way through when James' falsetto gives way to the fantastic instrumental break / speed up. To me MMJ is all about the sound. And "Evil Urges", with its funk/ soft rock / disco/ rock 'n roll mash up, delivers.
Elton John, Madman Across the Water
At his peak in the early and mid seventies Elton John was a very good pop artist. We tend to forget that because of the crap he's made since and because that time period was dominated by some rock artists who never made the AM radio, which was what most of us young folks listened to in the day. He didn't do much that qualified as "great" but his early music is no guilty pleasure either.
A few years ago he re-released my favorite of his albums, Tumbleweed Connection, and to my surprise it included an extended version of Madman Across the Water which is amazingly powerful. John has a limited vocal range but he and the guitar and base drive a sinister feel that was only hinted at in the second version, which was the only one known for forty years.
Invest nine minutes in this and you may have a higher opinion of Elton John.
Ike and Tina Turner, Proud Mary
You know, every so often I think you'd like me to write about a song that's nice and easy. Well this ain't the week for that.
Ike and Tina take a classic Credence song and make it their own. It's Ike and his great baritone, the funky horns, and most importantly Tina Turner's vocals. Many have tried to perform Proud Mary the way Ike and Tina did, but nobody has ever come close. Sweet soul music.
[editor's note: thematic week - reflection on an earlier posting by another noted musicologist]
The Clash/Vince Taylor and the Playboys, Brand New Cadillac:
In week 37 Dave Kelley wrote eloquently about the Clash's cover of Brand New Cadillac from London Calling (which is, in my humble opinion, the greatest album ever). I agree with everything Dave said and I couldn't have said it any better than he did. But I want to add a couple points.
First of all, as Dave and I commented previously, one of the wonderful ironies of the song, made especially clear in Joe Strummer's shout "Jesus Christ! Where did you get that Cadillac?", is that the car means more to singer and girlfriend than their relationship ever did.
But the second point I want to make is that this: like the Clash's earlier brilliant cover of "I Fought The Law", this is a cover of a rockabilly song. Listen to the original, which is damn good. I've never heard it discussed but somebody in the Clash was a roots rock fan. I don't know if young Clash fans went back and discovered country music through their covers, as young Stones fans discovered the blues through Stones covers, but given how many alt country and Americana fans claim the Clash as an influence, it is possible. At the very least this English punk band helped to make country music safe for future rockers, which is yet another testament to this band's brilliance.
Guy Clark, Old Friends
Week 2
Prince, 1999
I haven't paid much attention to his recent music, but I still find it very sad to think about a world that does not include Prince. His music, his look, the whole package was intoxicating, and most of it sounds and looks every bit as great as it did when he recorded it. For my money, Prince's best is the first single to bring him massive crossover success 1999.
Life is just a party and parties aren't meant to last. Prince has passed but his music is eternal.
Week 3
Ray Wylie Hubbard, Mother Blues
Ray Wylie Hubbard is a swampy styled blues guitarist from Texas who wrote "Up Against The Wall Redneck Mother" for Jerry Jeff Walker decades ago, a fun, but insubstantial hit which doesn't come close to capturing his style or his wry, witty observations, but still pays his bills. Those interested could better scratch the surface of his substantial body of work checking out songs like "Loose", "Rabbit", "Snake Farm" and "Screw You, We're From Texas". My personal favorite is "Mother Blues" an autobiographical tune which is a bit more restrained than his typical song, but every bit as brilliant.
While "Mother Blues" is thoroughly entertaining in its twists, turns and surprises, what makes it so unique to my ears is how in its final moment it clearly and without any irony celebrates a theme that is rare in popular music, especially in blues: his gratitude for the wonders of his life.
When I keep my gratitude higher then my expectations
Well, I have very good days.
Week 4
Lucinda Williams, Blessed
Lucinda Williams is the best songwriter since Bob Dylan, and I don't know that there is anybody else even in the conversation. She may never top her brilliant back to back to back albums, Lucinda Williams, Sweet Old World, and Car Wheels On A Gravel Road, but if anything her career has become more interesting in the past decade plus as she's become more prolific and apparently more confident of her art. Many of the post Car Wheels albums have slow spots, songs that don't work, some albums I rarely return to at all. But I find even her swings and misses fascinating.
The title track to this underrated album has her at the top of her game and it ought to be played during every Sunday religious service. We are blessed by those around us, the saints, the sinners, those who we barely notice. God is everywhere. Let her voice and music wash over you and you'll believe.
Week 5
Justin Timberlake, SexyBack
My daughter came of age during the great boy band era and we frequently argued the merits of N'Synch versus the Beatles. Ultimately I won that battle (and yes I took the Beatles) but mostly because I could send her to bed without desert. Oddly enough now that Margie and I think JT rocks, Jessica will have nothing to do with him. Such is life.
At any rate, you will never convince me that this song doesn't kick ass. Take it to the bridge.
At any rate, you will never convince me that this song doesn't kick ass. Take it to the bridge.
Week 6
Outkast, Hey Ya
I was delighted by our group submitting two Nirvana covers in the same week. For one thing, I didn't know two Nirvana covers existed.
Nirvana was always a touchstone for me. I had always prided myself as somebody who had a firm grasp at what was going on in popular music, both on the charts and around the edges where the cool folks flourished. I even fancied myself as somebody who gravitated towards music a bit before it became popular and introduced it to others. And I loved the occasions when it felt like everybody who was anybody was listening to something really cool and we all listened together. But when Curt Cobain shot himself, besides grieving the obvious heartbreaking loss of his life and talent, I had to come to terms with the fact that I was old, at least at it applied to music. I would never again have an appreciation for much on the charts. I wouldn't have any idea what the cool people listened to, and if I heard popular music, chances are I had no interest in it.
But for one glorious summer it happened again. Everybody who had any serious interest in music was jamming to OutKast and their hits The Way You Move, Roses, and my personal favorite Hey Ya. I can't claim that I discovered them or introduced them to anybody, and as a rap act I am embarrassed to say I wouldn't even have given OutKast a listen if Hey Ya weren't so instantly damn catchy. But my dear Lord what a soulful, funky fun slice of pop heaven.
Week 7
Jamey Johnson, Macon
I am as big a fan of Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson as anybody. Each of them are mining classic country but bringing their own passion, sensibility and personality to what they do. Their popularity gives me hope for the future of country music.
But for my tastes I'll take Jamey Johnson over each of them.
Johnson's recording career began in a more popular country vein, but he was obviously a Cash, Jennings fan who featured song writing chops and an incredible voice. By 2010's double album The Guitar Song, he was full bore alt country / Americana. I find the album riveting, compelling listening, and I am certain I've listened to it more than any other set released this decade.
The album includes about half dozen immediate classics, but to me Macon is the standout, primarily because of his voice and his powerhouse guitar climax.
Week 8
Alabama Shakes, Hold On
I know there are better music services than I Tunes, but they were the first I discovered and I stuck with them. For many years they provided as many as a dozen free new songs weekly and I'd download every one of them. I would quickly delete the majority of the songs but a surprising number of them were quite good. This was how I first found Alabama Shakes and Hold On, and I found myself blown away almost as soon as Brittany Howard begin singing. I listened to the song a half dozen times in a row before I googled them, and until I did so I sincerely thought the lead singer was an African American man. Dave Kelley knew about them, apparently Patterson Hood had been praising them for sometime, and no wonder at that, with their strong Mussel Shoals sound that the Drive By Truckers were mining as well.
Dave Wallace argues that Howard needs a better band to reach her full potential, and that is probably a valid criticism. But she sure inspired them to soulful heights on this gem.
Week 9
[editor's note: thematic week - covers better than the original]
Willie Nelson, Marie
Steve Earle famously said that Townes Van Zandt was the greatest songwriter ever and Earle would stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in his cowboy boots and scream that. Of course the fact that he named his son Townes tells you something as well.
Personally I'd take Dylan, but there is no denying Towne's songwriting brilliance.
The problem was that Van Zandt had severe mental health and addiction issues, which likely contributed to his notorious impatience with the recording process. A notorious wanderer, Townes had little interest in surrounding himself with a talented band or producer and even less interest in multiple takes of his performances. In his youth he had an interesting though limited voice, but as he aged hard living took that from him as well.
But he still had his songwriting right up until his death. And "Marie", one of the saddest songs I ever heard, about a down on their luck homeless couple and their unborn child, may be his very best song. But Townes' own version was so rough that I barely noticed it until the incomparable Willie Nelson brought his voice and personality to the tune giving it the performance it deserved.
Frankly I am surprised there aren't more TVZ covers. Most of the best known covers, including the entire Steve Earle "Townes" release, are of Van Zandt's best known songs, songs that he has at least some credible performances of. But there are some deep tracks like "Marie" that could make some careers.
Week 10
X, The Have Nots
Dave Wallace has exceptional musical taste and he has turned me on to a ton of great music. We don't often disagree about music, but we disagree about X.
X was the third best band of the punk era behind only The Clash and The Ramones. Not only were they criminally underrated as a punk band, they remain one of the great underrated American bands of any genre. Four of their first five albums are well worth listening to, but I'd refer the uninitiated to their great two disk compilation Back to the Base.
What makes X so compelling is not just John Doe's songwriting, and the way he and Exene Cervenka traded vocals in such an unorthodox but hypnotic manner, but the tight, driving rhythm section with Doe on base and Bonebreaker on drums, and Billy Zoom's driving guitar work. Back to the Base includes an instrumental version of The Hungry Wolf and it is as powerful a rock anthem as you will hear, even without the great vocals and lyrics that the more well known version of the song features.
"The Have Nots" captures X with one of their best performances and also at a lyrical peak, emphasizing two of their common themes: the plight of the working poor (This is the game that moves as you play) and the Los Angeles music scene. Rock 'n' roll at its finest.
Week 11
Old 97s, Four Leaf Clover
The Old 97s put the alternative in alternative country. That's not to say they aren't country. Hell, they're named after an old country classic "The Wreck of the Old 97". The wreck of the old 97 is a tale about a train wreck, and that train wreck imagery may tell you much of what you need to know about the band: in their best studio and live performances they teeter on the edge of spinning out of control into a massive train wreck without ever quite getting there.
If you like the Talking Heads or the Replacements and you also enjoy a little twang, you kinda haveta love the Old 97's.
They've been rocking for a quarter century and every album they've released has a song or two that is brilliant, but I believe their best material came from their second album "Too Far to Care" and it's rocking finale "Four Leaf Clover". I love how the drums drive this tune, seemingly speeding up as Rhett Miller and X vocalist Exene Cervenka sink into an endless depth of misery. Like so many of their best songs, the theme is the hellish, loveless life that Rhett's character experiences (which is itself hilarious given his voice, his looks and the way he shakes his ass). And like so many great Old 97 songs, the humor in "Four Leaf Clover" matches the music.
Just try to sit still while you listen to this. It can't be done.
Week 12
Bob Dylan, Tangled Up In Blue
My favorite Bob Dylan song remains Tangled Up In Blue, and oddly enough considering his catalogue that's pretty much been the case for 35 years. I could not find the original studio version on You Tube, but you've probably all heard it. This is an excellent acoustic version with several different verses off of his highly recommended Biograph collection. My second favorite song is Visions of Johanna. After those two I have a tough time ranking his songs so I've decided to order these chronologically. In part I've organized it this way because several of you were looking for places to jump into his music, but mostly I've done it this way to make it easier on myself to identify the songs and comment on them where appropriate.
This helped me make a couple observations about Dylan's music and my tastes.
1) Although I consider Dylan the best songwriter of my lifetime, my favorites of his are based upon the sound of the songs more than the lyrics. This is most apparent by the nearly complete absence of his folk and protest music from my list. Blowing In the Wind, Times They Are Changing, A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall, are all clearly among his best songs, but I just don't listen to them because I don't find them musical enough.
2) Despite the fact that he had numerous great albums, a boatload of his best songs were never on traditional albums, but were singles, b-sides or songs never released outside of compilations. I don't think this is me choosing obscurities, I think it is more the fickle nature of Bob Dylan.
3) Dylan's comeback starting with 1997's Time Out Of Mind and continuing to a lesser extent through 2016, was almost unbelievable, especially in view of the garbage he released for more than a decade before that.
So:
From Biograph (the best greatest hits collection I've heard by the way, combining three disks of must haves, alternate takes, unreleased classics all organized thematically- a great jumping in set): Percy's Song, my only folk selection,
From Bringing It All Back Home: It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) and Maggie's Farm. BABH is considered by most critics to be one of his bests but I see it more as a transition album that doesn't flow the way his next several do. Bleeding captures the anger and pointedness of his protest music without sounding dated, and Maggie is a protest song that rocks and shows a sense of humor. The best version of Maggie is from an otherwise mediocre live album, Hard Rain.
From Highway 61: Like A Rolling Stone; Desperation Row; Highway 61 Revisited; It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry, Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues. A must own album, rational minds could favor the other four songs that I didn't select. Each song finds Dylan at a creative peak lyrically (I bet there are nearly a dozen phrases from this album that are now common to people who have no clue who Dylan is) and musically, with styles that range all over the roots map. The title track features a police whistle which somehow works.
Singles (can be found on Biograph and elsewhere: Positively Fourth Street, Can You Please Crawl Out My Window. Bob decided these songs didn't fit on 61 or Blonde. Maybe they don't, but either would have served as the best song in the entire catalog of several artists I love.
Blonde On Blonde: Visions of Johnanna, Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again. Blonde is also essential rock music, every bit as creative but a bit less manic than 61, perhaps because it was recorded with some brilliant Nashville session musicians.
The Basement Tapes: Crash On The Levee, You Ain't Goin' Nowhere, Please Mrs. Henry, Clothes Line Saga. Basement was recorded in secret with The Band and not released until the mid seventies (and then released a couple years ago as a six disk set as part of the Bootleg series). Each of these songs find Dylan and The Band having the time of their life playing dozens of old time instruments and styles on songs that are mostly warm and funny but sometimes apocalyptic (Levee). Basement was the polar opposite of the Sgt. Pepper era music released at the time and miles better. You can make a compelling argument that it influenced more alternative country music than anything released since it.
John Wesley Harding: I Dreamed I Saw St. Augestine, All Along the Watchtower. His most underrated album, JWH sounds similar but a bit more polished than Blonde with a series of shorter straight forward songs, several with strong biblical themes. Again, not much like late sixties radio.
Nashville Skyline: Girl From The North Country. A lot of critics praise this straight country album but I find it somewhat slight. I love this duet with Johnny Cash, however, and their voices work great together.
Self Portrait: Minstrel Boy (The Bootleg Series re-release). Minstrel Boy is, of all things, a vocal track with the Band and their voices somehow sound great in this context.
Greatest Hits Volume 2: Quinn The Eskimo. Basement tapes classics beginning to leak out. Again great but unorthodox Dylan/Band vocals
New Morning: Went to See the Gypsy, Day of the Locusts. At the time this was considered his first comeback album, he hadn't sold much since Blonde and he hadn't had much critical praise since Harding, but I see this as a decent album that happens to feature a couple great forgotten songs about Elvis and about Dylan's refusal to accept an honorary degree.
Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid: Knocking on Heavens Door. I'm not sure if this his most covered song, and there are some good versions out there including Warren Zevon's. But nobody's surpassed the original.
Blood On The Tracks: Tangled Up In Blue; Shelter From The Storm; If You See Her, Say Hello, Idiot Wind, Buckets of Rain. Blood was the great comeback, and for my money it is his best album, too. These are some of the most heart wrenching break-up songs ever put to music, all exquisitely recorded. As with Highway 61, you can prefer the other tracks on this set and I'd have no argument.
Desire: Isis (the live track from Biograph is even better). One of Bob's long standing songwriting technique is to take a historic or biblical character or image and turn it into his own historic fiction and he returns to that with pretty good effect on Desire.
Street Legal: Changing of the Guards. I think this was an unfairly ignored album. I suspect listeners were put off by the strong gospel style background vocals which foresaw
The Christian Era Bob Dylan
Dylan had obviously read the bible but I sure didn't see a literal interpretation of it coming. Here's the weird thing. The three albums, Slow Train Coming, Saved, and Shot of Love, were mostly lousy, even though they sometimes featured some crack musicians. But somehow a number of unquestionably great songs emerged from this bizarre phase. Check out Every Grain of Sand, Groom Still Waiting At The Alter (which, in classic Bob style, didn't qualify for inclusion among these wretched albums until later pressings), Heart of Mine, I Believe in You, Solid Rock.
Infidels: Jokerman, Neighborhood Bully. These are two exceptional songs from one of the very few good albums he released between 1976's Desire and 1997's Time Out Of Mind. And it isn't a great album, it's just enjoyable and features these tracks which I consider to be among his best.
Oh Mercy: Everything Is Broken. Somehow in the midst of two lost decades Dylan recorded a great rock tune.
Lost track: Series of Dreams (can be found on Bootleg 8). Somehow in the midst of two lost decades Dylan recorded an even better rock song. And he decided not to release it.
Time Out of Mind: Not Dark Yet, Trying to Get to Heaven, Standing In The Doorway, Million Miles.
Love & Theft: High Water (For Charley Patton), Summer Days, Mississippi
Modern Times: Thunder on the Mountain, Working Man's Blues #2
Tempest: Pay In Blood, Roll On John, Duquesne Whistle, Tempest
And then he found his muse. Legendary musicians tend to get undue praise even when releasing adequate material. This is decidedly not the case with Dylan's return to prominence. The best of his turn of the century original material is every bit as compelling as the music he released when he was in his twenties, and if anything it benefits from his age, wisdom, and awareness of his own mortality.
There you go. I think that's 52 songs (with only one link).
Week 13
Tom Waits, Picture in a Frame
I am a sucker for a great love song, a song that unapologetically exposes the character's passion in no uncertain terms. When the love song is sung by one of popular music's most unique vocalists, Tom Waits, who at times sings with naked, raw emotion, the results are transcendent.
Frankly, Picture In A Frame, is an incredibly simple song with only a few lyrics, but as you'd expect from Waits, those few lyrics present love in a unique but universally understandable way. The character takes the brazen step of framing the photo of his love interest and suddenly the world is different. The world is better, even the sunrise has changed.
I simply can't listen to this song without responding emotionally.
Week 14
John Prine, In Spite of Ourselves
The first time I heard "In Spite of Ourselves" I thought it was an enjoyable novelty song. The humorous observations this couple makes about each other are over-the-top, bawdy and quite funny, especially since the female lead is the wonderful but deadly serious Iris DeMent. But the slapstick humor is only part of the story. This is a love song that captures the passion between a long time married couple better than most any "serious" love song I've heard. Over time each other's quirks only serve to strengthen their bond. In spite of ourselves, we're the real door prize. Indeed!
Week 15
Amy Winehouse, You Know I'm No Good
Amy Winehouse was the first musician that I was a big fan of at the time who died at the peak of her powers. I was too young to appreciate the sixties legends at the time, and there have been a slew of my favorites who've passed on since then, but to the best of my recollection each of them had peaked. Winehouse left us some great music and performances, but I believe she could have been a giant. To me she sounded like a 21st century version of a rat pack vocalist fully immersed in the music and the themes of modern life.
I love "You Know I'm No Good" and it also makes me terribly uncomfortable. Lyrically and vocally Winehouse spews self hatred and anger, and if I sent the correct version the rapping at the instrumental break that break only serves to intensify those feelings.
It may be better to burn out than it is to rust, but not at 27.
Week 16
The Gourds, Gin and Juice
Ok, I admit that Gin and Juice is offensive in every way. I generally do not care for songs that reference bitches and hos, nor do I love the genre of bluegrass versions of rock songs. But damn this song rocks, and I do not view it as a parody of the original as much as a tribute (although the Gourds surely knew this was funny, especially since they maintained the references to Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Compton). And these two points constitute my entire justification for including it in this blog. Actually point three: I love the line "Got my mind on my money and my money on my mind."
Week 17
[editor's note: thematic week - guilty pleasures]
Alicia Keys, No One
Her first couple disks were somewhat soulful. She is incredibly attractive. Bob Dylan references her in a recent song.
OK, I'm just making excuses. I have no logical explanation for it but I love Alicia Keys.
And it isn't just the somewhat creative, Prince-covering Alicia Keys when she first came to prominence. I mean, when she went pure pop, diva mode with As I Am, I went right with her, perhaps deeper than ever. I can recall no time in my past when I fell so hard for somebody whose claim to fame is that she makes pleasant pop, but there you have it.
There was a time when I had dozens of artists whose disks I bought immediately, without regards to reviews or advance notice. Today I am an old conservative cheap fart, and I only act rashly with regards to acts like Lucinda Williams, Beck, My Morning Jacket, Wilco, Jack White, Gillian Welch, and, of course, Alicia Keys.
Week 18
Muddy Waters, Mannish Boy
Like a whole slew of Caucasian men in their mid-fifties I found and fell in love with the great Chicago blues men and their music through the Rolling Stones. I was, and remain, a huge fan of the Stones in their prime, and I even enjoy some of their post Some Girls music. I specifically remember being mesmerized by side three of their fine "Love You Live" album, in which they did solid covers of three blues and a Chuck Berry classic live in a small bar. It was my first exposure to Mannish Boy and I was blown away. Blown away enough to trace it back. And, damn, was that worthwhile.
Mannish Boy has shown up in enough generic settings that there are probably generations of folks that don't recognize the incredible power behind the Muddy Waters version. That is a shame. Seventy years after its recording it remains the most outrageous sexually braggadocio recording I've ever heard. There probably weren't a ton of white Americans exposed to Muddy or Howling Wolf when their best tunes were recorded, but those who heard them sure as hell understood that these men were no b-o-y-s, and that had to be terrifying.
And yes, as Gary Scudder knows well, Margie and I were able to get our oldest child to eat his strained vegetables by convincing him that Muddy Waters ate his carrots.
Like a whole slew of Caucasian men in their mid-fifties I found and fell in love with the great Chicago blues men and their music through the Rolling Stones. I was, and remain, a huge fan of the Stones in their prime, and I even enjoy some of their post Some Girls music. I specifically remember being mesmerized by side three of their fine "Love You Live" album, in which they did solid covers of three blues and a Chuck Berry classic live in a small bar. It was my first exposure to Mannish Boy and I was blown away. Blown away enough to trace it back. And, damn, was that worthwhile.
Mannish Boy has shown up in enough generic settings that there are probably generations of folks that don't recognize the incredible power behind the Muddy Waters version. That is a shame. Seventy years after its recording it remains the most outrageous sexually braggadocio recording I've ever heard. There probably weren't a ton of white Americans exposed to Muddy or Howling Wolf when their best tunes were recorded, but those who heard them sure as hell understood that these men were no b-o-y-s, and that had to be terrifying.
And yes, as Gary Scudder knows well, Margie and I were able to get our oldest child to eat his strained vegetables by convincing him that Muddy Waters ate his carrots.
Week 19
James Brown, Sex Machine
Any serious music fan recognizes James Brown's brilliance and his influence. I can't imagine what soul or R&B would sound like without Brown, and his influence on rap and hip hop is obvious by the frequency in which his music is sampled. People my age who were young adults when Prince and Michael Jackson were dominating the air waves, surely recognized that JB not only influenced the two of them musically but visually as well.
James Brown is not underrated by any means. But I find it odd that people don't play his music today.
To my ears the best of his studio recordings aren't dated in the least and still sound phenomenal. Songs like Sex Machine would fit right into urban, classic rock, and even roots/NPR formats. I suspect that Brown is remembered as such a visual musician that his studio recordings are roundly ignored or forgotten, which is why I intentionally included a non-video You Tube clip of this song. You can't possibly listen to this without seriously elevating your mood. And you only need your ears although I suspect your entire body will react.
Week 20
Bottle Rockets, Welfare Music
I love The Drive-By Truckers and Uncle Tupelo and debating which band is better and which was more responsible for the advent of alt.country, Americana, roots rock, No Depression, whatever it is... But there is a third band that should absolutely be in that conversation: the pride of Festus, Missouri, the Bottle Rockets.
Part of the reason that The Bottle Rockets are criminally overlooked is that their albums tend to have their share of filler. I'd stack "The Brooklyn Side" up against anything in the genre, but even it has three or four songs that I never need to hear again, unlike, say "Anodyne". On the other hand, a playlist of the Bottle Rockets 15-20 best songs would stand up with any band's over the past couple decades.
Fans and critics credit the band for their ability to channel Merle Haggard one moment and Crazy Horse the next, but I believe Brian Henneman isn't given enough credit for his song writing. His style is very direct story-telling, and in many ways it reminds me of Tom T Hall, another vastly underrated song writer. Henneman's forte, and he displays it best in Welfare Music, is twofold: first he has the ability to establish characters that listeners to relate to with just a lyric or two. Secondly he can present the characters, warts and all, and typically still leaves the listener sympathizing with these flawed, but real Americans.
John Hiatt has covered Welfare Music. If that doesn't convince you that Henneman's a great songwriter than nothing ever will.
Week 21
Wilco, At Least That’s What You Said
Cyndi and I have something in common. I am a Wilco boy. And I've got it bad.
I may have lost some alt.country cred last week when I argued that the Bottle Rockets are at least as good as Uncle Tupelo. Well Gary may kick me off the blog today.
Jeff Tweedy and Wilco have far exceeded the music of Sun Volt and Jay Farrer in his numerous post Uncle Tupelo incarnations. And, in fact, alt.country or not, Wilco's music is better than Uncle Tupelo's. Maybe not more important, certainly not more influential. But better.
I've read the lyrics to At Least That's What You Said, and the best I can tell they don't mean a thing. And that is fine by me. This is all about a great band stretching out and sounding outstanding. Like Cyndi, this is one of many Wilco songs that never fails to put me in a good mood.
Week 22
Part of the reason I've been disappointed with Jay Farrar's post Uncle Tupelo output is quite unfair to him. In my opinion he peaked with the very first song from his very first album.
Son Volt sounds fantastic on Windfall, and Farrar's voice, which I am not always wild about, works perfectly with this melody. I can't help but feel I am sitting next to him as he hits the next time zone while switching over to the AM dial.
More than anything though, I love the chorus. I do not know a song that has a more genuinely sincere and caring sentiment than "May the Wind Take Your Troubles Away".
Week 23
Iggy Pop, Lust for Life
I was and I remain a tremendous David Bowie fan. But I was surprised and puzzled by the outpouring of grief at his death. Dave Wallace and I had a conversation about it, my point being that I didn't think he was tremendously popular, and I certainly didn't think he was as influential as, say, Lou Reed. Dave made the points, ones that I believe were accurate, that Bowie hit so many styles that his influence was broader than his sales reflect, and perhaps more importantly, he was a good, friendly, giving man, and so his musician friends truly grieved his surprising passing.
To Dave's point, very early in his career, before he had a ton of success and money of his own, Bowie made tremendous contributions to the careers of Ian Hunter, Iggy Pop, and, yes, Lou Reed.
But I am posting about Iggy Pop.
As much as I love the music of Iggy and the Stooges (and I believe it was Dave Marsh who said that the Stooges made punk rock for fans who found The Sex Pistols and The Clash to be a bit too mellow), my favorite Iggy Pop music came from his Bowie albums, and nothing more so than the dynamic Lust For Life.
Lust For Life has the driving drum driven sound that glam era Bowie frequently featured, but it is very true to Pop ("hypnotizing chickens"? "of course I've had it in my ear before"?).
Has there ever been a song whose title better describes the song itself? How many hours will it take you to get this riff out of your head? Why would you ever want to?
Week 24
The Feelies, Real Cool Time
Dave Wallace and Dave Kelley have introduced me to tons of great music over the years. On most of these occasions, they helped me appreciate acts I had some familiarity with but hadn't given a fair shake. Sometimes they recommended acts I'd read about but never listened to. When Dave Wallace introduced me to The Feelies I'd never even heard their name. I instantly loved them and never stopped. And as I recall, Dave introduced them because they were Lou Reed's opening act at a show we were attending, and Dave's review of them was positive but not overwhelming.
The Feelies have one trick, but by god it's a beauty. Their first album was titled "Crazy Rhythms" and their five piece, two drum band builds every song around crazy driving drum/guitar sounds. Lyrics don't matter, vocals are muffled, but the music explodes, and never more so than on this cover of an Iggy and The Stooges song. I don't know how a band can be so brilliant and so unknown, but I sure am happy Dave introduced them to me.
Week 25
[editor's note: thematic week - best use of a song in a movie or TV]
U2, All I Want Is You
U2 was less than a decade into their existence when they were arguably the best band in rock music. But I found it very distasteful that they decided to make that argument themselves. And that's what I took away from the Rattle and Hum movie, that U2 was important and Bono was incredibly important. All of the Bono-isms that cause some people to hate him (and some people, like me, to both hate him and love him) can be traced back to this movie and soundtrack. "Charles Manson stole this song from the Beatles now we're stealing it back." "Am I bugging you? I don't mean to be bugging you."
Even worse Rattle and Hum was one mess of a movie, with several live performances that just didn't work.
But much of the studio work on the Rattle and Hum soundtrack stands among their best music, which is saying something. In my opinion nothing shows U2 in all its glory than the simple love song that closes the soundtrack and plays over the movie credits "All I Want Is You". The song peaks beautifully around a spectacular performance by The Edge and one of my favorite string sections in rock music. They could have skipped the movie and most of the live music on the soundtrack, and let the rest of the world recognize them as the best band in rock of their era.
Week 26
About ten years ago my wife Margie and her sisters Myra and Linda threw a 50th anniversary party for their parents. To no surprise to those of you that know any of them, the party was spectacular and my in-laws loved it. They rented a hall in Covington, invited family and their parents' friends, served great food and drink, and hired a disk jockey. The DJ was great. He was respectful and fun when making announcements and introducing Margie's parents and her family, and he played music that the vast majority of the guests would enjoy: Sinatra, Elvis, Patsy Kline, Motown and so on.
By 11:00 or so many of the older guests left. Margie and I and her sisters were cleaning up and my four children, my nephews and their teenage friends were making musical requests. The disk jockey started playing bland current "alternative" music which was even more formulaic than the pop music for which it served as an alternative. Then to my astonishment I heard the unmistakable opening notes to the Violent Femmes "Blister In The Sun". I am certain that neither Dave is surprised to hear that I made a beeline to the dance floor where my children, my nephews and their friends were doing some type of jumping up and down on a pogo stick dance. Of course, I joined right in singing every word at the top of my lungs and pogo sticking like an idiot. And for two minutes and twenty five seconds my nephews and their friends looked at me in awe recognizing that I was far cooler than their parents and quite possibly far cooler than any other forty five year old they'd ever met.
In a brilliant musical segue, "Blister In The Sun" became Kool and the Gang's "Jungle Boogie". I love "Jungle Boogie" and Kool and the Gang! The beat, the chants, it's early disco at its best.
Being Pulp Fiction fans my children appreciated "Jungle Boogie" and the five of us chanted, screamed along, and played air trumpet with our invisible trunks.
Suddenly I noticed that we were the only ones on the dance floor. Some of my nephews were clutching their parents, thankful for their bloodlines. Others were insisting to their friends that they had no idea who I was. I am pretty certain I heard a cock crow three times.
"Jungle Boogie" is played at every Bengals' home game and it fits their jungle motif very well,and sounds great on the stadium loud speakers. What you may not know, and I am not making this up, is that for the last couple seasons the Reds' organist plays "Blister In The Sun" at many home games. I wish I had been there for that conversation.
Reds organist: "Charge" is a classic but fans are getting tired of it and it no longer seems to motivate the players.
Reds organist's assistant: I've always liked "Blister In The Sun". That should inspire the team.
Reds organist: (puzzled) Should I sing "When I'm out walking I strut my stuff and I'm so strung out. I'm high as a kite I just might stop to check you out" or should I go with "Body and beats I stain my sheets I don't even know why. My girlfriend she's at the end, she is starting to cry."
Reds organist's assistant: Just play the music.
And so they do, almost every game, while old couples and young children innocently clap along.
God, I love Cincinnati.
By 11:00 or so many of the older guests left. Margie and I and her sisters were cleaning up and my four children, my nephews and their teenage friends were making musical requests. The disk jockey started playing bland current "alternative" music which was even more formulaic than the pop music for which it served as an alternative. Then to my astonishment I heard the unmistakable opening notes to the Violent Femmes "Blister In The Sun". I am certain that neither Dave is surprised to hear that I made a beeline to the dance floor where my children, my nephews and their friends were doing some type of jumping up and down on a pogo stick dance. Of course, I joined right in singing every word at the top of my lungs and pogo sticking like an idiot. And for two minutes and twenty five seconds my nephews and their friends looked at me in awe recognizing that I was far cooler than their parents and quite possibly far cooler than any other forty five year old they'd ever met.
In a brilliant musical segue, "Blister In The Sun" became Kool and the Gang's "Jungle Boogie". I love "Jungle Boogie" and Kool and the Gang! The beat, the chants, it's early disco at its best.
Being Pulp Fiction fans my children appreciated "Jungle Boogie" and the five of us chanted, screamed along, and played air trumpet with our invisible trunks.
Suddenly I noticed that we were the only ones on the dance floor. Some of my nephews were clutching their parents, thankful for their bloodlines. Others were insisting to their friends that they had no idea who I was. I am pretty certain I heard a cock crow three times.
"Jungle Boogie" is played at every Bengals' home game and it fits their jungle motif very well,and sounds great on the stadium loud speakers. What you may not know, and I am not making this up, is that for the last couple seasons the Reds' organist plays "Blister In The Sun" at many home games. I wish I had been there for that conversation.
Reds organist: "Charge" is a classic but fans are getting tired of it and it no longer seems to motivate the players.
Reds organist's assistant: I've always liked "Blister In The Sun". That should inspire the team.
Reds organist: (puzzled) Should I sing "When I'm out walking I strut my stuff and I'm so strung out. I'm high as a kite I just might stop to check you out" or should I go with "Body and beats I stain my sheets I don't even know why. My girlfriend she's at the end, she is starting to cry."
Reds organist's assistant: Just play the music.
And so they do, almost every game, while old couples and young children innocently clap along.
God, I love Cincinnati.
Week 27
Charlie Rich, Life's Little Ups and Downs
If Charlie Rich is remembered today it's for the mid-seventies MOR country pop like The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, which is a shame, because he made some fantastic songs on Sun Records.
Listen to Rich's vocals on this deceptively simple song and hear how well he captures the complex emotions that I never would have thought could be captured in a song. The singer expected a promotion and he and his wife, who had barely been getting by, had big plans. But he didn't get it and now he deals with the guilt and the heartbreak of knowing that he let her down and he has to be the one to break that news to her. And her answer? A very sincere, it's ok, no one wins the brass ring every time.
What a relationship, what a whirlwind of emotions, and it's all captured in a beautiful three and a half minute song.
Week 28
Velvet Underground, Sweet Jane and Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run
I am a registered republican and I've voted for the republican candidate for president for 32 years even when I've had to hold my nose (I'm looking at you George W.). I am not voting for Donald Trump.
I agree with everything Miranda said about his sexual assault on women and the way in which he and his supporters have tried to spin it as just the use of dirty words. But I'd made up my mind before that. It's also not because he is clearly not pro-small business like I am. It's also not because he has no domestic or foreign policy besides a few catchy but meaningless slogans. It's not because he is an awful human being, although all of these are contributing factors.
I am not voting for Trump because he is full of hatred and bigotry, because instead of being the inclusive person that the Republican Party and candidate needs to be, he embodies all of the stereotypes that the worst elements of the party need to abandon. Hopefully his disastrous campaign causes the party to reform around economic stability, reduced regulation, and a more inclusive and liberal social agenda.
Here are my two favorite songs. I hope you enjoy them and they take your mind off of the election.
Week 29
Whiskeytown, Dancing With the Women at the Bar
Bruce Springsteen has recorded several exceptional songs about his difficult relationship with his father, and the reviews that I've read about his book make it sound that their relationship is also a theme of the book. I have no idea if Ryan Adams had challenges with his father, but the character in Dancing With The Women At The Bar sure does. Even worse, the protagonist seems to have inherited the sins of his father, "dancing" (and surely much more) just like dear old Dad.
But what makes this song hit me so hard is Adam's vocals. When he sings the refrain he captures such a wide range of conflicting emotions, the thrill involved in his behavior, the remorse for what he is doing, the anger at his father.
Ryan Adams has a number of exceptional solo albums, but the first true Whiskeytown album, Strangers' Almanac, from which this song comes, is as good as any of them.
Week 30
Steve Earle, Someday
Steve Earle is one of our greatest songwriters, and the deceptively simple "Someday" may be his best written song. It is certainly his saddest.
As Gary Scudder pointed out many weeks ago there are tons of great songs about one's home and hometown. Bruce Springsteen could probably release a great album of past tracks broaching the subject matter. But Earle's character doesn't even live in an area you'd find on a map or ever intentionally visit. I think of all the empty, virtually nameless places along I-75 in Kentucky and Tennessee where the protagonist has the best job available in town, the job pumping gas at the station off the interstate. When the most exciting activity at home is to "drive down to the lake and then turn back around" is there any wonder that the people who stop for gas "don't even know there's a town around here"?
So what is Earle's poor, lonely, likely uneducated character going to do? Unlike many of Springsteen's characters he doesn't have the knowledge or experience to make big plans. He doesn't have the self confidence to leave this town full of losers as a winner. He likely can't even find a Wendy nearby to share his dreams and visions.
Steve Earle is one of our greatest songwriters, and the deceptively simple "Someday" may be his best written song. It is certainly his saddest.
As Gary Scudder pointed out many weeks ago there are tons of great songs about one's home and hometown. Bruce Springsteen could probably release a great album of past tracks broaching the subject matter. But Earle's character doesn't even live in an area you'd find on a map or ever intentionally visit. I think of all the empty, virtually nameless places along I-75 in Kentucky and Tennessee where the protagonist has the best job available in town, the job pumping gas at the station off the interstate. When the most exciting activity at home is to "drive down to the lake and then turn back around" is there any wonder that the people who stop for gas "don't even know there's a town around here"?
So what is Earle's poor, lonely, likely uneducated character going to do? Unlike many of Springsteen's characters he doesn't have the knowledge or experience to make big plans. He doesn't have the self confidence to leave this town full of losers as a winner. He likely can't even find a Wendy nearby to share his dreams and visions.
Week 31
Staple Singers, I’ll TakeYou There
If his girls didn't know it, Pops Staples had to realize that "I'll Take You There" could and would be interpreted romantically and sexually. I don't think it was more than fifteen or twenty years ago that I realized the Staple Singers were gospel singers and this song was religious. That just gave me another reason to love it. Between the great bass line, Mavis' singing and the sisters' harmonies, "I'll Take You There" can't help but raise my spirits.
Week 32
Graham Parker, Don’t Get ExcitedI've mentioned this before but I love songs that sound like they are about to spin out of control. This guitar driven song goes beyond that. "Don't Get Excited" sounds like a train whose breaks gave out and which is about to go careening off the tracks. But it's not just the Rumour who barely seems able to control themselves. Graham Parker, while ordering us not to get excited, loses all self control with the "Don't get excited!" he screams right before the instrumental break. This is a brilliant finale to their fantastic album Squeezing Out Sparks.
Week 33
[editor's note: thematic week - favorite holiday songs]
Blind Boys of Alabama and Mavis Staples, Born in Bethlehem
I love Christmas but I generally don't listen to a ton of Christmas music. Typically I don't pull out our collection until the week before the holiday.
For the past decade or so I've strongly preferred the old Christmas classics from the pre-rock era, especially if it's broadcast on an AM radio (searching for a truer sound). Chief among this is Sinatra's I'll Be Home For Christmas. The sentiment always got to me, presumably a young man serving his country, missing his sweetheart at holiday time. He will be home, but then the crushing reality "if only in my dreams".
But I'm not completely immune to Christmas music performed in a modern style. Perhaps because The Blind Boys of Alabama and Mavis Staples are both artists who perform spiritual music year round, I find their Christmas music especially compelling. "Born In Bethlehem " rocks the house down, and would be the highlight of a Blind Boys live performance even in mid July.
Week 34
Old Crow Medicine Show, 8 Dogs 8 Banjos
I understand and share everybody's concern about the presidential election. But you can't stay down. I tried lifting your spirits with gospel songs, I tried raising you up with fast songs. By God, if you can't get your toes tapping and your body bouncing with this bawdy, rocking number from the world's most rocking and best live bluegrass band, Old Crowe Medicine Show, then there isn't anything I can do to help you.
If nothing else I bet I made Dave Kelley feel pretty good for three minutes.
Week 35
The Replacements, Little Mascara
Thirty years after its release and I still think The Replacements' "Tim" is as brilliant as a rock album is going to get. It is the album in which The Replacements transitioned from speed/thrash/punk to a top notch guitar and lyric driven alternative band. If you listen to the four albums that preceded "Tim" you might consider Paul Westerberg a decent songwriter but nobody could have anticipated the songwriting leap he would make here, a leap that, if anything, enhanced the band's musical energy, at least for a short time. "Little Mascara" is both the band and Westerberg at their best.
"Little Mascara" is about a young divorcing couple, and surprisingly given The Mats almost complete lack of interaction with women at this time, the song sympathizes with the young mom
For the moon you keep shooting
Throw your rope up in the air
For the kids you stay together
You nap 'em then you slap 'em in a highchair.
And I love how in the first two verses the crying protagonist (with a little mascara left to dry) is presented somewhat meekly:
"All you ever wanted was someone to take care of you"
But the final verse is likely closer to the truth
"All you ever wanted is someone Daddy's scared of."
I highly recommend Trouble Boys, a band bio released earlier this year, for anyone interested in The Replacements. It is not a feel good book; it argues, reasonably in my opinion, that The Replacements would have rivaled REM if not for their aggressive self-destructive ways, not just in their alcohol and drug abuse but in their rampant mental illnesses.
Week 36
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Hysteric
Karen O is the vocalist, pianist, and face of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, in my opinion one of the best rock bands of the 21st century. The band made a series of loud, rollicking records and EPs that could be categorized as garage or alternative depending upon who was doing the categorizing. Then they made the unorthodox decision of releasing It's Blitz, a record which was somewhat softer and more melodic, highlighting Karen O's voice. I think it worked like a charm, and It's Blitz remains one of my favorite albums since Y2K.
"Hysteric" in particular finds her in fine form. Her vocals, the humming and whistling, and the evocative lyric "You suddenly complete me" makes for a beautiful, sensuous song.
Week 37
Beck, Debra
Sometimes I get inspired and send G a whole bunch of songs in a short period of time. I did that not too long ago and as a result you got Yeah Yeah Yeahs on Christmas Eve and they aren't the slightest bit related. I've intentionally sent Beck's Debra on the last day of 2016 as a nod to dearly departed Prince.
One of the many things that make Beck so brilliant is his ability to take so many different influences in so many genres and mash them into a unique sound. Debra is one of the few songs in which he doesn't do that. I hear Debra as a straight Prince tribute / send up, from the funky and sensual organ to the falsetto vocals, to the funny and naughty lyrics. Who but Prince would begin a song
Sometimes I get inspired and send G a whole bunch of songs in a short period of time. I did that not too long ago and as a result you got Yeah Yeah Yeahs on Christmas Eve and they aren't the slightest bit related. I've intentionally sent Beck's Debra on the last day of 2016 as a nod to dearly departed Prince.
One of the many things that make Beck so brilliant is his ability to take so many different influences in so many genres and mash them into a unique sound. Debra is one of the few songs in which he doesn't do that. I hear Debra as a straight Prince tribute / send up, from the funky and sensual organ to the falsetto vocals, to the funny and naughty lyrics. Who but Prince would begin a song
I met you at JC Penny. I think your name tag said "Jenny".
Or better yet
Cause when our eyes did meet, girl you could tell I was packing heat. Ain't no use in wasting time getting to know each other.
But best of all is the chorus punch line, one that only Prince could pull off:
I want to get with you
And your sister
I think her name's Debra.
I hope you all have a wonderful 2017.
Week 38
Three songs, three father/son relationships. Actually, three healthy and positive father/son relationships. Even the healthiest of them are filled with challenge.
Mike Cooley is my third favorite Drive-By-Trucker songwriter but he nails it in Daddy's Cup. Superficially about auto racing, Daddy's Cup is all about the driving need for a child to make his father proud. After a poor debut dad tells son that if he quits now it will haunt him all his life. But does Dad say that, or is that the son hearing what is "expected" of him? After all the cup he wants to win is Daddy's cup.
In Outfit, Jason Isbell reveals how difficult, and important, the father and son relationship is from Dad's perspective. Son is leaving for the hope of a better life, and Dad just can't help but give him some final (southern) advice, the real point of which is, you better not give it away, you better not paint the homes of rich folk like I do. Tinged with regret, Outfit has to be the best father/son relationship song I've heard from the father's perspective, and how old was Isbell when he wrote it? Maybe 28 or so? Not yet a father.
But Hiatt, in his simple, understated style, may capture it all the best in his Your Dad Did. He may be losing his job, spending more than he has, quietly laughing while Mom disciplines their children, but when it comes right down to it he's done what his father has and nothing much more. But then, Hiatt's character realizes, that ain't all bad. After all, he loves his wife and kids. Just like his Dad did.
Week 39
Patty Smith, Piss Factory
Is there a better and more influential musician than Patti Smith who is not in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame? I can't think of any.
"Piss Factory" is nothing less than brilliant social commentary skewering the left (it isn't exactly pro-Union) and the right (Patti has no idea what her employer manufactures, piss she supposes).
The brilliance of the song extends beyond the lyrics, which angrily captures the discontent and hopelessness of the working poor, into the musical and vocal presentation. Smith uses a style that is closer to spoken word than singing, but it is hypnotically beautiful, and forces you to listen.
Now that she is an acclaimed writer and Bob Dylan selected her to accept his Nobel Prize her music will get the attention it deserves.
Week 40
Rolling Stones, Dead Flowers
"Dead Flowers" may not be the best Rolling Stones song ("Gimme Shelter" is), but it is one of their best. Likewise "Dead Flowers" may not be their most influential song (maybe "Satisfaction"?), but it is one of their most influential. It also, I bet, is their most covered song. Not bad for a song that was not one of their sixty or so singles, and one they rarely played live.
First of all, as with most everything on their brilliant four studio album run, Beggar's Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main Street, the band is in top form, particularly the Watts/Wyman rhythm section. But significantly, and perhaps because of Gram Parson's influence, when Keith Richards brought this country song to Mick Jagger, Mick sang it straight and not tongue in cheek as he did on several other country songs.
Today "Dead Flowers" is considered a cornerstone in the ultimate Americana / alt.country playlist. Likewise the Stones are recognized as one of the rock acts that helped to make country music (and, sadly, heroin, the dead flower in the song) cool. But all of that is secondary to the fact that this is simply a killer song.
Week 41
[editor's note: thematic week - best guitar song or guitar solo]
The White Stripes, Blue Orchid
Television, Marquee Moon
Billy Joe Shaver, Georgia On a Fast Train
I was a bit nervous when I saw that we were having a guitar week theme. I love guitars, but I've never really worshiped at the altar of the acknowledged guitar gods. I enjoy Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton et al, but not as much as others do. For the most part guitar solos kind of bore me. Please don't take my rock n roll critic credentials away.
But I am pretty sure the theme includes guitar driven music and I can do that. Hell I love that!
I never seriously played any instrument so I have no idea if Tom Verlaine and Jack White are skilled guitarists or if they are playing the way I type (with two fingers). But I know they sound cool as hell. Television came out of the 70s New York punk scene with Talking Heads, Blondie, Ramones, etc. (for more read Love = Buildings On Fire, thank you Dave W), and Jack White came out of the seminary with his sister Meg (Get Behind Me Satan!). Or so he says. At any rate, these are somewhat traditional guitar driven songs, songs that get stuck in my craw for days at a time, but pleasantly so.
Georgia On A Fast Train is a different story.
But I am pretty sure the theme includes guitar driven music and I can do that. Hell I love that!
I never seriously played any instrument so I have no idea if Tom Verlaine and Jack White are skilled guitarists or if they are playing the way I type (with two fingers). But I know they sound cool as hell. Television came out of the 70s New York punk scene with Talking Heads, Blondie, Ramones, etc. (for more read Love = Buildings On Fire, thank you Dave W), and Jack White came out of the seminary with his sister Meg (Get Behind Me Satan!). Or so he says. At any rate, these are somewhat traditional guitar driven songs, songs that get stuck in my craw for days at a time, but pleasantly so.
Georgia On A Fast Train is a different story.
B J Shaver is a renowned songwriter, writing dozens of country tunes for Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and others among the stalwarts of traditional country music. But his son, Eddie, grew up in the 80's and found himself gravitating towards the guitar monsters of that time frame, particularly Eddie Van Halen (whom he was not named after). Dad and son played together and the result was this perfect country song that rocks to high heaven.
Soon after this recording Eddie Shaver died of a heroin overdose.
Let's not let this happen to our children.
Week 42
The New Pornographers, Bleeding Heart Show
So, The New Pornographers are some kind of modern music, alternative rock super group. Frankly, I only know the amazing Neko Case, and I think of them as Case fronting a rock band. But even at that, she doesn't really front them.
I have no idea what this song means, and the song is enjoyable, but suddenly and unexpectedly it becomes frickin' great in the last minute or do when Case leads the "Hey Ya" chorus. At that time it becomes the greatest, most pleasant ear worm in many years, maybe decades.
The New Pornographers are named after the famous Frank Sinatra quote "Rock 'N Roll is the new pornography".
Listen at your own peril, because this will stick in your craw for days. But in a good way.
Week 43
Elizabeth Cook, Heroin Addict Sister
Emmylou Harris, Goodbye
I am also reading Dreamland (thank you Dave W) and the heroin crisis is on my mind, as it was when I submitted Dead Flowers a couple weeks ago.
Elizabeth Cook is my favorite disk jockey with her show "Apron Strings" on Sirius XM's Outlaw Country. She became a minor celebrity due to fan David Letterman who featured her on his show several times. However I think her oversized persona, her beautiful Florida accent and her good looks have caused people to overlook what a great musician she is.
"Heroin Addict Sister" is the most painful song I've heard about the killer drug. In just a handful of lyrics Cook creates a fully formed character who is brilliant (an underwater welder), and hopefully addicted despite multiple rounds of rehab, whether formal or home remedied. The lyrics and the delivery betray the obvious sadness in the situation, but perhaps even more painfully, the delivery and the lyrics display the singer's resignation to a situation that just isn't going to get any better. The best sentiment she can express is thank God their mother has passed and doesn't need to go through this any longer.
Yes, the addict is a victim of this awful drug, but so is the addict's family.
So perhaps "Goodbye" provides just a bit of hope.
On its surface "Goodbye", which is the first song Steve Earle wrote after his stay in prison for heroin possession, is the touching heart-wrenching memory of a jilted lover. And the song would be a classic if that was all it was. But Earle also meant the tune as his kiss off to heroin ("And I recall all of those nights down in Mexico / That's one place I'll never go / in my life again"). By all accounts after drying out in prison Earle has been drug free, and if anything his music has been even better.
As great as Earle's version is, the amazing Emmylou Harris outdoes him in this cover, which is the highlight of her brilliant Wrecking Ball album. Perhaps while singing Emmylou is remembering her mentor and musical partner Gram Parsons, who died of a heroin overdose.
Elizabeth Cook is my favorite disk jockey with her show "Apron Strings" on Sirius XM's Outlaw Country. She became a minor celebrity due to fan David Letterman who featured her on his show several times. However I think her oversized persona, her beautiful Florida accent and her good looks have caused people to overlook what a great musician she is.
"Heroin Addict Sister" is the most painful song I've heard about the killer drug. In just a handful of lyrics Cook creates a fully formed character who is brilliant (an underwater welder), and hopefully addicted despite multiple rounds of rehab, whether formal or home remedied. The lyrics and the delivery betray the obvious sadness in the situation, but perhaps even more painfully, the delivery and the lyrics display the singer's resignation to a situation that just isn't going to get any better. The best sentiment she can express is thank God their mother has passed and doesn't need to go through this any longer.
Yes, the addict is a victim of this awful drug, but so is the addict's family.
So perhaps "Goodbye" provides just a bit of hope.
On its surface "Goodbye", which is the first song Steve Earle wrote after his stay in prison for heroin possession, is the touching heart-wrenching memory of a jilted lover. And the song would be a classic if that was all it was. But Earle also meant the tune as his kiss off to heroin ("And I recall all of those nights down in Mexico / That's one place I'll never go / in my life again"). By all accounts after drying out in prison Earle has been drug free, and if anything his music has been even better.
As great as Earle's version is, the amazing Emmylou Harris outdoes him in this cover, which is the highlight of her brilliant Wrecking Ball album. Perhaps while singing Emmylou is remembering her mentor and musical partner Gram Parsons, who died of a heroin overdose.
Week 44
"It ain't evil if it don't hurt anybody."
Is Jim James a hippy or a libertarian?
I don't know and I don't care, at least 2/3 of the way through when James' falsetto gives way to the fantastic instrumental break / speed up. To me MMJ is all about the sound. And "Evil Urges", with its funk/ soft rock / disco/ rock 'n roll mash up, delivers.
Week 45
Johnny Cash, I Hung My Head
I'm going to let your collective bad moods effect me one more time but I'm telling you that, in the immortal words of Elvis Costello, next week I Get Happy.
I am taking a risk listing an American Records era Johnny Cash song because I can't possibly write comments as insightful as Dave Mills did with Hurt. Ultimately, however, I could not go a year without recognizing I Hung My Head.
I'm going to let your collective bad moods effect me one more time but I'm telling you that, in the immortal words of Elvis Costello, next week I Get Happy.
I am taking a risk listing an American Records era Johnny Cash song because I can't possibly write comments as insightful as Dave Mills did with Hurt. Ultimately, however, I could not go a year without recognizing I Hung My Head.
Folsom Prison is classic Cash. One of my favorites, one of everybody's favorites. But even though Cash shot a man just to watch him die, and then he hangs his head to cry, his voice betrays that he is still a man of defiance and swagger. Not so on l Hung My Head. Here when he shoots down a lone rider, again for no apparent reason, he lives out his remaining dies with horrifying guilt. I submit that this is what regret sounds like.
Week 46
Isley
Brothers, Who’s That Lady?
Every once in a great while The Isley Brothers show up on the radio and when they do I stop what I am doing and tune in. They made several fantastic songs but to me Who's That Lady tops them all. Funky as hell but with a fantastic fuzzy lead guitar, the call and response vocals, catchy if meaningless lyrics. One of the great things about the sixties and seventies was that radio made no distinction between funk and rock. Sadly today radio is as segregated as we are and if there are bands like the Isley Brothers in 2017 I am very unlikely to know about them.
Every once in a great while The Isley Brothers show up on the radio and when they do I stop what I am doing and tune in. They made several fantastic songs but to me Who's That Lady tops them all. Funky as hell but with a fantastic fuzzy lead guitar, the call and response vocals, catchy if meaningless lyrics. One of the great things about the sixties and seventies was that radio made no distinction between funk and rock. Sadly today radio is as segregated as we are and if there are bands like the Isley Brothers in 2017 I am very unlikely to know about them.
Week 47
Elton John, Madman Across the Water
At his peak in the early and mid seventies Elton John was a very good pop artist. We tend to forget that because of the crap he's made since and because that time period was dominated by some rock artists who never made the AM radio, which was what most of us young folks listened to in the day. He didn't do much that qualified as "great" but his early music is no guilty pleasure either.
A few years ago he re-released my favorite of his albums, Tumbleweed Connection, and to my surprise it included an extended version of Madman Across the Water which is amazingly powerful. John has a limited vocal range but he and the guitar and base drive a sinister feel that was only hinted at in the second version, which was the only one known for forty years.
Invest nine minutes in this and you may have a higher opinion of Elton John.
Week 48
Ike and Tina Turner, Proud Mary
You know, every so often I think you'd like me to write about a song that's nice and easy. Well this ain't the week for that.
Ike and Tina take a classic Credence song and make it their own. It's Ike and his great baritone, the funky horns, and most importantly Tina Turner's vocals. Many have tried to perform Proud Mary the way Ike and Tina did, but nobody has ever come close. Sweet soul music.
Week 49
[editor's note: thematic week - reflection on an earlier posting by another noted musicologist]
The Clash/Vince Taylor and the Playboys, Brand New Cadillac:
In week 37 Dave Kelley wrote eloquently about the Clash's cover of Brand New Cadillac from London Calling (which is, in my humble opinion, the greatest album ever). I agree with everything Dave said and I couldn't have said it any better than he did. But I want to add a couple points.
First of all, as Dave and I commented previously, one of the wonderful ironies of the song, made especially clear in Joe Strummer's shout "Jesus Christ! Where did you get that Cadillac?", is that the car means more to singer and girlfriend than their relationship ever did.
But the second point I want to make is that this: like the Clash's earlier brilliant cover of "I Fought The Law", this is a cover of a rockabilly song. Listen to the original, which is damn good. I've never heard it discussed but somebody in the Clash was a roots rock fan. I don't know if young Clash fans went back and discovered country music through their covers, as young Stones fans discovered the blues through Stones covers, but given how many alt country and Americana fans claim the Clash as an influence, it is possible. At the very least this English punk band helped to make country music safe for future rockers, which is yet another testament to this band's brilliance.
Week 50
Modern Lovers, Roadrunner
Some argue that The Modern Lovers' "Roadrunner" is the first punk rock song, and the Sex Pistols clearly stole the "Bye-Bye" ending. And while this sounds much different than anything I remember listening to in 1972, I find it to be the antithesis of punk. It's downright joyous.
"Roadrunner" features a driving jangly lead guitar that I am always a fool for (Tom Petty, REM, The Byrds, Waylon Jennings, early Talking Heads), and like so many great songs, it's about the radio.
I don't care what the government is doing. If you're driving around with the AM radio on and this song comes over your speakers, you'll be in love with the modern world, too.
"Roadrunner" features a driving jangly lead guitar that I am always a fool for (Tom Petty, REM, The Byrds, Waylon Jennings, early Talking Heads), and like so many great songs, it's about the radio.
I don't care what the government is doing. If you're driving around with the AM radio on and this song comes over your speakers, you'll be in love with the modern world, too.
Week 51
Guy Clark, Old Friends
Lyle Lovette, Step Inside This House
In the second last week of this fantastic musical journey I am returning to where I began: with the late great Guy Clark.
Lyle Lovett is one hell of a song writer, although he isn't given enough credit for being so because of his sense of humor and his quirkiness. Lovett trained under Guy Clark and the two remained close until Clark's death. When Lovett recorded a brilliant double set of covers of Texas songwriters (with several Clark and Townes Van Zandt songs), he named it after a Guy Clark song, the first he ever wrote, "Step Inside This House". Only Clark never recorded it or wrote the music for it, so it sort of works as a collaboration of these two friends.
But I will end my week 51 comments in Guy Clark's own words from "Old Friends"
Old friends, they shine like diamonds
Old friends you can always call
Old friends, you just can't beat them
You know it's old friends after all.
Thank you old friend Gary Scudder for creating this blog and asking me to participate with so many of your excellent friends.
Lyle Lovett is one hell of a song writer, although he isn't given enough credit for being so because of his sense of humor and his quirkiness. Lovett trained under Guy Clark and the two remained close until Clark's death. When Lovett recorded a brilliant double set of covers of Texas songwriters (with several Clark and Townes Van Zandt songs), he named it after a Guy Clark song, the first he ever wrote, "Step Inside This House". Only Clark never recorded it or wrote the music for it, so it sort of works as a collaboration of these two friends.
But I will end my week 51 comments in Guy Clark's own words from "Old Friends"
Old friends, they shine like diamonds
Old friends you can always call
Old friends, you just can't beat them
You know it's old friends after all.
Thank you old friend Gary Scudder for creating this blog and asking me to participate with so many of your excellent friends.
Week 52
Warren Zevon, Keep Me In Your Heart
My mother is a fantastic artist. When I was in my late teens she took up painting and she was outstanding. All of the Beatrice homes have her paintings. About 30 years ago she took up sculpture, and without any doubt that was her calling. She used all type of wood and stone and would frequently spend upwards of six months on a single piece. She sold a few, was commissioned to make more, and won sculpture competitions from New York to Phoenix.
Sadly I did not inherit her artistic skills. If I had I would have used them to write a song. I would have written a beautiful good-bye song to my wife, Margie. It would not have been a sad song, although death and separation are certainly sad. The song would be about love and friendship and be gently hopeful.
Since I can't write or sing a song I am stealing Warren Zevon's good-bye song and dedicating it to my wife and children:
Hold me in your thoughts
Take me in your dreams
Touch me as I fall into view.
When the winter comes
Keep the fires lit
And I will be right next to you.
Sometimes when you're doing simple things around the house
Maybe you'll think of me and smile.
You know I'm tied to you like the buttons on your blouse
Keep me in your heart for a while.
My mother is a fantastic artist. When I was in my late teens she took up painting and she was outstanding. All of the Beatrice homes have her paintings. About 30 years ago she took up sculpture, and without any doubt that was her calling. She used all type of wood and stone and would frequently spend upwards of six months on a single piece. She sold a few, was commissioned to make more, and won sculpture competitions from New York to Phoenix.
Sadly I did not inherit her artistic skills. If I had I would have used them to write a song. I would have written a beautiful good-bye song to my wife, Margie. It would not have been a sad song, although death and separation are certainly sad. The song would be about love and friendship and be gently hopeful.
Since I can't write or sing a song I am stealing Warren Zevon's good-bye song and dedicating it to my wife and children:
Hold me in your thoughts
Take me in your dreams
Touch me as I fall into view.
When the winter comes
Keep the fires lit
And I will be right next to you.
Sometimes when you're doing simple things around the house
Maybe you'll think of me and smile.
You know I'm tied to you like the buttons on your blouse
Keep me in your heart for a while.
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