Friday, August 29, 2008

CLR #103

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1 - "What's On Your Radio" - The Living End
2 - "Id Engager" - of Montreal
3 - "Empty House" - Paper Route
4 - "Give 'Em Hell" - Hearts of Palm
5 - "Last November" - Lackthereof
6 - "Everybody Say" - Takka Takka
7 - "Trees" - Everest
8 - "By Yourself" - The Knew
9 - "Flame" - Bell X1
10 - "Shining On" - Juliana Hatfield
11 - "Valium Skies" - The Verve
12 - "Summer Soft" - Stevie Wonder

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Friday, August 22, 2008

CLR #102



Isaac Hayes, RIP.

1 - "Theme From Shaft" - Isaac Hayes
2 - "Sex On Fire" - Kings of Leon
3 - "Bellies Are Full" - Portugal, The Man
4 - "Molten" - Sky Larkin
5 - "Bag Of Hammers" - Thao And The Get Down Stay Down
6 - "Who Knows Who" - Muse & The Streets
7 - "Breeze" - Apollo Sunshine
8 - "Tu Es Ma Came" - Carla Bruni
9 - "Summer In The City" - Regina Spektor
10 - "Summer Of '69" - PYT covering Brian Adams

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Friday, August 15, 2008

CLR #101



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The hits get bigger as the numbers get smaller.

10
“Paid In Full” - Eric B. & Rakim, 1987.
I’ve told this story before. In the fall of my year in the Bay Area, I discovered a hip-hop show on Stanford’s campus radio station, KZSU. The only problem was we lived way across the Bay, and I could only pick the show up on a small, portable radio that had a three foot antenna. So, to record the shows, I had to run a cord to an old-school tape recorder (this was 1987, so it wasn’t so old school at the time). That left me with a fuzzy, mono tape of the latest songs from New York and L.A. One Sunday I heard “Paid in Full,” listened to it about a million times, and bought said album a couple weeks later. Somehow I was one of the first students at San Leandro High School to be hip to Eric B. & Rakim, and, in a cruel twist of fate, became very popular in my final weeks at the school as cool guys asked me either to dub a copy for them, or if they could borrow it for a night to make their own copy. Every time I hear this, I think of my boy Charles Terrell from Oak-town and hope that the last 20 years have treated him well.

So I start my mission, leave my residence
Thinkin’ how could I get some dead presidents.

9
“How Soon Is Now?” - The Smiths, 1984.
I went back-and-forth between this and The Smiths' "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out," many times. While both are typical Morrissey songs about being an awkward outsider, unsure of your place in the world, "Light" almost has an upbeat feel to it. It's more of a "Life sucks but it doesn’t suck quite as much because I'm with you" song. "How Soon Is Now?" though, is all gloom and doom. It's one of the most depressing songs ever, in fact. Throw in the brilliant cover of "Light" by Neil Finn and Friends, and I thought it had won the battle.
But, as good as "Light" is, "How Soon Is Now" is completely unforgettable. Even if you can't totally sympathize with Morrissey's plight, chances are at some point when you've been down about your romantic life and heard this song, the line below just destroyed you for a moment or two. And Johnny Marr's guitar? Effingbrilliant.

There's a club if you'd like to go
you could meet somebody who really loves you
so you go, and you stand on your own
and you leave on your own
and you go home, and you cry
and you want to die


8
“They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)” - Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
1992 was a watershed year in music. Old genres were being pushed aside as new ones developed and radio was a fascinating mix of styles as program directors and listeners attempted to figure out what was what. I will always look back on that summer fondly, as my personal soundtrack featured hip-hop (Arrested Development among others), R&B (Mary J. Blige), the emerging grunge sound (Pearl Jam), alt rock (R.E.M., Toad the Wet Sprocket, The Cure), and this song.
It’s strength comes from both its content (a tribute to a fallen friend, a biographical sketch, a tribute to those who survive rough times and strive to make their lives better) and its production. It is built around a wonderful, haunting, looped sample from Tom Scott’s “Today.” Throw in a hip-hop beat and you have one of the most unforgettable melodies of the 90s. I owned (I may still own it for that matter) the cassette single for “T.R.O.Y.” and kept it in my vehicle until just a few years ago, when we transitioned to two cars without cassette players. It was a comfort to always have it there, ready to pop in when radio or CDs let me down.

I reminisce so you never forget this
The days of wayback, so many bear witness the fitness
Take the first letter out of each word in this joint
Listen close as I prove my point
T to the r-o-y, how did you and i meet?
In front of Big Lou's, fighting in the street
But only you saw what took many times to see
I dedicate this to you for believing in me


7
“True Faith” - New Order, 1987.
This is one of the few classic, 80s alternative rock songs that I loved in its time, rather than learning to appreciate it later when my musical tastes shifted. The driving bassline and that crazy ass video had a lot to do with it.
At first glance, this song is about growing up and growing apart. Further research shows, however, that Bernard Sumner was in fact singing about heroin abuse. A skittish record company forced him to change one key lyric, although in concert he always sang his original line. “Now that we’ve grown up together, they’re afraid of what they see,” was intended to be “Now that we’ve grown up together, they’re all taking drugs with me.” Doesn’t seem like a big deal now but, hey, it was 1987.
“True Faith” serves as a transition point in British music, from the pop/synthesizer sound of the 80s to the more guitar-driven sound that would emerge from Manchester when The Stone Roses burst on the scene two years later.

I used to think that the day would never come
I'd see delight in the shade of the morning sun
My morning sun is the drug that brings me near
To the childhood I lost, replaced by fear


6
“Clampdown” - The Clash, 1979
I had a hard time picking a Clash song. So many of their songs share common themes and sounds that it can be difficult to separate them. But I’ve always admired the perspective of this song, one of the few moments when The Clash’s bluster and political agenda were focused on an issue they actually understood and could have an impact on: the rise of the racist, far right in Britain.

We will teach our twisted speech
To the young believers


5
“Corduroy” - Pearl Jam, 1994.
I would imagine people react to this song based on their like or dislike for Pearl Jam. The haters will say, “That’s when Eddie’s whining got out of hand and I tuned them out.” The fans point to this as the moment that the band decided to claim control of their career - and in turn their lives - and damn the consequences. So, it’s a little ironic that, aside from all the classic singles off their first album, this was one of their biggest and most successful singles.
Named for the fashion line knock offs of the thrift store jacket Eddie Vedder wore in the video for “Jeremy,” this was indeed when the band put the brakes on the hype machine and refused to carry the burden of Biggest Band In The World. Vitalogy is their darkest, angriest album, and this song was its center-point.

I'm already cut up and half dead
I'll end up alone like I began.

I don't want to take what you can give
I would rather starve than eat your bread
All the things that others want for me
Can't buy what I want because it's free


4
“And Your Bird Can Sing” - The Beatles, 1966
There are several acts in my list for which it was difficult to narrow their body of work down to a single song. But the Beatles? It was damn near impossible. I have 25 Beatles songs in my iTunes library rated as five stars. How do you not pick "Yesterday"? Or "Tomorrow Never Knows"? Or "Strawberry Fields Forever"? Or "A Day In The Life"? And so on. Perhaps it was a bit easier for me, as I only became a Beatles fan within the last 6-7 years, so I've been able to take all their music in during a relatively brief time span, putting everything on equal ground, more or less.
All those, and several others, are fine choices. But this song always sticks out for its simplicity, its place in the band's history (side one of Revolver, the sweet spot of their career), and the sense of playfulness and life in it. This is just a fun song that you want to hear over-and-over again.

When your prized possessions start to weigh you down
Look in my direction, I'll be round, I'll be round


3
“One” - U2, 1992.
Here’s where we had my last second shake-up. For years I’ve struggled to pick my favorite U2 song, always wavering between “One” and “Bad.” For most of the past two months, I’ve had “Bad” slotted into my top five. Then, suddenly, a week ago, I changed my mind. I’m not really sure why, as “Bad” is still brilliant. Perhaps it is because it has more ambiguous meanings, and thus more difficult to relate to. Perhaps it’s because Bono has said it’s about a friend who was a heroin user, something I thankfully haven’t experienced.
“One,” on the other hand, is more direct. If you’ve been through tough romantic times, chances are you can find something in this song that hits close to home (I’m sensing a theme in the countdown). Bono has often struggled as a lyricist, at times getting his message across more through sound than words. This has to be one of his finest efforts, though.
And then there is the new, post 9/11 meaning of the song. Following the attacks, U2 ended their encores on the Elevation Tour with a lengthy tribute to those who had died. Covering “One,” “Peace On Earth,” and “Walk On,” (at least when I saw them in Kansas City), the names of all who had died that day rolled on the screen behind the band. It had only been two months, and feelings were still raw, but it was the most emotional moment I can remember at a concert. In fact, for a long time after the concert, my wife couldn’t listen to “One” because of that new connection.

Did I disappoint you
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without

You say
Love is a temple, Love a higher law
Love is a temple, Love the higher law
You ask me to enter
But then you make me crawl
And I can't be holding on
To what you got
When all you got is hurt


2
“Karma Police” - Radiohead, 1997
You may remember my countdown of my five favorite albums about a year ago. You know, the one I never completed by writing up London Calling. It turned out, as I listened to London Calling for a couple weeks after listening to OK Computer for a similar amount of time, I realized I liked OK Computer more. This song is one of the reasons.
On an album about how technology and corporations and consumerism crush the individual, this was the center-piece: an Orwellian warning of what could happen to those who dare to resist a system run amok. It also serves as a bookend to the 90s, ending what “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and Nevermind began.
The title is menacing enough. When you hear Thom Yorke sneer the lines below, it’s even more chilling.

This is what you get
This is what you get
This is what you get when you mess with us


1
“Don't Dream It's Over” - Crowded House, 1987
Neil Finn's best songs are those that put his John Lennon influences right out in front: Love songs that speak not just of being in love, but also acknowledge that we fail each other in ways big and small each day. Yet to be truly in love, you accept and move past those missteps. This is, inarguably, his finest effort in that vein.
Music is important to me, and my favorite songs often serve as the soundtrack to parts of my life. This always takes me back to the spring of 1987, when I was struggling to fit in at my new school in California. The melancholy side of the song resonated with a 15-year-old who was lonely and having a hard time finding a social circle to fit into. At the same time, the idea of persevering through troubled times Finn also sang of helped me to keep trying to make friends and find my way. And 21 years later, I still think that single-beat pause in the final chorus is brilliant.

Hey now, hey now

Don't dream it's over

Hey now, hey now

When the world comes in

They come, they come

To build a wall between us

We know they won't win

Thursday, August 07, 2008

CLR #100



Part One of my 20 favorite songs of all-time countdown.

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20
“Born to Run” - Bruce Springsteen, 1975.
I have this theory, still in its infancy mind you, that all American rock groups must follow one of two models: Van Halen or Bruce Springsteen. They need to be focused on either having a good time for the sake of having a good time (VH), or on having a good time while talking about some important things with friends along the way (The Boss). Like I said, it’s new and I don’t know if it makes any sense at all.
In recent years, several indie rock artists, most notably The Arcade Fire, have mentioned Springsteen as one of their musical role models. When you examine Springsteen’s career, and see the sacrifices he made early on to maintain control of his music, and then the choices he made later without care for how it would affect his record sales or airplay, it makes sense that the indie kids would love him, even if they don’t write anthems meant to be sung by 18,000 people at once.
This is the song that made Bruce an eternal icon.

Someday girl I don’t know when were gonna get to that place
Where we really want to go and we’ll walk in the sun
But ‘till then tramps like us baby we were born to run


19
“She Sells Sanctuary” - The Cult, 1985.
One night, back in the day, a few of us gathered at a Kansas City restaurant to dine and drink. By chance, I ended up seated by one of my many brothers in music, David V. Sir V. and I drank and talked and drank and talked some more. Eventually one of us brought up The Cult's "She Sells Sanctuary." As legend has it, we spent the next 30 minutes discussing the brilliance of that track. Any song that elicits a 30 minute conversation deserves to be on my list of favorites.
Like just about every Cult song, this sounds phenomenal. But when you start digging into the lyrics...well, there just wasn’t much there. But damn can that Ian Astbury dance!

I'm sure in her you'll find
The sanctuary


18
“Bitter Sweet Symphony” - The Verve, 1997.
One of the all-time great alt rock anthems - and a fitting coda to the Brit Pop era - it also sums up the career of The Verve nicely. A band with tremendous promise that was constantly derailed by bickering, egos, and drugs, they finally put it all together on their 1997 album, Urban Hymns. However, they failed to properly secure the rights to the sampled orchestral loop “Bitter Sweet Symphony” was built upon, and ended up losing all the royalties from this massive hit. Like clockwork, the band disintegrated, Richard Ashcroft went on to carve out a moderately successful solo career, and they’ve just decided to give the playing and recording music together thing another crack this year.

'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony this life
Trying to make ends meet, you're a slave to the money then you die

But I'm a million different people from one day to the next
I can't change my mold, no, no, no, no, no


17
“Last Goodbye” - Jeff Buckley 1995.
There’s something about a great break-up song. Even when the breakup has passed, the heart has healed, and you’ve moved on, hearing it again reminds you of how you survived that rough patch and emerged a little wiser, a little tougher.
This undeniably beautiful tune is a classic break up song. It carries the extra weight of being Buckley’s only hit single before he slipped into a Memphis river for a late-night swim on May 29, 1997. While “Last Goodbye” was climbing the alt rock charts, I was in a particularly difficult stretch of my young, romantic life. The lines I’ve selected seemed to speak to my situation back then, and they still carry a bittersweet wallop today.

Kiss me, please kiss me,
But kiss me out of desire, babe, and not consolation.


16
“Under the Milky Way” - The Church, 1988
A perfect melding of sound and title, this song came along just after I learned how to drive and had the freedom to roam around on warm summer evenings, with no plans or destinations, wondering what I was looking for.

Wish I knew what you were looking for

Might have known what you would find


15
“Welcome To The Terrordome” - Public Enemy, 1990.
When PE assembled to record their third studio album, the band was reeling. They had been called racists, anti-semites, anti-American, and were accused of seeking to turn an entire generation of black youths into domestic terrorists. And then they got us white, suburban kids listening and people really got pissed.
“Terrordome” was a fierce response to many of those charges. But it wasn’t just Chuck D. firing back at his critics. It was also a man explaining himself and his actions, and calling out the black community to take responsibility for ending the injustices he railed against. While the model for reacting to negative attention in the 1990s became that of Cobain/Vedder (retreating, looking inward), Chuck was thrusting his chest out saying, “Here I am. Here’s what I stand for. If you don’t like it, come and get me.”

I rope a dope the evil
with righteous bobbin' and weavin'
and let the good get even

It's weak to speak and blame somebody else
When you destroy yourself


14
“Battle Flag” - Lo Fidelity All Stars featuring Pigeonhead, 1998.
I’m not a big electronica fan, but the power of this song is undeniable. It’s been used in movies, TV shows, video games, and commercials, yet remains as essential today as it was a decade ago.

Tell me is it time to get down on your muthafuckin' knees
Tell me is it time to get down


13
“Love Will Tear Us Apart” - Joy Division, 1980.
I think there’s a law, perhaps unwritten and only understood, that if you’re putting together a “best of” list that is primarily based on alternative rock, this song has to be included. Lennon may have sewn the first seeds for alternative rock in “Tomorrow Never Knows,” and the punks of 1977 may have nourished those seeds. But this song was the moment when alt rock truly took root and demanded its own place in the rock music family tree.
It’s a great song, there’s no denying that. However, you can’t discuss this song without at least acknowledging the rock ‘n roll martyr factor. A month after the song’s release, singer Ian Curtis took his own life. Guilt or morose fascination or just realization that there was far more to the song than was first apparent? Something after Curtis’ death made this stand up as the song that launched a genre.

When the routine bites hard
and ambitions are low
And the resentment rides high
but emotions won't grow
And we're changing our ways,
taking different roads
Then love, love will tear us apart again


12
“Raspberry Beret” - Prince, 1985
I had a very hard time picking out a Prince track. And there had to be a Prince track on the list. He’s had a ridiculous number of great songs over the years, and I probably listened to no artist more in the 1980s. This got the nod over songs like “Purple Rain,” “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man,” etc. It’s nearly a perfect pop song, nicely blending Prince’s twin influences of Beatlesque pop and classic R&B. It’s so perfect, in fact, that it probably took me 15 years to really appreciate it. And I wasn't one of those haters back in 1985 who said, "It's not Purple Rain II, so it sucks." I liked it back then. I only learned to love it recently.

Seems that I was busy doing something close to nothing
But different than the day before
That's when I saw her,
Ooh I saw her
She walked in through the out door
Out door.



11
“If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next” - Manic Street Preachers, 1998.
We needed some Welsh representation on the list. It just so happens that these Welshmen may have put together the finest anti-war song this side of the Vietnam era. Bonus points for taking the road less travelled and writing about the Spanish Civil War, something only The Clash had the guts to do before the Manics.
I used to call this the most pretentiously titled great song ever. However, while doing some reading, I learned that the title was actually taken from a Republican recruiting poster during the war, which showed a child who had been killed in a Nationalist bombing raid, with that phrase stamped at the bottom. The second half of the lyric I quote below was the reason a Republican soldier gave for enlisting.
Singing against war never sounded so glorious as the final two minutes of this song.

The future teaches you to be alone
The present to be afraid and cold
“So if I can shoot rabbits
Then I can shoot fascists”