Johnny Strikes Up the Band

By Warren Zevon.

The first track on his commercial breakthrough, Excitable Boy. This record holds a special place for me. It was the second album I ever owned, after Sgt. Pepper. It's a little more poppy and accessible than his debut, but still very dark in its content. This song serves as a hope-filled intro to an album featuring werewolves, headless Thompson gunners, rapists, and (eek!) lawyers.

"And Johnny is my main man,
He's the keeper of the keys,
He'll put your mind at ease,
He's guaranteed to please,
Back by popular demand"

The Underdog

By Spoon, from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.

They've been around since the mid 90's, but I only found them with this record a couple years back.

Propulsive acoustic guitar, then huge horns (like Simon & Garfunkel's "Baby Driver") and sleigh bells for the chorus and breaks. Great dynamics, raspy impassioned singing. What's not to like? A hard song to shake once it's in your head, but why would you want to?

"You got no time for the messenger,
Got no regard for the thing that you don't understand,
You got no fear of the underdog,
That's why you will not survive"

Everything to Everyone

By Everclear, from So Much For the Afterglow.

(Psst, new blog at Out of My Mind. Pass it on...)

I love this entire album, not a bad song on it. What I love is the emotional depth. Art Alexakis shares his deepest heartbreaks: absent father, Mom's nervous breakdown, growing up in the projects, addicted girlfriends. Beneath the pop rock veneer, this is very raw material. This is heresy, I know, but it reminds me of John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band. Not as primal, much shinier production, but the emotional core of pain is similar. Okay, string me up for hyperbole, but I believe it. (I don't believe in Beatles. I just believe in me, Everclear and me. That's reality.)

"I think you are blind to the fact that the hand you hold is the hand that holds you down"

Idiot Wind

From Bob Dylan's 1974 classic, Blood on the Tracks.

I have often gravitated toward angry music. Anger was a major theme in my life, and music that reflected that served as a catharsis. Dylan provided two of my favorite songs to seethe by, "Positively 4th Street" and "Idiot Wind". This is assuredly the lesser of the two, wheezing along for eight minutes, but with the added bonus of paranoia. How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways.

This song has an unusual chord progression, making it an interesting one to play on the guitar, as well. I'll delve into my favorite songs to play and sing some other time.

"You hurt the ones that I love best and cover the truth with lies,
One day you'll be in the ditch, flies buzzing around your eyes,
Blood on your saddle"

Gateway

Music is a passion of mine, but only one of several. This blog is intended to focus on only music, though it will also announce when I have posted to my older, now private, blog. My musical tastes are eclectic, but seldom veer into the truly obscure. If I can plant a few positive earworms, or get people sampling great music that is new to them, more's the better.