For St. Patrick's Day, this is a bit of a departure from the usual format. For your upcoming holiday celebration, here's my Irish Rock playlist. As always, your suggestions are more than welcome.
Damien Dempsey “Wild One”
I first saw/heard Damien Dempsey at a tribute to Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott in New York (15 years ago?). As much as I've like his other work, he's at his very best with this heart-felt and very different version of this Lizzy classic, which I've always believed Lynott wrote about himself.
Thin Lizzy “Fighting”
Black Flag's Henry Rollins has a spoken word CD where he talks at length about Thin Lizzy's dual personalities. There's the hard edge of this tune or “Jailbreak,” songs that are the perfect accompaniment to a hard gym workout. Then, there's the sad beauty of mournful love songs like “Wild One.” There's no other band able to serve both roles so well in an honest way. So many bands go so wrong with the ballads. “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” being but one example.
The Pogues “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah”
A blatent attempt at getting The Pogues into the top of the charts. Didn't work very well, but I still love hearing Shane MacGowan in the attempt.
The Coors “Breathless”
Poor Jim Corr. Part of a million-selling band, but on tour with his sisters. Probably won't be any Rolls-Royces in the swimming pool or TVs out the window with them along.
Glyder “Hazy Shade Of Winter”
There's always the Next Big Thing of Ireland, and Glyder was it for a few weeks last year. They're okay if you're looking for a young rock band who seem to be completely unaware that the 80s, the 90s and the past eight years ever happened. To me, this is their best song (of the three or four I've heard). The Bangles' version is only slightly better.
Wolfstone “Zeto”
If booming power chords mixed with a rocking bag pipe is your thing, you'll love Wolfstone as much as I do.
Thin Lizzy “Roisin Dubh (The Black Rose)”
Lizzy's “Whiskey in the Jar” is almost too obvious a selection for a St. Patrick's rock mix, but “Roisin Dubh” actually outdoes “Whiskey” in fusing big-time rock guitars with traditional elements of Irish folk. As it shifts from a brisk trot to a rapid gallop at the end of its six-minute length, I'm always sprinting on the elliptical machine... no matter how tired I might be.
Billy Bragg “Don't Walk Away Renee”
I saw him open for The Pogues once, so he's Irish enough even if he's not strictly from there. This song will do nothing for your workout, but the line “You have to take the chunky with the smooth, I suppose” has become a key tenet of my philosophy of life. It's also something I repeat to my 10 year old about once a week.
Rory Gallagher “Tatoo'd Lady”
Absolutely brilliant. He left us too soon.
Sinead O'Connor “Nothing Compares To U”
Truth be told, Frank Sinatra was a bully whose condemnation of Sinead's controversial SNL performance was just one added example of him spouting off on subjects he knew nothing about. This song reminds me of a summer day I spent in Norway. Literally every store I walked into that day was playing this song. It all comes flooding back every time I hear it again.
The Undertones “Teenage Kicks”
It's got the sound and feeling of an ancient proto-punk song like “Pushing Too Hard” by The Seeds only more frantic and fresh.
U2 “Bad”
It's about Phil Lynott, you know!
Shane McGowan “Church of The Holy Spook”
I have no idea what this is about. It's Shane at his best, though.
The Cranberries “Salvation”
If you think Delores O'Riordan were somehow lightweight or too poppy for a real rock fan, this song (and a half-dozen others I could cite) will prove you absolutely wrong. Such a wonderful accent, too.
The Saw Doctors “I Useta Love Her”
If I were to make a list of the bands I'd most like to see live, The Saw Doctors would be Top 5 easily. This song has a great line about a guy ogling a girl as she sashays up the church aisle for Communion.
Stiff Little Fingers “Alternative Ulster”
I always loved the name, but never really heard the band until this song came to me via a compilation I picked up at the library. A perfect, three-minute pogo song, and it's got wicked energy that seems to come in equal parts joy and piss-offedness. Plus, it's a more genuine anger than the pose I often sensed behind The Sex Pistols.
The Pogues Featuring Kristy McColl “Fairytale of New York”
Too good a song to be reserved only for Christmas. Make it a St. Patty's tradition, too.
Shane McGowan & The Popes “Victoria”
Wolfstone “Gillies”
Six-and-a-half-minutes long, this is Wolfestone's “Orion,” it's “Fire On High.” A wonderful rock song with a bag pipe carrying the melody.
Tim Bragg “Ode To Phil Lynott”
A beautifully rendered tribute to Phil Lynott
The Cranberries “Zombie”
Eric Bell “Irish Boy”
A beautiful autobigraphical ballad by Thin Lizzy's first guitarist (the one you hear on “Whiskey In The Jar.”
The Boomtown Rates “I Don't Like Mondays”
I grew up in a time when nobody had ever heard of a kid going down to the schoolyard with a gun and shooting everyone. Once it happened, it was so unprecedented the Rats wrote a hit song about the girl with the gun and her lame explanation. The song was a scandal in itself. It all seems 100 years ago now.
Hothouse Flowers “Don't Go”
Back in the late '80s, there was only one band slavishly imitating U2. They didn't make as much of a career of it as Coldplay has, I'll take the original copyists over the late-comers any day.
Dropkick Murphys “I'm Shipping Up To Boston.”
There are so many great Irish bands, I'm not sure why we need Irish-American ones. If we do, this is my favorite.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
An Hour Of International Superhits
Equipment: Elliptical
Time: 40 minutes (plus 10 on the walk-in-place thing)
Calories: 800-plus
Special Notes: A far wider selection is now provided via a 16 gb iPod nano. Now, I'm strapping on something like 1,800 songs on a gym visit versus my previous nano's 800-song capacity.
Mode: Shuffle. Of course.
Bruce Springsteen “From Small Things, Big Things One Day Come”
Marketing works! All the Super Bowl hype inspired me to dust off a CD of b-sides and rarities. Incidentally, I thought the E Streeters played great in the half-time thing.
Kid Rock “Half Your Age”
The title could continue to include “and twice as hot.” It’s a gleeful slap at Pam Anderson, Kid’s wife of five minutes or so. Not sure if it played on country radio, but it sure could have. Just enough bass drum to be helpful on the elliptical.
The Stooges “Gimme Danger”
A lot of times bands suffer when the drugs they’re taking are out of synch with the drugs the audience is taking. Even without the drugs, The Stooges are spooky, frantic, nervous and angry—making them more relevant to my ears today than they probably sounded to anyone in the early 70s. They're like a pre-punk Gaugin. By that, I don't mean to imply in any way that they suffered from venereal disease. I'm trying to put them in the category of a great artist who was appreciated by almost no one during his life time. Most of the Stooges remain alive, of course, but will be revered even when they're not.
P.S.: R.I.P. Ron Asheton.
Motorhead “No Class”
What better music to listen to while exercising than Lemmy Kilmister’s hammering bass and post-binge vocals. He’s like the anti-Jack LaLane (and pretty much the same age) and continues to serve as an inspiration to so many.
Jethro Tull “Cross-Eyed Mary”
Still not sure if it was a mistake to load a two-CD best-of set onto the iPod. I really enjoyed this, though. There’s a reason they won the first Heavy Metal Grammy award, isn’t there?
Green Day “Minority”
If you’re participating in any form of iPod-aided exercise and don’t yet have a copy of “International Superhits,” you’re operating at a severe disadvantage. Do yourself a favor, spend the $7.99 already (or borrow my copy).
Bad Co. “Silver, Blue & Gold”
Thin Lizzy “Roisin Dubh; The Black Rose”
So you like “Jailbreak,” do you? Well, the Lizzies made at least a dozen songs that were even better, and this is one of the best of those. Stay tuned for a full breakdown of my Irish Sweepstakes playlist. I’ll put it up in plenty of time for St. Patrick’s Day.
Iggy Pop “The Passenger”
ELO “Share A Little Love”
It’s wonderful how the Electric Light Orchestra was able to bring to full fruition what the Beatles had only begun to explore. If only John, Paul, George and Ringo had stayed at it a bit longer, they might have achieved the likes of this.
The Donnas “Hot Pants”
My theory: The Ramones wrote this, knew it was a great song, but didn’t want to the dudes that sang about this subject matter, hot pants. The Donnas, as well as us listeners, were the beneficiaries of that gift. This is not, by the way, the James Brown song of the same name, but is almost as good.
Keith Richards “You Don’t Move Me Anymore”
Nothing the Stones recorded since “Some Girls” comes close to equaling this song from Keith’s first solo album. Keith, I'm sorry to say that I, as a listener, feel a bit cheated that you spent so many years as a drugged-out wastral when you were capable of work like this. Might have been worth it to you, but I'd have preferred a bit more nose to the grindstone and a bit less of your inhaling God knows what
Fountains of Wayne “Stacy’s Mom.”
Do you think of a specific neighborhood mom when you hear this? I do. She was then up to five years younger than I am now, probably.
David Bowie “Hang On To Yourself”
My 10-year-old song latched on to “Ziggy Stardust” as his favorite album from pretty much the first time he heard it. He’s got excellent taste.
Jet “Cold Hard Bitch”
The Who “Quadrophenia”
Had a friend in high school (Conrad Payne—Are you out there Conrad?) who drove hundreds of miles every night delivering pizza. He only owned one tape, “Quadrophenia.” For at least a year, he only had that one tape. Now, I don’t think I could get by for any length of time with just one album, but if I were forced to, this might also be the one I’d pick.
Time: 40 minutes (plus 10 on the walk-in-place thing)
Calories: 800-plus
Special Notes: A far wider selection is now provided via a 16 gb iPod nano. Now, I'm strapping on something like 1,800 songs on a gym visit versus my previous nano's 800-song capacity.
Mode: Shuffle. Of course.
Bruce Springsteen “From Small Things, Big Things One Day Come”
Marketing works! All the Super Bowl hype inspired me to dust off a CD of b-sides and rarities. Incidentally, I thought the E Streeters played great in the half-time thing.
Kid Rock “Half Your Age”
The title could continue to include “and twice as hot.” It’s a gleeful slap at Pam Anderson, Kid’s wife of five minutes or so. Not sure if it played on country radio, but it sure could have. Just enough bass drum to be helpful on the elliptical.
The Stooges “Gimme Danger”
A lot of times bands suffer when the drugs they’re taking are out of synch with the drugs the audience is taking. Even without the drugs, The Stooges are spooky, frantic, nervous and angry—making them more relevant to my ears today than they probably sounded to anyone in the early 70s. They're like a pre-punk Gaugin. By that, I don't mean to imply in any way that they suffered from venereal disease. I'm trying to put them in the category of a great artist who was appreciated by almost no one during his life time. Most of the Stooges remain alive, of course, but will be revered even when they're not.
P.S.: R.I.P. Ron Asheton.
Motorhead “No Class”
What better music to listen to while exercising than Lemmy Kilmister’s hammering bass and post-binge vocals. He’s like the anti-Jack LaLane (and pretty much the same age) and continues to serve as an inspiration to so many.
Jethro Tull “Cross-Eyed Mary”
Still not sure if it was a mistake to load a two-CD best-of set onto the iPod. I really enjoyed this, though. There’s a reason they won the first Heavy Metal Grammy award, isn’t there?
Green Day “Minority”
If you’re participating in any form of iPod-aided exercise and don’t yet have a copy of “International Superhits,” you’re operating at a severe disadvantage. Do yourself a favor, spend the $7.99 already (or borrow my copy).
Bad Co. “Silver, Blue & Gold”
Thin Lizzy “Roisin Dubh; The Black Rose”
So you like “Jailbreak,” do you? Well, the Lizzies made at least a dozen songs that were even better, and this is one of the best of those. Stay tuned for a full breakdown of my Irish Sweepstakes playlist. I’ll put it up in plenty of time for St. Patrick’s Day.
Iggy Pop “The Passenger”
ELO “Share A Little Love”
It’s wonderful how the Electric Light Orchestra was able to bring to full fruition what the Beatles had only begun to explore. If only John, Paul, George and Ringo had stayed at it a bit longer, they might have achieved the likes of this.
The Donnas “Hot Pants”
My theory: The Ramones wrote this, knew it was a great song, but didn’t want to the dudes that sang about this subject matter, hot pants. The Donnas, as well as us listeners, were the beneficiaries of that gift. This is not, by the way, the James Brown song of the same name, but is almost as good.
Keith Richards “You Don’t Move Me Anymore”
Nothing the Stones recorded since “Some Girls” comes close to equaling this song from Keith’s first solo album. Keith, I'm sorry to say that I, as a listener, feel a bit cheated that you spent so many years as a drugged-out wastral when you were capable of work like this. Might have been worth it to you, but I'd have preferred a bit more nose to the grindstone and a bit less of your inhaling God knows what
Fountains of Wayne “Stacy’s Mom.”
Do you think of a specific neighborhood mom when you hear this? I do. She was then up to five years younger than I am now, probably.
David Bowie “Hang On To Yourself”
My 10-year-old song latched on to “Ziggy Stardust” as his favorite album from pretty much the first time he heard it. He’s got excellent taste.
Jet “Cold Hard Bitch”
The Who “Quadrophenia”
Had a friend in high school (Conrad Payne—Are you out there Conrad?) who drove hundreds of miles every night delivering pizza. He only owned one tape, “Quadrophenia.” For at least a year, he only had that one tape. Now, I don’t think I could get by for any length of time with just one album, but if I were forced to, this might also be the one I’d pick.
Friday, January 23, 2009
BANG CAMARO: The Year's Best New Band
Equipment: Elliptical (on a setting of 5, which is one too many)
Time: 31 minutes
Calories: 601
The New Year is still young, but 2009’s best new band has already been found. I nominate BANG CAMARO , a band out of Boston with an obvious love for 80s hard rock and a unique way of delivering it. To replicate the multi-tracked vocals of bands like Def Leppard, Bang Camaro uses a “Dude Chorus” of as many as 20 dudes to sing the harmonies. They rock and the lyrics are hilarious. Some of it is tongue in cheek, but it’s delivered with obvious love for the cluelessness of the bands of the Hair Metal Age. It’s a little in the spirit of Spinal Tape with a little of the flair of The Darkness. I love the utter pointlessness of the song “Push, Push Lady Lightning,” A true classic.
Alright, here’s today:
Smashing Pumpkins “Zero”
Never been a big Pumpkins fan—although they provided the soundtrack for an exceedingly fun summer day on a South Carolina lake 15-or-so years ago. But, the guitar riff in Zero is powerful enough to make up for the annoyance of the vocalist. Perfect for doing sit-ups, which is how I started (and finished) today.
Warren Zevon
“I Was In The House When The House Burned Down”
I’ve loved Warren Zevon from “Werewolves” and recently read the excellent “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” bio/oral history. Did you know he once roomed with the Paul Getty who got his ear cut off by kidnappers (a crime Getty may have been in on)? Drug buddies, apparently. Anyway, this song captures Warren at his darkly comic best.
Cinderella “Gypsy Road”
As much as I was repelled by Cinderella’s poodle hair back in the day, I’ve always loved the singer’s voice, and it’s at the height of its powers here. A great song from a band that might have been taken more seriously a few years earlier (without all the hairspray).
The Donnas “Girl Talk”
In my eyes, The Donnas can do no wrong.
Kid Rock “Black Rob”
Ever had the chance to really rub it in somebody’s face that you’re more successful than them? Well, this is three minutes of that directed to, pretty much, the whole world. File under megalomania, but I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way.
Danzig “Track 8”
The song has an actual name, but I don’t know what it is since this came off a borrowed, home-pressed CD. Glenn Danzig scares me a little bit, and all the songs sound pretty much like this one. But, he is a good accompaniment to working out.. It’s obviously working for him. The guy’s ripped.
Foo Fighters “Summer’s End”
Dave Grohl at his sentimental best. Something Seals & Crofts could have written, but with much better drums.
Iggy Pop “Lust For Life”
This song is played pretty much every day as bumper music for “The Jim Rome Show,” something I know from listening to Jim almost every day. When it comes on the iPod, I keep expecting Rome to come back from a commercial—or for a Carnival Cruise ad to be running.
Rush “Circumstances”
There is so much going on in about every Rush song that it really keeps your brain occupied and off the fact of how much I’m huffing and puffing to reach my 700-calorie goal today.
Iggy Pop “Kill City”
All of Iggy’s albums seem to have two or three great tunes and a bunch that just aren’t as good. I’d like to expand my Iggy range with more like this, but , at this point, I’m basically picking at random. Great song and a wonderful chorus “Give it up, turn the boy loose.”
Time: 31 minutes
Calories: 601
The New Year is still young, but 2009’s best new band has already been found. I nominate BANG CAMARO , a band out of Boston with an obvious love for 80s hard rock and a unique way of delivering it. To replicate the multi-tracked vocals of bands like Def Leppard, Bang Camaro uses a “Dude Chorus” of as many as 20 dudes to sing the harmonies. They rock and the lyrics are hilarious. Some of it is tongue in cheek, but it’s delivered with obvious love for the cluelessness of the bands of the Hair Metal Age. It’s a little in the spirit of Spinal Tape with a little of the flair of The Darkness. I love the utter pointlessness of the song “Push, Push Lady Lightning,” A true classic.
Alright, here’s today:
Smashing Pumpkins “Zero”
Never been a big Pumpkins fan—although they provided the soundtrack for an exceedingly fun summer day on a South Carolina lake 15-or-so years ago. But, the guitar riff in Zero is powerful enough to make up for the annoyance of the vocalist. Perfect for doing sit-ups, which is how I started (and finished) today.
Warren Zevon
“I Was In The House When The House Burned Down”
I’ve loved Warren Zevon from “Werewolves” and recently read the excellent “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” bio/oral history. Did you know he once roomed with the Paul Getty who got his ear cut off by kidnappers (a crime Getty may have been in on)? Drug buddies, apparently. Anyway, this song captures Warren at his darkly comic best.
Cinderella “Gypsy Road”
As much as I was repelled by Cinderella’s poodle hair back in the day, I’ve always loved the singer’s voice, and it’s at the height of its powers here. A great song from a band that might have been taken more seriously a few years earlier (without all the hairspray).
The Donnas “Girl Talk”
In my eyes, The Donnas can do no wrong.
Kid Rock “Black Rob”
Ever had the chance to really rub it in somebody’s face that you’re more successful than them? Well, this is three minutes of that directed to, pretty much, the whole world. File under megalomania, but I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way.
Danzig “Track 8”
The song has an actual name, but I don’t know what it is since this came off a borrowed, home-pressed CD. Glenn Danzig scares me a little bit, and all the songs sound pretty much like this one. But, he is a good accompaniment to working out.. It’s obviously working for him. The guy’s ripped.
Foo Fighters “Summer’s End”
Dave Grohl at his sentimental best. Something Seals & Crofts could have written, but with much better drums.
Iggy Pop “Lust For Life”
This song is played pretty much every day as bumper music for “The Jim Rome Show,” something I know from listening to Jim almost every day. When it comes on the iPod, I keep expecting Rome to come back from a commercial—or for a Carnival Cruise ad to be running.
Rush “Circumstances”
There is so much going on in about every Rush song that it really keeps your brain occupied and off the fact of how much I’m huffing and puffing to reach my 700-calorie goal today.
Iggy Pop “Kill City”
All of Iggy’s albums seem to have two or three great tunes and a bunch that just aren’t as good. I’d like to expand my Iggy range with more like this, but , at this point, I’m basically picking at random. Great song and a wonderful chorus “Give it up, turn the boy loose.”
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Seriously, Coldplay ARE The Worst Band In The World
Before we get to what shuffled through my iPod during today’s workout, I’m taking time out to declare that Coldplay are the world’s worst band. Ever! Plenty of bands have made a career by playing U2 Lite, but Oldplay have stolen almost their entire act from U2’s worst period—the past 5 years—while watering it down to something Seals & Crofts would reject as weak and dull. Oh, don’t get me started on the matching Sgt. Pepper uniforms. If it was up to me, I wouldn’t let Moldplay onstage in Richard Marx’s old stage gear, let alone the Mop Tops’ threads.
Hear this: When the revolution comes and I’m named Czar of Music, Chris Martin and company will answer for their crimes. This rant was brought on when the aforementioned band popped up on my XM Radio earlier today.
Now, on to the workout: Clearly, I’m ascribing way too much intelligence to my iPod. After all, it’s only a Nano. But, it really seems that when you click onto shuffle, rejecting lame first songs is a good strategy. Don’t recall what got nixed, but today’s goodness it all started out with:
The Flaming Lips “The W.A.N.D.”
It’s a pretty weird little ditty, but quite catchy, as well, and it set an awesome tone for my elliptical session (plus 50 sit-ups). Each one seemed perfectly suited to my 140-strides-per-minute pace. In fact, I’d intended kind of a nice, easy session today and the following tunes had me working a little harder than I’d expected. In fact, it was hard not to notice the guy next to me logged 500 calories in 36 minutes (to my 653 with one less minute).
AC/DC “Ride On”
I prefer the late Bon Scott to current singer to Brian Johnson in the same way I favor, say, Molson Golden over a can of Coors or a Ferrari over a Hyundai.
Social Distortion “Down Here With The Rest Of Us.”
Van Halen “Unchained”
Metallica “Cyanide”
I still have ear pain because this song from the new “Death Magnetic” CD was so frickin’ loud when it first came on. Again, I had the Soundcheck setting on, which is supposed to normalize sound (below my pre-set max), but Lars & Co. apparently turned all the studio settings up to 11. Great tune, although the lyrics sounded like they just went to the Metallica songbook and plugged oft-used words into new spaces in a sort of paint-by-numbers arrangement.
Foo Fighters “Times Like These”
Love this song, and it’s hard to imagine they weren’t addressing times like these, January 2009.
The Pretenders “Louie Louie”
Little faster than the tempo of the rest of the set, but it’s not a bad idea to kick it up a notch as the equipment’s timer counts down to almost zero.
The Pogues “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.”
An under-appreciated classic that I’ll predict will soon undergird a critical scene in a film dealing with Irish mobsters. You’re welcome, Guy Ritchie.
Hear this: When the revolution comes and I’m named Czar of Music, Chris Martin and company will answer for their crimes. This rant was brought on when the aforementioned band popped up on my XM Radio earlier today.
Now, on to the workout: Clearly, I’m ascribing way too much intelligence to my iPod. After all, it’s only a Nano. But, it really seems that when you click onto shuffle, rejecting lame first songs is a good strategy. Don’t recall what got nixed, but today’s goodness it all started out with:
The Flaming Lips “The W.A.N.D.”
It’s a pretty weird little ditty, but quite catchy, as well, and it set an awesome tone for my elliptical session (plus 50 sit-ups). Each one seemed perfectly suited to my 140-strides-per-minute pace. In fact, I’d intended kind of a nice, easy session today and the following tunes had me working a little harder than I’d expected. In fact, it was hard not to notice the guy next to me logged 500 calories in 36 minutes (to my 653 with one less minute).
AC/DC “Ride On”
I prefer the late Bon Scott to current singer to Brian Johnson in the same way I favor, say, Molson Golden over a can of Coors or a Ferrari over a Hyundai.
Social Distortion “Down Here With The Rest Of Us.”
Van Halen “Unchained”
Metallica “Cyanide”
I still have ear pain because this song from the new “Death Magnetic” CD was so frickin’ loud when it first came on. Again, I had the Soundcheck setting on, which is supposed to normalize sound (below my pre-set max), but Lars & Co. apparently turned all the studio settings up to 11. Great tune, although the lyrics sounded like they just went to the Metallica songbook and plugged oft-used words into new spaces in a sort of paint-by-numbers arrangement.
Foo Fighters “Times Like These”
Love this song, and it’s hard to imagine they weren’t addressing times like these, January 2009.
The Pretenders “Louie Louie”
Little faster than the tempo of the rest of the set, but it’s not a bad idea to kick it up a notch as the equipment’s timer counts down to almost zero.
The Pogues “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.”
An under-appreciated classic that I’ll predict will soon undergird a critical scene in a film dealing with Irish mobsters. You’re welcome, Guy Ritchie.
Thin Lizzy Would Kill Coldplay In A Fair Fight
Machine: Elliptical
Duration:40 Minutes
Calories: 750
Thin Lizzy “Jailbreak” My favorite band. The intense energy and passion of this performance from “Live & Dangerous” is evident from the first note to the last. It’s great hearing it again in the headphones because they seem to accentuate Phil Lynott’s driving bass notes. Yeah, sure some cynics make fun of the song’s lyrics. “Tonight, there’s going to be a jailbreak, somewhere in this town” … Very possibly, it’ll be at the jail, is what they say. But, that bass and Lynott’s awesome performance have you ready to scale the walls and elude God knows what during the full length of this three-and-a-half minute breakout.
For Lizzy fans, there’s supposedly a new Live album coming out in March called “Still Dangerous.” It’s a show from Philadelphia on the “Bad Reputation” tour that I believe has been bootlegged often since it was a King Biscuit radio show. If it’s the one I’m thinking off, it kicks off with “Soldier of Fortune,” including a guns blazing intro that’s just awfully cool. “SOF” was only played on that one tour and despite a lot of searching I still don’t’ have a tour CD/download with the kind of sound quality I’d like. (Yeah, I’ll admit to being a Thin Lizzy degenerate. What of it?)
Since I mentioned headphones, it’s probably worth saying I wear the Old School over-the-ear variety. I tried the in-ear “buds,” but I’m afraid that’s just a quicker route to permanent hearing loss. The thing I couldn’t prevent is there are songs that are super-loud even when you have that Soundcheck setting on that is supposed to normalize the volume across all songs. It doesn’t work on everything to the point that I had to take all my Red Hot Chili Peppers (and, possibly, Metallica’s new CD) off my iPod. Every time a Chilis (or Metallica) song would come on, it would blast my ears at a volume that sounded like it was at least one-third louder than anything else.
Foo Fighters “Statues” One of the thing I really like about the Foos are the tempo changes--the whisper-scream dynamic. This song is all whisper and that didn’t help me get through my sit-ups.
R.E.M. “Supernatural Super-Serious” I don’t how many CDs there are where REM has included one or two of the kind of REM songs I like (think “What’s the Frequency Kenneth?”).and a bunch of songs I don’t care for that much. This is one I really like from the newest CD, whatever it’s called.
Savatage “From the Hall of the Mountain King” The precursor to Trans-Siberian Orchestra show their propensity for over-the-top Broadway theatrics. At times, it’s like a Queensryche/Deep Purple song, but then they come in with the Andrew Lloyd Weber stage laughter and you’re thinking you’ve flipped over the “Phantom of the Opera” soundtrack, but with far better guitars.
Kid Rock “I’m Wrong, But You Ain’t Right” Just as I was waning and needed a kick to get onto a five-minute/100-calorie pace, along comes Bob Ritchie with the propulsive power of this song. Don’t hate the playa, hate the game, Bob.
Foo Fighters “Overdrive” The Foos at their most shiny with an obvious attempt to put a single on the radio (in the early 90s, I think). It worked, but I prefer their more recent, crunchier output.
Green Day “Macy’s Day Parade” Sometimes a song’s rhythm aligns perfectly with the pace you need—or want to be on. It’s something that happens far more often when you’re playing something from their excellent “International Superhits” CD.
Iggy Pop “Cry For Love” My appreciation for Iggy has deepened considerably. He’s the perfect workout companion, and this is one of the best for the elliptical.
Led Zeppelin “Boogie With Stu” A barrelhouse piano pattern is not something you expect from Zeppelin, and it’s not usually the kind of thing I typically enjoy in a workout. But, I’ve been enjoying this along with nearly all of “Physical Graffiti,” a CD I downloaded because I wanted some Zep, but not the songs I’ve already heard 10,000 times.
Black Sabbath “Eternal Idol” The Sabs soldiered on with their fourth or fifth vocalist, Tony Martin through the ‘90s. I don’t dislike him, but regard him as being something like Kentucky Gentleman bourbon. Not nearly as good as the best (which in Sabbath would be Ozzy and in bourbon would be Wild Turkey 101)—but Martin (and Ky. Gentleman) is still better than most of the shit that’s out there.
Duration:40 Minutes
Calories: 750
Thin Lizzy “Jailbreak” My favorite band. The intense energy and passion of this performance from “Live & Dangerous” is evident from the first note to the last. It’s great hearing it again in the headphones because they seem to accentuate Phil Lynott’s driving bass notes. Yeah, sure some cynics make fun of the song’s lyrics. “Tonight, there’s going to be a jailbreak, somewhere in this town” … Very possibly, it’ll be at the jail, is what they say. But, that bass and Lynott’s awesome performance have you ready to scale the walls and elude God knows what during the full length of this three-and-a-half minute breakout.
For Lizzy fans, there’s supposedly a new Live album coming out in March called “Still Dangerous.” It’s a show from Philadelphia on the “Bad Reputation” tour that I believe has been bootlegged often since it was a King Biscuit radio show. If it’s the one I’m thinking off, it kicks off with “Soldier of Fortune,” including a guns blazing intro that’s just awfully cool. “SOF” was only played on that one tour and despite a lot of searching I still don’t’ have a tour CD/download with the kind of sound quality I’d like. (Yeah, I’ll admit to being a Thin Lizzy degenerate. What of it?)
Since I mentioned headphones, it’s probably worth saying I wear the Old School over-the-ear variety. I tried the in-ear “buds,” but I’m afraid that’s just a quicker route to permanent hearing loss. The thing I couldn’t prevent is there are songs that are super-loud even when you have that Soundcheck setting on that is supposed to normalize the volume across all songs. It doesn’t work on everything to the point that I had to take all my Red Hot Chili Peppers (and, possibly, Metallica’s new CD) off my iPod. Every time a Chilis (or Metallica) song would come on, it would blast my ears at a volume that sounded like it was at least one-third louder than anything else.
Foo Fighters “Statues” One of the thing I really like about the Foos are the tempo changes--the whisper-scream dynamic. This song is all whisper and that didn’t help me get through my sit-ups.
R.E.M. “Supernatural Super-Serious” I don’t how many CDs there are where REM has included one or two of the kind of REM songs I like (think “What’s the Frequency Kenneth?”).and a bunch of songs I don’t care for that much. This is one I really like from the newest CD, whatever it’s called.
Savatage “From the Hall of the Mountain King” The precursor to Trans-Siberian Orchestra show their propensity for over-the-top Broadway theatrics. At times, it’s like a Queensryche/Deep Purple song, but then they come in with the Andrew Lloyd Weber stage laughter and you’re thinking you’ve flipped over the “Phantom of the Opera” soundtrack, but with far better guitars.
Kid Rock “I’m Wrong, But You Ain’t Right” Just as I was waning and needed a kick to get onto a five-minute/100-calorie pace, along comes Bob Ritchie with the propulsive power of this song. Don’t hate the playa, hate the game, Bob.
Foo Fighters “Overdrive” The Foos at their most shiny with an obvious attempt to put a single on the radio (in the early 90s, I think). It worked, but I prefer their more recent, crunchier output.
Green Day “Macy’s Day Parade” Sometimes a song’s rhythm aligns perfectly with the pace you need—or want to be on. It’s something that happens far more often when you’re playing something from their excellent “International Superhits” CD.
Iggy Pop “Cry For Love” My appreciation for Iggy has deepened considerably. He’s the perfect workout companion, and this is one of the best for the elliptical.
Led Zeppelin “Boogie With Stu” A barrelhouse piano pattern is not something you expect from Zeppelin, and it’s not usually the kind of thing I typically enjoy in a workout. But, I’ve been enjoying this along with nearly all of “Physical Graffiti,” a CD I downloaded because I wanted some Zep, but not the songs I’ve already heard 10,000 times.
Black Sabbath “Eternal Idol” The Sabs soldiered on with their fourth or fifth vocalist, Tony Martin through the ‘90s. I don’t dislike him, but regard him as being something like Kentucky Gentleman bourbon. Not nearly as good as the best (which in Sabbath would be Ozzy and in bourbon would be Wild Turkey 101)—but Martin (and Ky. Gentleman) is still better than most of the shit that’s out there.
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Case Against The Beatles
Duration: 40 minutes
Equipment: Elliptical (setting four)
Calories: 750
Bob Mould "Black Sheets Of Rain"
It's a testament to how well your day is going that you can enjoy this song (Sample lyric: "Someone stop the sun from shining") without anti-depressants. It rocks hard. I had the privilege of seeing Husker Du on the "Warehouse" Tour when it stopped in Chapel Hill (probably '86). To see a balding, overweight, schlubby guy producing standing ovations with his Flying V gladdened the hearts of schlubby guys everywhere. I still don't believe the stories that he produced scripts for the Worldwide Wrestling Federation in the early '00s, but I kind of hope that's true, too.
The Pretenders "Private Life"
Taken from a live show during the very brief period when the awesome James Honeyman Scott and Pete Farndon were still alive, this song demonstrates how to rock at a pretty slow place with unbelievable intensity.
The Beatles "Revolution 9"
Were the Mop Tops over-rated? Well, this seven minutes of lysergic noodling--with the aid of a full orchestra--makes a pretty convincing case. You may call that heresy, but fans of the world's biggest boy band too easily forget some of the most self-indulgent crap in the band's catalog, this being but one example. I listened to all seven excruciating minutes of '9' simply because of the rigid rule against skipping. That rule may be revisited.
Pearl Jam "I Won't Back Down"
From the "Live at the Gorge" 7 CD set. This cover of the Tom Petty song is great in that it sounds almost nothing like its originator. It's pretty clear the band had the crowd in the palms of their hands that night.
Bruce Dickinson "Tattooed Millionaire"
The voice behind Iron Maiden does not want to be like all the other tattooed millionaires. Ahh, finally a spokesman bringing forth a message that dozens, possibly scores of well-to-do metal fans can relate to. Great chorus, though.
H.I.M. (His Infernal Majesty) "Wings Of A Butterfly" Sounds nothing like what you'd expect gloomy goths from Finland to sound like. A song about pulling the wings off a butterfly is an uplifting, hummable, feel-good confection. It may be the only H.I.M. I've ever heard. I might have to go digging for more.
The Beatles "I Will" From the 'White Album,' this is the starting point of the saccharine road that ultimately led to "Ebony & Ivory" and "The Girl Is Mine." It couldn't have been easy for Manson to get The Family to sit through this over and over again. Best thing about it is it's only two minutes long.
Savatage "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo)" The Metal Lite classic that kicked off the whole Trans-Siberian Express phenomenon. Took the family to see TSE in November, and, have to say, I really enjoyed it. I've seen impressive stage shows with explosive pyrotechnics, impressive lasers, scores of singers, but I've never seen all that presented at once. They pretty much packed the Coliseum, and nobody went home disappointed, aside from one geezer who dragged his family out by song three.
Liz Phair "Little Digger" Ever wonder how your relationship with super-hot Liz Phair is affecting her toddler? Liz helpfully tells you exactly how he's feeling about it in a way that suggests you're not viewed as a long-term participant in her little family drama.
Glyder "Gambler's Blues" Glyder are, I think, Irish and have been hailed as some sort of reincarnation of Thin Lizzy and bands of that era. I admire their technical proficiency and ability to sound like an arena-rocking band circa 1978, but it's clearly a facsimile lacking anything new to offer. The production's a little too polished for my tastes, too.
Equipment: Elliptical (setting four)
Calories: 750
Bob Mould "Black Sheets Of Rain"
It's a testament to how well your day is going that you can enjoy this song (Sample lyric: "Someone stop the sun from shining") without anti-depressants. It rocks hard. I had the privilege of seeing Husker Du on the "Warehouse" Tour when it stopped in Chapel Hill (probably '86). To see a balding, overweight, schlubby guy producing standing ovations with his Flying V gladdened the hearts of schlubby guys everywhere. I still don't believe the stories that he produced scripts for the Worldwide Wrestling Federation in the early '00s, but I kind of hope that's true, too.
The Pretenders "Private Life"
Taken from a live show during the very brief period when the awesome James Honeyman Scott and Pete Farndon were still alive, this song demonstrates how to rock at a pretty slow place with unbelievable intensity.
The Beatles "Revolution 9"
Were the Mop Tops over-rated? Well, this seven minutes of lysergic noodling--with the aid of a full orchestra--makes a pretty convincing case. You may call that heresy, but fans of the world's biggest boy band too easily forget some of the most self-indulgent crap in the band's catalog, this being but one example. I listened to all seven excruciating minutes of '9' simply because of the rigid rule against skipping. That rule may be revisited.
Pearl Jam "I Won't Back Down"
From the "Live at the Gorge" 7 CD set. This cover of the Tom Petty song is great in that it sounds almost nothing like its originator. It's pretty clear the band had the crowd in the palms of their hands that night.
Bruce Dickinson "Tattooed Millionaire"
The voice behind Iron Maiden does not want to be like all the other tattooed millionaires. Ahh, finally a spokesman bringing forth a message that dozens, possibly scores of well-to-do metal fans can relate to. Great chorus, though.
H.I.M. (His Infernal Majesty) "Wings Of A Butterfly" Sounds nothing like what you'd expect gloomy goths from Finland to sound like. A song about pulling the wings off a butterfly is an uplifting, hummable, feel-good confection. It may be the only H.I.M. I've ever heard. I might have to go digging for more.
The Beatles "I Will" From the 'White Album,' this is the starting point of the saccharine road that ultimately led to "Ebony & Ivory" and "The Girl Is Mine." It couldn't have been easy for Manson to get The Family to sit through this over and over again. Best thing about it is it's only two minutes long.
Savatage "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo)" The Metal Lite classic that kicked off the whole Trans-Siberian Express phenomenon. Took the family to see TSE in November, and, have to say, I really enjoyed it. I've seen impressive stage shows with explosive pyrotechnics, impressive lasers, scores of singers, but I've never seen all that presented at once. They pretty much packed the Coliseum, and nobody went home disappointed, aside from one geezer who dragged his family out by song three.
Liz Phair "Little Digger" Ever wonder how your relationship with super-hot Liz Phair is affecting her toddler? Liz helpfully tells you exactly how he's feeling about it in a way that suggests you're not viewed as a long-term participant in her little family drama.
Glyder "Gambler's Blues" Glyder are, I think, Irish and have been hailed as some sort of reincarnation of Thin Lizzy and bands of that era. I admire their technical proficiency and ability to sound like an arena-rocking band circa 1978, but it's clearly a facsimile lacking anything new to offer. The production's a little too polished for my tastes, too.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Reggae, Pearl Jam Workout
Day Two
Duration: 30 Minutes
Equipment: Elliptical machine
Calories: 600 plus (more than 100 every five minutes!)
Pearl Jam "Baba O'Reilly"
Back in the '90s when Pearl Jam was new, I saw them doing a Who cover--and it might have been this song--on some show, and Eddie Vedder was not in very good voice that night. In fact, his voice and the whole song sounded like a shambolic mess. One of the most profound regrets in my life is that I dismissed PJ over that one performance. (I know, it has been a pretty cushy life). The other thing is, PJ's live albums show that they're about three to four times better 'live' than on the studio records, I think. The fact you can hear the same PJ song 20 times and not understand the mumbled lyrics any better than the first time is an extra bonus. Great kick start to the workout today. I started at a rapid rate and didn't really slow down.
Niney the Observer "Blood & Fire"
It's interesting that reggae, unlike, say, the Dead, still sounds great when you're not high, which I haven't been for years. I don't know much about Niney the Observer, but can make the observation that he's very tuneful and very pissed off. Here's a simple lyric: "Opresser... Let it burn, burn burn" Why a kid from the lily-white suburbs relates to that at all is beyond me.
The Donnas "Better Off Dancing"
The world would have been a whole lot better off if it paid more attention to The Donnas' "Bitchin" CD last year. A solid return to form after the equally unsuccessful "Gold Medal," which was very obviously an attempt to get on the radio.
Gregory Isaacs "Don't Let Me Suffer" This song and the aforementioned Niney the Observer come from a U.K. magazine giveaway CD dedicated to Trojan records. Almost every song is excellent. That's a surprise since every giveaway CD I've had since sucked.
Pearl Jam "Alone" Taken from the excellent "Live at the Gorge." The seven-CD set documents three concerts at the same venue, and they played almost none of the same songs on those three nights. Again, the live albums, to me, sound much better than the studio stuff.
Liz Phair "Divorce Song" You just have to love Liz Phair.
Foo Fighters "Aurora" If there's a better band than the Foo Fighters out there right now, I don't know who they'd be. I'm not sure I've ever even heard this song before. It's not one of their best, but it's still real good.
The Donnas "Kids In America" If life here fair, this would have been a No. 1 song (for The Donnas as well as Kim Wilde). One of the most under-rated bands out there.
Rush "Cygnus X-1" I feel compelled to say I'm not That Rush Guy who prattles on endlessly about Neil Peart being the best drummer in the world (which he isn't) or the depth of his lyrics. In fact, I threw out the 1981 tour t-shirt I found during a cleaning mission a couple of weeks ago. It was in perfect condition. Still, some of their best stuff is still damned interesting to to listen to and this 18-minute trilogy can make 18 minutes go by real fast. Too bad, I didn't have time to hear all of it today. Next time.
Duration: 30 Minutes
Equipment: Elliptical machine
Calories: 600 plus (more than 100 every five minutes!)
Pearl Jam "Baba O'Reilly"
Back in the '90s when Pearl Jam was new, I saw them doing a Who cover--and it might have been this song--on some show, and Eddie Vedder was not in very good voice that night. In fact, his voice and the whole song sounded like a shambolic mess. One of the most profound regrets in my life is that I dismissed PJ over that one performance. (I know, it has been a pretty cushy life). The other thing is, PJ's live albums show that they're about three to four times better 'live' than on the studio records, I think. The fact you can hear the same PJ song 20 times and not understand the mumbled lyrics any better than the first time is an extra bonus. Great kick start to the workout today. I started at a rapid rate and didn't really slow down.
Niney the Observer "Blood & Fire"
It's interesting that reggae, unlike, say, the Dead, still sounds great when you're not high, which I haven't been for years. I don't know much about Niney the Observer, but can make the observation that he's very tuneful and very pissed off. Here's a simple lyric: "Opresser... Let it burn, burn burn" Why a kid from the lily-white suburbs relates to that at all is beyond me.
The Donnas "Better Off Dancing"
The world would have been a whole lot better off if it paid more attention to The Donnas' "Bitchin" CD last year. A solid return to form after the equally unsuccessful "Gold Medal," which was very obviously an attempt to get on the radio.
Gregory Isaacs "Don't Let Me Suffer" This song and the aforementioned Niney the Observer come from a U.K. magazine giveaway CD dedicated to Trojan records. Almost every song is excellent. That's a surprise since every giveaway CD I've had since sucked.
Pearl Jam "Alone" Taken from the excellent "Live at the Gorge." The seven-CD set documents three concerts at the same venue, and they played almost none of the same songs on those three nights. Again, the live albums, to me, sound much better than the studio stuff.
Liz Phair "Divorce Song" You just have to love Liz Phair.
Foo Fighters "Aurora" If there's a better band than the Foo Fighters out there right now, I don't know who they'd be. I'm not sure I've ever even heard this song before. It's not one of their best, but it's still real good.
The Donnas "Kids In America" If life here fair, this would have been a No. 1 song (for The Donnas as well as Kim Wilde). One of the most under-rated bands out there.
Rush "Cygnus X-1" I feel compelled to say I'm not That Rush Guy who prattles on endlessly about Neil Peart being the best drummer in the world (which he isn't) or the depth of his lyrics. In fact, I threw out the 1981 tour t-shirt I found during a cleaning mission a couple of weeks ago. It was in perfect condition. Still, some of their best stuff is still damned interesting to to listen to and this 18-minute trilogy can make 18 minutes go by real fast. Too bad, I didn't have time to hear all of it today. Next time.
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