Merry Christmas...from WInger!

If you can make it that far, look for them to get "funky" with this one at 1:33

"B.O.B" / Outkast / Stankonia

Well, first of all thatnk to Merk for filling in for me. I'm back and well-rested. Hooray for Holiday break!

And what a song to retun with. Setting aside the actual music till later, I will say that this might be the best single of the '00s so far. It's also the single in which we here in Georgia lost Outkast to the whole wide world. Sure, there was "Rosa Parks", and before that "Elevators" and even before that "Player's Ball", and later Dre would conquor the whole damn world with "Hey Ya!", but up until "B.O.B" they had really been a genre based, regional hit.

"B.O.B" changed all that. I remember earing this for the first time and thinking, "Shit! Outkast is for real now". In the same way that you can tell Beatles songs as Paul's or John's, at this point you could start seeing Outkast songs as Dre's or Big Boi's. Of course, they later removed all doubt by releasing a double album that way, but you could see it coming. This was definitely a Dre song and was indicative of his exploration of other musical areas. First of all, that's a fuckin' Drum & Bass beat, which was brillant and unheard of in a rap song. Also, there's a guitar solo. In a rap song. That wasn't RUN DMC. This song got huge precisely because of that diversity - white folks who didn't like rap could dig it too. I think this even got played on 99x once or twice. I even remember it being played at Bumpers, for Chrissakes.

My favorite parts of this song: the countdown at the beginning accompanied by the musicbox chimes, followed by the "Yeah!" and hearing that beat come in. (It still gets me every time!), the chants in the chorus ("Bombs over Baaaghdaaad"), the drum fill at 2:33 that brings on the aforementioned guitar solo, then the second act of the song ("Bob your head - Ragtop") at 3:25, followed shortly by the AWESOME finish at the 5:00 mark, the "Power / Music / Electric Revival" chant that brings it home.

Outkast seems to be laying low right now, but let's hope they can find a way to make it work again. They could end up being one of the most important artists period when thier carrer is finished.

Guest Post from the Merkin Man

Thanks to my buddy for helping out a bit around here!

The Merkin Man thought it would be sweet of him to make a little guest post for his buddy B. Mo. Since the Merkin Man is always hating on his musical choices, he thought it was only fair
to offer something up for the B. Mo. and the other two readers to reciprocate their my playa hatin'. Enjoy, fuckers.

Merkin Man Podcast #6

You can also get past episodes here.

"Hello, yeah, it's been a while. Not much - How 'bout you?"

Sorry for the long delay. I know both of you reading wait for each post with bated breath. Here's a little England Dan and John Ford Coley to tide you over.

"Digging the Grave" / Faith No More / King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime

Now we're talking. Faith No More is probably one of my top five bands / artists and have been for years now. I believe they are one of the most innovative, influential, underrated bands ever. This CD is one of my favorites of thiers, but I recommend everyone pick up "Angel Dust" at some point in thier lives. Utterly brillant. If you only remember these dudes for 1990's rap / rock opus "Epic", you're missing out.

This CD came out in 1995, and 1995 was a helluva memorable year for me. At the time, I was wildly unhappy, but anytime I think back to that year I only remember good times, which I guess is a little ironic. I listened to this CD several times a week, so it's one of those instances in which music can instantly conjure up the mood and mindset you were in as soon as you hear one of the songs.

It helps that Mike Patton is a complete lunatic. If you've ever seen any concert footage of FNM, you know what I'm talking about. One of the best shows I've ever seen was FNM and Helmet at Legion Field in Athens in 1993 (?). He's also the creative force behind side projects like Fantomas, Mr. Bungle, and Tomahawk (a new project). His manic energy and creativity go hand in hand, and he has a pretty cool voice too. Plus, he's dead ringer for Robert Downy Jr.

This song is one of the most straightforward, traditional rock songs they've done (which is probably why it's one of the only songs they released as a single off this album). There's much better stuff on this CD, but this song has its moments too. Like, specifically, my favorite part. At two minutes in, after a few bars of an instrumental break, Patton lets loose with a few patented screams and yelps. It's almost as if he thought this was a little to conventional for him and had to Pattonize it a little bit.

Got a video for ya right here, too.

"Overkill" / Colin Hay

No album for this one. You remember Men at Work? Early 80's Australian pop band? "Who can it be knockin' at my door", vegemite sammiches and whatnot?

Colin Hay was their lead singer and, I'm guessing, their chief songwriter. This is an acoustic version of one of Men at Work's songs, and I think it's pretty cool, myself.

As with any song, when you perform it solo / acoustically, it tends to somehow carry more gravitas, no matter what the song (see Poison's Unplugged version of "I Want Action" if you don't believe me). Same thing here. What was an innocuous little pop tune sounds somber and thoughtful. And I love the part at about 2:15 when he goes back to the opening verse, but sings it in a higher register. Almost gives you a little chill, and that's something I never, ever thought I'd say about anything associated with Men At Work.

It's worth your while to grab this one for your library, if you ax me.
http://www.mediafire.com/?fkx3pytblej

"Dolphin" / Prince / The Gold Experience

This one's funny. I'm a huge Prince fan (actually, this album was in the "Artist Formally Known As.." stage in 1995), but let's be honest in that his best days are behind him (as a writer, not a performer).

This one's unintentionally hilarious. I like The Gold Album, actually, it's got some great songs on it :"Pussy Control", "Endorphinemachine", "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World", "Gold", and "Shhh" (which blew me away in concert when he played it - talk about a freakin' deep cut) but this one's pretty bad. It's got the same theme as the classic "If I Was Your Girlfriend", but on crack.

I'm including the lyrics here just for a laugh. God bless Prince with the 2s, Us and whatnot.

How beautiful do the words have 2 be
Before they conquer every heart?
How will U know if I'm even in the right key
If U make me stop before I start?
CHORUS:
If I came back as a dolphin
Would U listen 2 me then?
Would U let me be your friend?
Would U let me in?
U can cut off all my fins
But 2 your ways I will not bend
I'll die before I let U tell me how 2 swim
And I'll come back again as a dolphin

Why does my brother have 2 go hungry
When U told him there was food 4 all?
This is the man that stands next 2 the man
That stands 2 catch U when U fall (Oh!)

If I'm under water, will U find me? (Find me {x4})
Will U shine a light and try 2 guide me?
It's happened before, I've knocked on your door
But U wouldn't let me in

How beautiful do the words have 2 be
Before they conquer every heart? (Oh!)

If I came back as a dolphin
Would U listen 2 me then?
Would U let me be your friend?
Would U let me in?
U can cut off all my fins
But 2 your ways I will not bend
I'll die before I let U tell me how 2 swim
Come back in the end as a dolphin (Oh)
(I'll come back, baby)
(Let me in, let me in) As a dolphin
(Be my friend) Dolphin
(Yeah, yeah)

Dolphin
As a dolphin
As a dolphin
As a dolphin


Seriously, man, that's gold, I tell you. Gold.

It's like the worst 9th grade poetry I see set to music.

And, speaking of music, it's not actually too bad. I like the little break right after the chorus with the neat little bass riff (check 1:03 to 1:15 for the first instance), but I just can't get past the lyrics. Help yoursleves, though:

http://www.mediafire.com/?9sjjorfg2uj

"The Clairvoyant" / Iron Fuckin' Maiden / Best of the Beast

Now that's what I'm talking about. If you don't love Maiden, I don't really know what else to say. Could they be the ultimate metal band? They fulfill every metal cliche to the point that it goes beyond hilarity to utter,sublime greatness.

I do regret not ever getting the chance to see them, though. I was going to go see them (with Anthrax opening!) at some point in high school, but they had to cancel and never returned. All I have to rely on are old videos, which are as good as anything. It was also fun to freak my parents out by putting up a great Maiden poster in my room in 9th grade (I know, "Oooohhhh, dangerous" - gimmie a break; I grew up a typical suburban white boy. That's about as shocking as I got.)

This song comes from "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son", the masterpiece conceptual album about...um...babies, prophicies, wizards...and, er, other random shit. Doesn't matter, it's still great.

I love the beginning with the classic Steve Harris galloping bass, followed by the anthemic guitar riff. Actually, the verse is a little dull, but then they get to the second half of the song. When the band , out of nowhere, churns out the "There's a time to live / and a time to die" chorus at about two minutes in, it's just complete, classic Maiden. I picture thousand of greasy, long haired, denim jacketed burnouts pumping their fists and bobbing their heads in unison. Love it.

Then later at 4:08 or so, that riff from the beginning comes back (and check out the drop in key on the third time though of the chorus at 3:50 . What's up with that?), and Bruce Dickinson finishes off with the "I feel reborn again" lyric, which just brings everything back around very nicely, full circle.

Enjoy...
http://www.mediafire.com/?2nzxdmp4zwu

Here's a great video of a performance of it a Donington - Look for Big! Walking! Eddie

Alright, try this one

Due to the comments on the last Ted Leo song, I went out and found another one of his I really like.
I know it's against the "rules" of my blog, but ....Matchbox 20? Come on...

Here's "Where Have All the Rudeboys Gone?"

"Walking to Do" / Ted Leo and the Pharmacists / Shaking the Sheets

I can't remember how I found out about Ted Leo. I guess I first remember hearing about his cover of Kelly Clarkson's "Since You Been Gone", which was a great one, by the way.

I think I then downloaded a random song, "Better Dead Than Lear", which I liked enough to put on a mixtape. It lead to getting a couple of proper CDs from my buddy Mike when I raided his itunes library last Spring. Now I've got cred out my ASS. Ted Leo will do that for you.

I really like the dude, though. He's got some great, catchy tunes and some sticky hooks, which is what you want in a pop band. The music is pretty complex, too - not just straight up melodies and verses, but lots of nice little nooks and crannies to the songs that reveal themselves over several listens.

Take this one. It's pretty unfamiliar to me as his songs go, but damn if I don't have the refrain stuck in my head now after only two listens. I love the breakdown that starts with cutting everything out but the guitar, bass and drums at about 2:16, then slowly building back up to the chorus - with an "answer" back this time, of course, and for God's sake, do I hear handclaps too?

You can count on it - a great hook, studio hijinks, three minutes and some seconds = pop perfection

http://www.mediafire.com/?2zlmj1r2tfb

"If" / The Darling Buds / Erotica

Wow, time to go pretty deep. I'd be surprised if any of you ever heard this group (and I say that not in a "hipper than thou" context, I just mean they were a tiny, tiny flash in the pan).

The Darling Buds was a group that had a couple of popular 99X songs in the early 90's in the heady, post-Nirvana alternative goldrush. You may remember a song called "Long Day in the Universe" - that was them. Their sound could fall into that "shoegazer" genre with bands like Lush, Curve and My Bloody Valentine.

The thing is, I really like this CD. It's not something I can sit and listen to regularly, but if a song randomly pops up on the 'ol ipod shuffle or here on the computer, I still enjoy it. The band's sound is pretty soothing, with dense layers of tracks throughout the songs. They also have a chick singer (which I'm a sucker for) and lots of great hooks.

This song is a good example of the band's sound. The beginning reminds me of "Gigantic" by the Pixies with the bass and vocal, then moves pretty quickly into the standard sound of the band. I like how the bass line that's introduced by itself at the beginning carries throughout the song and how the other tracks tail off at the end, leaving just the bass again. It's worth a listen, I reckon.

http://www.mediafire.com/?8zrjchjkxmx

"Go Fuck You" / Hank Williams III

No album with this one. After reading about Hank III somewhere about five years ago I searched out some of his stuff in Limewire and got this one (and another really good one, called "Pop County Really Sucks", which should kind of tell you what he's all about).

Apparently this dude is the real deal and follows in the footsteps of his hard-livin' drunkard Granddiddy and not his lame sellout old man ("Are you ready for some fooootballll?"). I read a review of one of his concerts recently and he plays the first half of his shows with his roots / bluegrass band and comes back for a second set with a punk group.

As for this song, it's just a simple, straightforward "boogie" riff which (and I'm just guessing here) provides a context for the real point of the song, the lyrics. Being live adds lots of flavor to it, even though it's a pretty poor recording, and that first "Hey man, go fuck you" at 50 seconds in followed by the crowd roar is great. And of course, by the end of the song the crowd is sing right along with that catchy little chorus.

I got to give the kid props for giving the figurative finger to Nashvillle and doing his own thing, especially given the fact that he's the grandson of arguably the most influential figure ever in the genre. Listen to any mainstream country radio station for a few songs and you can see why they are absolutely deserving of it.

http://www.mediafire.com/?8d21v4sgtms

"Friday I'm In Love" / The Cure / The Cure's Greatest HIts

Not sure where this one came from, as I don't have the whole album (just Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me). I guess the old lady bought it as a single one day.

Meh - not too much going on here. I suppose it's notable for being the last "hit" the Cure has had, and it's also notable for being quite the poppy, upbeat song in contrast to the dour, mopey Cure classics. Not to sound too cliche here, but I really love the old Cure stuff. You have to appreciate a band that more or less started (or popularized) an entire social genre. I remember being surprised when I first saw the video in the early 90's, hearing that jangly guitar opening and then seeing Robert Smith running(!) down the stairs and start singing.

One thing I really like about this song? The bridge. From the "Dressed up to the eyes" lyric about two minutes (2:06 in the video) in to the weird "Whooooo!" at 2:30 - now that's good stuff. I almost wish that would have been the melody for a song all its own.


A couple of other Cure memories and I'm done.

-Once at the Engine Room, playing truth or dare over three dollar PBR pitchers, I dared Jeff to go up to the bartender, look him in the eye, and sing "Why can't I be you?". And he did.

- I heard "Lovesong" on KRGR radio at Kroger the other day. Struck me as sort of a strange place to hear it.

- And, of course, one of the greatest South Park moments ever : "Robert Smiiith, Robert Smiiith"

"Army" / Ben Folds / Ben Folds Live

Yes! I finally get to write about my man Ben Folds. Since I discovered Ben Folds (Five) back in 1996 with "Underground", he's been one of my top five favorite artists.

I think he's one of the quintessential artists of my generation - he somehow combines a heavily sarcastic, cynical nature with moments of incredible sincerity and honesty (see "Brick", his biggest hit, or "We're Still Fighting It" for examples), which is quite a feat, and is pretty indicitive of folks my age, for the most part.

This song shows more of his cheeky, subversive side. I'm not sure if it's autobiographical or not; I think I heard it was, but the album on which it originally appears (this is a live cut) is a loose concept album about a character, Reinhold Messner. It's hard to beat an opening line like:

"Well I thought about the Army - Dad said 'Son you're fucking high'"

Not to mention the Chik-fil-A name check, mention of a mullet, and a "redneck past" hot on the narrator's heels.

This live cut brings some new stuff to the song (and I always appreciate Ben Folds for having a fresh approach to his songs in concert); check out the crowd (split into two parts) singing the instrumental break at about two minutes in, the nice little piano solo accompanied by the clapping crowd right before that, and the final line "I thought about.....your Mommy" (instead of ...."the Army")

Mr. Folds is all over the place on my itunes library; I have a feeling he'll pop up again. Good times!

http://www.mediafire.com/?c1wzde14n1d

"The Big Three Killed My Baby" / The White Stripes / The White Stripes

Interesting song, supposedly the "big three" are the big three Detroit automakers. How did they kill babies, you ask? Probably layoffs and stuff.

Not many dynamics or changes to this one, it's kind of a strummed dirge with breaks in what I suppose would be the chorus. Heavy reverb, it sounds like, and very low-fi production. Intentional, or is the entire CD like that? I'm not sure. By the way, what do y'all out there think of Meg as a drummer? I always thought servicable at best, although what she does fits well in the band. She always seems to end up on critics' lists of great drummers, and I have to scratch my head about that. Maybe someone more informed than me can enlighten me.

I'm not sure why I have this song on itunes, actually, I don't have the album on which it appears. It just kind of showed up out of the blue somewhere.

I've already somewhat covered 'ol Jack on the Loretta Lynn entry, but not the Stripes themselves. I'm a big fan, although I do feel a general backlash brewing in the media (especially after the mildly disappionting "Get Behind Me Satan"). However, I really am still digging the new album and I'd recommend it to those of you that liked "Elephant" as much as I did.

http://www.mediafire.com/?01zxbddmdjm

"All the Way to Reno" / REM / Reveal

Oh, man, I have some things to get off my chest.

Let me begin by saying that to those of us that grew up in Athens, there is no band that means more to many of us than REM. Even before they hit the big time, beginning in the late 1980's but really taking off in 1991, REM was the soundtrack for Athens youth. We literally grew up with them, album to album. There's almost no music as important to me and my "musical developement", if you'll allow, than those classic REM albums like "Lifes Rich Pagent", "Murmur" and "Reckoning". They were always ours, and we were proud to have them, and when the time came we were tickled to share them with the world.

Then Bill Berry quit and "Up" happened. Now God forgive me...REM kinda sucks. And that absolutely breaks my heart.

Sure, there's been the occasional interesting single, like "Daysleeper", "At My Most Beautiful", "Imitation of Life", even this song's OK. But most REM albums (and I've bought them all - I'm nothing if not a loyal fan) are plodding, mid-tempo, hookless drudgery.

I'm of the opinion that they should have ended with the underrated "New Adventures in Hi-Fi". That album, and especially the closing song, "Electrolyte" would have made a great coda to their career. Now it's like watching Evander Holyfield trying to make comeback after comeback. You feel bad for them; you just want to pat them on the shoulder and say, "You know what? You had a great run. But it's over. Don't embarrass yourself or tarnish your legacy. Go out with some dignity".

Supposedly they are back in the studio, and there's always that hope that they can rekindle the magic...but I don't think I can be a party to it anymore.

At least the video is charming

"When Something Is Wrong With My Baby" / Sam & Dave / The Best of Sam & Dave

I think Sam & Dave are a great soul act that get lost in the shuffle. I know they weren't part of the Motown juggernaut, but they should be more popular and appreciated than they are. They've done quite a few songs that are classics like "Soul Man" and "Wrap It Up". I think they may have been a Stax group, but I"m not sure. (***edited: A quick check of wiki says yes, they were from Stax. And, snap, they were both Georgians. I should have known that!***)

That being said, I probably wouldn't have known about them myself if I didn't have a deep, abiding love for the movie "The Blues Brothers", which used some of their tunes to great effect. "Soul Man", of course, but also "Soothe Me" and "Hold On, I'm Comin". I bought this best of CD to keep those songs handy and ended up liking the whole thing.

This song itself is a slow jam which has been covered by many artists. It's got that slow, horn-filled style to it that's recognizable of many old soul love songs; all of them seem to have those arpeggioed piano notes in the verses. In lots of ways, it reminds me of "Try Me" by James Brown, or even "Oh Darling" by The Beatles is a great point of comparison.

A clever reader is helping me include links to the songs. Try the link below to see if it works.
http://www.mediafire.com/?7wmsnxjyzmd

"Mad Mrs. Leroy Brown" / Loretta Lynn / Van Lear Rose

What a treat this CD was. I've always had lots of respect for the classic country artists of the 60's and 70's, and it was awesome to have Jack White give Loretta Lynn the same treatment Ruck Rubin gave to Johnny Cash.

This CD actually sounds a lot like a White Stripes album to me, which makes perfectly good sense. It seems Loretta had fun doing the record, and on this song especially. Noting quite says country music like a good old "revenge on a cheatin' man" song - especially one that involves a pink limo and Mrs. Lynn promising "I'm gonna grab her by her phony ponytail / I'm gonna sling her around and around"

At the the end of the song, you can hear some playful banter between her and Jack which is really...cute, for lack of a better term. Let's only hope that the rumors about a relationship between the two while recording this were only rumors. On second thought, that kind of kicks ass.

"Devil Town" / Bright Eyes / The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered

First off, I have to say that this is one of my five year old's favorites. He likes anything slightly creepy or macabre (I guess being born a week before Halloween can do that to you), and one day I was playing a mix CD in the car and this song came on. Quinn got really quiet, then said out of the blue: "Dad, why are his friends vampires?" (there's a line that goes "All my friends were vampires / didn't know they were vampires / turned out I was a vampire myself in a devil town"). So, anyway, I get a few requests for this song on trips.

I've come to Daniel Johnston late; a friend from work only recently burned me a CD of his, and it's...OK...but this song is great. You may notice that it's a cover, Bright Eyes did this version, and I bought this single because it was the only version of the song on itunes.**Edited to add - I just looked again on itunes, and the original's there now. The cover is still better, in my opinion**Not a big Bright Eyes fan myself, but they do a damn fine job here, capturing the spookiness and meloncholy of the song perfectly.

I bought this song because of my love for the TV show "Friday NIght Lights". Believe me when I say I don't watch much TV, and there are maybe three or four that I watch religiously, and FNL is the king of all shows. I"m serious. If you didn't see last season, check it out on DVD before season two starts. You don't even have to like football, either, it's just an incredibly well done show. I haven't been in love with a show this much since "Freeks and Geeks", or maybe "Reba".

Anyway, I believe in the pilot they played this song over the opening credits, which made me immediately think - damn, they may have something here (incidently, the show's inde cred is airtight - Explosions in the Sky does much of the score, and I've heard tracks from The Go! Team, Spoon and Le Tigre too). At the end of the season, they bookended the final scene of the state championship parade through town (not a cheesy at it sounds, trust me) with this song again, and I swear, my allergies started acting up just a little. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

"One Of My Turns" / Pink Floyd / The Wall

Sorry for the delay, life intrudes as it will....

So, when did your Pink Floyd obsession begin and end? Almost every big music fan has had that love affair at some point in their lives. For me, it was tenth grade to twefth grade, give or take. I listened to "The Wall" (either that, "Led Zeppelin III" or "Electric" by The Cult) on my walk to school almost every day of my sophomore year. And really, what better age than 14 to listen to "The Wall" constantly and wallow in its themes of being misunderstood and outcast? It's like flies to shit.

Later, I delved into "Dark Side of the Moon" (of course) and "Wish You Were Here" (in my opinion, the best of those four or five classic PF albums). Floyd was even the first big arena concert I went to - 1987 in the old Omni in Atlanta.

Then, yes, I outgrew them. I must say, though, that enough time has passed that I can look back fondly and appreciatively on those albums. I saw a show on VH1 Classic called "Classic Albums" in which the Floyd guys revisited the studio and showed how they made the album, and it was really interesting and cool to see. I also found a vinyl copy of "Wish You Were Here" and gave it a few nostalgic spins before I had to dismantle my record player for the time being.

Anyway, to this song, there's not much to it. It's very soft and slow at the beginning, and moves the narrative forward (something about his Mom? and a trial? Anyway). The lyrics I always remember are "Cold as a razor blade / tight as a tourniquet / dry as a funeral drum" because I though it was cool that a British guy could rhyme "razor blade" and "tourniquet".

If you're an old school Athenian, you can help me out here too. At the end of the song, there's a line that is almost acapella and drawn out : "Why are you running away?" I swear, I remember this line being in an old Video Library commerical on MTV back in the day. Am I crazy or does anyone remember?

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

You'll notice that I changed the bolg template. I was never really happy with the original; there may be a couple more tweaks here and there as I find what I really like.

I've changed the "Comments" section too, so if you'd like to leave a comment and don't have a blogger account you can now leave one anonymously (though it would still be nice to sign it so I can see who's commenting).

On another note, if anyone more experienced with this format can tell me how to embed a YouTube video, that would be nice.

"Don't Come Round Here No More" / Tom Petty / Tom Petty's Greatest Hits

Let me start off by clarifying that some songs may actually be my wife's or something my brother downloaded (if it's cheesy modern country or terrible Dutty Souf rap. Love ya, bro!). And I say that not to dismiss Tom Petty, 'cause Tom Petty's OK with me...but I'm just sayin'.

I guess like many of you I can't listen to this song without thinking of the freaky Alice in Wonderland video (LINK: http://youtube.com/watch?v=b5H0wUo37RY) . As a song, though, it has some good moments. The shouted "HEY!" throughout the song is kind of cool, and I've always liked songs that have "acts", as it were, and I'm thinking here of the shift in the song towards the end when it throws the mandolin out the window and goes into that fast, chugging guitar riff to finish up.

Overall, as I said, I like Petty OK - a good Southern boy even though he's a Gator from Gainesville, Florida. Eric and Jeff loved them some Petty back in the day, and I used to argue with them in my advocacy of John Mellencamp (I've always thought of those two as populist rockers cut from the same cloth - kind of like a hick version of the "Stones or Beatles?" argument).

If I had my druthers, though, I'd prefer to hear "The Waiting" (his best song and a bonafide classic), "Don't Do Me Like That" or "Stop Draggin My Heat Around".

"Johnny, Kick a Hole in the Sky" / Red Hot Chilli Peppers / Mother's Milk

File this one under other "Native Americans done wrong" songs along with Anthrax's "Indians", Iron Maiden's "Run to the Hills", The Doors' "Wild Child", and most of The Cult's music from the 90's when Ian Astbury (like Jim Morrison) inexplicably decided he was really Indian all along.

Now that I think about it, one of the RHCP's first singles was "True Men Don't Kill Coyotes" and I believe Anthony Keidis has a Thunderbird tattoo across his back, so I guess they've always enjoyed that vibe.

I like the way this song starts, with the snippet of "The Star Spangled Banner", then dips into some classic wa-wa funk guitar of John Fuschiante (he was their guitarist then, right?) and of course, Flea's ridiculous bass. He really has some great parts in this song, especially that descending run down the fret right before the chorus.

All in all this is my favorite RHCP album. Reminds me (again) of my senior year in high school. I saw the video for "Knock Me Down" on 120 Minutes or something and loved it, so I had to get that album. On this album itslef, though, this is one of my least favorites.

"The Cherry Tree" / 10,000 Maniacs / In My Tribe

I know I'm going to get a lot of shit for this, but I really, really, like this album. I'm not crazy about the Maniacs in general, but I think this album is just about perfect from start to finish (with the exception of "My Sister Rose", which is, far and away the weak link and keeps it out of the pantheon of all-timers).

On the album itself, it's right between "Like the Weather" and "The Painted Desert" and is a nice transition between the two. It's got a lively, bouncy , almost (dare I say) danceable beat to it. To be honest, I never knew the title, but I always recognize it as a favorite when it starts.

This album, in general, reminds me of 1993. I think I bought the used casette on a whim and listened it it pretty constantly that entire year. It has indelible memories of a certain young lady I was seeing at the time, and of trips through the Appalachian Mountains with said young woman in my 1985 Buick Regal.

"Stop" / Jane's Addiction / Ritual de lo Habitual

It's incredible the influence that a band like Jane's had from more or less only two albums (plus a live EP). They were almost Nirvana before Nivana, in other words, they were thisclose to being the big 80's alternative band that made it mainstream.

I'll never forget hearing "Nothing's Shocking" my senior year in high school (class of 1990) and thinking, "Shit - this is altogether different - this may be the best album I've ever heard". That album was passed around many of my friends, and we couldn't wait for the new album to come out.

So in 1991, "Ritual de lo Habitual" came out with a decent bit of fanfare (remember, still, this was pre Nirvana, pre Lalapalooza, so the fact that this album had some press was impressive and exciting at the time). I remember loving it, and "Stop" was one of the most impressive on it.

Of course, the big hit was the gimmicky "Been Caught Stealing" which most people remember Jane's Addiction for (that or the overplayed "Jane Says"), but for my money give me a "Stop", "Three Days", "Mountain Song" or "Ocean Size"

"Factory Girl" / The Rolling Stones / Beggar's Banquet

You can have your "Exile on Main Street" - for my money, the best Stones album is "Beggar's Banquet". Unfortunately, this is my least favorite song on the album, but then again, it's only 2:12 long.

I really like the strummed intro and there's some nice percussion to set the scene, but Mick's voice grates. It seems like it's a character voice (the same as he does in "Dear Doctor" earlier in the album), but I can't really figure out what character that might be. Any guesses as to what a "Factory Girl" is, anyway?

I must say though,

"Waitin' for a girl and she gets me into fights
Waitin' for a girl we get drunk on Friday nights"

Is a great couplet. In fact, it reminds me of my wife. Ha.

Here's the premise behind this blog: I will open itunes and hit "random", post the resulting song here, and then give you my thoughts on the song, artist, or on any other personal responses I may have associated with said song. It's going to be very, very exciting. I'll try to add to it about twice a week, so check in and be sure and leave some comments to continue discussion.

First off, though, in the spirit of one of my favorite blogs (EDSBS.com, a college football blog), I will offer points for creative, witty, snide or astute comments. The overall points winner gets my brother's old 45 of Poison's "Fallen Angel" from my record collection. Values to be determined by me.

So, to start us off, 25 points to anyone who can tell me from whence the title of this blog came.