Guilty pleasures or signs of encroaching dementia?
Songs currently loaded on my iPod (& in heavy rotation):
Mickey - Toni Basil (I like the organ, but this is strictly out of pity.)
Time to Change - The Brady Bunch (Actually features wah-wah guitar.)
Wango Tango - Ted Nugent (There is no explanation for Ted Nugent.)
Rose Garden - Lynn Anderson (Mainstream country when it was good.)
Shake Your Coconuts - Junior Senior ("'Til the nut comes out.")
Double Vision - Foreigner (See Ted Nugent, I guess.)
Viewer Mail Theme (from Late Night with David Letterman) - James Galway (Composed by Henry Mancini!)
Second Hand News - Fleetwood Mac (See Foreigner.)
Sweet Pea - Tommy Roe (Always have, always will love this song - check out the farfisa organ.)
Don't Dream it's Over - Crowded House (Hopelessly '80s.)
Every Time You Go Away - Paul Young (Even more hopelessly '80s.)
Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight (Horn arrangement totally rocks on this.)
Dancing With Myself - Billy Idol ("Your empty eyes seem to pass me by....")
Da Doo Ron Ron - The Crystals (Less is more, replete with honkin' sax break.)
Billy, Don't Be a Hero - Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods ("I heard she threw the letter away" - very cold sentiment for AM radio.)
Karma Chameleon - Culture Club (Harmonica + Boy George = rock & roll? Discuss.)
Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen (Best ever use of the glockenspiel.)
Lemon Tree - Trini Lopez ("And the lemon flower is sweet"; percussive 12-string guitar; love [life] is fleeting.)
God Save the Queen - Sex Pistols ("They made you a moron/ A potential H-Bomb." Genius.)
Mickey - Toni Basil (I like the organ, but this is strictly out of pity.)
Time to Change - The Brady Bunch (Actually features wah-wah guitar.)
Wango Tango - Ted Nugent (There is no explanation for Ted Nugent.)
Rose Garden - Lynn Anderson (Mainstream country when it was good.)
Shake Your Coconuts - Junior Senior ("'Til the nut comes out.")
Double Vision - Foreigner (See Ted Nugent, I guess.)
Viewer Mail Theme (from Late Night with David Letterman) - James Galway (Composed by Henry Mancini!)
Second Hand News - Fleetwood Mac (See Foreigner.)
Sweet Pea - Tommy Roe (Always have, always will love this song - check out the farfisa organ.)
Don't Dream it's Over - Crowded House (Hopelessly '80s.)
Every Time You Go Away - Paul Young (Even more hopelessly '80s.)
Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight (Horn arrangement totally rocks on this.)
Dancing With Myself - Billy Idol ("Your empty eyes seem to pass me by....")
Da Doo Ron Ron - The Crystals (Less is more, replete with honkin' sax break.)
Billy, Don't Be a Hero - Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods ("I heard she threw the letter away" - very cold sentiment for AM radio.)
Karma Chameleon - Culture Club (Harmonica + Boy George = rock & roll? Discuss.)
Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen (Best ever use of the glockenspiel.)
Lemon Tree - Trini Lopez ("And the lemon flower is sweet"; percussive 12-string guitar; love [life] is fleeting.)
God Save the Queen - Sex Pistols ("They made you a moron/ A potential H-Bomb." Genius.)
posted by Steve Caratzas at 11:41 PM
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3 Comments:
Re: God Save the Queen: Johnny Rotten was also probably the only person who could pull of rhyming anarchist with antichrist.
I'm with you on the Sex Pistols, Billy Idol and Boy George but I'm having trouble understanding some of your entries here.
I want to hear more about why this music speaks to you.
I'm not sure trying to understand me is the most productive use of one's time. That being said, I think the songs speak to me for various inconsistent reasons.
For instance, some of the tunes feature instrument parts that I tend to focus my attention on (the horns in "Mr. Big Stuff," the glockenspiel in "Born to Run"). "Rose Garden" employs mandolin, pedal steel guitar, string section, even a tambourine, and a huge, reverby Phil Spector sound.
In other cases, the songs trigger specific feelings ("Lemon Tree" and "Every Time You Go Away") or actual memories (the time I saw a busker singing "Second Hand News" in Boston).
Finally, I tend to appreciate trashy stuff as much as "good" art.
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