Killing Two Birds With One Stone: Jordan_Tar Write-Off/Challenge Yourself Write-Off
Apr 08 '04
The Bottom Line The Bottom Line is no more in NYC - http://www.bottomlinecabaret.com/
There are two incredibly fun write-offs going on at the site right now. Jordan_Tar is hosting a terrific MP3 Write-Off and Dave is hosting a Challenge Yourself Write-Off. Since I’ve written scant few music reviews, I thought I’d “cheat” and combine the two! Thanks, guys!
My collection of MP3s is extensive as I was a teenager in the early 80's. This meant a deep appreciation for music ranging from the 60's all the way through to today, although I tend to think there hasn’t been as much quality music lately as there used to be. Maybe I’m just traveling in the wrong circles. Either that or I’m getting old. Yikes!
I burn lots of CDs for my car, and most of the tunes I’ve downloaded are actually MP3s of stuff I already have on albums but can’t find anymore on CDs unless I pay a small fortune for an import. My latest “collection” in my car includes Crazy by the Australian band Icehouse, and the re-make of Funky Town by another Australian band, Pseudo Echo. I also have collections of Rush, INXS, and Robert Plant to accompany me on my drive time. Of course, I always have an emergency Springsteen disc available as well.
Anyway, I was nervous doing this as I have a friend who has done some vocal work on various soundtracks and I keep his stuff around, although I actually think I’d be hard-pressed to comprehensively review it. Thankfully, none of those came up, or I think I would have quit right there. I made it all the way to 15!
1. Relax - Frankie Goes to Hollywood Yes, I did have one of those t-shirts back in the 80's. One of the big media events of the 80's was the arrival and media blitz of the group Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Not until the Spice Girls did any act from across the pond receive so much advance press. They had one terrific publicist, I’ll tell you.
Relax was their biggest hit. Dance clubs had wide varieties of remixes on the turntables (remember those?). This is a song that will always bring me to my feet, even now twenty years later. The pulsing beat drives the song along and is almost hypnotic at times. The lyrics really don’t amount to much, but they don’t have to. We didn’t really want any deep lyrics while we were dancing, did we?
2. Love Plus One - Haircut 100 Another British import that didn’t see much airplay outside of the “alternative” radio stations in the early 80's. Led by lead singer Nick Heyward and his cardigan sweater, the band pretty much disappeared after it’s debut album. That’s a shame because Love Plus One is a pretty complex song. It’s got a great guitar riff and easy drum beat that keeps this infectious song bouncing along, plus the good use of a brass adds a nice dimension to the song.
3. I Wanna Be Your Man - The Beatles This is an older song when they were still honing their skills. There’s some great electric guitar work, and the lyrics are sung by both Paul and John together. It’s definitely showing the influence of the 50's music of the likes of Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly, and Chuck Berry, and has virtually no depth to the lyrics, but it sounds nice even more than forty years later. I prefer this version of “pop music” to Britney Spears any day.
4. Here I Go Again - Whitesnake Big time 80's hair band with lead singer David Coverdale having the “rock sluts” dreaming of him at night. The song got noticed at first because of its video which featured Coverdale’s then-girlfriend Tawny Kitaen. This starts out with a great keyboard intro which initially fools you into thinking it’s a rock ballad, then comes on strong with the guitars and picks up speed as it moves into hard-rock territory.
5. Love The One You’re With - Hootie and the Blowfish This live bootleg (so sue me) is actually a composition of several songs and has the sound Hootie and the Blowfish are most known for. There’s good acoustic guitar riffs and a nice beat with Darius Rucker’s great vocals. There’s a nice electric guitar solo in the middle that doesn’t feel out of place at all and blends in nicely with the rest of the song. If you’ve only heard the version of the song by Stephen Stills, it’s worth trying to find this, especially for Hootie fans. It runs pretty long, over 10 minutes, and could be cut way down. There’s a pretty bad attempt at “rap” in the middle of the song. It then segues into Three Is A Magic Number... (Yes, that’s right, the Schoolhouse Rock song) before returning to the Stephen Stills song.
6. Long Live Rock - The Who Great guitar riffs by Townsend... John Entwistle shows why there’s a good argument that he’s the best bassist ever in rock... Roger Daltrey’s great vocals... Keith Moon on drums... What more could you ask for? The song paints a picture of what concerts used to be like, when they were fun and as much about the audience as the artist and not “shows”. It made me remember seeing The Who at Shea Stadium 20+ years ago... Ah yes, those were the days...
7. I’m Bad I’m Nationwide - ZZ Top This is Southern blues rock at it’s finest, and before they started making all the videos with the girls and the cool looking car. It’s also from before they started using the synthesizer in their music, so it’s all guitars and drums here. The song has a nasty tone in the vein of Bad to the Bone. It’s a great song to play when hanging out with friends...
8. Tougher Than The Rest - Bruce Springsteen Well, I’m glad to see Bruce came up in the random play, even if it’s one of his slower and more contemplative songs as he’s pleading with the girl of his dreams to consider him more than she appears to. There’s a nice even drumbeat here, drawing me into the song. If you’re lookin’ for love, well honey I’m tougher than the rest... It’s reminiscent in many ways of my favorite Springsteen song, Thunder Road, but the parties involved seem to have gotten older but still been in the same state of flux.
9. Foolish Heart - Steve Perry After leaving the band Journey, Perry had one warmly received solo album, then pretty much disappeared from the radar. This is from that album, it’s a slow, soulful, and melancholy ballad that doesn’t sound much different from the ballads he did with Journey. Perry always did have incredible vocals, and he shines on this song and draws me into the emotions he seems to be feeling as he sings it.
10.A Hard Day’s Night - The Beatles Wow, a second Beatles tune! This one has some great drums - something that goes unnoticed so much of the time as people tend to focus on the talent of Lennon and McCartney. Ringo really did a terrific job and never seemed to get the acclaim he deserved during the period the band was together. John Lennon’s great vocals lead the track, although Paul McCartney’s wailing occasionally overshadows him. All in all, a solid track.
11. My Girl (Gone, Gone Gone) - Chilliwack I don’t think this Canadian band’s song ever broke the top 20 here in the U.S., but it’s a fun song in the same way Kung Fu Fighting is. There’s a cool base line to accompany the chorus - a gone gone gone, she been gone so long, she been gone, gone, gone so long... a gone gone gone, she been gone so long, she been gone, gone, gone so long.... We’re not talking a masterpiece here, but it’s real catchy and infectious. There’s also a nice guitar solo in the middle.
12. Adult Education - Hall & Oates They were a staple on pop stations in the early 80's. I’ll bet an hour didn’t go by without one Hall & Oates song being played. Here, they seem to be trying to pander to the high school scene, but they were like what, 30 by this time? This is a song with early hip-hop influences, which fits when you consider that I Can’t Go For That was a #1 song on the R&B charts. There’s some nice drum-work on this track
13. Words - Missing Persons This band was most known for Dale Bozzio, the lead singer, who wore a television set and cellophane outfit in the videos. However, listening to this song it’s clear that this band had so much more going for it. There’s terrific guitar and bass work here, and a solid, plain drumbeat. The synthesizer is used more in the background, so it’s not overpowering the way many songs in the early to mid 80's were. What are words for... When no one listens any more...
14. The Voice - The Moody Blues Speaking of synthesizers.... Great song! The introduction is amazing, and often cut out when it’s played on the radio. I’ve come to appreciate the use of acoustic guitars in rock music as I’ve gotten older, and it’s done nicely here. Justin Heyward’s tenor is absolutely perfect here; inspiring and hitting the notes in all the right places. He always manages to make me want to sing along.
15. My Best Friend’s Girl - The Cars This is one of their earlier songs before they became known for their videos. The lyrics lament seeing one’s ex-girlfriend now dating your best friend, something I *never* did, of course. Ric Ocasek is a great vocalist, and here he manages to put a sardonic edge into the song without it descending into silliness. This was a great song to play in the tape deck of my car, especially when I had a mixed group of friends and we’d all sing along.
There you have it - fifteen songs randomly picked out of my MP3 collection. Thanks Jordan - it was fun. You should think about doing this again and making it an annual thing or something. To Dave, I’ve challenged myself and I think I passed the test....
© 2004 Patti Aliventi
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Member: Patti Aliventi
Location: Mount Washington Valley, New Hampshire
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Now writing reviews to pay for the "out of network" costs of our health insurance...
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