Volume 3, Track 7
“You Hit The Nail On The Head” by Funkadelic (1972) “You Hit The Nail On The Head,” the opening track on Funkadelic’s fourth album America Eats Its Young begins with a whirlwind of organs, keyboards, wah-wah guitars, and drums that generates enough intensity that you may feel a little woozy at first. Thankfully, Funkadelic tempers [...]
Volume 3, Track 6
“Deserted Cities Of The Heart” by Cream (1968) One thing that gets lost in the mix when we think of guitar solos is how important a factor the drums can be. “Deserted Cities Of The Heart” is not only the best Cream song you have never heard of but its guitar solo may be the [...]
Volume 3, Track 5
“I Get Lonesome” by Beck (1994) One Foot In The Grave is one of my favorite albums of the nineties and yet, at the same time, I can understand why some people hate it intensely. After “Loser” was released, it was pretty easy to think that Beck would follow up with an effort that was [...]
Volume 3, Track 4
“Song For The Man” by Beastie Boys (1998) If you have never listened to Hello Nasty except for what was played on the radio in the summer of 1998 you would be missing out on what is easily the strangest and trippiest Beastie track. On “Song For The Man,” the Beastie Boys substitute rapping and [...]
Volume 3, Track 3
“Pachuco Cadaver” by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band (1969) There are three things you need to know about Captain Beefheart, his Magic Band, and Trout Mask Replica: 1) the Captain’s main focus when writing music was avant-garde, 2) Trout Mask Replica was produced by Frank Zappa, and 3) Trout Mask Replica is, for the [...]
Volume 3, Track 2
“Israelites” by Desmond Dekker (1969) When it comes to “old school” music there are two primary schools of thought: it either is seen as great compared to today’s style or it is seen as horribly outdated. At the end of the day, though, the argument ultimately feels empty because you are forced to begrudgingly admit [...]
Volume 3, Track 1
“Speed Of Life” by David Bowie (1977) David Bowie is someone whose musical career I respect, but I never really got into him that much. I think Hunky Dory is a really good album and if I went out and bought a “best of” CD I am sure that I would like most of it [...]
Volume 3 Introduction
I grew up in a suburban area of Chicago known affectionately as the “Far South.” On the local weather map that all three TV stations used, where I lived was pretty close to being the lowest temperature that would be reported for our little southwestern quadrant. The Far South suburbs has now become what every [...]
Volume 2, Track 14
“Love Me Do” by The Beatles (1962) “Love Me Do” was The Beatles’ first single; it was originally released as such in 1962 then put on Please Please Me in 1963. Americans would hear it for the first time in 1964 and the rest is pretty much history. This song is so simple and so [...]
Volume 2, Track 13
“Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” by The Beatles (1965) “Norwegian Wood” is, musically, one of the most beautiful songs that The Beatles ever wrote. The fact that John Lennon’s curt lyrics stand in contrast to the light and mesmerizing sound is quite an accomplishment. It is easy to write a happy song set to [...]
Volume 2, Track 12
“Lovely Rita” by The Beatles (1967) The two main reasons why I love “Lovely Rita”: one, it is a fantastic little number with just enough spunk and psychedelic dabblings to make you think it was 1967 all over again and, two, once the song is over it begins the trifecta of “Good Morning Good Morning,” [...]
Volume 2, Track 11
“If I Needed Someone” by The Beatles (1965) When your other bandmates are John Lennon and Paul McCartney you tend to get overlooked a lot but George Harrison, easily the quietest member of the band, wrote some pretty impressive tracks. Almost everyone identifies “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” as Harrison’s masterpiece and probably rightfully so. [...]
Volume 2, Track 10
“We Can Work It Out” by The Beatles (1965) On the surface, it is easy to see “We Can Work It Out” as a pop song about a relationship but it probably, more so than any other song, reveals–however intentional or not–the complexity of Paul McCartney’s and John Lennon’s creative relationship with each other that, [...]
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