"Tutti Frutti"Little Richard
Here's Little Richard
It's too bad this song was released in old fuddy duddy 1955, because the original, uncensored chorus lyrics to this song are classic:
"A-wop-bop-a-loo-mop, a good goddam! / Tutti Frutti, loose booty / If it don't fit, don't force it / You can grease it, make it easy"
Haha.
"I Melt With You"Saves the Day
I'm Sorry I'm Leaving
It's a relatively safe, innocuous cover of a safe, innocuous Modern English tune, but I still really like it. There's just something endearing about the acoustic guitars and Chris Conley's young, still-cracking voice.
"Needy Girl"Chromeo
She's In Control
"When you're home alone / You don't answer the phone / Alright...Ah-ah-ah-alright"
I got a kick out of seeing this one come up. Chromeo's great because there's no pretense in their music; they're only interested in showing you a good time. Everything about this track -- right down to the nostalgic B-Boy scratching that kicks in at about the 2:40 mark -- is unapologetically fun. They're kind of a joke, but the joke isn't at THEIR expense so much as it is to all of OUR benefit. I like that, that's cool.
And the beats are amazing.
"Earth Angel"The Penguins
The Best of the Penguins: The Mercury Years
I love the "jumpy" piano and the simple-but-determined chord progressions. There's a reason why this has been covered a thousand times -- it's a very solid song.
But I think its true importance, be it musically or culturally or whatever, will forever be its association with Back to the Future. It immediately reminds me of the scene at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance when Marty is forced to stand in with the backing band to make sure his parents kiss, which will then ensure that he'll still exist in 1985. It was a close call too, because as they neared the end of the song, his hand was already starting to disappear.
And I don't want to stray too far on a tangent, but on the subject of time-traveling paradoxes, I would argue that Marty McFly should have immediately ceased to exist the second he pushed his father out of the way of his grandfather's car. In that split second, that should've been it for him.
"Mansard Roof"Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend
I totally bought into the internet hype, and with good reason. They're a catchy, snappy band. They incorporate infectious African beats with bright, chiming Johnny Marr-ish guitars. The total instrumentation on this album are expansive and mature -- on top of the typical stuff (guitar, bass, drums, blah blah blah), there's also keyboards, hand drums, harpsichords, strings, organs, flutes. And to top it off, they're hyper-literate. There's very little about them I don't like.
Regarding this track in particular, I'm very fond of the term "salty" (for example, in the line "I see a salty message in the eves"), so I was glad to see them work it into the song. It's definitely not used enough in everyday, casual conversation.
I also love the syncopation that opens the song: the keyboards come down very pronounced on beats 1-2-3, then immediately after, it's 1...pause...1-2-3-4.
"1999"Prince
1999
With the new year a scant six months away, it'd be nice to see a revival of this song. So tonight I'm gonna party like it's...2009.
"1976"RJD2
Since We Last Spoke
Haha. Two songs in a row with numerical titles, couldn't have planned that anymore perfect.
This is just a plain awesome track; it hits its maximum freshness threshold at the :38 mark when the horn section comes in.
"Clan in Da Front"Wu-Tang
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
The thing I've always appreciated the most about Wu-Tang is the overwhelming amount of individual talent in the group. So if there was any complaint I have about this track -- and I'm stretching for criticism here because I still really do like it -- is that it doesn't have the diversity of, say, a "Killer Bees" or a "Protect Ya Neck" or any other typical Wu-Tang track that has multiple MCs on multiple verses. On "Clan in Da Front" -- even the song title is ironic, because the whole clan isn't even featured here -- there isn't any Ghosface, GZA, Meth, ODB, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, not even so much as an uttered syllable out of U-God; it's all just RZA by his lonesome. And that in and of itself definitely isn't a bad thing, it's just I really like hearing the interplay of each member bouncing verses off each other. All of the different voices, tempos, and inflections collaborating with (and competing against) each other is when Wu-Tang is at its most provocative.
There's nothing particularly ambitious or unconventional about this song's lyrics (it follows a very typical A-A-B-B- rhyme scheme), but it's entirely satisfying because of its simplicity. Every down beat has another perfectly-matching down beat. Everything fits together, neatly and conclusively. You don't have to worry about RZA not letting the other shoe drop, because he always does. "Your motherfucking own" rhymes with "microphone," "pass the bone" rhymes with "Indiana Jones," and all is right with the world. It's very fulfilling in that way.
"Devoted to You"The Everly Brothers
All-Time Original Hits
It's sappy sweet and squeaky clean (indicative of the times, of course), but I find something incredibly sincere about the way they sing the lines, "Darling, you can count on me / 'Till the sun dries up the sea / Until then I'll always be / Devoooted to Youuu."
It's no "Bye Bye Love," but it's still an OK song.
"Walk Like An Egyptian"The Bangles
Different Light
"Whey-oh-whey-oh, whey-oh-whey-ooooooh"
"Keep Fishin'"Weezer
Maladroit
One of the few highlights of an otherwise abysmal album.
Over the course of his career, Cuomo really has become a master at crafting the perfect 2 1/2 minute pop song: they're safe, harmless, vaguely-generic, and entirely enjoyable. Consider the lines "You'll never be / A better kind / If you don't leave / The world behind." That doesn't say anything...it doesn't even attempt to say anything. It's just inane blather whose only purpose is to fill two bars of sheet music. But you're able to forgive its complete lack of purpose just because it's so aesthetically pleasing.
And I also really like the booming, hollow-sounding drums on this track.
"And Your Bird Can Sing"The Beatles
The Beatles Anthology [Disc 1]
The great thing about this track -- aside from being a very good song off of Revolver -- is that John, Paul, and George can't stop laughing throughout the entire track. I'm sure it was around this point in their careers that they really started to resent each other, so it's nice to hear them having a good time with each other in the studio.
That, and they must be blazed out of their minds.
"Big Poppa"The Notorious B.I.G.
Ready to Die
Diddy's spoken-word verse towards the end is almost enough to ruin the entire song for me:
"Honey, check it / Tell your friends, to get with my friends / And we can be friends / Shit, we can do this every weekend / 'Aight? Is that 'aight with you? / Yeah...keep banging"
It makes me cringe every time. haha
"99 Red Balloons"Goldfinger
Stomping Ground
I know that for fun, many Spanish teachers will take a day out of their lesson plan to teach students how to sing "La Bamba" or "Besame Mucho." So I wonder if German teachers do the same with this song...?
"Good Life"Kanye West (feat. T-Pain)
Graduation
I love the cover art for this album. I want to buy it on vinyl and frame the cover sleeve.
Talking Heads
Talking Heads: 77
I haven't heard any Talking Heads in forever.
"Psycho killer / Quest que cest / Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far away"
That's my favorite part. I had to look the lyrics up to make sure I had enough "fa"s in there. Apparently there's nine, with the complete "far" coming on the tenth syllable.
"There She Goes"Sixpence None The Richer
Sixpence None The Richer
I dunno, I've always liked this track way more than "Kiss Me." Surely I'm not alone, right?
"Sentimental Heart"She & Him
Volume One
I just uploaded this album recently, so this is actually my first listen of this song. It's good, I like it enough. I just have one small complaint: I'm not sure how gripping she is as a performer. Aside from being an entirely competent singer, I don't know if there's anything else that's inherently fascinating or irresistible about her voice. She obviously has the singing chops, but I don't think there's any specific reason -- that is, any reason other than her simply being Zooey Deschanel -- to force me to listen to this album. Meh, who knows, maybe it just needs to grow on me longer...
However, I do like that she covered Smokey Robinson's "You Really Got A Hold On Me." It's not half as good as the original, but it doesn't matter because I appreciate the attempt.
"Canon in D Major"Johann Pachelbel
The Most Relaxing Classical Music in the Universe
For any former band kid -- and I say band "kid" intentionally, because I don't think I showed nearly enough due diligence in practicing my scales to officially call myself a band "geek" -- this song holds a lot of sentimental value. For a lot of us, it was one of the first classical compositions we learned to play, and at that age, if something is "classical" than it naturally must also be extremely complex and difficult. Our parents were very impressed at recital time.
And I have plenty other versions of this (piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, full orchestra), but this is probably my favorite version -- just plain strings.
And check out the title of this album. That's a pretty lofty promise.
"Lust for Life"Iggy Pop
Lust for Life
"Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suite on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?"
This has long since ceased being an Iggy Pop song; now it's a Trainspotting song.
Oh, and a Carnival Cruise line song, too.
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