Masoo
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1. Chumbawamba, "Tubthumping." One-hit wonders who have been making music for 25 years. Anarchists who created the perfect sports anthem.
2. Blur, "Song 2." OK, so this one has actually outlasted "Tubthumping" as a sports anthem ... it still gets played at sporting events in 2008. No one in the stands knows the name of the song, but they sing along anyway.
3. Pavement, "Stereo." I freely admit that I can't stand Geddy Lee's vocals.
4. Puff Daddy, "Victory." Meanwhile, my son often refers to me as "the guy who likes the sound of Puffy's rapping."
5. Erykah Badu, "On and On." Is she the Eartha Kitt of her day?
6. Sleater-Kinney, "One More Hour." My favorite S-K song, unless I'm in the mood for a rush, in which case it's "Youth Decay." The video, lo-fi as it is, is of the last song they ever played together. The group hug at the end makes hardcore fans cry. Excuse me while I wipe away the tears.
7. Harvey Danger, "Flagpole Sitta." Earlier this week, the Undercover Black Man had a post titled "The Chicks with Ukeleles All-Stars!" One of those All-Star Chicks was Julia Nunes singing "Flagpole Sitta." The video link is to her version, which you'll either find adorable or sugary ... or both.
8. Third Eye Blind, "Semi-Charmed Life." I feel like this song was popular just a couple of weeks ago, but the YouTube comments are full of people saying "I remember this oldie!"
9. Buena Vista Social Club, "Candela." I've mentioned before that the movie of the BVSC kinda creeps me out ... something about Ry Cooder feels like he's trying to steal the scenes, which isn't fair to him, I know, plus there's something politically retro about the "let's free the Cubans by bringing them to the Big Apple" stuff. The music blows away all of my misgivings, though.
10. Fleetwood Mac, "Landslide." Speaking of getting the creeps ... this version is from The Dance, and as lovely as it is, the interplay between Nicks and Buckingham is weird. Something about the way he tips his cap to her as she sings about how she had to break up with him three decades ago. I don't know, maybe it's just me.
Bonus track: Fleetwood Mac didn't always sound like that:
1. Spice Girls, "Wannabe." I have no idea what I'd think now, but I actually liked Spiceworld: The Movie when I saw it back in the day.
2. E-40, "Rapper's Ball." Rappers make a habit of guesting on each other's albums, and since E-40 is one of the kings of the Bay Area, his cameo friends are often locals. This time it's Too Short. Also K-Ci from Jodeci ... 40's always had connections to the South.
3. Fugees, "Ready or Not." Spice Girls are "just" pop, E-40's a regional sensation (or was in 1996), but the Fugees were "great art." I resist the notion, but this was a pretty great album, just the same.
4. Fiona Apple, "Criminal." For some reason, I've always thought Apple was from some other country, like Australia, which shows I'm not paying attention ... I suspect if I did, I'd suss out her Broadway roots without too much trouble.
5. Busta Rhymes, "Who Ha!! Got You All in Check." My son and I were driving to the BART station on our way to the Giants game last weekend, and he played me the Nas song "Fried Chicken." I loved it because Busta Rhymes does an entire verse about how much he loves to eat pork.
6. The Prodigy, "Firestarter." This was their tenth single. It's a sign that I'm getting old, I suppose ... it's the first one I paid much attention to.
7. DJ Shadow, "Midnight in a Perfect World." The true follow-up to Paul's Boutique. The album made the Guinness Book of World Records for First Completely Sampled Album.
8. Sleater-Kinney, "Call the Doctor." I love them so much, I can't really bear to listen anymore, so it's good when they turn up on shuffle play ... I don't usually play them on my own because I start missing them again.
9. Sheryl Crow, "If It Makes You Happy." I never loved her, so I have no problem listening to her.
10. Beck, "Where It's At." I saw Beck in a solo gig at the Bridge Concert the year before this. He didn't play "Loser," so I didn't pay attention ... I was waiting for Bruce. Bruce played the only poor set I've ever seen from him. Beck became a big star. Youneverknow.
Bonus track:
1. The Tony Rich Project, "Nobody Knows." This is a seriously demented song. Beautiful, sad, lovely ... but demented. He wants the world to know that only he knows that he's lonely. Wrap your brain around that one. Or just listen, it's really pretty.
2. Joan Osborne, "One of Us." They got two seasons of Joan of Arcadia out of this song.
3. Tracy Chapman, "Give Me One Reason." The ultimate folkie makes a comeback with a 12-bar blues. Went higher on the charts than "Fast Car."
4. Bonnie Raitt, "I Can't Make You Love Me." I'm one of those people who thinks Bonnie Raitt has a lot of great tracks. This may not be the best thing she ever recorded, but it's likely the best ballad. The 1995 version is from Road Tested.
5. Smashing Pumpkins, "1979." This one stands in for all the popular songs by bands like Oasis, played so often they perfectly recall their era, but nothing I actually care about in 2008.
6. Bruce Springsteen, "Back in Your Arms." In my life, I've seen Bruce perform around 200 different songs. I've never seen him sing this one, though, and it's always #1 on my "what song do you hope he'll play" list. The version on Tracks is good, but the snippets from the Blood Brothers documentary are the best.
7. Luniz, "I Got 5 on It (Bay Ballas Remix)." This remix featured just about every Bay Area rapper who was living and in the area at the time it was recorded ... a true super-session. And I can play it over and over, because I love the riff, and I love the chorus.
8. Method Man & Mary J. Blige, "I'll Be There for You / You're All I Need to Get By." This one won a Grammy. Method Man's had a long musical career, but he'll always be Cheese from The Wire to me. "They killed my dog!"
9. Garbage, "Queer." I don't know why this surprises me so much, but Shirley Manson is 42 years old.
10. Better Than Ezra, "Good." I always liked this song, but there's something generic about it. I can remember trying to get someone to recall it and not being able to because all I could say was that the chorus had "good" in it a lot.
Bonus track ... once again, nothing on Wolfgang's Vault from 1995, so here's another Bruce cut, covering John Lee Hooker:
Comments
Been watching the dead-sexy Ms. Manson on the "Terminator" TV series, and if that's what 42 looks like these days, I'm not as afraid of the AARP as I used to be. (BTW, nice Springsteen track from the Vault, masoo.)
I have to kind of sheepishly say that as your "Friday Random 10" series has progressed into later years, I've commented less and less. This has nothing to do with your writing skills but a lot to do with my musical tastes heading forward! into the past!
But you hit on a couple of goodies here fer me - Bonnie Raitt and Joan Osborne. Raitt's ballad is indeed one of the best heart-wrenching songs of that decade. I own all of Bpnnie's releases (ok, I still need that "live" CD) and have to agree that good tracks abound.
Thanks!
Ditto on the Bruce bonus. I'd love to see his juebox - I bet it can fuel a gerrrayt party.
Comments
Fleetwood Mac didn't always soun dlike that bonus track either. 'Kilnhouse' remains one of my favourite albums, a perfect evocation of rock and roll while trying to find a direction into the future.
Man, I would like to offer a moratorium on covering "Landslide". There's a song I don't ever need to hear again.
One of the first rock concerts I ever attended was Paul Butterfield/Ten Years After/Fleetwood Mac in the summer of 1968. I was 15 and very impressionable. Jeremy Spencer was someone who would impress a 15-year-old boy.