Doin' the Friday Shuffle
For this week's shuffle, I thought that instead of doing a completely random shuffle, I'd instead select a random selection from my "5-Star Rock" playlist - anything in the collection that I've rated as a five-star rock song (and in my iPod I label pretty much anything that's not jazz, musical theater, or classical as "rock." Also note that I've yet to rate every "rock" song in the collection.)
1. "Original of the Species" - U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
It's so rare for rock artists to write sings about parenthood, which is just one of the things that makes me love this song so much.
2. "Not Dark Yet" - Bob Dylan - Time Out of Mind
Languid, reflective Dylan pondering the last stages of life. I cannot express enough how much I am looking forward to the new Dylan album coming out in August.
3. "I Can See for Miles" - The Who - Thirty Years of Maximum R&B
It's the dissonant harmonies on those "for miles and miles and miles . . . " that push this song into 5-star territory for me.
4. "Bye & Bye" - Bob Dylan - Love & Theft
A slow shuffle of a throwback song. Try an experiment. Play this for a non-Dylan fan and tell him it's an old song from the 30s. Bet they buy it.
5. "Rockin' in the Free World" - Neil Young - Freedom
The hard version. Just a kick-ass song.
6. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" - Tears for Fears - Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82-92)
I can't hear this song and not see the end of Real Genius.
7. "Blood of Eden" - Peter Gabriel - Us
A gorgeously haunting, slow, slow ballad with some wonderful backup singing.
8. "If Not Now . . ." - Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman
Sweet-sad, guitar and piano song from Tracy's first and best album.
9. "For You" - Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman
Just a simple, thoughtful figure picked out on an acoustic guitar and some remarkable singing. This is probably one of her three best-ever songs.
10. "4th Time Around" - Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
I love that playful guitar figure, almost like a happy merry-go-round riff played on acoustic guitar.
Until Whenever
6 comments:
I used to think In Your Eyes was my favorite Gabriel song...until I heard Blood of Eden.
I've been grooving to Dylan's Oh Mercy! as of late. Great great stuff. Looking forward to his new album next month.
Oh, and is it too early to declare How To Dismantle Lefty's favoritw U2 album? Yeah, I mean it. Even more than Joshua Tree.
You're almost certainly right about Dylan's Bye & Bye.
Of no great interest, except to me, I have all the songs you cited (and all the albums except the Who).
Lefty - Oh Mercy is underrated, says me. He did Shooting Star when I saw him live - there's a song that holds up against any number of early-Dylan classics. I won't go that far with the Bomb love, but don't deny its greatness. I'm STILL trying to get a good copy of the live version of Original of the Species the band did in Italy with a string section.
RG - I'll do the same this Friday with the Musicals/Broadway songs in my iPod - we'll see how much overlap there is then. ;)
I've been thinking my next list will be top ten rock songs. You'll definitely see some Who in there, and most likely Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World." That song really gets my blood racing. So, so great.
Acoustic or electric preferred? I'll have to do a top rock song list too, then, but maybe really limit it to actual "rock." Harvest Moon or Philadelphia are probably my favorite Young songs, but neither really "rocks," now do they?
Harvest Moon is more "jaunty".
Post a Comment