Download Episode (7.0 mb)
While we may have ‘rock’ today, rarely do we see ‘roll’ anymore. The swingin’ rhythm and blues side of rock ‘n’ roll that helped make it so popular. This week features the early pioneers of such music. These guys inspired the inspiring, they influenced the influential, they instigated the instigators, and well you get the point. One major reason for this influx of great music is that despite being at the height of racial tension in America, black singers were finally being recognised for their talent and listened to mainstream. In fact, out of this five, Elvis is the only white guy. If only they could channel their R&B skills back towards this kind of music instead of the crap they give us these days. It should be mentioned though, that a lot of credit should be given to the poor songwriters behind the scenes, who sometimes wrote the music that made these guys big.
Chuck Berry – Maybellene
Chuck Berry was one who wrote his own songs, most of it great. However it always seemed to be others who made money off his material. Two Beatles favourites of his are ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ and ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Music’ which I love and would have included had I not much preferred The Beatle’s version. Also the Beach Boys ‘borrowed’ the music to ‘Surfin USA’ from Chuck Berry’s slightly less successful ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’. He also wrote the very popular ‘Johnny B Good’ which come to think I probably should have used…..Either way he no doubt had an influence on rock music to come, being inducted in to the rock n roll hall of fame by Keith Richards, a long time fan. This song in particular was Chuck Berry’s first big hit and one of the first rock n roll songs ever recorded.
Ray Charles – Let The Good Times Roll
The majority of my Ray Charles knowledge comes from the movie ‘Ray’, which by the way I highly recommend. A blind, heroin addicted, womanising, genius piano player is an odd combination yet that was Ray Charles. He was another to write his own music, producing great songs all the way to his death, just a few years ago. He is not only renowned for his incredible piano skills but also for his screaming singing that made him so exciting to watch. In fact, during his performances the most excited person was probably himself, nearly falling of his chair.
Little Richard – Good Golly Miss Molly
Talking about inspiring the inspirational, Little Richard did his fair share. He had up and coming bands, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones supporting him on tours and at one point had Jimi Hendrix playing in his band. His songs epitomise your early rock n roll sound which I can’t really describe anymore than say this is it.
Elvis – Hound Dog
So often named the ‘King of rock n roll’, Elvis was BIG. He was the one to make rock n roll mainstream and turn it into the craze it became. In an odd twist Elvis was inspired by black singers such as Chuck Berry and Little Richard yet it was his explosion that made room for these singers. The obsession with this guy was incredible, the likes of which wouldn’t be seen again for…..well just a couple of years. What Elvis did do however, was milk his popularity, with seemingly enough Elvis movies to fill a year of Sunday midday movies. Music-wise his many many hits ranged from rock n roll gems to romantic ballads. But it was his performances that made him biggest with his irresistible charm and crazy onstage antics taking audiences by storm
Fats Domino – Ain’t That A Shame
Now if that isn’t the coolest stage name ever, I dunno what is. Fats represents the Jazz side of rock n roll that was still prevalent in the 1950s. The heavy influence of piano and trumpets is rarely found in rock n roll today. Just like all the others he has great voice and is a pleasure to listen to.
And the best thing about all this music is that it’s short and sweet! With every song under 3 minutes this is by far my shortest ever episode. Why does this please me?
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Mass Murderers (00's)
Download Episode (8.9 mb)
They may be common but they’re good! What sets these songs apart is that they have survived popularity and (in my mind) remained good. So often a band becomes so big that they change for the worse, leaving behind the fans that got them started. The other major problem is a song we like becomes so popular and overplayed we no longer like it. We really shouldn’t do this, it’s still the same song, however seeing some idiot liking YOUR song is guaranteed to turn you sour. What makes a good song is when it goes through this process of sourification (I have to make up at least one word per episode) and comes out unaffected. Here is a collection of such songs. Most of the songs I picked are the ones that made the bands big, something I usually don’t do, however in line with this week’s theme I figured it’d be appropriate.
Take Me Out – Franz Ferdinand
The critical moment in this song’s career came when some idiot music clip show, So Fresh or something, went round asking people who they’d want to ‘take out’……on a date…..settle down Peter, they don’t know any better, they’re just retarded failed actors doing their job, brainwashing today’s equally retarded youths…..I know who I wanna take out……Anyway this experience didn’t taint the song enough for me to stop liking. I really don’t need to do any explaining of it as pretty much everybody already knows it. To put it simply these guys make songs for girls to dance to….and I like
Hate To Say I Told You So – The Hives
No amount of exposure could ever stop “Howlin” Pelle Almqvist from being the coolest front man ever. “Our lowest level is so high….most bands are left behind” – this guy has the best collection of arrogant quotes. But of course it’s all backed up when they come out in they’re stylish white suits and Pelle jumps round yelling in his funny voice. As you can guess, they’re one of my favourite live bands. Just listening to the energetic vibe of this classic song explains why.
Autumn Shade – The Vines
For some reason I never got into The Vines at the height of their craze. Everybody at school was talking about them yet I never bothered to go out and investigate. By the time I finally did listen (and love) they were releasing their less impressive second album and about to implode. Even though they’re really not a band anymore it’s great to listen to their first album and reminisce. While they’re most renowned for fast-paced, explosive music, I decided to pick a slower song, which they were equally good at producing
Fell In Love With A Girl – The White Stripes
Jack White is undeniably weird. In the context however this is a good thing as it means he is much less likely to conform to public gayness. It definitely hasn’t stopped him and his “sister” (ex-wife) Meg rising to the top in a few short years. Their music, whilst straying a bit in recent years, is typically bare bones rock. They are also renowned for the liking of the colours red, white and black. This song would have to be they’re biggest and to top it off it has a great film clip
Hard To Explain – The Strokes
Back when I was blind to the majority of music (not that long ago) this was the only Strokes song I knew, the ‘song where the guy sings in a slurred voice’. Isn’t it unfortunate then that I saw them with this knowledge alone, when just a few months later I could have enjoyed them SO much more? For I would go on to discover that not only is EVERY one of their songs sung in a slurred voice but they’re pretty much all great. This is off their higherly acclaimed first album, though I like them all
They may be common but they’re good! What sets these songs apart is that they have survived popularity and (in my mind) remained good. So often a band becomes so big that they change for the worse, leaving behind the fans that got them started. The other major problem is a song we like becomes so popular and overplayed we no longer like it. We really shouldn’t do this, it’s still the same song, however seeing some idiot liking YOUR song is guaranteed to turn you sour. What makes a good song is when it goes through this process of sourification (I have to make up at least one word per episode) and comes out unaffected. Here is a collection of such songs. Most of the songs I picked are the ones that made the bands big, something I usually don’t do, however in line with this week’s theme I figured it’d be appropriate.
Take Me Out – Franz Ferdinand
The critical moment in this song’s career came when some idiot music clip show, So Fresh or something, went round asking people who they’d want to ‘take out’……on a date…..settle down Peter, they don’t know any better, they’re just retarded failed actors doing their job, brainwashing today’s equally retarded youths…..I know who I wanna take out……Anyway this experience didn’t taint the song enough for me to stop liking. I really don’t need to do any explaining of it as pretty much everybody already knows it. To put it simply these guys make songs for girls to dance to….and I like
Hate To Say I Told You So – The Hives
No amount of exposure could ever stop “Howlin” Pelle Almqvist from being the coolest front man ever. “Our lowest level is so high….most bands are left behind” – this guy has the best collection of arrogant quotes. But of course it’s all backed up when they come out in they’re stylish white suits and Pelle jumps round yelling in his funny voice. As you can guess, they’re one of my favourite live bands. Just listening to the energetic vibe of this classic song explains why.
Autumn Shade – The Vines
For some reason I never got into The Vines at the height of their craze. Everybody at school was talking about them yet I never bothered to go out and investigate. By the time I finally did listen (and love) they were releasing their less impressive second album and about to implode. Even though they’re really not a band anymore it’s great to listen to their first album and reminisce. While they’re most renowned for fast-paced, explosive music, I decided to pick a slower song, which they were equally good at producing
Fell In Love With A Girl – The White Stripes
Jack White is undeniably weird. In the context however this is a good thing as it means he is much less likely to conform to public gayness. It definitely hasn’t stopped him and his “sister” (ex-wife) Meg rising to the top in a few short years. Their music, whilst straying a bit in recent years, is typically bare bones rock. They are also renowned for the liking of the colours red, white and black. This song would have to be they’re biggest and to top it off it has a great film clip
Hard To Explain – The Strokes
Back when I was blind to the majority of music (not that long ago) this was the only Strokes song I knew, the ‘song where the guy sings in a slurred voice’. Isn’t it unfortunate then that I saw them with this knowledge alone, when just a few months later I could have enjoyed them SO much more? For I would go on to discover that not only is EVERY one of their songs sung in a slurred voice but they’re pretty much all great. This is off their higherly acclaimed first album, though I like them all
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Second Coming (90's)
Download Episode (12.8 mb)
The best thing about the previous decades is that over time, the dust has settled and a select few are crowned as the best. Now either this is yet to happen for the 90s or the talent was a lot more spread, because looking at my list of must-include bands, I’m gonna need at least 4 episodes. This also isn’t helped by need to categorize my episodes, thus including bands that may not be must-includes yet fit perfectly into a category, such as in this week. It is a celebration of Britpop – where a new brand of music (really just a rehash of 60’s pop) took the world by storm. Battling for top spot were Oasis and Blur yet all of these featured bands played equally important roles. Not only are these bands all from the UK they are all exclusively from Britain. I could probably do another whole episode of Britpop bands not quite British and another still of British bands not quite Britpop but we’ll see. For now, just sit back and enjoy
1) Animal Nitrate - Suede
Probably the first big Britpop song was ‘there she goes’ by ‘the la’s’ (you know the song, perhaps not by name) which sadly had to be cut. However the first big Britpop band was Suede (known as London Suede to the Americans). They are less known than many of the other Britpop bands as while they made hit records throughout the 90’s, their heyday was arguably before Britpop’s peak (1995). Regardless of this, my reliable sources tell me they were pretty huge. To be honest I’ve never listened to them until now however I only had to download two songs to find a worthy one. So for all I know they could have way better, I shall definitely be investigating.
2) Acquiesce – Oasis
As I mentioned before, 1995 was the big year for Britpop. It saw the release of big albums for Blur, Pulp, Supergrass and many more, however nothing compared to Oasis’ ‘[What’s the story] Morning Glory?’ (what a funny title). This is what shot the Gallagher brothers (and the others….) to the super-stardom they still enjoy today. Isn’t it strange then that I didn’t pick a song off it, nor their (arguably) equally good debut album ‘Definitely Maybe’? Well this song was actually the B-side of ‘Some Might Say’ their first #1 single and has become quite a fan favourite. It’s one of only two of their songs to feature both brothers as lead singers and is rumoured to be about brotherly love – awww. Anyway it’s a great song that any Oasis fan should know. On that note you should also know their aforementioned first two albums – but then that’s assumed. Unfortunately their song-writing talent kind of dwindled after these albums and they never became the ‘next Beatles’ so many hoped they would.
3) Common People – Pulp
Pulp was another of the great Britpop bands. While in Britain they were just as big Blur and Oasis, they failed to gain the needed international recognition. For this reason they never really received the lasting fame of the other bands. However this didn’t stop them from making great music, with their 1995 album ‘Different Class’, cutting it with the best. This song off it is a rather epic tune and probably their most well known
4) Alright – Supergrass
The energy with which this song comes on is just amazing. As they state, these guys we’re young, and it was this youth that made them so exciting. They gave Britpop a boost of happiness. This is one of those songs where it takes a lot of self-control not to jump around like idiot. You should also check out the video for this song as it perfectly captures the mood of this song – complete silliness
5) Coffee & TV – Blur
While Oasis may have had the biggest moment, they were unable to maintain their success. This is where Blur excelled. They managed to produce great songs before, during and after Oasis’ reign. It is this that probably makes them the most successful Britpop band. This makes them perfectly suited (unlike Oasis) for a best-of album which I recommend to anyone who doesn’t know them. They had a variety of styles however they are probably most famous for their slower, harmonious songs, such as this. So many good songs to choose from, however this won out in the end.
The best thing about the previous decades is that over time, the dust has settled and a select few are crowned as the best. Now either this is yet to happen for the 90s or the talent was a lot more spread, because looking at my list of must-include bands, I’m gonna need at least 4 episodes. This also isn’t helped by need to categorize my episodes, thus including bands that may not be must-includes yet fit perfectly into a category, such as in this week. It is a celebration of Britpop – where a new brand of music (really just a rehash of 60’s pop) took the world by storm. Battling for top spot were Oasis and Blur yet all of these featured bands played equally important roles. Not only are these bands all from the UK they are all exclusively from Britain. I could probably do another whole episode of Britpop bands not quite British and another still of British bands not quite Britpop but we’ll see. For now, just sit back and enjoy
1) Animal Nitrate - Suede
Probably the first big Britpop song was ‘there she goes’ by ‘the la’s’ (you know the song, perhaps not by name) which sadly had to be cut. However the first big Britpop band was Suede (known as London Suede to the Americans). They are less known than many of the other Britpop bands as while they made hit records throughout the 90’s, their heyday was arguably before Britpop’s peak (1995). Regardless of this, my reliable sources tell me they were pretty huge. To be honest I’ve never listened to them until now however I only had to download two songs to find a worthy one. So for all I know they could have way better, I shall definitely be investigating.
2) Acquiesce – Oasis
As I mentioned before, 1995 was the big year for Britpop. It saw the release of big albums for Blur, Pulp, Supergrass and many more, however nothing compared to Oasis’ ‘[What’s the story] Morning Glory?’ (what a funny title). This is what shot the Gallagher brothers (and the others….) to the super-stardom they still enjoy today. Isn’t it strange then that I didn’t pick a song off it, nor their (arguably) equally good debut album ‘Definitely Maybe’? Well this song was actually the B-side of ‘Some Might Say’ their first #1 single and has become quite a fan favourite. It’s one of only two of their songs to feature both brothers as lead singers and is rumoured to be about brotherly love – awww. Anyway it’s a great song that any Oasis fan should know. On that note you should also know their aforementioned first two albums – but then that’s assumed. Unfortunately their song-writing talent kind of dwindled after these albums and they never became the ‘next Beatles’ so many hoped they would.
3) Common People – Pulp
Pulp was another of the great Britpop bands. While in Britain they were just as big Blur and Oasis, they failed to gain the needed international recognition. For this reason they never really received the lasting fame of the other bands. However this didn’t stop them from making great music, with their 1995 album ‘Different Class’, cutting it with the best. This song off it is a rather epic tune and probably their most well known
4) Alright – Supergrass
The energy with which this song comes on is just amazing. As they state, these guys we’re young, and it was this youth that made them so exciting. They gave Britpop a boost of happiness. This is one of those songs where it takes a lot of self-control not to jump around like idiot. You should also check out the video for this song as it perfectly captures the mood of this song – complete silliness
5) Coffee & TV – Blur
While Oasis may have had the biggest moment, they were unable to maintain their success. This is where Blur excelled. They managed to produce great songs before, during and after Oasis’ reign. It is this that probably makes them the most successful Britpop band. This makes them perfectly suited (unlike Oasis) for a best-of album which I recommend to anyone who doesn’t know them. They had a variety of styles however they are probably most famous for their slower, harmonious songs, such as this. So many good songs to choose from, however this won out in the end.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
The Dark Ages (80's)
Download Episode (9.4 mb)
The 80s gave birth to a lot of dark natured songs. This episode is mostly a celebration of such music. Again I’ve been plagued with bands crossing over decades – mainly The Pixies – however I’ve battled through to create a nice, well-rounded and downright fantastical episode. By dark, my general meaning is lyrically, talking of sex, drugs and death in a slightly less positive tone than days gone by. This music is the morning-after of the pop, rock and punk that it followed. This of course doesn’t stop it from being some of the best music around and to be honest most of what I just said can probably just be ignored as I’m really just pulling analogies from thin air in order to fill space…
Why Can’t I Be You – The Cure
Listening to The Cure they appear upbeat and happy, yet pay attention to their lyrics and you’ll find them quite depressing . In fact this darkness is part of their image with lead singer, Robert Smith, being renowned for his pale skin contrasted against dark clothes and lipstick – a look that had the unfortunate effect of contributing towards the gothic image. On the subject of looks, I advise everyone to watch a collection of their film clips and notice how he gets fatter as the years go by. Back to music, they manage to transcend above their own gloom to create classic music
Debaser - The Pixies
This is an extremely underappreciated yet influential band. They are slowing filtering into the conscience of my fellow schoolmates which pleases me greatly; I hope this sentiment is mirrored elsewhere. Being a, if not the, favourite band of my brother’s, I’ve been exposed to and liked them for a long time. Their heavy sound and rough edges is perfectly balanced with underlying melodies. Their style is starkly contrasted to what I usually like however they managed to write many songs I love. The fact that they predominately spanned between 87 and 93 gave me a lot of grief in choosing a song. It wasn’t a matter of using a song for the preferred decade but rather a matter of using the decade of my preferred song…….. I have a million apologies to make however if going for a 90s song I probably would have ignored the obvious choices and gone for the slightly less known “distance equals rate times time”.
This Charming Man – The Smiths
Morrissey – a god in his own eyes – manages better than any other to disguise horrible lyrics in beautiful music. My favourite Smiths song for a while now, “Bigmouth Strikes Again”, demonstrates this perfectly – “Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking when I said I’d like to smash every tooth in your head”. It is this beauty that makes them one of the great 80s bands. I would normally have used this song however due to overuse and popular demand I have gone for “This Charming Man”. It’s only very recently that I’ve listened intently to this song and I can see why it’s so popular. I wouldn’t be surprised if the charming man was himself….
Moon Over Marin – Dead Kennedys
Despite its absence from their compilation album, this is by far my favourite Dead Kennedys song. It’s got a nice tempo and rhythm and epitomises them well. Looking at their name, their political nature is evident, listening to their music shows their punk roots – it’s as if they’re from the wrong decade. However that really doesn’t matter, their quality music and confrontational lyrics made them deservedly big
Golden Brown – The Stranglers
Such pleasant and soothing music is fitting for a song about the incredible high gotten from taking heroin. Rather oddly I got conformation of this on ABC radio whilst listening to the cricket today. Yes, Hugh Cornwell, the lead singer came into the commentary box as a guest and confirmed the reference saying “it puts you in a state of euphoria, you don’t need sex, you don’t need alcohol, you have everything you could possibly want – though I wouldn’t recommend it”. Yes I’m sure that’s gonna turn people off….Technically this band belongs to the punk movement of last week however I couldn’t resist holding them back in order to use this song
Whilst making this episode I’ve come to the startling realisation, that other than The Stranglers, I came across every one of these bands in skateboarding movies. In fact apart from The Smiths the songs I picked were the very ones I first heard. Oddly enough just about every other Smiths song I contemplated has been used (and chances are, so too this one) and I’ve got a feeling Golden Brown was used somewhere; I just can’t put my finger on it. It is clear then of just how great the skateboarder’s choice in music is – take note
The 80s gave birth to a lot of dark natured songs. This episode is mostly a celebration of such music. Again I’ve been plagued with bands crossing over decades – mainly The Pixies – however I’ve battled through to create a nice, well-rounded and downright fantastical episode. By dark, my general meaning is lyrically, talking of sex, drugs and death in a slightly less positive tone than days gone by. This music is the morning-after of the pop, rock and punk that it followed. This of course doesn’t stop it from being some of the best music around and to be honest most of what I just said can probably just be ignored as I’m really just pulling analogies from thin air in order to fill space…
Why Can’t I Be You – The Cure
Listening to The Cure they appear upbeat and happy, yet pay attention to their lyrics and you’ll find them quite depressing . In fact this darkness is part of their image with lead singer, Robert Smith, being renowned for his pale skin contrasted against dark clothes and lipstick – a look that had the unfortunate effect of contributing towards the gothic image. On the subject of looks, I advise everyone to watch a collection of their film clips and notice how he gets fatter as the years go by. Back to music, they manage to transcend above their own gloom to create classic music
Debaser - The Pixies
This is an extremely underappreciated yet influential band. They are slowing filtering into the conscience of my fellow schoolmates which pleases me greatly; I hope this sentiment is mirrored elsewhere. Being a, if not the, favourite band of my brother’s, I’ve been exposed to and liked them for a long time. Their heavy sound and rough edges is perfectly balanced with underlying melodies. Their style is starkly contrasted to what I usually like however they managed to write many songs I love. The fact that they predominately spanned between 87 and 93 gave me a lot of grief in choosing a song. It wasn’t a matter of using a song for the preferred decade but rather a matter of using the decade of my preferred song…….. I have a million apologies to make however if going for a 90s song I probably would have ignored the obvious choices and gone for the slightly less known “distance equals rate times time”.
This Charming Man – The Smiths
Morrissey – a god in his own eyes – manages better than any other to disguise horrible lyrics in beautiful music. My favourite Smiths song for a while now, “Bigmouth Strikes Again”, demonstrates this perfectly – “Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking when I said I’d like to smash every tooth in your head”. It is this beauty that makes them one of the great 80s bands. I would normally have used this song however due to overuse and popular demand I have gone for “This Charming Man”. It’s only very recently that I’ve listened intently to this song and I can see why it’s so popular. I wouldn’t be surprised if the charming man was himself….
Moon Over Marin – Dead Kennedys
Despite its absence from their compilation album, this is by far my favourite Dead Kennedys song. It’s got a nice tempo and rhythm and epitomises them well. Looking at their name, their political nature is evident, listening to their music shows their punk roots – it’s as if they’re from the wrong decade. However that really doesn’t matter, their quality music and confrontational lyrics made them deservedly big
Golden Brown – The Stranglers
Such pleasant and soothing music is fitting for a song about the incredible high gotten from taking heroin. Rather oddly I got conformation of this on ABC radio whilst listening to the cricket today. Yes, Hugh Cornwell, the lead singer came into the commentary box as a guest and confirmed the reference saying “it puts you in a state of euphoria, you don’t need sex, you don’t need alcohol, you have everything you could possibly want – though I wouldn’t recommend it”. Yes I’m sure that’s gonna turn people off….Technically this band belongs to the punk movement of last week however I couldn’t resist holding them back in order to use this song
Whilst making this episode I’ve come to the startling realisation, that other than The Stranglers, I came across every one of these bands in skateboarding movies. In fact apart from The Smiths the songs I picked were the very ones I first heard. Oddly enough just about every other Smiths song I contemplated has been used (and chances are, so too this one) and I’ve got a feeling Golden Brown was used somewhere; I just can’t put my finger on it. It is clear then of just how great the skateboarder’s choice in music is – take note
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