Foo Fighters - Long Road to Ruin - I'm liking the Foos more and more lately, including this song, also "Let It Die," "Everlong," "D.O.A.," "Come Alive," "Drive Me Wild," and "Best of You." I like the lyrics for this one, plus I think the album it's off, Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace, is one of the best albums I've heard. I rank it right up there with So by Peter Gabriel for unexpected forthrightness expressed by a man in music. Plus, Dave Grohl is hot, so hot I don't even mind when he spits on stage. And I would normally happily kill anyone who does that. Dave Grohl has great hair. And hands. Just sayin. ... Ahem.
Derek and the Dominos - Layla - Okay, so I'm back. I went away in my head for awhile there... Anyway! Layla is may MOST FAVOURITE-IST SONG EVER. I love this song so hard. It's just epic. First of all, it was written by one rock god (Eric Clapton) because he was in love with the supermodel wife (Patti Boyd) of his friend and fellow rock god (George Harrison). Second, not only does Clapton write a song expressing himself, but he writes one based on a Arabic story of thwarted love and madness (Layla and Majnun). I like the two sections of the song - the first, raw and anguished, and the second, which sounds resigned in comparison. Also, it's a bunch of crazy guys playing guitar and screaming "Woo hoo" for backup. What's not to love? I had a continuing debate with one of the guys at Testmark over which was the greater song - Layla, or Stairway to Heaven. Any opinions here? There is a correct answer ;)
Blue Rodeo - Bulletproof - I love Blue Rodeo, and they do "Cry in your beer" very well. And I love Jim Cuddy's voice.
Blue Rodeo - Diamond Mine (Live) - More Blue Rodeo, this time live. They do this psychadelic country thing that is just great, and where Jim Cuddy's voice is smooth and sweet, Greg Keelor's is more raw and less controlled. He sounds like a crazy guy here... in a song about a crazy guy. I love it.
Dido - Life for Rent - Dido has such a warm, but wistful voice, I love almost everything she sings. But I relate to the uncertainty of always moving on, so I like this song especially.
Metric - Help I'm Alive - A mantra of sorts against self-doubt. Plus you can dance to it! :)
Dixie Chicks - The Long Way Around - Lead singer is a chick named Natalie with a tendency to shoot her mouth off. That much is a gimme, but considering I've taken twice as long to do things as most people do, and this song speaks buckets to me.
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah - Yes, it was in Shrek. But it's a Leonard Cohen tune, dammit! Terribly bittersweet - love mostly kicks us in the teeth, and what do we do, but smile and come back for more?
Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend - In the 90s, you maybe were introduced to anime by the video for this song. Power pop at its best. Love the lead guitar. Matthew Sweet is a big awesome geek. That's all.
Patti Smith - Gloria (Live) - Patti Smith is like the godmother of punk music, so if you are enjoying some Green Day anytime soon, thank Patti Smith. This woman is not beautiful, and she doesn't have the most melodic voice; lesser talents can get by with just that. Patti Smith has attitude and audacity, poetry and power. The unstoppable crescendo of this song gets me every time. I love this live version.
Kim Richey - A Place Called Home - Very sad song, moreso because of Kim Richey's vocals. Maybe remembered from the episode of Angel where Fred died; makes it sadder for Angel fans.
Radney Foster - Went for a Ride - Great song from a great album (Del Rio, Texas, 1959) - Foster has a great voice, and I love the harmonies. Great picture of a remembrance of a way of life that's gone.
The Beatles - Let It Be - Don't know how I forgot this one for so long. Another all time favourite, it's given me strength in difficult times. Not to be terribly morbid, but I want a full Baptist choir to rock this tune at my funeral... many years in the future ;)
The Whitlams - No Aphrodesiac - My enjoyment of this band is a hangover from an incredibly destructive relationship, so it fits that the lyrics are kinda dark and depressing. The song was apparently written in response to the suicide of one of the band members, which makes it a bit odd that the pathos is mixed with dark humour, but there it is. Catchy and intelligent, too.
Tracy Chapman - Baby Can I Hold You Tonight (Live) - Saw Tracy at the Edmonton Folk Festival; she was onstage with just her guitar and her voice, and was so powerful. Don't think I'd heard this song before even though it's an old one, but it's just so simple and moving, I had to find it.
Concrete Blonde - Still In Hollywood - Johnette Napolitano tells great stories in her songs, and her voice is gritty and driving. How many times on this page can I say I love something and still mean it? At least this one more time.
Agnus Dei - Cambridge Trinity College Choir - This is an arrangement of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings for voices. It's the Agnus Dei, or Lamb of God, but it goes on for over nine minutes, and it's in Latin, so your guess is as good as mine. It's the aural equivalent of Thomas Hardy - terribly, achingly, beautiful... and where's my razor blade? Still, if that hasn't made you want to give it your undivided attention, really, go listen. The idea of a beautiful sorrow is fascinating to me. Also, you've probably heard the original in some movie or another (Platoon, for example).
Foo Fighters - Home - This song closes out Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace. I think it's just beautiful. I'm guessing it was written about being on the road - kind of a throwback to "Beth", by Kiss, for those of you who know that one.
Foo Fighters - Stranger Things Have Happened - Also from Echoes, this one seems to be about the futility of being in a relationship with someone who keeps their pain to themself.
Foo Fighters - Everlong - I probably shouldn't like this song so much, since I think it's about addiction, whether drugs or love, or maybe more expansively, about wanting something you know is destructive and all-consuming. The music is unsettling and subtly discordant. This is the album version.
Dave Grohl - Everlong - This is from the Howard Stern show, it's just Dave, the first time he played this acoustically, publicly.
Foo Fighters - Everlong - From the album Skin and Bones, which is an entirely acoustic live concert recording.
And She Was - Talking Heads - Well of course the Talking Heads are pure genius, and there's so many great songs to choose from. So why this one? I like its poppy, cheerful feel, especially considering it describes an acid trip.
Carbon Leaf - Life Less Ordinary - This is a folky, acoustic pop band that I heard randomly back when Yahoo let you listen to music (now it's just videos). I miss my personalized Yahoo radio station (sniff). Anyway, this band was a find. This song sounds so earnest and exuberant.
Lily Allen - Not Fair - Girls will relate, boys could learn something. And it's all so perky and British. I LOL'd.
Annie Lennox - Dark Road - My current favourite song. Annie Lennox has an amazing, expressive voice. I don't think she often does anything terribly lighthearted - the words that pop to mind include wounded, regret, bitter, irony, aggression and repression... perhaps this is why I relate. Of course, there's also strength, determination, talent, etc... Anyway, here's two more in the same *vein*.
The Avett Brothers - Shame - Because of this and the next song, I will never feel the same way about the banjo again. This song, off their album Emotionalism is full of hilarious exasperation and cheekiness. These guys are so gifted.
The Avett Brothers - Paranoia in B-flat Major - This one, from the same album, brings on some crazy exuberence. Guys yelling "Woo!" and "Yeah!" get me every time. Plus the falsetto at the end cracks me up.
