Sock It To Me

 

The thing about lists is they are designed to create controversy.  Witness Rolling Stone’s 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.  Everyone’s going to have a grievance or three.  This one’s too low on the list, that one’s too high.  And – especially, it would seem, if you’re a Celine Dion fan – why isn’t she (or he) on the list?

 

But this list created a different problem for me, because for every okay-I-get-it and are-you-serious? on the list there was also a who?

 

I must be getting old.

We Can’t Rewind, We’ve Gone Too Far

 

Maybe it’s not high art, but poignant lyrics and a thoughtful arrangement

elevate Video Killed the Radio Star above the status of just a silly pop song.

Don’t Think Twice

 

In the run up to Bob Dylan’s 80^th birthday, there have been dozens of articles offering praise, trivia and insights.  As a fan, of course I read them.

 

One of the more interesting tidbits I picked up was the notion that Dylan’s songs are paintings.  You don’t have to understand them.  You don’t even have to like them.  You only have to know whether they speak to you.

 

Speaking for myself, they do.  Yeah, they do.

She’s Taking Chances

Mark Knopfler is an incredible storyteller and gifted poet with a bagful of masterpieces, but his absolute best song is Skateaway.

 

If Bruce Springsteen had done this song it would have been a number one hit and would have entered the ranks of timeless, beloved anthems.  Because it tells you about how the best songs merge with your life – just like The Boss’s most memorable songs do.

 

The music makes you want to be the story, and the story is whatever is the song.

I Won’t Hide It

I don’t know about you, but when I listen to Cheap Trick’s If You Want My Love I hear The Beatles.

Time Is On My Side

So you’re a bar band.  You start out playing Chicago Blues and 50’s R&B.  Rock and Roll takes over.  Then things move on to Motown, Psychedelic, Hard Rock, Disco, and Alternative.  How the devil do keep getting gigs through all these changes? 

Answer: you become the Rolling Stones.

Gotta Hear It Again Today

The three best covers of all time are:

1. All Along The Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix, and 
2. All Along The Watchtower by Neil Young, and 
3. All Along The Watchtower by U2 

Okay, it’s actually Roll over Beethoven by The Beatles, but still …

Hurry Hurry Hurry

I have this friend ...  he says he loves Rock and Roll, but he thinks punk is rubbish, and he can’t stand heavy metal, which - according to him - is exemplified by Led Zeppelin and AC/DC.

Yes, he is older than me.

I try in vain to explain to him that Zeppelin and AC/DC are Rock and Roll bands, but he won’t have it.

I say: “Listen.  There is no difference between You Shook Me All Night Long and Communication Breakdown and I Want To Be Sedated and Roll Over Beethoven (either The Beatles or Chuck Berry, take your pick).

The sound may differ, but it’s the feeling, right?

Before You Accuse Me

I have heard and seen frequent criticism of Eric Clapton that when he performs live he makes no attempt to connect to the audience.

To which, I say this: Watch Eric’s face.  He is lost in the music, which is where you’re supposed to be.

A Higher Place

The thing about Tom Petty is, like, when you hear one of his songs, you go, I wrote that, didn’t I?

Don’t Fade On Me

“The soundtrack to your life” may be a cliché, but to the extent that we all have one, mine seemed to be slipping away in 2017.  Check out Rolling Stone’s People We Lost This Year.

Chuck Berry, Tom Petty, Malcolm Young, Gord Downie, Greg Allman, Walter Becker, Fats Domino, J. Geils …  sheesh!  That’s a partial list of cultural icons relegated to our memories.

Back up your hard drives, people.  We need to keep this stuff alive.

It Ain’t Nothin’ New

Killer songs, rock solid performance, great production, and – for my money – the best slide guitar going.

But what really sets Bonnie Raitt’s music apart is that it’s sexy.  Have a listen to Love Sneakin’ Up On You.  Bonnie’s music is overflowing with slow-grinding, hip-swaying, trance-inducing grooves.

Your whole world is shakin’.

Won’t You Give Me A Second Chance?

It was, for a time, fashionable to disparage the music of the 80’s. 

While in some cases - even at the time - I have been (and remain) in agreement, a quick listen to Bonnie Raitt’s version of Baby Come Back is a perfect example of the happy fact that this was not a universal problem.

Respectable

Some of my favourite music is by people who are doing The Stones - and maybe making a better job of it.  There’s been a lot of it about over the years, so I know it’s not just me who thinks they’re a pretty good band.

I mean, if being copied by dozens of successful bands over 5 decades isn’t influential, then what is?

Hello Old Friend, Goodbye Old Friend

More than anyone else, Tom Petty had the ability to repackage all the music I love and play it back as something brand new.

While unique and original, each song arrived like an old friend you had somehow forgotten about.  Simple yet profound, each song delivered a straight up truth:  this is me; this is us; this is rock and roll.

Tom Petty gave us 40 years of honesty, hope, joy and comfort.

Goodbye old friend.  And thank you.

Does Anybody Hear?

I know If A Tree Falls by Bruce Cockburn is a little intense, but it’s good.  Okay, it’s a lot intense, but it’s really good.

I Wonder What You People Do With Your Lives

Listen to Forever  by The Charlatans.  How did these guys not become huge?

Feed The World

The thing about Live Aid - apart from the awesome performances (okay, not all of it aged well, but some of the performances are immortal) - was: after your hope being dormant for a while, you believed that music might change the world after all.

Oh well …

Does The Message Get To You?

Tarzan Boy by Baltimora might represent everything that  - for some – was detestable about the 80’s.  Sorry, but I love it.

Two Hearts

It's a pity that Paul McCartney and Phil Collins didn't become close friends.  The music would have been fantastic.