Kool Thing. Sonic Youth.

Man, normally I would save this for a rock and roll Tuesday entry but I can't wait. 

Last night this guy said to me you're so lucky to have grown up in the nineties, the music was so good then.  I hadn't really thought about it, but he is so fucking right.  There will just never ever be another Sonic Youth or the Pixies, Janes Addiction, Tribe, Notorious or Pac again.  And I was.  Right there.  When all that shit dropped.  When every single flannel clad firehall-playinig band had their own cover of Smells Like... This is Kool Thing by Sonic Youth.  Off Goo.  I think Kim Gordan (well, and Erin from Bratmobile) those women were soley responsible for my dark-lipped bleached hair punk rock boot and titty tee hotness back then.

This song STILLLL makes my heart race ahhhh!  And my stomach all woozy with how mthrfckng kool it is.

Oh my god.   I was a lucky grl.

Rock and Roll Tuesday. Al Green.

Rock and roll is so stunning because of the big sloppy or clean, obvious or inadvertant conglomerate of American history that it is.  Obviously we've got the bayou and old delta and juke joints in the earliest guitar noise that came out of the south, the chords of blues especially that the our black heritage, its violence and sadness and also hope brought.  But how bout the gospel influence?  Organs and crescendo-ing chorus's, as well as the tradition of folk writing, what a long rich heritage we've got deep in this nation of ours.  Here is Al Green's Love and Happiness, which is one of my favorite all time openings of a song.

Rock and Roll Tuesday. Stevie Nicks.

Would there be rockandroll women today without the lacey, primal voice of Stevie Nicks?  No nope no, there wouldn't be.  And keeping in the theme of going on the road and priming my wild spirit for adventure, today's rock and roll pic is all and total what Stevie is best at, haunting female-heart anthems. Here is Gypsy, which is Fleetwood Mac, followed by Stand Back, because what broken grrrl my age hasn't stood in the middle of her room wailing out the lyrics in our own wannabe whisky-voice?

Gypsy


Stand Back

Paul Westerberg. Can't Hardley Wait.

Hurry up, hurry up aint you had enough of this stuff!?



God does this song make me happy and remind me, though the time was not otherwise synonymous with happiness BUT indeed with MUSEic, of being 15. 

I am going travelling, and woke up this morning with the mythic and lyrical genius of this timeless number in me head...The best part of course, 2:48 after the interlude of only anticipatory crowd noises and the low mechanics of a pause in the musicless club...

Passion Pit. Manners.

So in addition to this being my official "Spring Training" (read=rally) song, it is also fully exemplary of why I LOVE Passion Pit. They're so damn cheery and those lyrics! AND, though I really wasn't in to that whole electronic influence in mainstream alt music that saturated every new sound starting a few years ago (how funny does that sound, mainstream alt music) I guess MGMT changed that for me. And Passion Pit is all about it, which matched my window-down-driving-coastal-highway-while-full-on-dancing-to-the-music last summer in a way that made it so I had options other than the miserable pop-hop here in OC. This is my fave song off their first full length Manners. Check them out.

Rock and Roll Tuesday. Talking Heads.

This isnt a good example (because of the obvi-80's synth and chorus) but the Talking Heads produced some of the finest rock and roll there is.   Maybe it's my imagination or maybe it's just because it's all Brit-rock, but I cant help feeling that everything that was post-punk from the UK shamelessly maintained such awesome punk influence, even though the Talking Heads and Roxy Music were more soft than the Clash or BAD.  Byrne just has such edge and still does, and what he's done more recently with Brian Eno makes me so happy that time slips away when I hear them together.  Anyhow, like I said this and the link are both simple versions not representative of anything I mentioned here other than the unique (read=rebelious) musical aesthetic that true rock or punk is notorious for, but this song was on my mind today so give a listen.

Rock and Roll Tuesday. Down By the River.

I heard this song over the weekend on local-supported radio where I grew up, and again yesterday on a local station here at the beach.  I was driving with the windows down, the sun was shining and the air smelled warm and like salt and three surfers were at the top of 48th at about 1:55 when that fabulous, unreal electric finger-picking starts.  I felt like I was in a movie.

This song kicks my ass.  It rocks the poetry right out of all the dirty untalked crevices in my heart and soul AND the instrumental progression is insane.  I love you Neal Young.  Thanks Brandon.  This is re-released but was originally off his 1969 album Crazy Horse.