Marc Fagel's Blog: Jittery White Guy Music: The Blog, page 61

My Top 1000 Songs #576: Soul And Fire

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

Sebadoh were a big part of my early 90s music vibe. I don't play them much these days, but at the time, they were in regular rotation alongside Pavement, Luna, Sonic Youth, GbV, Liz Phair, etc. Something about Lou Barlow's vocals--and, frankly, while I respect the band as a democratic trio sharing songwriting duties, I was largely interested in Barlow's son...

My Top 1000 Songs #575: Crazy

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

Like (I assume?) a lot of people, my introduction to Pylon's "Crazy" happened when their fellow Athens, GA act R.E.M. covered it on the b-side of 1985's "Driver 8." The song was at least as great as many R.E.M. originals, and a stand-out on their 1987 Dead Letter Office b-sides/outtakes collection. Yes, the trademark R.E.M. guitar jangle is there, and the "...

My Top 1000 Songs #574: It's A Shame About Ray

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

The title track off the Lemonheads' 1992 album feels like it's ushering in the 90s alt.rock era of power pop. The band brush off the hard edge of their earlier work for jangly melodies; yet the tune, despite a drop-dead sing-along chorus, feels like it retains something a little darker and heavier than cheerier pop songs. "I've never been too good with name...

My Top 1000 Songs #573: Omaha

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

For all my love of the Grateful Dead, there's no denying that the finest studio album to come out of San Francisco's Summer of Love '67 was Moby Grape's self-titled debut. Wall-to-wall classics, ranging from pop to rock to bluegrass, a similar stew worked by the Dead and Jefferson Airplane, but with more durable originals and wide-ranging styles. Lots of fa...

My Top 1000 Songs #572: This Little Mystery

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

The Young Fresh Fellows' gleeful 1984 debut, Fabulous Sounds of the Pacific Northwest, had it all (well, all but audible bass)--retro-60s garage rock, 80s college radio jangle, boundless energy and humor. And pop songs, just great pop songs. Perhaps none more so than the deceptively simple "This Little Mystery," a back-to-basics charmer that conjures the Tu...

My Top 1000 Songs #571: Waiting For Mary

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

So, hey, remember that one time, last week, when we talked about how one of the most challenging acts in recording history, the Butthole Surfers, managed to make an alt.rock 90s hit and it was actually... pretty great? But, to be fair, this was not without precedent.

Personally, I find Cleveland iconoclasts Pere Ubu far more unapproachable than the Surfers, ...

My Top 1000 Songs #570: Cortez The Killer

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

One of Neil's darkest, heaviest epics, this monster--a mere 7:30 on the original 1975 Zuma version (or the recent Dume extended alternate LP), but usually given a few more minutes of breathing room when played live--is a haunting blast of history. It starts out boldly, taking the obligatory extended Crazy Horse jam and frontloading it, a nearly 3 and a half...

My Top 1000 Songs #569: Lollipop (Ode To Jim)

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

With just a few choice exceptions, I've studiously avoided including songs from the past 5-10 years on the list. I do think music needs some time to germinate. A few years from now, will I still love this song  as much as I do today? Or is it just something that wowed me upon release but doesn't necessarily have Dark Side Of The Moon staying power?

But I rea...

My Top 1000 Songs #568: Dirty Work

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

So then there was that one night back in college when a few of us hung out in Peter's dorm room after the party, having a smoke and listening to records. At some point he pulled out Steely Dan's 1972 debut Can't Buy A Thrill; I'm sure I objected a bit, as, for reasons previously noted, I just never really dug Steely Dan. (Sure, my college band played "Do It...

My Top 1000 Songs #567: Reap The Wild Wind

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

Another one of those new wave-era synthpop hits I absolutely adore, even if I don't spend a lot of time listening to the band's broader catalog. (See also, e.g., INXS, "Don't Change"; Icicle Works, "Whisper To A Scream"). By the time of their sixth album, 1982's Quartet, their earlier, edgier work with original frontman John Foxx were well behind them, with...