Marc Fagel's Blog: Jittery White Guy Music: The Blog, page 84

My Top 1000 Songs #362: Friends Of P.

[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.]

Is this another one from the Guilty Pleasures file? I suppose it can be cast aside as a lightweight one-hit wonder that, for better and worse, encapsulates the sound of mid-90s alternative rock radio... but, fuck it, a great pop song is a great pop song.

Weezer bassist Matt Sharp set out on his own after that band's first couple records, helming the Rentals ...

Fraternal Order Of The All: Greetings From Planet Love (1997)

Hey, remember when I used to talk about albums all the time, before I decided to pivot to a daily write-up of my 1000 favorite songs? Good times, good times. Anyway, this essentially forgotten out-of-print gem from 1997 was just re-released, so it seems like a good excuse to chat it up a bit.

Fraternal Order Of The All are a make-believe band, basically the alter ego of late songwriter Andrew Gold. (You may remember him from his 1976 hit "Lonely Boy," or as the guy who wrote the song they used in...

My Top 1000 Songs #361: On The Way Home

[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.]

There are better, more interesting Neil Young songs. There are better, more interesting Buffalo Springfield songs. But "On The Way Home" is another one of those amiable, modest tracks that just feels nice to play. Like an old friend, not out to score points or impress, just great to have around.

The song showed up on Buffalo Springfield's final LP, 1968's po...

My Top 1000 Songs #360: Stand & Deliver!

[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.]

Following yesterday's post with another song where it's all about the percussion--in this case, a feel-it-in-your-bones rolling thunder that reminds me of the locomotive thrust of those Sweet songs that had excited me as a little kid. 

I have a vague recollection of first coming across "Stand And Deliver!" (from 1981's Prince Charming) on one of those late-n...

My Top 1000 Songs #359: Tusk

[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.]

I largely shunned Fleetwood Mac during their late 70s commercial heyday, their palatable, radio-friendly AOR way too slick and unhip for my taste. But I eventually came around (well, still mostly to Lindsey Buckingham's skewed pop; much less so for the Stevie Nicks & Christine McVie tunes). I particularly admired 1979's Tusk, where, coming off one of the mo...

My Top 1000 Songs #358: Box Full Of Letters

[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.]

My understanding is a lot of Uncle Tupelo fans were underwhelmed by Wilco's 1995 debut A.M., preferring Jay Farrar's Son Volt debut to Jeff Tweedy's initial work. Me, I find A.M. underrated, a fine collection of songs that seem like a natural progression from Tweedy's Tupelo contributions, albeit not giving much hint of the truly innovative and at times ast...

My Top 1000 Songs #357: Ruby

[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.]

I adore the Apples in Stereo, so it feels odd that I haven't captured them on this list until now. I think it's another example of a band where maybe they don't have that one drop-dead-perfect song you want to run out and tell your friends about, but rather a body of work packed with dozens of terrific songs making it hard to pick a favorite. So it's kind o...

My Top 1000 Songs #356: Funk #49

[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.]

Here's the second kinda random-ass classic rock track whose emotional allure I attribute to my first concert--Joe Walsh, 1981, Poplar Creek. It's a stand-out Walsh number from his time with the James Gang, the opening track on the band's second album, 1970's James Gang Rides Again. I've always loved the guitar in particular here, some cool riffs that, short...

My Top 1000 Songs #355: All Apologies

[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.]

I'm obviously not a big Nirvana guy (which should be evident from the fact that we're at #355 and have yet to see anything from Nevermind). I don't dislike them; they're just not a band I ever feel much like playing.

Except for "All Apologies," from 1993's In Utero. And like a few other songs on the list, it's all about the bass. I mean, sure, great song; lo...

My Top 1000 Songs #354: Frontwards

[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 opening cut from Pavement's concise, not-a-wasted-note 1992 Watery, Domestic EP is nothing flashy. It cuts right in with some compelling distorted guitars and rumbling bass, then goes all quiet and gives Stephen Malkmus the room to toss out a few lines that feel cryptic and profound and definitive Pavement. The opening couplet has been rolling around in...