Randomly Musical

I can smell it in the air...Fall, my favorite season. The summer was grand and all but nothing beats the Fall's mixture of change, colors, chill and (most importantly) football. So, in honor of fall, I was listening to Patty Griffin's moody classic (I've always found moody music to be the most Fall-like) Impossible Dream this morning when I came to the realization I missed out on Randomly Musical Monday yesterday...FAIL!

Will there be a Fall-ish overtone? Only the iPod Gods can say...

1) Turn on Your Love Light - Grateful Dead
Ah, hippie tunes. This song takes me back to a senior year of high school filled with Phish and The Dead and long hair and beards and, well, you know...combs. A few friends of mine from high school were in a jam band called Gazing Tide (two members are now in a new band called Rent A Friend) which performed this song during intermission of a Lip Sync contest. The highlight of the show was Ezra the "robe and nothing but boxers" bongo player. All I can do now is look back on those days and think...white people really can't dance.

2) Triflin' Woman Blues - T-Bone Walker
I just can't escape running into this album. What more can you say about T-Bone Walker? He wrote some great electric, blues tunes that sounded, well, the same. You hear one, you hear them all...where's my moody music, dammit?!?!

3) Devorzhum - Dead Can Dance
You have to really be in the mood for this stuff. Dead Can Dance is a rather ethereal band kinda like Enya mixed with Rusted Root...but not as bad as that sounds. I'm not particularly in the mood for this today but I'm digging the wolf-like guitar howl.

4) Hold On - Sarah McLachlan
Not the biggest Sarah McLilithFair fan but I do dig this song. Its off of a little known 90's compilation called No Alternative which was supposed to raise awareness for [insert cause]. My liking of this song I feel has to do with the teenager music phenomenon. Studies have shown that people most identify with the music they listened to during and right after puberty. This explains so many of my unatural 90's rock obsessions...who likes Solution AD?

5) Intimate Secretary - The Racontuers
Without explanation I have grown more fond of Jack White over the past few months. My hatred of the White Stripes has wained since my introduction to The Raconteurs last year and now they are #2 on my list of favorite duos (no one will ever catch the Black Keys). Muscially, The Raconteurs are a better outfit and meld rock and blues and pop in a really unique way. Well, there you go, I just conviced myself I need to buy their new album...right now.

6) Fade to Black - Metallica
Have you heard the new Metallica song...what happened? Most say the downfall of the band was when they (GASP!!!) cut their hair for the Load album but that album was great. I blame (like most of the free world) Napster for the demise of Metallica. Once Lars became infatuated with sticking it to 15 year old kids stealing "Enter Sandman" the band's creativity died, Jason Newsted left the band, a monkey started playing bass and they released a pitiful music effort in St. Anger.

Let the age of "Aging Heavy Metal Bands Who Think They Can Still Be Relevant When, In Fact, Their Influence Is Now Only on Aging, Overweight, Unemployed, Heavy Metal Fans Who Live With Their Mom And Wear The Same Ride The Lightning T-Shirt They Wore To A Show In 1988"

7) Rain Dance - The Guess Who
The Guess Who are a novelty...there I said it. I'm not sure if I was prepared to make such a statement but I think it's time I realized I like this band because they sing about rain dances and sharing and eyes and shit. "Clap for the Wolfman" did NOT deserve a Grammy no matter what the 17 year-old version of me thought.

8) Blueberry Hill (Live) - Led Zeppelin
The multiple encore is a rare, presitgious entity. For bands in their prime this is a dream situation for pumping out deep cuts off their albums and getting more time to choose the groupies they'll be "serenading" backstage. There was a time when Led Zeppelin was so mighty they were expected to play 4 or 5 encores. Zep's problem, however, was that the demands were during a tour to promote their first album...an album which contained 9 songs. Therefore, most of their show relied (heavily) on improv, hard rock versions of Fats Domino songs and Robert Plant shakin' his baby maker while Jimmy Page did some blow on the side.

God bless rock 'n roll.

9) Heartbreaker - Grand Funk Railroad
There was a time when Grand Funk Railroad was relevant. There was a time when they experimented with bluesy rock. There was a time when I was told not to say anything if I had nothing good to say.

"American Band" is a great song.

10) A Little More For Little You - The Hives
Strong. Brash. Slightly Whiney. Punkish. Go listen to "Hate to Say I Told You So" off of Veni Vidi Vicious.

I've summed up the entire existence of The Hives, you welcome.