'Superunknown' - Soundgarden (Superunknown): All you really need to know about this song is that Chris Cornell wails and the band makes a huge and raucous noise behind him. Sure, lyrically it's a bit of a downer (Soundgarden don't really do "happy and shiny"), but the band sound like the four horseman of the Apocalypse, which is what I find awesome. KimThayil's solo is also a barely-hanging-on-for-dear life psychedelic masterstroke. Superunknown is also one of my favourite alt-rock/hard rock albums ever; it's one where I never skip a track!
'Hold On, Hold On' - Neko Case (Fox Confessor Brings The Flood): I love the twangy guitar lines and the opening lyric: "The most tender place in my heart is for strangers/I know it's unkind by my own blood's much too dangerous..."--so. awesome. The Sadies do such a cookin' sweet job of backing up Neko on the Fox Confessor album and they're the perfect foil for her powerful, sultry, reverb-laden vocals. This song has gorgeous harmonies and is practically perfect in every way (big ups, Mary Poppins!)
'Pacing The Cage' - Bruce Cockburn (The Charity of Night): This is one of my favourite ever Bruce Cockburn songs (I'm going to see the man himself on March 26!) and perhaps one of the songs I've heard in my life that I most identify with. The lyric "I've proven who I am so many times/the magnetic strip's worn thing/and each time I was someone else/and everyone was taken in" has spoken to me numerous times of my hypocrisy and my ability to be a chameleon when I want to be. A beautiful melody and great fingerpicking from BC make this a simply adorned, yet powerful song with a very naked vocal that is right up front in the mix. Great bass solo too.
'Green Gloves' - The National (Boxer): I'm not going to pretend to be deep and say I 'get' this song, lyrically; I actually have no idea what the heck they're talking about. All I know is that I love it because it's weirdly beautiful with it's soothing guitar arpeggios and spacey 'wall' in the background. The vocal is lovely, the female background vocalist a nice counterpoint to Matt Berninger's guttural baritone. Exquisite.
'Love Is Blindness' - U2 (Achtung Baby!): This is a raw wound of a song, excruciatingly pained, totally heart wrenching, and yet hauntingly beautiful. I actually can't really even do justice to the song by trying to describe it other than to say it contains some of The Edge's most stunning soloing on record (he not being a man to use any more notes than necessary). His guitar screams out painfully halfway through the song and then the closing solo is just dripping with hurt and rage--you can feel it. Simply put, this is one of U2's finest moments on record and a fitting close to what many people believe to be their greatest album.
Listen to this playlist here.
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5 comments:
love it. esp your inclusion of Love Is Blindness....
So glad to see you are back up online, bro. I have missed the cyber aspect of our relationship. Now, if only you would get your Leaf's blog up and going, we could have some real fun banter (well, it would be fun for me at least).
By the way, have you heard Steve Bell's version of "Pacing the Cage"? The guitar work is a little sparser, making the sound a bit more more melancholy. Worth looking into.
Randy
matty, pacing the cage is one of my all time favorites as well, see you at bruce--oh and my personal favorite is a little played bruce favorite called love song from high winds white sky(I think my fave album) give it a listen if you haven't yet--oh and welcome back, I've missed your musings
Sorry that I took so long to moderate/publish your comments. I was off in the Rockies and had very limited access to a net connection.
Alanna, I do have that BC album and know the song--great cut.
Randy, thanks for the tip on Bell's cover of 'Pacing the Cage'--I will look into it, for sure.
Jimmy, I knew you'd approve of 'Love is Blindness'. Such an incredible song...
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