The Top Ten Songs I’m Obsessed With Right This Minute

A friend of mine dared myself and another friend a few weeks ago to put together a mix of our Top Ten favorite songs, a task we both immediately deemed impossible. Speaking for myself, trying to narrow down every song I’ve ever liked in my life to only ten songs just isn’t happening–I can do Top Ten within genres, I can do Top Ten Breakup Songs or Top Ten Party Songs, I can do Top Tens for certain bands…hell, I can even do Top Tens of my favorite versions of certain Dave Matthews Band songs. But a Top Ten of all time? I just don’t think I could do that.

So as a consolation to the friend who issued the challenge (who just had a birthday, so I need to do something special), I’m going to try my Nick Hornby High Fidelity best to make a Top Ten Songs I’m Obsessed With Right This Minute–the songs that, for whatever reason, I just can’t stop listening to this week (and I’m only giving the downloads to her, so the rest of you will have to go out and find these gems on your own).

10.  ”Impossible Germany”–Wilco (Album: Sky Blue Sky) 

I have no idea why I love this song so much. All I know is that when I listen to it, I’m in a good mood. And some days, that’s really all I need to know. But I also know that this song has some amazing guitar work, and some days, that’s all I really need to know as well.

I’m a relative late-comer to Wilco, although I’ve been aware of them since they were formed in the mid-’90s from the ashes of Uncle Tupelo. And frontman Jeff Tweedy and I grew up in towns that are an hour apart and have a teeny-tiny, so-infinitesimally-small-that-it-doesn’t-really-exist connection to each other that’s a long story for another post. Anyway, Wilco = awesome, and I’m glad I finally came around to them.

9.    ”Euro-Trash Girl”–Cracker (Album: Kerosene Hat)

I’d forgotten that this song even existed until a friend (the other friend who was dared to put together a Top Ten of All Time list, actually) reminded me. I think I heard this song on the radio so much in 1993 that once its popularity faded away, my memories of it faded as well. But I probably appreciate “Euro-Trash Girl” even more now than I did then. I don’t know if that says something about the song or something about me.

“Euro-Trash Girl”, about what sounds like the craziest European backpacking trip ever, is just awesome from start to finish. Personal highlights for me are the guitar solo (listen at about 5:40) and the lines “Called my mom from a pay phone/Said I’m down to my last/She said “I sent you to college”/”Now go call your dad.” Just terrific.

8.   “All I Need”–Radiohead (album: In Rainbows)

I’ve waxed enthusiastic about In Rainbows before, and I still can’t stop listening to it. In fact, it’s nearly impossible for me to choose a favorite song from this disk because it’s practically flawless from start to finish. But today, “All I Need” is the winner. Today. Tomorrow, something else perhaps. 

“All I Need” is one of those songs that I put in the category of “Songs You Think Are Gonna Be Love Songs But Turn Out to Be Something Very, Very Different” (the two best songs in this category being The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” and Elvis Costello’s “I Want You”). “All I Need” is a beautifully sad song that builds to an even more beautiful, crashing climax. And I’m a sucker for a beautiful, crashing climax.

7.    ”Train in Vain”–The Clash (album: London Calling)

Perhaps one of the most upbeat songs ever written about getting dissed by someone you love, “Train in Vain” is one of the songs on this list that would probably make my all-time Top Ten list. I’ve loved this song since I was a kid, and I love it so much that I even gave it a role in my first-novel-that-will-probably-never-exist-anywhere-other-than-my-computer’s-hard-drive.

One thing in particular that I love about this song is that the drum beat actually sounds like a train chugging down the tracks, and I just think that’s cool. And the drum track is the backing loop to another song I was obsessed with for a time–Garbage’s “Stupid Girl” (a song I was obsessed with for reasons that should be obvious, given the title). And I think that’s cool, too.

6.   “On Your Side”–Pete Yorn (album: musicforthemorningafter)

For me, trying to choose a favorite Pete Yorn song is like trying to choose between my favorite kinds of ice cream–it just sort of depends on what I’m in the mood for at the time. But “On Your Side” is a song I always come back to.

Some songs evoke memories or landscapes, and “On Your Side” always evokes clouds and rain for me because the first time I heard this song was on a rainy day. I can listen to this song when the sun is out, but somehow the song doesn’t have the same effect on me (and I can listen to the live version of this song at almost any time and not be moved in quite the same way as I am when I hear the recorded version-weird).

5.    ”Two Step”–Dave Matthews Band w/Tim Reynolds and Bela Fleck (Worcester’s Centrum Center, Worcester, MA, December 7, 1998)

Please–you knew I wasn’t going to get through this list without including at least a few DMB songs, right?

If I showed up at a DMB show and found out that they would be playing the same song over and over for three hours, I would vote for “Two Step.” And if I could go back in time to witness one version of this song, I would vote for this version.

This “Two Step” is so good I hardly know where to start. I love the fact that the mix is such that you can hear the crowd singing along. And a definite highlight of this sixteen-minute-plus behemoth is the guitar/banjo duel between Tim Reynolds and Bela Fleck that begins at about the 7:30 mark.

But if you’re in a rush and can’t listen to the entire song, then listen to about the last six minutes or so. I can’t even begin to know how to describe them–they just fall into that category of ineffable music moments that have to be experienced to be understood. I’ll just say that the first time I listened to this version of “Two Step,” I thought those last six minutes were going to take my head clean off, they’re that good. And then at the end, Dave just calmly says “Thank you very much” as if he has no idea that he and his band and his guests have just totally fucked everyone up.

4.    ”The Grudge”–Tool (album: Lateralus)

Man, I love me some Tool. And I want to emphasize that “The Grudge” is currently my favorite Tool song, which is sort of like saying that “My second child is currently my favorite child.” Because all of Tool’s angry little children are good, but the “The Grudge” is the one that’s showing up the most on my iPod at the present moment.

This song, which opens Lateralus, is so musically and lyrically phenomenal that most of the time I forget that there are twelve other songs on this album (And what songs! “Schism.” “Parabola.” “Ticks and Leeches.” This album is just a freaking beast.). And if you’ve ever held a grudge against someone, the kind of grudge that slowly eats you alive, you’ll be convinced that Maynard James Keenan is looking into your soul.

3.    ”It’s a Lie”–Fiction Plane (album: Left Side of the Brain)

Fiction Plane is one of those bands that was pretty much screwed from the beginning, because even though they started out as a four-piece band, they eventually evolved into a three-piece and lead singer/guitarist Joe Sumner assumed the role of lead singer/bassist. While their mere evolution wouldn’t be enough in and of itself to doom a band, in this case, Joe Sumner is the son of Gordon Sumner, aka Sting, who was also the lead singer/bassist of a little band that you may have heard of. I don’t know if Joe’s familial connections are what’s keeping Fiction Plane from reaching critical mass or not, but I’m guessing that some people can’t get past the relationship. Plus, Joe Sumner happens to look and sound a lot like Sting (Some people don’t agree with me on this. These people are wrong.), which probably doesn’t help matters much.

I’ll be honest–part of the reason I like “It’s a Lie” is that it’s a bit filthy. Sample lyrics: “Wish I could tell you I’m a better guy/That love is all around/And only real men cry/But all I wanna do is jump your bones/Slam dance all night to the music of your moans. So we’re not exactly in “Every Breath You Take” territory here. Actually, I can think of a few relationships I had back in the ’90s that would have gone a lot better had the guys in question gotten the previous sentiments out on the table right when we first met–stories that are perhaps best left for another time.

And whether or not he sounds like Sting, I have to admire Joe Sumner’s use of “jump your bones” in a song released in 2007. I don’t think I’ve heard that phrase since college, and I’m assuming all parties involved were very, very drunk at the time. 

2.    ”American Baby Intro”–Dave Matthews Band (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Charlotte, NC, September 19, 2007)

I hate to be one of those DMB fans who always says stuff like “Dude, you so had to be there to appreciate this version of the song.” But, Dude, you kind of had to be there to appreciate this version of “American Baby Intro.” And I was.

“American Baby Intro” is a neat little summation of what people both like and hate about DMB. The song has almost no lyrics (She said a hundred times/She said a thousand times/Yeah…) and is rarely followed live by the song that it is an introduction to. And this particular version of the song was the longest ever played at that time (nearly twelve minutes), while the version of the song on Stand Up clocks in at just over two minutes–so, yes, they jammed it out to nearly six times its original length. The song, on its face, is so worthless that even some of the DMB hardcore can’t stand to hear it live.

But on this particular night in Charlotte, “ABI” was the first song of the encore to one of the best concerts I’d ever seen, hands down. I have a theory that if early on in the show, you can see Dave, Boyd, and Carter looking at each other like they want to rip each other to shreds, then you’re in for an intense DMB experience. And on this night, the three of them kept exchanging looks that clearly said, to me, anyway, “Bring it, motherfucker.” The show was wall-to-wall intense, with a setlist to match (seriously, add in “#41″ and “Grey Street” and I probably would have peed myself right there in front of everyone). By the time “ABI” came around, the band was on fire and so was the crowd.

This “ABI” rises and then slows, and then rises and slows again (thus making it the perfect workout song–I’m just saying). The first rise culminates in a heavy metal scream from Dave (at about 3:27) that was truly one of the most bizarre things I’d ever seen (his mouth was open so wide that I thought his jaw was going to unhinge and then swing around and swallow the rest of his head–that’s the only way I know how to describe it). And by the time the second rise climaxed, I felt as though my feet had left the ground several times, carried on the swirl of the music. This occasion was the only time that I can recall feeling literally lifted by music, and I was exhausted by the end of the song. The only thing that even comes close to ruining this version of “ABI” for me is the guy on the tape who keeps yelling “#41!” the whole time. I truly hope someone punched him in the face, because that’s what I would have done had he been sitting anywhere in my vicinity.

So I fully expect that almost no one will get my love for this version of this particular song unless they were in Charlotte that night (and the friend who dared me to put together my all-time Top Ten was, so the song has nice memories on another level as well). I can only hope my description has done the atmosphere that night just a little bit of justice.

1.    ”Loving Wings”–Dave Matthews Band (Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga, NY, August 27, 2003)

This song is really two songs in one. The first four minutes is a beautiful little love song with a hypnotic little guitar part repeating in the background. The next five minutes, however, build into an amazing instrumental jam featuring drummer Carter Beauford and late saxophonist LeRoi Moore at their absolute best (and I can’t help but feel a little pain when hearing this song, knowing that Roi will never play it again). “Loving Wings” is one of those songs that makes me appreciate the amazing level of musicianship in this band.

Unfortunately, this song has never been recorded, so the only versions are from live shows. Which means that no version of this song exists that doesn’t have thousands of drunk people in the background screaming “Wooo!” and “I love you, Dave!”  Try to block that out and enjoy the ride that is “Loving Wings.”

Bonus Track (because every good playlist deserves a bonus track): “Spilt Needles”–The Shins (album:Wincing the Night Away)

This song has many memorable lines, but my favorites are: It’s like I’m perched on the the handlebars/Of a blind man’s bike. I swear I feel this way at least once a day, but no one has ever quite put that feeling into words so eloquently.

 

Every Day Should Be a Good Day to Die…

After several days of barely being able to listen to a Dave Matthews Band song without tearing up, I think I’ve finally come to terms with LeRoi Moore’s death.

I know. It’s ridiculous. I didn’t know the man. I don’t know the band personally. But I’ve been a fan of DMB since 1994, and it’s difficult to realize that the band is no longer the same. And while rock history is littered with bands who have carried on after losing a member/s, no matter how the Dave Matthews Band chooses to go on, they will no longer be the “founding five.” And that’s just sad.

I feel like I owe Roi and the band at least a little bit of grieving at this difficult time. 2005 was filled with watershed moments for me, but the most difficult of these was losing my grandfather. I’d lost other family members, but none were quite as close to me as he was. He was not only my “Papa,” but he was also a great pal and my personal hero in many respects. I’ve never cried harder than I did at his funeral, and I still sort of hate going to family gatherings even three years on because I know that he won’t be there. And yet I still expect to see him, and every time I look for him and see nothing but a void.

A few days after Papa’s funeral, I’m driving to work with DMB’s Busted Stuff in my CD player. And “You Never Know” comes on, which had never been one of my favorite songs. But I hadn’t quite dealt with his death yet, so I’m a little too inside my own head (never a good thing when speeding down the Bronx River Parkway) and, consequently, I don’t change the track. And then suddenly, I hear the lyrics almost if I’m hearing them for the first time:

There’s not a moment to lose in the game

Don’t let the troubles in your head

Steal too much time

You’ll soon be dead

So play…

And, suddenly, I got it. By the time, Dave sang “But every day should be a good day to die,” I was almost in tears. 

“You Never Know”

Damn right, you don’t. 

We need to live life so that “every day should be a good day to die.” We can’t take a second of this life for granted, and can’t spare a second not at least attempting to live our dreams. Because you never know if this second might be your last.

Some people might take the lyrics to “You Never Know” to be morbid and depressing, but I see them as inspiring. I took the sadness I was feeling over my grandfather’s death, along with the lessons I’d learned from some other epiphanies I’d had earlier in the year, and committed myself to finishing the first draft of a novel less than six months later. And while I hope that novel gets published someday, just in writing it I feel like I’ve honored my grandfather and how proud he always was of me. And I’ve honored myself and my dreams. And I’ve honored the band that continues to inspire me on an almost daily basis.

So as I’ve done so many times, I just want to thank Dave, Carter, Boyd, Stefan, and, especially at this moment, Leroi–the original five–for giving me and the rest of the world countless hours of music to listen to and dream by.

Don’t lose the dreams inside your head

They’ll only be there until you’re dead

Dream…

R.I.P. Leroi Moore

There are no words, whether you’re a Dave Matthews Band fan or not:

Leroi Moore has died.

I speculated previously when the band announced that he had been readmitted to the hospital following his June 30 accident that things seemed serious. But to actually get the news that he had passed is still both shocking and devastating.

I’m generally not a person who sulks around saying “we should do x because it’s what he would have wanted” when someone dies, but I have to note that the band went ahead and played their show in Los Angeles last night (which is, ironically, where Roi died–and, again, not to be too sentimental, but you almost have to wonder if he was waiting for the rest of the band to show up in L.A. before he left). And as of this writing, they’ve announced no plans to cancel shows, just as they soldiered on after Roi’s accident. I’d like to think that the music of the Dave Matthews Band is just as therapeutic for the band itself (and maybe more so) as it is for the rest of us who have been carried through bad times on the strength of their songs, and that playing through their pain would be better than not playing at all.

I’m so sad about this that I feel like I’m not making much sense, so I’ll just let the man speak for himself:

Loving Wings–a song I always thought was a Roi Tour De Force.

You’ll be missed, Roi. My condolences to your family, the band, and every fan. Our lives are a little less bright today.

Goodbye, Nancies

File this under “Things I Totally Missed While I Was Out of Town and Not Paying Attention”: nancies.org is no more.

For the uninitiated, nancies.org was one of the first Dave Matthews Band-related web sites on the net, not to mention one of the best fan sites around (as the linked post above indicates, the site was named “Best Fan Site” by Vh1 in 2001). On a personal note, it was one of the first places I ever looked for DMB-related information, and much of what I know about the band aside from reading articles and listening to the music is thanks to Nancies.

I even tried, perhaps out of some false sense of hope, to put nancies.org into my web browser to see what came up. And nothing–no set lists, no archives, no boards. And although I never joined the boards on Nancies, I lurked enough to know that the vast majority of conversations were informative and respectful, something one doesn’t always get on DMB boards (or most web discussion boards, for that matter).

So the demise of Nancies is a loss; however, “dark clouds may hang on me sometimes/but I’ll work it out.” There are still several places on the Interwebs to get your DMB fix (besides the obvious: the band’s official website, which includes a discussion board for those in the Warehouse, DMB’s fan club), so one need not fear that Nancies has left too great a hole in the universe. My three favorite DMB-related sites are:

www.dmbalmanac.com: Your one-stop shop for all the DMB-concert related statistics you could ever want, including venue information and song lyrics.

www.antsmarching.org: Band news, setlists, torrent downloads, and much more. My advice, however, is to stay off the boards. While there are some lovely people at Ants, if I wanted to have conversations with guys who call each other “douchebag” while trying to out-awesome each other, I’d just go back to teaching college full time. But that’s just my two cents.

www.foolsthinking.com: While this site doesn’t have as much information as the previous two, the boards here are probably the most civil, supportive, and respectful as any in the DMB universe (or just about anywhere else on the Internet). If you’re looking for people who are into DMB but won’t ridicule you for asking a simple question, the Fools are your folks.

Happy DMB-surfing!

Motley Crue and Guitar Center’s New Theater of Pain

So apparently Motley Crue (with Guitar Center as co-sponsor) is holding a contest to find an unsigned band to open for them on their upcoming tour. But as Mark Levine points out, there’s a catch: all members of the unsigned band must be legal residents of the United States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii but including the District of Columbia.

I’ll be the first person to admit that I’m no heavy metal scholar, but I was paying enough attention in the ’80s and have learned enough at the feet of my metal-loving spouse to know that members of metal bands hail from all over the world. White Lion and Scorpions are two bands whose members immediately spring to mind. And as Levine notes in his blog posting, even countries that most fans wouldn’t associate with heavy metal are now home to bands making music in this genre and related ones (Although, did anyone else find the concept of an Iranian death metal band simultaneously hysterical and frightening?). Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, in fact, was born in Greece (although I believe he’s since been naturalized). So why would this contest restrict entrants with regards to citizenship?

I’m going to give the members of Motley Crue the benefit of the doubt here and assume that both they and Guitar Center have a phalanx of lawyers and other personnel making up the rules for this contest. And I’m going to assume that there’s a very good reason to confine eligibility for this contest to citizens of the forty-eight contiguous states, although I can’t think off the top of my head what that reason might be. But then I went to the contest’s website and discovered more rules that make the citizenship requirements seem almost sensical by comparison.

For example, the first rule tells participants that they may not submit a sexually explicit or suggestive song.

I’m not kidding.

Just in case we all need a reminder, one of Motley Crue’s most famous songs/videos is “Girls Girls Girls”, from the album of the same name, a song which celebrates strippers and strip clubs and doesn’t bother to couch any of it in some obtuse metaphor. But if you want to open for them on this tour, you’d better keep your sexual innuendo to a bare (har!) minimum.

Your song submission also cannot promote alcohol, illegal drugs, or tobacco. And while I commend the members of Motley Crue for cleaning themselves up, we all know that it’s the booze-and-drug-soaked exploits of the Crue that helped make them famous. So, again, this particular edict seems a bit hypocritical.

But wait, there’s more…

A submission will be thrown out if it “communicates messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or goodwill to which Sponsor wishes to associate” whatever that means. In other words, say the sponsors, if we find something about your song that makes us feel like disqualifying it we will, and legally there’s nothing you can do about it.

While the other rules and regulations are pretty standard fare, I would think that the three rules outlined above would be enough to make any metal band want to try their luck somewhere else. Heavy metal–indeed, rock and roll itself–is about rebellion, and this contest clearly is not.

So look for Motley Crue and some band that resembles the Jonas Brothers to be coming soon to a stadium near you.