The Rules: I reset the play counters for all the songs currently on my iTunes. Then at the end of every week, I check to see what the top five most played songs are. Whatever happens to be in this top five are then presented in order here from most played to least. If I have posted a particular song in the past, then I will bypass that song and post the next in line. If one artist dominates the list, then I will write about that artist in lieu of a Top Five list.
Hey all you Frontloaders! This week has been a good week of music listenin’. I finally got my good stereo out and plugged my iPod/iTunes into it. You know, mp3’s don’t sound THAT bad, especially if it makes for convenience. There’s still nothing compared to a good old fashioned vinyl, but if I tried to zip through song selections quickly on a turntable, I’d ruin the record. So for now, mp3’s are juuuust fine. But anyhow, let’s get to this week’s Top Five list!
In 1998, Emmylou Harris put together a band called Spyboy to tour with. This tour and album was captured on film for the coinciding Spyboy DVD release as well, and is a great watch for those Harris fans out there.
The record stretches her entire career, from the beginnings with Gram Parsons (“Love Hurts”), to her tribute to Parsons (“Boulder to Burmingham), and all the way to her most recent album at the time, the Grammy winning Wrecking Ball (“Where Will I Be”). She joined up with some excellent musicians, most notably Buddy Miller. His guitar work for Spyboy was incredible… and I was digging on it again this week in songs like “I Ain’t Living Long Like This.”
His solos in this performance completely blew me away. Don’t get me wrong – it’s an excellent song – but Miller’s guitar totally makes the performance for me. The whole band kicks ass here, and Emmylou Harris sings with a fresh abandon that she rarely shows in her most recent records. I love this side of her. “I Ain’t Living Long Like This” was played a total of 17 times this week, making it number on on this week’s list.
Your Dig-It Download:
Download: I Ain’t Living Long Like This
Buy Emmylou Harris on Amazon
Buy Emmylou Harris on iTunes
Number two on this week’s list reaches back to my early college years. I was a Depeche Mode freak back then. I’ve always considered Depeche Mode to be one of the major influences on synthpop… they were one of the few synthpop bands that actually remained a synth band for the majority of their career. It wasn’t until their 1993 album Songs of Faith and Devotion where they started to use live drums in their shows. It was really weird to see Alan Wilder sit behind the drum kit…
In 1987 they released Music for the Masses. This album was the follow-up to my absolute favorite DMode album, Black Celebration. Music for the Masses was a bit peppier than Black Celebration, and was the record where Martin Gore’s guitar started become a bit more prominent. Songs like “Behind the Wheel,” “Strangelove,” and the bonus track “Pleasure, Little Treasure” featured his Duane Eddy-like playing.
I actually was at the Rose Bowl where their live album 101 was recorded (you can hear me yelling “I love Kung-FUUUUUU!” in the background), and was kind of put-off when Gore emerged from behind the keyboards to play guitar. I wanted to stop yelling out “I love Kung-FUUUUUU!” and start yelling “GET BACK BEHIND THAT KEYBOARD!!!!” because I was one of those DMode purists and couldn’t grasp the notion of the all-synth departure… but I bit my tongue and kept on with my “I love Kung-FUUUUUU!” for the remainder of the show.
I’m serious! On 101, check out “Something To Do” and you can hear me yelling. It’s really noticeable during the second verse. I’m cool.
Your Dig-It Download:
Download: Never Let Me Down Again (live in Koln, 1998)
Buy Depeche Mode on Amazon
Buy Depeche Mode on iTunes
When I first picked up Soundgarden’s Badmotorfinger record back in 1991, all I knew about the band was that the lead singer, Chris Cornell, was frikkin’ phenomenal. I was in a band back then and our singer longed to be as cool as Cornell… he ended up blowing out his vocal chords because he tried to reach notes he simply couldn’t hit. Chris Cornell could hit it… and he probably still can.
The first track, “Rusty Cage,” was such a great way to open the record. I cranked this song waaaaay up as I head-banged myself into oblivion. Man alive the middle/end of the song, where it slows down and really grinds away… man ALIVE that’s frikkin’ cool!
Johnny Cash covered this song in one of his American Recordings with Rick Rubin. I’ll have to dig that up someday for a listen.
Here’s a live performance of “Rusty Cage” by Chris Cornell. Dated 5-8-07, it’s a solo show he did in Seattle with a backing band. He still hits the high notes with ease (at least it sounds like that)… and sixteen years later, the song still kicks major ass.
Your Dig-It Download:
Download: Rusty Cage (Chris Cornell, live, 5-8-07)
Buy Soundgarden on Amazon
Buy Chris Cornell on Amazon
Buy Soundgarden on iTunes
Buy Chris Cornell on iTunes
When I was a kid, a bunch of us would sit around during lunch, discussing what REM really stood for for the band, REM. It couldn’t be as simple as “Rapid Eye Movement.” No, we were convinced of that. I can recall these conversations… someone would demand that REM actually stood for “Rapid Eye Movement,” and then everyone else would start yelling and debating their cause. We came up with some doozies: “Renegade Emperor Mantra,” “Round Elephant Mice,” “Remember Every Mom,” and my personl favorite, “Riboflavin Engrossed Masturbation.”
We had another grand old time when the band EMF hit the radio.
MAN we were geeks.
REM’s first single, “Radio Free Europe,” was another matter of discussion for us. There was this one kid, Ken, that argued that the “R” and “E” in this song referred to the band name, and that the song title USED to be longer and included an “M.” We’d then ask about the “F.” What did the “F” stand for? Huh? What did the “F” stand for, wise guy? “REM” doesn’t have an “F” in it! What did the “F” stand for?
Ken would look us in the eye and say, “The ‘F’ stands for F*** YOU!!!!!” and we’d all laugh.
No, we didn’t get laid much back then.
Here’s a cool live performance of “Radio Free Europe.”
Your Dig-It Download:
Download: Radio Free Europe (live)
Buy REM on Amazon
Buy REM on iTunes
Vince Gill’s quadruple album, These Days, is a must-have for any country music fan. This album showcases Gill’s tremendous musical style, ranging from traditional country to rock to bluegrass to jazzy jazz jazz.
The album was broken up into four sets: “The Rockin’ Record,” “The Groovy Record,” “The Country and Western Record,” and “The Acoustic Record.”
Gill had originally planned on keeping the records separate, releasing them on their own as multiple albums, but on the suggestion of a colleague he put the discs together and thus you have this fine collection.
Each disc could totally stand on its own as a separate release.
I grew very attached to “The Acoustic Record,” and am very partial to the song “Ace Up Your Pretty Sleeve.” I love the lyrics in this tune and find it to be one of the most endearing songs on the entire four-disc set.
One of my favorite lines: “I’m the cause and effect, my own four-letter word.”
Anyhow, I apparently played this song eight times this week, making it the number five most played song of the week. I don’t recall if I played it eight times in a row, but I probably did. It’s just a great song that deserves to be heard. I hope you dig it.
Your Dig-It Download:
Download: Ace Up Your Pretty Sleeve
Buy Vince Gill on Amazon
Buy Vince Gill on iTunes
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