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.
Looking at this list, I guess it was a pretty upbeat week for Ol’ Swap. Nothing too depressing on this list… veeeeeddy interesting.
I first discovered Rage Against the Machine when I heard them cover Bruce Springsteen’s song “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” I remember seeing the video of this cover and saying to myself, “Self, THAT is awesome!!!!!” Rage blends hard grooves, metal, rap, hip-hop, and massively political lyrics… most of which I don’t understand. In 1997, Rage opened for U2 and donated all their profits to support various social organizations.
Like I said, I have no idea what they’re saying in their lyrics, but with grooves and riffs THIS bad-ass, who cares????
Rage Against the Machine formed in Los Angeles, CA. In 1991. They had a very successful nine-year run and then disbanded in 2000. The lead singer, Zack de la Rocha, went on to a solo career and the rest of the band joined with Chris Cornell (formerly of Soundgarden) to form Audioslave.
In 2007, Rage reunited for a show at the Coachella Festival and have continued to perform together.
Their Evil Empire album contains some of the heaviest, head-bangin’ music that makes my mom scream out “AIYA!!!!! Why so loud? All this is bang bang and noise! Why you no listen to Air Supply anymore?”
Uhhh… yeah, I used to listen to Air Supply. Please don’t beat me up.
Anyhow, I guess I was in a head-bangin’ mood this week because their song “Bulls on Parade” is the most played song of the week. Incidentally, this is the 2007 Coachella performance. Nice.
If you’ve never experienced Rage music, make sure you turn the volume up to eleven and put your face as close to the speakers as possible.
Your Dig-It Download:
Download: Bulls on Parade (live @ Coachella, 2007)
Buy Rage Against the Machine on Amazon
Buy Rage Against The Machine on iTunes
Roland Orzabal, a co-founder of the hugely successful 80’s band Tears for Fears, released a solo record in 2001 called Tomcats Screaming Outside. This album had the unfortunate release date of September 11, 2001 which, as many of you know, was the date of the worst terrorist attack on US soil in the history of this great nation.
I’m sure most of you are familiar with Orzabal’s work with Tears For Fears. He was the main songwriter and vocalist, penning such classic 80’s songs as “Shout,” “Everybody Wants To Rule the World,” and “Mad World.” He has such a distinctive voice and the first word that comes to my mind when I think of his writing style is “HUGE.”
Take a listen to a track off his Tomcats album called “Dandelion.” It frikkin’ ROCKS and continues on with this head-bangin’ theme I’ve got going so far.
Orzabal has since reunited with the other half of Tears For Fears, Curt Smith, to record more Tears albums… in 2005 they released Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, reaching the top 50 on both sides of the Atlantic. For a short while, all was well with the world.
Your Dig-It Download:
Download: Dandelion
Buy Roland Orzabal on Amazon
Buy Roland Orzabal on iTunes
I remember the first time I heard John Hiatt’s music. My dad had FINALLY installed cable TV for the house and was hooking it up… some music show came on and there sat Hiatt at a piano, playing one of his more popular songs, “Have A Little Faith In Me.” I sat there watching it, totally digging the music. When my dad changed the channel to test out the cable, I freaked out and told him to turn it back to the concert.
Well, he didn’t know what channel it was on and we spent the next fifteen minutes trying to find it… which we never did.
It wasn’t until years later that I found out just how amazing a songwriter he is. Hiatt’s songs have been covered by numerous artists including Bob Dylan, Jewel, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King and Linda Ronstadt. He’s been nominated for eleven Grammys. Wow.
His style is a blend of rock, blues, country and folk. He’s got some eighteen albums to his name. I highly recommend Bring the Family… that album contains the song I mentioned “Have A Little Faith In Me.” GREAT album.
I found a live acoustic version of his song “Cry Love” in my iTunes and couldn’t stop playing it for a while, thus landing it in the number 3 slot this week. “Cry Love” is the opening track to his 1995 release, Walk On. The mandolin hits me in all the right places every time I hear this upbeat song, and I hope you feel it, too.
The first few seconds of this performance are priceless. Once the opening chords are strummed, you can hear someone in the audience yell out in approval… then you hear Hiatt’s laughter returning the favor. It’s moments like these that make bootlegs so enjoyable.
Your Dig-It Download:
Download: Cry Love (live acoustic)
Buy John Hiatt on Amazon
Buy John Hiatt on iTunes
Indigo girls are awesome, and if you don’t know who they are, then you should.
They’ve been around since 1985 and continue to make wonderful records, their latest being Despite Our Differences. Insanely catchy songs, beautiful vocals, harmonies up the wazoo… they’ve been a huge influence on me as a songwriter and if I had the chance to, I would totally buy them a beer.
I came across this live performance of “Southland in the Springtime” and it reminded me just how much I love their music. This song is from their second major label release, Nomads, Indians, Saints.
I guess I miss the South because the play count for this song was up to fifteen.
Your Dig-It Download:
Download: Southland in the Springtime (live)
Buy Indigo girls on Amazon
Buy Indigo Girls on iTunes
There are times when I prefer Ryan Adams‘ live bootlegs to the album versions. I’m not sure why, because the whole theory behind an album release is that THOSE versions are the “definitive” of any particular song. I’m not 100% sure I agree with that, though, because bands tend to change the songs as time goes by.
Here’s a live performance of a song off his first offering with his band, The Cardinals. The double-album Cold Roses felt like a return back to form for Adams, but was diverse enough to allow him the liberty to develop a band sound, not just a “Ryan Adams” sound. “Let It Ride” is one of my favorite songs from that album… this was recorded in on the World Cafe program in 2007.
I played it just enough times for it to beat out “Just Can’t Get Enough” by Depeche Mode.
Your Dig-It Download:
Download: Let It Ride (live on the World Cafe, June 15, 2007)
Buy Ryan Adams on Amazon
Buy Ryan Adams on iTunes
Maybe next week will be more of a downer for me. Probably so, because finals are coming up. Crap.
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