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Post by Mormel on Aug 29, 2021 10:46:42 GMT -5
I like the concept of the rock hall, but the execution is dismal. At least regarding the rock hall of fame, the folks deciding who gains entry are famously ignorant and ill informed of the genres. I do enjoy the performances and super group crossovers they put together to celebrate sometimes, but it would be more satisfying if the rock hall of fame was actually managed by folks with a modicum of understanding of rock music. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? I was under the impression that that was established not for the purpose of heaping praise only on artists who make 'rock music' in all its different forms, but rather popular music of any genre. The 1986 inductees were all pioneers who were active in rock & roll and rhythm & blues (Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke) in the 50s-- when rock and r&b were sister genres. By 1987, inductees included Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye, who are undeniably soul musicians. By then it's clear that all genres of popular music that spun off from rock & roll and rhythm & blues would be taken into consideration when nominating artists or groups for induction, including pop, funk, disco, hip hop, house, and what have you. Not just rock, blues rock, hardrock, heavy metal, glam, punk, thrash, grunge, etc.
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Post by impulse on Sept 10, 2021 9:24:53 GMT -5
Metallica's Deluxe Remaster of the Black album including a metric ****-ton of extras is out today. I know what I will be listening to on Spotify today.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2021 13:04:20 GMT -5
@draketungsten Did you see Maiden has two new songs out? Presumably promoting an album. They're still capable of stand-out songs, but 21st-century Maiden doesn't do it for me like the Maiden of my youth. Not every song needs a prog-rock intro and outro. That said, one of the two, "Writing On The Wall", I like a lot.
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Post by impulse on Nov 23, 2021 14:31:43 GMT -5
@draketungsten Did you see Maiden has two new songs out? Presumably promoting an album. They're still capable of stand-out songs, but 21st-century Maiden doesn't do it for me like the Maiden of my youth. Not every song needs a prog-rock intro and outro. That said, one of the two, "Writing On The Wall", I like a lot. Yep, I get it. I am the same way with my formative bands like Metallica. I think the issue is we're not young anymore.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 2, 2021 10:37:28 GMT -5
It's that time of year when Spotify Wraps. And since nobody was demanding it...my top 100 songs of 2021.
100. Before That Final Bell - Western Centuries.
This was the closer on Western Centuries' 2020 album "Call the Captain." That album was my #10 album of that year, so this isn't a big surprise and was likely a holdover from listening in the early part of the year.
This one definitely as a bit of a James Taylor meets alt-country feel. Ultimately the song is about the dichotomies of current life. Contrasting the emotive imagery of a long, solitary, winding rural drive with the hustle and bustle of modern life.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 3, 2021 10:45:49 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2021
# 99 - Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - Kris Kristofferson
This is easily one of my favorite songs of all time, though I tend to default to Johnny Cash's version. Kristofferson's self-titled debut album is a tour de force of songwriting. This one was actually first recorded in 1969 by Ray Stevens and Kris has said it's the song that both opened doors for him and allowed him to quit working for a living.
The song epitomizes world-weariness and the desire for something better with very little real chance it will come along. This is a precipitous drop from last year. But such are the vagaries of listening.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 4, 2021 15:32:42 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2021
# 98 - Honkiest Tonkiest Beer Joint - Dale Watson
This is Watson at his Honky-Tonkiest. It's off his sophomore album, "Blessed or Damned" from 1996. It's not the kind of song that's generally going to set the critic's world on fire, but it's just a super fun honky-tonk song that gets your toes tapping and blood pumping.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 5, 2021 17:47:54 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2021
# 97 - I Can Help - Charley Crockett
Crockett, who would probably be my pick for artist of the year for 2021, comes in at # 97 with this cover of Billy Swan's 1974 crossover mega-hit. As best I can tell, even though Crockett released two albums in 2021 this song was released only as a single.
It's a fine version of Swan's biggest song with Crockett's distinct vocals and a slightly slower more soulful tone making this version distinct and well worth more than a few listens.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 6, 2021 11:08:06 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2021
# 96 - Five Feet High and Rising - Johnny Cash
This one came off Cash's 1959 concept album "Songs of Our Soil." The album concept centered around death and while this song is more indirectly about death, certainly the 1937 Mississippi and Ohio River floods caused significant death and destruction. Cash lived through the floods as a young child in Arkansas.
The song has the classic Cash 1950s boom-chicka-boom sound and is just a great piece of Americana. The video is from the Johnny Cash Infocenter and is definitely of the right vintage for the song.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 7, 2021 10:46:40 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2021
# 95 - Alabama Pines - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
I'm betting this song has shown up on every year end playlist so far. Isbell won the Americana Song of the Year with this one in 2011 and it was well deserved. This was the song where Isbell really nailed nailed down what was going on with his rootless wanderer
"And I can't get to sleep at night The parking lot is so loud and bright The AC hasn't worked in twenty years Probably never made a single person cold But I can't say the same for me, I've done it many times"
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 8, 2021 11:22:52 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2021
# 94 - One Time One Night - Los Lobos
Is there a more underrated band in rock & roll than Los Lobos? This one was the opener on their 1987 album "By the Light of the Moon." But it's probably better known for playing over the opening credits of the 1988 film "Colors."
The song is about the small dreams that people have and that seem to never happen despite all we're told about the place where dreams come true. Ultimately at its heart it's a quiet protest song.
"A young girl tosses a coin in the wishing well She hopes for a heaven while for her there's just this hell She gave away her life to become somebody's wife Another wish unanswered in America
People having so much faith Die too soon while all the rest come late We write a song that no one sings On a cold black stone where a lasting peace will finally bring"
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 9, 2021 10:55:41 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2021
# 93 - I Don't Care (Just as Long as You Love Me) - Buck Owens
This one from 1964 was Buck's 4th number one single spending six weeks at #1. This is classic Buck, just a rousing honky-tonker. The kind that should never go out of style.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 10, 2021 17:50:44 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2021
# 92 - Against the Wind - The Highwaymen.
My children have dubbed Bob Segar as "Dad Music." Not because I listen to Segar even remotely often. Just because his oeuvre seems to exemplify a "Dad" sound to them.
So here we have The Highwaymen singing Segar. The only super-group that even came close to The Highwaymen were The Traveling Wilburys...because, c'mon, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson. That's just gold there.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 11, 2021 15:10:51 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2021
# 91 - What Made Milwaukee Famous - Jerry Lee Lewis
This one was a little bit of a surprise. It's great example of late 60s/early 70s country Jerry Lee Lewis. And that was probably his second best era after his early work at Sun (and much more sustained). It's just not work I tend to seek out, so this is an algorithm selection. Which is fine.
This one hit in 1968, going to number 2 on the Country charts and was a minor crossover on the Hot 100. Just a good example of solid country from that time period and a little less countrypolitan than the norm.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 12, 2021 15:45:42 GMT -5
Most listened to songs of 2021
# 90 - Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino
Recognizing that this song was first published in 1940 and had a number of popular incarnations (including a great rendition by Louis Armstrong in 1949) Fats Domino's 1956 version is not just definitive, it's one of the great records in the history of Rock & Roll. This was Fats' biggest career hit and has been continuously lauded since as a cornerstone of both Rock & Roll and R&B.
I actually like the little intro he does in this video, less for its content and more for the opportunity to hear his speaking voice. It drives home that English was not Domino's first language, him having first learned Louisiana Creole.
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