William's Song a Day Blog - est. September 2007

I have been listening to this band a lot lately, and this song has been a one of the standouts. This song is basically 70's Funk with a Latin Jazz-Rock flavouring. For those who do not know, the band came out of Santana with the brothers Coke and Pete Escovedo, (Pete Escovedo is actually the father of musician Sheila E), along with others from that band as well including Neal Schon. Some really upbeat music for this dreary day out there. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

I needed some Rammstein today, this is one of my more favoured of their songs. It is a bit lighter when compared to their other popular songs and in my opinion is quite a beautiful song. The dynamics are excellent and add so much to the song when changing between the chorus and verses; light and airy to full and surrounding sound. Of course Till's vocals really shine in this one as well. Here is a recording with German and English subtitles on YouTube. +

This is kind of a leftover from my theme week. I almost chose it, but it technically is not a car crash song, however it technically is because of the best-known lyric contained in the song: "Indians scattered on dawn's highway bleeding, ghosts crowd the young child's fragile egg-shell mind." The song was recorded seven years after Jim Morrison's death using recordings of him reciting his poetry. Ever since I heard it I immediately loved this song, there is something about the 70's funk-inspired music combined with his poetry that really makes this song simply awesome in my opinion. From what I understand this poetry was inspired by an accident that Jim Morrison witnessed as a child; he believed that the spirits of the dead Native Americans in the crash entered his body at that time. Here is the music video on YouTube. +

I have noticed that I have woefully neglected choosing songs this week from what is thought of as the "golden era" of car crash songs. I figured that choosing the song that most would probably view as one of the quintessential car crash songs would be an excellent choice to end my theme week of vehicle wreck songs. The song was originally written and recorded by Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Riders, but when most think of this song it is probably the J. Frank Wilson version, who made the song famous. From what I have read this song was inspired by an actual car wreck in 1962 Barnesville, Georgia where a car load of teens collided with a flatbed truck and most were killed; this song was dedicated by Wayne Cochran to the memory of one of the victims of the crash. Here is a recording of the song on YouTube. Here is the Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Riders original on YouTube. +

I figured that this would be an excellent addition to my vehicle crash song theme week. This is the climax song in the pseudo rock opera that the album consists of. The songs on the album were supposed to be part of a musical sung by Adam Faith; they were written by Ian Anderson and David Palmer. After it did not come to fruition and was scrapped, Ian Anderson then decided to go ahead and make the already-written music into the next 'Tull album. In this one the main character, Ray Lomas is a '50s-'60s Rocker/Greaser that refuses to change his image or his lifestyle with the times and finds himself as a relic. All of his friends have "sold their souls" and moved on with their lives and have families and respectable jobs, which makes him quite despondent. He ends up going on a wild bike ride down the A1 Motorway and ends up crashing. This song has a happy ending, however. After he wakes up in the hospital he finds out that his fashion has come back into style and i...

Not all car crash songs are based on fictional stories, sometimes they are inspired by actual events. Apparently members of the band were into heavy drug use and were trying to clean themselves up at the time and Gary Rossington "fell off the wagon" and crashed his car into a tree. This song was written about the incident and the consequences of alcohol and drug abuse. Here is a recording on YouTube. Here is a live performance from '77 on YouTube. Here is a live performance from '96 on YouTube. +

I figured for the hump day of my theme week I should choose what some refer to as "The Ultimate Wreck Song." This song features a star-studded cast of musicians from both The E-Street Band and Todd Rundgren's Utopia. It was written by Jim Steinman, who grew up with and liked a lot of the epic wreck songs from the 50's and 60's, which is when these crash songs were being made in the greatest quantity. He ended up creating a "magnum opus" in the same vein as those songs that almost lasts ten minutes. Here is a recording of the song on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

I decided on this intense song to continue my week about car wreck songs. I ran into this song a while ago and was drawn to it because I liked the sound that this band puts out. They remind me a bit of The Foo Fighters in sound, but that might be just me. For those who do not know about the band, M83 is a French Electronic Rock band that is in a genre called " Shoegazing ." Anyway, I have noticed that a lot of the songs about car crashes have to do with young lovers getting into a wreck and usually only one is killed. The song then is usually written around the other trying to make sense of and coming to terms with the loss. This can make for an emotional, heart wrenching track in some cases; this song follows that formula quite well. Here is a music video on YouTube. Here is a performance of the song on YouTube. +

Continuing my theme week of vehicle crash songs, this is actually of my favorite Kiss songs. The song is written about a Kiss fan that died in a car accident on the way to a concert. Here is a recording of the song on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

I have decided to do a full theme week this week; the theme, as macabre as it is: vehicle crash songs. I have already posted some songs that would fit in this theme; two that I can think of right off the top of my head are Robert Mitchum's " The Ballad of Thunder Road " and Red Sovine's " Phantom 309. " However, there are plenty more songs of this kind in existence to fill this theme week; you would be surprised just how many if you thought about it. I figured that this light-hearted offering from Devo would be an excellent one to kick it off. The music and vocals in this song are quite upbeat and catchy. In this crash song the main character drives on the expressway in his Datsun and smacks into a semi. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

The other night I was watching The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and this band was the act playing at the end of the show; I was blown away at their performance to say the least. They do not play with any instruments, but listening to only the audio you would have trouble telling that. They are very tight and extremely talented; their sound is would be best described as Soul/R&B. They are an A-Cappella group that has a self-described style called "Vocal Play," and everything that you hear is human voice. Here is the music video on YouTube. +

I am in the mood to celebrate this evening because I finished my Graduate Final Exam and it was a warm, sunny day after a hell of a winter. This song just seemed like a perfect fit for my day, so I had to choose it. There is too much that I like about this song; one of my favorite aspects is the twin bass lines and how the acoustic and electric bass switch off back and forth; it makes for a really interesting sound. Of course the guitar work by both Neal Schon and Carlos Santana is as incredible as ever. Here is the studio version on YouTube.

When people list influential guitarists it is amazing that Link Wray never makes those lists. While what he played is not as technical as many others, the sound that he put out in the '50s would not be heard in the mainstream until the '60 and '70s. From what I understand this song was banned on the radio in its day because of the sound and the title; it is still quite odd for an instrumental to be banned. Here is a video with a 45 rpm record of the song on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

To best describe the sound of Azteca, it is a cross between Latin, Fusion Jazz, R&B, and Funk. From what I have found, this album, Pyramid of the Moon , is out of print and subsequently has never been released on CD. However, it may be re-release it since the band has gotten back together with some of the original members. I love how this song switches between ethereal jazz to funk and back again. There is so much to listen to within this song, every musician is playing an integral part to make this song amazing; a delight to the ears. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

I ran into this song a while ago and the sassyness and condescending tone just fits my mood quite well today. The musicianship in this Blues/Jazz song is incredible; I just love the sound that this trio puts out. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

I love listening to Latin Jazz when I am in a good mood; I've played this one a few times today, so I'm Picking it. Jon Hendrick's vocals are just incredible throughout this song. One of the aspects that really grabbed my attention about this track is the counter-line with the flute. Of course the grooving bass line and the drums are an excellent driving force behind the song. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

This was another song that was playing on my iPod while on the road recently that I was considering for a pick. A really good straight-ahead rocker for my Sunday. Here is the music video on YouTube. +

Tonight while on the road this one came on my playlist, I thought that it would make a good choice. It has one of my favourite bass lines of any Chili Peppers' song; not too over the top, but an excellent groove. Here is the music video on YouTube. +

I was needing something a bit psychedelic today and I had not chosen any Pearls Before Swine yet, so it seemed to be a perfect fit. Some probably have not heard of this band, they are/were a psychedelic/folk rock act that was active from about '67 to the mid '70s. The name of the band is taken from The Bible verse Matthew 7:6. "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." In a post a couple of days ago, I was referring to artists that put messages in songs. This song also contains a blatant, (and may I say very juvenile), hidden message. Hint: the title of the song should be a dead giveaway of how it is hidden... Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

It's amazing what songs pop into your mind while you're working. I had not heard this song for quite some time and all of a sudden it just started playing in my mind as if I was listening to it on the stereo. This was the first version of Blue Moon that I had ever heard, so to me almost every other version of the song just drags. Not only are these guys quite talented, but are characters on stage. Each one of the members has a '50s character that they portray in a comedic fashion to go along with the nostalgic '50s music. The best known member of the group is the very entertaining bass singer Bowzer. If you were around before the mid 80's when someone said the name "Bowzer," they were referring to the bass singer from Sha Na Na, not a big spiky turtle that hurls fireballs at an Italian plumber. Here is a television performance on YouTube. +

I remember back in the day when your music library was measured in shelf space an not gigabytes I was a one of those who had many mix tapes recorded from the radio; this was the first ELO song that I recorded off the air. Those were the days... no lawsuits against music fans, just you and your tape recorder. Anyway, this is still one of my absolute favourite songs from ELO; it is only matched by a few in my mind. Just beautiful Symphonic Progressive Rock at its best! Funny enough at the beginning of this song there is a backmasked message that if played backward states: "The music is reversible, but time is not. Turn back, turn back, turn back, turn back." From what I understand, this was a stab back at the fundamentalist witch hunts by Jeff Lynne, who had accused him of planting messages in his song " Eldorado ." I personally had a lot of experience dealing with these idiots who were trying to tell us that my music was satanic. The problem is if you do not look at...

About a week or so ago, I heard the news that my father's mill was closing down, (maybe permanently), along with most of the other mills in and around my home town. Ever since then I have just been in disbelief about the utter devastation of that whole area economically. It has been coming for some time now; we all saw the handwriting on the wall for the last 20 years. I am glad that I escaped that depressed area and actually have a chance at some prosperity, maybe... I pray for the people still living there and hope that somehow things get better. I am getting the feeling that the loss of manufacturing jobs is the continuing trend and not a blip or exception. Anyway, since I heard about it, this song has been continually running through my mind because of the subject matter. It is one of Billy Joel's better songs in my opinion. Here is the music video on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

I have been listening to this album quite a bit the last couple of days; this track in particular has been running through my mind this morning, so I will add it. It is one of Ian's most intense and emotional compositions; it takes the listener all over the place. One of their heavier ones on Minstrel in the Gallery , this song swells and retreats to the point of almost insanity. It contains one of Martin Barre's most incredible guitar solos; here he brings the song to climax and back perfectly. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

Today was my wife's birthday again. I asked her to pick my song for today and she told me to pick something from The Delgados. Anyway this is one that has been under serious consideration for a while as a choice, so I shall. Probably the best parts of this song is the time signature changes and of course Emma Pollock's vocals. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

Today when I was out and about all that seemed to be on the radio stations within range was Fleetwood Mac and associated acts' music. I figured that someone or something was trying to tell me to choose one today; this was one that was played and seemed to fit my mood the most today. I have always loved this song anyway, it is another one of those songs that is constructed very well in my opinion. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

It's that time of year when the two seasons are playing a tug-of-war; one minute it can be warm and sunny, the next cold and snow. Very much the epitome on this song, so I figured that I would choose it. This part of the season suite is the most classical sounding, John Denver's guitar work is exquisite in this one. Here is a fan video with the studio version on YouTube. +

This is a leftover from my attitude song picks that I felt like picking today. For those who are unaware, Tarja Turunen was the former lead vocalist for the band Nightwish. I was introduced to both Tarja Turunen and Nightwish; I became a fan after the time of the breakup, so I really don't care much about the breakup and rather just enjoyed the music. The breakup between her and Nightwish was quite confrontational and emotional; there is still a lot of resentment even among fans who taken sides as well. Because of this both sides had gotten into a poison pen "songwriting contest" of sorts and used their art as a weapon; this song is one of those barbs. As a CD buying fan with an objective position it seems quite childish, but we fans do reap the rewards of some good self-justifying mood music. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. +

I am picking up a copy of Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. today and I could not resist choosing this song for the occasion. Of course, Kenny Loggins' Danger Zone would have been appropriate as well; I might have to choose it on a later date. This soundtrack is the driving force behind the music of fighter jet video games; there is always heavy guitar music playing in the background. Here is the music video on YouTube. +

This one is probably one of the greatest attitude songs of all time and one of my favourites from the Eagles. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +

I have decided to choose a few of my personal attitude songs for my list. I remember one of old friends loved this band quite and this album quite a bit. This is a song that is perfect to listen to on the way to work, especially if you hate the job. Somehow headbanging and screaming the lyrics can be a good stress reviler. Here is the music video on YouTube. +

I caught this early Fleetwood Mac song on the radio the other day. It has always been an attitude song for me, I like to play it when I am in a mood some of the time. Here is a studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance from '69 on YouTube. There are quite a few more live performances of the song available on YouTube as well. +