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

1107 Letzte Instanz - Für Immer Und Ewig Wrapping up my "Also Known as Rammstein" theme week today with this awesome track from the band Latzte Instanz. This is probably one of the bands most unlike Rammstein whose music has been erroneously attributed to them. While they are a metal band singing in German, their sound is permeated with the folk metal, but that doesn't stop some. I chalk this one up to pure and utter laziness when some individuals misattribute their songs to the band Rammstein. I believe that this is a testament to how successful Rammstein is and how far they have penetrated into the mindset of the Mainstream here in America; for many, or so it would seem, Rammstein has become German metal music itself even though there are so many other bands in the German music scene. In the last seven days I have posted songs from seven distinct bands whose songs have been attributed to Rammstein and there are quite a few others as well. It is amazing to see ...

1106 Stahlhammer - Herz Aus Stahl Day 6 of my "Also Known as Rammstein" theme week; i.e. musical artists that have had their songs misattributed to Rammstein on the internet. Thus far all of the bands from which I have posted songs are all from Germany. Well, for today I decided to choose a track from a band whose songs sometimes get mistaken as that of Rammstein and are not from Germany. Okay, yes I know they are from Austria and Austria's official language is German, but for some it seems to be one of the only criterion in the erroneously declaring of a song as one of Rammstein's. Here is the studio version with footage from the film The Iron Giant on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: America - Sister Golden Hair My song pick two years ago today: Fleetwood Mac - Little Lies +

1105 Megaherz - Heuchler Making kind of a quick pick this evening on a rather busy weekend. Pick number 5 of my "Also Known as Rammstein" theme week; i.e. musical artists that have had their songs misattributed to Rammstein on the internet. This is the title track off of Megaherz's most recent album; I have actually seen only a couple of times that this track in particular has been labeled as a Rammstein song. However, even though some of their other tracks have been more wide spread attributed to Rammstein, this song just felt right for my pick tonight. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance circa '10 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Wilson Pickett - Funky Broadway My song pick two years ago today: Oasis - Wonderwall +

1104 Oomph! - Das Weiße Licht Day number four of my "Also Known as Rammstein" theme week; i.e. musical artists that have had their songs misattributed to Rammstein on the internet. For those who don't know about them, Oomph! is one of the granddaddies and originators of musical genre of Neue Deutsche Härte ; even they have had quite a few of their songs attributed to Rammstein. I have just noticed that they have not yet picked one of their tracks; for the life of me I cannot believe that I have picked over 1000 other songs and they have not graced my list. I am probably going to find out quite a few more the further I go into this list. Anyway, this one is quite a beautiful track off of their '98 Plastik album, which Rammstein has erroneously been given credit for by more than a few online. One interesting fact that I have run into whilst doing this theme week is that if you put in a song title of a track misattribued along with Rammstein, Google seems to ...

1103 Unheilig - Schutzengel Having a pretty busy day today, so I am making a somewhat of a quick pick for the third day of my "Also Known as Rammstein" theme week. Again, these are musical artists whose songs get erroneously credited as being from Rammstein on the internet. Anyway, here is a sometimes misattributed track off of Unheilig's '03 album Das 2. Gebot ; it is also one of my favourite tracks off the album. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is an orchestral version of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Jaco Pastorius - Chromatic Fantasy My song pick two years ago today: The Polyphonic Spree - Light and Day/Reach for the Sun +

1102 Eisbrecher - Mein Blut Pick #2 in my "Also Known as Rammstein" theme week, i.e. bands who have been mislabeled as Rammstein here in America. I first found out about Eisbrecher's music a little over 5 years ago; this was the first song of theirs that I heard; it was also their first hit single. Almost immediately everywhere I looked people were attributing this track to Rammstein. Other than it being another German act in the Neue Deutsche Härte genre I have no idea how people could mistake this for being a Rammstein track. First of all to my ear Alexander Wesselsky's vocals are just as distinctive as Till Lindemann's and secondly, Eisbrecher's music, at least on their debut album, contains much more electronic synth. Anyway, long story short, this track got me into the band's music and made me a fan. Although, admittedly, I haven't closely followed them since their '06 Antikörper album; I have heard material off of their two album...

1101 Joachim Witt - Krieger Des Licht I have decided on doing an "Also Known as Rammstein" theme week; I will be choosing songs from seven different bands that have been mislabeled as Rammstein on the interwebz. It seems that some individuals will label any musical artist with male vocals singing in German "Rammstein" even if they sing in a higher vocal register, however, most of the time the vocalist will have to at least sing in a baritone or lower to be mistaken. Another factor seems to be the genre of the mislabeled bands; most of them are associated with Neue Deutsche Härte , Industrial Metal, and/or similar genres. This phenomenon has gotten to the point that when I am searching for a song by another German band sometimes I have to use "Rammstein" in my search parameters to get a relevant result. The cause of this is probably due to the fact that Rammstein is one of the few German Metal bands to break into America's mainstream pop cultur...

1100 Thursday - I1100 Every time I have a "odometer rollover pick" I, most of the time, try to choose a song that fits somehow with the pick number. I had to think about it a bit and then got an ah-ha moment and remembered this aptly named track, which closes out Thursday's '01 album Full Collapse . For those who haven't heard them before; to describe Thursday's sound here, I would have to say take some Punk elements, slow it down a titch and make it more melodic. Here is a video with the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Wings - Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five My song pick two years ago today: Gordon Lightfoot - Sundown +

1099 Rush - Circumstances While in college there were albums that went with certain courses I undertook as study music; Rush's Hemispheres album was paired up with Psych 582: Advanced Social Psychology. The songs off of this album have been indelibly burnt into my mind not only because of how excellent they are, but how much an engaging that class was. Hemispheres technically only contains four songs, this is one of the two that are at a radio-play friendly length; this one is a nice riff heavy Hard Rock track with rather introspective lyrics. In my opinion there are no real weak tracks on this album, in fact most have probably heard three of the four songs on it. The Trees, Circumstances , and the epic La Villa Strangiato still get some radio play even to this day. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live video on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Rammstein - Du Hast My song pick two years ago today: Jethro Tull - Sunshine Day +

1098 Heart - If Looks Could Kill I'm picking another one this morning that I have been meaning to for a while. This is a straight-up rocker one would expect from the band, it is definitely an attitude song concerning a lover catching the other in "the act." Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance circa '90 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man My song pick two years ago today: The Beatles - Here Comes the Sun +

1097 Rammstein - Ich Will Felt like some Rammstein today; I looked through their songs that I have already chosen and noticed that this rather rousing track had not been added yet. This is one of Rammstein's less disturbing songs subject matter wise. An excellent track to kick off the weekend. The other day I happened upon some reviews of Rammstein's albums; couldn't believe the horrid reviews some critics gave their album Mutter . Mutter is considered by most fans to be Rammstein's best album. While it is not my personal favourite out of their catalogue, I still like it quite a bit. It just reaffirms my assertion that most music critics' opinions are complete and utter nonsensical garbage. And to think they get paid to cobble together those whimsical and pretentious opinions. The saddest part is that many people look to them to help them form their own opinions about a band, album, and/or song. Okay, I am digressing too much, off of my soapbox. Here ...

1096 Black Label Society - Stillborn I noticed that at almost 1100 picks thus far I have not added any Black Label Society to my list. I have also been meaning to choose this song in particular for quite some time now; for me it was another one of those "love at first note songs." I have always been a big fan of Zakk Wylde's music and the various projects he appears on. This song also features Ozzy Osbourne performing some vocals. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is the music video on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Lynyrd Skynyrd - I Never Dreamed My song pick two years ago today: Duran Duran - New Moon On Monday +

1095 Sky - Sarabande Felt like adding another Rock interpretation of a classic; this one, of course, was originally composed by Handel . Quite a few of the songs in Sky's catalogue are these Rock arrangements of classical music. This one actually stays somewhat traditional sounding until about 3/4 of the way through the track, then becomes a bit more raucous. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance circa '81 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Lynyrd Skynyrd - On The Hunt My song pick two years ago today: Ian Anderson - A Better Moon +

1094 Jigsaw - BWV 147 - Jesu, the Joy of Man's Desiring Celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary today and I thought that this Rock rendition of the J.S. Bach composition would be a fitting pick. This was one of the highlights off of Jigsaw's '71 debut album Letherslade Farm . Interesting enough, the band Apollo 100 about a year later released a version of this track, which is almost identical; the Apollo 100 version actually had more chart success than the Jigsaw version as well. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) - Second Hand   My song pick two years ago today: Glenn Miller - Moonlight Serenade +

1093 Led Zeppelin - Moby Dick   It is kind of odd getting a song that is mostly a drum solo stuck in one's mind, but it has happened; I figured I would make it my pick for today. It has been running my mind for the last little bit; it was, of course, a vehicle for an epic John Bonham drum solo. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Bob Marley & The Wailers - Three Little Birds My song pick two years ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) - Bad Moon Rising +

1092 Eddie Lang - Eddie's Twister Probably most today don't even know of this master guitarist let alone his influence and contribution to music as a whole in his abbreviated life. Eddie Lang, who also played under the pseudonym Blind Willie Dunn, was one of the first to popularize the guitar in Jazz as a lead instrument; after him many guitarists followed. Sadly, in 1933 he died at the age of 30 of a hemorrhage. With musicians like him who died young and were truly on the cutting edge musically it would have been amazing to hear his creations that he would have made later in his life. I wish he would have lived long enough play alongside the likes of Django Reinhardt, Oscar Alemán, or even Les Paul, now that would have been awesome. Here is a video with a recording of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Goo Goo Dolls - Black Balloon My song pick two years ago today: Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at the Moon +

1091 Jon Bon Jovi - Blaze of Glory Was recently watching the Young Guns films; after which this song from the second movie's soundtrack to keep playing in my mind. I remember back when this song was released it got the living hell played out of it all over the place, which for me caused a bit of burnout, however I have always liked this track anyway. Both Jon's vocals and Jeff Beck's slide guitar really are the biggest draws for me, I also love the way they launch into the chorus. From what I understand this song came into existence because Jon Bon Jovi was asked to use the song Wanted Dead or Alive for the film, but apparently he didn't believe that song fitting enough so he wrote this one instead; I for one am glad that he went that route. Here is the music video on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Who - The Seeker My song pick two years ago today: The Beatles - Mr. Moonlight +

1090 Hawkwind - Love in Space This track has been running through my mind today, so I'm adding this space rock tune on this Saturday. As with most Hawkwind tracks it is quite different and there is a lot to listen to in the song; it is definitely not for the mainstream pop aficionados. Since there have been no manned missions in outer space for about 38 years; (Apollo 17) I guess we would have to settle for "love in low orbit" at this time if it was to happen; that would roughly put them at what? The 250-350 kilometer high club; (155-217 mile high club)? If I remember right space begins at roughly the 200,000 kilometer (124,000 mile) mark, so they would still have a ways to go to achieve true "love in space;" I doubt anyone has ever joined the 250km+ high club. Anyway, enough scientific silliness. Here is a recording in a fan video on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Les Paul & Mary Ford - The World is Waiting for the Sunrise My song ...

1089 The Jimi Hendrix Experience - The Wind Cries Mary I have felt like listening to some Jimi Hendrix for the last little bit; this one kept getting played a lot, so I am adding it to my list. For me personally I like more of his slower tracks like this one; there is so much beauty and soul in this song. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Savatage - Damien My song pick two years ago today: Marcy Playground - Sex and Candy +

1088 Styx - Suite Madame Blue I felt like putting some Styx on this morning; I also figured one of their songs would make an excellent pick for today. I felt like something earlier in their catalogue; Equinox seemed like a nice one to pick from. Equinox was the first Styx album I ever bought; if I remember correctly I picked it up at a thrift shop for about 10¢. I have always loved their music quite a bit; I grew up with it and stayed a fan. I love how dynamic they can be in a single song; as with many of their songs this one goes from a classical sound/feeling all the way up to hard rock and back again plus most everything in between. Here is the studio version with Prelude 12 as well on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Rush - Malignant Narcissism My song pick two years ago today: Molly Hatchet - Flirtin' With Disaster +

1087 Tears for Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule the World I thought for sure that I had added this track to my list ages ago; I guess I was mistaken. I clearly remember the first time I heard this track, it was played at the end of the film Real Genius ; ever since then I've liked it. I have always liked that movie as well and have watched it quite a bit over the years. Anyway, here is a fun piece of '80s pop to listen to and perhaps get some gooey sentimentality over. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is the mix from Real Genius on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Thompson Twins - Hold Me Now My song pick two years ago today: Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) - Gimme Your Money Please +

1086 Ian Anderson - Fly By Night This morning on the radio I heard that it's Ian Anderson's 63rd birthday. I don't normally go out of my way to check on birthdates or things of the such from musicians or celebrities unless they are presented to me. After being made aware it seemed like a fun idea to choose the main track off of his '84 solo album Walking Into Light . This album featured mostly Ian Anderson with keyboard work performed by Peter-John Vettese; much of the music on the album was co-written between them. This is kind of a sister album to the Jethro Tull album Under Wraps mostly because they were released about the same time and they both have a similar early-mid '80s Synth sound. While both are considered to be Ian's weakest albums, they still are quite enjoyable to those with an open mind. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Supremes - I Hear a Symphony My song pick two years ago today: Rammst...

1085 Albert Hammond - It Never Rains In Southern California For most of the morning this early '70s Pop/Rock track about a disenfranchised musician has been running through my mind; It's one of Albert Hammond's many hits that he scored to his name. He also collaborated and wrote hit songs for other big named acts as well; he is quite a prolific songwriter. His son, Albert Hammond Jr., is also a successful musician playing for the band The Strokes . Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a television performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Band of Horses - Islands on the Coast My song pick two years ago today: Jim Croce - Roller Derby Queen +

1084 Sirenia - The Other Side I haven't spun the playlist for a song in quite a long time to get a random track; I have many songs in mind to pick, just thought it would be fun. So, I ended up with some Norwegian Symphonic Metal from the band Sirenia off of their '07 release Nine Destinies and a Downfall , quite nice. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is the music video on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Jethro Tull - Spiral My song pick two years ago today: Outerstar - You Love It When It Rains +

1083 Missing Link - Spoiled Love I'm well over 1000 songs picked so far and I am still amazed at some of the bands that have not graced my list yet; well, here's another one down. Another awesome Prog/Rock band gracing my list on this late Saturday; you can't have too much Prog/Rock in my opinion. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Grace Slick - Angel of the Night My song pick two years ago today: Don Williams - Yellow Moon +

1082 Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice - The Last Supper (From Jesus Christ Superstar) This piece comes from one of my favourite scenes in Webber and Rice's greater Passion Rock Opera. I have always loved the music in this scene; the way they go from a mellow, almost sacred sound to a Rock/Soul/Funk provides an excellent hook. The original film version of the music featuring Ted Neeley (Jesus) and Carl Anderson (Judas) is my personal favourite, the others just don't sound nearly as good in my opinion. All the way through the opera Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson are incredible, especially Carl Anderson; he had an amazing voice. Here is the scene with the song from the 1974 film on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Megadeth - Sleepwalker My song pick two years ago today: The Allman Brothers Band - The Whipping Post +

1081 Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) - Let It Ride Having one of those mornings without any motivation, so I put some BTO on. Their music, along with the music of most other Canadian Hard Rock bands always get the blood moving. I usually play Bachman-Turner Overdrive II all the way through without skipping a song, but this is my favourite track on the album. Actually the biggest hit off of the album is, of course, Takin' Care of Business . That song was originally written by Randy Bachman when he was with The Guess Who under the title White Collar Worker, however it got rejected and later recorded as a BTO song. I used to like that track quite a bit, but after years of playing those three chords over and over in bars and clubs countless times it will probably take a few more years until I can listen to it the same way again. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Queen - Flash My song pick two years ago today: Joe Cocker - When The Nigh...

1080 Cab Calloway - The Jumpin' Jive (Hep-Hep!) I felt like listening to some Cab Calloway this morning, especially this up-beat Swing tune. I am always amazed whenever I see and hear his performances, this man and his music are timeless in my opinion. I don't believe he could ever be truly out of fashion in any decade; the man oozes style. Anyway, this one was co-written by Cab Calloway, Frank Froeba, and Jack Palmer around the late 1930s. This tune is probably most famous for being the vehicle behind The Nicolas Brothers' remarkable dance number in the musical film Stormy Weather . Here is a 78 Rpm vinyl recording of the song on YouTube. Here is the performance of the song from the musical Stormy Weather featuring The Nicolas Brothers' dance number on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Police - Synchronicity II My song pick two years ago today: Eddie Money - Take Me Home Tonight +

1079 Tarot - Gone I'm finally getting around to picking something off of Tarot's new album: Gravity of Light . I had a couple in mind off the album and finally settled on this one for today's pick. Their sound on this album reminds me a lot of Iron Maiden and maybe to a lesser degree Black Sabbath. This one is quite a dynamic track going from the mellower verses to heavy choruses; they bring it back down quite nicely. I love the lyrics/vocals on this track; Marco Hietala is incredible as ever. Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Rolling Stones - Paint It Black My song pick two years ago today: The Enemys - Sinner Man +

1078 Puhdys - Große Herzen When I got ready to make my song pick today I absolutely had no song in mind to choose. I put some Puhdys on and decided on this one out of my library of their songs. I just love the feeling of this track; an almost perfect fit to my mood. Here is a fan video with the studio version on YouTube. Here is a television performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Rush - Digital Man My song pick two years ago today: Balance - Breaking Away +

1077 Uriah Heep - Wizard Been meaning to pick this track for a while now. This one has some nice dynamics; it starts out acoustic with mellow vocals and eventually the entire band kicks in. Songs like this are the main reasons I love Progressive Rock, they are not afraid to sing about about different things like fantasy, space, or things Science Fiction. Call it pretentious or escapist, but this music kicks serious butt; some times it is nice to not hear songs with similar subject matter over and over again. Just because you don't "get it" doesn't mean you have to hate it. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a television clip on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Queen - Bicycle Race My song pick two years ago today: The Doors - Love Me Two Times +