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

1137 Band of Horses - No One's Gonna Love You After mentioning Band of Horses yesterday their music started running through my mind incessantly. This song was one of the main reasons I bought their second album Cease to Begin . I love the way this one was arranged both musically and lyrically; while being a softer track it still has a good edge to it. Hear No One's Gonna Love You on YouTube. Watch the music video on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Alan Menken and Howard Ashman - Feed Me (Git It) (From Little Shop of Horrors) + My song pick two years ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) - Who'll Stop The Rain + My song pick three years ago today: Triumph - Lay It On The Line +

1136 Nirvana - Drain You After all the drama associated with my blog the last week I am wanting to step away from all the heaviness. After all, this is a song-a-day blog, not blog to rant about the record industry; although, it has been nice to engage in a discussion about it. Through all of this I have had quite a few conversations, not really about the recording industry itself, but the music being created. Since we seem to cut musical eras into 10-year blocks divided by decades, it is interesting to pose the question: what music defines a decade? What I have been wondering is in 10-20 years what bands and songs will be looked at as the defining songs of the last decade? What songs recorded from 2000-2009 will still be listened to in 20 years? In 10-20 years when a film or television show is made set in the 00's, what music will be playing in the background? Probably a lot of it will consist of Metal and Hip-Hop with a smattering of the Pop/American Idol scene. For me personally...

1135 Aerosmith - Dream On I have no reason I am picking this track other than I like it quite a bit and it fits my mood a bit today. It is probably one of my top favourites if not my favourite song from Aerosmith; it's one of their most dynamic tracks in my opinion. Hear Dream On on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Rush - One Little Victory My song pick two years ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) - Fortunate Son My song pick three years ago today: Franz Schubert - Der Erlkönig, Op. 1 "The ErlKing" +

1134 Molly Hatchet - Gator Country This is one of the first tracks I ever heard from the band back in the day, it has always been one of my favourite songs of theirs. If you have ever heard Molly Hatchet then you should be accustomed to their Southern Blues/Rock style present in this track. An interesting aspect about this song is that there are a lot of "shout outs" to other Southern bands' songs in the lyrics. The only song that they are referring to that I have not been able thus far identify from the lyrics: "...Charlie Daniels Will Tell You The Good Lord Lives in Tennessee...." Other than that I have found every other song they are referring to. Hear Gator Country on YouTube. Watch a live performance of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Beatles - I Me Mine My song pick two years ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) - Up Around The Bend My song pick three years ago today: Rammstein - Du Riechst So Gut +

1133 Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli (Quintette du Hot Club de France) featuring Freddy Taylor - After You've Gone This rather nice Gypsy Jazz track seemed like an excellent pick for this Sunday afternoon; it perfectly fits my mood. There is something about hearing Stephane Grappelli's violin and Django Reinhardt's guitar that always brings a smile. This is one of their tracks to feature the vocal talents of Freddy Taylor, I love how he employs a bit of scatting to give the recording a little something extra. Hear a recording of the song circa '36 on YouTube. Hear a recording of the song circa '49 on YouTube, of course without Freddy Taylor. My song pick a year ago today: The Beatles - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) + My song pick two years ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) - Commotion + My song pick three years ago today: Don Henley - Boys of Summer +

1132 Jerry Reed - The Telephone Finally getting around to making my pick today; oh well, better late than never. I have been meaning to pick this comedy song from the incomparable Jerry Reed for some time now. He is entertaining as ever in this rant about some modern communications. Hear The Telephone on YouTube. Watch a television performance of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Beatles - Penny Lane + My song pick two years ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) - Green River + My song pick three years ago today: Rush - A Passage To Bangkok +

1131 Azteca - A Night in Nazca I had this Latin Jazz/Funk/Rock song running through my mind yesterday and most of this morning. This is a nice grooving track with amazing musicianship all the way through it. To describe the sound/feel of this song to a layperson, think of some the mood music that might be playing in the background of a '70s cop movie. Hear A Night in Nazca on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band/With a Little Help from My Friends My song pick two years ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) - Midnight Special My song pick three years ago today: Megadeth - Use The Man +

1130 Bad English - When I See You Smile I heard this track yesterday day and I hadn't heard it for quite a while, I believe, since I worked graveyard shift at a supermarket. To some the song could be likened to jumping into a vat of audible Cheese Whiz®, but I have always had a soft spot for it. Neal Schon's guitar work is always excellent in anything he is a part of; this song is no different. I remember when working graveyard at the store, this was only song with a guitar solo that was on the about 120 minute loop; it was one of the few songs which was a bright spot in the cacophony we had to listen to over the 10 hours on the floor. At least it was better than during the Holidays, (shutters), which had a 45 minute loop of some of the worst renditions of Christmas songs ever recorded. Needless to say I came up with new lyrics for those song, which should not be uttered in polite company. Hear When I See You Smile on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Beatles - Love...

1129 Lynyrd Skynyrd - Tuesday's Gone I found out yesterday that the "namesake" of the band, gym teacher Leonard Skinner died at the age of '77, a write-up can be found here . He is one of the few individuals immortalized in music that didn't even have to play a note; as long as Lynyrd Skynyrd's music is around he will be remembered. I figured that this would be an excellent track for the occasion, plus it is one of my favourites from the band that I hadn't chosen yet. Hear a low-fi vinyl recording of Tuesday's Gone on YouTube. Watch a live performance of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Beatles - Help! + My song pick two years ago today: Santana - Black Magic Woman + My song pick three years ago today: Bon Jovi - Tokyo Road +

1128 Jethro Tull - Beggar's Farm Well, I guess the clodding pillock(s) at the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) that filed a claim against my blog are getting a song dedicated to them this morning. I knew my song pick had to be off of the same album as the one they went after. While this one doesn't quite fit my sentiments at the moment, it's the closest song I can think of off the album that does. To the idiot(s) who filed the claim: all of the links on this and every other post for that matter will take you to YouTube; that is the site where the videos and songs reside and are hosted on someone else's Google account and are not associated with this blog what so ever . My links are not to downloadable files, but to videos on YouTube, which is a view-only service. I know it's a hard concept to understand, but it would seem as if a elementary level education is not a requirement for employment at the IFPI. For those in the in...

1127 Rammstein - Benzin Having one of those days with some surprises, (not the good kind either), so I had my iPod randomly select a Rammstein track for my pick today. 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: Chet Atkins & Jerry Reed - Cannonball Rag My song pick two years ago today: The Moody Blues - The Voice My song pick three years ago today: W. A. Mozart - The Magic Flute (Queen of the Night Aria) K.620 +

1126 Karussell - Nämlich Bin Ich Glücklich I have had this song running through my mind most of the morning and afternoon. This is pretty dynamic track; it goes from its early 80's Rock sound to almost classical at times. The chorus of the song mostly features riff heavy rock with some synth, while the verses contain mostly acoustic guitars with a well-defined bass line and modest percussion holding it down. Quite a nice track for an otherwise calm Sunday. Here is the studio version on YouTube . My song pick a year ago today: Green Day - Boulevard of Broken Dreams + My song pick two years ago today: The Delgados - All You Need Is Hate + My song pick three years ago today: Tesla - Signs +

1125 The Kinks - Where Have All the Good Times Gone After I saw the title of the song Max picked yesterday this Kinks track kept playing in my mind; as usual I took it as a sign I should make it my song pick. This another one of their tracks filled with some youthful angst; it has a wee bit of a Bob Dylan feel mixed in with their sound on this track in my opinion. Most who grew up in the 80's and 90's would probably best remember the Van Halen cover of this track; I have even seen some believe it to be a Van Halen original; the David Bowie's cover is also one that many might remember as well. There are probably a few more covers of this song floating about that I am not aware of. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance of the song by Ray Davies on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Wilson Pickett - In the Midnight Hour My song pick two years ago today: Collective Soul - Shine My song pick three years ago today: Skid Row - 1...

1124 Ozzy Osbourne - Flying High Again I thought for sure that I had chosen this track a while ago, I checked and I guess I hadn't. Anyway, this is one of my top ten favourite songs from Ozzy's solo work; I have always loved the rhythm. Here is a live performance circa '82 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Amon Amarth feat. Lars Göran Petrov - Guardians of Asgard My song pick two years ago today: Bob Welch - Ebony Eyes My song pick three years ago today: Jethro Tull - 17 +

1123 Béla Fleck & the Flecktones - A Celtic Medley: Meridian/Traveling Light/Salamander's Reel Been almost a year since I picked a song from this talented group of musicians; way too long in my opinion. They are one of the bands that if I start to get bored musically I attempt to learn one of their songs, which usually keeps me busy for quite some time. Anyway, in this track they show off their musical diversity again by bringing in some Celtic Folk Music to their mix of Jazz/Funk/Bluegrass/etc.; it makes for an excellent sound. Here is a live performance from Ohne Filter circa '93 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Finntroll - Trollhammeren My song pick two years ago today: Pink Floyd - Learning to Fly My song pick three years ago today: Fire Bomber (Humming Bird) - Remember 16 +

1122 Rush - Lessons I was playing around with most of the music from the 2112 album last night; for some reason this rather fun track was one that I kept coming back to and playing along with. It felt like a good pick for today, so I am adding it. Also, for the past few days I haven't been paying that much attention to the pick number except to make sure it stays sequential. I happened to notice that today's pick number is a jumble of the album's title 2112 ; after that it cemented this track as my pick. This song's music and lyrics were actually written by guitarist Alex Lifeson alone; it is one of two tracks on this album where Neil Peart did not pen the lyrics. It has been a lot of fun recently being a Rush fan with the attention that band is getting in the mainstream at the moment. I don't expect it to last long; the mainstream's interest is always fleeting, just ask most pop acts from a year or so ago. At least Prog/Rock and Metal bands have their loyal f...

1121 Pink Floyd - In the Flesh? For some reason I felt like listening to Pink Floyd this morning, their music from The Wall in particular. I noticed that I had not chosen this track yet, which is essentially the overture for the entire album. It's such a dynamic track, it does its job quite well in setting the stage so to speak for what's to come on this album of renown. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is the scene from The Wall film with the song on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Joachim Witt and Peter Heppner - Die Flut My song pick two years ago today: Jim Croce - You Don't Mess Around With Jim My song pick three years ago today: Canned Heat - On The Road Again +

1120 Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) - House of the Rising Sun Been meaning to pick this one for quite some time now. This is, of course, BTO's cover of the legendary song that was made famous by Eric Burdon & the Animals. The authorship to this rather old song is still unknown to this day; many have recorded their own versions of it. From what I understand this track became a live staple for BTO after a concert where they played a show with Eric Burdon & the Animals. As the story goes, Eric Burdon & the Animals, for what ever reason, decided not to perform their signature song, however the crowd wanted to hear it; to appease the crowd BTO came on and performed it. They eventually recorded a studio version of the song for their '96 Trial by Fire: Greatest and Latest album , which, as the album title suggests, contained both new and old material. Ever since I first heard this track I liked it, C.F. Turner's soulful and gravely voice actually fits this track...

1119 Ben E. King - Don't Play That Song (You Lied) Had this one running through my mind for a bit this morning; I figured that it would make an excellent song choice for my Sunday pick. Immediately most would recognize that much of this track's sound was borrowed from his hit Stand By Me , which can be found here on YouTube . It also appears on this album as well, however, Stand By Me preceded this album; it was recorded in another session and released as a single before the album's release. From what I understand there was supposedly a song written as an answer to this song by Pat Lundy titled Play it Again , which can be found here on YouTube . Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Three Dog Night - One My song pick two years ago today: Billy Joel - Captain Jack My song pick three years ago today: Savatage - Hall of the Mountain King +

1118 Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - Life by the Drop This beautiful acoustic track came on the radio yesterday whilst out and about. I thought it a perfect pick for an otherwise lazy Saturday. Cheers! Here is the studio version on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) - Down on the Corner My song pick two years ago today: Iron Maiden - 2 Minutes To Midnight My song pick three years ago today: Savatage - Believe +

1117 Eddie Floyd - Knock on Wood Yesterday, I was in a discussion with one of my friends about some of the Soul artists from the '60s, especially those with Stax Records. For those unaware Stax was somewhat similar to Motown Records in that they were a hit machine that had a house band to back their talent. Where Motown had The Funk Brothers, Stax had Booker T & the M.G.s; they were the band that backed many of Stax artists' recordings and also had some hits to their name, one of which is Green Onions , which can be heard here on YouTube. Anyway, this one was co-written by both Eddie Floyd and Booker T & the M.G.s' guitarist Steve Cropper. An interesting factoid about this song was that the main riff and intro of this song were borrowed from Wilson Pickett's song In the Midnight Hour , which can be found here on YouTube. It is another track that Steve Cropper co-wrote; in fact the intro is almost exactly the same, just played in reverse. Here is t...

1116 Louis Armstrong - The Blues are Brewin' For some reason I felt like listening to some of Louis Armstrong's recordings this morning. This number seemed like a perfect pick for today; I easily get lost in this music, it's just beautiful in so many ways. Here is a recording on YouTube. Here is a film clip featuring Billie Holiday on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Beatles - Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End My song pick two years ago today: Bruce Hornsby & the Range - The Way It Is My song pick three years ago today: The Charlie Daniels Band - In America +

1115 Hans Zimmer - Fighting 17th Sat down to make my song pick this morning and just drew a blank. Fighting 17th , which is the theme from Backdraft has been running through my mind for the last few days mostly due to watching a lot of the original Japanese Iron Chef lately. For those unaware, the theme from the film Backdraft , ( Fighting 17th ), was used as the opening music to the original Iron Chef . I have always liked both sources of the song, but I have an special affinity for Iron Chef . Although, it almost ruined it for me when I found out that Chairman Takeshi Kaga was just an actor playing the role of an eccentric businessman, oh well.... Anyway, it is still a very entertaining programme to watch. Here is a recording of the song on YouTube. Here is the opening from Iron Chef on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) - I Put a Spell on You My song pick two years ago today: Rammstein - Hallelujah My song pick three years ago today: Manf...

1114 David Bowie - Oh! You Pretty Things I felt like listening to some David Bowie this morning. In particularly was listening to both Hunky Dory and The Man Who Sold the World albums; they both contain some of my favourite Bowie tracks. I noticed that I had not chosen this song yet, so it is my pick for today. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a television performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Santana - Every Step of the Way My song pick two years ago today: Megadeth - Washington is Next! My song pick three years ago today: Rammstein - Stripped +

1113 Rush - Working Man It's Labor Day, I figured this one would be a nice, fitting song to pick. This one hails from their first album and was one of their main songs that launched their careers. It was also the only album to not feature virtuoso drummer Neil Peart; John Rutsey played drums early on, shortly afterward he was replaced. This is more of a straight-ahead rocker than what they are know for, but it still showcases their musicianship. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is an alternate studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance circa '74 with original drummer John Rutsey on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Elmore James - The Sky is Crying My song pick two years ago today: The Allman Brothers - Jessica My song pick three years ago today: Megadeth - Foreclosure of a Dream +

1112 Big Star - Thirteen Again, because of the pick number I had to pick something to do with the number 13 today; I wanted to make another string of numbers: 11, 12, 13. Anyway, I immediately thought of this rather lovely acoustic ballad that was aptly named. I have noticed that this track has become more popular in recent years, probably mostly due to its recent use in film and television soundtracks. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a music video with an alternate mix on YouTube. Here is a pert of a live performance circa '07 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: David Bowie - Queen Bitch My song pick two years ago today: The Offspring - Self Esteem My song pick three years ago today: The Allman Brothers - Blue Sky +

1111 Queensrÿche - One & Only Only 1s in the song pick number today; there are many tracks with aptly named titles, but this one from the Prog/Metal band Queensrÿche fits my mood today as well. In some facet I like every track off of the Empire album; it is one of the albums in my collection that gets played all the way through without skipping a song; a truly great album and track. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a live performance on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Spiders - Back My song pick two years ago today: Nena - Mach Die Augen Auf My song pick three years ago today: The Offspring - Feelings +

1110 Fairport Convention - Polly on the Shore Saw my song pick number of 1110 and it forced me to pick something that had to do with the number 9, so I could make some sort of a countdown 11, 10, 9. After a bit to thought I remembered that Fairport Convention had an album titled Nine , which, of course, was their ninth studio album released, and picked one of my favourite tracks off of it. Anyway, this is another traditional song that they arranged in their style, however, from what I understand only the lyrics are from the traditional source; the tune put behind them was original. The song is about a man who is a crewman on a privateer's ship retelling the tale of how he and the ship apparently met their fate. Throughout the ordeal he is wishing that he could be with his lover on the shore. Here is the studio version on YouTube. Here is a promotional video of the song on YouTube. Here is a live performance circa '82 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today:...

1109 The Steve Miller Band - Something Special This track just popped into my mind last night and has not moved or gone away since, so I am picking it. This was one of the songs from The Steve Miller Band's electronic/pop era of the early/mid '80s; many of the bands from the '60s and '70s seemed to toy with that sound about that time. When one thinks of Steve Miller, a guitarist who was taught by Les Paul himself and has the moniker "Stevie "Guitar" Miller, you would expect more guitar centered music like his earlier Blues influenced music, however in this era the keyboards where the focus. Anyway, this is one of the highlights for me off of the Abracadabra album; a nice rousing little poppy tune. Apparently there is no version available online at this time, sorry. My song pick a year ago today: Johann Sebastian Bach - BWV 1048 - Brandenburg Concerto No.3 in G-Major My song pick two years ago today: The Buoys - Give Up Your Guns My s...

1108 Johann Sebastian Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No.1 in F major, BWV 1046 Today is the third anniversary of me starting this song a day blog, as usual I am picking another one of J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos to mark the occasion; last year it slipped my mind and I made my Bach pick a day late. Since this is the fourth one chosen and there only being six of them I can only keep this tradition up for two more years, but with him being such a prolific writer I can just switch to something like The Well-Tempered Clavier , The Goldberg Variations , and/or the plethora of his Cantatas, Passions and Organworks that he wrote. Anyway, as with all of the Brandenburg Concertos , if you have been at all been introduced to classical music you will immediately recognize the melody of the song. This is the only Brandenburg Concerto to have four movements instead of the usual three. Here is a performance of the piece by Karl Richter, Münchener Bach Orchester: Here is Part 1. ...