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

From: Shades of Deep Purple ; Year: 1968; Genre: Hard Rock/Metal The other day this song came on the radio; it was one of those instances where you've heard a song a thousand times before, but for some reason it was the right song at the right time and it was almost like hearing it as if it was brand new. It's hard to explain any other way, but to say the least it was a nice experience and I knew I would be picking it soon. Some might not know this, but Deep Purple's Hush is actually a cover. It was originally written by Joe South and first recorded by Billy Joe Royal. However, for all tense and purpose when you think of this song it's usually Deep Purple's that comes to mind; they really made it all but their own. I like that they made this "protometal" song so heavy and musically intricate at the same point; as always, I especially love Jon Lord's keyboard throughout. Hear Hush on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Paris - Big T...

From: The Pirates of Penzance ; Year; 1879; Genre: Opera/Pop While The Pirates of Penzance first premiered in 1879 it made its London premier in 1880, (the number of today's song pick). I figured I would go ahead and pick this extremely popular and catchy song from the comedic opera written by the duo Gilbert and Sullivan. Like with many of the songs written by Gilbert and Sullivan, it's still quite famous in pop culture. This song in particular has been referenced countless times over the years, and not just in music; there are quite few parodies of it in existence as well. Watch a performance of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Rush - Presto My song pick two years ago today: Nirvana - Drain You My song pick three years ago today: Amon Amarth - The Pursuit of Vikings My song pick four years ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) - Effigy My song pick five years ago today: The Steve Miller Band - Threshold/Jet Airliner

From: Telephantasm ; Year(s): 1991, 2010; Genre: Alternative Metal Before I get to my pick I happened to notice that Woordenaar has started up his blog again ! Welcome back to the blogosphere Woordenaar! It's totally awesome to have another blog back up. Anyway, on to today's pick: very soon Soundgarden will be releasing their first album since 1996: King Animal ; I positively cannot wait. The great year for new album releases just continues! This track has it's origins back in 1991 and was supposed to be part of the Badmotorfinger album, however apparently it didn't turn out like they'd hoped and was left on the cutting room floor so to speak. Fast forward to just a few years ago, the band for some reason decided to revisit the abandoned track and breathe new life into it. In the end the song got heavily reworked, so just about of much of it is new as is from back then; they actually did an excellent job mixing the sounds of the band's two eras. An ...

From: All Together Now ; Year: 1972; Genre: Progressive Rock/Hard Rock I had an urge to listen to some Argent today and thought it would be a good idea to pick another one of their tracks too. While being overshadowed by their monster hit Hold Your Head Up , Tragedy was one of the lesser hits from All Together Now . It's a pretty good track that is carried through the verses by an excellent thumping funky bass line. As with much of the material from Argent each instrument is played amazingly and it seems as if each and every one of them has a solo at one point during this song. An excellent piece of funky prog rock for this Thursday. Hear Tragedy on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Weather Report - Barbary Coast My song pick two years ago today: Molly Hatchet - Gator Country My song pick three years ago today: The Beatles - I Me Mine My song pick four years ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) - Up Around The Bend My song pick five years ...

Year: 1877; Genre: Popular Music I'm making another selection where my pick number coincides with the publishing date of a song. Actually, there was another very large event that happened that year that completely changed music forever: Thomas Edison's invention of the phonograph. It can be argued that the phonograph was the single most important invention in music; for the first time in history live music wasn't the only way to experience it. I decided to take the opportunity to essentially kill two birds with one stone by picking one of the first songs ever to be recorded, which was also publish in 1877. Interestingly enough after hearing the recording of his song Sir Sullivan said: "I can only say that I am astonished and somewhat terrified at the result of this evening's experiments: astonished at the wonderful power you have developed, and terrified at the thought that so much hideous and bad music may be put on record forever. But all the same I...

From: Songs of Our Soil ; Year: 1959; Genre: Country In 1876, which is also the number of today's songs pick, composer Henry Clay Work published the song My Grandfather's Clock . No pun intended, but I remember hearing my grandpa playing this one quite a bit throughout the years. As fate would have it recently it started running through my mind, so when I saw that it was published in the year that corresponds with today's pick number I knew I had to pick it. Anyway, this song was inspired by an actual famous clock that was kept in an inn in the town of Piercebrodge, England, which was owned by two brothers. It was renowned for keeping perfect time, that is, until one of the brothers passed away; as the story goes after the other brother died it stopped working all together. Apparently after visiting the inn the year prior Henry Clay Work was inspired to write the song. My Grandfather's Clock has been recorded and covered many times and supposedly even inspi...

From: Beethoven's Last Night ; Year: 2000; Genre: Symphonic Metal/Progressive Metal Even though Summer officially ended a few days ago some people are already talking about the Holiday Trans-Siberian Orchestra shows coming up. I believe that I said it before, but it is a shame that TSO only really gets much attention around Christmas time. Anyway, that got me thinking; what about their non season specific material? Why not pick something from them away from the season they are always linked with? Okay then, here's one off of their '00 rock opera Beethoven's Last Night , which is not a Christmas album. I like this song for no other reason but Jon Oliva's great vocal work as he takes on the role of Mephistopheles. And there you have it... Trans-Siberian Orchestra in early Autumn, ha! Hear Mephistopheles on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Gentrys - Keep On Dancing My song pick two years ago today: Azteca - A Night in Nazca My song pick...

From: Kindred Spirits ; Year: 2012; Genre: Celtic Folk Metal Yay! I happened to be looking at what Waylander has been up to; lo and behold they just released a brand new album! To say the least I'm having a real blast. Damn, there has been a massive amount of records being released my favourite bands all year long; I'm really having trouble keeping up anymore, but it's better than having no new music to listen to I'll tell ya! Anyway, to be truthful this was actually the first song I heard off of Kindred Spirits and I immediately loved it; I'll undoubtedly be posting more from the album in the future. Hear Echoes of the Sidhe on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Steve Miller Band - Macho City My song pick two years ago today: Bad English - When I See You Smile My song pick three years ago today: The Beatles - Love Me Do My song pick four years ago today: Mr. Big - Green-Tinted Sixties Mind My song pick five years ago today: ABBA - ...

From: Seven Year Ache : Year: 1981: Genre: Country/Pop Rock Off and on for about the last week I've had this song running through my mind; I thought I'd go ahead like I normally do and pick it. Seven Year Ache is one of the biggest hits for Rosanne Cash, who, as you can probably guess by her last name, is the daughter of legendary musician Johnny Cash. When I was young the song was a huge hit, I clearly remember hearing it being played almost everywhere; even to this day it gets a lot of play. It's what can be called a " country crossover " or "country pop," which was quite prevalent at the time it was recorded; it definitely bares some of the hallmarks of each genre. Mostly what I've always loved about this one is that strong mid tempo rhythm that the entire song is built on. I also like the way they launch and come back down out of the chorus and, of course, her lower ranged vocals. I've always been more of a fan of the more powerful...

From: Caress of Steel ; Year: 1975; Genre: Progressive Rock I've been in a Rush mood most of the morning, particularly their earlier material.   Caress of Steel is an often overlooked album in their catalogue, but I guess it's for a good reason. I mean, to me it is kind of bothersome album; while it contains some very good music, it also is the album that almost brought the band to an early end. If it wasn't for the success of their legendary followup 2112 perhaps it could've possibly been their "swan song." Whatever the case I personally view Caress of Steel as the product of three excellent and talented musicians running amuck without a real clear vision. That being said it is still a good record to listen to; I love putting it on as background music while I'm getting my work done. Anyway, this is the longer of the two concept pieces that dominate the album, which clocks in at just under 20 minutes. If you sit down and give it a good listen ...

From: Crosby, Stills & Nash ; Year 1969; Genre: Folk Rock This morning I heard this song come on the radio and I thought I would go ahead and pick it. Originally I thought this song was written by David Crosby and Steven Stills, but apparently it was also co-penned by Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane. The same year Jefferson Airplane released their own version that had a few differences from the Crosby, Stills & Nash version; from what I understand they both are considered the "Original." On the surface of this song that musically appears rather calm and laid-back with somewhat, may I say, "happy" overtones carries a very ominous message along with it. Earlier on over the many times I'd heard this song I never really paid much attention to the lyrics; I preferred paying attention to the intricate music. However, one time I sat down and closely listened to the lyrics and was taken aback; before that I never understood what exactly the song was...

From: WWV. 86B: Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) ; Year: 1870; Genre: Romantic Period/Opera/classical Just a few days ago I picked another one from Wagner and I wasn't too sure if I should pick another one of his pieces so close. However, since it so happens that my pick number today, 1870, is the year that his second opera, Der Walküre ( The Valkyrie ), from his epic opera cycle: Der Ring des Nibelungen ( The Ring of Nibelung ) first debuted; apparently he had been working on this opera for nearly 20 years This extremely popular piece comes from the beginning of the third act. It ended up, even back then, that " The Ride " had become more famous than the opera itself and Wagner was asked many times to perform it outside of the opera, which was something he didn't like at all. From what I understand eventually he caved to pressure and started to perform it by itself. To this day this is by far one of his most famous songs he ever wrote and will undoubtedly stay ...

From: September (Single); Year: 1978; Genre: For obvious reasons I have been hearing this song being played a lot lately; I thought that I had chosen it at some point in the past, but yet again I was wrong. This is one of the disco flavoured songs that came out of the late '70s that has transcended the era that it came from; even today it can be played in mixed company and everyone seems to enjoy it. Then again, you can say something similar about a lot of Earth, Wind & Fire's material. Watch a video clip with September on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Aerosmith - Toys in the Attic My song pick two years ago today: The Kinks - Where Have All the Good Times Gone My song pick three years ago today: Wilson Pickett - In the Midnight Hour My song pick four years ago today: Collective Soul - Shine My song pick five years ago today: Skid Row - 18 And Life

From: Captain Morgan's Revenge ; Year: 2008; Genre: Power Metal/Pirate Metal Seems like I've been on the road and listening to my iPod quite a bit lately; the other day this and a few other songs from Alestorm kept coming on while I was out and about. As I always do I took it as a sign that I should pick something from the band. I was kind of shocked when I discovered that I hadn't yet picked this one; it's among my many favourites from Alestorm. Hear Captain Morgan's Revenge on YouTube. Watch a live performance from Wacken '08 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Heart - How Deep It Goes My song pick two years ago today: Ozzy Osbourne - Flying High Again My song pick three years ago today: Amon Amarth feat. Lars Göran Petrov - Guardians of Asgard My song pick four years ago today: Bob Welch - Ebony Eyes My song pick five years ago today: Jethro Tull - 17

Op. 314 ; Year: 1867; Genre: Romantic Period/classical I had another song I was ready to pick today, but I happened to look through what was happening in the world of music circa 1867, which also happens to be my pick number, and I noticed two songs in particular that premiered that year that caught my attention; of course this was one of them. An Der Schönen Blaunen Donau , also known as The Blue Danube Waltz is yet another piece of classical music that anyone, save those living somewhere under a rock, has most likely heard at sometime. It is without a doubt one of Johann Strauss I's best known pieces of music over some 150+ years since it was first debuted. Hear the piece on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Walter Murphy Band - A Fifth of Beethoven My song pick two years ago today: Béla Fleck & the Flecktones - A Celtic Medley: Meridian/Traveling Light/Salamander's Reel My song pick three years ago today: Finntroll - Trollhammeren My song ...

From: Century Child ; Year: 2002; Genre: Power Metal/Symphonic Metal The other day this track came on my iPod whilst I was driving and thought it would make an excellent pick. For me Century Child is one of Nightwish's better albums; there's a lot of good music to be heard throughout the entire record, plus it was the debut album with their current great bassist/vocalist Marco Hietala. On this song he lends his vocals as well, which really work quite nicely to both compliment and contrast with Tarja Turunen's amazing operatic vocals. That being said, my favourite aspect of this song is how well they blended the heavy, hard hitting metal with the softer symphonic aspects. Hear Feel for You on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Genesis - Keep It Dark My song pick two years ago today: Rush - Lessons My song pick three years ago today: Badfinger - Come and Get It My song pick four years ago today: Green Day - Wake Me Up When September Ends My song p...

From: Tristan und Isolde (WWV. 90); Year: 1865; Genre: Opera/classical/Romantic Period Again my song pick number today, which today is 1865, happens to also be the year that Wagner's classic opera Tristan und Isolde first premiered. However, instead of just picking the entire opera I thought I would choose one of my favourite pieces from it. This song comes at the end of the third and final act of the opera after Tristan has died and Isolde describes a vision of Tristan coming back to life, however, she ends up dieing as well. The piece's title reflects this: Liebestod or (Love Death). This kind of an outcome in musical narrative was one of the zeitgeists of the Romantic Period of classical music. If you look at most of the music of the time for the most part either everything ended happily and sugary sweet or ended up depressingly and most everyone died. Watch a performance of the Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde on YouTube. Hear an orchestral performance of...

From: One Hundred Hits of Bing Crosby ; Year: 2011 (~1940); Genre: Pop For the last little bit when my song pick number happens to be the same as the year that a song was written or published I kept meaning to pick one from the pen of songwriter extraordinaire Stephen Foster . There is most likely a good chance that you haven't heard his name, but I can all but guarantee that you've heard more than a few of his compositions. He happened to pass away in the year 1864 and this song was one of many that was published posthumously. It's amazing to look at the songs he authored; many of which are known quite well today. However, even with the sheer amount of notable songs to his name when he passed away he was more or less destitute. Anyway, this is one of my favourites that he wrote and there are many versions of the song out there to pick from. In the end I decided on this one from the incomparable Bing Crosby, which is one of the best in my opinion. Hear Beautiful...

From: Paradise Theater ; Year: 1981; Genre: Progressive Rock This morning whilst I was running some errands there were about three or four songs from Styx that came on my iPod within a little bit of listening. Because of this I took it as a sign that I needed to pick another Styx track. To me Paradise Theater is kind of a dividing line for Styx's music that I like, which was released prior to it and the subsequent material that I didn't find as appealing, although there are a few songs they've released after this album that I still do like. Anyway, to me this one sounds a wee bit different from their normal sound, but is still a good track. This is one of the hits from the album that still gets a modicum of radioplay; as you might be able to tell by the song's title, it's about drug addiction; specifically to cocaine. Interestingly enough, Snowblind also happened to be one of the many songs tried by the PMRC and a few others during the witch hunts back i...

From: Chet Atkins Picks the Best ; Year: 1967; Genre: Patriotic/Traditional One of the songs published in the year 1862, which is also my song pick number today, was the popular patriotic hymn Battle Hymn of the Republic. It is one of my favourites of its ilk; I have always loved the feeling I get when I hear this song played. The lyrics were originally written by Julia Ward Howe, but the song's tune predates them a bit. It was originally from another song, which many may also know: John Brown's Body , however, I believe that the tune has become much more famous as The Battle Hymn of the Republic . Anyway, out of all of the many, many versions played in existence I've found Chet Atkins' really interesting. He starts playing it the first time around in the traditional way and then each time around he changes it up and plays it in different styles complete with tempo and time changes; he eventually finishes by jazzing it up quite nicely. To say the least it's ...

From: Santo & Johnny ; Year: 1959; Genre: Pop Instrumental I had Santo & Johnny's version of this rather pretty and often-recorded pop standard running through my mind as I was waking up this morning and thought I would go ahead and pick it. Recently I have been learning to play this song on my Hawaiian steel guitar; their '59 recording has been one of the main versions that I have been learning from. It's almost perfect for what I'm learning; Santo Farina's Hawaiian influenced playing style really fits well with what I've been trying to learn. Hear Harbour Lights on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Stone Temple Pilots - Plush My song pick two years ago today: Eddie Floyd - Knock on Wood My song pick three years ago today: Jethro Tull - Pussy Willow My song pick four years ago today: Bon Jovi featuring Big & Rich - We Got It Going On My song pick five years ago today: The Thermals - I Hold the Sound

From: The Sacred Talisman ; Year: 1999; Genre: Power Metal I had this very upbeat metal tune in my mind today; it felt like a perfect song for today's pick. This is another good song to listen to that helps get the blood moving. Hear Destiny Calling on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Who - Going Mobile My song pick two years ago today: Louis Armstrong - The Blues are Brewin' My song pick three years ago today: The Beatles - Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End My song pick four years ago today: Bruce Hornsby & the Range - The Way It Is My song pick five years ago today: The Charlie Daniels Band - In America

From: Fear of a Blank Planet ; Year: 2007; Genre: Progressive Rock/Progressive Metal This morning whilst letting my iPod play on shuffle I had a song that caught my attention come on in the rotation. Since in the last little bit I have been accumulating songs from various bands in similar genres I wasn't too sure who it was, so I took a look at at and found out it was Porcupine Tree. That started me into listening to more of their music this morning and I thought I should choose one of their songs for my pick today. I almost picked the entire concept from their most recent album The Incident , but I really didn't have the time available today to cover such an epic composition; instead I decided on this one off of their '07 Fear of a Blank Planet album, which is one of my favourites from the record. It is just under 18 minutes in overal length and is broken up into three sections: 1. Anesthetize , 2. The Pills I'm Taking , and 3. What Happens Now? . As with any...

From: Let's Dance ; Year: 1983; Genre: Pop/Rock This morning I happened upon some of David Bowie's music playing; it feels like a nice day to pick one of his songs as well. As a rule I usually go for his more progressive material from the '70s, however there are a few from his other, later periods that I go for as well; this is one of those songs. Listen to the complete unedited version on YouTube. Watch the music video on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Rush - Distant Early Warning My song pick two years ago today: David Bowie - Oh! You Pretty Things My song pick three years ago today: Santana - Every Step of the Way My song pick four years ago today: Megadeth - Washington is Next! My song pick five years ago today: Rammstein - Stripped  

From: One Nation Underground ; Year: 1967; Genre: Psychedelic Rock For a little over the last couple of weeks or so, (since the big move and all), I've haven't been listening as much to the radio or other media. So, as is probably glaringly noticeable, I have been relying heavily on my extreme personal tastes for my picks as of late; I certainly hope that I haven't been boring the few who read my blog. Anyway, soon, hopefully I will once again start listening to some other music that I like and/or find interesting to blog about. Well, today I'm picking another song that I personally adore. The Surrealist Waltz closes out Pearls Before Swine's debut album One Nation Underground and was an excellent choice to end such a great album I might say. While I like their other work, their debut album still is my personal favourite from their catalogue. As the title suggests the song is in a 3/4 waltz time; it driven mostly by a well defined line on the organ and o...

From: G3: Rockin' in the Free World ; Year: 2004; Genre: Hard Rock I had this rather neat and interesting song from guitar great Steve Vai on my mind this morning and thought I would go ahead and pick it. As far as I know only the live version from the 2004 G3 Live album exists, but when you are talking about an artist at the level of Steve Vai the live version is almost preferable anyway. You have to love that triple-necked guitar he plays on the video; each of the necks are quite different: one normal neck, one 12 string neck, and one that is fretless. It's truly an awesome thing to watch him work that instrument over. Watch the performance from G3 2003 on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Earthless - Godspeed My song pick two years ago today: Big Star - Thirteen My song pick three years ago today: David Bowie - Queen Bitch My song pick four years ago today: The Offspring - Self Esteem My song pick five years ago today: The Allman Brothers - Blue...

From: Mirage Rock ; Year: 2012; Genre: Rock/Indie Rock This year just keeps on with the trend of new albums from bands I like being released. The other day I discovered that Band of Horses were releasing a new album, Mirage Rock , due out later this month; this is one of two tracks to be released early. So far, from what I've heard, I have to say that I like this album much more than their last one; let's just see how the rest of the tracks hold up.... Hear Knock, Knock on YouTube. Watch the music video on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Three Dog Night - Heaven is in Your Mind My song pick two years ago today: Queensrÿche - One & Only My song pick three years ago today: The Spiders - Back   My song pick four years ago today: Nena - Mach Die Augen Auf   My song pick five years ago today: The Offspring - Feelings

From: Signals ; Year: 1982; Genre: Rock This morning I had Rush's Signals album on; I happened to wonder which song I'd already chosen off of it and I noticed that this song in particular was absent. It's really hard for me to say that this is one of my top favourites on this hit filled album, but it is one that I like. This is one of the rare Rush songs that seems to be okay for the most part with the mainstream crowd, well, that is until they learn that it is one of Rush's songs of course. Interestingly enough from what I understand, this song, which is one of the band's bigger hits, almost didn't exist and was only created to balance out the sides of the cassette release of Signals . Hear New World Man on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Ten Years After - One of These Days My song pick two years ago today: Fairport Convention - Polly on the Shore My song pick three years ago today: The Guess Who - No Time   My song pick four ye...

From: Astra ; Year: 1985; Genre: Progressive Rock Lately I've been listening to Asia's Astra record again; this is one of my favourite tracks on the album. Even though Steve Howe did not appear on it, in actuality Astra is my second favourite album from the group after the debut. As with most contained within, this one has a pretty big sound and all of the great musicianship and technicality you'd expect from the progressive supergroup. Hear After the War on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes My song pick two years ago today: The Steve Miller Band - Something Special My song pick three years ago today: Johann Sebastian Bach - BWV 1048 - Brandenburg Concerto No.3 in G-Major   My song pick four years ago today: The Buoys - Give Up Your Guns   My song pick five years ago today: The Buoys - Timothy  

BWV. 1051 ; Year: 1721; Genre: Baroque Period/classical Well, it's the first of September once again and yet another year has passed since I started this blog; today marks my blog's 5th anniversary. As I have done every year since my first pick, except for the one year I was a day late, I am picking another one of J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos . While this is the final one for me to pick, by all means it's not one I dislike in any way, nor is it my least favourite amongst it brothers, it just happens to be the last one that I picked. Many of the other ones just happened to fit my mood better on previous picks. I guess it's kind of fitting to have the sixth concerto as the final one chosen though. Anyway, I guess next year I'll have to start another theme to mark my blog's anniversary. Enjoy this beautiful music and I'll catch you all sometime tomorrow! Here is a performance of the piece performed by the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra: Hear t...