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

From: New Sensations ; Year: 1984; Genre: Rock/New Wave I've been thinking about a lot of Lou Reed's music over the last couple of days, and decided to go deeper into his catalogue than my normal fare that consists of his first three or four albums. The first time I heard this cute little innuendo -laced track, to say I was bemused was an understatement. Certainly different from wot I'm used to from the artist, the new wave '80s pop/rock feel and his vocals that for some reason remind me of Mark Knopfler during about the same time, it definitely showed how he and his music evolved over a decade or so.   Watch the music video on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Stevie Wonder - Don't You Worry About a Thing   My song pick 2 years ago today: Cream - Take it Back   My song pick 3 years ago today: Sweet - Ballroom Blitz My song pick 4 years ago today: Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO) - Don't Let the Blues Get You Down My song pick 5 years ago tod...

From: Berlin ; Year: 1973; Genre: Progressive Rock I did not really have a song ready to pick today, but after going over a few possibilities I finally settled on this track off of Lou Reed's concept album Berlin . Both Reed's vocals and Jack Bruce's bass playing make for a rather interesting dynamic with the bass essentially doing a counter-line to the melody. Whilst being part of the over concept album, Men of Good Fortune actually stands pretty well on its own.   Hear Men of Good Fortune on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Victor Wooten - Joe's Journey   My song pick 2 years ago today: Steeleye Span - Fighting for Strangers   My song pick 3 years ago today: Dire Straits - Romeo & Juliet My song pick 4 years ago today: James Brown - I Got You (I Feel Good) My song pick 5 years ago today: King Crimson - Dinosaur My song pick 6 years ago today: Molly Hatchet - Both Sides My song pick 7 years ago today: Egg - I Will Be Absorbed ...

From: Transformer ; Year: 1972; Genre: Glam Rock Yesterday we lost yet another musical legend: Lou Reed passed away at the young age of 71. An obituary for him can be found here on BBC.com . I cannot state how important the man was to music in the last half a century; again the musician died, but his music and influence will live on! Probably most will remember him as either the frontman of Velvet Underground or for his monster hit Walk on the Wild Side . However, his influence on music spread far beyond those two instances. Really, I couldn't think of too many other great songs of his to pick today, just based of the cultural significance of this track; most would probably remember the title of this song as also the name of the space craft from Mystery Science Theater 3000 . That being said, if I hadn't already picked the song Walk on the Wild Side would have been my pick today. Hear Satellite of Love on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Alestorm - Barret...

1409 Lou Reed - I'm So Free From: Transformer , Year: 1972 Genre: Glam Rock I'm drawing a blank for my pick today, however I have been listening to the Transformer album a lot lately. This is one of my favourites off of the album, and since I haven't picked a Lou Reed song in quite a while I guess I will make it my pick for this rather lazy Sunday. Hear I'm So Free on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Traffic - The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys My song pick two years ago today: Hawkwind - Silver Machine My song pick three years ago today: Savatage - Complaint In The System +

I have been picking too many happy songs lately, so I needed to pick something different. When I was listening to this song yesterday I though that it would be a good pick. Lou Reed is another very influential singer/musician/songwriter that usually does not receive a lot of credit that he deserves. Probably what I like the most about this song is the arrangements, I especially like the twin bass lines going on, one on an acoustic string bass and the other on an electric bass guitar; the saxophone is quite nice as well. The subject matter is a bit extreme but still good, singing about thinks like drug abuse and alternative lifestyles has always been Lou Reed’s moniker. Though a turn-off to many, I do not believe that the subject matter is that much of a detractor to the song in my opinion because he does not gratuitously flaunt it. What is amazing is that I have shown this song to many people who have heard it before but not listened closely to the lyrics, they are usually shocked ...