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

From: Resident Alien ; Year: 1995; Genre: Glam Rock Another day of choosing a track that was on my mind; at least I am not picking one in memorandum of a recently deceased artist. (Knock on wood) Here's the song of the band's namesake from their debut studio album. I can only think of a couple of bands that wrote a song named after themselves....     Hear Spacehog on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Bruce Springsteen - The Promised Land     My song pick 2 years ago today: Klaatu - Anus of Uranus     My song pick 3 years ago today: Rockwell - Obscene Phone Caller   My song pick 4 years ago today: Zebrahead - Playmate of the Year   My song pick 5 years ago today: Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Mideast Vacation   My song pick 6 years ago today: Gin Blossoms - Hey Jealousy   My song pick 7 years ago today: Dream Theater - Falls Into the Light   My song pick 8 years ago today: Quarterflash - Nig...

From: Chicago 17 ; Year: 1984; Genre: Soft Rock/Pop Caught a stupid head cold and have been insanely tired; wot a way to spend a weekend....  Had this one play in my mind for most of my waking hours yesterday, and whilst not my favourite from Chicago, the chorus always is a great draw for me. Also, it does get some play in different media every now and then, so it keeps itself somewhat in the cultural mindspace.   Hear You're the Inspiration on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Motörhead - Lost Johnny     My song pick 2 years ago today: Funkadelic - Wars of Armageddon     My song pick 3 years ago today: Black 47 - Fanatic Heart   My song pick 4 years ago today: Motörhead - Hellraiser   My song pick 5 years ago today: The Charlie Daniels Band - Reflections   My song pick 6 years ago today: Pat Benatar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot   My song pick 7 years ago today: Victor Wooten - Keep it Low ...

From: Tribal Voice ; Year: 1991; Genre: Indigenous Australian Rock/New Wave It is always a bit perplexing when a song is playing in your head and you cannot identify the song or the artist. It took a little bit of sleuthing, but I was able to track it down after I realized that I had heard a version of it in the 1990s comedy movie Encino Man . It is quite a unique and truly awesome song; actually the same can be said for the band too. Being a blended group of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians makes the term "unique" kind of an understatement; have never heard a group that sounds even close. Of course, as always, I love being exposed to something different, so they are one I immediately liked. Anyway, whilst the radio edit of Treaty put the band in the spotlight, I actually like the original album version a bit more, but either one is great.    Hear Treaty on YouTube.   Hear the radio edit on YouTube.         My song p...

From: If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears ; Year: 1966; Genre: Folk Rock/Psychedelic Rock Had this one playing in my mind for most of the day yesterday, which is not a bad thing by any measure; it's a very good, iconic song. Far and gone the vocals are simply amazing, and being combined with the pros that were the Wrecking Crew, you get the great track that this one is.   Hear California Dreamin' on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Iron Maiden - The Trooper     My song pick 2 years ago today: Rockwell - T.V. Psychology     My song pick 3 years ago today: Jim Stafford - Wildwood Weed   My song pick 4 years ago today: The Jackson 5 - I Want You Back   My song pick 5 years ago today: The Cure - The 13th   My song pick 6 years ago today: Rush - Carnies My song pick 7 years ago today: Bootsy's Rubber Band - Another Point of View My song pick 8 years ago today: America - Watership Down My song pick 9 y...

From: Guitar Man ; Year: 1972; Genre: Soft Rock Used to listen to this record a lot back when I was in my early teens; still love it quite a bit. It's one of those album oriented rock discs that each track just leads from one to another perfectly as to not break the vibe and flow of the listener. In my opinion Guitar Man was Bread's best record by a country mile; even though they might've had bigger hits elsewhere, the sum of its parts just blows their other studio album away. Anyway, this piece that features strings and acoustic guitar is quite mellow musically on the surface, but the emotion conveyed in the chord choices and melody along with David Gates' vocal performance make it deep and heavy all the same.   Hear Aubrey on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Bryan Adams - Summer of '69     My song pick 2 years ago today: For Squirrels - Plymouth     My song pick 3 years ago today: The Undisputed Truth - Atomic Funk   ...

From: Chet Atkins Picks on the Beatles ; Year: 1966; Genre: Rock/Pop Records like this is among the reasons I love and respect Chet Atkins as a musician and shredding picker on the guitar. He recorded a few of these "Chet Atkins Pick on X" albums. And whilst he is mostly synonymous with Nashville and country and western, he actually delved into a wide spectrum of music, be it country, folk, bluegrass, blues, jazz, classical, R&B, soul, Spanish/Mexican/Flamenco, rock, pop and basically everything in between. He definitely was without a doubt a musician's musician. What I like most about this one is how his unmistakable picking and sound are in the forefront and ever-present, he keep The Beatles' spirit of their pop rock composition totally intact.  I really wonder though, what John, Paul, George, and Ringo thought of his covers?   Hear Chet's cover of Hard Day's Night on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: R.E.M. - Bang and Blame   ...

From: Voices of Babylon ; Year: 1989; Genre: Rock Just felt like revisiting and picking another one from The Outfield. A great track from their third outing, which has quite a nice melodic groove and sound to it.   Hear Voices of Babylon on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: The Ad Libs - The Boy From New York City     My song pick 2 years ago today: Buck Owens and His Buckaroos - I've Got a Tiger By the Tail     My song pick 3 years ago today: Billy Joel - Summer, Highland Falls   My song pick 4 years ago today: Bob Dylan - Positively 4th Street   My song pick 5 years ago today: Robin Trower - Same Rain Falls   My song pick 6 years ago today: Classics IV - Spooky   My song pick 7 years ago today: Black Sabbath - E5150 My song pick 8 years ago today: Bob Dylan - Lay Lady Lay My song pick 9 years ago today: ZZ Top - I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide My song pick 10 years ago today: Spooky Tooth - Better By You, B...

From: End of the World ; Year: 1968; Genre: Psychedelic Rock From time to time I go back to Aphrodite's Child and their gorgeous music; I'm glad I did last night once more. Rain and Tears , which was their first big hit and was particularly popular in Italy and across northern Europe; I do not know how it did on this side of "The Pond," but if it didn't we really missed out. Evangelos Papathanassiou (aka Vangelis) and Boris Bergman wrote this piece around the overly used motif of Johann Pachelbel's famous Canon in D, P.37 . Immediately you will recognize the melody, but once they start to introduce and reintroduce their themes and vocals, their musical masterwork embellishes around the skeletal motif into something really amazing and beautiful. I cannot help but keep on resetting the needle over again and again.   Hear Rain and Tears on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Pearl Jam - Why Go     My song pick 2 years ago today: James Brown -...

From: East Side Story ; Year: 1981; Genre: New Wave Yet another song that I was sure I already had chosen.... Truthfully, I have known this song very well for a long time, but never looked in to who it was exactly that recorded it. Actually, the English new wave band Squeeze was and is quite popular, just more so in Britain of course, but had a few other hits over here.   Hear Tempted on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Larry Graham & Graham Central Station - Easy Rider     My song pick 2 years ago today: Modest Petrovitch Mussorgsky - Misunderstood One     My song pick 3 years ago today: Rush - Face Up   My song pick 4 years ago today: Jigsaw - Baby Don't Do It   My song pick 5 years ago today: Clifford Brown and Max Roach - Sandu   My song pick 6 years ago today: Rush - Between Sun & Moon   My song pick 7 years ago today: Styx - Superstars My song pick 8 years ago today: Kajagoogoo - Too Shy ...

From: Love Stories & Other Musings ; Year; 2012; Genre: Alternative Rock/Pop Rock Though I wouldn't describe this summer as "sweet," (more like dry, hot and smoky, at least here), we are now fully into what is known by the idiom: "Dog Days of Summer." The etymology actually was referring to the star Sirius , which is the brightest star as view from Earth and the fact that it rises with the sun and thus returns to the night sky during this time of year is the connection. Being that it is catalogued as the alpha star in the constellation Canis Majoris, (the big dog), it is also known as the "Dog Star." Anyway, I digress, just felt like picking something from Candlebox today, no other reason. And this track off of their 2012 album  Love Stories & Other Musings just felt like a good fit.    Hear Sweet Summertime on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Cameo - Better Days     My song pick 2 years ago today: Bootsy Collins - Th...

From Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo ; Year: 2000; Genre: Rock/Pop Had some music from the band 'Till Tuesday, which Aimee Mann fronted before finding even more success as a solo artist. Have chosen some tracks from various bands she collaborated with as well as 'Till Tuesday, but nothing from her solo works... so I'm taking care of that now. It is difficult to believe that it has been 26 years now since this song and album were released, as they say: Tempus Fugit .     Hear Red Vines on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Pearls Before Swine - Rocket Man     My song pick 2 years ago today: Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Break the Chain     My song pick 3 years ago today: The Beach Boys - Don't Worry Baby   My song pick 4 years ago today: Primus - American Life   My song pick 5 years ago today: Jethro Tull - Lap of Luxury   My song pick 6 years ago today: Mr. Bungle - Egg   My song p...

From: Western Union/Sound of Love ; Year: 1967; Genre: Rock/Pop It still fascinates me just how songs enter my conscious mind that I've not heard in ages or have been on my mind for just about as long. This one from a band that I might at some point in the past heard about just started playing in my mind whilst feeding the animals and I decided I should look it up and make it today's pick. Kind of a straight-up pop rocker, but with a subject of a lover sending a Telegram of all things to break up the relationship. Heck, even by the late '60s it was kind of obsolete form of communication, but perhaps in using a Telegram, it shows just how cold and impersonal the person breaking up is being. I suppose you could liken it to breaking up over a text message or something similar today.Apparently they went with the whole Western Union Telegram theme because they thought the riff and sound their guitarist Mike Rabon had discovered reminded them of an old telegraph key sound and we...

From: Down in the Boondocks ; Year: 1965; Genre: Pop/Rock Had this one on my mind the last couple of days; did not really know for sure who recorded it, but was and at the same time was not surprised to see that it was Billy Joe Royal. This is one of those "transistor glamour" songs: i.e. has everything in a small package. The music and that simple guitar hook have always been the main draw in my mind, but I've always loved the empowering vocals and message of striving for the life you want.   Hear Down in the Boondocks on YouTube.   (oh and, I should add that YouTube has gone full scorched-earth despot and made it almost impossible to watch videos now without jumping through countless hoops. Wotever their motive, probably more money for shareholders, all it did was make me adopt FreeTube , which I fully endorse.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Cameo - Raw but Tasty     My song pick 2 years ago today: Dave Edmunds and the Stray Cats - The Race Is...

From: The Lover in Me ; Year: 1988; Genre: Pop Thinking about this track today and seemed like a great time to choose it; no other reason.     Hear Days Like This on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Ray Stevens - Everything is Beautiful   My song pick 2 years ago today: Lou Rawls - I'm Satisfied     My song pick 3 years ago today: Blondie - Maria   My song pick 4 years ago today: Crash Test Dummies (feat. Ellen Reid) - The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead   My song pick 5 years ago today: Heart - Lost Angel   My song pick 6 years ago today: Steeleye Span - Harvest   My song pick 7 years ago today: Fat Larry's Band - Act Like You Know My song pick 8 years ago today: Laura Branigan - Deep in the Dark My song pick 9 years ago today: Bay City Rollers - I Only Want to Be With You My song pick 10 years ago today: Jethro Tull - One Brown Mouse My song pick 11 years ago today: Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO...

From: Woman, Woman ; Year: 1968; Genre: Rock/Pop Had this one bouncing around my cranium every now and then for the last couple of weeks, so, just now am getting around to picking it. Whilst I knew I had not added this song yet, I kept thinking that I had already done so with this band for another song, but was mistaken. Probably due to some other bands with a Gary as the leader of another "& the" band name. Anyhoo, those who are into older classics or grew up back when this one was on mainstream radio will immediately recognize it. Gary Puckett's soul-filled powerful vocals are one of the most prominent aspects along with the orchestration.   Hear Woman, Woman on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Marcus Miller - Rampage     My song pick 2 years ago today: Dead Meadow - This Shaky Hand is Not Mine     My song pick 3 years ago today: Hall & Oates - Kiss on My List   My song pick 4 years ago today: The Grateful Dead...

From: Nobody Wants to be Alone ; Year: 1985; Genre: Pop/Country If I remember correctly, this album was right at the tail-end of the whole country/pop/rock crossover era that permeated the late 1970s and early 1980s. Not that there's anything wrong with that blend of genres; I for one actually like quite a few of them and believe that it was better "country" than a lot of the exaggerated nasally singing pushed out today. I would actually categorize this track in particular way more in the pop/rock or power pop genre than country. Anyway, I have heard this one a lot over the years; it really has the ability to get stuck in your head, and a fun one all the same.    Hear Touch and Go on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Savatage - Forever After     My song pick 2 years ago today: Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised   My song pick 3 years ago today: Les Paul & Mary Ford - Bye Bye Blues   My song pick 4 ...

From: Greatest Hits ; Year: 1975 (1976); Genre: Pop/Rock Yet another case of a song playing in my head.... I cannot count the amount of times I have heard this track; my Dad owned everyone of ABBA's records and for the most part played them all the way through. For some reason this track in particular is one that just catches your attention even more that usual from the Swedish superstars. Originally Benny and Bjorn along with their manager Stig Anderson wrote this one for Anni-Frid's solo album in '75 and later recorded it as a single for the band as well; the original was sung in Swedish and the entire story/lyrics were different as well. With the Swedish version the titular Fernando, (whose name was taken from a bartender at one of the band's favourite clubs in Stockholm), is being consoled after the loss of a love. In the English version Bjorn wrote the lyrics in the form of two old veterans of the Mexican Revolution reminiscing about their tour of duty as freedom ...

From: Waking and Dreaming ; Year: 1976; Genre: Rock/Pop Happened to have this one playing in my brain just before getting ready to make this post, you know the rest. Probably individuals around my age and old remember this slice of 1970s pop; those younger might remember some of the song used in commercials and such. Still quite enjoyable and the twin lead guitars are definitely one of the best parts.     Hear Still the One on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Mac Davis - Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me     My song pick 2 years ago today: Bob Marley and The Wailers - Freedom Time   My song pick 3 years ago today: Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Nothing Ever Happens   My song pick 4 years ago today: Jethro Tull - Living in These Hard Times   My song pick 5 years ago today: Parliament - Livin' the Life   My song pick 6 years ago today: Alice in Chains - Rainier Fog   My song pick 7 years ago today: Savatage - S...