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

From: Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare Original Soundtrack , Year: 2010; Genre: Rock/Surf Rock Happy Halloween! I was wanting to pick a good, fitting song today and this one from the soundtrack to the video game Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare felt like a nice fit. For some reason surf rock with a spooky feel and subject matter just seems to go together quite well. Hear Dead Man Walking on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Dick Dale - Riders In the Sky My song pick two years ago today: Andrew Gold - Spooky, Scary Skeletons My song pick three years ago today: Rammstein - Mein Teil My song pick four years ago today: Rush - Witch Hunt My song pick five years ago today: Jethro Tull - Witches Promise

Year: 1911; Genre: Pop In the year 1911, which is also today's song pick number, Irving Berlin published Alexander's Ragtime Band , a song that would not only become one of the more popular songs in American musical history, but also launched his career as one of the most popular songwriters of all time. The song's popularity was a surprise even to it's writer; from what I've read it would gain a resurgence every time an artist recorded it; overall it stayed in the charts for an amazing five decades. I remember a few years ago when I was doing some personal research on some of the older music I was surprised at how many immensely popular hit songs Irving Berlin wrote, most of which are still heard today; a century later. Hear an instrumental version of the song on YouTube. Countless versions of the song can be found here on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Queensrÿche - Della Brown My song pick two years ago today: Van Halen - Unchained ...

BB 52 ; Year: 1909-1910; Genre: Romantic Period/classical I have been meaning to add one of Béla Bartók's compositions to my blog for a long time now and have finally gotten around to it. This beautiful piece of music made its premier in 1910, which is also the number of today's pick. I absolutely love all of the layers and counter punctuation he uses throughout this entire piece; it's truly a work of art. Here is the first movement: Lento on YouTube. Here is the second movement: Poco a poco accelerando all'allegretto on YouTube. Here is the third movement: Allegro Vivace on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Victor Wooten - Us 2 My song pick two years ago today: The Sons of the Pioneers - Cool Water My song pick three years ago today: Norman Greenbaum - Spirit in the Sky My song pick four years ago today: Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) - Here is the News My song pick five years ago today: Faith No More - From Out of Nowhere

From: Back Through Time ; Year: 2011; Genre: Celtic Folk Metal/Pirate Metal Yesterday I had this song my mind; as usual I took as a sign I should pick it. I remember when I first looked at the track list I was certainly amused when I saw that Alestorm had covered this classic Stan Rogers a cappella folk ditty and turned it into a full-blown heavy metal song. I've always liked the original; I can't remember how many times I've heard it, but it's been a bunch. However, to say the least I like Alestorm's cover just a much, probably more now that I think about it. They simply did an awesome job covering it in my opinion, of course the subject matter fit Alestorm's pirate themed music style perfectly, so it's no surprise at all. This track also features a pretty good guitar solo by guest guitarist Heri Joensen from the band Tyr. Hear Alestorm's version of Barrett's Privateers on YouTube. Hear the original Stan Rogers version on YouTube. M...

Op. 27 ; Year: 1908; Genre: Romantic Period/classical Off an on for the last week and especially today I've been having issues with the internet going out, but it's back on now and running fine, (knock on wood). Anyway, just in case it decides to go kaput again I'm making a quick pick. I checked what was going on in music circa 1908, which is today's song pick number, and noticed this awesome piece of music from Rachmaninoff made it's debut in 1908. I also realized that I hadn't yet chosen one of his songs yet, so it seemed like an excellent time to do so. Here is a performance of the piece by the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, conducted by Gullberg Jensen on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: AC/DC - Big Balls My song pick two years ago today: The Guess Who - Hand Me Down World My song pick three years ago today: Finntroll - Skogens Hämnd My song pick four years ago today: Bon Jovi - These Days My song pick five years ago today: Yes - R...

From: Stand! ; Year: 1969; Genre: Funk/Soul/Psychedelic Rock This rather uplifting track seemed perfect for today, so I'm going ahead and making it my pick. Of course it's Friday as well, so I might as well make it a proper Funky Friday pick as well. While the entire song is excellent, by far my favourite part is the musical break at the end. Hear Stand! on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Sethian - Purity in Sorrow My song pick two years ago today: Sethian - Nothing Is True My song pick three years ago today: Steely Dan - Charlie Freak My song pick four years ago today: Van Halen - Summer Nights My song pick five years ago today: Apocalyptica (featuring Nina Hagen) - Seemann

From: Feedback ; Year: 2004; Genre: Hard Rock For most of the day I've had the original Buffalo Springfield version of this song running through my mind. I was intending on picking it, but evidently I had already chosen it . So, I decided I would go ahead and pick this cover of the song by Rush. They actually did an awesome job with it, as with any good cover they kept the original spirit while putting their personal touch on it. Hear Rush's cover of Mr. Soul on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Megadeth - How the Story Ends My song pick two years ago today: Sethian - Epitaph My song pick three years ago today: Marcus Miller - Frankenstein My song pick four years ago today: Jackyl - The Lumberjack My song pick five years ago today: Blackmore's Night - Rainbow Blues