Song #71: Bob Dylan feat. Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, and George Harrison - "My Back Pages"

Song #71: Bob Dylan feat. Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, and George Harrison - "My Back Pages" (1964)

Another Side of Bob Dylan

"But I was so much older then; I'm younger than that now."

One of my many strange appreciations in life is public access television. I love it for its simplicity, its intimacy, and the entire do-it-yourself quality it embodies. Unfortunately, having DirecTV, a satellite cable provider, I am deprived of public access and there are only two places I know I can get it - my grandparents' house, where she just has regular cable with several stations devoted to local town programming, and the Chicago Wolves games when my dad is lucky enough to score skybox seats. That's right, during a hockey game, if I have skybox or upper-deck seats, you'll find me in the little room, drinking Pepsi, watching public access television on the small little television in the upperhand corner of the room.

 

I bring this up because the last time I was at a Chicago Wolves game in the skybox seats was in 2012, where I sat inside the skybox most of the game watching the random public access television. One program showed an obese man in a red hoodie and an Atari shirt sitting in a folding chair talking about technology and the uses of a personal computer under the name "The Technology Coach." Another was the TV network for Triton College, a local community college not far from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, where the Chicago Wolves play. Then I finally stumbled upon a weird channel that was showing a concert in progress. While the bottom righthand corner showed a VH1 logo and proclaimed "LIVE," I knew this concert had to be several years old. Sure enough, it was a thirty year anniversary concert for Bob Dylan, a musician I never listened to.

"What the hell?," I said, leaving it on while the Wolves played their second period of hockey against a team I never heard of and the score at whatever the hell it was at. I listened for about five minutes before watching Dylan, Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, and George Harrison - all legendary musicians - perform one of Dylan's many loved songs, "My Back Pages." From the first verse by Dylan, I was in love. I couldn't believe how immersed I was in this song. The song's content was a mystery to me then, and even a bit now, as the audio wasn't the greatest on the television and the singer's voices are already pretty unique and different just to make it harder to hear. Not to mention, the audience would applaud each time a singer began singing and wouldn't quit till about a third of the way through the song.

From what I can gather, the song is about recalling that period in life when you thought you knew it all, were intellectual, and were just an all-around intelligent soul. Then you grew up, and as you looked back, you realized you weren't that intelligent, which is where the key line "but I was so much older then; I'm younger than that now" comes in. The line is about recognizing how much edgier and smarter you thought you sounded back then, probably getting lost in your ideas and weren't sure of yourself. Now, take a look at yourself, and see that you're a different person, younger in spirit and wiser in the experience department.

I have a feeling I'm in the first part of that, which is why I find deep resonation in "My Back Pages." This is also the first and only song on "The One-Hundred Songs of Steve Pulaski" that chooses a live, altered version of a song over the original. The original song that only featured Dylan is fine, but when the song is balanced out with numerous other musicians, it makes the entire idea of the song blossom to a greater degree, I feel.

Give "My Back Pages" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_gDnTVWivI

Song #72: Gary Numan and Tubeway Army - "Down in the Park"

Song #72: Gary Numan and Tubeway Army - "Down in the Park" (1979)

Replicas

"Oh, look, there's a rape machine, I'll go outside if it looks the other way; you wouldn't believe the things they do."  

  

The summer of 2012 was the summer of Gary Numan for me, after hearing his song "Cars" on the Adult Swim program The Mighty Boosh and falling instantly in love with it one morning. I wound replaying "Cars" on my phone over two-hundred times that summer for reasons I still have a hard time articulating accurately; but that's for another blog at another time.

Finding great satisfaction listening to Numan's music on his album The Pleasure Principle, recognizing he could blend human ideas with a techno/electro-sound, I decided to just work my way through Numan's lengthy discography to find other songs I liked, one of them being another sing he's recognized for by the name of "Down in the Park." For starters, the song isn't solely his, but was done by his short-lived band Tubeway Army in 1979; he often receives sole credit for the song because he is the main vocalist on it. The first six or seven times I heard "Down in the Park," I wasn't paying close attention to the lyrics, and just admired Numan's highly-digitized vocals, which made him sound almost non-human, and the electronic beats combined with haunting synthesizers that did nothing but send shivers down my spine. For a medium that is built on what you hear, I did a shocking amount of feeling during this song.

When I finally looked up the song lyrics and their meanings - while on a delivery with my father from the liquor store we worked at - I was stunned. The song concerns a wicked dystopian future, where the world has become run by "Machmans" (a popular theme or being in Numan's work, which is an android robot in human skin) and intricate machines that make it their duty to rape, assault, and kill human beings for the pleasure of an audience. All of this takes place at a park (the idea was the basis for the Replicas album, and you can see said park on the album cover above as well) and can be watched at a local club by the name of "Zom Zoms," we're told. All the robots are named with a numerical number, in addition, to assure not an ounce of humanity even works to level out the sure horror of what is taking place at the park.

"Down in the Park" sounds like a song that was lifted straight from someone's nightmare, and the instrumentation sounds as if the nightmare was recorded in progress. There's little else I can say about the song that would matter. Give it a listen, scare yourself, and learn that not all techno music is void of emotion and feeling - that is often the subject matter.

Give "Down in the Park" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ci7lssNMRI

Song #73: Hank Williams III - "Straight to Hell ('Satan is Real' Medley)"

Song #73: Hank Williams III - "Straight to Hell ('Satan is Real' Medley)" (2006)

Straight to Hell

"Well, I'm racing these backroads, trying to save my life, 'cause the sheriff wants to kill me, 'cause I fucked his wife. I was on the run, with a gun in my hand, 'cause I liked a good time and a one night stand!" 

Hank Williams III's crowning achievement in terms of discography, in my opinion, is the 2006 release of Straight to Hell, his third studio album. The album is filled to the brim with so much outlaw, rebel country, which was so far away from what his label Curb Records wanted him to play that I'm stunned they allowed him to release it. It is also the first country album to carry a "Parental Advisory: Explicit Content" album sticker on it, as well as the only country album that needed a clean version made for outlets like Wal-Mart. I wound up reviewing the entire album a few years ago because that's how significant I found it to be.

The album begins by giving us this here song, "Straight to Hell ('Satan is Real' Medley)," which opens by giving us a few lines from a folk song "Satan is Real" by The Louvin Brothers before providing us with its titular track. "Straight to Hell" is a breakneck outlaw country song - one that starts fast and never lets up, as III gives his detailed account of what it means to live in the south and what kinds of events he partakes in which will, in turn, lead him straight to hell.

I put this song on the list because, in my mind, this is exactly what outlaw country is about - quick, catchy instrumentation, fast-paced lyrics that are as addicting as any drug, and a true spirit that is willing to shed light on these kinds of raucous events in the south. III is the perfect candidate to do such a song, which is why the song doesn't bear any artificial qualities as if somebody who didn't eat, sleep, and breath the south was behind the song. Just by the way the song flows and the way certain lines are spoken, you can tell III is all south and all rebel country.

Read my review of Hank Williams III's album Straight to Hell, http://stevethemovieman.proboards.com/thread/1857/hank-williams-iii-straight

Give "Straight to Hell ('Satan is Real' Medley)" a listen,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrUk1ua8ZqI

Song #74: Joe Nichols - "Brokenheartsville"

Song #74: Joe Nichols - "Brokenheartsville" (2002)

Man with a Memory

"All I can say is, bartender, pour me something strong!"

I've never had the misfortune of going through a rough breakup, a one night stand, being stood-up, or anything of the sorts (I've never had a romantic relationship of any kind either), but I can just assume the feeling by listening to some of the classic country heartbreak songs or even the contemporary ones at that. Joe Nichols' "Brokenheartsville" is a song I could easily imagine being sung by country music legend Hank Williams or George Jones, as the song concerns a man who's date left him alone at a local bar after taking off with another promising soul in a fire-engine red Coupe De Ville. Nichols sits with his buddies at the bar for the first verse, as they help him through, pouring him "something strong" like he asks, and even singing his story with him. However, once the second verse hits, Nichols and company are transported to a more fun, rock-and-roll side of the bar, equipped with a stage, lights, and everything, while Nichols' date and her new beau experience some roadside troubles and some serious revelations.

The song works because of how intensely relatable it can be for those experiencing similar circumstances. Nichols also does a nice job of concocting a story that is deeply intimate, sad, but at the same time, not so bogged down in its sadness that you need to make sure you are tough as nails to handle its content. Not to mention, this is the kind of song you can simply sing passionately, while raising a few stints of your own, and thanks to Nichols' every-man lyrics and self-presentation, it won't be hard at all to throw you or your buddies in the song. I just hope if I ever go through a hellish breakup or am stood up like this in real life, I have a squad of people ready to drink the night away at a local tavern. 

Give a listen to "Brokenheartsville" (I linked the music video purposefully since I find the music video is simply incredible in terms of capturing a mood and a feeling), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJtA-KqK_Lo

Song #75: Giuseppe Andrews - "Reason"

Song #75: Giuseppe Andrews - "Reason" (2009)

Songs from "Look"

"For everything we're going through in this life, the sweet Lord's got a reason."

Giuseppe Andrews is one of the most visceral and unique musicians and filmmakers working in the business today, and it seems with Adam Rifkin's documentary Giuseppe Makes a Movie, which shows Giuseppe's filmmaking process up close, Andrews is finally get the respect and credit he deserves after years of masquerading in almost complete underground obscurity. Andrews has starred in numerous films and TV shows, with probably his two most famous works being leading/supporting roles in Cabin Fever and Detroit Rock City (also directed by Rifkin). Andrews also continues to release his music, films, and thoughtful musings through his website http://giuseppeandress.net.

One of Andrews' unique roles was in a film by the name of LOOK (also directed by Rifkin), which was an anthology film concerning numerous ordinary people, whose lives intertwined through security cameras that were placed all over the town. We watched these people when they didn't know they were being watch, be it through security cameras placed inside restaurants or fast food places, through their webcams, their cell phone cameras, or whatever camera they happened to be near. It was a unique and subversive show. It also spawned a short-lived Showtime series of the same name, which despite running for only about eleven episodes, remains one of the most brilliant things I've ever seen on Television.

In both projects, Andrews' played Willie, alongside Miles Dougal, a close-collaborator of his, who played Carl, both of whom worked at a gas station/convenient store. Willie was an aspiring musician, often playing tunes and holding jam-sessions in the gas station, to which Carl would obnoxiously dance to in the aisles of the store, knocking things over, making a mess, etc. One of the songs Willie played in the series in the gas station, at the end of the episode in hopes of getting signed, was "Reason," an incredible ballad about a man that believes that every experience or hardship we undergo in life is all because "the sweet Lord's got a reason."

The song is simple, but effective, and unlike many of Andrews' songs, straight-forward, with no vague ideas or strange statements making the meaning of the song that much more puzzling. Andrews' has some of the most unique vocals around - ones that are simultaneously scratchy at the same time chilling and softly romantic, sure to send shivers whenever he gets the song into high-gear. Not to mention, there's an unexpected side of spirituality from this song I didn't foresee Andrews dabbing into, and even went on to assume that he intentionally rejected religion and the likes before hearing this song. Even as somebody who is irreligious, I'd like to think that there is a reason we go through everything in life, and even go on to believe in some sort of karmic revenge, but I simply cannot bring myself to find either to hold much ground on myself, personally.

Unfortunately, the studio version of the song - from the album Songs from "Look" - has mysteriously disappeared from the internet, along with that album, so I have no way of linking or promoting the original masterpiece. What I can provide, however, is the audio version that Andrews' character Willie performs in the gas station in the TV series Look, which is a fitting substitute; personally, I'm just glad some form of this song is on the internet.

Give "Reason" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppx9TOr1ueA

 

Song #76: Hank Williams, Jr. - "Why Can't We All Just Get a Longneck?"

 

Song #76: Hank Williams, Jr. - "Why Can't We All Just Get a Longneck?"

I'm One of You

"Why can't we all just get a longneck? And see how good gettin' along could be?"

Say whatever you'd like about Hank Williams, Jr. controversial opinions about politics, President Barack Obama, and such - because, frankly, most of the political criticisms for him are well-warranted, but don't knock on his song "Why Can't We All Just Get a Longneck?" with myself in earshot. The song is probably the best summation for my personal political/social beliefs and my world views, even if it is oversimplifying and kind of childish in its proclamation, it's still a damn-well honest question.

Whenever I turn on the news to hear about gang violence, a murder, a raping, a stabbing, what-have-you, this song starts quietly playing in my head. It asks two fair questions: one being the title of the song, the second being, "can't we just agree we're gonna disagree?" Even the film's music video shows a group of well-meaning bar patrons brawling and fighting, before Hank himself steps up to a podium to ask his key questions. 

Coming out in 2003, the song was arguably Hank Williams, Jr.'s first hit in a long time, actually getting its own music video to go along with it (watching the Country Music Television -  or CMT - daily, for hours on end as a kid, I saw this music video thrown in the lineup every now and then). Since this song, Jr. has failed to captivate me like his father and his own son Hank Williams III. I think of Jr. as the typical rowdy country musician, not really helping pioneer a genre into the mainstream like his father, or help recover it from an overdose on frothy, pop country like his son. I see him as an average, rowdy musician with obnoxious political beliefs.

But I have no particular personal quibbles with Jr. himself, and when I turn twenty-one, would gladly treat him to a longneck of his choice if I ever saw him in a bar.

Give "Why Can't We All Just Get a Longneck?" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy8tIA50YM4

Song #77: Grand Funk Railroad - "Some Kind of Wonderful"

 

Song #77: Grand Funk Railroad - "Some Kind of Wonderful" (1974)

All the Girls in the World Beware!!!

"Well, I don't have to run around; I don't have to stay out all night. 'Cause I got me a sweet, a sweet lovin' woman, and she knows just how to treat me right."  

It was until conducting this blog series that I discovered that the seventies band Grand Funk Railroad was not the original author nor performer of one of my favorite songs of all time - "Some Kind of Wonderful," but rather, a band from the sixties by the name of Soul Brothers Six created the song in 1967. Grand Funk Railroad didn't cover the song until 1974. Even listening to the original version of the song by the original band, the Grand Funk Railroad version holds up in my mind much better because it provides a jazzier, more soulful take on the song, sung with more pride, heart, and emotion. One gets the feeling the bandmembers were actually in love at the time recording the song just by listening to their voices.

"Some Kind of Wonderful" marks the first song in this blog series that hails from the game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which was a huge staple in my childhood for music, video games, and early passions. I learned about music through playing that game, listening to the old country station of K-Rose, the classic rock station of K-DST (which is where "Some Kind of Wonderful" was played), the heavy metal station of Radio X, the rap station of Radio Los Santos, the hip-hop station of Playback FM, and more. That game taught me about great music and serves as my favorite soundtrack to any video game ever. Even Grand Theft Auto V bears some seriously great tunes on their country, rock, and rap stations, respectively, but my heart will always belong with the tunes heard in San Andreas.

Moreover, "Some Kind of Wonderful" is just a hugely uplifting and romantic song, articulating love and complex feelings of romance with such an upbeat and alive sound. The song deals with a narrator who claims that now that he has found his somebody in life, he doesn't need "a whole lots of money" or "a big, fine car," nor does he have to run around with other women or stay out all night because he's got "a sweet, a sweet lovin' woman" who knows how to treat him right. The song continues this infectious array of great vocals and jazzy lyricism until it hits its stride at the end with the "can I get a witness?" chant, which gives the song an even more alive life.

"Some Kind of Wonderful" is the song I want played at my wedding if I ever get married, serving as me and my sweetheart's "first dance" song.

Give "Some Kind of Wonderful" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7B5jXYRy3Q

Song #78: DJ Khaled feat. Akon, Rick Ross, Lil Boosie, Trick Daddy, Ace Hood, and Plies - "Out Here Grindin'"

 

 Song #78: DJ Khaled feat. Akon, Rick Ross, Lil Boosie, Trick Daddy, Ace Hood, and Plies - "Out Here Grindin'" (2008)

We Global

"I ain't slept in eight days, I could go for eight weeks, ain't nothin' to me 'cause I am the streets!" 

Perhaps some more modern rap fans won't be familiar with this little niche of the contemporary rap game, but for a while, DJ Khaled was one of the most recognized men in the rap game, mainly because he would crank out music, singles, and albums at a rapid-fire pace. The selling point was often times he wasn't the one rapping, for he was just a DJ, and would pair each song he made with sometimes eight or nine different rappers, showcasing all their talents. While I stopped listening to DJ Khaled's music after the 2008 release of We Global, I nevertheless admired his persistency and his desire to feature numerous other rappers on his singles and his albums, shining a spotlight on them and their abilities.

One of the songs I loved from Khaled and company, much more than his biggest hit "We the Best," is "Out Here Grindin'," which had a quiet release in June 2008. Though the song never became a big radio hit, the song was explosive and raw in my mind. There are three different versions of the song, adding some rappers, subtracting some, but my favorite was always the album cut and the music video version, which subtracted the verse of Young Jeezy from the single version. 

The song concerns the gang lifestyle as laid out by Akon in the chorus, talking about how he doesn't care what people say, for he will keep doing the gang life, even if it means sacrificing things like friends and sleep. What entails is rappers Rick Ross, Lil Boosie, Trick Daddy, Ace Hood, and Plies spouting off briskly-paced verses at incredible speeds for the duration of the song. It almost feels like an impromptu rap session featuring these rappers.

What personal impact does the song have on me? Not much, I must say, but I do find "Out Here Grindin'" to not only be one of the most underrated rap songs of the last decade and one of the defining songs of the summer of 2008 when this kind of music was all I listened to. In addition, I find that the song also shows the best qualities of each rapper involved. Akon has his brilliant chorus, Rick Ross has his freestyle-like verse, Plies is brazen as all hell, Lil Boosie has the simultaneously goofy and amusing verse, Ace Hood has the cut-throat lyricism, and Trick Daddy always finds ways to be haunting with his unpredictable lyrical fluidity. Not to mention, the music video for the song is just explosive in the way it uses the seamy side of an urban area as an anthology for its rappers.

Give "Out Here Grindin'" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKv7dDFpCbk

Song #79: Steve Earle - "Copperhead Road"

 

Song #79: Steve Earle - "Copperhead Road" (1988)

Copperhead Road

"It's before my time, but I've been told, he never came back from Copperhead Road."

If you've been consistently following this blog series, then you know one of my fondest childhood memories was making CD's with my uncle in his bedroom from songs we'd download off the internet. Most of the time, I'd bring a list of songs I'd want him to find, but on occasion, he'd give me songs he wanted me to listen to. One of them was Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road;" just the name made me shiver. It sounded like one of the locations in a horror movie where cars break down and people are murdered and raped. Needless to say, however, I was intrigued.

My uncle downloaded it and through it on one of my CD's. The next day, after spending a night at his house, I hopped in the car with my mom and told her to play the CD. A few tracks in and there was "Copperhead Road," one of the most unique and powerful songs I had heard in my eight years of life. The song sounded like a mix of heavy metal and country music, with hints of bluegrass and neotraditional country, creating a song about dark subject matter and ambiguities. I really didn't understand much when I was a kid, despite listening to the song over and over again on car trips. I was mesmerized by the song's dark tone, Earle's deep, ominous lyrics, and the looming sense of trouble the song seemed to bear so casually.

The song concerns John Lee Pettimore III, who reflects on his father and grandfather, who were active moonshiners and bootleggers in rural Tennessee. John Lee's grandfather was known for making moonshine on a backwoods route named "Copperhead Road," where he would only go into town when he needed to buy supplies to make his moonshine. On the other hand, John Lee's father would haul the moonshine his father made to Knoxville every week, but was killed in a car accident during one of his weekly runs. 

John Lee volunteers for the army on his eighteenth birthday, which results in him doing two tours of duty in Vietnam. To honor his father and grandfather's legacy, he grows marijuana on Copperhead Road from seeds he obtained in Colombia and Mexico, and uses tips from the Viet Cong to not get caught by persistent and heavily-armed DEA agents.

The song is a masterclass of visualization and poetry, illustrating the environment of the dirty south right down to wear you could almost feel the humidity, "smell the whiskey burning," smell the ethanol, and feel the hot sun on you. Earle's deep voice, as I stated, also provides the song with a rare tone of confidence, and just by the way he says and voices certain lines, you almost feel as if our own narrator has had a whirlwind of experience himself in this field. "Copperhead Road" stands as one of my favorite country/rock songs of all time.

Give "Copperhead Road" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6H_elGU6Dk

Song #80: George Jones - "The Race is On"

Song #80: George Jones - "The Race is On" (1964)

The Race is On

"Now the race is on and here comes pride up the backstretch. Heartaches are going to the inside. My tears are holding back; they're trying not to fall. My heart's out of the running, true love's scratched for another's sake. The race is on and it looks like heartaches, and the winner loses all." 

When I listen to depressing songs, or songs that have some sort of strong emotional resonance, I need to be prepared for what I'm about to endure, or else I'm going to be a serious emotional wreck. George Jones' underrated ballad "The Race is On" is a perfect example of a sad song that is done in a lively and unique form to almost disguise the sorrowful subject matter at hand. Jones uses his expert lyricism and contagious flow to craft a song about loneliness, heartbreak, and pain like your average line up at a horseracing track.

Jones keeps an upbeat tempo for a song that is clearly about incomparable pain and hurt, like many country songs of the era were. Jones also replicates a style very similar to that of Hank Williams in terms of vocalizations and crafty lyricism in order to communicate his message, but doesn't bear the very heavy sorrow that Williams often used in his songs.

Structuring the feelings of heartbreak and loneliness like they're horses in a horserace helps disguise the feelings of our narrator and make the song feel livelier than it is. This is a neat structure for Jones, who could also write songs just as depressing as Williams. This is the kinda song I want to drink a Miller Fortune to at the local bar by the train station.

While I've thankfully never been through a heartbreak, or even had a relationship for that manner, "The Race is On" resonates with me because it is so easy to imagine and feel for what our narrator is going through. I picture a lonely, well-dressed soul, similar to the one you see in the album artwork above, sitting along at a table at a horseracing track. Scattered on the table are losing betting tickets that risked considerable wages, the program you receive at those places when you walk in, tearsoaked Kleenex and wood-grain, and pens scattered all over as our narrator tries to carry on with his next bet, albeit bearing the heavy sadness of the downfall of his recent relationship. Perhaps I should write a screenplay based off this song? After all, our last song is about to be turned into a film/miniseries...

Give "The Race is On" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj7ahuCHGbM

Song #81: Warren Zevon - "Hit Somebody (The Hockey Song)"

 

 Song #81: Warren Zevon - "Hit Somebody (The Hockey Song)" (2002)

My Ride's Here

"There were Swedes to the left of him, Russians to the right; a Czech at the blue-line looking for a fight. Brains over brawn, that might work for you - but what's a Canadian farm boy to do? Hit somebody!" 

  
Around 2011, filmmaker Kevin Smith announced his retirement from filmmaking was coming after he made his final feature, which would be called Hit Somebody!, and be a film adapted from the Warren Zevon song of the same name. The film was eventually announced as a two-part film, before then being called a TV miniseries, to now just being unknown in its production status while Smith goes on to juggle three more feature films, a daily podcast, and a TV show. Weirdly enough, Smith has been more active after he announced his planned retirement than ever before.

The point being, when the Hit Somebody! movie was first announced, I made it a priority to listen to the song so, when the film was finally released, I had something to compare it to. Immediately after hearing the song the first time, I had to hear it again, before keeping it in my immediate playlist on my phone from there on out. It was incredible how much the song had resonated with me.

The song concerns a Canadian farm boy named Buddy, who has been a hockey fan for as long as he can remember. Our narrator tells us how, when Buddy was young, his father used to take the garden hose and freeze the backyard, so little Buddy could play hockey. The only issue was that Buddy "wasn't that good with the puck," and resorted to being the team's trusted bruiser when he was finally recruited. The song recounts how his coach implored Buddy to "hit somebody" during crucial game moments, and to "remember his role," which is not scoring goals but protecting his team.

Though the song is clearly done in a tongue-in-cheek manner, quietly satirizing songs about a person who works hard to protect his team but also plays a pivotal role in scoring, "Hit Somebody!" is a deeply emotional song, I feel, about finding your place on a team and being the best you can be, regardless of what you're trying to achieve. Not to mention, Zevon's vocals here are deeply soothing and fitting to the song's subject matter. Add that with a relatively ambiguous ending, and here's one of the most investing character study music-pieces I have yet to hear.

Give "Hit Somebody (The Hockey Song)" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PokDj9u09A&feature=kp

Song #82: Hank Williams - "Move It On Over"

Song #82: Hank Williams - "Move It On Over" (1947)

40 Greatest Hits

"This doghouse here is mighty small, but it's better than no house at all..."

After eighteen songs, I think it's time to bring Hank Williams into the picture, the man I cite as one of my favorite artists of all time and my favorite country artists of all time. Williams' songs are total products of their time, some replicating a rare but unrefined sense of wholesomeness and whimsy, while others possess a cold, unflinching tone that is able to humanize and truly capture the downtrodden feelings one experiences during a breakup, or a nasty episode with your significant other.

I picked up on Williams thanks to my grandfather, who has been a diehard Williams fan all his life. The den in his house is laced with Hank Williams posters, blankets, old, rare vinyls, bobbleheads, action figures, etc, all of which give Hank Williams life. I'll never forget the day my grandfather and I talked classic country music for about an hour and a half and the conversation ended with my grandfather pulling out his wallet, handing me one-hundred dollars and telling me to buy "The Complete Hank Williams," a set containing most of his music along with a lengthy book and some other little collectibles. That CD set became the soundtrack to my summer in 2010, when I graduated middle school, and it only feels right that I'm reflecting on Williams' music and impact on my life as I just graduated high school (and writing this blog on June 4th, 2014, my last official day, as well). 

We're starting off on a lighter note with Williams - although his truly dark songs like "Your Cheatin' Heart" aren't on this list, for the record - which is "Move It On Over," one of his many big hits. The song tells the story of a man who is not allowed in his own home by his wife, and must sleep in the doghouse, paying tribute to that saying we all have heard and probably experienced. The song tells of the man moving all his belongings to said doghouse in a fun, playful manner. 

Like with all songs by Williams, his voice is most prominent on this one, deep and occasionally raspy when hitting higher notes - or if you have the pleasure of hearing him yodel - but also able to spark a spring in ones step or a steady tap of ones foot. The song, to say the least, is infectious and beautiful in its basic qualities. Even the simple instrumentation is addicting when the song dedicates brief segments to it and just it. 

Like Dolla, Hank Williams III, and Toby Keith, Hank Williams is somebody you better get used to seeing on this list - he's not going away any time soon.

Give "Move It On Over" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lza3NVH6Ig

Song #83: John Conlee - "Common Man"

Song #83: John Conlee - "Common Man" (1982)

Busted

"I'm just a common man, drive a common van, my dog ain't got a pedigree. If I had my say, gonna stay that way, those highbrow people lose their sanity, and a common man is what I'll be."

 If there is one song that I feel epitomizes the American middle class and still hasn't gotten its proper dues (to employ a wonderfully middle class term), it's John Conlee's "Common Man," which is an ode to regular folk. The song concerns its narrator, who proudly proclaims himself to be an everyday working man who enjoys taking his dates to McDonald's, chugging "a lug or mug" of Budweiser beer, and embraces a life of simplicity and earnestness that allows him to be content with his simplicity.

I choose this song because, if you haven't noticed by now, I thoroughly enjoy songs that make a good effort to relate themselves to the struggles and joys of being a regular guy. From Steve Azar's "I Don't Have to Be Me ('Til Monday") to Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Lookin' Out My Back Door," these songs strike a literal and figurative chord in my mind as ballads that truly infuse and showcase how middle class life is in America. Contrary to what many likely believe about America, being "middle class" or "working class" doesn't mean you're wealthy and barely have to work, but you have to work to ensure that you can eat and work sometimes over forty hours a week in order to maintain that life.

"Common Man" shows that through a wonderfully breezy melody and through Conlee's easy-listening tone. In the grand scheme of country music, Conlee never achieved the extreme success of his peers, but just with "Common Man," he created a tune that presents incredibly relatable and close-to-home vibes for his listeners who may feel the song is about them themselves.

Give "Common Man" a listen, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woWzNRIBEcI

Song #84: Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Lookin' Out My Back Door"

Song #84: Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Lookin' Out My Back Door" (1970)

Best of Creedence Clearwater Revival

"Tambourines and elephants are playing in the band; won't you take a ride on a flying spoon? Doo, doo doo. Wondrous apparition provided by magician. Doo, doo, doo, lookin' out my back door." 

If I could play a mean acoustic guitar, or even a banjo, I'd set aside an evening once a month where I'd pull up a lawnchair in my backyard, bring my cat out on a leash, smoke a cigar, and strum Creedence Clearwater Revival from dusk till dawn. I'd do it on an off-day from like six in the morning to around six at night, stopping for breaks every now and then, and just play the beautiful chords sung by one of the most underrated bands in history. 

I believe if Creedence Clearwater Revival hadn't disbanded so early before coming back as Creedence Clearwater Revisited, the quartet of performers would see greater prominence on those top one-hundred rock and roll bands lists and whatnot. If for nothing else, I think "Lookin' Out My Back Door" earns a place on the list of top one-hundred rock and roll songs, at least, for being such an incredibly relatable and heartfelt ballad about the simplicity yet immense satisfaction that can be brought about in America today.

The song concerns our narrator that returns home from a long day in Illinois, presumably for work, and all he desires it to sit down and take a rest on the porch. After a while, he begins seeing different escapades take place in his backyard, from a giant doing cartwheels, tambourines and elephants playing in a band, and a flying spoon that is accepting rides from people. One can definitely infer that more than just the fresh air was passing through our narrator's lungs, but that just adds to the fun and excitement of the song. Add some amazing guitar chords and an unforgettably lively melody to the intense visualizations the song provides and you have one of the happiest songs I know of.

Give "Lookin' Out My Back Door" a listen, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6p4l8E03VY

Song #85: Hank Williams III - "Cocaine Blues"

Song #85: Hank Williams III - "Cocaine Blues" (1999)

Risin' Outlaw

"Come on, you gotta listen unto me; lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be!"

Just like with Dolla, get used to seeing Hank Williams III (and, pretty soon, his grandfather) on this list. Hank Williams' music came in at a crucial time in my life and that time was eighth grade. After the horrid events of seventh grade (which were, admittedly, my own fault), eighth grade was the redemption year and the realization year, where I was about to go into high school and, because my neighborhood is separated by boundary lines, a good majority of my graduating class would be split up between two different high schools. My closest friends would be going to a whole other high school, while I was going to the school that didn't have many people I knew; I was nervous beyond belief.

Williams and his grandson Hank Williams III have a plethora of songs detailing nervousness, uncertainty, recklessness, friendship, and, to add to the extremes, depression and alcohol-dependency. Their songs, particular Williams III's carefree, rockabilly music, were relatable vices I desperately needed, and many of their songs stuck with me enough to appear on this list. One of which was a tune from III's first album, Risin' Outlaw, by the name of "Cocaine Blues," which serves as a cover of Johnny Cash's song of the same name. To date, this is the only cover that I find better than the original version (despite having heard Cash's version before III's) in my opinion.

The song tells the story of a man named Willy Lee who, while under the influence of the white devil, kills his wife and proceeds to run from the feds until being apprehended, tried, and locked up in the Folsom State Prison for ninety-nine years. Rather than Cash's more clean-cut, deeper voice handling the lyrics of the song, III's voice felt more suited in my mind to a story of this magnitude, with his identifiable southern twang and raspy tendencies. Not to mention, the song is also just an exhilarating romp detailing a murder and the consequences our narrator endures (and rightfully deserves).

As far as southern romps go, you can't get much better than "Cocaine Blues," regardless of whether you're listening to it by the legendary Johnny Cash or the immensely underrated Hank Williams III.

Give "Cocaine Blues" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPocWt4V5Bo

Song #86: Denis Leary - "Asshole"

Song #86: Denis Leary - "Asshole" (1993)

No Cure for Cancer

"Folks, I'd like to sing a song about The American Dream..."

One huge part of my childhood was when my uncle and I would spend hours in his room coming up with songs to compile on to a CD-R. When I'd sleep over at my grandma's house, where my uncle lives, he'd ask me to create a list of ten to fifteen songs that we could download online, burn on a CD-R, and proceed to play in my mother's car at leisure. The act of searching for songs, downloading them, and arranging them into a riveting playlist was something I cherished and my uncle's devotion to this little ritual of ours is what birthed my love for music early on. He'd smoke a cigar while I'd drink Diet Coke, careful not to spill on his crowded desk of papers, ashtrays, flash drives, and stray papers, and we'd have ourselves an afternoon of bonding time. The next morning, when my mother would pick me up, I couldn't wait to play the CD in her car on the way home. I would purposefully discard my previously written list of songs so, sitting in the backseat of my mother's Bonneville Pontiac, I could be totally surprised at what song would come next.

Denis Leary's "Asshole" is one of the first blatantly vulgar, satirical songs I heard as a kid, with Leary playing the typical middle class, American male, who cherishes his average house, his hardwood floor, his wife, his job, his kids, and his car, and looked forward to putting his feet on his table and chomping on a Cuban Cigar. Yet, despite Leary's content life of acceptable luxury, he felt he needed something a bit more in his life. He resorts to mindlessly harassing innocent people on the streets, doing things like driving really slow in "the ultra-fast lane," parking in handicap parking spaces, and so on just to give his life some spice.

Leary is absolutely zealous in this song, especially during the last half of the song, where he descends into rapid-fire, nonstop dialog about what extent he'll go to be an asshole and how angry and livid he'll make other people around him. The song is simply hilarious, illustrating a man who has it all but wants to give others a little bit of misery so he can feel better about his own life. Even the music video - which was the very first music video I ever bought for my first iPod - never ceases to bring a smile to my face when I'm feeling like an asshole. There's something seriously ingenuous about this song and its underrated status makes me even happier, as if something like this were to waltz on the mainstream, would instantly be an overplayed, overblown little tune.

Give "Asshole" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrgpZ0fUixs

Song #87: Dolla - "Statistic"

Song #87: Dolla - "Statistic" (2010)

The Miseducation of Dolla

"Another black man locked up in prison, another mother gotta make another visit."

I may as well introduce the late rapper Roderick "Dolla" Burton II early on in this blog series because you will be hearing a lot about him throughout the next three months. In a broad sense, I consider Dolla my favorite rapper of all time (notice my word choice of "favorite" not "best" for I hate the use of that absolute); from the first song I heard from him ("Who the Fuck is That?" his biggest single which was never all that big) I knew I'd love him. His voice is such a unique combination of assertiveness, sensuality, and vulnerability that changes to fit the mood of each song, and the topics he chose for each song were incredibly diverse, leaving Dolla to be an identifiable singer-songwriter rather than a faceless musician drawn in broadstrokes.

"Statistic" is one of many songs by him that will appear on this list. The song deals with struggles in the black community, with its chorus consistently reminding us of statistics of black men in prison, black men killed in gang shootings, black men dropping out of high school, and teenage pregnancies. Each verse following the chorus deals with one of the four topics in a stunningly deep and upsetting way that makes one contemplate things they probably wouldn't otherwise bat an eye at. Put with biting, unforgettable lyrics and a smooth, jazzy beat that nicely carries the harsh lyricism at hand, this is a truly hard-hitting song, emotionally and structurally.

As vital as empiricism is in a society, statistics also unintentionally generalize and make us forget that actual people represent those numbers, figures, and spreadsheets and weren't just spawned out of thin error. Dolla makes us remember that with this song in a brutally honest manner (in an approach he referred to as "The School of Hard Knocks"). Nothing is generalized in this song, and we get the feeling that these stories are based on true events, dealing with the people Dolla knew in his own life.

Tragedy struck for Dolla, however, on May 18th, 2009 when he was shot and killed at age twenty-one in a crowded area in Beverly Hills, California when he was going to finish work on his forthcoming debut album off of R&B/rapper Akon's label Konvict Music. The man who shot Dolla - Aubrey Louis Berry - was arrested and taken to trial and acquitted on the murder charges, claiming self-defense. Dolla never had a big single (only three ones released with minimal promotion), no debut album, and five mixtapes, most of them released posthumously. I have to say that even though he died young at least we got a great deal of music from him and weren't left wondering what could've been in terms of lyricism.

Dozens of songs by Dolla exist on the internet, most in an incomplete state, but almost all of them worth listening to. Don't worry, as stated, this isn't the last time he'll get a mention on "The One-Hundred Songs of Steve Pulaski" blog series. Yet that doesn't change things. Sadly, Dolla was just another statistic - rinse and repeat.

Give "Statistic" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY3cuSHfryY

Song #88: Toothpick - "Super Size Me"

Song #88: Toothpick - "Super Size Me" (2004)

Super Size Me

"Right now you have the urge to eat something..."

Super Size Me was one of the first documentaries I had ever watched and still one of the most entertaining films I've ever seen. I saw this film when it came out - at eight years old - and it still captivated me enough, mainly because it featured a corporation I was very familiar with and first-time-documentarian Morgan Spurlock knew how to take a serious subject and make it extractable and easy to understand.

Even from the first time I saw Super Size Me, I distinctly remembered its soundtrack, composed of wacky pop tunes and hilariously unpredictable songs that would often be directly germane to the subject matter at hand (IE: Ohio Express's "Yummy Yummy Yummy" and Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls" to name a few). One of which was Toothpick's "Super Size Me," a rap song, which had its instrumentation played at some points during the film but was played in its entirety during the film's end credits. I remember as a kid, who just got his first portable DVD player, fighting to get the film to rewind in order for me to hear this song again and again.

The song is still hilarious as it details the idea of desiring a quick fix for fast food which eventually results in bloatedness and obesity for the narrator. The song was so fast-paced, hilariously honest, and wildly entertaining that I just had to memorize it and keep it with me. That goal was met, and even after not hearing the song for maybe three years until today, I still remember all the words like I did in fourth and fifth grade.

A large part of the song's success is not just because of Toothpick's talent in singing all these complex and goofy lines at a solid, quicker pace but his voice in addition, which is soulful and easy to listen to thanks to its richness and deepness. Combine that with his infectious lyrics and melody and you have a song that's impossible not to sing along to if you know the lyrics.

Give "Super Size Me" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXsX7eoouzQ

Song #89: Ween - "Ocean Man"

Song #89: Ween - "Ocean Man" (1997)

The Spongebob Squarepants Movie - Music from the Movie and More...

"Ocean Man, the sequence of a life form braised in the sand; soaking up the thirst of the land. Ocean Man."

I saw The Spongebob Squarepants Movie in theaters with my father November 19th, 2004, the first Friday it was out. I remember anticipating the film all week and seeing it opening day was something I rarely did with films. After being mesmerized by the film's beautiful animation and wit, I always remember my fascination with the film's credit songs. Unlike most films, where credit music starts out with a popular or known song with lyrics before descending into simple instrumentation, The Spongebob Squarepants Movie featured songs with lyrics all the way until the final frame, which was something of an oddity. The other thing to note was, unbelievably, all the songs were great.

The songs went in the order of Ween's infectious "Ocean Man," The Flaming Lips' unique "talking-song" "SpongeBob and Patrick Confront the Psychic Wall of Energy," Wilco's incredible and motivating song "Just a Kid," which fell perfectly in line with the themes of the film we just watched, and finally ended with Spongebob's very own song "Best Day Ever." Just writing that out and remembering the joy those songs brought me brings tears to my eyes. If only my memories of yesterday's lesson in College Algebra or AP Macroeconomics could be that vivid.

Ween's "Ocean Man" is a strange little tune, with the band's vocals sounding as if they're being recorded and mix from deep in the oceans, as the bandmembers belt out goofy lines about living in the sea that make little sense. And let's not forget that addicting instrumentation either. This is a song that I can't accurately summarize in terms of why I like it; I simply find it as unabashedly unique and a song that sounds nothing like other songs I have heard in my life. The memories that rush back when I decide to give this one the time of my day on my phone are unbelievable.

Give "Ocean Man" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E5m_XtCX3c

Song #90: Blake Shelton - "Some Beach"

Song #90: Blake Shelton - "Some Beach" (2004)

Blake Shelton's Bar & Grill

"Well, he stuck that needle down deep in my gum. And he started drillin' before I was numb, some beach!"

Blake Shelton's "Some Beach," from the first time I heard it, was a unique and totally original song in my mind. Not only was Shelton coming so close to swearing but cleverly avoiding any bad words by creating a phrase one can say without being met with dirty looks, and it was an intensely relatable ballad dedicated to putting up with "one of those days."

The song involves Shelton's character having the day from hell, with his only goal to make it to the dentist's - which he is already thirty minutes late for - and run in and out. Instead, on his way there, he is cut off by an angry motorist, his parking spot intercepted by a schmuck in a Mercedes Benz, and, when he finally is seen by his dentist after an obnoxiously long wait, they drill in his mouth before the novacane is activated, resulting in extreme pain.

Rather than swearing up a storm, or shouting off violently, Shelton resorts to the phrase "some beach," obviously a play on the American insult or interjection "son of a bitch." Shelton proceeds to picture a beautiful beach where he'd rather spend his time instead of enduring the common annoyances he is currently facing.

This is one of the many music videos I anticipated on the Country Music Television (CMT) unconditionally as a child; I would sit in front of the TV, with monk-like devotion, awaiting this music video to be randomly selected in the lineup of the network's videos. I loved following its progress on CMT's Top Twenty Countdown, where host Lance Smith would countdown the top twenty music videos each week. This song perfectly replicates my bizarre obsession for a radio hit and perfectly articulates how devoted I was to watching a music video on Television.

This was before I knew how to work the internet (which didn't happen until about 2006 or so, despite some basic interaction with it in elementary school). Now, if I saw a video I liked, I'd download it off of AmazonMP3 to have on my Droid, or I'd put the music video on repeat on Youtube. Back then, I had no idea how to use the internet for leisure and resorted to simply sitting in front of the TV, hoping that three second fade-to-black from one music video to the next would lead to one of my current favorite songs. It was primitive and that's what made it special; the fact we can download and replay any song we want now using multiple devices is what, I believe, deteriorates their charm quickly and makes them get "older" quicker.

"Some Beach" is still a hilarious song with an inanely relatable line or circumstances, boasting an upbeat tempo, from an artist who was better when he wasn't anywhere and everywhere.

Give "Some Beach" a listen,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTT2LEyjdC4

Song #91: Toby Keith - "I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight"

Song #91: Toby Keith - "I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight" (2001)

Pull My Chain

"Well, I'm not talkin' 'bout locking down forever, baby. That would be too demanding. I'm just talkin' 'bout two lonely people who much reach a little understanding."

Toby Keith's chart-topping hit "I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight" marked probably the first of what would be many songs that I listened to, sung for years, and didn't realize what the song was really about until much later in my life. The song concerns a man who isn't looking for a serious relationship nor a mutually exclusive one - he just wants one night where he can have sex and be free of the obligations and requirements of a relationship. Not necessarily a "friends with benefits" type of relationship, but a one night stand.

Singing this in the backseat of my grandmother's car at age five, I had no idea what the hell the song was talking about (to be fair, neither did my grandmother). I was too busy singing along to what had to be some of the catchiest lyrics I had heard in my life. Even the music video, which was played constantly on the Country Music Television (CMT) top twenty countdown from 2001 to 2003, was a visually stylish piece of work, with lowlit blue backgrounds and a goofy array of bar characters that would later become profiled and more developed in Keith's future hit "I Love This Bar."

Having said that, I recall this song has my introduction to music with meanings that I didn't understand up front. Many country songs that I listened to around this time were easily understandable and I could get their messages quite easily. This one stumped me a bit and made me reconsider my knowledge and lyrical-comprehension.
 

Give "I'm Just Talkin' About Tonight" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMKTB95-LVk

Song #92: Keith Urban - "Where the Blacktop Ends"

Song #93: Keith Urban - "Where the Blacktop Ends" (1999)

Keith Urban

"I'm gonna kick off my shoes and run in barefeet; where the grass, and the dirt, and the gravel all meet. Goin' back to the well gonna visit old friends. And feed my soul where the blacktop ends."

All the teenage girls who think they've loved Keith Urban for years, get in line; did you own his debut album on cassette and have it on hand for easy access in your mom's car for it to be played? Didn't think so. In all seriousness, Keith Urban and Toby Keith were my go-to country singers when I was a child, mainly for their simple but wonderfully structured songs about life itself. 

Urban's "Where the Blacktop Ends" is no exception. It's a wonderful song about reminiscing, hungering, and reliving ones childhood memories when they're older and wiser. It shows a very young Urban, looking as if a young David Spade, Corey Haim, and Paul Walker were blended together and the creation given a tiny but present soul patch, dressed to impress, rocking on his guitar in an underground parking garage talking about how he wants to "kick off his shoes and run in barefeet; where the grass, and the dirt, and the gravel all meet."

The music video is edited together wonderfully, showing various different shots of Urban - sometimes looking as if he belongs in the Trenchcoat Mafia with dark sunglasses and a heavy black trenchcoat - with his friends, reconnecting, and playing their music loud. The song is immensely underrated and provides one with a feeling of nostalgia and personal adventure that is far too unsung in contemporary music - even in country music.

Give "Where the Blacktop Ends" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhsO7LnwyBI

Song #93: Nelly feat. City Spud - "Ride Wit Me"

Song #93: Nelly feat. City Spud - "Ride Wit Me" (2000)

Country Grammar

"I'm gettin' pages out of New Jersey from Courtney B telling me about a party up in NYC. Can I make it? Damn right, I'll be on the next flight. Paying cash, first class, sittin' next to Vanna White."

Nelly's "Ride Wit Me" was one of the first (quite possibly the first) rap song I ever heard, circa 2001 in the end credits of Scary Movie 2. From there on out, I was addicted to this song, to the point I was replaying the credits of Scary Movie 2 over and over again just to hear the song (I did that with another song that'll appear on this list in the near-future). 

"Ride Wit Me," from the first listen, for me, was addicting, from Nelly's rapid-fire lyrics, to his cocky, carefree attitude, to the slang-heavy phrases that mystified me as a young child and still do to some degree today (thankfully I got friends to help me out). The point is, even as a young child, I recognized this song had an aura about it, regardless of what it was. It was a song that I could play whenever I needed something to just take me out of my world and transport me into someone else's for a few minutes.

My favorite line of the song - quoted above - is one I took upon myself to memorize early on. I remember rewinding Scary Movie 2's credits at that specific part of the song in order to try and say the entire section of the song without getting tripped up. Even listening to this song before I wrote this, I replayed that part about six times and got it right four out of the six times. Some things never change and "Ride Wit Me" is one of my all-time favorite rap songs from an artist I still find intoxicating and underappreciated.

Give "Ride Wit Me" a listen,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9dp-jxGD2o

Song #94: Gotye feat. Kimbra - "Somebody That I Used to Know"

Song #94: Gotye feat. Kimbra - "Somebody That I Used to Know" (2011)

Making Mirrors

"You said that you would let it go and it wouldn't get you hung up on somebody that you used to know!"

Had I not had a friendship go down the tubes earlier this year and beared emotions similar to those emphasized in Gotye's breakout single "Somebody That I Used to Know," I maybe wouldn't have included this song in this list. Yet, even before that friendship (not relationship) ended, I found "Somebody That I Used to Know" to be an incredible song, unlike any other mainstream hit I ever heard.

I didn't hear this song for the first time until the fall of 2013 (to which another close friend said, "did you even listen to the radio in 2012?") on the monotonous "Blend" network on Sirius XM, which is constantly on at work, playing the same, recycled hits from several months back in a cycle. The station has about four great songs to punctuate its additional fifty or sixty which range from mediocre to downright awful. "Somebody That I Used to Know" is the silver-lining; an incredible song that gets mood, emotion, and perspective down to a tee.

The song begins by having a male voice (Belgian-Australian pop singer Gotye) give his side of a recently corrupted relationship, talking about how it was a miserable experience and so forth. What follows a mesmerizing verse (combined with an addicting instrumentation) is a chorus that leaps in pitch and one that makes me wish I wasn't tone-deaf so I could sing it marginally well. Then we have a female voice (New Zealand pop singer Kimbra) give her side of the relationship in a short and sweet sentiment. The song is impossible to explain well, due to the work appealing greatly to ones sense of sound and serving as a beautiful, melodic sensation, but it's uniqueness stems from giving both of its relationship parties a voice. Even most of the saddest love songs that were written based on true events didn't have the benefit of the other party (male or female) giving their take on what happened. 

But the song's chorus is what sticks with me the most, not just for its sound, but for how closely it mirrors my feelings on the aforementioned friendship that was tarnished. Some nights I think about how the song "Somebody That I Used to Know" would play out if me and the other person sung it and what we would say. This song struck a chord (no pun intended) when I first heard it and now it strikes one more personal; it's a subversive piece of work for a mainstream tune.

Give "Somebody That I Used to Know" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqRC5tquyU0

Song #95: "Weird Al" Yankovic - "King of Suede"

Song #95: "Weird Al" Yankovic - "King of Suede" (1984)

 "Weird Al" Yankovic In 3-D

"Thirty years in the same location I have stayed, there I am right next door to Willie's Fun Arcade. I got tough competition, but I'm not afraid. 'Cause it's my destiny to be the King of Suede." 

I wouldn't be surprised if die-hard "Weird Al" Yankovic fans wouldn't recognize this song. In order to have heard "King of Suede," you would have to be a "Weird Al" completionist or just be curious as to what sat next to some of his biggest hits like "Eat It" and "I Lost on Jeopardy" on his sophomore album "Weird Al" Yankovic In 3-D. Since hearing the track when I was that rare "Weird Al" die-hard fan around 2007, "King of Suede" stuck out to me as a unique track for Al, not only for its benign subject matter (more benign than usual) but his vocals and the quietly haunting melody that came with a song about a man who runs a successful designer clothes shop.

But that's not enough for this man; he has remained in the same location for thirty years, next door to a dive called "Willie's Fun Arcade," and his destiny is to be "The King of Suede." While some of the song sounds rather genial, the end takes something of a darker tone, silently indicating monotony in our narrator's life and the lack of fun and adventure outside of "the same old sale as yesterday." 

"King of Suede" is a fascinating gem of a song because its lyrics are fascinating in their weirdness, its melody and instrumentation are addicting, and the track is unique for Al because of its darker roots. The song is a parody of "King of Pain" by The Police, which, I confess, I've never heard, so I cannot judge on whether or not the song parodies the lyrics successfully or stays true to its melody. What I can say, however, is even after listening to all "Weird Al's" albums, I still find "King of Suede" to be one of my favorite songs by him.

Give "King of Suede" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFJNxuVmCoo

Song #96: Baha Men - "Normal"

Song #96: Baha Men - "Normal" (2002)

Move It Like This

"She says I should go to school to get my B.A.. But me, I want to be a DJ."

Some world music - and by "world music," I mean music from all over the globe - I really like and form an instant connection with, while some alienates me right off the bat; Baha Men's "Normal" stuck with me since the first time I allowed the group's album Move It Like This to go past track two on my mom's car CD player when I was four. The first two tracks on Move It Like This were the title track and "Coconut," respectively, and I relished those two. Every time one ended, I'd have my mom replay it again, sometimes louder than before because I loved the unique voices of the Baha Men and the infectious beats they'd combine with them.

You know the Baha Men, but you just don't know it; they're the same Jamaican band that made the song I have gotten enough of, which is the ballpark anthem "Who Let the Dogs Out?" (which doesn't mean what you think it means, FYI). Aside from concocting that awful ballad, the Baha Men hit three home-runs on one album, with "Normal" taking prominence in terms of having an actual meaning other than just being a track to made you get up and dance.

If you contemplate the lyricism behind "Normal," it's really an intriguing song, praising individualism and disregarding convention. It talks about how culture finds ways to dictate our behavior and how perception distracts us from doing what we maybe want to do. My favorite line from this, as quoted above is when one of the Baha Men state, "She says I should go to school to get my B.A.. But me, I want to be a DJ," showing how people - often times parents or relatives - sometimes want to pressure us into doing something when our plan is different and more appealing to us. As someone getting ready for college (who, admittedly, has thankfully had little opposition to being an English major other than from myself), this song really replicates a certain mood one falls into. Some days, I want to go right to college and show off what I can do. Other days, I want a fifth year of high school. And on rare days, I wish I could drop everything, grab my cat and my portable DVD player, and drive till I run out of gas. 

On a final note, if you're someone who likes to defy convention and live by your own rules, I can't see how you wouldn't be moved or empowered by the "So what?" verse in this song.

Give "Normal" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1u_Fz5AogU

Song #97: Rick Astley - "Never Gonna Give You Up"

Song #97: Rick Astley - "Never Gonna Give You Up" (1987)

Whenever You Need Somebody

"We know the game and we're gonna play it." 

The fact that Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" has become an internet meme/phenomenon and can no longer be taken seriously or enjoyed simply as a great song makes me sick. Most people of the new generation came in contact with this song through a misleading video or an internet meme that circulated in the mid-to-late 2000's on websites like YouTube and 4chan, whereas if you were born in the seventies or eighties, you'll likely remember the song for its radio airplay.

The point is is that "Never Gonna Give You Up" warrants a second-look from people in a mind not to giggle and obnoxiously masturbate over the fact that this song has garnered quite the reputation online but as a song that is genuinely moving and very loving. It's the kind of song I'd hope to have played at my wedding during my first dance. It's a song that shows deep love and affection for somebody in a way that is melodically communicated with Astley's surprisingly deep and easy-listening voice. Throw in a hilarious music video and you have one of the finest songs from the 1980's in my opinion.

Give "Never Gonna Give You Up" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

Song #98: Chief Keef - "Got Them Bands

Song #98: Chief Keef - "Got Them Bands" (2012)

Finally Rich

"She know papa got that cash; she know papa hella rich."

Chief Keef's "Got Them Bands" - which serves as one of the three bonus tracks to his debut album Finally Rich you'd get if you bought the deluxe edition - was my theme song for Homecoming 2013. For those who don't know me in person, and are unaware of what happened in September 2013, I was nominated Homecoming King and went on to win the title of royalty based on the senior class vote. For me, it was an enormous honor and a total surprise. I knew I had gone on to get to know many people in high school, but the fact that I had left enough of an impression on people that they felt I deserved such a heavy title was astounding. Not to mention, your archetypal Homecoming King is the football player; not the blonde kid with a mullet who wears gray every day and writes film reviews online. It was then I realized how many people supported me and, in turn, September 27th, 2013 - the day I was awarded the royalty and spent my evening at the homecoming football game - turned out to be one of the best nights of my life.

"Got Them Bands" was right there with me the whole time, during the nomination and my pump-up song the morning the announcement was going to be made at the all-school pep assembly, where I sat in business formal at a round table on the basketball court, with all the other nominees. Frequent, long-suffering readers will know I have an indescribable fascination with Chicago rap artist Chief Keef and his extremely vulgar, graphic music and "Got Them Bands" is precisely the song that fuels my fascination for the man.

The song is fast-paced, laced with production values that are bombastic and heavily prominent, and includes some of the most pompous lyrics you'll find in a rap song. Keef discusses how much money he has, how women respect him and know he has a lot of money, and goes into detail about the clothes he wears - clothes he obtains because he has a lot of money.

There is little originality in the song, but it never failed to get me in the mood and excite me for what's next. Every now and then, I blast the song and it brings back memories of Homecoming 2013 and how revolutionary that event was for my self-confidence and my personality. Everyone needs a boisterious anthem - this is mine.

Give "Got Them Bands" a listen, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TruwcHa4g4c