The Journey Back Entry 12: The Summer of ’65 Gets Progressively Better

The beginning of July 1965 saw the release of the appropriately named Summer Days (and Summer Nights!) by The Beach Boys. Apparently after the more progressive Today! , Capital Records asked Brian Wilson to tone it down a bit. The album features many of the traditional type songs from Summer Days but with a more layered production underneath. Once again, I’m drawn to the less surfy sound of the band and its the songs that have more instrumental experimentation that I was drawn towards while listening to this. Overall it isnt a bad album, its just not necessarily my cup of tea either. I think the fact that I’ve never lived in California also affects my  love for the band. They’re just too jolly. Take their most popular song on the album: “California Girls”. I recognize the importance but I cant say I enjoy listening to it.

1965 – Summer Days (and Summer Nights!) – Top Highlights

Then I Kissed Her – I love the guitar part on this song.

Girl Don’t Tell Me – I love the little vocal accents on this song. That “I’m the Guy-uy -uy!” part is so great. And the piano part in the background. And obviously minor key!

You’re So Good to Me – Ok so remember all that stuff I said about not liking how jolly the band is? Forget that this song always makes me smile! I think its the fact that they over sing it and it adds a sense of irony to the happiness that makes it infinitely more enjoyable. It helps that the backing music here is incredible. That addictive bass and drums accompanied by the “la la la” whiny vocals in the background. Reminds me of Muppet Babies. Actually most Beach Boys does. For better and worse.

Honorable mention for “I’m Bugged at My Old Man” as it gave me a great laugh.

 

So the theme of this article is progressively better album releases. The next to release was July 30th’s Out of our Heads by the Rolling Stones. Here the band continues its streak of releasing albums with a couple of really great songs and some other clear throw aways. Their sound hasn’t changed much mostly because once again we’re getting lots of covers. That being said, the standout single “Satisfaction” is on this album and it really does rock. Overall I would say this album is probably not “better” than Summer Days, just more down my alley.

1965 – Out of Our Heads – Top Highlights

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – What a riff!! So simple yet so addictive. What’s really interesting is that the distorted guitar was originally meant to later be replaced by a horn section. WHAT a different song it might have been! I’m glad it was kept with the guitar because it really is so immediately wonderful.

Cry To Me – I love Mick Jaggers wild vocals on this track. What really won me over was the line “Nothing could be sadder than a glass of wine alone!” Something about that image is just so wonderfully depressing.

Play with Fire – The Rolling Stones trying to be subtle?? Its so quiet. And that guitar part immediately following each line of “But dont play with me cause youre playing with fire.” is so mysterious. I think I just like the change of pace for the band and hope they pursue it further on future releases.

Not to be outdone by the Beach Boys or the Rolling Stones, the Beatles released their next album on August 6th 1965.  Help! accompanied a Beatles film which I have not seen. Still, no viewing of the movie is necessary to listen to the beautiful song writing and vocals on display here. If you remember I was disappointed in their last release of 1964 Beatles for Sale for being a quick cash in full of covers. Thankfully Help! is written by the band in full and is a much better album because of it. The Beatles are still a full on pop band but the songs are getting deeper. There’s more piano on the album and the instruments in general are taking more liberties from the traditional verse chorus structure. I’m nowhere near intelligent enough when in comes to recording techniques to comment on all the changes the Beatles are implementing but I can say that it sounds great. All that being said, its hard for me to review the Beatles albums in the comparison timeline because unlike most releases in 1965, I know how much potential the Beatles have yet to unleash.

1965 – Help! – Top 5 Highlights

Help! – The multiple layers in the first 10 seconds of this song alone are mind blowing. Lennon’s singing back against the harmonized cries for help and the bass and guitar underneath. I love the way the harmony part during the verses sings the same lines that Lennon is singing but at a different flow so that you hear them separately! It’s not a technique that always works but here it really succeeds. Plus the falsetto “Please please me” is such a great sing-a-long moment

I Need You – I promised I would keep following George Harrison’s songs. He gets 2 on Help! and my favorite is “I Need You”. One again a more mellow track. I love how sad that guitar sounds at the end of each line in the verse. It sounds like the guitar is dying. It’s a so bad its great kind of sound. The song reminds me of a sad puppy and to be honest I think that is what Harrison was going for.

She’s Got a Ticket To Ride – It’s hard for me to not like this song just based on the sheer amount of times I’ve heard it. I like how both Lennon and McCartney support each other vocally. Most important is the ending when the tempo changes and they sing “My baby dont care”. I love when songs break the verse/chorus mold for something special.

I’ve Just Seen a Face – What a beautiful song! I think this song continues to support the theory that I’m more of a McCartney fan than a Lennon fan. As I’ve mentioned before: while I’ve been listening to the Beatles for a long time, I’ve never payed attention to who wrote/sang what. Now that I’m exploring this aspect of the albums, Ive found that a lot of my favorites are McCartney songs. I like the twirling acoustic guitar in the song. Maybe its because a good acoustic guitar part is truly timeless to me, but I always find these stripped down songs to be my favorites on ’60’s albums so far (just like with Dylan).

Yesterday – OH boy. What can you say that hasn’t already been said? Its been voted the the best song of the 20th century and the greatest pop song of all time and for good reason. It’s only two minutes long but every second is well spent putting forth this perfect picture of heartbreak. What’s better than acoustic guitar alone? Strings of course.

I would end this entry here as its already overlong but the summer isnt over yet. August 30th 1965 saw the release of one more amazing album. Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited. At this point Dylan was stressed out by his fans for not liking his change in direction and this led to a song writing drought. Coming off of  Help! , there is an instant gravity about this album compared to everything else I’ve heard to this point. On my first listen, the second that “Like a Rolling Stone” began playing, I just had this… awakening? I dont know how to describe it. Just this overwhelming feeling that music can be better. That in 1965, we were just getting started with rock and roll. The biggest immediately  noticeable difference was in the lyrics. Flip through the songs on Help!; these two or three minute pop songs about love and loss. Then play “Like a Rolling Stone”. Just the sheer volume of lyrics, and the density. Just, wow. Now the album does feature a lot of the crazy wild rock Dylan present on Bringing It All Back Home that I wasnt such a big fan of but it’s definitely more developed and fleshed out here. I think one of the greatest additions is Bob Dylan’s wider use of piano and organ on this album. The longer, slower, piano laden tracks tend to draw me in more than the wild rock and roll ones. This led me to  songs like “Ballad of a Thin Man” and “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”. The album starts out with its strongest track but it ends on its second strongest. “Desolation Row” is an 11 and a half minute acoustic guitar epic and I’m just glad he’s continued to include songs in this style. Now up there for me with “It’s Alright Ma”. I mentioned the depth of the lyrics earlier and I will now preface this by saying that depth doesnt necessarily mean connections. A lot of times I have no idea what Dylan is singing about. I am certain that HE knew exactly what he was talking about. For me, its more similar to a blind food tasting. You may not know what it is youre eating but good tasting food is good tasting food. Just listening to Dylan’s solid imagery is a gift.

1965 – Highway 61 Revisited – Top 5 Highlights

Like a Rolling Stone – A perfect song and a perfect experience. Maybe Bob Dylan’s best song? Something about how it all comes together musically and lyrically and emotionally. There’s just a magic here. The way Dylan yells the chorus. The way the organ continually plays. The jangling of the guitars. The spare use of harmonica. Wow.

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/5124986″>Like A Rolling Stone</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user1858627″>Lea Becker</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

Ballad of a Thin Man – Haunting piano! Actually one of the first Dylan songs I ever heard and liked. Dylan’s talk singing works a lot better when he’s not yelling it in an extremely hoarse voice over jangling guitars. The cool factor of the piano adds a grounded feeling to Dylan’s talking. It works. It just works.

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/52383325″>Bob Dylan – The Ballad of a Thin Man</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user1114172″>Vasco Cavalcante</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

Queen Jane Approximately – The piano here is in complete contrast to that of “Ballad of a Thin Man”, here adding a feel good beauty both to Dylan’s vocals and the song itself.

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/29149789″>Bob Dylan – “Queen Jane Approximately” MONO</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user5966392″>Curtis Mayfield</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

Just Like Tom Thumb ‘s Blues – Once again its the beauty of the piano that won me over here. It’s hard to talk about a lot of Dylan’s songs because its so much better to just get them into your ears.

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/29785190″>Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user1076768″>Vince Vercillo</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

Desolation Row – I talked about this earlier but it really is all about the acoustic guitar here. It may be a bit repetitive but each note is played so beautifully that I have no problem listening to Dylan play it over the 11 minute length. This is a definitely a sit outside in the backyard and smoke a cigarette while staring at the night sky and contemplating life kind of experiences. Also if you stick around, you get one epic harmonica solo!

<p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/11222889″>Desolation Row</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user3675027″>Paul Tattam</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

So overall, the summer of 65 was really a great time to be a fan of rock music. While the Beach Boys and Rolling Stones released decent albums, and the Beatles released another great one, it was Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited that captured my heart. I think I’ll be shocked if I find an album in 65 that I like more. Still I’m excited to try anyway and dive further into the 60’s less famous acts. I really am desiring to pick up the pace of this journey so that I can get to more and more music but I know that will come with sacrificing some of the writing so I haven’t decided exactly what Ill do just yet. Again thank you if you were able to read all the way to the end of this. Let me know if theres an album you think I missed or you definitely want me to check out in the future!

Build a Workout Warm Up: Jem – 24

There is just something about the strings in “24” that scream: GET READY FOR BATTLE! “24” served as an excellent warm up as instruments are continually added until you reach the bouncy chorus and you body goes into full on power mode.

Build a Workout Mix: Successful Mix 9

If you’re not sure what this is about, start by heading HERE and reading the introduction to this section of my blog.

This mix is a reworking of Successful Mix 8 which you can read about HERE

First, the tracklist:

1. Demon God – Joe Hisaishi

2. Angel of Salvation – Galneryus

3. Corpus Christi Carol – Jeff Buckley

4. 24 – Jem

5. Dynomite – Ima Robot

6. Farewell to Cheyenne – Ennio Morricone

This mix, like the last one is really focusing around my new additional song type: The Monster. That track here is “Angel of Salvation” which I kept in the mix since it worked so well. Instead I basically changed around all the rest of the tracks.

I started things off with Joe Hisaishi’s “Demon God” from the film Princess Mononoke. Unfortunately the song was pulled off of youtube so I dont have the link. I think the song worked ok as a warm up. A bit slow on the build and it never gets quite fast enough but it does the job. I think it works better if you’ve seen the film.

Next come the monster “Angel of Salvation” which worked just as well as last time.

I followed this up with another cool down just like last time since “Angel of Salvation” is basically a 14 minute burn out. Jeff Buckley’s “Corpus Christi Carol” works perfectly as a cool down with its quiet music and colossal falsetto vocal work by my favorite vocalist of all time. This is actually the first song by Jeff Buckley I ever heard. Seriously consider this one!

There is just something about the strings in “24” that scream: GET READY FOR BATTLE! “24” served as an excellent warm up as instruments are continually added until you reach the bouncy chorus and you body goes into full on power mode.

I chose “Dynomite” for my burnout because I wanted something that only lasted a few minutes. The song has this really wild nature to it and it just gets crazier the longer it goes on. I dont think its a burn out for everyone but it will definitely serve if youre in the right mood.

Ennio Morricone for a cool down. Seriously what more needs to be said?

Not my best run for sure but nothing really fell apart either so I’m still naming it a success.

 

 

Build a Workout Warm Up: Cake – Arco Arena

Cake’s “Arco Arena” is a short mesmerizing fury of dancing guitars and chilling beats and builds at just the right pace to get my body pumped up again.

Build a Workout Mix: Successful Mix 8

If you’re not sure what this is about, start by heading HERE and reading the introduction to this section of my blog.

To keep things fresh, I decided to create a completely new mix today.

1. The Ecstasy of Gold – Ennio Morricone

2. Angel of Salvation – Galneryus

3. Interchange with Ohmu – Joe Hisaishi

4. Arco Arena – Cake

5. Naruto Main Theme – Toshiro Masuda

6. Requiem, Dies Irae – Verdi

7. Yakusoku no Chi – Nobuo Uematsu

With this mix comes a new structure that is mostly based around a new mix component: The Monster. The Monster is any song that is over 6 minutes though the time value is not set in stone. Basically this type of song serves to take over a large section of your workout and may include warm ups, strides, burnouts and cool downs within it’s massive length. Todays example is “Angel of Salvation” toping in at a whopping 14 minutes and 42 seconds.

Listening to “The Ecstasy of Gold” while trying to accomplish anything comes with insane results. Just walking down the street while listening to this song will provide you with an uncanny ability to shoulder other people out of your way as you slow motion bad ass walk to your next destination, oblivious to all those around you. The song works very well as a warm up when you really need to get your mind in the proper place for an extended workout. It didnt make me run too fast but it did set my mind in the perfect place for the rest of my run.

When I say that I had to create a new mix category just to add this song, I hope you get excited. This may be the single best song to run to I have discovered yet! This Monster of a song tops in at 14:42 and contains some of the best fast paced melodic electric guitar I’ve ever heard that. Liquid Tension Experiment quality guitar combined with Dragonforce levels of epicness and the sexiness of X-Japan makes up this absolutely fantastic mega burnout. I would say I was running at top speed for almost 10 minutes of its 14 minutes length, resting for a couple minutes during the middle extended guitar solo and during the final two minute finale. A Monster is a song you should only add to a mix with special preparation as it is designed specifically to push your body to its limits over an extended period of time. Each Monster must be used with very specific purpose since each one may allow for a different amount of warm up, stride, burnout and cool down. In the case of “Angel of Salvation” it is probably 80-90 percent burnout! This song will destroy your body in the best of ways. I cannot recommend it enough.

I followed up this Monster of a track with Joe Hisaishi’s “Interchange with Ohmu” as a cool down. Unfortunately I cant find a version on youtube so I wont be able to share this under two minute break I took.

After my short rest I went right into this brief warm up psyche myself back up. Cake’s “Arco Arena” is a short mesmerizing fury of dancing guitars and chilling beats and builds at just the right pace to get my body pumped up again.

The original Naruto anime has a ton of great music in it. Case in point with this main theme which works great as a stride. The song combines old school japanese drums, flutes and shamisen with modern drums and electric guitars to create a perfect blend of motivational strengthening music. Tell me this song doesnt make you want to rise above adversity and save the world with your friends.

I wanted one final burst of energy for the end of my run so I selected this piece from Verdi’s “Requiem” which for me brings up memories of Battle Royale. There is this sheer intensity to the strings and choir that brings out whatever you have left for one final lap. Great when you only have a minute or two left of burnout in you.

This beautiful choral piece off of the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children soundtrack is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever heard. What a great way to cool down for the final three minutes of your run.

So there you have it. I highly recommend this mix for those with a soft spot in their hearts for epic music and who really want to push their body to the limit.

 

 

Build a Workout Mix: Successful Mix 7

If you’re not sure what this is about, start by heading HERE and reading the introduction to this section of my blog.

This mix is an altered version of Successful Mix 6 which can be found HERE

1. HARDER, BETTER, FASTER, STRONGER – Daft Punk

2. We R Who We R – Ke$ha

3. Crazy In Love – Beyonce

4. Paper Planes – M.I.A.

5. Boom Boom Pow – Black Eyed Peas

6. Right Hand Hi – Kid Sister

7. Dont Stop the Music – Rihanna

8. My Life Feat. Lil Wayne – The Game

Since my last mix was already mostly pop and electronic music, I decided to completely dedicate this mix to that theme. I replaced “Boom Boom Pow” with some Daft Punk, and moved it down to replace “Chariots of Fire”. I also added “Paper Planes” and “Dont Stop the Music” as my new strides and “Right Hand Hi” replacing the B’z. Finally I added The Game’s “My Life” to replace the Offspring to complete my all pop oriented mix.

Daft Punk’s “HARDER, BETTER, FASTER, STRONGER” is a perfect Warm Up because the song has this natural build to it. It starts off working with these separate ideas and then starts playing them off of one another ratcheting up the songs intensity. When the 2 minute mark hits and the song reaches its best sections, my body was primed for my run. Couldnt ask for more.

“We R Who We R” and “Crazy In Love” continue to do their jobs.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, strides are all about consistent beats and a bit of variety to keep you interested. “Paper Planes” is a natural fit, providing a cathartic beat juxtaposed with an amazing hook full of gunshots and M.I.A.’s soft vocals. This one is a winner.

If there was any stumble in my workout, it was probably “Boom Boom Pow“. While the song worked great as a mix opening warm up, it stumbles a bit as a mid-mix song. At this point I was getting pretty tired and was looking forward to taking things down a notch. This song just starts with a bit too much intensity for the slower paced song I was hoping for. Still, I made it work and it wasnt enough to ruin or breakup my workout so I’m still claiming success. If anything it made me run a little bit faster and longer.

Kid Sister’s “Right Hand Hi” works for one very solid reason. A MONSTER BEAT! One of the most ferocious bass beats I’ve heard in recent memory, the song works great as a burnout because your body just cant think of moving slowly to something this aggressive. One weakness is that I really wanted to break out dancing when I heard it, which unfortunately is not a good idea on a treadmill.

Rihanna songs are almost always good for strides. They have fun beats that keep you moving and often times allow for some great sing-alongs to keep you entertained for their entire length. Plus who doesnt love Rihanna’s voice?

For a cooldown I selected The Game’s “My Life”. Two reasons. The first is I’m a big fan of Lil Wayne’s autotuned singing (Sacrilegious I know). The second is that a good emotional story is a great way to end a run, encouraging you to finish out those last couple minutes by keeping your brain occupied.

So there you have it. Another run finished and another mix completed.

Build a Workout Burnout: Beyonce – Crazy In Love

Just like Ke$ha, I think a love for the artist goes a long way in making her songs work for Burnouts. That being said, the horns that make up the back bone of “Crazy In Love” should propel anyone forward for that extra push. I ran to this a couple times and every single time, the horns shamed be into running that extra mile. How can you slow down with those blaring in your ears?

Build a Workout Warm Up: Black Eyed Peas – Boom Boom Pow

“Boom Boom Pow” worked perfectly for me. Each verse adds a bit to this ever changing futuristic beat. My body was constantly being pushed to run a little bit harder and a little bit faster which is EXACTLY what you want from a Warm Up. Plus that moment where Fergie asks Will.I.Am. to drop the beat pushed me into a frenzied dash. And excellent warm up for anyone more interested in electronic sounding music. I’ll also point out that I used the 4 minute radio edit rather than the 5 minute album version.

Build a Workout Mix: Successful Mix 6

If you’re not sure what this is about, start by heading HERE and reading the introduction to this section of my blog.

This mix is an altered version of Successful Mix 5 which can be found HERE

1. Boom Boom Pow – Black Eyed Peas

2. We R Who We R – Ke$ha

3. Crazy In Love – Beyonce

4. Poison – Bell Biv Devoe

5. Chariots of Fire – Vangelis

6. IT’S SHOWTIME!! – B’z

7. Du Hast – Rammstein

8. Gone Away – The Offspring

Its been a MONTH since my last workout post! The lesson here is that sickness is the absolute enemy to working out. I actually ran this mix a month ago, then got sick before I could write about it. Ran the mix again a few weeks later and then again was sick. I finally ran this mix for a third time last night and I’m finally getting a chance to sit down and write about it after throwing “A Feast for Crows” across the room to stop myself from reading it long enough to work this up. (See my Current Obsession)

Obviously if you remember Successful Mix 5, much here has changed. If things are working, I’d like to add lots of new stuff so that the lists will continue to build and you in turn will have more tools to work with. The only songs that remain are “IT’S SHOWTIME!!” and “Du Hast” which have been moved to the latter half of the mix.

We start off with Warm Up “Boom Boom Pow” which worked perfectly for me. Each verse adds a bit to this ever changing futuristic beat. My body was constantly being pushed to run a little bit harder and a little bit faster which is EXACTLY what you want from a Warm Up. Plus that moment where Fergie asks Will.I.Am. to drop the beat pushed me into a frenzied dash. And excellent warm up for anyone more interested in electronic sounding music. I’ll also point out that I used the 4 minute radio edit rather than the 5 minute album version.

Continuing with the electronic theme, I rolled right into “We R Who We R” for my first stride. The song just has this pulsing driving beat that works perfectly. Ke$ha is definitely a hate it or love it kind of pop star so if you dont like Ke$ha, definitely dont add this to a mix. If you love Ke$ha, this song could actually work as both a Warm Up (cause it will get your blood pumping) or as a Burnout (cause Ke$ha love has an huge intensity about it! 

Rounding out the electronic theme of this opening fast paced mix is Beyonce’s “Crazy In Love”. Just like Ke$ha, I think a love for the artist goes a long way in making her songs work for Burnouts. That being said, the horns that make up the back bone of “Crazy In Love” should propel anyone forward for that extra push. I ran to this a couple times and every single time, the horns shamed be into running that extra mile. How can you slow down with those blaring in your ears?

My second stride for the run is the amazing “Poison”. I absolutely cannot listen to this song and not picture Mac from Always Sunny doing karate chops in the Dance-Off episode. Seriously go find that video if you’ve never seen it. The repetitive drum beat kept me moving at a constant place for its entire four minute length while the different vocalists and playful nature of the song keeps your mind occupied along with your body.

This song was literally made for running to! I mean thats what the movie is about right? I will say that I still associate this song most with Will Ferrell doing is acrobatics in Old School. A perfect Warm Up because not only does it build at a soft slow pace, it motivates your psyche. Its very important that you listen to music that almost forces you to want to win and succeed because otherwise theres nothing stopping you from quitting. To be honest, making this your alarm when you wake up the mornings you plan to run couldnt hurt.

“IT’S SHOWTIME!!” and “Du Hast” I’ve already spoke about and each song still served me well near the end of my run.

Finally, I selected “Gone Away” for my cool down. I really wanted to use this song for a stride or burnout but it wasnt well paced enough for the former and not energetic enough for the latter. I think it works well as a cool down because it has that end of the movie feeling to it. There’s an element of exhaustion in the delivery that coincides well with those final walking minutes after a long run. If you still have breathe, feel free to sing along!

So thats it for this long delay mix post! Hopefully the next one wont need another month to go up. Im sure my belly is hoping the same.

 

 

Build a Workout Mix: Successful Mix 5

If you’re not sure what this is about, start by heading HERE and reading the introduction to this section of my blog.

This mix is an altered version of Successful Mix 4 which you can find HERE

1. One-Winged Angel (orchestral version) – Nobuo Uematsu

2. Du Hast – Rammstein

3. IT’S SHOWTIME!! – B’z 2003

4. Aaj Ki Raat – A R Rahman

5. My Body Is A Cage – Arcade Fire

6. Totalimmortal – AFI

7. Baby Boy – Beyoncé

8. Path Vol 2 – Apocalyptica

9. Aint No Sunshine – Bill Withers

10. Down to the River to Pray – Alison Krauss

The first thing you’ll notice about this mix is that it is LONGER! It’s a good idea that you constantly push yourself to run further and faster. To run longer, obviously you want to add more songs but you also want to have more strides since this is the portion where you can gain some steady productivity. Faster requires more burnouts to encourage you to run your hardest. Lets look at the changes.

I started off with a new warm up. Most people who know “One-Winged Angel” would immediately think of burnout. The final boss music for one of the most beloved videogame villain of all time. I chose the lighter orchestral version specifically so that I could use it as a warm up. The song does have a slowly progressive nature as it spins and winds toward something grander. This allowed my body to start off at a gentler pace and slowly work my way faster. It never got me running at top speed but it definitely prepared me for the additional ten minutes on the end of this run.

Industrial Metal and specifically Rammstein music lends itself VERY WELL to the stride. Strides are all about keeping a steady pacing which is most easily found in dance music. Metal rhythms are also great because a good guitar riff works much the same way. “Du Hast” works to combine these two elements into something great. The metal side adds lots of little guitar flourishes to keep your brain occupied and the dance side adds little digital noises like at 2:04. I must also mention that the drums are beast!

Continuing this so far all new mix, we have a new burnout in the form of B’z’s all caps “IT’S SHOWTIME!!” How can a song with a title in all caps and two exclamation points not be a burnout? This song was used a lot in Japan for national sporting events and even the 2004 Olympics. The song was specifically made to ramp you up and thats exactly what it does!

I was then treated to ANOTHER new stride! Here’s another from the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. “Aaj Ki Raat” is a monster of a stride topping out at over 6 minutes! It kept me going with its simple danceable beat and trance inducing singers mesmerizing me for the entire time. So pretty!

We finally get to some familiar ground with the newly located “My Body is a Cage” warm up which I absolutely loved in my last run and couldnt bear to part with yet.

This was followed by two other recent staples, the burnout “Totalimmortal” and the stride “Baby Boy” which both continue to succeed completely. I was definitely getting tired by the time I got to “Baby Boy” and thought I’d slow to a walk. The beat was so good I had to keep running for another four minutes!

“Path Volume 2” by Apocalyptica is one of the rare occasions where the band is accompanied by a singer. This song blew my mind the first time I heard it years ago and I knew it would work perfectly as a burnout. I mentioned how tired I was at the beginning of “Baby Boy” and this point I was ready to collapse. The haunting vocals and insane chugging cellos made it impossible for me to slow down and there I was off sprinting all over again!

Wow. What a beautiful cool down! Bill Withers sexy voice and thumping guitar slowed me way down so that I could stretch out my sore muscles walking the last couple minute of my workout in perfect bliss.

“Aint No Sunshine” was originally intended to finish off the mix. This leads to another lesson for a successful mix: ALWAYS CARRY SOME BACKUPS! In this case, my legs just werent ready to stop walking. They were really tensing up and cramping and I needed another couple minutes to walk it off. Thankfully I always pack some spares so I simply pulled out this wonderful acapella spiritual that I first heard on the O’Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack and walked off those extra couple minutes in peace. This song is the perfect way to cool down after a long and tiresome run.

Build a Workout Stride: The Beach Boys – I Get Around

I was a little nervous about using “I Get Around” as a stride but the songs happy-go-lucky nature helped get me in the mood to run and its simple straightforward pacing provided excellent motivation for a steady continued run. I guess surf rock can be used for running too.

Build a Workout: Successful Mix 1

If you’re not sure what this is about, start by heading HERE and reading the introduction to this section of my blog.

This mix was built off of Failed Mix 3 which you can read about HERE

This mix isnt perfect but it definitely got the job done without any hiccups! Let’s start with the playlist.

1. Akatsuki – Takanashi Yasuhara

2. I Get Around – The Beach Boys

3. Bloody Mary – Lady Gaga

4. Prayer for the Refuge – Rise Against

5. Seventeen Years – Ratatat

6. Toreador – Apocalyptica

7. Liberi Fatali – Nobuo Uematsu

8. Ringa Ringa – A R Rahman

9. Forever Young – Alphaville

I changed a couple things around for this one. I removed the second warm up at the beginning of the mix for a stride, in this case “I Get Around” and then coupled that with a second stride to keep me going longer. I moved up “Bloody Mary” to keep a familiar song at the beginning of my run. “Prayer for the Refuge” was moved to the burnout position followed by newcomer stride “Seventeen Years” and warm up “Toreador” replacing “Americano”. I put my burnout staple “Liberi Fatali” towards the end of my mix followed by the comfortable “Ringa Ringa” and closed out the mix with a new cool down: “Forever Young”

Lets start at the beginning. “Akatsuki” has been doing a great job as a warm up and today was no exception.

I was a little nervous about using “I Get Around” as a stride but the songs happy-go-lucky nature helped get me in the mood to run and its simple straightforward pacing provided excellent motivation for a steady continued run. I guess surf rock can be used for running too.

“Bloody Mary” worked well as a second stride as its beat continues to keep my legs pumping.

I first used “Prayer for the Reduge” as a stride but the jump in energy from the verse to the chorus didnt really help my body maintain a consistent pace. The songs hardcore punk sound definitely work well to get my blood pumping for another 4 minutes as a burnout at the end of a 6 minute stride. The song is definitely lighter than some of my other burnouts as the slower verse sections allow a bit of leeway in terms of pacing while still providing the all out fire necessary for a burnout during the choruses and the excellent guitar solo and final rush!

Ratatat’s “Seventeen Years” turned out to be a perfect stride! It bursts out in full on electric guitar pop beats and drums early on and keeps things fresh with some fun guitar solos. The longer a stride song is, the more you want there to be a bit of variety so your brain doesnt grow board from hearing the same basic beats. Here this is accomplished by the sheer variety of guitar riffs as well as a subtle shift in the energy of the song about halfway through. This “taking it down a notch” affect allows for your body to adjust accordingly either remaining at higher speeds or slowing down with the music to save some breathe. I can definitely see “Seventeen Years” used to anchor the center of a workout allowing for a quick cool down embedded in the stride before the next warm up.

Apocolyptica doesnt seem like the ideal work out music since it is performed by a band of all Cello’s with absolutely no drums. Thankfully the power of said cellos is more than enough to both keep the beat and encourages those muscles to build some adrenaline. Im a huge fan of stringed instruments and they always make me feel like I’m in some epic fantasy land. “Toreador” is actually a perfect warm up! It starts off very slow and deliberate. With each minute, layer upon layer is added to the song as it starts to grow a bit faster with each minute. By the two minute mark, your feet will be moving and the cello solos will keep you on your toes. This warm up  is great if you want a bit more of a gradual build that still leaves you sweating by the end of it.

At this point, you’ll notice the familiar “Liberi Fatali” and “Ringa Ringa” combination. I did this because it’s important that the songs near the end of your run are the most solid. When you’re tired and ready to quit, you’ll want to make sure you have songs guaranteed to rescue you from that place. Thats why I’ll always faze songs towards the back of my mix and add new songs towards the front.

I guess it all depends on how you feel about the genre but 80’s pop ballads are almost guaranteed to work as cool downs! Something about their cheesy synth pop nature and addictive over the top choruses just really works to make you feel like you had a successful run. “Forever Young” is no exception and it was the perfect endcap to a great run.

Overall I’m happy with my mix and my run today! I took a couple days off to visit my brother in Ann Arbor and celebrate Memorial Day with my family. It’s always tough to get back into a running mood after you’ve had a few days off. Unfortunately your body can also give up earlier due to lack of practice. I’d like to say it was partially due to this mix that I made it through todays run and still kept my time and distance up. Cant wait to run again!

Build A Workout: Failed Mix 3

If you’re not sure what this is about, start by heading HERE and reading the introduction to this section of my blog.

This mix was developed off of Failed Mix 2 which you can read about HERE.

Alright! I got to go for another run and while I didnt think the mix flowed well enough to be successful, I am definitely getting more fit! When I started this project I was putting in 2 miles over 30 minutes. Today I put in 3 miles in 34 minutes! Lets start with the track list.

1. Akatsuki – Takahashi Yasunara

2. In for the Kill (Skrillex Remix) – La Roux

3. Prayer for the Refuge – Rise Against

4. Liberi Fatali – Nobuo Uematsu

5. Ringa Ringa – A R Rahman

6. Americano – Lady Gaga

7. The Decisive Battle – Powerglove

8. Bloody Mary – Lady Gaga

9. Viva Rock – Orange Range

The first thing you’ll notice is that I’ve increased the length of my run. After the last mix came up short, I increased the length to about 34 minutes. The two new song additions were added at the beginning to extend my initial warm up period and replace a failed stride. That failed stride which also failed as a warm up (“Viva Rock”) was moved to the cool down position in a last ditch effort to make it work.

How’d it go? The weakness in this mix was definitely the new additions. “Akatsuki” was an excellent warm up.

I mentioned last time that it can be a bit short so I added a second  warm up in the form of “In for the Kill”. Unfortunately I just couldnt get into the build. It starts off perfectly which is why I chose it. Right up to the first Skrillex dubstep drop at the minute and half mark it works great. The drop just didnt propel me forward the way I thought it would. The other problem is that the song then kind of stalls out before going back to its original momentum. Warm up‘s really require a more consistent build to motivate you to get faster and faster. This one just left my body confused wanting to accelerate when the pace of the song wasnt allowing it to.

I had a similar pacing problem with “Prayer for the Refugee”. While the song is pretty frickin amazing, I just felt that it didnt have the steadiness required for the stride positon. The song has this ebb and flow between its verses and chorus that just doesnt translate to the consistency necessary. Still, I love the song and I’ll definitely be trying it out as a burnout in my next workout.

Speaking of burnouts “Liberi Fatali” continues to be an amazing one! Actually from this point forward I have no complaints until the end of the mix as the rest works as well as it did in my previous mix.

I moved “Viva Rock” to the cool down position. Can you tell I really wanted this song to work? It was too fast paced for a warm up and too jumpy for a stride. I thought it might still be able to work as a cool down with its marching beat. Unfortunately, even here it left me feeling uneasy and confused trying to make my body work when it should have been time to rest. Maybe there is a place for this song in a workout mix somewhere but not for me. I think its time I retire this song after three failed attempts.

Lets hope I learn from these failures and eventually produce another great mix to run to. Good luck on your work outs!

Build a Workout: Failed Mix 2

If you’re not sure what this is about, start by heading HERE and reading the introduction to this section of my blog.

Another run and another failed mix, a bit for the same reasons and a bit for different ones. This mix was developed off of Failed Mix 1 which you can read about HERE.

Here’s the tracklist:

1. Akatsuki – Takahashi Yasunara

2. Viva Rock – Orange Range

3. Liberi Fatali – Nobuo Uematsu

4. Ringa Ringa – A R Rahman

5. Americano – Lady Gaga

6. The Decisive Battle – Powerglove

7. Bloody Mary – Lady Gaga

8. We Are the Champions – Queen

Changes to this mix include adding a new warm up to the beginning of the mix, sliding  “Viva Rock” into the stride position previously occupied by “Born This Way” and replacing the stride “Government Hooker” with “Ringa Ringa”.

What went wrong? Two problems.

The first is that I still didnt like “Viva Rock” in my workout. It didn’t work out as a warm up so I thought it might as a stride due to its happy go lucky bounciness. I just wasnt feeling it. I felt like my body could never get into a good pace with the song while running which is never a good thing for a stride. I powered through it but at the end of the day, its possible “Viva Rock” just isnt meant for running.

The second and more important problem was mix length. This was actually my most productive run so far! It could be that it was my third one this week and my body is becoming more accustomed to it. I made the changes to this mix last minute and failed to look down at the length of the mix ahead of time. Currently I’ve been running 30 minutes and you’ll notice my first two mixes were approximately 32 minutes in length. I like to tack on a little space just in case. This mix clocked in at 28:21! If it had been a tiring day where I didnt feel like going the distance it wouldnt have been a problem. Instead, I had completed my usually distance at 25 minutes and was definitely ready for another stride to keep me going! Instead I was served a cool down and there went the end of my workout. Lesson: Know what you want ahead of time and plan for it. Now that I know my body is developing a bit for longer runs, I’ll either have to increase the length or increase the intensity. Either way this mix just didnt reach that standard.

How did the run actually go?

I started off with the Naruto villain theme music “Akatsuki”. This was an excellent warm up! The song has a full on chorus and lots of organ which are huge pluses in my get pumped to work out brain. The song also has a nice level build giving me enough time to get into the mood. The song keeps heaping on tension so that by the end of the two minutes youre ready to go. If the song has any weakness to take note of, it is definitely the length. This song being two minutes is probably what docked my overall time on my mix. Know yourself, if you need more than 2 minutes of warm up, you may want to tack this on the beginning of another warm up for some extra time.

“Viva Rock” once again disappointed as I mentioned above.

“Liberi Fatali” was just as excellent as ever as a burnout.

You may recognize “Ringa Ringa” from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. I find that the best strides have a consistent drum beat. This song is just 4 and half minutes of stride bliss. The slick tapping drums kept my body moving and the vocals kept my mind distracted and entranced the whole time keeping from thinking too deeply about my run. Thats a good thing.

“Americano” continues to provide a great mid-level warm up that brought me out of my stride to and even faster paced run.

I was starting to get tired but once again “The Decisive Battle” kept me racing for another 4 minutes!

“Blood Mary” rounded out my run with another encouraging stride. All I wanted to do was head into another burn out when it ended.

Unfortunately I went into “We Are the Champions“, my cool down. I definitely felt like a champion, I just wanted to go further.

So yes, another failed mix but its only by failing that we can learn to succeed! Thanks for continuing to read. I hope soon I’ll add enough songs and ideas that you can begin building your own mixes. Please comment, share, like and stay connected.

Build a Workout Stride: Lady Gaga – Bloody Mary

If I haven’t beaten the point home yet (no pun intended), the beat is the most important part of a good Stride. You want it to have the right amount of push in it to keep you going. You also want it to have enough variety that you dont get bored. Too much variety and it looses its ability to keep you going at a steady pace. Bloody Mary is a perfect example of a Stride done right.  The beat that drops at the 19 second mark has just the right amount of depth to put my foot down with conviction on every pace and the chorus keeps the stride steady while also changing things up and pushing you forward to the next time that deep Nine Inch Nails beat comes back in.

Build a Workout Warm Up: Lady Gaga – Americano

Americano is another great Warm Up and works very well in the center of a run to bring you back after a moment of rest. It starts off slow enough with some great acoustic guitar. Then you get all these “La-la-la” bits with the hand clapping that start to speed you up and once you here that gun get cocked, you’re ready to burst into a sprint. The song does a great job of slowly building on itself to get your body moving faster and faster.

Build a Workout Stride: Lady Gaga – Government Hooker

Ok now I’m ready for Government Hooker. I actually am not a huge fan of this song but I LOVE the beat for a Stride. It has this constant bouncing beat with these little digital noises that keep you going and going. One thing about Strides is that they arent necessarily songs where you are guaranteed to be running fast. As long as they keep you at a specific pace, whether that be 3mph or 6, then they are doing their job.

Build a Workout Burnout: Lady Gaga – Judas

For me, Judas is a Burnout song. Burnouts are always tricky because your emotional attachment to the song plays a big part in how much it gets your blood pumping. The epic feel of the opening already has me in its grasp and once the song reaches the 37 second mark and the beat drops, I couldnt stop my body from sprinting if I wanted to. A Burnout needs to make you FEEL powerful. It doesnt have to do this every moment as long as its sprinkled enough throughout the song to keep you going. For me, its the moment where Gaga sings “Bring em down down, and then sings a wordless ah ah section. Today my body was ready to give out halfway through the song. Then the bridge came on and I was back to sprinting. A good bridge can keep a Burnout going longer and this is very important since these are definitely the most tasking sections of the run. Most of the time, I would say to try to keep a Burnout under 3 minutes. Judas is an acception for me.

Build a Workout Stride: Lady Gaga – Born This Way

Born This Way  has a great beat for a Stride. The most important thing about a Stride is that the beat encourages you to keep with it in repeated steps. The underlying bass beat of the song keeps me going every time and a sing-song chorus always helps you in the mood to move. The “OOH there aint no other way, baby I was born this way” has such a happy bouncy feeling to it that I always find myself literally leaping with each step. Once again, Gaga adds little flairs throughout her songs so that you don’t feel like you’re listening to the same exact thing for 4 minutes.

65. Panic at the Disco – Pretty. Odd.

 

Originally named Panic! At the Disco, their first album had an interesting dichotomy. The first half of the album was electronic in nature featuring synthesizers and drum machines. An intermission in the center of the album featured an electronic beat that fizzled out before returning as a grand piano! The second half of the album then featured organs strings and accordions replacing the electronic instruments of the first half. Naturally, this second half is what interested me. It also takes on a vaudevillian and theatrical sound that vocalist Brendon Urie is perfect for. Still, the album as a whole felt a bit disjointed and inconsistent with some songs being much more addictive than others. When Panic at the Disco finally released Pretty Odd, it was to great shock as it sounded like neither their electronic music nor their theatrical music! Instead, it sounded like a full on tribute to the Beatles late 60’s and early’70s sound complete with multiple vocal harmonies, horn and string sections and a multitude of other instruments. The band even has its opening track featuring the line “You don’t have to worry cause we’re still the same band!” At first I was taken aback and a bit disappointed that they hadn’t continued with the theatrical nature. After a few full listens of the album, those fears were gone. While the music definitely is a tribute to the Beatles, it isn’t a carbon copy. The band infuses their theatricality into the style to create an insane hybrid full of time signature changes and insane belts from Brendon Urie. The album has this amazing momentum that keeps it moving forward like a marching band. This mixture of old sounds with new techniques has actually elevated my love for it above the music it was influenced by. Tragically the band broke up after this album so I don’t think we will ever see a sequel but I’m still happy with having this one perfect experience from them. My favorite part about the album is the amount of variety present on a single track. There are multiple layers of minor instruments doing all sorts of different things to enhance the track. The backing vocal parts all add an extra beauty without taking away from Brendon’s more theatrical vocal style. The album also has tons of image-laden lyrics that provide good sing-along fodder as well as some treasured pictures. If youre a fan of the late 60’s early 70’s sound and you’ve never given this album a chance, I think it’s time to change that.

What does it make me feel like?

 

I’m experiencing my own magical mystery tour, dancing through the streets in outlandish costumes with the strangest people.

What to Listen for Track by Track

– We’re So Starving is the perfect intro track. Beautiful vocals from Brendon Urie, surprise musical twists and time changes, plus a full on orchestra and some sexy guitar. I am not worried.

– The first couple seconds of Nine in the Afternoon are as perfect as a song can get. The “End of the world” harmony also always gives me chills. Plus that guitar that’s dancing through the song! So sexy. The horns are also awesome. Plus the insane reversing song at 1:14 that slows the beat a bit! So many amazing things in just this single track. And then 2:16 when everything but the acoustic guitar, clapping, and vocals round out the chorus! You just know the album is going to be amazing!

– Once again, the guitars win on She’s a Handsome Woman

– Brendon’s vocals on the verses of Do You Know What I’m Seeing? are so wonderful!

– MY favorite moment on the whole album is the first 15 seconds of That Green Gentlemen when Brendon says “Things are Shaping up to be pretty odd!” and they hit that bell!

– The random ukelele of I Have Friends In Holy Places and the old school recording sound

– The quiet loveliness of Northern Downpour. The lyrics on this album. Wish I could mention all of them.

– When the Day Met the Night is definitely one of my favorites on the album. The love song lyrics about the Sun and the Moon, not to mention the slow build and addition of instruments and drums is executed just right here. Favorite part is at 2:25.

– The “My Hair” section of The Piano Knows Something I don’t Know

– The “Yellow Submarine” feeling of Behind the Sea

Example Track

72. Cake – Comfort Eagle

 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: When you want Cake, there really is no other band you can listen to. I’ve looked a long time and even bands I’ve been told were similar, never were. I think that’s where Cake’s power comes from. The first time you hear Cake, you probably think, “What… is…. Going on?” I sometimes wondered whether it could even be considered music thanks to the completely talky nature of lead singer John McCrea. What you don’t realize is just how addicting Cake actually is. What they lack in vocal variety, they more than make up for in sound. There are SO MANY amazing little parts in every Cake song and you WILL want to hear them over and over. As I type this, I’m listening to the opening track on the album and I’m completely distracted because there is constantly something I love happening in the background. If you’re someone who looks for the little parts in music, Cake will be crack to you. I’ve mentioned in the past how I can latch onto something an artist will only do once in their entire song. How I hunger for that little part to happen. Maybe it’s a three note guitar piece or a blast of trumpet. Cake will have literally ten of these moments in a single song. Even John McCrea’s vocals will start to get to you. You’ll love the way he pronounces a specific word and laugh every time. The best part about Cake is they have some CRAZY outlandish lyrics that make remembering them very easy and literally ANYONE can sing along because all you have to do is talk. What makes Comfort Eagle my favorite album is how much I love every song. On almost every Cake album there are hits and misses. Some amazing songs and some throwaways. Comfort Eagle was the first that I felt had no weaknesses. It also stands a perfect 37 minutes of music so you get your fill of Cake without getting too stuffed. I highly recommend Cake as roadtrip music. It is full of amazing funky beats for rolling down the highway and everyone can have fun laughing and singing along. Lets be honest, Im into some dark music. Cake will make you dance. It will make you feel healthy and happy to be alive. You will make friends. You will enjoy your life. This may be daring to say considering where I am on my list of reviews but I feel that if there’s one album I hope you take away from this list, let it be this one. Everything else on here fits into a better-defined genre and you may find another path to those bands. If someone doesn’t introduce you to Cake, you will never discover them through another band. Don’t let this amazing unique band slip by.

 

What does it make me feel like?

 

I’m on the ultimate summer road trip with all my friends.

 

What to Listen for Track by Track

 

– Let me at least dissect one. Opera Singer’s best moments for me:

– Opening drum beat

– Funky guitar at 0:05

– Clapping at 0:09

– “Hey!” at 0:14

– Trumpets at 0:20!

– Chugging guitars at 1:03

– Bass Line at 1:08

– New guitar part at 1:29

– Trumpets at 1:58

– Breakdown at 2:22 and the “Yay!”

– The guitars and trumpets coming in for the final chorus

– Bass line outro

– in fact really just how all the elements are combined for the outro

– The guitar beats of Meanwhile, Rick James…

– The bass beat of Short Skirt/ Long Jacket

– The 1:36 area of Commissioning a Symphony in C where the guitar solo is

– Everything about Arco Arena! One of the best instrumentals of all time!

– Precisely 2:34 of Comfort Eagle. The second that bass takes it down and spreads out the beat, with McCrea’s voice echoing and the slop clapping and the eerie horns! That is CAKE MAGIC!

– I really really want to dissect the magic of Long Line of Cars but I will leave it to you! There is so much to discover in this song. Just the guitar and bass beat alone.

– Some of my favorite Cake Lyrics appear in Love You Madly. Reminds me of dc Talk and I always want to sing along. Once again so many little parts too!

Example Track

The Journey Back Entry 5: More on Dylan, Joan, and the Beatles Mostly

The Rolling Stones were definitely the highlight of the first half of 1964. I will say that in the meantime I was still in my catch up phase on Joan Baez. I stated early my dislike of her 1961 album Joan Baez Volume 2 but I decided to give her 1962 release Joan Baez In Concert. (someone seriously needed to give her some help in the album titles department.) Im sure she’ll name her 5th album #5! Oh wait… she did? Nevermind. The point is I was happily pleased with this album. The important change in this album over the previous two is that its a live album. I complained that her second album sounded like she phoned it in and that she didnt seem very excited or passionate. The live performance definitely brings back some of that magic from the debut. I still think the debut is my favorite as this one has some moments in it that both add character and bring down the album. A good example would be “Kumbaya”. She asks the audience to sing a long with her and makes a joke about how they shouldnt be nervous but all this is being recorded. On the one hand it made me like her better. On the other, it took me out of that magical place of being entranced in her music the way the debut captured me. I definitely enjoyed this one more than the last so I will continue to listen to her follow up. Can you guess what its called? If you said Joan Baez In Concert Part 2 then you are starting to understand her creativity.

I will share this one Highlight from Joan just in case you’ve never heard her and want to get an idea.

While I move forward through this journey, I must share the fact that I dont put down the old stuff. I’m in a place of continually listening to everything that comes before while adding new albums on a regular basis. I mentioned before that the story of Bob Dylan’s The Times they are a-Changin’ wasnt finished and I’d like to pick that up again here. I got really sick last week. When it gets bad enough I dont even like listening to music anymore. The first day I started feeling a bit better, I took a drive and put on Times again, this time starting with a selection of songs on the album that my friend Jacek told me I should focus on. Something about being in a weakened, tired state helped me understand the darkness better. Bob’s soft grating voice seemed the perfect soothing melody for my tired worn down body. Listening to songs like “North Country Blues” about the death of a mining town or the passive angst of “Boots of Spanish Leather”. They just reached in deeper this time around. The album is still my least favorite of the three since I desperately miss Bob’s playful and wild nature. Though I wish he was having more fun, I do appreciate this album a bit more now. 

1964 – The Times They Are a-Changin’   Top 5 Highlights

One Too Many Mornings – Bob Dylan heart break songs are still the highlights for me.

Only a Pawn in Their Game – The music is a  little more playful than the rest of the protest songs and its short length makes it much easier to stomach

North Country Blues – It’s really dark but I like the guitars and the story

Boots of Spanish Leather – My favorite on the album. Like I said, those broken heart songs. (This is the only version I could find on youtube)

When the Ship Comes In – A true revenge song. Yikes this one bites.

My next step after The Rolling Stones debut was the Beatles release to once again put themselves on top. A Hard Day’s Night was released as a soundtrack to go alongside the movie of the same name featuring the Beatles. I did watch the movie once many years ago but I want to watch it again now for full affect. I have listened to the album quiet a few times both on this journey and before. There is so much growth hear and I think the major love goes to the chords! The Beatles just know how to create these amazing unique chords and chord changes in the middle of songs that add this extra wow factor to their music. I stated before that I already have a pretty wide love for the Beatles work but that I’ve never gotten down into the nitty gritty of who wrote what and who sings what. Once again, it seems that I’m a big McCartney Fan, with most of my favorites being sung and/or written by him. That doesn’t mean I dont like Lennon. I also like Harrison’s vocals once again on his feature track and I’m interested to see where he goes.

1964 – A Hard Days Night – Top 5 Highlights

A Hard Days Night – The opening chord still sends chills down my back every time. I also just really love this song. The idea of working really hard all day and having the worst time and then coming home and having the woman you love hold you and make everything feel all right. So perfect. My favorite Beatles song at this point. Also worth pointing out the awesome guitar part at 1:20 and also COWBELL!

I Should Have Known Better – My favorite Lennon track on the album. I think listening to Dylan has given me a much greater appreciation of the song because that harmonica is wonderful!

If I Fell – I love the intro to this song. Something I think the Beatles continue to do well is create little sections of their songs that are extra special and elevate the song for more listens.

And I Love Her – What a beautiful love song. The combination of McCartney’s voice and that finger picking guitar makes this one of my favorite Beatles love songs.

Can’t Buy Me Love – One of the first Beatles songs I loved. I like the simple walking bass line and the lyrics. And of course the guitar solo.

So in summary, Joan Baez takes a step towards her initial glory, Dylan reminds me that he is still awesome and the Beatles cement themselves as solid song writers. Next time, I’ll be adding in some more new bands. Thanks for continuing to follow my journey.

Current Obsession 03/04/13: pomDeter – Call Me a Hole

 

There are good mashups and then there are ones that are so evil, they should never be shared. This is one of those. And yet here I am sharing it because I am obsessed! Thanks to my brother Josh for turning me onto it. Or maybe not! Who could ever conceive of mashing the super angry 90’s rage anthem “Head Like a Hole” with this decades cheesiest pop song “Call Me Maybe”?? Thankfully, Carly Rae doesnt get any singing time here. Instead we get Trent’s angry voice completely pacified by the pop cheese strings of “Call Me Mayby” in what will either be consider worthy of sainthood or damnation. As a pretty big Nine Inch Nails fan, I can say I have definitely gone the route of petitioning for sainthood. This is a brilliant Mashup. One of the best I’ve heard because it succeeds so well by mashing two songs to create an experience that you definitely wouldnt be able to get any other way. I love it. I’m seriously on my fifth straight listen right now. Happiest thing I’ve heard in a long time!

Song of the Day 04/08/11: Jason Mraz – Wordplay

Ok so this is almost completely based on one simple fact. I never really listened to Jason Mraz, ever. I didnt know anything about him except that he sang that song Im yours. So what got me to finally listen to his music? His last name is Mr A – Z!!!!!!!!! That got me so excited. I dont know why, maybe it was the sickness but it made me laugh so hard and it was so clever that i just kept saying it over and over. To be honest im still in shock. Yeah so…. yay song of the day!

The Journey Back Entry 4: I May Have Lost the Battle but I Won the War!

I said last time that I was moving on to 1964. It does however seem there are still a couple albums to check out from that time period. That being said, Entry 4 shall deal specifically with my reactions to the first half of 1964.

Lets start with January 13th as Bob Dylan releases his much anticipated third album The Times They are a-Changin’! I’m not going to lie, I had high hopes for this one. So many people mention this song and this album when they talk about the influence of Bob Dylan. Remember I know hardly anything about his career. What I knew going into this album was that he released a kick ass, very raw debut of covers followed by an excellent album of new material both of which have continued to grow on me since then. I wanted the Times to be the next step forward into his career of awesome…!

Sadly, I came away completely disappointed upon my initial listen. Gone were the happy go lucky blues numbers. Gone was basically any sense of tongue in cheek or cheeriness. In place of it we get stone cold “pointin fingers” songs that attack specific issues going on in 1964. I can see why people were riled up by these protest songs, but as songs, they are severely lacking. Gone are Dylan’s amazing guitar skills, replaced here, by boring repetitive plucking noises that I could do nothing with. On top of that, the album feels like a downward spiral of lyric upon lyric of angry whining. This album was just a total downer. That was my first impression. “Boots of Spanish Leather” was ok.

My good friend Jacek who loves Bob Dylan has been writing me reviews to go along with the albums and I was terrified of checking out what he had to say about the album. I knew he was going to love it and I just absolutely did not. Low and behold, his review actually touched upon all the problems I had with the album. Especially the idea that this album was so much of the same! Where as The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan felt disjointed and inconsistent, The Times They are a-Changin’ feels TOO consistent. There’s no variety. No changes. No fun. I also found out that at this point, Bob Dylan was back with Suze Rotolo (you know the political one with the snobby parents) Then it all made sense. Have you ever had a girlfriend you wanted to impress? Bob didnt write these songs because he wanted to. He wrote them because people wanted to hear them. “Masters of War” was an excellent protest song with real emotion and feeling behind it. People wanted more “Masters of War” so Dylan gave them an entire album of it. It’s just that I dont think he was really that into it. This is what resulted. Now you know I’m not into negative reviews but here, I feel obligated to express this part of the journey as it is very important later on. This is not the end of my Times journey but I’m going to leave it alone at this point where you find me, disappointed that Dylan finally let me down as a song writer.

1964 has a lot of amazing releases in it I wanted to check out so I decided I would just go month to month and check out the ones I wanted in order. My next stop was the Hollies debut a week later, Stay with the Hollies. The most important member of the band for me was Graham Nash. I am very interested in CSNY so I thought I should check out the origins of its members. Graham Nash started out with the british pop group the Hollies. Once again, I came up disappointed! To be fair, I will confess to only listening to this album once. For me, that was enough to know I wasn’t going to find much here. For one, the band just sounds like Beatles-wannabes. The band was discovered during a time when Beatlemania was underway and every record label wanted to grab as many sound- alike bands as possible. The real problem is not that they sound like the Beatles. The problem is that Stay With the Hollies like most debuts of the time is full of cover songs. If I’m going to listen to a bunch of harmonizing 60’s pop singers cover music, I’ll just stick with the Beatles. I am interested to hear what the band has to contribute once they start writing their own music so I figure Ill check back in on them in a few years.

Now for the good news! It sounds like my journey hit a real downer in 1964 and it did for a bit but April rolled around and brought the year some character. Now I mentioned the last two albums so you con understand where I’m coming from when I finally picked up The Rolling Stones, debut album of the Rolling Stones. I knew that once again, the album was going to be a debut loaded with covers. There is only one original track. I’ve listened to a bit of the Rolling Stones before and never been too excited about what I heard. So… What did I think?

THIS is why Time Machine has been such a wonderful way to go back and discover music. The album is a VERY standard rock album. Compared to music of the present, I would probably consider it simple and “Not bad” had I heard it on a whim. However, after coming off the down in the dumps and politically stuffed borefest of Times and the absolute unoriginality of the pretty boy Hollies’s record: WHAT A BREATH OF FRESH AIR! Right off the bat with “Route 66”! The song was playful! It made me want to dance! And Mick Jagger! What a lovely voice! So hoarse and whiny but in the best of ways. And no harmonies! Just him singing against a funky bass and wily guitar and some raw drumming. This was rock and roll! Their song choices for cover were old rhythm and blues numbers that just had such a wild and danceable feel to them. It’s hard not to compare them with the Beatles since they were the other premiere group of the times and I have to say, I was really feeling the Stones. The Beatles are always smiling and happy. The Stones just seem more grumpy and cool. “Bad Ass” I think is the term that comes to mind for me. If the Beatles were the good looking guys in preppy cloths in high school proclaiming their love for women in a poetic fashion, then the Stones were the dudes in leather jackets who could give two shits and yet still ended up with the girls because every girl likes that bad boy act. In 1964 I just cant picture the Beatles singing a song like “I Just Want to Make Love To You.” The album had me laughing and head banging along. The lyrics were easy to pick up and sing along. What a wonderful debut! Definitely better than the Beatles Please Please Me. The attitude also carried over to the music. Where as the Beatles music all seems carefully constructed and thought out, recorded to the best of their ability, the Stones sound like they just banged it out in half an hour in someones garage so they could get back to trying to get women to sleep with them. There is just this “Wall of Sound” quality to the songs that feels like every instrument  is trying to be louder than the rest. The sound is definitely quantity over quality but I think it reflects their personalities really well. I touched on this before too but I think Mick’s singing also makes a huge difference. Instead of calculated beautiful four part harmonies, we just get Mick WAILING along. It is wonderful! I once heard someone tell me that all rock music can be put into one of two categories: The Beatles, and the Stones. I’m starting to agree. I cannot wait to see what the band does once they start to write their own material but for the time being, I’m content to hear them cover some more R & B! I cant wait to hear their follow up!

1964 The Rolling Stones Top 6 Highlights

Route 66 – I just love the playful nature. Just makes me want to dance. And Mick’s whiny vocals are a big highlight. I also love the bass, guitar and drums which all feel separate, uniquely raw and awesome.

I Just Wanna Make Love to You – I love the way Mick’s vocals are so loud they crack and distort the sound of the record. The harmonica here is used to great affect as well. And the lyrics. The first time I heard it I just thought, “The Beatles would not sing this!” and after coming off the copycat Hollies, that was just what I needed.

Mona – Mona is by far my favorite song on the album. I just love the laid back nature of the song. The way it kind of just meanders on with this amazing beat under it and Mick howling over it. It’s really sexy. And whenever the guitar comes in to give Mick’s voice a break, it does some really cool sliding stuff. I was excited about the first couple songs but this Bo Diddley cover can stand up to some of my best music. I just cant get it out of my head. I think Mick could sing me to sleep with this one(in a good way. lol)

Now I’ve Got a Witness – This is not one of my favorite songs on the record. I’m putting it here because I got really excited about it for one reason: Its an instrumental!! During my time travels, I had yet to spot a single instrumental track. Songs were meant to be sung it seems outside the world of Jazz. It made me really happy because to me, the instrumental is a staple on most great rock albums and here it just felt so innovative. I’m sure if I went farther back in time, I would probably realize it wasnt but in my limited knowledge and as my first time travel experience with it, I just had to point it out!

Carol – Once again, it is the playful nature of the song that really got to me. Every time Mick cries out “Oh Carol!” I just love how personal it feels. The guitars here I find really fun as well!

Tell Me (You’re Coming Back) – This is the one Stones original on the album and I really like it. The guitars are cool, the drums are laid back, and the Stones do harmony different! Where as the Beatles harmonies sound so pitch perfect and beautiful, the Stones manage to make even their harmonies sound wild and manly. It feels more like a wing man pitching in on a date request. They are all just kind of singing whatever they feel like coming in and out and most importantly, sounding really whiny. I just love that they aren’t trying to sound like the Beatles. It’s working for me! Interestingly, I read about the Stones writing and how their manager really wanted them to write some original material. They didnt feel they were quality writers and would write songs that they thought would prove they were bad song writers so their manager would stop asking. Obviously that plan failed.

I’m going to stop here since I’ve talked quite a bit and I think I’ve also shared the next great part of the journey. Sometimes you need to lose the battle in order to win the war. Dylan and the Hollies felt like uphill battles that yielded few results (Or at least so I thought at the time, in the case of Dylan, I should let you know that this is still not the end of the journey when it comes to Times, but more on that another time!). However, those failures perfectly set me up for a major victory with the Stones debut. I’m not sure I would have been as open and surprised by the Rolling Stones debut without the entire journey. TimeMachine seems to be working just as expected. Until next time…

75. Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds

 

Justin Timberlake is probably the only straight up pop artist to appear in my top 100 albums. There is a very simple reason for this. This album is almost single handedly responsible for opening me up to the genre. Another explanation being that pop music is usually built around singles rather than albums. Looking at this list, you may think I’m not a big fan of pop music. That is definitely not the case, its just that the albums usually seem more filled with throw away tracks. I’ve mentioned it before but I grew up on rock and metal with the exception of one wonderful man, Michael Jackson. Over the years, I stopped listening to MJ though and went exclusively towards rock and metal. In high school, my mind was finally opened to music that would be closer to pop music: mainly Depeche Mode and The Beatles. I got into both bands because I fell in love. When you fall in love, a whole world of music opens up to you. In high school I would attend the occasional house party and that opened me up to certain famous pop hits of the age that I wanted to dance to. However, I still would not pursue pop music on my own. Everything changed in 2006 when I saw Justin Timberlake bring sexy back at the MTV Video Music Awards. Maybe it was the dance moves, or the style, but something woke the love for MJ in me from my early childhood. I picked up the album and was shocked at how much I loved almost every song on the album. The album succeeds for a few reasons. The first is that JT really did bring sexy back. Not only that, he was just so loveable. Keep an eye out for every little falsetto vocal trill. The second is Timbaland. His production on this album is astonishing.  He is as much responsible for my interest in pop music as JT was. He taught me to follow the producers when you like pop music more so than the artists. There are so many little sounds put into every song that changed the way I viewed pop music. I never knew pop music could be intelligent. The use of guitars, bells, and some crazy electronic sounds sucked me in. And the interludes! Every song has an intro or an outro of some kind that serves to bridge the songs in a way that makes listening to the album as a whole, more rewarding than simply listening to the singles. This isn’t to say pop music wasn’t good before Future Sex/ Love Sounds, so much as it is to say that it was this album that opened my eyes to the wonder of pop music.

What does it make me feel like?

 

Like I’ve got game. I’m sexy. Girls might actually be attracted to me. I am Justin Timberlake.

What to Listen for Track by Track

– The opening beat to FutureSex/LoveSounds when Justin is rasping “You know what you want.” The whole first verse is just so sexy and then… When the chorus hits!

– I think Sexyback really emphasized the “future” side of the album. The beat is just so other worldly. I love all of Timbaland’s little inputs. Best part is definitely the little bridge at 2:25.

– The funky keyboards and bass on Sexy Ladies!

– My Love remains to this day, one of my favorite love songs. And that opening beat!!! AMAZING! I could listen to this for hours and sing along in falsetto. Trust me, I’ve done it.

– All the little guitar parts in Love Stoned. This is what I’m talking about with intelligent pop music. You can tell a TON of work went into this song and it really shows.

– What Goes Around is ultimately the song that put JT in the perfection zone for me. This is my all time favorite JT song. I think it mostly has to do with the lyrical content. Around the time this song came out, I was in a scarily similar situation to the song. I must have listened to this song 1000 times and it secretly consoled me. I knew it wasn’t in my best interest to try to get revenge and that instead, I should just let her go while reminding her that what goes around comes back around. This is where the song gets it 100% right. If the song ended at the 5 minute mark as it does in the single version, it would simply be about a guy leaving justice in hands beyond his own.  The part that made me eternally fall in love with the song happens at that 5 minute mark. The music changes. It goes from passive to aggressive. A remix of the original beat but one that changes everything. It’s at this point that the bad act has come full circle. The woman who cheated on him is now cheated on herself and he finally gets his I told you so. For me it remains the perfect revenge song. He doesn’t have to do anything. Justice comes apart from him. Especially when he confronts what she did “You cheated girl, my heart bleeded girl”. I know it isn’t perfect grammar but every time I heard that line, I knew EXACTLY how he felt. My heart bled to and at the time, knowing that “What goes around, comes back around” helped me get through probably THE toughest time in my life. This song is perfect.

– One again, Summer Love’s beat won my heart over like no other.

– I’m a huge sucker for songs with a story and Losing My Way is one of my favorite on the album as it deals with a struggling crack addict’s cry for help. The song is full of little production moments, and by the gospel breakdown at the end, you know this is a song you wont be able to forget.

Example Track

The Journey Back Entry 3: The Beatles Write Songs! Joan doesn’t…

I promised I would talk about the next Beatles album here and I refuse to disappoint. Coming off my Joan Baez high, I thought it appropriate to check out the Beatles second 1963 release With the Beatles. This album dropped at the onset of Beatlemania so just picture thousands of screaming female fans around the Beatles while they play these songs. I was surprised by the general step up in some of the song writing on this one. Only six covers this time and a lot more Beatles originals which of course is good news. Their originals are always the highlights. The biggest difference for me on this album was the music itself which I think is already showing more depth than the simple pop songs of Please Please Me. Im a huge fan of minor keys and the Beatles have started to go a little further down that route. My favorite on the album is “All My Loving” which I find to be an absolutely lovely song. Maybe its because I’m in a long distance relationship myself. I thought it was funny that John Lennon was quoted as saying he was sad to admit he hadnt written it because it was a “a damn good piece of work”. The other standout for me is “Don’t Bother Me” which is apparently George Harrison’s first foray into song writing. I loved its darker nature and its anti-love song quality considering how much of the Beatles work was love songs at this point. Speaking of George Harrison as song writer, I’m sorry to say this but as much as I’ve heard the Beatles in the past, I’d never payed attention to who wrote or sang what. It is still hard for me to differentiate who is singing from song to song! That is why it is my goal during this journey back to make sure to pay attention to the individual artists. At this point Paul is my favorite writer.

So overall, I think With the Beatles is above and beyond Please Please Me, with better song writing and better performances. Each instrument feels so necessary well placed. That being said, the album still contains some lack luster stuff as well as covers so I’m still looking forward to the bands growth from this point. Hopefully The Freewheelin Bob Dylan will ignite their song writing hearts in new ways since I can only imagine the Beatles had to snatch that album up right away.

Also interesting to note, McCartney and Lennon wrote “I Wanna Be Your Man” while hanging out with the Rolling Stones and ended up giving them the song which would go on to become their breakthrough hit! I stumbled on to this quote and just started laughing:

“It was a throwaway. The only two versions of the song were Ringo and the Rolling Stones. That shows how much importance we put on it: We weren’t going to give them anything great, right?” – John Lennon

Ringo really doesnt get any love does he? I’ll definitely be checking out the Stones 64 debut soon enough.

1963 – With The Beatles Highlights

All I’ve Gotta Do – I love the bass on this one which I hear was a very important part of the writing process for the song as well. Probably my favorite Lennon track on the album.

All My Loving – Probably the fact that its about a long distance relationship is probably what gets me. Plus I love the guitar work, and the ooh oohs, things that really hold the beatles up in my mind. Plus Harrison’s solo.

Don’t Bother Me – As I mentioned earlier, Harrison’s first writing credit. So dark and wonderful. Cant wait for him to write more.

Not a Second Time  – I really like the piano parts on this one. Another one by Lennon. Apparently this is the song that made people start looking deeper into the Beatles song writing abilities. I just like the song.

Money – And finally the album closer. Yes it’s a cover but I really like this one. Its got this happy playful feeling while also having these really cool verses where the guitar drops out. I smile every time.

After such a wonderful experience with Joan Baez’s debut, I decided I should check out her 1961 follow up effort Joan Baez Volume 2. (Gotta love the creative album titles) Everything I felt about the first album was unfortunately completely lost on me this time around. Instead of being sucked in, I felt that I analysed every minute detail of her performance and came up wanting. Once again, all the songs are covers so maybe she just picked all her favorites for the first album and her second favorites here. I just wasnt as attached to the songs. I felt there was more emphasis on the stories and less on her voice and the music. To me, it sounded like she wasnt as passionate here, more going through the motions and she has a backing band of sorts that I didnt find interesting at all. Still, it didnt take away my love for her debut. It is possible that because Dylan evolved so much from his debut to his second album, I expected something similar from Joan. Instead I just got what felt like a B-sides record. Still this is only 1961 in her career so its possible her style will evolve once she hangs out with Bob and sees what he’s up to. I do plan to check out her 1963 live album which may better capture some of the debut’s passion I loved so much. (One can only hope) If not, I may give her a few years to cool off and check back in a few years down the road. For now, I can only say, dont miss out on the debut.

I’m pretty sure this will end my time in 1963 other than Joan’s live album. If there is one album I didnt check out fully in 1963, it would probably be the Beach Boys. I may wait a couple years to check them out. If you’re a fan of 1963 and see an album I overlooked, feel free to leave recommendations in the comments. 1964 is definitely going to get more expansive as I dive into the Rolling Stones, more Dylan and the Beatles. I’m very excited about it.

Overall 1963 was an interesting year. Bob Dylan released my favorite work of the year. I definitely think The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan is an excellent album and some of the songs will enter my permanent playlists. The Beatles released two albums I had mixed feelings about but the second was better than the first and I love the direction they are heading in. Still I think this is all just set up for the late ’60’s when a ton of new rock music will be unleashed on the masses. This journey shall be epic!

 

Song of the Day 03/23/11: Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull – On the Floor

I try to stay away from posting anything too mainstream, mostly because people already know about it, but I’m really feeling the beat from On the Floor ever since i listened to it with Katia, so i figured i’d post it up so we can all dance in our minds together.

Song of the Day 03/16/11: Radiohead – Little By Little

IF you love Radiohead, you probably already listen to this song every day since their new albums release. IF you hate radiohead, just wait for the next song of the day because this song is Radiohead through and through and wont succeed in winning any new fans. Neither will the rest of this album. However, like all Radiohead, if you listen to this song enough times, you WILL love it. So if youre on the fence, know that Radiohead isnt about making instant fans, its about a growing appreciation over a long period of time relating to the music. There was a time when i hated everything Radiohead had to offer with the exception of Paranoid Android. Now i can honestly say, I love Radiohead. So hears to giving them another chance haters.

Song of the Day 01/18/13: Fleet Foxes – Mykonos

I can’t believe I never put this song up. Definitely one of my favorite Fleet Foxes songs if not the favorite. I love everything about this song. The soft little guitars and drums that start it off. Those harmonizing vocals! And it feels so care-free at times but then the main vocal line has a touch of melancholy that makes me think about my life. And then… “Brother you dont need to turn me away…” CHILLS! And the guitars while he says “Took you down!” Just amazing. I think I’m about to go on a Fleet Foxes kick.