Track 69 (chuckle, chuckle) from 1993’s “Kerosene Hat.” Wonderfully catchy and rockin’ in the traditional Cracker mode. I dare you not to be singing along after the first minute or so.
“Eurotrash Girl” – Cracker
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Blog Archives
“Bastards of Young” – The Replacements
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A gem from 1985’s “Tim” album. The accompanying video was considered “radical” and “ironic” back in the day, though nowadays, after 10 seconds, you get the idea and the concept doesn’t seem that clever. Still, it’s a great song and it beats pickin’ cotton and waitin’ to be forgotten.
Henry Rollins on Van Halen
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Henry dishes on meeting David Lee Roth and his feelings on “the Van Halen.”
“You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory” – Johnny Thunders
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The one Johnny Thunders song most people know and would agree is a classic. Covered by everyone from Guns ‘n’ Roses to Ronnie Spector. Put to great use not only in Martin Scorsese’s “Bringing out the Dead” but also on “The Sopranos.”
“Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven” – Love and Rockets
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More great pseudo-Bowie from Love and Rockets, circa 1987. It does sound a little overproduced (as most music does from the 1980s) but it also sounds great under headphones. From the stellar “Earth, Sun, Moon” album.
“I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better” – The Byrds
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Most people these days know the very good Tom Petty cover, but the original is terrific in its own right. My favorite Byrds song.
“C Note” – Body Count
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With the controversy over “Cop Killer,” often overlooked was the stellar playing of the band assembled for Ice-T’s metal band Body Count. “C Note” is a fine update of early Funkadelic, this time courtesy of Ernie C., Body Count’s severely underrated lead guitarist.
“54-46 Was My Number” – Toots and the Maytals
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An early reggae classic that would not have been out of place on the Stax-Volt labels back in the late 1960s. As Toots himself sang later in his career, “Reggae got soul.”
“Down By the Water” – PJ Harvey
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Aside from Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, PJ Harvey was arguably the most influential “alternative” artist of the 1990s. While not as commercially successful as Alanis Morissette or Courtney Love, Harvey kept it frighteningly real for most of her career and unlike a certain critically acclaimed alternative sister who will go unnamed, never compromised to get a commercial “hit” she would regret later. Harvey’s music still has the power to unnerve even to this day.
“One” – Johnny Cash
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I’m not a huge fan of U2, but “One” from 1992’s “Achtung Baby” is one for the ages. An almost perfect song / performance. Except Johnny Cash’s cover tops it. Breathtaking, emotional, brilliant stuff.
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