Songs Everyone Should Hear at Least Once - Daily

[B01]

What happens when you have a really poor album as a whole, but you have 1 really good to great song? You get Primitive Radio Gods album Rocket. The song which I'm featuring today would be great as just a single, but there's an entire album around it and it's subpar. The song "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Hand" is really the only thing worth listening to. The song benefited from being in a movie and it just hit at the right time...One the best examples of , right time, right place...You be the judge. This song was very big for a little while. It definitely has something.

Primitive Radio Gods

 

[B01]

North Carolina legends, Superchunk bring us today's entry. I have a very loose connection to them, because I know their prolific drummer Jon Wurster a bit. He's in like 15 bands and we were always bumping into him. He plays with Superchunk, The Mountain Goats, Bob Mould and anybody else that needs a drummer. He's in high demand, because he's so good and easy to get along with. Such a sweet and funny man.

Superchunk

 

[B01]

It's Friday, so what does that mean...not much these days, but when I was young(er) it meant it was party time. I'm not a drinker...anymore...there are too many stories as to why. Let's just say, I never liked the taste of alcohol, but that often didn't stop me from having adventures. So today's song is for everyone still partaking in their party beverage of choice. Let's All Go To The Bar, by good friends Deer Tick. They're an Alt. Rock/Indie Rock band from Providence, RI. Great guys, with a really good songwriter in John, who plays guitar and sings. Have a beverage on me.

Deer Tick

 

[B01]

Today's song is by DEVO...most of you should at least know their name. Technically, their a 1 hit wonder with Whip It, they also do a great cover of Satisfaction by the Stones. A song done so uniquely, Mick Jagger considers it a completely different song, rather than a cover. They're a band that should be in the RNRHOF...they have so many great songs, but are often laughed at or looked at as just a novelty. They have a very deep catalog. Their leader, Mark Mothersbaugh has had a great career scoring movies and TV shows.

DEVO

 

[B01]

Today's track is a band out of Denver called Snake Rattle Rattle Snake. I received an advance copy of their debut a little over a decade ago. I've always loved this song by them called, Hastily. It's haunting, Hayley has a great voice and the music fits the moment. I'm not sure if they're still together, but the album Sineater is worth listening to.

Snake Rattle Rattle Snake

 

[B01]

It's Monday, everyone needs a kick in the face or in this case, the shins. Rory Gallagher, some have called him the Irish SRV, but they're too different imo. Both are based in the blues, both can really wail on guitar, but Rory plays a much harder style of blues...it's bordering on punk at times when he and the band really go for it. He's really overlooked and just shouldn't be. His live performances were something to watch and listen to.

Rory Gallagher

 

[B01]

Today we're going with some stoner rock/metal with the band Scissorfight. Great name, band from New Hampshire and they had one of the scariest human beings I've ever met as their singer, Ironlung. Nicknamed not for his singing, but for the amount of pot smoke he could inhale without coughing. He was also a large, bearded bald man, that was actually a teddy bear, if he liked you. He's singing on this track, but is no longer in the band.

Scissorfight

 

[B01]

Today I woke up with this song in my head. I dream songs, I'm not sure if anyone else does, but music is a constant in my life. I haven't heard this song in years and it just popped into my head. Hothouse Flowers, a band from Ireland had a minute in 1990 in the States with their album Home. This was the main single off that album. I don't remember if they did anything else in the States, but this song broke through in 1990.

Hothouse Flowers

 

[B01]

The Bottle Rockets out of Missouri are the definition of bar band. Good ole boys just making a bunch of noise that sounds excellent. We saw them somewhere, club or festival, everything blends together at some point. They were just good at what they did. They retired recently because the guy that made everything go for them, decided he was done with music.

The Bottle Rockets

 

[B01]

The Afghan Whigs have had an up and down career. The album which brought them great success and prominence was, Gentlemen. Greg Dulli, the lead singer of the band is more antagonistic than everyone's whipping boy, Billy Corgan. Dulli has that resting hate me face and his actions over the years haven't helped him out. I've seen them a couple of times and can testify that he can be a douche. Audience member during the tour for this album lit a joint and passed it to him while the band was on stage. Dulli stops everything, takes a hit of it...then calls for security to kick the guy out, because pot, when it wasn't legal...1993. Then he laughs and smokes the rest of it himself...pretty shitty move. Still, this is one of the great albums of the 90's and it's the song that put them on the map.

The Afghan Whigs

 

[B01]

Today's entry is one of my all time favorite bands, not so much for their music, though they're a great band, but because we played with them so often. Los Straitjackets, the surf band that wears lucha masks on stage. They go out as themselves to set up and then when they come on stage, they speak only Spanish, wearing their masks and play surf guitar. It's hilarious. We're on tour with them and the band, The Reverend Horton Heat. Just sitting backstage and talking. The Straitjackets are on stage and they begin their cover of the theme from Titanic...when the drummer of the Reverend, Scott goes "oh they're playing that song with that guy, Leo DiCenzo Cappuccino" ( Leonardo DiCaprio) and we all run out to watch them...almost making the Straitjackets break character. Fun memories

Los Straitjackets

 

[B01]

Today's pick is a band that was local to me when I lived in New England. Throwing Muses, made up of step-sisters, Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly. They're both successful songwriters, but Tanya would also work with Kim Deal forming the Breeders and recording first album, Pod. Kim went back to the Pixies before officially leaving to do the Breeders fulltime. Throwing Muses quickly became Kristin's band more so than an even split. Kristin wrote most of the songs, but when they had hits, they had them with Tanya's more pop influenced songs. Jealousy and the inevitable power struggle happened, Tanya leaves.
Tanya would go to form her own band, Belly. They did quite well and still play from time to time.

Throwing Muses

 

[B01]

I don't really know anything about today's entry. I had this album sent to me over a decade ago and I just put it on over the weekend. I know he's a singer-songwriter. Sounds pretty good to me.

Cory Branan

 

[B01]

I'm tired today, so not much of a description. The Supersuckers are from Arizona originally. Great band, lots of fun. Super silly.

Supersuckers

 

[B01]

Today's entry is the new song by Extreme. It's very good in my opinion, one could say it's extremely good...I won't say it, but someone could. I saw Extreme when I was in high school. They came home to Boston on the Pornograffitti tour. They had an opening band that got the Boston treatment...you're not from here...we hate you...get off the stage. In fact, the opening band's album wasn't even out yet, but when it did get released, they'd do rather well...that band was Alice In Chains...and yes, they were booed off the stage in favor of Extreme. In retrospect, you can go back and laugh at that entire situation, but in 1990, before Man in a Box was a thing, in their hometown...it happened.

Extreme