#434. Overblown-Mudhoney

Everybody loves us, everybody loves our town.

      Mudhoney, the Seattle band that didn't make it.  Ha, one of the first real "grunge" acts of that era in Seattle.  Well kinda, following Green River, which consisted of most of Mudhoney.  Hmm, try to keep up, Mark Arm forms Green River after his high school band breaks up, in that band are future Pearl Jammers, Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, Green River becomes the first official "grunge" band.  They release 2-3 ep's/lp's(?) and they break up.  Gossard, Ament and drummer Bruce Fairweather form Mother Love Bone with Andrew Wood, while Arm forms Mudhoney and gets signed to Sub Pop.  And the rest is history, (for everyone but Mudhoney).  Anyways if you got Kurt Cobain, Chris Cornell and Andrew Wood all in the same room they would all tell you that Mudhoney was the best band around at the time.  Plus how can you not love them after you learn that they are the basis for Matt Dillon's fictional band Citizen Dick in the Movie Singles, complete with Citizen Dick single "Touch Me I'm Dick" being a rip off of their first single, "Touch Me I'm Sick".  And there is today's history lesson.  This is a great track off the Singles soundtrack, making fun of the whole "grunge" blow-up at the happening at the time.

#435. Feel The Pain-Dinosaur Jr.

.....And then I feel nothing.

     J Macias and Lou Barlow, this is practically a super group.  Great song from a great album from a great time from the boys from Amherst Mass.

#436. We Only Come Out at Night-Smashing Pumpkins

The days are much too bright.

     Off the Infinite Sadness Album.

#437. American Music-Violent Femmes

Every time I look at that ugly lake?

     Love the Femmes, and everyone knows it.  Seen them live more times then I can count.  Wish they were still together and touring.  One of so many great tracks.

#438. Do You Realize-Flaming Lips

     Can't believe I got into these guys by "She Don't Use Jelly".  This might be one of the best songs ever written.  These guys are unbelievable.  And what a live show.  Yoshimi is supposed to be going to Broadway soon, can't wait.

#439. Gold Digger-Kanye West

    How can you not love this song?

#440. Them Girls-Run DMC

     Just always loved this song.  Came off some come back album in the nineties.  The album was Run DMC with various artist.  It come some play on modern radio for a couple weeks.  Like I said, just always liked it.

#441. Innocent When You Dream-Tom Waits

We swore we'd be together, until the day we died.

     What a great song, what a great romantic song.  What a great voice and spirit.  Tom Waits, musician, actor, hall of fame member.  Been covered by Springsteen, The Eagles, Rod Steward, Elvis Costello.  I love his song. When I got married we handed out cd's as favors of all songs played at the wedding, my wife to be would not allow this song, she didn't like his voice.  She eventually left, Waits is still here.

#442. Red Hot Moon-Rancid

....Take the bus downtown to the graveyard shift tonight.



     Another band I never thought I would get into, but once I did, I can't get enough of.  They do a pretty good job of keeping that candle lit.

#443. Break Away-Beach Boys

     Sometime considered one of the last of the Beach Boys "Sunshine Hits", probably because it was one of the last songs from them in the sixties.  Originally a flop, but later considered one of their stronger songs.  Another great example of Carl's voice and those famous California harmonies.

#444. Shake Your Rump-Beastie Boys

Running from the law, the press and your parents.  Is your name Michael Diamond?  Nah, my names' Clarence.

     The boys at their best.

#445. New York Groove-Ace Freeley

So baby, you better believe it.

     Had to pick the live version and the video for this favorite.  Did any song (or sound, really) better represent that end of the seventies, here comes the eighties era?  On Sept. 18th, 1978 all 4 members of KISS released solo albums, this is the only song off all 4 albums to chart.  Th spaceman came thru, and made a bad idea look, well, not so bad.

#446. Freedon-George Michael

Heaven knows I was just a young boy, didn't know what I wanted to be.

     Who would have guessed the "other" guy from Wham would have 2 such big albums in the early 1990's.  George Michael was everywhere.  Everyone owned a copy of his Faith album.  This track of his follow up, Freedom, is, in my opinion, his peak.  Which isn't a bad thing.  Freedom is just one of those great songs for me, fun, makes me want to blast it up, dance around and play it 6 times in a row.

#447. Cecilia-Simon and Garfunkel



     I fall on the floor and I'm laughing.

       A great song.  A family favorite.  Picked a great version for the vid, you got to crank it, but it's worth it.

#448. Dyslexic Heart/Waiting For Somebody-Paul Westerberg

Been down so long, doesn't really matter.

      Again, I know I'm cheating but you just can't separate these two songs off the Singles soundtrack.  And it's not the only time I will will be grouping songs off this soundtrack.  Listen, I wasn't in high school when Say Anything came out, but I was for Singles.  Grunge was my era, and what better represented grunge then Singles.  Immediately following the break-up of the Replacements, Cameron Crowe tapped Westerberg to score, co-produce and contribute 2 songs to his ode to Seattle.  These are those two, fun songs.

#449. Sin-Nine Inch Nails

Your need for me has been replaced.

     Trent Reznor makes make music.  Period.  Now he is even an oscar winner!  This song will also be on my next blog, The best songs that are track #7 on their respective albums.  Nine Inch Nails are alot like Rage Against The Machine, (in my opinion only) in which their first albums were so great that nothing they did after really compared.  They all good, just not as good as that first.

#450. Cruel To Be Kind-Nick Lowe

Oh I can't take another heartache.

    Ah, Nick Lowe, a classic case of a British superstar who never transcended across the pond.  This was his only US hit.  Great song, good Retro Lunch stuff here.  Lowe produced Elvis Costello's first five albums and wrote his biggest hit, "What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding"





#451. Bloodletting-Concrete Blond

There's a crack in the mirror and a blood stain on the bed.

     Johnette Napolitano led Concrete Blonde in the 80's and 90's.  This is my personal favorite but there are many other good songs.  Never got to into Concrete Blonde, just usually always liked what I heard.  The Bloodletting album is a must for every collection.

#452. Strange Currencies-REM

I don't know what your mean to me.

     Don't you love when you pull out an a cd you haven't listened to in 10 years and remember just how much you love a certain song.  This is one of them.

#453. And She Was-Talking Heads

And she could hear the highway breathing.

     Could be the best song about a girl taking LSD ever. I mean, right?  From mid-Head hey day.  1985, Little Creatures.

#454. Put Your Big Toe in the Milk of Human Kindness-Elvis Costello/Marc Ribot/Rob Wasserman

     But always so contrary, from Father Christmas to the Virgin Mary

     So bassist Rob Wasserman followed up his solo album with one called duos.  He then followed that up with one called trios.  See a pattern here.  Of the trios album comes a little Elvis.  An outtake from the Spike album, which makes me wonder if McCartney had a hand in the lyrics, I just always loved this song.  Loved the whole album.  More tracks will be coming of these 1994 gem.  Enjoy.

#455. Frank Sinatra-Cake

He saves what others throw away.  He says he'll be rich someday.

     OK, you either get cake or you don't.  Yes the lead singer just talks over music, but what great music.  And you got love the way he talks(sings).  This one is of Fashion Nugget, their second album, but really, their first 4-5 albums are good listen throughs.

#456. Birdhouse in You Soul-They Might Be Giants

But really I'm not actually your friend.

     You know, I have one.  A birdhouse in my soul.  No I don't.  But I do have a blue canary nightlight.

#457. Do The Devil-The Amazing Royal Crowns

I know you got a soul to give.

     You know kids, there was time when rockabilly almost made a comeback.  Thanks to Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, The Squirrel Nut Zippers, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, the Swingers Soundtrack and these guys.  Formed in my home state, Rhode Island, in 1994.  Towards the end of the nineties they were getting along good with radio play on college radio and constant touring.  A friend from high school actually played drums for these guys for awhile before the got big.  Great track of theirs right here.