#402. Dry the Rain-The Beta Band

This the destination of my life.

     Thank you John Cusack, ("I will now sell five copies of The Three E.P.'s by The Beta Band") .  CHECK THEM OUT!

#403. Femme Fatale-Velvet Underground

She's gonna play you for a fool.

     Lou Reed, John Cale, Andy Warhol.  Velvet Underground, what a force.  Lou wrote this song at Warhol's request about Edie Sedgwick. One of the 5 best written songs ever.  Nico sucks.

#404. Movies-Hothouse Flowers

Do you go to the movies, find a friend in the film, hold hands with the hero, fall in love with the heroine.

     Another case of me never hearing of a band until a song of theirs showed up on a mix tape someone made for me.  What a great way to discover music.  Don't really know much except that I like them, but in my research for this blog I found out they were "kinda" discovered by Bono, and once put out a 3 song EP with Def Leppard under the name, The Acoustic Hippies From Hell, lol.  Check out their Home album, very good.

#405. Bizarre Love Triangle. New Order

     From the ashes of Joy Division rose New Order and for years they reigned in New Wave, punk-pop and pop.  Ian Curtis death on the eve of Joy Division first American tour left the boys for certain doom, but they came back and New Order is the proof

#406. Just A Friend. Biz Markie

     To most of us Biz is just a one hit wonder with a novelty hit.  But few know how big this guy is in the underground world of rap. A pure legend, like the Godfather.  There is a reason why the Beastie boys always squeeze him into almost every one of their albums.

#407. Blue. The Jayhawks.

It's hard to sing with someone who won't sing with you.

     Its a great song and it introduced me to a great band, The Jayhawks.

#408. Another Way to Die. Jack White and Alicia Keys

     It wasn't much of a hit, but most James Bond Themes songs aren't, but it was a great collaboration of 2 voices and I loved it.

#409. Jesus Of Suburbia. Green Day

     And you said rock opera was dead.  I would have never guessed when these guys came out with Dookie, while I was in high school, that they would some day carry Pete Townstends' torch.  They have and they done it proudly and in the meantime turned themselves into one of the most important Rock and Roll acts out there.  They became what Guns and Roses was supposed to be.

#410. Bull in the Heather. Sonic Youth.

Tell me that you want to hold me.

    Yeah I know I am lame, I know Sonic Youth is one of the most influential bands in the last 30 years.  And I know their impact on everything we hear today, and I pick their only radio hit as my pick.   Hey, I wish I could say I was one of their big fans and know all their stuff, I don't, and I know what I like, and I have always liked this song.

#411. Desire. U2

Yeah she the promise in the year of election.

     I should be embarrassed, because this is the song that got me into U2, and I should have been into these guys way before this.  But, if you are my age, Rattle And Hum was pretty big.  Hey, I drank the kool-aid, I fell for Bono and the boys pretty hard, and I have been following ever since.  Their are great Rock-n-Roll bands, and we all know who they are, Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Band, AC DC, The Talking Heads, in my age, in my era, we have added to that group, REM, Radiohead, Pearl Jam, Green Day and yes, U2.

#412. Settle For Nothing. Rage Against The Machine

I got a 9, a sign, a set and now I got a name.

     It's Rage.  They are one of the best bands ever assembled.  Enough said. 

#413. Ordinary Angels. Frente.

Open your eyes and say yes, no, maybe.

     My great Frente story, they were the opening act for I think the Lemonheads, in Providence, R.I.  I had scored back stage passes for that show.  I ended up hanging out with Angie the lead singer of Frente for the entire Lemonheads set.  Obviously I fell in love with her that night, I mean literally.  Oh well, great night, great memories.

#414. Beautiful Girl. Peter Droge

You're a beautiful girl.

    I couldn't tell you much about Pete Droge, besides the fact that I love this song.  I first heard it on the Beautiful Girls soundtrack.  I hear he is currently in some super group, The Thorns,  with Matthew Sweet and Peter Mullins

#415. Coming Down-Meat Puppets

Though they call it terra firma
It dissolves beneath my feet

     They were an obscure band that you were not cool enough to ever hear of until 1993.  Then Nirvana covered three of their songs on MTV Unplugged.  They capitalized.  1994's Too High Too Die was their most elaborately produced album to date, and it was a damn good album, they even rerecorded their biggest non-hit, Lake Of Fire for the occasion.  They say the ring and they went for it.  In my opinion the Brother Kirkwood succeeded.  Very good live show too, up their in their doll dresses doing all the songs no one was supposed to know.  This is off the Too High Too Die album.

#416. See A Little Light-Bob Mould

If you want me to go, then you should just say so.

      From Husker Du to Sugar, it doesn't get better then Bob Mould.  They don't call Evan Dando a poor mans Bob Mould for nothing.  Great track from a solo album in 1989, Workbook.  Great artist and great gay icon, if I do say so myself

#417. Pusherman-Curtis Mayfield

I'm that nigga in the alley

     From 1972, off of Curtis's 3rd album, also the soundtrack for Super Fly.  Along with Marvin Gaye a true soul pioneer.

#418. How Blue Can You Get?-B.B.King

Your evil when I'm with you, and you are jealous when we're apart.

      It's the blues, just sit back and enjoy.

#419. El Scorcho-Weezer

I asked you to go to the Green Day concert, you said you never heard of them, how cool is that?

      El Scorcho baby, Rock-n-Roll!

#420. Hash Pipe-Weezer

 I can't love my business,  If I can't get a trick

You've got your big G's.  (?  I always thought he said you got your big cheese, lol)

     I'm a purist and I'm a snob, so there won't be many Weezer songs on this list that are not off their first two albums.  But this was the first song we heard from them in 5 years, it resonated.  The boys still got it, and man do I love Rivers Cuomo.

#421. Change-Blind Melon

I don't feel the suns comin out today.

     Does anyone remember the first time they saw Shannon Hoon.  It was in one of those epic hour long Guns and Roses video that seemed to accompany ever single off of Use Your Illusions I&II.  He was on the roof singing with Axl.  Hell he even looked like Axl.  I remember hearing they had gone to high school together and he had an album coming out soon.  Well the Album was Blind Melon, the bee girl album, another great debut album.  I saw Shannon and Blind Melon twice before he died.  The first time they were great, even cover Carole King.  The second, he was ravished by drugs, had shaved his head and the end was near, too damn bad.  Here is a great track off there first album.

#422. Always Something There To Remind You-Naked Eyes

How can I forget you girl?

     Great song from 1983.  But most of all I remember my entire family dancing all over my house to this song, probably a little drunk and embarrassing our kids in the process.  :-).

#423. Tequila Sundae-Urge Overkill

Flattery will get you know where.

      For one summer, Urge Overkill was on top of the fucking world.  Saturation, at least with my friends anyways WAS the only album to have and play, over and over again.  Got to see them live twice in Providence, R.I. during that time.  Then the next year Quentin Tarantino put their cover of Girl, You'll be a woman soon in Pulp Fiction and they exploded even more, but nothing beat Saturation.

#424. These Eyes-Guess Who

These eyes, cry every night for you.

     Randy Bachman was a force to reckon with for years.  First with the Guess Who, then with BTO.  Here's a great example of his music.  Who doesn't love this song?

#425. Teenage Dirtbag-Wheatus

Listen to Iron Maiden, maybe, with me?

     Hard to describe how good, I mean really good this album is to anyone who, only barely remembers this one song.  They hit it out of the park with the whole album, I keep in my heavy rotation still.  I heard that they put out other albums, but never checked them out.  I fell for that once, with Urge Overkill.  Saturation was such a great album, then I tried to listen to they're stuff after that and it never compared.  If you do not own Wheatus debut album, grab it and play it through.  (Same thing with Urge Overkill's Saturation, lol)

#426. Play It All Night Long-Warren Zevon

Grandpa pissed his pants again, he don't give a damn.

  

in·com·pa·ra·ble/inˈkämp(ə)rəbəl/

Adjective:

Without an equal in quality or extent; matchless. Unable to be compared; totally different in nature or extent: "censorship still exists, but it's incomparable with what it was".

#427. Pocahontas-Neil Young

Maybe Marlon Brando, will be there by the fire, to sit and talk about Hollywood, and the good things there for hire, like the Astrodome and the first T.V., Marlon Brando, Pocahontas and me.

     I could probably make a list about my favorite 500 Neil Young songs, here's one of them.  I tried to find the video from his unplugged show, that version is my favorite.

#428. Don't Take Me Alive-Steely Dan

Hollywood, keep the sun.  I don't want to hurt no one.

     Steely Dan, the thinking man's band.  off my favorite The Royal Scam.  For you, Mr. Reidy.

#429. Better Get It In Your Soul-Charles Mingus

Are you Neal?  Who's Asking?

     Don't you just feel like your riding shotgun with Jack in 1950's America when this song is playing.  Seeing the dark American landscape of the sleeping night, while going mad behind the wheel at speeds unheralded.  Benzi driven and driving, not knowing the destination but knowing you can't wait to get there, because getting there means another adventure begins, with best friends you haven't met yet.

#430. Baby Driver-Simon and Garfunkel

When I was young, I carried a gun, but I never got a chance to serve.  I did not serve.

     There is a certain sound to Simon and Garfunkel, that trippy doo-wop and heavy percussion, great harmonies, just fun groovy music.  Here's another great example.

#431-Love Me Tonight-Tom Jones

Aaahh

     What can I say, I love Tom Jones.  He has a couple songs on my list.  Remember its my favorite 500.

#432. Tumbling Dice-Rolling Stones

Women think I'm tasty, but they're always tryin' to waste me


     Another track off arguable the best rock album ever made, Exile on Main Street.  This was the first single off the album.  Bill Wyman is replaced by Mick Taylor, Brian Jones original replacement before Ronnie Wood on Bass on this track.

#433. (nothing but) Flowers-Talking Heads

And as things fell apart/Nobody paid much attention

     Johnny Marr helps out on this track off the last Talking Heads CD, Naked.  Personally probably my favorite, oh who am I kidding I pretty much love everything the Heads did.  Best American Rock Band ever, maybe.  Definitely the best post-apocalypse narrative, until Waterworld of course.  Kidding.