April 16, 2007

 

Tagged for rage

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On the surface one might presume that my musical tastes run screaming from anything resembling “rage.” In general I like to listen to and play mellow acoustic guitar stuff –Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Van Morrison, John Prine. But, thanks to The Fez Monkey (via the loverly Lucy) I’m the tagee/victim of a call for 20 songs that I’d put up for play on rage webradio, and it’s made me think – yeah, there’s some rage in my collection. So here’s my 20 - there’s a bit of the punk mixed in, but other than a small folder of MP3s on my computer, when I’m in the mood for punk I just grab the Repo Man soundtrack (not a bad song on that puppy). Regarding rage, rage can piss off if they think my 20 will be something they’d wanna play.


The Clash – The Guns of Brixton. The great thing about The Clash is that they were musicians, a rare thing in the punk world. The bad thing is that Fez hogged three of their songs for his list, which I’m not gonna do here.

Lemonheads – Stove. From their obscure early album Lovey, on which there is hardly a bad tune. Technically, the rage song on this album would be “Ballarat.”

Black Flag – TV Party

Dead Kennedys – Kill The Poor. Run, Jello, run.

Matthew Sweet – Knowing People. A great hard-driving rock song with some of the most in-your-face lyrics I’ve heard - the kind that make you say, “Gee, I’m glad I’m not THAT guy.”

Sex Pistols – My Way. Who better to cover this Sinatra classic?

Fear – Let’s Have A War. Hey, we need the space.

Blues Traveller – Whoops.
“But the possibility exists no matter how scary it may seem
That paradise was once the world and it wasn't just a dream
The earth was our heaven and we didn't know there were rules for us to break
And maybe now we'll find out too late what a clever hell we can make.”

Suicidal Tendencies – Institutionalized

Butthole Surfers – Pepper. This is just one of the coolest fucking songs ever.

Black Grape - In The Name Of The Father. Shaun Ryder’s a thug. And he can write some catchy shit. Alternate – “Shake Your Money Maker.”

The Charlatans UK - Can't Get Out of Bed. Another Madchester fave of mine.

The Plugz - Hombre Secreto. A classic.

The Clash – Police & Thieves. Hey, I said I wasn’t gonna do three, OK? This song utilizes the band’s talent for a dark, funky Caribbean beat.

Elvis Costello – Radio, Radio. I’m with Fez on EC, he’s punk at heart.

The Who – Young Man Blues. Another hat tip to Fez for picking Tha’Ooh. Of course this is a Mose Alison original, but in playing it live the group turned it inside out and made it their own song. One of classic rock’s greatest jams IMHO.

The Pixies – Where Is My Mind? The perfect song for the Fight Club soundtrack.

Violent Femmes – Add It Up. I’ve been a fan of these fellow midwesterners since seeing them in college decades ago. Their simplicity of a guitar, stand-up bass and a snare drum mixed with deep lyrics and high energy made them a singularly fresh resurrection of a nearly comatose punk scene in the mid-80s. They also proved that their honky-tonk/gospel tinge wasn’t just schtick.

Pearl Jam - Alive

Rolling Stones – Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’? - Because it’s the most kick-ass Stones song ever. No, you’re wrong, it’s Can’t You Hear Me Knockin’?

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Comments:
Great list - some bona fide classix there... Guns of Brixton must have one of the best basslines ever, and well done for remembering good old Black Grape :) My favourite song of their's is the hilarious 'Get Higher'.
 
I haven't heard a single one of these songs. Punk and rage are different things? Whatev. I'm old.
 
That's funny, I saw the Violent Femmes at my college back when they were first starting out, too. I guess they played a lot of colleges back then.

I saw them again last year, with the original lineup back together agai. The were even better, and still had the audience (many of whom hadn't been born yet when I first saw them) up and dancing to "Add It Up."
 
Nice list. Sorry for the Clash-hogging, but they have so many songs you could do three Rage lists of Clash only and still have leftovers.

Oh, and I agree with your comment re: the Repo Man soundtrack.

Ook ook

PS: I went to High School with both Rocky George and Robert Trujillo, who were both with Suicidal Tendencies back in the day.
 
I have so much rage in my collection, and I'm not just talking about Rage, either, though I have all their stuff. Perhaps if I get tagged, I'll let y'all in on my dark side.
 
I flirted with adding the Sex Pistols My Way but went for Anarchy in The UK instead.
Would of been good to see Frank Sinatra sing this version though.
 
Cheezy - Yeah, baby! I love Get Higher's "fun with real audio" (and doin' it with a Cheezy grin, no doubt).

Paula - It seems like every time you do a music-type list, I like most of what you put up. Just hang with us, baby, we'll boost your culture!

Joe - I partied with them when they were at my school. Saw 'em a lot in Chicago, too - hell, we might've been moshin' together!

Fez - Nice brush with greatness!

Kos - Consider yourself tagged, you angry-ass bitch!

Lucy - You grabbed my first choice (oh baby), and by then God Save The Queen seemed too obvious
 
Pepper is one of the coolest songs ever!!
 
Well I've heard of a few of those songs anyway. Pearl Jam - Alive - oh, I still love it. And I used to love Blues Traveler!
 
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