Throwback Tracks -- August 11, 2016
David R. Smith
It is I, Dave, once again bringing you the throwbacks today. Because it's once again Shaun's turn to write the Simpsons blog. And let's be honest: one of those is way harder to write than one of these. With the Olympics in full swing right now, I felt like it was appropriate to do an entire TBT of songs that make you feel like a champion.
Please note: I would have used We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions, but I already wrote about it here.
The Guys From do not hold the rights to any of these songs, it is more our hope to expose our readers to new (*cough*) and different retro music, or re-expose them to things they may have forgotten about.
At the top of each section, will be the song name, followed by the artists' name linked to their website (if possible...which is totally hit and miss with oldies), so you can fall down the rabbit hole, finding and supporting what you dig.
You're The Best - Joe Esposito
This seems like a perfect way to kick off a list of songs that make one feel great about themselves.
I'm not gonna lie, it took a bit of sleuthing to find the official website for Joe "Bean" Esposito. Who would have thought that he legitimately still had one? I was as shocked as anybody. Granted, there's not much to it. Seems as though perhaps old "Bean" doesn't do much anymore.
But he did this song! And damn, if it's not just terrific! Some people will likely remember it as the epic song in the tournament montage of The Karate Kid. Others might remember it from South Park. I tend to walk the line. Regardless of which side you fall on, you have to admit, you always feel pumped up when you hear this song.
Gonna Fly Now - Bill Conti
Be honest: who doesn't want to run up stairs, air boxing when they hear this song? Even people who have never seen the movie Rocky, somehow instinctively know what they're supposed to do when this song plays. I think it's less because of the movie and more that you can't help feeling excited and ready to work out when this song plays.
Oddly enough, there's no official site for Bill Conti, so I couldn't link anything to him. But we can always thank him for this wonderful song!
What A Feeling - Irene Cara
It shouldn't come to much of a surprise that many songs on here come from movies. Most movies have inspirational scenes. Including Flashdance, I guess. I mean; I feel like it has to, with a song like this. As is quite clear; I've never seen Flashdance, but I do love this song. It just makes everything seem okay.
I was going to go with U2's Beautiful Day next, but that's against our rules. It came out in 2000 and we can't use songs from this century. So onward we go.
Heroes - David Bowie
Ugh. This one hurts. It's been half a year since the world lost this genius. Every time I hear a song of his, it's bittersweet. I love the songs, but miss the legend. But here I am putting this song on this week's Throwback Tracks. Because it's so good.
This isn't the sort of song that you immediately think of as making you feel like you can do anything, because it's not as high-tempo as some of the other songs. But when you hear Bowie sing the lyrics, you listen to his emotion and you listen to what he says, you truly believe that you, too, can be a hero.
Right Now - Van Halen
Probably my favourite song on the list and easily one of my favourite music videos of all-time. This song is one of those slow burns. It starts off with that simple, yet convoluted piano intro. With the exception of Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell, this might be my favourite piano intro. But then it just gets better and better. The lyrics are so inspiring. Get going. Get out there. Take that damn bull by the horns and do something with your life!
And then in true Van Halen fashion, there's a bitchin' guitar solo.
This song gives me shivers. Every time. And every time I hear it, it makes me think I can do something better than what I'm doing. Not to say that I'm unhappy about what I do. I love where I am in life. But this song makes me feel like I could do more. And isn't that what today's list is all about?
Exactly.
Here is the July 2016 Throwback Playlist which is all Shaun, as I tend to not do Apple Music (yet. I'm fighting the good fight…) but I definitely threw a wrench in it, due to my non-conventional songs (Bad Radio…) You can check out what we were able to get, anyway!
In case you missed our previous Throwback Track playlists, here they are:
-D (@davidronn)