Throwback Tracks -- December 7, 2017
David R. Smith
Well here we are. The last month of the year. We've made it another whole year celebrating songs from a millennium past. And probably a couple from the early 2000s that I decided to add in just because. It's been a fun ride making all these songs happen, even if I have forgotten until the 11th hour from time to time. (Or in one case, just forgot outright...) We've got 4 weeks until the new year. Let's end this year with a bang, shall we? I don't know exactly what that means, yet, but here are some songs all the same.
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.
I'm The Ocean - Neil Young
I wasn't going to put another Neil Young song on here so soon, considering we had one of his last month, but sometimes a song just gets into your head and you can't get it out. This is one of those times. So I figured I might as well put it out on here for the world to see.
This song is from Neil's 1995 album Mirror Ball. It's not his best album (but it would be really hard to compete with something like Harvest...) The reason I like this album, though, is that he made it with Pearl Jam. Those guys have been friends for so long, that they've been able to collaborate on albums. I love that. Without Neil there would no longer be any Pearl Jam. Legitimately. So while I loved Neil before, I love him even more now that he's the reason PJ has stuck around as long as they have. So why not honour him a bit more, am I right??
I Feel Free - Cream
If we're talking about Neil Young and all the amazing things he's done, we can then bring that conversation forward and talk about Eric Clapton. This guy has done it all. From the Yardbirds, to Derek and the Dominoes, from solo stuff to Cream. The guy spent a lot of time with Cream and they produced some massive hits. While most people probably know White Room, or Sunshine of Your Love the most, I have always been partial to this song.
I got The Cream of Clapton many years ago. I think I bought it used from the CD guy at Mac Hall. I plugged it in, and revelled in all the songs I knew but there were definitely songs on there that I didn't know that instantly hooked me. This was one of those.
I think it's because this song is so layered. It starts off so... chill, I guess? And then it just gets better and better. There's rises in the songs, key changes, great 60s guitar solos, a tremendous bass line. What's not to love?? This is definitely a song that a person needs to play twice in a row because once just isn't enough.
Doo-Wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill
Going from classic 60s rock into late 90s hip hop. Weird. But this is another song that's been plaguing me (in the best way) for a couple days. I saw a video where this song was used and it's been kicking around my brain box since.
Sometime in the new year, I plan on doing a hip hop month, much like the punk month I did earlier this year. I've got a list of pretty great hip hop artists, including the Fugees. But before that, I felt like we needed to celebrate Lauryn Hill. Because she's awesome. And cool. And talented. And gorgeous. She's a true artist and I have a crap ton of respect for her.
While she may have started with the Fugees, she definitely made a name for herself as a solo artist and for that, I'm sure, we can all be happy!
Down By The Water - PJ Harvey
Admittedly, I know very little about PJ Harvey. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever heard anything she's ever done. But I've heard OF her and this song came up on some sort of link and I gave it a listen. Turns out it's pretty great!
The song has an interesting groove to it. Kind of a sexy, down tempo, dirty, edgy feel. Something that you could definitely see somebody rolling their shoulders and doing slow, methodical spins to it. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but it's something sexy, that's for sure.
Like the rest of the song, the lyrics are pretty simple. I don't mean that disparagingly, I just mean that there's nothing (if you pardon the pun) deep about them. But put together with the simple bass line, lack of guitar solo, and percussive shakers throughout, it makes for a pretty simply good song. Sometimes that's all one needs.
Run Like Hell - Pink Floyd
We end this week with what might be my favourite Pink Floyd song. While I do love many of theirs, there's something about this song that gets me every time. I think it's the delayed repeat on the guitar riff at the beginning, that culminates in a fantastic bass line. And then this song is all rise. Roger Waters sings the hell out of this song and really makes you feel with that last line
"They're gonna send you back to mother
In a cardboard box
You better run"
I honestly don't know what the meaning of this song is. It's off the Wall which was a crazy concept album, so I don't entirely know what's happening in the song. All I know is it's a great song and a pretty phenomenal album too. I feel like maybe it deserves a re-listen on my part...
Oh man. It's week one of a new month and the most recent playlist is ready... already. Glad to see I got my ducks in a row with a month to spare. If you want to listen to the 25 songs from last month, or any of the other ones we've made since TBT has started... well just click any or all of the links below!
November 2017 TBT Playlist (and the November 2017 Spotify), October 2017 TBT Playlist (and the October 2017 Spotify), September 2017 TBT Playlist (and the September 2017 Spotify), August 2017 TBT Playlist (and the August Spotify list), July 2017 TBT Playlist (and the July Spotify List), June 2017 TBT Playlist (and the June Spotify List), May 2017 TBT Playlist, April 2017 TBT Playlist, March 2017 TBT Playlist , February 2017 TBT Playlist
2016
Throwback Playlist for Dec 16/Jan 17, October 2016 Throwback Playlist, September 2016 Throwback Playlist, August 2016 Throwback Playlist, July 2016 Throwback Playlist, June 2016 Throwback Playlist, May 2016 Throwback Playlist, April 2016 Throwback Playlist
-D (@davidronn)