Throwback Tracks -- February 9, 2017
David R. Smith
If you're reading this, it means it's Thursday. Or, really, any other day of the week. But if you're reading this, it means it's at least Thursday, February 9th and that means that we have another Throwback Tracks coming our way. And, as I'm trying not to mess myself up by having to write this the night before it comes out again, I'm trying to do this ahead of time. So as opposed to last week where I could blame being tired and under pressure for spelling and grammatical errors, this week it's just poor education.
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.
We're An American Band - Grand Funk Railroad
I know I've said it before, but ultimately TBT is an excuse for me to make a list of songs I like and listen to them over and over. So it should come as no surprise to you readers when I say I love this song.
Many moons ago I wrote an article about my favourite songs featuring non conventional instruments. I'm not sure how I forgot to include the cowbell in that list. I guess I had enough other instruments to write about.
Anyway, that opening lick with the cowbell and the gnarly drum roll, followed by the rest of the band kicking in, it just makes a person ready to rock. The rest of the song is also pretty great but there's something about that mash of drums that I love. It also makes me crank up the radio, as soon as I hear it. That's the sign of a good song, non?
Fat Bottomed Girls - Queen
So remember just seconds ago when you read about how much I like the gnarly drum roll in We're In An American Band? Yeah. Wait until 2:22 of this song and you will hear, without question, the best drum roll IN rock and roll.
Wait for it...
Waaaaait for it...
Boom. There. How good is that?
I grew up listening to Queen. Partially because of my parents; they were instrumental in my musical education. But a lot of my love of Queen comes from playing and watching hockey. Queen was ever-present in rinks across Alberta and, as a result, I started loving them. Granted, Fat Bottomed Girls was never played in hockey rinks. But when I finally got my two Queen CDs, this song was on there and I loved it immediately.
The Final Countdown - Europe
Guys! Europe has a website! The band whose most famous song was made likely even more famous by being Gob's theme song in Arrested Development has a website! Who would have thought? I mean good for them, but seriously... who'd have thought?
Also:
I'm kind of going from stepping stone to stepping stone here. Drum roll to drum roll; arena to arena so logically I'm now going to have to find another song from Arrested Development.
But first let's talk about how good this song is!
Aside from its use in one of the best shows ever made, it's also another song that gets a person pumped up. I mean, how could you watch Gob onstage and not get supremely excited about magic. Even if he was terrible. At least we could hope that Tony Wonder was coming up next!
Afternoon Delight - Starland Vocal Band
Oh man. Now this song from Arrested Development is so good. The song is kind of ridiculous, as is articulated by the scene in AD (particularly when it's blood relatives singing the song together.)
I'm not sure I'd ever heard the song until I heard it on Anchorman but I had definitely heard of the Starland Vocal Band prior to that. I'm gonna give you one guess as to how...
Starland Vocal Band? They suck!!
Are you at all surprised that something I know came from the Simpsons? Yeah. I didn't think so.
Anyway, the song is decent. The harmonies are pretty solid. The message is ridiculous and it's kind of fun to sing karaoke. So there you go.
Zero - Smashing Pumpkins
The final stepping stone. Everything comes back to the Simpsons. It's actually funny; Homer references Grand Funk Railroad in the same episode that this Smashing Pumpkins song appears in. In case you're wondering, it's the Lollapalooza episode where Homer joins the freak show and takes a cannonball to the stomach. I didn't actually mean to come full circle, it just sort of happened this way. But I'm not upset about it, because it gives me another excuse to use this gif again.
The Lollapalooza episode is so good. Shaun and I quote it fairly regularly. Mostly because Sonic Youth love them some watermelon. Anyway, this song is in the episode. And while the Smashing Pumpkins are not necessarily my favourite band, I must say this song is pretty terrific. The guitar is heavy, the lyrics are pretty solid and the the rhythm section hauls. I don't know what else I can tell you. Just listen to it, friends!
Well that's it! Another journey though music I dig. I hope you enjoyed this week's playlist. Speaking of playlists... (Woo! Segue!)
Throwback Playlist for Dec 16/Jan 17
October 2016 Throwback Playlist,
September 2016 Throwback Playlist
-D (@davidronn)