Throwback Tracks -- March 16, 2017
David R. Smith
So I had a whole other TBT set to drop tomorrow and then remembered the date. It's the day before St. Patrick's Day. I feel like I'd be remiss if I didn't do something to honour that. So I figured, why not have an all-star list of Irish musicians*?
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.
*Note: Because of this stupid "only before 2000" rule, I wasn't able to put Glen Hansard on here. Otherwise I would have. I blame Shaun.
One - U2
Sometimes I hate having to do these lists. Because when you think Irish musicians, likely the first group that comes to mind is U2. And if we're talking about vintage U2? Fine. But the last 10 years where Bono is an egomaniac and we all get U2 albums we don't want automatically downloaded to our phones U2? Pass. I don't like that U2.
But this song? This song I like.
Released on their 1991 album "Achtung Baby," it was one of the singles to come off that disc. And it's a doozy. Beautiful lyrics, tremendous musicianship and really, just some good old fashioned rock.
The other reason I selected this song, is because I think everybody needs to hear Chris Cornell's version of One/One.
Speaking of Chris Cornell...
Nothing Compares To You - Sinead o' Connor
Okay. So I'm sure many of you are asking why Chris Cornell has anything to do with this song. Well...
Did you guys know Prince wrote this song? I mean; of course he did! The guy was a phenom. God he's missed.
Anyway, Sinead o' Connor really only hit it big with this song. It's sad, really. She had such a cool voice and likely could have achieved so much with her career but personal issues sort of factored into her not doing much more. (Tearing up a picture of the Pope on national television probably didn't help.)
I'll always have fond memories of singing this song with my east coast roommates at the top of our lungs, while having a kitchen party in our place in Calgary. Good times. Thanks Prince!
Zombie - The Cranberries
Apparently this article is a sandwich of incredible female Irish voices. It was nice of Sinead to lead us off and then we hit the Cranberries.
For a time in the 90s, it seemed like they were the biggest band on earth. Lead singer Dolores O'Riordan had such a resonating voice and the things they were singing about made the songs so powerful.
While they weren't as heavy as some of the grunge rock to come out around the same time, there was still enough in their songs to really make a lot of the world sit up and take notice.
This song came out on their second album which was the one that sort of catapulted them into fame. And I believe a lot of that is as a result of this kick-ass song.
Breathless - The Corrs
Shut up. This song is great. Plus, how unbelievably cute are the Corrs?
This is a song that while it definitely has a poppy feel to it, I can't help but love. It might be a guilty pleasure song. I don't know. I can't really claim that because I'm not guilty about liking it. It's just too damned catchy. It also just seems like a really good love song. Too many love songs have a stigma that they have to be slow and or full of the word "love."
Or something.
This song, however, doesn't seem to have that. It's definitely a love song but it's more about the feelings one gets when they're in love.
Or something.
Shut up. It's a great song.
Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
Who better to wrap up our Irish day than Van the Man? I know my friend Kari would be pleased. She's a huge Vaniac. (I assume that's what his fans are called, right?)
I can't believe we haven't used any of his songs yet! I was pretty happy to have seen that. Mostly because this song is great.
I remember back in the was-before before the internet ate our blogs, I wrote an article about how censorship was stupid. It was all spurred on because a radio station edited this song so instead of saying "making love in the green grass behind the stadium with you" it simply said "slipping and a sliding all along the waterfall with you" again. As if we wouldn't notice. Have we as a society become so sensitive that the lyrics "making love in the green grass" are too much to hear? Good lord. I weep for the future.
I think I'm getting tired and cranky. I'm seemingly talking less about the songs and more about… me. So this seems like as good a time as any to stop.
That's it, friends! A sojourn through some of the best music Ireland has to offer. That should give you a head start on the festivities tomorrow. So go on and tip a glass. In the immortal words of Murphy McManus, "It's St. Patty's Day; everyone's Irish tonight!"
If you have burned through these 5 songs and need more, why not consider revisiting one of our playlists? Here they are!
Throwback Playlist for Dec 16/Jan 17
October 2016 Throwback Playlist,
September 2016 Throwback Playlist
-D (@davidronn)