Throwback Tracks -- May 18, 2017
David R. Smith
Yo. What's up? Here it is Wednesday night and I damn near forgot about doing this again. You know it's funny; I thought that after doing this for many consecutive weeks, (minus that one I forgot...) that I would really be in the groove. But somehow I keep forgetting. But I've got this one for this week, so we're good for another spell!
As of my writing this precursor, I have no idea what songs I'll be putting on here so I can't tell you what sort of stroll we'll be taking today. And, as we all know, I have no way of going back after I've written it, so I guess we're all in for a surprise!
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.
So Much For The Afterglow - Everclear
Well I had to get this one on here. Everclear played Calgary last night (well... last night as of my writing this.) My sister ended up going to the show, and apparently it was rather excellent. I'm disappointed to have missed it, but I was packing.
I grew up listening to Everclear. Partially because my sister listened to them, but also because they're terrific.
This song has a great start to it. It's so Beach Boys-esque. Those ooooh and ahhhhs in harmony for the first minute, then the whine of the guitar kicking into the distortion with the lyrics. It's so good.
This album came out in 1997, which was... jeebus... 20 years ago. Are you kidding me? That also means that I was in grade eight 20 years ago. Yikes. Well now I'm depressed.
Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys
Since we started off with somebody who sounded like the Beach Boys, I figured we might as well hit them up next. Today is feeling like one of those 6 Degrees sort of lists. I'm already planning 2 moves ahead.
Apparently this song came out on the album Smiley Smile though it was originally slated to be on Pet Sounds. Let's be honest, Pet Sounds had enough going for it. It didn't need the help of this tremendous song. This song, when first released had a meteoric rise to number one. And how could it not?
It's so good you guys!!!! I'm glad there were no other Beach Boys songs on here because this is a great first Beach Boys song. But let's all understand right now that this won't be the last time the Beach Boys are on this list. Hooray for all!!!
Good Vibrations - Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch
Okay, this is kind of cheating because the titles are the same. But the songs are totally different! They definitely do use the words "good vibrations" over and over again. But that's where the parallels stop.
One is a classic rock song that should be played on the beach while sitting around a fire. The other is a mid-90s hip hop song that just has a video with a lot of gratuitous sex and shirtless Mark Wahlberg.
I mean... it's still a good song, right? But let's be serious. How sexual is that video??? Ahhhhhh the 90s.
I remember when we were young and Mark Wahlberg was first starting to star in movies, my cousin always said that if he was hosting a talk show and had Mark Wahlberg on the show, that he would only call him Marky Mark and ask when the new Funky Bunch album was coming out. Now... I like Mark Wahlberg, but man would I love a new Funky Bunch album!
Step by Step - New Kids On The Block
So we had Marky Mark, why not have an appearance by his brother Donnie? Am I right?
I wasn't a huge NKOTB guy when I was growing up. My sister seemed to enjoy them... I think? I can't remember. I seemed to recall hearing them somewhat regularly in my house. And my brother was way too young to appreciate them. (This song came out 2 years after my brother was born, so...)
I wasn't down with a lot of pop music, but the older I get, the more I appreciate it. Same with Backstreet Boys (although, I definitely appreciated them more than I did the New Kids.)
I don't know what else to say about this song. It was quintessential in the 90s? It was rather popular. The New Kids have toured a few times since. Apparently their shows are great? There you go!
Take A Chance On Me - ABBA
This one literally has no 6 degrees from the other songs. I'm just writing this article while I have The Office on in the background and Andy is singing this song to Angela. So I figured it was as good a song to end this week's list as any. And, really, this week was pretty poppy so it seemed fitting.
Much like NKOTB, I wasn't a huge fan of ABBA while growing up. They just never seemed all that appealing. But as I get older, I don't mind them so much. Now, I'm not going to be pounding on any doors trying to get tickets to their shows or anything, but I don't change the station when they come on. And that says a lot.
Plus this song is really fun. As is a lot of ABBA's stuff. It's not overly deep, lyrically, or anything. Just some nice fluffy disco type songs. And you know what? In this day and age, we could all use some light, fluffy music. Something to take our cares away.
That's it, folks. T'was a very ecclectic mix this week, but I enjoyed listening to the songs and I hope you did too. As per usual; check out some of our playlists if you want to go deeper in some Throwback Tracks. They can all be found here:
Throwback Playlist for Dec 16/Jan 17
October 2016 Throwback Playlist,
September 2016 Throwback Playlist
-D (@davidronn)