Throwback Tracks -- January 11, 2017
David R. Smith
Yo. Here's more music!
There was a part of me who wanted to just leave my opening diatribe at that. I feel like it says everything I need it to. And really; some days it's all about the music. And as this week has been busy with classes starting and Davey trying to play catchup, I feel like maybe let's just progress with the 5 songs today, shall we?
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.
The Heart of Rock and Roll - Huey Lewis and the News
It's funny how sometimes artists happen to come around on Throwback Tracks around the same time every year. Huey Lewis has only been featured once in these articles. And it was just over a year ago.
What can one say about the News? They performed the theme song to Back to the Future and it was pretty great. But this song is better. The reason this one made my list today is because I'm ploughing my way through The Office. I just watched the Crime Aid episode where Michael has two tickets to Bruce Springsteen to auction off. At the beginning of the auction, they play this song because it was one of the Bruce Springsteen songs that Michael requested. And that's ridiculous.
This song is pretty fun. While not necessarily the best song to come out of the 80s, it has a fun feel to it and really, sometimes that's all that's important in a song.
The River - Bruce Springsteen
Okay. Since we had fake Bruce, I felt like it was only fitting that we had real Bruce come on too. And what a great song.
Now, I don't pretend that Bruce Springsteen has the greatest voice. He kind of sounds like he's straining in this song. But all that aside, the man is one of the most prolific, talented songwriters in America. I also would contend that the man who is the best song writer in America also has an awful voice, but that doesn't stop me from liking Bob Dylan, so why can't I like Bruce?
Now granted he's also written songs like Glory Days, which is fine but it just doesn't really have the heart that The River does. But it also appeals to the masses, and if you're a blue collar worker, how could you not like somebody who sings songs that almost seem like they're written just for you?
Numb - Holly McNarland
I love this song. I first heard it in 1997 when Big Shiny Tunes 2 came out. For those of you not in the know, Big Shiny Tunes was a series of albums that came out with the Biggest, Shiniest, Tunesiest tunes of the year. It was produced by Much Music so there was some pretty great Canadian representation on them. This song was on BST2.
I also got to see Holly McNarland live in about 2002. As it turns out, she didn't have a lot of other songs that I really knew. But hearing this song live was pretty amazing.
If you have noticed anything about the songs I tend to gravitate towards on TBT, a lot of them have kick-ass intros. And this one is no different. It's a simple acoustic guitar but then it amps up very quickly after that. And brother, can this lady can sing! She can howl. It makes me glad that she still has a website, because I wouldn't mind seeing her live again!
Papa Was A Rolling Stone - The Temptations
Oh man. Man oh man, is this song great. It has a terrific intro to it. And it's one of those long-ass intros that makes it even cooler. It actually has a distinct Shaft feel to it. I love those long, funky songs that make you just bounce around and get groovy.
The other reason I love this song is because it harkens me back to the second show I designed at Stage West. It was called Love Train and it was an all soul/R&B show. And this song was one of the ones that was in the first set. I can't help but love it. I know some people didn't care for the show, they found it somewhat frustrating. But I do love it. And you should too.
Lover of Mine - Alannah Myles
Another female Canadian! I keep forgetting that Alannah Myles is Canadian. She's got some pretty kick-ass songs to her credit and she's homegrown. I dig that.
She's one of those artists who got a lot of radio play in the 90s. It seemed like everywhere you went this song, or Black Velvet was on the radio. Which was not a bad thing. Both those songs are fantastic. I won't link Black Velvet right now, because the song is fantastic and will definitely be added to Throwback Tracks at some point. Because people who don't know that song need to know that song.
This song has a nice slow feel to it. And it also just tends to rip your guts out. You can feel the love in the song as she sings it. And it makes you kind of want to be the person she's singing it to.
Okay. So when people say "New Year, New Me" it means they're going to change. Well... it's a new year, but same old Dave. I don't have the playlist ready yet. I hope to have it done for next week. By that point my classes should be in a groove and maybe I'll have more time to devote to the playlist! Time will tell. But until then, enjoy all the old songs from the old playlists!
-D (@davidronn)
2017
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