Earlier today I compared Kanye West to the Beatles, and named his best 11 songs. Good stuff.
Here’s my fast take on the top 11 Beatles songs. Just like Kanye, the Beatles have way more than 11 good songs. So both lists skew to my preferences at this moment. I tried to write notes, but it seemed silly. Great song. Favorite. etc etc. Make your own faves known in the comments.
I Want Hold Your Hand, Meet the Beatles
Eight Days a Week, Beatles for Sale
In My Life, Rubber Soul Continue reading
Resurrected from a year ago. Everything Rockremnants should be about. No explanation necessary. I tear up when I watch this:
I posted this tune some months ago because it’s so catchy, and radical, and then there are the words.
Kanye doesn’t always make sense and isn’t always right, but he always says what he means. And in that context, this is another song where the impressionistic lyrics are brutally honest and heartfelt. Which is sometimes scary and, to my mind, admirable (even if not always defensible).
Best of all, the track is powerful and uncompromising. This is my Best cut of 2013.
The first Rolling Stones album I ever owned was Between the Buttons, and it’s a fantastic and often forgotten disc, full of fantastic songs. The Stones were feeling somewhat arty at this time, Brian was still alive, but what stands out today is how deftly the Stones appropriated all the artsy crap everyone else was throwing off and made it their own.
My Uncle Henry, my father’s brother, died last week and I went to the memorial today, and was very glad to see my cousins for the first time in ages. I was also reminded of my uncle’s gentle personality. What I remember best is his funny smirk. He was funny without saying anything. But when he said something he was funny, too.
I was also reminded that my aunt and uncle brought me Between the Buttons for my 12th or 13th birthday, and at that moment I was pretty sure they had no idea how much that meant to me. All of a sudden I had the Stones in my house, and it was good.
I didn’t talk about this today, since it seemed more about me than he. I did delight in talking to my cousins. And my aunt. About other stuff.
And thanks for this:
Love, Peter
Compare and contrast!
A classic. “I coulda been someone/Well so could anyone.”
I’m sure I heard the Beatles’ version first, and I discovered Little Willie John because of a story in Rolling Stone—so we’re not talking obscure—but still, this is a song that still sounds fresh to me today. A masterpiece.
And here’s an informative conversation about Little Willie John from a Detroit TV show.
I just sent the Fantasy Baseball Guide 2014 off to the printer an hour ago. It’s looking sharp. Thanks to those who contributed. You know who you are. Now it’s time for something fun.
Nathanial nominated “Suspect Device” by Stiff Little Fingers.
Gene counters with the Clash’s “Complete Control.”
Steve says The Stooges “Search and Destroy.”
Rotoman says Richard Hell and the Voidoids “Love Comes in Spurts.’
Have a different fave, or a thought? Put them in the Comments.
I was at a fundraiser for my daughter’s school tonight. Drinks and food at another family’s house in the neighborhood, around the corner.
It was nice, actually, a chance to see and meet neighbors who intersect in a variety of important and less important but relentless ways. But after a while I wandered into the kitchen and there was a band, a trio, setting up. Our host, it turns out, plays bass. They had a list of tunes and played for about an hour. Some Chicago blues, some rock ‘n’ roll, all very nicely played. Our host said they were a blues trio, but the standout song was a kind of bossa nova version of I’m Waiting For My Man.
The cool thing was these three oldish guys, probably younger than me, sounded really good. They were loud, but you could stand 15 feet away and talk. Our host, the bass player, later told me that they didn’t always play blues. He said they’d worked out some Morphine songs replacing the sax with guitars.
I want to hear that. But until then, go with the best…
It is not a joke to say that this is one of the great songs and performances of the rock era.
No, it wasn’t a hit. But listen again. We have time. It speaks to all of us, and it rocks.
The Upper Crust, Let them eat rock
The amazing thing is that nearly 20 years on the Louis 14 thing is still working. As it should. We’re fighting the upper crust more now than at any time since the 30s.
