Throwback Tracks -- March 23, 2017
David R. Smith
Guys. Because of my having to re-jigger my TBT for last week in order to pick the St. Patty's Day theme, I already have a massive head start on this one. I'm literally writing this a week out. I just might be able to get on something of a schedule here. Can you imagine?
Anyway, this week there's no theme. Just a bunch of songs I really like.
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.
Long Way Down - Goo Goo Dolls
The Goo Goo Dolls have a tremendous assortment of hits that spanned the better part of 3 decades. Granted a lot of their early stuff is fairly unknown to people who aren't major Goo Bags.
Clearly he loves Iris.
This song was fairly early in their successful tenure. It came out in 1995 which was well before that damned soundtrack song came out in 1998.
While I really like the Goo Goo Dolls and some of their later stuff. This song is so damned good. I think a lot of it is because it's got a harder feel than some of their latter stuff.
Stay tuned for more Goo. Because they will absolutely make another appearance sometime on TBT.
One Gun - 54-40
I have such a weird relationship with this band. When I was growing up, their song Ocean Pearl was massive. And that bothered me because I didn't really care for that song. To be honest, I still don't really care for it. Then they came out with their song Crossing A Canyon which is really, really good. So then I was conflicted; how do I like this group when one of their songs I really don't care for but one of them I really enjoy? I didn't give it much thought after that.
Then I saw them live. It was a few years ago when 54-40 opened for Matt Good who, in turn, opened for the Tragically Hip. Ultimately I was there for The Hip, but because I had full day tickets, figured I would go for all the music. Let me tell you: 54-40 was awesome! They busted out this song, which I had probably heard before but never really paid close attention to, and I realized how good this group actually is. While I still don't love Ocean Pearl, they do have some pretty killer songs!
Twice As Hard - The Black Crowes
Speaking of bands I knew but didn't know a lot of. I had heard Hard To Handle and really enjoyed that song but wasn't sure about the rest of their work. So I was reticent to pick up an album of theirs.
But as a teenager when I was all about frivolous spending, I bought Shake Your Money Maker on a whim. I've gotta tell you; Hard to Handle might be one of my least favourite songs on the album now! With other songs like She Talks to Angels, Jealous Again, and this one; it's hard for Hard to Handle to compete.
If you're in to southern rock (which, let's be honest; I am) you'd probably be into this album. So listen to this song. And the rest of this weeks TBT and then go buy Shake Your Money Maker.
Sweet Soul Sister - The Cult
Speaking yet again about bands I knew of but didn't know a lot of their stuff… Seems to be a theme today!
I can't remember the first Cult song I heard. It was likely Fire Woman. But I don't think I liked it. I think it was probably because of Ian Astbury's voice. I found it weird and off-putting. But I was also, like, 6 when I heard it. (Granted at 6 years old, I already loved Queen, so…)
As the years went on, and I became more interested in music, I actually got to realize how good this band is. She Sells Sanctuary rapidly grew to become one of my favourite songs (and probably still is.) Because I loved that song so much, I figured I would investigate more of their stuff. Again, on a whim, I bought Sonic Temple. Though I'm pretty sure it was second hand, this go-round. I mean; I wasn't going to pay full price for a Cult album. Once again, I loved it. Sweet Soul Sister was a song that I had definitely heard on the radio and when it came on this disc, I was floored. I had no idea it was by the Cult. What a tremendous surprise for 18 year old Davey!
Change - Blind Melon
Oh man. RIP Shannon Hoon. One of the most unique voices of the 90s music movement.
Everybody in the world knows Blind Melon, because No Rain is one of the most iconic songs of the early 90s. That song has such a groovy feel to it. It's hard to be in a bad mood when that song is playing.
The same can be said about this song. That opening guitar riff instantly puts me in a good mood. It's so simple and yet so effective. And then you get the rest of the instruments coming in, making a wonderful complement to Hoon's voice, giving just a great vibe to a song.
And then at the end; the simplistic lyrics mixed with the mandolin:
"And oh as I fade away,
They'll all look at me and they'll say,
Hey look at him and where he is these days.
When life is hard, you have to change."
It's even more interesting considering this song came out close-ish to Hoon's death, which came from an overdose, despite people pleading with him to try to quit drugs.
*sigh*
How's THAT for an ending, hey? Yeesh! Way to end on a bummer, Smith.
Well after that, I feel like the only way to pick your spirits up after that is to listen to more TBT playlists. So do it. Do it now!
Throwback Playlist for Dec 16/Jan 17
October 2016 Throwback Playlist,
September 2016 Throwback Playlist
-D (@davidronn)