Throwback Tracks -- July 13, 2017
David R. Smith
I'm going to be honest; 2 of these songs (the sappy ones) were stuck in my head this week. That's usually how I start doing the TBT list. I just get songs stuck in my head and think "Yep. That'll do for a Thursday song." One of the songs came because I put in another song on YouTube and this was further down the list of the same artists. And the others just kind of fell into place. I like this week's list. It's eclectic, it's got a bit of everything, and they're all terrific songs. So enjoy. And if you don't, surely there'll be something some other day that you like better. So there's always that.
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.
More Than Words - Extreme
This song popped into my head because I've been re-watching episodes of the office and in one episode, Andy sings this with his dad. Sort of...
Anyway, it's a pretty terrific song from 1990. I don't think Extreme did much beyond this, but when you have a song this good, who needs to do more, am I right?
This is one of the simplest, yet most elegant songs I know. One guitar, two voices, excellent harmony. When it comes down to bare bones rock and roll, it doesn't get much better than this.
Rain When I Die - Alice In Chains
So we got to Alice in Chains today because as I was walking down the hallway, singing the beginning to More Than Words, I kept coming up with the Sea of Sorrow introduction. They are nowhere near the same, yet apparently somewhat similar enough that I kept singing Sea of Sorrow by Alice in Chains. When I went to get that song, Rain When I Die was on the "similar" list and while I love Sea of Sorrow as an Alice in Chains song, there aren't many songs in the world I like more than Rain When I Die.
Man I miss Layne. I didn't really get into AiC until after he died, but I love them now and I miss his voice. He can just wail. I wonder if it rained the day he died...
Misery - Soul Asylum
I don't know how this song got stuck in my head today. I woke up this morning and somehow I just started singing "they say misery, loves company" and it just sort of snowballed from there.
This song was an anthem for kids in the 90s. It sort of echoed a lot of the sentiments of Gen-X-ers and, I guess, to a lesser extent, the in-betweeners of Gen-X-ers and MIllennials. I mean, somebody singing "frustrated incorporated" and then "I know just what you need" is a nice way of letting young, disenchanted youth feel... better?
Not gonna lie: I forgot Soul Asylum sang two songs. In my mind, this and Runaway Train were the same song. They so aren't. And while Runaway Train is good, this one is better. If nothing else, because it's more depressing. And somehow that makes it better. I guess...
Domino - KISS
Ahhh KISS. The freakshow of the rock and roll world. And I'm just talking about Gene Simmons' tongue. Hi-yo!
It's funny how they have songs like Detroit Rock City and Love Gun, then they have a song like this. They're not vastly different. But different enough. Let us not even get into I Was Made For Loving You today (though, I can safely bet that song will get on one of these lists one day, because that song rules.)
My dad saw KISS play the dining centre in his residence years ago when he was in university. Apparently this was before they got big and they just came to play a gig. Though I guess they still had their makeup on and stuff like that. They just couldn't do all the pyro that comes along with a KISS gig nowadays. My dad didn't care for them but he got to see them. And now look at where they are. Makes me think about some of those smaller bands I saw in small pubs and stuff. I wonder where they'll be in 20 years. (I'm looking at you, Shred Kelly)
I Remember You - Skid Row
Finishing us off this week is Skid Row. Because everybody needs a little Sebastian Bach am I right? Fun fact: according to his wikipedia page, he's actually Canadian! (Though he was born in the Bahamas of all places...)
As far as 80s hair bands go, Skid Row isn't my favourite. They're decent but not the penultimate hair band. But there are very few 80s hair band ballads that are better than this one. Every Rose Has Its Thorn, maybe trumps this one. But that might be it. If anybody can argue me, I say go for it. I'll gladly accept your challenge. But since none of you ever respond to my challenges, I'll just assume that I'm always right. It's a pretty good system.
Anyway. Music!
So that's it. Another week in the bag (almost) and another set of 5 songs for you to listen to. If you're in desperate need of another classic music fix, I'm happy to say the June playlist is up now, so you can go listen to that. And also, something new and fun for you: The June playlist is also avaliable on Spotify! So that's cool. Apparently you can just listen to it right here. It's like bonus music!
And, as per usual, here are all the other playlists from the last year-plus of us doing this.
Throwback Playlist for Dec 16/Jan 17
October 2016 Throwback Playlist,
September 2016 Throwback Playlist
-D (@davidronn)