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Posts tagged ‘AC/DC’

Dec 21

5 Comments

Stronger Than a Cup of Coffee: Sick as a Dog, Feeling Kicked in the Teeth & in need of Medicated Goo

More powerful than a locomotive!
Able to leap Big Champagne’s Ultimate Chart in a single bound!
Look! Up on the stage…
It’s a absurd…
No, it’s insane…

No…it’s three songs stronger than a cup of coffee!

Some mornings are harder than others to strike sparks. You may be hungover. You may be dreading the thought of sitting in your cube all day. You may be so sick that you think you just dislocated an eyeball by sneezing and hacked up your spleen in a coughing fit.  Today I am stuck in the dislocated eyeball and hacked up spleen category. 

I am one of the healthiest and most sick-resilient people I know. Somehow, I ended up with a monster cocktail of germs and funky-gunk resulting in the Bermuda Triangle of cold symptoms: clogged sinus-pounding headache-chest congestion. This morning I tried to beat it back with exercise. That just made me more tired. I drank some coffee and tea. Still running on fumes. I had tomato and basil soup for breakfast. Still dragging my feat. 

There is only one cure left: blood boiling, fist pumping, groove inducing music. Like me, if you are feeling low-down, here are three pick-me-ups to get your motor running.

Considering I keep myself in good health, I do feel kicked in the teeth that I got this cold. Seriously, after listening to this tune I felt ready to get my train back on it’s tracks. For the first 40 seconds, Bon tells us why he is pissed. For the next three minutes the band backs his ass up. Check out when Bon come back in on vox at 2:52. The band is in full flight. This tune is off “Powerage“, my fave rave AC/DC album. 

And while we are on this “sickness” version of Stronger Than a Cup of Coffee, let’s get literal: today I feel Sick as a Dog. OK, so what is the best known cure for a cold? Yep, you guessed it…homemade chicken soup. Since I can’t shuttle my mom over to London for kitchen duty, I’ll have to get my homegrown cure another way…from the Boys From Boston. Plus, hand claps in a rock and roll song always lifts the spirits…look for them a 3:30 in the song. 

What do you do when your sick..aside from call in to work…you load your self up on pills, powders, sprays and whatever else will cure what ails you. I think Traffic has the best stuff that you can get over the counter: Medicated Goo. While this doesn’t have the high-watt punch of “Kicked in the Teeth”, this tune has a stone groove that will get your white blood cells moving.
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“Kicked in the Teeth Again” – AC/DC (a la Bon)

“Sick as Dog” – Aerosmith

“Medicated Goo” - Traffic


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Nov 19

25 Comments

It’s not what you play, it’s how you play it: live music puts a tiger in my tank

“Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio.” 

That is a quote by one of my heroes: Hunter S. Thompson. Hunter…I miss your honesty, your true grit and your wisdom. Oh, your wisdom; the wisdom found in this statement prances and preens like one of your precious proud peacocks. I can’t agree more with what Hunter is saying here: Music = Fuel.

I want to take that one step further.  If music is indeed fuel, then live music is super-unleaded; high-test; moonshine.

I’ve been heavily into the live portion of my collection as of late. Great live albums/songs are touchstones to me. If I need a pick me up, if I need to be jolted or if I just need a cheap thrill…I can always turn to some fave live music. 

Case in point…I am trolling the back catalog lately in anticipation for three purchases that will happen in the next two weeks: all of them live. 

I love this time of the year. Record labels are putting out lush box sets hoping to hook holiday gift buyers and solo splurgers. I am a

record company’s chum; sharks sniff me out and attack and rip me…and my wallet…to shreds. Bring it on. These sets tend to be grandiose with a price tag to match.  It is not that I have money to burn…if I did I would be an arsonist…but I know what I like and what I gots-ta have.

The three sets I am pacing the floor for are:

The Rolling Stones: Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out [40th Anniversary Deluxe Version]. This is the proud black panther crawlin’ up and down my hall. As far as live music goes, this may be the best show of ‘em all: a flat-out, hands-down, sure-bet live masterpiece. This set has the whole kit and caboodle: Three LPs, three CDs, one DVD, books, posters and a lock of Mick’s pubic hair. Go HERE to check out this magnificent booty.

This album may contain my fave live tune EVER: “Little Queenie“. This song has it all: Mick teases the home crowd with a shout out (“You talk a lot New York City….”), it is a cover tune and it takes that cover tune and turns it into a stone cold monster…a raunchy, only when the moon is full, full-tilt, evil-twin version. It also has multiple guitar solos in it. “Little Queenie” sets the standard for what live rock and roll can be. All this and it has Keef Richards playing some of the his best riffs ever. Dirty.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: quot; target=”_blank”>The Live Anthology. Four CDs of live TP & The HBs from way back to right now. Everything I hear about this positions it as bow-down material. I think I have to go BluRay version for this.

Tom Waits: Glitter and Doom – Live. I’m going for vinyl on this one. When ever I get done with a Tom Waits listening session I am unsure whether or not red means stop and green means go. Tom Waits swims against the current.

Live music…it is going to be my fuel for the holidays. I want to share a few fave live tunes with you. There is NO WAY I could begin to put together a  list of ALL of my faves…not possible. What I have for you here are ten front-burner faves that I always can turn to when my gage reads “E”.  

Normally I like to embed a playlist here in this post; I couldn’t find all the songs I wanted to share. Instead, I am gifting them to you in a download.  Tis the season, eh?  Here is what you will find in the playlist, including a bit of twitter’esque commentary on each:
  • Everyday I have the Blues (BB King - ”Live at the Regal”): this is the first song on the album. The crowd is in BBs hand before Lucille’s second solo rings out.
  • Live Wire (AC/DC – “Bonfire”): This takes place in a radio studio with a small live crowd. How do they strike sparks this fast?!  Combustible music.
  • Mean Woman Blues (Jerry Lee Lewis – “Live at the Star Club, Hamburg Germany”): Pure, unadulterated raw power. The Killer is on fucking fire here.
  • Walk It Talk It (Lou Reed – “American Poet”): Again this one is recorded live in a radio studio. Lou Reed is a rock and roller on this one…it has a definite Chuck Berry sound. 
  • Cowgirl in the Sand (Neil Young – “Live at the Fillmore”): Neil covers the spectrum of his guitar playing abilities on this: intense. Listen to Jack Nitschze’s haunting piano: creepy.
  • Little Queenie (Rolling Stones – “Ya-Ya’s”): Like I said, this is unmatched R&R.
  • Don’t Think Twice Its Alright (Eric Clapton – “Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Special”): “Bobfest”, as dubbed by Neil. This might be Clapton’s last great performance. The second guitar solo makes your head shake involuntarily. Whew. And…its a cover song.
  • Emotionally Yours (The O’Jays – “Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Special”): Wow…this song has that rising power that takes you soaring with it. Emotional, indeed…
  • Caravan (Van Morrison – “Last Waltz”) – Another qualifier of live greatness: the all-star jam. Van takes this one over the top with a handful of crescendos…and with a crazy purple spandex outfit [yikes!]
  • You Don’t Know Like I Know: (Sam & Dave – “The Complete Stax Singles, Disk 4″): Arguably two of the greatest live performers ever. Listen to the fun and excitement in this one. You can’t help but move to it. 
Download the “Live Moonshine” playlist HERE.
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