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Time Of The Season is built around the bassline heard in the intro, this song has some very effective and unusual structural components that helped it endure. The bass riff is punctuated with a hand clap and the breathy "ahhhh" vocal. These elements add sonic texture during the verses, and also show up in the two interludes. And while most hit songs pound you with the chorus, this one doesn't. The full chorus - "It's the time of the season for loving..." takes just eight seconds and is repeated three times. That's just 24 seconds of chorus, but this minimalist approach gave the line tremendous impact, resonating with listeners at a time of social and political turmoil in America. The band broke up in late 1967, shortly after recording the album. When the album was released in April 1968, it sold poorly, stalling on the US charts at #95 and making no impact in their native UK. The "Time Of The Season" single, however, became a huge hit in America even though the group had disbanded and couldn't support it. It sold over a million copies, peaking at #3 on March 29, 1969. With their newfound American success, band members Rod Argent, Paul Atkinson and Hugh Grundy got the band back together, minus lead singer Colin Blunstone. This reunion was short lived, and by the end of 1969 The Zombies were once again dead. Blunstone went on to have a successful solo career, including a #15 UK hit in 1972 "Say You Don't Mind," and was the guest vocalist on Dave Stewart's (not the Eurythmics Dave Stewart) 1981 UK #13 cover of "What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted." Rod Argent formed the band Argent, which had a hit with "Hold Your Head Up" in 1972. The Zombies keyboard player Rod Argent wrote this song. He said in The Guardian February 22, 2008: "'Time of the Season' was the last thing to be written (for the album). I remember thinking it sounded very commercial. One of my favorite records was George Gershwin's 'Summertime;' we used to do a version of it when we started out. The words in the verse - 'What's your name? Who's your daddy? Is he rich like me?' - were an affectionate nod in that direction." Argent added: "The album title's slightly high-flown, isn't it? As is the quote from The Tempest on the back. It was a very flowery time in all sorts of ways. Me and Chris (Chris White bassist and co-songwriter) shared a flat with a guy called Terry Quirk who was a very talented artist and he came up with this beautiful, florid cover that we adored. We didn't notice that the word odyssey was spelt wrongly, to our eternal embarrassment. For years I used to say, 'Oh that was intentional. It was a play on the word ode.' But I'm afraid it wasn't." The famous lyrics, "What's your name, who's your daddy, is he rich like me?" are a nod to the Gershwin standard "Summertime," which The Zombies released on their first album. That song contains the lyrics, "Your daddy's rich and your mama's good looking." The theme of "Seasons" was a concept on the album Odessey And Oracle. Albums were very popular in the late '60s, so artists could put songs together that meant something when played in a certain order. In Word magazine January 2008, the vocalist Colin Blunstone was asked whether the word 'Odessey' in the album title was deliberately spelled wrong. Blunstone replied: "Rod (Argent) told this story for nearly 40 years of how it was deliberate and a play on the word 'ode,' hence 'odessey' when it should be spelled 'odyssey.' So I was astounded as anyone when he finally admitted about a year ago that it had been a simple spelling mistake. Too late to change by the time anyone noticed it. A bit embarrassing, but it's history now." The recording of this song bought about a minor spat between keyboardist Rod Argent, who wrote the song, and the vocalist Colin Blunstone. The argument was over the phrase, "When love runs high." Blunstone struggled with the high note at the end of the line, and snapped at Argent, "If you're so good you come and sing it." Argent admitted in Mojo magazine February 2008: "It was written really quickly and we didn't rehearse it an awful lot. I was trying to change the phrasing." Blunstone told his side in our 2015 interview. "It was written in the morning before we went into the studio in the afternoon, and I kind of struggled on the melody," he said. "Rod and I had quite a heated discussion – he being in the control room and me singing the song - and we were just doing it through my headphones. Because it had only just been written, I was struggling with the melody." Blunstone added: "It makes me laugh, because at the same time I'm singing, 'It's the time of the season for loving,' we're really going at one another." Rod Argent's organ sections take up about 90 seconds of this song's 3:22 running time. Most songs of the era that devoted so much of their time to organ riffs were much longer compositions like "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly and "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" by Procol Harum. This song has been sampled or interpolated on tracks by a number of artists, who sometimes use vast swaths of the song as the basis for their tracks - it's the base for the 2009 Melanie Fiona hit "Give It To Me Right" and for Eminem's 2013 track "Rhyme or Reason." Other tracks to use it include "Rolling Stone" by ScHoolboy Q and "Don't Look Back" by Miguel. Surprisingly, this song never charted in the UK, although it is widely known there. In our 2015 interview with Rod Argent, he said: "'Time of the Season' was the #1 in most countries in the world, but it wasn't in the UK. It's been released three times in the UK, and it's never been a hit. But the extraordinary thing is that everybody knows it in the UK. We played Glastonbury this year, and we had a big audience of the young kids who went completely mad when we played 'Time of the Season.' So, it has become, strangely enough, a classic in the UK, but it's never been a hit." "Time of the Season" was the first song picked by Al Kooper (just after leaving Blood Sweat & Tears) in his new position as staff producer in the A&R department at Columbia Records. As told in Kooper's Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards, producer Clive Davis was about to sign off Columbia's options to release Odessey And Oracle. Kooper persuaded him to keep the option, and the Zombies' later success was the first feather in his cap. Speaking of Columbia Records, their Manhattan offices (located at the CBS Building on Sixth Avenue between West 52nd and 53rd Streets) are known as the "Black Rock" after the appearance of the building. File that next to "Brill Building" in influential buildings in rock 'n' roll history. According to Argent, he was told by Paul Weller that Odessey and Oracle is his favorite album of all time. Bassist Chris White added in the February 2008 Mojo interview: "The Foo Fighters said in a recent Rolling Stone they listen to it most mornings. Tom Petty's keyboard said to me, 'You guys don't realize how important that record's been. As far as we're concerned there's Sgt. Pepper and Odessey and Oracle." In the UK, this was used in a commercial for Magners cider. In the US, Fidelity Investments used it. After this song became a surprise hit in America after the band had broken up, an opportunistic promoter in Michigan put together an ersatz version of the group and sent them on tour. Since no singer could convincingly imitate Colin Blunstone, the promoter announced that Blunstone had died, but the band decided to soldier on without him. The real Blunstone was surprised to learn of his demise, and kept the clipping explaining his death as a keepsake. This was used in the movie Awakenings with Robert DeNiro in a scene when they are driving in the car. The Cantopop artist Samuel Hui released a cover in 1971 (in English) that proved very popular in Hong Kong. It came at a time when Western music was being introduced to the area. This was used at the end of the 1996 Friends episode "The One With The Flashback" in a scene where Rachel fantasizes about Chandler. It was also featured in the 1994 episode "The One Where Monica Gets A Roommate." More TV shows to use the song: DC Legends Of Tomorrow ("Daddy Darhkest" – 2018) Good Girls Revolt ("Pilot" - 2015) NCIS ("So It Goes" - 2014) Cold Case ("Revolution" - 2005) South Park ("The Mexican Staring Frog Of Southern Sri Lanka" - 1998, "201" - 2010) The Simpsons ("D'oh-in' in the Wind" - 1998) Movies include: All The Money In The World (2017) The Conjuring (2013) Riding The Bullet (2004) Shanghai Knights (2003) The Zombies, from Hertfordshire, England, recorded "She's Not There" after they won a talent contest that led to a recording session. They were all teenagers at the time. The group signed to Decca Records, and their keyboard player, Rod Argent, wrote the song for the session. It tells the story of an alluring woman who won't be tied down to one man - the singer wants to let us know all about her, but he can only use words, since she's not there. This song has a lot of distinct elements that made it a rock classic and landed The Zombies in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2019. For starters, the lead instrument is Rod Argent's electric piano, which was very unusual at the time - in the UK it was the first hit song with that lead instrument. And then there's the breathy vocals of lead singer Colin Blunstone. The vocal has loads of dynamic range, as Blunstone starts softly to open the story: Well, no one told me about her The way she lied And then gets increasingly agitated, punctuating the chorus: Please don't bother trying to find her She's not there! The Zombies got a big break when the recording engineer for the session passed out on the floor. That's because the assistant, who took over, was Gus Dudgeon, who went on to produce Elton John's seminal albums. Before he passed out, the original engineer was surly to the group and keen to get it over with - not a great environment for a band's first recording session! With Dudgeon at the controls, The Zombies were able to relax and do a great take of the song. It was a big moment for Dudgeon as well because it was his first session as the main recording engineer. The session started at 7 p.m. because recording at night was very rock and roll, but the engineer went to a wedding that day showed up drunk. "We are just going through some songs and I put some headphones on, and this engineer is screaming down in these headphones with the worst language you can possibly think of - very, very aggressive," Colin Blunstone said on the Songfacts Podcast in 2023. "It makes me laugh because having been in the business for over 60 years, in that first half an hour with this guy screaming at me, I was thinking, I don't think this music business is for me. Then we had a bit of luck and he passed out. He passed out cold on the floor. We had to carry him out of the studio, one on each arm and one on each leg. We took him up two flights of stairs and we put him in a London black taxi and waved him goodbye. We never saw him again, ever." "She's Not There" was The Zombies' first single. Released in the UK in July 1964, it peaked at #12 in August. It fared better in America, where it was championed on the New York City powerhouse radio station WINS and climbed to #2 in December. America ended up being their stronghold. Their UK follow-up single was "Leave Me Be," rush released to capitalize on their momentum. It stiffed, but the next single, "Tell Her No," was released in the US and went to #6. A series of subsequent singles had little impact, and in 1968 they released an album of fresh material called Odessey And Oracle. It wasn't issued in America, but it flopped hard in the UK and other countries, so the group broke up. The Zombies got newe life in 1969 when Al Kooper of Blood Sweat & Tears fame discovered the album on a trip to England and convinced CBS Records to issue it in America. They did, and the song "Time Of The Season" became a big hit. The Zombies, though, were already scattered to the winds, with Rod Argent and bass player Chris White in the band Argent and Colin Blunstone recording solo. Argent and Blunstone re-formed the group in 2004 and started releasing new material. This song was born in bassist/vocalist Chris White's bedroom and only had one verse until Zombies producer Ken Jones heard it," said White. "We were playing in Hatfield, and Ken Jones came up to hear us. And after the gig, Rod said, 'I've got this song that we've been rehearsing' and he played it to Ken on the piano. He did the verse, and then the solo, and there was no second verse, and Ken said, 'Can't we go back to the beginning again?' So Rod had to write another verse, because it only had one originally." On "She's Not There" Ken Jones also instigated a recurring trait of many Zombies' recordings: additional overdubs added in the mixdown to mono stage from 4-track. In this case, there were a couple of extra beats superimposed to create a distinctive drum pattern, thereby rendering the original mono single mix of "She's Not There" the only "correct" version of the song. The song got a big boost when it was judged on the UK TV show Juke Box Jury, where a panel of musical authorities would pass judgment on a song. "She's Not There" got the thumbs up from panelist George Harrison, who declared it a hit. This song was inspired by John Lee Hooker's "No One Told Me" from his 1964 LP The Big Soul Of John Lee Hooker. Rod Argent explained: "If you play that John Lee Hooker song you'll hear 'no one told me, it was just a feeling I had inside' but there's nothing in the melody or the chords that's the same. It was just the way that little phrase just tripped off the tongue. I'd always thought of the verse of 'She's Not There' to be mainly Am to D. But what I'd done, quite unconsciously, was write this little modal sequence incorporating those chord changes. There was an additional harmonic influence in that song. In the second section it goes from D to D minor and the bass is on the thirds, F# and F, a little device I'd first heard in 'Sealed With A Kiss' and it really attracted me, that chord change with bass notes not on the roots. And I'm sure I was showing off in the solo as much as I could!" When the song reached its US chart peak of #2 on the second week of December 1964, it earned the group an invite to the Murray the K Christmas show on December 29 at the Fox Theater in New York City on a bill with Ben E. King, The Shangri-Las, The Shirelles, and several other popular acts. It was the first time the band came to the city, and it was a seminal moment for them, as they got to meet many of their idols and soak up some American culture. They spent a lot of time with Patti LaBelle & the Bluebells, who introduced them to the music of Aretha Franklin. On their 2015 album Still Got That Hunger, The Zombies recorded a song about this experience called "New York." Colin Blunstone's breathy vocals on this track became a signature sound for the group, but their producer, Ken Jones, had him use the technique throughout their first album, which blunted the effect. That album was released in 1965, and was their last until 1968, when they issued Odessey And Oracle, which the band produced themselves. The Zombies also recorded a cover of Gershwin's "Summertime" at the sessions, which was considered for their first single, but "She's Not There" got the nod. Some of the chord changes Rod Argent used were inspired by Brian Hyland's 1962 song "Sealed With A Kiss." Rod Argent on the marriage of lyrics and melodies: "Words have to sit, they have to sort of combine seamlessly with the way the melody is being sung. I know I was very concerned with the lyrics on 'She's Not There' but in the sense that they had to really complement the melody. They had to stand on their own, and had to have their own rhythm and, in that last section I was using the words with different stresses at different times to propel it along towards the final chord. So lyrics have always been very important to me in that way, but not necessarily in a sense of having to explain something concrete. They're an important part of the jigsaw, because I think bad lyrics can screw up a song." Lead singer Colin Blunstone released a new version of "She's Not There" in 1969 under the name Neil MacArthur. His version went to #34 in the UK. Santana covered "She's Not There" on their 1977 album Moonflower. Their version hit #27 in the US and #11 in the UK; it was the only non-live song from the otherwise live album. It was also the last Santana cover song to chart. From then on, the band experimented with more jazz-sounding material. Moonflower was also the last Santana album before Supernatural (1999) to sell more than a million copies in America. "She's Not There" has been used in a number of movies, including: Titane (2021) Wolves at the Door (2016) The Debt (2010) The Life Before Her Eyes (2007) The Shaft (2001) Backdoor (2000) The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) Boys (1996) The Crossing (1990) The Krays (1990) It also appears in these TV shows: The Crown ("Cri de Coeur" - 2019) True Blood ("She's Not There" - 2011) Glee ("The Sue Sylvester Shuffle" - 2011) Crossing Jordan ("Strangled" - 2003) This song provides the soundtrack for a 2016 Kohler commercial that follows a faucet thief known as "The Jackal" who changes her appearance to evade the police. In 2004, Malcolm McLaren mashed up "She's Not There" with the Bessie Smith version of "St. Louis Blues" to create "About Her" for the Quentin Tarantino movie Kill Bill Vol. 2. It plays near the end of the film. "That's a great female blues singer who he has duetting with me," Colin Blunstone said. "I thought that was really impressive that track, I really liked it."

Can't Find Love Snowy White http://snowywhite.com/ Terence Charles White was born on 3 March 1948 in Devon, England. He grew up on the Isle of Wight and was self-taught as a guitarist, having received his first guitar from his parents at the age of ten. He moved to Stockholm in 1965 at the age of seventeen, spending more than a year there playing in a trio called the Train. In 1968 he purchased his signature guitar, a Gibson Les Paul Goldtop. Snowy White is one of a handful of classic blues-orientated British electric guitar players - musicians whose sound, technique and style has echoed the originality of the blues with the excitement of contemporary rock. At the age of eleven he first heard the urban blues sound that had been emanating from the United States, people such as BB King, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and Albert King, and was immediately aware that this was the music that he wanted to incorporate in his playing. He has developed his own style of ‘English ‘ blues, a combination of clear, clean blues phrases and harder-edged riffs that are a recognisable feature of his very personal songs. Arriving in London in the early seventies with the classic ‘few pennies in his pocket’ he gradually made a name for himself among the local musicians and became respected as a tasteful player and an easy guy to get along with. In 1974 he toured the east coast of America, getting as far south as New Orleans and discovering that he thoroughly enjoyed being ‘on the road’. He had by then become friendly with the now legendary English blues guitarist Peter Green and they spent a lot of time jamming together. During the mid-seventies Snowy played on various sessions, developed his skills in the studio environment, and started writing his own material. In the Autumn of 1976 he was invited to tour America and Europe with the Pink Floyd as their first augmenting musician, a gig which took up most of his time throughout 1977. In 1978 the band’s keyboard player Rick Wright asked him to play guitar on his solo album, entitled 'Wet Dream,' which he recorded in the South of France. In 1979 Peter Green decided to head for the studio once more and invited Snowy along to jam. The result was the album entitled ‘In the Skies’, now something of a collectors item. He was then asked by the Pink Floyd to go to America to rehearse their new show entitled ‘The Wall’, and, at the same time, the rock band Thin Lizzy invited him to become a full-time member. So after the completion of the Floyds’ US dates he returned to England and went straight into the studio to record his first Thin Lizzy album 'Chinatown'. This album includes some songs co-written by Snowy, notably the title track. Two and a half years of world tours and recording with the band followed, including the making of Snowy’s second album with them, entitled ‘Renegade’. Snowy again co-wrote some of the songs and the title track. After this long period of work he decided that it was time to do his own thing and quit the band in 1982. In the following twelve months he got together with musicians that he had known and admired for a long time - drummer/percussionist Richard Bailey, keyboard player Godfrey Wang, and his good friend for many years, bassist and producer Kuma Harada. Together they came up with Snowy’s first solo album, ‘White Flames.’ A single, the timeless ‘Bird of Paradise', written by Snowy, which was taken from the album, became an international hit. However, the idea of becoming a ‘singles’ artiste, with the consequent concern about where the next hit record was coming from, did not appeal to him, and he took a break to rethink his musical direction. During that time he put together a gigging blues band, 'The Blues Agency', with drummer Jeff Allen, his old friend Kuma on bass, and, as he wanted to concentrate only on playing the guitar, singer and harp player Graham Bell. Between 1986 and 1989 the band played in the UK and Europe, and recorded two albums, ‘Change my Life’, followed by ‘Open for Business’ (which was released in Europe as ‘Blues on Me’.) In June 1990 Roger Waters, having split from the Pink Floyd, asked Snowy to perform with him on the spectacular ‘The Wall’ show in Berlin. In 1991 Waters again called upon Snowy, this time to play at the ‘Guitar Legends’ concert in Seville as part of Expo. After this concert Snowy decided that it was time that he returned to the mainstream of things so he set about putting down songs that he had been writing during the previous few years. The result was the album entitled ‘Highway to the Sun’. Recorded in the Summer of 1993 it contained ten original songs plus a version of Peter Green’s ‘I loved another Woman’, a long-time favourite of Snowy’s. The album also has guest appearances by Chris Rea ( slide guitar on the title track), David Gilmour and Gary Moore. It also introduced two new brilliant Dutch-Indonesian musicians, Juan van Emmerloot (drums/percussion) and Walter Latupeirissa (bass and rhythm guitar). Kuma Harada also played bass and rhythm. John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick featured on keyboards. The video of the title track has Chris Rea guesting on slide. ‘Bird of Paradise’ then came back into the picture when KLM airlines decided to use it on their new TV advertising campaign, resulting in the single reentering the charts in Europe and the compilation album ‘Birds of Paradise’ doing extremely good business for most of 1994. Snowy’s next album project was released on the UK record label RPM. Entitled ‘Gold Top’, after his well-known Gibson Les Paul ‘Goldtop Standard’ guitar, it features material in which Snowy has been involved from as far back as 1974 right up to 1996. This album includes two tracks from Thin Lizzy, jams from the Peter Green ‘In the Skies’ session (with Peter on 2nd guitar), Al Stewart live in Philadelphia (1974), and the only complete version of the Pink Floyd song ‘Pigs on the Wing’, featuring Snowy’s original guitar solo (never before released), as well as some live Snowy White blues and some previously unreleased material. Dave Gilmour and Chris Rea also appear on tracks taken from his recent ‘Highway to the Sun’ CD. The album closes with the hit single ‘Bird of Paradise’ Snowy then recorded three albums with his White Flames band, “No Faith Required' in 1996, ‘Little Wing’ in 1998 and 'Keep Out:We Are Toxic’ in 1999. Another compilation, entitled ‘Pure Gold - The Solo Years’ was also released in 1999. Also in this year Snowy joined Roger Waters for his bands' ‘In The Flesh’ US tour, which was so successful that, in the Summer of 2000, Roger again toured the States, this time recording a live album and making a film of the show.

You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night) Album: Bat Out Of Hell (1977) by Meat Loaf It's a song of pure passion, which is classic Steinman. Other songs he wrote include "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" by Bonnie Tyler and "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" by Celine Dion. The album version of this song contains a spoken intro ("On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses..."). That's not Meat Loaf - the male voice is Jim Steinman and the woman is Marcia McClain, an actress who played Dee Stewart on the Soap Opera As the World Turns. Steinman wrote the dialogue for his stage production Neverland, which was performed five months before the Bat Out Of Hell album was released. Three songs he wrote for the play were used on the album: the title track, "Heaven Can Wait" and "All Revved Up with No Place to Go." This was the first single released from Bat Out Of Hell, Meat Loaf's third solo album. His first two albums made little impact, but Bat had wings, selling millions of copies not just upon its release, but also for many years later, mostly though catalog sales. The album took a while to catch on, however. In the UK, this song was released as a single in March 1978 and charted at #33 in May. In America, the single was released in January 1978, and went nowhere. The album gained momentum throughout 1978 as radio stations added the songs to their playlists, especially those running the Album Oriented Rock format that was popular at the time. "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad" was the next single, and this one caught on in the US, reaching #11 in July. After "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" made #39 in September, "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth" was re-released, this time going to #39 in January 1979 - 15 months after the album came out. The album version of this song runs 5:04, but the single release excised the dialog and comes in at 3:48. Jim Steinman put lots of intimate details into this song's lyric: "fog crawling over the sand," "your lipstick shining." Bruce Springsteen also stamps his songwriting in this manner, and the similarities go beyond the words: two of Springsteen E Street Band members, pianist Roy Bittan and drummer Max Weinberg, played on this track. The album was produced by Todd Rundgren, who later said that the songs were really outsized versions of what Bruce would do. This over-the-top bombast was noted by the musicians working on the album. Kasim Sulton, who played bass on the tracks (he was also in Rundgren's band Utopia), said in a 2013 Songfacts interview: "Through the whole process I remember distinctly saying to myself, 'This is just the biggest joke that I've ever been involved in.' It was ridiculous, but it was good. Everybody certainly took it seriously, even though I'm sure that Roy and Max felt the same that I did: 'Okay, I'm just getting paid, it's a record. What am I going to have for dinner tonight?'" Meat Loaf's real name is Marvin Aday. He often made up stories about how he got the moniker. The likely answer is that it was given to him by his high school football coach, although he's also claimed that it came from his father, who said he looked like meat when he was an infant. A study at Sussex University in England found that his music is an excellent stimulant for plant growth. He has appeared in several movies, including The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Fight Club. He also played Jack Black's father in Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny. He comes from a rather large family. While he weighed over 200 pounds in seventh grade, his dad weighed 350 and his uncle (standing six feet seven inches) weighed nearly 700 pounds. He was in the original production of Hair, but declined to be in the nude scene. Said Loaf: "You got an extra $12.50 to be in the nude scene and I didn't need an extra $12.50." At one time, Meat Loaf went to church Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night. He told Q magazine that he maintained a faith: "My grandfather was a minister and I was born into a very religious family. There's a Bible in my hotel room, I picked it up and read some of the other night. It's still a big part of my life. People don't expect it because I get on stage and I swear - I'm a rocker. But that's not me, that's a character. If I'm cast in a film I always refuse for my character to say, 'GD,' I tell them I'm not going to say it. I'll say 'damn,' but not the other thing. That's where I draw the line, everything else is open."

Take It On The Run Album: Hi Infidelity (1981) Time for Me to Fly Album: You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish (1978) by REO Speedwagon Take It On The Run was Gary Richrath's answer to fellow band co-leader Kevin Cronin's "Keep On Loving You" (#1 in 1981) - both were going through difficulties in their relationships, Cronin with his wife Denise and Richrath with his girlfriend Debbie. Said Richrath: "When I wrote that, I woke up one night, half asleep, and sat down in front of the TV. There was a soap opera on it. I was just sitting there, strumming a guitar, thinking, 'God, these guys' relationships are worse than mine.' I just sat there and sang vocals about the effects of gossip and relationships breaking up, which was what was on the tube and all that was similar to what was going on in my life." Originally, this was called "Don't Let Me Down," with lyrics geared more toward men than the final result. This song peaked on the Hot 100 on May 30, 1981, a little over a month before MTV went on the air. The band shot a concert video for the song with director Jay Dubin, which was the ninth video MTV aired when the network launched on August 1, 1981. Shortly after the video started, the tape got glitchy and cut out, a bad omen for the band, which was soon replaced on the network by more charismatic bands that made concept videos. The Hi Infidelity track "In Your Letter" also deals with a cheating woman. Kevin Cronin's wife Denise offered a retort in a 1981 People magazine story. "They should have called the album Wives on the Run. The band gets all this sympathy and is excused for all that goes on when they’re on the road. No one even mentions the problems of the wives who are home alone." Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias poached the vocal melody and the "Heard it from a friend" lyric on their 2016 collaboration, "Messin' Around." In season 1 of the Netflix series Cobra Kai, Daniel (who now owns an auto dealership), takes Johnny on a test drive when this song comes on the radio. "Do you like Speedwagon?" Johnny asks. "What kind of man doesn't," Johnny replies. Lead singer Kevin Cronin wrote Time for Me to Fly, which finds him ready to move on from a relationship, even though it's going to hurt. In an interview, he told the story behind the song: "I had been in love with my first love - a girl that I met in high school. But there was a point where I knew that I had to move on, but didn't want to, because I was attached to her. I knew that it wasn't working, so I went to Colorado to put some distance between me and her, even though that wasn't what I consciously did. When I got there, a friend of mine had a guitar sitting on his porch. I went to play it, and it sounded horrible. I realized that it was in some kind of different tuning, so I just messed around with it. I remembered Richie Havens at Woodstock. When he played, he wrapped his thumb around the top of the neck, and I thought, 'I'll try that.' I did, and sure enough, it sounded good. A lot of times, that's what happens: you find something on the guitar that you like, and then the things that you're feeling become attached to that music, and that's what the songs are hatched from." A track from the seventh REO Speedwagon album, "Time for Me to Fly" was their biggest hit at the time, and helped the album, You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish, sell over 2 million copies. Two albums later, they broke through to a new level with Hi Infidelity, released in 1980. That one made them stadium-fillers, thanks to the huge hits "Keep On Loving You" and "Take It On The Run." When MTV went on the air August 1, 1981, REO Speedwagon was one of the biggest acts in America. Most music videos came from European acts at the time, so the network was desperate for American rockers. Even though the song was three years old, MTV put a live video (directed by Jay Dubin) of REO performing this song at McNichols Arena in Denver on April 25, 1981 in rotation. When American bands realized the power of MTV, many began making concept videos. The song was re-released in 1980 to promote the band's compilation album A Decade of Rock and Roll: 1970 to 1980. This time, it went to #77 US. Apparently, the girl this song was written about has been missing for decades. "I literally just got a call from this mystery TV show - kind of a reality TV show - that the girl that I wrote 'Time for Me to Fly' about went missing," Cronin said in 2017. "Literally, went missing like, 30 years ago. And they were calling me. I declined to be filmed for the show." Titled "Kevin Cronin Was Here," season 3 episode 3 of Netflix's crime drama Ozark premiered March 27, 2020. The episode featured the band performing "Time for Me to Fly" live, along with lead character Wendy (played by Laura Linney) singing along to the song in her car.

Moonchild Album: Calling Card (1976) Rory Gallagher “Moonchild” is a Rory Gallagher success taken from the album “Calling Card”, the eighth album by the Irish singer/guitarist. From 1976, it was his second of four albums released on Chrysalis Records in the 1970s. Deep Purple/Rainbow bass guitarist Roger Glover co-produced with Gallagher: it was the first time that Gallagher worked with a “name” producer and the only successful such collaboration. It was also the last album Gallagher would do with Rod de’Ath (drums) and Lou Martin (keyboards). After Calling Card, Gallagher retained only his long-time bass guitarist Gerry McAvoy and hired Ted McKenna on drums. This revised power trio was Gallagher’s line up for the next five years, when Brendan O’Neil took the sticks. The sessions for the album began at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany, in the summer of 1976. Glover came on board as co-producer after having met Gallagher when the latter opened for Deep Purple on an American tour. The choice of Glover signified a conscious attempt by Gallagher to try new directions from the hard rock he was best known for. Calling Card is one of his most diverse albums. It also reflects the synergy that the band had developed after years of playing together. As producer Roger Glover commented “they all seemed very dedicated to Rory, there was an allegiance, born of years of smoky clubs and endless journeys”. This was the fifth and last release featuring this line-up. March 2, 1948 - June 14, 1995 Gallagher was born in Ballyshannon, Ireland to musical parents. His father played accordion, whilst his mother sang and acted in local theatre. He received his first guitar age nine and won a talent contest aged 12. He used the prize money to buy his first electric guitar. His early influences included Muddy Waters, Woody Gutherie and Lead Belly. Whilst at school, he also learned to play mandolin, banjo, and alto saxophone. In 1966, Gallagher formed the band Taste. They released three albums, supported super group Cream at their Royal Albert Hall farewell concert, and supported blues rock super group Blind Faith on their North American tour. They disbanded shortly after an appearance at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. Touring under his own name, Gallagher hired drummer Wilgar Campbell and bass player Gerry McAvoy. McAvoy and Gallagher would play together for 21 years before McAvoy decided to join English blues band Nine Below Zero. Before deciding on these two Belfast musicians, Rory had auditioned many musicians, including bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, famously the rhythm section of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. He released his self-titled debut album in 1971. He produced and wrote all the songs himself. Only two of his twelve studio albums featured a co-production credit (his 1976 album Calling Card, which was co-produced with British rock band Deep Purple's bassist Roger Glover, and 1978's Photo-Finish, which was co-produced with Alan O'Duffy, who produced some of The Rolling Stone's 1969 album Let It Bleed). In 1971, following the release of his second solo album Deuce, he was voted Melody Maker's International Top Musician of the Year, beating Eric Clapton. In later life, Gallagher was prescribed a powerful sedative to overcome his fear of flying. Combined with his alcohol intake, this caused severe liver damage. In 1995, his final tour was canceled and he was admitted to King's College Hospital in London, where he received a liver transplant. Whilst in intensive care he contracted MRSA and died. He has sold over 30 million records worldwide. He was ranked #42 on Gibson's 2010 list of the Top 50 guitarists of all time, and 57th on Rolling Stone's 2012 list of the 100 greatest guitarists. He toured at least once a year in his native Ireland. You are a moonchild and Pretty soon child, I've Got that feeling that I'm gonna make you smile forever If I can Just give me a sign And I'll show you my plan You are a blue child for Ever true child, you Know that I'll try to Paint the skies blue forever If I can Just give me a sign And I'll show you my plan Tell me why You look so sad Time slips by Like grains of sand Just put your future In my hands Tell me why Tell me why you look so sad Time slips by Like grains of sand Just put your future In my hands You are a moonchild and Pretty soon child, I've Got the feelin that I'm gonna make you smile forever If I can Just give me a sign And I'll show you my plan Just show me a smile And I'll show you my plan Just give me a sign And I'll show you my plan Written by: Rory Gallagher

Rory Gallagher A Million Miles Away https://www.rorygallagher.com In the years that have passed since Rory Gallagher’s death, aged 47 on June 14 1995, his true stature has become ever more clear. This soft spoken Irishman, characterized by his flowing locks and trademark working man stage clothes, was far from ordinary. Gallagher was a self taught virtuoso who forged a musical revolution in his native land, shunned the traps of fame and stardom yet became a universally acclaimed international folk hero. Rory’s rock solid devotion to his calling never wavered and the respect of his musical peers was universal. Eric Clapton credited Gallagher with “getting me back into the blues”, The Rolling Stones tried to get him to replace Mick Taylor. Rory’s influence spread through the generations – from Slash to Johnny Marr, from U2’s The Edge to Queen’s Brian May, and onto The Manics’ James Dean Bradfield – any aspiring player who encountered him was bound to be energized or transformed. Of all the guitar greats who emerged in the post war era Rory Gallagher was predestined to become a Celtic Warrior King. He shared his name with Ireland’s last native monarch, was born (to rock) at Rock Hospital in Ballyshannon, Donegal (March 2nd 1948) while his father was employed constructing a hydro electric power plant on the nearby Erne river. In due course, whether using electric firepower or acoustic mastery, the unassuming Gallagher would be transformed into a musical giant, yet he always maintained the most human feeling, eschewing extraneous FX and gizmos in favour of his own raw, primitive, string-bending genius. Acknowledged as ‘the people’s guitarist’ Rory would amass 20 million sales but the emotive connection he made with audiences across the globe was greater than statistics could show. Gallagher’s fire in the fingertips feel was the thrilling result of hard work and dexterity, tireless energy and dynamic drive. As a pre-teen growing up in 1950s Cork, in a home with no record player, the single-minded determination that would hallmark Rory’s career quickly became apparent. The discovery of Elvis and early rock n rollers lead him to seek out blues masters on American Forces radio such as later collaborator, Muddy Waters. “The more I heard the more I got addicted,” he later recalled. He was already a local, talent show-winning star, brandishing a cheap guitar, when the first down payment was made on the celebrated 1961Sunburst Fender Stratocaster that would – its paintwork stripped by his own highly alkaline sweat – become a lifelong totemic tool of his trade. In early 60s Ireland opportunities for a guitar God waiting to shine were constricted by the only available outlet : identically suited showbands. Rory pushed against the envelope when he hit the road with The Fontana and later The Impact challenging the accepted routines of the day. Playing in show bands was a stepping stone and Rory realized he was “only passing through”. But, like Jimi Hendrix when he escaped the chitlin circuit, the skills established as a restricted sideman would explode in the years ahead when Rory became the main attraction. After enjoying the release of playing in Hamburg clubs, Rory seized the opportunity to get off the show band leash back home, putting himself centre stage in the power trio, Taste. Establishing a base in the thriving Blues scene that had built around Van Morrison’s Them at Belfast’s Maritime, Taste became an instant sensation. A residency at London’s Marquee club in 1968, where John Lennon joined an ever growing fervent following, lead to support slots with Cream and Blind Faith. Taste’s formidable presence was captured on two great studio albums and two outstanding live albums including their Live At Isle of Wight album, recorded at the 1970 festival. Then, with their world seemingly at their feet Taste, torn apart by management disputes, imploded, playing their farewell show in Belfast on New Years Eve 1970.

Do Wah Diddy Diddy Album: Original Hits (1964) by Manfred Mann This was written by the songwriting team of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, who were looking to recreate the gibberish gold they struck on The Crystals hit "Da Doo Ron Ron." They stumbled upon "Do Doo Ron Ron," but found that creating a nonsense phrase on purpose was not easy, as it had to sound good and sing well. They settled on "Do Wah Diddy," and pictured it as another girl group hit. It was first recorded (as "Do-Wah-Diddy") in 1963 by The Exciters, who were coming off their hit song "Tell Him." This female version ("There he was, just walking down the street...") topped out at #78, but got the attention of the British group Manfred Mann, who started performing it at their shows. Since The Beatles had some success covering songs by American girl groups (The Shirelles "Boys" and The Marvelettes "Please Mr. Postman"), Manfred Mann decided to give it a shot and recorded "Do-Wah-Diddy," adding their extra Diddy to make it "Do Wah Diddy Diddy." In the UK, where Manfred Mann was established with the hits "5-4-3-2-1" (#5) and "Hubble Bubble (Toil And Trouble)" (#11), the song topped the chart in July 1964. In America, it took a little longer, but in October they had the #1 hit for two weeks, joining the British Invasion. The original Exciters version of this song was a rare miss for Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who produced the track. When it tanked, they started working with the song's writers, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, who were going to record it themselves as The Raindrops. When they started recording it, they got word that Manfred Mann's version was on its way from England, which made their version pointless. At first, Greenwich was put off by her song getting transformed by a male group, but she quickly came around. "We thought, 'With the British Invasion, maybe this is a lucky charm, and it sure was," she said. A brief history of "Diddy" on the US charts: 1963: "Hum Diddy Doo" by Fats Domino (#124) 1966: "Diddy Wah Diddy" by The Remains (#129) When Puff Daddy changed his name to P. Diddy, he hit #66 with a song called "Diddy" in 2001. This was featured on a 1980 episode of The Muppet Show, where it was performed by a group of elderly rock 'n rollers known as Geri and the Atrics. In the season 4 Full House episode "A Fish Called Martin," Jesse and his band perform this with Michelle. There she was just a-walkin' down the street, singin' "Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do" Snappin' her fingers and shufflin' her feet, singin' "Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do" She looked good (looked good), she looked fine (looked fine) She looked good, she looked fine and I nearly lost my mind Before I knew it she was walkin' next to me, singin' "Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do" Holdin' my hand just as natural as can be, singin' "Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do" We walked on (walked on) to my door (my door) We walked on to my door, then we kissed a little more Whoa-oh, I knew we was falling in love Yes I did, and so I told her all the things I'd been dreamin' of Now we're together nearly every single day, singin' "Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do" A-we're so happy and that's how we're gonna stay, singin' "Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do" Well, I'm hers (I'm hers), she's mine (she's mine) I'm hers, she's mine, wedding bells are gonna chime Whoa-oh, I knew we was falling in love Yes I did, and so I told her all the things I'd been dreamin' of Now we're together nearly every single day, singin' "Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do" A-we're so happy and that's how we're gonna stay, singin' "Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do" Well, I'm hers (I'm hers), she's mine (she's mine) I'm hers, she's mine, wedding bells are gonna chime Whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh yeah Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do, we'll sing it Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do, oh yeah, oh, oh yeah Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do

5:15 Sea And Sand Love Reign Oer Me Album: Quadrophenia (1973) by The Who "5:15" is the first track on the second disc of Quadrophenia, Pete Townshend's rock opera about Jimmy, a pill-popping mod cockney who tries to find reality from sexual encounters, the company he keeps, and the clothes he wears. Only when he drowns in the ocean does he discover himself. In this song, Jimmy The Mod takes the train (the 5:15) back to Brighton, once the site of the Mods' triumph against the Rockers, and en route he remembers various experiences of himself and his fellow Mods. Jimmy's recollections are in the main unhappy - anger, confusion, violence, sexual frustration, and rootlessness dominate his thoughts as he keeps returning to the thought: "Inside, outside, leave me alone. Inside, outside, nowhere is home." The term "Quadrophenia" was coined by Pete Townshend, referring to schizophrenia, times two. The character Jimmy The Mod was a quadrophenic: Townshend wanted each of his four personalities to represent one of the four band members. This didn't work as planned, as he was so much more involved in the project than the other members. Speaking with Uncut magazine in 2001, Roger Daltrey said that his main regret on Quadrophenia was the recording process. Ron Nevison, who was the producer at the time with Pete, recorded it with echo on the vocal which can never be removed now," he explained. "It just makes the vocal sound thin. It was the biggest recording mistake we ever made. The echo diminishes the character as far as I'm concerned. It always pissed me off. From day one I just f---ing hated the sound of it. He did that to my voice and I've never forgiven Ron for it." During an infamous performance of the song on BBC's Top Of The Pops, Townshend demolished the Gretsch guitar that he'd used for the bulk of Who's Next and Quadrophenia. The Who went on to earn a life ban from BBC premises after Townshend flicked two fingers at the show's producer and Keith Moon attacked a steward who refused him entry to the bar. Townshend's rage was genuine: The BBC, enforcing union rules, made the group record a new track for their lip-synched performance. The Who recorded their segment on October 3, 1973, which was broadcast on the 500th Edition special of the show the next evening with the offensive gestures edited out. The ban was lifted after representatives for The Who sent a letter of apology to the BBC. This is one of the more confusing songs to understand outside the context of the album. When The Who toured for Quadrophenia in 1973, Roger Daltrey would often explain the concept between songs so listeners could follow along. Townshend wasn't happy about this - he thought the explanations weren't necessary and slowed the show down. "Quadrophenia" refers not just to the split personalities of the character in the song, but also to the quadrophonic sound they intended for the album. The idea was to create four distinct channels, whereas stereo was just two. In a Songfacts interview with Ron Nevison, who engineered the project, he explained: "We ended up not doing it in quad, but I did record the drums with the idea of having them spread out in a quadrophonic kind of way. Although, I didn't really know - and no one knew - what to do. Nowadays, what you want to call quad and 5.1, you still put the band across the front, and in the rear you have the room, so you feel like you're in the audience almost. I didn't know what to do. You listen to the early Beatles songs when they first came into stereo, they didn't know what to do with them." The Who needed various sound effect to create the train station atmosphere in this song, but the sound effects available were all mono recordings, so they created their own, hauling a mobile recording unit to various locales to get the sounds in stereo. For "5:15," they went to Waterloo station to get the authentic sounds of the platform. Getting the train whistle was harder because engineers (the train kind) were only allowed to use them under certain conditions. According to various accounts, Pete Townshend had his driver bribe the engineer so he would blow the whistle. The whistle actually appears at the end of the song "I've Had Enough," which leads into "5:15" on Quadrophenia. During live performances, the sound effects for this song were played on tape, which didn't always go well. On November 5, 1973, Pete Townshend had an onstage meltdown at the Odeon Theatre in Newcastle when the tapes didn't come in at the proper time. Eyewitness accounts recall him punching the road manager in charge of the tapes and going on a rampage against the equipment. The venue dropped the curtain when they realized something was going wrong. After about 15 minutes, the show resumed, with the band filling most of the remaining time with a lengthy jam. "Love Reign Oer Me" is the last track on The Who's rock opera Quadrophenia. The main character Jimmy suffers from a four-way split personality, with each personality reflecting a member of The Who. This is Pete Townshend's theme. The personality is described as "a beggar, a hypocrite, love reign over me." At the end of the story, Jimmy steals a boat and takes it to a rock out on the sea. What happens out on the rock is described in this song. Townshend was a follower of the spiritualist Meher Baba. Meher Baba's teachings were incorporated into some of Townshend's songs, including this one. Townshend (from the Quadrophenia liner notes): "(Love, Reign O'er Me) refers to Meher Baba's one-time comment that rain was a blessing from God; that thunder was God's Voice. It's another plea to drown, only this time in the rain. Jimmy goes through a suicide crisis. He surrenders to the inevitable, and you know, you know, when it's over and he goes back to town he'll be going through the same s--t, being in the same terrible family situation and so on, but he's moved up a level. He's weak still, but there's a strength in that weakness. He's in danger of maturing." In 2007, Adam Sandler starred in a dramatic film titled after this song, named Reign Over Me. Sandler played a widowed dentist who can only relate to old rock music since losing his family in the September 11th terrorist attacks. The soundtrack of the film features a cover version of this song by the Pearl Jam, whose lead singer Eddie Vedder is a huge Who fan. Pearl Jam first issues the song in 2006 as a fan-club single. Roger Daltrey was asked by Q magazine March 2008 about Pete Townshend struggling to write songs for his voice. The Who vocalist replied: "It's what makes The Who what it is. That's always been Pete's thing: writing songs with a different lead singer in mind. When you listen to something like 'Love, Reign O'er Me,' he wrote it as an enlightened, spiritual piece of music, and I went and sang it with this scream of frustration from the street. Not what we had in mind. But the great thing about The Who was that we all had the intelligence to realize when someone was putting in something valuable." Townshend confirmed this when speaking with Rolling Stone in 2019. He envisioned the vocal as a whimper because the character in the song is having the most awful day of his life. When Daltrey let loose, it was an interpretation that shocked him, and he reflexively dismissed it. Engineer Ron Nevison convinced him to give it a chance, and Townshend came to realize that Daltrey's take was rather genius, a primal expression from his inner voice. This helped the pair come to an understanding in their relationship, which Townshend now respecting Daltrey as an actor who could bring a singular passion to the lyrics. In a January, 2010 press release, Pete Townshend explained why Quadrophenia remains his most multi-dimensional work. Said Townshend: "Quadrophenia is music, it's angry music, it never lets up, it's full of energy. But it's also simply a story of a kid who has a bad day. It rains and he goes and sits on a rock. And he contemplates the future and the present, and he decides to do something that he's never done before - he prays." When Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey were given Kennedy Center Honors in 2008, Bettye LaVette performed this song at the ceremony. LaVette started recording in the '60s, but never scored a Hot 100 hit. She gained widespread recognition in the '00s when her releases began attracting attention, especially her striking renditions of famous songs. At the ceremony, Townshend and Daltry were clearly stunned by the performance, and LaVette earned a bevy of new fans. In her Songfacts interview, LaVette explained that she didn't know these famous songs when they were first recorded, so she was free to create her own interpretations. Said LaVette: "Since the songs didn't mean anything to me, they aren't the altar I worship at the way people heard them growing up in the '60s. I don't have that reverence for them. I don't have anything that would hinder me from making them a totally different tune." The album was going to be mixed in "quadrophonic" sound, meant to be played back in special systems with four speakers. That didn't happen. "Some people maintained that we did a quad mix - we never did," engineer Ron Nevison told Songfacts. "We checked it out ahead of time and decided at some point during the project to abandon that." Pete Townshend said that rock music "allows you to face up to your problems and then to dance all over them." For most of his career, his devotion to Meher Baba went hand-in-hand with his music to keep him healthy spiritually, but in 1980 and 1981 when The Who were struggling to survive their internecine conflicts, he was faced with losing the band the first time, and he turned his back on the teachings of his guru, turing instead to drugs and alcohol. After lots of rehab, Townshend got sober and again found his path, again embracing Meher Baba and using music as a substitute for drugs.

The Real Me Album: Quadrophenia (1973) by The Who The purpose of "I Am the Sea" is to set you up for "The Real Me". The sound of the ocean sets up the album's shoreline theme, but because the vocal references to songs on the album are muffled by the waves, you start to turn up the volume. Then you turn up the volume a bit more. Then just a bit more... Then you hear a muffled "can see the real me, can ya, CAN YA!?!. Finally, because you have your volume up to 11 at this point, you get blasted by Pete's guitar riffs and Entwistles bass attack as The Real Me takes off "The Real Me" is about how a Mod can't see who he really is. "Mods" were British youth who kept up with the latest music and fashion trends. Pete Townshend was a champion of Mod culture, and the rock opera Quadrophenia told the story of a Mod named Jimmy. John Entwistle gave what many consider one of his greatest bass performances on this song. In a 1996 interview with Goldmine magazine, Entwistle explained that he recorded it in one take. He was just "joking around" when he played it, but the band thought it was great and used it in the final version. The story in this song holds up fairly well on its own, relating to themes of identity and madness. This makes it one of the more radio-friendly tracks on Quadrophenia, which is meant to be heard in its entirety. The Quadrophenia concept relates to both the storyline in the album and the technology used to record it. The main character in the song has a "quadrophenic" personality, meaning four distinct personas are inside him. Each personality was meant to correspond to one of the band members. The technical aspect is the "quadrophonic" sound. Ron Nevison, who engineered the album, explained it in a Songfacts interview: "Basically, it was a way to take the channels and fold them out of phase into the front channels, and come up with a pseudo-fake four-track quad. It wasn't discreet quad. But even in order to mix it, you had to have quad panning, and you had to have four speakers. There was no studio that could do that in London, so The Who decided to build their own." The quad recording was ambitious, but it wasn't broadcast quality, so the album was released in standard stereo. This is the introduction of each of Jimmy's four personalities, The Romantic (Is it me, for a moment?), The Beggar (Love Reign O''er Me), The Lunatic (Bell Boy), and The Tough Guy (Can you see the real me?). So it gives you the four themes, and if you listen closely to the album, you can hear each one of them repeated at different points, especially the "Is it me?" theme, since that's the point of the album: The story arc of Jimmy wondering who he really is.

Tear Away Bodies Album: Sinner (2001) by Drowning Pool Tear Away was originally going to be released as the follow-up to Drowning Pool's breakthrough single "Bodies," but the band's label decided it could be too divisive after 9/11 so "Sinner" was released instead. "This is the most united we've been [as a country] in a while as far as all our differences being put aside and being pretty much together to fight the evil horde across the sea," frontman Dave Williams told MTV News days after the September 11 attacks. "So putting out a song with a chorus that says 'I don't care about anybody else but me' just didn't seem like a good move." It was eventually released as the band's third single in early 2002. Though the song's message is clearly self-centered, Williams explained it's not entirely negative. "Everybody at one time or another in their life needs to say, 'Forget everybody else, I need to deal with me. I need to take care of myself,'" he said. This song was the theme song to WrestleMania X8 in 2002. It was featured prominently in both advertisements and the event itself, and was also played there live. "Bodies" is a mosh pit anthem. Whenever Drowning Pool played this live, the mosh pit went crazy. The lyrics are very simple, but the song is fun and full of energy. While it may not seem meaningful on the surface, the band has explained that it is about the mosh pit code of honor and the passion of the fans. Guitarist C.J. Pierce came up with the riff, and lead singer Dave Williams added the line, "Let the bodies hit the floor," which became the basis for the song. Dave Williams had "Sinner," the name of the album, tattooed on his arm. He had the tattoo before the album came out. Jared Loughner is a mentally unstable mass murderer who shot dead six people and critically injured US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tuscon, Arizona in January 2011. The killer favored this song on his YouTube channel, leading some media commentators to speculate over whether the killer was influenced by the tune. In a statement posted at Drowning Pool's website, the band responded: "We were devastated this weekend to learn of the tragic events that occurred in Arizona and that our music has been misinterpreted, again. 'Bodies' was written about the brotherhood of the mosh pit and the respect people have for each other in the pit. If you push others down, you have to pick them back up. It was never about violence. It's about a certain amount of respect and a code." This got a lot of exposure when Drowning Pool played Ozzfest in 2001. They were a huge hit with the crowd, and quickly moved up from the third to the second stage, even getting the main stage for some shows. The World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) named this the official theme song of Summerslam. It got a lot of play on the WWF shows. Although it was popular at the time, most radio stations took this song off their playlists after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. The chorus of "Let the bodies hit the floor" would not have been appropriate. This was used in the 2002 Vin Diesel movie XXX and the 2001 Jet Li film The One. Drowning Pool lead singer Dave Williams was found dead on August 14, 2002, when the band was touring with Ozzfest. It was determined the Williams, who was 30, had an undiagnosed heart condition. When the US invaded Iraq in 2003, this was one of the songs they used to break the will of Iraqi soldiers. Heavy metal is not part of their culture, and this was exceptionally offensive and annoying to many of them, especially when played over and over by US forces. 82-year-old former aerospace engineer John Hetlinger auditioned with a performance of this song on the 2016 series of America's Got Talent. Hetlinger's rendition elicited huge cheers from the studio audience, shocked the judging panel and swiftly went viral. CJ Pierce spoke to Loudwire about Hetlinger's performance shortly afterwards, saying, "I am so entertained by it. It's awesome to just see an 82-year-old man get out there and just belt out some metal - whether it was our song or any song, it was just killer to see him do that." "Obviously he had a great time with the song and we have a great time with the song every night so it would be awesome to have him onstage with us." "Bodies" is Drowning Pool's best known song, but its success was unexpected as it came along so naturally. "We were rocking out in the room, drinking a couple of beers and writing what you feel, guitarist C.J. Pierce reflected in Knotfest's Talk Toomey podcast. "And the song 'Bodies' just took on a life of its own, man." While some artists get weird about their most famous song, claiming to hate it, Pierce is different. When the guitarist is at home, he often plays the tune. "I've got the mandolin over here and I'll do just like a mandolin version of 'Bodies,'" he said. "I'll do my own wacky versions of it 'cause it's just a fun song to mess with."

Lonely Is The Word Album: Heaven and Hell (1980) by Black Sabbath Nicholls was originally brought in as a second guitarist when Black Sabbath doubted whether they would even continue under that name. Nicholls then switched to bass when Geezer Butler left briefly, and then became the band's keyboardist upon Butler's return and the decision to keep the Sabbath name. Nicholls' first appearance on a Black Sabbath album was on Heaven and Hell (1980), and he was credited as keyboardist on every Sabbath release from that time until 13 (2013), although he was not an official member until 1986. He remained an official member until 1991, then regained member status from 1993 to 1996. He was an unofficial member once again since the reunion with Ozzy Osbourne in 1997. Although his main role with Sabbath was on the keyboard, Nicholls also played some rhythm guitar on the reunion tours, e.g., during Iommi's solo in "Snowblind" and a few tracks during the Headless Cross (1989) and Forbidden (1995) tours. Nicholls' touring involvement with the band ended when Adam Wakeman (a member of Ozzy Osbourne's solo band) was chosen to play keyboards during Sabbath's 2004 and 2005 tours as part of Ozzfest, and Scott Warren (Dio) handled keyboard duties on the 2007 Heaven & Hell tour. Until his death, Nicholls played keyboards with former Black Sabbath singer Tony Martin, in his band Tony Martin's Headless Cross. Nicholls has performed on Martin's first two solo albums Back Where I Belong and Scream, and their support tours. Geoff Nicholls died from lung cancer on 28 January 2017, aged 72, surrounded by his family. "Geoff was a real true friend and supported me all the way for nearly forty years," said Tony Iommi. "I will miss him dearly and he will live in my heart until we meet again." This heavy blues-metal song has a lyric from Ronnie James Dio, who joined Black Sabbath in 1979, replacing Ozzy Osbourne. It's a very sad and lonely song, with Dio hinting at death with lines like: I'm leaving very soon On the way we pass so close To the back side of the moon It ends on a despondent note: Maybe life's a losing game These kind of morose lyrics aren't common in heavy metal but are often heard in blues and country. Many Sabbath fans cite Tony Iommi's guitar solo on this track as one of his best, and Iommi agrees. He said in a Songfacts interview: "I enjoyed that guitar solo because it was a different mood and was more bluesy, which is my background, really." When composing the song, Iommi hit on the riff and Dio came up with the vocal melody. Dio played an instrument (bass) and was more musical than Ozzy, which allowed him to be a bigger part of the songwriting process with Sabbath. It's a long way to nowhere And I'm leaving very soon On the way we pass so close To the back side of the moon Hey join the traveler if you got nowhere to go Hang your head and take my hand It's the only road I know Oh, lonely is the word, yeah yeah yeah I've been higher than stardust I've been seen upon the sun I used to count in millions then But now I only count in one Come on, join the traveler If you got nowhere to go Hang your head and take my hand It's the only road I know Yeah, lonely is the word Got to be the saddest song I ever heard Yeah, lonely is the name Maybe life's a losing game

Private Idaho Album: Wild Planet (1980) by The B-52s In this song, the fine state of Idaho is used to represent a case of paranoia - the lyrics "get out of that state" meaning to get out of that state of mind. B-52s singer Fred Schneider came up with the title, which was a play on the phrase "Private Eye" well before Hall and Oates used it in a song with a similar theme, but with hand claps. Why Idaho? Schneider explained to the Idaho Statesman that it was the wacky reputation of the state, saying, "Idaho is pretty mysterious to all of us. I know it's a beautiful state, but then I know there's also a lot of crazy right-wingers and all that stuff." He added, "The song's about all different things. It's not like a parody of Idaho or anything." There's an interesting history lesson built into the lyrics, "swimming 'round and 'round like the deadly hand of a radium clock." In the 1920s, the radioactive element radium was used to paint the dials of glow-in-the-dark watches. The women who painted the radium onto the dials would put the brushes in their mouths and get them to a point for the delicate application. This lead to a high rate of cancer, and a 1928 lawsuit that led to a settlement for the girls. Gus Van Sant used the title of this song for his 1991 movie My Own Private Idaho. He thanked the B-52s in the credits, but that's all they got out of it. It wasn't until September 13, 2011 that the B-52s finally played in Idaho. They headlined a show at the Eagle River Pavilion in Eagle, which is outside of Boise. Kate Pierson told Q magazine that it was Keith Strickland who came up with the band's name. She explained: "Keith thought of the name. He had a dream, like a vision of a little lounge band and they all played organs and had bouffant hairdos, and someone said, 'Look, it's the B-52s.' B-52 was slang for a nosecone-shaped hairdo, named after the bomber. We thought, This is a great name: It's a number and a letter, it's really different and snappy. But now there's this plan to prolong the life of the B-52 bomber, and we're lending our name to a campaign to stop it." In 1985, Ricky Wilson (Cindy's brother) became one of the first prominent entertainers to die of AIDS. The band was devastated and didn't work together until 1987, at which point they got back together to write songs and jam. The long grieving process helped them move forward with upbeat material, resulting in Cosmic Thing, their most successful album. They never replaced Wilson; their drummer Keith Strickland switched to guitar, and touring musicians were used for live shows. Until 2008, their band name was rendered "B-52's". The apostrophe shouldn't be there, as it's not a possessive, but when a friend designed the logo, it was included in the design and incorporated into their name. This grammar foul was corrected with the release of their Funplex album. They didn't use a bass guitar (played by Sara Lee of Gang of Four) until their 1989 album Cosmic Thing. But wait, you say. What about "Rock Lobster"? That famous bass riff came from a Korg synthesizer. Cindy Wilson is the only member who is not a vegetarian. The band is from Athens, Georgia, where R.E.M., The Black Crowes and Drive-By Truckers also formed. There is no real leader of the group, and since every member was there from the start, they are all on equal footing. Ricky Wilson was their main songwriter and handled most of the logistics. Pierson began a long-term relationship with the artist Tim Rollins in 1981. In 2003, she began dating Monica Coleman; in 2015, the couple were married. All male members are openly gay. Strickland came out publicly in 1992 in Q magazine. The B-52's played their first gig at a Valentine's Day party for their friends on February 14, 1977. "It was a hobby," Fred Schneider recalled to New York Times. "We'd jammed once or twice. We didn't even have the money to buy guitar strings." The quintet played their first proper concert at Max's Kansas City in New York later that year. The nightclub paid them $17 for their performance.

'The Last Time' From: 'Out of Our Heads' (1965) 'No Expectations' From: 'Beggars Banquet' by The Rolling Stones There were scraps on my cutting room floor and before I emptied the cosmic recycle bin, I thought I'd give you a peak at my garbage. A lawyer's kid knows garbage... The Last Time was inspired by a 1955 gospel song called "This May Be The Last Time" by The Staple Singers. The Stones changed the meaning of the song, making it into a stern message to a girl. The Staples version had a more uplifting message and was much more spiritual. Many gospel fans felt The Stones ripped it off, since The Staple Singers never got any royalties from it. Since it is a traditional song (meaning no one owns the rights to it), many artists have recorded it, but The Stones were a very high-profile band that had success reworking songs by black artists into hits. Many people believe The Stones should have compensated The Staple Singers because it was based on their version of the song. In the 2003 book According to the Rolling Stones, Keith Richards wrote: "We didn't find it difficult to write pop songs, but it was VERY difficult - and I think Mick will agree - to write one for the Stones. It seemed to us it took months and months and in the end we came up with The Last Time, which was basically re-adapting a traditional gospel song that had been sung by the Staple Singers, but luckily the song itself goes back into the mists of time. I think I was trying to learn it on the guitar just to get the chords, sitting there playing along with the record, no gigs, nothing else to do. At least we put our own stamp on it, as the Staple Singers had done, and as many other people have before and since: they're still singing it in churches today. It gave us something to build on to create the first song that we felt we could decently present to the band to play... The Last Time was kind of a bridge into thinking about writing for the Stones. It gave us a level of confidence; a pathway of how to do it. And once we had done that we were in the game. There was no mercy, because then we had to come up with the next one. We had entered a race without even knowing it." This song did have some clear antecedents in black American music, in particular the 1964 James Brown single "Maybe the Last Time," which was itself based on ideas found in a traditional gospel song that had been recorded, but not written, by the Staple Singers. Some have accused the Stones of literally stealing from their black heroes, but "The Last Time" is clearly different from and more rock-oriented than the tracks recorded by James Brown and the Staple Singers, although there are some similarities in approach and the use of the title lyric. The Stones recorded this in Los Angeles on a one day tour stopover on their way to Australia. The Stones were on a grueling American tour, but in order to capitalize on their success they wanted to keep cranking out singles, especially in England because they were not there. As a result, they frequently recorded in between American shows. Phil Spector assisted with the production. You can hear his "Wall Of Sound" approach on the recording. The opening guitar riff repeats throughout the song. This was an innovative device for a pop song at the time. The Who recorded this in 1967 as a show of support when The Stones were being held in England on drug charges. When Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones died in 1969, "No Expectations" suddenly and magically took on new meaning, as lyrics like "Our love is like our music, it's here and then it's gone" made it a fitting elegy. Jones' slide guitar on the song was one of his last meaningful contributions to the group; after years of drug addiction and squabbles with the band, he was fired from the group in June 1969 and died less than a month later. How do you get ahead in Rock and Roll? Sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice. Mick Jagger explained: "That's Brian playing steel guitar. We were sitting around in a circle on the floor, singing and playing, recording with open mikes. That was the last time I remember Brian really being totally involved in something that was really worth doing. He was there with everyone else. It's funny how you remember - but that was the last moment I remember him doing that, because he had just lost interest in everything." The Stones performed this on Rock and Roll Circus, a British TV special The Stones taped in 1968, but never aired. Brian Jones played this with a passion he was clearly losing as drugs took over his life. Rock and Roll Circus was released on video in 1995. Nicky Hopkins, who also played with The Who and The Beatles, played piano on this track.

The Number Of the Beast Album: The Number Of the Beast (1982) by Iron Maiden I attended this tour in Charlotte North Carolina. This song was influenced by the 1978 movie Damien: Omen II, which is about a 13-year-old Antichrist. It was written by Iron Maiden bass player Steve Harris, who explained: "Basically, this song is about a dream. It's not about devil worship." Before the music starts, this opens with an a cappella quote from The Book of Revelation. The band wanted the horror film actor Vincent Price to read this intro, but he wanted more money than they were willing to pay (a year later, Price lent his voice to Michael Jackson's "Thriller"). The quote was read by an unknown thespian actor who had no interest in the band. The number of the beast, according to Revelation 13:18 (the quoted scripture), is 666. Interestingly, 6+6+6 is 18, the number of the verse. Elsewhere in that chapter, it is stated that no man will be able to buy or sell without a mark on the right hand or forehead with the number of the beast on it. This has lead to religious zealots "finding" 666 in practically everything...like in every bar code... The cover art for the album depicted Iron Maiden's mascot Eddie and a devil in vicious combat in Hell. The cover art for single depicted Eddie with a sinister grin on his face holding the devil's head (See also: "Run to the Hills"). During the recording of the album, there were rumors floating about that supernatural occurrences had been going on in the studio, such as lights flipping on and off, strange noises, visions of Satan, etc. This was used as evidence that Satan and the Antichrist had a hand in making this. In a concert at New York's Palladium on June 29, 1982 (which is heavily bootlegged), Bruce Dickinson said: "Just want to say to all the people who play records backwards and burn albums out in the streets, they can go and get... stick their heads up their arse or something like that, 'cause... we ain't interested." On the cover art, just right of the devil's ankle, is artist Derek Riggs' signature: the unique symbol which contains his initials. The tour accompanying the album's release was called "The Beast on the Road." Lead singer Bruce Dickinson said of this song: "We can play with conviction every night, because we totally believe in the music we're performing." This quote, along with the line "666, the one for you and me" led many preachers and enemies of rock music to believe Maiden were Satanists. The Number of the Beast album surprisingly came top of a survey by music retailer HMV to find the UK public's favourite British album during the Queen's 60 years on the throne. The poll attracted almost 55,000 votes in the month preceding the Queen's Diamond Jubilee via Facebook, including presumably a fair number of Maiden fans. An HMV spokesman commented: "The power of social media means there are one or two surprises." This was used in the soundtrack for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. This was re-released as a single in the UK in January 2005. This time, it went to #3. As he explained on the BBC Classic Albums series, Bruce Dickinson's high-pitched scream at the end of the intro was a result of producer Martin Birch forcing the band to replay the intro several times. Dickinson became so fed up with the constant repeats that he emitted the scream out of frustration, and it fit so well that the band decided to keep it. "Woe to you, oh earth and sea For the Devil sends the Beast with wrath Because he knows the time is short Let him who hath understanding Reckon the Number of the Beast For it is a human number Its number is six hundred and sixty six" I left alone, my mind was blank I needed time to think, to get the memories from my mind What did I see? Can I believe That what I saw that night was real and not just fantasy Just what I saw in my old dreams Were they reflections of my warped mind staring back at me 'Cause in my dreams, it's always there The evil face that twists my mind and brings me to despair Night was black, was no use holding back 'Cause I just had to see was someone watching me In the mist dark figures move and twist Was all this for real or just some kind of Hell 666 - the Number of the Beast Hell and fire was spawned to be released Torches blazed and sacred chants were praised As they start to cry, hands held to the sky In the night the fires are burning bright The ritual has begun, Satan's work is done 666 - the Number of the Beast Sacrifice is going on tonight This can't go on I must inform the law Can this still be real or just some crazy dream? But I feel drawn towards the chanting hordes Seem to mesmerize, can't avoid their eyes 666 - the Number of the Beast 666 - the one for you and me I'm coming back, I will return And I'll possess your body and I'll make you burn I have the fire, I have the force I have the power to make my evil take its course

Like a Stone Album: Audioslave (2002) Doesn't Remind Me Album: Out of Exile (2005) Audioslave According to Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell, who wrote the lyric, "Like A Stone" is about death, and finding the afterlife through means other than the traditional monotheistic way of thinking. "It's a guy sitting in a hotel room contemplating death," he said in an interview. "Where you go, what it means, and all the different possibilities. And then coming up with an image he likes, going with the philosophy of, maybe when you die, if you've been good enough in your life, you get to go somewhere you remember that's really cool." Audioslave formed when Zach de la Rocha left Rage Against The Machine. The remaining members hooked up with Soundgarden lead singer Chris Cornell to create the band. "Like A Stone" was their second single, following "Cochise." It's one of the group's most popular songs, earning lots of airplay on rock radio and going to #1 on the Modern Rock chart. If you thought this was a love song, take comfort in knowing that Audioslave bass player Tim Commerford did too, figuring the guy in the song was waiting for his true love. But when he asked, Chris Cornell told him the song is about an old man waiting for death. He sits in a house alone after all his friends and family have passed on before him, waiting to be reunited with them. "I got saddened about what he's singing about," Commerford said. "I'm picturing this man in a rocking chair waiting to die." With a new understanding of how Chris Cornell writes, Commerford had another listen to the Soundgarden catalog to suss out the deeper meanings. "Cornell fooled me," he said. "I thought some of the things he was singing about were trivial, but they're never trivial. He's really deep." At concerts, Cornell has stated that "your heaven is what you make it," indicating that "heaven" is in the eye of the beholder. >> The video was shot in Jimi Hendrix' old house where he wrote "Purple Haze." At the time, Audioslave were just rehearsing, but they had cameras there and they just shot the video there and then. There was some speculation that this song deals with the death of Alice in Chains lead singer Layne Staley, but according to Chris Cornell, they wrote the song before he died. Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell lists a number of things he enjoys, all for the same reason: they don't remind him of anything. "Doesn't Remind Me" is open to interpretation and can have very different meaning depending on the listener. Enjoying the simple pleasures in life is one key to happiness, in part because that's time not spent dredging up painful memories. The lyric could sound trite if not delivered by Cornell, who even when singing about gypsy moths could bare his soul. Many who dealt with substance abuse issues found solace in this song and identified with Chris Cornell, who battled addiction for much of his life. Cornell hanged himself in 2017 at age 52. Audioslave shared songwriting credits, with Chris Cornell penning the lyrics and his bandmates - Brad Wilk, Tim Commerford and Tom Morello - writing the music. Out Of Exile was their second of three albums; like their debut, it was produced by Rick Rubin. The music video portrays a rather poignant interpretation of this song. Directed by Chris Milk (Arcade Fire's "We Used to Wait," Kanye West's "All Falls Down"), it shows a young kid training to be a boxer and playing with model airplanes. We later learn that his father is a pilot who has died in combat. At the time, America was engaged in war with Iraq. Morello, Wilk and Commerford were vocal critics of the war; their previous group, Rage Against The Machine, often tried to eviscerate American foreign policy. Chris Cornell sometimes performed an acoustic version of this song at his solo shows. Inevitably, the audience would sing the refrain. Like a Stone On a cobweb afternoon In a room full of emptiness By a freeway I confess I was lost in the pages Of a book full of death Reading how we'll die alone And if we're good, we'll lay to rest Anywhere we want to go In your house, I long to be Room by room, patiently I'll wait for you there Like a stone I'll wait for you there Alone And on my deathbed I will pray To the gods and the angels Like a pagan to anyone Who will take me to heaven To a place I recall I was there so long ago The sky was bruised The wine was bled And there you led me on In your house, I long to be Room by room, patiently I'll wait for you there Like a stone I'll wait for you there Alone Alone And on I read Until the day was gone And I sat in regret Of all the things I've done For all that I've blessed And all that I've wronged In dreams until my death I will wander on In your house, I long to be Room by room, patiently I'll wait for you there Like a stone I'll wait for you there Alone Alone Doesn't Remind Me I walk the streets of Japan till I get lost 'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything With a graveyard tan, carrying a cross Yeah, it doesn't remind me of anything I like studying faces in the parking lot 'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything I like driving backwards in the fog 'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything The things that I've loved, things that I've lost Things I've held sacred that I've dropped I won't lie no more, you can bet I don't want to learn what I'll need to forget I like gypsy moths and radio talk 'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything I like gospel music and canned applause 'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything I like colorful clothing in the sun 'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything I like hammering nails and speaking in tongues 'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything The things that I've loved, things that I've lost Things I've held sacred that I've dropped I won't lie no more, you can bet I don't want to learn what I'll need to forget Bend and shape me I love the way you are Slow and sweetly Like never before Calm and sleeping We won't stir up the past So discreetly We won't look back The things that I've loved, things that I've lost Things I've held sacred that I've dropped I won't lie no more, you can bet I don't want to learn what I'll need to forget I like throwing my voice and breaking guitars 'Cause it doesn't remind me of anything I like playing in the sand, what's mine is ours 'If it doesn't remind me of anything

Going Up The Country Album: Living The Blues (1968) Amphetamine Annie Album: Boogie With Canned Heat (1968) by Canned Heat Canned Heat's band members were notoriously avid record collectors; this was derived from an old and obscure Blues song called "Bull Doze Blues" by Henry Thomas. The song caught on in the summer of 1969 and was very popular among Hippies who appreciated the nature theme. Going Up The Country was written by Alan Wilson, who was Canned Heat's vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter. Wilson committed suicide on September 3, 1970, becoming one of the first 27-year-old rock casualties, a group that would soon include Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. Canned Heat played this at Day 2 of the Woodstock festival, which was a big moment for the band. The song was kind of an anthem for the festival, as "Going Up the Country" described the pilgrimage to Yasgur's farm in upstate New York where the event took place. The band didn't put much effort into practicing for their appearance, and their 10 song set was uneven - their co-founder Bob Hite said in a 1974 Sounds interview, "We've always just fallen into something within a couple of days and then just gone out on the road and played. Sometimes it's shown it and sometimes it's been incredible. The Woodstock performance which although there were a couple of tunes which weren't too good, 'Going Up The Country' was one of them." The song was included on the Woodstock album, but Canned Heat's set was edited out of the official movie. It can be seen on the director's cut of the film. Bob Hite sang lead on most Canned Heat songs, but this one was sung by Alan Wilson in his distinctive tenor. The prominent flute in this song was played by Jim Horn, who made his biggest impact as a saxophone player, appearing on tracks by The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and The Beach Boys. Boogie with Canned Heat is the second studio album by American blues and rock band Canned Heat. Released in 1968, it contains mostly original material, unlike their debut album. It was the band's most commercially successful album, reaching number 16 in the US and number 5 in the UK. Boogie with Canned Heat includes one of their best-known songs. "Amphetamine Annie", a warning about the dangers of amphetamine abuse, also received considerable airplay. I'm goin' up the country, baby don't you want to go? I'm goin' up the country, baby don't you want to go? I'm goin' to some place where I've never been before I'm goin' I'm goin' where the water tastes like wine I'm goin' where the water tastes like wine We can jump in the water, stay drunk all the time I'm gonna leave this city, got to get away I'm gonna leave this city, got to get away All this fussin' and fightin' man, you know I sure can't stay So baby pack your leavin' trunk You know we've got to leave today Just exactly where we're goin' I cannot say But we might even leave the U.S.A. It's a brand new game, that I want to play No use in your runnin', or screamin' and cryin' 'Cause you got a home as long as I've got mine Amphetamine Annie This is a song with a message I want you to heed my warning I wanna tell you all a story About this chick I know They call her "Amphetamine Annie" She's always shovelling snow I sat her down and told her I told her crystal clear "I don't mind you getting high But there's one thing you should fear" "Your mind might think its flying, baby On those little pills But you ought to know it's dying, 'cause Speed kills" But Annie kept on speeding Her health was getting poor She saw things in the window She heard things at the door Her mind was like a grinding mill Her lips were cracked and sore Her skin was turning yellow I just couldn't take it no more She thought her mind was flying On those little pills She didn't it was going down fast, 'cause Speed kills Well I sat her down and told her I told her one more time "The whole wide human race has taken Far too much methedrine" She said "I don't care what a Limey says I've got to get it on I'm not here to just see no man Who come from across the pond She wouldn't heed my warning Lord, she wouldn't hear what I said Now she's in the graveyard, and she's Awfully dead

Willie and the Hand Jive Album: Mavrick (Recorded July 1984 released January 25, 1985) George Thorogood and the Destroyers Maverick is the sixth album by George Thorogood and the Destroyers. It was produced by Terry Manning and released in January 1985. Some of its songs are among Thorogood's best-known, including "I Drink Alone" and "Willie and the Hand Jive", the latter being his only single to reach the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Willie and the Hand Jive" is a song written by Johnny Otis and originally released as a single in 1958 by Otis, reaching #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #5 on the Billboard R&B chart. The song has a Bo Diddley beat and was partly inspired by the music sung by a chain gang Otis heard while he was touring. The lyrics are about a man who became famous for doing a dance with his hands, but the song has been accused of glorifying masturbation, though Otis always denied it. It has since been covered by numerous artists, including The Crickets, The Strangeloves, Eric Clapton, Cliff Richard, Kim Carnes, George Thorogood, The Bunch, and in live performances by The Grateful Dead. Clapton's 1974 version was released as a single and reached the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 26. Thorogood's 1985 version reached No. 25 on the Billboard Rock Tracks chart. The Johnny Otis original version of the song produced by Tom Morgan has an infectious Bo Diddley beat, similar to the hit "Bo Diddley" of Bo Diddley, much of it provided by drummer Earl Palmer. Johnny Otis biographer George Lipsitz describes Jimmy Nolen's guitar riff on the song as "unforgettable". The music was based on a song Otis had heard a chain gang singing while touring, combined with work Otis did as a teenager when he was performing with Count Otis Matthews and the West Oakland House Stompers. Thorogood included the song on his 2000 compilation album Anthology, his 2002 compilation album On Tap Plus, his 2003 compilation album The George Thorogood Collection and his 2008 compilation The Best of George Thorogood & the Destroyers. George Thorogood – guitar, vocals Hank Carter – saxophones, harmony vocals Billy Blough – bass Jeff Simon – drums, percussion Willie and the Hand Jive Johnny Otis Written by: Johnny Otis Album: Presenting Johnny Otis Released: 1959 I know a cat named Way-Out Willie Had a cool little chick named Rockin' Billie Made a heart of stone Susie-Q, doin' that crazy hand jive too Papa said "You will ruin my house. You and that hand jive have got to go" Willie said "Papa, don't you put me down, Been doin' that hand jive all over town." Hand jive, hand jive, hand jive, doin' that crazy hand jive I don't want you to get on the floor Gettin' low, getting down with sister go Come on, get baby, little sister'll die Said doin' that hand jive one more time Hand jive, hand jive, hand jive, doin' that crazy hand jive Doctor getting low and he getting check Now they're all digging that crazy beat Way-Out Willie gave 'em all a treat Been doin' that hand jive with his feet Hand jive, hand jive, hand jive, doin' that crazy hand jive Willi and Billie got married last fall Had to live with his sisters and that ain't all Daddy got famous it's plain to see Been doin' that hand jive on his knees Hand jive, hand jive, hand jive, doin' that crazy hand jive

The Story In Your Eyes Album: Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971) by The Moody Blues "The Story in Your Eyes" is a 1971 hit single by the English band The Moody Blues. Written by the band's guitarist Justin Hayward, it was first released as a single with "My Song" on the B-side, and then on the 1971 album Every Good Boy Deserves Favour shortly after. This song was a bonus track to the album, yet it turned out to be by far its most successful song. Its music and lyrics are among the intense songs from this group. The song seems to be about a man worrying about both his marriage/relationship and the world around him. The name of the album, "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour," is taken from a mnemonic device used to aid in learning to read music. It corresponds to the notes on the lines in the treble clef, from bottom to top: E, G, B, D, F. There is also a stage play by Tom Stoppard of the same name, which was first performed in 1977. "The Story in Your Eyes" was the Moody Blues' last single to feature the Mellotron as it would be supplanted by the Chamberlin, a similar instrument, in time for their next album, Seventh Sojourn. The SACD release of the album Every Good Boy Deserves Favour contains a version of "The Story in Your Eyes" that has the Mellotron in a more dominant role. Allmusic critic Lindsay Planer described it as "one of the Moody Blues’ edgier pieces" with "decidedly probing observational lyrics." Cashbox described it as a "scorching rocker" that is "certain to make quite an impact in underground and pop markets." Record World said it was a "top-notch" song "in [the band's] big production rock and roll tradition." Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian rated it as the Moody Blues' 2nd greatest song, saying that "The song’s classic opening guitar lick is easily one of the most recognizable in classic rock history" and praising the vocal performances, the lead guitar playing and the Mellotron playing. Ultimate Classic Rock critic Nick DeRiso rated it as the Moody Blues' 3rd greatest song. Justin Hayward – double-tracked vocals, acoustic and electric guitar John Lodge – bass guitar, backing vocals Mike Pinder – Mellotron, piano, backing vocals Ray Thomas – tambourine, backing vocals Graeme Edge – drums, percussion Writer: Justin Hayward I've been thinking about our fortune And I've decided that we're really not to blame For the love that's deep inside us now, is still the same And the sound we make together Is the music to the story in your eyes It's been shining down upon you now, I realize Listen to the tide slowly turning Wash all our heartaches away We are part of the fire that is burning And from the ashes we can build another day But I'm frightened for your children And the life that we are living is in vain And the sunshine we've been waiting for Will turn to rain Listen to the tide slowly turning Wash all our heartaches away We are part of the fire that is burning And from the ashes we can build another day But I'm frightened for your children And the life that we are living is in vain And the sunshine we've been waiting for Will turn to rain When the final line is over And it's certain that the curtain's gonna fall I can hide inside your sweet, sweet love Forever more

Question Album: Question Of Balance (1970) by The Moody Blues Moody Blues guitarist/vocalist Justin Hayward wrote this song, which reflected the thoughts of many young people who were questioning the war in Vietnam. He told Songfacts: "We'd achieved great success in the United States and we were playing a lot of student venues and colleges, and the student audience was our audience. We were mixing with these people and seeing how different the problems were for them and the issues in being a member of the greatest nation on earth: the United States. How different they were from British people. I was just expressing my frustration around that, around the problems of anti-war and things that really concerned them, and for their own future that they may be conscripted. How that would morally be a dilemma for them and that kind of stuff. So it did really come out of that. And my own particular anger at what was happening. After a decade of peace and love, it still seemed we hadn't made a difference in 1970. I suppose that was the theme of the song. And then the slow part of the song is really a reflection of that and not feeling defeated, but almost a quiet reflection of it, and mixing with a bit of a love song, as well." This was the opening track on the Question Of Balance album, and at one point it was going to be the title track. The song was recorded several months earlier than the other tracks on the album and its title was shortened from "Question Of Balance" to "Question." in the liner notes of the 1997 remastered CD, Justin Hayward wrote: "Sometime before we taped the album, we (documented) 'Question,' which was a song that I didn't have on Friday night for a session (the next day). But, by the morning, I had it and it was recorded very quickly." Hayward adds that it was "Recorded live, with no overdubbing or double-tracking, just a bit of echo." In the UK, this became the group's biggest hit for their classic lineup. Before John Lodge and Justin Hayward joined the group in 1966, they had a #1 UK hit with "Go Now." The song is a concert mainstay of The Moody Blues, which is fine with Justin Hayward, who tells us he never loses the emotion for it when he performs the tune. It's also a song that has remained relevant. Says Hayward: "There's no doubt that it still resonates, the lyrics reflect whichever generation you're in. Whatever time you're in, people are experiencing those emotions. And I find that people identify with it at any age." Many of the songs Justin Hayward wrote for The Moody Blues don't have obvious titles - "The Voice," for instance. This song is another one without a natural title where he chose a word from the lyrics to represent it. Fish, who is the ex-lead singer of the UK rock group Marillion, recorded a cover version on his 1995 LP Songs From The Mirror. Col. Kurtz from Apocalypse Now was hiding in the Golden Triangle... look how far leadership like Lindsey Graham, Nikki Haley, Joe Biden and Donald Trump who also famously uses Casinos as part of the "Family" Business. Zhao Wei (Chinese: 赵伟; pinyin: Zhào Wěi) is a Chinese businessman and the founder of Hong Kong registered company Kings Romans Group (formed in 2007), which owns the Kings Romans casino franchise. The United States Treasury Department imposed sanctions on what they designated the Zhao Wei Transnational Criminal Organization (Zhao Wei TCO) in 2018 for its alleged involvement in laundering money and assisting in the storage and distribution of heroin, methamphetamine, and other narcotics for illicit networks, including the United Wa State Army which operates in Myanmar. Based in Laos in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ), Zhao Wei is also reported to engage in human trafficking, bribery, wildlife trafficking, and other forms of transnational organized crime. Much of this illicit activity is allegedly conducted through the Kings Romans casino organisation in the GTSEZ. Soon after the travel ban was imposed, Zhao was invited by the government of Laos to invest in Bokeo Province. In 2007, Zhao negotiated and struck a 99-year lease to establish and operate the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in the same province. In early October 2020, a US$50 million dollar investment to build a port in the Laotian town of Ban Mom, directly north of the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, was made by Osiano Trading Sole Co., a partner or front company of Zhao Wei and his organization. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has raised concerns about Laos being used by organized crime to traffic drugs, precursor chemicals, and other illicit commodities, and that the purchase of the Ban Mom port is representative of organized crime infiltrating infrastructure in the region. The Ban Mom port is on a remote stretch of the Mekong which has been confirmed as a smuggling route for trafficking drugs and precursor chemicals into and out of the Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone is located along the Mekong River in the Golden Triangle area where Laos, Myanmar and Thailand meet.  The zone is midway (20.361150, 100.099807) between Houay Xay, the capital of Laos' Bokeo Province, and Tachileik, Myanmar. The Thai village of Ban Sop Ruak near Chiang Saen town, Chiang Rai Province lies directly across the Mekong River from the zone.

Audio Buffed again and minor additions and subtractions Research and content provided in part by the following: The Little Albert Experiment https://www.youtube.com/@Johncheezy/ an EJ Production Neil Young talkin 440-432 Hz Gary Lite https://garylite.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@GaryLite godgevlamste https://www.youtube.com/@godgevlamste channel burned... he's now here... https://rumble.com/user/Godgevlamste The Autotune Ascension Synchromysticism. The greatest Hollywood theory ever told. Home of Apophenia Productions. https://www.youtube.com/@barelyHuman11 KALIYUGADAYS DeathCafe.com on Bitchute and boxoffrogs for notes, timing and splicing...

Album: The Turn Of A Friendly Card (1980) Games People Play The Turn of a Friendly Card Pt I & II The Turn of a Friendly Card is the fifth studio album by the British progressive rock band the Alan Parsons Project, released in 1980 by Arista Records. The title piece, which appears on side 2 of the LP, is a 16-minute suite broken up into five tracks. The Turn of a Friendly Card spawned the hits "Games People Play" and "Time", the latter of which was Eric Woolfson's first lead vocal appearance. An edited version of the title piece combining the opening and ending parts of the suite was also released as a single along with an official video. Up to this album, all Alan Parsons Project albums had been packaged in gatefold sleeves. Increasing budgetary constraints of record companies made The Turn of a Friendly Card the beginning of all subsequently released Alan Parsons Project albums to be single-sleeve packaged. The Cover contains a stained glass window with the King of Diamonds as the centerpiece. Julius Caesar, Man with the Axe, One-Eyed King (K♦). Just FYI. The queen of this suit represents Rachel, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. The Paris Pattern incorporates the 52-card deck seen at modern-day poker tables, with the familiar four suits, face cards (kings, queens, and jacks), and the ace counting as both the highest and lowest card. The term “Suicide King” refers to the king of hearts (K♥) in a standard 52-card deck of playing cards. The Suicide King gets its name from the appearance that the king displayed on the card is stabbing himself in the head with his own dagger. What does the Tin Man seek in the Wizard of Oz which seems to be obtained from a Green Wizard in the Emerald City? Tin (Tinia/Tina) The highest god in the Etruscan pantheon. Like his Greek/Roman equivalent Zeus/Jupiter, he carries a thunderbolt. His consort was Uni. Ergo... Tin = Jupiter and Jupiter has no heart. If I were a card, perhaps The Jack of Hearts (J♥) as "La Hire" I would be. The nickname of "La Hire" originates from Étienne de Vignolles, Sieur de Montmorillon, Chatelain de Longueville. The English had nicknamed him "the Hire-God" (Ira Dei: the wrath of God). In French tradition, "La Hire" is used as a nickname for the knave of hearts. His name remains a byword for a choleric disposition. He was a close comrade of Joan of Arc. He was one of the few military leaders who believed in her and the inspiration she brought, and he fought alongside her at Orleans (where my family lived for several years post WWII courtesy of the US Military). At the Battle of Patay, La Hire commanded the vanguard and won a great victory for France. La Hire was also known for praying before going into battle, something that could be attributed to Joan's influence. In 1430, La Hire captured the English held fortification of Château Gaillard. He was imprisoned in Dourdan in the spring of 1431. He won the Battle of Gerberoy in 1435 and was made Captain General of Normandy in 1438. His last two major military engagements occurred in 1440 at Pontoise where he assisted Dunois to capture it from the English; and in 1442 he assisted Charles of Orleans in capturing La Réole. He died at Montauban on 11 January 1443, of an unknown illness. The album's title track was covered by German funeral doom metal band Ahab for their album The Boats of the "Glen Carrig" in 2015. Games People Play is one of the most high tempo, rock-style songs that this "progressive" group recorded. It's also unusual in that it was fronted by Lenny Zakatek - most of their songs featured Eric Woolfson as lead singer. The song examines the strategies people use to get what they want from others, while also contemplating the fact that they're not getting any younger. Interestingly, there is a book on the former theme by psychiatrist Eric Berne, also called Games People Play. In a 2019 interview with Alan Parsons, he said: "I think it would be fair to say that that was inspired by the fact that we were living in Monte Carlo. It's very linked to the content of the album, The Turn Of A Friendly Card, which was all about gambling, gamblers, the problems of gamblers, and games people play. It's just a gambling theme. We literally lived 10 paces from the Monte Carlo Casino - we were right there." Parsons used an instrument he invented called a Projectron on this track. Similar to a mellotron, it used tape loops to play back samples. A studio boffin with high technical acuity, Parsons cut his teeth doing engineer work at Abbey Road Studios, where he worked with The Beatles and Pink Floyd. Other personnel on Games People Play are: Vocals: Lenny Zakatek Backing Vocals: Chris Rainbow Bass: David Paton Drums: Stuart Elliott Keyboards: Eric Woolfson Guitar: Ian Bairnson

In Bloom Album: Nevermind (1991) You Know You're Right Album: Greatest Hits (2002) by Nirvana Did Dave Grohl end Kurt? How do you get ahead in this realm? Sacrifice. Sacrifice. Sacrifice... When Cobain died, the two remaining members (Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic) formed a partnership with his widow, Courtney Love, that controlled the rights to Nirvana's songs. 1+1+1=3 Growing up in Aberdeen, Washington, Cobain encountered a lot of people with very little tolerance to anyone different. He told Melody Maker in 1992: "For ages I thought I might be homosexual, because I didn't like the cheerleader type of girl or want to hang out with the jock boys. I chose to live the life of a recluse. I didn't hang out with anyone else because I couldn't handle their stupidity." Kurt Cobain was very much aware that many people would not get the point of his songs and simply sing along with them blindly. On this song, he wrote a very sing-a-long chorus so that people would find themselves singing about not understanding the song: "He's the one who likes all the pretty songs, and he likes to sing along, but he knows not what it means." To further provoke the homophobic crowd this song targets, the band wore dresses in the video. The clip begins with the band appearing on a '50s-style variety show, with the clueless host hyping them but mispronouncing their name. Later on, clips with the band wearing dresses appear in contrast to their jacket and tie look they wear for most of the video. Kevin Kerslake, who also did Nirvana's videos for "Sliver" and "Come As You Are" was the director. He says they came up with the idea from talking about The Ed Sullivan Show. Talking about Nirvana's unlikely fame in 1992, their bassist Krist Novoselic couldn't help using a line from this song to explain. Said Krist: "'He's the one who likes pretty songs' – there you have it. Nevermind is a very safe record. "You Know You're Right" was recorded January 30, 1994 at Robert Lang studios in Seattle just before Nirvana embarked on a European tour, which turned out to be their last. It was the last song the band recorded, as Kurt Cobain killed himself on April 5, 1994. Kurt wrote this song as a sarcastic reference to his wife Courtney Love, at a very turbulent time in their relationship (shortly before his suicide), the title and predominant lyric: "you know your right" and also "nothing really bothers her, she just wants to love herself", both refer to Kurt's frustration with Courtney. When Cobain died, the two remaining members (Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic) formed a partnership with his widow, Courtney Love, that controlled the rights to Nirvana's songs. Grohl and Novoselic wanted to release this sooner, but Love refused, and it was not until 2002 that they reached an agreement where she allowed a Nirvana Greatest Hits CD with this on it. As part of the agreement, the Universal Music Group, which released the CD, let Love out of her contract with the label. Grohl went years without listening to this song. Until it was mixed for the Greatest Hits album, he didn't even have a copy of it. Before the song was released as a single in 2002, it was called "On the Mountain" by bootleggers. The only time the song was performed live, Dave Grohl told the audience, "This is our last song, its called 'All Apologies'" without realizing Cobain had started playing "You Know You're Right." The poor audio quality left the bootleggers unable to make out exactly what Grohl had said, hence the mistaken title. Before Nirvana released this, Courtney Love played a live acoustic version of it called "You've Got No Right" for an MTV Unplugged special with her band Hole. She sang "Hey" instead of "Pain." Here's how she introduced the song: "This is a song that Kurt wrote. We worked on it a little bit, we can't do it that well but it's Valentine's Day, and maybe he can hear it, and he'll go, 'You know, you really f---ed up my song, Courtney. Don't even try it.' But if it works, it's dedicated to my mother-in-law. Dave Grohl recalled the sessions that produced this song during a 2014 interview with Studio Brussel. "We had some time off before a tour, and Kurt wanted to go in and demo some stuff, so I said, 'Hey, why don't we do it at this studio down the street from my house,'" he said. "And we went down there, and we had three days booked. Kurt came in the last day and we were like, 'Okay, what do you wanna do?' And Kurt said, 'Well, why don't we do that song we've been doing at soundcheck?' And so we rehearsed it, I think, once, and then recorded it. Kurt did three or four vocal takes, and that was it." 1+1+1=3

Wango Tango Album: Scream Dream (1980) Stranglehold Album: Ted Nugent (1975) A bit o' culture with Doctor Professor T. Nugent Can you name all the cities? "Wango Tango" is one of Ted's most popular live songs. It's about "beautiful girls on the beach, and the rhythm that accompanies that." It's a close cousin to one of his earlier songs, "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang." Growing up in the '50s and '60s, Nugent heard lots of songs about dances, many coming from Motown Records in his hometown of Detroit. The "wango tango" is his version of a dance, but not the kind you can do in public without getting arrested. If it's loud, goes fast, and has an engine, Nugent probably likes it (he did some off-road racing for a short time), so it's no surprise to hear him singing the praises of a Maserati in this song. But this hot rod is all about innuendo, with Nugent finding yet another way to express the throes of passion. "Wango Tango" is the first track and only single from Nugent's sixth album, Scream Dream. On many of his earlier songs, he didn't sing lead - his guitarist Derek St. Holmes often did. But Ted sang most of the tracks on the album, including "Wango Tango," which doesn't require virtuoso vocals. This was used in the 2007 Simpsons episode "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and in the 2017 episode of Stranger Things, "Chapter Two: Trick or Treat, Freak." Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold" is a song of defiance. He wrote it in response to the naysayers at record labels who turned him down. In an interview with Nugent, he described it as "middle fingers on fire, telling the music industry that my music is way better than you can even imagine." "It's about my overt confidence in my music," he added. "The audience gave me that confidence by celebrating it and going nuts for it just like I do, and finally Tom Werman at Epic Records realized it, and 40 million albums later, the rest of the industry can kiss my ass." Nugent had some success in the '60s with his band The Amboy Dukes, which landed a hit with "Journey To The Center Of The Mind." The group continued into the '70s, rebranded as "Ted Nugent And The Amboy Dukes." They built up a passionate live following but didn't sell a lot of records - their albums in 1973 and 1974 didn't chart. So it was understandable when record labels showed little interest, but it was also myopic. "Stranglehold" was included on Nugent's self-titled 1975 album, his first as a solo artist. That live energy that gave record executives pause ended up making him one of the biggest acts of the late '70s, when his albums sold in the millions. Nugent didn't sing lead on this song; Derek St. Holmes, who was the vocalist with his band, did. Nugent resented the attention Holmes received on stage and eventually sang all the hits himself. His explanation: "There's only one alpha wolf, and that's me." "Stranglehold" is Ted Nugent's most popular song and a staple of his live shows. Like "Stairway To Heaven," it's a dynamic rocker the quickly became a fan favorite but was never released as a single. And also like "Stairway," it's very long, running 8:22. Right up there as one of the most swaggering, guitar-driven rockers with manly appeal, the lyrics are rather violent, with the singer letting some poor girl know that he has the upper hand now and is willing to burn her house down if he has to. Nugent has made it clear that the vitriol in the song is metaphorical and directed at the music industry honchos that didn't believe in him. According to Nugent, he's heard from many Americans in the military who have a connection to this song. "When they go to battle and they know there's going to be fire and danger, they play 'Stranglehold,'" he said. "Is there a more powerful connection to the most important people in the world who will go into a firefight for our freedom listening to my song." So if the drop ship pilot is playing Stranglehold... you may be fvcked ;-) Nugent holds the military in high esteem, but he wanted no part of it when he got drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. He showed up to the physical determined to fail, and he did, earning an exemption. Nugent's guitar on this song got some help in the studio from producer Tom Werman. "When you hear his guitar work on 'Stranglehold,' you hear a couple of duets – figures he would harmonize with," Werman said in a Songfacts interview. "And then it would be like 'Row Row Row Your Boat.' Somebody would go around and start it again, and they'd go together. Well, it was called 'tape slap.' So, I'd record what he played and have it played back behind him, but in time with him. I created duets and echoes and answers that he did not play. I think they were very good. That and the backwards cymbal that goes from left to right and right to left. It was fun." The song can be heard in a television commercial for the Volkswagen Jetta, which follows the history of a young guy's vehicle purchases from his first 10-speed bike to a questionably-legal speedster. Years later, now a doting dad, he chooses the Jetta after learning it is a 2012 IIHS Top Safety Pick. This classic rocker features in a number of movies, including Bad News Bears, Dazed and Confused, Invincible, Rock Star and Superbad. The band Cross Canadian Ragweed did a popular cover on their 2004 album Soul Gravy that appears after the last song as a secret song. They also used it to do band intros at their concerts. Other covers of "Stranglehold" include Marq Torien of BulletBoys for the 2001 album Bulletproof Fever: A Tribute to Ted Nugent, and Ministry on their 2010 compilation Every Day Is Halloween.

Boulevard Of Broken Dreams American Idiot Album: American Idiot (2004) by Green Day Boulevard Of Broken Dreams is about estrangement and the recognition that the American Dream can let you down. The singer's hopes have been crushed, and he finds himself very much alone. "It's just about loneliness," Armstrong told People in a 2024 interview. "Anytime that I would be writing songs for a record, you feel like a sense of isolation. At that time, I went to New York by myself. I was staying in an apartment, and I was there for quite some time - over a couple months - and I was just trying to focus on writing [American Idiot] with no distractions. There can be all of this chaos going on around you, but ultimately you can find yourself pretty alone in the world." This follows the main character from Green Day's song "Jesus Of Suburbia." He leaves town, has one crazy first night, and now it's kind of like the hangover. He's just walking, thinking about whether it was the right decision leaving where he used to live. "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" is a famous painting by Gottfried Helnwein depicting Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart, James Dean and Elvis Presley hanging out in a bar. Helnwein's painting is a parody of a painting called "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper. In a VH1 Storytellers session, Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong said he saw the title on another Helnwein painting of James Dean from 1948. "There's an old James Dean photo where he's walking in New York and underneath it says 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams.' It's a great photo of him, so that's where I sort of nicked the title from," he said. This song won the Grammy for Record Of The Year at the 2006 ceremony. The previous year, American Idiot won for Best Rock Album. In Rolling Stone's Decade-End Readers' Poll, this was voted the Best Single of the '00s. Green Day proved they are the band of choice among Rolling Stone readers by also grabbing the #1 spot for Best Album (American Idiot) and being named Top Artist of the Decade. Billie Joe Armstrong, under quarantine due to the coronavirus, played this from his home as part of the "Living Room Concert For America," broadcast on March 29, 2020. Armstrong did the song accompanied only by his acoustic guitar and the jingling of his dog Lenny's collar as the pooch wandered around the room. In The Office episode "Secret Santa" from season 6, Dwight and Andy sing this at the staff Christmas party. Billie Joe Armstrong binged The Office for the first time back in 2019, unaware that "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" gets sung. "I was watching that episode and then all of a sudden the song came on and I was completely taken by surprise," he recalled to the Office Ladies podcast. "I think my face started to get red, and Andy started singing harmonies," he added. "He sang the same exact harmony that's in the musical. So it was good." refers to the state of the United States at that point in time. It speaks of a nation controlled by the new, biased media, and how the singer is not part of a "Redneck Agenda" discontent with how things are going. It was released during the 2004 presidential campaign, where George W. Bush was re-elected. Green Day performed this at the 2005 Grammy awards, where the album won for Best Rock Album. It was also nominated for Album of the Year, but lost to Ray Charles' posthumously released album, Genius Loves Company. The title track American Idiot was nominated for Record of the Year, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, Best Rock Song, and Best Music Video Short Form, but didn't take home any of the prizes. This is one of three Green Day songs that is also the name of the album it comes from. The others are "Warning" and "Revolution Radio." Samuel Bayer, who did the famous Blind Melon video for "No Rain" (the one with the bee girl), directed the "American Idiot" video. He did a few other Green Day videos as well, including "Wake Me Up When September Ends" and "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams." Billie Joe Armstrong was inspired to write this after hearing a jingoistic Lynyrd Skynyrd song being played on his car radio, whilst driving to the studio. He told Q magazine May 2009: "It was like, I'm proud to be a redneck and I was like, Oh my God, why would you be proud of something like that? This is exactly what I'm against. When he got to the studio, Armstrong furiously penned this song. He said: "I looked at the guys like, Do you mind that I'm saying this? And they were like, No, we agree with you. And it started the ball rolling." Billie Joe Armstrong told Spin magazine in November 2004 regarding the American Idiot album: "It's about the confusion of where we're at right now. My education was punk rock - what the Dead Kennedys said, what Operation Ivy said. It was attacking America, but it was American at the same time." When asked by an VH1 Storytellers' audience member if anyone who voted for George W. Bush was an "American Idiot," Billie Joe Armstrong replied: "No, just a misinformed idiot." In 2006, grocery clerk Paul McPike sued Green Day, alleging that he'd written "American Idiot" and the other songs on their album way back in 1992. McPike's evidence consisted entirely of a copy of the album and a claim that the lyrics sung on the album didn't match those in the sleeve notes. The US District Court Judge suggested he could file a more detailed copyright infringement complaint in the future. The 2007 Simpsons Movie boasted an "American Idiot: Funeral Version" played on an organ after the band's fictional drowning in Lake Springfield during a performance on a barge. In July 2018 a Facebook campaign was set up to get the song to the top of the UK charts in protest against President Donald Trump's visit to the country. At first, it looked like the track might break into the Top 10, but it finished the week of his UK visit at #25. This song came top of a list compiled by South China University Of Technology of the most dangerous songs to listen to in the car. According to their research, listening to higher tempo tunes is more likely to make you drive faster and risk dangerous maneuvers. Songs with more than 120 beats per minute (BPM) have the most negative impact, and "American Idiot," with a BPM of 189, came top of their tally. It was followed by Miley Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A." and The Killers' "Mr. Brightside. Led Zeppelin's " Stairway To Heaven" was considered the least dangerous. Green Day have associated this song with Donald Trump since 2017, when Billie Joe Armstrong would shout "F--k you Trump!" before performing it at concerts. When they played the song on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest in 2023, they changed the line "I'm not a part of a redneck agenda" to "I'm not a part of the MAGA agenda,".

All My Life Album: One by One (2002) Best Of You Album: In Your Honor (2005) by Foo Fighters Dave Grohl has said that this is about cunnilingus, which is the female equivalent of... Listen to the lyrics, and you'll hear the innuendoes: "I love it but I hate the taste," "Over and over down on my knees." The Foo Fighters performed this on Saturday Night Live in February 2003. Two days later, this won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. Said Grohl when asked about this track: "That song is a little dirty. Use your imagination!" One By One was the Foo Fighters' second consecutive album to win a Grammy for Best Rock Album. It was also their first #1 album in the UK. Best Of You is about reaching your potential. Everyone has secrets they keep in their own head about themselves, and we rarely confront those secrets. It's a self reflecting song: "Is someone getting the best, the best, the best of you" could be interpreted as asking yourself a question you don't really want to think about. The word "best" is said 40 times in this song. Mark Pellington directed the video, which took on new meaning when his wife died in 2004. Pellington, who also directed the video for Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," took the reigns on this one, as the band was happy to let him work his magic. "Dave Grohl trusted the emotion and instinct behind it," he said. The video mixes stirring images (waves, people in love) with a passionate performance by the band. Prince performed this at the 2007 Super Bowl halftime show. The Foo Fighters, who recorded a cover of Prince's "Darling Nikki," had no idea he was going to play the song, but were thrilled. Dave Grohl said: "Having been a massive Prince fan my whole life, I was flattered beyond words. What an honor to be covered by one of your heroes." Grohl wrote this while he was supporting Democratic Party candidate John Kerry on the 2004 Presidential campaign. Grohl told Mojo magazine that he didn't rate the original demo of this and had to be persuaded by his manager John Silva to put the song on the album. This was one of five songs Foo Fighters played at the Live Earth concert held a Wembley Stadium in London on July 7, 2007. The concert was a benefit to support efforts to fight climate change. Foo Fighters, under orders by their manager to "be better than Metallica," delivered a rousing set that renewed interest in this song. The following week, the song was downloaded so many times that it re-entered the UK chart at #38. All my life, I've been searching for something Something never comes, never leads to nothing Nothing satisfies but I'm getting close Closer to the prize at the end of the rope All night long I dream of the day When it comes around and it's taken away Leaves me with the feeling that I feel the most Feel it come to life when I see your ghost Calm down, don't you resist You've such a delicate wrist And if I give it a twist Something to hold when I lose my grip Will I find something in there To give me just what I need? Another reason to bleed One by one hidden up my sleeve One by one hidden up my sleeve Hey, don't let it go to waste, I love it but I hate the taste Weight keepin' me down Hey, don't let it go to waste, I love it but I hate the taste Weight keepin' me down Will I find a believer? Another one who believes Another one to deceive Over and over, down on my knees If I get any closer And if you open up wide And if you let me inside On and on, I got nothing to hide On and on, I got nothing to hide Hey, don't let it go to waste, I love it but I hate the taste Weight keepin' me down Hey, don't let it go to waste, I love it but I hate the taste Weight keepin' me down All my life, I've been searching for something Something never comes, never leads to nothing Nothing satisfies but I'm getting close Closer to the prize at the end of the rope All night long, I dream of the day When it comes around and it's taken away Leaves me with the feeling that I feel the most Feel it come to life when I see your ghost Then I'm done, done, on to the next one Done, done and I'm on to the next one Done, done and I'm on to the next one Done, done and I'm on to the next one Done, done and I'm on to the next one Done, done and I'm on to the next one Done, done and I'm on to the next one Done, I'm done and I'm on to the next Done, done, on to the next one Done, I'm done and on to the next one Done, done, on to the next one Done, I'm done and I'm on to the next Hey, don't let it go to waste, I love it but I hate the taste Weight keepin' me down Hey, don't let it go to waste, I love it but I hate the taste Weight keepin' me down Done, done, on to the next one Done, I'm done and I'm on to the next ~ I've got another confession to make I'm your fool Everyone's got their chains to break Holdin' you Were you born to resist or be abused? Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you? Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you? Are you gone and onto someone new? I needed somewhere to hang my head Without your noose You gave me something that I didn't have But had no use I was too weak to give in Too strong to lose My heart is under arrest again But I break loose My head is giving me life or death But I can't choose I swear I'll never give in I refuse Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you? Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you? Has someone taken your faith? Its real, the pain you feel You trust, you must Confess Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you? Oh Oh, oh-oh Oh, oh-oh Oh, oh-oh Oh Has someone taken your faith? Its real, the pain you feel The life, the love You die to heal The hope that starts The broken hearts You trust, you must Confess Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you? Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you? I've got another confession my friend I'm no fool I'm getting tired of starting again Somewhere new Were you born to resist or be abused? I swear I'll never give in I refuse Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you? Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you? Has someone taken your faith? Its real, the pain you feel You trust, you must Confess Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you? Oh