bac0n's Five Star Songs

[bac0n]

Since Thirdmango was forced to shut his list down abruptly, I thought I would pick up the slack with yet another list of songs that are worth, well, worth at least my while. I don't know about you, but I sure get a kick out of 'em.

I listen to music all day at work and usually playing during the weekends. Mostly my laptop playing iTunes on it. When a song plays in iTunes that I really like, I'll five-star it. Over the course of the last several weeks the list has grown to around 100 some odd songs, and I thought I would share it with you.

Now, this list isn't ranked. I have neither the time and desire to decide which of these songs I like better than the others. All I can say is that I think these songs are awesome and right now that's good enough for me. Nonetheless, to add some semblance of order and progression, I thought I would just list them alphabetically. Or at least iTunes' version of alphabetical. But then again, who am I to question Steve Jobs, anyway.

I'll try to post 3 or so on work days until I've made it all the way through. Lets dig in!

[bac0n]

A Little Respect by Erasure

When it comes to pounding out top shelf 80s pop-songs, few bands can touch Erasure, and this is my favorite of theirs. It perfectly showcases Andy Bell's distinctive voice and dynamite vocal range, and Vince Clarke's near peerless ability to craft an intelligent pop tune. I remember being a kid at Grampas, catching the video for this song on a late night music video show and saying to myself, what, that's actually a man with a voice like that? Oh well. Now I know better, I guess, but regardless, this is one of those rare songs that I've been listening to for eons, and I never skip it when it shows up on shuffle.

Watch the video

[bac0n]

Are You The One? by The Presets

What do you get when you take a little bit of David Bowie, maybe throw in some Nitzer Ebb, and mix in enough ham to feed a football team Easter dinner? Hell if I know, but I sure as hell like this song, what with its singular chord progression, the diva-wanna be vox and the the tongue planted firmly cheek disco beat. But what really seals the deal is the flamenco clapping. Ole!

Warning: silly video! Silly, I say!

[bac0n]

Asturias performed by Pepé Romero

You might be surprised to find out that I'm a classical guitar junkie, with my favorite piece being Asturias, reputed to have been written in Cuba by a man in anticipation of returning to his beloved homeland of Asturias to die. I saw this piece performed by Romero at a guitar summit back in 1994. He walked quietly on stage, sat down and then proceeded to drop my jaw on the floor with this song. I couldn't believe all that sound was coming from just one man playing one guitar! You guys can have your alleged guitar heroes. I'd put Pepe's skills up against anybody's, any time, any where.

Asturias Live

[Sven]

Looking forward to this!

I just checked my own five star songs: 1,983

[Sven]

Because of you, I've been watching a lot of Presets videos on Youtube this morning. Very interesting dudes. As a fan of PSB, I can see why you like them. They're not bad at all. The frontman is very frightening.

[bac0n]

Because of you, I've been watching a lot of Presets videos on Youtube this morning. Very interesting dudes. As a fan of PSB, I can see why you like them. They're not bad at all. The frontman is very frightening.

Actually, the frontman reminds me a lot of Guy Pearce when he was in Priscilla Queen of the Desert... in a strange sorta way.

[D_Davis]

Cool start with Erasure. My favorite is Blue Savannah - I dig that song.

[bac0n]

Award Tour by A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest was always in a league of their own, way above just about all the other hip-hop outfits of their time, and this is my favorite song of theirs. Hell, this might be my favorite hip-hop song period. It certainly has all the right elements of a true hip-hop classic - a tub-thumping bassline that drills straight into the sternum, QTip's eccentric rhymes, and as icecream on the cake, some help with the refrain from De La Soul. Yeeeah

Music Video

[bac0n]

Backward Country Boy Blues by Duke Ellington, Charlie Mingus & Max Roach

The planets all aligned in 1962 when three of the all time Jazz heavyweights got in the studio for a recording session that would eventually spawn the album Money Jungle. It's hard not to be in awe of such a thing. Pretty much every song on this album is a Jazz aficionado's delight, but I've selected this one as it showcases each of the three very well - Duke straying from his big-band tendencies for a looser and rougher style, Mingus playing off him well despite his mercurial tendencies, all the while the super-cool Max Roach holding the show together with his sly traps.

Dig It!

[bac0n]

A Bad Dream by Keane

What is it with me and whiny boy songs, my wife asks. That's what she calls bands like The Flaming Lips, Rufus Wainwright, Mercury Rev, & now these guys, Keane. But what the hell does she know, cuz she likes that one band that... uh.. sucks! Yeah! Anyway, my favorite thing about this song is, apart from the nice way it gradually builds momentum over the course of the first two phrases, is Tom Chaplin's disciplined approach to the vocal track. He really seems to recognize his vocal chords as an instrument and approaches the singing as such, and seems to be getting better with each album that Keane puts out. At this rate, he could eventually become one of the great ones.

Music Video

[D_Davis]

Your wife obviously hasn't heard In a Priest Driven Ambulance. That's pure, in yer face, fuck yer shit up rock 'n roll.

[origami_mustache]

cool...I've never actually rated my music since I have over 150 Gbs or something, but it's something I'd like to do some time haha.

[Spinal]

A Little Respect by Erasure

I like this song a lot. Although I think I like it better when I'm not watching the video.

[bac0n]

I like this song a lot. Although I think I like it better when I'm not watching the video.

Actually, I find it amusing how the Bell & Clarke reenact the lyrics to the song on the bottom half of the screen like it's the Rocky Horror Picture Show. I particularly like the part in the song that goes "and live in peace in our hearts" and below the guys are standing in a house with a big "Peace In Our Hearts" sign over the door. HI-LARITY!

[bac0n]

Bang The Drum All Day by Todd Rundgren

At Iowa State University, they have this thing called VEISHA two weeks before finals, which is supposed to be a celebration of all the colleges that comprise the venerable ISU, but in practice is basically a huge nightmare of binge drinking on a mass scale.

During VEISHA, everyone is throwing parties - all the houses, the frats & sororities, all the dormitory floors, everyone. My dorm floor threw a party, the main attraction of which was a lip-synching contest, and most of us who were essentially a bunch of hopeless losers with nothing else to do with our time (study? FAA!) so we really went apeshit on this contest.

My team & I took the prize in 1990, and in 1991 we were dethroned by a bunch of other losers who dressed as a lounge act and did a rather amusing rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. So, in 1993, determined to reclaim our rightful place on top, we decided to lip-synch to Bang The Drum All Day dressed in only our underwear. I even went so far as to have pig-tailed up my long-ass hair and ran a coathanger through it, and glued on a fake handlebar mustache. In short, we looked pretty ridiculous, but we didn't care. By the time it was our turn to perform, I'm pretty sure we were so drunk we could hardly even see.

Oh. And we came in third.

Todd (not us) performing the song.

[bac0n]

Beautiful Friend by Cranes

I never thought much of Cranes until I heard their album Loved. And then I loved Cranes. And then I sorta stopped paying attention to Cranes. But anyway, this song is my favorite on their album and about as close as I come to actually liking Goth music. That's probably due to the fact that this song isn't really goth at all. It's more like gothic-shoegaze-western, what with Allison Shaw's childlike vocals lamenting over a friendship lost and recalling kinder times, as a lonely guitar cries in the distance, dripping tears out of its whammy-bar.

Music Video

[bac0n]

Big Chief by Professor Longhair

It's kinda fitting that I should be posting this entry today, what with it being the 3rd anniversary of hurricane katrina making landfall on New Orleans, and with the threat of Hurricane Gustav on the horizon. That's because Big Chief is pretty much Mardi Gras in musical form, and represents all that's best about The Big Easy, what with its catchy tune, friendly disposition and raucous beat.

Let the party begin!

[Russ]

You might be surprised to find out that I'm a classical guitar junkie

That was quality. If you're not familiar with him, I'd recommend you check out some stuff by Brasilian guitarist Paulo Bellinati. I've got his CD, The Guitar Works of Garoto, which I've listened to more times than I care to remember.

[bac0n]

That was quality. If you're not familiar with him, I'd recommend you check out some stuff by Brasilian guitarist Paulo Bellinati. I've got his CD, The Guitar Works of Garoto, which I've listened to more times than I care to remember.

Thanks for the recommendation! I'm always on the look out for some kickass classical guitar, especially of the Brasillian pursuastion.

[bac0n]

BOOM BOX by Blueprint

There are two things I love about this song. The first is Blueprint's trademark intelligent, crystal clear delivery. The man simply raps like a bottle of Evian, sparkly clean, so much so that you can hear him annunciating his consonants. And the second is that the man is rapping about his tricked-out boom box like it's the best thing in town. Not his ride, not his bling-bling, his boombox, and he raps with the same cocksure menace as a gangsta rapper musing about his glocks, except instead of bustin' caps in fools, Blueprint is making downtown sidewalks look like Soul Train.

Check out his myspace page to listen

See him perform it live in Minneapolis

[bac0n]

Burning Inside by Ministry

Back when I was a senior in highschool and I still believed in absolutes, Ministry totally knocked off The Pet Shop Boys for the title of My Favorite Band Ever (talk about one extreme to the other) and this was totally the song that did it. I remember listening to this song on my cassette tape player, rewinding the tape, then listening again, then again, then again, then again. I love the combination of the super aggro dual drums coupled with Jorgensen's monotone shriek, ran through so much distortion that it bubbles like some sorta cyborg monster. And lets face it, Al Jorgensen is always at his best when he's writing about bad acid/heroin/meth/glue trips.

Lets get aggro!

[bac0n]

Butterfly by Talvin Singh

Classically trained tabla player cum drum & bass DJ Talvin Singh has created a five minute masterpiece with Butterfly, seamlessly fusing traditional Indian music with modern electronic production techniques. Complex drum & bass rhythms don't clash with driving tablas and swirling flutes; rather, they complement them surprisingly well, and this song drips with virtuosity, not only in its musicsmanship, but in its programming and production values as well. I frickin' love this song.

Listen

[bac0n]

Call It Ours by The Legends

I actually discovered this band The Legends when I borrowed my friend's car. I turned on the radio, and the song that was playing was this song. And I've been hooked on The Legends sound since, what with their melancholy vocals, catchy & simple sugar-coated tunes that make liberal use of the tambourine. Sure, it's not what I would call sophisticated music, but some times I get an itch, and the only way to scratch it is with some nice simple, straightforward and unassuming Scandi-pop such as this.

Music Video

[bac0n]

Chicago by Sufjan Stevens

There's a certain innocence to Sufjan Stevens' music, an air of youth unspoiled to it that makes me long for a simpler time, when afternoons seemed to last forever and the biggest decision I had to make all year was to what toy I should ask for from Santa Claus. This might be my favorite song of his (It's a toss up between Come On! Feel The Illinois!), what with how Stevens' soft, shy vocals, somewhat tentative and not that sure of itself, standing in front of an orchestra of sorts that has the charm of a highschool concert band.

Listen to the song

Kickass Live Version