The Suzi Shelton Band

With a new little brother having been born the day before, Olivia needed to cool off with some toe-tapping rock-n-roll music. So we headed off to Madison Square Park to check out The Suzi Shelton Band.

The park was filled with pre-schoolers who like olivia were jumping and bopping all around. The band was good and we ended up doing a circle dance with two other kids and their nannies. I think our favorite song was "Honey My Love", Olivia liked it when i swung her around, carefully avoiding other swinging children. Since the concert was very playground accessible, Olivia wanted to swing and slide. So we ran around the playground and Olivia splashed around under the sprinklers all while the music filled the air. A good time was had by all.

Star FIsh

I was looking in Time Out New York's kids section for fun things to do with Olivia and we found a cool free concert at Bryant Park by a band called Starfish.

So we packed up the car and heading into manhattan. 9 month pregant women hate walking up and down subway strairs in 90 plus degree heat. Who knew.

We arrived at the park just before the band from New Jersey was about to start their set. On the nice shady part of the park there were seats set up and a row of mini chairs were set up for pint sized rockers. Sitting in the front row with the kids was a bald guy named Stingray. He was the lead singer and he had tons of energy and enthusiasm as he, Ant Farm, Dr Yes, Moose, and Grateful Dave rocked out with an hours worth of awesome music. My favorite song was the kind of Primus sounding "My name is No!"

The preschoolers were bopping around as were all their adults. They intertwined lots of references to everyone from ACDC to The Clash to Cream. It was our first taste of Kindie rock but not our last.

Check out Starfish for yourself at their website

#85 Golden Years

#85 - Golden Years
David Bowie



A few years ago my iPod was broken and ti took it to this place where they repair them. The guy loaded a bunch of test music to make sure the device was still working and as I took the seven train home that day I was treated with the best of David Bowie and that is where i discovered Golden Years.

It is a really cool song, in sort of a Taking Heads kind of way, especially the backing vocals. Musically its fun and light with a really funky beat. I like the idea of golden years and made a really great slide show with this song as its soundtrack.

#86 – We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions

#86 – We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions
Queen



Its an anthem at sporting event around the world, its been parodied by Gymboree teachers and despite being two separate songs they are always played together, Queen’s classics We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions .

The two songs couldn’t be any more different. From the bombast and anger of We Will Rock You, to the elegancy and regality of We Are The Champions, but they are like Yin and Yang, perfect together. As I write this all I can hear is the sound of We Will Rock You “BOOM BOOM CLAP BOOM BOOM CLAP”. And guess what its in your head right now too.

While We Will Rock You is the war cry, We are the Champions is the “hey guess what, we won, second place is is just the first loser, get off our field as we enjoy the spoils of war,” cry. So its both high class and bratty all at the same time. And when the Mets win the World Series next time, I will be driving all around town blaring this song. It will be very obnoxious, people will be very embarrassed.

Queen had so many great songs , but these two are among the best.

Happy Father's day

Father of Mine
Everclear



I know this song is more about a son of divorce. But this song still hits very close to home for me, and it makes me sad. But it also makes me want to be there for Olivia and her soon to be born sibling. When you think about the song it is pretty good for the band Everclear, classic 1997, not too heavy and a song that doesn't sound dated when you are driving on a hot and sunny summer day.

Here are some other "classic" dad songs in honor of father's day.

Big Poppa -Notorious B.I.G.

Daddy Sand Bass - Johnny Cash

Gone Daddy Gone - Violent Femmes

#87 American Jesus

#87 - American Jesus
Bad Religion




I think when you first get into a band your knowledge really starts from that point going forwrad. You listen to the older stuff but you miss hidden gems. That is what happened to me with American Jesus by Bad Religion.

It was when we saw Bad Religion in New Jersey a few years ago they played American Jesus and I was like what album is this from and I looked back and checked out the song further. It is just as good on the album as it was live. Intense. Thought provoking. Sinister.

The song is a very commercial and could have been another hit for Bad Religion in the vein of 21st Century Digital Boy . But don't take that to mean, not genuine and very punk rock. Honestly it is the anthem of the dystopian future that Bad Religion has been singing about for years.

Is Olivia a lefty guitar player?

Here is Olivia jamming out on her Yo Gabba Gabba guitar left handed. Is she a lefty? Hmmm.

She wouldn't be the first left-handed guitarist here are a few other notables.

Kurt Cobain

JImi Hendrix

Tom Iommi

Paul McCartney

#88 - Man on a Silver Mountain

#88
Man on a Silver Mountain
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow



I was driving to work this morning and couldn't bare listening to talk radio any more so I started playing one of my metal mixed CDs on random and seven songs in a row by the recently departed Ronnie James Dio. I kind of wanted to put a so-called "New Wave of British Heavy Metal" song and I despite the fact that this song is a few years earlier than the era of NWOBHM (and the fact that Dio was American) its close enough. And hence we have Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow's Man on a Silver Mountain.

It is a great song for strutting and tossing up devil horns. The song is about rock stars being everything to their fans, but they need their fans to make them worshiped. Basically the same relationship that the star and paparazzo have in Lady Gaga's Papparazzi. I think this was Dio's first "big" song before his career took off with Black Sabbath and then as a solo artist.

Top Live Albums

(PLEASE NOTE THIS WAS WRITTEN BEFORE THE SUDDEN DEATH OF RONNIE JAMES DIO)


I was on the train and I'm rocking out to The Guns of Brixton by the
Clash and made me think about live albums. So here are some of my
favorites.

"I heard they suck live" - NOFX

The answer to that statement is no, they don't suck live and of the
albums I'm listing they are the only band I actually saw live. Six or
seven times. But the album has a lot of their classics from their
earlier albums (punk in drublic, longest line, ribbed). They really
enjoy their live show and it shows on the album, there is crowd
interaction. Its fun just like a NOFX show but without all the 13 year
olds.

"Black Sabbath Live at the Hammerstein Odeon" - Black Sabbath

This live album features the Ronnie James Dio led Sabbath and what is
really cool they play most of the songs from the Dio years but play
Ozzy era songs like "Iron Man" which is totally different when Dio
sings it. Honestly there are words you couldn't understand when Ozzy
sings it that are now perfectly clear.

"Live at Shea Stadium" - The Clash

I'll be the first to admit it that I bought this on ITunes because it
was a concert recorded at Shea stadium. But it is so much more than
that. The Clash were so great and tight live, they played some
favorites "London calling" and "Rock the Cassbah". It was 1982 and the
Clash were the only things rocking Shea Stadium that summer.

Other great live albums:
Unplugged in New York - Nirvana
Live at Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash
Under Great White Northern Lights - The White Stripes
Unplugged - Eric Claypton

#89

#89
Immagrant Song
Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin has mad a lot of really good music but for my money nothing is better than Immagrant Song. Seriously name one other serious song about vikings. You can't.

When the song begins you can imagine viking long-boats approaching an unsuspecting coastal village on a moon less night. And then from out of no where they attack. Just thinking about the song makes my blood boil.

Then you hear the war cry. Robert Plant may have looked like a efeminant flower child but he was every bit the viking warrior he sang about.

#90

#90
Love Song
The Cure




I'll say it now, this should have been mama and my wedding song.
Unfortunately I heard it for the first time after the wedding. But
nonetheless it is a great song.

I never listened to the cure, growing up. Honestly Robert Smith in a
bunny suit during the "Friday I'm in Love" video was the extent of my
knowledge of the band and their work. But this song really turned me
onto their music (well their old music).

The song is about missing your soul mate, particularly while on tour.
But it make being apart sound so horrible and dreadful "You make me
feel fun again". This is one of those songs that I begin to tear up
when I listen to it. Because I really understand that kind of love.

Musically it is typical Cure fare but, the juxtaposition of anguish
and joy in Smith's voice are what truly make this song remarkable.

#91

#91
CE LA LUNA
Lou Monte

I can’t imagine hearing the song Take Me Out to the Ball Game without it being immediately followed by Lou Monte’s Ce La Luna (Lazy Mary). Honestly it is so ingrained in my mind, when we saw the Mets in Toronto a few years ago and when the TMOTHBG ended it seemed wrong that there was nothing after it.

The song which is in Italian and English (or British as Lou Monte says) is kind of dirty, but its such a great song. The music makes you want to bounce around and clap your hands. And yes the beginning is the same as Dominic the Italian Christmas Donkey, which Monte also recorded.

With baseball returning on Monday I couldn’t think of a better song to think about. Go Mets!

#92

#92

Jolene
Dolly Parton
The White Stripes

Several years ago I downloaded a live performance of the White Stripes from a British TV show (actually it may have been a Japanese TV show) and they played their hits of the time and some B-sides. The only song I remember from that performance was a cover of Dolly Parton's Jolene.

The song which is about an enchantress who the singer thinks is going to steal her man. From the description in the song I'm pretty sure Dolly was talking about Reba Macentire.

What is great about the song is the desperation in the singers words "you could have your choice of men / but I will never love again". Its so rare to see such vulnerabilty in a song. Its refreshing.

As for Jack White it seems he is in hysterics as he pleds to Jolene. "Jolene / Jolene / Please don't take my man / Even though you can". The White Stripes have such a distinctive sound they can really make any song there own. And they have done this with Jolene.

Ummm

Its been crazy. So next week there will be two new songs posted.

#93

#93
Catholic Block
Sonic Youth
Sister



I think most of Sonic Youth’s music is ostentatious and art for the sake of art. Which I find obnoxious, but through all the feedback and mumbling I found a gem. It is listenable which for Sonic Youth and me is a plus.

Musically it is passionate and turbulent. And is the first song on this list with a curse word in it. But I’m not one to censor a song. It’s just a word. The song makes me think of someone who is religious finds a world outside of the church he’s been raised in and is now at odds with everything he has ever known. And yes that interpretation is ostentatious in itself, but it is a really good song.