Get your ow
n diary at DiaryLand.com! contact me older entries newest entry

5:17 p.m. - May 04, 2008
Smed's Top 200 - #94 - #83. Where else can you find that dog, Gladys Knight and the Jesus Lizard? Nowhere, man!
You know, I have means motive and opportunity, so let�s knock out part of Smed�s Top 200 before they take us away�

We�re in the Top 100 now, so those of you who have a mix or two, you KNOW these songs. Those who WANT a mix�well�

94. Friendship Train � Gladys Knight & The Pips. This isn�t one of their well known songs, but it was featured on the Beg, Scream, & Shout collection of 60�s soul and my gosh, it�s a corker. It reminds me of those late 60�s Temptations records with all of the great psychedelic production inter-mixed in the soul. And you always have to love a clip from Soul Train! Right on, brother!

93. Jam Up And Jelly Tight � Tommy Roe. Tommy Roe had hits interspersed all through the 60�s with fluff, for the most part. �Sweet Pea�, �Hooray For Hazel�, �Dizzy� and this were his most notable. This was a big hit in 1971, but it was the end of the line. Oh, he tried, but couldn�t do it. I think he couldn�t top this one, which walked that fine line between naivety and Chris Hanson land. Best line: �You won�t say you will / but there�s a chance that you might.�

92. Never Say Never � that dog. Delicious. I have dibs on the violin player. Oh, and the tune is great, too!

91. Early Morning Cold Taxi � The Who. A sign of a great band is that when they release their odds-and-ends and box sets, you find songs that are just as good as songs on their best albums. This was unreleased by the Who, and they added it onto the re-release of The Who Sell Out. I can�t fathom the reason why it wasn�t a single at least, unless it was because Roger Daltrey wrote this song and someone was jealous. Perhaps. Who knows?

90. Journey � Anytime. This was on the first record they recorded with Steve Perry, but well, well, well, look what I found. It was the original singer, Robert Fleischmann. Oh, here�s a live cut with Schnozzy McShreikstein. Nice hair, Neil Schon!

89. Portions For Foxes � Rilo Kiley. This was synergy. A song that I discovered right about the time I became a mixing fiend. And it fit me, because I�m bad news! Well, maybe not bad news. Just news. And not that touchy feely news, either, that�s on the local channels. Just news. Non politicized news. NPR news. There.

88. I�d Run Away � The Jayhawks. I rather much like this song and I rather much like the Jayhawks. I can�t find a video of the studio version so this will do. You can tell it�s quality and distinction, though.

87. The Ballad Of El Goodo � Big Star. One of the largest crimes ever perpetrated against the good people who love good music was the total lack of recognition and support by the label and radio for Big Star. Can�t you just hear how good this is? I wasn�t that old in 1972, but I know my first grade self would have loved this song to death, just as my 42 year old self does now.

86. Nasty Dogs And Funky Kings � ZZ Top. This funky little cooker was on the studio side of Fandango! and was overshadowed, I think, by some of the radio hits but it really jammed. Here�s a clip of a much older ZZ Top doing this song some justice, but seek out the studio version for the real deal. It just cooks right along.

85. Puss � Jesus Lizard. You know it�s a disturbing song when the first line is �Give me something to stop the bleeding!� They had the fortune to release this song as a split single with Nirvana, and because of that they could inflict this video onto the masses. I don�t ask questions, I just turn up the music and let it go where it goes, man.

84. Look Through Any Window � The Hollies. Ah, an ode to voyeurism! Can�t beat that with a stick, can ya?

83. Her Royal Fisticuffs � Superchunk. I leave you now with a song without any video, so you have to take my word for it. I think I mixed it a lot because of the title, and when ever a female type woman was mad at me it found its way onto a mix. No, it�s not true that it�s on 28 mixes for Liz. At any rate, I recommend most Superchunk, especially when it�s both loud and tuneful. That�s the best of both worlds!

The countdown will resume soon, peeps! En � joy!

 

previous - next

about me - read my profile! read other Diar
yLand diaries! recommend my diary to a friend! Get
 your own fun + free diary at DiaryLand.com!