2:58 p.m. - January 18, 2008
Smed's Top 200 : 192 - 182. And Who Not To Bring To The Waffle Hut...
Oy, what a week. I mean, really. Could there be any more drama, tiredness, ennui, and issues rolled into a week? And then next week � wowser.
So that�s the lame excuse for not writing about the tunes I�m hearing, the tunes I wish I heard earlier (The Rubinoos, sigh�) and Smed�s Top 200.
So, let�s get to the Top 200!
So where were we�.ah yes.
192. In Your Mind � Built To Spill. Built To Spill is one of my favorite bands, but I know exactly why there more of a cult band than a mainstream success. They take their time making records, they make the records exactly how they want to make them, and they are just a bunch of ugly, sweaty guys who don�t care about appearance, just their art. Wow, what a concept.
This is from Ancient Melodies Of The Future, which is a typical BTS album in that it has a lot of sprawling epics with loud guitars. This song, though, adds other items to the sonic palette, especially a kalimba that would make Earth, Wind, and Fire proud. No video of this, sadly.
(BTW, I had a lot of videos saved as favorites for this section, but they�ve been yanked off of You Tube so now I must scramble�)
191. Ways To Be Wicked � Lone Justice. They were hyped. They were ignored. They released a second album that was substandard. They were still ignored. But they had Maria McKee, and she could sing like an angel!
Here�s a clip of them doing this tune at nearly double time of the album. You know, there is something very sexy about a pretty girl in a dress playing rock-and-roll.
190. Downed � Cheap Trick. Early in their career, Cheap Trick really could do no wrong. Their second album In Color was packed with great songs. This is one of them, and on the expanded Budokan album it rocks as well. The video of their Budokan performance was yanked, but here�s one of Rick Nielsen performing the song at a benefit. Never mind the 2 minute intro.
I love mixing this song, because people really don�t know this song, but then they hear it and go, �Oh, yeah, they were really great, weren�t they.�
189. I Walk On Guilded Splinters � Dr. John. His whole persona in the 60�s was that of a tripped out psychedelic voodoo shaman, and songs like this were the reason. He didn�t sell a lot of records early on, but he was well regarded and influential. Then he had a hit, and kept trying to chase the hit. Now, he�s back to being well-respected.
Here�s a short clip of this song, which doesn�t really do the song justice. It�s more of a trance-type song that�s about 8 � minutes song, and it evokes a great mood and feeling of eerie mystery.
188. Cut-Out Witch � Guided By Voices. I was really surprised when yet another GBV song got on this countdown, because I thought I mixed up different songs by them a bit more. But when you have standout songs like this, you know you just can�t resist them.
Here�s a live clip of them doing the song in 2001. I wish the audio and video were better, but beggars cannot be choosers, in no way, shape or form. You get the gist of it anyway.
187. Smack My B**** Up � Prodigy. (NSFW video) Yes, I mix this for both ladies and gentlemen. It�s definitely not for the kiddies, and MTV banned the video. Ok, they would have banned this version anyway, but they banned the edited version for a while, too. All I have to say about the video is, �Drugs are bad�mmmkay??�
186. 16 Days � Whiskeytown. I have two versions of this in my collection. The one I mix the most is from Faithless Street, which I think has more grit and edge. I found two good live clips. This one is from 1997 and Ryan Adams is sweaty and has sideburns, and Caitlin Cary has glasses. This is a TV show appearance and has clearer sound, Adams has a mop o� hair and Cary has no glasses and looks glam. Choose yer poison!
No matter what, this is one of the best songs Adams ever wrote.
185. Good Fortune � PJ Harvey. Wow, I didn�t realize that I had mixed this song so much. I think it was early in my mixing era, when I put it on CDs for people that were experiencing success in relationships, or something. Well, it fits that motif as it were.
Harvey�s a chameleon. With every album she has a new persona and new look. This clip of the song illustrates her urban, uptown look. But no matter what she does, I�ll buy into it.
184. Love Is Like Oxygen � Sweet. For all of the complaining and grousing they did about being puppets of Chinn / Chapman early in their career (with �Funny Funny�, �Little Willy�, and �Ballroom Blitz�, amongst others), the stuff they did on their own was really much the same. This song isn�t really out of character for them, now, is it?
This was Sweet�s last US hit, and you can find it here and there. The video is the long version, in a sense. Be careful, though. There�s bogus versions afoot on iTunes as well.
183. Crazy Horses � The Osmonds. Believe it, or don�t, The Osmonds did rock out. Yes, that�s Donny �playing� the synth. In the first clip, notice how no one is playing the drums. Heh. But nice dancing, eh? Yes, it�s lip-synched. But, you know, for the album, the Osmonds� did their own thing, so Donny DID do the weird synth line since he�s the keyboard player.
This one has Jay on the drums. (Is that right?) Anyway, let�s name them shall we? Donny on keyboards, Jay on drums and the lead vocal at the start, Merrill on bass and lead vocals (he�s sings the �What a show�� part), Alan on guitar and Wayne on lead guitar. And the sad thing is, I could name them all without looking them up. Demented and sad�
182. Bad Times � Lubricated Goat. A few of you are lucky enough to have this song for me. Lucky? Ok, well, maybe that�s not the term. The singer sounds like he smoked five packs of Lucky Strike Unfiltered and washed it down with razor blades and Wild Turkey. There�s a lot of noise and chaos in the background, and the lyrics are, well, interesting. But it�s all nice and scuzzy and that�s what you want in rock and roll, isn�t it?
Well, in lieu of a video of this song, how about a reminder that you never bring anyone unauthorized to the Waffle Hut. (NSFW, of course�)
I hope you enjoyed this version. Coming up next, a bunch of great songs that you haven�t heard of�unless you have a mix by me! Enjoy!
