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11:45 a.m. - February 08, 2008
12 Songs Rescued From The Depths Of The Pod
I have way too many songs in my iPod.

No, scratch that. I have way too many songs I haven�t RATED in my iPod.

(Normal people would think that 54 days worth of tunes is enough. Heh. I�m normal, right�)

When I dumped my entire extant (at the time) CD collection on there I had a whole bunch of tunes that I needed to sort through, and that�s exactly what I�m doing.

The best way to do this is to rate each song. Right now, I�m using 5 stars (I�ll keep it) and 4 stars (eh, we�ll see) and then if the tune doesn�t move me, out it goes.

So right now as I am listening to some of my newer purchases, I have 3,730 songs that I need to plow through that are from my CD collection and some mix CDs. Some make the cut, some don�t.

What recently has made the cut and tickled my ears? Well, let�s find out!

1. Sara � Bob Dylan. I had a lot of Dylan on CD, but some Dylan doesn�t translate well to the iPod, and some of the Bootleg Series outtakes are just that � outtakes. This, though, is a great cut from the CD they took from the Rolling Thunder Revue shoes. I have a lot of Sara(h)s in my life, but perhaps sending the lyrics to a good platonic friend named Sara wasn�t the best choice, since it documents the end of Dylan�s marriage in 1975. Live and learn.

2. The Man With The Dogs � The Dead Kennedys. This cut was on their odds-and-ends compilation album. It was a b-side from their classic era. That video shows a great live show, but the sound is gunky, so here�s a pastiche with good sound. I think this is ripe for covering, or revival, or just letting people know that this song exists. Ok, here, I did it! I let people know!

3. Outside The Trains Don�t Run On Time � The Gang of Four. I had two very similar versions of this song on my iPod, and I�m going to keep both of them, for now. One is from an EP and one is from their second LP. You can tell it�s a great tune if I�m keeping both, right? Anyway, if you don�t know the Gang of Four then go download Entertainment!.

4. Deceiver � The Beat Farmers. This is another tune that I have multiple versions of, one being a demo and the other the proper take from Van Go. The one that was buried is the demo, and it�s rawer and gruffier sounding, which I think adds to the song. You probably don�t know the song, so here�s a taste from a 2002 show featuring Jerry Raney of the Beat Farmers doing the song. Sorry it�s not the best in the world, but at least you can hear a bit of why it�s a hella tune!

5. Jar Of Cardinals � Guided By Voices. I�m surprised I don�t have over 3,000 songs by Guided By Voices that I haven�t rated. Anyway, this is a typical GBV poppy rock tune with absurd lyrics and imagery and it�s over in 1:20. It also sounded like it was recorded underwater. Who knows, with their budget, it may have been!

6. Love Hurts � Nazareth. I know the Everly Brothers did it first, but for chillun� of the 70�s, this is the definitive version. And you will say to yourself, �I don�t really like this,� and then by the end you will be drying your eyes and holding your lighter aloft.

7. Save Me � Queen. Queen had a bajillion songs on the radio, but they were one of those artists that had a pretty deep catalog when it comes to album cuts. The Game was particularly strong, and this, being on Side Two, probably escaped a lot of notice from people not in the know. Fortunately, Queen loved to make videos so it�s easy to confirm what I�m saying! BTW � I always think Freddie is going to put an eye out with that long mic stand.

8. The Year Of The Cat � Al Stewart. Man, I had totally forgotten this song. My man Moose will probably say it should have stayed forgotten, but you can�t help but remember this fondly. It does remind me of Andrew Gold�s hits, though.

9. I Hate You � The Monks. A bunch of servicemen in Germany in the 60�s decide to form a band, and they call themselves the Monks. And in the day, they actually dressed like MONKS! With the tonsure and the robes and all that. They played pretty wild garage punk for the 60�s, including electric banjo and anti-war and anti-everything lyrics. This isn�t the same as seeing them in their glory, but hey, what can a poor You Tube dude do? But I found this, so you know I ain�t lyin�! And here�s another clip!

10. The Spirit Of Radio � Rush. Now, wait. You LOVE this song! Yes, yes I do, but I just recently put the live version on my iPod. Ok, the live version from Exit: Stage Left. But how can you not love this song?

11. Dreamer Deceiver � Judas Priest. Yep, they sang ballads way back in the day! I mean, way back.

12. A Quick One � The Who. Yes, everyone who knows me knows I love this too, but I had one of the live versions in my collection buried and it still kicks ass!. Just listen to Entwhistle at the end sing the falsetto! Wow!

Oh, I gots more, but there was a quick dozen. It�s flurrying and I need to catch a flight tonight.

 

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