Great songs, according to me (Part 22)

It's been a while, so I thought I'd continue the Award-Winning Series! I know you can't live without knowing what songs I think are great!

As usual, links to the rest of the list: the archive of parts 1-15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21. Enjoy the selections!

211. Given To Fly (by Pearl Jam on the album Yield, 1998): One of the forgotten classics in Pearl Jam's song list, this song begins with Eddie's standard mumbling, which bugs me a bit, but I forgive it because when he lets loose, there is such power and passion in his voice. The music kicks in just as Eddie screams, "He's flying" and we feel the same way. It's a nice song that matches the feeling of flying with coming back to earth. It's also a nice Christian song without really preaching. I wonder if Eddie wrote it to be a Christian song. He doesn't strike me as one.

212. The Globe (by Big Audio Dynamite on the album The Globe, 1991): BAD never really took off, but this album is a blast of party music with a slight leftist edge, and that ain't bad. This song is the perfect example of the album - bouncy, danceable, a wee bit funky, and easily digestible pseudo-political lyrics that never get in the way of the fun. And it has lung cancer advice, too: "What's the health department got to say? Don't smoke more than fifty fags a day." Mick Jones - always looking out for you!

213. Glory Girl (by Amanda Ghost on the album Ghost Stories, 2000): This is a very good and largely ignored album, by a performer who I haven't heard much from since (but who is apparently working on something new). Ghost has a strong and strangely off-kilter voice (occasionally she lisps, which adds a weird edge to her songs), and on this tune, she shows off its power. She's singing about a lost girl who needs to find her way, and we're never sure if she's talking about herself. The music is nostalgic (in a good way) and Ghost's voice adds a nice touch of melancholy.

214. Go! (by Marillion on the album marillion.com, 1999): Marillion is certainly excellent at these kinds of songs, where the music and vocals start softly and build slowly to a climax. In this song, however, the blast of noise never comes, and the climax is instead soft yet still very powerful. Hogarth sings about never accepting a rut in your life and breaking out into something special, and the final refrain - "Wide awake at the end of the world" - lingers long after the song is over. It's a beautiful song on a very good album.

215. Gold (by 0+> (Prince) on the album The Gold Experience, 1995): This is by far the best Prince album of the 1990s (the concept album with the symbol is good, but not as good as this), partly because Prince drags his guitar out of storage and jams a lot, and partly because of this song, which is his most inspiring anthem since "Purple Rain." It's a song about the illusion of riches and how we have to find real wealth elsewhere and reflects his deepening religious thoughts, but it never gets preachy. The "Hey Jude"-like ending and a final transcendent guitar solo push this song to even greater heights.

216. Gold Dust Woman (by Fleetwood Mac on the album Rumours, 1977): This is a strange little song from Rumours, with Stevie rasping her way through bizarre late-1970s lyrics, but the chorus - "Did she make you cry, make you break down, shatter your illusions of love? Is it over now, do you know how - pick up the pieces and go home" - with Nicks chiding the foolish lover and dismissing him (?) so casually is what gives this song its nasty heart and makes it great. The music is haunting, too, which always helps.

217. The Golden Age (by Beck on the album Sea Change, 2002): Beck's 2002 album begins with this song and signals a complete change (hence the name) from what he has done before. This is a slow, thoughtful song, full of unrequited longing and despair, made more heartbreaking by Beck's tremulous voice. It's a lovely song even though it saddens us. Sea Change is a fantastic album, and this sets the tone for a more mature Beck and a more introspective one.

218. Golden Age (by Midnight Oil on the album Capricornia, 2001): Midnight Oil's last album isn't their best, but it begins with a great song that contrasts the depravity of the world with the promise of freedom and glory and a return to a natural state. It's something that the boys have sung about before, but this song, tinged by a nostalgia that shows their age, is pushed ahead into greatness over other Midnight Oil songs with similar themes.

219. Goldfish & Clowns (by Fish on the album Sunsets On Empire, 1997): A typical Fish song, in that the lyrics occasionally verge on the far-too-obscure before hitting us with a few lines that make it all worth it, while the music propels us along and changes up on us, just to keep us on our toes. It feels like a hopeful song, but as usual, Fish subverts our ears by slipping in just enough doubt to keep us from feeling completely uplifted. He's very good at that, and it keeps this song from falling into cheap sentimentality (which, unfortunately, when he's not on, he sometimes does). A nice song that is made great by its uncertainty about love and life.

220. Go'n Breakdown (by Suicidal Tendencies on the album Lights ... Camera ... Revolution, 1990): This song is just a nice piledriver of metal and mayhem. From the crunch of the opening guitars to the whine of the solos, we're never let down at all. Mike Muir's lyrics and the way he spits them makes this even more fun: "Went to school at U. of Hell, favorite course was kill and tell/Graduated head of class, majored in kickin' ass/Did hard time to get my Master, wrote the book on personal disaster/I don't need no PhD to be a doctor of fuckin' misery!" Sure, it's ridiculously violent, but it's a cartoon, and Muir never takes himself too seriously. A crazy ride to end the album, and a great song.

Yes, that's it for this time. Your insults are welcome!

Great songs, according to me (Part 21)

We're into the third hundred of great songs, according to me, so crack open a can of Schlitz and sit on down to read! There's really nothing better to do on a fine spring weekend than check out what songs some bonehead in Arizona are great, is there? IS THERE?????

As usual, in case you came in late, you can check out my first two hundred selections: the archive of the first 15 parts; Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, and Part 20. Now, let's get it on!

201. Gallows Pole (by Led Zeppelin on the album Led Zeppelin III, 1970): It's been a while since we had a Zep song on the list, but let's kick it back up with a song about whoring out your sister! Yippee! The starkness of the lyrics in "Gallows Pole" is nicely accompanied by the slowly building frenzy of the music, which of course culminates with the hangman banging the condemned's sister. Page really shows off his chops here, as he goes from plucking his guitar to full blast honky-tonk. Whyever is Plant on the Gallows Pole in the first place? It's a mystery for another day!

202. Genie (by Marillion on the album Marbles, 2004): If there's a slight weakness to this song, it's that Steve Hogarth's vocals aren't what they used to be - he can't quite reach the higher registers, and he should stay away from them. However, it doesn't wreck the song, which is a tragic tale of a man who is scared to take risks and find happiness even though he has a woman (the genie, presumably) willing to show him the way. It starts quietly and builds majestically, until you can hear all the fear and sadness because of that fear in Hogarth's voice. A tremendously beautiful song.

203. Gentle Groove (by Mother Love Bone on the album Apple, 1990): I really can't stress enough how brilliant Mother Love Bone was on their one album. I've mentioned them before, and whenever they come up again on this list, I'll tell you again how brilliant they are and how you should track down this recording (the original of which is out of print but which is available packaged with their EP, Shine). "Gentle Groove" is just one of their typically wonderful songs, as the guitar comes in slowly but powerfully, and Andrew Wood's nasal voice with its hint of nastiness wraps around bizarre lyrics that are far more than the sum of their parts. When he reaches the end and sings, "And nobody's gonna take my love away, and nobody's gonna slow my gentle groove," you're pretty sure he's talking about drugs, which makes his death all the more stupid and pointless. All of the songs on the album have some added poignancy because Wood was an idiot, but they're still excellent rock-n-roll, and this one is one of the great ones.

204. Get Out The Map (by Indigo Girls on the album Shaming Of The Sun, 1997): Sure, this is a typical Indigo Girls songs, which means I'm going to like it anyway, and although it doesn't have that special something that lifts other songs by our two favorite folk lesbians above the others, the reason it's a great son is because it sounds sad but is really quite joyous, and when Emily sings, "I'm gonna love you good and strong while our love is good and young," you just can't help but smile. It's also a song that makes you want to literally get out a map and just hit the road. So that's why it's great.

205. Get The Funk Out (by Extreme on the album Pornograffiti, 1990): Yes, it's an Extreme song on this list! While that may invalidate my opinions in the future for anyone who happens to stop by here, I would challenge you to actually sit down and listen to this song before you start bashing me. Great horns, fun guitar, goofy lyrics, and a plea for hedonism. What's not to like? It's just a wacky rock song by big-hair guys who don't take themselves too seriously. Nuno Bettencourt has some great chops, and Gary Cherone has a fantastic rock star voice (his awful Van Halen album notwithstanding), and you can't help but bop your head and sing along at the top of your voice. Don't resist!

And just wait until I get to songs from their 1995 release, Waiting for the Punchline. Why? Let's just say the words "forgotten" and "classic" will be thrown around a lot.

206. Gett Off (by Prince and the NPG on the album Diamonds And Pearls, 1991): Prince is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance these days, but that doesn't mean we should forget his past! Diamonds And Pearls, unfortunately, isn't really that good of an album, but "Gett Off" kicks major ass. Only Prince could make a flute funky, I believe. He has that great greasy vocal working for him in this song, and it has that early-1990s wheeze to it (like in House Of Pain's "Jump Around"), and of course, great lyrics about how hot some girl is and how nasty she likes her sex. Come on, it's Prince, what do you want? People tend to forget about this great dance tune when they think of Prince, which is a shame. It's excellent.

207. Ghost (by Indigo Girls on the album Rites Of Passage, 1992): Holy crap, this is a great song. As usual with the Girls, it's the lyrics that drive it, although the music is powerful enough. It's another Emily song, which is a bit surprising because I tend to like Amy's songs more, but Emily can certainly write kick-ass songs about lost love. Her voice aches as she begins with "There's a letter on the desktop that I dug out of a drawer, the last truce we ever came to in our adolescent war" and when she reaches "You kiss me like a lover then you sting me like a viper" you can almost imagine her weeping as she sings. It's a marvelous evocation of love gone by, a love that probably wasn't that healthy but is missed nonetheless.

208. The Ghost Of A Smile (by The Pogues on the album Hell's Ditch, 1990): Hell's Ditch is a decent Pogues album (of course, I'm a fan, so I think they're all good), but it doesn't reach the heights of their classic albums. That's not the fault of this song, though, which is light-hearted enough, but contains just enough edge to push it to greatness. Shane is smitten by a girl, who can get him to do anything she wants, but he also tells her "Don't wait too long, or I'll be gone." That simple little lyric, coupled with the slight increasing urgency of the music, twists this sweet song just enough to make you realize how ephemeral love can be, and we need to seize it while it's there. Beautiful.¹

209. Give It All Away (by World Party on the album Bang!, 1993): Wow. I just found out, looking for a web site about him, that Karl Wallinger and World Party have a new album out. Just another thing I have to pick up. I mean, it's only been 9 years since the last one. Take a few more years off, Karl! Anyway, Bang! is a good album, helped by this song, in which Karl rocks out a bit more than usual, and gives us biting lyrics about (what else) man's destruction of the earth. Sure, it's a theme he really likes, but it's still relevant, and his anger and sadness comes through very well on this song. How can you argue with lyrics like "It seems to me you're killing all the things you love the most"? See? You can't.

210. Give It Revolution (by Suicidal Tendencies on the album Lights ... Camera ... Revolution, 1990): Mike Muir must have a lot of anger in him, what with the name of the band and then the songs they write. But that's okay, because we reap the benefits with loud punkish thrash metal with some excellent lyrics and bass lines to die for. And, of course, songs about revolution! I love songs about revolution, because it means I'll have a soundtrack for when I take over (after which, like the French one, the revolution will become a dictatorship, but I'll be a good one, I promise), and this song will be near the front. It's just a kick-ass tune, and with lyrics like "Well you can put a bullet in my head but you can't kill a word I've said," you know you want to join the fight! The whole album is brilliant, thanks to this song and a host of others.

Well, that's it for this installment. I know you're always excited and interested in peeking into my twisted musical mind, and I like to accommodate! Enjoy!

¹ Yeah, I used "ephemeral" to describe a Pogues song. You gotta a problem with that? I'm a snooty English major, after all.