Day 733 - Taj Mahal - Queen Bee

For those who don't know, I am listing my 10,000 favorite songs in this blog. This will take just under 30 years from start to completion. This blog can be found at Blogger, Livejournal for your convenience.

DAY 733
Taj Mahal - Queen Bee
From "Senor Blues"
Year: 1997



Today I bought season three of Saturday Night Live on DVD, because I saw the chance to get it for a measly $20. I haven't had the chance to watch anything past the second episode yet, because I was so blown away by this song. I immediately listened to the live performance a second time, and barely got through the rest of the episode before going to the computer to do some research.

The Saturday Night Live performance took place on October 8th, 1977, but it appears that a studio version wasn't recorded until 20 years later in 1997! I have heard many attempts by artists to re-create the sounds of their classic hits, and the results are typically dismal. Those are the kind of songs you find on budget priced compilations that leave you feeling ripped off. This studio recording sounds every bit as vibrant and powerful as the classic live performance that I saw for the first time mere moments ago.

Instant favorite.

Listen to "Queen Bee" on blip.fm
Listen to "Queen Bee" on YouTube

ROCK!

Glenn Case

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Here's my choices sorted by Artist, by album cover, and by year.

Day 732 - Atmosphere - Millie Fell Off the Fire Escape

For those who don't know, I am listing my 10,000 favorite songs in this blog. This will take just under 30 years from start to completion. This blog can be found at Blogger, Livejournal for your convenience.

DAY 732
Atmosphere - Millie Fell Off the Fire Escape
From "Leak at Will"
Year: 2009



Created 18 years after the track that inspired it, "Millie Fell Off the Fire Escape" functions as a fitting sequel to my 731st choice: De La Soul's "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa". The original is a powerful, haunting composition that is an example of hip hop storytelling at it's finest.

"Millie Fell Off the Fire Escape" picks the story up where it left off. I won't ruin the details in case you aren't familiar with the story, but I'd say that the bone-chilling vibe remains intact. I thought it was a very nice touch to start with the final lyric from the original fading and echoing.

I sent a Twitter message about this sequel to Pos from De La Soul, and as usual he has proven himself to be a really cool guy. The following response is at LEAST the third genuine response I've recieved from the hip hop legend:

"that was a funny sequel. We were N da rehearsal studio rehearsing millie so 2C da link was bugged out"

How weird and cool is that? De La was rehearsing "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa" mere moments before hearing Atmosphere's sequel!

I highly recommend listening to both of these back to back:

Listen to De La Soul's "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa" on blip.fm
Listen to Atmosphere's "Millie Fell Off the Fire Escape" on blip.fm

ROCK!

Glenn Case

Go see what Andy chose today
Go see what Heuristics Inc. chose today
Go see what Max chose today
Go see what Niveous chose today
Go see what prayformojo chose today
Go see what Rabid Garfunkel chose today
Go see what Rachael chose today
Go see what Susana chose today
Go see what Tuuur chose today
Go see what William chose today
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Here's my choices sorted by Artist, by album cover, and by year.

Day 731 - De La Soul - Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa

For those who don't know, I am listing my 10,000 favorite songs in this blog. This will take just under 30 years from start to completion. This blog can be found at Blogger, Livejournal for your convenience.

DAY 731
De La Soul - Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa
From "De La Soul is Dead"
Year: 1991



My 10th choice from De La Soul, and far from my last one. I enjoy a very large percentage of the group's output.

The title may sound funny, but there's a sad, intense, spine-tingling story within the lyrics. This is hip hop brilliance right here.

I heard "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa" long before I heard Funkadelic's "I'll Stay", which is the primary sample used in the track. "I'll Stay" was my 101st choice from this blog.

Listen to "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa" on blip.fm

ROCK!

Glenn Case

Go see what Andy chose today
Go see what Heuristics Inc. chose today
Go see what Max chose today
Go see what Niveous chose today
Go see what prayformojo chose today
Go see what Rabid Garfunkel chose today
Go see what Rachael chose today
Go see what Susana chose today
Go see what Tuuur chose today
Go see what William chose today
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Here's my choices sorted by Artist, by album cover, and by year.

Day 730 - Atmosphere - They Always Know

For those who don't know, I am listing my 10,000 favorite songs in this blog. This will take just under 30 years from start to completion. This blog can be found at Blogger, Livejournal for your convenience.

DAY 730
Atmosphere - They Always Know
From "Leak at Will"
Year: 2009



Atmosphere released a free EP over the fourth of July weekend. Found out about it today thanks to Z of Hipster Please. Thanks, Z!

"They Always Know" is the very definition of an instant classic. It had me hooked right away.

Listen to it on blip.fm
Click here to download the "Leak at Will" EP for free.

ROCK!

Glenn Case

Go see what Andy chose today
Go see what Heuristics Inc. chose today
Go see what Max chose today
Go see what Niveous chose today
Go see what prayformojo chose today
Go see what Rabid Garfunkel chose today
Go see what Rachael chose today
Go see what Susana chose today
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Here's my choices sorted by Artist, by album cover, and by year.

Day 729 - Daryl Hall and John Oates - Private Eyes

For those who don't know, I am listing my 10,000 favorite songs in this blog. This will take just under 30 years from start to completion. This blog can be found at Blogger, Livejournal for your convenience.

DAY 729
Daryl Hall and John Oates - Private Eyes
From "Private Eyes"
Year: 1981



You know about comfort foods, right? Today I was listening to "Private Eyes", and I would describe it as being a comfort album for me. Bliss in music form.

Daryl's vocal control is so ridiculous in this song. Listen how he effortlessly jumps from those low vocals to the high notes.

Listen to the song on blip.fm
Watch the music video on YouTube

ROCK!

Glenn Case

Go see what Andy chose today
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Go see what Max chose today
Go see what Niveous chose today
Go see what prayformojo chose today
Go see what Rabid Garfunkel chose today
Go see what Rachael chose today
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Here's my choices sorted by Artist, by album cover, and by year.

Day 728 - Billy Joel - Laura

For those who don't know, I am listing my 10,000 favorite songs in this blog. This will take just under 30 years from start to completion. This blog can be found at Blogger, Livejournal for your convenience.

DAY 728
Billy Joel - Laura
From "The Nylon Curtain"
Year: 1982



"The Nylon Curtain" album is home to some of Billy Joel's darkest, most sarcastic and saddest songs.

This song's Beatles/Lennon influence is obvious, and the same goes for other songs on the album. I've often wondered if some of the songs from the album were Billy's personal way of attempting to cope with the news of John Lennon's murder, which had only happened about a year earlier.

Not only does Billy drop an F bomb in this song, he makes it count! There's an irritated tone in his voice throughout most of the song, but he sounds like he's really dispensing the vitriol when he tosses that line out there.

I had always guessed that this album was probably recorded around a bad time in Billy's life. Quite possibly around the time when Billy was going through his first divorce. Some Wikipedia research seems to confirm that I was right. He started recording the album in the Spring of 1982, He was involved in a serious motorcycle accident during the early stages of recording, the divorce from his first wife took place in July of 1982, and the album was released in September of the same year.

Billy recently made headlines because he's splitting from his third wife. Is it wrong of me to hope that we're going to get some new music along the lines of "The Nylon Curtain" as a result? I would love to hear him back in the studio venting his frustrations in a musical form, because he has written some of his best material while feeling bitter.

Listen to the song on blip.fm

ROCK!

Glenn Case

Go see what Andy chose today
Go see what Heuristics Inc. chose today
Go see what Max chose today
Go see what Niveous chose today
Go see what prayformojo chose today
Go see what Rabid Garfunkel chose today
Go see what Rachael chose today
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Here's my choices sorted by Artist, by album cover, and by year.

Day 727 - Chuck the Bear - Pink Ribbon

For those who don't know, I am listing my 10,000 favorite songs in this blog. This will take just under 30 years from start to completion. This blog can be found at Blogger, Livejournal for your convenience.

DAY 727
Chuck the Bear - Pink Ribbon
Song entry at songfight.org
Year: 2007



This song was a songfight.org submission from January of 2007. It split the top honors that week with a song submitted by Hostess Mostess.

Justin Combustion and I would use the name "Chuck the Bear" for song submissions that we worked on together. It was a reference to the leader of the Riverbottom Nightmare Band in "Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas".

Justin thought that my vocals should have sounded angrier, considering the subject matter. I think I was aiming to express sorrow more than anger.

It's clear that I wrote the lyrics about being stood up at a restaurant, but I've come to realize that there was an underlying reason for writing about that subject. Being stood up is an awful feeling, and I'd compare that to how it feels to have a friendship damaged beyond repair, especially when you know that You're the one to blame.

I've been stood up before, and I've lost my share of friendships as a result of my words and actions. Neither is a fun experience. Your head hurts, your stomach feels like it is in knots. It sucks.

Click here to listen to the song on Blip.fm

ROCK!

Glenn Case

Go see what Andy chose today
Go see what Heuristics Inc. chose today
Go see what Max chose today
Go see what Niveous chose today
Go see what prayformojo chose today
Go see what Rabid Garfunkel chose today
Go see what Rachael chose today
Go see what Susana chose today
Go see what Tuuur chose today
Go see what William chose today
Go see what Woordenaar chose today
Here's my choices sorted by Artist, by album cover, and by year.