favourite songs ever pt. II.

part II COMINATCHA.


the dillinger escape plan - the mullet burden. off under the running board, 1998.

the dillinger escape plan redefine the term acquired taste. if you listen to their songs just once you'll get the impression that the songwriting is amateur and there's no order to it all. at first glance it's just chaos, mindless noise. invest a bit more time and you'll keep discovering layers of rhythms, melodies (i use that term loosely), meters and everything running every which way at all times...but all perfectly wrangled into this monsterous sound. with NIN breaking up recently i'd say dillinger have just grabbed the baton as the most forward thinking "heavy" band in the world still active. big words but they're true.


ennio morricone - once upon a time in the west. off once upon a time in the west (soundtrack), 1972. later released on the legendary italian westerns: the film composers series vol. 2, 1990.

i can't remember when i first heard morricone's music. it's quite possibly when i first saw "the thing" which would have been about 10 years ago. while the score for that film doesn't rank in his ULTIMATE BEST EVER it's still sick and an example of morricone not restricting himself to the kinds of films he scores. this song is the main theme for once upon a time in the west, sergio leone's 1968 masterpiece and it really gives you an idea of the scope of the film. the female vocal kind of sneaks in there but becomes the best thing about it, swelling with the orchestra and reminding you why you love morricone: he rules, that's why.


blind willie johnson - dark was the night, cold was the ground. off about 5 million cheap store gospel compilations. likely recorded in 1927.

i do believe i first heard this song in around 2005. far too late into my life, to be sure. blind willie johnson, in my opinion, has the rare distinction of being the most badarse blind musician ever. i rank him higher than ray charles and stevie wonder. BLASPHEMY? definitely not. dude used a KNIFE for slide. well, was rumoured to. but that's a cool rumour, right? he has a scant 30 recordings to his name which makes his music all the more treasured, and his guitar playing is revered as some of the best slide guitar there is or ever was. this song was selected for the voyager golden record to be shot into space. hopefully somewhere in the universe there's some 100 headed green alien dude who breathes pure fire that's listening to this song and crying.


hank williams - why don't you love me? released as a single with a house without love as the b-side, 1950.

hank williams. what can really be said about him? a lot. but i won't say that much. if you don't like country, hank can be the one to turn you around. most recommend johnny cash as a starting point because of his crossover appeal (and basically universal acceptance) however i'd probably point to hank first. his music carries a more simplistic approach that's disarming at first but have a go at reading his lyrics with dry eyes. it's interesting to read them as opposed to hearing them sung because of the music they're set against. it's almost like they don't suit but at the same time you can't imagine anything suiting more. screw emo bands, hank's lyrics are some of the most heartwrenching written by human hands. he could out-drink keith richards by a country mile. he had a rough life and died at 29 but had produced a startling amount of music by then. we're lucky to have it.


hank williams - i'll never get out of this world alive. released as a single in 1952 then posthumously on honky tonkin', 1954.

another one of hank's songs where the title betrays the musical mood of the song, it was meant to be taken in an ironic fashion but anyone who knew anything about williams' life could easily take a more chilling perspective. in a real sting of irony it was also the last song hank ever released.


hot rod circuit - safely. off sorry about tomorrow, 2002.

a friend from a while back burnt me a bunch of hot rod circuit albums in around 2003. this was the one i gravtiated towards the most and remains that way (with the exception of some tracks off the underground is a dying breed, 2007). this song in particular i think is the strongest on the album with unassuming verses leading into a killer chorus. a good slice of early 2000's vagrant brand emo-rock.


keith green - because of you [live]. originally recorded in 1978, later released on the live experience, 2008.

keith green was a bit of an anomaly in his day. as a christian singer/songwriter he didn't fit easily into the christian music machine mould of the era he was active in (70's and early 80's) instead opting to do things like record full albums then after morgaging he and his wife's home to fund the recording, offer them completely free of charge (or at a price determined by the purchaser) as well as refusing to charge for concerts at which atendees sometimes numbered in the tens of thousands. these tactics are employed today in the digital age when there's less at stake but keith did it because he felt it was wrong to do anything other than give all of his music away. with moves like that it's hard to deny his heart was in the right place, especially listening to a live recording like this where it sounds like he's floating off his seat with excitement and enthusiasm for the song and its' message. unable to contain himself he litters the performance with comments and impulsive noises between lines, often running out of breath but not caring in the slightest. around the 1:54 mark he throws in an impressive piano roll just for the hell of it and you can picture him pulling a ray charles-esque laughter-head-throw-back after it. whether you agreed with his beliefs (i happen to) or not, you can't deny keith was a legit performer.


keith green - your love broke through. off for him who has ears to hear, 1977.

christian or otherwise, keith's 1977 debut album is a pretty strong start to a songwriting career. although he only got 5 years or so of a recording career in before his death in 1982 he put those years to good use and this song is a prime example of his songwriting abilities early on. he even managed to rub off on bob dylan a bit when the two became friends in the late 70's as evidenced by the musical direction of dylan's gospel albums (which often divide fans and critics). ace troubleshooter do a killer cover of this song i've never managed to find. well worth it if you can get your hands on it.


levon helm - growin' trade. off electric dirt, 2009.

for the uninitiated, levon helm played drums and frequently performed lead vocals in a band who were called the band. besides a number of albums under their own name they backed bob dylan on a number of his recordings in the 60's and 70's as well as a number of tours and live recordings in the same period before breaking up in 1976. put simply, they were sick. levon's solo career began not long after the end of the band's with his first "solo" album coming in 1977 with many more following. after suffering from throat cancer in the late 1990's it was questionable whether he'd ever sing again but his voice broke through in 2004 and while a shadow of its' former self it's become something unique and very distinctive already. this song is simple and a good introduction to helm. try not to whistle along.


the mars volta - the day of the baphomets. off amputechture, 2006.

the volta hold a special place in my heart. they're not one of my favourite bands really but i watch them closely because they're always going in a few different directions at any given time, sometimes with varied results. after holding the first two albums in high esteem amputechture came as a bit of a rude shock to me. it felt like a randomly strung together collection of songs compared to the other albums which felt more...cohesive. it took a lot of listens to begin to really appreciate the structure and now it's just about my favourite album of theirs. this song is a favourite because it has just about everything i love about the mars volta contained within the one tune. being on the BDO tour with them earlier this year was incredibly exciting and getting to see them perform multiple times within the space of a week or so was the best. THE best.


mastodon - the last baron. off crack the skye, 2009.

for mastodon fans this may seem like a weird choice. i tend to really massively dig entire mastodon albums as opposed to songs but with crack the skye, i didn't dig all the songs. seeing them live earlier this year (like 5 times BOOYAH) when they performed the entirity of the album from start to finish helped me to make more sense of the songs i didn't really enjoy on the album, but it's still not their most solid release in my eyes. anyway, this track is the last one and it goes for about 13 minutes. without hearing it you might assume it would get boring but it really doesn't. also there's a sick guitar solo at the end. nooge.


mastodon - crystal skull. off blood mountain, 2006.

i remember my pal ben and i used to laugh about how much blood mountain rules. even friends of mine that don't like metal kind of dig it. this song just kills, really. it has a sick solo toward the end and what has to be one of the greatest "metal claw" inducing moments in musical history around the 2:00 mark when scott kelly (of neurosis) decided to put his bit in. if you like heavy music you will like this track. if you don't there's something legit wrong with you and you should really get that checked out.


mewithoutYou - silencer. off [A --> B] life, 2002.

easily the best lyricist you've never heard about. mewithoutYou as a band are incredible but you should really google "mewithoutYou lyrics" and have a read. this album is rough-as-nails compared to their later more elaborately orchestrated efforts but it's just as good if not better. essentially this is a breakup album but to call it that is to reduce the impact (you'll know what i mean if you read the lyrics). it's a bold statement but if there's anyone around for bob dylan to pass the mantle to lyrically it's probably aaron weiss. did i mention the lyrics rule?


mewithoutYou - seven sisters. off catch for us the foxes, 2004.

catch for us the foxes is an unskippable album, as far as i'm concerned. i actually downloaded it initally because i had no idea where to buy it (i was 15, give me a break) and actually didn't get this particular tune in that version. when i wound up buying the album it was an awesome shock to discover this song right in the middle of the tracklisting. the album was mixed by brad wood who helps then inject just the right amount of reverb to turn this album into a world all its' own. the guitars float around you and everything sits where it should...but sometimes not...which also rules. the lyrics as usual are incredible.


mewithoutYou - carousels. off catch for us the foxes, 2004.

not sure what else to say about mewithoutYou really. you just need to hear them. now. my favourite line in this song is "if there was no way into God, i would never have laid in this grave of a body for so long". perfect.




miles davis - ah-leu-cha. off 'round about midnight, 1957.

i had this album on a cd-r for ages that i copied off ANOTHER cd-r from my dad's friends house around 2001. i never knew what the album actually was until about 5 years later, all that i knew was that it was miles davis and i loved it. i still love it and this song for me is the highlight. it drives forward so strongly with the opposing horn lines and philly joe jones' impeccable drumming dancing all over the place. hard bop at its' finest.


part III'sacomin.