Friday, September 12, 2008

Weekend Listomania (Special Smashing Pumpkins-Free Tales From the Crypt Non-Video Edition)

[Thought I'd take a break from the normal Listomania format this week as an excuse to reprint something I wrote for the August 1975 issue of the Magazine Formerly Known as Stereo Review. The piece is self-explanatory, obviously, and I still love the list, but obviously it's a snapshot in time and if I was writing it today it would be a lot different. But that, of course, is where you guys come in. So read on. And then chime in when you're done.]

MY FRONT PAGES


My younger brother's passion -- or perhaps it's a mania -- for film exceeds even mine for music. I mean, he'll sit through four hours of a Republic serial without even going to the john! But his mania has its uses; not long ago I was browsing through an esoteric film journal in his collection whose basic premise I have decided to crib. Titled simply "Things We Like," it was a completely and openly subjective (what else?) catalog by two film nuts of moments they found memorable in various motion pictures. One moment that stopped me -- and it's the only entry I can remember, by the way -- was the opening: "Mariette Hartley's wedding in Peckinpah's Ride the High Country." Lovely.

Anyway, after worrying away at my own list culled from twenty-odd years of rock-and-roll, I've decided at last to air the dirty linen in public. What follows is simply a random rundown of things that have given me pleasure, rock-wise, over the years -- specific songs, events, brief musical bits. I won't pretend, as much as I'd like to (ought to?), that any of them have any significance other than showing where my own head is at, but never mind. This is strictly for browsing; I'm willing to bet any rock fan could come up with a totally different list that would be equally valid and just as much fun.

So, without further ado, "Things I Like."

•George Harrison's last harmonic on the solo from "Nowhere Man."
•Charlie Watts hitting the bell of his cymbal on the final line of "Dead Flowers."
•The opening a capella harmonies on Fairport Convention's version of "Percy's Song."
•The Beach Boys' background ah-ohm-wop-diddits on "This Whole World.
•Smokey Robinson's heartrending wordless vocalizing at the end of "Ooh Baby Baby."
•Keith Richards' guitar solos on "Down the Road Apiece."
•Dave Davies' finger-picking on the fade-out of the Kinks' "See My Friends."
•Roy Wood introducing his solo on "Turkish Tram Conductor Blues" with a coy "Oh, yes."
•All of Bruce Springsteen's "Rosalita."
•Bob Dylan's spoken introduction for "Like a Rolling Stone" on the Albert Hall bootleg.
•The back-up vocals on the last verse of the MC5's "Shakin' Street."
•Steve Marriott's screaming at the end of the Small Faces' "Tin Soldier."
•David Crosby's harmonies on the last verse of the Byrds' "Fifth Dimension" and "I Come and Stand at Every Door."
•The drunken Dixieland band on the Stones' "Something Happened to Me Yesterday."
•Arlene Smith's singing on the Chanels' "Maybe."
•The production (especially the percussion) on Martha and the Vandella's "Dancing in the Street."
•Paul McCartney's bass line on "A Little Help From My Friends."
•Keith Moon's drumming on the final break of "Happy Jack."
•Eric Clapton's lead guitar on the studio version of "Badge."
•Stevie Winwood's organ work on the ending of "I'm a Man."
•Jeff Beck's guitar solo on the Yardbirds' "Train Kept A-Rollin'."
•Keith Richards forgetting to turn on his fuzz-tone during "Satisfaction" on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1966.
•Todd Rundgren's guitar work on the Nazz's "Under the Ice."
•Leon Russell's piano on Dylan's "Watching the River Flow."
•Johnny Johnson's boogie-woogie piano break on Chuck Berry's "School Days."
•Jimi Hendrix's solo on "Little Wing."
•Roger Daltrey's "Yeahhhhh!!!!!" after the instrumental section of the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again."
•The censored original cover for Beggars Banquet.


•The uncredited piano player (almost definitely Carole King) on the Chiffons' "One Fine Day."
•Steve Stills' and Nei Young's guitar duet on the original "Bluebird."
•Skip Spence's mumbled vocal on Moby Grape's "Seeing."
•The rave-up during the Kinks' "Milkcow Blues" (studio and live versions).
•Buddy Holly's version of "Slippin' and Slidin'" with posthumously overdubbed backing by the Fireballs.
•The Stones doing "Under My Thumb" at Altamont, as seen in Gimme Shelter.
•Van Morrison's harp break on "Mystic Eyes."
•Joni Mitchell's long-held notes and guitar work on "Marcie."
•Ian Hunter's primal (what else?) screaming on Mott the Hoople's "The Journey."
•The fact that Bob Dylan is removing Pete Hammil's liner notes from Blood on the Tracks.
•The back-cover in-concert photo on the English EP version of Got Live If You Want It.
•Paul Buckmaster's orchestral evocation of Vaughan Williams at the conclusion of "Moonlight Mile."
•Paul McCartney's vocal on "Long Tall Sally". (Not to mention Ringo's drumming or George's second solo.)
•The out-of-tune twelve-string and falsetto vocal on the Stones' "Singer Not the Song"
•Gary Brooker's scream of "Here I go!" from Procol Harum's "Rambling On."
•Nicky Hopkins' electric piano solo on the Beatles "Revolution."
•Zal Yanovsky's solo album.
•Lou Reed's singing on the last verse of the original "Sweet Jane" on Loaded.
•John Fogerty's blues-wailing harmonica on "Run Through the Jungle."
John Mendelssohn's review of Led Zeppelin II.
•The Move's "Tonight."
Beatles VI.
•Joan Baez's unintentionally hilarious attempt at soul singing on the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (in the 1966 film The T.N.T. Show.
•Almost anything by Dave Edmunds.
•Carly Simon's legs (if not her records).
•The echoed handclap before the ending of the Zombies' "Tell Her No."
•John Lennon forgetting the words to "Help" on the Ed Sullivan Show.
•John Entwistle's bass figures on the "teenage wasteland" portion of "Baba O'Reilly."
•Rod Stewart's "Whooo!!!" on the Faces' "Had Me a Real Good Time."
•Iggy Pop's Ray Davies imitation on "Gimme Danger."
•The Beatles' Shea Stadium Concert film.
•Elvis' weight problem.
•Alan Price's two-fingered organ solo on the Animals' "Boom Boom."
•Jack Cassady's eyebrows. (Also, his bass on the Airplanes' "Other Side of This Life.")
•Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild," as featured in the credit sequence of Easy Rider.
•Keith Richards' teeth.
•Carl Wilson's twelve-string break on the Beach Boys' "Dance Dance Dance."
•B.J. Wilson's one-measure drum solo on Procol Harum's "The Devil Came From Kansas."
•Neil Innes' "worst guitar solo in history" from the Bonzo Dog Band's "Canyons of Your Mind."
•West, Bruce and Laing titling a banal slow blues "Slow Blues."
•And, of course, just everything from Exile on Main Street.


Awrighty, then -- what would your choices be?

[Shameless Blogwhore: My parallel World War I-themed Cinema Listomania is now up over at Box Office. As always, if you go over there and leave a comment, an angel gets its wings.]

32 comments:

Who Am Us Anyway? said...

Coveted, thanks man and I sure thought you had it nailed.

Simels, you are the best. Just brilliant.

I offer:
-- Dave Davies yelling in the background of Victoria.
-- Ringo’s drums coming in for the first time on Day Tripper
-- Dylan’s phrasing at the very end of Tangled Up in Blue, where he makes the simple phrase “point of view” complete the rhyme of both “joint” and “blue” by adding a strategic pause: Heading for another joint/We always did feel the same/We just saw it from a different point/… of view/tangled up in blue.

TJWood said...

I do remember reading this article in Stereo Review one day at the UMass Amherst library when I should have been doing other things. All really good ones, and here are some very random ones of mine:

==On the subject of Joni Mitchell, her doubled guitar playing on "Song for Sharon" (Hejira), which I mistook for years an an electric piano

--The in-tandem guitar work of "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" from the latest Radiohead album,In Rainbows

--On the subject of Procol Harum, the bent guitar riff of "Shine on Brightly"--and, of course, the drumming of B.J. Wilson on the same song

--The shimmering guitar intro and break from Johnny Marr on the Smiths' "How Soon Is Now" (Meat Is Murder)

--Musical moments too numerous to mention, not all involving guitar playing, but I do feel the need to end this list with one of your old Stereo Review writings from the period when I was a subscriber, so I'll go with your review of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (the Peter Frampton/Bee Gees film soundtrack, like The Archies' Greatest Hits album referred to in the review,an easy target) from one of the late 1978 issues.

Anonymous said...

A winning list, Steve. I'd like to make my own to cheer me up for the depressing days ahead. In the meantime, I'll start with:

--Dylan's snide, little laugh on the "You try so hard..." on "Ballad of a Thin Man."

--Paul McCartney's sung bass line on "I Will."

--The way John Lennon held an electric guitar.

--Ray Davies' final "Let's go!" at the end of "Louie, Louie."

--The fact that Hard Day's Night is in b/w and is likely to stay that way.

--The mental image of a nude Marianne Faithful wrapped in a bearskin rug.

Anonymous said...

Great, great list, steve. You reminded me of a lot of moments I love but haven't thought about in a long time.

Here's a couple off the top of my head:

- Ringo's drumming on "Rain" (his favorite Beatles drumming, too).

- The opening of Television's "Marquee Moon" -- those great interlocking guitar parts, one in each channel, then joined by Fred Smith's subterranean bubbly bass line.

- George Harrison's guitar solo on "I'll Follow the Sun" - he picks the strings 4 times, and slides up the neck for a total of only 8 notes, but it's absolutely perfect. Also perfect is his solo for the original single version of "Let It Be" - again, nothing fancy, but not a note you'd want to delete nor any you'd want to add.

- Producer Tom Wilson's burst of maniacal laughter after the false start on "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" - for years I thought it was Dylan laughing, but no matter, what a joyous silly opening to that rambunctious shaggy-dog story of a song.

There's about a million more, but of course I'm drawing a blank....

Anonymous said...

That image of Marianne has haunted my dreams for decades...
:-)

Anonymous said...

the beginning of every Hollies
song -especially "bus stop "

the beginning of "i saw her
again " the mommas & poppas

end of "poverty train" by laura nyro

the beatles and stones on the ed sullivan show

Topo Gigio

woodstock

the dancers on american bandstand

everything from joni mitchell

beatle iv

Sal Nunziato said...

Why didn't I think of this? Because you are the PRO! Things I like:

John Lennon's lead vocals on "Leave My Kitten Alone"

Ian Hunter's "ALRIGHT" on the fade of 'One Of The Boys."

Side One of XTC's "Skylarking"

Henry McCulloch's guitar solo on "My Love"

Phil Lynott's phrasing on just about every Thin Lizzy song

Angus Young's string-scrape between the last two choruses of "Highway To Hell"

Bill Nelson's disclaimers on all of his 287 solo albums

The handclaps on the last verse of "Cecilia" by NRBQ

Dino Danelli's drum fills on "What Is The Reason"

The impossibly funky backing track of "King Harvest" by The Band

Maybe I'll save some when I steal your idea for my blog

David Rasmussen said...

-- the SK-1 sampler/guitar in Timbuk 3's Sample the Dog.
-- the crowd performing "Oprah Winfrey just won't do" in Bad Example's Sammy the Dog (Cheap Beer Night version)
-- The cat in Adrian Belew's Big Electric Cat
-- the part where Steely Dan swears in Show Biz Kids
-- The intro to 'What's the #' by Apples in Stereo
-- the drumming in Klark Kent's "Don't Care"
-- David Byrne's, "Let's Go" in "For Artists Only", and his blog
-- the reference to Madonna in Steve Simel's original write up of Something Fierce, and his blog

Anonymous said...

Holy crap!!!! I remember this one so well! I read it when I was 12 and it's stuck with me ever since. I mean that literally. I've had at least half a dozen of your selections, down to the exact wording, rattling in my brain to this day. That's good writing, my man. Summer '75 was when I bought my first LPs (with allowance and lawn-mowing moola), started reading dad's Stereo Review, and rejected my first haircut. It was all downhill from there, baby. Based on your words here, I must have bought a dozen albums in the next few months (we had a fairly extensive lawn, and it was only $3.99 per LP, $6.99 per double at the late lamented Listening Post in Pittsburgh). In the years since (hell, 33 and 1/3, almost) I managed to corral most of the rest. I believe this is the first piece of yours I ever read. What a freakin' time-machine-experience to see it again! You made my day, sir.

Anonymous said...

Anyone Who Had a Heart
The tenor solo ascending through the fog spewing fairy dust

I'm a King Bee
Snare bouncing off the barn wall. Bass zooms. One note "sting it" guitar solo.

Please Please Me
The extemporaneous energy and ultimate perfection.

I Can See for Miles
Guitar/drums artillery. "the Eiffel tower.." modulation

Town w/out Pity - Gene Pitney
The shallow pain in his voice.

Good Vibrations - Beach Boys
Genius arrangement of disparate sounds. Rhythm cellos.

Love & Happiness - Al
Dry and natural opening. The stomping to the guitar lick. B3 coverage. He's correct about the whole thing too.

The vocal reverb on Little Anthony records. Where was that recorded?

I guess that about covers it.

Anonymous said...

tom petty "BREAKDOWN" when he says "i dont care if you DUNT "

anything by graham parsons and emmylou harris

Wendy said...

Jeff Beck's opening train whistle on you know what ...

Keith Richards' "whoomp" at the end of his solo in "Sympathy for the Devil" ...

John Entwistle's bass solo on "My Generation" ...

"Suzie? Suzie Creamcheese?"

The Edge's guitar swoops on "Kite" ...

The opening of "Alison" ...

The first four notes of "Gimme Some Lovin' " ...

"Hey, mistah! Can we have our ball back?" (Actually, most of "Hard Day's Night" fits on this list).

"Ticket to Ride" ... just because.

Wendy said...

Jeff Beck's scritchy-scratchy guitar frenzy at the end of "I'm A Man" is also pretty great ...

And of course the Yardbirds' scene in "Blow Up".

The instrumental part of "My Sharona" ... just when you think it can't get crazier, it does.

The Band's "I'm Saved" on Moondog Matinee.

Jim Fielder's bass at the end of "I Can't Quit Her".

James Brown's dancing, and the Cape Thing.

Anonymous said...

jimi hendrix playing guitar at monterey pop

gonna take a miracle - laura nyro w/ labelle

paul revere and the raiders on "where the action is"

Unknown said...

Outstanding list! I could kiss whoever posted Bad Examples.

I'll add:

Ralph Covert - even his new children's music for Disney Sound is fantastic ("M-o-m-m-y needs C-o-f-f-e-e").

The scratch of a tele being plugged into an amp at the beginning of XTC's Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead.

The "blick-um blick-um blick-um blick-um" on Matthew Sweet's Sick of Myself.

Anonymous said...

I too remember that article
What a brilliant idea for Listomania

the drum intro in The Who's "Baba O'Reilly" (can there be any argument that it is the best drum intro ever)

the very short, very precise drum rolls in Syd Straw's "The Train That Takes You Away"

the screeching guitar right at the end of The Who's "Love Reign O'er Me"

the whistle in Terence Trent D'Arby's "Wishing Well"

the mumbling that ends with Strummer? singing "What're we gonna do now" at the beginning of The Clash's "Working For The Clampdown"

the piano that starts Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" - and then everything else about the song

listening to The Doors "Riders On The Storm" while driving down a lonesome highway late at night

and finally

Ian Hunter saying "'ello" at the beginning of "Once Bitten Twice Shy"

so many others, so little time

ms. rosa said...

thank you. humming a few bars of most of these songs until i got to the AH! moment just took my mind away from the dire predictions that Ike has inspired and that seem to be unfolding on the local news.

i agree with all references to keith moon, keith richards, the davies' brothers, the non-vocalizations and howls, handclaps, and references to female bodies. i'm sure my list will have alot of those moments (and btw brooklyn girl, if its the break in 'my sherona ' that you're referring to, you beat me to the punch). alas i'll have to do my list from memory since i left all my records behind (i evacuated to a place further inland, but still 'in the action'). can't think of a better way to occupy my mind. i'll call my list 'the ike list' and if i can i'll post before the power goes out.

but if i don't it'll still be welcome therapy...thanks again.

ms. rosa said...

hurricane be damned. here comes things i(ke) like:

13 floor elevators jugs

the cover of down by the jetty by dr. feelgood

the sax solo on 'take a walk on the wild side' (not to mention what the colored girls say)

every reference to ronnnie reagan in american punk rock music.

the bass line of 'i will dare' by the replacements

the line "two-tone shoes on my feet, big old smile on my face" in 'when i write the book' by rockpile

crying every time i hear 'these. arms. of. miiiiiiiine.'

the title 'jesus of cool'

'doot doot doot doot doot doot dootee doot doot' in love's little red book

'wild thing' FLUTE SOLO!

when roger daltrey goes "LILY! oh, lily!" on 'pictures of lily'

the very idea of the mc5

steve simels said...

You guys are amazing.

But this one's my favorite so far..

Liesl said...

The scratch of a tele being plugged into an amp at the beginning of XTC's Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead


God, I love that...
:-)

And Andy P going "Let's begin!"

Anonymous said...

What a pleasure to read these things. My contributions:

- Donovan's stammering on "a y-y-you can just sit there thinkin' on your velvet throne"

- finding those messages imprinted in the runout grooves on vinyl records

- Debbie Harry in the Heart Of Glass video (sure they had better songs, but at the age of 11 this vision changed my life forever)

- any use of the farfisa organ in a rock and roll song

- Milt Turner's drumming on Ray Charles' What'd I Say

- the opening bars of Be My Baby by the Ronettes

- James Brown: "I can do wheeling...I can do dealing...but I don't do no damn squealin!"

- John's primal scream in I Want You (She's So Heavy)

- Roy Orbison's voice

- Bob Dylan looking like the coolest human being in the history of the planet, ca. 1965

- Scotty Moore's two guitar solos on Hound Dog

- James Burton's guitar solo on Hello Mary Lou

- Billy Zoom, great hair and great guitar

- the opening lick in AC/DC's Shoot To Thrill

- when a really great song clocks in at under 2 minutes

- Carl Perkins and his band being completely out of it on Her Love Rubbed Off

- the ring-wear cover of Elvis Costello's Get Happy!! album

- Tattooed Love Boys

- the fact that Iggy Pop is still alive

- the fact that Jerry Lee Lewis is the last Sun pioneer still standing

- the fact that the Damned were a lot of fun

- Spike Jones

Noam Sane said...

The first few notes of Nina Simone's piano intro on her version of "I Got It Bad, and That Ain't Good".

Hendrix's impeccably-feedbacked ending on the
live version of "Let Me Stand Next To Your Fire" from the Royal Albert Hall, Feb 24, 1969.
Just killer.

Dave Davies' final guitar chord on "'Til The End of the Day".

WEB SHERIFF said...

WEB SHERIFF
Protecting Your Rights on the Internet
Tel 44-(0)208-323 8013
Fax 44-(0)208-323 8080
websheriff@websheriff.com
www.websheriff.com

Hi Steve,

On behalf of Exile Productions and Exile Publishing, many thanks for plugging Van Morrison and, for your readers’ info, up-to-the-minute news on Van’s latest album - Keep It Simple - and 2008 shows is, of course, available on www.vanmorrison.com and www.myspace.com/vanmorrison and, for a limited period, you can still see Van's exclusive BBC sessions at http://www.bbc.co.uk/musictv/vanmorrison/video/ . We’re also pleased to announce that an increasing archive of exclusive film footage of Van Morrison performances has now been made available for fans on Exile’s official YouTube channel at http://uk.youtube.com/user/OfficialExileFilms .

Thanks again for your support.

Regards,

WEB SHERIFF

steve simels said...

Noam Sane said...
The first few notes of Nina Simone's piano intro on her version of "I Got It Bad, and That Ain't Good


Nina Simone's piano solo on "My Baby Just Care's For Me" -- impeccably swinging, and yet somehow JSBach comes smiling through...

Anonymous said...

The beginning of the second verse of the Beach Boys,' I can hear music', when either Al or Carl sing,"loving you". Comes in on the downbeat.

Mr. Simels,, thank you

preznit said...

TMBG- just after the intro when the drum kicks in on "Birdhouse in my Soul"

Lucksmiths- "Even Stevens" when they sing "I know it’s a consequence
Of clinging to consonants
But P R L N Q F C
Spells trouble to me"

The Bangles cover of "Going Down to Liverpool" with Susanna Hoff's backing vocal on the chorus

Matt Pond PA- the rhythm guitar on "Halloween"

cosmic tumbler said...

In his earlier years, Springsteen's tendency to snap an e string and then change it onstage as the band maintained the beat of the song.

MBowen said...

Elvis Costello's drunken bellowing of the second chorus on "Big Tears".

Simon Nicol's dulcimer part on Fairport Convention's "Percy's Song".

The way that "Detroit Star-Lite" by Sarge, one of the great punk-pop singles ever, just keeps seeming to rock harder and faster after every verse.

"Be My Baby".

The nod to "Then He Kissed Me" at the end of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart".

The tension between the shaky, vulnerable vocals and the shiny, streamlined music on the original recording of "Temptation" by New Order.

Chrissie Hynde's bangs and eyeliner. Also James Honeyman-Scott's guitar playing on "Kid".

The alternating two-bar solos - hammered dulcimer, electric guitar, mandolin, accordion, and crumhorn(!) - at the end of Richard & Linda Thompson's "When I Get To The Border".

The weird harmony vocals on "Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)" by Parliament.

Paul McCartney's bassline on "Silly Love Songs".

The great, Verlaine-like guitar solo by Peter Holsapple that starts under the second verse of "Love Is For Lovers" and continues through the rest of the song.

Myrna Marcarian's mournful, defiant singing on "(Say No To) Saturday's Girl" by Human Switchboard.

Johnny Rotten rhyming "anarchist" and "Anti-Christ" and asking us if we wanna make something of it, pal.

Don Dixon's amazing production job on James McMurtry's "Where'd You Hide The Body" album.

"Rockaway Beach".

The pensive organ intro to The Loud Family's "Motion of Ariel".

The ferocious swing of Dion's "Runaround Sue".

David Hidalgo.

The high harmonies on the chorus of "I Wanna Destroy You" by The Soft Boys.

The way the relaxed drumming, clipped rhythm guitar, and hyper-active bass work together on James Brown's "Sex Machine".

The British version of the first album by The Clash.

Finding out 30 years after you first heard it that the line in "Tears Of A Clown" is "Just like Pagliacci did". Also the oboe part.

The simple, ineffable sadness of Bruce Springsteen's vocal on "One Step Up".

The crazy propulsion of "Pumping (My Heart)" by Patti Smith.

Neil Young's downstroke guitar chords on the riff to "Hey Hey My My (Into The Black)" that sound like car doors slamming or construction equipment breaking concrete. When I first listened to this in July 1979 I immediately leapt to the stereo because I figured that something was wrong with the needle.

Anonymous said...

Back when radio was the pretty much the only way to hear new music, late at night on freeform FM radio stations you could hear songs you never heard anywhere else or at any other time -- and since they often didn't announce song titles, it could be years before you found out what those songs were.

Consequently, some of those songs took on a unique late-night quality that was truly magical (often unrelated to the quality of the songs themselves) -- some of the ones that used to transport me to a different place were "The Wind" by Circus Maximus, "Gilbert Street" by Sweet Thursday, anything by Lothar and the Hand People, "Hypnotized" by Fleetwood Mac (it was decades before I put artist & song together), and even "Celluloid Heroes" by the Kinks....

steve simels said...

Gummo:

I actually downloaded "The Wind" from iTunes a few months ago. Totally holds up -- whoever the piano player is, he's great.

They were Jerry Jeff Walker's psych band, BTW, before he turned into the mellow country rock guy. The album isn't terribly good except for that one cut, but it's been reissued which I guess is a net positive.

Anonymous said...

steve --

I bet it's Nicky Hopkins.

I mean, weren't they all?

Anonymous said...

The drum breaks into the choruses on "Hurdy Gurdy Man"

Jimi Hendrix's solo on "Are you experienced"

Cee-lo Green saying "I remember when I lost my mind" on Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy"

The cello break after "writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear" in "Eleanor Rigby"

D Boon's acoustic solo "Cohesion" on the Minutemen's "Double Nickels"

Art Tripp and Bill Harkleroad making crazy marimba and guitar sorcery on the whole "Lick my Decals off Baby" album.

Judy Henske switching instantaneously from comedy to tragedy on "Love Henry"

Half Japanese's so wrong it's right double cover of Grieg's "Hall of the mountain King" and "Louie Louie"

Just a few off the top o' my head. Great idea for a post, sorry I'm late to the party.

--Nosmo King

Anonymous said...

Probably so late that no one will see this, but:

Debbie Harry's "tease me like you do - ooo" and "ooo-ooo-ooo-oh" on 'Heart of Glass'

Using Joan Jett's 'Bad Reputation' as the theme song for the TV show 'Freaks & Geeks'

F@*king Liz Phair on the entire 'Exile in Guyville' album

The sublime bridge of 'Our Lips Are Sealed', with Jane Wiedlin singing: "Hush, my darling, don't you cry..."

Linda Thompson's voice, particularly on 'Did She Jump or Was She Pushed?'

Dancing like mad to Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson naming the principal '52 Girls' of the U - S - A

Neko Case singing, well, anything, but 'Star Witness' probably gives me the most chills

Chrissie Hynde's snarl on 'Middle of the Road'

And a couple of covers:

Exene Cervenka & X doing 'Wild Thing'

The Bangles doing 'Going Down to Liverpool'


OK, clearly a themed set, but still, Things I Like