Friday, July 09, 2010

Weekend Listomania (Special Well, On the One Hand... Audio/Video Edition)

Well, it's Friday and you know what that means. Yes, my Oriental fertile crescent manipulator Fah Lo Suee and I will be heading off to beautiful Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where we'll be attending a combined Sunday Mass and Gun Show at Saint Aloysius Parish in the company of Governor Bobby Jindal [R-Kenneth the Intern From 30 ROCK look-alike].

That being the case, and since things will be otherwise quiet around here till for a few days, here's a totally irrelevant but hopefully amusing little project for us all:

Best or Worst Post-Elvis Pop/Rock/Soul Song With the Word "Same" or "Different" Featured Prominently in the Title or Lyrics!!!

Totally self-explanatory, I think, and no arbitrary rules of any kind, you're welcome very much. And yes, I'm making an exception and allowing songs that use the word "difference" as well. Because you guys are going to nominate some of those no matter what I say anyway.

And my totally top of my head Top Six is:

6. Sly and the Family Stone -- Thank U Falletinme Be Myself Again



From whence the phrase "Different strokes for different folks" entered the language, obviously.

5. David Bowie -- Always Crashing in the Same Car



Still not much of a Bowie fan, and I don't even particularly like this song. Fabulous title, though, I'll give the whey-faced poseur that for free.

4. The Four Tops -- It's the Same Old Song



"It's the same old song/with a different meaning since you've been gone." The obvious choice, obviously. But it's a twofer, and thus unavoidable.

3. Panic at the Disco -- The Only Difference Between Martyrdom And Suicide Is Press Coverage



Because, as you know, we like to have something recorded in this century, and for once, this one's actually kind of haunting.

2. Michael Nesmith -- Different Drum




The composer's more or less unplugged version, rather than the more familiar Linda Ronstadt take. From Nesmith's And the Hits Just Keep on Coming collection and still the best back porch folkie record ever made, IMHO.

And the Numero Uno am I being well balanced or merely wishy-washy? song of them all almost certainly has to be, I think, possibly....

1. French, Frith, Kaiser and Thompson -- The Same Thing




A fabulous, if somewhat obscure, Willie Dixon blues tune given an appropriately simmering reading by the sort of avant-garde supergroup.

Alrighty, then -- and what would your choices be?

19 comments:

steve simels said...

A little slow around here lately. I certainly hope it's the heat...
:-)

Jon said...

"It's Different for Girls" Joe Jackson
"We're the Same" Matthew Sweet
"It Wouldn;t have Made any Difference" -- Todd Rundgren
"Get Down Tonite" --- KC and the Sunshine Band

Wendy said...

The Band: "It Makes No Difference"

Talking Heads: "Once In A Lifetime" (same as it ever was) and "Life During Wartime" (gonna be different this time)

J. Loslo said...

It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference-- Todd Rundgren

Sunday Will Never Be the Same-- Spanky & Our Gang

Sal Nunziato said...

The Same Thing

Originally by The Olympics--not bad at all. But NRBQ's version from @Yankee Stadium kicks some real ass.

dave™© said...

So am I the first to point out that the exclaimed "different strokes for different folks" actually was a reference to Sly's earlier "Everyday People," also referenced in the lyrics? And that "Thank You" should probably have popped up in the "songs referencing other songs" list a couple of weeks back?

Steve Simels said...

Oops
Dave is of course correct

I regret the error but in my defense I had
heat stroke all week

Faze said...

There's "A Different Kind of Girl" by the Beat, and "At Different Times" by Ron Sexsmith.

Oh yeah, and "In a Different Light" written and performed by the(Viva la difference!) Bangles!

MBowen said...

Sigh...the Bangles...I came so close to being a groupie, once...


Anyway, where was I?

Well, there's always John Hiatt's funky "She Said The Same Things To Me or Sam Phillips' extra-Beatlesy "Same Changes". On the other hand, you've got Elvis Costello's coulda-been-a-country-hit "Different Finger" or Warren Zevon's co-write with Hunter S. Thompson, "You're A Whole Different Person When You're Scared".

Decisions, decisions...

Faze said...

"I came so close to being a groupie, once ... "

A miss is a good as a mile in that game, MBowen. But I do love it when Sam(e) Phillips gets Beatlesy.

dave™© said...

"...in my defense I had heat stroke all week."

Meanwhile, in sunny Gully-fone-ya, my wife had to wear a jacket to the local 4th of July fireworks last weekend. Global warming? NAAAAAAAAAAAH...

Dominic Cordisco said...

The Same Deep Water As You -- The Cure
Same Old Song & Dance -- Aerosmith
Still the Same -- Bob Seger
The Song Remains the Same -- Led Zeppelin
From the Same Hill -- Eno
The Same Old Rock -- Roy Harper w/ Jimmy Page
Pigs (Three Different Ones) -- Pink Floyd
Six Different Ways -- The Cure (again!)
Different World -- Iron Maiden

...and finally, two for one or rather one for two...

Different Names for the Same Thing -- Death Cab for Cutie

Noam Sane said...

Originally by The Olympics--not bad at all. But NRBQ's version from @Yankee Stadium kicks some real ass.

nope...the Willie Dixon tune is a slow 12-bar burner, you're thinking of "The Same Old Thing" which, I will agree, is one of the great NRBQ numbers, sung with verve by Big Al, but a whole 'nother thang.

Simels regrets the error.

The Muddy Waters version of the Dixon tune is feral and awesome. The po-mo Frith-fest posted above, not so much IMHO.


"What A Difference A Day Makes" - made famous by Dinah Washington, but I'd pick the disco cover by Esther Phillips, which kicks mighty ass. I remember seeing her do it on TV in the 70s, quite possibly on Saturday Night Live, it made an impression on me then, even as a teenage disco-hater.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6CAeDN9er8

Noam Sane said...

....adding...no Box Office list-o this weekend? If you're taking a break, I'd say you deserve it. But allow me to link to your two Michael Bay posts...which are fucking hilarious, if you'll pardon my french, and I'm sure you will. Folks, don't miss the short comment section at the bottom of each column.

http://www.boxofficemagazine.com/simels/2010-07-monday-shameless-filler-my-challenge-to-hollywood

http://www.boxofficemagazine.com/simels/2010-07-and-in-conclusion-michael-bay-bite-me-part-deux?q=simels

Anonymous said...

The Same One, by Gene Clark/Gosdins. AP

cthulhu said...

Aimee Mann, How Am I Different with the great line "if you fuck it up later / do I get my money back"

Anonymous said...

the new Squeeze album (if album titles are permitted): Spot the Difference. AP

Sal Nunziato said...

So really Noam, I just forgot the word "old," but really did mean to reference both The Olympics and NRBQ

Noam Sane said...

Oh, I thought you were talking about Steve's posting of the Frith etc. version of the Muddy song "The Same Thing". My mistake, though Steve continues to regret the error.