Friday, March 27, 2020

Weekend Listomania: Special "Goodbye Rosie, the Queen of Corona" Edition

Well, it's Friday, and you know what that means.

Yes, my Oriental Germ Dispensary Supervisor FAH LO SUEE and I will be heading off to fabulous Wuhan, China to take advantage of the new low prices offered by local Wuhan restaurants on their legendary bat's head soup.

That being the case, here's a fun project for the rest of us until our return:

BEST OR WORST POST-ELVIS POP/ROCK/SOUL SONGS/ALBUMS/VIDEOS WHOSE THEME IS LONELINESS AND/OR ALIENATION!

For obvious reasons, obviously, and no arbitrary rules whatsoever.

And my totally top of my head Top Six totally is:

6. Casey Abrams and Puddles Pity Party -- Smells Like Teen Spirit



Somewhere, Kurt Cobain is laughing out of his ass over this one.

5. Andrew Gold -- Lonely Boy



I fucking love that song and always have. And I forget who said it, but every time you get a hit single based on the chords to "La Bamba," an angel gets its wings.

4. Paul Anka -- Lonely Boy



How do you say "dreck" in Canadian?

3. The Beatles -- Nowhere Man



I predict a bright future for those youngsters from Liverpool.

2. Neil Diamond -- Solitary Man




Yeah, yeah, I know Neil's 70s stuff is mostly over-produced kitsch, but his 60s folk rock/Brill Building stuff is out of this world and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

And the number one all time ode to angst-ridden solipsism simply has to be...

1. Simon and Garfunkel -- Sounds of Silence



Ah, one can never be as alone as one is in the subway. One can only hope that the gazillions of dollars S&G subsequently earned after this record turned them into superstars took some of the sting out of their deep personal generational hurt.

Alrighty then -- what would YOUR choices be?

And have a great weekend, everybody!!!


16 comments:

John K said...

Loneliness......Horselips
All By Myself.....Eric Carmen

BG said...

Crying - Roy Orbison
Missing You - John Waite
California Dreaming - Mamas & Papas
Old Man - Neil Young

Billy B said...

Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles
One - Three Dog Night
Drive - The Cars
Owner of a Lonely Heart - Yes (Steverino will love this one)

Also, agreed on Neil Diamond's early stuff

Mark said...

Thank God for a Horslips nod. Great song.

Anonymous said...

it's right on the cover of the S&G album - "I am a rock, I am an iiiiiisssssssss-a-land."

Nick Drake - Man in a Shed
Tom Jans - Where Did All My Good Friends Go
Maura O'Connell - The River is Wide

Anonymous said...

Hank Williams - "I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry", "Alone & Forsaken".

Dave Alvin - "Dry River".

Captain Al

Anonymous said...

One more

Peter Spenser - "Reservation Blues".

Captain Al

steve simels said...

How did I forgot?

"Someone to Love" by Fountains of Wayne

neal t said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EEW-9NDM5k

Akon :)

cthulhu said...

Steve, Steve, Steve...no Who? Isn’t this a category made for Townshend’s famous misanthropy?
Substitute, The Good’s Gone, The Kids Are Alright, So Sad About Us, Can’t Reach You, I Can See For Miles, most of Tommy, The Seeker, Water, Naked Eye, Bargain, Behind Blue Eyes, Song is Over, all of Quadrophenia, Imagine a Man, Who Are You...

Non-Who, a smattering off the top of my head:
Splendid Isolation - Warren Zevon
The End of the Rainbow - Richard and Linda Thompson
Phone Call from Leavenworth - Chris Whitley
Uninhabited Man - Richard Thompson
Accidentally Like a Martyr - Warren Zevon
I Can’t Help You Anymore - Aimee Mann
Looking for Nothing - Aimee Mann
Disappeared - Aimee Mann
Thirteen - Big Star

edward said...

Roy Orbison - Only the Lonely
Phil Ochs - Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore
Phil Ochs - No More Songs
Randy Newman - Lonely At The Top
Randy Newman - I Think It's Going To Rain Today
John Prine - Hello In There
Herb Albert & The Tijuana Brass - The Lonely Bull
Al Kooper - I Stand Alone
Jonathan Richman - The Lonely Little Thrift Shop
Gilbert O'Sullivan - Alone Again, Naturally
Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
Beach Boys - I Just Wasn't Made For These Times
Bruce Springsteen - Stolen Car
----

and only marginally to do with the topic, check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfXyl0fBcTY&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3QOdKu9gUz9YU3qSNwK467jcsFoBcmaDI5ykzBgPdgb5KZylApPcYexHk

Unknown said...

Loudon Wainwright 3 - One Man Guy (and maybe a dozen others)
Sandy Denny - No End

A Robot (don't know how I get by that captcha)

Dave said...

"Ask the Lonely" -- Levi Stubbs vocal is so powerful, frankly I'd be afraid to ask him anything. And the 3 other Tops sound like a heavenly choir. And they could recreate this live! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLCr1DoL4mI

IJWMFTT by the Beach Boys has already been noted already, but "In My Room" got there first.

edward said...

And Dave reminds me

Billy Bragg - Levi Stubbs Tears
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4v8VJ0LRgA

Mark said...

Love - Alone Again, Or

I think that people are the greatest fun
And I will be alone again tonight, my dear

paulinca said...

Does Jackson Browne's "Rosie" count? :)

Paul in CA