Jon's Top 200-101: The Saga Begins

[Jon]

Hated it. The songs I heard from first album was like seeing the incredible fiery Rage converted into 'barbecue rock'. "Doesn't Remind Me" from the second album was even worse than Filter's "Take A Picture" to me. And I was already real disappointed with that covers album Rage released right as they broke up.

Interesting fact about Audioslave though. They recorded the songs for the first album, then broke up without even having come up with a band name. I downloaded those leaked tracks and remembered thinking 'they made the right choice, I don't like these at all'. But then months later, the band was back and released and album (that I didn't like at all).

Dug up some stuff for anyone who wants to know more about it:

Chris Cornell's manager Jim Guerinot has confirmed to LAUNCH that the former Soundgarden frontman has left the unnamed project with former Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim C., and drummer Brad Wilk. No explanations were given by management or the combo's record company, Epic Records.

Tom Morello: What were leaked onto the internet were just rehearsal demos. It was very frustrating, especially with a band like this, there is a certain amount of expectation. For some people the initial time that they are hearing it was not in the form that you would have them hear it. In some cases they weren't even the same lyrics, guitar solos, performances of any kind.

Four days after the Ozzfest announcement, Cornell quit Audioslave, only to rejoin six months later. The band won't go into detail about the split except to say it had nothing to do with each other and everything to do with their quarreling managers. "As soon as we started talking to each other, person to person, it became very clear that this was a band that we were all proud to be in," Cornell said. There's been speculation that Audioslave are still divided, but they look more like fraternity brothers than feuding bandmates, chatting about where Cornell bought his boots in between interviews and laughing frequently. Even their breakup has them joking around.

When I first heard about Chris Cornell getting together with RATM minus Zach, I figured it'd be the most epic partnership ever!

......Then I actually heard it!

Very disappointing to say the least.

The part I didn't like about it was that neither really sounded like they should! Rage didn't sound like Rage and Chris Cornell wasn't allowed to use his voice effectively, like in Soundgarden. Had both happened, it would have been a much better experience musically.

 

[HecticArt]

Rage didn't sound like Rage and Chris Cornell wasn't allowed to use his voice effectively, like in Soundgarden.

I kinda liked that they weren't completely duplicating what they had already done.

My only problem with Cornell was that it sounded like he was shredding his vocal cords when he'd get into the screaming thing. That's a sound I've never really gotten into, like AC/DC. It just sounds painful and it distracts me.

 

[Jon]

Just for shits and giggles, a bonus 4 songs.

#146 - Amy Winehouse - Rehab

Always found it funny how a 27 year old British chick (she was 27 when she died, joining that list!) had the voice of a weathered old black woman. Dug her stuff either way. Another Winehouse song making an appearance later.



#145 - Steve Miller Band - Rock N' Me

Always dug the Steve Miller band. Never got tired of their stuff when it came on the radio as a kid. And still today!




#144 - Tom Petty - A Face In the Crowd

One of the deeper tracks off 'Full Moon Fever', you could make the case for it being the best track off the album. Although I think Running Down A Dream takes that title (coming up!)



#143 - Bonnie Raitt - Thing Called Love

You could have a pretty lengthy list of artists that have covered John Hiatt songs (including this one!). From her big comeback album.

 

[Jon]

#142 - Fugees - Ready Or Not

Usually you don't find many of the epic storytelling albums in Rap Music. The album this song came from (The Score) was one of them.



#141 - The Refreshments - Banditos

Any song that can reference Jean-Luc Picard and make it sound good has to be alright!



#140 - Fitz and the Tantrums - Moneygrabber

Hard to believe this song is over 10 years old. One of my favorite bands from the modern era. Sort of a Hall and Oates meets old Motown vibe to this tune.




#139 - John Anderson - Seminole Wind

One of the legends of Country and one of those country music 'issue' songs, about the stripping of the Everglades by corporations. Covered later on by James Taylor.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I like Banditos. Love the Pickard lines. Was on my 424.

 

[sadchild]

The album this song came from (The Score) was one of them

Hmm I'll have to dig into this album then.

#140 - Fitz and the Tantrums - Moneygrabber
Sort of a Hall and Oates meets old Motown vibe

First time hearing. That is very very accurate description!

#139 - John Anderson - Seminole Wind

First time hearing. I like the premise!

 

[scotchandcigar]

What??? I have to say, your exposure to music is often bizarre, but I usually try to refrain from commenting.

 

[sadchild]

I've heard a couple Fitz songs. Don't mind them but don't need to hear them either. When I see their name come up on SXM I move on, so I've probably heard the first five seconds of "Moneygrabber" a few dozen times?

As for Fugees, I know the song "Ready Or Not" but it didn't grab me. Don't mind it, I listen to it once in a while when it comes on. But now knowing the album is a concept/story album, I'm curious about it.

As for my exposure to music, I don't feel like a music 'snob', but I might be. It's not out of the question. I likes what I likes and don't what I don't, I guess. And I have no explanation as to my apparently odd preferences. Like, I don't know why half the world isn't in love with Bill Fox, Billy Goat, Blue Stahli, Celldweller, King's X, One Day As A Lion, Pop Will Eat Itself and Royal Crescent Mob. But.... I was also the 20 year old at the mall going "Do you have any Nine Inch Nails shirts? Red Hot Chili Peppers? Faith No More?" and having the Hot Topic person look at me with a sneer and say, "Uh, no...." I had many times a song would come on MTV or the radio and be like "Oh yes these guys are awesome!" and the whole room look around at each other like "this is weird stuff"..... three years later they all had bumper stickers for those bands. So I'm the odd man out who hits the "they're gonna be big" bullseye once in a while.

 

[HecticArt]

I think that we're all pretty much music snobs in one way or another. It's what music does to us.
There's songs I hate that I probably wouldn't if I would have heard them in different situations, and vice versa.

It's like ice cream, it's all good. Except for butter pecan. That's the Smiths of the ice cream world.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I think that we're all pretty much music snobs in one way or another. It's what music does to us.
There's songs I hate that I probably wouldn't if I would have heard them in different situations, and vice versa.

It's like ice cream, it's all good. Except for butter pecan. That's the Smiths of the ice cream world.

I think at DRC we concluded that vanilla was the best flavour of ice cream. And of course that sherbet is not ice cream.

 

[HecticArt]

Sherbet is the Milli Vanilli of the ice cream world.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I also think what music you hear is governed by what was on the radio when you grew up. I know my experience is different than you Yanks just because to the Canadian content (CANCON) rules that radio here has to abide. But even then, there are differences in regions. In Regina, SK, where I grew up, in the late 70s the go to station was CJME. You could also listen to a powerhouse station from Moose Jaw called CHAB. When I went with my parents for weekends in Saskatoon (for all intents and purposes a city of identical size 2.5 hours away in the same province) we heard different music on their local station CKOM. One clear difference I remember is hearing The Police. You didn't hear anything before Zenata Mondata in Regina. In Saskatoon they were all over the radio. So we all have a different collection of music we listened to growing up. I also got interested in some bands later because I worked with somebody who was into that band (Concrete Blonde is one of those for me). So it really does not surprise me we have different tastes or haven't heard some music before either. I know I have added several tunes to iTunes from this. Probably will add more.

 

[sadchild]

There's songs I hate that I probably wouldn't if I would have heard them in different situations

Totally. There's a song by K7 called "Come Baby Come" that I hate, simply because it reminds me of when my ex-girlfriend started throwing parties in her apartment and sleeping around. We had broken up, but then were starting to get back together. But all of a sudden she went 'spring break' and banged 3 or 4 guys over the span of maybe six months. And at the time she would play that song and say how much she liked it.

what music you hear is governed by what was on the radio when you grew up

MTV was the first big "equalizer" in this regard. I think having 'regional hits' became less common once MTV got huge and became a national trendsetter.

 

[Jon]

#138 - Hootie and The Blowfish - Hold My Hand

Another one of those situations of music discovery, where I was sitting at home bored late at night with VH1 (back when THEY played music videos! Long before Keeping up with Car-Crashians) on the TV, and this video came on. Beforehand I had never heard of the band, and was pretty taken by what I'd seen. Nice beat, good melody, and is that David Crosby I hear singing backup? (spoiler: Yes). It was downhill after their first album, their second album was serviceable but not as good, then it got worse as time went on. But this album is still a favorite.



#137 - Rage Against the Machine - Renegades of Funk

RATM always had a way of taking a cover song and making their own. This is a good example.




#136 - AC/DC - Shoot to Thrill

I could post this entire album if I wanted to. Classic!




#135 - Matchbox Twenty - Real World

A favorite from their first.

 

[sadchild]

#138 - Hootie and The Blowfish - Hold My Hand

My relationship with Hootie seems to be 'inverse': the more popular the song, the less I liked it. Never got into this one, "Let Her Cry" or "Only Wanna Be With You" (all top tens), but I liked "Tucker's Town" (#38) and thought "I Go Blind" was okay (uncharted).

 

[Jon]

My relationship with Hootie seems to be 'inverse': the more popular the song, the less I liked it. Never got into this one, "Let Her Cry" or "Only Wanna Be With You" (all top tens), but I liked "Tucker's Town" (#38) and thought "I Go Blind" was okay (uncharted).

I, along with everybody else on the planet bought 'Cracked Rear View' early on, it became one of the highest selling debut albums in history. I did buy 'Fairweather Johnson', their next album, but I think I wound up selling to a used record place locally. 'Old man and Me' was a decent tune off that one, but the rest of the album wasn't that great. 'I go Blind' and everything thereafter I never really got into. Although I did like Darius Rucker's country career.

 

[HecticArt]

A-E-I-O-Uaaaahhhhh

 

[scotchandcigar]

I, along with everybody else on the planet bought 'Cracked Rear View'

except me

 

[HecticArt]

and me.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I don't own it either. I own Scattered, Smothered & Covered (a shrewd $1 purchase from the $1 bin).