01. "Rappin' When I'm Crappin'" by Joe Mama
Pure. Musical. Genius.
Pure. Lyrical. Genius.
Pure. Comic. Genius.
Recorded in early 1985, for 35 years this song survived only on bootleg cassette tapes hoarded by either Joe Mama himself or a single supremely devoted superfan--me. But now, thanks to the Interwebs, the song is finally available throughout the world to an audience of billions. Finally, Joe Mama can now receive the credit he deserves and take his rightful place on the list of the World's Greatest Rappers AND the list of the World's Greatest Crappers!
And it feels so good!
Saturday, January 25, 2020
02. Don't Be Silly Chumps!
02. "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" by Monty Python (but especially Eric Idle)
Originally, this song was only written to be the ending musical dance scene for "The Life of Brian."
The dark humor of the song arises from the juxtaposition of the cheery song with the image of dozens of men being crucified. And this humor resonated with many people, but especially the British. In fact, during the Falklands War, the British ship HMS Shetfield was hit by a missile, and as it sank, the crew sang "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" while waiting to be rescued. And the song has become a funeral favorite among many, including the funerals for members of Monty Python.
So now it's taken on the status of a national anthem, as seen in the performance of the song during the Olympics in England.
Eric also sang it for Prince Charles' 60th birthday celebration, which is my second-favorite version.
But in the end, the version I like the best is the original because of something that happened to me on my mission. Before I left for the MTC, I went to my favorite college professor, Larry Thompson, who also happened to be my bishop in the campus ward, and I asked him for any advice he might have before I went off on my mission in a week or so. He said, "Well...don't forget to laugh."
I was somewhat disappointed by this advice, as I had hoped that with all of the inspirational things he had said in his English class, he'd say something that was a bit more motivational than that. But I thanked him for the advice and for all that he'd done for me, and left his office and the campus. A week later, I was in the MTC, and I promptly forgot about his advice and started to take things very seriously. After all, my family was sacrificing a lot for me to be there. My dad had cancer, and before I left, he told me that if his surgery didn't work and he died while I was in Sweden, to not come home for the funeral. His reasoning was that there wasn't anything I could do for him at home, and once he was gone, there wouldn't be anything I could do for him then either. Anyway, I took my mission seriously because I thought that if my family was going through all of that stuff without me, I should at least try my hardest to do the best job possible.
Three and a half months after I spoke with Bishop Thompson, I found myself in Sweden with a companion that I hated being with--so much so that I had asked the mission president if I could be transferred. When the president asked me to hold on for two more weeks, I said, "Okay, if that's what you need me to do." Then I got on a plane with my companion and sunk into a deep depression. The depression got deeper when we got off the plane and had to bike the five miles back to our apartment because my companion was too cheap to pay for a taxi. About a half mile from the airport, my bike tire went flat. I began to walk the rest of the way to our apartment while my companion rode his bike well ahead of me.
I then started thinking to myself about how bad things were. I was in a foreign country where everybody hated me, I couldn't understand a damn thing anyone said, even after six weeks of being there, and I was stuck with a companion that I hated. I was a thousand miles away from home and really worried about whether my dad would survive the cancer surgery. It was dark, and I was tired, and there was nothing I could do to improve my situation. I then quietly said to myself outloud, "This is the worst my life has ever been. It just can't get any worse than this." Then thirty seconds later, it started to rain.
And I involuntarily laughed. It was just too damn absurd and dark and funny for me not to laugh. Yes, life could get worse (it eventually did...many, many times), and in response I could cry or I could laugh. That was my choice. And at that particular moment, I chose to laugh. And then I realized that Larry Thompson's advice suddenly became the best damn advice anyone had ever given me, and it remains as such to this day.
This song is the musical version of that advice, and that's why it is the almost-number-one song on my top 200 list.
THE END IS NIGH!
Originally, this song was only written to be the ending musical dance scene for "The Life of Brian."
The dark humor of the song arises from the juxtaposition of the cheery song with the image of dozens of men being crucified. And this humor resonated with many people, but especially the British. In fact, during the Falklands War, the British ship HMS Shetfield was hit by a missile, and as it sank, the crew sang "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" while waiting to be rescued. And the song has become a funeral favorite among many, including the funerals for members of Monty Python.
So now it's taken on the status of a national anthem, as seen in the performance of the song during the Olympics in England.
Eric also sang it for Prince Charles' 60th birthday celebration, which is my second-favorite version.
But in the end, the version I like the best is the original because of something that happened to me on my mission. Before I left for the MTC, I went to my favorite college professor, Larry Thompson, who also happened to be my bishop in the campus ward, and I asked him for any advice he might have before I went off on my mission in a week or so. He said, "Well...don't forget to laugh."
I was somewhat disappointed by this advice, as I had hoped that with all of the inspirational things he had said in his English class, he'd say something that was a bit more motivational than that. But I thanked him for the advice and for all that he'd done for me, and left his office and the campus. A week later, I was in the MTC, and I promptly forgot about his advice and started to take things very seriously. After all, my family was sacrificing a lot for me to be there. My dad had cancer, and before I left, he told me that if his surgery didn't work and he died while I was in Sweden, to not come home for the funeral. His reasoning was that there wasn't anything I could do for him at home, and once he was gone, there wouldn't be anything I could do for him then either. Anyway, I took my mission seriously because I thought that if my family was going through all of that stuff without me, I should at least try my hardest to do the best job possible.
Three and a half months after I spoke with Bishop Thompson, I found myself in Sweden with a companion that I hated being with--so much so that I had asked the mission president if I could be transferred. When the president asked me to hold on for two more weeks, I said, "Okay, if that's what you need me to do." Then I got on a plane with my companion and sunk into a deep depression. The depression got deeper when we got off the plane and had to bike the five miles back to our apartment because my companion was too cheap to pay for a taxi. About a half mile from the airport, my bike tire went flat. I began to walk the rest of the way to our apartment while my companion rode his bike well ahead of me.
I then started thinking to myself about how bad things were. I was in a foreign country where everybody hated me, I couldn't understand a damn thing anyone said, even after six weeks of being there, and I was stuck with a companion that I hated. I was a thousand miles away from home and really worried about whether my dad would survive the cancer surgery. It was dark, and I was tired, and there was nothing I could do to improve my situation. I then quietly said to myself outloud, "This is the worst my life has ever been. It just can't get any worse than this." Then thirty seconds later, it started to rain.
And I involuntarily laughed. It was just too damn absurd and dark and funny for me not to laugh. Yes, life could get worse (it eventually did...many, many times), and in response I could cry or I could laugh. That was my choice. And at that particular moment, I chose to laugh. And then I realized that Larry Thompson's advice suddenly became the best damn advice anyone had ever given me, and it remains as such to this day.
This song is the musical version of that advice, and that's why it is the almost-number-one song on my top 200 list.
THE END IS NIGH!
03. Head Over Heels When Toe to Toe
03. "True" by Spandau Ballet
While many of the songs on this top 200 list are associated with negative emotions and memories, this song hearkens back to a day during my senior year in high school when I experienced a moment of complete bliss. Actually, it wasn't a moment. It was a bliss-a-thon that lasted the entire album version of "True" as I slow-danced with Jennifer Palmer during the senior year homecoming dance. And although that relationship didn't work out in the end, every time I hear this song it triggers a memory of absolute happiness.
While many of the songs on this top 200 list are associated with negative emotions and memories, this song hearkens back to a day during my senior year in high school when I experienced a moment of complete bliss. Actually, it wasn't a moment. It was a bliss-a-thon that lasted the entire album version of "True" as I slow-danced with Jennifer Palmer during the senior year homecoming dance. And although that relationship didn't work out in the end, every time I hear this song it triggers a memory of absolute happiness.
04. Meet the New Boss. Same as the Old Boss
04. "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who
Best song about the absolute futility of politics EVER. And the best part of the song is the primal scream at the end followed by the line, "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss." The truth of this lyric was brought home to me back in my 90s teaching days by my good friend, Angie Dorman, when I was complaining to her about how a new school district administrator had just committed the same stupid mistake as the former administrator. Her reply was "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss." Since the day she said that, this song has played in my mind every time I've seen a change in leadership, whether it be at work, at church, or in politics at the local, state, or national levels. I've learned to not put my faith in any of them. Otherwise, I'm just setting myself up to be fooled again.
Best song about the absolute futility of politics EVER. And the best part of the song is the primal scream at the end followed by the line, "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss." The truth of this lyric was brought home to me back in my 90s teaching days by my good friend, Angie Dorman, when I was complaining to her about how a new school district administrator had just committed the same stupid mistake as the former administrator. Her reply was "Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss." Since the day she said that, this song has played in my mind every time I've seen a change in leadership, whether it be at work, at church, or in politics at the local, state, or national levels. I've learned to not put my faith in any of them. Otherwise, I'm just setting myself up to be fooled again.
05. You Can Stand Me Up at the Gates of Hell
05. "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty (and Jeff Lynne and George Harrison and...Ringo Starr?)
I wouldn't say that this is my official theme song. That honor belongs to Billy Joel's "You May Be Right." But I will claim it as my official fight song. It's been a source of comfort and inspiration through the last four jobs that I've had to walk away from, including the time I got fired by Jesus.
The video shows Jeff Lynne and George Harrison on back-up vocals, which they actually sang on the recording. They also played guitars on the song with Lynne on bass and Harrison on an acoustic guitar. The video also shows Ringo Starr on the drums. But he didn't play them on the recording--the kind of music video fakery that would normally annoy me, but the original drummer didn't show up for the video shoot, so George called up Ringo, who promptly came to the rescue. And since Ringo is the most entertaining person to watch on the video, all is forgiven. Lynne wrote the song with Petty, which I think is why I like the song so much. I'm actually not much of a Petty fan. But if you team him up with Lynne and a Beatle or two, I'm in.
I wouldn't say that this is my official theme song. That honor belongs to Billy Joel's "You May Be Right." But I will claim it as my official fight song. It's been a source of comfort and inspiration through the last four jobs that I've had to walk away from, including the time I got fired by Jesus.
The video shows Jeff Lynne and George Harrison on back-up vocals, which they actually sang on the recording. They also played guitars on the song with Lynne on bass and Harrison on an acoustic guitar. The video also shows Ringo Starr on the drums. But he didn't play them on the recording--the kind of music video fakery that would normally annoy me, but the original drummer didn't show up for the video shoot, so George called up Ringo, who promptly came to the rescue. And since Ringo is the most entertaining person to watch on the video, all is forgiven. Lynne wrote the song with Petty, which I think is why I like the song so much. I'm actually not much of a Petty fan. But if you team him up with Lynne and a Beatle or two, I'm in.
Thursday, January 23, 2020
06. And His Hair Was Perfect...DIP!
06. "Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon
The Hondo Joe Top 200 has many songs on it what are on this list, but I think this is the only one with the exact same placement. That's because when I saw it listed at number six on that countdown I said to myself, "Dammit! That's the perfect spot for that song on my list too!" So finally, a bit of syncronicity between the two lists.
Hondo Joe already mentioned that this song has the best alliterative line in all of rock and roll, but I would add to it that it also has one of the greatest "DIP!" shouts in all of rock and roll. And when you can time it right and shout it out at the exact same time with Warren--well, sing-alongs just don't get more satisfying than that.
Now, even though I love the original Warren Zevon version of this song, I can appreciate the many covers that have been done by other artists, including....BILLY JOEL!
Heh! Draw blood!
The Hondo Joe Top 200 has many songs on it what are on this list, but I think this is the only one with the exact same placement. That's because when I saw it listed at number six on that countdown I said to myself, "Dammit! That's the perfect spot for that song on my list too!" So finally, a bit of syncronicity between the two lists.
Hondo Joe already mentioned that this song has the best alliterative line in all of rock and roll, but I would add to it that it also has one of the greatest "DIP!" shouts in all of rock and roll. And when you can time it right and shout it out at the exact same time with Warren--well, sing-alongs just don't get more satisfying than that.
Now, even though I love the original Warren Zevon version of this song, I can appreciate the many covers that have been done by other artists, including....BILLY JOEL!
Heh! Draw blood!
07. On the Streets Where Once Was Pity
07. "Mr. Blue Sky" by ELO
As one who gets down in the dumpsies on a pretty regular basis, it can be to think that things can ever feel different for me. But listening to this song somehow always gives me hope and makes me feel better. So even if I am feeling extra gloomy, this song helps me have hope that someday the clouds will part, and I'll finally catch a glimpse of Mr. Blue Sky.
And because I like the extra minute of music at the end of the original version of the song, here's the video for the full thing. I know that Jeff Lynne has lobbed off the original ending with his new arrangement of the song, but I likes me that extra minute of full orchestral hope.
As one who gets down in the dumpsies on a pretty regular basis, it can be to think that things can ever feel different for me. But listening to this song somehow always gives me hope and makes me feel better. So even if I am feeling extra gloomy, this song helps me have hope that someday the clouds will part, and I'll finally catch a glimpse of Mr. Blue Sky.
And because I like the extra minute of music at the end of the original version of the song, here's the video for the full thing. I know that Jeff Lynne has lobbed off the original ending with his new arrangement of the song, but I likes me that extra minute of full orchestral hope.
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