My Next 10 Tunes

Inspired by this blog post, Dan, Bess, and I have decided to try the "Next 10 Tunes" thing ourselves. Basically, this means that you put your iPod on shuffle, and list out the first 10 tunes you see, with commentary.

While stepping through my songs, I made a vow that I would not skip any song for reason of embarrassment. However, I have about 6500 songs on my iPod, so I did skip a few songs that I didn't know or barely knew. I was surprised when looking at the list that it was so rock-heavy. I wouldn't think of my CD collection as a hard rock collection...but most of these would fall into that category. Here they are:

Ozone Mama - Black Crowes
First up is "Ozone Mama," from the Crowes' Lions album. I have this theory that certain bands are made better by excessive drug use...but it will eventually catch up with them. This album is where it started to catch up to Chris Robinson and crew. The songs are mostly still strong...but they started to lose their melodic uniqueness and become more loose and jam-band oriented. That said, Ozone Mama is a really cool, laid back southern groove. Extra points for harmonica.

Benton Harbor Blues - The Fiery Furnaces
The Fiery Furnaces are weird. I mean, really weird. They (a brother a sister duo, I think) make some of the least mainstream and least accessible music that I've ever heard. However, Benton Harbor Blues is really a very catchy and nice song. I have two of their albums, and this is the only song I could imagine from either album ever making its way onto a radio station. I have only one hangup with the song: The rhythmic keyboard bed of the song sounds just like the little Casio part in the Jimmy Fallon, Horatio Sanz, Tracy Morgan and Chris Kattan Christmas song they used to perform on SNL.

Gel - Collective Soul
Collective Soul is like the Titanic movie. Everyone loved it at the time, but now they pretend they didn't. I'm a bit of a loyalist, though, and I can remember how great this single was. I was in college in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and was struggling to get into the grunge music that was so ubiquitous at the time. Collective Soul was the answer for me, because they were able to combine the fuzzy, crunchy guitar sound of grunge music with hooks and actual melodies.

Waste - Smash Mouth
Before they became "the band with that song from Shrek" and their lead singer took a turn on The Surreal Life, Smash Mouth could really write a song. They carved out this odd retro 60s pop niche for themselves...but then never left it. This is one of the best albums that I never listen to.

Flaming Heart - The Meat Puppets
I can't remember what possessed me to buy a Meat Puppets album in the mid 90s, but I loved this one. What a great mix of hooks and straight-forward pop-rock. However, I've never heard another Meat Puppets record that wasn't full of melody-free songs and out of tune vocals... So was this album a fluke? A product of technology? Maybe some Meat Puppets fan can educate me...

Train Kept a Rollin (unplugged) - Aerosmith
Little known fact: Aerosmith was the first band to appear on MTV Unplugged. They played almost no hits...it was a fan's dream. I have this on a CD bootleg where the artist is declared to be "Aero S. Mith". This old Yardbirds song was a staple of Aerosmith shows in the 70s.

Carbon Monoxide - Cake
Cake gets environmental! I love Cake. I saw them at the Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines a few years ago and it was one of the 3 or 4 best concerts I've ever seen. This catchy little ditty is a rant against carbon monoxide. Best line: "Car after bus after car after truck after this my lungs will be so f***ed up!"

Wiggle Stick - Reverend Horton Heat
My friend John is a huge Rev fan, and I absorbed some of it through osmosis. If you've never heard the Rev, his music is a mixture of rockabilly and punk with a lot of virtuoso guitar thrown in. John and I once went to see the Rev play in Omaha. We hung out by the bus after the show and got to meet him. Quick side story: The Melvins were opening and the crowd was not enthusiastic. Eventually, the crowd started booing and yelling. They finished their set, and the lead singer of the Melvins said to the crowd in a voice dripping with sarcasm, "Have a nice life...in Omaha." and then starts laughing. Great burn.

Fired - Ben Folds
One of the 10 best albums I own. Ranks among the best of Elton John and Billy Joel for piano pop. This song always reminded me of the Alan Parsons project.

Vigilante Man - Joe Perry
A Woody Guthrie remake recorded by Perry on his 2005 solo album. Lots of classic Joe Perry slide guitar. No frills, simple production. Great song.