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Friday, September 22, 2006

Top Five Fridays - September 22, 2006

"Cause you're so evil
and I'm so good
I'll make it up to you someday"


Top Five Fridays - September 22, 2006:

Top five songs on randomizer.

5) Todd Hannigan - "Thicker Than Water"
This is the song for which they named a movie, maybe. They being Jack Johnson and the Malloys, the film being the surfing documentary Thicker Than Water. Not real sure if the egg came before the chicken as far as the song and the film title are concerned. Doesn't really matter. The song's great. It's more than great. It's soft, heartfelt, passionate, and thoughtful. The music and the tune almost sound as if they were recorded in different eras. Hannigan's vocals sound as if they were lifted off of an old recording from the 60's. Listen closely when his vocals come in, and you definitely notice some white noise. Like the title, doesn't really matter. Hit repeat, kick back, close your eyes, and drift off into peaceful slumber.


4) Ennio Morricone - "On Earth As It Is In Heaven"
Surprise, surprise. Another song from a film. Morricone has to be one of my favorite composers. The stunning diversity of his scores over the years is amazing. From the sly spaghetti westerns to the creepy The Thing to the wonderfully humane Cinema Paradiso. The man has always been consistent and fully on point. I've yet to see The Mission, the movie from which "On Earth As It Is In Heaven" is taken from. My introduction to this piece came from the two CD set, A Fistful of Music. It's a wonderful compilation that everyone should add to their collection. Besides John Williams, Morricone is the only composer that every single person knows at least one of his pieces. "On Earth As It Is In Heaven" is not that song for most, though it should be. That honor likely goes to the theme from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. "On Earth As It Is In Heaven" is just as good if not better. It's richly textured, and densely layered. It has bongos, some woodwind instrument that I am unable to recognize, and quite possibly one of the greatest choral arrangements I've ever heard.

3) Clem Snide - "Evil vs. Good"
Following a semi-instrumental is another semi-instrumental. About three minutes and forty seconds of this three minutes and fifty-one second long song is nothing but a driving instrumental. At the very end Eef tacks on just three lines of vocals. The song is this amazing journey that starts out rather void, but morphs into a wall of sounds. More instruments get thrown on top, then more is added, then more is added. Just when you feel like you cannot handle any more, the song comes to a halt like rush hour traffic, and Eef sings "Cause you're so evil and I'm so good. I'll make it up to you someday." That's it. Finito. But trust me, you'll hit the back button quicker than Mischa hits a line.

2) The V-roys - "Fade Away"
Somber, yet surprisingly uplifting. Scott's vocals seem to just skim lightly over the music. This song has always felt like the perfect music for the end of a film. Characters walking away from camera, song kicks in, screen fades to black, and credits roll. Don't steal that one DePalma, I'm using it on the film I'm working on tentatively titled "This Film Will Never Get Made Until Jody Gets Up Off His Lazy, Pasty White Ass And Makes The Damn Thing." Til then, this song will remain in the canon of V-roys' tunes. The perfect music to listen to whilst crackin' open a cold one in an inviting bar on a Friday night. For tonight, two outta three ain't bad.

1) nearLY [f. Greg Dulli] - "Step Into The Light"
This joint was originally an Afghan Whigs tune. Since I have somewhat virgin ears as far as the Whigs are concerned, I cannot compare it to it's predecessor. That said, it's a helluva tune. It's nice that former Whigs frontman Greg Dulli steps up to the mike to join the unknown female singer help exhale this romantic song. It's a great song to add to the mix tape for that special someone after she's left you. Maybe this one will help you win her back.


Until next time:
"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." - Red Auerbach