Part 67 is all about the Apocalypse, the end of the world AS WE KNOW IT, because as you know, the world is supposedly ending on Saturday according to some radio host in Denver or something.  What better way to ring in the end of all things then with R.E.M.’s 1987 alternative rock classic, “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine),” from Document. My plans for the end of the world?  Well, first I’m gonna listen to this song, then I’m gonna go to midtown for an appointment, and then get home later and make delicious homemade pizza for my close friends.  I also plan on ingesting some Habiro Twin Cherries candy, some Blue Moon beer, and some Nestle homemade cookies as well.  Yea, I’m ringing in the end of the world with a lot of junk food.  Wooo!  Anyway, this song is one of R.E.M.’s best, a real slacker rock anthem for everyone not afraid to die in a religious hell fire earthquake tomorrow.  Enjoy.

Part 66 of my countdown is the Kinks again, this time with “Sunny Afternoon,” from Face to Face.  This is a boozy depressed sunny pop song about the downside of being a rich famous rock star.  The tax man took all his money, his girlfriend left and stole his car, and Ray’s got nothing left but a sunny afternoon, writing some of the world’s greatest pop music apparently.  The funny thing about this video is the irony of them performing the song on a freezing cold snowy day, adding to the songs dripping sarcasm and irony, which is great.  And of course its great, its the KINKS!  One of the greatest bands of all time!  I’m just happy to give them a home to hang out in on my site for everyone to watch while they straighten out their financial situation.

Did you know that when you plug your iPod into your computer, iTunes can arrange your iPod’s mp3s by plays, from most played to least? It’s pretty fascinating to see what you’ve been listening to exclusively, and how many thousands (yes thousands of times) you’ve clicked play on certain songs. Well, I’d thought it’d be interesting to share the top ten most played songs on my iPod in a new awesome mega post. So, without further ado, here is the list, starting with #10!

#10- The Police- Can’t Stand Losing You, 255 plays. My countdown kicks off with the Police’s catchy little reggae punk tune known as “Can’t Stand Losing You.”  From Outlandos d’Amour, this song isn’t skipped much for a bunch of reasons.  First, its supremely catchy, with its syncopated guitars, tight harmonies, and perfect drumming.  Second, Sting’s lyrics are so raw and real, that its one of the greatest breakup songs ever.  I’m just addicted to the way that chorus fades into oblivion.

#9-  The Beatles- Eleanor Rigby, 509 plays. Ahh, the Beatles, of course, you’ll be seeing a few songs by the fab four pepper my top ten I’m not ashamed to say. “Eleanor Rigby,” from Revolver, is just a brilliant song to play on a crowded depressed subway during rush hour.  The song swoops in with George Martin’s brilliant string arrangement, and you look around the train and see “all the lonely people,” wondering “where do they all belong.”  Then you wonder if you yourself is one of those lonely people who is gonna die alone while you are arranging your socks in your dingy apartment. Read more »

I have a special super group performance for part 65 of my youtube countdown.  It’s Mama Cass Elliot of the Mama’s and Papa’s fame, Mary Travers of Peter Paul and Mary fame, and Joni Mitchell of, uhh, Joni Mitchell fame, all together on some TV show singing the Bob Dylan penned “I Shall Be Released” in beautiful note for note harmonic perfection.  The ladies are dressed in full psychedelic folk glam, singing beautifully, especially Mama Cass who starts the song off for us.  The backing arrangement is a bit hokey, what with its horns and flutes creating a bit of an adult contemporary effect, but the ladies’ souls really carry the spirit of the song to spiritual heights.  The song is one of Bob’s greatest.  It’s a poem about a wrongly imprisoned man waiting for his rightful release.  It’s a gorgeous song with just a fantastic underlying theme of the desire for pure human freedom, subject matter Bob excelled at.  So, enjoy this gem, I know you will.

Part 64 of my youtube countdown introduces Cream, or “the late great Cream” as John Lennon once said in 1968.  That’s right, Cream was a streaking comet of psychedelic blues perfection, blasting through the pop music charts from 1966 to 1968 selling 35 million albums in just two years!  Cream was considered the world’s first rock super-group with its members (Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton, and Ginger Baker) having been in groups like The Yardbirds, Manfred Mann, Blues Incorporated, and John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers.  “The Tales of Brave Ulysses,” presented below in gorgeous stereophonic crisp color, was from their 1967 masterpiece album Disraeli Gears.  It’s a psychedelic blues fest written by Eric Clapton and Martin Sharp, (an artist who designed the cover to the album above), and it features Ginger’s manic drumming, Jack’s awesome vocal, and of course, Eric’s pounding guitar.  The song is a timeless masterpiece of rock and roll.  I remember when I first heard it when I was 17, driving home from school, and just blasting it on my radio.  I was floored, so I dug out my dad’s old Cream records, got comfy, and ended up having a beautiful afternoon.  So, check em out, the true cream of the crop, CREAM!

Hi, its part 63 of my youtube countdown is completely awesome.  Big set up I know, but I got “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues,” a legendary blues song written and performed by delta bluesman Skip James, and Chris Thomas King, who helped make the song famous for its inclusion in the “O Brother Where Art Thou” movie, playing it live.  Now Skip was one of the original bluesmen from the delta region in Mississippi who recorded in the 30s, but faded into obscurity because his records didn’t sell.  He was rediscovered in the 60s, like many great delta bluesman from his era (think Son House), and  appeared at the Newport Folk Festival.  He died a few years later in 1969.  Skip’s personality was moody and distant, and it was reflected in his music, often featuring a minor guitar key style.  “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues,” is a masterpiece example of this style and resonance; an utterly tortured song about drifting and searching for work door to door.  Chris Thomas King, along with the Coen Brothers, revitalized the track for “O Brother Where Art Thou.”  Check out these two performances, the first of Skip’s original recording, and the second King playing it live in the present day.

Part 62 takes us back to Biggie and his incredible album Ready to Die with the song “Warning.”  This is a messed up perfect rap song about Biggie boasting about his awesomeness through the glass onion of revenge.  The video is a lot like the song, Biggie on the phone rapping to himself, well in this case, Biggie #2 is played by Diddy.  In actuality, the video is kind of redundant.  Biggie was such an amazing rapper, that he never needed videos, the lyrics just unfold in your brain like the baddest movie imaginable filled with attitude.  Still, its good to see Biggie and dream about what else he could have given us had he lived.  It’s so unfair that he’s still not here, and the irony of this song is not lost on anybody that knows Biggie, his music, and his story.

Part 61 of my youtube countdown rocks on with the Rolling Stones performing Bob Dylan’s classic “Like a Rolling Stone,” from their 1998 Bridges to Babylon tour.  The Rolling Stones have performed this song for decades, I guess a bit ironically, as an unofficial band anthem, though not really.  I mean, did they just want that live moment in their act to announce their band name in a song?  Or, was it Bob in 1966, who had Rolling Stones on the mind when he wrote his most famous chorus ever?  Possibly yes, possibly no to both questions.  It doesn’t really matter because the song is epic, and the performance here is really tight and joyful.  Mick is playing his harmonica really well, the band sounds together, and oh yea, Mick sings the song great.  Of course they are all wearing horrible outfits, and the Stones sound way better in a small club then in a stadium, but still, there is some old magic here worth checking out.  Rolling Stones forever.

Part 60 now, and for this slice, I have the Fab Four back again with a clip of them performing “I Should Have Known Better,” from their movie and record of the same name, A Hard Day’s Night.  This is simply one of my favorite songs of all time.  And I mean that with total sincerity.  To understand me, Willie Simpson, is to understand that the early Beatles mean everything to me, and that this song in particular is probably at the top of that list.  Why?  Because its guileless sublimity is unmatchable by anyone.  It’s the kind of song that make the Beatles so unbelievably special to so many people around the world.  First of all, the lyrics are brilliant.  John just captures the uncontainable desire of a young man discovering true love for the first time.  The part where he sings, “I should have realized a lot of things before, if this is love you gotta give me more, give me more, hey hey hey, give me morrree,” is just so exuberant and true, that it borders on madness.  In other words, its perfect rock and roll.  Oh, and the middle eight where even though the words are still positive, the music casts a note of anxiety as he almost pleads the, “when I tell you that I love you,” is just genius.  The Beatles just knew how to use their music to capture people’s hearts. And to top it off they somehow managed to knock out practically the entire soundtrack to the movie starring them in less than a week, and its timeless and perfect and real, and that’s all I can say about this masterpiece.

For part 59 of my youtube countdown, I have another video from Ween’s amazing 1997 record, The Mollusk. The song, appropriately enough, is “The Mollusk” itself.  This song is a beautiful story about a semi-creepy older man talking to a boy at the beach about a magical mollusk he found by the shore.  It’s a hilarious back and forth vocal duet set to a gorgeous sea-faring arrangement.  This song, the whole album, and the video below for that matter, reminds me of the Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.  It’s a concept album about the ocean set to glorious transcendent melodies and production.  Every time I put on the album, I play it all the way through, and I always feel like I’m happily submerging into Ween’s hilarious and colorful ocean of sounds.  Ween are among the greatest musicians in rock history, a dramatic statement I know, but true nonetheless.  They have been criminally underrated by most music publications, and unfairly ignored as torch bearers for great rock and roll.  Well, on my website, such realities are not true.  At williesimpson.com, Ween sits on a throne right besides all the other greats in my personal hall of fame.  Enjoy, “The Mollusk.”