No, I've not forgotten about my Rainbow Songs countdown. I've just been busy, that's all. Last time was Blue, and as you may or may not recall, I cut that list in half by rejecting any songs about 'The Blues'.
Which brings us to...
The Best Of The Blues.
I don't claim to be any expert on yer actual "Woke up one morning" style blues blues, so this'll just be more of the usual suspects I'm afraid. With maybe a couple of surprises... depending on how easily you're surprised.
Runners up ranged from Devolution Workin' Man Blues to Hair Like Brian May Blues, Abbatoir Blues to Autogeddon Blues, Melancholy Blues to Mean Woman Blues, Fisherman's Blues to Jimmy Olsen Blues.
20. Billy Bragg - Bush War Blues
Billy took Leadbelly's Bourgoise Blues and brought it bang up to date (a couple of years back now) with a commentary on GWB's War On Terror.
19. Ryan Adams - The Rescue Blues
Whatever happened to Ryan Adams? His first few albums were pretty much indispensible. Up to Love Is Hell, he was rarely off my turntable. (I even liked Rock N Roll, and the critics hated that.) Since setting up The Cardinals though, I just can't be bothered any more. Am I wrong?
18. Lloyd Cole - Sean Penn Blues
The Western Minnesota Intercollegiate circle telephoned, they said
"Hey Sean, could you mosey on down to our gala ball ?"
It reads "Mister Madonna kicks some beat poetry"
The kind of lyrics that made some missing-the-point fools dub Lloyd Cole "pretentious". Sod 'em.
17. Steely Dan - Deacon Blues / Deacon Blue - Fergus Sings The Blues
Deacon Blue took their name from a Steely Dan song.
Steely Dan took their name from a strap-on dildo featured in William Burroughs' Naked Lunch. Watch my google hits go through the roof now!
16. Guns 'n' Roses - Shotgun Blues
Don't ever upset Axl Rose, or he'll write a trash talkin' ditty like this all about you. Poor old Vince Neil from Motley Crue.
15. Jarvis Cocker - Caucasian Blues
I've heard it said that you are hung like a white man
You got them Caucasian Blues again
14. Robert Johnson - Cross Road Blues
Legend has it Robert Johnson went down to the crossroads and sold his soul to the devil in return for his supernaturally gifted guitar pickin' prowess.
13. Marvin Gaye - Inner City Blues
I love Marvin Gaye, but I'm not sure I can take this song seriously anymore, thanks to Flight Of The Conchords.
12. Moby - Natural Blues
It always makes me wonder, when Moby digs out an old American Folk tune like Vera Hall's Trouble So Hard, gives it a new title, spruces it up with a few bells and whistles, then re-releases it under his own name... who gets the publishing money?
11. Tom Waits - Tom Traubert's Blues
I'm ashamed to admit I knew the Rod Stewart version first. The original was a wonderful surprise then. Tom Waits looks almost young in this video.
10. Glenn Frey - Smuggler's Blues
It's hard to imagine a more 80's tune than Glenn Frey's Miami Vice rhapsody against the drugs trade. You need to be wearing white jeans and aviator shades to appreciate it properly.
9. Dan Bern - Talkin' Alien Abduction / Talkin' Al Kida Blues
Dan Bern does like his talkin' blues songs. In the first, he gets abducted by aliens who want him for his chord patterns. In the second, George W.'s War on Terror rears its ugly head again - with disastrous consequences for some guy in Cleveland name of Al Kida...
8. Woody Guthrie - Mean Talkin' Blues
And here's the man who inspired Dan Bern, along with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and many, many more: the legendary Woody Guthrie.
I'm the meanest man that ever had a brain,
All I scatter is aches and pains.
I'm carbolic acid, and a poison face,
And I stand flat-footed in favor of crime and disgrace.
If I ever done a good deed - I'm sorry of it.
Wow. He's like a 1940s Eminem.
7. Marah - Round Eye Blues
Marah impressed the hell out of me with their 2000 album Kids In Philly, then bored the socks of me with its bizarrely Oasis-flavoured follow up, Float Away With The Friday Night Kids. This is from the former: a Stonesy, Springsteen-flavoured, tale of Vietnam vets. You can almost smell the napalm in the morning.
Hold your breath boys hold your breath
Finger your trigger and welcome death
Because the chopper’s filled with your gut-shot friends
Your hearts are filled with fear
6. Grinderman - No Pussy Blues
Only Nick Cave could get away with a song like this. It'd seem at least mildly misogynistic from anyone else. Or maybe I'm taking it too seriously. There's a healthy spoonful of self-mockery mixed into the recipe.
I read her Elliot, I read her Yates
I tried my best to stay up late
I fixed the hinges on her gate
But still she just never wanted to
5. Eels - Checkout Blues, Grace Kelly Blues, Electro Shock Blues, Restraining Order Blues, Rotten World Blues, Mighty Fine Blues...
Nobody loves the blues like E from the Eels. And nobody makes the blues sound so life-affirming either. Take his greatest Blues moment, below... and if you think it's funny that this video features the cast of the movie Road Trip, you should read E's account of how that came about.
4. Thea Gilmore - Heartstring Blues
The first Thea song I ever heard, and it was love at first listen. Sadly, I can't find it anywhere online to play to you. Click above to listen to some other classic Thea tracks from her website.
It is singing its songs for the injured and dispossessed
It it pointing that twelve gauge of truth straight at your chest
Though its been broken more times than you know
Its blue and its bleeding its got a mind of its own
So keep it safe keep it safe keep it safe
All of the thousands of you come down with the heart string blues
3. Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues
I shot a man in Reno
Just to watch him die.
Man, that's cold.
2. Todd Snider - Talkin' Seattle Grungerock Blues
A satire of the Seattle scene that exploded in the wake of Nirvana's success with record companies throwing millions at anyone who hailed from America's wettest city... even if they couldn't actually play a note.
Well, we spread the word through the underground
That we were the hottest new thing in town
The record guy came out to see us one day
And just like always we didn't play
It knocked him out
He said he loved our work
He said he loved our work but he wasn't sure if he could sell a record
With nothing on it
I said tell 'em we're from Seattle
He advanced us two and a half million dollars
Man, Todd Snider looks young on this video. Was he 12 when he wrote this song?
1. Eddie Cochran - Summertime Blues
Really though, there could be only one winner. The original teenage slacker anthem, accept no substitutes. There still ain't no cure for 'em!
Have you got the blues? What's your poison?
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5 rants and reactions:
Jarvic Cocker: best laugh of the morning so far.
Oh yes, definitely Summertime Blues - it's one of my fave tracks. I just can't help dancing if that comes on the radio. Guaranteed gloom lifter.
Generally though any title that has "blues" in it tends to put me off.
don't get me started on Ryan Adams! Easy Tiger is essential listening, of course.
haha love that FoTC clip.
Ryan Adams - I quite agree. Saw him live around the time of 'Gold' - he was awesome, couldn't take your eyes off of the stage.
Saw him a few years ago with the Cardinals. They were generous enough to have an interval halfway through - it meant we could leave early without treading on anybodys toes.
Re Ryan Adams, it depends what you're after. I think his problem is that he's been too prolific lately, chucking out poorly edited albums. If you condensed his last three years or so of releases into an album or two you would have another great one.
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