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· · 1997 favorites · ·

[Any end of year thoughts are in brackets. And, what the hell, italicized.]

"Dirt" - Death In Vegas. A friend in England tipped me off to this song over the summer and I haven't stopped listening to it since. Relentlessly solid beat, with ecclectic samples strewn hither and yon. If things don't change between now and December, this will end up as my favorite song of 1997. (6/30/97) [Things didn't change.]
"Hung My Head" - Sting. I was beginnning to wonder if I'd ever again hear anything by Sting that I liked; He's been getting increasingly esoteric, and my tastes haven't been able to keep up. Now comes this song, a heart-rending tune about living with the mistake of a lifetime. I know a little about music composition, but less about formal theory (read: I don't read music) and this song has a staggered time signature. Makes foot-tapping an effort, but after awhile you get used to it, surprisingly. (12/8/97)
"The Oaf (My Luck Is Wasted)" - Big Wreck. Heard this song for the first time on 9/30, and I'm still trying to decide if it is still deserving of my instantaneous (albeit ongoing) infatuation. I'm starting to think it is. Elements of Led Zeppelin, Skynyrd, and even The Who can be heard in this song, yet it doesn't have the 70s "arena rock" feel as one might expect given these influences. It's clearly late 90's alternative, but unlike anything else I've heard in the genre. (It's also been awhile since I've heard a delay pedal put to such shimmeringly sweet effect.) (9/30/97) [Hugely dissapointed that no one knows about this song...]
"Love Will Ya Marry Me" - Odealis. More from Irel...no Scotland. High speed lyrics are as elusive as many current rap lyrics. (7/6/97)
"Super Rad" - Aquabats. Take XTC, make them a bit more reggae and only a bit more aggressive, and you get an idea what this tune sounds like. And add horns! (11/13/97)
"RPM" - Sugar Ray. Doesn't sound a THING like "Fly." Hard to believe it's the same band, in fact. I like this spastic-aggressive style better. (11/5/97) [Dumb-ass Rolling Stone magazine wrote them off as a one-hit-wonder.]
"Baby's In Green" - Agnes Gooch. I think that's what the DJ said the name of this band was. Reminiscent of early Smashing Pumpkins, perhaps less moody. (8/4/97)
"Take Me Home" - Holly Cole. From her album "Temptation," an homage to Tom Waits. Short, slow, spare, yearning. A simple medium-register piano arpeggio with a bass line underneath. And of course, her beautiful voice. (11/16/97)
"Forest Ranger" - Plexy. A tasty start-stop beat, with much fuzziness. Features my vote for lyric of the year: "Just like Phyllis Diller, I'm a forest ranger." (Huey Newton, Che Guevara, Salmon Rushdie, Louie Louie, and even Carl Lewis all turn out to be forest rangers. What about me? It isn't fair. I've had enough and I want my share.) (7/12/97)
"Tubthumping" - Chumbawamba. I like this for the same reason I like "Mmm Bop." When the people singing and playing sound like they're having a BALL, I have fun too. A rat-a-tat shuffle beat underneath some electric guitar and anthemic shouting. I crave it in the worst way. (9/9/97) [Still like"Tubthumping," and militantly preserve this like by turning the station whenever the song comes on: No song can survive 30 playings per day...]
"Don't Let Them Take Me Away" - Running From Ana. Winston-Salem band who, based on the two songs I've heard, specialize in vocal harmony. Check out another song of theirs, "Comfort Me." (11/4/97)
"I Can Hear The Laughs" - Freedy Johnston. Not Freddy, Freedy: two 'e's, one 'd's, one big Johnston. I've been hearing this guy's name for years, but I'd never heard anything he'd recorded. He's batting a thousand with me now. This song takes a very simple acoustic guitar lick and gets MAJOR mileage out of it. Very relaxing. (10/8/97)
"Bittersweet Symphony" - The Verve. Not to be confused with The Verve Pipe....I've liked both bands for a long time and was secretly afraid they'd both hit it big and confuse DJs everywhere. A synthesized string section ethereally gracing a stutter-step rhythm section. (9/16/97)
"Pulled Over The Car" - Morphine. From the recently released CD "B Sides & Otherwise," (a collection of also rans from assorted CD singles, film soundtracks and other compilations.) Nicely torqued, with an imminently hummable sax melody. (9/25/97)
"Love Of My Life" - Cowboy Mouth. When 'working it out' isn't an advisable course of action, here's a rollicking romp out the front door! "Love of my life is a shady lady....I DON'T MIND. She's not the love of my life any more!" MAN this is a fun song! (10/1/97)
"Unraveled" - Penny Dreadfuls. Electric sitar? Is that what I heard? This has a Jane's Addiction-esque flavor. Tasty! (9/15/97)
"Atom Bomb" - Fluke. This is well over a year old, I think. An irresistable dance rhythm, with a virtual voice singing funny "ooh-wow"s over the top. (12/11/96)
"Wash it Away" - Black Lab. Fairly standard alterna-pop. The singer toys with with his falsetto...(insert your own joke here.) (10/14/97)
"Weirdo" - Five Eight. The timeless combo of one human voice and one guitar (electric, in this case.) For anyone who's ever felt like an outcast. (Which of course is each of us....right?) (1/11/97)
"Broken" - Elvis Costello. I'm not a rabid Costello fan, but he has two or three poignant numbers that really get to me, of which this is one. ("Accidents Will Happen" also comes to mind.) Slow and moody, and not a drum in sight. (10/8/97)
"To The Moon" - Capercaillie. Quite Celtic. The standout for me is the rhythm section, in particular the bass guitar. So rich. (6/1/97)
"Moonflower Plastic" - Tobin Sprout. I think this guy is from Guided By Voices. Glaringly simple piano with a mournful vocal over top. (11/3/97)
"Might As Well Dance" - Patty Larkin. Another one who can make a 12 string guitar sing. (8/15/97)

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