As a fan of a wide variety of popular (and not-so-popular) music from the 1950s (and sometimes even earlier) up through the present, one of my bucket list projects for years has been to put together a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. At some point I decided that, once I got around to figuring that out, I could put it out on a blog, for the infinitesimally small proportion of the Internet world that might be interested. So, here we are. While the Top 100 will be a major focus, I also plan to post on a variety of other musical (and occasionally non-musical) topics, in which you may or may not be interested. (If a particular posting doesn’t ring your bell, you’re only a few clicks away from a dancing cat video on YouTube.)

Saturday, February 18, 2017

#138 The Pretender – Foo Fighters (2007)


 
Crank this one up to 12. Or possibly 13.

Arlo Guthrie - Weinberg Center for the Arts (Frederick MD), 2/15/2017


Row E, Seats 105-106 (best seats we’ve had for him, 5 rows back in the center section)
 
“Alice’s Restaurant” is back in mothballs, following the conclusion of the extended “50th Anniversary” tour, but Arlo and his four bandmates nevertheless put on a satisfying show Wednesday evening at the Weinberg. He featured 3 Dylan songs, sounding more like the 60s version of the Nobel laureate than Bob himself currently does. Other highlights included the mandatory “Coming Into Los Angeles” (which ended the first set) and “City Of New Orleans”, “St. James Infirmary” (which was also a holdover from the previous time we saw him), and a timely rendition of Woody’s “Deportee”.
 
Food-wise, I’d highly recommend the Ayse Meze Lounge for its wonderful Mediterranean food at reasonable prices; it’s less than half a mile away from the Weinberg, but enough on the fringes of downtown Frederick to have its own free parking around the back. (Be sure to try one of the pide.) As a bonus, since it was a Wednesday, we got to enjoy Patty Reese playing in the bar area as our opening act for Arlo.
 
 

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

#137 Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You – Wilson Pickett (1971)


 
For quite a few years, Reston Town Center has sponsored a free Saturday night concert series during the summer months. Often they’d close out the summer with an appearance by the great doo-wop group The Legendary Orioles. While they would play their hits, most notably “It’s Too Soon To Know” and “Crying In The Chapel”, they would also do their versions of Motown and other soul classics. Each time I went to see them, they opened with this track originally done by Wilson Pickett (who, coincidentally enough, was living in Reston at the time of his death in 2006).
 
They made an excellent choice. It comes from the album Wilson Pickett in Philadelphia, which was the only time that Pickett worked with the Gamble and Huff “Sound of Philadelphia” production team. Musically the song is lighter and more upbeat than, say, “Mustang Sally” or “Funky Broadway”; Stewart Mason has a great writeup at Allmusic.com.