#Channeled song was Listen to the Music by the Doobie Brothers (yeah you now have so many reasons 2 smile and rejoice) the things u r capable

[letsdothistom]

Air Guitar and 85 MPH!

I was going to spend my second “blog” discussing pretentiousness in Santa Fe or New Mexican food and green chile in general.  But since I came up with something a little more fun, I guess I’ll save the talk about ordering water in a bowl and drinking it with a spoon for a different time.  On my drive back to Oklahoma I thought of a topic that always shows its face when I’m on a road trip.   I often forget about it until the next time I’m in the car or just don’t put much thought into it once I’ve opened the car doors and let the dog out to deal with his pent up energy as I unload the car.  Not to mention the obligatory hour I have to spend re-aquainting myself to the cat, who is certain that I have disappeared forever this time.

The topic that came to me is road trip songs.  

I love road trips.  You may think I’m crazy but settling into the driver seat, snacks on the passenger seat,  the basset hound panting in my face, his front feet on the console, anticipating our newest adventure, is the best.  Within a pretty short time, he tends to realize that this is just another day-long roady and roughs up his blanket in the backseat and settles in for the ride. Giving me weird basset hound glances in the mirror.  Not sure if it’s the music or he just wants some pork rinds.

Now these road trips of mine usually arent extravagant or exotic.  Unless you consider driving state highways through Kansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming or any other of the fly-over states I tend to travel as being exotic. (Personally I’d choose these drives over just about any other you could propose to me).  The great thing about these road trips, aside from seeing so many wonderful historically relevant places (as well as plenty of non-relevant places), and feeling a oneness with wide open spaces, is the time you get to yourself to hone your listening skills.  

Those of you that know me, know that I have many preferences when it comes to music.  As Cheech says in Up In Smoke, “we play everything from El Chicano to Santana”.  I love it all.  Some more than others, but I probably have a song or two from every type of playlist or genre that you can think of.  Add to that the fact that if there is a specific location I’m aiming my car to (often there is not), I will jam songs from or about that location.  For instance, while driving the empty roads of New Mexico it will be Ennio Morricone and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly soundtrack.  Wyoming is of course Chris LeDoux country.  On my way to Kansas City to eat BBQ, it’s Joe Williams singing “Kansas City” or Charlie Parker and K.C. Blues.  Memphis is Sister Rosetta Tharpe (you can keep Elvis, I am not a fan.  Yeah, I said it).  West Texas?  Marty Robbins Gunfighter Ballads, of course!  Down south, it’s Big Maybelle, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Muddy Waters.  You get the idea.  It may seem strange but there is something that touches my soul in listening to those songs that are native to an area.  Whether or not I actually do learn anything, it feels as though I have.

With that weird little eccentricity out of the way, let me add that of course there are some staples of any road trip, for me at least.  These are songs, albums and artists that I listen to, to fill in all the  empty spaces of those relatively uneventful miles, musically or otherwise.  Maybe it’s Def Leppard or ACDC or Beyonce or Ariana Grande for you.  For me these are easy.  I can not even begin to guess how many miles have been eaten up by Merle Haggard, or The Count Basie Orchestra.  I am not scared of extreme opposites.  Hundreds upon thousands upon tens of thousands of miles have been chewed up by these two musical groups, and yes, I’m aware that I am probably the only person living who can claim that.

The millennials reading this will have no idea about this next category.  There use to be these things called albums.  Albums were a group of songs, recorded (usually around the same time), and released as a unit to the masses.  These units were sold as vinyl records, cassette tapes, 8-tracks, or CDs.  Those of us a little older can attest that 90 percent of these albums had 2-4 songs that we liked and a bunch of other average or barely tolerable songs that you listened to whether you liked them or not (if you didn’t have control of the radio in the car).  Sometimes, you even grew to enjoy a few of those songs.  On rare occasions though, you found an entire album, yes the whole thing! that you enjoyed.   For all of us oldies, these albums are near and dear to our hearts.  They vary from person to person, but these are a few I can put on and just let them play, enjoying almost every song:  Van Halen-1984, Blood Sweat and Tears-Greatest hits, Nirvana-Nevermind, George Strait-Strait From The Heart, Muddy “Mississippi” Waters-Live, Art Blakey-Moanin’,  U2-Joshua Tree, Miles Davis-Kind of Blue, Steve Miller Band-Greatest Hits 74-78, IceT-Greatest Hits to name a few of my favorites.

All of these categories are important to a good road trip.  You must have a combination of all of them.  Yeah, I know, all of you XM/Sirius users are claiming that you don’t need any of them.  You got genres on every channel, and all you ever need with all those fancy channels.  To those of you in that camp, I say “HOGWASH!”  Why Hogwash?  Well no matter how specific these channels are, or how much you enjoy the carefree toggling between your favorite genres, no road trip is complete without those irreplaceable, epic, nostalgic songs that nearly blow out your speakers and get your ears ringing whenever you choose to rock them.  And how the hell are you supposed to play these favorites 2, 3, 10 times in a row with your XM radio?!  You can’t. So without further palaver, I’m gonna lay my favorites out and would love to hear some of yours.  

Rich’s top 20 Road Trip Jams (if you have any sense, you will build this playlist!-yeah I know it’s not gonna float everyone’s boat but if nothing else, listen to it, you might find some music that you don’t normally dig.)  And for the record, none of these songs ever get bumped off the list, new ones just get added to it occasionally.  As weird as it may be, here is my list:

Honorable Mentions.  These songs get me thinking about all the great road trip songs and my musical wheels start turning.  It’s on when I hear any of these songs.

Runnin on Empty-Jackson Browne, Hello Walls-Faron Young, Blues in Hoss Flat-Count Basie, Night In Tunisia-Ella Fitzgerald, Gimme All Your Love-Alabama Shakes, Miles and Miles of Texas-Asleep at the Wheel, China Grove-Doobie Brothers, Come Down-Anderson Paak, Crosstown Traffic-Jimi Hendrix, El Paso-Marty Robbins, Ida Red-Bob Wills and Sunshine of Your Love-Cream.  Those get me started but here is when it gets real.

20-16  These are like the kindling for me.  Getting the fire lit, and starting my descent into the next hour of driving, without really remembering the road I’ve just driven or the scenes outside the window.  

20)  Suavecito-Malo   Ok, Ok, it wouldn’t seem like a fire starter, but...

19)  Magic Man-Heart This one should get your blood flowing

18)  Keep on Rockin’ Me-Steve Miller The best roady to choose from SMB

17)  Watermelon Man-Herbie Hancock You might not have soul if you don’t love this

16)  When My Train Pulls In- Gary Clark JR Great Long Jam.  incredible guitar riffs

11-15  These are a small step up, adding logs to my fire

15)  Me and Mrs. Jones-Billy Paul So there’s always a song that you love to sing while you are alone in your car, and you think you sing it just as well as the artist

14)  Stairway to Heaven-Led Zeppelin Ok so of course I have it, but this is a really, really great song no matter how many times it is played.

13)  Ev’ryday I have the Blues-Count Basie and Joe Williams The definition of a foot stomper.

12)  Luckenbach, TX-Waylon and Willie One of the best country songs translates to a great road song.

11)  The Story- Brandi Carlisle Not a song liable to be on many lists, road trip or not.  My sister introduced me to this years and years ago and it barely misses the top 10

6-10  Ok, we are really cookin with gas now.  These are legendary roadies in my book.  The dog gives me a look, here we go again.

10)  Rooster-Alice In Chains Gets my grunge on.  I love everything about this song.  Probably one of the biggest contributors to hearing loss in my right ear.

9)   Six Days on the Road-Dave Duncan All those over-the-road truckers can’t be wrong, this is the best of all truckin’ songs.

8)   Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down-Merle Haggard   My favorite country singer and a whole lot of my favorite country music instrument, the steel guitar.  Damn I love this song

7)   Ticket To Ride-Beatles There are tons of Beatles songs to choose from and this isn’t my favorite, but it is my favorite on the road

6)   867-5309-Tommy Tutone This is my favorite 80s song.  And when I hear that guitar riff at the beginning...Jenny, Jenny who can I turn to?

2-5  These are huge, the fire is roaring and I have no concerns as to what is going on at this point.  I’ll be singing, playing drums, air guitar.  The dog has now tried to cover his ears due to the volume.

5)   Jamie’s Cryin-Van Halen Im not sure why, because there are tons of Van Halen songs to choose from, but for whatever reason, this one is my favorite while on the road

4)   North To Alaska-Johnny Horton   Ok, another one you may not expect at all but damn this is a fun song.  I physically can’t help whaling “big nuggets they’re finding” every time!

3)   Pink Houses-John Cougar Mellencamp    Im not a globalist. ‘Murica!!

2)   Sweet Child of Mine-Guns and Roses    This should be on everyones list. Road songs or any other.  Simply one of the best songs ever.  

Number 1!!!

So all the previous songs are great.  I love them all, and many, many more.  This is an elaborate list for me.  If you know me, you know I love lists, and don’t make them without deep thought.  But Ironically, the battle for the top spot isn’t even close.  I LOVE Sweet Child of Mine, and Pink Houses.  I might play them 2 or 3 times in a row, but the battle for number one isn’t much of a battle.  Not because these others arent great but because number one is so unbelievably spectacular in the car.  I can’t help singing to it, playing air guitar, drum solo in my car, volume literally turned up 3 or 4 times during the song, ears ringing and can’t even hear myself singing, and just when you don’t think it could be any better, it gets better!!!  There are times I may play this song 5, 6 times in a row if things are cookin.  I can barely keep the needle under 85 mph! The number one song for the road is:

1)  More Than A Feeling- Boston  I really built it up, and with good reason. Rock ballad, guitar anthem, unbelievable vocals, harmony soft, loud, louder, high, higher, drums...what else can I say?  This is simply the best road trip song ever!!

Ok, that’s it.  Maybe it was anti-climatic for you, but I got jazzed just listing the songs.  I may go take a drive just to hear the playlist!  I’d love to hear everyone else’s playlist that they take on every trip.  Maybe I’m missing some good road trip songs!  

I hope the dog never figures out how to jump out of the car while it’s moving.

[stevecanmakeanythingnerdy]

RANDOM RECORD WORKOUT SEASON 5 Battle 10 Creedence Clearwater Revival: Cosmo's Factory (Side 1) Vs. Judas Priest: Screaming for Vengeance (Side 2) Creedence Clearwater Revival: Cosmo's Factory (Side 1) Creedence Clearwater Revival, often informally abbreviated to Creedence or CCR, was an American rock band active in the late 1960s and early 70's. The band consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, his brother rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty, bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford. Their musical style encompassed the roots rock, swamp rock, and blues rock genres. Despite their San Francisco Bay Area origins, they played in a Southern rock style, with lyrics about bayous, catfish, the Mississippi River, and other popular elements of Southern United States iconography. In addition, political and socially-conscious lyrics about topics including the Vietnam War were often in the repertoire. They were so good at it, often they are mistaken for actually being from that area. The band performed at 1969's famed Woodstock Festival, and every album they put out contained some sort of massive hit. Cosmo's Factory is no exception. In fact, the band was self aware of this and the album name is a direct reference. Jokingly named after Drummer Doug Clifford's longtime nickname, which is "Cosmo", combined with their factory like work ethic and rehearsal space conditions. It starts of with the amazing "Ramble Tamble". It's a simple bluesy infused number, that quickly devolves into one of the coolest musical interludes you will ever hear. Fogerty doesn't get the credit he deserves as an axman, but he nails it here. "Before You Accuse Me" contains some 12 bar blues essentials and is a catchy tune too. "Travelin' Band" is another hit, and hopefully one you recognize. Easy to follow and swallow like a pill. It's a self explanatory song about road life. That is followed by the Roy Orbison tune, "Ooby Dooby". It is not hard to see why CCR were so celebrated, as even the throwaway covers like this are just well done. The next one you know too. "Lookin' Out My Back Door". Yeah, you're singing the chorus in your head right now. "Do, do, doo...fill in the blanks". "Run Through the Jungle" finishes it out. Some say this is a precursor to Fogerty's later hit song "The Old Man Down The Road" during his solo career. There is a very clear derivative, but is it really plagiarism if you steal from yourself?? Anyhow, Fogerty and company had something special in this band that lasted a very short time. Plus, you have to appreciate how he pronounces his "woids". CCR is the result of a much cooler version of Kenny Rogers going into the studio with Leadbelly. Judas Priest: Screaming for Vengeance (Side 2) Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham, England, in 1969. The band have sold close to 50 million albums to date. They are considered by many as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. The band's membership has seen much turnover, including a revolving cast of drummers in the 1970s, and the temporary departure of singer Rob Halford in the early 1990s. The band's best-selling album is 1982's Screaming for Vengeance with their most commercially successful line-up, featuring Halford, Tipton, Hill, guitarist K. K. Downing, and drummer Dave Holland. Tipton and Hill are the only two members of the band to appear on every album. Their influence, while mainly Halford's operatic vocal style and the twin guitar sound of Downing and Tipton, has been adopted by many bands. Their image of leather, spikes, and other taboo articles of clothing were widely influential during the glam metal era of the 1980s. In short: they are the blueprint for almost everyone else who falls into this genre. Side two kicks off with the title track "Screaming For Vengeance". Indeed, my friends. Classic Priest right to the face. This is not your average band. It's an amazeballs effort! Taste the British Steel (#seewhatididthere). "You've Got Another Thing Coming" is perhaps the most notable track here, and one of the bands biggest blockbuster hits. Those beautiful rugga-chuggas, wrapped in a warm embrace of power chords. It's the extended dance mix LP version too! Extra sauce! What comes next can only be described as a cure. "Fever" contains a slow, crushing build to a kerosene burn! 103 degrees to boil your brain! Channel the inner Sabbath and rock out. You even get a triumphant 2nd half comeback to boot! I really could describe how amazing this album is all day long. C'mon, man! Even the cover art is bad-f#%*!+g-ass! But wait, there's more. Judas Priest saves the best for last. "Devil's Child" is a complete anthem, fist raised in the air riffage filled song with rage and blaze! This line-up is so solid that it's a shame it didn't last. Great production values on this platter too. Halford may have come out of the closet (#atomandhispackage) which is SUPER FLIPPING METAL btw, but he will still kick your teeth in with his screaming (for vengeance, apparently) (#seewhatididthere). Up there with Bruce Dickinson (Maiden) as one of the best metal vocalists ever, hands down. An integral part of British Metal that changed the face of radio in the 80's. If you don't own this, IMMEDIATLY go out and track down a copy. Creedence Clearwater Revival may have churned out some widgets from the Cosmo's factory, but they also burned 154 calories over 21 minutes and 6 songs. They earned 10 of 18 possible stars while burning 25.67 calories per song and 7.33 calories per minute. Judas Priest spent most of their time screaming for vengeance, but also managed to burn 169 calories over 4 songs in 21 minutes. They earned a RRW record of a perfect 12 of 12 possible stars while burning an amazing 42.25 calories per song and an impressive 8.05 calories per minute. Judas PRIEST these guys are good!! Judas win! Listen for yourself! Check out the links: Creedence Clearwater Revival: "Ramble Tamble" (Enjoy the music AND the cool fan made video) https://youtu.be/NF4C01hS2nI Judas Priest: "Devil's Child" https://youtu.be/STrDasxwChc #RANDOMRECORDWORKOUTSEASON5 #RANDOMRECORDWORKOUT