Satisfaction & Stairway: A Review of the Greats. Part One.

  What defines a "great" song? A song that all of us know, hum the guitar solos to, and practically recite the lyrics in our sleep. A song that is just so timeless, so great, and simply incredible to listen to. We all know what I'm talking about: the greats. But who critiques what is already considered so great? Me. The answer is me. Today, I am going to take some of the greatest songs of all time (by Rolling Stone magazine, me, and various internet sources) and give my honest opinions. So sit back, relax, and let nostalgia take over.

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones

Writer: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
Producer: Andrew Loog Oldham
Released: May 1965, London
14 weeks; No. 1
  The Rolling Stones are still touring today (in fact, I'm seeing them for my birthday!) after over fifty years of being together as a band. Fifty! Any band that still tours after fifty years, let alone is even together, is definitely considered great. But is what is considered the Stones' most famous songs, often nicknamed "Satisfaction," really as great as it is made out to be? Yes. The answer is yes. In my opinion, this song isn't so much lyrically great as it is musically, but that doesn't knock it down even a tad. Every single time this song comes on the radio, I found myself air-guitaring the opening riff (which EVERYONE seems to know, for some reason) and even singing to it. Singing a riff! You know a song is great when you can sing a guitar riff. It's catchy, danceable, and definitely deserves to be considered a "great."

"Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan
Writer: Dylan 
Producer: Tom Wilson  
Released: July '65, Columbia
12 weeks; No. 2
  Bob Dylan is known as possibly one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century. Known as the "king" of folk rock, Dylan changed us all with just his acoustic guitar, harmonica, and that strange, strange voice. (It wasn't until the famous Judas!/Electric guitar incident that people began to look at him for things other than folk rock.) "Like a Rolling Stone" is considered one of his best songs, and in actuality- it is. In my opinion, at least. Of course I love millions of other Dylan tunes, like "Ballad of a Thin Man," "Lay Lady Lay," etc- "Like a Rolling Stone" really is a great song. I love everything about it, from how Dylan's voice echoes through stereo when you play it to how jumbled and disorganized it sounds, and yet somehow still works. "Al Kooper, who played organ on the session, remembers today, 'There was no sheet music, it was totally by ear. And it was totally disorganized, totally punk. It just happened.'" (RollingStone.com/) And I think that's why it's so good.. the rambling of Dylan and the crazy instrumentation make this song both enjoyable and fun to listen to.

"Hey Jude" by The Beatles
Writers: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Producer: George Martin
Released: Aug. '68, Apple 
19 weeks; No. 1

  *Takes a deep breath, clearing my throat and preparing for a ton of hate from Beatlemaniacs alike* I DON'T LIKE LISTENING TO THIS SONG ON MY OWN TIME! Whoo. There, it's finally been said. Worshipping The Beatles as much as I do, I must have listened each song dozens of times. Of course, their more popular songs, like "Blackbird," "Yellow Submarine," "Let it Be" and "Hey Jude" receive more airplay and mention than some of my personal favorites, like "Happiness is a Warm Gun," "Lovely Rita," and "Long, Long, Long." Don't get me wrong; I very much enjoy "Hey Jude." I just don't like listening to it in my own free time, because of how much airplay it receives. When it comes onto the radio, I of course sing along, jam out, and obsess over the song. But it's just so overplayed that I become sick of it. While "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Satisfaction" are both very famous, I find they don't get as much radio play as "Hey Jude," and therefore, I'm not as "sick" of them. I do love "Hey Jude," but I feel like it's just been played over and over to the point of tiring me out.

"My Generation" by The Who
Writer: Pete Townshend
Producer: Shel Talmy
Released: Nov. '65, Decca
5 weeks; No. 74

  I used to love the Who. But after I saw their concert in November I realized that in my opinion, the band was a bit overrated. (PLEASE, I NEED TO POINT OUT THAT THESE ARE ALL MY OPINION) I do enjoy a lot of their songs, but from listening to and obsessing over them so much in the previous year to seeing their concert, seeing them live was just.. well, a let-down. That being said, I am somewhat bias to review a Who song because of my current opinion on them. But let's get this straight; I love Roger Daltrey's stuttering, Entwistle's quick bass solos, and basically the whole song. Although I don't consider this the GREATEST SONG OF ALL TIME I do like it well enough to put it on this list, and give it a mention. It's not the Who's best song in my opinion, but I do like it and consider it one of their few songs I don't find overrated.

"Stairway to Heaven" by Led ZeppelinWriters: Jimmy Page, Robert Plant
Producer: Page 
Released: Nov. '71, Atlantic
Non-single, no chart information
  NO! NO NO NO NO NOOOOOO. I love Zeppelin, but Stairway is NOT their only song! They have plenty of other songs that are just as great, and maybe even better! I am beyond sick of people saying Stairway is their best song (as well as "Kashmir," which I don't like at all, actually) and I'd appreciate it if people looked into the band before adding their input on Stairway's greatness. Yes, the solo is amazing. Yes, Plant's vocals are both beautiful and haunting. But no, it is not my favorite Zeppelin song, and not their best in my opinion.

"Light My Fire" by The Doors
Writers: Robby Krieger, John Densmore, Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek 
Producer: Paul Rothchild
Released: June '67, Elektra 
17 weeks; No. 1  The position I have on "Light My Fire" is similar to how I feel about "Hey Jude." I love the band, and thoroughly enjoy the song- it's just that hearing this song over and over has started to bore me. I absolutely love the Doors, and they're even one of my favorite bands. I love Morrison as a singer, Densmore as a drummer, Krieger as a guitarist, and Manzarek as a keyboardist. I even saw them live in October of 2012. (Well, minus Densmore because he doesn't tour anymore and obviously Morrison.) It's just that hearing this song constantly has started to annoy me. Especially because this song, like Stairway, is lengthy. Don't get me wrong- I like this song. But the instrumental part of it just.. bores me to pieces. 

Friday on My Mind

Hello everyone! My spring break officially starts on this Friday at 2:17, when school gets out. (By the way, I feel SO weird calling it "spring break," I usually just call it "April Vacation.") That being said, I have Friday on my mind. This post doesn't really have a point, actually; I just thought I'd use it as an excuse to tell you guys that I'm excited for a break from school, and that I'd share some pictures with you. These pictures have no real theme; Most of them are from Rookie or Tumblr. If you want a specific source from one just let me know and I can find it. Anyway, enjoy it.

 
  Since I was too lazy to make a playlist and upload it here this morning on my personal computer (mainly because I didn't know what my blogpost would be about), here is another manual one. I'm sorry I don't have the files on a site like 8tracks :( I've also included a playlist from playlist.com, I'm not sure how I like it yet. I'd appreciate feedback! I miss 8tracks so much, agh.

1. "Friday on My Mind" by The Easybeats
2. "I Wanna Be With You" by The Raspberries
3. "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) by Edison Lighthouse
4. "The Sun Ain't Shining No More" by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour
5. "I Want You" by Bob Dylan
6. "Humanoid Boogie" by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
7. "Hurdy Gurdy Man" by Donovan
8. "Peaches En Regalia" by Frank Zappa
9. "Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)" by The Doors

OH! And this is my hair, for those of you who asked. K BYE HAVE A NICE DAY

It's Only Rock and Roll

I made this, be proud of me. :')

  

  With no real theme for today's post, I decided to dedicate it into the musicians who originally got me into classic rock. In chronological order of when I started liking them, here are a few of my favorites.

1.) Queen

"That's not how I pictured him!"

  To be honest, I personally feel Queen gets too much recognition simply from "Bohemian Rhapsody." But hell, that's how I found the band. I heard "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the car and absolutely loved it. I must have been about ten. I went home that night and watched the movie "Ella Enchanted," which featured a cover of Anne Hathaway singing Queen's "Somebody to Love." When I found out it was also by the band Queen, my heart nearly skipped a beat. 'Wow, this band is great! I wonder if my friends know about them.'
  I always pictured the lead singer of Queen as looking like Rod Stewart. My dad had a few Rod Stewart CDs and he played them while he cleaned once, and from there, I assumed every classic rock musician looked like him. When I first saw Freddie Mercury I made a face. 'That's not how I pictured him!' But then I watched a few videos of him performing "Under Pressure" and "Another One Bites the Dust," and my classic rock obsession began.

2.) The Kinks

Look at these groovy dudes! How can you not love 'em?

  In fifth grade my dad decided that he was going to sit down and make me listen to a few Kinks songs while I was doing my homework. I didn't mind, but I felt that "Apeman" was a little strange. However, I always secretly liked them from then on but didn't tell my dad, fearing that we had something in common. (Which was something all kids dread at that age. 'Ew, you like old people music?')
  Probably in seventh grade I became the music know-it-all in my family. This wasn't entirely true, because I barely knew classic rock. But still, I knew so-called 'modern' music more than anyone in my family, so I was dubbed the know-it-all. I remember one of my dad's friends coming over and my dad pulled out the record player. He told me to go choose any album I chose, and I chose a compilation of the Kink's greatest hits. My dad's friend was so amazed when I started singing songs like "You Really Got Me" and "Lola," even though those were the only Kinks songs I knew. Still, my liking of the Kinks progressed me further into rock n' roll.

3.) The Beatles

This was the first picture of the Beatles I ever remember seeing.

  Now, this may seem like an obvious choice, but the Beatles are still my favorite band today. They're very influential and had a great deal of fans, including me. I knew I always liked the Beatles, but my first memory was in fifth grade in history class. We were looking at a book titled 'John, Paul, George, and Ben,' which was about some of our founding fathers. Our teacher asked 'does anyone know what this is a parody of?' and some kid raised their hand saying 'the Beatles.' I remember tilting back in my seat and thinking, 'I know the Beatles! My dad likes them! There's John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr... and... George....' Ironically, George Harrison is my favorite Beatle. My first memory of actually knowing their songs was watching the movie Across the Universe with my dad, which has an entirely-Beatles soundtrack. Even though the songs are covered, I remembered really liking "Hey Jude." This was probably around sixth grade. I remember sitting in my room on my parent's laptop blasting "Hey Jude" for hours. But besides that, I didn't know too many Beatles songs.
  My next Beatle-related memory is of driving in the car when "A Day in the Life" came on. This has been my favorite Beatles song ever since. I remember shouting "Hey dad, turn it up! This is my favorite Beatles song!" From there, my liking only increased. At the end of seventh grade when I had just made my Tumblr I remember reblogging Beatles posts, although I didn't know too much about them. Their first song that I became obsessed with after listening to it on Tumblr was "She Loves You." I also recall listening to "Magical Mystery Tour" and thinking 'this song is horrible!' even though I absolutely love it now.
  From summer going into eighth grade and on, I added Beatles songs to my iPod. On a road trip to Cape Cod I remember listening to "I Feel Fine" and getting the happiest, most glowing feeling in my stomach and heart and I knew I'd become hooked. At my cousin's track meet I remember listening to "Eleanor Rigby" and "Michelle" in the car. I also remember the day I had cleared my iPod completely of songs released after the year 1990 and my friends flipped. To this day, the Beatles are my number one.

4.) The Who

So groovy, it almost hurts.

  After the Beatles, I don't recall the exact order of my liking for bands. My love of The Who still remains strong, but I don't exactly remember how I started liking them. I remember my liking of them definitely started in the eighth grade, though. I was deeply into the Beatles and I thought I'd give another one of my dad's bands a try. My dad had the Who's greatest hits album The Kids are Alright, which helped quite a bit. I remember forcing my poor modern-music-loving friend to listen to "My Generation" with me as she cringed.
  The first time I realized "Who Are You" was by The Who I had a mini panic attack. 'That's so clever, they're The Who and they named a song 'Who Are You!'' I also knew the songs "My Generation" and "Magic Bus," but from there, I knew barely nothing. At that point in my life I had no idea that less than a year later I'd be standing at their Quadrophenia concert, decked out as a mod, crying over Keith Moon and John Entwistle's deaths.

5.) Bob Dylan

The Bob Dylan poster above my bed.

  I knew what Bob Dylan looked like, but I didn't know a thing about him. I always assumed he was just another old guy singer. But after I gave all the previous bands I mentioned a try, I thought Bob Dylan was a great idea as well. My history teacher that year was a large Bob Dylan fan and told me to listen to him. And so I did. "Blowin' in the Wind" was the first song I heard. It didn't leave too much of an impression on me. But "Ballad of a Thin Man" did. I absolutely loved the sarcasm and Dylan's little chuckle towards the beginning of the song. Soon I went out and bought a Bob Dylan poster, which still proudly hangs in my bedroom.

6.) Led Zeppelin

  My very first memory of Led Zeppelin goes back before my Queen, Kinks, and Beatles memories. We had just bought my dad a record player for his birthday (I was probably in about fourth grade?) so he could play all his old albums. He had brought them down from the attic and was going through them and I was by his side. I remember asking 'why do you have two of these albums?' I was talking about Led Zeppelin's 'Physical Graffiti,' which my dad had two copies of. I also remember saying 'Woah, you have three of these!' It was three copies of Led Zeppelin's 'In Through the Out Door,' all displaying the various multiple album covers that were much collected in the late 1970's.

Such a wonderful band. And stylish, too!

  My next Zeppelin memory is being in the car at the beginning of eighth grade. I was largely into the Beatles and my dad knew that. Led Zeppelin was on the car radio and I remember my dad going 'Oh, I can't wait until you get into Zeppelin!' I remember making a disgusted face at Robert Plant's vocals and thinking, 'as if!' I also remember seeing pictures of Jimmy Page on Tumblr and thinking he was kind of cute. It wasn't until I heard 'When the Levee Breaks' that I really started loving them.
 

7.) The Rolling Stones

 Up until eighth grade, I absolutely despised the Rolling Stones. Being the large Beatles fan as I was, I knew the Stones and the Beatles were against each other. So that meant I automatically hated the Stones.

Look how young they were! And attractive... *Sighs*

  Turns out, when I still did dance in sixth grade, my dance song was "Get Off My Cloud" by the Rolling Stones. I remember really liking that song but thinking the singer's voice was too raspy. Then in seventh grade I did a flash mob whose song was "Dancing in the Street" by Mick Jagger and David Bowie, although I didn't know that until about a year later. The first song I liked after that was "Beast of Burden," and immediately after, I went out and bought a Stones shirt (which I am proudly wearing as I type) and a few of their albums. Turns out, my dad had some as well. From here on, my classic rock obsession only increased; only now, I listen to a large variety of bands, rather than just one artist.

It's Only Rock n' Roll from itsamodmodworld on 8tracks Radio.

This Will Be, an Everlasting Love..

 In the midst of all their fame, musicians are actually normal people. Although they may act stuck up some of the time, in reality, they were just regular people like us who got caught up in the midst of fame. Along with being normal people, they lead normal lives just like us. This includes falling in love and getting married. Sadly, none of the images below are of couples that are still together today. Unfortunately in the rock and roll world, relationships don't last long. But while we did, these power couples enjoyed their lives to the fullest with the ones they loved.

This may just be my favorite picture of both Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. Although the couple only dated briefly and were never married, they were a powerful folk-rock duo who shook the nation with their meaningful lyrics and powerful voices.

Again, another favorite. This is John Lennon kissing his wife of six years Cynthia Powell. The two had a child together named Julian, but split in 1968 when John left Cynthia for Yoko Ono. Although some may argue that John and Yoko are true loves, I definitely believe John is Cynthia's true love. Just look at how innocently they kiss, like it's their first time!

Again... another favorite. Perhaps all the pictures on this list are. Here are Pattie Boyd and George Harrison, who were married for eight years from early 1966 to 1974. Their marriage split because George's friend Eric Clapton was in love with Pattie and eventually won her over, but Eric and Pattie split in the 80's. George married Olivia Arias and they had a son named Dhani together, and they remained married until George's death exactly eleven years ago today, on November 29, 2001. Even though Pattie and George's marriage split, the two are a timeless couple and a shining example of sixties love. In later years, Pattie said this this in her autobiography, Wonderful Tonight:

Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull are another wonderful example of love in the 1960's. The two split joined together in 1965 and split in 1970 after Faithfull had miscarried Jagger's child and became addicted to cocaine. She had really loved him, and just from looking at this photograph, you can tell he really loved her, too. It's a shame the two didn't stick together.

Here is an example at true love at it's finest: Ringo Starr still loves his bride, Maureen Cox even after she became a mother of three. Although the two's marriage was rocky due to Starr's alcohol problems and Cox's alleged affair with George Harrison, while they were in love, they were in love deep.

Pamela Courson and Jim Morrison are an example of love gone tragic, a rocky relationship with no real ending. The two met in 1965 and stayed together until Morrison's tragic end at just age 27 in 1971. Pamela followed Jim also at age 27 in 1974. The two were never legally married, but being together as long as they did, it's a shame they didn't. They really loved each other, and after Jim's death, Pamela was reportedly heard saying she looked forward to seeing Jim again. She overdosed on heroin, the same way Jim supposedly died.

A couple traditionally left out of the public, Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant and wife Maureen Wilson were married on November 9th, 1968. This was shortly before Led Zeppelin's rise to fame, and they had a long marriage until their divorce in 1983. The couple had three children together, and were married much longer than many traditional rock and roll couples.

And where would we be without Paul McCartney and Linda Eastman? Together this couple have changed the views of peace and vegetarianism throughout the decades. Lasting from their marriage in 1969 to Linda's death in 1996 at age 56 from breast cancer. Although Linda's time was cut short, Paul had continued her legacy and kept their love alive. The two have three children together.

The Lover's Guide to Happiness. from itsamodmodworld on 8tracks Radio.

1. "If" - Bread

2. "Thank You" - Led Zeppelin (Written by Robert Plant about his wife Maureen, pictured above)

3. "If I Fell" - The Beatles

4. "Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)" - The Beach Boys (Allegedly George Harrison's son Dhani's wedding song when he was married this year to Sola Karadotier.)

5. "Something" - The Beatles (Written about Pattie Boyd by George Harrison)

6. "Oh My Love" - John Lennon

7. "All My Love" - Led Zeppelin (Supposedly written partially about Robert Plant's wife Maureen, but mainly written about his son Karac, who passed away at age five in 1977.)

8. "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)"  - Edison Lighthouse