Saturday, July 11, 2009

music list of the day

Songs that start with a single drumbeat (called, rather amusingly, a "rimshot"; make up your own jokes) before the rest of the band steams in.
  • Like A Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan. Here's a live version from the legendary British tour of 1966, backed by the musicians who would later become The Band, with Dylan on particularly good manic nasal shouty form.
  • Light My Fire by The Doors. Everyone knows the original, so here's José Feliciano's Spanish guitar version from 1968.
  • Hot Legs by Rod Stewart. Here's a live version from Los Angeles in, if the YouTube comments are to be believed, 1979. Note Rod's rather fetching green shiny tracksuit and his startling resemblance to Bonnie Tyler's less butch sister.
  • Raspberry Beret by The Hindu Love Gods. The HLG being Warren Zevon, plus R.E.M., minus Michael Stipe. No video of this one, but here's Zevon performing Boom Boom Mancini on David Letterman's show in 1987. Spookily enough real-life boxer (and latterly mayor of Managua) Alexis Argüello who is referenced in the song (at about 1:25) died a couple of weeks ago in slightly mysterious circumstances (but most likely shot himself).

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