Doug’s List of The 172 Best Song Titles Shared By Multiple Songs
What’s in a song title? When you listen to some artists interviewed on the topic you find they can be deep, ironic, or nonsensical (25 or 6 to 4 anyone?). I find slicing and dicing categories of music to be really interesting and the question of songs that share the same title is an interesting one. Two songs with the same title can be about two totally different things, or maybe there’s a common theme or vibe you can hear in the songs? What’s kind of funny is I told a musician friend of mine that I was working on this one and he said he better think about this for his upcoming album so he doesn’t give a song a title that is shared with the wrong song! Hehe…
My original thought was to rank these, but it proved impossible. So many of these pairings and groupings are so unique it seemed pointless to try to put them in some order, so I stuck with alphabetical which is how I compiled them - and that took a TON of time already so there’s that…. As usual with these types of lists I stuck to my iTunes which currently has over 25,000 songs in it. I also ONLY selected songs with the EXACT same title, spelled the same way. If there were two songs and one had a “The” at the beginning and the other didn’t then I didn’t include them. There were already so many I had to have some objective ways of narrowing it down. Some artists may be represented more than others because of the nature of their song titles. For example an artist who is eccentric like Frank Zappa is not likely to have many shared song titles with other artists and that has nothing to do with whether or not his music is worthy of being on a “best of” list… So now that we’ve established the “ground rules” I give you the 172 best song titles that are shared by two or more songs!
Again - Alice In Chains (1995) & Steve Kilbey (Freaky Conclusions 2003)
An amazing dark chugging riff from the last Alice In Chains album with Layne Staley, and the opener on a Steve Kilbey album that collected some old damaged sessions that he restored for this release - such a cool album and vibe.
All I Want Is You - Spearhead (All Rebel Rockers 2008) & U2 (Rattle & Hum 1988)
One of U2’s most beautiful ballads and a strange spooky reggae tune from Michael Franti - singing about someone who is both a blessing and a problem to him…
All The Way - Kiss (Hotter Than Hell 1974), New Order (Technique 1989), Mighty Lemon Drops (Happy Head 1986)
Gene Simmons complaining about a girl who is going to push him “all the way” one of these days… while New Order’s song is more of an uplifting anthem. Meanwhile the Mighty Lemon Drops drop profanities while proclaiming “24 hours a day I’ll be with you all the way”!
Already Dead - Beck (Sea Change 2002) & Noctorum (Offer The Light 2006)
Beck’s breakup album singing about someone being “already dead to me now” and Marty Willson-Piper on the second Noctorum album (a significant leap forward from the first) with this ominous and graphic song about a killer awaiting the electric chair who knows he’s already dead…
Attitude - Metallica (ReLoad 1997), The Replacements (All Shook Down 1990) & Sepultura (Roots 1996)
One of a handful of really good Metallica tunes from the Load/ReLoad albums - Hetfield’s voice is double-tracked and not so far up front in the mix that it becomes distracting which is the case with many later Metallica recordings. Paul Westerberg with a fun little ditty from what was by many accounts a solo album in all but name and the last one under the ‘Mats name. Sepultura with one of the heaviest songs ever. Like ever. The last album before the band blew up and went in two directions but a great slab of Brazilian metal and this is the highlight for me.
Best Of My Love - Eagles (On The Border 1974) & The Emotions (Rejoice 1977)
Don Henley with a very smooth mellow ballad while The Emotions go upbeat with a dance tune - both giving the best of their love!
Big Time - Rick James (Garden Of Love 1980) & Peter Gabriel (So 1986)
Both Rick and Peter aiming high with upbeat funky jams about hitting the “big time”!
Birthday - The Beatles (The Beatles (White Album) 1968), Kings Of Leon (Come Around Sundown 2010), The Sugarcubes (Life’s Too Good 1988), The Jesus and Mary Chain (Munki 1998)
The Beatles with the straight ahead birthday party rocker, KOL talking about coming together to celebrate, Bjork with her whimsical vocal acrobatics, and The Jesus and Mary Chain basically singing about being Jesus (?) with fuzzed out guitars and tongue-in-cheek in the manner only the JAMC can…
Black - Pearl Jam (Ten 1991) & The Jesus and Mary Chain (Munki 1998)
An aching, sad yet beautiful song on Pearl Jam’s debut about Eddie’s broken relationship with Beth Liebling, and The Jesus and Mary Chain return with another song off the same album basically about everything being black and sucking pretty badly wrapped in a nice upbeat sounding song - man do I love this band lol…
The Bottom Line - B.A.D. (This is Big Audio Dynamite 1985) & Depeche Mode (Ultra 1997)
“The Horses Are On The Track”!!! I was obsessed with Big Audio Dynamite back in the day - a dance to the tune of economic decline? Yes!!! Meanwhile Depeche Mode is decidedly less energetic but beautiful ballad but with a gorgeous Martin Gore vocal.
Breakdown - Prince (Art Official Age 2014), Electronic (Twisted Tenderness 1999), Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1976), The Alan Parsons Project (I Robot 1977)
Prince with a very Prince ballad during a final burst of creativity in the 4 albums he released in the year or two before he passed. The third and final installment of the Bernard Sumner & Johnny Marr collaboration that was Electronic. I heard Johnny Marr on the Rockonteurs podcast say someone had mentioned to him recently that they should make a third Electronic album to which he replied “we did”…. but it still has a few good jams on it - might be time to revisit this one. Tom Petty with this fantastic and brief jazzy tune with the recognizable riff and the aloof vocal of “It’s alright if you love me, it’s alright if you don’t….”, and Alan Parsons actually singing about having a breakdown - think he’s the only one who does here (but just a little hehe…).
Buried Alive - Black Sabbath (Dehumanizer 1992) & Echo & The Bunnymen (Flowers 2001)
The closer on the first Sabbath reunion album with Ronnie James Dio - a snarling and heavy tune about yes, getting buried alive (a metaphor perhaps). Echo & The Bunnymen actually have released 6 studio albums since they reunited in 1997 - they only originally released 5 in the first phase between 1980-87. Flowers is fantastic - Ian McCulloch seems to be trying to find meaning in life here, or death, or both.
Burn The Witch - Radiohead (A Moon Shaped Pool 2016) & Queens Of The Stone Age (Lullabies To Paralyze 2005)
This was my potential #1 on this list when I was thinking of making it a ranking. These two songs and these two bands are so amazing. Radiohead is just elite and so groundbreaking, and the strings that kick off this song and this album are just - wow. What a lyric - “This is a low flying panic attack” and the wiki on this tells a fascinating story. They started working on this song for Kid A back in 2000 and developed it for over a decade! Meanwhile this stomp on the QOTSA album Lullabies To Paralyze is pure brilliance. The album was the first without Nick Oliveri which made me skeptical, and yet it might be my favorite of theirs. As for the song, who would expect Billy Gibbons to show up on a QOTSA album? Yet there he is on this one with a fuzzy ZZ Top solo that is unmistakably him. Just awesome.
Call Me - Al Green (1973), Blondie (Soundtrack to American Gigolo 1980) & Skyy (Skyy Line 1981)
Al Green is telling a girl he is losing to call him if she wants to come back home as if he knows she will, Blondie presumably singing about calling a gigolo since the song was written for the film American Gigolo, and Skyy in one of the great R&B jams of the early 80’s has Denise Dunning approaching her friend’s boyfriend and telling him to call her since her friend doesn’t treat him right - whoa...
Camera - R.E.M. (Reckoning 1984) & Wilco (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 2002)
Two bands that seem to be kindred spirits in a way - both capable of beautiful slices of Americana but also able to rock…
Candy - Iggy Pop (Brick By Brick 1990) & Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (Mojo 2010)
Iggy and Kate Pierson! A yearning duet about a relationship, while Tom Petty is singing about food - right?
Changes - Black Sabbath (Vol.4 1972), Band Of Gypsies (1970), David Bowie (Hunky Dory 1971) , Ziggy Marley (Wild and Free 2011)
Ozzy’s first ballad - a sad breakup song with piano & strings from the fantastic and newly remastered Black Sabbath album Vol. 4! Jimi Hendrix’s Band Of Gypsies, written and sung by Buddy Miles, the classic Bowie tune with the lyrics about teens being “quite aware of what they’re going through” immortalized at the beginning of The Breakfast Club, and Ziggy Marley whose later albums are really good.
Chemical - Beck (Hyperspace 2019) & New Order (Republic 1993)
Beck singing about how love is a chemical and he’s so high on it…. and New Order - an upbeat club jam but the meaning seems a bit abstract…
Chocolate - Snow Patrol (Final Straw 2003) & The Time (Pandemonium 1990)
I’m a little surprised there aren’t more tunes called chocolate in my iTunes… Snow Patrol singer Gary Lightbody is remorseful over cheating on his girlfriend with no mention of the word chocolate… while The Time’s Chocolate is a JAM and uh…ahem….a love song - I mean it’s Morris Day… lol.
Close Your Eyes - Ian McCulloch (Mysterio 1992), No-Man (Returning Jesus 2001), Fuzz (III 2020)
Great song from Ian McCulloch’s slightly uneven second solo album, a majestic beauty from No-Man and stoner metal from Ty Segall, but I gotta say I’m not sure what any of them mean other than closing your eyes from some reason…
Closer - The Firm (1985), Kings Of Leon (Only By The Night 2008), NIN (The Downward Spiral 1994)
Both album openers for The Firm and KOL. The Firm was the supergroup with Paul Rodgers and Jimmy Page and while not a masterpiece per se, it still has a few classic tunes like this rocker where Rodgers is beckoning a girl to come closer. For Kings Of Leon something is coming closer but we’re not sure what, and for Trent Reznor one of the more carnal NIN songs ever which is saying something… actually, check that - one of the more carnal songs ever by anyone period.
Come See About Me - The Supremes (Where Did Our Love Go 1964) & Tedeschi Trucks Band (Revelator 2011)
An early Motown classic with Diana Ross crying for her love to come back to her, and Susan Tedeschi on the Revelator opening track just running a little low on patience with her person…
Coming Up - The Cure (Bloodflowers 2000) & Paul McCartney (McCartney II 1980)
Such a great Cure jam from the sensational Bloodflowers album completing the “trilogy” with Pornography and Disintegration with Robert Smith “coming up in the dark” and losing his mind at the hands of a girl, while Paul McCartney’s is a bit more optimistic that says if you want a love that lasts forever and will never fade away to sick around - it’s coming up. I remember when this video debuted on America’s Top 40 like it was yesterday with a bunch of different Pauls in the band playing all the instruments…
Connection - The Rolling Stones (Between The Buttons 1967) & Elastica (1994)
Elastica’s best known song even though they were sued for plagarism and the Stones with a somewhat whimsical tune about the long hours spent in airports making connections…
Contact - Big Audio Dynamite (Megatop Phoenix 1989), Phish (Junta 1989), The Police (Regatta De Blanc 1979)
One of the best entries on this list… Sting trying to figure out a relationship on the Police’s sophomore effort (“Have we got contact you and me?”) with this subversive funk that I hear a little Talking Heads influence on when I listen, Phish with the silliest of silly tunes about your tires making contact with the road that suddenly takes off into typical Phish jam-o-spheres when played live, and maybe the best song on B.A.D.’s comeback opus (after a near-death Mick Jones illness) with one of the best uses of a sample in alternative music history with the Who’s I Can’t Explain breakdown right before the epic ending freakout.
Cover Me - Bruce Springsteen (Born In The USA 1984) & Depeche Mode (Spirit 2017)
A top 10 hit for The Boss without a video and originally written for Donna Summer… he’s looking for a lover who will cover him - protect him & comfort him from the cold hard world. Interestingly enough even with the opposite vibe, the Depeche Mode seems to be the exact same sentiment in the lyrics. The Boss loud and driving, DM more ethereal.
Crawl - Anthrax (Worship Music 2011) & Kings Of Leon (Only By The Night 2008)
The Anthrax tune sounds like Joey is committing to be there for someone suffering from addiction even if they are crawling away… while Kings Of Leon’s Crawl is a political statement saying the U.S. will need to crawl first before it can walk tall with the direction the country was going in after 8 years of George W. Bush and the country in the throws of a deep recession… “The reds and the whites and abused”
Crazy - Seal (1991), Icehouse (Man Of Colours 1987)
Seal saying we need to shake it up a little - get crazy if we’re going to survive, and Iva Davies of Icehouse seemingly protecting his emotions with a girl he’s head over heels for - saying it’s too good to be true - that she’s gotta be out of her mind….crazy “to want a guy like me”.
Creep - STP (Core 1992), Radiohead (Pablo Honey 1993), Revolting Cocks (Linger Ficking Good…and Other Barnyard Oddities 1993)
All 3 “Creeps” released in the space of about a year. Radiohead’s debut single and slacker anthem about being a…..creep, Stone Temple Pilots also with a song about being a creep - in a slightly more abstract way perhaps, and the enigmatic Ministry side project RevCo with a 9 minute epic about a creep whose dad did a number on him when he was younger.…I think?
Cruel - House Of Love (Babe Rainbow 1992) & PIL (That Was Is Not 1992)
Both from the same year and actually sporting a similar sound, chorus and feel… Both great songs and both with relatively abstract meanings but generally Guy Chadwick singing about situations not going his way and Johnny Rotten talking about a certain someone who can be so cruel.
Dance Little Sister - The Rolling Stones (It’s Only Rock N’ Roll 1974) & Terence Trent D’Arby (Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D’Arby 1987)
Mick Jagger asking girls to dance for him, and TTD whose reach sometimes exceeds his grasp turning in a jam here…
Dandelion - The Rolling Stones (1967) & Audioslave (Out Of Exile 2005)
Stones with a psychedelic nursery rhyme with John Lennon and Paul McCartney on backing vocals that was released as a b-side to We Love You… and Audioslave turns in their own happy nursery rhyme - both fantastic songs that sound like kindred spirits to me.
Danger - Kiss (Creatures Of The Night 1982), Clare Means (Sidewalk Astronomy 2018), The Psychedelic Furs (Forever Now 1982)
I feel like a lot of people feel Danger is one of the few weak songs on Creatures of the Night but I always loved it - I think Paul sings his ass off here and for a few minutes you believe he’s ready - adrenaline pumping, heading out into the night for some danger! Meanwhile Clare Means with a JAM that reminds me of The Cure’s A Forest singing about the danger of powerful people in the music biz - of “plastic people with plastic hearts” who will “play you like a deck of cards”. As for the Furs, Richard Butler in his distinct rasp with a seeming Richard Butler-esque free association of rhymes about danger in the city but you’re not quite sure what he’s talking about lol… It still works though - great song.
Dark Star - Grateful Dead (1968), Crosby Stills & Nash (CSN 1977), Beck (The Information 2006)
This would be very high on the list if I ranked these. The Holy Grail of Dead psychedelic jams which was actually released as a 2:43 long studio single! “Dark Star crashes, pouring its light into ashes….” anyone see one of these live or have a favorite recording of it? Mine is the one from Two From The Vault. The CSN Dark Star is a fantastic Steven Stills jam about a relationship, and the Beck Dark Star is a towering achievement in my book - one of the very best dark grooves ever laid down. No idea what Beck is talking about here but the quiet and intoxicating wordplay is pure Beck as his best.
Delirious - Prince (1999 1982) & The Church (Further / Deeper 2014)
Prince losing all control and getting delirious “whenever you’re near” - what a classic! Prince doing the big band swing type thing he did so well on tracks such as Horny Toad, Jack U Off, Play In The Sunshine, Courtin’ Time…..and even Let’s Go Crazy - think about it - all it needed was some horns! Meanwhile The Church’s first album without Marty Willson-Piper is still a winner as is this song with Steve Kilbey perhaps referring to how being in a band isn’t easy (?).
Disappear - Army Of Anyone (2006), INXS (X 1990), Porcupine Tree (Four Chords That Made A Million single 2000)
The Army of Anyone STP/Filter supergroup is fantastic and it would seem that both Richard Patrick and Steven Wilson on the Porcupine Tree track are singing about being weary of the world and just looking to disappear, while Michael Hutchence sings to a girl who is so fine that for him she does make the world disappear… Pessimism vs. optimism.
Disappointed - PIL (9 1989) & Morrissey (Everyday Is Like Sunday b-side 1988)
Prime Johnny Rotten with his take on friendship - when it “rears its ugly head” that is….soaring music, sneering lyrics. Morrissey with a hilarious declaration at the end that “this is the last song I will ever sing” as a crowd responds with a big cheer only to say “I’ve changed my mind again” to the crowd’s disappointment in a big “Awww…..”
Don’t Change - INXS (Shabooh Shoobah 1982) & Rob Dickinson (Fresh Wine For The Horses 2005)
Classic INXS anthemic show closer and a mellow & gorgeous Rob Dickinson song that I think is about addiction but it might be a metaphor…?
Don’t Look Back - The Temptations (The Temptin’ Temptations 1965), Boston (Don’t Look Back 1978), The Church (The Blurred Crusade 1982)
Written by Smokey Robinson & Ronald White from the Miracles this one of Paul Williams’ best known lead vocals for the Temps, a closer at their shows and covered most notably by Peter Tosh and Mick Jagger together. Great message about leaving your troubles behind and not looking back - pretty much the same message in the anthemic opener to Boston’s second album of the same name and the brief and poignant closer to The Church’s second masterpiece of an album The Blurred Crusade.
Down - Brad (Shame 1993), Pearl Jam (I Am Mine B-side 2002), STP (No. 4 1999)
Kind of a word salad on this mellow tune from the incomparable Shawn Smith on the debut Brad LP, a hopeful song by Pearl Jam likely about Mike McCready getting clean, and STP’s ode to Hello I Love You (?)
Downtown - Petula Clark (Downtown 1965) & Neil Young (Mirror Ball 1995)
Petula Clark’s Downtown was covered magnificently by The B-52’s on their debut and Neil Young had a hit with his with Pearl Jam as his backing band. Both songs are about going downtown and the energy of the city!
Dreams - The Allman Brothers Band (1969), Fleetwood Mac (Rumours 1977), Beck (Colors 2017), Joe Walsh (The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get 1973)
The first song Gregg Allman presented to the guys when he returned home from the west coast to join the band - gotta pull yourself together and get back in the race! Stevie Nicks singing about the crumbling relationship with Lindsey Buckingham which sums up Fleetwood Mac at the time - multiple crumbling relationships… Beck singing about escaping the world by closing your eyes and dreaming, and Joe Walsh singing about almost the same thing Beck is - very similar lyrics and there’s a girl involved….
Drive - The Cars (Heartbeat City 1984) & R.E.M. (Automatic For The People 1992)
Who can forget the Paulina Poriskova in The Cars video for this song? A dreamy tune with the late Ben Orr on vocals - I love this one, and for R.E.M. the opener with strings arranged by John Paul Jones! Yep - that JPJ from Zeppelin. The lyrics are a little homage to the David Essex song Rock On according to Michael Stipe.
Electricity - Midnight Star (No Parking On The Dance Floor 1983), O.M.D. (1980) & Spiritualized (Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space 1997)
Midnight Star’s opener on the album that launched them to a new level with that electronic voice repeating “Electricity!” Meanwhile a song about solar power in 1980? O.M.D. was ahead of their time! Spiritualized’s Electricity is about the need for that adrenaline rush of driving down a one-way street…..but I’m guessing it’s a metaphor for drugs and trying to “kiss the sky”.
The End - The Beatles (Abbey Road 1969), The Doors (1967), Kings Of Leon (Come Around Sundown 2010), Pearl Jam (Backspacer 2009)
The Fab Four use it to sign off while The Doors do as well, but on the album on which they arrive. Both have an epic sweep in their own ways, and both are used to close out their respective masterpiece albums and I find them both to be fascinating pieces I never get sick of. Kings Of Leon used the idea to open an album while Pearl Jam closes the Backspacer LP with this aching emotional song about love and loss…
End Of The Line - The Allman Brothers Band (Shades Of Two Worlds 1991) & The Traveling Wilburys (Vol. 1 1988)
The opener on the second LP from Allmans “Mach 3” and an instant classic about life, struggle and redemption (?), and the classic all star hit with the fun positive vibe from one of the most distinguished supergroup lineups of all time.
Epidemic - Blackfield (II 2007) & Slayer (Reign In Blood 1986)
Blackfield likening a destructive relationship to an epidemic poisoning and Slayer just getting fast and evil with a song that could describe 2020 perhaps…
Faith - The Cure (Faith 1981) & George Michael (Faith 1987)
Both title tracks - The Cure’s dark and pessimistic epic and George Michael just the opposite.
Feel - The Church (Priest = Aura 1992), House Of Love (Babe Rainbow 1992), Ty Segall (Manipulator 2014), & The Verve (The Verve EP 1992)
A minor stateside hit for The Church with Steve Kilbey asking why he can’t feel it… The House Of Love’s Guy Chadwick needing to feel the love. Ty Segall singing about feeling the creeps in the sky - not sure what that’s all about but it’s a jam, and The Verve from their early days when they were at their epic and dreamy best.
Fire - Jimi Hendrix Experience (Are You Experienced? 1967), The Pointer Sisters (Energy 1978)
Jimi with the epic blast about wanting to get with a girl - or at least next to her fire lol… The Pointer Sisters had a huge hit with this Springsteen tune that he didn’t release initially about a woman being torn about wanting or not wanting a man.
Fly - Alice In Chains (Rainier Fog 2018), The Church (Seance 1983), Sugar Ray (Floored 1997)
The Alice In Chains tune from their latest sounds like a song about betrayal to me, The mellow opener to The Church’s third album’s lyrics are really cryptic, and the Sugar Ray tune is just a fun party tune about wanting to fly with “your arms around me baby”!
Friends - Led Zeppelin (III 1970), Jody Watley (Larger Than Life 1989), Love Spit Love (Trysome Eatone 1997), NaS & Damian Marley (Distant Relatives 2010)
Robert Plant singing about mourning a friend and how sharing a smile with someone can lift them up, Jody Watley with an assist from Rakim talking about the importance of Friends, The Psych Furs spinoff Love Spit Love with Richard Butler being exhausted with people who aren’t his friends, and the amazing NaS & Damian Marley collab with the two trading verses and rhymes about how real friends will serve you long sunshine or rain.
The Game - Echo & The Bunnymen (1987) & New Order (Music Complete 2015)
Ian McCulloch opening the last Bunnymen LP before the initial breakup with a whimsical take on life and appreciating what’s around you and being ready to play the game, and New Order’s first album without Peter Hook has Bernard Sumner signing about something being so near but we can’t touch it - a little cryptic…. great song though.
Get Ready - The Temptations (Gettin’ Ready 1966) & Sublime (1996)
Eddie Kendricks professing the love he’s going to bring to a girl who needs to Get Ready - written & produced by Smokey Robinson, and Sublime’s late Brad Nowell singing about how he’s in the mood to take a bong hit and ripping on those who might be informing on him…
Getaway - Kiss (Dressed To Kill 1975) & Pearl Jam (Lightning Bolt 2013)
Written by Ace and sung by Peter I suppose some would call this one a filler on the Dressed To Kill album, but I could never think of it that way. I LOVE it. Very indecisive lol - “I know I could go, got no dough, should I stay or should I go?” Pearl Jam’s Getaway kicks off the fantastic Lightning Bolt album with Eddie basically saying yeah things are messed up all over but I’m gonna do my thing “Mine is mine and yours won’t take its place…”
The Ghost In You - The Psychedelic Furs (Mirror Moves 1984) & Siouxie & The Banshees (Superstition 1994)
Both of these are two of the flat out prettiest songs by both of these bands. They both just feel good. The Furs open their album with theirs and Siouxie & The Banshees use theirs as a closer and I’m not really sure what either of them mean….
Girl - The Beatles (Rubber Soul 1965), Danzig (Danzig II: Lucifuge), Beck (Guero 2005)
Is anybody going to listen to John yearning for this girl? Hehe… Glenn Danzig’s rather intense proposal to take a girl too high - “I’m gonna take you harder than your body can take you…” - huh? Beck with a slightly dark take on “stealing a girl’s eye” but no one knows exactly what he’s saying… one of those upbeat songs but with darker lyrics…
Gone - The Cult (1994), Jerry Cantrell (Degradation Trip 2002), Pearl Jam (2006)
The Cult with sort of a subverted blues crawl to open their 1994 self titled album which I really love. Seems Ian Astbury is spitting vitriol at an addict dropping F-Bombs all over, but I’m not sure if he’s talking to himself or someone else, or both (?). Jerry Cantrell from his darker-than-dark Degradation Trip with this haunting and beautiful song about….his dying friend Layne Staley? His ex Courtney? Himself? Not sure if he has said…he was a mess and this double album is a masterpiece. Pearl Jam with a classic soaring Pearl Jam tune with a long mellow intro that makes the payoff that much more dramatic - a recurring theme of leaving it all behind and getting gone…
Goodbye - Depeche Mode (Delta Machine 2013), Paul Stanley (1978), Army Of Anyone (2006), The Psychedelic Furs (Forever Now 1982)
A slow burning bluesy closer for the DM Delta Machine album with Dave Gahan leaving a girl for what sounds like the second time, Paul Stanley with an anthemic song to close out his Kiss solo album with a hopeful Goodbye that is “only for now, cuz I’m coming back, I swear it somehow…”. Richard Patrick teamed up with STP minus Weiland in 2006 for this very conflicted goodbye on their self titled album. He sounds like he wants this person to suffer but he still doesn’t want them to leave…? The Furs seems a cynical goodbye but I’m not sure why…a driving energetic tune with lots of horns and Richard Butler’s signature wordplay.
Grind - Alice In Chains (1995) & The Church (Gold Afternoon Fix 1990)
The opener to the last full length studio album with Layne Staley - a menacing threatening song with Jerry spitting vitriol at the rumors of the band’s demise… For The Church it’s an epic closer to the Gold Afternoon Fix album - Grind it out!
Halo - Depeche Mode (Violator 1990), Foo Fighters (One By One 2002), Porcupine Tree (Deadwing 2005), The Cure (Friday I’m In Love B-Side 1992)
Cool notion of a reverse halo like shackles of guilt at someone’s feet by Depeche Mode on their reinvented organic sounding mega-album Violator. An uplifting sounding tune from Foo Fighters even though I think the lyrics might be about death (?) - hard to say. Porcupine Tree’s take is a dark and funky jam that I interpret as an uber cynical take on religion and someone who thinks they’re holier than though with a halo around them because they are a person of God. As for The Cure this song that didn’t make the Wish album could have been the best song on what is really an average Cure album in my opinion…granted it’s a really sugary sweet love song but it feels good.
Hard Times - Kiss (Dynasty 1979), Run D.M.C. (1983), The Human League (Love Action B-Side 1981), PIL (Happy? 1987)
People make comments about Dynasty being Kiss’s disco album but much of it rocks plenty - especially Ace Frehley’s ode to growing up in the streets of the city. I was surprised to find that Run D.M.C.’s social commentary was actually a cover - it was on Kurtis Blow’s album from 3 years earlier! The Human League and PIL songs aren’t songs that I would argue are super special but I still like them, especially the Human League’s deliberately quirky tossed off tune with only the repeated lyric of “Hard Times”.
Haze - Electronic (Twisted Tenderness 1999) & Jack Frost (Snow Job 1996)
I heard Johnny Marr on a recent podcast say someone said to him they loved the two Electronic albums he made with Bernard Sumner and that they should make a third one to which he had to reply “we did”… this is a gem from Twisted Tenderness where Barney seems to be singing about being confused and lost - clearly in a Haze even though he never mentions the word. As for Jack Frost - I’m a huge fan particularly of the second album by this collab of good friends Steve Kilbey of The Church and the late Grant McClennan of the Go-Betweens. When I looked up Jack Frost Haze all I got was a bunch of links about the marijuana strain called “Jack Frost” - maybe this is what they named the project after? This epic tune is a hypnotic and trippy tune with some eastern influences - “coming back to me through haze of memory”. It’s been said that Grant McClennan introduced Steve Kilbey to heroin, and while it was a problem for him for years it never seemed to slow his musical output.
Head Over Heels - The Go Go’s (Talk Show 1984) & Tears For Fears (Songs From The Big Chair 1985)
The last great Go Go’s song from their third album as the band was disintegrating, but you wouldn’t know it from the over the top cheesy video which is completely mesmerizing and flat out fun. The song seems like a commentary on the runaway success and trainwreck the band was becoming… Meanwhile the Tears For Fears tune seems to be about falling for someone but being confused about it….? Nice singalong at the end though - great song.
Heart And Soul - Joy Division (Closer 1980) & T’Pau (Bridge of Spies 1987)
Ian Curtis going deep into the recesses of the dark corners of the psyche with lyrics like “Existence well what does it matter? I exist on the best terms I can. The past is now part of my future, the present is well out of hand”. He took his own life soon after… Granted it’s not that simple - Ian was a complex man and even a happy and funny guy on the surface, but he was struggling. There has been plenty written and discussed about Ian’s life and I’ll always be a huge fan. Meanwhile the I have to admit I was a little obsessed with the one hit of the one hit wonder T’Pau and singer Carol Decker who in this song is begging for just a little bit of heart and soul from a lover.
Heartbeat - Buddy Holly (1958), Ice-T (Power 1988), The Psychedelic Furs (Mirror Moves 1984)
Buddy Holly’s second to last single released in his lifetime - he didn’t write it but it’s been covered dozens of times. It’s about how his heartbeat misses when his baby kisses him - cute! Ice-T bragging and boasting while letting us know his heartbeat is “beatin’ like a wildman - but that’s natural cuz you know that I am”. The Furs with that awesome sax opener and Richard Butler typically singing about nobody talking at all and hearing heartbeats or heartbreak beats or something very Richard Butler.
Heartbreaker - Led Zeppelin (II 1969), Pat Benatar (In The Heat Of The Night 1979), Alabama Shakes (Boys & Girls 2012), Free (Heartbreaker 1973), Grand Funk Railroad (On Time 1969)
One of those unforgettable Zep intro riffs with Robert Plant singing about….a heartbreaker whom he finally tells to just go away… Pat Benatar from her debut with basically the same sentiment. Alabama Shakes Brittany Howard singing as someone who has just been completely devastated by her heartbreaker, while Paul Rodgers is lamenting how his maker must have been a hard heartbreaker for him to have this tough a time - he’s got the blues in this awesome slow burner… and Mark Farner hasn’t completely gotten over his heartbreaker from the past.
Heartland - The The (Infected 1986) & U2 (Rattle & Hum 1988)
Holy crap - The The’s Matt Johnson with about the bleakest indictment of the Reagan era without mentioning him that you’ll ever hear, delivered with a biting wit and sarcasm that not many can do quite like him. Bono takes a more reverent tone celebrating the American heartland during their Rattle & Hum odyssey across the country. One of the last U2 songs of the era that still sounds like the original U2 before they……ya know….sold out and stuff. This song wouldn’t be out of place on The Unforgettable Fire.
Heaven - Bryan Adams (Reckless 1984), Depeche Mode (Delta Machine 2103), Eurythmics (Savage 1987), Los Lonely Boys (2003), The Psychedelic Furs (Mirror Moves 1984), The Rolling Stones (Tattoo You 1981), Talking Heads (Fear Of Music 1979), The Woodentops (Wooden Foot Cops On The Highway 1988)
I tried to avoid too many like this - one word obvious title, tons of songs that share it… and we’re seeing plenty of repeat artists here. This doesn’t mean I don’t like Rob Zombie or Zappa but you don’t see a ton of songs named El Phantasmo and The Chicken Run Blast-O-Rama or The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny….but I digress. Suffice it to say all these songs are about Heaven in some way and they’re all great.
Helpless - CSNY (Déja Vu 1970), Diamond Head (Lightning To The Nations 1980) (Metallica covered), The Four Tops (Second Album 1965)
Neil Young with a classic about bittersweet childhood memories, Diamond Head with a cool twist about being helpless against the destiny of being a metal god telling the crowd “Gotta set you all on fire, gotta treat you right” and how he “ain’t got no choice”. Metallica’s more muscular version ups the ante with Hetfield’s growl but Diamond Head’s version still holds up nicely. The Four Tops check in with this little Holland-Dozier-Holland penned ditty about feeling helpless over a lost love.
Hey Baby - Ted Nugent (1975), Stephen Marley (Mind Control 2007)
A fun bluesy jam with Derek St. Holmes on vocals from Ted’s solo debut even if the lyrics are slightly creepy in retrospect… Meanwhile Stephen Marley with this fantastic jam about doing work on himself to be a better man ”Hey baby don't you worry, even though the road is rocky I'll be coming home to you again. And if you thought that I was lost, I have to bear my cross - now I'm free from all these chains.” with Mos Def making a guest appearance.
History - The Woodentops (Giant 1986) & The Verve (A Northern Soul 1995)
Based on the William Blake poem London, I’ll just link to this article that gives the background on this poignant and evocative tune of The Verve’s second album A Northern Soul. The Woodentops tell us not to let history repeat itself but I’m not sure specifically what singer Rolo McGinty is referring to…
Hold On - Alabama Shakes (2012), Deep Purple (Stormbringer 1974), Pearl Jam (Lost Dogs 1991 - Ten Outtake), Santana (Shango 1982), Sarah McLachlan (1993), Steve Winwood (1977), En Vogue (1990)
So many songs with this title… it’s a theme that lends itself to song craft and inspiration whether holding on to someone, a dream, a life - any of these things.
Holiday - Madonna (1983), The Jazz Butcher (Sex & Travel 1989), Brad (Best Friends? 2010), Underground Lovers (Leaves Me Blind 1992)
A young ambitious Madonna sings about how nice it would be if we just all took a holiday, The Jazz Butcher fascinates with the most mundane tale possible about a “regular English speaking gentleman on holiday”, the late great Shawn Smith of Brad with a light song about not letting worries block our way (?), Steve Kilbey & Martin Kennedy submit a sublime aural delight evoking images of “beautiful days and beautiful nights I spent with you” on their latest album as they are prone to do, and the Underground Lovers with an ethereal tune from their second album.
Hollow Man - The Cult (Love 1985) & R.E.M. (Accelerate 2008)
Is the “hollow man” drug addiction that is following Ian Astbury on the Cult’s masterpiece Love? Meanwhile Michael Stipe sounds like he’s searching here - questioning whether he’s become a hollow man on this great song on the comeback album Accelerate after it seemed R.E.M. was a spent band.
Home - Depeche Mode (Ultra 1997), Foo Fighters (Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace 2007), PIL (Compact Disc 1986), Simple Minds (Black & White 050505 2005), Iggy Pop (1990), Joe Walsh (Barnstorm 1972), Smashing Pumpkins (Machine II 2000)
Another simple one word title that is shared by many songs…. all of them great. Plenty of songs about home, going home, everyone needing a home, home sweet home etc….
Hot Dog - Led Zeppelin (In Through The Outdoor 1979) & GBA (Live 1999)
A tossed off little ditty from Zeppelin with Robert Plant singing about a girl leaving him on their swan song, and the Greyboy Allstars doing it to death on this live instrumental!
Hurricane - Bob Dylan (Desire 1976) & Kyuss (…And The Circus Leaves Town 1995)
A legendary protest song by Bob Dylan about Rubin “Hurricane” Carter who was wrongly convicted of murder and eventually set free, helped by this song. John Garcia of Kyuss singing about feeling numb - just blown away by the hurricane of his life on the opener of Kyuss’s swan song …And The Circus Leaves Town.
Hurt - New Order (1982) & NIN (The Downward Spiral 1994)
If memory serves I think Peter Hook, Stephen Morris or Bernard Sumner mentioned that Hurt was just an early exercise in sequencing and moving the New Order sound forward with nonsense lyrics or something to that effect. That description actually makes sense but I still love it. As for Trent Reznor his Hurt (famously covered by Johnny Cash) is a fantastically creepy song about actual hurt and addiction to finish the seminal The Downward Spiral.
Hush - Deep Purple (Shades Of Deep Purple 1968) & Tool (Opiate 1992)
The first and last great song for the original Deep Purple lineup? Such a smokin’ tune! Meanwhile Maynard opens Tool’s Hush from the Opiate EP with a giant screaming “Fuck yooooooooooooou!!!” which is really what the song is uh, about. Hehe…
Hymn - Front 242 (06:21:02:11: Up Evil 1993) & Noctorum (Sparks Lane 2003)
I love this era of Front 242 - the dual LPs of Fuck Up Evil (look at the numbers) and Evil Off although I like the former a little more which is what this “hymn” to revolution and disorder is on. The song is 28 years old but still sounds ominous and futuristic. Meanwhile the first LP from Marty Willson-Piper’s side project contains this pretty little ditty that starts off with soldiers dying on a battlefield… and goes on to talk about not backing down, although I guess I’m not sure if that’s actually what this one’s about.
I Don’t Know - Ozzy Osbourne (Blizzard Of Oz 1980), Brad (Interiors 1997), The Replacements (Pleased To Meet Me 1987), B.A.D.II (The Globe 1991), The Beastie Boys (Hello Nasty 1998), The Church (Back With Two Beasts 2005)
Ozzy with one of his “hey I’m just a dude - don’t blame me for stuff” themes lol - my favorite solo Ozzy ripper with the brilliant Randy Rhoads shredding. Shawn Smith in his falsetto sounding confused on this Brad tune - not knowing who his friends are or what’s going on… Paul Westerberg with this confused call and repeat of I Don’t Know - “What the fuck you saying? I don’t know…” It’s a good jam off the album I discovered the ‘mats with - admittedly late to the game at the time. Mick Jones with the confused and funky I Don’t Know from the B.A.D. II reboot of his band. The late great Adam Yauch singing a ballad? YES. And The Church with a weird backwards looped track at the end of the album-that-isn’t-a-proper-album Back With Two Beasts. A somewhat strange and confused group of songs with this title which is fitting.
I Need You - The Beatles (Help! 1965) & The Eurythmics (Savage 1987)
Such a cool little under the radar tune from The Beatles - just a typical Beatles love song, and one of my favorite simple acoustic Eurythmics tunes “I need someone to listen to the ecstasy I’m fakin’” is such a brilliant lyric and the song sounds like it was recorded in a coffee house which adds to the charm.
I’m The One - Van Halen (1978), Danzig (Danzig II: Lucifuge 1990), Steve Kilbey / GB3 (Damaged/Controlled 2010)
Van Halen at their very shot-out-of-a-cannon best on their debut with DLR boasting that he’s the one - of course. Danzig on this bluesy acoustic crooner telling you he’s the one “if you wanna hear evil” lol. Steve Kilbey on one of his bazillion side projects with this sublime tune with Glenn Bennie from the Underground Lovers, and it sounds like an Underground Lovers tune which is what I love about it.
In Bloom - Ian McCulloch (1989) & Nirvana (Nevermind 1991)
The first Ian McCulloch solo album is the one that rivals most Echo & The Bunnymen albums in my opinion and In Bloom has a fantastic groove. Not sure about the meaning on this one but it’s great. Meanwhile he’s the one who “don’t know what it means”, and I don’t quite know on this one either, but what a Nirvana classic.
In My Life - The Beatles (Rubber Soul 1965) & Gov’t Mule (Life Before Insanity 2000)
Such a poignant Beatles tune that has been featured in a billion bar mitzvah montages and that piano solo! NO less poignant and beautiful is the closer to the last Gov’t Mule album to feature Allen Woody before his untimely passing.
In The Meantime - Helmet (Meantime 1992), The Railway Children (Recurrence 1988), Spacehog (Resident Alien 1995)
Helmet with one of the most bone crushingly heavy songs of the entire decade of the 90’s as the opener to one of the most bone crushingly heavy albums of the entire decade of the 90’s. Most Helmet songs seem to have pretty abstract lyrics, not to mention abstract guitar solos, and yet…. nothing abstract about the sheer power. The Railway Children with a cool mellow tune, “who cares about you and me in the meantime”, and Spacehog with their one trippy hit about just really being okay. No judgement.
In The Mood - Rush (Rush 1974) & Robert Plant (The Principal Of Moments 1983)
This Rush tune certainly doesn’t point to the thematic prog material that would come later, but this simple tune about trying to talk to a girl has it’s appeal - it’s fun! Robert Plant’s “In The Mood” is probably my favorite solo tune of his - he’s in the mood for a melody and I’ll never forget that break dancers were included in the MTV video. Break dancers in a Robert Plant video!
India - The Psychedelic Furs (1980), Joe Walsh (Analog Man 2012), Roxy Music (Avalon 1982)
India is such a great opener for the first Psychedelic Furs album - that build up, that guitar, that voice! No one knows what India is in this case but it’s Richard Butler’s “love song”. For Joe Walsh it’s a cool instrumental on his last solo album - which is great by the way. Roxy Music’s India is also an instrumental - a short and enjoyable one.
Inside Out - The Mighty Lemon Drops (World Without End1988), The Chameleons UK (Strange Times Bonus Track 1986), Phil Collins (No Jacket Required 1985), Eve 6 (1998), Jimi Hendrix (6/11/68 People Hell & Angels)
The Mighty Lemon Drops kick off their sophomore full length with this catchy tune as Paul Marsh sings how his heart and world has been turned inside out from a breakup (?). The Eve 6 tune is a crowd favorite for my band and it’s fun to sing even though the jumbled rhyming word salad doesn’t make a lot of sense to me - ha. The Chameleons included this gem on the bonus vinyl disc that came with their Strange Times LP about a mother who was forced to give up a child for adoption years ago hoping that “these days of doubt don’t turn her inside out”. Phil Collins sounds like he’s saying his massive success has him inside out running all around on his 3rd solo album blockbuster, and the Jimi Hendrix entry is just a cool instrumental jam - it’s just Jimi and Mitch Mitchell with Jimi handling the guitar and bass.
Invisible - The Church (After Everything Now This 2002), Dio (Holy Diver 1983), Warren Haynes (Tales Of Ordinary Madness 1993)
Ooooh I love this entry. The Church with one of their gorgeous ethereal epics with the coolest use of the sliding sound of guitar strings - a hypnotic piece with Steve Kilbey whispering “All I ever wanted to see was just invisible to me” to fade out the After Everything Now This LP. Dio’s debut LP Holy Diver from his Dio band is known for the title track and a couple others, but for my money Invisible is the hidden track - you can go away if your circle is broken - you can become invisible. As for Warren Haynes there’s some good stuff on his first solo album back in 1993 and this funky little jam is a good one about not being invisible.
Jailbreak - AC/DC (Jailbreak ‘74) & Thin Lizzy (Jailbreak 1976)
A classic Bon Scott era burner from AC/DC about his buddy who was in for murder but broke out “in the name of liberty”, and Thin Lizzy with the classic riff and Phil Lynott announcing that tonight there’s gonna be trouble…
Just The Way You Are - Billy Joel (The Stranger 1977) & Bruno Mars (Doo-Wops & Hooligans 2010)
A couple of pop gems from Billy Joel and Bruno Mars about loving someone just the way they are. A wonderful sentiment indeed!
Larger Than Life - Kiss (Alive II 1977) & Gov’t Mule (Dose 1998)
Gene’s infamous ode to……..himself. A booming and heavy jam with Bob Kulick on lead guitar (not Ace Frehley). I still don’t think the second Gov’t Mule album is one of their best per se, but Larger Than Life is pretty good. I think it’s about someone’s race to the bottom who is killing themself - addiction I’m guessing. “You think you know something but you don’t know nothing… Everybody knows that death is larger than life.”
The Last Time - The Rolling Stones (Out Of Our Heads 1965), The Eurythmics (Savage 1986), Talk Talk (It’s My Life 1984)
The Stones performed this on the Ed Sullivan Show and you have to see it if you haven’t. Mick is losing his patience with a girl - she’s not doing enough to please him…. Annie Lennox isn’t putting up with anymore bullshit in this Eurythmics song, and Mark Hollis of Talk Talk is also fed up with something but I’m not sure what…
Laughing - 54-40 (Fight For Love 1989), The Church (Gold Afternoon Fix 1990), The Guess Who (Canned Wheat 1969), R.E.M. (Murmur 1983), David Crosby (If Only I Could Remember My Name 1971)
Funny that two of these 5 songs actually have the singer laughing in the song - Burton Cummings a little goofier for The Guess Who than 54-40’s Neil Osborne - and I love the 54-40 song - it has a lovely nursery rhyme quality to it. The Church says “they’re laughing at you every day”, Michael Stipe is well….murmuring something on Murmur as he typically did back then. As for the David Crosby debut album, it was hated by critics at the time which is really bizarre… it’s grown to cult status over the years, and how about the lineup that plays on the beautiful song Laughing: Graham Nash, Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzman, and even Joni Mitchell adding backing vocals? C’mon….
Lava - The B-52’s (1979) & Ministry (Filth Pig 1995)
The B-52’s in all their campy glory with this kick ass riff and Fred and the girls trading vocals throughout “My body’s burnin’ like a lava from a Mauna Loa, My heart is crackin’ like a Krakatoa” - poetry of the highest degree right there! As for Ministry this is the best tune off of the muddled Filth Pig LP - no clue what it’s about but it’s great.
Lazarus - Porcupine Tree (Deadwing 2005) & David Bowie (Blackstar 2015)
Lazarus is a gorgeous highlight from the Deadwing album - “Follow me down to the valley below, moonlight is bleeding from out of your soul” but I’m not exactly sure of the meaning. Bowie’s last single released in his lifetime with the video recorded the week he ended treatment for his cancer is the brilliant Lazarus. “Look up here, I’m in heaven….”
Learning To Fly - Pink Floyd (A Momentary Lapse Of Reason 1987) & Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (Into The Great Wide Open 1991)
Learning To Fly is the lead single from the post-Roger Waters Floyd and it’s every bit a worthy entry as a Pink Floyd classic. Kind of a Luke Skywalker moment as a young man on Tatooine (?) as the subject is looking to the sky and yearning, learning to fly “Can't keep my eyes from the circling sky, tongue-tied and twisted, just an earth-bound misfit, I” Tom Petty is “learning to fly but I ain’t got wings” - both of these songs have an element of hurdling towards something uncertain…
Lucky Man - ELP (1970) & The Verve (Urban Hymns 1997)
Greg Lake wrote this medieval influenced ballad when he was TWELVE. The lucky man’s death always gets me… As for The Verve how’s this for a lyric about understanding how lucky you are: “And how many corners do I have to turn, how many times do I have to learn, all the love I have is in my mind?” Sooooo good.
Maria - RATM (The Battle Of Los Angeles 1999) & Blondie (No Exit 1999)
A typically powerful Rage Against The Machine song about a Mexican immigrant - “The sun ablaze as Maria’s foot touches the surface of sand on northern land as human contraband…” wow. Blondie’s comeback single seems like it’s simply about a beautiful woman named Maria…
Medication - QOTSA (Lullabies To Paralyze 2005), Spiritualized (Pure Phase / Royal Albert Hall 1997), Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley w/Stephen Marley (Stony Hill 2017)
The first rock blast from the first Queens Of The Stone Age LP not to feature Nick Oliveri clocks in at under two minutes and there’s no way to know if it’s a drug song, an anti-drug song, or just a metaphor for something else, but it does ROCK. J Spaceman’s Medication for Spiritualized sounds like a desperate prayer to beat addiction: “I'm waiting for the time when I can be without these things that make me feel this way all of the time” and for my money the Royal Albert Hall version is the killer version. Meanwhile Damian & Stephen Marley turn in an ode to the ganja.
Mind Control - Slayer (Divine Intervention 1994) & Stephen Marley (2007)
Slayer’s amped up the speed again on Divine Intervention which could still be my favorite LP of theirs and Mind Control is the closer - not sure who is doing the mind controlling here but this is a classic. Meanwhile another Marley entry here with the title track to Stephen Marley’s opener on his masterful debut about not letting them control your mind, corrupt your thoughts and destroy your soul. Actually pretty much the same point Slayer is making.
Mother - Pink Floyd (The Wall 1979), Danzig (1988), John Lennon (Plastic Ono Band 1970), Burning Spear (Man In The Hills 1976)
Pink Floyd’s trip into “Pink’s” (Syd’s) mind and the struggle for it in The Wall. Such an incredible and poignant tune with that time signature change at the chorus, the shared lead vocals and the incredible David Gilmour solo… gets me every time. Glenn Danzig with his signature over-the-top-deliciously-cartoonishly-evil anthem from the Danzig band debut - those first 4 albums make up my favorite Glenn Danzig era of any. John Lennon working out his demons with primal scream therapy on his first proper album after The Beatles breakup, and Burning Spear with a loving ode to his mother appreciating all the hard work she did to take care of her family in Jamaica.
Movin’ On - Bad Company (1974), The Other Two (The Other Two & You 1992)
Great and simple Bad Company tune about being on the road. Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert with a great song - something about how they saw the sun up in the sky, getting stronger, another mouth to feed, saying goodbye, never going home - I don’t get it. But I still love it lol….
My Little Problem - The Church (Sometime Anywhere 1994) & The Replacements (All Shook Down 1990)
Steve Kilbey of The Church says you must have heard about his little problem - ah c’mon you must have heard about it…. I’m not sure what problem he’s referring to at any point in this song although it could clearly be drugs based on the time frame. Either way it’s a fantastic mellow confessional - I think. As for Paul Westerberg of The Replacements he’s offering for you to be his little problem. Again, not sure exactly what he means. Interesting that both of these came at a time when each of these bands were splintered.
No Way - David Gilmour (1978) & Pearl Jam (Yield 1998)
Lyrically this one might seem a little slight from David Gilmour, but I love it and I love this album - it’s the most Pink Floyd sounding solo album of his and I just love it as a showcase for Gilmour during the classic Floyd years. Stone Gossard wrote the lyrics to this Pearl Jam groove that seems to just be in a questioning mode - if trying to make a difference is even worth it.
Oceans - Pearl Jam (Ten 1991) & Rob Dickinson (Fresh Wine For The Horses 2005)
More Pearl Jam and one of the most gorgeous tunes in their catalogue from their debut masterpiece - just Eddie’s simple ode to surfing…. Rob Dickinson saying he’ll do whatever’s necessary to make someone love him - staring at oceans which represents how vast his love is.
Odyssey - Kiss (Music From “The Elder” 1981) & Kyuss (Welcome To Sky Valley 1994)
I feel like for many Kiss fans Odyssey represents the nadir of the band’s conceptual self-indulgent failure that is Music From “The Elder” but……..I love it. Call me nuts but I think the album is awesome and I actually like Paul’s over-the-top dramatic vocal about the odyssey the hero of the story is on… Kyuss kicks off the third “medley” of tracks from Welcome To Sky Valley with a roar - “Once you return from the belly of the beast you’re never quite the same”…drugs? Maybe - not sure.
Once Upon A Time - Simple Minds (1985) & Smashing Pumpkins (Adore 1998)
Jim Kerr with what seem to be general musings on time, love and God setting the stage for this grandiose statement that is pure Simple Minds. A commercial and anthemic album but with such strong songs that it doesn’t offend in the least - Jim Kerr was made to lead singalongs! La la la, ba da da da, oh whoa oh etc. etc. Haha… Meanwhile Billy Corgan turns in this poignant tune about things he wished he would have said to him mother before she passed.
One Day - Bjork (Debut 1993), The Church (Seance 1983), Electronic (Raise The Pressure 1996), The Verve (Urban Hymns 1997)
Bjork’s Debut is fantastic and the ethereal One Day seems to be about how something wonderful will be happening for you one day… actually all of these songs seem to have a similar theme of hope for a day when good things will happen.
Paradise - Bruce Springsteen (The Rising 2002), New Order (Brotherhood 1986), Richard Ashcroft (Human Conditions 2002), Sade (Stronger Than Pride 1988), Stephen Marley (Revelation Pt.II: The Fruit Of Life 2016)
The Boss gives us this amazing song about the concept of Paradise post-9/11 - looking for peace in paradise but ultimately needing to find it here in the life we have. New Order kicks off the Brotherhood album wanting a certain someone, needing them to find Paradise together - same thing it seems with Richard Ashcroft looking to “set sail” for Paradise with someone. Sade with one of her biggest hits about her love with a certain someone being like paradise and Stephen Marley with the same sentiments.
Paralyzed - Ted Nugent (State Of Shock 1979) & Kiss (Revenge 1992)
Ted with an anti-substance abuse ripper to kick off the State Of Shock album, and Kiss with one of the few songs that actually lives up to the Revenge album hype musically - the lyrics just seem to be rhyming nonsense but it’s a good jam without the excess cheese leftover from the latter part of their non-makeup hair metal era that had gone off the rails…which unfortunately is still found aplenty on the rest of Revenge.
Peace Of Mind - Boston (1976) & Black Sabbath (13 - 2013)
Boston’s masterful debut contains this song that I relate to so well. Tom Scholz’s lyrics (sung so amazingly by the late great Brad Delp) about corporate America and how he’d rather have peace of mind than live in competition climbing the corporate ladder. Love it. Meanwhile Ozzy sings as a man who is also looking for Peace Of Mind but struggling to find it on the fantastic and worthy final Sabbath album even if it’s unfortunately without Bill Ward behind the kit.
Pearls - The Church (Back With Two Beasts 2005) & Sade (Love Deluxe 1992)
Funny - as much as I LOVE The Church I find myself unsure of the meaning of many of Steve Kilbey’s lyrics as I try to decipher them here. And that’s okay - Steve is a poet, and I find that much of his work is subject to interpretation like the best art can be. Another gorgeous gem from the unplanned-album-that-became-an-album Back With Two Beasts: “In the morning buildings swarming pearls are forming in the seas. In the evening birds are leaving in a seething canopy.” Meanwhile this emotional tale from Sade with no percussion about a woman in Somalia who lives a life she didn’t choose. Heartbreaking and gorgeous.
Perfect - Depeche Mode (Sounds Of The Universe 2009), Smashing Pumpkins (Adore 1998), Ed Sheeran (Divide 2017), The The (Soul Mining 1983)
Depeche Mode’s Perfect seems to be about how a relationship was almost perfect and how if only things could be in a parallel universe. Cool song on a great DM album. Perfect was a hit for the Pumpkins on their first real goth album Adore - the song is a sequel of sorts to the song 1979 and it’s about how things didn’t work but next time they’ll be perfect if they give it another try. Ed Sheeran gives us a beautiful romantic love song on his third album written about his wife-to-be. I’m sure it’s been played at 100,000 weddings… Matt Johnson goes for a walk on a perfect day to think about himself, and how messed up the world is really… Great song but not the most optimistic tune and he was blindsided when the record company slapped on the end of the Soul Mining album. He fought it and eventually got it removed from the album.
Please - Love Spit Love (1994) & The Bolshoi (Lindy’s Party 1987)
Not sure what Richard Butler is talking about on this Love Spit Love song with the big chorus that sounds like it must have been a hit (it wasn’t even a single), but what a great song on the first Love Spit Love LP. The Bolshoi’s Please is a driving rocker with cool strings, but I’m not sure if the Lolita here is just the name of a singer who Trevor Tanner is waiting to hear sing or actually a Lolita that he could be in trouble for. Not quite sure…
Precious - Pretenders (1980) & Depeche Mode (Playing The Angel 2005)
The first Pretenders album is one of the greatest ever recorded. And Chrissie Hynde serves notice on the opener by yelling how precious she is and to “fuck off”! An album that rocks as hard as any as you’ll find but also with some of the most beautiful moments as well. That voice…. Another latter day Depeche Mode classic that Martin Gore explained was inspired by his children and what they must have been going through during his divorce.
Present Tense - Pearl Jam (No Code 1996) & Radiohead (A Moon Shaped Pool 2016)
Present Tense has been given new life as the song played at the end of the Michael Jordan doc “The Last Dance” but it always meant a lot to me. The best song on the slightly weird No Code, it makes more sense to live in the present tense instead of re-digesting past regrets. As for Radiohead Thom Yorke seems to be doing the opposite of Eddie Vedder’s advice - doing a dance in self defense against the present tense, to distract himself from a love that is falling apart (?).
Reason To Believe - Rod Stewart (Every Picture Tells A Story 1971) & Bruce Springsteen (Nebraska 1982)
Rod Stewart has been hurt in the lyrics of this one pretty badly, and yet he’s still trying to find a reason to believe. The Boss is marveling at the idea that at the end of every hard earned day people still find a reason to believe despite the various hardships they may encounter. I think it’s a hopeful end to a stark and beautiful album.
Revolution - The Beatles (1968), Bob Marley & The Wailers (Natty Dread 1974), The Cult (Love 1985), Brad (Welcome To Discovery Park 2002), The Derek Trucks Band (Songlines 2006)
You say you want a revolution? What a classic with a fascinating background that you may just want to read about in the Wiki entry. Bob Marley tells us to beware of politicians on the fantastic Natty Dread album. The Cult asks what does revolution mean to you on the seminal Love album, Shawn Smith basically shouting from the rooftops that he wants a new revolution of rock, love and dance! The Derek Trucks Band gives us a hopeful song about a revolution that will lead to one world forever and ever!
Rise - PIL (Album 1986), Eddie Vedder (Into The Wild 2007), The Cult (Beyond Good and Evil 2001), The Black Ryder (Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride 2009)
John Lydon with the classic “I could be wrong I could be right!!!” mantra on the Cassette, Album, or Compact Disc LP, depending on the format you bought it in… may the road rise with you indeed. Eddie Vedder turns in this beautiful song inspired by the story of Chris McCandless and included in the film Into The Wild. “Find my direction magnetically….” The reunited Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy give us this rocker with the borrowed guitar lines from She Sells Sanctuary telling us to rise even when we’re up against the world. The Black Ryder closed their first LP with this beautiful reverb-soaked track with no percussion. You fall until you rise…
Rock & Roll - Velvet Underground (Loaded 1970), Led Zeppelin (IV 1971)
Lou Reed has said he wrote this really about himself and how he was saved by rock n’ roll, and Zeppelin similarly turns in an ode to rocking and rolling and how it has been a long time - a lonely lonely lonely lonely…time!
Rock Steady - Aretha Franklin (Young, Gifted & Black 1971) & Bad Company (1974)
Such a great jam from the Queen! Just call it what it is - a song about rocking steady and doing a funky dance! Bad Company also wants you to stay awhile and rock steady!
Rush - BAD II (The Globe 1991) & Depeche Mode (Songs of Faith and Devotion 1993)
Another entry from the Mick Jones-led Big Audio Dynamite reboot and one of the catchier songs of the 90’s - if the situation is no-win rush for a change of atmosphere! As for Depeche Mode, Martin Gore wrote this but with Dave Gahan singing about how “when I rush I rush for you” not too long before a suicide attempt it gives it an ominous feel. Thank goodness he’s in much better place these days.
She - Kiss (Dressed To Kill 1975), The Jesus & Mary Chain (Stoned & Dethroned 1994), Ty Segall (Freedom’s Goblin 2018), The Monkees (More Of The Monkees 1967), Holy Barbarians (Cream 1995)
Originally a Wicked Lester tune with flutes (!) the heavier version that Kiss resurrected for the Dressed To Kill album is a classic about a mysterious woman who walks by moonlight. JAMC with the stripped down Stoned and Dethroned masterpiece - no fuzz, all Jesus and Mary Chain, and a girl who “comes undone - got no fix she had no fun…” Ty Segall’s She is an extended rock freakout - and all it says is she said he was a bad boy, which he admits. That’s about it lol. The Monkees didn’t write or likely play any instruments at all on their She, but I still love it and them! Their “She” is a total heartbreaker… Holy Barbarians was a short-lived Ian Astbury band while The Cult was on hiatus and their one album had a few interesting songs on it - this was one of them. “She’s the kind of girl that destroys my little world…”
She’s Gone - Hall & Oates (Abandoned Luncheonette 1973), Bob Marley & The Wailers (Kaya 1978)
My favorite Hall & Oates tune for sure, and Daryl Hall coming to the realization that she’s gone, and that he better learn how to say it. Bob Marley…..same thing.
Shining Star - The Manhattans (After Midnight 1980), INXS (Live Baby Live 1991) Earth, Wind & Fire (That’s The Way Of The World 1975)
Man do I love The Manhattans’ Shining Star. Always hits me with a wave of childhood nostalgia - just a pure pretty love song. INXS added this studio track to their Live Baby Live release and it’s a pretty cool funky jam that just seems to be about fame and becoming famous…? EWF had a big hit with their empowering Shining Star - you are, no matter who you are! All three of these were hit singles for each act.
Shout - Tears For Fears (Songs From The Big Chair 1985), The Woodentops (Giant 1986), The Isley Brothers (Shout! 1959)
Tears For Fears was never metal in any sense, but Shout just always seemed so heavy to me - a great protest song encouraging people to SHOUT - and let it all out! As for The Woodentops I found it amusing that when I googled all the lyric sites they had the Tears For Fears lyrics listed for The Woodentops. The two are completely unrelated. The Woodentops do want to shout but while not a cover, their version has way more of the spirit of the next entry - the classic Isley Brothers Shout that Otis Day & The Nights made so famous in Animal House at the toga party!
Silent Scream - Gov’t Mule (Deja Voodoo 2004) & Slayer (South Of Heaven 1988)
Ooooh this is a good one. Warren Hayne’s 11 minute epic from the first proper LP release of originals after the death of Allen Woody and the Deep End project - basically the message of enjoy your life and have faith - we all know it’s not easy. We’re all trapped in a silent scream… This album is a masterpiece. As for Slayer this is a brutal song about abortion but I get the sense that it’s more of Slayer’s running commentary of the general evils of humanity more than it is some official political pro-life stance. These guys are typically anti-religion and anti-well….a lot of stuff. Just my take on it.
Slow Jam - Midnight Star (No Parking On The Dance Floor 1983) & New Order (Get Ready 2001)
No Parking On The Dance Floor is really a perfect slice of 80’s R&B - a perfect album really and the peak for Midnight Star. Slow Jam is the perfect slow dance tune about…..slow dancing. New Order on the other hand continues the tradition of song titles that often seem to have zero to do with the song. It’s not slow, and the words slow jam never show up. It’s Bernard Sumner singing about how he doesn’t want the world to change - he likes it the way it is. Maybe it’s a plea for time to slow down, hence the slow jam title? Who knows….
Smokin’ - Boston (1976) & The Woodentops (Granular Tales 2014)
Smokin’ weed and jamming at a rock show - plain and simple from Boston’s debut and what a jam. Make sure you check out Anthrax’s faithful and rocking cover of this one! Another entry from the Woodentops from their comeback album in 2014 and a great funky jam with some fun da da da backing female vocals. Smokin’ in your loooove.
Snowball - Devo (Freedom Of Choice 1980) & Red Red Meat (1992)
You gotta love Devo. A snowball as a metaphor for a failed love - his baby did all the work rolling a snowball up a hill to make it bigger but it fell back down - he blew it. I’ll take a stab at this relatively straightforward (for Red Red Meat) rocker about a coke addict having to detox in a jail cell? Not sure…
So Much Love - Nada Surf (Never Not Together 2020) & Depeche Mode (Spirit 2017)
Nada Surf kicks off their 8th album with a sunny tune about how love is still everywhere if you look for it. Depeche Mode with a song about having so much love and that we need to access it according to Dave Gahan in an interview about the song, and yet the song is very dark sounding which makes it cool. DM at the top of their game here almost 40 years in…
Soma - Smashing Pumpkins (Siamese Dream 1993), The Strokes (Is This It? 2001), Steve Kilbey (Narcosis + More 1997)
In Soma, Billy Corgan compares love to opium - that it soothes you and gives you the illusion of security - inspired by a breakup. Soma was also the name apparently of the imaginary “ideal pleasure drug” from Aldous Huxley’s 1932 novel Brave New World and this may be the inspiration for both this Strokes tune from their debut and the somewhat hypnotic solo Steve Kilbey tune that beckons “Just don’t forget, I know who you are, I know what you want, maybe just a little somaaaaa”
Something About You - The Four Tops (Second Album 1965), Boston (1976), Level 42 (World Machine 1985)
Another classic from the debut Boston album that is all classics. This one just about how this girl is causing a change in the singer - just something about her has him showing his feelings which isn’t easy for him. The Four Tops with a similar sentiment - something about this girl makes him love her “just a little bit more”… a Holland-Dozier-Holland Motown classic with The Funk Brothers playing the tunes while Levi Stubbs brings the passion - what an amazing singer he was! Level 42 had a massive hit with this perfect 80’s song about a relationship that may have imperfections (“we’re only human after all”) but it endures because there is “something about you - so right”!
Stand Back - The Allman Brothers Band (Eat A Peach 1972) & Stevie Nicks (The Wild Heart 1983)
Stand Back is an underrated funky tune from the Eat A Peach album (the last Allmans studio song to be recorded with Duane Allman) about a backstabbing woman whom the singer would “stand back” from if he ever saw her again. As for Stevie Nicks this was a big hit with the borrowed-from-Prince’s-Little-Red-Corvette synth line that Prince himself came and played uncredited on the track. Stevie seems to be singing about a man who took her heart and ran… Another silly MTV video in the 80’s category of “let’s throw dance routines in it - it’ll sell”.
Stargazer - Mother Love Bone (Apple 1990), Rainbow (Rising 1976)
I LOVE Stargazer from the only Mother Love Bone album. The late Andrew Wood singing about his girlfriend Xana LaFuente - telling her she calls the shots as a concession with his addiction that he ultimately succumbed to… As for the Rainbow Stargazer with the awesome Cozy Powell drum intro, this is a sweeping epic with Ronnie James Dio singing about……….wait for it………a wizard who enslaves an army of people to build him a tower to the stars. Shocking subject matter for Dio I know…. haha.
Stop - The James Gang (Yer Album 1969 - but Howard Tate recorded it first), Jane’s Addiction (Ritual De Lo Habitual 1990), J Dilla (Donuts 2006)
The Howard Tate Stop has been recorded by many but it’s The James Gang extended jam of it from their debut LP that I love the most - even more than the Band Of Gypsies version. Literally a song begging a girl to stop - her love is so amazing the singer can’t take it. Perry Farrell serves notice on the Jane’s Addiction masterpiece Ritual De Lo Habitual with a big “HERE WE GO!” and how the world is “lit to pop and nobody is gonna stop!” Detroit’s own J Dilla left us the masterpiece Donuts as his dying gift and Stop is a pretty little interlude in this epic collage of interludes with the Dionne Warwick sample - a telling one about how “You’re gonna need me one day”…
Surprise - Filter (The Stars Come Out Tonight 2013) & Luscious Jackson (Natural Ingredients 1994)
Richard Patrick got his start with Trent Reznor and Filter is capable of crushing heaviness, but he’s also just as capable of writing gorgeous pop songs and Surprise is one of them. Sounds like he’s surprised at how effectively a girl was able to talk him off the ledge… Luscious Jackson’s Jill Cunniff boasting that she can go where no man can go… a pride and sex positive theme? Might be subject to interpretation.
Surrender - Cheap Trick (Heaven Tonight 1978), Terence Trent D’Arby (Vibrator 1995), U2 (War 1983)
I can still hear Damone singing this as he’s trying to sell Cheap Trick tickets in Fast Times lol… You can surrender without giving yourself completely away… TTD on the last TTD album before he……kinda lost it IMO. Here he drops down to his knees after looking at his life and surrenders. Bono sings about a woman presumably contemplating suicide and his message to surrender to a higher power.
Suspicion - Gene Loves Jezebel (House Of Dolls 1987) & R.E.M. (Up 1998)
Such a cool Gene Loves Jezebel tune - he’s telling his significant other that yes he loves her - she knows he does… there’s a little suspicion apparently because he went out and he’s needing to convince her that of course he loves her. The R.E.M. song seems to be about not wanting to think too deep or worry about any suspicion - just wanting to have another drink and let imagination take over - enjoying the subsequent naked encounter…? A very cool ethereal tune from the first album without Bill Berry, and the last great R.E.M. album for a decade.
Swan Lake - PIL (Second Edition 1979) & The Church (Priest = Aura 1992)
The PIL version contains a motif from the famous Swan Lake ballet and it’s about John Lydon’s dying mother who requested he write her a disco song for her funeral… feels a little like listening to primal scream therapy, and it’s great for some reason. As for The Church it’s a short track about a girl who will indeed sprout wings and fly after the neglect of her father who spent the money for her ballet shoes on hash for himself.
Tangerine - Led Zeppelin (III 1970), Prince (Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic 1999), Union (1998)
Tangerine is a beautiful folk sounding tune on the awesome III LP about a lost love. Prince sings a brief little ditty that to me sounds like the struggle of emotions he’s feeling over the crumbling relationship with Mayte Garcia at the time… Union’s John Corabi is looking for his tangerine, and wants someone to tell him what that means…. I have no clue, but it’s a good jam.
Taste It - INXS (Welcome To Wherever You Are 1992) & Satchel (EDC 1994)
Oh yeah - sweet sweet sweet! Such an underrated INXS funky classic! Perhaps a double meaning - Michael Hutchence himself said it’s about the angel and the devil and making a choice, but it’s ironic to title a song Taste It at a time right after he was randomly attacked, suffered a head injury and lost his sense of taste. As for Satchel this is likely the heaviest song Shawn Smith ever recorded from the EDC album with a simple lyric about wanting to taste, to feel, to be alive!
Temptation - New Order (1982), Prince & The Revolution (Around The World In A Day 1985), Slayer (Seasons In The Abyss 1990)
It was the completely re-recorded and updated version of New Order’s Temptation that appeared on Substance in1987 that became the more famous version although I love the original as well. Seems to be several themes about life here in the lyrics but some of it is just fun rhyming like “Up, down turn around please don’t let me hit the ground.” Prince singing about sex being his tempation in this vocal powerhouse to close out the kaleidoscopic Around The World In A Day. Written by Kerry King, Slayer’s Temptation seems like it’s the devil talking and the idea of being tempted by evil… cool tune with a Tom Araya call-and-response vocal.
These Days - Foo Fighters (Wasting Light 2011), Gregg Allman (Laid Back 1973), Joy Division (1980), The Jesus & Mary Chain (Stoned & Detrhoned 1994), R.E.M. (Life’s Rich Pageant 1986)
Dave Grohl seems to be signing about mutliple perspectives here, with one person being optimistic and another being cynical yelling “easy for you to say” at the person whose heart has never been broken and whose pride has never been stolen… Gregg Allman recorded what I would say is the definitive version of Jackson Browne’s classic These Days that he wrote when he was 16. A reflective song about regrets. Ian Curtis with a rare set of lyrics that aren’t completely dark and I’m not sure what they’re about but I love the song. JAMC offers just a few words about starting to feel immune to so much sadness and loss on the beautiful stripped down Stoned and Dethroned album. Michael Stipe’s lyrics are impossible to decipher - something about young people wanting to make change, him being angry, putting on a hat…. lol.
This Time - INXS (Listen Like Thieves 1985), Bryan Adams (Cuts Like A Knife 1983), Simple Minds (Good News From The Next World 1995), Smashing Pumpkins (MACHINA/The Machines Of God 2000), The Verve (Urban Hymns 1997)
One of my favorite songs off of my favorite INXS album about a relationship and hoping this time will be the last time that we will fight like this. Bryan Adams singing that this time there’s no way he’s going to let the girl of his dreams get away, Jim Kerr of Simple Minds basically with a “seize the day, the time is now” type of message, Billy Corgan singing about a relationship needing to know this time if it’s over, and Richard Ashcroft talking about redemption and how things in his life are going to be different this time.
Time - Pink Floyd (The Dark Side Of The Moon 1973), INXS (Full Moon, Dirty Hearts 1993), Prince (Art Official Age 2014)
If you never got a chance to see Time live at a Pink Floyd concert let me tell you that it was a spectacular experience. A song about the passage of time that truly evokes it… Not sure what the INXS song is about but it’s great - “it’s only time that makes you, it’s only time that breaks you.” Prince dueting with Andy Allo singing that it’s about time that they got time alone with each other on this fantastic mellow groove. Other “Times” in my iTunes - David Bowie, Sly & The Family Stone, Blind Melon, Anthrax - call them honorable mentions because admittedly I’m not familiar enough with each of these songs…
Too High - The Mighty Lemon Drops (Sound… 1991) & Stevie Wonder (Innervisions 1973)
When the Mighty Lemon Drops dropped their Sound… LP that said “Goodbye to your standards” in big letters on the artwork I totally bought in. A band calling their shot and actually delivering in my opinion… a clarion call in the 1st wave world like that was ballsy and Too High kicked it off with the crazy rapid fire vocal chorus “Everybody’s telling me the reason that I’m feeling like a poet out of season……” and I’m not sure after that. I guess Too High is just the idea that they’re going over the top. Stevie Wonder plays all the instruments on the opening track of his landmark album Innervisions about drug abuse.
Too Late - Journey (Evolution 1979), Black Sabbath (Dehumanizer 1992), New Order (The Peel Sessions 1982)
The first full song after the Majestic opener on my favorite Journey album, Too Late is a soaring Steve Perry & Neal Schon showcase about needing to leave town before it’s too late for some reason… The first of two Sabbath Dio-lineup reunions after the initial run from ‘79-’82 Dehumanizer is a great album with the slow burn Too Late about making a deal with the devil and it being too late to get out of it. Shocking to find that type of subject matter in a Dio song I know… As for New Order, Too Late is a moody and cool tune during the early transitional phase of the band that only was recorded for a Peel Session. A couple of abstract lyrics and a great Peter Hook bassline.
Turn The Page - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (Live Bullet 1976), Terence Trent D’Arby (Symphony Or Damn 1993)
One of my favorite Seger songs of which the live version is the definitive one about being on the road. TTD at his self indulgent best - “Turning your hope on a rope’s magic pope kaleidoscope into a rabbit’s foot parade” - if you want to try to decipher the lyrics be my guest…
Turn To Stone - Joe Walsh (So What 1974), Dio (Magica 2000), ELO (Out Of The Blue 1977)
Joe Walsh said in a Rolling Stone interview “Turn to Stone was written about the Nixon administration and the Vietnam War and the protesting that was going on and all of that. It's a song about frustration. Also, I attended Kent State. I was at the shootings. That fueled it, too. In those days it felt like the government's priority was not the population. They had an agenda that was about something other than doing what was necessarily good for the country.” On Dio’s conceptual gem Magica the forces of evil steal the book of Magica and turn the people to stone - such a great jam. Jeff Lynne is missing his love and he turns to stone when she’s not coming home on this ELO classic.
Undertow - R.E.M. (New Adventures In Hi-Fi 1996) & Tool (1993)
Michael Stipe sounds like he’s just saying he’s just fine - he doesn’t need religion on my favorite post-sellout era R.E.M. album. No mention of the word undertow but maybe it refers to religion trying to suck him in. As for Tool this is about getting sucked in by the undertow of something as well - perhaps drug use?
Untitled - The Cure (Disintegration 1989), Interpol (Turn On The Bright Lights 2002), Pearl Jam (Yield 1998), Smashing Pumpkins (Greatest Hits 2000)
Interesting to find this many songs entitled untitled. I love The Cure’s entry as the end of the masterful Disintegration album which sounds like a song about regrets. On the other end of the spectrum Interpol used Untitled as the opener of the Turn On The Bright Lights LP to tell their love they will surprise them by being there. I swear it could almost be a companion piece or at least a counterpoint to the Cure tune. While Robert Smith lists the ways he’s failed and how it’s eating him, Interpol’s Paul Banks doesn’t go into it - simply saying “I’ll surprise you - I’ll be there.” Pearl Jam’s Untitled is fitting since it’s just a weird interlude more than a song really on the amazing Yield album. I seem to remember Billy Corgan releasing Untitled on the radio in Chicago as a final song to break up the band with to show they could still make an old school Pumpkins tune to sign off with - feeling love all around.
Valentine - The Psychedelic Furs (World Outside 1991) & The Replacements (Pleased To Meet Me 1987)
Valentine would be the opener on the last Furs album for 3 decades… I thought it was a great album and a great song about trying to make sense of a girl - trying to unwind her valentines. Meanwhile I love this Replacements song - just classic Paul Westerberg lyrics “If you were a pill I’d take a handful at my will and I’d knock you back with something sweet and strong” - love it. A bittersweet valentine indeed.
Voodoo - Godsmack (1998) & Black Sabbath (Mob Rules 1981)
Such a cool tune from the band named after an Alice In Chains song inspired by the classic voodoo film The Serpent and The Rainbow. Dio singing about being careful of a stranger and voodoo on the Mob Rules album.
The Wait - Metallica (Garage Days Re-Revisitied 1987) & The Pretenders (1980)
I never listened to Killing Joke so I’m just including the Metallica version of The Wait off of the awesome covers EP Garage Days Re-Revisited. Really have no idea what it’s about but it’s great. Can’t understand Chrissie Hynde at all on this one, and when you see what the lyrics actually are it doesn’t help lol… but it’s such an amazing song.
Wake Up - Run D.M.C. (1984), Mad Season (Above 1995), Love Spit Love (1994), Rage Against The Machine (1992)
I remember once on my clock radio in high school this song coming on as my alarm probably on WJLB by the Electrifying Mojo with a perfectly timed “Wake Up!” haha… a great early Run D.M.C. single which is really what their first album was - a collection of their singles they had released in rapid fire as I remember it. Wake Up is a call to action for the world - Run & D.M.C. trading lyrics about a dream of the world working as a team - but how that’s obviously just a dream and the world needs to wake up. Meanwhile the Big Four grunge bands sure knew how to make supergroup albums. Mad Season and Temple Of The Dog are the two best ever done for my money, and Wake Up is the haunting opener on the Mad Season album with Layne Staley singing about his heroin addiction and acknowledging it’s killing him which it tragically did. In researching this piece I just came across one of the most incredible things I’ve seen, and if you’re the huge AIC fan that I am you’ll be blown away by it if you haven’t seen it. It’s Layne’s mom on stage barefoot 3 years ago harmonizing on mic with her son singing Wake Up at tribute to the late singer. Wow. This is certainly one of the best entries on this list because there’s still two more - Love Spit Love’s Wake Up is a beauty - just a simple song about a girl named Jeannie trying to get by, waking up and starting another day - there’s something bittersweet about it but I’m not sure the context. Meanwhile Rage Against The Machine went scorched earth against the government and racism on Wake Up - the story on this song is incredible - worth reading the Wikipedia entry.
The Walk - The Cure (1983) & The Time (What Time Is It? 1982)
The Cure was reduced to a duo for a minute after Simon Gallup left when they recorded The Walk and released it as a single. A pulsating dance tune about a dream like sequence going for a walk with a girl after midnight… As for The Time, this was such a classic for the bar mitzvah era if you’re my age. Everybody walk your body! I still can recite the entire convo between Morris and Vanity at the end…
Walk Away - The James Gang (Thirds 1971) & Black Sabbath (Heaven & Hell 1980)
“Seems to me you just turn your pretty head and walk away….” followed by those heavy-as-hell chords! A Joe Walsh classic with The James Gang. As for Sabbath there’s just something about Dio proclaiming “Lord she’s handsome” in a way only Dio could lol… Who calls a girl handsome?
Walk - Pantera (Vulgar Display Of Power 1992) & Foo Fighters (Wasted Light 2011)
Pantera with their anthem about respect from the bone-crushing Vulgur Display of Power - take your attitude and WALK on home boy. I love how they don’t add any rhythm guitar on the solo - just the bass and Dimebag shredding… Foo Fighters recorded this uplifting rocker about overcoming obstacles and starting again. Dave Grohl is great at these…
Walk On - Deep Purple (Bananas 2003) & U2 (All That You Can’t Leave Behind 2000)
Deep Purple’s Bananas album is fantastic although frustratingly it’s not on iTunes… Walk On is a cool groove with Ian Gillan telling a girl “if you don’t like what you see and think you can do better than me you better walk on…” It’s the first album without the late great Jon Lord and they let Don Airey solo a bit on the keys - he’s damn good. From the first good U2 album in a decade at the time, Walk On was originally about Burmese democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi until she proved to be a phony to them and they updated the dedication to the Rohingya people she betrayed when she went quiet.
War - Bob Marley & The Wailers (Rastaman Vibration 1976), Edwin Starr (War & Peace 1970)
War is such a cool Bob Marley song because the lyrics are pulled almost exactly from a speech given by Haile Selassie at the United Nations in 1963. There will be war until the idea of one race being superior over another is permanently discredited and abandoned. Right on. Edwin Starr’s song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, originally released by Motown for The Temptations and famously covered by Bruce Springsteen is a great call to action about how war is good for NOTHIN’. It was a #1 hit for Starr.
Welcome To Paradise - Green Day (Dookie 1994) & Front 242 (Front By Front 1988)
I’m not a big Green Day fan but my first band broke through to me a little and I dig some of their songs, Welcome To Paradise being one with Billie Joe Armstrong singing about the crappy neighborhood and eye-opening experience of moving from his home in the suburbs to the city. Front 242 with this cynical industrial slab that simply has samples of a bunch of evangelists repeating over the music about how the poor can be saved by religion.
When You Were Mine - The Church (The Blurred Crusade 1982) & Prince (Dirty Mind 1980)
The Blurred Crusade is probably still my favorite Church album by a hair, and When You Were Mine is an atypical driving Church tune that rocks. Incredible guitar work and an amazing building extended intro. Never gets old. Another typically poetic set of lyrics from Steve Kilbey that evokes amazing images but defies a literal translation. As for Prince this is just such a gem from the masterpiece Dirty Mind LP about a love triangle that has been covered numerous times.
Who You Are - Pearl Jam (No Code 1996) & KRS-One (Between Da Protests 2020)
Who You Are was the lead single from the weird-but-still-great detour of No Code. I can only describe it as a subverted nursery rhyme about examining our purpose and who we are….? KRS-One dropped Between Da Protests while there was……a lot going on in 2020. It was good to hear his voice and his take. A heavy rock/rap song that you don’t hear often from the teacher musically. He’s hitting hard on this one - giving context to protest as a legitimate means to affect change even while many refuse to acknowledge it. “Pull out the gas mask and the protest apparel, for justice Imma go into battle!”
Wildflowers - Tom Petty (1994) & Rose City Band (Summerlong 2020)
Such a GORGEOUS song by Tom Petty. A totally ad-libbed song about love, freedom, heart and home. Rose City Band with a psychedelic country twang about inner peace with Jerry Garcia-esque soloing.
Wishing Well - Free (Heartbreaker 1973), Black Sabbath (Heaven & Hell 1980), INXS (Welcome To Whenever You Are 1992), TTD (Introducing The Hardline According To TTD 1987), Morphine (Like Swimming 1997), Porno For Pyros (Good God’s Urge 1996)
Lots of Wishing Wells…. Free is hitting at someone who is only happy when their feet are in the wishing well and Dio singing about how he can help be someone’s wishing well - help them see what’s important in life (not money) and the INXS song seems to be the exact same idea. TTD burst on the scene with this one which is still his biggest hit - catchy as can be, and that voice! But I still have no idea what he’s talking about. Morphine’s Like Swimming is not my favorite album of theirs but Wishing Well is fantastic - “got a callback from the wishing well” and the late Mark Sandman saying he’s exactly where he wants to be in that moment. The better of the two Porno For Pyros album has this different take - “wishing well” as in wishing someone well - sending healing vibes to those who need it.
Woman - Free (1969), The James Gang (Rides Again 1970), John Lennon (Double Fantasy 1980), Simple Minds (Real Life 1991), Wolfmother (2006)
I’ll give you everything but my car and guitar? What a marriage proposal from Paul Rodgers on this Free jam! Joe Walsh delivers basically a crude and amusing come-on on this rocker from the second James Gang album. John Lennon apparently called Woman the “grown up version of Girl” lol - it’s a tribute to Yoko. Not quite sure what Jim Kerr is singing about on Woman - something about a woman drifting away from him - she may have passed away - not sure, but a great and unique song with amazing dynamics from kind of the last truly great blockbuster Simple Minds album - not that they haven’t made many good ones since… Wolfmother’s Andrew Stockdale says his girlfriend is a woman - you know what I mean. I mean, I guess…. lol. But it’s a nice stomp from the fantastic debut album.
The Word - The Beatles (Rubber Soul 1965) & Prince (3121 2006)
The Beatles were just looking to spread love here - “The Word” is love and if you spread it you’ll be free! Prince exalting “Get up c’mon let’s do something - don’t you want to go get saved?” He’s talking about the word of the spirit here - and it’s funky.
Wow - Beck (Colors 2017), Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL (Plectrumelectrum 2014), Snow Patrol (Final Straw 2003)
Some great wows to finish on. Beck’s wow is like……WOW! Just a celebration of life, of now, of WOW! Prince with a great kickoff to his rock-dominated album with his all-girl band 3RDEYEGIRL - you can call it the unexpected or you can call it WOW! Snow Patrol Gary Lightbody is just asking for someone to trust him - things will change and worries will disappear if they just follow him. Not sure why it’s called wow…
So there it is!!! Man that took me way longer than in reality than when I thought of the idea for this post. I hope you enjoyed it - hope you discover a few things and feel free to add your own shared song titles in the comments!
M10 Social is owned by Doug Cohen in West Bloomfield, MI and provides social media training and digital marketing services from the Frameable Faces Photography studio Doug owns with his wife Ally. He can be reached there at tel:248-790-7317, by mobile at tel:248-346-4121 or via email at mailto:doug@frameablefaces.com.
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