Turned away from it all like a blind man, Sat on a fence, but it don't work
This song is so damn good I am not sure what to even say about it. While outwardly about the homeless and those on the edge of society, the real take away is the breakdown towards the end where Bowie pleads with us to change the way we care about ourselves and others.
Another great running song. Another great song period. One of my great disappointments in life is I haven't seen The Foo Fighters live. I got tickets for my birthday but then the tragic passing of Taylor Hawkins cancelled the tour. So why "Monkey Wrench", why is this a song that I listened too every run? The breakdown at the end.
If there weren't so many words I would want this tattooed on the back of my right calf.
Its getting to the point where I'm no fun anymore
Fun fact: I am tone deaf. But even with that, I sure as hell know these guys can sing and harmonize. It is weird but CSN, a band which was frequently heard in my house growing up, doesn't take me back to my childhood but to my time in college, specifically my fraternity house. Why? When I rushed as a sophomore, there were two older brothers who once we all started really feeling it Friday or Saturday night, would turn off the party music and just start blasting the 70s. And no matter how the evening was going it would always work its way to "Wooden Ships", "Southern Cross" and the most god awful sing along of "Suite Judy Blue Eyes". It would clear most the party girls out, but it wasn't about them, it was about harmonizing with your brothers.
I'm gonna be the best they've ever seen
Look at that, halfway through. How about we end side one of the tape the way we end Act 1 of a musical, the heroes lament. The song is written from the perspective of several young men as they fight through the hardships life has presented them and try to rise above and be the best man that they can.
"Best I Can" opens up Queensryche's 1990 album "Empire". "Empire" gave the band mainstream success after the amazing concept album "Operation Mindcrime" established them as a critical darling. "Empire" is another perfect album, no skips. And yes that includes the extended addition, I love me some "Last Time in Paris". Perhaps the greatest show I ever attended was a Queensryche, Dream Theater double show. That was Prog Rock heaven.
This place is so quiet, sensing that storm.
Peter Gabriel's "So" is a perfect album. No notes. Obviously if he isn't your cup of tea then you would disagree, but you would then also have shitty taste. I am about 99% sure my wife's and mine first dance was too "In Your Eyes" from this album. But to me "Red Rain" is the epitome of Peter Gabriel, especially this phase of his career.
I won't be fooled by a cheap cinematic trick.
Missing Persons just really brings the 80's vibes, and those vibes don't get any vibe-ier than "Walking in L.A." There was always going to be a Missing Persons song on the tape, but it was hard to choose between this and "Words". I almost wanted to break my own rules and create a Glee like mashup to get them both.
Lost track of how far I've gone, how far I've gone, how high I've climbed
Again another artist with an amazing catalog and I choose something not quite mainstream. Let's get this out of the way, of course "Born to Run" is my favorite Springsteen song, so, again, why this? Well get ready for the Gen X 911 trauma dump. This album was written in the aftermath of 911, it was how Bruce coped with what happened to New York and all of America that day. The opening verse is written from the perspective of a NYFD firefighter climbing up to rescue people from the upper floors. Springsteen could not let go of one of the central images of that day, those who were "ascending into ... what?"
I have only seen Bruce in concert once and it was in 2003 at PNC Park. It was the best live show I have ever seen, and I saw Prince, but it was Prince when he was fighting with the label and not doing hits. My wife and I had floor seats and it was a solid 4 hours of rock and roll and energy. Bruce truly is The Boss
Music is like magic, there's a certain feelin' you get when you real and you spit, and people are feelin' your shit
Hey it's that other guy from Fortnite! Besides the guy who went kind of crazy Eminem will be the most divisive artist on this list. There is a popular TikTok account that is "Listening to Eminem songs until he would get cancelled today" and it usually doesn't make it more than 30 seconds. That said Marshall has a mind and a flow unlike any other. If I am depressed I listen to side 3 of "The Wall", if I need to switch my mind over to FU mode I listen to the "The Marshall Mathers LP".
So why this song? Two reason; One, there is not a better song to listen to in your headphones while running then "Till I Collapse" I played this on loop for the entire last 4 miles of my second marathon. The beat goes perfect to left, right, left at a nice steady pace, and literally collapsing was always on the table. Two, Eminem really opens up about music and how he views himself in the industry with the following bars:
I got a list, here's the order of my list that it's in
It goes: Reggie, JAY-Z, 2Pac and Biggie
André from OutKast, Jada, Kurupt, Nas, and then me
Keep in mind this was 2002 so if some names are missing, they weren't big yet. I always enjoy learning who my favorite artists favorite artists are.
But a kiss ain't enough Here is another classic from Double X. Man that station was the place to be from 1986 until 1988. Hard to bel...