Songs of the Week, pt. 3
Welcome to this week’s installment of “Songs of the Week,” where the rules are made up and the points don’t matter (oh wait, that’s Whose Line). No long intro this time – just some music!
ps: All tunes have live versions embedded. For fun.
5. Two Drink Minimum, by Chris Cornell
Listen, I love Chris Cornell, but even I can’t really apologize for Scream, the album he did with Timbaland. It potentially could have been a cool, genre-breaking experiment, but it just sounded like Cornell screaming over uninspired Timbaland beats. However, it did contain one hidden gem. That would be this tune, which as added as a bonus track to Scream. A slow-burning blues tune with some awesome guitar licks and lifted-from-a-Western-movie harmonica, this is the kind of tune Cornell’s voice is made to sing.
4. Love Like A Sunset, by Phoenix
While Phoenix might be known for catchy, pseudo-electronic indie pop, this tune is basically 80% instrumental weirdness. Split into pt. 1 (instrumental) and pt. 2 (1:30 min pop song), when you listen together it all fits perfectly. Though as cool as the instrumental part is, pt. 2 might be my favorite thing Phoenix has done. Soaring, pounding instrumentals with a cool hook. Really too bad it’s only a minute or so.
3. Back From Cali, Slash w/ Myles Kennedy
Just some rawk and roll. I love Myles’ voice, and as much as I love his band Alter Bridge (a not-even-remotely-guilty pleasure), this tune of his with Slash is straight from Appetite for Destruction. Just straight, no-nonsense rock. Filthy riff, vocals with loads of swagger, and a vintage Slash solo.
2. Promises, by the Morning Benders
A Bay Area band! Well, now based in NYC, the Morning Benders are one of my favorite “local” bands. Basically every part of this song gets stuck in my head. The verse, the chorus, the instrumental hook, and more. It’s a great tune and part of a great album.
1. Forget Her, by Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley might be my favorite artist of all time. This is a long-lost Buckley tune, one that was originally going to be the 1st single off Jeff’s seminal album Grace. But near the end of the recording process he decided he didn’t want it on the record. The story is that he saw his record label salivating over it, knew they were going to turn it into a hit, and decided he didn’t want that (demanding artists, amirite?). It was finally released long after Buckley’s death, and while I understand him wanting people to see that entire (wonderful) album as a whole instead of as the home of one single, I still LOVE LOVE LOVE this song. If you haven’t heard it yet, I promised you will love it too.
-Grahame
