Selected commentaries on random songs from my iTunes library

Basically, I'm just going to listen to some songs on my iTunes library, and do a quick summary of my thoughts on the song. Also, every song title is a YouTube link.

So, let's kick this off on a positive note - It's Only Rock And Roll (But I Like It), by The Rolling Stones - One of my favorite Stones songs, simply because it sums up my feelings on music in its chorus - "Oh, I know it's only rock and roll, but I like it!"

We Will All Go Together When We Go, by Tom Lehrer - Too few people have heard of Tom Lehrer, and this song is what makes me think that he should be more popular. This song, like all of Lehrer's , is nothing but Tom Lehrer singing while he plays piano, and yet he has made some of the funniest songs of all time. This one, in particular, is a classic indictment of nuclear war.

Fight For Your Right (To Party), by The Beastie Boys - This song kicks off with an awesome guitar intro, and keeps going with the awesome. Of course, I'm pretty sure everyone has heard this song, so I'm not going to say much. But If you haven't heard it, check it out.

Mr. Roboto, by Styx - Ahahaha. AHAHAHAHAHAHA. Forgive me for laughing so, but this song is just so hilariously awesome. Everyone has heard the intro. But it's just so awesome. This song is the epitome of 80s music that is objectively horrible, but so awesome it doesn't matter how horrible it is.

I'm Shipping Up To Boston, by Dropkick Murphys - Anyone who's seen the Departed knows this song, it's featured numerous times, and I really only have two words for this song - FUCKING AWESOME!

Iron Man, by Black Sabbath - I AM IRON MAN! ... Gah, sorry, can't help it. Everyone knows this song, or at least knows the intro. But no one ever listens to this song long enough to appreciate my favorite part of it, this really cool bit near the end where the song kinda speeds up and an awesome guitar outro kicks in.

Sunday Bloody Sunday, by U2 - This is one of U2's best songs, and when it's a band as awesome as U2, that's saying a lot. From the powerful drum intro (which I could listen to on loop for hours) to Bono's amazing lyrics and awesome vocal performance, this song is a classic among classics. 

Born To Run, by Bruce Springsteen - Bruce Springsteen is a rock god, and this is the song that thrust him into the pantheon. It opens with an awesome drum intro, and goes into a driving beat that never fails to invigorate me. I've seen Bruce live, and I tell you, there is no feeling quite like 30,000 people all singing Born To Run in time with him.

Stairway To Heaven, by Led Zeppelin - This is the best song of all time, and I will injure anyone who disagrees.

And with that, I will end this. Remember, every song title is a YouTube link to a performance of the song.

There IS a god!

I've just read that BattleBots is being revived. Now, for those of you who never saw BattleBots, here's a taste -

Yes, that's right. Robots beating the everliving fuck out of each other! I missed this show so much, and I can't wait for it to come back!

I am 100% straight, but goddammit, I love Keith Olbermann.

Tonight, Keith Olbermann had a special comment about the Hillary Clinton campaign. Personally, I really don't like Hillary Clinton, but what moves me the most about this comment is that Keith is not motivated by a dislike for the Senator. He is motivated by reaching out to her, and trying to help. His most recent special comment is an impassioned plea to the Senator to do a good thing, and utterly disavow Geraldine Ferraro and her blatant, unabashed racism. This is a link to a transcript of the comment. The transcript is good for the content of the comment, but god, you have to hear him, hear how much he actually cares. I respect Keith Olbermann more than almost any other newsman out there, with the possible exception of Tom Brokaw. And that says a lot. To appropriate a term from Mr. Olbermann, who, in turn, obtained it from Edward R. Murrow...

Good night, and good luck.

Hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy is an interesting thing. Often, those who espouse freedom of speech are those who will most vehemently suppress free speech when that speech disagrees with them. As proof, I provide the picture at left. That composite screenshot is from my sometimes-friend, sometimes-nemesis Wilbert's blog. He is holding a personal grudge against me due to an argument that occurred on my friend Ryan's blog. And yet, he derides censorship and promotes free speech; though, simultaneously, he refuses to allow any posts I make on his blog. "The best form of censorship is none," indeed. That sentence isn't even grammatically correct.

The sad state of popular music.

I was just looking around at some historical Billboard charts, of number 1 songs. 

In 2007, the artist who appeared the most on the Billboard Hot 100 chart of #1 singles was Rihanna, with 8 weeks at #1 with Umbrella. 8 fucking weeks for a terrible song. 

In 1997, it was Elton John. Eh. I don't like Elton John too much, but at least he' s tolerable.

In 1987, it was Bon Jovi, with Livin' On A Prayer, which is a damned awesome song. Other highlights are - Los Lobos with 3 weeks for La Bamba, U2, with 3 weeks for With Or Without You, and 2 weeks for I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. In 1987, we had Bon Jovi, Los Lobos, and U2. 3 awesome bands. And yet, added up, those 3 awesome bands had 12 weeks between them. And Rihanna gets 8 weeks with one shitty song.

In 1977, during the prime of music, Manfred Mann had a hit with Blinded By The Light, which was originally a Bruce Springsteen song. Not much to say here, the '77 chart is pretty shitty. But it's still better than the '07 chart. At least the '77 chart has redeeming qualities. The problem is, in '77, the chart only tracked singles, and not albums or album tracks. Some of the fine albums released in '77 include Animals (Pink Floyd), I'm A Man (Bo Diddley), Let There Be Rock (AC/DC), News Of The World (Queen) and Slowhand (Eric Clapton). 1977 also brought us Hotel California, a great album, with an amazing title track. Song-wise, Tom Petty released American Girl, Heart released Barracuda, AC/DC released Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Stevie Wonder released Isn't She Lovely, Boston released More Than A Feeling, and Aerosmith released Walk This Way. All in all, '77 was a damned good year. Just not chart-wise.

And finally, 1967. The '60s were, with no question, the greatest decade for music. And the charts prove it. The Rolling Stones are on there with Ruby Tuesday. The Beatles have Penny Lane and Hello, Goodbye. The Turtles, a band no one has heard of, had a hit with Happy Together, a song everyone has heard. The same goes for The Monkees, with I'm A Believer. Aretha Franklin was on the charts in '67, with Respect. 

1967 has The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Aretha Franklin. What does 2007 have? Rihanna, Soulja Boy, and Plain White T's. 

I weep for the future of music.

(Updated on March 9th with more info on 1977)

Watch this video.

Okay, WATCH THE DAMNED VIDEO BEFORE READING MY THOUGHTS ON IT!

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Okay. This video is the essence of why I love Keith Olbermann. And actually, I don't have much to say beyond that. He really says it all. And since I know people rarely watch videos, I'll repeat it. WATCH THE GODDAMNED VIDEO! I would like to hear other opinions on it, and I sincerely want you all to comment.