Culture Greyhound

The title says it all; Paste did a similar list a few weeks ago, but I wanted to give my .02, so enjoy these classics.

Honorable Mention: Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication

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Today I continue my ten-part series showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of last year.

70. Miley Cyrus – Party In the USA

“Seriously?”  Yes, dude, seriously.  You know why people hate this song?  Because Miley sings it.  That’s the only reason.  Any other reason and you have no soul.  Why?  Have you listened to this song?  It’s fucking awesome.  Seriously.  And Hannah Montana had nothing to do with its awesomeness.  That crunchy bass line?  That banging beat?  And the melody is pop gold.  I mean, it’s not like Miley had anything to do with the songwriting and production – she didn’t.  She just sings.  And the Auto-Tune makes her sound like sweet, sweet candy.  Seriously. So stop pretending like you don’t love this song just because 14-year-old girls do, too.  They’re not always wrong.  Sponge Bob is still awesome.

For those of you still willing to lie and say you hate this song, and you don’t crank it when no one’s looking, nodding your head like yeah, moving your hips like yeah, let me ask you this: do you even like music? Seriously.

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It’s dreadful and wet here in the LBK – the city famous for NO draining system.  The streets are flooded and there are holes in my shoes.  Time to turn the heater back on.  But on the plus side: Rainy Day Playlist!  These tracks will get you wet.  Promise.

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Some of the things I love come under intense fire and scrutiny, and I am forced to intensely defend them.  Conversely, there are things that I am done defending – they have crossed a certain line of mediocrity that I cannot follow.  And then there are a few things that certainly have made mistakes, but I have not given up on yet.

So, because, as you know, I love lists, after the jump you will be treated to five things I constantly defend, five things I’m done defending, and five things that I feel still deserve defense, even if they’ve slipped up recently.

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Up until 1965, this quartet was merely known as the Four Seasons, but you can’t keep a trilling falsetto like that of Frankie Valli out of the shadows for too long.  Once he launched a solo career, the other guys were happy to follow the money trail.

I think, for most of my generation, we associate this group with the scene in Mrs. Doubtfire where Robin Williams walks in step, in old-lady attire, to “Walk Like a Man.”  Of course, our college rock and roll history classes briefly cover Valli and the gang when discussing the post-Elvis/pre-Beatles period of the early ’60s, featuring Spector’s girl groups, the surf-rock fad (featuring the Beach Boys peak), and, my favorite, the doo-wop style.  The Four Seasons were probably the most popular of the last category, churning out almost 40 singles and over 20 albums on the Billboard pop charts.

The group’s fame began to wane around the time Rubber Soul and Blonde on Blonde were being released, but the Four Seasons continued to deliver hits sporadically throughout the 70’s.  They are a treasure of oldies and rock’n’roll music, and their songs were usually pretty airtight and awesome.  While other vocal groups of their time dabbled in cheekiness, the charisma of the group – and strong leadership of the talented Valli – made them stand out as the best.

A sampling of classics can be found after the jump.

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