Tag Archives: Dave Grohl

Singles Night at the Virtual Hot Tub #36

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It’s that time again – Singles Night! Yes, the night at my Virtual Hot Tub where we play a variety of 7 inch singles and have a few beverages. A record listening party, if you will, but only involving 45 rpm discs.

There’s a huge stack of unplayed singles lurking round the Hot Tub. Some old, some new, some that have been given to me as a gift. They’ve collected together over time from all manner of different sources, and they need to be played.

So play them I will, A side first then flip ’em over for the B side – playing through the stack for the sheer fun of it.

Pour yourself a drink and join me, who knows what we’ll hear?

Here’s the playlist:

  1. Chafed GBI – “The Regulator”
  2. Jim Jones & The Righteous Mind – “Get Down Get With It” / “Ace of Spades”
  3. Elvis Presley – “Are You Lonesome Tonight? (The Laughing Version)” / “From a Jack to a King”
  4. Bad Company – “Feel Like Makin’ Love” / “Wild Fire Woman”
  5. The Alarm – “Absolute Reality” / “Blaze of Glory”
  6. INXS – “Need You Tonight” / “Move On”
  7. Vapors – “News at Ten” / “Wasted” / “Talk Talk”
  8. Lita Ford – “Kiss Me Deadly” / “Broken Dreams”
  9. Depeche Mode – “Just Can’t Get Enough” / “Any Second Now”
  10. Shakin’ Stevens – “Green Door” / “Don’t Turn Your Back”
  11. Simple Minds – “Ghostdancing” / “Jungleland”
  12. Duran Duran – “The Reflex” / “Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me”
  13. The Motors – “Forget About You” / “Picturama”
  14. Chic – “I Want Your Love” / “(Funny) Bone”
  15. Slade – “Know Who You Are” / “Dapple Rose”
  16. Thin Lizzy – “Killer On The Loose” / “Don’t Play Around”
  17. Roxy Music – “Over You” / “Manifesto”
  18. Madonna – “Material Girl” / “Pretender”
  19. AC/DC – “Heatseeker” / “Go Zone”
  20. David Bowie – “Fashion” / “Scream Like a Baby”
  21. The Alarm – “Rescue Me” / “The Hurricane Sessions (My Land Your Land)”
  22. ABBA – “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme” / “The King Has Lost His Crown”

Twenty two songs this week, and some real beauties in that session. From great classic rock (Bad Company, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC) to 80’s pop (Depeche Mode, Madonna, ABBA) to punk/new wave (Vapors, The Motors) there’s a wide spread of awesome songs.

Some notes:

Chafed GBI is a “supergroup” comprising Scott Ian and Charlie Benante of Anthrax, with Dave Grohl on drums. It’s a single sided, colour vinyl 7 inch of the classic Bad Brains song released for Record Store Day.

The Jim Jones & The Righteous Mind single is on coloured vinyl. While it does contain a cover of the Slade song on the A-side (though that was a cover of an earlier tune), the B-side is not the song made famous by Motorhead! Still great though.

An amazing night of vinyl spinning. More soon!

Gym Playlist #1

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Have you been hitting the gym since the start of the year?  Punishing yourself with cardio and weights as you fight to shed those extra pounds that attached themselves limpet-like over the festive season?

I’ve been slaughtering the gym since the start of the year, but then I always do.  Not that it seems to do any good.

Whilst I’m there, pummelling away at the flab in a vain attempt to get in shape, I need some tunes to motivate me.  The music in the gym is usually dancey disco stuff, which is fine if you’re dancing, but when I’m working out I need something a bit more aggressive.

Albums by various bands get a regular spin, but I also made this iPod playlist to help me focus like a Viking ransacking a monastery.  Sometimes I’m so amped I feel like I could run through the wall, rather than just plodding on the treadmill.

You could do worse than to listen to this cacophony yourself.

  1. Rocket From The Crypt – “Pushed”
  2. Audioslave – “Cochise”
  3. Big Chief – “Lion’s Mouth”
  4. Metallica – “Die Die My Darling”
  5. Foo Fighters – “The Pretender”
  6. Rage Against the Machine – “Guerrilla Radio”
  7. Anthrax – “Only”
  8. Corrosion of Conformity – “Heaven’s Not Overflowing”
  9. Pantera – “Fucking Hostile”
  10. The Cult – “Rise”
  11. Probot – “Shake Your Blood”
  12. Suicidal Tendencies – “War Inside My Head”
  13. Beastie Boys – “Sabotage”

There you go: 47 minutes of energetic, in your face music to psyche you up and get you in the mood to destroy. GO!!!

Essential Tracks – Nirvana

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“Essential Tracks” is a new Music section at the Virtual Hot Tub.  In this ongoing series, I’ll be picking my favourite tracks from a particular artist.  Here’s the very first instalment.

Nirvana – the Top 20 Songs

Sadly, 5th April marks twenty years since the death of Kurt Cobain.  It seems somewhat unreal that so much time has passed.  I remember buying Nevermind as soon as it came out in 1991.  I remember hearing about Kurt’s death when it was announced.  Such a great artist and unique, complex music.  This is a list of my favourite Nirvana songs.

20. Come As You Are

A great song, over familiarity has probably knocked this track down the table.  Find it on Nevermind.  As a point of interest, my old band used to cover this.  We performed it live on the second anniversary of Kurt’s death; it received a warm response.  At that point (in the pre-internet) we hadn’t realised the significance of the date, it had been a coincidence.

19. You Know You’re Right

From the Nirvana compilation.  Awesome song – classic Nirvana soft/heavy dynamic.

18. Been A Son

My version of this song is from the Incesticide album.  Fast paced, a catchy melody – and lyrics worth the time to listen to.

17. Lithium

One of the classic Nevermind songs, this has a fantastic sing a long chorus that shows Kurt’s ear for a fine tune.

16. Serve the Servants

Opening track from the superb In Utero album, I’ve surprised myself that I haven’t placed this song higher in my own list.  Love it.  “Teenage angst has paid off well, now I’m bored and old”.

15. Negative Creep

Absolutely brutal riff.  One of the heaviest, punkiest songs in the Nirvana catalogue.  Perhaps something of an early Melvins influence here, probably some Black Flag too.  You can find it on Bleach.

14. Molly’s Lips

Out-standing cover version of a Vaselines song, on the Incesticide album.  Unbelievably  poppy despite buzzing guitars, it’s a blueprint that Cobain adopted and mastered.

13. Territorial Pissings

Another hardcore punk attack, though Territorial Pissings still retains a melody despite the speed and fury.  Awesome instrumental break and reliably quotable lyrics.  Nevermind again.

12. On A Plain

It’s really hard to select the best songs from an album as indispensible as Nevermind, but I remember this track always stood out for me.

11. All Apologies

This gem doesn’t get in the Top Ten?  I know, ridiculous, right?  It’s on In Utero and there’s a pretty cool version on the MTV Unplugged set, too.

10. Sliver

We start the Top Ten with a great pop tune that, incredibly, wasn’t on the major releases.  You can pick it up though, on Incesticide – and I suggest you do.

9. Something In The Way

This song and Polly offer some quieter, haunting moments on Nevermind.  When we get to the chorus and the cello comes in, it’s heart break time.

8. Pennyroyal Tea

Like quite a few of Kurt’s songs, Pennyroyal Tea sneaks in quietly before launching into different territory.  Brilliant song from In Utero that demonstrates perfectly the melding of melody and mayhem in the best Nirvana tunes.

7. About A Girl

An early hint of Kurt Cobain’s ability to create a beautiful pop song; it’s no surprise that he was a huge Beatles fan.  Find it on Bleach, there’s also a killer version on MTV Unplugged.

6. Francis Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle

“I miss the comfort in being sad”, quiet/loud/quiet/loud; great riff.  Wonderful track from In Utero, complete with scathing lyrics.

5. Scentless Apprentice

Dun-dun-der-der! D-der der d-der d-der!  Do I really need to say more?  So heavy.  It must have scared the Indie scenesters to death.  Run for the hills, Indie scenesters!

4. Where Did You Sleep Last Night

A cover of the Leadbelly song, found on the MTV Unplugged album.  Kurt sounds truly agonised on this exceptional song, though it retains it’s beauty.

3. Dive

Apparently written as a Soundgarden style song, in an effort to appeal to their label Sub Pop and get signed.  It should come as no surprise, however, that Kurt – a huge Black Sabbath fan – would be able to create a riff as heavy as this.  Heavy like a brontosaurus breaking rocks.  With a big fucking hammer.

2. Smells Like Teen Spirit

This is the big one.  Iconic, revolutionary – but Nirvana’s best song?  I don’t think so.  Not to deny it’s power, maybe I’ve just heard it a little too much.  Still great though.  It’s on Nevermind, but you knew that, right?

1. Heart Shaped Box

Allegedly, Courtney Love heard Kurt writing this song, loved the immortal riff, and asked if he would donate it to her.  Kurt declined, and apparently locked himself in a cupboard to finish it off.  The quintessential quiet/loud dynamic.  Utterly unforgettable.  This, for me, is Nirvana’s best song.

So there you go – my Top 20 Essential Nirvana songs.  And I didn’t mention the word “grunge” once.

Compiling this list was much more difficult than I anticipated.  I was forced to leave out some absolutely classic songs; like In Bloom, Rape Me, Aneurysm and Nirvana’s amazing cover of David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold The World.  There are others, too.

I reserve the right, in all Essential Tracks posts, to revise my thoughts at a later date.  Already, I’m thinking that Scentless Apprentice should’ve been number 1.

Dun-dun-der-der! D-der der d-der d-der!