Mixed CD meanderings...

So when I last left off I mentioned that I was going to write about the CD that I am listening to tonight. Let me preface all of this by stating that is just after midnight here and I am wide awake after sleeping a couple of hours on the couch earlier. I haven't slept a normal night's sleep in months. I mention this because sometimes when I'm blathering on here it seems to make perfect sense as I type but it may not to the typical person. Oh well I am stating a disclaimer as they do for drug ads on TV. At least reading my blogs do not lead to instances of death and/or strokes. LOL.

Onto the music we go. I think I am going to this in numerical form. Track by track. Here we go...

1. "Strange Dreams" Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush (1982)
I added this song to the CD that I burned way back when as I always have to have Canadian music on my CDs. Often these were burned to bring along on my rides up to the Great White North. Why this song? It has a cool synth line in the background. At least it sounds like a synth. LOL. Simple as that.

2. "Resurrection" Moist (1996)
Okay this song just rocks. At times it seems like David Usher is speaking or talking rather than singing but it is just the way the song goes. It's just an out and out rocker from an alternative rock band from Vancouver. I always thought of them as being from Montreal. Weird. The song comes the band's 2nd album. LOL. Showing my age here referring to albums. Hey I have the cassette version of this album. I am allowed.

3. "The Fly" U2 (1991)
This came off "Achtung Baby". The sounds on this album were completely new for U2 I think. The song has a great beat. Bono sings it normal and sometimes he goes falsetto. It showcases Edge's guitar playing and the different sounds he can get. I hear the song and it gets me moving in my chair. It is a chair dancing song! LOL.

4. "This Could Be The Right One" April Wine (1984)
Hmmmm I like this song. It is by far not the best song by April Wine. Another Canadian band. However it kind of has a catchy beat. Kind of formulaic at times. That being said though I am pretty sure that I may be one of the few that has this song playing loud in my car in Simpsonville. Hey at least it isn't Lynyrd Skynyrd for the millionth time. I do remember the video being kind of cheesy. I think the band members were wearing what was considered stylish at the time. Funny looking boots 20+ years later. Ha.

5. "Sledgehammer" BTO (1974)
Imagine that another Canadian band. This song is best listened to as loud as possible. Like the title of the song, the sound never lets up. It will never be confused with the Peter Gabriel song that has the same name. Starts out hard. Continues hard. Ends hard. Has a slow part right at the start but then batten down the hatches. You're like a sledgehammer! Randy Bachmann and Fred Turner take turns singing. It will never be mistaken for a love song!

6. "Trashed" Black Sabbath (1983)
The Ian Gillan version of Black Sabbath. This man has pipes. Another balls out rocker. This song does not let up. Bill Ward on the drums plays this song like he is possessed. One of the fastest and hardest beats I have ever heard. Turns out Ian Gillan wrote this song after getting drunk and taking Geezer Butler's car for a spin.

7. "Precious Declaration" Collective Soul (1997)
A song from one of my favorite bands that just happen to have originated about 150 miles of where I am sitting right now. Starts off with drums, then one guitar and then another guitar and here comes Ed Roland. For some strange reason I see this song as a hip preacher at a pulpit giving a real cool sermon. This song has religious connotations to me. That is too funny! It really isn't but some of the lyrics give me that imagery.

8. "Time Of Our Lives" David Usher (2003)
Well another Canadian rock song. This one is from the former lead singer of Moist who appear on this CD on track two. This is the first mellow song on the CD. The song has a nice acoustic sound to it and David's lyrics aren't run of the mill. It is a thinking song to me.

9. "Lust For Life" Iggy Pop (1977)
Co-written by David Bowie along with Iggy. Starts off with a 1m15s instrumental that just has you tapping your toes on the floor and your fingers on the table. Any song that has you dancing like hypnotized chickens can not be bad.

10. "All We Are" Kim Mitchell(1984)
Ah back to Canadian music from the former frontman of Max Webster. I always think of the best place to listen to this song is on a warm, cloudless, star-filled night laying down with a glass of wine or two staring at the sky with this song playing in the background. It is one of those atmospheric sounding songs. To me it is also a song that we question ourselves about our place and reason for being here. Isn't staring at the sky a perfect time and place to ask those kinds of questions? I think so.

11. "Stayed Awake All Night" Krokus (1983)
Okay with a name like Krokus, it has to be a hard rock song, doesn't it? When you think of Switzerland you think of chocolate, clocks, mountains and yodeling. LOL. Well I do. You don't think of a hard rock / heavy metal band that was very popular in the early 80s. Krokus often had covers of other popular rock songs on their albums and this is one of them. The song was written by Randy Bachmann and recorded originally with the Guess Who. This version is actually not much different than the original version. Perhaps the background sounds and echoes are a little more modern sounding than the original. One of those songs that if playing in my car, it is on loud and chances are my head is going up and down to the beat of the song. LOL. I am nearly 50 yr. old head banger. Hehe.

12. "Gasoline" Moist (1996)
The second song on this CD from the band Moist. This song is from the same album as "Resurrection" and the sound is completely different. It's a ballad. A sad ballad. I never really understood the lyrics or meaning to the song. It seems like a song where someone is hurting someone else. It just seems so sad.

13. "Woman In Chains" Tears For Fears (1989)
A beautiful song featuring the vocals of Oleta Adams along with Roland Orzabal. While the meaning behind the song points out that unfortunately man seems to hold the balance of power in many facets of life it also point that if woman did perhaps things would be a little calmer, a little nicer,a little serener. I think that the video to this song is too blunt. You tend to focus on the aggressivity of man vis-a-vis woman. The song ends on a high note with the refrain of "so free". Is it because man chose to look at his feminine side? Is it because the woman has left the man? It is in the thoughts of the listener I would think.

14. "Why Can't We Live Together" Steve Winwood (2003)
A beautiful remake of the Timmy Thomas one-hit wonder by the most soulful white man ever. The diction, the phrasing, the sound of Steve Winwood's honeyed voice is perfect for this song. Musically it isn't all different than the original. I believe that it is a homage to the original. A way of pointing out the greatness of the song originally released way back in 1972. I hear this song and I think of rippling waves or undulating shoulders. LOL. Don't try undulating shoulders if you have no rhythm like I. You can poke your eye out.

15. "Ahead By A Century" Tragically Hip (1996)
Ah more Canadian music. This song was on my summer playlist of the summer of 1996. This song brings back memories of my being on Melmerby Beach (NS) with Harrison spending time with my Mom and Blaine. On this beach I would bring a radio/ tape player and I would be able to pick up a top 40 station from across the water in Charlottetown, PEI. This song was in heavy rotation then. It is a pretty song. A song of memories and thoughts. "No dress rehearsal, this is our life". Great lyric.

16. "One" U2 (1991)
Off Achtung Baby as well just like track 3 on this mix CD. Much like the Moist song choices; this U2 song is the complete opposite of "The Fly". I saw U2 perform this live at the old Montreal Forum and the "Zoo TV" tour. This song like many U2 songs was a total sing-a-long when played live. It is simply a beautiful song. In latter years it was used to raise funds for AIDS research, it was used by Bono along with Starbucks to help in Africa. How many songs are there out there that have that kind of power? The remake done in 2006 with Mary K. Blige is pretty as well. This song is one of those bring tears of joy songs I think.

17. "Good Vibrations" Beach Boys (1966).
Isn't this song amazing? It is 45 years old and sounds as fresh as ever and it doesn't sound dated at all. Brian Wilson is and was an absolute musical genius when he came up with this song. I think that this song if listened when totally depressed has the power to erase all of those feelings at least for 3m37s of running time. It is that powerful! Praise the Lord for this joyful sound!

So that's it for this CD. Pretty darn eclectic. It was nice to write about as well as listen to it as it was played. I think it is time to search out some of these songs on YouTube.