List A Few Songs, ...that blew your fucking mind. When that was possible. Options

[simpleton01]

This isn't a "list your favorite songs" thread. What songs absolutely blew your fucking mind when you were impressionable enough that this was even possible? Sorry I said "fucking." I'm going to list a few here, but I reserve the right to add to my list at my whim. And they're not in any particular order.

Roundabout
Stairway to Heaven
Towers of London
Wild World
Space Oddity
Tomorrow Never Knows
The Letter

[simpleton01]

One more thing: Don't think about it for a long time. It's situational. I listed "The Letter" because, in 1967, I used to listen to the radio under my covers late at night, and every once in awhile, this song would play, and I was absolutely fucking enraptured. As enraptured as an 8-year-old boy could be. That's the feeling I'm trying to capture in this thread.

I love you.

[simpleton01]

P.S. You know how I said I loved you in that last post? I meant it. But in a brotherly or sisterly sort of way. So please don't send me any porn or candy or poems or anything, okay? Thanks!

Where are your lists? I started this thread like six minutes ago!

[Mr Tein]

off the top of my head

Space oddity - Bowie
Joko Homo Devo
Watching The detectives - Costello
The whole 1st portishead album
The anchor Song Bjork
Move on Up Curtis mayfield
Spill The Wine - war

[daisy]

P.S. You know how I said I loved you in that last post? I meant it. But in a brotherly or sisterly sort of way. So please don't send me any porn or candy or poems or anything, okay? Thanks!

Where are your lists? I started this thread like six minutes ago!

I demand that you send me back my candy immediately. Heartbreaker!






You can keep the porn.

[Jeff Truzzi]

The Beatles - Tomorrow Never Knows
The Beatles - Eleanor Rigby
The Beatles - Taxman
"Paperback Writer" was the #1 song on my 8th birthday, so I was more a "Yellow Submarine" fan at the time. But even little me KNEW this album (which my older brother had) and this band were something special. And there was something special in the air in 1966. (No, I'm not talking about pot smoke!) The zeitgeist was amazing. Everyone who was alive at the time could feel it. And to hear this music when it was BRAND NEW, hot off the presses. I'm really fortunate to have been able to hear XTC that way as well.

David Bowie - Space Oddity
Taped it off the radio. Blew my little mind. Such a grandiose arrangement, and about my favorite subject: OUTER SPACE! Took me awhile longer to get into the girl thing (I was a late bloomer.) Pleasantly surprised to see this on both Mr Tein & Simp's lists. Simp & I could actually do a decent performance of this 30 years ago. It would be fun to try it with Jimmy Kimmel's funny parody lyric: "Tim Tebow to Jesus Christ...."


Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven
The ultimate rock anthem. Sure I can't stand to hear it now, and it's been played into the ground for entire far too long. And I'd much rather listen to - or play - "The Rain Song" (in normal tuning, not the real weird one Page uses) or "Over The Hills & Far Away." But this WAS the shit back in the day. (It's OK to say shit, isn't it? I mean, if Simp can say the F word....) I bought the sheet music to this song, which (typical for the day) was WRONG.


Yes - Roundabout
Incredible hearing on the radio. Who ARE these guys? Are they even guys, or is that a woman singing? These are REALLY good musicians. I gotta check this stuff out!
And I did. (Or maybe I should be Simp inclusive and say 'we'.)

XTC - Roads Girdle The Globe
Ditto the above, 8 years later - except the bit about the woman singing. Dissonant and polytonal were right up my alley, but not things I associated with punk & new wave - until this. And Colin's bass 'shwoops' in the turnarounds are awesome! Strangely prescient of the tune after the next one.


David Bowie - Fashion
I had the album before this hit the radio, but even in its edited truncated AM version, the LAST thing I thought I would EVER hear on top-40 radio was Robert Fripp of King Crimson at his most dissonant and polytonal. Simp could testify of my major excitement every time this came on radio. Of course, he was thrilled to hear it, too.


Digital Underground - The Humpty Dance
The very first 'hip-hop' song I actually liked. It wasn't gangsta in the hood my bad shit, it was FUNNY! And literate. And clever. I didn't know hip-hop could do THAT, too. That octave portamento bass was awesome. And the black guy in horn-rimmed glasses with a fake nose and a plaid jacket singing "They say 'you look like MC Hammer on crack, Humpty'." Too much. Years later, I had the pleasure of telling this to Shock G in person. He is a REALLY smart guy.


Soul Coughing - Super Bon Bon
WTF? These aren't black guys from Compton, they're white nerds from NYC. Yes, thats an upright bass. Those aren't drum loops, they're a real drummer. The keyboardist mostly plays sound effect samples instead of notes. And the 'singer' is half beat poet, half hip hop singer. Hearing this on FM radio got me into these guys. I just played "Miss The Girl" yesterday for my friend Rex, and downloaded the YouTube instrumental track I discovered. That song's even better: part traditional verse/chorus/bridge catchy lover's lament pop tune, part drums n bass, part musique concrete.


Eminem - My Name Is
The only thing I can compare how different this sounded to ANYTHING that came before it is how folks must have felt hearing "Heartbreak Hotel" by Elvis for the first time: a head snapper. The very first 'rap' song I actually liked. It wasn't gangsta in the hood my bad shit, it was FUNNY! And literate. And clever. I didn't know rap could do THAT, too. That lopey, off balance beat under the conversational vocal delivery didn't sound ANYTHING like rap. And not only was the singer twice as funny, he had four times the vocabulary of any other rapper I'd heard. I was raving about this song to a friend when his kid said "Oh yeah, I have that - check it out!" So his dad put headphones on, and I could see his smile turn to a frown hearing the uncensored version and thinking oh god my kid is listening to THIS?

This post has been edited by Jeff Truzzi: Jan 17 2012, 03:55 AM

[Jeff Truzzi]

correction: I never heard "Roads Girdle The Globe" on the radio. I first heard it when Simp brought "Drums & Wires" over in 1980 (not 1979). So double correction.

[Jeff Truzzi]

Damn! I missed "Good Vibrations"! 1966 sure WAS a good year.
Unless you were going to 'Nam.

[Mr Tein]

jeff you jogged my memory.

eminem - Fack - still cant belive the lyrics to that song!

[The Lost Jockey]

Two that I heard on Radio Caroline in the mid-70's that changed my whole attitude to music:


Rock n' Roll - Lou Reed - the live version on Rock n' Roll Animal.



Pattis Smith's cover of Gloria.

[Spastic Minnow]

Beat it - Michael Jackson
My family were not pop music people, no growing up on the Beatles or Joni Mitchell or anything. My brothers' taste in music was rather boring. So, I found what I could on the radio and Beat it made my 6 yr. old feet dance around like nothing else.
Cult of Personality - Living Colour
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
Epic - Faith No More
Carousel - Mr. Bungle
cheating a little because this was more an album experience, it's not like anyone was playing Mr. Bungle on the radio but it had to be the dizzying circus music effect of "Carousel" that cemented that "blown mind" mentality.
Silent All These Years - Tori Amos
Dear God - XTC
Can't Go Wrong Without You - His Name Is Alive
The Quaye Brothers video helped
Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe - Whale
I admit, this is a strange one on the list, in retrospect it's not a tremendous song, but rarely has a song captivated me so completely so quickly. Rock plus Trip-Hop, it's such a rocking party song.
On & On - Erakah Badu

This post has been edited by Spastic Minnow: Jan 18 2012, 05:15 PM

[favoritething]

Strawberry Fields Forever - The BeatlesThis song never felt off-putting or obtuse to me, just magical.
Isn't She Lovely - Stevie WonderJust pure joy. Even in the album version, that spring-loaded bounce just feels miraculously life-affirming.
Sultans Of Swing - Dire StraitsA perfect showcase for the solos and riffs that spin out of Knopfler's guitar.
Dreaming - BlondieIt's almost a continuous drum solo throughout the song, but the excitement far outweighs the indulgence.
Intruder - Peter GabrielThat drum effect (which would go on to be Phil Collins's signature) seriously blew my mind, it was so ominous.
Born Under Punches - Talking HeadsA strange new world (to me) of funk.
Spirits In The Material World - The PoliceYet another strange new world. Man, the eighties were gonna be cool!
Deliver Us From The Elements - XTCI can't say it's my favorite song of theirs, but it still gives me that feeling like I'm in control of the universe by the time it ends... And then it all slips away like a half-remembered dream in about two seconds.
Sour Times - PortisheadBeth Gibbons's voice, I think, and the retro production touches pointed the way to Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson. Immediately arresting.

[Per Aronsson]

Oh, great thread simpydimpy! Just a few for a start...

She Loves You – The Beatles. I was 6 or 7 and it totally knocked me.
Ticket To Ride – The Beatles. Same experience a few years later.
Dinah-Moe-Hum – Frank Zappa. I listened over and over again to "Apostrophe" and "Overnite Sensation" and this is the standout track.
No Language in Our Lungs – XTC. It was really the whole album, but this song convinced me that Andy Partridge is a genius.
Train Running Low On Soul Coal – XTC. A masterpiece. Simple as that.
River of Orchids – XTC. I promise, when I first heard the drops dripping the tears rolled down my chubby cheeks...
Where Am I From? – Veda Hille. Beautiful song from one of the best albums ever made – "Return of the Kildeer".
Bat Chain Puller – Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band. The drumbeat is inspired by Dons windshield wipers. Fantastic groove. (BTW, the Zappa family is now releasing the original Bat Chain Puller album. Will be out in the middle of next month.)
Miles Davis – My Ship. From the album Miles Ahead. That sound in that trumpet...

[donavan]

You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Rock and Roll part 1 - Gary Glitter
Drive In Saturday - Bowie
Science Friction, Neon Shuffle, Watchtower - XTc
O Superman - Laurie Anderson
Holiday In The Sun - The Sex Pistols
In A Rut - The Ruts
A song John Peel played every night by Xmal Deutschland, can't remember what it's called.
A New Face In Hell - The Fall
Whole Wide World - Wreckless Eric
Don't Walk Away(Atmosphere) - Joy Division
Easter Parade - Blue Nile
Dear God - XTc
Ever So Lonely - Monsoon
Block Rockin Beats - Chemical Brothers
This Is The One - The Stone Roses
All I Dream of is a Friend - Andy Partridge
Ferris Wheels - I Am Kloot
There She Goes -The La's
Universal Soldier - Donovan
Something's Gotta Give - Frank Sinatra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa1d_6d1C3E - Spike

This post has been edited by donavan: Jan 30 2012, 09:05 AM

[Brian]

As an 18 year old college freshman in 1971-72, these were the songs I most enjoyed when first learning how to listen to music with a new aid ... um... headphones. Yes, that was the new aid, headphones, nothing else:

Nothing to Hide/Nature's Way - Spirit
White Bird - Its a Beautiful Day
Let it Rain - Eric Clapton
Room to Move - John Mayall Band

[miles aweigh]

Sunshine Superman - Donovan
I Saw Her Again - Mamas and Papas
Oh Well - Fleetwood Mac
1983 A Merman I Shall Turn To Be - Jimi Hendrix Experience
DCBA 25 -Jefferson Airplane
The House At Pooneil Corner - Jefferson Airplane
Mr Fantasy - Traffic
Crossroads - Cream
Michael From Mountains - Judy Collins
The White Ship - H.P.Lovecaft
International Feel - Todd Rundgren
Bitches Brew - Miles Davis
Magoo - Country Joe and The Fish
The Crucifixion - Phil Ochs
The Sea - Fotheringay
Christine -Siouxie And The Banshees
Under The Milky Way - The Church
Since We Ended As Lovers - Jeff Beck
Suppers Ready - Genesis
Peaches En Regalia - Frank Zappa
Expecting To Fly - Buffalo Springfield
25 O'Clock - The Dukes
Karmic Dream Sequence 1 - The Millennium
Surfs Up - Beach Boys
Unchanging Window - Broadcast

[Mr Tein]

actually i thought of another one.

Disney girls by The beach Boys. kinda whimsical and I came to it late but there seemed to be some magic in there ( and other songs on that album)...

[Jeff Truzzi]

actually i thought of another one.

Disney girls by The beach Boys. kinda whimsical and I came to it late but there seemed to be some magic in there ( and other songs on that album)...

"Surf's Up" was on that album.

[Kendley]

Ninth Symphony - Beethoven
Danse Macabre - Saint Saens
In the Hall of the Mountain King - Edvard Grieg
American Pie - Don McLean
Hot Tea and Sassafrass - Bubble Puppy
Are You Experienced - Hendrix
Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield
Hergest Ridge - Oldfield
Travels in Nihilon - XTC
Little Lighthouse - Dukes
Himawari - UA ('90s Jpop dub song)
Yumigahama - Ondekoza (traditional drumming)
The Sky is a Landfill - Jeff Buckley
Thurston Moore - Circulation

[Chrestus]

"Hound Dog" - Elvis Presley
I was 11. This song made me fully realize that there was a whole world beyond my parent's control. it's not hyperbole when I say this song changed my life, as I'm sure it had already done for millions of kids just like me a decade earlier. Say what you will about Elvis but he'll get plenty of props from me.

"I Am The Walrus" - The Beatles
The year after Elvis I got into this band, through the Red and Blue collections. When I first heard the opening to IATW I honestly thought there was something wrong with my turntable. No joke, I lifted up the tone-arm, inspected the needle, set it back down at the beginning of the song, heard that opening again, then lifted the tone-arm back up and this time checked the turntable itself to see if it was warped. On the third try I realised, "Oh wow, it's SUPPOSED to sound like that!" Blew my tiny little mind to pieces. Redefined "music" for me in an instant. What I think is interesting about this is that while IATW is still one of the weirdest recordings anyone's ever made it's not just "soundscape" noise, it's an actual chordal composition with a coherent progression and has a formal structure to it. But it's still weird as fuck.

"Black Dog" - Led Zeppelin
Heard "Stairway To Heaven", liked it, bought the sheet music and was taken by the filthy wino appearance of the musicians on the cover. I thought, "these guys look dangerous, I should get this album maybe." "Black Dog" is of course cut 1, side 1 of Zep 4. It was the hardest thing I had ever heard musically up to that point ( I think I may have been 13 or 14). the slightly odd time sig, the extension of the opening riff, this song kind of played with formal structure but didn't go off the rails with it like Yes and ELP would sometimes do. But it also had some blues leanings to it, and then the lead at the end, well this was "Hard Rock", this was what the druggies were into at the time, this was "DANGEROUS!" I was hooked for life, devoured their catalogue over the next 6 months.

"Melt The Guns" - XTC
Similar to my reaction to "I Am The Walrus". Redefined "music" for me. Wow, you can do this with music, really? Unfortunately, Andy-Pandy almost completely ruined most other "new" music for me for about at least the next 20 years.