Beneath The Feedback

Desh goes first – then Andrew…

Blackbird – Alter Bridge

Blackbird by Alter Bridge is my favourite song, and has a lot of meaning to me. I spent a summer listening to this song on repeat in awe of the guitar playing harmony, and vocals.

It’s a song about loss, and the person it was written for loved blackbird by the beatles. When the band play this live, they start with the Beatles introduction before going into the main song.

The song itself is a fantastic emotional piece, with one of the best guitar solos I’ve ever heard, played by the 2 guitarists Myles Kennedy(the first part) and Mark Tremonti. This guitar solo is commonly regarded as the best guitar solo of the 21st century.

Myles Kennedy’s vocal performance is stellar and exemplifies his open throat singing technique that has allowed extreme longevity for his voice – he sounds the same as he did 20 years ago (Some argue he sounds better now)  This is a long song, but in my opinion there isn’t a wasted moment.

When I’m Down – Chris Cornell

A band I had heard of but hadn’t really listened to – Blackbird is stunning!  And yes – the guitar work is pretty incredible and feels so appropriate for the track but it was the vocal performance that had connections sparking in my brain.  The whole message of this track – the acknowledgement of a beautiful life, taken too quickly – informed my choice.

While I chose the acoustic live performance for the video – there’s no shortage of great guitar work on the record – but it’s all about Chris Cornell’s incredible vocal performance.  I mean – just what a singer – what a beloved human being and yet – to take his own life – to succumb to the demon that seems to stalk so many of our great artists – what a tragedy.  You could almost imagine Alter Bridge playing Blackbird for Chris.

Plush – Stone Temple Pilots

Chris Cornell is a generational talent, and fantastic songwriter, singer and human. I hadn’t heard When I’m down before – which was is surprising considering how much I listen to Chris. I loved the song, as expected. Grunge vocalists especially Chris are a big inspiration for me, and listening to that song made me think of another acoustic performance that I love – Plush by StoneTemple Pilots. 

This song is a prime example of one that is enhanced when stripped down. Like a lot of Grunge the harmony is really interesting, and Scott Weiland’s vocal performance is great – and this is brought out more when it’s just the voice and guitar.  The lyrics are poignant and haunting which is quite thematic for the genre and unfortunately, the themes this song discusses, along with others from the time are still relevant today.

I could have chosen a number of songs from this era with a similar vibe; however I feel that this one best encapsulated the difference between a full rock track and an acoustic track. I also want to take a moment to acknowledge the grunge vocalists, including Chris, Scott, Layne Staley, and of course Kurt Cobain who were taken from us too soon. 

The World I Know – Collective Soul

STP were such a doomed band – their timing was perfect – arriving on the scene when Hair metal was finally being kicked to the curb (thank god! ;-p) and bringing more musicality than your typical grunge band – and yet – hello smack!  I mean – I love getting high as much as the next guy, just so long as the next guy wasn’t Scott Weiland.  I was part of a jam band and we took all kinds of substances but everyone drew the line at Heroin – there’s just too many cautionary tales to think you’d be one of the few that sailed that close to the sun and survived.

But I’m being drawn in by the music again – the instrumentation – how the acoustic guitar of Plush is picked up and seamlessly transitioned into one of my favorite tracks ;-p  Never making it as big as I think they deserved – Collective Soul were polished – polished songwriting, polished performance, and possibly a little too polished for a world that was turning towards Grunge.

I adore this track – the overall performance with its stunning vocal, string section and that fabulous coda all create something magical.  Yet lyrically it’s brave enough to lift the lid on depression and examine what goes on in the mind of someone contemplating an exit like Chris.  if you watch the video you’ll see that – at the end – the character chooses not to jump, and I find that really reassuring 🙂

The Great Gig in the Sky – Pink Floyd

Wow! What a song! Collective Soul is a band I’ve heard of but their discography has somehow alluded me. After listening to The world I know, I was entranced, and stayed up all night listening to their catalogue. The music video hits very close to home, and I can see myself listening to this band regularly and following Ed Roland’s journey – what a songwriter.  The world I know is a masterclass in songwriting and arrangement – I can see why it is one of your favourite songs. This is the reason I wanted to make a playlist – songs like this open my eyes music I didn’t know I needed to hear. Thank you for introducing this to me. Following this up was very hard. 

I thought of about 5 potential songs including Ordinary world  by Duran Duran – which has a similar feel to the song, and Bridge over troubled water – an absolute classic.  However I settled on Great Gig in the sky for 2 reasons. Firstly, we seem to be forming a theme around death, and Great Gig in the Sky is another view of death albeit more stoic. Secondly, it is the first climax of Dark Side of the Moon, as it is the last song on the first side, so it serves quite nicely after a hopeful track to go into a cathartic one. I don’t think I need to explain the brilliance of the record and this track in particular – it’s rare for a contemporary track to convey so much with pretty much no lyrics.

What Life Brings – Steven Wilson

Great Gig in the Sky is an inspired choice – one that I certainly didn’t expect to see ;-p but what a great track – almost iconic now.  It’s funny – Ordinary World would have worked really well too, but I love how this existential theme is developing – at this stage of the list at least – and many tracks off Dark Side could fit the bill. (Wish You Were Here gets my vote for best PF album ;-p)

So with life and death and – what’s the meaning of it all – fresh in my mind – I’m reaching for Steven Wilson’s brilliant What Life Brings.  It’s funny as I listened to Great Gig before I read your write up and already knew I was going here.  I was introduced to this track from a list last year and at the time I wondered if it was some obscure band from the 70’s but no – Steven Wilson was the frontman for Porcupine Tree and this album came out in 2023.  It has such a Pink Floyd vibe but more so for this list – lyrically it takes another look at the transient nature of life – of love – of loss – the video was darker than I thought it would be ;-p

Everybody Hurts – REM

Wow, That song was released in 2023? After reading up on Steven Wilson, it’s fair to say, that your last 2 picks will both be inspirations for my music career – as I am studying to be a producer, audio engineer and songwriter Like Roland and Wilson 🙂

My next pick is Everybody Hurts, and I had a couple of songs in contention, but I think the music video, with the car (albeit the ending is way more lighthearted – but what a great coda) and the overall message works quite well after what life brings. REM is a band my uncle introduced me to, and I love their songwriting especially –  they just are the type of band, where if you strip down all the instrumentation to just chords and melody, I think it would sound good – kind of like my reasoning for plush. 

Afterthought – I asked my uncle last time I saw him if he could name a rockstar with short hair (as I am growing mine out and needed to justify it) – and he said Michael Stipe, and my mind went blank – very embarrassing.

On & On – Longpigs

REM were a great band – unique creators and innovators and never a lame video amongst their catalog.  Michael Stipe was and is a true rock star – couldn’t give a crap about how the world saw him, had a clear vision and all the talent to realize it – but dude – don’t sweat the not knowing things – there is just so much music 😉

Everybody Hurts is a magical track – a literal life saver – it’s an astonishing piece of music that touches every generation that hears it.  I’ve always loved it and the album – Automatic For The People – with tracks like Drive, Man On The Moon, Nightswimming – just good music!

But the vibe is still low – super good – but low – it may take a while to work ourselves up and out, but for now I’m keeping it similar – moving away from the darkness of depression and suicide and into the “lighter” emotion of – potentially – unrequited love!  ;-p  On & On is a great track from a criminally underrated band – the album The Sun Is Often Out has several brilliant tracks and it’s an album I return to often.

I adore this track – the production – the harmonies – the crunch of the guitar and the heavily chorused 12 string – to the B3 that comes in and just sits on top of everything in a warm embrace.  And lyrically – is it a love song – is it a break up song – who knows but it’s most certainly a song about love ;-p

Back for good – Take That

Ah yes, Longpigs. On and on is a great song, I also like she said. Whenever people talk about Sheffield it’s always the other bands because, I mean Pulp, AM and Def Leppard exist, so I feel Longpigs are quite underrated imo (at least in my circle).

Whenever I heard the song, it always felt to me like an accompanying piece to back for good, by Take That. Having watched the Robbie Willaims biopic, it lead me to listen to more of them, and back for good is simply a classic. It’s also a song about unrequited love – though it’s more preppy for lack of a better word. I enjoy the songwriting of Gary barlow, he has a good sense of how to write good harmony and melody, which I do quite appreciate. I also feel this song can serve as a way to kind of move the playlist on a bit to maybe more happier sounding tracks.

Free Fallin’ – Tom Petty

Fucking love Gary Barlow’s songwriting – just sheer pop genius ;-p  Back For Good is an epic track and defined a lot of people’s 90’s – the pop listeners at least.  Take That were just a better class of boy band ;-p

But it was the opening acoustic strumming that immediately had me thinking of Tom Petty – and fortunately the transition worked pretty well to my ears. I always dug this track as I too live in Reseda and the hilarious thing is – there’s no freeway here – you have to be in Van Nuys or Tarzana but hey – we don’t need small details like accurate geography to ruin a great song! ;-p

I’m Gonna be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers

Free fallin is a classic, I watched John Mayer perform his version live, but I’ve generally been partial to the Tom Petty Version. The opening is to kill for, and the chorus is legendary. For some reason though, I can’t keep a straight face watching the music video, I find Tom Petty’s lipsyncing really funny.

You talking about whacky geography, and my sense of humour, immediately made me think of 500 miles. There’s been articles about how far they have to walk from their hometown Leith to get to 1000 miles – I’ve always subscribed to the theory that they walk to the South West coast of England and back, so that the singer can just “be the man who walked a thousand miles to fall down at your door”. I think that this song can serve as a more jovial entry to our playlist.

Red Travellin’ Socks – Malcolm Middleton

I mean – The Proclaimers – how fucking ridiculous is this band – how Scottish and yet – how absolutely fucking rippingly brilliant.  There’s a school of thought that says you have to look a certain way – sound a certain way – have a certain formula and you’ll “make it” and here’s two lads taking the rule book – tearing it up and burning it and producing gems like this – this band – this song – fills me with hope – joy too!

But we’re going to stay in Scotland a wee bit longer – ‘cos if we’re in the land of ridiculous songs – then there’s no better than Malcom Middleton’s excellent Red Travellin’ Socks.  Written from the perspective of the gigging musician – there’s an infectious energy that could have been spliced from the Reid brother’s DNA.  Any musician who’s lived the life “knows” this song – it makes me grin every time I hear it.  Plus that break down at 3:00 and the push at 4:17  is everything ;-p 

Sunday Bloody Sunday – U2

Red Travellin Socks feels like a song that I will become familiar with. The melodies and chords it uses, remind me of Dancing in the dark – Springsteen, and This is what it feels like by Armin van Buuren. Though I haven’t heard the song before, I really appreciated the bridge and outro, and in the coming years, I do hope that it will reflect my life as a budding musician, I can’t wait to hear it again in ten years time and grin 😉

We’ve had a few Scottish artists now, so how about an Irish one, and with the recent debate on FC about U2, it felt appropriate. I was considering adding the music video, but I decided to add a live version to this page(w/ the studio version on spotify), as I believe that one of the things that they missed with U2 is how incredible they were live. They were one of the biggest, if not the biggest, band globally for a long time. I’ve only heard recordings, but it is one of the bands – along with probably led zeppelin – that I wish I could see live in their Hay day.

Sunday Bloody Sunday is one of my favourite U2 songs because it has an irregular structure, really cool harmony, lovely instrumentation and I feel like there are multiple choruses. The theme of war – which fits in with our themes of grief, love, and geography/travelling – based on the conflicts in northern Ireland is poignant, but the music and instrumentation is surprisingly Upbeat – that feels very U2 in my opinion 😛

Tommy Gun – The Clash

I remember my brother pulling me into his dorm room with a copy of Boy and pointing out what The Edge was doing on I Will Follow – then there was October with the Edge leading again with that searing opening to Gloria – by the time War came out in ’83 the momentum was building – again the opening track – Sunday Bloody Sunday – was an instant classic – but this album had New Year’s Day and Two Hearts – and then they released Under A Blood Red Sky and everything changed – everything changed ‘cos of MTV.  Desh talks about how good a live band they were but you had to see it to believe it.  If you get a chance watch the video of October / New Years Day at the same Red Rocks show and listen to how clean the vocals are, the harmonies, how the Edge is sitting playing piano and guitar seemingly at the same time.  No “production” just magnetic authentic musicians being brilliant on TV for the whole world to hear.

Epic!

But yes – there was controversy around Sunday Bloody Sunday – the association with “The Troubles” and the band being accused of glorifying violence – it’s no wonder Bono opens the live version with the statement “This is not a Rebel song…” it was their statement against the violence and had me reaching back to The Clash.  Coming out a few years earlier in ’78 their second album had Joe Strummer finding his groove with melody and social statements.  Tommy Gun is so simple and yet so powerful – the lyrics are a bit more oblique but you can’t avoid the overall message of killing & violence is bad.  I think we can still get behind that, right?

Wind of Change – Scorpions

Angry punk followed by an 80s Ballad – I thought it was quite funny :p. The clash is everything punk should be, and will be. They had a relentless energy about them, that I just love in punk music, and yet you are right, rather than going the “fight against everyone” route that so often does, Tommy Gun, and the Clash mock this idea that violence is the answer. 

Originally, I wanted to do another punk song after this, but after realising their messaging, I thought a complete 180, and a more somber, and maybe hopeful song would be more appropriate. The 80s – as we have talked about in this were full of hair metal bands, and their power ballads – and scorpions are the pinnacle of this, however I think the timing of this song, coupled with the music video of the berlin wall falling, and them being a german band transcends the genre, and produces one of the most powerful songs about war. I love Scorpions’ guitar work, and think it really shines through on this song, over their more classic hair metal songs. 

America – Simon & Garfunkel

Rudy Schenker is a legend – consummate guitar player but – he’s probably an even better songwriter – at least when he was writing with Klaus Meine.  Kinda like a Lennon McCartney of rock music – damn did they have some hits – (although interestingly Meine wrote Wind of Change on his own!)  I was introduced to them as a guitar band back in the late 70’s early 80’s – they had the “best” album covers – go check out Animal Magnetism – that stuck in my head for waaaay too long ;-p   But of course – their biggest songs were more on the ballad side – you can hear things slowing down as they get into the middle of the 80’s – although I’d respectfully say they didn’t go full “hair metal” – thank god.  Great song!

I remember when the Berlin Wall came down.  I was living in the City with my girlfriend – my dad was in town for a dinner at his college, and was staying the night.  I remember him standing in our living room watching the television with tears streaming from his eyes.  I was old enough to relate but not old enough to really “get” the power of that moment.  And about as far removed from the sentiment today as you can get – was the love for America.  While behind the scenes there were some seriously shitty things going on – to the teenagers and young people of the world – America was the answer – America was MTV and tube socks and just – everything.  The music was celebrated – the Scorpions could have been an American band – America was cool – as cool as it had ever been.

And yet – even then there were stirrings of discontent.  Paul Simon knew this.  The song is beautiful but you can’t help but hear something coming on the horizon.

Piano Man – Billy Joel

Paul Simon’s songwriting is genius. I love the lyrics in America – you’re right, it’s a beautiful song, but it seems like the destination is tumultuous. I played some of their tunes in my school orchestra back in India, and since then have been in awe of them. Bridge Over Troubled Water is probably my favourite song in terms of its composition, and after listening to America, I think I need to relisten to their entire discography and rate every song, like I’ve done with my two favourite bands, Alter Bridge and Foo Fighters. After listening to the song, I thought of America and the “American dream” that is always put forward to the world.

I therefore thought of Piano Man – not only does it seem like that destination Paul talks about, but also different directions of life, all leading to loneliness in a bar. Coupled with that, harmonically and rhythmically they feel like successors. Both have that descending bassline and lulling, waltz-like feeling. I could see the narrator from America ending up in Billy Joel’s bar, perhaps as a real estate novelist :p

The Curse – Josh Ritter

I don’t know if I told you but after nearly giving up the piano at age 12, I had a new teacher who trained me to be an accompanist.  Life changing ;-p We would do romantic songs evenings and I would play piano while singers would run through the classics: Desperado, She’s Only A Woman, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Just The Way You Are, Your Song – yes – a lot of Elton John, Billy Joel, The Carpenters, and Simon & Garfunkel.  I loved it.  There’s something awesome about creating a platform where another person can shine – I’m still addicted.

But every now and then I would take center stage – being the guy at the piano in the pub who knew all the songs – American Pie, Back in the USSR, and of course – Piano Man.  People would ask for it all the time and I almost – but not quite – felt like I was living the life: “They would sit at the bar and put bread in my jar and say Man, what are you doing here” – and it was true – although I never had a tip jar, just an ever flowing lineup of drinks – it taught me how to drink Scotch as I couldn’t handle the volume of beer being bought for me ;-p

But it’s a story song – it’s Billy’s story – my story – and it’s beautifully told, drawing from experience with that wonderful descending bassine and a waltzy three quarter time feel.  So my head went to Josh Ritter and another story song – told with similar instrumentation and feel – but this time it’s fantastic – not drawn from experience but compelling all the same.

And the Trumpet!  The Trumpet slays!

Garden – Pearl Jam

I do remember you telling me about the story of playing the piano, and that got me thinking about my own story playing the guitar, and I pretty much stalled for years, not improving, until my new teacher introduced me to the album Ten by Pearl Jam. Them, along with Foo Fighters and Alter Bridge, got me passionate about guitar again – but also gave me the confidence to start singing.

The story of “The Curse” is quite dark, and quite Egyptian-inspired – I love it. That, coupled with a beautifully composed melody and tender singing, is brilliant. Digging through YouTube comments and Reddit, the song feels poignant, and the lyrics specifically are just brilliant.

Garden, for me, feels almost like it’s a sequel to The Curse, one of the characters (not sure which, there are arguments for both) returning to a “garden of stone”. 

Garden is, in my opinion, Pearl Jam’s best song. The nuanced structure, killer riffs, powerful vocals, the signature Ten drum groove and Jeff Ament’s fretless bass spring to mind immediately. What took the song to new heights was listening to the 2009 mix of it done by Brendan O’Brien – that mix brought Eddie Vedder’s vocals to the forefront, and had the outro really just feel epic in all senses. Garden in one of those songs that I could listen to hundreds of times and find something new to latch onto every time. 

Supper’s Ready – Genesis

I don’t know why I haven’t spent much time with Pearl Jam – I mean – they’re beloved by every musician I’ve ever worked with – gaining respect from the rockers and the singer songwriters alike – and whenever I listen I’m like – yeah – they’re great – and indeed, Garden is great and I’m listening on repeat and see how one could get lost in it – it’s just that – damn there’s so much music out there ;-p

I need to carve out some time to sit with Ten and just “listen” to it ;-p

Talking of carving out time ;-ppppp

I’ve noticed in our lists together you’re more often than not drawing from the previous millennium ;-p  Which is no bad thing – there’s so much to learn from and if you’re going to be a rock star, best listen to as much of the canon as possible.  As we’re close to the end (only one more track each) I’m being cheeky and pulling an epic Genesis track from Foxtrot.

My first exposure to early Genesis was Selling England by the Pound – Dancing with the Moonlight Knight is a killer opening track – but once I’d got my feet wet – it was going back to ’72’s Foxtrot that I really went down the rabbit hole.  It’s a strange album – plenty of classic “Prog” rock – alongside beautiful tracks like Horizons – that wouldn’t be out of shape on a classical album – and then you end up with Supper’s Ready.

23 minutes – I know – I’d apologize if it wasn’t so brilliant ;-p  So many different stories and tracks all inside this one epic container – as a musician and songwriter you’re going to hear so many amazing resolutions – build ups and drops into grooves (that one at 4:29 is just the first of many ;-p) – and the musicianship – the playing is phenomenal – definitely one to put on headphones or earbuds and go out into the world while listening.

Have fun!

Marching in Time – Tremonti

Wow, this worked out really well, haha.

Supper’s Ready for me sounded unlike some other prog tracks I’ve listened to – it felt more like a condensation of epic songs with a climactic end – everything I want from prog, and 23 minutes felt more like seven. It felt immersive, and I could really unpack and analyse it.

I remember actually getting a Genesis song to listen to in my A-level music exam, and my, what range they have in their catalogue. Not too familiar with Peter Gabriel’s version of Genesis – but damn, I’m giving Foxtrot a listen – and you’re absolutely right, it’s the type of album (and has songs) that you need to go out on a walk and listen to.

Not too unlike my first experience listening to Marching in Time – a piece that starts out feeling like you’re walking through a forest. You’re right in that I like music pre-2000, and I ain’t apologising for that, but there’s some damn good rock music from this decade alone, and Tremonti is amongst it. When Wolfgang Van Halen plays bass for you, you know you’re onto something. Marching in Time is one of those songs and albums that has everything great about the band. Yes, they are a metal band, but the Creed influence is apparent, and Mark Tremonti as a vocalist is not too shabby – he’s even sung some Sinatra.

This is so perfect, as the list started with Alter Bridge, and in many ways, Tremonti is their twin band. It couldn’t have gone much better for my final pick 🙂

Let There Be Rock – Drive-By Truckers

So as I often do when I have the last track, I’ve gone back and listened to the list and read the write-ups.  This has been brilliant – what an exchange 🙂  I mean, the songs are great and stand on their own, but add in the context – our stories behind the songs – and the whole thing is just a joy to experience – thank you Desh ;-pp

One of the takeaways for me is – again – there’s just so much music out there – great music out there, that I’ve never heard.  Take Tremonti – Marchin in Time is a great track- strong lyrical message too – but I didn’t know it was the same guitarist as Alter Bridge and Creed – sure I could sense the musical association – but I suspect that’s more with hindsight than when I first heard the tracks.

Funnily enough we saw Scott Stapp launching his solo career at the Greek Theater in LA – he was opening for INXS I think and – well – the crowd wasn’t really feeling him – he did give it everything though – respect for that.

As always I had a million possible roads to go down to end the list – the track I’ve gone for speaks to how I feel about this kind of music – about rock music – in that – I just fucking love it ;-p

I was hipped to Drive-By Truckers by my brother who saw them in a tiny venue in Venice, CA and came away singing the hook from this track.  I love this track – it’s everything I romanticized a rock-n-roll life would be: drugs, alcohol, girls, death, & near death experiences and of course crazy hooks and gnarly guitar solos.

So Desh, may you indeed be Web 3’s first rock star – but may there also be Web 4, Web 5, and on and on, ad-infinitum

;-p

Track Listing

• Blackbird – Alter Bridge
• When I’m Down – Chris Cornell
• Plush (Acoustic) – Stone Temple Pilots
• The World I Know – Collective Soul
• The Great Gig in the Sky – Pink Floyd
• What Life Brings – Steven Wilson
• Everybody Hurts – R.E.M.
• On & On – Longpigs
• Back for Good (Radio Mix) – Take That
• Free Fallin’ – Tom Petty
• I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers
• Red Travellin’ Socks – Malcolm Middleton
• Sunday Bloody Sunday (Remastered 2008) – U2
• Tommy Gun (Remastered) – The Clash
• Wind Of Change – Scorpions
• America – Simon & Garfunkel
• Piano Man – Billy Joel
• The Curse – Josh Ritter
• Garden (Brendan O’Brien Mix) – Pearl Jam
• Supper’s Ready (2007 Stereo Mix) – Genesis
• Marching in Time – Tremonti
• Let There Be Rock (2024 Mix) – Drive-By Truckers

Playlist image by Portuguese Gravity on Unsplash