Dead and Gone was inspired the death of Philant Johnson, a close friend of T.I., and reflects on the realization that pride and recklessness are a recipe for disaster. A lyric I especially love:
I won that fight; I lost that war I can still see my n*** walkin' out that door Who'da thought I'd never see Philant no more? Got enough dead homies I don't want no more.
I love a great song about redemption. It's not clear to me that T.I.'s is genuine enough to keep him out of trouble for good, but the song is inspirational. Justin Timberlake sings a chorus with such soul you could swear he was channeling Sam Cooke, and T.I.'s rap lyric is swift and compelling. It sweeps you up in the chaos, and exposes his fear as much as his regret. Running through all that is a lot of heart, coming straight from a guy on the other side of some dark days.
In the 1990s, Celine Dion and Whitney Houston conspired to kill the female-lead love ballad. Between I Will Always Love You and My Heart Will Go On, I never wanted to hear another one (EXCESSIVE radio air play didn't help either).
Leona Lewis' Bleeding Love hits just the right spot. She sings big high notes without hurting the ears of your pets. The chorus soars, but doesn't launch into orbit. The lyrics (written by Jesse McCartney? really?) are sweet but not saccharin, intense, but still accessible. Most of us can relate to the feelings on some level.
Bleeding Love is a beautiful song, sung beautifully. That's all it needs to be.
You won't hear a lot songs with this many hooks. Distubia jumps on you from note one, and doesn't let go. Catchy, a little bit creepy, and in a hurry, it'll get stuck in your head for hours. Luckily, it's good enough that you won't mind.
For those of you who are big fans of Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights, you're aware that the original version of this song by Wyclef Jean is with Claudette Ortiz a couple years earlier. The rest of us first heard it with Shakira. There's a reason some cuts work and some don't. Sometimes it's just the right hook; sometimes it's right voice (and sometimes it's in the hips).
Shakira adds a richness of sound to this already-solid Latin rhythm, her more powerful voice creating a better balance to Jean's quick (and slick) cadence...
HA! Like you're even LISTENING to the music! Right now you have the screen maximized, don't you? You're not even reading this, are you?? HEY!
Protest music. I had thought it was a thing of the past. Was the 1960s long-hair hippie band really the end of anti-war, anti-establishment music? Someone will surely tell me it was hanging around in Punk Rock all this time. Perhaps, but Holiday made it a long way up the charts. This is a song that clearly resonated with people. In 2005, many in America were coming to terms with the idea that the government campaigned for and entered us into a war (in Iraq) on false pretenses, if not out-right lies. This song tapped into that anger.
You may not agree with Billie Joe Armstrong's politics. Maybe you're the type who hates when musicians or celebrities speak politically at all. It's popular to call protest music Anti-American, especially when your side is in power. The opposite is true. There are few things more American than dissent. It's in our DNA to disagree, to protest, even to fight each other over what we believe in.
What's under-appreciated in America today is how nobody considers a Punk band shouting angry satire at the top of their lungs a threat to our institutions of our government. For the past year in the Middle East, they were arresting people and shooting at people for far less. Whether you support the Tea Party or Occupy or disagree with all of them, never forget that the right to protest is only worth anything when there are people out there passionate enough to exercise it.
Sometimes everyone agrees - the fans, the radio stations, the critics. The number one Pop song of 2007 was also the best.
This is Beyonce's masterpiece. Clever lyrics, fantastic hooks, a great R&B groove, and timeless vocals all rolled up into a sound that's quintessential Beyonce.
The beauty in Irreplaceable is its drama. Beyonce claims "I won't shed a single tear," but the emotion in her voice gives away that she (or her character) already has shed a few. It's brilliant subtlety: she's acting tough, but clearly there's some serious pain she's hiding. She's not weak, or going to change her mind; it's more that she's not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her suffer.
(A side note: for a "His Side" counterpoint to this song, check out Kanye West's Heartless.)
I guarantee, Irreplaceable will stand the test of time. Fifty years from now, when you hear it on your Oldies station, tell your grandchildren I told you so.
What if this whole thing was a big misunderstanding? Consider:
Carrie: "Well, look who's finally home."
Bobby: "I was at the impound, somebody trashed my truck! I'm pretty sure her name was Carrie. That's what it said on the DRIVER'S SEAT!! The paint, the headlights - there's about 15 grand in damage there! Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND? Do you have any idea how much those TIRES cost??"
Carrie: "Well, MAYBE, if you were workin' like you said you were gonna be instead of partyin' at the Whiskey Mistress with some tramp..."
Bobby: "I WAS workin'! Ricky said he had a hot date, so I let him borrow my truck. Jesus! You thought..."
Carrie: "Oh... your... brother. Oh NO! Oh baby, I'm sorry! Here - take my Amex card. You can drive the Ferrari until your truck's fixed. Thank goodness I'm a super-rich Country singer, or this could've been a real problem!"
Bobby: "Ah'right, but I'm gettin' a new hat too, then..."
Listening to the music of the first five years of this century, I wondered about 9/11, and what effect it might have on hit music. There was definitely something there. A lot more Country music hit the charts: patriotic songs or ones about soldiers or family. 9/11 was a national (and world) event that meant something different - and very personal - to each of us. One common thing I saw in music was appreciation: for those who lost their lives; for the people fighting for our country; for family; for love, and for life.
This was a seriously good time for music. The further I looked, the more really good songs I found that I'd never heard before (for this decade, be sure not to miss the bonus tracks). I added more new songs to my own music collection from this era than from any before. I especially appreciate the renewed focus on lyrics and song construction. I never knew there would be so many new songs I cared about learning the words to. The best music of the time is more introspective. You might be surprised, but a lot of this music is Hip-hop.
Before the year 2000, Hip-hop had already been around for at least 20 years, but it was often panned, or scorned. This wasn't all deserved. Certainly some of the critics of Hip-hop weren't giving it a fair shake. The typical complaint against it is that it's misogynistic and anti-social: all about gratuitous sex, guns, and "bling." All that is there, but focusing on that in spite of so much extraordinary music that's NOT like that anymore is really short-sighted (and maybe a little racist...)
By the turn of the century, the quality of Hip-hop had improved by leaps and bounds. You can hear better rhythms, better lyrics, more personality, more musicality. In the 90s and earlier, some Hip-hop songs had these qualities, but by the 2000s, it was easy to find an excellent song.
Hip-hop is here to stay, but it's already being melded into Pop - and everything else. I expect in 20 years, we'll see Hip-hop the way we see Funk: a sound that permeates all kinds of music, but few "pure" songs of the genre. This is why we should appreciate the time, and one day tell our grandchildren about Eminem, OutKast, and Kanye.
The songs you're about to enjoy aren't nearly all Hip-hop. Rock-n-Roll, R&B and Pop all survived just fine. If anything, Hip-hop made them better, too.
I know what you're thinking: "It took me three years to get this song out of my head!"
Yes, they played Baby Boy on the radio every 12 seconds of every day from 2003 to 2005. It probably caused some brain damage.
Over the long term, it has staying power. Beyoncé brings her Pop brilliance and her intoxicating voice; Sean Paul is the master of Jamaican Hip-hop (there's a name for it - Dutty?), and the Middle-eastern rhythms offset a chorus that is actually *too* catchy.
Mostly it's a fun song that you can finally add back to your party mix without inducing seizures.
This ageless tune is about a man at war with his demons, trying
to deal with addiction and the trouble he causes in his own life and the
lives around him, the regret of losing the girl he loves, and the
glimmer of hope he has about pulling it all back together and making it
work. It's especially meaningful that the song neither has its
protagonist succeed nor fail (and a little disappointing the way the
video chooses for him to fail).
It's reassuring to still hear genuine Rock-n-Roll: a big drum beat, an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, a booming, powerful chorus. It's Been a While follows a classic formula in the hard rock genre, but it still sounds modern - think The Eagles meet Nirvana. Just as important is this great lyric - here's a sample:
It's been a whilesince I could hold my head up high And it's been a whilesince I first saw you And it's been a while since I could stand on my own two feet again And it's been a whilesince I could call you And everything I can remember As f**ked up as it all may seem The consequences that I've rendered I stretched myself beyond my means
Every great song is not all driving beats and jamming guitar, nor is it super-fast Hip-hop lyrics or giant pop hooks. Sometimes a song sneaks up on you: quirky, catchy, ethereal. In the same way that a guy might appreciate a well-made "chick movie," this is a really good "chick song." Nelly's voice is soulful, a little sweet, a little sexy, and a lot of passionate.
Turn Off The Light has an earthy sound. The strings (is that a sitar?) and sampled sounds feel like the theme music of a misty marsh: wet, lush and green. Whether that marsh is in the Bayou, the jungles of Central America, or somewhere in Southeast Asia, who knows?
I was watching the movie Apollo 13 a few weeks ago, and it occurred to me that this song is kind of like Tom Hanks. If you're channel surfing, and a movie with Tom Hanks shows up on your screen - doesn't matter which one - you stop and watch. You've seen The Da Vinci Code, Catch Me If You Can, The Green Mile, or even Joe vs. The Volcano a hundred times before and still, you stop and watch. Why?
Kryptonite is that kind of song. You know every word, every sound, and it's not going to sound any different this time, but you listen, you sing along, you bang your steering wheel... Like Tom, it's got that familiarity, that connection, like an old friend. Still, it's got enough power and pace to get your blood pumping and make you feel good.
Tom Hanks should've played Superman. That would have really made this comparison work.
In 2001, Big Boi and Andre 3000, aka Outkast, had the super-massive hit Hey-Ya! It was catchy, mainstream Pop that you couldn't escape on any radio station anywhere in America. A fun song which belied their true talent as a couple of the best rappers of their time.
This is why you need to know about Ms. Jackson. This isn't any "old-school" Hip-hop. The lyrics are clever, funny, poignant. The pace is frenetic, the beat is off-kilter, the chorus is bluesy. It's sophisticated, thoughtful music. The song really needs five or six listens before you can fully appreciate it.
I can't even remotely imagine my life had Steve Jobs not come along and brought us the Macintosh computer, the iPod, iTunes, and the iPhone. I got my first Mac in 1988 - freshman year of college. I was an Apple devotee for over a decade. It led to every job I've had since.
The iPod and iTunes are why this blog exists. Way beyond that, they're the tools we use to express our love for music. A lot of technology enhances our lives; not a lot of it enriches.
Some have called this a power ballad. I can't accept that. You don't call Romeo and Juliet a romance novel. You don't call Air Force Ones "sneakers."
Amy Lee's angelic crooning over that agressive metal guitar and backup vocals from Paul McCoy - it's like Linda Ronstadt meets Ronny James Dio. You wouldn't think that would work, but here it is. Get the album version of this song and listen to the moment just before the first chorus - it sounds like a depth charge. Very cool.
As a person, Kanye West's a bit of an ass. As a writer, he's astounding:
We at war
We at war with terrorism, racism, and most of all we at war with ourselves
(Jesus Walks)
God show me the way because the Devil trying to break me down
(Jesus Walks with me) with me, with me, with me
You know what the Midwest is?
Young and Restless
Where restless (N*ggas) might snatch your necklace
And next, these (N*ggas) might jack your Lexus
Somebody tell these (N*ggas) who Kanye West is
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death is
Top floor the view alone will leave you breathless Uhhhh!
Try to catch it Uhhhh! It's kinda hard
Getting choked by the detectives - yeah now check the method
They be asking us questions, harass and arrest us
Saying "we eat pieces of sh*t like you for breakfast"
Huh? Yall eat pieces of sh*t? What's the basis?
We ain't going nowhere, but got suits and cases
A truck full of crap, rental car from Avis
My momma used to say only Jesus can save us
Well momma, I know I act the fool
But I'll be gone 'til November I got packs to move, I hope
[chorus]
(Jesus Walks)
God show me the way because the Devil trying to break me down
(Jesus Walks with me)
The only thing that that I pray is that my feet don't fail me now
(Jesus Walks)
And I don't think there is nothing I can do now to right my wrongs
(Jesus Walks with me)
I want to talk to God but I'm afraid because we ain't spoke in so long
To the hustlers, killers, murderers, drug dealers even the strippers
(Jesus walks with them)
To the victims of Welfare for we living in hell here hell yeah
(Jesus walks with them)
Now hear ye hear ye want to see Thee more clearly
I know He hear me when my feet get weary
Cause we're the almost nearly extinct
We rappers are role models - we rap we don't think
I ain't here to argue about his facial features
Or here to convert atheists into believers
I'm just trying to say the way school need teachers
The way Kathie Lee needed Regis that's the way I need Jesus
So here go my single, dog - radio needs this
They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus
That means guns, sex, lies, video tapes
But if I talk about God my record won't get played... Huh?
Well let this take away from my spins
Which will probably take away from my ends
Then I hope this take away from my sins
And bring the day that I'm dreaming about
Next time I'm in the club everybody screaming out
[chorus] ------------------------- Just to be clear, I'm also not here to convert Atheists, only to appreciate great songwriting. Almost everybody else in Hip-hop is writing self-aggrandizing, misogynistic, shallow, mass-appeal drivel, and Kanye's turning the mirror on all of them. His songs make you uncomfortable because they make you question yourself, expose myths and ugly ironies, and ultimately tell hard truths. He's an ass. I wish more were like him.
The backup vocal on this sultry Latin-Pop ballad is the guitar itself, "played by Carlos Santana," of course.
I'm a sucker for a song with a sound that fits the lyrics. I could imagine this very song playing outside in the streets, in the dead of summer, asphalt baking, people trying to find a little shade, a little water. Kids in swimsuits playing in the sprinklers and hoses in their front yards.
People from outside the area might call it a dangerous neighborhood, but for the people who live there, it's home, and you make the best of it. Life is hard, money is tight. Mostly you live for your family, love, good home-cooked food, and great music.
This might be the most important song about shoes since Blue Suede Shoes. Nelly and his boys love their Nikes the way Carrie and Samantha love their Manolo Blahniks.
Some of my favorite lines:
Nelly: The last person that touched 'em, I damn near shot 'em
Kyjuan: Now if you look and see lime green Forces, it's Kiwi
You couldn't get this color if you had a personal genie
Murphy Lee: We up in Foot Locker, I'm looking like I need those 10-1/2, and if you got 'em, give me two of those I can tell she's never seen Murphy Lee befo' 'Cause she just standin' there as if I'm shootin' free throws I said, "Excuse me, miss, I only wanna buy shoes" She said, "I love you, Murph, especially in the white and blue" I said, "The white and blue? Sounds nice, make it twice" Then I signed an autograph, "Thanks for the advice"
Have you ever had a conversation with your younger or older self? What would you say to yourself if you could go back in time? What would that person think of who you became?
The fifteen-year-old I used to be is a close friend to me, at least in my mind. I talk about the world and my life to him, and he reminds me of all the passion, dreams, and ideals I had and still try to have.
Mostly, like this song does, I urge him not be in such a hurry. Few of us realize how time accelerates until we get into our late thirties and can really see each year passing faster than the last. That's when you appreciate what you really had when you were fifteen: time.
Eminem is an important figure in modern music history, mainly because his work is the reason that the very idea of a white rapper isn't a joke.
But I think we're past that now. He's one of the great talents of our time - forget the color of his skin or the genre he works in.
Lose Yourself could be the first act of a play:
...a piano exudes melodrama as the curtain opens. The narrator asks the fateful question to be faced ("If you had one opportunity...would you take it?"). The piano gives way to a short guitar riff - a beating heart - really a pounding heart...
Right away, in that opening moment, our main character falls flat on his face, overcome by stage fright ("he opens his mouth, but the words won't come out").
In the next scene, he has some success, but he causes so much trouble for himself and his family that it's hardly worth it, and then it all slips through his fingers anyway.
Just when it seems time to give up on him, it's that third scene where the audience finally gets inspiration to root for the hero. He runs the emotional gamut, from anger to passion, frustration to helplessness, to realization, and finally to resolve:
No more games, I'ma change what you call rage
Tear this motherf**kin' roof off, like 2 dogs caged
I was playing in the beginning, the mood all changed
I've been chewed up and spit out and booed off stage
But I kept rhyming and stepped right into the next cypher
Best believe somebody's paying the pied piper
All the pain inside amplified by the fact
That I can't get by with my 9 to 5
And I can't provide the right type of life for my family
Cause man, these goddam food stamps don't buy diapers
And it's no movie - there's no Mekhi Phifer - this is my life
And these times are so hard, and it's getting even harder
Trying to feed and water my seed, plus
Teeter-totter caught up between being a father and a prima donna
Baby mama drama's screaming on and
Too much for me to wanna
Stay in one spot, another day of monotony
Has gotten me to the point, I'm like a snail
I've got to formulate a plot or end up in jail or shot
Success is my only motherf**kin' option, failure's not
Mom, I love you, but this trailer's got to go
I cannot grow old in Salem's Lot
So here I go it's my shot - feet fail me not
This may be the only opportunity that I got!
Songwriters seldom expose a raw nerve like this, especially considering how much of it we all know to be autobiographical. But that's what greatness takes. "Write what you know," the old saw goes. If you have the courage to lay it all out there, it really works.
Music-wise, this is a nice Pop song. Lyrically, it's a thing of beauty.
Pat Monahan was inspired to write this song after the death of his mother; some of the lyrics came to him in a dream. The song is essentially a fantasy of her coming back to see him, and it laced with lots of metaphors about a trip through the cosmos. I expect there's a little more to it than that, but that's the gist of it.
Drops Of Jupiter is such a visual song. Think back to the lyrics of Don McLean's Vincent:
Starry starry night, flaming flowers that brightly blaze Swirling clouds in violet haze reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue...
and compare:
Tell me did you sail across the sun?
Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated?
The lyrics turn words into light and color, and the listener gets two different stimuli: one in sound and the other in pictures in the mind. Great writers, whether they're songwriters or book authors or (cough, cough) bloggers, strive to inspire images in the mind of the reader. A song like this can really transport you to another world.
It slides into the music at the club right alongside Brick House, Super Freak, September, Rock With You, Get Down On It, Ladies' Night, Billie Jean, and on and on... (and it's better than most of them)
...and people out on the floor in their forties and fifties just keep on dancing, thinking it came out in 1983.
Mary J. Blige floats back and forth from singing Soul to Funk to Hip-hop like there are no boundaries between them - perhaps there aren't for her.
If you've been in cave somewhere and don't know this song, get to know it. It's that important, and it's that good. I don't care if you're 17 or 70, there's no excuse for not knowing and loving this song.
However, if you are 70, you may need some help with the vocabulary:
"Crunk" - (adj.) Past tense of 'crank,' as in "Crank up the music."
"Dancerie" - (n.) Place where people get together to dance, such as a club.
"Hateration" - (n.) Act or attitude characterized by negativity.
My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It) - En Vogue (1992) Mysterious Ways - U2 (1992) Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover - Sophie B. Hawkins (1992) If - Janet Jackson (1993) Come Undone - Duran Duran (1993) All I Wanna Do - Sheryl Crow (1994) Kiss From A Rose - Seal (1995) Here Comes The Hotstepper - Ini Kamoze (1995) Strong Enough - Sheryl Crow (1995) December - Collective Soul (1995) Keep Their Heads Ringin' - Dr. Dre (1995) Change The World - Eric Clapton (1996) Who Will Save Your Soul - Jewel (1996) Counting Blue Cars - Dishwalla (1996) You Learn / You Oughta Know - Alanis Morissette (1996) Mo Money Mo Problems - Notorious B.I.G. (1997) Everyday Is A Winding Road - Sheryl Crow (1997) Gettin' Jiggy Wit It - Will Smith (1998) Sex And Candy - Marcy Playground (1998) Genie In A Bottle - Christina Aguilera (1999)
You have to already be a member, or sign up - there's a free version, which is what I'm using. Once you're signed up, you should have access to all the playlists I've made so far.
Please comment and let me know if it works - thanks!
The 1990s was the beginning of the democratization of American music. From Grunge to Indie labels to Alternative rock to Hip-hop, music was no longer the sole property of giant record companies and Top40 radio. Thanks to the infinite talent of the artists, it worked out pretty well.
(DISCLAIMER: Okay, so I know what you're thinking: "the late 1990s was all about the Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, and 'N-Sync - what's all this 'talent' nonsense?" Relax. Notice how little of that you hear anymore? The cream is already rising.)
Once Nirvana made it okay to put a garage band on the radio, all hell broke loose. Alternative stations sprang up - or regained popularity - in every major city, and the charts were infiltrated with new sound.
By the late nineties, the Internet had taken hold. Napster was everywhere, and record companies were panicking over lost sales. For a full decade, they stuck their heads in the sand and hired lawyers. They missed the point: the information age got people excited about music again; they were just no longer interested in being told what to listen to. After that, the music industry was turned on its head - now people would drive what was hot, and who was cool.
This new generation were fearless, creative, bold, sexy, confident. And, as it turns out, there's a market for stuff people haven't heard before.
Think about it: Tupac, Gwen Stefani, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alannis Morrisette, Cheryl Crow, LL Cool J: today, all legends or super-stars. Back then: we chose them.
You'll notice there's no video here, no iTunes Link, and no lyrics, as well.
That's because this is a rated PG-13 site, and Doin' It is an NC-17 song. It's got a sweet groove; it sounds great at a club; it's smooth as silk; but, especially, it's dirrrrrrty. It's an excellent song the way Richard Pryor was an excellent comedian. You may love it, but you don't watch it sitting next to Mom and Dad.
So, go get it if you aren't easily offended by explicit sexual reference, but you'll have to find it yourself.
Rob Thomas has a heck of a voice, but Three Doors Down - oh, sorry. Matchbox Twenty - gets stale pretty quickly.
Carlos Santana plays a mean guitar, but Latin-influenced classic rock only gets you so far up the Pop charts.
Together? Unstoppable.
On the album Supernatural, Santana brought in a string of guest singers to make various songs in different styles. The album is an all-time great; it's biggest hit is pure gold (actually, triple-platinum).
Smooth almost defies genre - it's a rock song you can dance to. It's a ballad with power, but nothing like a power ballad. It's a handsome young crooner doing the singing, but the old Mexican dude with an electric guitar is the real star (well him and that girl in the video...)
It's also got that "big" sound, when "big" wasn't big anymore - lots of instruments - horns all over the place - crescendo on crescendo. All that sound would have fit better in the 80s. It just proves once again that great songs are timeless.
What can you say about Sarah McLachlan? That beautiful voice, the haunting melody...
Building A Mystery might be one of the most melodic, pleasant-sounding slams you'll ever hear. She's clearly underwhelmed by her lover's phony persona, calling him out for trying to make himself look all dark and mysterious, when it's all pretty ridiculous. Still, she's drawn to this "beautiful, f**ked up man," despite the overblown facade. And she hates that she can't really know him ("so careful, when you hold me in your arms...")
The music feels like a river winding it's way through a canyon: not too slow, not too fast. And now, I'll stop trying to convince you - just enjoy.
The album Californication marked the turn of the Red Hot Chili Peppers from "a band" to genuine artists and musicians. Scar Tissue was their first true work of art.
The lyrics are vivid scenes, both beautiful and grotesque. Anthony Kiedis sings a sweet southern-influenced croon, and the guitar work of John Frusciante is reminiscent of George Harrison and Eric Clapton: almost another vocalist on the track.
Oh, by the way, the line is "with the birds, I'll share this lonely view," in case you never figured it out.
Some one-hit wonders I understand, some I don't. How does someone this beautiful, with a voice this good, and a song this sexy, not have at least one more hit?
Crush is a heavyweight Pop song. It's got a sultry beat, a creative lyric, and a monster hook. Seriously, nobody wanted her back for an encore??
In 1967, Aretha sang Respect. The song's message was "I belong in this house too, and you should treat me right." In '79, Gloria Gaynor (I Will Survive) declared her strength to make it without that man. In '84, Madonna's Material Girl used men to get ahead. But by 1996, all a girl really had left to say was "who the hell are you, and why are you in my way??"
And this is why Just A Girl makes me think of Title IX. Title IX created slews of new opportunities for women (and not just in athletics), eventually fostering generations of confident, successful women who no longer subscribed to the idea of the "man's world." It likely had more impact on society than Women's Liberation and the Equal Rights Amendment.
Gwen Stefani grew up in an age mostly free of the heavy-handed chauvinism her predecessors experienced. That must have made her more aware when she did see it, and it looked that much more absurd. That's the real sentiment in this song: it's sarcastic and annoyed as much as angry. It calls out those last remaining dinosaurs who still think they might put a woman in her place. Ms Stefani might say: "Here, silly chauvinist, have some guitar and drums loud enough to blow out your speakers, and a nice fat KISS MY ASS!"
