Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Don't get me wrong. I think "Born to Run" is a great song. But the greatest? I can think of some other contenders off hand, including the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby," "Things We Said Today," and "Norwegian Wood," or even the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations." And what about "Whole Lotta Love" and "Travelling Riverside Blues" by Zeppelin? Could there be a metaphor more eloquent than squeeze my lemon 'til the juice runs down my leg? And let's not forget "Rocks Off" and "Beast of Burden" by the Stones.

I know Mr. Last is trying to get me on a U2 rant, but I will refrain. Just because I happen to think the live version of "Bad" (not the Michael Jackson song) featured on Wide Awake in America is the greatest of greatest live recordings of all time in the history of rock and roll history... What was I saying?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I recall that some New Jersey state legislator actually introduced a bill some years ago to make "Born to Run" the official state song.

His effort failed though. It seems some other legislators had issues with a state song that had lyrics that mentioned "suicide machines" and dying in the streets. There was also the matter of the lyric, "We've got to get out while we're young."

Anonymous said...

VM, the fact that you would select good vibrations over "God only knows" causes me to question every other thing you have stated on this blog.

Wilson was striving for something in that song, and the fact that it starts out with the disarming "I may not always love you" makes it more than another ode to mythic love. The messenger is flawed. The song is in the top 5 of the rock era.

Victorino Matus said...

Believe me I struggled terribly over that one. I almost did mention "God Only Knows" based on the lyrics, but then thought about the supposed one-session it took to record an extremely complicated song ("Good Vibrations") involving key changes and instruments. And the theramin.

Anonymous said...

FYI -- The "squeeze my lemon" line Led Zepplin was so fond of came from an old recording by 1930s bluesman Robert Johnson. It's a great metaphor, but Johnson deserves the credit for it.

Anonymous said...

"Sweet Jane."

Anonymous said...

I can't believe that nobody has yet brought up "Toxic" or "My Heart Will Go On".

Anonymous said...

Anna Begins by Counting Crows. Come on, now.