As I noted this week, I’ve become mildly obsessed with Rihanna’s “Umbrella”. I so rarely listen to contemporary pop music, and every once in a while, a song does it for me.
But this FRT is a real break from tradition. What happened to my feminist credentials? Eight of ten songs by men? The misleadingly misogynistic title of the great Neil Young track at #8? #2 is a fine cut off the new album from one of the fiercer young women in mainstream country, and #6 and #8 are off two of my favorite albums from my favorite musical decade. Most folks think Rod Stewart wrote #7, but it did indeed begin as a splendid song by the future Yusuf Islam. Gillian Welch’s debut album was perhaps her finest (not that her later work has been too shabby), and this is one of my favorite cuts off that recording.
1. “Abraham”, Sufjian Stevens
2. “Guilty in Here”, Miranda Lambert
3. “A Change is Gonna Come”, Sam Cooke
4. “Authority Song”, John Mellencamp
5. “Nothing is Ever Enough”, Derek Webb
6. “The Late Show”, Jackson Browne
7. “The First Cut is the Deepest”, Cat Stevens
8. “A Man Needs a Maid”, Neil Young
9. “Green Fields of France”, Dropkick Murphys
10. “One More Dollar”, Gillian Welch
Bonus Track: “Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards”, Billy Bragg
\m/ Neil Young!! \m/
(that’s my pathetic attempt at an online rock on!!! symbol)
I love Neil Young. I find almost everything he recorded after about 1980 to be unlistenable compared to his early to mid ’70s genius. Of course, I feel the same way about Jackson Browne, Elton John, and Billy Joel. By the time the Reagan era dawned, all of these were on the downslope as far as I’m concerned.
I love him, too. He and his band, Crazy Horse, were the first concert I went to when I was nine at the Forum. Pearl Jam opened, too! Of course, I was too young to appreciate them back then, and begged my dad to take me home because the concert was “too loud.” Don’t take kids under 12 to rock concerts. The pot does things to you, and you can’t appreciate it until you’re older.
My favorite Neil Young song is Heart of Gold. It’s a classic. I was raised on grunge and classic rock. What can I say?