Today’s Terrific Tune features a classic artist who has been making music for over 40 years. Most of that music is really good, some of it great. OK, maybe not everything. But lots of it. Anyway, here is Neil Young performing at the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Celebration (more info). He’s doing a cover of Bob’s “All Along The Watchtower”, made famous in the excellent Jimi Hendrix version. Neil rocks out, moving to his own inner beat as only he can do, and makes some wonderful noise come out of his guitar. Very cool…

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The Terrific Tune for today is an alternate version of a classic early 80s (late 70s?) track by one of my favorites, The Pretenders. The song is Back On The Chain Gang and it was a great single back in the day. That was the rock (pop?) version. But here, Chrissie Hynde and the boys do an excellent acoustic version. It looks to be from the Isle Of View tour in the 90s. The Pretenders are a really good band and are still working and putting out new music. They deserve to be much bigger than they are, IMNSHO…

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Greetings once again faithful readers. Today’s terrific tune is one you may not have heard but should have. It’s Stan Ridgway’s “The Big Heat”, from his first solo album. He was formerly the singer and main songwriter for Wall Of Voodoo, a great but weird band from the bay area known mostly for their unlikely hit “Mexican Radio”. Anyway, Stan has released a lot of interesting music since then on his own. If you want to explore it, The Big Heat album is a great place to start. There’s also a version of the CD with some bonus tracks if you love a bargain. His music is atmospheric, an aural landscape inspired by the moody film noirs of the 40s and 50s, but with a modern new-wave sensibility thrown in too. Check out the video and then buy some of his music, he could probably use the money!

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This week’s Terrific Tune is “I’m Wrong About Everything” by John Wesley Harding. He’s a very talented singer-songwriter who sometimes does “gangsta-folk” (as he calls his folk music) and also sometimes does clever and catchy pop. This song was on the soundtrack for the film High Fidelity and also ended up on one of Wes’ albums. It’s kind of a mellowish pop song with some clever self-depreciating lyrics. I’ll likely use more of his music as time goes by because there’s plenty of variety in his stuff. And it’s always intelligent and well-written. Anyway, I’ve got everything by him and we’ll start with this. Check it out!

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Today’s terrific tune is a pretty cool video too. It’s one of my favorite bands Death Cab For Cutie and it is their official video for “Grapevine Fires”. It looks cool, sounds good, is moving, and thankfully it’s much different from most of the crappy videos you see on the music channels (when they even show videos, that is). If you don’t know Death Cab For Cutie, then, NO they are not a metal, headbanger, or heavy screamer band. Not at all! They have accessible and interesting music with very clever and literate lyrics. Sometimes they rock a bit more but it’s never overpowering. You NEED their platinum-selling, grammy-nominated album “Plans” for sure and their latest effort Narrow Stairs is pretty good too. That’s where the song in this video comes from. I like Plans better and would suggest it as a good DCFC starting point. Besides those latest two albums, there are a bunch of others and EPs too, but the earlier albums are a bit less polished. Still, there’s plenty of good material throughout their impressive catalog.

Check out the video:

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Today’s terrific tune is a live version of Beck doing his hit “Where It’s At” from his must-own album Odelay. He’s a strange guy but he’s just weird enough and just different enough that he is usually pretty interesting. This performance is from an MTV Live special way back somewhere around 2005, but I could be a little bit off on that timeframe. Anyway, he’s cool, and the song is cool, so check it out.

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Today’s terrific tune is the classic “Red House” performed by (who else) Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock. Is it just a little dated? Well, it was forty years ago! And no, it isn’t really dated. Jimi is arguably the greatest guitar player ever and not bad in other departments either. Every music collection should include his “Electric Ladyland” and probably “Are You Experienced” and “Axis: Bold As Love” too. Check him out in this video and know that I actually saw him in concert once. Yeah, I know, that makes me old. But having seen Jimi almost makes it worth being old! Almost…

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Today’s terrific tune is one of my favorite Beatles songs, “I Am The Walrus”. It’s always been a wonderfully weird song, coming from the height of the psychedlic sixties. Very trip-worthy, as they might have said back in the day. This video is kind of cheesy and goofy but you can see that they were having a great time with this classic song. And after all, they were the best group ever. Check it out and let me know what you think! Goo goo ga joob!!

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Today’s terrific tune is a classic from new wave popsters Blondie.

No, wait, it’s a classic from 60s rockers The Doors.

No wait again, today’s terrific tune is two – two – two songs in one! It’s a mash-up of The Doors “Riders On The Storm” and Blondie’s “Rapture” and it’s called “Rapture Riders”. I’ve always loved Debbie Harry’s rap in Rapture, which was one of the first mainstream pop songs to use rap. That might have turned out to be a mixed blessing but at the time it was cool. And Jim Morrison and The Doors, well, they are a classic group and he is a dead superstar. I’m not a huge fan but I like them ok. And this mash-up is, well, kind of fun. Check it out.

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Today’s terrific tune is from way back in the seventies. Singer-songwriter Jackson Browne wrote a great song called The Pretender, which ended up being the title track of one of his best albums. This clip is from 1994 and shows Jackson briefly discussing the song and then playing a really nice solo piano version of it. This song is an example of personal yet universal songwriting and Jackson is a major talent. Check it out!

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Today’s terrific tune is a classic electro-pop song from dark synth-meisters Depeche Mode. It’s their moody pop-goth semi-ballad “Enjoy The Silence”. This is one of my favorites of theirs. It creates a nice electronic groove and has their trademark vocals with some cool lyrics. It was a big hit and is still played every now and then on the radio but some people hate it for it’s supposed cold sound and some even call it depressing. Naaa, no way! Those bubbly synths are cool. And who doesn’t enjoy silence every now and then?

This is the official video, which is strange but somehow kind of fitting.

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Today’s terrific tune is a track from the one-of-a-kind singer songwriter Tom Waits. The track is “Downtrain Train”, made semi-famous by Rod Stewart, and this is Tom’s official video. Bet you didn’t see it on MTV.

Waits is a unique talent and sometimes people either love him or hate him. He’s got a gravely voice that sounds like he gargles with razor blades but he’s a master songwriter and he perfectly captures the seedier side of life. I can’t begin to fully describe Tom in this small space. Do yourself a favor and check out his entries at Wikipedia and the All Music Guide.

The video here is from the mid-80s and yes, he did get a bit strange at times. But, for the open-minded, see him live if you ever get the opportunity and give his work a chance, much of it is really wild and wonderful. The video here is moody but it draws you in, with the black and white look of an old film, a sense of humor at the beginning and end, and a cool creepiness. And yes, that is possible.

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Today’s tune is a powerful anti-war song that uses reggae as a backdrop to a message about the terrible loses that war causes. “They take our girls away, they take our boys away” and “those who build wars never fight them”. So sings Michael Franti with his group Spearhead in the song Time To Go Home from his great Yell Fire CD. Listen and watch and if it moves you then maybe leave me a comment.

Any thoughts? Or you can buy the CD here.

Today’s song is the classic 80’s pop ballad Don’t Dream It’s Over by Crowded House (learn more). A great song, from a really good pop album, by a really good pop band. You can see the video below. This song reached number 27 in the UK, number 8 in Australia, number 6 in Norway, number 2 in the US, and number 1 in Canada. The video earned the band the MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist in 1987. They broke up in 1996 but reformed in 2007 with a top-notch comeback album. The musical world had changed but their sound remains true. Their warm sound and melancholy pop hooks make them a band to treasure and make this song a classic.

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Today’s tune is the classic “Radio Radio” by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. Yes, from way back in 1978 when Elvis was King. Below is the official video for the song. You can see how young and snotty Elvis was (in a good way, of course). And what he had to say about the state of radio still holds true today.

What do you think?

Today’s selection was released in the last couple years. It is Regina Spektor doing a solo version of her song “On The Radio”, performing it live at Lollapalooza 2007. I love the studio version of this song but here the live version shows her charm and charisma. She’s adorable, she can write interesting and still catchy songs, and her lyics are better than most. Pick up her album “Begin To Hope” if you like this at all. It’s even better.

Your thoughts? Let me know…