Today’s song of the day was not specifically written for the Kill Bill soundtrack but that’s still the film that I’ll always associate it with. Here to help us celebrate Quentin Tarantino’s birthday, it’s Tomoyasu Hotei and Battle Without Honor or Humanity.
My latest pick for “Song of the Day” takes me back….way back to those early days post-high school. Only a couple years removed from graduating high school and maneuvering my ways through the turbulent seas of what would be my college years, it was only typical that music would be one of the few things that would anchor things for me during my Adrift Years.
Stone Temple Pilots is part of what I consider as the Big Four of alternative rock of the 1990’s or as some would label that particular sound as “grunge”. Alternative rock, grunge or just plain old hard rock, Stone Temple Pilots made their mark in the early 90’s rock scene with the second single off of their 1993 debut album Core.
“Plush” has always been one of my favorite songs of that era. I played that song on repeat and was one of my go-to Stone Temple Pilots track until “Interstate Love Song” a year later came along. The song was carried by Scott Weiland’s iconic vocals and its dark lyrics. I never knew how dark a song “Plush” was until finding out from a Weiland interview that it was based on a true story of a girl who had been kidnapped and murdered in the early 90’s.
Whether a song inspired by a true-crime story or a metaphor for a failed relationship (as Weiland has said the lyrics represented), “Plush” will remain one of those songs from my young adult years that I would revisit every year to reminisce.
Plush
And I feel that time’s a wasted go
So where you goin’ ’til tomorrow?
And I see that these are lies to come
So would you even care?
And I feel it
And I feel it
Where you goin’ for tomorrow?
Where you goin’ with the mask I found?
And I feel, and I feel when the dogs begin to smell her
Will she smell alone?
And I feel so much depends on the weather
So, is it rainin’ in your bedroom?
And I see that these are the eyes of disarray
So would you even care?
And I feel it
And she feels it
Where you goin’ for tomorrow?
Where you goin’ with the mask I found?
And I feel, and I feel when the dogs begin to smell her
Will she smell alone?
When the dogs do find her
Got time, time to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
When the dogs do find her
Got time, time to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
Where you goin’ for tomorrow?
Where you goin’ with the mask I found?
And I feel, and I feel when the dogs begin to smell her
Will she smell alone?
When the dogs do find her
Got time, time to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
When the dogs do find her
Got time, time to wait for tomorrow
To find it, to find it, to find it
To find it
To find it
To find it
Lawrence of Arabia (dir. by David Lean)
Since today is David Lean’s birthday, it only seems appropriate that today’s song of the day should come from the film that is regularly acknowledged as being Lean’s masterpiece, 1962’s Lawrence of Arabia. Composed by Maurice Jarre, here is one of the greatest film scores of all times.
In honor of the birthday of Steve McQueen, today’s song of the day comes from his 1968 film, Bullitt. Composed Lala Schifrin later went on to do the score for another film about a California detective with his own way of doing things, Dirty Harry.
Today’s song of the day is one that I’m picking just because I love Giorgio Moroder’s soundtrack work. From his Oscar-winning score for 1978’s Midnight Express, here’s some music to haunt your nightmares.
Our song of the day is the haunting Main Theme from Mulholland Drive, composed by Angelo Badalamenti, who would have been 88 years old today.
Anyone who lived through the mid-1990’s cannot say that they have never heard of Rage Against the Machine. They ushered in the rap metal/rap rock/alternative metal scene which would include such acts as Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock and Body Count just to name a few.
While the genre itself had some early beginnings with such metal and rap groups as Anthrax and Cypress Hill, respectively, it was with Rage Against the Machine that the scene really came into its own. As Scott Ian would later say, it was with Rage Against the Machine that rap metal as a genre was born.
Today’s “Song of the Day” with Rage Against the Machine’s 1996’s second single from Evil Empire, the band’s second studio album. That song is “Bulls on Parade”. The band released their self-titled album in 1992 that gave birth to the rap metal scene with “Killing in the Name” the birth cry of the genre. While success would follow the band pretty quickly with this debut album and their subsequent festival appearances it would be with “Bulls on Parade” that they would also achieve their most mainstream success.
A song decrying the military-industrial complex that the United States has become through the decades, the song was a mainstream-friendly calling card (as mainstream as RATM could ever be seen as) for the band known for it’s anti-establishment, anti-authoritarian and revolutionary lyrics. The band would be the boogeyman for the traditional and conservative movement many years even after the band’s break-up in 2000.
It is at the 2:30min mark that one of the most inventive and unique sounding guitar solos that signifies “Bulls on Parade” as having reached legendary status. Lead guitarist Tom Morello replicates the vinyl scratching typically heard with DJ artists in rap and club records. It is not your typical rock guitar solo, but a rock guitar solo it is nonetheless.
Bulls on Parade
Come wit’ it now
Come wit’ it now
The microphone explodes, shattering the molds
Either drop the hits like De La O or get the fuck off the commode
Wit’ the sure shot, sure to make the bodies drop
Drop and don’t copy yo, don’t call this a co-op
Terror rains drenchin’, quenchin’ the thirst of the power dons
That five sided fist-a-gon
The rotten sore on the face of mother earth gets bigger
The triggers cold empty ya purse
Rally ’round the family with a pocket full of shells
They rally ’round the family with a pocket full of shells
They rally ’round the family with a pocket full of shells
They rally ’round the family with a pocket full of shells
Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes
Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal
I walk the corner to the rubble that used to be a library
Line up to the mind cemetery now
What we don’t know keeps the contracts alive and movin’
They don’t gotta burn the books they just remove ’em
While arms warehouses fill as quick as the cells
Rally ’round the family, pockets full of shells
Rally ’round the family with a pocket full of shells
They rally ’round the family with a pocket full of shells
They rally ’round the family with a pocket full of shells
They rally ’round the family with a pocket full of shells
Bulls on parade
Come wit’ it now
Come wit’ it now
Bulls on parade
Bulls on parade
Bulls on parade
Bulls on parade
Bulls on parade
Great Guitar Solos Series
The late Wings Hauser not only co-starred in Vice Squad but he also sang the theme song, Neon Slime.
Here is today’s song of the day:
Happy birthday to the legendary Bruce Willis. Here he has in the 80s, performing Under The Boardwalk with The Drifters. It’s also our song of the day.
Oh, when the sun beats down and burns the tar up on the roof
And your shoes get so hot you wish your tired feet were fire proof
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah
On a blanket with my baby is where I’ll be
Out of the sun
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be havin’ some fun
(Under the boardwalk) People walking above
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be fallin’ in love
(Under the boardwalk) Yeah (boardwalk)
From the park you hear the happy sound of the carousel
You can almost taste the hot dogs and french fries they sell, yes you can
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah
On a blanket with my baby is where I’ll be
Out of the sun
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be havin’ some fun
(Under the boardwalk) People walking above
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be fallin’ in love
(Under the boardwalk) Yeah (boardwalk)
Yeah, under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah
On a blanket with my baby is where I’ll be
Out of the sun
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be havin’ some fun
(Under the boardwalk) People walking above
(Under the boardwalk) We’ll be fallin’ in love
(Under the boardwalk) Yeah (boardwalk)
Songwriters: Arthur Resnick / Kenny Young
Today’s song of the day comes from the iconic score of 1999’s Fight Club. Director David Fincher wanted a score that sounded unique and original and The Dust Brothers delivered.
Through the Shattered Lens 