Monday, September 9, 2013

Song #35 On My MP3 Player - Bittersweet by The Hoodoo Gurus

The 39th song on my MP3 player is 'Bittersweet' by The Hoodoo Gurus. This song was released in 1985 and is the opening track on Mars Needs Guitars! 

My friend Ryan Dellwood introduced me to the Hoodoo Gurus back in the day. He put 'Come Anytime' on a mix tape and I wanted to hear more songs from this Australian rock band. I knew this guy named Big Daddy from a Guided by Voices mailing list and he was a big fan of the Hoodoo Gurus. He knew I was interested in learning more about the band so Big Daddy made me a killer Hoodoo Gurus mix tape and I discovered many great tunes like 'Bittersweet'.

This is definitely one of those college rock songs that speaks to the twentysomething dudes. They may have just been dumped or are holding a torch for a former girlfriend. Those dudes need an anthem. One day a Ryan Dellwood or a Big Daddy comes along and drops some Hoodoo Gurus into their world. All is well. All is great.





TonyDoug Wright is The Lost Soul of Rock and Roll.

Friday, September 6, 2013

Song #34 On My MP3 Player - Bird Dream of The Olympus Mons by the Pixies

'Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons' is the ninth track on the Pixies' 1991 album titled Trompe le Monde. This is a song about a bird that dreams of flying to the Olympus Mons, a volcano on Mars that is three times the size of Mt. Everest.

Trompe le Monde is a personal favorite. I first heard the album in 1992 when someone was playing 'Planet of Sound'. I had to know more about that band and grabbed a copy of Trompe le Monde. 'Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons' is a great song, and I wish I could say something really interesting about this song, but it is Friday and I'm thinking about the weekend. Just listen to the song.


TonyDoug Wright is The Lost Soul of Rock and Roll.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Song #33 On My MP3 Player - Best Thing by Bob Mould

Happy Thursday, everyone! 'Best Thing' is the eighth track on Bob Mould's 2005 solo album titled Body of Song. It is the song of the day at The Lost Soul of Rock & Roll, and it is song #33 on my MP3 player.

I'm a fan of Bob Mould's work with Husker Du, Sugar, and as a solo artist. He has a great catalog of music for people who love rock, hard rock, and punk. Mould is also a great acoustic performer as well and I encourage people to see him perform acoustically because he is amazing.

Some Mould fans have been critical of his solo efforts because they claim the work is not as good as anything he did with Husker Du and Sugar. I disagree. Mould's solo work is very good and 'Best Thing' is a fine example of a great Mould solo song. If you are looking for an upbeat rocker with some pop goodness then you've come to the right place.

Mould's also a songwriter who loves to drop a few relationship tunes on his albums. Some are pretty depressing, but 'Best Thing' is a great "f--k you" song for people who have tried and tried to show someone that they are a damn good catch, but they go off and date a total tool. Enjoy!



TonyDoug Wright is The Lost Soul of Rock and Roll.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Song #32 On My MP3 Player - Bad Luck by Social Distortion

'Bad Luck' is the second track on Social Distortion's 1992 album Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, which was a great follow-up to the band's 1990 album titled Social Distortion. Social Distortion is a band from Southern California and their career has spanned four decades.

Music is a great stress reliever and 'Bad Luck' is a song I need to hear when I'm having one of those days when nothing is going according to plan. This is one of those songs that I liked back in the day, but somehow forgot about it for some reason. I heard it on the radio circa 2003 and I realized that I forgot that I actually liked Social Distortion. 'Ball and Chain' and 'Story of My Life' are cool songs, but 'Bad Luck' is my jam.

I teach a class on rock and roll history, and my students have a weekly assignment where they review ten random songs. Last year I asked the students to review 'Bad Luck' and a majority of them ripped the song to shreds. I recall a few reviews said the song was "bad 90's music". That's straight up hatin', folks. This is a good song! Enjoy!



TonyDoug Wright is The Lost Soul of Rock and Roll.

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Song #31 On My MP3 Player - Back To The Lake by Guided by Voices

Guided by Voices' (GBV's) 'Back To The Lake' is the song of the day at The Lost Soul of Rock and Roll. 'Back To The Lake' is the seventh track on the 2002 release Universal Truths and Cycles.

GBV was active from 1983 until 2004, but they should have called it quits in 2002 when they released Universal Truths and Cycles. It would have allowed the band to ride off into the sunset on a high note, but they stayed active for a few more years and released two forgettable albums, Earthquake Glue and Half Smiles of the Decomposed. I'm a diehard fan of GBV, and I thought Universal Truths and Cycles was their best album since 1997's Mag Earwhig!

'Back to the Lake' is one of my favorites from Universal Truths and Cycles because it was a song that made me believe in a band that I saw as an act on cruise control collecting checks. Mag Earwhig! ushered in an era of a studio version of GBV. The days of 4-tracks and lo-fi experimental rock was gone. While I enjoyed the big studio version at times, I felt that I was following a band desperate for a top 40 hit or an alternative rock radio hot rotation hit.

Do The Collapse (1999) and Isolation Drills (2001) showed moments of brilliance, but something didn't seem right in my opinion. The two aforementioned albums lacked something honest. My interest in GBV was on the decline in 2000, but they captured my attention once again with Universal Truths and Cycles. It is interesting to note that the album that brought me back to GBV was the album that was one of the best selling releases for GBV. Greatness had returned and all was well in the universe.




TonyDoug Wright is The Lost Soul of Rock and Roll.

Monday, September 2, 2013

Happy Labor Day!

The Lost Soul of Rock and Roll will not be updated today, but we will return tomorrow with a new song of the day. Thanks!