#111) "Ride to California" by The Paper Tongues - A great road song, with restless rhythms and a fevered incantation pointing the way toward the spurious but irresistible promise of California living, Ride to California also showcases singer Aswan North's unrivaled ability to shred sideways through paper with his voice...er, tongue...?
"I can't wait to get a ride to California / 'Cause it makes sense to go to California..."
#112) "Take It On The Run" by REO Speedwagon - Once again, REO Speedwagon demonstrates an ability to wield an emotional weapon. Take It On The Run has a thin barbed tip, perfect for letting a little air out of their pudgy reputation as love sick warblers. And once again, Gary Richrath, who wrote the song, reveals himself to be a fantastic guitarist, with a sharp ear for composition.
"And you need never look back again..."
#113) "One in a Million" by Guns -n- Roses - Not everyone will agree I'm sure, but I think the B-side of the album GNR Lies, released in 1988 as a follow up to the wildly successful - as in generation defining - Appetite for Destruction, is Guns and Roses' best work. Maybe because it's the first time I remember getting excited by music that was considered new, feeling that I was marching in time to my 'generation', and feeling cool and current telling people about. I'll never forget a morning in February 1989, skipping 1st hour, hiding out in one of the band practice rooms with two girls named Karen and Cheryl. As we cautiously glanced out the window at the hallway scanning for any sign of authority (and as I tried not to gawk too much at Cheryl's ass), the three of us agreed that Guns and Roses did not sound good singing a slow song...("Patience", which earlier that week they'd performed at the American Music Awards).
All these years later, I think we were right. That very performance is available now on YouTube and it really isn't good, nor are many GnR live performances (aside from Axl Rose's frequent on-stage tantruming). But it felt good to be sixteen and sounding cool, skipping class with two hot girls in a band practice room, rebelling and having something to contribute to the conversation. (Until we ended up getting busted, which they blamed me for...yeah, I think I may have sneezed or something...). But Side B of ...Lies has a command presence all its own, and my praise for it includes "One in a Million", a song that caused controversy for its racist and homophobic lyrics.
It's an irrefutable charge, really. There's not a lot of room for interpretation. "One in a Million" spits out bile and ignorance in toxic quantities, no question.
At the time, Axl Rose was quick to defend the song, and himself, by saying it reflects a certain point of view, to some extent his point of view, his experience when he first came to LA from the Midwest. I have always accepted that explanation, and taken it a step further, in fact:
"One in a Million" is the larger experience of the disenfranchised, and disadvantaged, white guy.
First off, let's be very clear, am I that guy? Not at all. But I know him well. I grew up with him, went to school with him, used to avoid him on the playground, in the hallways, the cafeteria. When I was older, I drank with him at parties, took my beer to the other side of the bonfire when he (invariably) got too drunk and out of control, then, later, to the other side of bar.
As a young man with not a hell of a lot going on myself, I worked with him. Our paths regularly crossed pumping gas, flipping burgers and loading trucks. We competed for these jobs, and for hours, and favor with management, and I usually won because he was an asshole and/or never stuck around.
In recent years, I've hired this guy, fired him, and hired him back. He doesn't stick around any more now than he did twenty years ago, but he's not a bad worker when he's not distracted by trying to reconcile the shit hand life has dealt him with his own bad decisions, a currency he inevitably finds more worthless (and accepted at less places) with each passing year. Although even though I grow older, he never seems to...he's always somewhere between 19 and 28.
By no means is he right in his worldview, but he's part of the world nevertheless, embedded in every facet of our lives, populating the places most people strive to avoid, yet visit on a daily basis. He prepares our food, cleans up after us, does all those proverbial jobs "nobody wants to". And we would all be well-advised not to dismiss him any more quickly than we might the disenfranchised and disadvantaged African American, Latino, or whatever.
I contend that his ignorance makes him fearful, not hateful (an important distinction). I view the hostility in "One in a Million" as a defensive posture, and maintain that the song itself is a spot-on representation of his emotions, for better or worse, not his opinions.
Controversy aside, both Axl Rose's vocals and Slash's guitar work are pretty astonishing here, rising in intensity as the song progresses. Best vocals from Axl Rose to be found, I'd say.
"Radical and racist, don't point your finger at me / I'm a small town white boy, just trying to make ends meet / don't need your religion, don't watch that much TV..."
#114) "Tuesday's Gone" by Hank Williams Jr. - Another cover that does the original justice, lending it a sky-draped drama. This is the version I've turned to over time, time and time again, whenever Tuesday has gone.
"Now I don't know where I am going / I really wanna be left alone..."
