BONUS TRACK #1: A Camp ~ “Psycho” (This is actually the same song as #14 above. But this version manages to be FAR LESS creepy! Also, Nina Persson’s vocals are way more lovely than those of that Beasts Of Bourbon guy – but then again, he was obviously going for the “ick factor.” And nailed it, I might add.)
BONUS TRACK # 2: Poe ~ “Trigger Happy Jack” (While the word “Psycho” doesn’t appear anywhere in the title of this song, it does figure prominently throughout the chorus – plus, I happen to like the song, so here it is!)
These songs are not happy. In fact, they're ANGRY! Okay, I'm embellishing a bit. Songs cannot experience emotions. But they certainly can convey them. And these tunes are all about anger. Well, mostly. Some of the anger is purely metaphorical. Enjoy? ~ JH
1) Matchbox Twenty ~ “Angry”
2) James Taylor ~ “Angry Blues / The Twist” (I can’t even remotely figure out how these two songs relate to each other, or why Taylor would play them back to back. But it’s actually kind of awesome!)
3) Syleena Johnson ft. Tweet ~ “Angry Girl”
4) George Ezra ~ “Angry Hill”
5) XTC ~ “The World Is Full Of Angry Young Men”
6) Ani DiFranco ~ “Angry Anymore”
7) Iron & Wine ~ “An Angry Blade”
8) Elvis Costello & The Attractions ~ “I’m Not Angry”
9) Seven Mary Three ~ “What Angry Blue?”
10) Perry Como ~ “Angry”
11) Corey Hart ~ “Angry Young Man”
12) Megadeth ~ “Angry Again”
13) Christopher Cross ~ “Angry Young Men”
14) Quiet Riot ~ “Angry”
15) Poe ~ “Angry Johnny”
16) Kaiser Chiefs ~ “The Angry Mob”
17) Imogen Heap ~ “Angry Angel”
18) Tim McGraw & Martina McBride ~ “Angry All The Time”
As promised, here's the follow-up to my previous post ("Silence" Songs). This lot features a wide variety of songs with one thing in common: the word "Noise" in their titles. Why ask why? Just enjoy! ~ JH
1) Neil Diamond ~ "Beautiful Noise"
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2) Rival Sons ~ "White Noise"
3) Peter Gabriel ~ "Signal To Noise"
4) The Runaways ~ "Queens Of Noise"
5) Beady Eye ~ "Standing On The Edge Of The Noise"
6) David Bowie ~ "Black Tie, White Noise"
7) Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers ~ "Makin' Some Noise"
8) Suzanne Vega ~ "Blood Makes Noise"
9) Katie Herzig ~ "Make A Noise"
10) Anthrax & Public Enemy ~ "Bring The Noise"
11) Flame ft. Lecrae & John Reilly ~ "Joyful Noise"
12) Derek Trucks Band ~ "Joyful Noise"
13) David Crowder*Band ~ "Make A Joyful Noise / I Will Not Be Silent"
14) Buzzcocks ~ "Noise Annoys"
15) Cutting Crew ~ "Big Noise"
16) Quiet Riot ~ "Cum On Feel The Noize"
17) The Verve ~ "Love Is Noise"
18) The Bobcats ~ "Big Noise From Winnetka"
19) Tegan and Sara ~ "I Hear Noises"
20) Murder By Death ~ "White Noise"
21) James Vincent McMorrow ~ "Hear The Noise That Moves So Soft And Low"
I was feeling random. So I posted a "like" challenge on Facebook. The required 10 people responded. To those 10 folks (and everyone else, too), here are "your" songs. Enjoy! ~ JH
1) Quiet Riot ~ "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)" (For Kevin W. – Quiet Riot's lead singer at the time was Kevin DuBrow. I HAD to give you an '80s metal song!)
2) Randy Newman ~ "You've Got A Friend In Me" (For Randall J. – His name at birth was Randall Stuart Newman. And it's a "Toy Story" song – how can you go wrong?)
3) Amy Winehouse ~ "You Know I'm No Good" (For Amy E. – Winehouse is one of my favorite dead singers, and yet another unfortunate member of the "27 Club.")
4) Taylor Swift ~ "Begin Again" (For Taylor E. – This one was both easy and difficult. I knew I was going to use a Taylor Swift song, but finding one I've never posted before was a challenge! But here it is!)
5) Kings Of Leon ~ "Use Somebody" (For Caleb F. – KOL's lead singer is Caleb Followill. And this song was way better than any song by the actual namesame that you told me about.)
6) Elyse + The Aftermath ~ "House Of Cards" (For Elyse S. – This was the ONLY Elyse, singer or artist, that I could find anywhere. Hope you like it!)
7) Kathy Troccoli ~ "Everything Changes" (For Kathy M. – File this one under "mid-'90s Christian contemporary/crossover pop." That's some big hair she's got!)
8) SNAP! ~ "The Power" (For Penny W. – I'm sorry, Penny. This was the only decent song I could find featuring a singer named Penny – Ford, in this case, the lead singer for SNAP!)
9) Aubrey O'Day ~ "Wrecking Ball" (For Aubrey S. – Here's a hit song from former Danity Kane member, Aubrey O'Day. And no, it's NOT the same as that Miley Cyrus song.)
10) Heidi Newfield ~ "Johnny And June" (For Heidi B. – This was the only Heidi singer I'd ever heard of, and she's not bad. The song's rather sweet, too.)
Here's that blog post I asked for your help in compiling a few days ago. If I didn't pick your band/singer or your song, there was probably a good reason for it. But don't worry – I still love you. At the very least, I still like you as a friend. Commentary is included for each song, for those of you to whom it matters. Enjoy! ~ JH
1) Lynyrd Skynyrd ~ "Simple Man" (No, it's not "Sweet Home Alabama" or "Free Bird," but I've posted both of those here before, and this one never made the blog. But it's way awesome, so here it is.)
2) Oingo Boingo ~ "Weird Science" (Admit it, guys, you had a crush on the "Weird Science" girl when you were a kid. And if you're a girl, you probably tried to look like her so guys would crush on you, too.)
3) Ace Of Base ~ "Don't Turn Around" (Nothing says kitschy-cool like Ace of Base. I used to love them back in the day. I still have a healthy appreciation for their classic pop gems.)
4) Tina Arena ~ "Chains" (This lady was way more popular in her native Australia than she was in the States, but this song charted here and still gets occasional airplay.)
5) Milli Vanilli ~ "Girl, You Know It's True" (Oversized suit jackets with huge shoulder pads paired with skin-tight leggings…what were we thinking, '80s babies?)
6) Right Said Fred ~ "I'm Too Sexy" (This song is ridiculously bad, and the video is even worse. But what OTHER Right Said Fred song would I include here? I mean, really!)
7) Tears For Fears ~ "Advice For The Young At Heart" (This might be one of TFF's lesser-known songs, but it hasn't been too many months since I posted "Everybody Wants To Rule The World," so there you go. Besides, people should know this band had more than one good song worth listening to.)
8) Slick Rick ~ "Children's Story" (If I were a kid, I don't know if I could sleep after hearing this story! LOL! On a side note, this beat sounds remarkably similar to the "Fresh Prince" theme song. Who sampled who?)
9) U2 ~ "Window In The Skies" (I've posted a lot of U2 songs here and on my original blog, but never this one. I don't know why not, because the song is excellent and video's even better!)
10) Chumbawamba ~ "Tubthumping" (Hands down, one of the catchiest hooks in a song in the past twenty years. If it's stuck in your head the rest of the day, don't blame me! Well, I guess you could blame me. Just don't HATE me!)
11) Enuff Z'Nuff ~ "Fly High Michelle" (This is one of those rare bands that I somehow managed to not realize existed until I started compiling songs for this post. Apparently, this was one of their biggest hits. Anyone else remember these guys?)
12) Believin' Stephen ft. Calm One ~ "Teddy's Story" (Y'all know I gotta sneak in some Christian rap whenever I get a chance, right? So check it, check it, check it out!)
13) Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs ~ "Li'l Red Riding Hood" (Had to throw in a "golden oldie" in here. It's a good one, too!)
14) Scritti Politti ~ "Perfect Way" (Here's another band I'd never heard of before, but they're not too shabby. This signature synthpop song is very much of its time – mid-1980s – but still manages to look and sound fresh. Neat trick, that.)
15) Haysi Fantayzee ~ "Shiny Shiny" (What the heck did I just watch? And why did I include it here? I don't have an answer for either.)
16) Quiet Riot ~ "Stay With Me Tonight" (Ah, '80s "hair bands"! How much do we miss you? Answer: Not all that much, actually.)
17) Shaquille O'Neal ft. Fu-Schnickens ~ "What's Up, Doc (Can We Rock?)" (OK, so the Fu-Schnickens TOTALLY steal this song from Shaq with their rapid-fire, hip-hop delivery. But for the 30 seconds of the song where he is rapping, the Big Guy actually does pretty well. To listen to a pretty decent Shaq solo song, click here.)
18) Tower Of Power ~ "What Is Hip" (Every so often, it's nice to hear a good band with a bunch of horn players in it. Today must be "every so often.")
19) The Nice Device ~ "Innocent" (This song is what is known in the music industry as a "filler." Basically, I wanted to include 20 songs here, and I was one short. So I found a song by a band that neither I nor anyone else has ever heard of but that fit my criteria and was decent enough to be included here. And it serves its purpose. Be nice, and give it a listen, 'kay?)
20) a-ha ~ "Take On Me" (It seems this post has been a bit heavy on '80s songs. So why not end it off with a classic pop song from that most unique of decades!)
