Willie Simpson – Page 63

Lucinda Williams, Drunken Angel

Part 22 of my youtube countdown features the modern legend Lucinda Williams and her miraculous Byrds-esque folk jam, Drunken Angel. This song, about dead country singer Blaze Foley, is like the greatest song Tom Petty never wrote. It’s one of those beautiful syncopated guitar pop gems with a gorgeous melody and wonderfully sung lyrics from…

March 24, 2011
Chuck Berry, Johnny B. Goode, and Maybellene

Part 21 of my youtube countdown continues with a special Two for Tuesday! A few weeks ago we saw Chuck Berry rip up “Roll Over Beethoven” on a French TV show in 1958. It was one of the most iconic moments of all time, and guess what, we’re going back to that very same show…

March 22, 2011
Paul McCartney Cries Listening to John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy"

In part 20 of my youtube favorites countdown, we delve a bit into the sadder side of Beatle history with a clip of Paul McCartney reflecting on the life of his then recently deceased pal John Lennon. Now, when most people think of Paul’s reaction to John’s death, they either think of this clip where…

March 20, 2011
A Review of "Angles," by The Strokes

I was an 18 year old senior in high school when The Strokes burst onto the scene in the fall of 2001. I immediately liked them, for all the cliched reasons. I loved their style. 5 skinny guys in cool vintage clothes wearing converse. When you’re 18 years old in 2001, you pay attention to…

March 17, 2011
The Liberal, SNL

Woohoo, another comedy video sets off part 19 of my youtube countdown. This one, “The Liberal,” is from the height of the Reagan universe in the mid 1980s. It starts off with one of SNL’s greatest dopey theme songs sung by what sounds a chorus of Phil Hartmans. Anyway, the political themes and jokes expressed…

March 15, 2011
The Unicorns, Tuff Ghost

If you’ve been visiting my site, you realize that a lot of my youtube favorites come from another era. Well here’s one from a more recent time. Part 18 of my countdown continues with the Unicorns, Tuff Ghost. Hailing from Montreal, the now defunct Unicorns were fronted by silly pop geniuses Nick Diamonds (real name…

March 11, 2011
The Who, I Can't Explain

I open part 17 of my youtube countdown with a very serious question, what the hell was going on in England in the 1960s? The ratio of incredible music and cool bands to the rest of universal history makes one wonder about the nature of quarks, quasar radiation, and folded cosmic fabrics. What the heck…

March 10, 2011
James Brown, Please Please Please

Welcome to part 16 of my youtube favorites countdown. In this edition we’ll be bringing down the house with the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. Helped out by his Famous Flames, this performance of Please Please Please, is from the TAMI rock show, a 1964 concert movie. This performance, considered by Prince to be the…

March 8, 2011
Motorhead, Let it Rock!

Part 15 of my youtube favorites continues with Motorhead covering Chuck Berry’s Let it Rock on the old David Letterman show. Now, you’ve probably never heard of Let it Rock. It’s one of Chuck’s lesser known tunes. It’s basically Johnny B Goode with different lyrics and no choruses. But the lyrics are amazing, featuring an…

March 4, 2011
Bill Haley and the Comets, Rock Around the Clock!

Part 14 of my youtube favorites countdown clicks off another rung, this time with Bill Haley and the Comet’s Rock Around the Clock! This live clip, from 1956, features Bill and his band absolutely shredding their iconic classic with total disregard for the world they were changing. Considered one of the first true songs of…

March 3, 2011