Willie Simpson

Tag: psychedelic rock

  • The Beatles, Rain

    No, I’m not talking about the horrible Beatles cover band Broadway show thing, I’m talking about the 1966 B single of “Paperback Writer.”  I’m posting “Rain” because I’ve met 4 people in the last two months that had NEVER heard of the song before, which to obsessed Beatle lunatics like myself, is just unfathomable.  Perhaps…

  • Paul McCartney, Sloan, Waterfalls, Coming Up

    TLC ripped it off.  No doubt about it.  This song, “Waterfalls,” was a hit in England, but it was the first song of Paul’s unable to reach the top Billboard 100 despite the previous single, “Coming Up” reaching #1 in the US.  Hmm…”Coming Up” is one of my favorite songs ever, but I can’t embed…

  • The Making of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

    The best discoveries are the ones you make by accident.  Just yesterday, my roommate keyed me into letmewatchthis.ch, one of those movie streaming websites of dubious legality.  It’s a pretty cool site with a lot of variety of stuff, but new and old.  On a lark, I typed in “Beatles” in the search box, and…

  • The Beatles, All You Need is Love

    At last we’ve arrived at part 100 of my youtube favorites countdown.  This is the final part of the countdown, and boy has it been a magical journey through some of my favorite songs and videos of all time.  I had to end the countdown on the Beatles because it hurts my eyes when they…

  • The Beatles, Nowhere Man

    We are just one tick away to glorious #100 of my youtube countdown.  Until then, you’ll have to make due with part 99 which is of course the Beatles with “Nowhere Man” from 1965’s Rubber Soul. Nowhere Man was the first Beatle song that exclusively had no references to love, girls, or romance.  Stepping out…

  • The Rolling Stones, Paint it, Black

    For part 94 of my fast concluding countdown, I have the Rolling Stones, “Paint it, Black,” from their 1966 LP Aftermath. First things first, the odd placement of the comma in the song’s title was added by the Rolling Stones record label Decca.  Why?  I have no idea.  Second, although Richards and Jagger wrote the…

  • Ween, Even If You Don't

    Part 93 of my youtube countdown keeps the party going with Ween’s stunning 2000 single “Even if You Don’t” from their fantastic White Pepper album.  The music video was directed by two geniuses who were enormously influenced by Ween’s music, that being South Park and Book of Mormon creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.  “Even…

  • The Doors, Break On Through (To The Other Side)

    Part 92 of my youtube countdown tears you into another dimension with the Doors, “Break On Through (To the Other Side).”  This is one of the greatest psychedelic pop singles you’ll ever hear.  It’s got an iconic pulsing keyboard bass intro played by the genius Ray Manzarek, propulsive drumming by John Densmore, stunning pickless riffs…

  • Jake Shimabukuro, While My Guitar Gently Weeps

    Well, the world didn’t end, which is nice, so the youtube countdown continues with part 68.  I have the “Jimi Hendrix of Ukelele,” Jake Shimabukuro, performing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” from the “White Album.”  Taking place at Strawberry Fields in Central Park, this is one of the most amazing performances I have ever seen. …

  • The Kinks, Sunny Afternoon

    Part 66 of my countdown is the Kinks again, this time with “Sunny Afternoon,” from Face to Face.  This is a boozy depressed sunny pop song about the downside of being a rich famous rock star.  The tax man took all his money, his girlfriend left and stole his car, and Ray’s got nothing left…