"Bike" - Pink Floyd

What can one say exactly about a song that defines a man? "Bike" essentially displays Syd Barrett's childlike weirdness with great aplomb and intensity. The music is rather fun and sunny on the surface, but is always hinting at something slightly darker underneath. Clearly, "Bike" was a Pop song that never was, as it could have easily been released as a single. This tune is very befitting of late '60's English Counter-Culture in art, music and performance. Of course, since this is Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd, we are also examining a song that successfully captures a timeless element as well. It is true that The Beatles were working on Sgt. Pepper literally right down the hall at the exact same time Syd and his mates were creating Piper in the Abbey Road Studios. It is said that Syd was inspired by Lennon's musical weirdness in particular, and went about giving "Bike" his all.

The premise of the song is funny enough in terms of vocal content, but ends on a rather blurry and frightening note of Found-Sound noises culled from the Abbey Road archive. While not the hit in England that "Arnold Layne" or "See Emily Play" were, I believe it is more than safe to say that "Bike" is indeed Syd's signature tune with the Floyd, and perhaps just his trademark song in general; as later in life it was rather commonplace to see Syd strolling about in his neighborhood on a fancy bicycle. With such exuberance and energy does Syd deliver his celebrated vocal, it's as if he's lost in his own little world that somehow seems undeniably inviting to the listener. Again, there's a quirky element of humor, but as is often the case with Syd, some serious intense drama is buried in there somewhere as well.

It is certainly the length of a late '60's Psychedelic Pop tune, but this is no "Green Tambourine." There's an aspect to Syd's original version of Pink Floyd that doesn't exactly make it ripe for mainstream consumption, and rather ironic as well that the failed single "Apples & Oranges" was performed on the old Dick Clark Bandstand show in the States. With the fun little organ tinkering away into madness, here is the original Pink Floyd with "Bike."

"Undone-The Sweater Song" - Weezer

Nerd Rock was born in 1994. The song and appropriately nerdy music video that introduced sensitive dorks everywhere to the band that they would indeed worship, Weezer is the guilty party in question, and Rivers Cuomo is the man that millions of scrawny geeks the world over would try their very utmost to emulate, right down to the bloody Buddy Holly glasses. All superficial prejudices aside, Cuomo and his band of merry dorks essentially put an end to the Nirvana era in a great many respects, and what can only be referred to as Post-Grunge was born. Weezer's music was no rallying cry for a generation, it was about getting dumped ten times in a row and curing your pain with a box of pizza and a Captain America comic book. I can't think of a single contemporary band that has tackled the unabashed sounds of Power Pop better than Weezer, and indeed "Undone-The Sweater Song" is a prime example of the genre.

Rivers Cuomo can shred a lead guitar just as thoroughly as his Heavy Metal heroes, that's right; because no one ever did accuse Weezer of being Punk, did they? Just leave that nonsense to Green Day. Vintage shirt wearing dweeb-sneezes magically created one of the great Pop singles of the decade, and while the later "Buddy Holly" single may have been more out and out commercial, and the final single on the epic Blue Album debut "Say It Ain't So" may have very well been more out and out personal, it was the vagueness and bizarre fun displayed on "Undone-The Sweater Song" that made this particular number Weezer's signature song to this very day. Fun backing vocals by rhythm guitarist Brian Bell and original bassist Matt Sharp really give the song an enhanced sense of melody, and keep in mind that this tune is already catchy as hell to begin with.

Pat Wilson is clearly the music video's comic relief, along with the various dogs...all the while, super genius Rivers Cuomo tries his best to play it relatively straight. It is unfortunate that Weezer never really played it free and easy on any of their future singles, as you essentially have the seriousness of Pinkerton and bland Pop by numbers of all that followed, of course, I am generalizing to an extent, but the exhilaration Weezer created with "Undone-The Sweater Song" was ultimately, and unfortunately, short-lived...



Ric Ocasek produced a gem, no?

"Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe" - Whale

A band from Sweden, although, not the powerhouse that was ABBA. Regardless, Whale is quite probably the most endearing and timeless of 90's Alternative one-hit-wonders. This is a time period and genre that saw a great many one-hit-wonders, such as Cypress Hill and EMF, but Whale take the cake. Making a peculiar variation of Noise Rock palpable to the ears of Pop music fans, and perfectly weird enough to play alongside Beck's "Loser" on either college or mainstream radio. "Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe" tells the tale of a strange woman with a penchant for violating homeless men? The humor is dark and bizarre, and quite obviously, very befitting of the St. Kurt Cobain era. The greatest sell factor for this novelty tune is the comical music video that was in regular rotation on both Beavis and Butt-head and Alternative Nation with Kennedy, each program geared to MTV's Rock audience of the time period.

In a way, it is almost as if the song is sort of mocking the militant feminism that became fashionable during the time period, but perhaps my old fashioned ways are reading into this track a little too much. Again, regardless, these Swedes that name themselves after a massive sea mammal really nailed the time period like so many other acts, but "Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe" does so in that most worthwhile of ways, in that they tackle the anything goes approach with great aplomb. What can only be referred to as Trip-Hop mingled with Death Metal, and that sassy and uncaring vocal, make for a timeless little jaunt into the recent past, and is the sort of fun and catchy jam that would be more than appropriate for any retirement home party. And in terms of the video, the braces don't hurt either...

"Miss Modular" - Stereolab

Bossa Nova to the bone, and you simply don't stop! Ha-ha! Ha-ha! Yeah, you right, playa! For me, Stereolab's "Miss Modular" from 1997's "Dots & Loops" is indeed one of the greatest songs in the history of Pop. A delicious simplistic horn arrangement, painfully catchy beat and marshmallow-like vocal performances to die for. And as always, Stereolab are the grand masters of ear candy, and not even in their Kraut Rock and Velvet Underground influenced early years could they help but be anything other than a tuneful musical outfit, my babies. The primary vocal is delivered in that most musical of languages known as French, and in essence, Lætitia Sadier is essentially a human instrument, but not nearly as much as the late Mary Hansen, who in this song literally "La la la's..." and "Ba ba ba's.." her way to musical freedom.

I must say everything is intact on this number that appropriately in Pop, fades out into oblivion at about the four minute mark. The multi-layered sing-song vocals that were so common amongst now vintage Stereolab simply cannot be denied, and as many a fan knows, Stereolab may very well be the ultimate headphone band. This is a studio outfit primarily, and the smooth and mellow "Miss Modular" was recorded in either Chicago or Germany, perhaps even the band themselves can't remember at this point. It was pure polish time for Stereolab at this point, no more noise for the sake of noise. What you hear on "Miss Modular" is the most sublime supermarket and elevator music combined, a sweet little Bubblegum Pop jam that not even The Cowsills themselves could hope to fuck with, me droogie.

By the late 90's, things were getting frighteningly retro to the point where the musical era almost ceased to have an identity, but leave it to Stereolab to touch upon the past in terms of musical experimentation, yet at the same time, put there own unique stamp on the proceedings to where the music is effortlessly timeless and undeniably Stereolab.

Enjoy a groovy little siesta to the musical delight that is the creamy and fat-free "Miss Modular" music video:



Indeed, Stereolab's "Miss Modular" taught us all to play it cool, and of course, to stay in school

"Chewing Chewing Gum" - Super Furry Animals

The Super Furry Animals' "Chewing Chewing Gum" (track nine on 1999's "Guerrilla", my favorite release by these Welsh freaks) is what I'd imagine a children's lullaby sing-along on Mars to sound like.

This shamelessly psychedelic ode to gum chewing begins with a sweet, tinkering keyboard/piano and whirring background noises. The drum beat (a mixture of live and electronic, maybe?) joins us for the chorus, in which Gruff Rhys warns us:

Don't go chewing in bed
You might wake up with it stuck in your hair
Haaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrr!

The song builds up slowly, accumulating new noisy elements and layered harmonies with each refrain. Like an exercise in repeating one line over and over, and sounding more exciting each measure.... The "chew, chew, chew, chewing in bed!" background vocals and squealing guitars surround the mix, filling the listener with a sense of chaotic bliss. When the track reaches somewhat of a climax at 2:35, the organ freak-out leads into the second half.

Everything whirs around in a madly tuneful frenzy. I can only imagine the amount of layers it took to record this. It sounds like a thousand voices and a marching band, all for the purpose of getting this simple piece of advice across to the innocent listener.

That's right! Don't go chewing...in bed!

The song finally fades out, but if you listen to the 10-minute hidden track at the end of "Keep the Cosmic Trigger Happy", Gruff and the Welsh Street Band have one more surprise in store. Join the quest for acid-drenched glory! Buy "Guerrilla" on Amazon!

(Copyright 2007 for Hilbert_Cheesecake productions. Good day.)

"Loser" - Beck

After dinking around on his acoustic guitar as part of the late 1980's Anti-Folk Scene (Whatever the hell that's supposed to mean!), Beck ended up back in his native Los Angeles in 1990 with a mission. Choosing to live a creepy drifter lifestyle, Beck spent a few years of his life pretending to be an early twentieth century hobo. Woody Guthrie, anyone? Hello! Anyone we know? Think, McFly! Think! And so, after opening up for now painfully outdated bands like Ethyl Meatplow and Possum Dixon, young Mr. Hansen was noticed by a couple of blokes who ran a record label, for you see, Beck was playing a little gem at a coffeehouse called Jabberjaw, and the song in question was entitled "Cut 1/2 Blues." The blokes liked this tune aplenty, and after a brief 15 minute set (In which Beck was quite probably strumming a banjo while wearing a Stormtrooper Mask, as was commonplace at the time), the blokes then approached the little elf and told him of their independent label Bong Load and asked him if he wanted to hammer out some songs. Beck was indeed interested, as he had been mostly recording on a crude analog 4-track, and of which, one of the tracks wouldn't work, so in Beck's case it was a 3-track.

A Hip Hop producer named Karl Stephenson who had worked with the Ghetto Boyz in the late 80's was along for the journey, and Beck's "Loser" was cut in a living room in roughly three hours, as to who's living room it was, I am uncertain. Karl had a fancy drum machine and a beat was looped with Beck's neat little slide guitar lick, and thus, Folk Rap was born! Beck brought Talking Blues into the late twentieth century and gave it a delicious Beat Poetry bliss that would leave even Bob Dylan himself choking on a few splinters of his own. Funny thing is, Beck's "Loser" sat around for a couple of years and was not released on Bong Load until 1993. By this point, Beck had made a name for himself as an inventive live performer. He had club gigs regularly in LA, and was in a side project called Loser, appropriately enough, which was a short-lived comedic Death Metal outfit in which Beck served as guitarist and would regularly pop out of a coffin on stage and Rock a violent solo, the lead vocalist of Loser was none other than the director of the "Loser" music video. This chap went by the name of Steve Hanft, and apparently met Beck some years earlier at a Melvins concert. The lyrics for "Loser" in part were inspired by Hanft's then unreleased surrealist comedy called "Kill The Moonlight."

When Bong Load records finally gave the "Loser" single the OK in 1993, it was released on delicious 12" vinyl and the B-side was another weird number that would appear on "Mellow Gold" the following year entitled "Steal My Body Home." The song was one of those classic moments in Pop, first it became popular locally in Southern California, and then all over College Radio, and then finally mainstream radio in America and then the world! Beck initially took his fame with a grain of salt, having at this point already released his fair share of Indie Rock outings, such as "Golden Feelings" and a single called "MTV Makes Me Wanna Smoke Crack." This was a new kind of artist on a mission, and Beck made good use of his fame, and if anything, 1994's "Mellow Gold" proved that Beck wasn't quite ready to go commercial, and certainly, the chaotic circus act that was the "Mellow Gold" tour made this painfully clear. For a short while, Beck was a highly experimental artist and a Pop star at the same time. Later, his music would match his income, but in '94 he appeared to exist in a void. Beck's musical world was certainly a bizarre little playground at this time, and his prodigious recorded output equaled a total of three albums in a single year. Needless to say, it was an enjoyable time to be a Beck fan, and it is safe to say that the wide array of songs that make up his early material is a legacy unto itself that could easily rival any of the commercial drivel Beck has released in more recent years, and indeed, is impressive enough to even rival Dylan at his finest.

I will now leave you with the "Loser" music video that we all know so well, as it clues you in as to the sort of public relations approach that Beck offered up during his early years in the spotlight, which could only be referred to as an anything goes approach, as was often the case with the music he was making at this time as well...

"Marquee Moon" - Television

Q: Mommy, how come when Phish records a 10+ minute song mostly consisting if one guitar solo, it's duller than a staring contest with Helen Keller, yet when Television does it, I pee my pants with joy?

Well, I'm glad you asked. Without a doubt, the centerpiece on Television's 1977 guitar-rock masterwork is the title track, and essential to anyone who knows what a guitar string smells like.

Look up "guitar interplay" in the dictionary and they should supply you with an MP3 of this track. The beginning makes awesome usage of panning, as the two riffs fit together. A simple bass line joins in the part, though, in my mind, the song doesn't really "begin begin" until that hot drum fill.

Singer/lead guitarist describes a vague situation involving "lightning striking itself", as the song builds to the first chorus. The ascended guitar riff is like sugar on the tongue of a magic elephant.

There I stand `neath the marquee moon
Just waiting...

Mucho credit must be given to the fabbo drummer, who completely sets the groove in motion.

The tension sets in after the second chorus, and the first (short) guitar solo takes place. It's a chaotic explosion of squealing harmonics, all over the fretboard like Mexican jumping beans. Keep in mind that it's just a warm-up for the treat later...



"Well, the Cadillac
Pulled up to the graveyard.
Pulled up to me
All they said..."Get in! Get in."
Then the Cadillac, it went back into the graveyard
Me? I got out again."

Jesus Christ, those ringing notes, the drums elevating the whole thing to a new chorus.

"I ain't waiting, uh nuh!"

The same chords as the intro start up again alone, but the mood has changed in those four and a half minutes. The bass and drums join in, and soon a moaning, wiggling guitar string. So subtle, so brilliant. It sneaks up on you, builds up slowly, with the drums on the same page. A little bit higher, maintaining the melodic beauty. It's a beautiful solo, almost painting a picture through single notes. It doesn't just get louder and faster, it gets bigger, more urgent. We're almost up to seven minutes right now, and this solo makes me wanna drive off the Grand Canyon.

At about 7:30, we're treated to ascending guitar notes again, a common theme with Television. Listen to the crashing symbols after every new note. We're past the point of no return when the three staccato notes repeat and ascend. The drums are having seizures all over the place, when it changes the The Edge-like ringing harmonics and little fluttering guitar snippets.

We're past nine minutes now. It stops. Just the cymbals, whispering. An almost hip-hop like drum intro. The same repetitive bass. And then there was light!

I was listening, listening
To the rain
I was hearing, hearing
Something else...

Part 1 of live version from Washington, 1993 (it was all I could find):



Part two of live version from Washington, 1993 (it was all I could find):



(Copyright 2007 for Hilbert_Cheesecake productions. Good day.)

"Mr. Blue Sky" - The Electric Light Orchestra

Alright, I'll just say it right off the bat: If listening to this song doesn't make you feel all sorts of warm and fuzzy inside, then you clearly have no soul. No, even better: if this song doesn't make you wanna hug Jeff Lynne, massage his back and feed him oatmeal from a spoon when he's sick, then you clearly worship satan.

With that out of the way, this is about one of my favorite song's of all time: "Mr. Blue Sky", off of Electric Light Orchestra's epic 1977 double album, "Out of the Blue" (definitely recommended for fans of wonderful pop music). This stunning piece of pop genius has been used in everything from "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" trailers to car commercials, and yet it loses none of its magic. It begins with a radio tuning to a weather forecast, a simple staccato piano riff, an instrumental build-up.

"Sun is shining in the sky
There ain't a cloud in sight
It stopped raining
Everybody's in the play
And dontcha know
It's a beeeeeeutiful day
Hey, hey"

Such refreshing simplicity. It's been said that Jeff Lynne wrote this song immediately after seeing the sunshine after a long rain spell at the rented Chalet in the Swiss Alps in which he wrote "Out of the Blue", and the optimism shines through. (Supposedly, the entire album was written in 3-4 weeks at this isolated location.)

The strings and percussion sound effects all lead into a wonderful chorus, with harmonies popping up every which way. The guitar solo is a bright burst of melody before the second verse.


Hey you with the pretty face
Welcome to the human race! (Dude, that's...like...deep!)

One of my favorite moments in the song is at about 2:10, during that bridge section, where that little, funky bass riff joins in the mix and somehow makes me smile until my face aches. It's crazy how such a small element can make all the difference.

The cheesy vocal effects, the psychedelic choir, it's all thrown in here; a stunning epitome of 70's musical excess. Somehow, Master Lynne makes it all work, leading to pure pop euphoria. But, wait, a false ending! It's back. If you listen carefully, the ridiculous vocoder voice at the end is saying "Please turn me over", instructing you to turn the vinyl over to side four.


Mr. Blue Sky
Please tell us why
You had to hide away for sooo long!

Here's a creepy Youtube puppet video that uses the song:



(Copyright 2007 for Hilbert_Cheesecake productions. Good day.)