PM'd Nyc99 and updated the sheet.

I'm sorry, is someone trolling R*R? Great round 2 pick, lol.

That wasn't me. Uh uh. No way.

One possible culprit I'd say. lol. I would also say he thought very carefully about his round 2 pick.

And.....

That wasn't me. Uh uh. No way.

Lol..."disquisition."

I love when JC brings the erudite smack down.

Full write up coming in the morning

Round 2: The Weight - The Band

For my second round pick, I'm taking the song with one of the most recognizable riffs in all of rock history. No, it doesn't have just one cool riff, it has 3 cool ass riffs, one in the intro, one in the bridge, and one in the verse (yeah, the friggin' verse). Pure unrelenting coolness and shear creativity, the eponymous song of Bowie's single greatest achievement demands you bob your head and nod to the pumpin' guitar work and off-the-wall lyrics.

As a guitarist, I measure the worth of a guitarist from his or her ability to play this song. Not because it is hard, but because it is one of those few songs that separates the novice from the well-practiced. This song calls for unusual rhythms, barre chords, uses all of the letters in more than one variation, and it modulates mid-verse -- none of this "3 chords of rock and roll" bull **** at this party. Most of all, the song is just a blast to play, and despite the craziness and apparent stringent sound, it is wide-open to variation and creativity. There is nothing that stops you from pumping it up with power chords and it is totally cool to mix in barre chords where you'd think only open chords can exist.

Yeah, the album version is pretty darn good despite being 41 years old, but to capture the real spirit and joy of this, song, I present this live version:

Bowie is god

I have been PM'd but I won't be picking until the a.m. Skip me. I will PM next drafter.

Ok I can go. I was going to go with Bowie. Different song but nevertheless Bowie. I guess I will switch it up just a bit. Always in the shadow of Bowie and a great glam rocker who died much too early in a car crash at the age of 29.


Always a favorite song of mine from the talented but often forgotten Marc Bolan and T. Rex. I pick Bang a Gong.

Round 2
Johnny B. Goode (1958) - Chuck Berry



I consider his to be the quintessential rock and roll song. The definition of the genre. It didn't start rock and roll but it did take it to the next level. It also influenced everything in its wake. It was a major influence on everything that followed. The opening guitar riff is probably the most recognizable riff ever and this song has been covered by almost everyone from garage bands to the true legends of rock and roll. Through grade school, high school and college there wasn't a dance, sockhop or event with band where this song wasn't played. It was even sent into outer space on the golden disc on the Voyager spacecraft as part of an example of earths music for other worlds to discover.

I love this song and always ratchet up the volume when it comes on. Often with accompanying air guitar, vocals and toe tapping. There are still many obvious picks available but I had to take this one due to historical significance. But in the next few rounds I expect to drift away from the real obvious picks.

Go Johnny Go!

so far:
Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix
Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry

Bohemian Rhapsody

Round 2: Maybellene (1955) by Chuck Berry

With due respect to Mr. Baseball he got some things mixed up. Anyway, I'm not going to change my second round pick- which is Maybellene by Chuck Berry. It was released in July, 1955 as a single on Chess Records. It's themes of cars (a car race/chase), women, and youthful sexuality are basic to much of R&R, along with a cohesive story line to the song. And with its country derivative and roots this song has great historical significance to R&R in general. Plus it is just a great song with lyrics and guitar work to match. Of Chuck Berry's work, which is significant and considerable, I consider this his best and most signature work. In the video note the use of a "Jazz (wood) bass.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUHaubTv_Rs


Picks:

All Shook Up, by The King (1957)
Maybellene, by Chuck Berry (1955)

My favorite songs picked so far:

Whipping Post
Kashmir
Like a Rolling Stone
The Weight

I'm just getting in....so i'm going to bed! Someone else keep this sucker moving.

50yearoldnit has until 8am est. to make his pick. If he doesn't, A-Rod is on the clock then.

Delayed Write-up

First of all, thanks, dave, for taking care of the spreadsheet and the pm.

With my second pick, I chose



"Hound Dog", by Elvis Presley

This is where it began, for me, anyway. When I was about four or five, my aunt gave us a box of forty-fives. My uncle was a disc jockey, and she was trying to clean out a closet.

Now, at my house, music was something you did, not something you merely listened to. My mom was an organist and piano player, playing at church and in steady demand for weddings and funerals. Dad sang around the house, mostly gospel, but he could also bring a pretty mean version of "Sixteen Tons" when it hit him. Most of the records laying around were southern gospel, mixed with the occasional crooner like Andy Williams. There was no Rock and Roll, although it's absence was a matter of taste, not piety.

So this little box of records was a novelty. I took to it immediately. And one of the first things I put on, without knowing who did it or what it was, was an RCA single; I was drawn to it because it had a little dog on the label.

I put the single on the turntable of my little Show and Tell record player, placed the tone-arm on the edge of the record, and stepped back to listen.

The universe exploded.

From that first snarl, to the final downbeat, I was enthralled. I couldn't sit still, although I don't think I was really dancing, either. But I was moving.

It was a shot of pure energy, right into the impressionable mind and soul of a four-year old kid. And when it was over, I played it again, like the toddler-junkie I now was.

There were other singles, even some more Elvis records. I played them all, the Bobby Darin records, the pop and country singles. Some were okay, a few I enjoyed. But none of them came close to what "Hound Dog" did. The flip side, a song called "Don't Be Cruel", hit me pretty well. I liked it, for a change of pace.

But nothing jolted me like "Hound Dog".

The very best Rock and Roll demands action. Dancing, boning, fighting, driving, and all points in between. Sometimes it sort of slides by the physical stuff, and calls for an intellectual or spiritual reaction, or an emotional response. It's a visceral medium.

But it does not encourage passive listening; it insists upon listener participation. And the intensity of that demand is what elevates it from mere entertainment.

An entertainer will play a catchy tune, maybe good enough to release some endorphin into your system. They may even mention your emotion, show a little empathy, give a little surface rub. Nothing wrong with such saccharine pleasantries. You enjoy it, and get on with your life.

But, at it's best, Rock and roll makes you confront those ideas and emotions, examine them, explore and wallow in them. It forces you to move your feet, or push the accelerator a little harder, or grab a picket sign and head out. It gets you out of your head, or deeper into it.

Entertainment makes you smile and forget. But Rock and Roll, at it's highest level, gets down in your molecular being and makes you feel, think, and move.

Of course, four-year old me wasn't ready to appreciate the deeper implications. All I knew was, this stuff made me feel alive. And I've spent the last forty-five years trying to find that next fix.

Now, personal feelings aside, "Hound Dog" is a worthy choice for more prosaic reasons. I mean, here, captured for all time, is the sound of D.J. Fontana inventing Rock and Roll drumming. That's got to count for something.

Then there's the matter of Elvis, himself, who may be, in spite of his fame, the most underrated artist of the Rock era. His icon status frequently gets in the way, and he is all too often portrayed as a savage joke, a white trash cliche come to life. His artistry is too often viewed as accidental, or, at best, that of a dumb redneck savant.

Those who know, know differently. He is a singer of incredible power, to be sure, delivering the lustful menace for which he was feared. But he was also an interpreter of detail and esoteric nuance. Virtually every Rock and Roll vocalist can trace their lineage back to Elvis. John Lennon and Robert Plant, to mention two of the more successful, based their phrasing on those early Elvis sides, transparently so. And neither has ever denied that, nor ever backed down from trumpeting his genius. Good sons, John and Bobby are.

Lester Bangs, as he often did, said it best, in a discussion with Dave Marsh: "Elvis is probably the last thing we will all agree on."

So I have
"Gimme Shelter" - The Rolling Stones
"Hound Dog" -Elvis Presley.

.

Happy Fathers day to all you Dads.

My second round pick I'm going for a song that I'm surprised to see is still on the board. I know it's on everyones short list {or should be }, so I will snipe everyone with a few taps of this keyboard. Here is another entry from guitar God Jimi Hendrix. Recorded during the Electric Ladyland recording sessions along with the delta bluesy Voodoo Chile. Featuring Mitchell and Redding on drums and bass, this song has undoubtable one of the most famous {and copied, often poorly} opening guitar lines in R and R history. Here we have Jimi Hendrix signature song.

Sorry to be late again, but 7:00 am my time Sunday deadline. Really?

Jimi Hendrix-Voodoo Chile [Slight Return]

props to everyone for the great writeups in these first two rounds

If A-Rod has been on the clock since 8 than Dominic must be on the clock now.

I've decided to leave sanity and just go freelance... gonzo if you will. No longer constrained by sales figures or the beauty of symmetrically commercial composition.

Frank Zappa, Terry Bozzio and Adrian Belew... well worth the four minutes and fifty six seconds.

Shyte is so tight it whistles when it walks.

NWS for lyrical content.



simply Epic!

Skip me. Gotta go do 2 fathers' day events today and the golf US Open and won't have time to do a write-up or pick for that matter. Still need to think.

Voodoo Chile is such a great song. i mean most Jimi songs are, but yeah. i mean, dat riff. and even the opening line of "I stand up next to a mountain, and I chop it down with the edge of my hand", well for some reason that opening makes it seem possible, and make me want to try. incredible.

its awesomeness was also probably enhanced for me when it was associated with Hulk Hogan's heel turn, as stupid as that might sound. Jimi GOAT!

ROUND 2 PICK







Form Young's classic album, Harvest, Heart of Gold is the artist's best-known song. It's his only Number One song on the Billbiard charts, it has been covered by over 70 other artists, and In 2005, "Heart of Gold" was named the third greatest Canadian song of all time on the CBC Radio One series 50 Tracks: The Canadian Version.

Interestingly, it was originally played on piano and was meant to segue with "A Man Needs a Maid," but it evolved into an acoustic guitar piece when Young hurt his back and he could play his acoustic guitar sitting down.

Gorgeous, simple, and plaintive...it's perhaps one of those songs you might not hear any more because you've heard it so often. But man, this one hits me in the gut every time. The harmonica, the driving guitar chords, and especially that last chorus with James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt singing back-up, all come together to create magic.

I could fill this list with nothing but Neil Young songs and I'd be a happy man.

Great artist. Great song.

*******************

American Girl - Tom Petty & The Hearttbreakers
Heart of Gold - Neil Young

Wookie on the clock

Me too.

Is this the plan?

Heart of Gold and A Man Needs a Maid would make a great double-pick.

we shall see