Side One, Track One

"What Came First, The Music or the Misery?"--Rob Gordon

This is the first line of one of my favorite movies. In the film High Fidelity, John Cusack plays Rob Gordon, a man struggling through life and relationships while grappling with an addiction to music. The film, adapted from the novel by British author Nick Hornby, struggles with a paradox ever-present to any music fan: songs make up the soundtrack of our lives but our lives are not always happy. True music fans have pop songs so ingrained in their everyday lives that they cannot help but be a bit conflicted. For some, music can be a crutch, an enabler. Music for some is as addictive as heroin, as emotional as religion or as alarming as electroshock therapy. Do I find solace in this music or do I hide within it? Can you love something that can't love you back? As Gordon opines in HF, "Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable, or was I miserable because I listened to pop music."

I feel I have begun to paint my little corner of the internet a depressing black with this post. I do not intend to say that pop music has made me miserable. Quite the contrary. Perhaps what I mean to say is this: I am in love with pop music but we have a dysfunctional relationship.

With this blog, I hope to catalog my obsession with music while reviewing and paying homage to some musicians who are currently producing some truly inspiring work but are not getting the recognition they deserve. But this being the first post, I would like to go through a listing exercise that the characters in High Fidelity play. In this exercise, I seek to list the best side-ones, track-ones ever produced. When playing this game, a lot is at stake. The first song on an album is the litmus test, the signpost for the tracks to come. Should it be a killer? Should it be an emotional tear-jerker? Should it be soulful or tough? What do these first tracks portray about the albums they are featured on? Hoping to make a mixtape soon? Try these openers on for size.


1. Taxman-The Beatles-Revolver

With lyrics just dripping with irony, the Beatles, who were already rich and famous at this point in their careers, complain about one of life's assured headaches: taxes. The dichotomy of feeling here between the band's working-class upbringing and their new-found fame and success is what this album strives to achieve. Before 1965, albums like "A Hard Day's Night" and "Please Please Me" showed the band's ability as songwriters. With Lennon/McCartney taking the reins almost exclusively, the musicianship continued to reflect old R&B sounds coupled with English "skiffle" rythyms from their native Liverpool. But that all changed with the release of two records: Rubber Soul and Revolver. Rubber Soul was a change in form from electrified pop tunes to a more experimental sound including Harpsichord solos and sitar riffs thrown into the top-notch pop songs. But Rubber Soul still saw John and Paul doing the heavy lifting. It was not until the 1966 release of Revolver that George Harrison was aloud to experiment, as three of his compositions appear on this album. Giving George and Ringo more room to expand musically gave this album the most eclectic feel of any Beatles album. The straight-ahead rock of Taxman is an assurance to the listener that the Beatles do not lose any cred with this experimental disc. But the irony and bitterness of the lyrics leaves promise for strange stuff to come.

2. Baba O'Riley-The Who-Who's Next

Since their infancy, The Who were a band who stood for all that is great about rock and roll. They had long hair, they sang about rebellion and anger, they smashed their own equipment, and they wrote some of the greatest songs of all time. Baba O'Riley is so many things to this album. It is experimental an exploratory, using each instrument to its full potential with no regard to radio length. It is boundless, starting off with a repetitive, hypnotic surge, pushing forth into verses interspersed with musical interplay, and ending with a tempo and genre shift with a country-fiddle stomp. But this is the best part: it still works as a pop song in spite of itself. Without a clearly defined chorus, the song runs five minutes and eight seconds; hardly a trimmed-down effort unless you take into consideration that Townsend's original composition ran over nine. But the song works alongside any other 70's rocker. The verses growl with rock intensity but Daltry's vocal swells on the "Teenage Wasteland" bits show an emotional depth and attachment to the song. This duality is what The Who does best over the rest of this album. Not one song on Who's Next is strictly what it appears to be at the outset. Listen to Bargain, Going Mobile or Behind Blue Eyes. All these songs have moments where they deviate from the original mission of the song to explore a depth of emotion beyond what is present at the outset. Baba O'Riley clearly states this song-writing trend from the outset, grabbing the listener by the throat and not letting go until the last note has expired.

3. And She Was-Talking Heads-Little Creatures

In a period of music when the notion of traditional pop music was being challenged by synth and new-wave posers and falsetto cheeseballs, Talking Heads achieved musical experimentation through a hard-and-fast commitment to traditional songwriting. Many of their songs hinge on the verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus framework and do not deviate. What set the Heads apart was their ability to write amazing hooks over aggressive, almost heavy metal drumbeats. With Little Creatures, David Byrne sings about how a new addition to his family allowed him to examine his own life and the new directions and challenges each new day brings. Little Creatures was a departure in a way for the band in that it was more accessible, more poppy and experimented with country and world-beat elements not before seen. Eccentricities were still present, as with all things Byrne laid his hand to, but each of these tracks is a solid, tight-knit work from start to finish. Each song has a clear direction and sticks to it throughout. And She Was shows this trend as it is perhaps the most tight, straight-forward pop effort of the Heads' career. It cements this album as a pop effort right from the beginning, establishing direction and a clear lyrical point of view.

4. Maxwell Murder-Rancid-And Out Come The Wolves

Murder, mayhem, destruction, what could be more punk rock? When the dysfunct members of Operation Ivy came together again, punk fans knew there would be some gritty tracks mixed in with some pop and ska sensibilities. Former Op-Ivy cast members Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman had not forgotten their old band and retained some bitterness in its untimely demise. On songs like "Journey To The End Of The East Bay," the lyrics do the talking as to feelings of regret over the loss of Op Ivy. But opening tracks in punk rock are far from cerebral. Opening a punk album is all about intensity and aggression. There is no room for emotion. That is why Maxwell Murder, the most aggressive, rage-inducing track on Wolves, is so important in establishing the bitter tone of this album. In fact, the rest of the album has many angry moments lyrically, but musically feels like a celebration. The opening track has a blistering, vitriolic slam to it, but once that musical rage is released, the lyrics take the driver's seat. Op Ivy fans need both sides of the punk menu on display. Starting out with a short, guttural scream like Maxwell Murder, with its high-octane guitar crashes and one of the greatest bass solos of all time, really allows a true punk fan to enjoy the more ska-related tunes that much more.

5. Sexx Laws-Beck-Midnight Vultures

Returning to the quick-witted, grassroots funk of his early Lollapalooza appearances, Beck released Midnight Vultures in 2002. The album is an homage, with funk-and-soul-inspired tunes reminiscent of sexpots like Prince and Frank Zappa. Each track drips with soulful pop but interspersed with Beck's electronic noise meanderings that make his sound so unique. This is an album which has Beck examine seventies funk through his personal lens, producing a sound that is at once familiar and unique. Down to the two X's in the title, Sexx Laws clearly defines this principal. With a rockin horn section, a thick bass line and a driving beat that will not be denied, the traditional funk elements are here for all to see. But underneath all of this, Beck's country influences shine through the funk fury. Pedal Steel notes, parlor piano licks and even a banjo riff come through on the choruses and the closing jam. With some of the most varied instrumentation he ever produced, the sound here is tight, driven but distinct and unique. The mission achieved here is strived for on every other track on the album and that is truly what should be achieved by a Track One.


There it is kiddos. Study them, absorb them, add them to your collection. What better way to start a blog about music than to rank the best Track Ones. I hope its not all down hill from here!