THE RUSSO BLOCK

I felt it would be nice to sprinkle The Russo Block with a few casual posts to help liven things up and give myself a side project to work on between projects posts. So for this post I rank my ten personal favorite songs.

All things considered I'm not real "big" into music as it tends to distract me from thinking, but I love to occasionally sit back on shuffle when I'm too tired to think. Perhaps this could help explain the style of music I tend to gravitate towards as most the songs on this list are either "mellow" or "moody" in some way.

Growing up my father would always play The Beatles and The Who in our house along with a choir of other 70s and 80s musical stars. Although we don't exactly share tastes his fondness of 1970s rock definitely made an impression on me.

As for my mother, she never seemed to go out of her way to play music but enjoyed most anything that came on. The only song in particular that comes to mind when I think of her is The Rainbow Connection from The Muppet Movie.

Expect most of these songs to be rather popular. My main two sources of music, the car radio and Spotify's shuffle, don't tend to experiment much and I usually don't commit time to do so myself.

Another thing to note: I avoided repeating entries from the same bands, otherwise this would probably just be a list of The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.

Honorable Mentions

Turn the Page - Bob Seger

I love the story-telling aspect of this song. It's even much like a 2nd person perspective "you walk into a restaurant... and you feel the eyes upon you as you're shakin' off the cold..." sounds like it could have been from a text adventure game. In many ways I wish more songs told a story like Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Gimme Three Steps" and "Big Iron" by Marty Robbins.

Aside from the evocative imagery I love the mellow tones, swells of energy leading into the chorus, and iconic saxophone melody.

Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

Speaking of iconic "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is perhaps one of the definitive "feel good" songs. A song that speaks to the strength of love with the joyous unison of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's vocals. I recall hearing this song play in numerous blockbuster movies from "Remember the Titans" to "Guardians of the Galaxy".

Burn'n for You - Blue Öyster Cult

Mellow yet undeniably rock'n'roll. I love the guitar's echoing cadence and the almost Gregorian vocables throughout. Nearly every line in this song resonates with me. Likely because I have a "home in the valley" which "isn't pretty" (no offense) and because the line "I can't see no reason to put up a fight" effectively summarizies my response to nearly any social predicament.

Similar to "Turn the Page" this is another song best enjoyed during a night drive.

10. S.O.B - Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats

An emotional narrative depicting a man's struggles with alcoholism. "Son of a **tch!" he yells, cursing himself before ordering a drink. The sweat running down the side of his face as he licks his dry lips. The desire, the conflict is palpable before reaching his breaking point and succumbing to temptation.

I can feel the sweaty calloused hand of the working man drag across his face, tugging its skin down as he mutters "somebody give me a (ahem) gosh darn drink" in defeat. Beautiful imagery and powerful emotions.

9. The Way I Choose - Bad Company

Listening to this song makes me feel like a cool person. There I said it.

8. Time - Pink Floyd

Undoubtedly the most negative song on the list Time is a dreary and frustrated complaint over an aimless life and the futility of trying to outlast one's own age. The tune itself makes creative use of clock sounds, echoing drums, and the bluesy keyboards I love so much.

I'd like to call attention to two lines in particular as we will revisit them. The first, "And then one day you find ten years have got behind you." and the second "When I come home cold and tired it's good to warm my bones beside the fire".

7. Dreams - The Cranberries

This song would always come on the radio and up until recently I never knew the name since 106.1 Krab Radio doesn't support RDS.

Ethereal in tone, and dreamlike in its spirit Dreams conveys the sense of glee that comes when thoughts dwell on a romantic interest, but also the longing and uncertainty that often coincides. I always feel as though I'm suspended in a vast body of water when listening to this song; floating gently along.

6. Look'n Out My Back Door - Creedence Clearwater Revival

By far the most upbeat song on this list. I love the playful cadence, the unapologetic childishness of Look'n Out My Back Door by CCR.

Look'n Out My Back Door was the group's fifth album, and was also their fifth and final number two Billboard hit, held off the top by Diana Ross's version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough". Small world... Creedence can't catch a break though.

Also, the album is named "Cosmo's Factory" which I like because my cat is named Cosmo.

Also also, "listen' to Buck Owens" and various styles incorporated into the song allude to the Bakersfield Sound which is a nice shout-out to my hometown.

5. (Sitt'n On) the Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding

In contrast to Time Otis Redding speaks of "wastn' time" in a positive light as a form of relaxation. I love the bay ambiance playing in the background and the vocal growl on the Georgia line.

The line "And this loneliness won't leave me alone" deserves a Grammy all on its own (pun absolutely intended). Speaking of which, the song did indeed win two Grammys.

Lastly, the "Sittn' here restin' my bones" verse is similar to "warm my bones beside the fire" from Pink Floyd's Time.

4. Beast of Burden - The Rolling Stones

Pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty guuuuuuurrrrrrrrrl.

This song is ripe with funk. I can never get enough of the pop and pain this song manages to pack.

This was a very tough decision for me since I absolutely love The Rolling Stones. If I had to pick a different Stones song it would probably be Wild Horses.

I also recall seeing a comment about the song online to the effect of "I always misheard the lyrics as 'I'll never leave your pizza burn'n.'" which made me chuckle.

3. Pusher - alt-J

I remember the first time I heard this song very clearly. My brother and I were riding home from a campout with the Prince family when John and Eric Prince decided to show us the music video of an older businessman yelling German in a courtyard as a number of ominous businesspeople surround him.

The song is horribly sad. The opening lines "If you're willing to wait for the love of your life, Please wait by the line." comes right out and tells us we aren't special for waiting for the right person in our lives.

"Layer upon layer of hope and doubt will crush bones to oil in time." I envy the artistic genius that spawned the imagery of contrasting layers of hope and doubt like the stratum of sedimentary gloom along a cliffside.

I love love love the line "Are you a pusher or are you a puller?" Yes it's vague. Yes it's open-ended, but that's exactly why I love it. You can approach this question from a million angles and still have no idea what you are talking about. "I lack the zest of a lemon" is another fantastic line.

2. Don't Let Me Down - The Beatles

I could spend all day changing my mind about which Beatles song is my favorite. Despite Let It Be, Yellow Submarine, and Her Majesty all holding special places in my heart I had to come to a decision and settled on Don't Let Me Down.

Perhaps it's the vulnerability, desperation, and honesty of this song which resonates with me. John Lennon's voice is painfully sad and frightened. The song was written during an uncertain time for Lennon as he continued to delve further into his infatuation with Yoko Ono and struggled with drug use. Revealing one's weaknesses and deep-rooted fears demands immense strength, honesty, and faith in others.

Beyond the context in which the song was written Don't Let Me Down maintains endearing musical properties with Billy Preston's bluesy keyboard and the guitar providing a gentle cushion to John's harrowing vocals.

I especially love the line "I'm in love for the first time. Don't you know it's gonna last? It's a love that lasts forever. It's a love that has no past."

1. Ten Years Gone - Led Zeppelin

Recall Pink Floyd's Time: "And then one day you find, ten years have got behind you..."

"Ten Years Gone" is a masterpiece. A perfect encapsulation of a range of sensations into a six and a half minute dose of musical expression.

On a personal level, it connects with some of my strongest feelings and embodies them in a way I can share with others. Feelings of freedom and doubt in the face of an overwhelmingly vast world.

It is easy to criticize the work for being too ungrounded. However, I offer the following defense: "Ten Years Gone" must be as elusive as the feelings it is trying to capture.

It has been said that if you aren't embarrassed to sing a song you wrote then you probably didn't put your heart into it. I would definitely feel humiliated to sing a song like "Ten Years Gone" in front of even a stone wall, but I don't believe it is meant to "sound deep" or impress others. (Although, I must admit "We are eagles of one nest, the nest is in our soul" is just too bizarre.)

As far as I can tell "Ten Years Gone" imparts no revolutionary knowledge upon the world. It simply distills a familiar human journey into a musical piece. The journey departs with hope, then ambition, then uncertainty, then longing and regret, followed by a renewed faith, and exiting with grace. The song accomplishes this with the imagery of an eagle leaving its nest, a common, but powerful, metaphor.

On an technical level, "Ten Years Gone" is a stunning array of guitarwork and vocals. Even more stunning still is the way in which the instrumentals lend themselves to the message of the song. The guitars boast, mumble, and wail alongside the vocals and swell and recede between a contemplative tenderness and a powerful remorse for what might have been.

Finally, the reverb and fade effects give a sense of space and distance. As the song draws to a close all sounds soften as though they were far away. The story doesn't end, it simply continues forward toward some fantastic place.

Ultimately, that is the tale. One must move forward and any path ahead must necessarily incur a cost, often one that is permanent. All our decisions leave behind a trail of losses. We cannot hope to recoup all these little things and can never know if we made the right decisions and that's okay.

You can, and will, regret the past.

You can, and will, fear for the future.

But never forget to be grateful for the present.

Conclusion

It felt nice to take time to consider my favorite songs, compare their qualities, and put into words how many of them affect me.

This task certainly wasn't easy. I struggled to sift through such a large number of songs in my head at one time. Even with all the songs on this list there remain many more that didn't make the cut, but I still hold dear. I can only hope this list remains accurate long enough for me to take a break.

I hope you enjoyed reading this piece and perhaps sampling some of the music. As usual, if you'd like to share your thoughts feel free to contact me. I'd be happy to listen to any songs you've come to love.

Until next time.