Continuing on that 30-Day Music Challenge.
A song that needs to be played loud.
This is extremely challenging, since there are SO many choices. One could say most of the Who or Led Zeppelin or insert your favorite. Also, a lot of these songs could easily fit in other categories of the quiz.
And it’s not just the “loud” songs that are served by volume. i tend to crank up The Boxer – Simon and Garfunkel (#7, 1969) after the line, “The fighter still remains” to better feel the pain of the percussive sound and the strings.
when I was a teenager, and my parents weren’t home, I’d tweak up the volume during the last four minutes of the Beatles’ Revolver (1966), from the last chorus of Got to Get You Into My Life (#7, 1976), into Tomorrow Never Knows. Just thinking about it gives me an adrenaline rush.
All Day and All of the Night – the Kinks (#7, 1965). The Kinks were the first REALLY LOUD group I was aware of. I remember that my good friend Karen was fond of buying their singles at the local Philadelphia Sales, only a couple blocks from our school, Daniel S. Dickinson, where we attended K-9.
I’m So Glad – Cream (1969). No other version will do. Not the pedestrian studio version nor the too short 2005 live take. This is a live take from Goodbye Cream.
High School – MC5 (1970). The group was nominated to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this past round, but wasn’t selected. My friends made an antiwar video with High School as the soundtrack.
Wah Wah – George Harrison (1970). From that monumental All Things Mus Pass album. I knew George could be loud – see It’s All Too Much – the Beatles. But the wall of sound works here, in live versions, such as the Concert for Bangladesh, or even the Concert for George tribute album.
Won’t Get Fooled Again – The Who (#15, 1971). Back in the day when I could actually play music in my office sans headphones, the then-Associate State Director would come into the office if this song were on, mesmerized.
Kashmir – Led Zeppelin (1975). From the first LZ album I bought on CD.
Cars – Gary Numan (#9, 1980). From that very first vibration…
Police on My Back – the Clash (1980). I started playing Side 6 of the Sandinista album, and this song almost knocked me over.
Elephant Talk – King Crimson (1981). And the remix is danceable as well.
Cannonball – the Breeders (#44, 1994). I have this on some 4-song EP that a friend gave me.
