1. “I’m Still in Love With You” – Al Green, Greatest Hits
(1975):
My good friend Mark (see his blog here) is responsible for making sure that I have
important R&B songs and artists. I love Al Green, but came to him so late
in the game that the Greatest Hits are all that I know. If you don’t know Al
Green, click the link and get started. SHUFFLE GOLD!
2. “Closedown” – The Cure, Disintegration (1988):
I have a much more personal relationship to The Cure,
although I came to them a little late too.
I was too much of a rocker to appreciate The Cure until I got to
college. With the mainstream, I got on
board with the Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me album and was fully versed by the time
this album came out. I saw Robert Smith
and company live for the first time on this tour, and he blew me away with his
guitar playing. I was expecting a
keyboard extravaganza, but got the full Robert Smith live experience with his
many solos. This is a great song and on
a great album. Quick pop culture note:
at least one of the writers for the recent movie Ant Man is a fan, as they
snuck the opening track of this album into the film in a funny, Siri phone
moment. SHUFFLE GOLD!
3. “Distance Comes in Droves” – Archers of Loaf, All The Nation’s Airports (1996):
Archers of Loaf is an indie band from North Carolina. They
were originally on Alias Records, but recently (2012) re-released all of the albums on Merge Records. Last year they
released a live album from their brief tour supporting the re-release of their
albums. They were a great indie rock
band. Lead singer Eric Bachmann continues as a great song writer through his
solo work as well as his other project Crooked Fingers. He is one of my favorite song writers. This
song is not a favorite and not necessarily representative of my favorite song
of the original “AOL.” SHUFFLE GOODNESS.
4. “Soulcraft”—Bad Brains, Quickness (1989):
An essential D.C. hardcore band, Bad Brains combined punk,
metal, funk, and reggae. This album was
considered more “commercial” than some of their earlier, faster albums. Although this album is supposedly more “commercial,”
I recommend starting with their first album and this video of them playing CBGBs . Still, this song is SHUFFLE GOLD!
5. “Bombs Away” – Archers of Loaf, All The Nation’s Airports (1996):
The shuffle is a strange beast. Not sure why we went back to this album so
quickly. Strangely, this is the next song after “Distance Comes in Droves”
above and is the last song on the album. It is certainly not indicative of a
typical AOL song, as it is a piano instrumental, but an interesting way to end
the album, and I suppose, this post. MEH.
