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2:21 p.m. - December 05, 2005
Smed Gives You a Six Pack! Bottoms Up!
Ah, well, the gear and fab Loopy has allowed me to extol the virtues of some tuneage on her site.

For those of you who don�t know, I�m Smed, purveyor of Smed�s corner and all around guy. I�m a 40-year old husband and father with a big house, a big record collection, and seemingly too much (clap, clap) time on my hands.

So the Loopmeister asked us to write about three songs. Well, if you read my stuff you know I can�t just be content at three. Right now, I�m writing about the 150 (or so) of my favorite albums, ten (or so) at a time. So I picked a slew of songs and here they are. Enjoy, and get it on! (To quote Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top, or was that Dusty Hill�anyway, I digress as is my wont in life�)

So, on with da show:

�This Whole World� � Beach Boys
�You Still Believe in Me� � Beach Boys

Of all the Beach Boys songs, these are probably the two best examples of Brian Wilson�s songcraft, production skills, and ear for an arrangement in its totality. �This Whole World� is from Sunflower and is a wonder of a song in less than two minutes. �You Still Believe in Me� is from Pet Sounds, only the best album ever recorded.

These songs bring out divergent feelings in me as �This Whole World� makes me happy and buoyant about life, while �You Still Believe in Me� causes me to weep as it is so moving and touching.

�Goin� Back� � The Byrds
�Wasn�t Born to Follow� � The Byrds.

Both of these songs are on The Notorious Byrd Brothers, the best full album that group ever did. These songs were both written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, and the Byrds really treat them well, drenching them in perfect harmonies and great arrangements.

�Goin� Back� is a great look at childhood, and gives on a sense of longing, yet contentment. �Wasn�t Born To Follow� is a great statement about life, and the kind of life I long to lead.

�The Ballad of El Goodoo� � Big Star

A classic underrated band, this song off of #1 Record is poignant, touching and defiant. Alex Chilton pours out his heart and soul and one is moved at the feelings that are welling inside of him.

�Nice to Be With You� � Gallery

It�s 1972. A six-year old boy is sitting by the radio, a magical thing he just discovered, It�s a little box that plays music!) and all of a sudden he hears these chiming acoustic guitars, a drum beat, and then an incessantly cheery chorus. �Oh, it�s so nice to be with you / I love all the things you say and do�� The boy, he is in heaven. He basically forces his mother to buy him a record (K-Tel�s 22 Explosive Hits) that had that song on it. He plays the album constantly. He then finds that his sister left behind some albums of hers, and he plays them constantly. Even though he first loved music at at three, when his sister bought him �Incense and Peppermints� as a 45, he falls in love with the album, where you get many, many songs for one low price. And so, he becomes Smed.

Whether that�s good or bad, it�s up for interpretation.

 

 

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