Rock-tober: Day 22

There's a plaque hanging on the wall at my favorite watering hole. On this plaque is a quote from H. L. Mencken: "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats."

You know those days when you get into that mood? Those days when you just double dare the meanest dog in the neighborhood to make a run at you? Those are the days made for "Hair of the Dog".

"Hair of the Dog" is the title track off the '75 release, Hair of the Dog. The lyrics are a one-sided dialog of a dude telling some manipulative temptress that she's met her match in him. Guess what? No one cares. Even if you could understand the lyrics through their thick Scottish accents, what hooks people is the chorus:

"Now you're messin' with a Son of a B*tch."

Amusingly, that part is very easy to understand. But what about the album name?

Nazareth wanted to name the album Son of a B*tch. The record label said, "No."

Nazareth then asked, "How about 'Heir of the Dog'?" (since heir of the dog loosely translates to SOB...). 

"No."

Fine. This is how we got Hair of the Dog - a misnomer, wrapped in a pun, wrapped in a PG-13 marketing strategy.

Regardless, this is the soundtrack you want backing you up when you're just ballsy enough to charge the world and take it on in a no holds barred grudge match.

You know what? I think I just found my new ring tone.

Rock-tober: Day 21

Yes, I know Don Henley is a member of the Eagles. Yes, I know Don Henley recorded "The Boys of Summer". No, this does not violate Ground Rule #3.

Building the Perfect Beast was a solo album for Henley and was not an Eagles project, therefore Ground Rule #3 is preserved. So there. Any more complaints? Refer to Ground Rule #1.

"The Boys of Summer" was the first track on Building the Perfect Beast released in '84. I seem to remember this song more from the video than from radio airtime. This makes sense, since it won Video of the Year and other awards including Best Cinematography.

One interpretation of this song is it represents coming of age. One day you look around and realize you have a family, a mortgage, and a 9 to 5 job. There's nothing wrong with being 20 years down range from high school, but there's a periodic tendency to look back to simpler times.

For me, this was summertime on the Mississippi Gulf Coast: the scent of blooming magnolias, cruising the beach with the windows down, the carnival atmosphere of the Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo, salt spray on the boat ride to Ship Island, and the shade of the Friendship Oak. I realize I'm remembering all this through the rosy lenses of nostalgia, but I'm good with that.

Don Henley: The Boys of Summer

Let me leave you with another personal factoid. I'm no singer, but if I'm in the car alone when this song comes on, I will absolutely belt it out.

Rock-tober: Day 20

Guns N' Roses was formed in 1985 from members of two bands, L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. As Guns N' Roses, they released Appetite for Destruction in the summer of 1987, and "Paradise City"  was released as a single a year later in the fall of 1988.

In the spring of 1989 I was at Auburn University waiting for spring break to roll around. The plan was to hit Panama City, work my way west, and eventually wind up at home in Long Beach. As I'm sitting in class, the words to this song kept running through my head. I found myself rocking it out on air drums during the lecture, and the lyrics eventually morphed into

Take me down to Panama City,

where the water's blue

and the girls wear bikinis.

Hey, it's cheesy now, but it put a smile on my face during differential equations...

I eventually did make it to Panama City. The water was definitely blue, and indeed, there were girls wearing bikinis.

Rock-tober: Day 19

It was 1985. The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo's Fire, and Rocky IV packed theaters; Reagan was in the White House dealing with Khadafi's "Line of Death"; gas was about a buck a gallon; and that fall I was a Junior at Long Beach High School.

Also that fall, "Home Sweet Home" was released and it went all the way up to....89 on the Billboard Top 100. What?! The song did not do well on its initial release, so why do I remember otherwise?

The band was at odds with Elektra Records about what songs to release off Theatre of Pain. The band was pushing for "Home Sweet Home", but this was rejected by Elektra. Undeterred and believing in their song, the Crüe shot their own video and approached MTV

In the fall of '85, MTV was barely four years old and actually played videos all the time. Part of their programming included a video daily request. When "Home Sweet Home" aired, it stayed on the daily request chart for three months. It stayed so long, MTV was forced to enact the unofficial Crüe Rule, allowing them to eliminate a video from their playlist after 30 days.

In spite of Elektra not promoting the song at all on the radio and thanks to a fledgling MTV, "Home Sweet Home" went on to become the Crüe's most powerful ballad and the band's own favorite. Nikki Sixx even said, "...that song's kind of like our 'Dream On' or our 'Stairway To Heaven.'" It just goes to show, don't always listen to the naysayers. Rock on!

Mötley Crüe: "Home Sweet Home"

Incidentally, I'm not sure what the story is on the little umlauts in their band name. Linguists may correct me, but pronounced correctly, Mötley Crüe is actually Mutt-lee Cruh.

Rock-tober: Day 18

When I was a kid in junior high, my buddies and I would ride our bikes down to Jeff Davis Avenue and watch the cool "older kids" cruise the boulevard.

We'd look at each other and say, "Gee, fellers. One day that'll be us."

Fast forward to high school and we were the guys making the half mile loop down the strip. It may not have been Miami or Modesto, but it was ours, and many a long night was spent talking about the future parked along that half mile stretch. Not to mention it was written up in a 1986 article in Life magazine, so suck it, haters.

Two things are required to be cool on a cruise:

1. Cool ride
2. Cool tunes

I was in a '70 Mustang. Cool ride, check. The 'stang only had a stock AM radio - uh oh, the cool tunes were in jeopardy. Drop in a state of the art AM/FM cassette player and now we're golden. Now, what to play?

"In the Air Tonight" is the ultimate cruising song. You take to the road going low and slow, perfectly matched by the song's tone and tempo. The air of mystery in the lyrics just adds to the mood of the drive. Nod your head to the beat to enhance your nonchalant coolness. Now put your right hand at 12 on the wheel and stick your left elbow out your rolled down window, and hey! You, too, are now one of the cool "older kids".

Rock-tober: Day 17

Back in college, a group of lady friends once asked me what physical trait I first noticed about a woman. Holy crap. Talk about a loaded question. I looked around the room - all eyes were on me and I was the only guy. The doors were too far away for an easy exit, and the pause I took to consider my situation had lapsed into uncomfortable silence. I stumbled along and extricated myself rather diplomatically.

"Her eyes. Definitely her eyes."

"Awwww."

Pfft. Even as a young lad, I knew the window to extricate myself was small and closing, and they'd soon be lobbing another grenade my way. Their curiosity temporarily sated as they discussed this new intel among themselves, I quickly left to hang with my non-introspective bros.

If I were posed that question today, I would honestly and unapologetically say I'm definitely a legs guy. I've told Andrea many times I love to watch her walk away. Apart from the fact that she'd kill me - again - I'd dedicate this song to her.

"Legs" came off the album, Eliminator, as a single in 1984, and the video made for "Legs" became a freakin' classic. It told the time honored story of redemption and a winning underdog underpinned with themes from a rock and roll fairy tale.

Our two very likable heroes were assisted in their quest for happiness by several great pairs of legs, bearded fairy godfathers, fuzzy spinning guitars, and a tricked out 1933 Ford coupe.

Whoa. God bless America.

Rock-tober: Day 16

For a song to make this esteemed list, there has to be some connection between it and me. Sometimes it's profound, sometimes it's pretty simple. This is the latter.

I was driving home back when I was in high school. It was getting dark early, but I still had my windows rolled down so it must have been fall. In the neighborhood, someone was throwing a party that spilled out into their front yard. I remember looking over and one of the guests was playing the base line to this song. I thought it sounded really cool and that's all it took.

"Don't Stop Believin'" has been described as the perfect rock ballad. After its initial release in 1981, the song seemed to take on a life of its own. Re-released and covered countless times, sung on Broadway, included on the soundtrack of at least a half dozen big screen releases, and making multiple appearances on the small screen, from the pilot of Glee to the finale of The Sopranos solidify this claim.

Not enough street cred for you? How about this: Not only was it featured as a download for the video game Rock Band, it spawned and is the subject of countless memes - today's gold standard of cultural inclusion.