YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Classic Rock / Playlist - Dec 3, 2004
I'm Gonna Make It - Alvin Lee [In Tennessee]
I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Run Like Hell (Live) - Pink Floyd [Is Anybody Out There?] (r)
Biding My Time - Pink Floyd
- DJ Rant -
Cinnamon Girl - Neil Young
- Radio Rant -
Kohoutek - Journey
Shady Grove - Quicksilver Messenger Service
Flying On The Ground Is Wrong - Buffalo Springfield
Sweet Little Sixteen - Ten Years After
Torn and Frayed - The Rolling Stones
Smokestack Lightning (Live) - The Yardbirds [Five Live Yardbirds]
Let It Rock (Live) - The Yardbirds [Five Live Yardbirds]
Honey In Your Hips (Live) - The Yardbirds [Five Live Yardbirds]
I Wish You Would (Live) - The Yardbirds [Five Live Yardbirds]
You Can't Judge A Book By It's Cover (Live) - The Yardbirds [Five Live Yardbirds]
Who Do You Love (Live) - The Yardbirds [Five Live Yardbirds]
The Punk Meets The Godfather - The Who
Long Misty Days - Robin Trower
America - Simon & Garfunkel
Country Girl - Neil Young (with Crosby, Stills, & Nash)
Walter's Walk - Led Zeppelin
I'm Going Home - Alvin Lee [In Tennessee]
The Last DJ - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Notes: In the fall of 2001, I was just beginning to really awaken my senses to music. The roots had been sewn in my childhood, and my eyes first opened to classic rock the previous spring (listening to the radio station in my dad's car as he drove me and my brother up to the local anime con), but it was the fall of 2001 where I sacrificed my soul to the gods of rock. My nights were spent in complete darkness, sitting in meditation to the sounds of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. I became a slave to classic rock radio, as it was my only outlet at the time. The wild sounds spoke to my heart, and I was totally overcome by the power and the energy and the truth of rock n roll. Eventually I came to desire a collection of my own, but how to determine which albums to purchase? I prepared a virgin on the sacrificial altar, and my prayers were answered by the dark lord. Thanksgiving Weekend was the Top 50 Albums countdown on the local classic rock radio station. I spent all weekend dowsing myself with the sounds of rock history, marking down my favorite titles.
Christmas came, and my collection was born. It is still growing today. But the classic rock radio that bred me has turned its back. It didn't just betray me, it has ceased to acknowledge me, but even more depressingly, it has ceased to acknowledge its own roots.
But before reaching that conclusion, there was a time when I still had hope. Unfortunately, the radio station was going downhill and nothing would stop that. But I didn't realize it, so I was doomed to be hurt continuously. The Thanksgiving Weekend special died as quickly as it had scaled the heights of Mount Olympus. You can blame it on a basketball game, but the fact of the matter is that a rock radio station should be dedicated to rocking, not playing sports. It's just simple logic. But I guess they don't care about broken hearts and shattered dreams. And it doesn't make a difference even if you let them know how you feel. Open up to them, and they'll just cut you down, like the corporate money-making bastards that they are so proud to be.
And what's worse, they have to insult you personally. It starts out as more or less an innocent opposition of ideas. A DJ plays tribute to the great supergroup Crosby Stills & Nash. But what's this? He makes a point to exclude Neil Young as he has an obvious distate for the man. This is fine, we are all entitled to our opinions. But when a curious inquisition is met with blatantly violent, vulgar, and personally insulting language, the connection between man and radio shatters. Who are these people? Are they so beaten by The Man and The Machine that they'll snap at anyone? Is there no love?
Ok, so this is probably a bit much, just to introduce one song on the playlist, but I wanted to give you an idea of the mindframe involved. I was a bit distressed (to say the least) by a conversation my brother had with a corporate DJ at a station I had come to love with a passion, but would soon come to hate with a passion. Of course, there were many other factors involved, but this one was just so picturesque and a great way to sum up the feelings involved. So anyway, I got back to campus after Thanksgiving Break, and I had a chance to do a radio show of my own. I took some time to rant about the DJ, and then I played a song that he had ridiculed - Cinnamon Girl - which is one of the great songs of rock. Then, I ranted about the state of radio in general, and proceeded to play lots of radio-unfriendly material for the remainder of the show. I also put specific emphasis on Neil Young's contribution to the song Country Girl, performed by Crosby Stills Nash & Young on their album Deja Vu. And in the spirit, I revived The Last DJ and used it to end the semester.
But besides all that, there's some other things to mention from this show. I opened and (nearly) closed the show with tracks from the spectacular rockabilly album by Alvin Lee with Elvis' guitarist Scotty Moore, recorded In Tennessee (which happens to be the name of the album) in 2004. I also played one of my favorite unknown Pink Floyd songs - Biding My Time, as well as a track from Journey's 1975 debut album, which is markedly different from their radio and charts-friendly late-70's/80's period. I did a whole set of live Yardbirds from the cult classic Five Live Yardbirds LP. And I think America by Simon & Garfunkel was inspired by recently seeing the movie Almost Famous, which is another great rock movie, by the way. "Listen to Tommy with a candle burning, and you'll see your future."