The Savage Animal 01.04.12: Top Seven Train Songs

Posted by Mikey MiGo on 01.04.2012

The band Train released a hand full of really successful singles over the years, but oddly enough none of these made Mikey MiGo’s list for top seven train songs. In this week’s edition of The Savage Animal, we take a random look at songs about trains. This, a look at New Year’s Resolutions, The Dark Knight Rises, Louis CK at The Beacon, a Rockstar Wrestling update, and MORE!

You are going to totally screw up your "New Year's Resolution". The whole tradition is silly really. Like anything, people have their own takes on the event. It gives some people a chance to point out their obvious flaws and then look weak when they cave in by Reverend King's B-Day. Then there are those who make outrageous goals that they won't come close to, but look noble for "chasing the dream". But are they any worse than those who make a big deal about goals that are easily obtainable? It's like being so bold as to proclaim that "I'm going to wake up EVERY day!" It's pointless and you're fooling no one.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the premise of a "New Year's Resolution". I like the idea of someone wanting to better themselves and taking a firm stand in really going for it. My issue is that if you REALLY have an issue you need to correct about yourself you shouldn't need to put your foot down on a Hallmark-banking holiday. If you REALLY have a goal you want to achieve then you don't need to wait until January 1st to "go for it".

I like the idea of being optimistic, determined, and hopeful. Those are all solid traits that I wish were displayed more regularly these days. It just feels artificial when it's a "New Year's Resolution". It's like not swimming within twenty minutes of finishing a meal. It's a myth. You can swim when you want you. You can better yourself when you want to. I almost feel like a "self help" nut, but it's the truth. Don't let obsolete traditions dictate your being. There are plenty more important obsolete traditions to keep us busy…

Like a wise bumper once said "Keep On Truckin'!"

---

TOP SEVEN TRAIN SONGS
Obviously On A Holiday Hangover…
Sometimes things are just random. I'm always looking for new ideas to discuss in this column. I'll nitpick, look for different angles to take it in, and sometimes get a little obscure. A lot of times I'll figure out a top ten or seven or whatever of a certain topic. I got into a discussion with someone and it got pretty bold. I've gone through five or so year's worth of topics so it gets a little tedious at times. Things like "top 10 songs about baseball" and "top singers who played an instrument in another band" came up. Then "Top songs about trains" came up and I laughed. Then the more I thought about it, the more I had to write on this.

I'm going to write about the top train songs.

"Isn't there a band called Train?" – There is.

The problem is that I can't think of anything "Top 10" worthy about the band Train. It's not that I don't know of them. I have ears and listen to music so of course I know "Drops of Jupiter". That song was played A LOT and it got old really quick. Then I remember then recently popping up with the really bad "Hey, Soul Sister" song. They're just a lame band all around. I feel lame talking about this for this long.

So here are my top seven songs about trains…

7. "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" by Quad City DJ's
Quad City DJ's aren't a group you hear all that much about these days. In fact, I don't think I know any of their other songs. I don't even know why I remember who made this 90's dance hit, but I sadly do. With some research I find that they all were part of some BIG 90's hits like "Tootsee Roll", "Whoot! There It Is!", and even work on Rob Base's "It Takes Two". So really, Quad City DJ's are like a early 90's dance track super group. This song was catchy as hell. I wanted to leave it off this list, but it's stuck in my head so far that I feel like if I deny it I'll be cursed with another week of humming "Woo! Woo!" to myself over and over….

6. "Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum
I don't remember much about early 90's alt rockers Soul Asylum, but I remember this song fondly. It's not a bad song at all. It's all the way from 1992. It was a huge song at the time. They were that perfectly harmless bridge between the 80's and grunge. I didn't remember the video though. I'm watching this now and it's pretty harsh. Kids hooking? Yeesh! This video wouldn't fly now. I seriously didn't know this song was so serious. I always equated it on the same tone as "It's The End of The World" by REM. Wow… I just got my mind blown by Soul Asylum. I bet you don't read that twice today.

5. "The Loco-Motion" by Little Eva
Rolling Stone magazine actually ranked this song as #359 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list. This song was so catchy that it actually hit number one twice by two different acts. The first big single release of it was in 1962 by Little Eva. It's just a catchy song and it has a dance to it. I don't know what it is, but I assume there HAS to be one because why the hell else would we have to "DO" the locomotion unless there was something to actually "DO". I'm nit picking. Tons of people have covered this song and tons of productions have featured it. It's a song that's just embedded into pop culture and old school dance parties.

4. "Midnight Train to Georgia" by Gladys Knight and the Pips
Released in 1973, I think everyone knows this song in the back of their head somewhere. After years of working with Motown, Gladys left the label and dropped this bomb on the world. It's about someone leaving the grind of the city in favor of a simpler life. I honestly didn't know WHO sung it, but I knew it existed and could hum the melody. It's just "one of those songs". Everyone knows it, but I just don't know if anyone actually likes it.

3. "Last Train to Clarksville" by The Monkees
The Monkees are an acquired taste. A lot of people hate on them for how they came together, but the fact that they kept making music and took on their own identity is always ignored. Also ignored are the really great songs they released. One of those songs is "Last Train to Clarksville". It's a fun and soulful pop song. The breakdown madness with the organ in this song is sweet. I'm just saying… give it a chance!

2. "Casey Jones" by Grateful Dead
I don't know too much about Grateful Dead. It's just never been music for me. It's not that I'm a hater or anything. It's just not my cup of tea. If you knew me, you'd think I was a fan though. Jerry Garcia and I even have/had the same birthday. As novice as I am in the tunes of the Dead, I do know this one. The line "Ridin' That Train… High on Cocaine!" has been drunkenly sung in Midwestern bars for years. It's about a dude named "Casey Jones" who worked as a railroad engineer. To pass the time, he works while under the influence of cocaine. It feels redundant to explain this song. If you don't know it, know it…

1. "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne
Well, no shit. This was the first song that came to my rock loving mind. I know it's crazy to admit, but I've never been a huge Ozzy fan. I like him and all and I've enjoyed some of his songs and his live show was fun but it just never connected with me. From Ozzy's insane scream of "All aboard!" to the last head banging note, this song is a classic. The guitar riff in this song is timeless and not including the Black Sabbath stuff, I'd dare say this is Ozzy's best song.


If you're still reading you probably wanted to make sure YOUR favorite "song about trains" was listed? I'm sure I missed some.

Well, jerk… was it?

---

ROCKSTAR WRESTLING UPDATE
Web Series Creator Shares The Preproduction Process.The deadline came and went on Sonicbids.com for bands interested in having their music featured in Rockstar Wrestling. We got 818 submissions on Sonicbids.com alone! That's awesome stuff. We're STILL taking submissions through the email address on DLPRockstar.com. Do YOU want your music to part of a wrestling show? Hit me up! We're looking for all genres!

I was told our belt will soon be done. I finished up another chunk of preproduction design and video work that seriously rivals the bigger wrestling promotions out there. On top of that, a well known indie worker is showing interest in being part of season one. He, like a few others, were victims of my New Years head cold… Yay 2012!


DLPROCKSTAR.com

---

RANDOM TRAILER OF THE WEEK
"THE DARK KNIGHT RISES"
I feel like a small child talking about Christmas with this. Obviously, I'm excited. I'm a human being with a pulse so I'm pretty sure that qualifies me to anticipate this one. "The Dark Knight" broke records and will go down as one of the greatest movies of all time. Not just "greatest super hero movie", but on the same level as a "Wizard of Oz" or "Easy Rider". I know that's bold as fuck to say, but I'm just being realistic. It was a great story with great actors directed by a great director. A lot of the praise from it was Ledger's performance as "The Joker". He passed away before he could win the Oscar. So a THIRD Christopher Nolan Batman movie? Count me in. I'm sure I'm not the only one excited for this movie. The fact that Ledger won't be reprising his Joker role makes it hard to believe this movie will measure up to the immeasurable about of success of Dark Knight. The Joker is the coolest villain in the Batman mythos. They're bringing in Tom Hardy as "Bane" and Anne Hathaway as "Catwoman". That's cool. There aren't many more bigger villains outside of the Riddler, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Harlequinn, and well… okay, yeah they could have gone another direction. I've always been a fan of The Riddler so I'd have liked to have seen Nolan's take on the character. I'm not worried though. I've been a huge fan of Nolan's body of work and Batman movies are like pizza, even the worst is still good. Batman is just a bad ass character. People will shit talk Christian Bale on his work with the character, especially the voice, but I think he's done a great job. In ten years when he has a few more Oscars and is remembered as one of the best actors of the generation people will look back at these already great Batman movies and think about how lucky we were to have him in the role. Christian Bale IS the best Batman. There… I said it! Needless to say, I'm bias. Real bias. I want to see this movie. It doesn't come out until July 20th. That's forever and a day away from now. It just sucks that you know that they'll keep "leaking" promotional stuff on this movie all the way up until it's release. I'm pretty sure there are some diehard fans that are going to snap and go crazy before that late summer night comes. I'm not saying I'm going to go crazy, but…

---

RANDOM MOVIE REVIEW
"LOUIS CK: LIVE AT THE BEACON THEATER"
I know this isn't a "movie" per say, but it's a feature length release none the less. If you follow modern stand-up comedy then you should already know that Louis CK is king. Louis CK used to write and do small stand up shows. He busted ass and paid his dues. Now he's doing things on his own terms. I know how cheesy it sounds to say "on his own terms", but I don't know how else to put it without getting too metaphorical. "Louis CK is marching to the beat of his own drummer" sounds homoerotic. I'm not saying that's a bad thing or anything, but it's DEFINITELY not what I was going for. What I'm getting at is that Louis CK has a deal with FX where he writes, directs, and edits his own show. That shit is unheard of, but he does it and is amazing at it. He took this "Do It Yourself" approach to his recent stand up special. He hired a crew, shot a live standup special in New York, and then edited it himself and released it himself. Like how Radiohead or Nine Inch Nails did with paying the artist directly for the digital content at a much lower price. It cuts out the middle man and puts the artist in control of the art. It's a crazy concept, but its dudes like CK that has to trail blaze what seems like an obvious means in 2012. All you do is go to his website, pay $5 and then you can stream it online or download it in full out 720p HD glory. How convenient is that? You can chill at home, watch stand-up comedy on your computer, indulge in any activity you want while watching, pause it, stop it, rewind it, and have full control. No stuffy crowds, no travel, no parking, no cable subscriptions, no anything. Just you, a computer, and your own set of morals. Louis CK's last few specials have been classic so this was pretty ballsy. He's hilarious, but he can't keep hitting homeruns. It would suck if he made people go out of the way to pay $5 and put on a sucky special. This is Louis CK we're talking about though. Remember what I said, yeah… Louis CK is king. The editing and direction was similar to a normal comedy show, but had a strong slice. It had a certain style to it. The opening was shot very well and it all came together really nicely. Louis CK could never perform again and just direct and edit comedy shows and be great at it. The production aside, let's get to the important part. The comedy itself. Old people had Carlin, Pryor, Eddie, or Hicks. Louis CK is THAT for us. It's awesome that more and more people are opening up to that sentiment. This special was great. There were plenty of great lines and jokes in this. I don't want to spoil any of that because reading my text versions of it won't due Louie's delivery a tenth of the proper justice. It's all new material. Unless you've seen him on tour recently then odds are you've never heard these jokes. You should stop being stupid and just go pay the man and enjoy this special. You WILL laugh. A

---

THE BIG COMEDOWNI'm going to fully accept responsibly for this one. The column topic today sorta sucked. I expected it to be more ironic and have more room for silly random ranting. Not the case. "Songs About Trains"?! What the hell am I smoking? … Uh, never mind. Next week will be better… I promise! Until next time… Have a Great Week!