The Savage Animal 12.13.06: Songs about Death, Hyphy, and More
Posted by Mikey MiGo on 12.13.2006
In this week's Savage Animal Mikey MiGo mixes it up with a few topics. What are his Top 10 songs about Death? What did he learn this week after over 25 hours straight on the road? And what feedback did he get from last week's column? Click Here to find out!
I'm as worn out as Paris Hilton's crotch. It's really be a very long week, but at the same time it flew by very quickly. Last week I ended up working more hours than I wanted and spending my two days off in a Durango driving from Palm Beach, Florida to the cold hell of Lake Station. Normal folk would enjoy the drive and be able to travel at speeds of at least 80 miles an hour. Yet, when you're traveling through the curve ridden mountains of Tennessee with a 12 foot trailer on the back of the hitch you tend to slow down a bit. I closed at work on Wednesday, at 2 AM I had to catch a shuttle to Midway Airport in Chicago, I landed, soon I was in the Durango driving all the way back up here, I got home, crashed, and woke up just in time to make it to work the next day. How did you spend YOUR off days this week?
Monday night was a busy night for my television's remote control. Between flipping back and forth between RAW and the Bears game I felt the first huge blows of needing tivo. RAW wasn't that good this week, but there was a few highlights for me. I marked out huge for the "Samoa Joe Sucks" sign in the front row. I'm excited to see The World's Greatest Tag Team back together. They are easily the most talented tag team on RAW now and I'd love to see a good main event of TWGT vs. Edge and Orton on RAW sometime soon. That may or may not happen, but it's good that Cryme Tyme will be in their first feud. I missed Edge and Triple H, but I feel like I saw it because I'm sure it was the same shit we always see. The Six Man was probably blah, but I won't judge it because I didn't see it.
The Bears game was great. Well, at least to a Bears fan it was. Rex Grossman snuck in there and kept his spot with some pretty damn good playing, but that's not what I'm hearing on ESPN's "Cold Pizza." The real story is the rookie kick returner Devin Hester. The guy has rocked and takes the return defenses by storm. If only Coach Smith had seen this earlier Hester would have been doing the same all year. On my fantasy football team I had Stephen Jackson, Thomas Jones, and Mushin Muhamad so need less to say I was happy and I won my game. In fact, it was the game to clinch my FIRST PLACE spot in my league. I'm Number 1! I'm Number 1! The playoffs begin this upcoming weekend and I'm going straight to the Championships! Oh Yea!
TOP 10 SONGS ABOUT DEATH
It's the Holiday season and it's time for reflecting on life, what we're thankful for, family, and presents. What better way to celebrate this than with songs about DEATH! That's right, I'm going to mix this bitch up. Everyone is talking about their favorite Christmas/Holiday songs, gifts they want, and all the typical topics of the season. If you're anything like me (I pray for your soul), you're bored with it all. So lets take a break and talk about DEATH! Here's my Top Ten Songs About Death!
10.) "One" by Metallica
The video gave me nightmares as a kid. The whole scenery of the of the old black and white movie clips of the comatose man wanting death still gives me chills. It's still a classic despite what people say about "New Metallica." Don't tell Lars, but this really is one of the first songs I downloaded off Napster. I paid for the cassette tape when I downloaded it and have since bought the CD, so please don't sue me.
9.) "Psycho Killer" by The Talking Heads
It's a fun little ditty about a killer. The music is top notch and I feel is a very underappreciated song from the Talking Head's library.
8.) "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails
Trent Reznor was really on The Downward Spiral during the mid 90's, I'm glad he got through it all but I'm also glad for this great piece of music. The insight on the suicidal thoughts of a man who has reached his emotional limits is summed up by the opening lyrics of "I hurt myself today to see if I still feel." I'm in the minority of people out there that prefer THIS version over the Cash one. Cash's rendition was a thing of beauty, but you could feel Trent's pain and torment in this one more than any other track he's done. That says a lot.
7.) "Tha Crossroads" by Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony
In Junior High this song was the shit. It's a throwback to the rebellious teenage years when I was REALLY into rap music. While it had a memorial touch about Easy E to it despite the suburban kids who were buying it probably not knowing shit about E, it still stood for a lot more. I recently got this track back to my hard drive and it's still a damn good song.
6.) "Fade To Black" by Metallica
The second Metallica song on this list. The melody in this song is so sub par over most of what's on the radio these days and in the metal circles that it's not even funny. The lyrics are meaningful and carry the song even over the perfect melody. If more metal acts were more like old school Metallica it wouldn't be so lame these days. Metallica could be haunting and fierce without growling. That's why Metallica has cemented their place in history. Now if I could say that about their work from the past ten or so years we'd be in business.
5.) "Jeremy" by Pearl Jam
There is NO WAY IN HELL that the video for this song would be allowed on television in a post Columbine/post 911 world we're in. The song basically sums up what most social outcasts in school went through. Granted, it's not right to and no should ever kill their classmates, the isolation and mockery does in fact build up inside you. Not that I'd know anything about that. I was as popular as Ferris Beuhler. Yep... I was. *lowers head and weeps*
4.) "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
This song is summed up in one sentence. Find yourself and ride it out till the end and don't change for anyone. I absolutely hate Lynyrd Skynyrd and southern rock, but I respect Skynyrd and love this song. The best use of this song was at the end of Rob Zombie's "The Devils Rejects" with the family being shot down. That scene in the movie is now the first thing that comes to mind when I hear it on the radio. I get creeped out to the point that I end up turning it off before the guitar solo. That's power.
3.) "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult
I can honestly say that I can't think of any other BOC songs other than this one. Like many when I hear someone bring up BOC I instantly think of this song. I also go back to the movie "Stoned Age," which was a horrible movie and frown. Then I think of Saturday Night Live and listen closely for the cowbell and laugh. How one SNL skit can change the tone of a very haunting song shows the power of Christopher Walken and Will Ferrell.
2.) "Suicide is Painless" by Johnny Mandel
This is from one of my favorite movies of all time. Of course I'm talking about the late Altman's classic MASH. Mandel provided vocals for the movie version with very depressing lyrics for a song from that time period. The TV show used the same song, but went for the instrumental. It's understandable because a comedy show with the lyrics of "Suicide is Painless" would have made Alan Alda's humor a bit hard to swallow. A few years back Marilyn Manson covered the song and to be perfectly honest it didn't hold a candle to the original. Manson is a creepy fuck, but even he could dig as deep as Mandel for this one.
1.) "The End" by The Doors
Jim Morrison is an icon for a reason. His voice can rip into your soul. This song in particular does that to the point where "The End" has been used in quite a few movies and television shows for a reason. What feels like Morrison ranting in the middle of the song is what takes this from a depressing song to an insane song. I'd not want it any other way though because that rant in the middle is what makes this song my number one song about death.
If you think I missed one or just wanted to chime in with comments, complaints, or insults feel free to send them my way.
HYPHY? What!? What the hell is "Hyphy"?
Just in case you skipped my opening or if you have ADD, let me rewind for you. This past week I spent many hours on the road. While the trip was a mixed bag of hell and fun, there was one thing I took from it. I MUST OWN Sirius Radio! My friend had it and we listened to hours of comedy on the "Raw Dog" station to make the trip a lot more bearable. But the best part for me was listening to the Shady 45 station. On Friday night, I was treated to an in studio appearance by Mistah Fab. At first I was just thinking he was the typical rapper, but as I listened I learned a lot more.
Mistah Fab is a hyphy rapper. The tracks they played on the station that night was seriously some of the best and most entertaining rap I've heard since Busta was in his prime.
What is hyphy? Basically, if you've heard E-40 you have had a small taste. Hyphy is like most genre's of hip hop. It's not just a rap style, it's a culture. It's Bay Area's answer to the war against commercial rap. The term "hyphy" is coined by rapper Keak Da Sneak due to him being a hyperactive child. The gritty, pulse pounding beats, and dance is just the beginning of this new wave of music. Hip Hop and Rap is mostly known as overacting and exaggeration, but hyphy takes it one step farther. During the interview with Mistah Fab he spoke of going to a club where everyone was on Ecstasy where everyone was dancing crazy-like and with no cares in the world. He said he felt at home in this atmosphere and from the sounds of the music I couldn't thing of a better analogy for the music. It's ecstasy.
The beats are up tempo in a sort of non-annoying Techno way. The vocals are usually absurd or obscure, which is always entertaining. It's almost like Mindless Self Indulgence's beats with old school Busta's irrational lyrics. But even then you can't compare this new movement to anything else out there. I know this isn't THAT new, but it was new to me and I'm sure new to many of you. I'm not saying anything bad about my rap scene. I'm a rock toss away from Chicago and I love Kanye, Lupe, and Common, but the Bay Area scene seems to be having a lot more fun. Over the past year or so I've heard of hyphy, but never actually heard it. If Mistah Fab is any indication, I'm going to be spending a chunk of my upcoming paychecks on this hip hop phenomenon.
Check out Mistah Fab's myspace page to get a taste of what I'm talking about. The song "Ghost Ride It" is a particular favorite.
This past week I got a lot of feedback concerning my last column titled "The Name Game." Let's take a look...
Both Colin and kswinford sent in comments about Pearl Jam's name origins.
They both commented that Eddie Vedder's grandmother, Pearl, made homemade jellies and jams that were said to be psychedelic. When the name "Mookie Blaylock" fell through, they went with "Pearl's Jam" but later dropped the "'s."
Urbster4 didn't really send me so much of an email, but a blank one with a subject. The subject was...
PEARL JAM IS MALE EJACULATE!!!!!
Rock.
The ever so cool Jed Shaffer of the iconic www.wrestlecrap.com sent in his corrections as well...
Alice In Chains: When Layne Stayley joined the band, he had a side project called "Alice In Chains", where the members dressed in bad drag and played some obnoxious music (such as the AIC outtake "Queen Of The Rodeo"). As the new band was looking for names and rejecting them (including the highly marketable "Fuck"), the idea sprung to take the side project's name, since it wasn't going to go anywhere.
Indeed this is true. I could think maybe the whole rumored joke of the name being taken from the lost "Brady Bunch" episode could still be possible though, but for the original side project.
The Doors: The name came from an Aldous Huxley book (The Doors Of Perception), not a William Blake poem. Huxley might've gotten it from Blake, but Morrison got it from Huxley.
I felt horrible about this because it is true. Go back and watch the movie, which just got re-released with a shit load of extras. As I said in an emailed reply to Jed, in Junior High I got my hands on a Huxley book just because of this movie. It's a common practice to mentally block things from the past. I'm thinking Junior High merits that for me.
Faith No More: A previous incarnation of the band, called Faith No Man, was headed by a guy whose nickname was "The Man." When the core of this band--Roddy Bottum, Billy Gould and Mike Bordin--left the band and started their own, they called it Faith No More, as "The Man" was no more. No joke.
This story is much better than the one I found last week about them taking the name from a racing horse.
Pearl Jam: The Mookie Blaylock thing is true. The phrase "pearl jam", however, came from one of the band's grandmothers (Mike McCready, if I remember correctly), who made a psychadelic jelly and called it "pearl jam".
This is also true and apparently a lot of Pearl Jam fans read this column.
Anthrax: Before it was a "deadly powder that kills people", it was a fatal bovine disease.
To think if they'd have came out in the late 90's they could have been called "Mad Cow."
Thanks to all that send their corrections, feedback, and comments. Most writers would be an asshole about being corrected, but not me. I'll be the first to admit that I don't know everything about music and that's part of the reason why I took this gig. I love music and wanted to learn more about it. Thanks for the heads up on things. If I make any other mistakes, feel free to respond and tell me I'm wrong so I can take in more music knowledge. Together we can take over the world.
I'm going to go sleep now. Tonight (Wednesday), I'm going to see Tech N9ne in Illinois. If you still haven't bought his new album go out and do so. Until then... Have a Great Week!
TOP 10 SONGS ABOUT DEATH
HYPHY? What!? What the hell is "Hyphy"?
