Category: songs

individual songs

Flute Week: Can’t You SeeFlute Week: Can’t You See

0 Comments 7:07 am


by Marshall Tucker Band

~ You don’t mess with a classic ~

One of the all-time classics of Southern rock would be horribly incomplete without one of the better flute parts you’ve ever heard in a rock song. Not much to say here. Just lay back and enjoy

So yeah, it’s not “Fleet Week” but rather “flute week” – rock music with a flute in the song. And yes, we’re going to do it all without Jethro Tull! Oh, and we’re skipping “Sure Shot” by the Beastie Boys because, well, we already covered it.

Flute Week: UntouchedFlute Week: Untouched

0 Comments 7:07 am


by Baker’s Pink

~ Was probably written for, and in, a coffeehouse ~

Yes, I’m still standing on the table in support of this album because it is some seriously unrecognized mid-90s brilliance. This is what, my 3rd (or 4th?) song from this album, and there’s (probably) more coming…

It’s a really nice coffeehouse-style guitar groove with a simple underlying beat that you can play along on some bongos. The bass would work as a stand-up bass or as a traditional one. But then there’s the flute riff that pops in throughout the song and gives you a hummable little melody to stick with around a nice tune that makes as well into late night playlists.

So yeah, it’s not “Fleet Week” but rather “flute week” – rock music with a flute in the song. And yes, we’re going to do it all without Jethro Tull! Oh, and we’re skipping “Sure Shot” by the Beastie Boys because, well, we already covered it.

Flute Week: Moments With YouFlute Week: Moments With You

0 Comments 7:07 am


by Gran Torino

~ No, you’ve never heard of them. So what? ~

There’s not a whole lot of flute in here. Honestly, there’s probably a little more record scratch in here than the flute riff. But, it’s a nice little underlying touch that you get in the middle of each verse just to give the song that extra bit of pep.

These guys made absolutely zero dent in the national music scene at all, and I only happened to find them because the local alternative radio station back in Colombia around 20 years ago threw them on the radio because they were playing on the undercard of a local festival. But it’s a great tune and I’ve had it in rotation for longer than my son has been around…

So yeah, it’s not “Fleet Week” but rather “flute week” – rock music with a flute in the song. And yes, we’re going to do it all without Jethro Tull! Oh, and we’re skipping “Sure Shot” by the Beastie Boys because, well, we already covered it.

Flute Week: I Want MoreFlute Week: I Want More

0 Comments 7:06 am


by Tedeschi Trucks Band

~ Built for an extended jam ~

It’s a great Southern rock tune for a live concert because the rhythm guitar riff is such a basic driving riff that it’s easy to stretch it out and repeat as needed for Derek trucks to just riff over as long as he feels like. When the song mellows out into its extended coda, the flute player shows up and gets to take over for a little bit

So yeah, it’s not “Fleet Week” but rather “flute week” – rock music with a flute in the song. And yes, we’re going to do it all without Jethro Tull! Oh, and we’re skipping “Sure Shot” by the Beastie Boys because, well, we already covered it.

Did Ye Get Healed?Did Ye Get Healed?

0 Comments 8:29 am


by Van Morrison

~ Yes, that’s a clarinet ~

And yes, you’re already humming along with a clarinet groove from one of rock & roll’s earliest masters.

I always enjoyed the radio tracks from Van Morrison (you know the ones) but about 15 years ago I started to really dig into his catalog. I started with the Bang Masters greatest hits, and then went from there into his older catalog, like Astral Weeks and Tupelo Honey. I started to understand Uma Thurman’s Van Morrison reference from Beautiful Girls. It just took me a while.

Oh, the song? What? I mean, there’s not much to say about this other than we are so used to excellence from Van Morrison that a song that would be the top five tune from almost any other classic artist almost feels like a filler track on his greatest hits album. Grab a drink and enjoy your weekend!

You Don’t Mess Around With JimYou Don’t Mess Around With Jim

0 Comments 8:29 am


by Jim Croce

~ How long to retain lyrics in your head? ~

My parents were fans of Jim Croce, and it’s funny how listening to a lot of his songs while riding around in the back seat for several years can be enough to permanently imprint the lyrics onto your brain. Croce was a masterful storyteller, and an impressive acoustic guitar player in a coffeehouse style that wouldn’t become widely popular for another 2 decades after his death. But without a bunch of over-produced orchestration, he created masterpiece slices of 3-1/2-minute radio pop goodness that even 4+ decades later you can still sing along with every word to a song you haven’t heard in 15 years, as though you’re still just a kid cruising around in the car with mom & dad.

Metal Monday: Eyes Of A StrangerMetal Monday: Eyes Of A Stranger

0 Comments 8:29 am


by Queensryche

~ Hard rock tells a story ~

Queensryche always had a… ‘different’ sound than the rest of the heavy-bass bluesy crunch you’d get from the rest of the Sabbath/Purple disciples of the hard rock world. Much more staccato, with more controlled distortion and cleaner lead lines. It’s almost like they wanted you to actually hear everyone in the band instead of just a muddy groove. It’s almost ironic that they’re from the same town as folks like Mudhoney and Alice in Chains and Soundgarden.

But more importantly, Queensryche got miles away from the girls, guitars, and fast cars topics that the rest of the hard rock world lived in. They made some minor dents with tunes like “Queen of the Reich” while I was living in Germany (where they seemed tmore popular on the continent than back home) but it was the Operation: Mindcrime concept album that really put them over the top with hard rock audiences in the US. Everyone was desperate to show off how smart they were with being able to explain the plot of the album to their friends (until we all read the book that came with the special box set 5 years later and realized that we missed half of it) but truthfully they just got better at writing songs, and it showed on this album, with at least half of the best tunes of their career.

This was the closing tune, but also the lead single, and one of the strongest songs. It was a staple of Headbanger’s Ball for about 8 months, and of my mixtapes in the car for probably 18 months. It’s a masterpiece performance not just by Tate, but also Degarmo & Wilton.