POV: Pretty/Poignant Songs Not Particularly Representative of the Rest of that Artist's Oeuvre

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1. "Sistinas" by Danzig - Taking a breather from the hellfire and fist-pumping bluster, Glen and the boys take a tender Presleyan detour into Croonerville, albeit still singing about caressing the unspeakable loins of abject evil. Particularly on the live e.p., Thrall-Demonsweat, when Glen busts into the soaring second chorus and rips the bassa profundo loose, it could almost convince the most jaded PMRC'er to slow dance with Satan.

2. "1916" by Motorhead - Unthinkably devoid of speed-freakery, maniacally strummed Rickenbacker bass nor an avalanche of jack-hammer drums, this elegiac ode to British soldiers lost in the first World War (recalling Pink Floyd's quasi-lost single, "When the Tigers Broke Free") is so unlike everything else this band has ever done (and done so well), that it almost suggests other possible career trajectories should Lemmy ever decide to hang up his white cowboy boots.

3. "Planet Caravan" by Black Sabbath - Swappaing stentorian stomp for jazzy meandering, the Sabs light up a bunch of votive candles and incense and spin a sci fi yarn about an intergalactic exodus suggesting the opening credits of 1968's "Planet of the Apes" (apart from that bit about the Black Knight sighing, which was, I guess, too silly a rhyme to pass up). To those who'd suggest that Black Sabbath couldn't play proper scales, let alone bona fide melodies flecked with subtlety, I suggest lending an ear to this languid bit of somnambulistic serenading. Later xeroxed unmemorably by Pantera.

4. "Mama Said" by Metallica - From the much-maligned (arguably deservedly so) Load, while Metallica had dipped their toes into the chilly waters of balladry before, "Mama Said" was a headlong swandive into uncharted territory for the band, boasting both new instrumenation (those C&W guitars!) for the band and a heretofore unglimpsed personal side of Hetfield's songwriting (hinted at on "Nothing Else Matters" an album earlier). They'd grow to regret it, it seems, but it's still a lovely song, I'd say.

5. "Jane Says" by Jane's Addiction - Less of a stretch than these other tracks, "Jane Says" was still a devilish ruse. I remember a few female friends of mine picking up Nothing Shocking on the back of this pretty acoustic/steel drum track, only to get a sonic whallop of Dave Navarro's fat, effects-laden electric guitar and Perry's smack-crazed screech.

More?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:21 (twenty-two years ago)

6. Avril 14 - Aphex Twin

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:24 (twenty-two years ago)

7. Beastie Boys - Rickie's Theme

― M Carty (mj_c), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:26 (twenty-two years ago)

i can tell that we're gonna be friends - white stripes

― billislord, Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:36 (twenty-two years ago)

This thread was invented for New Order's "Elegia."

― The Good Dr. Bill (Andrew Unterberger), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Hmmm....I don't find that especially true. I don't think "Elegia" was really that much of a departure from essentially the same band that brought forth "Atmosphere".

And truthfully, this thread was invented for "Sistinas" by Danzig.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:43 (twenty-two years ago)

"Looking Out For Number One" by Bachman Turner Overdrive. If you played it for someone who had never heard it they would never guess who it was. i love it. sounds like kenny rankin or something.

― scott seward (scott seward), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:45 (twenty-two years ago)

"In Spite of Me" -- Morphine

― rainman (rainman), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:45 (twenty-two years ago)

"Freedom For The Stallion" - Lee Dorsey. Lee takes a break from trademark bumping New Orleans r&b to sing this dynamite weird piano-based civil rights song with rat-a-tat military drumbeat.

― Tim (Tim), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 16:00 (twenty-two years ago)

i dont know by the beastie boys

― robin (robin), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 16:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Actually, "You'll Never Get To Me" by Killing Joke seems like an appropriate choice, at least from what I've heard of them.

― Simon H., Wednesday, 25 February 2004 16:07 (twenty-two years ago)

i read the thread title and just assumed it was a thread about "sarah" by ween. which it should be. a gorgeous, one-verse balald with a weird-ass guitar sound that's made that much better by the unlikely way it flows out of "pumpin' 4 the man."

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 16:10 (twenty-two years ago)

"balald" = ballad. when done by ween, it becomes a balald.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 16:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Used to Love Her -- GnR

― PDAS, Wednesday, 25 February 2004 16:18 (twenty-two years ago)

I second "In Spite of Me" -- Morphine. It's positively gorgeous, methinks.

― The Second Drummer Drowned (Atila the Honeybun), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 16:24 (twenty-two years ago)

"Northern Star" by Hole. Weird, dogs-to-the-hunt mourning song located at the rear end of "Celebrity Skin".

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 16:25 (twenty-two years ago)

i read the thread title and just assumed it was a thread about "sarah" by ween.

Wow. I was so going to make that #5 originally.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 16:51 (twenty-two years ago)

1. "Maps" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs...
...especially after their first single with it's lines of "the bigger the better" / "as a fuck son, you sucked" / "take a swallow, as I spit"

2. Any given 1980s hair metal band whose hit was the requisite ballad from the album. (Poison, Warrant, Skid Row, Extreme, etc.)

― Ben Boyer (Ben Boyer), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 18:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Ben's number two answer is exactly what I was thinking of.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 18:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, Extreme's "More than Words" seems like a particularly obvious choice.

And here's another (?)

Pere Ubu - "Waiting for Mary"
Although there's something pretty and poignant, in MUCH less conventional ways, about lots of Pere Ubu.

― Paul in Santa Cruz (Paul in Santa Cruz), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 19:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Fuck This Band by mclusky is sooooooo pretty! And soooooooo poignant! Nobody composes ballads like that these days!

― Jasper Patches (Dating Ikea), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 21:10 (twenty-two years ago)

"Skyway" - The Replacements

― nickn (nickn), Thursday, 26 February 2004 00:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Still ... You Turn Me On - ELP

― Rocco, Thursday, 26 February 2004 13:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Elegia seconded.

Also Prisoners of the Sun by The Chameleons. It makes me want to cry like a big softy.

― flowersdie (flowersdie), Thursday, 26 February 2004 13:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Motley Crue "Danger" and Judas Priest "Beyond the Realms of Death" are both examples, and are also the same song

― dave q, Thursday, 26 February 2004 13:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Ministry - Everyday's Halloween (well, I used to find it poignant as teenage mizadunstood goth ;-)

― Baaderist (Fabfunk), Thursday, 26 February 2004 13:41 (twenty-two years ago)

"Just Like Christmas" by Low makes me swoon at what they could do if they wrote bouncy pop songs all the time.

― Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 26 February 2004 15:14 (twenty-two years ago)

"A Warm Place" - Nine Inch Nails

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Thursday, 26 February 2004 15:23 (twenty-two years ago)

"Bill is Dead" by The Fall.

― rw, Thursday, 26 February 2004 15:34 (twenty-two years ago)

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