2018 Song Of The Day - Day 195 - Soundtracks - Kenny Loggins - Danger Zone

Band: The Black Mages
Song: Darkness and Starlight
Release Year: 2008
Why?: I enjoyed Opera Week so much, I added an extra day for you all. This is an entire four part mini-opera entirely in Japanese. The story is simple: two countries are at war, and the general and hero of this one army, Draco, is in love with the princess of his country, Maria. His country loses the war, and the princess is forced to marry the Prince of the winning country, Ralse. At the wedding, the survivors led by Draco surprise Prince Ralse and defeat him after a dramatic duel, and Maria and Draco live happily ever after.

 
Opera week in the rear view mirror, let's move forward.

Band: The Beach Boys
Song: Little Deuce Coupe
Release Year: 1963
Why?: Taking a drive, we'll see where I end up. I'll do my best to put up the next several songs of the day on time, but it is what it is.

 
Is this california sound week, or just the Beach Boys?

Lifehouse is another band with the California sound.
 
I was away a little while, but now I'm back so let's catch up with some more great music. First off, it's the Song of the Day from February 14th, also known as Valentine's Day.

Band: Blue Oyster Cult
Song: Godzilla
Release Year: 1977
Why?: I don't know if Blue Oyster Cult ever really got the recognition they deserved. Sure, they have famous, somewhat radio-friendly songs like this, "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll", "Burning For You" and of course "Don't Fear the Reaper", but they were so much more than that. They delved into some truly bizarre, almost occult-like lyrics, that must have made people wonder if they were making music or summoning demons/aliens/something else. They're one of those bands that make me wish I was alive earlier so I could have seen what fans and naysayers felt about them in real time, and not in the wik-story books.

 
February 15th Song of the Day

Band: Airbag
Song: No Escape
Release Year: 2009
Why?: I was exceptionally busy on the 15th, so when working the whole day non-stop, I wanted some calm music in the background. Enter Airbag, a Norwegian band that sounds to me like a cross between Riverside and Pink Floyd, with a little Anathema thrown in as well. Never heard of most of these bands? There's no better time than the present to check any of them out!

 
February 16th Song of the Day

Band: Lynyrd Skynyrd
Song: Simple Man
Release Year: 1973
Why?: Walking out to this track before his main event against Roy Nelson in Bellator on the 16th, Matt Mitrione prevailed while using this staple he's used since he was in the UFC. I couldn't think of a better song I heard that whole day.

 
February 17th Song of the Day

Band: Sleater-Kinney
Song: One More Hour
Release Year: 1997
Why?: This album got me interested in Sleater-Kinney all those years ago. I took a long drive on Saturday, so I wanted some music I hadn't listened to in a long time, and this album was the right call. I didn't have to be a riot girl to enjoy this music, although my musical tastes in the late 90s were all over the map. This band is one example of a band I really enjoyed but got lost in the tidal wave of "oh wow, there is so much music out there" when I was experiencing my musical enlightening. As far as break-up songs go, this one was always solid.

 
February 18th Song of the Day All Caught Up

Band: Kid Rock
Song: Cowboy
Release Year: 1998
Why?: Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone is fighting tonight, and this is his walkout song. It always has been, and likely always will be his song. If he wins tonight, I have a ton of different statistics on him as a fighter, including some with him and this song. But as a song...well, it is what it is. Can you believe for a moment in American history, we were discussing the potential of a Senator Kid Rock in the Capitol?

 
Day 50 already? Wow.

Artist: Kenny Loggins
Song: Footloose
Release Year: 1984
Why?: A fighter, Carlos Diego Ferreira, actually walked out to this song last night. Amazing. He won his fight by knockout too, so that's even more impressive. According to my stats, every fighter to walk out to a Kenny Loggins song has won inside the UFC. Talk about a highway to the danger zone.

 
Band: Riverside
Song: Driven to Destruction
Release Year: 2009
Why: Two years ago to the day, Riverside's guitarist, Piotr Grudzinski passed away suddenly. This song is off their Anno Domini High Definition (ADHD for short) album in 09, and shows some of the brilliance of Piotr, listen to the intro for plenty of great guitar work. If you want more where this came from, use your youtube-fu. It's there.

 
Band: The Aquabats
Song: Danger Woman
Release Year: 2000
Why: Coming up on fourteen years ago, I took a trip to Atlanta and caught a live show of this wacky superhero-themed ska band with my cousins, and it was an absolutely wild time. I don't know if there were 100 people at that show, so it was at the most intimate of intimate settings. I even have a few pictures from the show that I will post below, including one of the real Danger Woman that the song was based on. She couldn't have been sweeter to talk to at that concert. Good memory.



danger woman 216.JPG

aquabat hat.JPG
 
Band: Stone Temple Pilots
Song: Down
Release Year: 1999
Why: I was given this album, No. 4, not long after it came out. I had listened to STP on the radio but didn't own any of their music. I didn't listen to it for a year or two after getting it for no reason, and then when I finally listened to it, I was extremely frustrated at myself for having shelved it for so long. This album wouldn't blow anyone away, but it was just very enjoyable. This track started the album off so well, and is easily one of the highlights off of No. 4 along with Heaven & Hot Rods.

 
Band: The Police
Song: Spirits in the Material World
Release Year: 1981
Why: I'm a sucker for a good synthesizer, and this song featured one prominently. It also is one of those intriguing tracks that changes completely as you go through it, ranging from ska to new wave to rock all in the span of three short minutes.

 
Artist: Alice Cooper
Song: From the Inside
Release Year: 1978
Why: One of the most underrated albums of Alice Cooper's catalog, From the Inside was a concept album about Alice Cooper's trip to an asylum to deal with his drinking problem. The songs were based on people he met within the walls, and to make this album he was joined by Bernie Taupin (the songwriter for Elton John) and two members of Elton John's band as well, guitarist Davey Johnstone and bassist Dee Murray. If you haven't heard much from this album, other than possibly "How You Gonna See Me Now", forget what you think you knew about Alice Cooper and his hard rock/heavy metal ways. This is something different entirely.

 
Artist: Grover Washington Jr.
Song: Just the Two of Us
Release Year: 1981
Why: Making his successful UFC debut last night, Massachusetts native Manny Bermudez remained undefeated while moving to 11-0 by submitting Albert Morales with a guillotine choke. As far as walkout songs go, this one is pretty phenomenal, and I laughed as soon as I figured out what was playing. Sometimes thinking outside the box makes a walkout song special, and this one is definitely very special. This is the kind of walkout song that I would choose, to totally throw your opponent off their game. Rap? Nah. Heavy metal? Pass. Give me some of that smooth jazzy R&B instead.

 
Artists: B.B. King & Eric Clapton
Song: Hold On, I'm Coming
Release Year: 2000
Why: Sometimes when I hear a song, it just clicks that this is the most important song I will hear that day. This is one of those examples, and it felt right to put it up. Their version of this song just works beautifully for me. I hold this album in very high regard, and can't tell you how many times I've listened to this brilliant collaboration between the King and ol Slowhand. Some have criticized that it's too clean of an album for blues, and I can see that, but I get past it.

 
Band: The Smashing Pumpkins
Song: Thru the Eyes of Ruby
Release Year: 1995
Why: In light of the recent news about the return of the Smashing Pumpkins, this one was a no-brainer. This is one of my favorite SP songs without question, because it's so complicated and deep. I'd put Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness among my top five, maybe ten albums of the 1990s, and I'd be hard pressed to put many others above it. I'll try.

In no particular order:
Metallica's self-titled
Radiohead's "OK Computer"
Beastie Boys' "Ill Communication"
Rage Against the Machine's self-titled
Nine Inch Nails' "The Downward Spiral"
Eminem's "The Slim Shady LP"
Soundgarden's "Superunknown"
Guns n' Roses' "Use Your Illusion I and II" combined
Failure's "Fantastic Planet"

Those would probably round out my top ten albums of the 90s.

HMs include Depeche Mode's "Violator", 2Pac's "All Eyez on Me" and REM's "Automatic for the People".

 
Band: Placebo ft. David Bowie
Song: Without You I'm Nothing
Release Year: 1999
Why: This era, the late 90s, was when I really started my musical awakening. Before then, I predominantly listened my local radio station 94.9, an adult contemporary station which I loved dearly that supplied me with as much Phil Collins as I could ever hope to hear. I'm sure if I were near the station now, I'd listen to it, so it's funny how these things work. I don't exactly know what it was about this song and Placebo as a whole, but Brian Molko's voice always had a hypnotic effect over me. It certainly didn't hurt that David Bowie sang along on this song, and their voices together just clicked for me. That said, I still prefer Bowie's duet with Jagger in "Dancing in the Street."

 
Starting March off right, let's start another themed week: Songs I have seen performed live. I have been to a lot of concerts over the years, definitely crossing into three figures so far, so I promise that there will be a lot to pick from.

Band: The Flower Kings
Song: Compassion
Release Year: 1997
Why: I caught The Flower Kings in a tiny venue with an old buddy of mine, and it was an absolutely terrific show with an intimate atmosphere and a very happy band thrilled to play before their beloved fans. They opened with this track, and even though I had been a fan going into the show, a switch flipped for me after it was over, and I bought their entire catalog of their albums (8 of them!) within a few weeks following the show.

 
Band: VNV Nation
Song: Perpetual
Release Year: 2007
Why: Seeing VNV Nation live was an event I was able to off my bucket list, and a few of these concerts I will mention this week will also fit that bill. The show I attended featured not one but two encores, and I was able to talk to Ronan and the other members after the show as well. This song itself was an intriguing cross between their usual electronica sound with some rock, and it was a great track to close the album Matter + Form. It showed that they were willing to try new things to stretch out beyond their comfort zone, and I think they wore it well here. It was also the final song of that second encore, and the crowd couldn't get enough.

 
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