VH1 ranks this as the 19th Greatest Song of the 90s:

You probably don’t want to know even half of the songs that rank ahead of it, but I’ve included one after the jump for your amusement.

Scores of classics to choose from, yet somehow this is the obvious right choice (well, this or “One of These Days”¹):

There was a brief time in the late ’80s when I could play the opening on a guitar. That was, in fact, the peak of my accomplishments with that (or any other) instrument.

¹ A word of advice, guys: Never, ever put “One of These Days” on a mix CD for a female. Not even one with a good sense of humour. Trust me, no good will come of it.

Moving from the very contemporary to something a little more, well… one hates to use the word “classic” for the music one grew up with, but there you have it.

I’m still hoping my fellows will join me in giving this Late Night OTB thing another go, but I’ll keep at it by myself a while either way.

Here’s some more holiday cheer with this fan-made video of the Christmas classic “Chiron Beta Prime” by Jonathan Coulton.

Normally I don’t care for the song “The 12 Days of Christmas”, but this A Capella arrangement by the University of Indiana group Straight No Chaser is a particularly fun arrangement.

While “Meet Me In The Bathroom” by the Strokes might technically be more appropriate, the Kinks classic “Lola” is more my speed. Musically, I mean.

Lyrics:

I met her in a club down in old Soho
Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry-cola [LP version: Coca-Cola]
See-oh-el-aye cola
She walked up to me and she asked me to dance
I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said Lola
El-oh-el-aye Lola la-la-la-la Lola

Well I’m not the world’s most physical guy
But when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine
Oh my Lola la-la-la-la Lola
Well I’m not dumb but I can’t understand
Why she walked like a woman and talked like a man
Oh my Lola la-la-la-la Lola la-la-la-la Lola

Well we drank champagne and danced all night
Under electric candlelight
She picked me up and sat me on her knee
And said dear boy won’t you come home with me
Well I’m not the world’s most passionate guy
But when I looked in her eyes well I almost fell for my Lola
La-la-la-la Lola la-la-la-la Lola
Lola la-la-la-la Lola la-la-la-la Lola
I pushed her away
I walked to the door
I fell to the floor
I got down on my knees
Then I looked at her and she at me

Well that’s the way that I want it to stay
And I always want it to be that way for my Lola
La-la-la-la Lola
Girls will be boys and boys will be girls
It’s a mixed up muddled up shook up world except for Lola
La-la-la-la Lola

Well I left home just a week before
And I’d never ever kissed a woman before
But Lola smiled and took me by the hand
And said dear boy I’m gonna make you a man

Well I’m not the world’s most masculine man
But I know what I am and I’m glad I’m a man
And so is Lola
La-la-la-la Lola la-la-la-la Lola
Lola la-la-la-la Lola la-la-la-la Lola

When you get past the mullets and the name, Danny Shirley and Confederate Railroad put out some quality songs across the spectrum of the country genre, from cutesy to honky tonk to some superb ballads. This, from their eponymous 1993 debut album, is one of the latter:

I remember waking in the morning
To the sound of the rooster’s crow
Mamma cooking in the kitchen
Arthur Godfrey on the radio
Me and Dad were just like strangers
We never did see eye to eye
Came to blows one Sunday morning
So I packed my bags and I said goodbye
CHORUS
When you leave that way you can never go back
A train won’t run on a torn up track
Sometimes I wish I’d never roamed,oh no
‘Cause when you leave that way you can never go home
Then I met a girl in Knoxville
Oh, we set our wedding day
I left her standing at the alter
With a baby on the way
REPEAT CHORUS
Lord I’d love to see my mom and daddy
And what I’d give to hold that boy of mine
I’d get down on my knees and I’d say I’m sorry
If I could only go back one more time
But I killed a man in Houston
When he caught me with his wife
And I told the preacher man to leave me alone
When he came to read my rights
CHORUS
He said son,when you leave this way you can never come back
A soul won’t roll on a torn up track
All through eternity you’ll roam alone
‘Cause when you leave this way you can never come home
All through eternity you’ll roam alone
‘Cause when you leave this way you can never come home

Confederate Railroad When You Leave That Way (You Can Never Go Back) lyrics

Levon Helm and The Band perform “The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down” from “The Last Waltz” movie.

A bonus gem from YouTube: John Denver performing the song from a 1973 episode of his television show:

Once you get past the cornpone intro, it’s a surprisingly good — if less soulful — version. There were numerous covers of this song.

Lyrics:

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

Virgil Caine is my name and I drove on the Danville train
’til so much cavalry came and tore up the tracks again
In the winter of ‘65, we were hungry, just barely alive
I took the train to Richmond that fell
It was a time I remember, oh, so well

The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringin’
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singin’
They went, “Na, na, na, na, na, na, …. ”

Back with my wife in Tennessee
And one day she said to me,
“Virgil, Quick! Come see!
There goes Robert E. Lee.”
Now I don’t mind, I’m chopping wood
And I don’t care if the money’s no good
Just take what you need and leave the rest
But they should never have taken the very best

The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringin’
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singin’
They went, “Na, na, na, na, na, na, ….. ”

Like my father before me, I’m a working man
And like my brother before me, I took a rebel stand
Oh, he was just 18, proud and brave
But a yankee laid him in his grave
I swear by the blood below my feet
You can’t raise a Cane back up when he’s in defeat

The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the bells were ringin’
The night they drove old Dixie down
And all the people were singin’
They went, “Na, na, na, na, na, na, ….. ”

******************************************************************
Original Lyrics written by J. Robbie Robertson
******************************************************************

Virgil Caine is the name and I served on the Danville train
‘Til Stoneman’s cavalry came and tore up the tracks again
In the winter of ‘65, we were hungry, just barely alive
By May the tenth, Richmond had fell, it’s a time I remember oh so well

The night they drove Old Dixie down and the bells were ringing
The night they drove Old Dixie down and the people were singin’, they went
La-la-la la-la-la, la-la-la la-la-la, la-la-la-la

Back with my wife in Tennessee, when one day she called to me
“Virgil, quick, come see, there goes Robert E. Lee!”
Now I don’t mind choppin’ wood, and I don’t care if the money’s no good
Ya take what ya need and ya leave the rest
But they should never have taken the very best

The night they drove old Dixie down and the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down and all the people were singin’, they went
Na-na-na na-na-na, na-na-na na-na-na, na-na-na-na

Like my father before me, I will work the land
And like my brother before me, who took a rebel stand

He was just eighteen, proud and brave
But a Yankee laid him in his grave
I swear by the mud below my feet
You can’t raise a Caine back up when he’s in defeat

The night they drove old Dixie oown and the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down and all the people were singin’, they went
Na-na-na na-na-na, na-na-na na-na-na, na-na-na-na

The night they drove old Dixie down and all the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Dixie down and the people were singin’, they went
Na-na-na na-na-na, na-na-na na-na-na, na-na-na-na

I’ve always been a huge fan of Tori Amos’s voice and piano playing. I’m not always a fan of her songwriting, but off the top of my head I can’t think of a single cover she’s ever done that I haven’t enormously enjoyed. This cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire” is a great case in point:

Lyrics:

Hey little girl is your daddy home
Did he go away and leave you all alone
I got a bad desire
I’m on fire

Tell me now baby is he good to you
Can he do to you the things that I do
I can take you higher
I’m on fire

Sometimes it’s like someone took a knife baby
edgy and dull and cut a six-inch valley
through the middle of my soul

At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet
and a freight train running through the
middle of my head
Only you can cool my desire
I’m on fire

I’ve had this stuck in my head for three days since reading UGO’s Top 5- TV Shows of All Time (it gets a shout out in #6, a show my family watched together every week), so I’m sharing it with all of you.

I was 12 the last time I heard this duet. Brought back a lot of memories.

Ever since a friend of mine put “Where the Wild Roses Grow” on a mix CD for me, I have been a huge fan of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The song here, “Breathless”, is a nice little point of departure for them, though, in the sense that it is upbeat and happy sounding. However, no matter how many times I listen to it, I still can’t tell if it’s a song about a lover or a song about God. Either way, it’s a terrific tune.

It’s up in the morning and on the downs
Little white clouds like gambolling lambs
And I am breathless over you
And the red-breasted robin beats his wings
His throat it trembles when he sings
For he is helpless before you
The happy hooded bluebells bow
And bend their heads all a-down
Heavied by the early morning dew
At the whispering stream, at the bubbling brook
The fishes leap up to take a look
For they are breathless over you
Still your hands
And still your heart
For still your face comes shining through
And all the morning glows anew
Still your mind
Still your soul
For still, the fare of love is true
And I am breathless without you
The wind circles among the trees
And it bangs about the new-made leaves
For it is breathless without you
The fox chases the rabbit round
The rabbit hides beneath the ground
For he is defenceless without you
The sky of daytime dies away
And all the earthly things they stop to play
For we are all breathless without you
I listen to my juddering bones
The blood in my veins and the wind in my lungs
And I am breathless without you
Still your hands
And still your heart
For still your face comes shining through
And all the morning glows anew
Still your soul
Still your mind
Still, the fire of love is true
And I am breathless without you

The first, and perhaps only, post-Lionel Richie Commodores hit. It was a good one:

Background:

“Nightshift” is a 1985 hit song by The Commodores. The song was a tribute to Jackie Wilson and Marvin Gaye, two famous R&B musicians who had died in 1984 . The song was featured on the album Nightshift.

This song was the first hit attained by The Commodores after Lionel Richie’s departure from the group. It won a Grammy in 1985 for best R&B Performance by a duo or group with vocals.

Lyrics:

Nightshift
Commodores
Music & Lyrics : F. Golde – W. Orange – D. Lambert

Marvin, he was a friend of mine
And he could sing a song
His heart in every line
Marvin sang of the joy and pain
He opened up our minds
And I still can hear him say
Aw talk to me so you can see
What’s going on
Say you will sing your songs
Forevermore (evermore)

Gonna be some sweet sounds
Coming down on the nightshift
I bet you’re singing proud
Oh I bet you’ll pull a crowd
Gonna be a long night
It’s gonna be all right
On the nightshift
Oh you found another home
I know you’re not alone
On the nightshift

Jackie (Jackie), hey what’you doing now
It seems like yesterday
When we were working out
Jackie (Jackie, oh) you set
The world on fire
You came and gifted us
Your love it lifted us
Higher and higher
Keep it up and
We’ll be there
At your side
Oh say you will sing
Your songs forevermore (evermore)

Gonna be some sweet sounds
Coming down on the nightshift
I bet you’re singing proud
Oh I bet you’ll pull a crowd
Gonna be a long night
It’s gonna be all right
On the nightshift
Oh you found another home
I know you’re not alone
On the nightshift

Gonna miss your sweet voice
That soulful voice
On the nightshift
We all remember you
Ooh the songs are coming through
At the end of a long day
It’s gonna be okay
On the nightshift
You found another home
I know you’re not alone
On the nightshift

In 1994, then-41-year-old David Ball became an overnight success (after a couple decades in the music business) with his debut album, “Thinkin’ Problem.” The title track was more clever and charted higher (#2 on the country charts, #40 pop) but this one was my favorite.

Lyrics:

Artist/Band: Ball David
Lyrics for Song: When The Thought Of You Catches Up With Me
Lyrics for Album: Thinkin’ Problem
It can happen any moment
Without reason or rhyme
It might be right around the corner
Or it’ll come up from behind
A picture that I thought would fade
That I still clearly see
When the thought of you catches up with me

It can happen on a Sunday drive
The sky above a shade of blue
Headin’ down some lonesome highway
Then you come into view
Mile after mile goes by
But you’re all I see
When the thought of you catches up with me

When the thought of you comes to mind
It’ll carry me away to a better place in time

It can happen in the dead of night
Or any day of the week
Sometimes you’ll come find me
When I’m in bed asleep
And I’ll have that dream about you
And I sure love what I see
When the thought of you catches up with me

When the thought of you catches up with me

When the thought of you catches up with me

Eva Cassidy has always been noted for her amazing singing voice, and that praise is certainly justified. Still, I think that the true measure of her talent is her arrangements of cover songs–she always managed to do a perfect arrangement, which I think equally showed off her amazing talent. Here’s a great example of that in her cover of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World”.

“What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They’re really saying I love you.

I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

Colin Haye performing an acoustic version of “Overkill” on “Scrubs.”

Here’s a “Scrubs”-less version:

And the original version, when Haye was fronting Men at Work back in 1983:

If three versions of “Overkill” constitutes overkill, I apologize.

Lyrics:

Overkill – Men at Work

I can’t get to sleep
I think about the implications
Of diving in too deep
And possibly the complications

Especially at night
I worry over situations
I know will be alright
Perhaps it’s just imagination

CHORUS:
Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away

Alone between the sheets
Only brings exasperation
It’s time to walk the streets
Smell the desperation

At least there’s pretty lights
And though there’s little variation
It nullifies the night
From overkill

CHORUS

I can’t get to sleep
I think about the implications
Of diving in too deep
And possibly the complications

Especially at night
I worry over situation
I know will be alright
It’s just overkill

CHORUS

Ghosts appear and fade away
Ghosts appear and fade away