Someone in my apartment building is watching Star Wars on full volume with the windows open so if I seem distracted, I am. Though I can barely hear anything but the music, I’m trying to decipher which movie it is. I’ve ruled out the spinoffs, so no Rogue One or that dreadful, god-awful Solo movie; which I went into thinking “just don’t show me his childhood, the Kessel Run or the card game where he wins the Millennium Falcon.” Fuck, they ruined all his mythology… I’m guessing it’s not one of the prequels because… who the fuck watches those on full volume. You’d have to be shameless. I think I just heard Jabba the Hut pretty early on, so maybe Return of the Jedi? Shit… See, I’m already way off topic. I hate having ADHD (a byproduct of my Asperger’s).
So, last week I listed my favorite music videos and British TV shows. I know, random, right? Well, that’s how Asperger’s brains work. This week I have a few more random lists for you. Lists again? Yeah. Either that or rants about everything that’s wrong in the world today. What’s that? You want the lists, you say. Well, what might we have this week?
Top 5 favorite AC/DC songs
5) Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
4) Big Balls
3) Highway to Hell
2) T.NT.
1) Rock ‘n’ Roll Singer
Honorable mention: The Jack
I once wanted to be buried with a Gibson SG guitar (the type Angus played) with a headstone reading “It’s a long way to the top if you want to Rock ‘n’ Roll.” That’s how much I once loved AC/DC. I only love them slightly less now but would probably want to be buried with something sentimental like a letter from my wife and with some pretentious poetry quote like “Of life immense in passion, pulse, and power” on the gravestone. And yes, you will notice that my list only contains songs from the Bon Scott era. Well, as good as some of those Brian Johnson tunes were, his voice just doesn’t work for me. Had Bon not died while they were recording Back in Black, that likely would’ve placed 2 or 3 tunes on this list. Not sure anything could ever displace Rock ‘n’ Roll Singer or Big Balls as Rock ‘n’ Roll Singer is the official anthem of Bradley Wik and Big Balls, just come on. The fact that Bon Scott can pull off those 13 year old boy type lyrics with that much swagger, game fucking over. And who hasn’t pounded the bar and yelled those Oi’s at the top of their lungs during T.N.T.? Or wanted someone to take care of their Dirty Deeds, for a nominal fee, of course. Highway to Hell is just a perfect AC/DC song. Enough said.
As for the honorable mentions, The Jack was the 2nd song I ever learned how to play (Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door was the first). I probably listened to that song as much or more than any of the others as I tried to learn how to play blues guitar solos. I was actually pretty good for a bit and was invited to open jams when I was 16-17 where I would sit in with a bunch of 50 year old dudes and play some blues in exchange for beers they would sneak me during breaks. But, that was a long time ago and I wish I could still do that. Someday I’ll fire up The Jack and just riff for hours on end to resharpen these old, rusty fingers…
NEXT!
Top 5 songs I play when I break out the guitar after having a few (or a few too many)
5) I am a Cinematographer - Palace Brothers (aka Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, aka Will Oldham)
4) Mellow My Mind - Neil Young
3) I am Scientist - Guided by Voices
2) Glenn Tipton - Sun Kil Moon
1) Say Yes - Elliott Smith
Almost every time I’m just playing in my bedroom for fun (and drinking), Say Yes and Glenn Tipton get busted out. Glenn Tipton is usually played second last and Say Yes is the final song of the evening. There’s something about the simplicity and beauty of those two songs that just feel like the right way to close out an evening. I’ve been playing them for years as final two and can’t imagine a song replacing one or both anytime soon. Via Chicago by Wilco came close for a couple years but eventually they won back out.
I am a Scientist has some of my favorite lyrics that hit home whenever I hear them. Lines like:
I am a scientist I seek to understand me
all of my impurities and secrets yet unknown…
and
I am a lost soul I shoot myself with Rock ‘n’ Roll
the hole I dig is bottomless but nothing else can set me free…
Oof. For most musicians, those probably hit a little too close to home. I always love how music can articulate your feelings to you better than you can for yourself. It’s magic.
I am a Cinematographer is a song that shouldn’t make you feel the way it does, but it does. It’s an acoustic gem from Will Oldham that features lines like:
I am a cinematographer
I walked away from New York City
I walked away from everything that’s good
I walked away from everything I leaned on
only to find it’s made of wood
Umm. That means something I guess but it certainly makes sense when you hear the song.
As for Mellow My Mind, I just love that tune. It’s from my favorite Neil Young record Tonight’s the Night. It’s just a wee bit too high for me to sing (same for Neil but he can pull it off with his Neil Young-ness) so I typically only try to sing it once I’ve had a few. Though he does drop this amazing line in the second verse:
Something so hard to find
a situation that can casualize your mind
Who hasn’t felt that before? Turns out a lot of the songs I love are about trying to find something, often peace of mind. Doesn’t come easily to me for sure. The Asperger’s and the ADHD certainly don’t help but being artist only further exacerbates those feelings. Oh well, on to the next list!
Top 5 favorite whiskeys
5) Booker’s Bourbon
4) Elijah Craig Bourbon
3) Knob Creek Bourbon
2) Glenmorangie Original 10 yr Scotch
1) Blanton’s Bourbon
Figured since I have podcast about drinking coming out soon, I’d do a list about drinking. I swear it will come out one day, but time doesn’t grow on trees and when I’m not playing shows I have to work so much harder to make up the money. Good thing the state of North Carolina is so generous with its fucking $120 a week in unemployment. Oh wait…
I thought I made this list once before but couldn’t find it. If I have and you know what my top 5 was then, post it in the comments as I’d be curious to see if it’s changed.
So, this was actually much tougher than I thought it would be. Hold on, like 25 cop cars and ambulances just went screaming past my apartment building…
OK, so apparently that was a parade… Umm, what kind of parade makes you think your town is under attack like it’s fucking Red Dawn or something? Well, back to the whiskey. I really struggled narrowing it down to 5 because it felt like there are a lot in the top 15 range that are all pretty close in my book. Blanton’s and Glenmorangie are kind of in their own league, far above the rest. Blanton’s just has everything I ever want in a bourbon and then feels like they just doubled all the awesomeness because they can. It’s deep, it’s rich and it’s so flavorful (and alcoholful, yep, just made that a word) that it’ll knock you on your ass; sometimes literally. Glenmorangie is the opposite. It’s so smooth and light but packs just as much flavor. It’s not a peaty scotch but just that beautiful sipping scotch that really opens up if you take a sip of water after each drink of it.
#3-5 were tough. I have about a dozen that could’ve made this list depending on the day but these are the ones I chose. Knob Creek feels pretty locked into the third spot and I don’t think I’m ever without a bottle of Elijah in the bar. #5 went to what I was feeling at the moment but could easily be Basil Hayden, Buffalo Trace, Woodford Reserve, etc. You get the idea.
Top 5 movies from the past 5 years
5) Mother!
4) Skyscraper
3) The Fate of the Furious
2) Get Out
1) Jojo Rabbit
Jojo Rabbit might be the best movie I’ve seen since The Artist. I know people hate on The Artist but I still think it’s a fantastic movie. I love movies about the people behind the art and their struggle; which is still what I think Mother! is about despite the claims it’s a biblical allegory. I see that argument but it makes more sense that it’s about one artists struggle to create art and his need to burn down his happiness and stability to create something great. I can get behind that thesis wholeheartedly. But back to Jojo. Jojo Rabbit is exactly what I thought it would be and yet so different from what I could have imagined it to be. That’s the perfect mix, in my opinion. Like the old cliche goes: I laughed, I cried and I love everything Taika Waititi touches; or something like that. I consider Jojo a must watch for all. Much like #2.
There’s not much that hasn’t already been said about Get Out, so I’ll simply say this: Get Out (and Jojo Rabbit, for that matter) is the type of movie that only come around once every 20 years or so. One so inventive in its storytelling, performances and direction that it’ll sustain us for the next 20 years until we get our next fix.
Fate and Skyscraper are like takeout pizza on a Friday night, though we know they’re not good for us, we can’t help but partake every month or so because they are so damn delicious and, let’s face it, we’re probably already a little drunk. The fact that the Rock is in both only makes it sweeter. Remember, if you can’t fix it with duct tape, you’re not using enough duct tape. That’s the kind of brilliant one liners you can expect from movies like Skyscraper…
Anyway, join me again next week as we’ll be doing something a little different then. I believe I have some tales from ol’ Bradley Wik’s life on tap. See you then. Also, feel free to comment and tell me how stupid/awesome my picks are and which are in your top 5 that I left out of mine.
