A Reverse Lookup - Rod Stewart: Stay With Me

Number 15:

So, this is a little backwards. A friend of mine and an incredible musician used to cover this one song every time I saw him play, and I loved it. But I never got around to asking him what it was, and he's moved away recently. It's long past time for me to look up what the heck this song is. The internet is so cool.


After a tedious Google search, and about an hour of trying to remember any of the lyrics in the right order, I found it! It's Stay With Me, by Rod Stewart.

First Thoughts: I mean, I've known this song for years without knowing ever hearing the original, so that in itself is satisfying. It's sung so high! My friend always sang it an octave down, apparently. And he always did it just with an acoustic guitar, so to hear it with a full band, and all the harmony and everything is so awesome. And the slide guitar! That's awesome too. I've always wanted to learn to play like that. And this breakdown at the end with the guitar and bass solos is just so good.


Verdict: The original is great. I finally know who sings this awesome piece of music. I have about seven hundred memories associated with this song, so I'm excited to have a name for it. Maybe I'm a little biased, but I love it!

Fleetwood Mac: The Chain

Number 12!

The Chain, by Fleetwood Mac

Current Knowledge: I think I have heard Fleetwood Mac before. On my Pandora station. But I'm not totally sure, and this song title doesn't sound familiar. Then the other day, a friend of mine was talking about her newfound Fleetwood Mac obsession, so I decided to put it on the list.

First Thoughts: This is cool. It's haunting and twangy in a really cool way. It actually reminds me a little of Helplessly Hoping, which I adore. Maybe I just have a thing for harmonies, because that seems to be a trend with the songs I'm favoring. It starts off pretty withdrawn but it builds up really nicely into a pretty powerful rock ballad. And the bass solo in the middle is a nice divide and break into the instrumental. This honestly sounds like a song I would play with the windows down driving really fast if I wanted to feel like a badass.

Verdict: I really like this. It's carefully straddling the line between twangy country and rock, but it isn't county rock, ya know? I don't know how else to describe it. It's got all the grit you could want and it builds really nicely, but I would love to see it done with just acoustic guitar and vocals, too. I think that would be interesting. Overall, though, this is a cool tune.

Crosby, Stills, and Nash: Helplessly Hoping

Number 6!

Helplessly Hoping, by Crosby, Stills, and Nash.

Current Knowledge: I know my dad likes this group. He never really played any of their stuff for me, and it always seemed a little bit out of my wheelhouse to investigate on my own. This particular song, however, came on my Pandora station the other day, and I purposely skipped it so I could sit down and write about it the first time I hear it. Pandora is usually pretty good about catering to my tastes, so I have high hopes for this song!

First Thoughts: Three notes in and I'm sold. I love this. These might be the best lyrics I've ever heard, in all honesty. And the harmony is absolutely perfect. I can't explain it to you without telling you to listen to it. The only other thing in the song is acoustic guitar, and it's very understated, but the finger picking gives it a nice rhythm to fill in for the lack of percussion and/or bass or anything else. But seriously, the lyrics. They're incredible. It's one of those songs where you know it's telling you a story but it could mean like a dozen different things, very Hotel California-esque. I love it. I don't have enough good things to say right now.

Verdict: I think I've already said everything I needed to. This song is flawless, and Pandora was right on the money.

10 Artists You Will Not Find In This Blog

This where I can give a little bit of credit to my musical tastes. I've spent so much time being negative about all that I haven't heard that I think it's really important to point this out. I haven't been living under a rock my entire life, and there's a bunch of artists that I do in fact listen to regularly that fall under the you-have-to-hear-this category. In fact, if YOU haven't listened to any of these artists, get thee to a radio/YouTube/Spotify/whatever, right away.
Anyways, here are ten of my favorite artists that would otherwise be on this blog, ordered from "I like this" to my favorite artist ever.

10. Elton John 
Bizarrely enough, "Rocket Man" is one of the first songs I ever learned on guitar. My dad actually played his stuff over the years, albeit infrequently, and I never forgot it.
Favorite Song: Your Song

9. Queen
When I was in 8th grade I played the violin, and the middle school orchestra took us all to Toronto to see We Will Rock You, which is basically Queen, the musical. I loved it. From there on out, Queen has always been one of my favorite bands.
Favorite Song: Somebody To Love

8. The Band
I didn't listen to The Band until I started dating my current boyfriend of a year and a half. They are his absolute favorite, and he covers their stuff all the time. I always liked their songs when he covered them, so I started listening to the original stuff. It's awesome.
Favorite Song: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

7. Led Zeppelin
In a very similar vein with The Band, I didn't listen to much Zeppelin either until my current boyfriend. However he rarely covers them, but the local bands we have gotten to know always do. I took on a mini-version of this project and listened to a lot of Zeppelin two summers ago to avoid the embarrassment of not knowing something by everyone's favorite rock band.
Favorite Song: The Ocean

6. Billy Joel
I don't know how I know so much Billy Joel. I think I've picked up a different song or two by him every couple of years, resulting in really knowing a large portion of his discography. I cover a bunch of his stuff too.
Favorite Song: Only The Good Die Young

5. Bonnie Raitt
This woman is basically my idol right now. If I could be anyone, I'd want to be her. I love pretty much everything she does, but her guitar skills are so good that she's really tough to cover flawlessly.
Favorite Song: Papa Come Quick (for now.. this will be different in a week, I'm sure.)

4. The Eagles
As I mentioned a while ago, my dad used to play The Eagles at the dinner table. As a result, I am thoroughly versed in their material and equally as nostalgic whenever it gets played.
Favorite Song: Hotel California

3. Nirvana
This might seem a bit out of place in this list, but I am a HUGE Nirvana fan. The alt rock band I was in during high school always wanted to cover them, so I learned a ton of their stuff and got really into it for a while, and I never really stopped listening to them. And it's really fun to catch people off guard when I, a small, unassuming white girl, play any of their songs.
Favorite Song: Lithium

2. The Beatles
Fortunately, one band I got into early on and always enjoyed happened to be one of the most iconic bands of all time. I've always loved The Beatles and I always will. Blackbird was actually the first song I ever learned on guitar in one sitting, and now I cover like a half dozen Beatles tunes.
Favorite Song: Let it Be

1. Jim Croce
I could write a dissertation on this man. He's not as well known as many of the artists on this list, but he's my absolute favorite. My dad loves him as much as I do, and it took me years to figure out who this guy was, the man who could take credit for being the main soundtrack to my childhood. For those of you that may be unfamiliar with him, he died in a plane crash when he was 30 right as he was breaking into the mainstream. I know every single song he released and I'm a little bitter about the fact that there will never be any more. He would have been as big as Dylan had he survived, in my opinion. If you've never heard of him, do yourself a favor and google search him, and listen to his hits. You won't be disappointed.
Favorite Song: A Long Time Ago

Chuck Berry: Johnny B. Good

Number 4:

Chuck Berry: Johnny B. Good

Current Knowledge: This one is actually quite new to the list. My boyfriend brought it up at an open mic we were at together while someone was playing it. He was absolutely horrified that I didn't know this song, so I figured I'd take the initiative for once and actually look it up within a week of promising I would. Apparently this was in Back to the Future, but literally every 50's rock song sounds exactly the same to me.


First Thoughts: As predicted, this sounds exactly like every other 50's rock song ever. Not that it's bad, it certainly isn't. (The original is way better than the guy who was singing at the open mic, that's for sure). Maybe because I've heard so many bad covers of these kinds of songs I've been desensitized to them, but I really don't have anything profound to say about this. Except for the fact that one of these lyrics (He could play a guitar just like ringing a bell) was recently in a song released by Ed Sheeran, my most favorite musician of all time. The song is called Nina. I never understood the lyric before, but now that it is most definitely a shout out to Chuck Berry, it makes way more sense.


Verdict: I don't have much to say about this one. It was okay. I'm glad I can cross it off the list, but I definitely don't feel like I accomplished too much here. I think I've just heard too many songs like this to feel like I heard something new. I'm excited about the insight it gave me about Nina, though. That was unexpected. Maybe I just have to re-watch Back to the Future to appreciate this.

Simon and Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Water

First on the list! Simon and Garfunkel: Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Current Knowledge: Yeah, I've never heard this song. I also used to confuse Simon and Garfunkel with Penn and Teller. Not good. 

I've heard maybe one or two other songs by them ever, but if you played one at random for me, I wouldn't be able to tell you who it was. Except for their song Cecelia, it's got sort of a folk feel which I am a big fan of. But this is one here is a real classic. That's actually why I've  put it first, it's a pretty big offender on the list of I-can't-believe-you-haven't-heard-that. 

First Thoughts While Listening: Oh, it's real pretty. Not folk-y at all. I always love just piano and vocals by themselves. The fact that most of the song is like that, and that it doesn't need much else, is wonderful. The lyrics are really great, too, obviously! They'd have to be in a song with this reputation. I almost wish the bridge didn't have as many other instruments added in, I think I like the stripped down feel better. I really wanted this song to have a section that sounded familiar to me, because I honestly can't believe I've lived 20 years and never, ever heard this song until just now. 

Verdict: It definitely holds up to all the praise. It's beautiful, both lyrically and musically, and I'm kind of upset that I haven't been listening to it my whole life because I loved it. This also has me very, very interested in listening to a lot more Simon and Garfunkel. I also feel like this would be really awesome to sing. This is like the most ultimate and beautiful power ballad ever. Yeah, I've been missing out. And now I'm kind of excited, because if every single song on this list is as good as this just was, this is going to be an awesome project. 

One down! Tons and tons and tons more to go, though....