Friday 8-Track

Now that Labor Day Weekend is upon us today's theme is, well, labor.

Weezer - "My Name Is Jonas" - Weezer (blue album)

A great opener to one of the best rock albums ever put to wax. "Workers are coming home."

Silhouettes - "Get A Job"

When I was a kid we took a lot of car trips and my dad was always playing Motown and old doo-wap tunes on the tapedeck. This song still makes me laugh, "sha na na na sha na na na na."

The Clash - "Clampdown" - London Calling

Working for The Man and the dark side of joining a cause. "Let fury have the hour, anger can be power." Could anybody else make such an overtly political statement yet still write a great tune? I doubt it.

R.E.M. - "Finest Worksong" - Document

It may be a sacrilege to say so, but this is the pinnacle of their output for me. Both Document and Life's Rich Pageant, the last two album released on I.R.S., are the best showcase of what I think is/was special about this band. Automatic For The People made them stars, but this is what made them great.

AC/DC - "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Ridiculously wonderful.

Soul Asylum - "Misery" - Let Your Dim Light Shine

Talk about paying your dues. I think this song got lost in the ether since it was the follow-up single to the album that finally made them famous. I always liked this tune especially because it has one of my favorite lyrical puns, "all you suicide kings and you drama queens."

Fountains of Wayne - "Bright Future In Sales" - Welcome Interstate Managers

I love, love, love power pop. The right mix of melody, harmony, and rockin' guitars...oh, yeah. This is probably the most lyrically "obvious" of the mix but hey, good song.

Uncle Tupelo - "Factory Belt" - No Depression

I thought I was King Shit in college when I "discovered" Son Volt and Wilco at the Record Exchange in Blacksburg. When I went to the counter the sales clerk stopped me and told me, "If you're buying these, then you gotta check out this band before you go." At times angrier than The Clash, faster than Husker Du, smarter than R.E.M., and more country than Merle or Willie, this was the first band that was mine and nobody else's. And they were long broken up by the time I found them. Believe the hype.