Friday 8-Track

Happy Hannukah, kids! This week's 8-Track is dedicated to some of my favorite Hebrew rockers.

Rush - "2112" - 2112

(Gary Lee Weinrib a.k.a. Geddy Lee) A seven movement prog-metal suite about a galactic revolt in a far away and future world -- fuck yeah. One day Rush will get their full due.

Jane's Addiction - "Three Days" - Ritual de lo Habitual

(Perry Bernstein a.k.a. Perry Farrell) While Dave Navarro is mostly a C-list reality TV celebrity these days, this 10 minute masterstroke will remind you what a badass guitarist he was. And if you also forgot, what an incredibly layered band Jane's was.

Kiss - "Shout It Out Loud" - Destroyer

(Chaim Witz a.k.a. Gene Simmons) The amazing thing about this song, is that you know this song. Even if you've never ever heard it before, trust me, you know this song. They were corny as hell, but man could they write an anthem. When the chorus kicks in I dare you to try and not..."Shout it, shout it, shout it out loud!"

The Cars - "Magic" - Heartbeat City

(Elliot Steinberg a.k.a. Elliot Easton) Well after their classic new wave period and smack dab in the middle of their MTV heyday -- I love this video. I was young enough to think that I could somehow rig up a way to walk on the water at my pool. Oh well. Good song, cheesey, but good.

T-Rex - "Get It On" - Electric Warrior

(Marc Feld a.k.a. Marc Bolan) A dirty track from one of the kings of glam. This song has got a great groove and aged much better than a lot of its contemporaries.

Van Halen - "Everybody Wants Some" - Women and Children First

(David Lee Roth) This song, for me, will be forever linked with the hamburger claymation scene in Better Off Dead. Plus this tune just f'in rocks. Dave's dirty talk at the end is alwys a nice touch but seriously, could any other band ever touch these guys at their peak? Probably not.

Guns n' Roses - "Nightrain" - Appetite For Destruction

(Saul Hudson a.k.a. Slash) "I drink my Molotov cocktails with a match to go, I smoke my cigarette with style." If I could make a Les Paul sound the way Slash does, I would be a very happy man.

Robert Zimmerman - "Hurricane" - Desire

(Bob Dylan) The true story or Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, this is one of my fave all-time Dylan tunes. Considering the wordiness of the story it is amazing how well he shapes it into lyric prose. But what I really dig is how he marries the bitterness of the story to the odd, off-beat, and angry score he wrote for it. Great song and used for a great sequence in Dazed and Confused.