Song of the Night (#11) Meredith Brooks - What Would Happen

You probably remember Meredith Brooks for her 1997 hit Bitch. This charmingly titled ditty was most memorable for the singer admitting (or declaring, rather) herself to be a "bitch", "lover", "child", "mother" and other things within the span of a single chorus.

Being a guy, I can only guess that the song's appeal to its many female fans lay in its unabashed embrace of feminine archetypes. Critics dismissed the aggressive, cathartic tone of the song and its parent album Blurring the Edges as being inferior to the music of a certain other angry female singer.

Somehow, they overlooked the fact that Brooks is a good deal sexier than Alanis.

"What Would Happen" positively smokes with sensuality. There's no dirty language; no mid-coital moaning; nothing more explicit than a french kiss, and yet the song is hotter than any other I've ever heard. Sure, it's about nothing but an imagined tryst, but damn if you can't feel the lust, the yearning in every word. One of Brooks' greatest strengths was her smoky, tantalising voice, and this song plays to that strength perfectly.

(The music video bears a similar erotic intensity, but it's marred by laughable fetishism and the presence of Severus Snape.)

Song of the Night (#10) Billy Joel - Captain Jack

Now *this* is a great Billy Joel song. Not the overheard sing-along that's Piano Man, nor the annoyingly upbeat Only the Good Die Young. In my mind, Joel is at his best when performing songs of heart-breaking honesty. Despite its fame and renown as a radio-staple, Captain Jack strikes me as so much more potent in mood and expression than Piano Man.

You could make a very good argument that Piano is mired in the same level of despair and restlessness that pervades Captain Jack. And much as I can't stand Piano Man, I have to admit it that it's catchiness merits its reverence as a 70's Pop treasure. But the working-class lamentations that featured in Piano Man can't really compare to Captain Jack's drug-addicted loser. This is a deadbeat whose life is so empty, so pointless that his meeting with the titular dealer is his only excitement.

Yet the downer mood several times gives way to an uplifting and powerful chorus. It's hard to listen to this wash of excitement without a grin, without feeling a high of your own. The mood of this roaring, lively break is deceptive; the soaring guitar and vocal hooks are as fleeting and devastating as a cocaine rush. But goddamn if it isn't incredible while it's there.

And then it's gone. All that's left is the withdrawal captured by the forlorn piano and sad-sack keyboard, the guitar petering out. Reality sets in with each and every one of the junkie's encounters (save the most important one). Throughout it all, Joel vocally knocks it out of the park, going from resignation and mockery to roaring excitement.

The broken dreamers in Piano Man are heart-felt in their appreciation of the eponymous performer, encouraged by his heart and adroitness. They would react to Captain Jack's meandering twenty-something with pity and scorn. There is awful tragedy in the sense that there never was, and never will be any hope for him.

Song of the Night (#9) Rush - The Pass

Those with a passing knowledge of Rush might see the group today, scratch their heads, and wonder to themselves, "How are those guys still around?" They have good reason to be skeptical, as Rush were just one of the many 70's Hard Rock groups to revel in excess and bombast. In defiance of their three-man membership, Rush were well known for blasting out pompous, over-extended science-fiction epics best appreciated while stoned (see Exhibit A).

One could be forgiven for thinking that a sound like this would forever confine Rush to the Classic Rock relics. But Rush never gave (or broke) up. Popular music was changing, and Rush knew that they had to change along with it. Contrast the dated clumsiness of Fly By Night with the sleek, timeless feel of Moving Pictures.

I'm moving ahead in the Rush timeline to 1989: the Presto album.

It should be clear that the song concerns suicide. In contrast to the typically heavy-handed, downbeat lamentation on a very difficult topic, The Pass is an outstretched hand: an encouragement to the downtrodden and depressed. At the same time, it is candid in portraying the consequences of suicide.

"No hero in your surrender/
No daring in your escape/
No salutes for your surrender/
Nothing noble in your escape

Throughout it all, Neil Peart's lyrics are heart-felt and moving, and the melody is, at different times, hopeful and pensive. With powerful and profound songs like The Pass, Rush has proven that they have remain both relevant and respected.

Song of the Night (#8) Steve Vai - Blue Powder

I gave up on listening to virtuoso guitarists because... well, after awhile, their songs tend to sound the same. Their works tend to be either spacey blues-jams or pedal-to-the-metal shred-fests, and it is ironic that the remarkable techniques they employ only make their sounds more predictable!

If I had to pick one out of the bunch that I enjoy more than the rest, I'd have to settle with Steve Vai, known for his stints with Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth as well as his unquestionably flamboyant playing style. 

As a song, Blue Powder perfectly exhibits Vai's musical trademarks. Yeah, there's the requisite technical-perfection, but more important is the incredibly expressive sonic palette Vai wrings from his instrument (it doesn't hurt that he's backed up by some absolutely ace musicians). It's clear that Vai pulls out every trick in the guitarist's bible in service of this song, and the results are amazing to behold. In spite of lacking lyrics of any kind, the song manages to evoke an aura of introspection, weariness and spirituality. It is the profound emotion in Vai's music which makes me favour him above every other instrumental guitarist.

Song of the Night (#7) Health - We are Water

Some days are simply horrible. I screw up everything I attempt, wonder why I bothered getting out of bed and suffer every lousy minute wanting nothing more than to explode. The song below is a good idea of the shrapnel howling through my head on days like these. The music video below is excessively violent, but I consider the violence integral to experiencing the song's intensity.

For those of you who might (understandably) be unsettled by such bloodiness, here's a less explicit link:

No hidden meanings, no pretense. Just three minutes of raw, sonic catharsis. I don't know how this song might make you think or feel. I just know that I no longer need to scream when something else is doing it for me.