last man standing

Last Man Standing: Expunged Albums From Comprehensive Artist Box Sets

Oct 212013

An artist’s comprehensive box set: the national flag jabbed into the icy mountaintop of faithful record collecting, the go-to gift from a very special and understanding family member or friend in honor of very special milestone. You own all the albums. You’ve bought the single CD releases and reissues, but you want that comprehensive box set, that one that lovingly repackages every album the artist ever released as well as bonus outtakes, videos, and in-depth liner notes and previously unseen photos! It’s all there in one giant box that shows the world just how deep your love for said artist is, albeit in packaging that usually takes up way more space than a coffee-table book.

As you sit among your treasure trove of materials, you suddenly realize that a particular album is missing from the box set. Your comprehensive box set is not so comprehensive after all. Usually the album expunged from the artist’s comprehensive box set has been expunged for perfectly good reason, but sometimes you wish it had been included after all. The only positive you may take from this omission is the extra rock nerd points you can cash in for owning the original, out-of-print slab of vinyl that was not included for half-baked archivists and Johnny-Come-Latelys to acquire in one fell swoop.

For this week’s Last Man Standing, let us note albums expunged from artists’ comprehensive box sets. Please note and tally a point for every expunged original album that you own. The winner will earn bragging rights for 2 solid weeks!

Last Man Standing: Fools

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Sep 272013

I heard a song this morning about fools that is my favorite song by the artist performing it. Then it occurred to me that my favorite song by another artists concerns fools. There may be a lot of songs about fools, which I find amusing because unless we’re Mr. T, do we call anyone a “fool” that often?

I pity the fool that runs out of songs about fools. Go!

Last Man Standing: What Else Can Brian Wilson and Whatever Form of The Beach Boys Mike Love Is Willing to Stand in Front of Do to “Win” Their Long-Over Battle Against The Beatles?

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Aug 162013

I thought I was dreaming when I saw mention of this last week, but it seems Brian Wilson has been collaborating with Jeff Beck and will next tour with Beck and a band featuring original Beach Boys Al Jardine and David Marks (but not “The Beach Boys”).

Call me cynical, but the first thing I thought of when reading about this unlikely pairing is that Brian is, once more, aspiring to reigniting the musical legacy battle versus The Beatles that he and his bandmates last competed in through 1966. After that, the battle turned into a blowout, with The Beach Boys dropping back faster than the Kansas City Royals (of recent vintage) in June.

Call me befuddling, but here’s what I’m getting at: What has Jeff Beck ever had to do with The Beach Boys? Absolutely nothing. However, Beck did align himself with The Beatles’ camp in 1974, when he teamed with legendary Beatles producer George Martin to record the smash hit instrumental record Blow By Blow. On that album he displayed brilliant taste by recording an instrumental version of a Beatles’ song with perhaps their worst lyrics ever committed to vinyl, “She’s a Woman.”

Jeff Beck and The Beatles would forever be linked. Beck has been performing a version of “A Day in the Life” for years. You know that song, right? It’s the grand finale from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band, the band’s runaway July tear in their once-vital battle versus The Beach Boys.

Brian Wilson and Mike Love have long displayed frustration with their inability to get back into the race with The Fab Four. Although it’s late September, in terms of this race, and The Beach Boys have been mathematically eliminated since early August, what else can Brian Wilson and whatever form of The Beach Boys Mike Love is willing to stand in front of do to “win” their long-over battle against The Beatles?

I’ll start this highly conceptual Last Man Standing with the following entry…after the jump!

Last Man Standing: Fade-ins

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jul 102013

The device is not used that often, but I usually enjoy a song that begins with a fade-in. It adds a “cinematic” aspect to a song, as if I turned a corner and entered a cool party scene in progress, or in the case of what may be my favorite fade-in song, a Very Personal Moment of Reflection.

Fleetwood Mac‘s “Over My Head” is probably my favorite song by that band and perhaps my favorite song that begins with a fade-in. See if you can stir my memory regarding other songs that begin with a fade-in. What musical fade-in scene most excites you?

Last Man Standing: Enough Already, I Can’t Wait Until the School Year Is Over!

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jun 142013

Just a couple more days to go for my wife, who is a teacher… Just a week to go for my boys, including a few pointless half days… School is just about OUT FOR SUMMER! Although I still go to work, a household including 3 people without daily responsibilities has its merits: no complaints about tests, no reminders about homework, no disrespectful kids other than our own. In honor of the final days of school, which may have come already for some of you in other parts of the country, let us count the ways we are fed up with school…in song. LAST MAN STANDING: Not just any old song about school, no, we’re talking songs about being sick of school!

Go!

Last Man Standing: Songs About Chips

Posted by Mr. Moderator

Jun 112013

On the drive into work this morning it occurred to me that the English like writing songs involving “chips,” or French fries to us, if my UK-to-US English converter app is functioning properly. I quickly thought of 3 songs from the late-’70s that center around chips. I bet there are a lot more than 3 songs involving chips.

For purposes of this Last Man Standing, songs about either kind of chips will be accepted: the English chips (ie, fries) or what Americans typically think of as chips (ie, potato chips). However, songs specifically mentioning “fries” will NOT be accepted. Fries may go with that shake, but they do not go with this thread. The lyric must be “chips.”

One other exception: songs mentioning some supposedly healthy chips, like baked kale chips, will NOT be eligible.

Last Man Standing: The Days of Our Lives (in Song Title Form)

Posted by Mr. Moderator

May 012013

While we crank out boatloads of work, or whatever we do with our not-quite-free time, how about we fit in a round-robin Last Man Standing involving song titles stating specific days of the week…in order? That is, after I start this off with a song title stating the first day of the week (at least as I see it on my wall calendar), you will need to follow up with a song title including the next day of the week. Then we will need to list a song title including the day after that. The game ends when we exhaust song titles for whatever day is due next.

Because I suspect this quest may be tough to take as far as the mountaintop, songs including more than a single day of the week in the title can be used to cover a second (or more) day in the sequence, but as always, please don’t bogart this thread: only one song title in sequence of day of the week per post. Thanks!

Are you ready to start? Here goes:

“Sunday Morning,” The Velvet Underground.

(For those of you scratching your head, a song title including “Monday” must follow.)

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