Styx is one of my favorite rock bands and this song (especially the album version) is a fantastic showcase of Dennis DeYoung’s vocals and the band’s harmonies. I love the twist in the song.
June 17th
There’s a king on a throne with his eyes drawn out
there’s a blind man looking for a shadow of doubt
This week’s Music Monday is songs that have been played on the CW show, Supernatural…my favorite show on TV now. Friends and Miami Vice would be close for all-time favorite…Miami Vice having some great music, as well. Supernatural is chock full of great classic rock. Check out some of it below.
Carry on Wayward Son by Kansas (released 1976; peaked #11 US Hot 100, #5 Canada, #51 UK Singles)
Carry on my wayward son
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more
If you watch the series, you’ll understand why this song is the perfect, seminal song for this show. If you haven’t watched this show, you should find season one somewhere and start playing catch up…we’re watching season nine now.
Back in Black by AC/DC (released 1981; peaked #37 US Hot 100, #51 US Mainstream Rock, #65 Australia, #27 UK Singles)
Yes I’m, let loose
From the noose
That’s kept me hanging around
I keep looking at the sky
‘Cause it’s gettin’ me high
Forget the hearse ’cause I’ll never die
I got nine lives
Cats eyes
Usin’ every one of them and running wild
Another classic tune used beautifully by the writers and sound editors to showcase the classic Impala used on the show. It’s also a great AC/DC tune.
Renegade by Styx (released 1979; peaked #16 US Hot 100)
Oh mama, I’m in fear for my life from the long arm of the law
Lawman has put an end to my running and I’m so far from my home
Oh mama, I can hear your crying you’re so scared and all alone
Hangman is coming down from the gallows and I don’t have very long
This was a great episode and the sound editing in the last minutes with Sam and Dean trying to escape while the FBI was entering the building to get them was fantastic. This is one of my favorite Styx songs.
Eye of the Tiger by Survivor (released 1982; peaked #1 US Hot 100, #1 US Mainstream Rock, #27 US Adult Contemporary, #1 Australia, #1 UK Singles)
Face to face, out in the heat
Hangin’ tough, stayin’ hungry
They stack the odds, still we take to the street
For the kill with the skill to survive
This is the longer version of the thirty second clip that was actually in an episode. The show aired this after the end credits. While Survivor had a number of hits, Eye of the Tiger was certainly their biggest, bolstered by its use as the main theme song for Rocky III.
President’s Day, a United States federal holiday honoring all of our Presidents. Today seems the perfect day for songs referencing presidents: dead, ineffective, and great… here it goes.
New Jack Hustler by Ice-T
I care nothing ’bout you, and that’s evident.
All I love’s my dope and dead presidents.
Yep. Dead Presidents. Cash. Some of the ‘dead presidents’ are still worth something. A few aren’t good for much more than tipping waiters and strippers, unless you have a whole stack of them.
Russians by Sting
There’s no such thing as a winnable war
It’s a lie we don’t believe anymore
Mr. Reagan says we will protect you
I don’t subscribe to this point of view
A dead President. On his debut solo album, Sting had this “No Nukes” song. I like it. Turns out, Mr. Reagan managed to protect us over the course of his presidency. He showed the strength needed in that time of the Cold War, the strength to get the Soviet Union to come back to negotiate in limiting the spread of nuclear weapons, the strength to call on the Soviet General Secretary to free half of Germany, to allow the two Germanies to reunite when he said during his address at the Brandenburg Gate on June 12, 1987, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” [Watch the video of this address, “Tear down this wall” at approx. 12 minute mark]
Too Much Time On My Hands by Styx
Now, I’m a jet-fuel genius
I can solve the world’s problems without even trying
I got dozens of friends, and the fun never ends
That is, as long as I’m buying
Is it any wonder I’m not the President?
Is it any wonder I’m null and void?
Null and Void. How far off are they really? Probably a lot closer there than with the solving the worlds problems line.
Smuggler’s Blues by Glenn Frey
It’s propping up the governments in Columbia and Peru
You ask any D.E.A. man, he’ll say there’s nothin’ we can do
From the office of the President
Right down to me and you, me and you
An ineffective President. Another of those great songs from Miami Vice. And while a DEA man might say there’s nothing we can do, I think if the government really wanted to wage a “war on drugs”, we could be much more effective at it.
[Unfortunately, someone/group who owns the rights is preventing this video from being played. It’s temporarily unavailable at VH1 and MTV, and the video on YouTube is missing the audio.]
Bicycle Race by Queen
You say coke I say caine
You say John I say Wayne
Hot dog I say cool it man
I don’t wanna be the President of America
You say smile I say cheese
Cartier I say please
Income tax I say Jesus
I don’t wanna be a candidate
For Vietnam or Watergate
Cos all I want to do is…
I guess Freddie and company thought all of these things sounded uniquely American. I concur on not wanting to be President.
Lorwynd's Thoughts 