The Dark Monkey's Top 100

#20 – Steve Goodman

Chances are you’ve heard a Steve Goodman song, but you may not have known it was a Steve Goodman song.  He wrote “You Never Even Call Me By My Name”, made popular by David Allan Coe.  And he wrote “City of New Orleans”, made popular by dozens of artists who covered it – most notably Arlo Guthrie.  Those are both great songs but they’re only the tip of the Steve Goodman iceberg.  Goodman was more than just a good songwriter, he was a great entertainer.  Although he died long before I would have ever had a chance to see him live, I have a DVD of two of his Austin City Limits appearances and the way he captured a crowd was quite mesmerizing.  Goodman was a friend of John Prine (remember that name) before either of them found any notoriety.  They played the same clubs in Chicago in the late 1960’s.  According to Prine, he wouldn’t have been discovered if it wasn’t for Goodman.  The way he tells it, Kris Kristofferson came into the club that Steve Goodman was playing and fell in love with what he was hearing.  After Steve finished his set, Kris approached him and told him how great he was.  Instead of basking in the compliments, Steve told Kris that if he thought he was good he should check out a friend of his who was playing across town.  So Steve and Kris (along with a few others that were with Kris that night) trekked across town to where John Prine was playing.  With Kristofferson’s help, both Goodman and Prine were signed to record contracts shortly thereafter.  Now that’s a true friend.  I imagine Steve Goodman would have landed higher on this list if he wouldn’t have died at such a young age back in 1984.  But unlike most of the other dead artists on this list, Steve’s cause of death wasn’t related to drugs or alcohol or anything glamorous.  He died from leukemia.  And that disease took one of the great ones from us.  

#21 - Oasis

I first heard Oasis when I was in college, back in the mid-90’s, when “Live Forever” garnered some airplay.  I liked the song, but it didn’t quite hook me.  Then they released their second album, which garnered them even more airplay with “Wonderwall” and “Champagne Supernova”.  And as with “Live Forever”, the next two singles fit the same mold.  I liked the songs, but they didn’t hook me.  It wasn’t until a decade later, when I was watching a movie called The Butterfly Effect, that I got hooked.  And it happened purely by luck.  You see, a friend of mine told me to watch the movie, but made it clear that I had to watch the Director’s Cut alternate ending, which I did.  Normally, I’d barely have time to watch a movie, let alone watch it twice, but I actually liked the movie a lot and I was curious to see what the differences between the theatrical release and the director’s cut were.  I won’t spoil anything, but I will tell you that there is a major difference at the end of the movie, and only a few minor differences throughout the rest of the movie to support the alternate ending.  Anyway, it was during the final scene of the theatrical release, the version I came close to not watching, that I heard the Oasis song “Stop Crying Your Heart Out”, although I didn’t realize it was Oasis when I first heard it.  It was that song that hooked me.  And I was probably hooked a little easier because of its placement in the movie, and how it was used.  When I found out it was Oasis I began downloading more of their music and quickly discovered that, like most bands, their best stuff is not the stuff you hear on the radio.  Don’t get me wrong, I like the radio hits.  But they’re not the best songs Oasis has to offer.  Oasis earned bonus points for having a history with another one of my favorite bands – The Verve.  Because of their relationship with The Verve I probably would have re-discovered them anyway, but I don’t think they’d have the same impact on me had I not seen that particular ending of the movie.         

#22 – The Handsome Family

The Handsome Family quickly became one of my favorite bands after hearing three songs.  The first song I stumbled across was “Gail With The Golden Hair” (I say stumbled across because I have no recollection as to how I discovered it).  That song intrigued me enough to download more and the next two songs I heard were “Arlene” and “Drunk By Noon”.  That’s all it took for me to know that I loved this band.  Their music is so beautiful, so sweet, while the lyrics are so dark, so morbid.  Rooted in Americana (I’ve heard them called Goth Country before), they somehow manage to put a contemporary spin on traditional murder ballads while still keeping the traditional sound.  Yea, I know, doesn’t make sense.  But it’s true, and it works.  The Handsome Family are a duo, husband and wife.  He mostly writes the music and she mostly writes the lyrics, which I always found fascinating because the lyrics can get really, really dark.  Take the aforementioned “Arlene” for instance, which is about a guy who falls in love with a waitress at a diner who wants nothing to do with him. He ends up stalking her and kidnapping her and killing her by bludgeoning her to death.  Not that I approve of any of that, but it makes for some interesting lyrics.  Each of their songs are like movies packed into 3 minutes.  And I cannot get enough.  I also like the simplicity of their songs (they record all of their records in their living room), and his deep resonating voice fits perfectly with the music and lyrics.  The other thing I admire about them is how down to earth they seem to be.  If you watch any videos of them performing live and listen to them bantering back and forth with each other you get a sense of that.  It also shines through by the fact that they have their home address listed on their website with a note asking people to not gather outside with pitchforks and torches.  A very unusual band.  And that’s my favorite thing about them.

#23 – Rolling Stones

I can’t imagine anyone reading this not being familiar with The Rolling Stones, so I’ll skip the history lesson and just give you one of my childhood memories related to the Stones.  When I was in Junior High School I had a friend whose parents loved the Stones.  I mean they LOVED the Stones.  If Keith Richards walked into the room and asked the dad for a blowjob while the mom fingerfucked herself, I’m certain they would have done it.  That’s the type of love I’m talking about.  Anyway, the parents smoked pot, but they didn’t think their son knew they smoked pot.  Of course he did.  Most of the weed that I smoked in Junior High was stolen from their stash.  For the record, their son stole it, I just helped him dispose of the evidence.  Needless to say, I spent a shitload of time at his house.  His parents had every LP the Stones released in their collection, and they even had a separate rack just for them.  They also had various Rolling Stones memorabilia that they kept on that rack, one of which was a Rolling Stones mug still in the original box.  Well, I should say that on the rack was the box that a Rolling Stones mug came in, but the mug was nowhere to be found.  Inside the box is where his parents kept their stash.  So we became very familiar with that box.  “Listening to the Stones” became our code for smoking pot.  In the middle of class he might say, “Hey man, you wanna come over to my house and listen to some Stones?”  And that meant “let’s get high.”  So yea, I listened to the Rolling Stones every chance I got back then.  And I still listen to the Stones quite frequently now.  

#24 - Kris Kristofferson

Forget, for a moment, about Kris Kristofferson the actor, and think about Kris Kristofferson the songwriter, the singer, the musician and the outlaw.  Chances are you know his songs.  Chances are you know them from other artists.  “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” and “For the Good Times” put KK on the map, when they were recorded by other artists.  But in my opinion (with the exception of Johnny Cash’s version of “Sunday Morning Coming Down”) KK’s version of those songs, and every song he wrote and recorded, were much better.  It is estimated that his songs have been recorded by over 450 different artists, including Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, George Jones, Janis Joplin, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, Roy Orbison, Tina Turner, Jerry Lee Lewis,  Tom Jones, Joan Baez, Sammy Davis, Jr., hell, I’m not gonna list 450 names, I think you get the point.  The man can write a song.  But, as I mentioned during my Bob Dylan post, this isn’t a songwriting contest.  But it doesn’t matter because, as I mentioned earlier, I like KK’s versions of his songs better than 99% of the covers.  Granted, there are some really good covers.  But I’d still take the Kristofferson versions.  KK also gets extra points for discovering John Prine and Steve Goodman (remember those names in the future), and he helped get Todd Snider signed to a record deal when he was first starting out too (another name to remember).  But what sent KK over the edge, and into the top 25, was his live show.  I saw him play an acoustic set a half dozen years ago and it was incredible.  Just him and an acoustic guitar.  He forgot many lyrics, but that was part of the beauty of it.  The guy has written hundreds upon hundreds of songs, so who can expect him to remember everything?  I give him credit for trying because the second part of the show was all audience requests.  And even if someone shouted out something he wasn’t prepared to play, he still attempted to play it.  And watching him interact with the crowd when they’d help him out with the lyrics was one of those “you had to be there” moments.  I’m glad I was. 

#25 – Hayes Carll

I first heard the name Hayes Carll when I read that he was opening a series of shows for Todd Snider.  I figured if he was opening for Todd then he was probably worth checking out.  And I have to say when it comes to turning me on to new music, Todd has never let me down.  Hayes turned out to be similar to Todd in that they both are clever songwriters.  The main difference is that Hayes plays with a little more twang, whereas Todd tends to lean more towards folk.  As soon as I heard the title track to his “Flowers & Liquor” album, which was the first Hayes Carll song I ever listened to, I knew I had to see him live.  And it only took him about six years after that to finally make it to St. Louis.  And now I can’t wait for him to come back.  

#26 – Neil Young

I’m giving all the credit of 26 to Neil Young, although I should probably include Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Buffalo Springfield as well.  So what can I say about Mr. Young?  He tickles my “variety is the spice of life” fixation by constantly changing directions and trying new things musically.  In fact, I think the only genre he hasn’t yet pursued is hip-hop and at this point I’m pulling for that not to happen.  Anyway, Young was criticized throughout much of his career for changing musical styles with each album, alienating fans in the process.  And that’s one of the things I admire about the guy.   He just didn’t give a fuck.  He was going to make the music he wanted to make regardless of what anybody else wanted.  And another thing I admire about Neil Young involves his purchase of the Lionel Train Company, in particular the reason he bought it.  You see, Neil has a couple of kids with cerebral palsy, and apparently one of the kids was really into model trains.  It was one thing that made him happy and Neil loved to see him playing with the trains.  In the early 90’s the Lionel Train Company was going bankrupt and Neil didn’t want to see that happen because of all the joy it brought his son.  So he formed an investment group and they purchased it and brought it out of bankruptcy.  Neil has since sold his stake in the company but he is still involved as a consultant.  That story may not scream rock and roll to you, but that’s why I like it.  Because it shows me the human side of a musician that I enjoy listening to.  And then there is the music.  Didn’t matter if he came at you acoustically or in a blaze of feedback and distortion, Neil Young rocked.  And he did it with a social conscience.  

#27 – Jimi Hendrix

In my mind, Jimi Hendrix was the coolest rock star in the world when I was growing up.  I thought he was the coolest for multiple reasons.  Of course there is the obvious “he made cool music” and “was an innovative guitarists”.  But even outside of the actual music, I thought Jimi was the coolest.  First off, he was black.  And there weren’t a lot of black guys (or girls for that matter) playing hard rock or psychedelia.  I was enthralled by that.  Second, he was left handed.  And watching anyone play the guitar left handed is cool as hell.  And he didn’t just play a left handed guitar, he played a right handed guitar strung upside down.  Pretty fucking cool.  And there was a mystique about him.  A lot of that had to do with him dying young, leaving a mind blowing game of “what if” behind.  He was also a showman with an outstanding stage presence.  Playing behind his back, setting the guitar on fire, and looking like he was making love to the guitar when he played it.  Making love in an “I’m fucking you like the beautiful whore that you are” kind of way.  So yea, there were a lot of cool people in rock and roll, but Jimi was the coolest.  And let’s not forget about the songs themselves.  Everything else wouldn’t matter if the songs sucked.  Thank god they don’t.

#28 – John Cougar Mellencamp

The first time the name John Cougar registered with me was when I saw the video for “Jack & Diane.”  I must’ve been about 9.  I later discovered that I had heard him before, I just didn’t realize it.  I was familiar with “I Need A Lover” and “Ain’t Even Done With The Night”, I just didn’t know who sang them.  I liked both of those songs, but it was that little ditty about two American kids doing the best that they can that hooked me.  My initial fascination with Cougar was all about the music.  It rocked enough that my older brothers dug it, and it was catchy enough that my classmates (who were all about the pop music) didn’t shun away from it.  It was later, when he added his real name into the fold, that I discovered I liked John the Rebel as much as John the musician.  He seemed down to earth and approachable, yet not willing to take shit off of anyone.  I liked that.  And I liked that he wrote songs from the small town perspective.  Especially since I grew up in a small town myself.  I could relate.  And then there is his longevity.  He has released really good albums throughout his entire career.     

#29 – The Black Crowes

The Black Crowes were one of my favorite bands when I was in high school. And “She Talks To Angels” was one of my favorite songs.  The Crowes didn’t do anything fancy or flashy, they just played rock and roll.  That sounds simple enough, but in the early 90’s it wasn’t common.  Not only did they play rock and roll, they played it well.  Stripped down and raunchy.  That’s not to say they were obscene. I am using raunchy to describe the music. Even when they slowed it down, like on the aforementioned “She Talks To Angels”, they played with an edge.  And their pro-marijuana stance earned them extra points from a 16 year old budding pothead.  I can still picture myself parked behind the Dairy Queen in my red Dodge Aspen, windows rolled down with smoke wafting out, and Shake Your Moneymaker cranked at ‘we are drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves’ levels.  The only worries me and my friends had was keeping a lookout for cops and winning a rock-paper-scissors competition so as not to be the one having to walk inside to get the Blizzards.  If there is such a thing as the good ole days, that was surely it.