YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 82 (Counting Numbers)
(Originally finalized on July 1, 2024)
Preface: To reiterate what I said before, I was planning to do a theme featuring songs with numbers in their title. But when I realized how over-represented the number one was, I decided to give it its own theme. Now it's time to return to the original plan. There are only seven days in a week, so I'll limit myself to single digit numbers. If you're reading this, I'm pretty sure you can count to ten. ;-p
Monday: Lance Lopez - 2 Cigarettes [Simplify Your Vision, 2006]
Comments: Jumping to two because we're already done with one, here's a bluesy 21st century rocker from Lance Lopez. I try to limit my song choices to classic rock and blues, but this is one artist I'll make an exception for. And this is one of my favorite songs of his. "I've got 2 cigarettes, 2 dollars, and too many problems."
Tuesday: Lynyrd Skynyrd - Gimme Three Steps [Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd, 1973]
Comments: Not a whole lot of good songs with the number three in their title, but that just makes this the obvious choice all the more. From Lynyrd Skynyrd's debut album (one of the all-time great classic rock albums), and considered for my Story Songs theme, here's a song about a guy who hits on the wrong girl at the bar.
Wednesday: Humble Pie - Four Day Creep [Performance: Rockin' The Fillmore, 1971]
Comments: If three was a light number, four lacks an obvious stand-out. I considered Four Sticks by Led Zeppelin (from their fourth album, appropriately enough), but I have a different Led Zeppelin song I want to showcase later in the list. So here's Four Day Creep by Humble Pie, from one of the all-time great live albums of classic rock.
Thursday: The Doors - Five To One [Waiting For The Sun, 1968]
Comments: Not wanting to repeat a band, I passed on Love Me Two Times in order to save a spot for this song, one of The Doors' better tracks from their middle albums. Plus, it allows me to give a nod to the number we skipped! (For the record, if I had to choose just one of those seven songs to tack on to this theme, it would probably be One Way Out).
Friday: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - If 6 Was 9 [Axis: Bold As Love, 1967]
Comments: While we're doing double duty, here's a great track by The Jimi Hendrix Experience that covers the number 6, and its rotationally symmetrical buddy, 9! With only seven spots for nine numbers, I'll have to send an apology to Emerson Lake & Palmer, because their Karn Evil 9 would have been a good fit for this theme, too.
Saturday: The Eagles - Seven Bridges Road [Eagles Live, 1980]
Comments: Not a lot of great options for the number seven, but here's a popular one. I like The Eagles, but I'm not real fond of a cappella music (technically, there's some light accompaniment), so this was never one of my favorite songs by the band. But they do have incredible harmonies. Reminds me of Crosby Stills & Nash.
Sunday: The Byrds - Eight Miles High [released as a single, 1966]
Comments: For the number eight, I was honestly torn between this song and the title track from Styx's 1978 album, Pieces of Eight. That song rocks harder, but this one was very influential for its time - and also controversial, given its thinly veiled allusions to drug use. (Who did they think they were fooling?)
Honorable Mention: Led Zeppelin - Ten Years Gone [Physical Graffiti, 1975]
Comments: I'm relegating this song to an honorable mention because it breaks the rule on single digit numbers. But I like it so much, I really wanted to feature it. There are enough songs out there with larger numbers that I could do a separate theme for them, but I don't know that I have a strong enough shortlist, and my list of prospective themes is already getting too large as it is. I need to start thinking about trimming the fat...