YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 86 (A Whiter Shade)
(Originally finalized on July 26, 2024)
Preface: We've done the blacks, now let's focus on the whites. White apparently isn't as popular a color for song titles as black was (and a curious number of them come from the year 1967), so we'll have to dig a little bit, and maybe even throw in a repeat or two. But there are some really good ones, so I think we'll be okay!
Monday: Cream - White Room [Wheels of Fire, 1968]
Comments: When I did the Cream vs. The Experience theme, I said that repeats wouldn't count, so technically, this song is still available for me to play. And play it I shall, for not only is it one of Cream's biggest hits, it's also one of the all-time greatest songs with the word "white" in its title!
Tuesday: Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade Of Pale [released as a single, 1967]
Comments: Released as their debut single, this song was a smash hit - yet most people consider Procol Harum to be a one hit wonder. Which is ironic in my view, given that it featured one of my favorite guitarists - Robin Trower - early in his musical career. And he didn't join the band until after this song was recorded! Even so, it's still quite good.
Wednesday: Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit [Surrealistic Pillow, 1967]
Comments: I had actually forgotten that I picked this song for the Summer of Love theme, but as excellent a choice as it was back then, it's every bit as excellent now. Few songs so perfectly encapsulate the psychedelic movement, with lyrics that reference Alice in Wonderland, and a building crescendo accented by Grace Slick's powerful voice.
Thursday: The Moody Blues - Nights In White Satin [Days of Future Passed, 1967]
Comments: I don't listen to The Moody Blues very often, but their music has a hypnotic ambience that I like. And few would argue that this is their greatest song. It's also very romantic. I know this is going to sound like a cliche, but it's 100% true - the first time I made out with a girl in high school, this song was playing on the radio!
Friday: Billy Idol - White Wedding [Billy Idol, 1982]
Comments: Let's take a break from the '60s with one of the better pop hits to come out of the '80s. From the year of my brother's birthday, it's White Wedding! Billy Idol lets out a rebel yell - treating us to the simultaneously edgy yet soothing timbre of his voice - over a driving rock beat that's hard to get out of your head.
Saturday: Heart - White Lightning & Wine [Dreamboat Annie, 1976]
Comments: Here's an overlooked track from Heart's debut album, Dreamboat Annie, featuring the Wilson sisters Ann & Nancy (not to short-change the rest of the band, including lead guitarist Roger Fisher). It's a little known fact that for a time during its formative period, the band was named White Heart, after a story by science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke.
Sunday: Armageddon - Basking in the White of the Midnight Sun [Armageddon, 1975]
Comments: Finishing with a blast, here's the closing track to Armageddon's only album, the imaginatively-titled Basking in the White of the Midnight Sun. Surprisingly heavy for the year 1975, there's only so much to say about this intriguing but short-lived band, and I said most of it the last time they appeared on my music log (84 themes ago!).
Honorable Mentions: I didn't want to get into the habit of adding extra songs to every theme I do, but listeners might appreciate having a few extra ideas to add to their playlist. Other songs I considered for this theme include Great White Hope by Styx (narrowly passing up a track from Pieces of Eight for the second time >.<), and The Yardbirds' version of White Summer (which was just too similar to a track I used for my Rainbow Vibrations theme). And then there's the title track from The Velvet Underground's 1968 album, White Light/White Heat - which, coming in at under three minutes, feels a little half-cocked. I suppose I could have subbed out some of the duplicated songs, but - without devolving to the level of Clear Channel, which plays the same twenty songs on a loop - I want these lists to be as strong as I can make them.