The Manly Mixtape is a weekly six-pack of songs on a theme. It will rock your face every Monday.
As adolescents and young adults, the great majority of us spend time rebelling against the music of our parents. Certainly, we reason, the new contemporary stuff builds on the shoulders of all that came before. Which stands to reason that Incubus on CD is totally better than Pink Floyd on vinyl. This, dear friends, proves that you and I were fucking stupid as teenagers. The truth is, as much time as we spend swimming against the tide, we often end up not only embracing, but really loving the same stuff as our parents. That is, unless your parents were nerds, lame, or bible-thumping weirdos. Mine weren't - I didn't admit it until much, much later (well, now) but they had some taste in music. Here are six of my favorites.
The Police - "So Lonely"
Before Sting became a hilarious parody of ... well, Sting, he fronted a group that had excellent, tight ska-infused rock/pop songs. You might not get this from some of their later or more popular work (drunk people have ruined "Roxanne"), but the Police started with two albums of startling urgency that still hold up well today. You'd do well to check them out.
America - "Horse With No Name"
This song personifies the music of my parents - I initially hated it just for that. But this song remains catchy and haunting, even 200 listens later.
Willie Nelson - "Whiskey River"
As a child, I didn't know much about whiskey. I just knew it figured into a lot of the music my family enjoyed. Certainly I didn't connect it with the fact that when my dad took the 7-Up out of the fridge and poured a glass, the end result looked darker and tasted stranger than when I did the same thing. Kids are dumb. Later, I would learn it was the greatest thing in the history of things.
Creedence Clearwater Revial - "Bad Moon Rising"
Even as a kid, I loved the Creedence tapes in the house, and I hated the fucking Eagles. This is one of the many reasons The Big Lebowski blew my mind.
Jim Croce - "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown"
A provincial chap like myself has to work a Chicago reference in here somewhere. And this song - about a badass getting fucked up by another, bigger, badass - appeals to my Chicago love. Never mind the fact that as a longtime North Sider, I'm genetically frightened of anything south of Jackson. This song about the South Side kicks ass.
Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young
Clearly, this was a Neil Young contribution to the supergroup. As a kid, this song gave me chills, and I had no idea why. As an adult, I know why, but the power hasn't diminished one bit.
The next time you're visiting the folks, take a look through their music collection. You might be surprised. I left out at least a dozen classics. If you find nothing but the Bay City Rollers, however, I command you to destroy the site with cleansing fire. I'm fairly certain it's legally justified.
- J.B. Mays
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