Dave

Apr 28 2024

Price’s Law; Or, Make Yourself Indispensable At Work

Remember Pareto’s Principle? He’s So 2006.

If you’ve been anywhere around business or business books or hustle culture or anything related to GSD (“Getting Stuff Done”) at work, you’ve heard of the Pareto Principle.

The 80/20 Rule.

80 percent of [THING] will come from 20 percent of [GROUP]. Simple, really: if you sell something, 80 percent of sales will come from 20 percent of your customers. If you take a category — like, for instance, music — you’ll find that 20 percent of the artists produce 80 percent of the songs that actually get listened to.

For a while, this was canon in business and you couldn’t go into a work meeting without trying to use that to sound smart. “Boss, why don’t we fire 80 percent of our clients so we can just sell to the 20 percent that we spend all our time with?”

This ignores…well…EVERYTHING about whatever business you’re in, but points scored for simplification!

Introducing Price’s Law

THE ECONOMY is in weird shape; Note that your job might be at risk if you aren’t deemed to be productive. However you slice that at work — look busy! be at your desk! — at some point you’re gonna start looking around and asking the question: Am I Getting Stuff Done?

Price’s Law is “stupid simple:”

The square root of the number of people in any enterprise will produce 50 percent of the productivity.

Let’s apply this to your (hypothetical) team at work and figure out what that means for you.

If it’s a small team, it of course makes sense: in a team of 4, the square root of 4 — which is 2 — will do half the work. (I was told there would be no math.)

But in a bigger team Price’s law starts to have…bigger impact.

Raising Your Hand At Work

In a (hypothetical) team of 50, let’s call the square root 7. 7 People are getting stuff done, the other 43 are working at roughly 50% capacity. In a sales-driven organization, that doesn’t bode well for the other 43.

Now start to look around: are you one of the 7?

Probably pretty easy to answer that question in a lot of organizations. You have a little success on a project and then you have another project assigned to you. You open the door to sell something to a company and all of a sudden that company asks you to help them solve a different problem. You write a piece for the company blog and it clicks and then management realizes you should do more blog writing.

You are pretty obviously one of the 7.

Making Sure Your Department Is Productive, Too

Your job as “one of the 7” is pretty important when management starts to look to…well, how do we say this…cut the dead weight. These are sometimes the “get me the low performers” discussions, but they, too, are sometimes the “which departments can we do without?” discussions.

Yeah, that’s right. If marketing isn’t producing, marketing can easily be cut. Well, let me edit that: If marketing isn’t seen to be producing, marketing can easily be cut.

Your goal, then, as one of the 7 is to make sure that your department works on — and ONLY on — high-impact projects. If 20 of the other 43 are assigned to the Penske File and all they’re doing is moving the contents to an accordion-style file folder, that’s a low-impact project. If the other 23 are working on monthly TPS reports that don’t go anywhere, that’s a low-impact project.

Your Book of Business

It’s an insurance industry thing: the Book of Business. Or your portfolio. You should have a sense at all times of what that means for your personal situation: what are the clients you’re bringing in and/or responsible for? What are the projects that you are working on and how are they tied to the business and its bottom line?

What is your department doing on those days when they’re not planning or navel-gazing or working on Penske Files and TPS reports?

Your Book of Business should actually be yours. You should be able to discern where you have the most impact, and, if they show you the door, you should be able to say “hey, I was one of the 7 and here’s how.”

Or you should be able to say “here’s what the other 43 were working on, it added no value, I helped with the things over here that did add value, and I’m indispensable.”

You can thank Mr. Price.

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared on Dave’s Substack on March 3, 2024.

Dec 01 2023

The Top Ten Songs of 2023

We’re counting them down, just like Casey Kasem. We’ve done this before — here’s a link to last year’s post: Top Ten Songs of 2022 — and we like to think we keep up with the trends, within reason.

Please note a couple things from your friendly wannabe music critic:

I rarely listen to terrestrial radio for music. When I do, since I’m in suburban Chicago, it’s either the alternative station or the rock station or the…whatever that other combination alternative and rock station is. (That reminds me of a song from a band called Das Racist.)
I get most of my new music from a SiriusXM channel called “SiriusXMU,” with “Alt Nation” coming in second. (Yes, Pearl Jam Radio is one of the presets, too.) Shout out to Josiah.
I trend away from anything related to Taylor Swift. Nothing against those who love Taylor, but…I really can’t get into her music.
I listen to a good chunk of what I find on YouTube and what I see on Twitter.
Finally, I get music recommendations from a chap I call “Canadian Steve;” he’s the one who broke down Oasis for the blog. Sometimes it’s an email that should be a Substack, and sometimes it’s a WhatsApp message. Probably the guy more of a sense of what’s going on with the combination of Alternative, Rock, Pop Rock, Indie, and Everything Else than anyone I know.

Before we hit the Top Ten, here are the Honorable Mentions, ranked (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) for no reason.

HM(a). Queens of the Stone Age, “Emotion Sickness”

On my list of all-time favorite bands, QOTSA is up there. But, as we’ve pointed out before — notably in our piece on Rolling Stone’s list of 500 songs — “favorite” and “best” are often two different things. And that’s where I land on this particular QOTSA piece: one of my favorite bands hasn’t done its best work here. It’s a song that’s…fine. It sounds a little too much like other QOTSA stuff, and now they’re on the fine line between “Distinctive Sound” and “Every Song Sounds the Same.” But…well, we’re gonna keep listening to the album and here’s the track in question.

HM(b). Nilufer Yanya, “L/R”

This one gets an Honorable Mention mostly because I didn’t discover this song until 2023, but it was released in 2022. Nilufer Yanya is from England and of Turkish, Irish, and Barbadian descent. This song is pretty darn good and would have made last year’s Top Ten had I known it existed. (Shame on me.)

HM(c). Vacations, “Midwest”

For a band that calls its kind of music “Woozy guitar pop,” and is from Australia, why are they singing about places like Colorado? Dunno. Nice song here.

HM(d). Men I Trust, “Billie Toppy”

We like Canadians. You’ll see that below. In this case, a French Canadian band that released a song in September of 2022. It became an earworm for this reporter late last year and throughout a good portion of this year, too. Can’t chart it due to a technicality because it was last year, but oh well. We have our principles here. It’s a darn good tune.

HM(e). Maneskin, “Honey (Are You Coming?)”

What’s NOT to love about an Italian band with a Scandinavian name? This song is brand-spanking new…to me at least. But the radio station and Alt Nation are both giving it the “here’s the brand new song from Maneskin” treatment at the end of November, so let’s go with that. It’s a hoot. Big fun. Had to make the list as an Honorable Mention.

That’s enough of the Honorable Mentions, especially if we want to hit our December 1 publish date. Let’s go…Top Ten time!

10. Little Dragon, “Slugs of Love”

Clever dance-ish pop/alternative track from a band called Little Dragon. I dig, you may as well. Enjoy.

9. The Beaches, “Blame Brett”

Dave, what is it with you and Canadians? This all-female outfit from Toronto is back with its fourth album, Blame My Ex, and this particular track has picked up steam in the US, ending up on the playlist of at least one of the Chicago stations (and reaching 35 on the US Alt charts).

8. Noah Kahan, “Dial Drunk”

This song got some major airplay in 2023, and I’ll admit to being late to the party. But the lyrics! Dangit, this is a tragic story. Watch the lyric video and feel for the guy.

7. Lovejoy, “Call Me What You Like”

This song is pure fun. Lovejoy probably has the second-most mainstream success (or maybe third-most) of any song on this particular list — you’ll see when we talk up number one — and this song got all the way to number 5 on three charts, including LTU, which is “Lithuania.” There’s a joke there, possibly from the movie “Singles.”

6. Suede, “The Sadness in You, The Sadness in Me”

Pretty much every year I’ve been doing this, a song drops late in the year, stops me in my tracks, and makes the list. (Happened last year, take a look here: 2022 Top Ten.) Suede did the trick and I heard this song for the first time right before Thanksgiving and Oh. My. Goodness.

5. Brigitte Calls Me Baby, “Impressively Average”

There’s a band from Chicago channeling The Smiths? IN THIS ECONOMY?

4. Depeche Mode, “Ghosts Again”

What amazes me about Depeche Mode is how they can release something that sounds simultaneously like it’s fresh AND from 1990. Stunning in its beauty and its pain, this song is downright phenomenal.

Now…time for a female-dominated Top Three.

3. Cherry Glazerr, “Ready for You”

This song went into heavy rotation as soon as I heard it. It shall stay in heavy rotation likely for the next couple years.

2. Blondshell, “Salad”

I spent most of 2023 thinking it would be impossible to hear a better song this year. And, were it not for the top song (according to me), this could have been the year for Blondshell.

But let’s face it, this probably WAS the year for Blondshell. For instance, a network television debut on Jimmy Fallon’s program (below). Criminally underwatched — only 45K views? WHAT? — but a slick live performance. A tour (that I missed because I was traveling). A debut album that clocked in at Number 11 on Rolling Stone’s list of the Top 100 Albums of 2023. And freaking moxie, people.

“Look what you did, you’ll make a killer of a Jewish girl” is the line that caused the multiple rewinds of this song (thanks, SiriusXMU).

TBH, the lyric video is preferred in my book because you can see how good a songwriter Ms. Teitelbaum is. Three links below (Fallon, official video, lyric video).

https://youtu.be/nUiFV1v674Q?si=37_49w6ZCe2h3MPG

Also, before we get to the Number One Song (According to Dave) of 2023, might make sense to give you the last couple years’ picks. Eh? (Because everyone should have a ten-year plan, I’m already charting “Top Songs of the 2020s.” Set a calendar item for 12/1/2029.)

The Top Song of 2022: Hemlocke Springs, “Girlfriend”

Yeah, this was the Top Song of 2022. Now, 2.9 Million Views Later…Still slaps.

The Top Song of 2021: Glass Animals, “Space Ghost Coast to Coast”

Before “Heat Waves” became a hit but actually after “Heat Waves” was released…

The Top Song of 2020: The Districts, “Cheap Regrets”

If pressed, this is the Best Song of the Decade (So Far). Released during the height of the pandemic — a pandemic that robbed us of so many live music experiences — were I to check my YouTube stats, this would no doubt be my most played since 1/1/2020. The video is awesome, the vibe is off the charts, the guitar is crazy good, the lyrics stick with you — “Didn’t know what a mirror was til I went to LA/Jacuzzis, an Uzi, a Land Rover ride/That’s what the money’s for/Bikinis, Bellinis, and pate” — and if any song cost-justified SiriusXM and my ability to rewind and hit play over and over in my Kia, this was the song.

Now, without further ado…

1. The Last Dinner Party, “Nothing Matters”

A debut single off a forthcoming album from a band that just launched getting this much street cred? Something MUST be amiss. The Guardian breaks down the brouhaha here.

But they toured, they opened for — Brits like to say “supported,” but that reminds me a little too much of David Brent supporting Texas (the band, not the state; IYKYK) — Florence and the Machine, and they’ve been really REALLY busy on that side of the pond. And the hype is, indeed, warranted.

The Last Dinner Party’s single, “Nothing Matters,” has everything you were looking for in a launch into the stratosphere. Justin Hawkins — who, we assume, STILL believes in a thing called love — hilariously breaks it all down (video below).

To wit, the video is macbre enough, and goofy enough, to work.

The song might be the catchiest thing you’ll hear this year. It’s already getting airplay in Chicago — edited, of course — and it’s just this band’s FIRST SINGLE.

Below, enjoy Justin Hawkins’ video (NSFW: Blue Language), then the band’s official video (NSFW: Blue Language), followed by a SFW performance for the BBC.

It’s the Song of the Year. At least, according to me.

There you have it. Let the debate begin!

Nov 24 2023

A Holiday Blog Post About AI Strategy for Marketers

Your holiday season would not be complete without an obligatory blog post that tells you how artificial intelligence can make your holiday marketing and PR content better. That’s right, there’s no sense in doing everything yourself. Automate! Use AI!

For instance, you could go to Bard, like I just did, and type in a prompt like this:

Oh my, this is gonna be brilliant. Here’s suggestion 1 of 7 — SEVEN!!! — to help you along:

1. Embrace nostalgia and evoke emotions

Taylor Swift is known for her ability to tap into nostalgia, and her holiday campaigns are no exception. She often references holiday traditions and classic Christmas songs, which resonates with her fans and makes them feel connected to her.

For your own holiday content, consider using nostalgic imagery and language to evoke emotions in your audience. You can also use storytelling to create a sense of warmth and connection.

Disclaimer: The above was written by AI. I couldn’t come up with something so banal by myself. I need inspiration.

But wait, it gets better…here’s item number 5. Because you can always shoehorn SOCIAL MEDIA into your holiday content!

5. Leverage social media to reach a wider audience

Taylor Swift is a social media pro, and she uses her platforms effectively to promote her holiday campaigns. She often shares photos, videos, and exclusive content on her social media channels, which helps her reach a wider audience and generate buzz.

To maximize the reach of your holiday content, make sure you’re promoting it on your social media channels. Use relevant hashtags, share engaging content, and run contests and giveaways to attract attention.

Disclaimer: Okay, enough already. Seriously.

Another Tip: Become the Master of Absurdity

Yes, you should try to weave in as much absurdity in your Holiday Marketing. Is it absurd to consider the Bing AI Generator to…

Well, first you need to start with Thanksgiving, and Football, and the old phrase “Stick a Fork in [INSERT TEAM NAME], they’re done!].” Ask AI to create an image like this…

And the winner is…

Thanksgiving’s Over, Move on to Black Friday

Oh, this is gonna get good.

If you follow our Substack, you might have seen that we’ve played around enough with AI to figure out that the image maker thing can’t spell. In this case, you spot it “Black” and “Friday” and it somehow finds a way to fail.

Or it drops a couple letters.

But at least the ad looks sorta modern.

What’s The Point?

Everywhere you turn, you seem to see something or someone telling you that generative AI is going to change your life for the better, immediately. And sure, being able to run tons of options through a machine is great, or asking for a machine to create a bunch of words that you can then turn around and make mad bank from is also great.

Until it’s not great. Until you outsource the thinking. Until you just phone it in.

My Absurdity Playground of AI Imagery — I should consider trademarking the phrase “Absurdity Playground” — hasn’t been done for any other reason than amusement. I’m trying to push the limits of absurdity and using AI to do that and it’s semi-clever, but I never plan on “going pro” at it.

So there’s the point: if you want to really make things happen at work — especially as a professional marketer, PR person, or communicator — you need to focus on asking this question:

What Business Problem Are We Trying to Solve?

Are you trying to churn out better content? Great. What problem will that solve? Do you need to book more appointments, or 10x your sales?

Oh, it’s about “Thought Leadership!” That’s the business problem you’re trying to solve, right? Being “out there” as a “thought leader!” Great. Are your thoughts original? If not, are they researched? Do they have a point of view? Or are they just…banal, trying to leverage the next big thing?

Here’s the Advice: Blocking and Tackling

Table stakes for the communicator: there needs to be a reason to do what you do, or else you’re just an order taker, filling out forms, generating words and images to make the bosses happy.

Figure out why you’re doing what you’re doing and things will go a lot more smoothly.

Also, be sure to know how to spell and use punctuation.

Sep 08 2023

Breaking Down the Band: Three Fans Talk About The Best Shows, Albums, and Songs from Oasis, Radiohead, and Pearl Jam

As I was getting ready for Pearl Jam Week in Chicago, a couple things dawned on me. One: I’ve seen this band more often than any other band (north of ten times, lost count). Two: I have opinions.

So I thought I would take to the keyboard and throw down a few opinions. Then I thought of a couple other friends and their most-seen bands and I asked them to do the same. John Puccio will break down Radiohead and Stephen Barrigar does the same with Oasis.

Here goes. First up, Stephen with Oasis.

Stephen Barrigar

Artist – Oasis

Number of Times Seen in Concert

I’d have to guess 7. I saw them on the Definitely Maybe tour, when they didn’t know anything and couldn’t give a shit about the crowd. I saw them 3 times on the Morning Glory tour, when they were becoming rock gods and couldn’t give a shit about the crowd. I saw them once on the Be Here Now tour when they were rock gods and didn’t give a shit about the crowd. And then a couple times over the next ten-ish years. Noel Gallagher just had a tour this summer and while a bunch of my friends went, I’m of the mind I’m good. I’m too old and too grumpy and don’t really give a shit about the band anymore.

Here’s a link to them playing Glastonbury in 1994 before the debut album.

Best Song

I don’t know but sake of argument let’s say “Supersonic.” There’s something about it that is so confident. The video was made for 10 bucks, with all members of the band needing an eyebrow tweezing, some buddy who had access to a roof of a building and some stock footage… but at its core it’s great. .

(Although It’s basically a rip off of Marc Bolan at the height of his powers.)

Who am I kidding, their best song is “Acquiesce.” The B-side to the not-as-excellent “Some Might Say.” The video for “Acquiesce” is another fine example of Oasis not giving a shit about their fans. But if I had to describe Oasis with a song, it would be “Acquiesce.”

Best Album

Definitely Maybe (1994) by a nose over (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (1995). Both albums are amazing, 5 stars, and must-owns if you enjoyed music in the mid-90s, but the top seven of DM:

“Supersonic”
“Live Forever”
“Slide Away”
“Rock n Roll Star”
“Cigarettes and Alcohol”
“Columbia”
“Shakermaker”

Are slightly better than MG:
“Champagne Supernova”
“Don’t Look Back in Anger”
“Some Might Say”
“Wonderwall”
“Roll With It”
“She’s Electric”
“Morning Glory”

Most Cliched Song (Or Overplayed Or Overrated)

“Wonderwall.” Good song, yes, but considering what was available, really, this is the song that broke them in America? His voice is super nasally, it’s just not great. Here’s a test I like to do: try listening to anyone sing it in karaoke. Even the most crap song is fun karaoke; except everyone tries to sing “Wonderwal”l like Liam sings “Wonderwall.” It’s unbearable. “Said maybeeeeeee, gonna be the one that saves meeeeeeeee.”

Not that I’m saying ugh, but I’m kinda saying ugh. And it’s definitely overplayed and overrated compared to the rest of the album.

Most Underrated Song

“Fade Away,” the unappreciated B-Side to “Cigarettes and Alcohol,” remains an excellent mix of noise, guitars, and messed up drumming. Honestly, listen to the speed of the drumming, it’s like he’s purposely trying to go faster than the lyrics.

Most Underrated Album

Definitely Maybe only went to #58 in the US and eventually would sell 1 million copies – what? That’s crazy. Get your shit together America, were you too busy buying “Bad Dog” t-shirts and listening to Deadeye Dick?

Best Song Released in the Past Ten Years

Well the band broke up 15 years ago, so we’re still waiting on the will they or won’t they, but here’s something from High Flying Birds that is good. What a Life.

Best Song from Their Worst Album

“D’you Know What I Mean.” In a collection of ridiculous coke-filled (supposedly) 5+ minute songs, “D’You Know What I Mean” remains a superb wall of guitars and swagger that the summer of 1997 needed. What a banger! This is the kind of video you release if you believe you are the biggest band in the world.

Be Here Now (1997) remains a perfect music example of being surrounded by “yes” men. Noone said, hey Noel, maybe not so many 7+ minute songs. “Hey Noel, everything is great and all, but where are the singles?” It actually makes me a little mad, because they released D’You Know What I Mean and I couldn’t be more excited. Radiohead had just released OK Computer and now here is another UK band about to release a juggernaut third album and it ended up being a turd.

Song of Theirs You Need to Hear Live

Winter 1995, they came out in a club of about 300 people and hit us with “Rock n Roll Star.” And my friends and I lost our shit.

Best Cover Version of One of Their Songs

After me shitting on “Wonderwall” above and saying it’s meh, it’s kinda funny that I come back with a cover of “Wonderwall” as the cover. Ryan Adams’s version of “Wonderwall” is significantly stripped down and, dare I say, superior to the original.

Best Song That They Cover Live

I don’t know of any song they cover live, but isn’t “Whatever” just a ripoff of any Beatles song.? I do love this sound bite from George Harrison about Liam.

Best Concert

For me nothing will beat the first show, but I would assume that people who went to see them at Knebworth in 1996 are pretty happy about that decision.

John Puccio

Artist – Radiohead

Number of Times Seen in Concert

Eight, including the last time Radiohead performed live, five years ago in Philadelphia.

Best Song

Bodysnatchers is a song I described in ranking the Ten Greatest Songs of All-time. I stand by what I wrote in this space two years ago:

It begins with a sustained hard rhythm. The tempo steadily increases as the cacophony builds, the beat shifts, shifts again until it reaches a frenetic climax that leaves you exhausted. It’s then you realize, this song is the sonic equivalent to the greatest fuck you ever had.

Honorable mention: Fake Plastic Trees. For a band not known for their lyrics, this song is a haunting, poetic gutpunch. Gravity always wins.

Best Album

Why not ask me which is Bernini’s best sculpture!?!?

Difficult to say definitively, but you can narrow it down to four:

The Bends (1995) the perfect rock album;
OK Computer (1997) the perfect concept album;
Kid A (2000) their most important/influential album and:
In Rainbows (2007) the quintessential Radiohead album. The LP where the band reached the peak of their powers and brought everything together.

So for that reason, I’d say In Rainbows is Radiohead’s ‘best’ album. There is not one weak track on the LP and its 2nd disc is also full of some amazing songs.

But there is no wrong answer among these four. They are differently exceptional. It all depends on your taste and what you value most. The first two are far more “accessible” to the masses.

The sonic complexity of the later two require multiple listens to be fully appreciated. Many people can’t get past the clicks, blips and squishes. Radiohead can sound weird to the uninitiated. But that’s their loss. Having a Radiohead song unlock and reveal itself on that 3rd or 4th listen is a pretty remarkable thing to experience. And yes, I realize that sounds strange, but it happens! I digress…

PS: Apollo & Daphne is probably Bernini’s greatest work.

Most Cliched Song (Or Overplayed Or Overrated)

Karma Police is easily the most cliche Radiohead song. But it is an excellent track, so I wouldn’t say it’s overrated. Definitely was overplayed back in the day.

Most Underrated Song

Another easy one for me: Palo Alto. If this song was included on OK Computer (as it should have been) and/or released as a single with a video, it could have been a late-90s rock anthem. But it wasn’t, so few people know it. Thanks for asking, thanks for asking…

Most Underrated Album

Amnesiac. Unfairly overshadowed by Kid A. At its heart, it’s really a jazz album more than anything else. This band has no boundaries. Don’t believe me? Listen to Life In a Glass House.

Best Song Released in the Past Ten Years

Present Tense. A song that can actually be classified as ‘hopeful’ – a rarity in the catalog.

Best Song from Their Worst Album

Creep is universally loved, even by philistines who hate Radiohead. If in 150 years Radiohead is remembered, it will be for this song. Ironically, it’s on their first and worst album Pablo Honey.

Song of Theirs You Need to Hear Live

The National Anthem and Paranoid Android are borderline religious experiences.

Best Cover Version of One of Their Songs

Creep has been covered countless times in countless ways. I like the Postmodern Jukebox version. But what if Frank Sinatra sang it???

https://youtu.be/U4FjlynlHaI?si=M4Lt0XazaVlRqTUT

Best Song That They Cover Live

I’m not sure I have ever heard Radiohead cover another artist live. But they did cover Carly Simon’s Nobody Does It Better back in the 90s, and it’s really good.

Best Concert

The next one. If there is a next one.

Dave Van de Walle

Artist – Pearl Jam

Number of Times Seen in Concert

I guess 10, but that might be an exaggeration. There was Chicago at (The Stadium Formerly Known As) Soldier Field (more on that below), and United Center (maybe just once before 2023). 4 of 5 Wrigley Field shows. Once in Troy, Wisconsin. Once in the outskirts of Indianapolis – great show, traffic management makes Burning Man look okay by comparison – and once in Saint Louis. Oh and Summerfest in Milwaukee.

Okay, maybe it is 10. Fitting, right? (But that was before this week. So now it’s 12.)

Best Song

This will surprise no one who knows me: the list starts and finishes with “Corduroy.” I wrote about it when we did our bit on Rolling Stone’s list of the best songs ever. I stand by my decision. But I respect those who have other opinions: tons of iconic songs could be considered their best-ever.

(If you have a few hours to invest, here’s the complete Rolling Stone list.)

Best Album

Vitalogy (1994) gets mentioned as their best – I see the argument – but for my money it’s a tie between Ten (1991) and Vs. (1993). And those two are up there for a cross between sentimentality – Ten dropped my Senior year of college; Vs. was released on the very day I started my first-ever Chicago gig – and pure numbers, as Ten had six singles that charted in the Top 40 on the US Mainstream Rock charts while Vs. had five.

Most Cliched Song (Or Overplayed Or Overrated)

This is a tough one for me. The only song of theirs that I truly, truly dislike is “Last Kiss,” and that’s not even their song. So I run to the bathroom if they play that live.

Overrated? Not sure. Cliched? Not sure there, either; “Alive” kinda became a cliché right after the death of Kurt Cobain, but it’s actually my “gateway” PJ song and takes me back to college.

So I’m going to go with “Overplayed.” And not in a bad way: “Even Flow” has been played more often in concert, according to stats from setlist.fm, than any other PJ song.

This video remains cool as heck. I’ll go with “Even Flow.”

Most Underrated Song

In 2006, the band released the self-titled “Avocado” album and the sublime “Army Reserve” never gets radio airplay, it seems, but it’s outstanding.

Most Underrated Album

Yield (1998) is a sentimental hit for me because it was one of the cassettes that was in the car when we brought our eldest daughter home. But it’s also an album that is top-to-bottom rock-freaking-solid. (Enjoy “Do the Evolution.” “Admire me, admire my home/Admire my son, he’s my clone.”)

Best Song Released in the Past Ten Years

Gigaton (2020) won the Bad Timing Award for 2020 – tying with every NCAA basketball program – as it was released on March 27, 2020. “Dance of the Clairvoyants” is a great, dance-ish, rock-and-roll tune.

Best Song from Their Worst Album

No Code (1996) is considered their worst album and it’s…not bad. And, to be honest, I would actually consider “Hail Hail” one of their most underrated songs. (But it’s not completely underrated, as evidenced by the fact that David Letterman had the band perform it during his “commercial-free” program in the 90s. (British folks would respond with “oh, so a typical BBC program.”)

It’s darn amazing in the 21st century, too, here’s a version from a concert in Vienna.

Song of theirs You Need to Hear Live

“Better Man.” Not really because I like the song, but because there’s something about the crowd singing most of the first couple verses while Eddie lets them take center stage.

Best Cover Version of One of Their Songs

Did you know that Aaron Lewis from Staind once covered Black? It’s darn good. And it happened ages ago, during something called The Family Values Tour.

Best Song That They Cover Live

The band loves The Who. Baba O’Riley, live, often when the lights are up and it’s just about time to go home, is an experience.

Best Concert

This one is a tie: (1a) Soldier Field, July 11, 1995 (!). Before Soldier Field became That Spaceship from V That Landed On Top of Soldier Field. Cure Stefon from Saturday Night Live.

“This show had everything.

The stage from the last show Jerry Garcia ever did, complete with discarded joints
Security shooting water from water cannons at spectators because it was 100 degrees
Eddie telling the crowd that the billboards for the Alternative station that read ‘This Is Not For You’ were ironic because the song ‘Not For You’ was ‘not for them.’”

(1b) Wrigley Field, August 20, 2016. The first of two sold-out shows in a stadium that would become Eddie’s home away from home during the Cubs’ World Series run that Fall. Again, here’s Stefon. “This show had everything:

Me getting a fist bump from Tom Ricketts (after seeing him come up the aisle and saying ‘Hey, Tom, how bout a fist bump?’)
Me bawling while superfan Steve Gleason takes the stage to tell us ‘I feel fucking awesome’
Dennis Rodman.”

Also, the winners of the Great Timing Award for 2016 would be absolutely everyone associated with this show and the Just Play Two movie that came out, documenting the shows and the Cubs’ World Series Championship (which, we need to remind you, definitely happened).

Humblebrag: my wife and I were at Game Five (our view for part of the game is below). So was Eddie, who didn’t really sing the 7th Inning Stretch, but turned it over to a tape of Harry Caray singing the 7th Inning Stretch.

There You Have It…

Three iconic bands. Two experts and…well, me. Your thoughts are welcome.

Dec 11 2022

Your Top Ten Songs of 2022

There used to be a record store on the North Side of Chicago — and we’re talking actual “North Side” in that it was on Ridge Avenue and not far from a neighborhood called West Ridge and in an uber-ethnic area that was next to another uber-ethnic area — that never changed the letters in the sign on its billboard. It was a not a marketing message, not even really a request; it was a mandate.

“PULL OVER AND GET NEW MUSIC.”

So we issue this request, nay mandate, that you should stop everything you’re doing, pull over, and enjoy these…ten songs that made our list in 2022.

First, A Couple Caveats

I can’t hear everything. Lord knows I’ve tried; I can, however, thank the fine folks at SiriusXMU, Q101 (which is FINALLY back), and my dear friend “Canadian Steve” for their consistent presence in my ears.

Also, I’m just a middle-aged guy who grew up on Top 40, got into some random “alternative” stuff in college, and really hasn’t slowed in my search for the next new thing. This list will be more rock/pop/indie/alternative than “OMG Taylor’s Midnights is AMAZING.”

And, Before We Start The List…The ‘2022 Payola Prize’ Goes To…

Anyone else remember the band “fun.”? What struck me as obvious then was how often fun. got played, how incredibly average their “Tonight, We Are Young” song was, and how the radio people fawned all over their every move. It was obvious that there was some sort of “payola” going on.

Spinning through the channels of SiriusXM, it’s obvious to me that we have a new monosyllabic recipient of…well, if it isn’t payola it sure is a sense of over-hyped-ness that reminds this reporter of fun.

Here’s the band “TALK” with a song called “Run Away to Mars.” I said what I said.

Now, the list.

10. Foals, “2am”

Yannis remains dreamy. Not their best song, actually, but the best of theirs that was released in 2022. Fans (or followers or friends) might recall that their “Mountain at My Gates” made my best songs ever list.

Catch them live, will ya?

9. Maneskin, “Supermodel”

A decent amount of fun slammed together with a dose of “what the heck did I just hear?” seems to be the formula for Maneskin, an Italian (?!) band that was formed in 2016 and is up for a GRAMMY for Best New Artist (of course, because it’s the GRAMMYs).

8. Interpol, “Something Changed”

Interpol is back, baby.

One of the seminal acts of the early 2000s, the mysterious Paul Banks and his cohorts — but let’s face it, Interpol takes the lead from its lead singer and its lead singer is a rather befuddling combination of good looks, charm and gravitas — still have it.

7. Lord Huron, “Your Other Life”

This song is chilling, haunting, a little sad, and maybe matches my 2022 mood. Lord Huron is an acquired taste, granted; but it works in an alt-country way. Thumbs up to the song, thumbs down to the general 2022 mood.

BONUS TRACK: Pinar Toprak, “Prime Video Sports Theme”

Sorry not sorry: now number 2 or 3 in the rankings of all-time football theme music. (Though the games have mostly been duds.)

6. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Burning”

Speaking of alternative darlings and comebacks (see Interpol above), Yeah Yeah Yeahs are back and there was no question a song would crack our Top Ten. The winner is this one, but see the Honorable Mentions below for another great tune.

5. Yot Club, “u dont know me”

This song has to be from 1992, right? I found it on a collection of CD singles with the name of “Stanley, Son of Theodore” or on one of those Warner collections that was colloquially called a “Bugs Bunny CD?”

Nope. 2022. Dang. Fun song with enough of a throwback vibe.

4. Beach Bunny, “Oxygen”

I feel like we might be cheating a little here, as this song was released in late 2021. But — and again, pals over at Q101 gave this heavy airplay this year — if it charted this year and it’s darn awesome, maybe we cut it some slack.

3. Gorillaz f/Thundercat, “Cracker Island”

If you want to feel old, these guys (Gorillaz) have been around since 1998.

Thundercat adds the bass here. Catchy as any Gorillaz song.

2. Bartees Strange, “Heavy Heart”

Thanks to SiriusXMU for this one; Bartees is a favorite of theirs and rightly so. Great mix of rock, soul, and funk and a random nod to one of my favorite towns (“We should go to Toronto more often”). This song got played and replayed on YouTube by me perhaps more than any other 2022 ditty.

SONG OF THE YEAR:

1. Hemlocke Springs, “Girlfriend”

So you’re telling me that the Song of the Year dropped a video 11 days ago?

Here’s the thing: If you hear a song for the first time while you’re driving and you immediately need to pull over and stop the car, then you hustle inside and Google the artist and find the video on YouTube and play it over and over all afternoon…you don’t care if the song just dropped. It’s my Song of the Year.

Hemlocke Springs gives me the impression that she is simultaneously a college student (true: here’s a biographical piece from Rolling Stone) and was listening to pop tracks in 1987 (like, Pebbles, or NuShooz, or Pretty Poison). The lyrics are nuts — in a good way, as the bonus lyric video below tells us; “You say I want to be your girlfriend/It wasn’t really in my plans/When you’re around I got arrhythmia/So in the end I play pretend” — and the synthesizer and her voice and everything about this song tells me this is not the last we’ll hear of Hemlocke Springs.

Honorable Mention Bonus Tracks:

Rosa Linn, “Snap”

Rema & Selena Gomez, “Calm Down”

Smashing Pumpkins, “Beguiled” (good, but not good enough to make the Top Ten)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs f/Perfume Genius, “Spitting Off the Edge of the World”