All Thought and No Feeling Makes The Crutch a Dull Boy

Pitchfork and The Crutch don’t always see eye to eye on a great deal of music, with our tastes standing apart at the middle of independent music, but Pitchfork does a good job at what they do, so I’m not trying to take anything away from them on the whole. However, I was highly disappointed in their recent 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s list. Lord, I would love to buy these guys a drink and let them unwind a bit. In this moment, Pitchfork has left the feeling of the music for the pseudo-intellectual basement of life. Too much thought and effort into talking about what is primarily a list of rock and roll songs, which isn’t a genre that needs too much thinking.

There is some quality writing in the blurbs for the songs, so don’t get me wrong – it’s not a bad read. But, if you’re going to do a list that includes ALL music from the 1960s, I find it difficult to believe you can’t find more in the genres outside rock and pop. If you’re going to list one Brazilian song, you better be completely knowledgeable in music from every country during the 1960s – enough to be able to confidently tell me there isn’t ONE more song from the rest of the world, outside of Great Britain and North America, that couldn’t fit on the top 200. I don’t buy it.

And can anyone explain this to me?!:

200. The Kinks: “Sunny Afternoon”
150. Bob Dylan: "It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding"
132. Louis Armstrong: “What a Wonderful World”
117. Ben E. King: “Stand By Me”
99. Jimi Hendrix: “All Along the Watchtower”
88. The Kinks: “You Really Got Me”
80. Bob Dylan: “Subterranean Homesick Blues”
77. The Velvet Underground: “Heroin”

76. BBC Radiophone Workshop: “Doctor Who (Original Theme)”
63. Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto: “The Girl From Ipanema”
49. Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra: “Some Velvet Morning”
38. The Meters: “Cissy Strut” (which was one ahead of Rolling Stones “Sympathy For the Devil”)
32. Ennio Morricone: “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Main Theme)”
20. The Shangri-Las: “Out in the Streets”
18. The Crystals: “And Then He Kissed Me”
10. Desmond Dekker and The Aces: “Israelites”
7. The Beach Boys: “Wouldn’t it be Nice?”
6. The Ronettes: “Be My Baby”
2. The Jackson 5: “I Want You Back”
1. The Beach Boys: “God Only Knows”

Um. Is this some sort of sick joke? I understand that this isn’t supposed to be a typical “greatest” list, but this is simply trying too hard to be different. “You Really Got Me” is 50 spots behind “Cissy Strut”?! I know they put the disclaimer saying they left off a bunch of “fantastic and amazing song,” but some tracks could’ve been swapped out for more important and meaningful songs, and the order of what was included is a travesty. Was there a criteria outside of Pitchfork's personal taste? Is this Pitchfork’s attempt to balance themselves between givens and quirk?

Yeah, bossa nova and reggae are wonderful, but having “The Girl From Ipanema” at 63 or Desmond Dekker’s “Israelites” at number 10, and not having The Beatles “Revolution” even on the list, is purely insane. And film scores and theme songs are neat, but there’s no reason to have them on a list that has Miles Davis and John Coltrane sitting behind them. I get the cheekiness, but what’s to be taken seriously and what’s not?

Oh well. All lists will create this sort of reaction – people get mad at lists, as if personally insulted. This was not personal – it’s merely a difference in taste – no rights or wrongs, even though I called them insane. I guess even I can contradict myself with an oxymoron while being counter ironic.

Here are a few songs out of my collection that I think should’ve made it:

The Beatles – Revolution
Hey Jude – 1968
This might be the best song ever written with lyrics, figuring in the energy, spirit, message, and most importantly, the timing. With all the turmoil in ’68, this song, even in its acoustic version from the White Album, was as socially conscious and topically powerful as anything Bob Dylan has ever done.

Booker T. and the MG’s – Green Onions
Green Onions – 1962
I am always surprised nobody went back and tried to put lyrics down to this track. It’s one of the most famous pop instrumentals, and it’s one of the coolest struts in the last 50 years. Everything in this song is blissful – the organ, Hitchcockian guitar, and a durable bassline. “Green Onions” even predates the funk that James Brown made popular a few years later with “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”.

John Lee Hooker – Boom Boom
Burnin’ – 1962
I’m not sure if I saw any blues on the list, but I certainly didn’t see this raunchy Hooker track. Everyone has covered this song, but Hooker’s version is perfect. Enough said.

The Doors – Five to One
Waiting For the Sun – 1968
So they said no “Light My Fire”, but that doesn’t mean you need to completely shun a group. “Five to One” is just as primal as “Break on Through”, but it embodies more of a rock and roll attitude, with its young conquering old theme. It’s a son of a bitch of a song, and I’m not elitist enough to ignore the fact that at least one contribution from The Doors deserves to be noted.

The Lost Souls – This Life of Mine
Nuggets II
The Lost Souls never released an album, but this Nuggets band from Cleveland lashes out on this track like very few could at the time. It’s off balance, as if the music just can’t catch up to the vocals – climbing and falling back down, as the screams come from the bottom of the well. It’s the child-like spirit that puts this in perspective – angst with confidence. He’s not running away – he’s going to find himself and become something. This song was their rite of passage.

The Pretty Things – Don’t Bring Me Down
The Pretty Things – 1965
It starts off like The Sonics, but dives into a catchy morphing of Beatles pop and early Stones blues rock. The cockiness and rawness of the recording is stunning, and though they were overshadowed by the Stones, they can put up “Don’t Bring Me Down” against almost anything the Stones did early on.

The Yardbirds – For Your Love
For Your Love – 1965
It was one of the supposed reasons why Eric Clapton left The Yardbirds – he thought it was too mainstream and was looking to play more blues. That didn’t work out so great for Clapton, but he did contribute to this track, which the Yardbirds simply kill.

Ramsey Lewis – The In Crowd
The In Crowd – 1965
It reached #5 on the charts, and though I think Billy Page’s composition predates the ‘60s, Lewis made it popular in ’65, and that’s enough for me. This jazz track is rock and roll to me – when I think of a song that swings, this is it. With additional help from a live audience, “The In Crowd” flows through highs and lows, held tight by the deadlocked rhythm section, even going to a whisper of music before storming back to end the song. If I knew how to dance, I’d be up for this song every time it came rolling through the speakers.

Cream – Sunshine of Your Love
Disraeli Gears - 1967
This song is typically seen as relying on the guitar work from Eric Clapton, but "Sunshine of Your Love" almost remained a demo - because the band couldn't find the right groove. It wasn't until legendary engineer/producer Tom Dowd (Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Allman Brothers, Otis Redding, etc.) suggested Ginger Baker try a Native American rhythm. Tada!

Others (I’m tired of writing, even the basics):
Count Five – Psychotic Reaction
The First Edition – Just Dropped In
Martha and the Vandellas – Nowhere to Run
Sonny and Cher – The Beat Goes On
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels – Devil With a Blues Dress On
Wilson Pickett – Land of 1000 Dances
Moody Blues – Go Now
The Turtles – Happy Together
The Standells – Dirty Water
The Youngbloods – Let’s Get Together