SHUFFLE

The Animals, “When I Was Young”
I always get the cool chill when Eric Burdon proclaims, with all the streetwise austerity of a teenage thug, “I smoked my first cigarette at ten,” in this 1967 ode to lost youth. The guitar phrase that follows every uttering of the title line calls to mind a shuddering mod, pulling up the collar of his jacket to shield himself from the cold.

The Black Lips, “Everybody’s Doin' It”
The riff on this one swings like a watch on a chain. It’s so hypnotic that it makes me want to follow blindly and do whatever I’m told, zombie-style. The fact that the lyrics more or less offer the same coercive advice only reinforces the feeling.

The Yardbirds, “I’m Not Talking”
Jeff Beck looses blistering solo after blistering solo, assaulting ears with his electric blues on this start-and-stop sissy-killer. The best one is the second one, right after Keith Relf shouts “don’t call me, baby I’ll call you.”

The Who, “Girl’s Eyes”
A lighthearted ditty that tells the tale of an obsessive fan that “knows all the charts” and is at the show, “eyes aglow/very front row.” I think it was just a quick throwaway track that the band didn’t spend much time on. My favorite part is when they sing “don’t throw sticks at her.” I really like this period of the Who’s career; they seem experimental and focused entirely on making music that they enjoyed. Consequently, it sounds fun and natural, the band unconcerned with pleasing the legions of fans that would fill stadiums in its later years.

The Rolling Stones, “Jigsaw Puzzle”
The boogie-woogie piano carries this song. Nicky Hopkins is probably playing it while Jagger goes on about girls, gangsters and grandmas. Seriously though, what the hell is a “mentholated sandwich?” He also sings a little bit about a band but there’s nothing concrete enough to indicate that it’s autobiographical, except maybe the part about the ‘damaged guitar player,’ a possible reference to Brian Jones, who was well on his way down (and out) around this time.

Thin Lizzy, “Jailbreak”
Just a plain bad riff, man. Dude had a bitchin moustache too.

Los Hombres, “Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)”
Like a Bob Dylan song with a thicker, shuffling backbeat and a more danceable melody, this track’s got some kooky lyrics. Dude just rambles about random stuff. Dylan’s music usually went somewhere though; this song is just wacky words over music that doesn’t go anywhere. “No parkin’ by the sewer sign/hot dog, my razor’s broke/water drippin’ up the spout/but I don’t care, let it all hang out.” Still a cool song. I’m a sucker for hand claps. “Saw a man walkin’ upside down/my TV’s on the blink/made Galileo look like a boy scout/sorry ‘bout that, let it all hang out.”