Monday Morning Music — #9
A Bag of Dicks
Playlist, Music
A Bag of Dicks
Richard has always been a peculiar name for me. I think mainly because I associate it with the name Dick (not necessarily the male appendage.)
Richard is one of those names that has so many derivatives:
Rich
Richie
Rick
Dickie
Reeks (why)
Ricardo2
Chard, I suppose
and of course, Dick.
Now, my apologies in advance to those of you who have loved ones, lovers, friends, and family members who go by Dick. Personally, the majority of Dicks that I have met seemed to fit the colloquial definition of the name.
In all fairness, I have not met that many.
Throughout the history of music, there have been loads of Dicks …and far too many dicks.
There are two things of note here:
There will not be any women on this playlist. I don’t know any women named Richard or Dick (but plenty would qualify as dicks.)
No Replacements song.
Some of the artists that follow have gone by many versions of Richard, and maybe some were even dicks. I don’t know, but in all cases, they made some pretty fuckin’ good music.
So, for this morning, I give you a big old bag of Dicks!
“supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” — Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke is as much an American treasure as Dolly Parton. And I don’t care how old you are; this is a damn fun song. And yes, technically a duet with Julie Andrews.
“Let’s Go Trippin’” — Dick Dale
The king of the surf guitar, ‘nuff said.
“Long Tall Sally” — Richard Wayne Penniman aka Little Richard
We can argue about what artist is ground zero for rock and roll, but Little Richard will always be in the fray of that discussion. And it’s songs like this that put him there.
“Bittersweet Symphony” — Richard Ashcroft (The Verve)
There may be better Richard Ashcroft songs out there, but this one is and will remain timeless. There’s a reason the song was cribbed from a Rolling Stones song. After many lawsuits in which Mick Jagger and Keith Richards got songwriting credit, in April 2019, Jagger and Richards ceded their rights to the song to the Verve’s songwriter Richard Ashcroft.
Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony, that’s life
Tryna make ends meet, you’re a slave to money then you die
“Stone Cold” — Ritchie Blackmore (Rainbow)
Ritchie Blackmore is behind what is arguably one of the best (if not most recognizable) guitar riffs in all of rock music — “Smoke on the Water” — that’s right, that’s his. Rainbow was after Deep Purple and operated intermittently and with a revolving door of musicians and singers during its heyday.
“Take A Picture” — Richard Patrick (Filter)
Never quite sure what happened to these guys, but “Hey Man, Nice Shot” and “Take A Picture” are both great songs.
“The Weight” — Rick Danko & Richard Manuel (The Band)
A Richard two-fer!
“Tear Stained Letter” — Richard Thompson
I admit I don’t know much about Richard Thompson, but I know enough to say the man is both a master songwriter and guitar player.
“Got To Get You Into My Life” — Richard Starky (The Beatles)
Obviously. And I doubt anyone in his life calls him anything other than Ringo.
“Wanted Dead or Alive” — Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi)
Job Bon Jovi always got the attention and the spotlight, but to me, the secret sauce of this band was always Richie Sambora. I sure wish they’d mend their ways, and I’m not even a fan.
“Wish You Were Here” — Richard Wright (Pink Floyd)
There are so many tragedies in rock and roll, but Syd Barrett is one of the biggest. If you’re interested, dig up the story about how he popped into the studio when they recorded this album. He just sat in the corner of the playback room, and it took a while before anyone recognized him. For me, Syd is the tragedy of both drug abuse and some severe mental illness …and those two are a deadly combination.
“Du hast” — Richard Kruspe (Rammmstein)
Fuckin’ right there’s gonna be some Rammstein!
“Superstar” — Richard Carpenter (The Carpenters)
I suppose I could’ve used the Sonic Youth cover, but this version is so much more effortless and poignant.
Don’t you remember, you told me you loved me, baby?
You said you’d be coming back this way again, baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh baby
I love you, I really do
We’ve all been there.
“Love My Way” — Richard Butler (Psychedelic Furs)
Another band of brothers that seemed to have weathered the storm without too much controversy. There are a few great Furs songs to choose from, but I chose this one because it was my inroad to them. Well, and it’s great.
“Pictures of Matchstick Men” — Rick Parfitt (Status Quo)
I was more familiar with the Camper Van Beethoven cover — which is alarmingly similar.
“Blank Generation” — Richard Hell
If you’re wondering, the Blank Generation is that tail-end Boomer generation that fed so much music into the 70s and even the 80s (think Blondie, Talking Heads, et al.) This song has been voted “One of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock” by music writers and is ranked as one of the all-time Top 10 punk songs. I’m not sure it’s either, BUT it captures a moment in time and captures a mood. Richard Hell was many things to the NYC music scene, including trailblazer.
“Dangerous Type” — Ric Ocasek (The Cars)
I don’t recall when I learned that The Cars actually had TWO lead singers. For some reason, I always thought it was Ric Ocasek, but in reality, he shared the mic with the late Ben Orr. Admittedly, most of the hits were sung by Orr, but Ocasek had some gems — like this one from Candy-O, the band’s closer to this second studio album.