- Boxcars: 82gp, 5-26-31
- Shots: 98
- Plus Minus: -10
- Corsi (Rel): 8.1 (2nd best among D)
- GF/GA ON: 55-62
- 5x5/60: 0.92 (best among D's)
- 5x4/60: 2.24 (3rd best among D's)
- Quality of Competition: toughest among D's
- Quality of Teammates: 5th best among D's
- Offensive Zone Start FO %: 49.6% (2nd easiest among D's)
- Cap Hit: $4,000,000
- What do these numbers tell us? He's the best defenseman on the team. Gilbert played a more comfortable role after the trade deadline and went 21gp, 3-17-20 in March and April and his final 7 games saw him deliver 2-10-12 totals. Before that, it was a matter of Pat Quinn trying to turn him into Ed Kea. Gilbert had the best season overall a year ago too, when the competition included Visnovsky, a healtier Souray and Grebeshkov.
- How could these numbers be better? Quinn could have recognized his finesse defender's strengths earlier, but he didn't. The Oilers could have set their roster with fewer puck movers and more complete defensemen. In regard to Gilbert, he played well and made every attempt to adjust to the role asked of him by management. This one is on OTC.
- Any other positives? Tom Gilbert plays 82 games a season.
- What is his most important asset? He's an actual NHL player. Gilbert can play the game, is a solid positonal defenseman and when playing with confidence is among the best we've seen in Oilers silks at sneaking down from the blueline for a goalmouth scoring opportunity.
- Isn't this just a matter of him outlasting Grebeshkov and being less expensive than Visnovsky and Souray? Gilbert was always more consistent than Grebeshkov and younger (and healthier) than the other two veteran defensemen. The Oilers made the right call here, although losing Viz was a bad, bad day.
- How will OTC use him next season? I'm not certain Pat Quinn will be the coach in 10-11, but if he is the Gilbert-Whitney tandem has to be the top pairing from game 1. Their instant chemistry and effective play was one of the few bright spots in the season from hell.
- How important is Gilbert to the team? He's very important. A team leader at a fairly young age, he's signed for years and has an outside chance of wearing an "A" or a "C" on a regular basis if things continue on their current path.
By the Numbers
- 08-09 5x5 per 60m: 1.30
- 09-10 5x5 per 60m: 0.92
By The Numbers
- 08-09 5x4 per 60m: 3.91
- 09-10 5x4 per 60m: 2.24
Performance in 2009-10: 82gp, 5-26-31 (.378)
Projected Role in 2009-10: Top pairing D on the Edmonton Oilers
Funny how many times you mention "actual NHLer". i agree wholeheartedly that this team needs more NHLer`s, not more youth. Although it seems like the youth arriving this fall can play at a higher level then this past year. For the sake of their development let`s hope Tambellini adds a few solid two way vets on the cheap in the summer to allow these kids to ease into the lineup.
ReplyDeleteAs for gilbert, I`m happy he will the last one standing after the purge. amazing that starting next year he may be the only dman back from our biggest strength to start last season. forget the Hamhuis and Vilchenkov possibilities (like them but not at $4.5 mill), and add a solid guy like Michalek from the Coyotes to play with Smid. then plug a vet on the back pairing to play with either peckham or Johnson and i`m happy about the balance of our d next year.
On a side note, Chorney and Potulny at the WC makes me wonder what some less then smart GM may offer for those two.
And lastly, what would we have to add to this deal to make it happen:
Souray to LA for Ryan Smyth (maybe add Potulny or Chorney?)
in one move the oil get a huge PR boost, add a captain and local hero and give us depth on the wings allowing us to draft Seguin while moving Souray. I like this idea more and more.
Going into last year the only player I had pegged wrong was Gilbert. I thought he'd be the first Dman out of town. I thought Visnovsky, Souray, and Grebeshkov would all still be here making the core of the D.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I was wrong on that one, Whitney Gilbert look like the future #1 pairing for many years to come. Playing against all shapes and sizes.
Gilbert is even more important to this team now that Vis and Grebs and soon to be Souray are all gone. now that he has some chemistry with Whitney, we should see the best out of him next season, so i'm hoping the Oilers don't bugger this up!!
ReplyDeleteDBO, considering that LA already has a solid young D corp, and traded a good young D in a package to get Smyth, I don't think they're in any hurry to trade him for an equally oft injured player at a position they have covered (and several very good prospects knocking on the door) to create a hole on the wing (especially with Frolov likely leaving).
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind a Souray + Nilsson for Smyth trade myself, I just don't see it happening.
Gilbert is case one for why a smart NHL player is better than a dumb one. His ability to think two steps ahead when being pressured has impressed me over the last two years, even during his growing pains of turnovers. Though I was sorry to see Grebeshkov and Vis go, I was pleased to see Gilbert finally get his proper dues. A beauty player for a long time, imo.
ReplyDeleteMoat and a giant...good stuff.
ReplyDeleteAs a young man in Saskatchewan, my favourite threat was "I have a shotgun, a shovel and a pasture and no one will ever find you".
UNI: yeah I'm not sure if LA would want him. Just wondered if they could use a more veteran dman since they are pretty young. Mostly i would just like to see Smyth back in Oilers colours. Best way to shelter the new kids coming in next year is to add a veteran like Smyth that can handle reporters and the pressure, and is maybe a bigger story then the #1 pick. Allows Seguin, eberle and MPS to fly under the radar going into camp.
ReplyDeleteGilbert Sucks, Damien Cox said so.
ReplyDeleteCall me crazy, but I'd rather not destroy our cap situation further by adding a $6.25 million winger for the next 2 years who'll get us less than 60 points.
ReplyDeleteSmytty is wildly overpaid, and I continue to be thankful that we're not the ones who overpaid him.
DBO, I agree and that's exactly why the Kings got him I think. Man do I miss Smyth, not many Oilers to cheer for this past season. Gilbert was one of them for sure.
ReplyDeletedawgbone, dare you feign mockery of the great potentate of all things hockey that is his high highness lord Damien Cox? The Cox need not waste his time on trivial things like research and evidence to support his pontifications...it is enough that The Cox amuses himself to think so, his word IS fact through dogmatic law.
The Oilers would be lucky to unload Gilbert with their 1st overall pick to some team for say at most the 20th overall pick. Gilbert and his contract are just 'toxic'.
Not only Damien. The press box has not been Gilbert's biggest fan.
ReplyDeleteHis slapshots & bodychecks don't BOOM enough it seems.
Oh last bit of DC ad hominem, I swear...
ReplyDeleteCan anyone else picture Damien Cox, dressed in a loose fitting black shirt, tight black pants, standing over the unwashed Internet masses, hand outstretched, maniacal intensity in his eyes, staring, staring for an eternity, and then, finally, he utters in a hysterical voice:
"KNEEL BEFORE COX!"
With all due respect, LT, the bottom end of the Stones is huge, huge, huge, but it's the interplay of the lead and rhythm guitars that make that band's best songs work.
ReplyDeleteFirst minute of Gimme Shelter, my favourite minute in rock and roll.
P.S. Why the hell aren't Gilbert, Sullivan and Penner on their respective world championship teams. If they turned down the invites, as has been suggested elsewhere but not proven, that ticks me off.
dstaples: Gilbert is no chorney.
ReplyDeleteSmytty is wildly overpaid, and I continue to be thankful that we're not the ones who overpaid him.
ReplyDeleteWell, yes. Have you looked at the Souray contract lately?
Gimme Shelter is one of the five greatest rock songs ever, in my mind.
ReplyDeleteIn order:
1. Hotel California - The Eagles (try telling me that the guitar solo at the end isn't flat out epic)
2. Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones (note that ANY live version of either of these first two is, by default, awesome)
3. Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen
4. Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin
5. Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Yes, I know the last one is a bit out of left field, but I think the guitar work on that song is absolutely fantastic.
Smyth @ 6.25 >>> Souray @ 5.4
ReplyDeleteWhen you consider the Oilers, with some proper proactivity, could have had Smyth at a much lower rate than that (my guess is 25 over 5 or 30 over 6 in the summer of 2006 would have got it done, rather than the 12 over 3 that they reportedly did offer), it looks even worse.
But they felt it was smarter to commit 4.7 per year combined to Ethan Moreau and Steve Staios for 4 years of each in their mid-to-late 30's. Wonderful cap management that was.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI don't know, HBomb, the Jonas Brothers are pretty kick ass and I don't see them represented.
ReplyDelete...
I'm really glad people stopped making good music. It's important that Kesha make a lot of money, can't have it going to people with talent.
(Comments should have edit buttons.)
dstaples, Dan Tencer tweeted about Gilbert and the WHC. Said he was invited but declined due to mental exhaustion.
ReplyDelete1. Hotel California - The Eagles (try telling me that the guitar solo at the end isn't flat out epic)
ReplyDelete. . . . That guitar solo is not epic. The whole song is derivative of their entire catalog. . .
in the words of the Dude-
Cab Driver: I pull over and kick your ass out!
The Dude: Come on, man. I had a rough night and I hate the fuckin' Eagles, man!
Would we all rather be sitting on the edge of the interstate then hearing that crap played over and over by retards with quarters at a jukebox or you uncle's cover band?
-----------------------------
Oh to Gilbert. Never been a really big fan, but am willing to admit he doesn't do anything poorly. Thought he would be gone by this time, but after looking at health, ability, and cap hit I am glad we still have him.
H-bomb - what guitar work in Superstition? Without digging out a copy, I'm thinking great clavichord lines, nice horns, funky bass, but guitar work?
ReplyDeleteAs for Gilbert, I'm glad we still have him, but I feel this may have been more by accident than design. From various reports, it seems that Gilbert was on the trade block as much as any of the other defenders. Perhaps that's just my cynicism towards Tambellini, who just seems to be fumbling around blindly in the dark.
Yeti - my mistake, I missed the word "bass" before "guitar". Definitely should have made that an explicit distinction.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, it's a kick-ass tune.
Smyth @ $6.5 million - anything to make the deal happen = disaster
ReplyDeleteIt's very easy to say we could have signed Symth to a lower contract in the summer of '06, but there's really no evidence to support that.
Seems to me it's just as likely that Symth was determined to go out and have a career year in '07 and get paid full market value for the first time in his career, and never had any intention of doing anything but going to that summer unresitricted and hearing offers.
While I think he ultimately wanted to stay with the Oil and assumed they would match the highest offer (hence the tears), I don't think anything that happened shows him as a guy who was willing to take another hometown discount.
5 best rock songs all time (in no order).
ReplyDeleteGimme Shelter-Stones
Into the Mystic-Van Morrison
Thunder Road-Springsteen
London Calling-Clash
Layla-Derek and the Dominoes
HBomb: good call on the Stevie Wonder: that's a killer song. Not in my top 5, but top 20 for sure, even if it's stretching the rock category a bit. I hate the damn Eagles too, however.
ReplyDeleteTo my (peculiar) taste, a highly arbitrary list, based on my opinion at this exact second:
1. Stones, "Gimme Shelter"
2. Chuck Berry, "Sweet Little Sixteen"
3. Stooges, "Search and Destroy"
4. Guns N Roses, "Welcome to the Jungle"
5.Clash, "Straight to Hell"
Bonus: Springsteen, "Atlantic City" - not really a rock song, but it's fantastic, and it's Springsteen.
Obviously, the Who could be on there, the Beatles, AC/DC, and on and on...
I'm not even trying to stay on topic - it's almost May - but I'm really enjoying these posts, for the record.
Good lord, two comments in a row citing a Clash song as a top five option. While I'm rocking out to some post-Clash Joe Strummer.
ReplyDeleteI love you filthy bastards.
I don't know if I want to claim it with any erudite certainty, but I'd throw Jessica in my Top 5. I'm biased though, as it was my weddding entrance song.
"post-Clash Joe Strummer"
ReplyDelete"Coma Girl" is top 50 for sure, maybe higher.
"and the oil drums were beating out, doolang, doolang..."
I need to go do something productive, both so I can earn money, and so there's still a slim hope this thread remains about Gilbert.
If there were any music or food blogs with people as interesting as the ones on the 'Oilogosphere', I'd defect to them, but for some reason there aren't. Not even close. So the derailments continue.
Tom Gilbert is a solid player, part of solution, not part of problem, in same category as Smid, Whitney, maybe Peckham.
ReplyDeleteFive favourite rock songs (no order):
"Gimme Shelter" The Stones
"Baba O'Reilly" (aka Teenage Wasteland) The Who
"Let Down" Radiohead
"Where the Streets Have No Name" U2
"1979" Smashing Pumpkins
"Waste your summer praying in vain
ReplyDeleteFor a saviour to rise from these streets."
Is this
a) Lyric from Springsteen's Thunder Road
b) Kevin Lowe's mantra
c) Oilers fan's mantra
d) All of the above
Top Five 'Rock' Songs (no particular order):
ReplyDelete"Pick Pocket" At the Drive In
"Epic Problem" Fugazi
"Where is My Mind" The Pixies
"Spanish Bombs" The Clash
"Kashmir" Led Zepplin
Tom Gilbert, Guitar Hero.
ReplyDeleteTop 5
ReplyDeleteJohnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry
Runaway - Del Shannon
Maggie May - Rod Stewart
One in a Million - Guns & Roses
Smells Like Teen Spirit- Nirvana
Ask me tomorrow and it will probably be a different five.
@Lowetide
ReplyDeleteI love your posts when you tie in music. Very entertaining. I will say that I was wrong when I said that Gilbert must go. When used properly, he's an effective d-man.
Not saying these are the greatest rock songs, but certainly better than HBombs bland list :)
Stones - Midnight Rambler or Stray Cat Blues
Porcupine Tree - Anaesthetize
Tool - The Pot
Nick Cave - No Pussy Blues
Floyd - Shine on you crazy diamond
Does EVERYONE think Gimme Shelter is the greatest song of all time? You Lowetide fans sure love your classic rock! Love the Clash references (and I'll add one: Joe Strummer and the Latino Rockabilly War).
ReplyDeleteLowetide - you surprised me and made my smile with your Dicky Betts thoughts a few weeks back... great stuff. Pure magic live, where the 'hippies' and the 'bikers' meet.
Oh yeah, and let me make one CURRENT musical suggestion: buy Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest (unless you're an confirmed AC/DC person - then don't bother, you've been musically stunted and are likely beyond help).
And let's add one hockey comment:
It's nice to see I'm not the only one who thinks an ivy league education has value - even if you can play hockey.
Bought my tix to see Tool this a.m. Paid an $11 per ticket "convenience fee" for the convenience of waiting two minutes at a time for some machine to tell me what was "best available", no choice of section at all, only price range. Right at 10:00 sharp when tix supposedly went on sail, "best available" was Section 203, Row 39 at the top tier price. I didn't think so either so I tried again a few times and finally got Sec 213 Row 27, much better seats at the second tier price too. Convenience charge was still $11 per however, along with a "transaction fee" of $5.50 which I was never warned about until I completed the transaction.
ReplyDeleteI fucking Hate Ticketbastard.
***
I think the Khabibulin signing was a panic purchase of whatever "best available" the machine turned up.
***
As for Gilbert, he survived the first two years of that contract at what might be considered an overpay, but should deliver value for $$$ and then some for the duration. Not the flashiest guy out there, but he's smart and learned many of his lessons pretty well through his ~250 GP apprenticeship. Hopefully next year is the one where he delivers a complete season of solid play.
PS: I don't blame him for turning down Team USA. The poor guy has no doubt had more than enough Losing for one season, and that Yankee team is going down.
BadSeed: No Pussy Blues is one of the best (and best-named) songs ever. Still makes me laugh every time I hear it. It was officially done by a band called Grinderman, which I believe is/was Nick Cave and some of the Bad Seeds. The testosterone-enraged guitar solos are absolutely perfect for the subject matter.
ReplyDeleteBruce: You're right - that was Grinderman with Nick Cave & Mick Harvey from the Seeds. Great album.
ReplyDeleteEver listen to Abattoir Blues & Did Lazuras Dig? Night of teh Lotus Eaters is killer on DLD.
Yeah, ticketmaster sucks - my buddy & I were both on at 10:00 & best we could do were upper section. Fuckin legal scalpers like TNT get all first dibs it seems. Seen them twice & they're fantastic live. So in the end, I'll pay the legal scalpers for the tic & a shitty hot dog. There's no justice.
BS :), this will be my second Tool show. Last time they came through my son had just turned 18, and it was his first arena concert. It was an outstanding show, better value for money than some of the other, uh, "events" that I've seen recently in Rexall. >:( At least the fucking team showed up to play.
ReplyDeleteBruce:
ReplyDeleteThere was probably a pre-sale on Wednesday or so.
you surprised me and made my smile with your Dicky Betts thoughts a few weeks back... great stuff.
ReplyDeleteAs was mentioned, Top 5 lists can change from week to week.
I was listening to the Allmans yesterday,
And I'd put "Dreams" on my Top-5 list today.
I
Ticketmaster - invention of paranoid meglomaniac promoter Bill Graham.
ReplyDeleteWhere once upon a time people just bought ticktes from the box office, where once upon a time going to a show was a relaxed event, instead of like a scene from Total Recall.
Anyway...
ReplyDeleteGilbert is a player, 4.0 is fine, and all the idiots in the crowd screaming he's a useless pussy are just that... idiots. One of the few bright spots for sure.
I could hardly come up with a top 5 rock songs, and would probably blur into metal a bit too much, but there's a distinct lack of Iron Maiden, Led Zep, Pink Floyd...
For the record, I didn't have them in my top five, but Pink Floyd is fuckin' awesome.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to do a "top 100 songs" list and allow for multiple entries from any band/artist, I'd wager they might be in Stones/ACDC/U2 category for number of entries on the list.
That should read Stones/ACDC/U2/Zeppelin category. Can't forget Led Zep in that "many great songs produced" tier.
ReplyDeleteQuestion LT:
ReplyDeleteWhen you're ranking Gilbert here (2nd @ 5x5, etc.) are you including Vis and Grebeshkov, or Staios?
Personally I think you should, as they were here most of the time, and if Gilbert did (or didn't) outrank them in various metrics then that would be telling.
Idle wondering...
ReplyDeleteNo love for the Beatles? I mean, fine, they were more pop, I guess, but you can't deny they shaped the way rock was created.
Also, I'm no good at making lists of songs, because I'll inevitably forget something awesome or list 50 songs. Me, I'd definitely have Wish You Were Here on my list -- the title track, obviously, though that whole album is fantastic, including all 26 minutes of Shine On You Crazy Diamond -- but I'm a sentimental bastard like that. I also like FREEBIRD!, though I dunno if it's a top-five or more of a top-20 sort of song.
Tom Gilbert is the man.
ReplyDeleteCinnamon Girl by Mister Neil Young.
Alive by Pearl Jam
Thunder Road - Springsteen
Running on Empty - Jackson Brown
I'm Waiting For The Man - Velvet Underground
Hunter, ditto the hate of Ticket Master and Darth Bill Graham.
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time going to concert didn't cost an arm and a leg and there wasn't a frenzied clicking hell and HMV visits trying to get a ticket.
Now you pay Ticket Master Service Fees, Processing Fees (isn't this supposed to be part of the service fee?), and Convenience Fees (convenience of the only choice available).
As it stands Ticket Master has a monopoly on all major venue ticket sales. They've jacked up the prices an obscene percentage and will break anyone that tries to challenge them. Pearl Jam once tried to tackle them but ultimately the US government sided with big business (surprise) and Pearl Jam lost, and was forced to go to back to Ticket Master if they wanted to continue having concerts.
Watching Gimme Shelter the other night, was struck by the informality of the security, considering they were the feared Hell's Angels of Oakland. Also by the fact that the bikers themselves looked like individualist weirdos, instead of the identikit WWE lookalike bikers of today.
ReplyDeleteIronic also how in the 60's people could just turn up to enjoy various events, whereas even going to a club today you feel like a potential suspect in an upcoming soon to be made crime, while approaching the gauntlet of "security".
On a completely irrelevant note, I was told by my current students that a former student of mine was drafted 5th overall in the WHL Bantam draft. I was pleasantly surprised to find this out and hope he gets further, since based on his interest in schoolwork I did not expect rocket surgery in his future. But that is probably my fault.
ReplyDeleteI don't know you guys.
ReplyDeleteSmell's Like Teen Spirit? It's Nirvana's worst song! Hotel Califonia? Stairway?
And with the exception of a few awesome Bon Scott songs from a long time ago, ACDC puts out a lot of boring music. It's like Sesame Street music with a metal twist and suggestive lyrics.
Popular music continually morphs with each succeeding generation, with the overwhelming majority of each passing generation bewailing the lack of quality from the newcomers, when compared to their generation.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, the only thing that doesn't get slagged off from the elders is the younger women, lol.
I'm not so certain about most of the named songs here, but whoever named Johnny B. Goode made a great call. The opening bars feature a bass player who obviously doesn't even know the tune, but then when he finally figures it out the transition from stumbling around to rock solid bass line, it's as sublime as a Gretzky to Lemieux play.
Some favorites of mine, from this classic-y rock, genre
ReplyDelete1. ACDC, TnT
2. Bowie, Ziggy Stardust
3. Nirvana, Pennyroyal Tea
4. Rolling Stones, Before They Make Me Run
5. Pink Floyd, Brick in The Wall
Awesome video for TnT from when the boys were all young here: http://www.youtube.com /watch?v=rRfmJhkBeXQ&feature=related
Hasn't everyone heard Hotel California way more than we need to at this point?
ReplyDeleteI need a 5-year vacation from that song before I can enjoy it again.
No Kinks?
ReplyDeleteNo Lou Reed?
Heathens.
Limited to one song per artist, in no particular order, and using a reasonably broad definition of rock:
ReplyDeleteNeil Young, Like a Hurricane
Bob Dylan, Tangled up in Blue
Rolling Stones, Sympathy for the Devil
Doors, Riders on the Storm
The Who, The Music Must Change
As with everybody else, if you ask me tomorrow (or in half an hour), you get a completely different list.
Cool music choices, Lain.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that Springsteen is the greatest poet of our age. The opening lines of the song you listed are beautiful. Cohen and Chapin (recently rediscovered) are brilliant as well.
I'm into Van Morrison now also. A long ago I passed up a chance to see him, at one of the best small venues in England, just because it was a Friday night and I decided chasing skirt was a better idea. A stupid decision in hindsight, I've never seen him live.
He was interviewed on CBC radio's Q a few weeks or months ago, fascinating cat. That fucker is crazy even for an Irishman. And incredibly frank and obviously angry. Hopefully it's still online somewhere.
As for the Stones, I think "Get Off of My Cloud" is my favourite, though there are plenty of good choices.
And for one that won't get mentioned: The Alarm was a brilliant band that just never seemed to catch on. Rain in The Summertime is a very nearly perfect song, though.
I'm kind of getting into country music a bit now. In large part inspired by a post of yours from many months ago. Something about the lyrics usually being comically bad, but occasionally the best written words on the radio. You turn a phrase far better than me, but it was something like that. And that's true I think, I'd never really given it a chance before.
Johnny Reid and Corb Lund are brilliant, the music from the latter is old school but stacatto, still, it works for him. Wonderful poetry from both. Some of the older stuff too ... Randy Travis, Steve Earle, The Fabulous Thunderbirds. It's good shit, thanks for switching me on to that Lain, even though you did it unknowingly.
On The Bench:
ReplyDeleteOne of the first albums I ever bought was The Kinks 'State of Confusion'. I was digging through my old vinyl a while ago, and that stuff still holds up. Vinyl was good that way, laziness prevented people from bothering to skip through songs, so you listened to all their tracks. The great bands got separated from the one-song guys in a hurry.
Now I just download the songs that catch my ear, I can't remember the last time I listened to a CD front to back. Not that I'm bitching, it's obviously way better now ... I listen to the songs I want to listen to. Still, there is something to be said for listening to tons of bad shit just to occasionally discover bands who were solid cover to cover, or to find buried tracks that were terrific, just not famous.
OTB - I saw Lou Reed a million years ago. I was eighteen.
ReplyDeleteGreat show.
Off the top of my head:
ReplyDelete(1) The Replacements - Unsatisfied
(2) GnR - Welcome to the Jungle
(3) Nirvana - Radio Friendly Unit Shifter*
(4) Led Zeppelin - Kashmir
(5) Beatles - A Day in the Life - this might not be considered "rock", I guess, fair enough.
*Kris, I don't know if I agree Smells like Teen Spirit is their worst song, but most of the time I do prefer In Utero to Nevermind.
Awesome video for TnT from when the boys were all young here:
ReplyDeleteSorry man, they were already old by then...They were young around Back in Black!
Top 5? It would be hard enough to narrow down to the top 50, so I'll do it this way:
ReplyDelete60's: (Can't Get No) Satisfaction
70's: Stairway To Heaven
80's: With Or Without You
90's: Come As You Are
00's: Seven Nation Army
Cheating, now - the same list for Canadians:
60's: Magic Carpet Ride
70's: American Woman
80's: Tom Sawyer
90's: Grace, Too
00's: Wake Up
YMMV
Vic:
ReplyDeleteGive Doc Walker (their shit is damn near impossible to find) and Dierks Bentley a shot.
Cooke just fucked up Markov... didn't see if it was clean or not, but colour me surprised...
Take it back.. clean hit.
ReplyDeleteWasn't Back in Black made after Bon Scott died? Isn't it then newer?
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't see Dylan as being in this genre. Depends on the era, I guess.
Okay, let me take a shift here.
ReplyDeleteThe band is The Rural Alberta Advantage, the song is called Edmonton for puck's sake. Brilliant:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB3ceGXtj_M
Not enough alt.country on this list, which suggests you are all savages. I urge you to redeem yourselves with the following:
-Justin Townes Earle, Can't Hardly Wait (yes, the Replacements song; he clobbers it)
-Son Volt, Windfall
-Lucinda Williams, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
-Ryan Adams, New York, New York (no it's not Brian goddam Adams)
-and stretching the definition, but it's an alt.country song in all but sound, the Waterboys, Fisherman's Blues
That is all.
The blues, gentlemen, the blues.
ReplyDeleteAll the ennui of country without the melodrama, all the energy of rock without the need to shoult and, of course, the foundation upon which bands like the Stones were built.
A recent favourite from nearby Saltspring Island, Harry Manx:
http://harrymanx.com/
Enjoy.
You know, I can't name specific blues artists, but the genre as a whole is filled with genius.
ReplyDeleteSaturday Afternoon Blues Jam at "The Commie" on Whyte, pint of beer in hand - good way to spend a couple hours on a weekend (and better yet when your condo is three blocks away, so there consequences are minimal if one pint turns into eight, you know, "by accident").
Anyone ever hit up the Labatt Blues festival in Hawrelak Park during the summer? Is it worth the time and expense?
What, Cotton Eye Joe not on anyone's top 5 list?
ReplyDeleteH Bomb
ReplyDeleteThe Blues Fest will be the best time and money you've ever spent.
The producer, Cam Hayden, an an old colleague, knows his stuff very well.
If you would like an introduction to the blues, CKUA Radio in Edmonton, which IMO is the best radio station on the planet, has a number of blues shows including one on Friday nights.
http://www.ckua.org/
Another Edmonton resource is Stony Plain Records which is very quietly one of the pre-eminent record labels in North America. Also run by another former colleague and blues maestro, Holger Peterson.
And you're right, an afternoon or evening at Blues on Whyte in the Commercial is about as good as it gets.
Forgot to add link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.stonyplainrecords.com/Web/home.asp
tough to narrow down songs, but albums? That's a bit easier.
ReplyDeleteHard to believe only Staples mentioned them (Let Down) but:
Ok Computer — Radiohead; best band I've seen live and I've seen a lot. Not to mention The Bends could've made this list as well.
Velvet Underground — Banana (everyone knows it, Damn Lou Reed's cool)
Rubber Soul — Beatles, and the album that inspired them to make it; Pet Sounds— Beach Boys (how have they not been mentioned? (Man did Uncle Jesse and Full House smear this bands image)
The Queen is Dead — The Smiths. Depressing but fantastic. Same can be said for Joy Division. Would've loved to have seen what could've been if Ian Curtis didn't check out early.
There are many more, but hey this is a hockey blog.
Sorry LT.
Lots and lots of awesome picks on here (Nick Cave!), and really, even the overplayed classic rock hits chosen are overplayed because, well, they're really good.
ReplyDeleteBut particular points to Speeds for picking a Replacements song. Fucking Replacements, man. I love them. "Can't Hardly Wait" (mentioned in cover form by Bohologo) would be "our song," if my wife and I were the type of people to designate a song in such a way, and "Color Me Impressed" is two minutes of fantastic.
If you like the Replacements, check out the Nils, and the singer (Alex Soria)'s later band Chino. Hard to track down, but tragically underrated and excellent.
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ReplyDeleteKris - Re:ACDC you are totally right, for some reason I was thinking Thuderstruck or something when you said TnT.
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ReplyDeleteI love a lot of the music mentioned here so I figured I would offer something different. here are five songs that I enjoy the hell out of mostly because they are a little weird (Ramones not so much weird), but somehow awesomely musical.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy
The Gourds Gin and Juice
Dread Zepplin - Anything from Dread Zepplin or anything else
Ramones - Teenage Lobotomy - Lego Version
Jim Carrol Band - People who died
The Kinks - Father Christmas
Richard Cheese - Rape Me
Great music stuff here today. Exceptional list of great songs, as soon as I posted my list a bunch of others came flooding into my brain. Whoever said a top 5 list can change in an hour is right, lots of songs listed afterward where I said "damn, forgot about that one."
ReplyDeleteAnyway, bookie has posted Ramones and lego on the same line so I'm off to check that out.
Some really great music I especially liked the The Rural Alberta Advantage. Just bought the album on Itunes. Thanks for that recommendation. My addition is for the blues guys check out Seasick Steve.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=113FzU6Uf9U
Stay With Me - Faces
ReplyDeleteBall And Chain - Social Distortion
Shelter From The Storm (Live - Hard Rain) - Bob Dylan
Rudie Can't Fail - The Clash
Them Bones - Alice In Chains
And if you are talking Stones, it's gotta be Sway.
ReplyDeleteRudy Can't Fail is excellent, great song. That whole album is fabulous to this day.
ReplyDeleteNot one of the best of all-time but love the Jam. Maybe "That's Entertainment" or "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight" or "Start" or maybe even "David Watts" for Kinks fans. Love that band.
If you would like an introduction to the blues, CKUA Radio in Edmonton, which IMO is the best radio station on the planet, has a number of blues shows including one on Friday nights.
ReplyDeleteI'll second that emotion. CKUA rules - been a listener, donor and volunteer for many years. Cam Hayden's Friday Night Blues Party runs 9 to midnight ... just about that time now, come to think of it.
Holger Petersen has his own show on Saturday, Natch'l Blues, from 3 to 5 p.m. From the names he mentioned, Hunter would enjoy Wide Cut Country, also Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. But really, Saturday is packed with incredible shows all day long; whatever your genre, you'll find it, and if you're just a general music lover, you don't even need to move your dial.
Speaking of blues, early Led Zepp was the bomb - "Dazed and Confused", "Whole Lotta Love", "The Immigrant Song" and many more. Led Zeppelin I was one of the great debut albums ever.
Was more of a prog rock fan myself back in the day, especially the Brits - Genesis, Bowie, Roxy Music, Procol Harum, Strawbs, Yes and the like. Beatles too of course, and Pink Floyd, the Who, the Stones, Jeff Beck ... any attempt at a top 5 is doomed to balloon out of control.
Oh, and did nobody mention the Talking Heads?
How could I forget Family - "Music from a Doll's House", "Entertainment", "Fearless", "Bandstand" - one awesome album after another. Used to find them in the imports section. Hard to find their stuff on CD ... I guess they were a little obscure.
ReplyDeleteLove the Talking Heads. Crazy, crazy band. Bowie of course, and if we're there then Roxy Music deserved a mention.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed, LT, Roxy Music deserved to be mentioned, and if you look carefully, they were. :)
ReplyDeleteI must have pruned my vinyl collection about 5 times over the years, but a couple years back when I finally got my turntable working again I got into my old Roxy Music collection ... and I still had all 9 albums. Never culled a one of them. Still really love their first (the one with Eno), an absolutely magnificent debut. It was like the band was born fully mature.
Oh shoot, sorry about that Bruce.
ReplyDeleteNo worries, LT, just made me smile a little.
ReplyDeleteNow if you had said King Crimson deserved a mention, you would have been entirely correct. Oversight rectified. :)
Late to the party-just arrived home in Squamish after a visit in Edmonton celebrating the parents 50th.
ReplyDeleteLovely weather in Alberta.(I shouldn't judge,it's biblical rain outside right now)
A lot of my top 5 have already been covered,if I had to pick 1 Stones song it would be Gimme Shelter as well.
All the highlights have been covered as well...CKUA,afternoons in the Commercial on Whyte,Stony Plain records/Holger Peterson/Folk Music Festival,Stop Making Sense at a midnight screening at the Princess.
Lucinda Williams,Clash,U2-it's all there.
I won't attempt a top 5,the only thing I would add is Infected by The The.There are 8 songs on the album,but I don't think I've ever listed to just 1 song...it's a start to finish thing.
Oh,and Gilbert is a keeper.
Hello all. I'm what's known as a LTRFTP (long-time reader, first-time poster;) It's the music discussion that's finally swayed me to post.
ReplyDelete"Gimme Shelter" is a fine Stones tune, but the tune I dig from their catalog the most is "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)". I'm a sucker for mean horn riffs.
To come up with a definitive personal top 5 would take eons, but off the top of my noggin, here goes:
"David Bowie" - Phish
"Baby Milk Snatcher" - A.R. Kane
"A Housewife Love Song" - Starflyer 59
"Feel It All Around" - Washed Out
"Whalebone" - Je Suis France
Anyone who has heard of even two of those bands is now a friend of mine;)
Back to the rock discussion:
One of the albums I HAVE to crank if I'm on a long drive is Deep Purple's live album Made in Japan. "Space Truckin'" kills. 4.5 minutes of actual song followed by 15 minutes of jamming bliss.
Another album I'd take to a desert island is Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door. I might be the only person on the planet who picks that as their favorite Zep album.
Born fully mature -
ReplyDeletei love that, some bands work into something over time, take U2 for example. A decade in before Joshua, Achtung Baby,
But tell me what did Hendrix do that ever topped the song 'Are you experienced'? Fully formed right out of the gate.
And Pete gives us the Stooges in his top 5, Maggie May has to be in the mix - even though we all loathe what became of him. Someone else with Stray Cat Blues. Beggars Banquet was always my 'desert island' record. Now it might be 'King of Love' by Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, but it has the advantage of being 2 disks.
Tush is like 2 minutes 10 seconds of perfection
Fun Fun Fun is the best Chuck Berry song ever. He should have written it.
Little Richard covered 'Whole Lot of Shakin going on', and didn't suffer to the original, which is remarkable.
Nuff said,
Tarkus: Horns? You'd love Tower of Power. EW&F too but you've probably already heard them.
ReplyDeletei still think the best cover is Joe Cocker's With a Little Help from my Friends. Great scream.
@LT:
ReplyDeleteI've heard some Tower of Power--didn't really do much for me. I don't know too much EW&F but I do enjoy BS&T: "Go Down Gamblin'" is my favorite of theirs.
But when it comes to infusing rock with horns, the band that does really does it for me is Chicago (before they veered closer to John Tesh than John Lee Hooker, that is). "Beginnings" is fan-funking-tastic.
Well if we're citing the five greatest songs of all time I think you've all been rather egregious is neglecting some obvious nominees.
ReplyDelete1) Metallica - Fade to Black or Nothing Else Matters its comparing sunsets to me
2) Jimmy Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower
3) U2 - With or without you (although you could also make a case for New Year's Day)
4) Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
5)Tom Petty - Free Falling
Fade to Black or Nothing Else Matters
ReplyDeleteLeper Messiah
Seems to me Bob Marley should be mentioned... unless I missed one of the 97 previous comments on the music that sticks to us the most.
ReplyDeleteGilbert is great.
Alot of love for Gilbert here. Is it love for Gilb-itney or is it love for Gilbert alone. He is not a top 2 Dman in my eyes, not yet anyway, but I have hope.
ReplyDeleteIf we're going to get into Metallica songs, I'll take Disposable Heroes and One.
ReplyDeleteI was listening to The Eagles while I was also listening to Metallica ( i just learned how to play Doolin Dalton the other day ) and I think it's a copout to say that the Eagles are overplayed garbage.
ReplyDeleteI"m sick to death myself of Hotel California but the lyrics are money and Henley cuts that up that scene with a razor and then he pounds it with a hammer for good measure.
Plus if you enjoy voices and harmonies and you don't like the Eagles then you're nothing but ignorant.
The thing about the Eagles is that they eventually got so big that everyone knew their flaws (lyrics--they didn't like women, and near the end the band ran out of good songs which is what happens to all of them) and ego ruled the day.
ReplyDeleteBut in the 1970's their new songs jumped out of the radio and the truth is that pretty much everyone loved their music right through Hotel California (I still remember when it was released, it was the topic of hallway chatter at high school).
After that they started to fade a little in terms of song quality but even then the new blood kept them fresher than most bands.
I always thought they should use Randy Meissner more. But they were a part of everyone's life when we were growing up, to the point where a song like "Take It Easy" can take me right back there in the first few seconds.