5 More Classic Rock Songs I Love And Why

that kind of music just soothes the soul

I don’t normally caption the header, but I had to share the charming anecdote that my mom thought as a child that the Beatles being on Ed Sullivan meant that beetles - the bugs - were going to be on tv.

Y’all, I still love classic rock. And you know what that means? That’s right. As promised, The Stump is back with edition #2 of its hottest series: Classic Rock Songs I Love And Why. See, I have follow-through. I’ve heard you clamoring, readers, begging to hear me continue to wax poetic about classic rock. Well, you’re in tremendous luck, as I am a bottomless pit of rock ‘n’ roll babey. Plus, with my birthday coming up, I figured that the best way to celebrate Me™ is to make a bunch of people listen to me talk about music from the 1960s in a format where I literally cannot be interrupted. One of the best birthday gifts we can all give me, broadly speaking.

Now, a few reminders before I dive in: First, I am not a music historian, nor do I plan to do any research [this should be taken as a general principle for The Stump, actually. research bad, me no like]. Once again due to poor planning on my part, I am writing this in the dark at 2am, so I’m thoroughly disinterested in doing any ““research.”” Second, if I neglect to mention your precious favorite in the second round here - get off my back ! This is not a Definitive Ordered List of the best classic rock songs of all time; this is me just more or less prioritizing some absolutely elite tunes as they come to mind, so don’t take it personally. Or do, but don’t force me to hear about it. Finally, you may have noticed this post is a day late. I’m a busy lady, alright, sue me! One day when this blog is big and successful I can quit my other jobs and devote myself to you fully, dear reader, but until you start shelling out some George Washingtons [or, more accurately, some Ulysses S. Grants], you will occasionally have to tolerate my gently altered scheduling. A small price to pay for the content you love oh so much, methinks.

Phew. With the chastising out of the way, the last reminder is that all the songs listed here are linked in the titles of the songs, so please indulge yourself in the music that, fundamentally, is classic and rocks.

I wanna rock!

1. Mary Jane’s Last Dance - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

So, I’m aware that I just said this is not a ranked list of the best songs, but I do feel somewhat remiss that Tom Petty did not make the cut during the first round of classic rock songs I love. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are certainly in contention for my favorite band of all time [I refuse to be forced to choose just one]. Frankly, there are many songs from their discography that could grace this spot on the list, but Mary Jane got chosen for - you guessed it - the lyrics! Just call me Euterpe. Mary Jane’s Last Dance tells a whole story; it allows us to glimpse the inner world of Mary Jane - your average small town gal from a flyover state [or, super possibly, it’s a song about weed… that’s none of my business to litigate]. I challenge you to listen to this song without singing along. It positively reeks of summertime good times, and it is as mellow as its possible namesake. The guitar riffs are free and breezy and as cool as Tom Petty [see below and tell me that’s not the coolest motherf*cker you’ve ever seen].

We would all be lying if we said we saw no resemblance between some of my stylistic choices and my boy Tom. He knew how to make a fit and embrace the hair.

Also, the verse:

Well, I don't know but I've been told
You never slow down, you never grow old
I'm tired of screwing up, tired of goin' down
Tired of myself, tired of this town

is pure poetry delivered with a sharp tongue by an angsty Tom Petty. For those of us less than eager to return to our small hometowns, Tom hears us and provides an anthem. Or, it’s just about weed. Either way, I definitely shared tears with my economics professor when we found out during class that Tom Petty died. I really hope he got that last dance with Mary Jane.

2. Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones

Though I am not a music historian by any means, let me tell you the tale of the star of this song - Merry Clayton. It’s the fall of 1969, and Merry Clayton gets a call in the middle of the night from Mick Jagger to come into the studio to record vocals. She doesn’t really know who the Rolling Stones are, and she’s pregnant, but she goes anyway. Merry arrives reluctantly and in curlers and proceeds to belt out [in three takes!] some of the most powerful, most historic vocals ever recorded. Merry Clayton showed up and screamed “Rape! Murder! It’s just a shot away!” with the voracity of an untamed supernova [also, what a trouper for going with the flow on that one]. She screams so hard her voice breaks [and maybe don’t google the other consequences of that performance if you don’t want to be bummed out].

The Stones do a phenomenal job of building the tension of the song. It starts out with an undeniably modest but enticing opening… There’s mystery and intrigue, but we need more. Then the drums kick in. Then Mick Jagger starts going with something strong… but when Merry Clayton screams, that’s when it all changes. When Merry Clayton screams, that’s when you feel it in your damn bones.

The song is more lyrically simple than many of my picks thus far, but the lyrical delivery is simply so impeccable it fills in all the gaps of the words not said. There are many good choices to pick if you could be a fly in the wall in a moment in history, but I’d say a prominent one for me would be in that recording studio in the middle of the night in the fall of 1969 witnessing that performance.

3. All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix

The Dylanheads can cool it, your boy has many hits, and Jimi absolutely ate this song for breakfast, so we’re calling it his. I may not typically be a Jimi Hendrix aficionado, per se, but his rendition of “All Along the Watchtower” singlehandedly makes me a fan. Not unlike our beloved Merry Clayton, Hendrix delivers the lyrics in this song with such power and force that you can’t help but shut the f*ck up and take it all in. Hendrix’s emotional range in “Business men, they drink my wine; Plowmen dig my earth” alone is enough to leave you entranced for days. This song is so viscerally good I can see Hendrix performing it as if he was right in front of me. He makes a meal out of every lyric, and I can imagine perfectly how he’s working it over. Just listen to the rasp on:

Well, uh, outside in the cold distance
A wildcat did growl
Two riders were approaching
And the wind began to howl, hey!

Of course, the guitar solos in this are as epic as one would imagine from the canonical Greatest Guitarist of All Time, so it could go without saying, but I can’t not mention it. Just like the classics are classic for a reason, Jimi Hendrix is the GOAT for a reason. Like Bob handed the reins of this song to Jimi because Jimi simply did it better, I am going to hand the reins of this review to Rolling Stone because they absolutely did it better than me when they said: “His riffs were a pre-metal funk bulldozer, and his lead lines were an electric LSD trip down to the crossroads, where he pimp-slapped the devil.”

4. Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

Poetry in motion. Seriously, I am violently resisting my own urge here to just copy-paste the entirety of the lyrics and let you read them instead of listening to me talk. Wish You Were Here is one of - if not the - most beloved songs from Pink Floyd, and with great reason. You simply cannot say enough to capture what they packed into this song. I will exercise [for once in my life] some Enormous self-restraint, and only post ONE (1) piece from the lyrics:

Did they get you to trade
Your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?

Did you exchange
A walk-on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?

I mean comeee onnn…. just beat me over the head with a stick instead of drenching me in all that. It’s beautiful; it’s gorgeous; it’s thoughtful. It hurts so good! I don’t really know how to describe listening to this song other than it simultaneously is the most calming track - laying on a cool beach on a foggy lakeside all alone in the quiet of the morning - but it also makes me want to peel my face off [massive compliment]. David Gilmour and Roger Waters owe us all damages for emotional distress. This is a funeral hymn, this is a call to war, this is peacefully enjoying life. Can I tell blue skies from pain? Clearly not.

5. Penny Lane - The Beatles

Our final track for today is from yet another band that felt just a little bit wrong to leave off of the original list of five. I wouldn’t change that list, but y’know it is the freakin’ Beatles so it bears contemplating. Now, you might think Penny Lane is an atypical track to pick for a top spot in this adulation train, and you would be correct if you suspected that I have not actually picked my favorite Beatles song to showcase today [it’s “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” for the record]. But I like Penny Lane as an example of the broader brilliance of those Brits [even a broken clock is right twice a day]. Penny Lane is delightfully weird and whimsical and mischievous and so so so Beatles for that. Y’all, they used a piccolo trumpet. A piccolo trumpet!!!! What the hell is a piccolo trumpet!!! I don’t know! But I do know that it is goddamn delightful.

“Katie, the Beatles aren’t weird. They’re the definition of mainstream and so normal and they just play nice little rock tunes.” Shut up, dude, look at this cover art. You think for freaks from Europe were behaving normally when they came up with this? God bless them I know they were not.

Penny Lane is, appropriately, a fun little jaunt down a sunny (or rainy?) neighborhood street. It’s almost like how you remember your neighborhood through your childhood point of view [or LSD… again, who am I to litigate… though, that cover art may do the heavy lifting for me]. In that world, everything is a little silly, a little strange, and you don’t quite “get it,” but you’re just happy to be there and to have a good time. And once again, let’s not forget that the whole song crescendos to a ***piccolo trumpet.*** The “most influential band of all time,” who defined the entire history of music as being either “pre- and post-Beatles,” and made rock ‘n’ roll what it is today used a f*cking piccolo trumpet in one of their most famous songs of all time!!! And we all eat that shit up! I love it, I love Beatles for daring to be the world’s best Little Weird Guys. They were right… Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.

Wrapping up because the Magical Mystery Tour is coming to take me away…

So, this concludes the second addition of our series on the classic rock I love. I think if we learned anything from this rendition it’s that I really wasn’t f*cking around when I said I care about lyrics and lyrical delivery. I want to see some more screaming! I think we’ve also learned that I like weird guys and rockstars that do a lot of drugs that are inspired by a diverse range of experiences.

We have still merely scratched the surface of classic rock songs I would like to talk your ear off about on The Stump, so don’t worry, there are many more editions of this series to come! In the meantime, please do leave me comments suggesting your favorite classic rock songs. I definitely probably will not listen to you because I already have a list about a hundred deep to cover first, but it’s always good to bask in the marvelous taste of my dearest Stumpies [still positively loving that name, personally].

This blog also marks a milestone! Pop the champagne (and then send me some). The Stump is having it’s two-month anniversary on Wednesday, which is insane because I’ve never consistently done anything for two months in my goddamn life [don’t get pedantic about this post being late; consistency is relative]. I’m sure this is yet but the first two months of a beautiful adventure we are all on together, and this blog is another banger in the bag. You might say another one bites the dust, but this is certain to be a long and winding road…