War, recession, unemployment, Glenn Beck … with such darkness surrounding this day and age, how will we ever see the sun? Sometimes all it takes is a song.

1. “Fisherman’s Blues,” The Waterboys
There’s nothing bluesy about “Fisherman’s Blues,” and despite the longing in the lyrics, it’s a song that makes you want to smile.

2. “Just For Me,” Blues Traveler
Blues Traveler knows a thing or two about struggles, but they also know how to put it in perspective and how to celebrate with music.

3. “Headlong,” Queen
“There used to be a man with a stick in his hand/there used to be a woman with a hotdog stand!” So goes the lyrics to 1991’s “Headlong,” an oft-overlooked rockin’ tune by Queen. What does it mean? Who cares, just boogie down, man!

4. “There’s Always Someone Cooler Than You,” Ben Folds
Although it sounds like a put-down, “There’s Always Someone Cooler Than You” is the furthest thing from it. This song is about the joy that can be found simply by letting go.

5. “Top of the World,” Shonen Knife
If you’re going to sing a super-happy fun song by The Carpenters, you ought to be part of an all-girl punk band from Osaka, blaring it away with a heavy Japanese inflection. Only then does “Top of the World” achieve its fullest flower.

Discuss: What do you play to make you feel better?

Super Happy Number 1!

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When I thought about doing a Top 5 list of underrated rock musicians, I quickly realized that this could easily become a Top 100 list. I’m sure we’ll see a reoccurrence of this category, but for today’s post, I’m listing the Top 5 my mind keeps coming back to.

1. Roger Taylor
Queen is a band of giants – gigantic talent, gigantic stage presence. So it can be hard to stand out against the larger-than-life Freddie Mercury or guitar-god Brian May. But listen to any one of Queen’s numerous live recordings, and Taylor’s presence is essential where his raspy harmonies are as constant as his high hat/snare combos. When Taylor and May toured as part of Queen + Paul Rodgers, Taylor got to step out from behind the kit to sing lead on such immortal numbers as his own “Radio Ga-Ga.” Speaking of which …

2. Paul Rodgers
Rodgers‘ ubiquitous presence on classic rock radio as part of Bad Company means that he’s synonymous with ’70s standards such as “Can’t Get Enough” and “Feel Like Makin’ Love.” Look beyond the El Camino-rock, though, and you’ll find an artist who has had an enormous influence on early blues-rock (think Free’s “All Right Now”) and a singer with a power voice with an impressive range.

3. Extreme
The Boston quartet’s 1989 debut seemed heavily influenced by Van Halen and and hair spray. But underneath all that Aquanet was a band with killer chops (lead by Nuno Bettencourt’s blazing guitar) and harmonies as formidable in the studio as on stage. Extreme’s sound would later encompasse elements of folk, funk, blues, and even the symphonic, but all with a hard-rocking edge, and would run the lyrical gauntlet that took them away from sexploitation tunes like “Teacher’s Pet” and “Li’l Jack Horny” towards introspection and religious and social commentary.

4. Screaming Trees
Screaming Trees deserve more than to just be a foot note in the decapitated history of the Seattle grunge scene. The band never became as legendary, but their sound evokes the best of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam – earnest and sorrowful without any pretension.

5. Alex Lifeson
Nothing sent me into a white-hot rage faster than when I saw Rolling Stone excluded Lifeson from its list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. I immediately set about collecting as much dog waste and lighter fluid I could find. My goal was to have at least 400 pounds of canine feces in paper bags that I would set alight in the lobby of the magazine’s New York offices. It would be up to Jann S. Wenner to stamp out said flaming bags, as required by his role as editor and publisher, and whoa, would he get a surprise!

Ultimately, the logistics involved with getting that much dog crap into Manhattan proved too much. Chances are the editorial department would be too preoccupied with fact-checking stories on Diablo Cody and with its Megan Fox photo shoot to notice several hundred pounds of burning dog feces in its foyer.

So, to summarize, Alex Lifeson rocks.

underrated

All the signs were there: The bottomless Resident Evil series, a crappy sequel to “28 Days Later,” Jane Austen, Woody Harrelson … The zombies are coming, make no bones about it. Make sure your iPod is properly cued when they do.

Top 5 songs for the upcoming Zombie Apocalypse

1. “Re: Your Brains,” Jonathan Coulton

You always knew that your coworkers were zombies. Now finally, the cards are on the table. All they very reasonably want is to simply gnaw on your grey matter.

2. “Don’t Stop Me Now,” Queen

While the eponymous character and his friends in “Shaun of the Dead” need to bring the pain, they bring the Queen … somewhat accidently.

3. “Sleepwalker,” Jim’s Big Ego

Jim Infantino describes the life of a real-life zombie in everything but name.

4. “Zombie,” The Cranberries

I like to think of this song as being song by a zombie, which accounts for the shrieking and gutturals of The Cranberries’ singer Dolores O’Riordan.

5. “Le Moribond,” Jacques Brel

Known in English as “Seasons In The Sun,” made famous in English by artists like The Kingston Trio and Terry Jacks, and made good by Nirvana. Think back fondly to the world that was, for it is now overcome by hungry, hungry zombies.

Know what? Your big fat head would look good in a vice grip. But since you sold me that faulty smoke detector and my house burnt down, my vice grip is nothing more than a chunk of blackened, twisted metal. So here’s the next best thing. This play list is for you:

Top 5 songs dedicated to those whose head would look good in a vice grip

1. “Asshole,” Jim’s Big Ego
In contrast to its gentle pop sound, the lyrics cut pretty deeply. Sometimes you can look at someone’s attitude from all angles, try to be understanding, and still come up with the conclusion that they’re just an asshole.

2. “Death On Two Legs (Dedicated To …),” Queen
Though the song never mentions by name or association who Freddie Mercury was referring to, it’s an open secret that “Death On Two Legs” is dedicated to Queen’s former manager. Mercury would dedicate this song to a “a real mother—- of a gentleman” during live performances.

3. “Everything About You,” Ugly Kid Joe
As pop metal was on its way out of the mainstream, Ugly Kid Joe scored this hit, ticking off how they “hate everything about you,” in the most upbeat way possible. What other song could have had hordes of kids in acid washed jeans shout in unison, “I think sex is overrated too!”

4. “Song For The Dumped,” Ben Folds Five
In his excellent book, Mike Nelson’s Move Megacheese, Nelson takes Nora Ephorn to task over the way the character of Walter behaves after being dumped by Meg Ryan for Tom Hanks in Sleepless In Seattle: “Walter, instead of doing the manly thing by crying and punching a car, behaves like a gentleman and lets her go gracefully. What the hell is that all about? … Any real man would send her tapes of Cure songs they both liked, or call her once a month at closing time and ask her drunkenly, ‘Are you happy? I zjust w’nna make zsure you’re happy.’ I suppose Ephron was showing men how women would like them to behave when they get dumped.” Sorry, Ephron. We behave more like Folds in “Song For The Dumped.” Deal with it.

5. “One More Minute,” “Weird Al” Yankovic
The man says it best: “I’d rather have 100,000 paper cuts on my face, than spend one more minute with you.”

Top 5 songs dedicated to those whose head would look good in a vice grip

Runners up: “You Oughtta Know,” Alanis Morissette; “Aluminum,” Barenaked Ladies; “Hey Fuck You,” Beastie Boys; “If I’d Shot Her When I Met Her (I’d Be Outta Jail by Now),” Diesel Doug and the Long Haul Truckers; “Mutha’uckas,” Flight of the Conchords; “Unforgiven,” Metallica; ”Terrible Lie,” Nine Inch Nails.

Addendum: I wrestled with giving the Number 5 spot to “Kim” by Eminem. The reason I didn’t is that, while this playlist deals with being royally pissed at someone, there’s a vein of humor that runs through each of these songs. Whereas the subject matter in “Kim” is deadly serious. As a piece of music, however violent, “Kim” is worth discussing. Where “‘97 Bonnie And Clyde” was unnerving in that Eminem is co calmly narrating dumping his ex’s body to his little daughter, “Kim” takes the opposite route. Resembling a one-act play, its intensity is truly frightening, and not for the faint of heart. Nevertheless, it taps into the darkest place of anyone’s heart who has truly been spurned, and can be viewed as a cautionary tale of what happens when anger gets the best of you.

Kim

Well, the dog days of summer are officially here. Eggs are frying on the sidewalks, smog is being inhaled with great enthusiasm by the tourists atop Cadillac Mountain, and constant humidity has rendered our brains into a silly, putty-like substance. So cool off with the final entry of Duets Week:

1. “California Stars,” Billy Bragg and Wilco
Pared-down, wistful, yet chipper, this song is worth getting stuck in your head.

2. “Under Pressure” Queen and David Bowie
Recorded almost on a whim, Queen’s only collaboration before Freddie Mercury’s death hits all the right notes.
Vanilla Ice be damned.

3. “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan
Just pretend we aren’t on the cusp of August. This standard has been done by many a duo – Ray Charles/Betty Carter’s 1962 collaboration comes to mind, as does, for some reason, a performance by David “Buster Poindexter” Johansen and Sigorney Weaver on Saturday Night Live in 1986. But no one does it like Ella.

4. “Homeless”/”Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes,” Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Paul Simon’s “Graceland” album is perhaps the greatest ambassador of world music to a mainstream audience. These two songs, recorded with South African a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, are beautiful enough to give you goosebumps on even the hottest summer days.

5. “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough,” Patty Smyth & Don Henley
I can only assume that Henley was performing an act of contrition for his time with the Eagles when he joined Smyth for this tender, remorseful ballad.

Top 5 (More) Duets

Runners up: “You Don’t Know Me,” Ben Folds and Regina Spektor; “Have A Cigar,” Foo Fighters and Brian May; others too numerous to mention. What duets do-it for you?

Today, we’re incredibly lucky to have a guest post by musical renaissance man and my friend Andrew Thomas, who has put together one of the best Top 5 lists in all of Planet Houston. Check out his most recent collection of his own musical masterpieces here.– JS

I’ve learned some important things putting this list together. First, Superman is really popular. It would be incredibly easy to make an entire top five list of only Superman-related songs. Second, not every song that mentions a superhero in its lyrics is really about a superhero. Last, but not least, creating a top five playlist is hard work, so we should all be thankful that our gracious host John is here to do the dirty work for us.

And now, in the immortal words of recently-retired master of counting-down Casey Kasem, “It was a little dog named Snuggles On with the countdown!”

Top Five Superhero/Villain Songs

1. “Jimmy Olsen’s Blues,” The Spin Doctors

It’s tough out there for a young photojournalist. You’re given unrealistic deadlines by cigar-chomping bosses, you’ve got adventures to go on, and to top it all off, you’re starting to get funny feelings about that female journalist who seems to have a thing for Superman. What’s a cub reporter to do? Fill a pocket with the Man of Steel’s only weakness, and get The Spin Doctors to write a song from his point of view, that’s what.

2. “Ballad of Barry Allen,” Jim’s Big Ego

Jim Infantino, lead singer/songwriter/head Ego of Jim’s Big Ego, has superhero blood. It’s true – he’s related to one of the creators of The Flash (aka mild-mannered Barry Allen). Paying tribute to his uncle Carmine Infantino’s creation in song, Jim and fellow Egos make the listener empathize with a guy who moves at the speed of light, and imagine how slow we must look in comparison. Side note – Carmine also created the cover art for They’re Everywhere, the album where this song appears.

3. “Flash’s Theme,” Queen

And now, we move from The Flash to a Flash of a different sort. You can be pedantic and say Flash Gordon isn’t really a superhero per se, but according to the song, he’s the SAVIOR OF THE UNIVERSE! What? That’s not heroic enough? HE’LL SAVE EVERY ONE OF US! HE’S A MIRACLE! What more do you people want?

4. “Particle Man,” They Might Be Giants

When you’re tired of all the normal superheroes, sometimes the best thing to do is make up a few new ones. Give them a defining power or characteristic. If you can create rivalries between them and have them duke it out amongst themselves, even better. If you can write a song about it, then, you might be a member of They Might Be Giants.

5. “Laundry Day (My Freeze Ray),” Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible – from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

And finally, jumping to the supervillain side of things, we have this song of unrequited, megalomaniacal love. Dr. Horrible isn’t so horrible now, is he? He’s just a sweet, shy young man who’s longing for the love of the beautiful girl at the laundromat. Oh, and he wants to take over the world. But he’s humane – it’s not a death ray, after all.

Top Five Superhero/Villain Tunes

Runners up: Magneto and Titanium Man – Wings; Superman – Lazlo Bane, the Kinks, and anyone else who’s ever recorded a song called “Superman”
Not-even-runner-up: Hero – Enrique Iglesias.

You’re driving the Batmobile, which means you get to plug an 8-Track into the aged BatTapedeck. What’s on your supermix? And could you even record onto an 8-Track? Discuss …