All This Life<\/strong><\/a>, and it contains 15 songs that absolutely found their roots in other, better, songs. At this point in my old age, my thievery has created something of a pop-culture gumbo, a giant stew of musical contraband with too many influences (hopefully) to be traced to any one artist. In fact, it might someday be accepted as my own personal style. Until then, though, you can probably trace my creations back to any one of these wonderful songs, which are listed in no particular order (although the first song is undoubtedly first for a reason). There are hundreds more, but these are the first ones that popped (ha ha! \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Popped!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Cause I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m writing about pop music!) into mind.<\/p>\nNOTE<\/strong>: I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t include certain songs that have informed my love of rock music from the start \u00e2\u20ac\u201c \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Johnny B. Goode,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d say, or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Whole Lotta Shakin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Goin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 On,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or even the entire Beatles catalogue, because, well, that stuff has influenced EVERYBODY. Even Miley. Maybe not Justin.<\/p>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Back on the Chain Gang,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The Pretenders<\/strong>
\nPretty much every song I come up with is my attempt to write \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Back on the Chain Gang.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Chrissie Hynde hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t written a bad song yet, but even if she did, her delivery is so raw, sexy and honest that she could transform it into something sublime. But \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Back on the Chain Gang\u00e2\u20ac\u009d contains something so hugely emotional and transcendent that I get caught up in it every time. And oh, the song \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a guitar lick at once jangly and melancholy (not to mention that amazing, descending triplet lead), a postpunk folk groove, a metaphorical lyric so sweet and mournful that it almost makes you forget the song is an upbeat rocker. Chrissie never overdelivers, and her restraint is as fascinating as the rest of it. I long to create something that contains so much emotion in such a pop-friendly package. <\/p>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Little Wild One (#5),\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Marshall Crenshaw<\/strong>
\nSweet, simple, and sexy, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Little Wild One\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a hard-rock screamer disguised as rockabilly pop. Crenshaw\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nifty ode to seething heartbreak seems so simple, but his delivery is full of such an intense, restrained passion that you cannot help but fall into it. Then you realize how well the melody blends with the lyrics \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the high notes in the chorus just make the whole thing more emotional. And then comes the bridge, which almost feels like another verse, in which Crenshaw\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s yearning can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be contained in one vocal track \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it becomes three. And the whole time, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a rocker with a great, twangy guitar. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Little Wild One\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is everything pop\/rock should be, and proof that the simplest melody and changes can allow for the most direct, intense communication.<\/p>\nTie, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Vienna\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\/\u00e2\u20ac\u009dA Matter of Trust,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Billy Joel<\/strong>
\nBilly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s The Stranger<\/i> is the first album I remember buying on my own. I like to think I used my own money, but how does a 7-year-old make money, besides scanning the couch cushions every few hours? Anyway, I wore that sucker out, even if I generally tuned out on the last two tracks (and who could blame me). \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Movin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Out\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was the song that attracted me, but more and more I was haunted by the gorgeous \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Vienna,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d which combined a folk-ballad aesthetic with enigmatic lyrics and a tough-as-nails delivery. To this day, I haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been able to figure out the mysteries of the melody, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve written a lot of songs trying.<\/p>\nMeanwhile, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153A Matter of Trust\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is just the perfect pop song. Great groove, simple but effective changes, a fantastic, circular melody, and is there a better key for power pop than D? The weak production on The Bridge<\/i> lessens the punch, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s there on 12 Gardens<\/i>, Billy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s latest live album. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s amazing \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the groove is right there from the beginning, and there aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a lot of detours, but man, does it soar.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Darling Be Home Soon,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The Lovin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Spoonful<\/strong>
\nSimply the most romantic song I know. Sebastian and the boys start with a calm folk melody and capture what it means to be in love in such a beautiful and mature way that it still brings tears to my eyes \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and best of all, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a trace of sentimental pap. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still trying to learn how to build a song so honestly.<\/p>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dried Up,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ass Ponys<\/strong>
\nI love so many tunes by the Ass Ponys, the late, great combo from Ohio (which fortunately lives on, in a fashion, as Wussy), but I think \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dried Up\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is the one I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been trying to catch up with the most. Like all the Ponys songs, it combines true Americana soul with a healthy dose of punk, and tells a novel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worth of stories in just a few lines. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also painfully honest, a screed that captures the true, sad nature of nostalgia (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re moving like a poem\/and it hurts to see you going\u00e2\u20ac\u009d) like the best Carver story. Whenever I get caught up in my own metaphors (or, worse, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153poetry\u00e2\u20ac\u009d), I try to think of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dried Up\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and how so little can accomplish so much.<\/p>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Unsatisfied,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Replacements<\/strong>
\nI started listening to punk in high school, and fell in love with the fierce, stripped-down energy, the anger, and (of course) the huge chunky guitar chords. But it took the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcMats to teach me that true punk attitude and penetratingly honest lyrics with soaring melodies aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mutually exclusive. I suppose some churlish infidel could label this as a building block to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153emo,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but really, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a burst of passion that just happens to kick ass. <\/p>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Wait Up,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Richard Julian<\/strong>
\nIf you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know who Richard Julian is, I strongly suggest you stop reading this post right now and remedy that immediately.<\/a> I was a fan of his even before I knew he grew up right down the street from me, and he just keeps getting better. Like all the best songwriters, he plays in all styles, from funk to blues to country. But while my favorite song of his changes every day, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Wait Up\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is the one that continues to amaze me with how well it creates a mood, a time. Even before the line \u00e2\u20ac\u0153there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s frost on Memorial Day,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re feeling it, thanks to the incredible guitar work and subtly descending melody. Every time I set out to write a new song, I think about how I can capture a feeling as well as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Wait Up.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t gotten there yet.<\/p>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sleepwalker,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the Kinks<\/strong>
\nI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not saying it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s my fave Kinks song, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly far from their best. But at a time when I was just teaching myself to play guitar, that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sleepwalker\u00e2\u20ac\u009d lick \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a variation of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Louie, Louie\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (but then again, aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t they all?) with a huge sound and a beat you can dance to \u00e2\u20ac\u201c informed about 90% of my songs from the time. And even now, it reminds me that there is nothing like a great, simple, chunky chord sequence to kick off a 3-minute rock song.<\/p>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Buddy Holly,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Weezer<\/strong>
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Buddy Holly\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is a simple, funny little pop song with the guitars turned up to eleven. As one who loves simple, funny little pop songs and <\/em>guitars turned up to eleven, it was quite a revelation to hear one song that encompassed both. See also Veruca Salt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153With David Bowie.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153No One Like You,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The Scorpions<\/strong>
\nOkay, judge if you must, but I love this shit. I know the first line on my CD is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a winter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tale plays in my head as I come undone,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but still\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6give me some crunchy power chords and a singer who knows how to wail about how chicks are hot and stuff and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m one happy boy. And before they became the poster boys for wussed-out powerless ballads, the Scorpions fuckin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 ROCKED. And here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they could switch from beautiful guitar ballad to pounding hard rock in the space of one song \u00e2\u20ac\u201c thus, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153No One Like You.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d They never really got the respect they deserved from the metalheads, who like to poke fun at diminutive, balding Klaus Meine and his almost ridiculously high caterwaul (of course, those same lunkheads fawn all over Geddy Lee, who admittedly has better hair). But I love the Scorps because they brought a healthy dose of power chord punk to the scene; they were unafraid to mix complex, melodic guitar lines (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Still Loving You\u00e2\u20ac\u009d) with the most basic, any-kid-can-play-that-after-one-month-of-lessons licks (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Rock You Like a Hurricane,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d anyone?). So even in my most introspective shoegazer tunes, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m always thinking about big, chunky guitar chords.<\/p>\nRockin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 in the Free (if you steal it) World,
\nMatt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
or, Songs I have been trying to rewrite for years Every writer, every musician, every artist is basically a thief. We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean to be, but we can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help it. We create because we love, so naturally what we create resembles what we love. Now, there are people who intentionally swipe someone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s words, music, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[14,21,20,19],"class_list":["post-202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-playpen","tag-lists","tag-music","tag-shameful-self-promotion","tag-truth-hurts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=202"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":209,"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202\/revisions\/209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattcasarino.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}