Announcing Your Presence With Authority

Another good observation from Bull Durham (almost as meaningful as "if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball".

Of course if you are going to announce your presence you want to be more successful in the delivery than Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh.

Some musical acts have done it successfully.  I'm talking about the ones where you felt the excitement upon hearing the first single or the first cut off their first album or CD from someone you'd never heard of before.  Not just a good song but something that immediately made you sit and and think - "listen up, this is something different".  You wanted to go out and tell your friends. In each case (except the last one), I heard the song before ever seeing the band or singer.

Five examples:

Purple Haze by The Jimi Hendrix Experience which I first heard on WNEW-FM (either Scott Muni or Roscoe played it).  The guitar sound unlike anything I'd ever heard  - are those actual notes he's playing? - combined with the bizarre lyrics.

Good Times, Bad Times by Led Zeppelin.  Not their best song (not even on that first album) but what a forceful way to "announce your presence".  Listen to the intro, Plant's voice kicking in and then the insane guitar break and the guitar riffs at the end.  All crammed into less than three minutes.

With A Little Help From My Friends by Joe Cocker.  His first release.  The voice overpowering and unique, converting a light-hearted Beatles pop romp into an anguished plea in 3/4 time.  Brilliant.


Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana.  I first heard this on the car radio and it was electrifying -it literally sent a sensation up my spinal cord into my brain with the opening riff.  Who was this?  Where did that sound come from?  Then I saw the video.  The best song of the 1990s.  And if you really want to know what the words are check out this earlier post.

I Need More Love by Robert Randolph & The Family Band.  A more recent entry from 2005.  This was the song I used as the first post for this blog.  I happened to be skipping around the TV one day and momentarily stopped on VH1 Soul and was about to move on when this video started.  I got hooked by the opening bass riff and then the feeling was amplified when the whole band kicked in.  Next I started hearing a guitar but couldn't see a guitar player and then realized that incredible sound was from a steel pedal guitar!!   As soon as the song ended I googled these guys to find out who they were.  Then I started buying their records and finally saw them in concert - one of the best live acts you'll ever see.