Song of the Day

**6/23/10

Europe - The Final Countdown

-----------------I'm in the middle of a vuvuzela, disallowed goal-filled mess called United States vs. Algeria. With overanxious kicking and less than stellar officiating, my tastes for music has become a little sarcastic and overly-heroic, just like Europe's "The Final Countdown."

K'NAAN created a World Cup playlist (Myspace promo much?) that includes kitschy tracks like Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" and Queen's "We are the Champions." Not all that creative, considering those songs are blaring in every middle school sporting game in America.

"The Final Countdown" has all the elements of a guts and glory hero-story. Of course there is a dramatic horn hook, but listen further into the song and you'll hear an 80's-fueled Footloose guitar face melter (I use the term loosely).

Take a look at this band promo-shot of Europe. These would be the guys to write this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jK-NcRmVcw

Band Aids

Just to start off, I'm not one that likes to incorporate personal baggage with them on their musical airplane. But hey - no one's got it all together, and that's as normal as a delicate setting on a washing machine. That's a face of music that not everyone wants to see, but you're grateful it's around whenever things get you down.

Whenever I'm in a funk, I gravitate towards hip hop and rap. It's a genre I can appreciate because what constitutes as an obstacle to me is eons away from the real problems these artists have seen. It is a humbling respect for true struggle that puts my problems in perspective. So here's a random compilation of Band Aids, and if you just take a minute and let it breathe (like K'naan), you create medication out of your own tribulations.

1. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - The Message

2. Kanye West - Never Let Me Down

3. Gang Starr - Moment of Truth

4. K'naan - Take a Minute

5. Tupac - Keep Ya Head Up

6. TLC - Waterfalls

7. Lupe Fiasco - Hip Hop Has Saved My Life