I work the nightshift. Four nights a week, every week, since May of this year. I'm part Travis Bickle, part Bodhisattva. I see the worst and quite often the best this city has to offer about 350 times a night. And I listen to a lot of classic rock.
Things I've learned from listening to classic rock in a room full of constantly changing people:
- Everybody loves CCR. It's totally foolproof.
- Joni Mitchell, not so much, surprisingly.
- If you're desperate to hear the words "Turn it up, man!", lay a little Back in Black on a brother.
- AC/DC, reportedly, has a better song than "Who Made Who".
- That song might be "You Shook Me All Night Long".
- Sometimes Jonathan Richman does sound like Neil Diamond.
- "Coney Island Baby" from the album of the same name just might be Lou Reed's best song ever.
- When AC/DC gets overplayed, reach for the Nazareth (but avoid the ballads).
- People like the Band almost as unanimously as they like CCR.
- If you turn off Led Zeppelin's "Ramble On" and turn on Jay-Z's new album, you will get your ass beat.
- Even the toughest thug (of a certain age) will soften a little for the Bee Gees' "How Deep Is Your Love".
mp3: "Sunset to Dawn" by the Sadies
