Hooray! I've been tagged by JoMilkman. And now I'm a house on fire! 5 moves of Doom! Russian Sweep! Kip Up! Leg Drop! Macho Man Elbow! Rock Bottom! Gore! Gore! Gore!

Enough Wrestling jokes. No seriously (seriously), I'm supposed to write about 7 songs, and then tag 7 other people who have blogs. Which stinks, because I only know like 7 people with blogs (who've all been tagged). Unless there are a few of you out there who have blogs but don't really talk about them (JEAN, KATIE!), I hereby tag all of you. You must write about 7 songs. Eventually that'll reach all of you.

Here we go:

1) Jimi Hendrix - Manic Depression

Aside from being the first Jimi Hendrix song I don't find daunting (daunting), this is a great song to introduce you to Jimi Hendrix. Please understand, this is not a "signature" song; for that I will point you to either Voodoo Child or Who Knows off the Electric Ladyland and Band of Gypsys (live). Manic Depression is a great example of Jimi's sense of rhythm in composing a song. Not many guitarists know how to create a song that drives with the guitar, bass and drum lines. I know a lot of 80's hair rock may have a great distortion guitar riff, or a great driving drum part. My take on 80's rock can be summed up in three lines:

"Cannon-ball! Cannon-ball-all"

"You've got to fight" bah-bah "For Your Right" bah-bah "To Parrrrrrrrrr-tay!" (Repeat "Cannon-Ball")

"Here I am"-bah-bum-bah-bah "Rocking Like a Hurricane!" (Repeat "Right to Party" and "Cannon Ball").

A lot of rock groups can have a great a rhythm guitar section, a great soloist, but honestly no one outside of Jazz circles really can lay down such complexity with such limited technology. True, Jimi did create a lot of technical innovations for guitarists and updated recording studio technology, but his genius was in anticipating a type-of rock jazz that would really take off decades after his passing.

2) Eric Clapton - "Layla"

Was this Eric and the Dominoes ("Domininoes" - Donald Trump SNL), or was this Cream? No matter, we all know it was Slowhand's work. Who else can make a personal story about desiring (and winning) your best friend's wife, and make it so…heart wrenching? It also has a nice layer of 4 separate guitar tracks. Pretty cool.

3) GZA - "Liquid Swords", Ghostface Killah - "Indy 500" and Wu Tang Clan - "Cream" and "Triumph".

Not wanting to cheat, I decided to lump my favorite Wu-Tang tracks together. What can I say about Wu Tang that isn't summed up in Jamie's post about the Wu? Well, a lot actually, since his post wasn't really about Liquid Swords. Wu Tang isn't gansta rap. It's a group of West-Coast real as can be mother f-ers who had an interesting life and told it in sweeping poems that made the worse conditions of Western capitalism seem, I dunno, idyllic. Sadly, everyone lumped the cartoonish and genre-spoofing violence of WT with the smut of so-called gansta rap. It used to bug me that people weren't realizing how insanely talented musicians they had to be to create such a mix of sonic and verbal syncopation. But I'm over it. That's what happens when a member (Old Dirty) actually takes MTV on a limo ride with him while he picks up his welfare check. Sigh.

Okay, this isn't supposed to be long. I'll finish it.

4) Jamiroquai - Canned Heat.

You know it as the "Napoleon Dynamite" song, but really it's a song. Jamiroquai is a great example of the musicianship that was possible during the disco-era. I know, I know, they're not from the 70's. But true Jamiroquai fans have to acknowledge that very few bands understand how to play good funk music.

5) Red Hot Chili Peppers -- Funky Monks

Except for these guys. RHCP is one of the best bands of our generation. They have pop-rock cred, they have California power-punk-cock-rock cred, and they have pure music cred. Everyone knows the story about how Flea (the bassist) was a killer jazz trumpet player, right? How his father knew some musician friends who knew from the time he was a little kid he would be a top-flight musician. Just listen to him. And then listen how John F(too lazy to look up last name) twists and turns Flea's bass-line in and out to form this really cool melody. I remember a Rolling Stone interview where they were working on interweaving 50's Doo-Wop, 60's Beach Boys, and 70's funk music into one big mix. Really most of their songs are amazing. I offer this one to you.

6) Dave Matthews - Satellite.

Kate, I admit. You were right to love Dave Matthews all those years. It's okay for me to be a sensitive man, and the world's just going to have to deal with it. This is a great tune which spotlights how Matthews acoustic guitar can sound like a violin on the intro, a mandolin on one chorus, and then a guitar again towards the end. Another good one is "American Baby." Despite being overused by the NBA over the summer, it is still a rocking political polemic about our current state of national affairs.

7) Hootie and the Blowfish - "Let Her Cry" and "Time"

Only because I think they're message of love and unity is worth mentioning. True, "Tucker Town", "Hootie and the Blowfish" and their new one, "Looking For Lucky," never quite reached the same zenith as "Cracked Rear View," but still they're a good band. Few people have the soulful voice of Darius Rucker.

One more? Okay, just for you Tyken.

8) Outkast - "Elevators"

Great song. If you haven't heard it, it was the song that really put Outkast on the map a few years ago. I remember going to my cousin's house (pronounced "cuz") and he had it playing. Man that track was slamming! I love Outkast, and if you love music, you do too.

Peace.

Oh, I have to tag 7 people? Well, I think all 7 people with blogs I know have been tagged. I tag Jean, Kate and the rest of you can just email me and if you want I’ll post your "7 songs".

Peace.