America to Americans

she will always try to guess how much but never why

"America," Prince and the Revolution
"America," Simon and Garfunkel
"America," Vigilantes of Love
"America, What's Happened to You?" Spicewood Seven
"American Girl," Tom Petty
"American Idiot," Green Day
"American Love Affair," Tonio K.
"American Music," Violent Femmes
"American Roulette," Robbie Robertson
"American Tune," Paul Simon
"American Without Tears," Elvis Costello

Comments

[Ray]

What?!?! What about
Zebra - The Magnetic Fields
Zero PM - The BellRays
Zither - REM
Zoo Station - U2
Zoom! - Super Furry Animals
????

That's the trouble with America (Simon and Garfunkel) and, indeed, all of American Life (Primus) - you keep forgetting that America Is Not The World (Morrissey).

[Jos]

What? How could you miss 'America' by Hugh Laurie?

(http://youtube.com/watch?v=z4tDP-yMwXI)

[Reileen]

Simon and Garfunkel FTW.

[Mark]

America - Razorlight
American English - Idlewild
American Gigolo - Weezer
American Idiot - Green Day

[Stacia]

What, no "America" by Neil Diamond?

Coincidentally, I was talking to my husband about "The Jazz Singer" just yesterday. Neil Diamond movies aren't a common topic in my household. Neil Diamond's acting isn't too bad, but hey, he's no Kris Kristofferson.

[nathanielperson]

America (Closing Time) - Allen Ginsberg & Tom Waits
America Is Waiting - Brian Eno & David Byrne
American Pie - Don McLean
American Wedding - Gogol Bordello

I'm not sure whether that first one was an actual collaboration, or if someone just spliced together Ginsberg's reading and Waits's music. Either way, it's excellent.

[Mart]

No "America" by Spinal Tap?

[pepperjackcandy]

W00t! I have one this time!

America Street -- Edwin McCain

What?!?! What about
Zebra - The Magnetic Fields

I feel very Zen or something at the moment. I have seven "Z" titles, and yet I have no "Z" titles.

This is because all of my "Z" titles are actually the hanyu pinyin romanization of Mandarin song titles.

[Praline]

Eva Cassidy's verion of 'American Tune' is very pretty too. She fiddles the words a bit, but her singing is lovely.

[wanderingoutlaw]

Ones not mentioned so far:

America - Allen Ginsberg (poetry)
American For Me - Roger McGuinn
American Squirm - Nick Lowe

[Chris]

"America, FUCK YEAH" - "Team America: World Police" soundtrack

[DP]

other ones I have not seen yet...

America the Beautiful - Ray Charles
American Dream - Lucinda Williams
American Girls - Counting Crows
American Patrol - Glenn Miller

Just outside, but close enough:

Americano - Brian Setzer Orchestra
Amerika v6.0 (The Best We Can Do) - Steve Earle

[Jon]

America - Jewel
American Nightmare - The Misfits

[Tonio]

American Woman by the Guess Who

Would songs by the band America count? Imagine if they had a song also named "America." The only other example of that I know is Iron Maiden's self-titled song.

[Bruce in South Florida]

Tonio forgot the odd bagpipe-like guitar sound on "In a Big Country", by the band Big Country on the album "Big Country"

[Tonio]

Thanks for the reminder, Bruce. U2 broke in America about the same time that Big Country and Dexy's Midnight Runners had their hits. At the time I wondered if this was a new trend of Scotch/Irish rock.

[Giving Scott Attention]

Scott,
In the early 90's (sorry, no cite), the then Wittenberg Door ran a glossary of baptist terms, wherein moderate was in fact defined as liberal, but as no baptist in their right mind would be considered liberal by any sane, correct-thinking person, they were left with the term moderate.
It being The Door this was supposed to have been humorous, and yet it matched nicely with what was current 15 years ago, and probably still today.

[Michael Cule]

How many of those songs are covers of Bernstein and Sondheim's AMERICA from West Side Story? Shouldn't they get some credit?

[cminus]

As always, leaving out what Fred already has (though I'm taking credit for his owning "American Idiot," since I strongly recommended that album in an earlier installment):

"America," Spinal Tap
"America Is," Violent Femmes
"America, Fuck Yeah," D.V.D.A. (from the Team America: World Police soundtrack)
"American Jim," C Average
"American Made," Jack Off Jill
"American Music," Violent Femmes
"American UFO," John Southworth
"American Wake," Black 47
"American Woman," The Guess Who

Not a lot today, I guess. Most recommended: "American Wake."

What?!?! What about
Zebra - The Magnetic Fields

I think last time through the alphabet Fred did the entire letter "Z" in one fell swoop. So, except for new people and new music, we wouldn't be reminding him of anything he hadn't already been prompted to consider owning before.

[Ray]

He's been through the alphabet before? Oh, my poor memory.

Hmm, speaking of American Idiot
"North American Scum,"

[noyatin]

American Music - The Blasters
American Land - Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen

[noyatin]

Also, from the 1970's, the Starland Vocal Band ("Afternoon Delight") had a very lovely acapella version of Paul Simpn's "American Tune."

[cminus]

Tonio, Bruce:

In addition to what you've already cited, my collection includes:

"Black 47," Black 47
"Blue Oyster Cult," Blue Oyster Cult
"Factory Of Angst," Factory Of Angst
"Hallelujah The Hills," Hallelujah The Hills
"Living In A Box," Living In A Box
"The Ballad Of Mott The Hoople," Mott The Hoople
"Talk Talk," Talk Talk
"They Might Be Giants," They Might Be Giants
"Wonderland," Wonderland

And, somewhat lamely, "This Is Radio Clash" and "Clash City Rockers" by the Clash, "The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight" by Dominatrix and "Nursehellamentary" by Nursehella. Somewhat more lamely still, I can add "We're From Barcelona" by I'm From Barcelona and "The Ballad Of Cedric Fruvous" by Moxy Fruvous.

There's actually some damn good songs in the list above. The Black 47, Blue Oyster Cult, Hallelujah The Hills, Wonderland and Nursehella tracks all get five stars from me, and the Mott The Hoople, They Might Be Giants, Clash and Moxy Fruvous tracks are definitely worth owning as well.

Incidentally, is anyone else familiar with "Wonderland," by Wonderland? I picked it up several years ago as part of a free demo sampler, and it's quality heavy metal that makes me want to check out more by the band. However, I can't find anything about them anywhere (they're clearly not the same as the krautrock outfit Wonderland Band).

[Tonio]

Cminus, thanks for the list. Part of the problem is that I'm not very social and Top 40 radio is almost dead. So my mental collection of musical knowledge has some dust on it - the last new artists I got into were Green Day, Sarah McLachlan, and the Cranberries. I honestly don't know how people hear about new bands without going to parties or dance clubs. It was YEARS before I learned the title and artist of the vanilla-is-the-finest-of-the-flavors song ("One Week" by Barenaked Ladies") Ditto for Cake's "Going the Distance." I sometimes use iTunes but wading through new releases is a chore.

[Lev]

American Hearts - Piebald (www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4ls0uY3O_c)

I don't have my ipod with me, but I know this song's on there. Great band. I'll miss them. And kudos to cminus for including Spinal Tap.

[AlabamaYankee]

Given the political state of the nation these days how could you overlook Steppenwolf's cry from the heart, "Monster/Suicide/America"? Sadly, it's even more relevant now than it was when they recorded it in '68 or '69. The lyrics are here for those of you not fortunate enough to be around during the greatest years or Rock: http://www.steppenwolf.com/lyr/mnnster.html

[vanya]

"America" - John Fahey. That's the only new track I have to offer. This is a pretty horrific range to have to pick from though - Neil Diamond, Don McClean, Simon & Garfunkel, Tom Petty? It's like a nightmare - the kind of music our high school music teacher would have liked, just gives me the shivers. Thank God for Spinal Tap and Gogol Bordello.

Too bad "Amerika" is out of range.

[Sour Kraut]

Also forgot "American Dreaming" by Dead Can Dance.

[mcc]

"America", Howard Hello
"America", M83
"American Flag", Cat Power

[JM]

American Girls -- recorded by members of Weezer, Cake and Soul Coughing for some soundtrack. I can't remember what name they recorded under, but everyone on file-sharing sites has it listed under Weezer anyway. A great song, structurally simple but very satisfying.

[Tim Lehnerer]

I'm not intentionally duplicating anyone else's results:

American / B.J. Snowden (Songs in the Key of Z v.2)
The American Astronaut / The Billy Nayer Show (The American Astronaut OST)
American Land / Bruce Springsteen (We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions)
American Music / The Blasters (Testament: The Complete Slash Recordings)
American Nightmare / The Crimson Ghosts (Some Kinda Hits)
American Nightmare / The Misfits (Legacy of Brutality)
American Nightmare / Tiger Army (Early Years EP)
American Party Song / Chuck Aherns and the Cannonballs (45 single)
American Skin (41 Shots) (Live) / Bruce Springsteen (Essential Bruce Springsteen)
American Squirm / Nick Lowe (Basher: The Best of Nick Lowe)
American Survival / The New Math (Wake the Dead)
An American Trilogy / Elvis Presley (2nd to None)
The Americans / John Mellencamp (Freedom's Road)

If you're only going to get one of those out of a sense of curiosity, go with "The American Astronaut". It's from the soundtrack to a movie described by Entertainment Weekly as a Laurel and Hardy skit directed by Salvador Dali. I agree with this assessment.

[Dylan]

"American Dream," Switchfoot
"American Tragedy," Tait

There's only 1 other song in my collection that actually meets this week's theme ("American Girls," Counting Crows) and it's already been mentioned.

[wintermute]

We came like babies
From our home across the sea to see America
And the people opened up their arms
To welcome us... to America
We came like children
From a far and distant land to see America
And the golden sun of freedom
filtered down to us, in America
And the people stood and stared
Loved us more than we had dared to, in America
Super highways here and there
Pretty womens everywhere
Brady Bunch and Smokey Bear
Buildings reaching to the sky
Afro-sheen and apple pie
PTA and FBI
Jumbo jet begins to rise
A joyful nation waves its bye-byes
Each religion, race, and creed
gets exactly what they need
God bless Johnny Appleseed

[Rev Dave]

Bruce, Tonio, cminus:
Don't forget the classic "Bad Company" by Bad Company - and I think even the album was called Bad Company. Go on, just try to get that song out of your head now.
Ok, yes, I'm a little embarrassed for thinking of it. And worse, with no ipod with me, I can't think of anything to add to the America list.
Gawd I'm old.

[Bruce in South Florida]

Rev Dave: I just heard the song "Bad Company" on the radio a few days ago. Silly me...

[Lev]

JM

The band was called Homie (Cuomo's idea I believe), and it was from the Meet the Deedles soundtrack. Meet...the Deedles.

[Tonio]

Since I used to work for a country music radio station..."American Made" by the Oak Ridge Boys

When I first learned that Iron Maiden had a self-titled song, I imagined a heavy metal reworking of the Monkees theme: "Hey hey, we're Iron Maiden, people say we maiden around..."

Another category of songs may be ones where one could switch the band name and song title and they would make just as much sense.

[borealys]

Not much to add today:

America - Sky
American Pie - Don McLean
American Psycho - Treble Charger
American Woman - The Guess Who
American Woman - Lenny Kravitz

*ponders the irony of the fact that more than half of her titles for this particular entry are by Canadian bands...*

[Lev]

TREBLE CHARGER!!! HA!!!

I just tried listening to that CD for the first time in four years about a week ago. Couldn't do it. That's a decent song though. I'm trying to remember if there's any America songs by Flashlight Brown. Maybe the Salads? (that last one was a joke)

[Ray]

"I honestly don't know how people hear about new bands without going to parties or dance clubs."

Mix CDs. A bunch of us did CDs for each other in January with our most-played-songs-added-in-2007.

[Linkmeister]

America, Chita Rivera & Girls, "West Side Story"
America, Neil Diamond
America the Beautiful/We Shall Overcome, O'Landa Draper & The Associates

[coffeedryad]

Nothing that hasn't been mentioned already, unless we can pretend that "Death of an American" by the Pogues or "Ne valyai duraka, Amerika" by Lyube count. (Lyube, incidentally, is another band with a song more or less named after themselves - "Lyubertsy" is the area of Moscow they're from, if I understand correctly.)

[borealys]

Oh, please. No way is having a few Treble Charger tracks (I actually still rather like the album Maybe It's Me) more embarrassing than having a Sky track. I stand by my choice for Most Embarrassing Song on My List This Week.

Oh, and yeah, I do still like both tunes. What can I say, I have a sentimental attachment for the music of my high school and undergrad years.

"I honestly don't know how people hear about new bands without going to parties or dance clubs."

Mix CDs. A bunch of us did CDs for each other in January with our most-played-songs-added-in-2007.

Another good way to find new music ... podcasts. You can find all sorts of specialty podcasts showcasing different kinds of music. You may have to trial-and-error your way through a few before finding the ones that suit your tastes.

(I like the CBC Radio 3 podcasts for indie pop-rock and folkish singer-songwriter stuff - and their occasional forays into hip-hop and dance are also usually pretty good. Only problem is that there're too freaking many of them. I think they're up to something like eight per week.)

Oh, and of course, lists like these. :) Excellent way to discover some new tunes.

[Ishmayl]

American Girl - Dave Matthews Band

[Tonio]

Thanks, Borealys. I don't own an iPod or an MP3 player so any music I buy from iTunes or Rhapsody goes directly onto CDs for car listening. I understand I cannot copy a podcast onto a CD.

[coffeedryad]

I was asleep or something. I meant, of course, "Body of an American".

[Lev]

No offense meant borealys. God knows I haven't thrown out any of my Mest or Starting Line CDs. I even went to Warped Tour last year and sang along with every song in New Found Glory's set. Good times.

[cminus]

Rev Dave: Good one, but in my defense I was limiting myself to music I own. Otherwise, the list gets unmanageably long pretty soon: "Theme From 'The Monkees'" by the Monkees, "Stray Cat Strut" by the Stray Cats, "Bo Diddley's A Gunslinger" by Bo Diddley (which I have, but in the Warren Zevon cover), "Damn Yankees" by Damn Yankees, "Green Day" by Green Day, "Bad Religion" by Bad Religion, "Minor Threat" by Minor Threat, "Atari Teenage Riot" by Atari Teenage Riot, "Dog Police" by Dog Police, "Are You Jimmy Ray?" by Jimmy Ray...

[borealys]

Heh, no offense taken. I still say owning a Sky album is waaaaay more embarrassing than owning a Treble Charger album, though. :)

[cminus]

Alabama Yankee: "Monster/Suicide/America" is overlooked only because "America" is at the end of the name. The world is definitely ready for a new version of the song. Past due, even.