Tunes From the Team: Heroes and Villains

Whether they’re in our favorite books, television shows, movies, or in our everyday life, we look to our Heroes to show us the best side of ourselves.

Standard Daniel here, and although I am serious about my job as a web developer, I’m also very serious about television and movies. If you get to meet me, you’ll hopefully take away that I’m serious about a lot of things. I love the Marvel movies and shows, (Loki comes out on Wednesday), and I love watching athletes perform on the field (NBA playoffs are right now, and USA soccer had a big win last night against Mexico). My dad is one of my heroes, and I think teachers and police officers and doctors and ordinary people can all be heroes. In the immortal words of David Bowie,

Though nothing will drive them away,
We can beat them just for one day,
We can be heroes just for one day.

Heroes by David Bowie

Given that the song might be talking about an martial affair taking place during the cold war in West Berlin, the point still stands. Anyone of us can be heroes. Furthermore, you don’t have to be a hero for you’re entire life, you can be heroic for a small fraction of time, and you are a hero nonetheless. As much as we look up to the Superman (or Superwoman) amongst us, it’s the every-person, the blue collar hard hat lunch box working soul who we can look towards and see stoic heroism. Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters put it this way:

There goes my hero,
Watch him as he goes,
There goes my hero,
He’s ordinary.

My Hero by Foo Fighters

Stand Out Songs

My HeroFoo Fighters: The third single off their second album, 1997’s ‘The Colour And The Shape’, this rock anthem has some of the most driving drums off of any song during this period. That’s because on the intro and verses of the song, there are two drum kits being played; one focused mostly on the snare and hi-hat, and another focused on the rack and floor toms. The song is dedicated to ordinary, everyday heroes, but many believe the song is about Kurt Cobain, who was a close friend and band-made in Nirvana. Cobain died in 1994, effectively ending Nirvana, and Dave then focused his artistic attention to fronting Foo Fighters.

 

 

SupermanGoldfinger: If you played Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, you probably listened to this ska classic about a million times. The band was one of many acts crucial to the genre’s revival and third-wave ska. Also going along with this week’s theme, the band’s name is a reference to the James Bond antagonist Auric Goldfinger from the 1964 film Goldfinger.

My Heroes Have Always Been CowboysWillie Nelson: I will always be a proud Texan (it’s not always easy), and therefore I will always respect and love Willie Nelson. An original and kind soul, Willie is an Austin icon, and if you live here or come visit, you can see his statue in front of the Moody theater downtown.

AccordionMadvillain – “And get more cheese than Doritos, Cheetos or Fritos. Slip like Freudian, Your first and last step to playing yourself like accordion.” One of the most evil tag teams in music history, rapper MF Doom and producer Madlib are Madvillain.  Doom is known to team up with other artists, such as Danger Doom (with Danger Mouse), JJ Doom (with Jneiro Jarel). One of the greatest villains in music, Doom wore the same metal mask that Marvel’s Doctor Doom. He would sometimes hire other people to preform in his mask, robbing his fans of the true Doom. It’s not the nicest thing to do, but he is a villain.

Heroes and VillainsThe Beach Boys – This song cost around $310,000 (in 2020) to make, off the 1967 album “Smiley Smile” and the unfinished Smile project. A complex composition, it was originally not well received. Jimi Hendrix dismissed the single as “psychedelic barbershop quartet”. The pressure to produce the next Good Vibrations, and the reception of Heroes and Villians played a factor in Beach Boy Brain Wilson’s professional and psychological decline. Paul Lester, a British journalist, reported that Wilson had referred to the voices in his head as “heroes and villains.”

 

Quick Hits

A reminder that we all need, Seat Belt is a hardcore public service announcement from the International Superheroes of Hardcore. You should scream along next time you drive somewhere. “SEATTT BELLLTTTTT!!!!! BUCKLE YOUR SEATTT BELLLTTTT!!!!!” If you recognize the voices, the ISOH is punk band New Found Glory’s alter ego.

Spiderman is one of the greatest themes for any super hero out there. Peter Parker would surely be a fan of the Ramones, which is an amazing 1-2 punch of New York City power. Billie Eilish’s bad guy will get stuck in your head, leaving you to wonder what it would sound like if blink-182 did a cover. Not to worry, new.wav made a cover in the Southern California pop punk style, and it’s amazing. Kendrick Lamar’s All the Stars (feat. SZA) and Post Malone/Swae Lee’s Sunflower are two amazing songs from two amazing superhero movies (Black Panther,  and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse).

Here’s the list…

 

So go out there, listen to amazing music, and be heroic. Not all heroes wear capes, but you can if you want. And in the iconic words of super hero creator Stan Lee, EXCELSIOR!!