Sharelist #14 — Dive Bar Jukebox
Dive Bar Jukebox, by Pete
May 9, 2021 — Here’s one I’ve been working on for a bit now, and while it bears quite a few nods to Kent’s drank list, this one began with a few specific ideas:
a) When I say “dive bar jukebox” I’m thinking of songs I’ve played or heard or wished I played or heard while at Springwater or Dino’s or Edgefield or Red Door or Villager or Twin Kegs or a host of other places I may have gone in the past to drink beer, play darts, shoot pool, smoke cigarettes, or hope to make out with someone in a dark corner. To me, this is that soundtrack. It’s a little gritty and a little bluesy and a little rock n roll, with an occasional crowd pleaser. There’s no Journey, no Poison, no Girls Just Want to Have Fun. This ain’t karaoke, it’s for a god damn dive bar.
b) There’s a tension with jukebox selections: you want to seem cool but you want to please the crowd; you want to reflect the mood but maybe change the mood if you think your song could do that; similarly, you want some variety in your choices: of tempo, artist, etc; and finally, you want to get your money’s worth but don’t want to be the asshole who played Freebird 3 times in a row. Or something too obscure or unlikely to please the masses.*
c) Jukeboxes typically give you 3 songs for $5 or whatever, so this one is broken down into groups of 3, though many of the “breaks” have a pretty decent flow as well.
With that introduction, I present list #14. Enjoy!!
1) Been Down So Long, The Doors. LA Woman was a solid album, and their most rock/bluesy as they stepped away from the more poetry/psychedelic sound. I chose this track over the more popular Roadhouse Blues as it carries a little more edge and has a great guitar sound.
2) Remedy, The Black Crowes. The Crowes could have been better. I like a lot of their sound, but it seems like too many of their songs just don’t quite come together. Remedy is definitely an exception, with the band in top form.
3) Fat Bottomed Girls, Queen. This is a crowd pleaser, pure and simple. But not annoying like a Sknyrd or Journey song. Triple 20 on the darts, bitches.
4) Checkin’ Up on My Baby, Taj Mahal. I came across Taj Mahal a while back and enjoy the early stuff. I felt this version was slightly superior to the album version, but the song has a great rhythm and tone of a good blues song.
5) The Working Man, Creedence Clearwater Revival. When I first got into CCR in high school it was a regular soundtrack to hot, muggy Houston nights. This one works for the riffs, the rhythm, and the nod to blue collar drinking at a dive bar.
6) Ballad of a Well-Known Gun, Elton John. Admittedly, I knew the Lion King soundtrack by heart well before I became aware of Tumbleweed Connection and other early Elton. Ballad has been a favorite from the album and has the right sound for a dive bar.
7) La Grange, ZZ Top. Technically, this is about a brothel not a dive bar. But in Texas, there’s not necessarily much of a distinction. God Bless Texas.
8) A Quick One While He’s Away, The Who. Like the Black Crowes, the Who should have been better. A lot of their songs don’t quite work for me, but they’re excellent musicians. This one has a lot of their best attributes, and I went with a live version rather than studio cut because it seemed to have just a bit more energy.
9) Cold Water, Tom Waits. This was the first song I chose for this list. It just sounds like a dive bar to me. The beat, the chords, the vocals: I hear this song and it is the sound of booze being drank in a dark smoky room.
10) Cold Shot, Stevie Ray Vaughan. An entire SRV album would be appropriate for a dive bar. Cold Shot has a groove and a jam to it that pushed it to the top for inclusion on this list. Again, God Bless Texas. (except Ted Cruz. Fuck you, Ted!)
11) Achilles Last Stand, Led Zeppelin. I think Presence is an underappreciated album. Which is understandable because it follows a masterpiece or six. But it has some good stuff, and this first track is a beauty.
12) Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, AC/DC. Initially, I didn’t really want to like AC/DC for some reason, but over the years I’ve come to appreciate more of their stuff, even as the band underwent various iterations. This album is hit and miss, but dive bars are where dirty deeds are contemplated.
13) Country Honk, Rolling Stones. By now you know every playlist of mine will feature a Stones song (so far). This song is for the flirty times at the dive bar. Raise a glass, sneak a wink.
14) House of the Rising Sun, The Animals. Dear Dive Bar, please let me get drunk and have a great time but I don’t want to get arrested or get herpes.
15) Red House, Jimi Hendrix. So many Hendrix options to choose from, but Red House seemed like the best place to wrap things up. Throw that bullseye, close out your tab, and give that girl a reason to come home with you.
*Bonus:
16) The Trial, Pink Floyd. There’s a good story about one time Jeff and I were at Elysian Inn and he gave me 3 song selections. No idea what 2 of them were, but 1 of them was “The Trial” from The Wall. It might be one of the least conducive songs for creating the mood that most bars are trying to put out there. I think a few fellow patrons were grumbling what the hell is this and who’s ass should we kick, etc. Of course, I was the only guy in there dressed like Matthew McConaughey from Dazed and Confused, so we knew there was little question who chose that song. Maybe we played Freebird after and got out while we could? I don’t actually remember. But here it is, even though it shouldn’t be.
