There are many types of camping, to simple car camping---just driving up your car to a commercial campsite (or one in a structured state park) and plopping your tent (or RV, but is that really camping?), or really roughing it backpacking, where you trek up and down hills, across streams, all the while carrying the weight of your belongings in your backpack. And while I've done the latter as recently as three years ago, my annual Roscoe weekend falls in between the two.
Music, of course, plays a big part of the experience. Many of us are big music fans, each with perhaps slightly different tastes. There is some new music, but much of the time, we reach back to our formative years for some songs that simply stand the test of time. I have blogged in prior years about many of these songs, but I have some, in particular that definite the camping experience for me.
These songs usually come from classic rock artists, song that really jam out, or a combination of the two. It's hard to describe, but the nature of the music puts you right back to a care-free era (many of the songs in my top ten came out in the late 1960's, for example, during, or perhaps inspired by, the Woodstock era, an event which took place in the Catskill mountains, away from civilization. And perhaps that is the spirit of the whole thing.
Although there are many songs that fit the experience, spanning my lifetime, and in particular, last year's "Gimme All Your Love" by Alabama Shakes (which is still on my list), and the current #2 "Hey No Pressure" by Ray Lamontagne, here are my top ten "camping songs":
10. Blue Rodeo, "Diamond Mine" (1989). In the late 1980's I was itching to go camping again and tried to find friends that wanted to do the same. I first heard this awesome jam on WDHA, a local rock station here in North Jersey. While it may have been a throwback, it was also had a fresh sound to it. Unfortunately, this Canadian band never really caught on here in the states---"Til I Am Myself Again" from 1991 did make the Alternative chart, but that was it, but they remain a key attraction at festivals north of the border.
9. Blues Traveler, "Mountain Cry" (1991). In my opinion, this great jam band from my home state, fronted by John Popper, got the short end of the deal. In spite of rock and blues beginnings (and this song from their debut does both), and also organizing the annual HORDE festival in the 1990's, they band had a huge hit several years later, "Runaround", and as a result was cast as a sort of "one-hit wonder" and never got their due after that. But this one, is a real throwback to an era where blues meant a lot in rock.
8. Cream, "Crossroads" (1969). The trio led by legend Eric Clapton had run its course by early 1969, when this live gem was released as a single, but it most efficiently captures the essence of what rock music was in early 1969. By this time, Clapton formed Blind Faith and went a step further to solidify his legend. But, it wasn't the final Cream single....that one is coming up.
7. Creedence Clearwater Revival, "I Put A Spell on You" (1968). Granted, it wasn't one John Fogerty and company's biggest hits (and there were certainly many of that), and it wasn't the original version, either (that would be credited to Screamin' Jay Hawkins), but I took to this one a bit later in life and realized how much heart and soul went into it. More bluesy than their subsequent swamp-ish hit sound, but it just added another dimension to this Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame band from San Francisco.
6. The Allman Brothers Band, "Whipping Post" (1969). This rock and blues classic is probably most remembered for its live performances, but there's something about this studio effort form their self-titled debut that really set the mark for "camping classics". In fact, out of the songs featured here, this was probably the first one that I realized to being out in the middle of nowhere, with a beer, hanging "at some crosstown bar" that did this for me.
5. Neil Young, "Powderfinger" (1979). This legend could have also made my list with "Like a Hurricane" or "Southern Man", but I went with this gem and sounded fresh, even for being ten years after the classic period which gave the world this sound. Then again, Neil has been relevant forever that anything he tackles can immediately become a classic. Heart and soul abound in this great song from is equally great Rust Never Sleeps collection.
4. Santana, "Samba Pa Ti" (1970). Another band that perfectly fits the mold. Their first three albums, with the classic Woodstock line-up defined Carlos' sound that, although has evolved over the years and taken many strange twists and turns, I could have picked five or six songs on this list, but had to settle on only two (one of them is coming up). Perhaps a slow dance or contemplation is in store when you hear this great instrumental from their Abraxas set.
3. The Allman Brothers Band, "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" (1970). Actually when I first heard this long-running instrumental jam, I thought this was Santana. But how could I have been mistaken? This is ultimate Allman Brothers blues jamming and I could listen to this one all night long. Party background music, but also first-hand listening too, it cures what ails ya. Written by Dickey Betts and Duane Allman, it's their duo solos that keeps this jam a movin'.
2. Cream, "Badge" (1969). Their last single release, several months after their break-up is a suitable parting piece, from their aptly-named Goodbye set. It sits there in the middle of nowhere, wondering where things will go next, and in a sense, it does leave you hanging. But you know that the ride getting there was a thrill. Co-written by George Harrison and Clapton, it's a great send-off to two years of magic between Clapton, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce. Felix Pappalardi also is in on this one; he would later join Mountain.
1. Santana, "Soul Sacrifice" (1969). This one is just bone chilling, and like some of the other songs on this list, you need to hear the live version. That of course, was the one featured at Woodstock, which put this band on the map and is still memorable all these years. Even more impressive is that the band was not yet a household name; its debut had just come out less than two months prior. But you sure as hell knew who they were after that. Carlos has played with many musicians over his long career, but it's with this line-up, including Neal Schon, Michael Shrieve, Gregg Rolie and Michael Carabello, that the band made its mark with their first three albums. It's no coincidence that the reunited line-up for their latest, Santana IV is a fave of mine, as "Anywhere You Want to Go" is currently in my top ten.
QUICKLY: Fitz & the Tantrums hang tough at #1 for a fourth week with "HandClap" while Ray Lamontagne's "Hey No Pressure" jumps to the runner-up spot, pushing Smash Palace's "My Mistake" to a still-strong #3. There isn't much new activity in the top 20, but a big mover is Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Dark Necessities" moving 60-27. "Trouble" by Cage the Elephant, the second single from the band's Tell Me I'm Pretty set, is the top debut at #79. Also entering is "Matador", by Palma Violets, the follow-up to the top 5 "Danger in the Club". Also debuting is "Fall Together" by Temper Trap, best known here for their 2010 top 5 hit "Fader" from their debut Conditions. Their second, self-titled album yielded the #55 "Need Your Love", and this one is from their third effort "Thick as Thieves". Parquet Courts, a band from New York City; Aurora, a Norwegian singer; Galactic, a New Orleans jam band and Alessia Cara, a pop singer from Canada round out the debuts, all with their debut SNS songs.
WAITING: As you may know, my SNS 100 is a live playlist of the current songs I am listening to on my iPod; it's my radio station, if you will. As such, it's a requirement that all songs must be available for download. Therefore two great songs haven't see the light of the charts as of yet. I have mentioned Paul Czekaj's "That Old New Jersey", in which he sings about some memorable places in the state that are no longer around; the video continues to rack up views (over 330,000 at last check), but wasn't released yet as an audio download. It now appears, however that the song is new available for download. Although "Up in the Sky" is still advancing in my top 20 (#14 this week), I will be jumping on the song next week. Also, Us Commoners, who had that holiday effort last December with "Christmas and Hanukkah" has an awesome new one in "The Hot Spot". Featured on SoundCloud, it's not yet available for download, but hopefully will very shortly. If it is next week, look for a big shootout for top debut between it, Czekaj's as well as Adele's new single 'Send My Love (To Your New Lover)".
Finally, The Voice Season10 finale is on tonight. I am rooting for Alisan Porter. Good luck!
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100
May 15 & 22, 2016
| This Week | Last Week | ARTIST-Title | Weeks on List |
| 1 | 1 | NUMBER ONE:
"HandClap"
Album: Fitz and the Tantrums
(4 weeks at #1)
|
7 |
| 2 | 6 | Ray Lamontagne - Hey No Pressure | 10 |
| 3 | 2 | Smash Palace - My Mistake | 9 |
| 4 | 4 | Kaleo - Way Down We Go | 11 |
| 5 | 7 | The Parlor - The Surgeon's Knife | 10 |
| 6 | 5 | Avid Dancer - I Feel It | 14 |
| 7 | 3 | Run River North - Run or Hide | 12 |
| 8 | 9 | Santana - Anywhere You Want to Go | 8 |
| 9 | 8 | Foals - Give It All | 14 |
| 10 | 11 | Declan McKenna - Brazil | 11 |
| 11 | 14 | Rachel Allyn - Next Year's Girl | 5 |
| 12 | 12 | Best Coast - In My Eyes | 7 |
| 13 | 13 | Mike Posner - I Took a Pill in Ibiza | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | Paul Czekaj - Up In the Sky | 6 |
| 15 | 10 | Half Moon Run - Turn Your Love | 22 |
| 16 | 18 | Wild Belle - Throw Down Your Guns | 6 |
| 17 | 19 | Santigold - Can't Get Enough of Myself | 10 |
| 18 | 21 | TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:
"The
Last Thing on My Mind"
Album: Hitch
|
12 |
| 19 | 16 | Golden Void - The Beacon | 12 |
| 20 | 20 | Halo Circus with Allison Iraheta - Desire | 7 |
|
|
Songs
with the greatest increase in favorite points over the prior week.
● Songs
with 25 or more plays on my iPod.
▲ Songs with 50 or more plays on my iPod. 
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