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ROCK AND ROLL! => All Them Other Guys => Topic started by: Zzzptm on November 12, 2025, 02:40:22 PM
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Songs about numbers! Yes, there's that very famous Iron Maiden tune about a trio of digits, but what other number songs are there we can think about?
Deep Purple "7 and 7 Is" - a cover of mid-60s band Love's tune that was ahead of its time for its hardness and passion. Great cover of a great original... and NUMBERS in the title!
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If 6 was 9 by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, coming at us from 1967.
I'm the one that's got to die
when it's time for me to die
so let me live my life
the way I want to.
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I don;t have a list, so I probably won't start until tomorrow when I've had a think about it!
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Well alright!
Looks like my number's up!
So I'll kick things off with a Geezer Butler tune.
This from his second album Black Science. And it's called BOX OF SIX...to this day I do not know what that song is actually about but it's still a rockn tune!
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Let's start with...
The Damned - Plan 9 Channel 7
Love this song, from the 1979 album Machine Gu Etiquette.
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Pantera singing about Pantera stuff like hate, violence, pain...from 1994 we have:
5 Minutes Alone
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Classic Young Ones band appearance with LOADS of numbers:
Nine Below Zero doing "Eleven Plus Eleven"
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Here's a lovely little love song from SLAYER!
It's about a man called Jeffrey Dahmer who absolutely loved women to death.
It's called 213 and I found a cool live version from 1995!!
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Excellent Slayer tune!
Today's musical numeracy is a bit of stoner rock from our friends Clutch. From 2005, not only is it the song's title, it's in the refrain!
10001110101:
Notably, a guy I worked with whilst I was residing in Maryland was good friends with Dan Maines. My co-worker took me to a few house parties where the band that became Clutch played. I don't remember what they were called then, but the year I moved out of Maryland the aforementioned co-worker gave me a record by Clutch and told me who they were. They made it to the big time! Not my fave band by a long shot, but I like some of their stuff, and whatever they played back in their house party days always sounded great.
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One of the best drum tracks on a record is on Edwin Starr's "Twenty Five Miles":
The identity of the drummer is not known for certain, but there are four candidates: https://rb-soul.entmt.narkive.com/gYq9Td2V/who-is-the-drummer-on-edwin-starr-s-1968-hit-25-miles
Whoever it was, he sure knew how to lay down a beat!
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I say Karen Carpenter played those drums and no one can convince me otherwise!
"Karen was my secret weapon, my hidden mojo, my muse, my teacher, and my friend. There were always hushed rumors about a furtive affair, desperate and kept under wraps by the major players in the music biz that had financial interests in Rush, but it was all horseshit...we had to meet secretly so she could train me on her newest ideas concerning percussion and generating sounds that spoke to the heart. I would be no better than a silly jazz-drummer-wannabe like Ginger Baker without Karen's long term mentorship." - Neil Peart, 2001.
How can one argue with THAT endorsement?!
"I became extraordinarily adept at miming drum-playing. And to let you in on just how star-walloping great she was on a drum kit - it took all I had, every ounce of concentration, dexterity, and engagement to simply pretend to be playing all of those famous drum tracks that made me a millionaire. Much less actually create and PLAY them? Holy smokes, only Karen had that much juice. Love ya Karen, wherever you may roam!" - Buddy Rich Comes Clean, 1985
Who knew?!
"How 'bout I break yer fuckin' nose, mate?" Ginger Baker, 2001
And there you have it, proof positive that Edwin Starr snuck Ms. Carpenter into the recording studio and had her lay down the drum tracks for Twenty Five Miles.
Prove me wrong!
:banana: :drummer: :banana:
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I'm convinced!! :twitch:
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Talking of Mr Peart...
Pick number 2
Rush - Seven Cities of Gold
From their final album in 2012 Clockwork Angels... fine album, fine song!
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My number 3 comes from the blues oriented Hard Rock outfit called EMPIRE!
This is from their Trading Souls album and eventhough it doesn't actually feature any numbers on the title it is still about a girl that is ONE IN A MILLION!!!
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I say Karen Carpenter played those drums and no one can convince me otherwise!
"Karen was my secret weapon, my hidden mojo, my muse, my teacher, and my friend. There were always hushed rumors about a furtive affair, desperate and kept under wraps by the major players in the music biz that had financial interests in Rush, but it was all horseshit...we had to meet secretly so she could train me on her newest ideas concerning percussion and generating sounds that spoke to the heart. I would be no better than a silly jazz-drummer-wannabe like Ginger Baker without Karen's long term mentorship." - Neil Peart, 2001.
How can one argue with THAT endorsement?!
"I became extraordinarily adept at miming drum-playing. And to let you in on just how star-walloping great she was on a drum kit - it took all I had, every ounce of concentration, dexterity, and engagement to simply pretend to be playing all of those famous drum tracks that made me a millionaire. Much less actually create and PLAY them? Holy smokes, only Karen had that much juice. Love ya Karen, wherever you may roam!" - Buddy Rich Comes Clean, 1985
Who knew?!
"How 'bout I break yer fuckin' nose, mate?" Ginger Baker, 2001
And there you have it, proof positive that Edwin Starr snuck Ms. Carpenter into the recording studio and had her lay down the drum tracks for Twenty Five Miles.
Prove me wrong!
:banana: :drummer: :banana:
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaamn, I was skeptical until Ginger Baker's quote. TRUTH
And for my 4th pick...
Wo Fat channels the spirit of Mountain on "Two the Hard Way". It's a slow-paced hard-hitter, great for those times where you want to just sit back, check out, and bounce your head to the metal beat.
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Punks doing punk things with 53rd and 3rd, wherein the Ramones sing about DeeDee playing chicken hawk out on the street corner. Grim stuff, indeed!
From 1976:
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I'll do a Gospel favorite of mine, "Ninety-Nine and a Half Won't Do"
Dorothy Love Coates wrote the tune and did the original recording, which was slower and more deliberate. Sister Rosetta Tharpe sped it up, got a drummer with a backbeat and added a guitar solo. :rockon: In terms of musical history, this is one of those important tracks that got the rock and roll thing rocking and rolling.
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A little behind after being busy for most of yesterday and today. I'll try and do a second post later.
Pick no.3
The Sex Pistols - Seventeen
Plenty of music styles to choose from so I' thought I'd go with a punkier effort this time!
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This song cranks, and reminds me of something a gamer would listen to whilst enthralled in a session of World of Warcraft.
At least, they would be listening to it since 2014, the year DragonForce offered Three Hammers unto the unsuspecting masses of power metal fans!
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For my number 4
I present you BENEDICTUM and oddly enough a song called #4!!!!
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Pick number 4
Black Country Communion - One Last Soul
From the S/T debut, this live version is as good as the studio version really.
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From 1995, Death sings about surveillance in their heartwarming song, "1000 Eyes".
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For my fifth entry, I got the psychobilly stylings of Reverend Horton Heat doing his tune "Five-O-Ford":
And for fans of Five, there's also Dave Brubeck...
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My number 5 comes from the Metal Queen..
She did this song to celebrate her 25th anniversary and it's simply entitled 25 Years!
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Funkified by Morris Day working with Prince back in 1982, this is from The Time's second long player. The title is a phone number, but it is not Jenny's.
Almost a Prince song, here is 777-9311:
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Funky numbers? How about Isaac Hayes' "Good Love (69969)"?
Excellent bass line in that track, among other delights. :smug:
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Pick #5
Iced Earth - 10,000 Strong
Ripper in fine form here off the Framing Armageddon album
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^^^
Ouch. That one came right off my list! You stinker! :D
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From 1970, before he checked into that hotel out in California, Joe Walsh wrote a follow-up to "Funk #48“ and called it:
"Funk #49”
Played by James Gang:
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The 6th choice for me is about drag racing and the feeling you get in those 10 SECONDS!
Mr. BLAZE BAYLEY delivers the goods!
This live version comes from The Night That Would Not Die!
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You can hear that Karen Carpenter influence in the way Nicko McBrain slings the skins on this Maiden tune with a number in the title:
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Sticking with Iron Maiden...
Pick Number 6
Iron Maiden - 22 Acacia Avenue
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^^^
Ouch. That one came right off my list! You stinker! :D
Oops, sorry!
"A STINKER!!!" and I'd just had a bath too!
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(https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/53cDc7qSuNLhkpe8jDheum-1000-80.jpg)
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Number 9 from me:
In 1973 the album Tyranny and Mutation by The Blue Oyster Cult hit the shelves of record stores around the world. Side one wraps up with a tune titled, "7 Screaming Diz-Busters".
I didn't know what the fuck a Diz-Buster was back in the day, and I still don't. But the music works, so I don't care )
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I once didn't know, and then I found out. Now I want to un-know.
NEVER dig deep into a Blue Oyster Cult lyric is what I learned from that.
And then I had to re-learn that lesson after digging into what a bungo pony was and how one hornswoops it. Yikes.
ummm
Staying on BOC, I could use ME 262, but I've cited it before in other lists, so I'll pass over it here. I've put forth my Iron Maiden track for my listings, so it's on to another artiste with numerals in titles... and that would be...
Little Richard's version of "Land of 1000 Dances"
I like Wilson Pickett's version - a classic - but Little Richard has his band crank up the speed and really blasts this one out.
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Pick number 7
The Macc Lads - Twenty Pints
Hopefully no one is offended by the language!! >:D
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My number 7 comes from MEGADETH's thirteenth album...which contains a track called...well you guessed it 13!!!
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Number 10. How can this not be in a list like this?
Tommy Tutone finds a phone number in a bathroom stall and sings about it!
867-5309/Jenny, from 1981:
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From the Oldies chest - Wynonie Harris doing "Grandma Plays the Numbers" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m136JOv3z6w
And in the hard-rockin' vein, Glenn Hughes doing "I Got Your Number" live in Japan, great version of this track:
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How did Vyn get to the finish line already? :twitch:
Anyways...my number 8 comes from ALICE COOPER and about some really really REALLY expensive shoes!
This is 1000$ High Heel Shoes!!
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My 8th pick is...
Hawkwind - Valium 10
Originally a B-Side, this finally saw an album release on the Atomhenge reissue of their Levitation album from 1980.
I imagine this is quite good to listen to whilst drunk/stoned!
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Since I ended on a pop song, here's another bonus pop song, popular about the same time:
At the time, I thought this had to be Dennis DeYoung's dream fulfilled. The guy was so theatrical. I mean, this is the same band that cranked out Witch Wolf and Man of Miracles.
And he just took them straight down the path of big money and no soul.
I was wrong, though. About this being Mr. DeYoung's epitome of self-indulgence. That was yet to come...
However, the chicks liked that stuff. I'd be on a date and ask if they liked Styx. Invariably the answer was "Oh yes!". I'd say, "Great! I've got some, here, let's listen." She'd be all beaming smiles, and I'd pop in The Serpent is Rising and their expression changed dramatically...like I just smacked them with a wet pickle. I was an asshole :)
But then one day, I found a girl that smiled even wider, said she never heard that before, and it was awesome. I married her.
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Pick number 9
The Who - 5:15
I think the 70s were the The Who at their best.
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However, the chicks liked that stuff. I'd be on a date and ask if they liked Styx. Invariably the answer was "Oh yes!". I'd say, "Great! I've got some, here, let's listen." She'd be all beaming smiles, and I'd pop in The Serpent is Rising and their expression changed dramatically...like I just smacked them with a wet pickle. I was an asshole :)
But then one day, I found a girl that smiled even wider, said she never heard that before, and it was awesome. I married her.
The Serpent is Rising is my favourite Styx album.
Ted
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Seven Days Is Too Long by Chuck Wood, an excellent track with a heavy, danceable beat and some tight horns that made it a Northern Soul classic.
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Number 9.
This is where things got bit tricky as I was kind of torn between two songs...a thrashy one and a symphonic one....
But I haven't done all that many Exodus songs and I believe I have done quite a few Nightwish songs so the Bay Area Thrashers win...
So here we have the opening track of the Blood In Blood Out album and it's called BLACK 13!
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This one's more hard rocking than my other submission for today, and it was "67" before the kids made that a thing:
Novadriver - "Sixty Seven" from 24 years ago, wrapping my head around *that*... song used to be fresh and new for a new century and all... but it's still a banger tune! :rockon:
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Pick number 10
The Stranglers - Five Minutes
I think I posted this on an earlier challenge, but I forget for sure. It's a good effort, but a non album track - which makes me think that's the challenge I previously posted on!!
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I don't have a list, so I was just going to post a couple of my favorites, if that's okay.
Here is one from an old Lene Lovich album I own.
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I don't have a list, so I was just going to post a couple of my favorites, if that's okay.
Very OK, for sure! And a little art punk was a nice flavor for my day, I enjoyed it!
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I remember Lucky Number. Nearly a one-hit wonder here in the UK, it got to number 3! Very much a song of that time.
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For my 10th and final choice we're gonna DOOOM it up a bit.
This is from CATHEDRAL and from the Supernatural Birth Machine comes a track called BIRTH MACHINE 2000!!
I like this song more than Carnival Bizarre to be honest!
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Two thousand zero zero
Party over oops out of time
For a song titled "1999", it's aged very well. :smug:
Speaking of aging well, here's a tune that's about as metal as 1962 could get:
The Ventures - "2000 Pound Bee"
This instrumental brought us the fuzz pedal and some pretty awesome guitar work. Part 2 of the tune drives harder, but Part 1 sets it all up so I include it here. The Ventures were pioneers in making "concept albums" and selling albums without single hit action. They also introduced a number of guitar effects and basically opened the gates for things that would be necessary for experimental and heavy music.
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Talented musicians make up Chicago.
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Have I done a Saxon song yet? No?
:evillaugh:
TIME TO GET SOME SAXON ON THIS LIST!!! They got some numbers in their titles, like Dallas 1PM and 747 (Strangers in the Night), both from their classic early period, but I'mma go with their hard-rockin' *later* period, from Carpe Diem...
Saxon - "All for One"
This is for all you swashbucklin' musketeers out there! All for one and one for all!
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Anthrax - "1000 Points of Hate"
I loved to blast this track back in the day, it was part of my soundtrack for my last years teaching in Dallas and my first years in IT doing tech support.
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:think: I think this qualifies.
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Indeed it does, and that riff was one of the best things to come out of 1982.
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Now that song has that early 80s vibe turned on 11! Not really my style of music but gotta still love that 80s style! ;D
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From the early 80s to the mid 70s:
The Boys - Box Number (Nine Three Nine)
Gonna disconnect me from the hard world
Lock myself away with a bad girl
Reach me care of box number nine three nine
When Lemmy says he's got more in common with punk than metal, it's songs like this one that back his case.