Matt and I return, adding another unnecessary element to the title of the podcast (it’s possibly the B&B B&B Suite now, which is punny and dumb and relates back to the punny, dumb stuff we do), but more importantly biting off more than we can chew. Both of us burrowed back into our little musical warrens for this one. I talk about some of the best opening numbers from musicals, as well as some elite twenty-five song stretches. Matt names a comical number of best first songs on albums, and then continues that line of thought, albeit streamlined; he picks out forty rock albums since 2000 which have a great four-track run of songs to kick off the whole shebang.
You can find our complete lists below – follow along and get your dander up.
Tim’s Top 25 Musical Openers (sans overtures):
- “Now/Later/Soon,” A Little Night Music
- “Wilkommen,” Cabaret
- “Happiness,” Passion
- “Requiem for Evita/Oh What a Circus,” Evita
- “All that Jazz,” Chicago
- “The Sound of Music,” The Sound of Music
- “Tradition,” Fiddler on the Roof
- “Heaven on Their Minds,” Jesus Christ Superstar
- “Prologue” (through Bishop’s admonition), Les Miserables
- “Prologue,” Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812
- “Oh What a Beautiful Morning,” Oklahoma!
- “Alexander Hamilton,” Hamilton
- “Mama Who Bore Me,” Spring Awakening
- “Company,” Company
- “Sit Down John,” 1776
- “The Old Red Hills of Home,” Parade
- “Sunday in the Park with George,” Sunday in the Park with George
- “Fugue for Tinhorns,” Guys and Dolls
- “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd,” Sweeney Todd
- “The Story of Chess,” Chess
- “Cotton Blossom,” Show Boat
- “Just Another Day,” Next to Normal
- “Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats,” Cats
- “Why Can’t the English,” My Fair Lady
- “Hello,” The Book of Mormon
Matt’s Top…58…Album Openers
- What’s Going On – What’s Going On, Marvin Gaye
- Straight Outta Compton – Straight Outta Compton, N.W.A.
- Gimme Shelter – Let It Bleed, The Rolling Stones
- Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground – White Blood Cells, The White Stripes
- Welcome to the Jungle – Appetite for Destruction, Guns ‘n Roses
- Loser – Mellow Gold, Beck
- London Calling – London Calling, The Clash
- Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nevermind, Nirvana
- Thunder Road – Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
- Bring Da Ruckus – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), Wu-Tang Clan
- Black Dog – IV, Led Zeppelin
- Like Eating Glass – Silent Arm, Bloc Party
- Come Together – Abbey Road, The Beatles
- Everything in its Right Place – Kid A, Radiohead
- Burning Down the House – Speaking in Tongues, Talking Heads
- Rio – Rio, Duran Duran
- Fake Empire – Boxer, The National
- Blowin’ in the Wind – The Freewhelin’ Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan
- Sowing Season (Yeah) – The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, Brand New
- 21st Century Schizoid Man – In the Court of the Crimson King, King Crimson
- Debaser – Doolittle, Pixies
- Roundabout – Fragile, Yes
- Runnin’ With the Devil – Van Halen, Van Halen
- No Church in the Wild – Watch the Throne, Kanye West and Jay-Z
- Let’s Go Crazy – Purple Rain, Prince
- The Bitch is Back – Caribou, Elton John
- Changes – Hunky Dory, David Bowie
- Let’s Stay Together – Let’s Stay Together, Al Green
- The Grudge – Lateralus, Tool
- You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar but I Feel Like a Millionaire – XXX, Queens of the Stone Age
- Fill in the Blank – Teens of Denial, Car Seat Headrest
- Search and Destroy – Zombie Birdhouse, Iggy Pop and the Stooges
- Crazy in Love – Dangerously in Love, Beyonce feat. Jay-Z
- Only Shallow – Loveless, My Bloody Valentine
- My Name is Jonas – The Blue Album, Weezer
- The Queen is Dead – The Queen is Dead, The Smits
- Laura – Scissor Sisters, Scissor Sisters
- Bat Out of Hell – Bat Out of Hell, Meat Loaf
- No One Loves Me & Neither Do I – Them Crooked Vultures, Them Crooked Vultures
- Beast and Dragon, Adored – Gimme Fiction, Spoon
- Blister in the Sun – Violent Femmes, Violent Femmes
- Baba O’Riley – Who’s Next, The Who
- Cherub Rock – Siamese Dream, The Smashing Pumpkins
- Excursions – The Low End Theory, A Tribe Called Quest
- Wouldn’t It Be Nice – Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys
- Ulysses – Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, Franz Ferdinand
- Jailbreak – Jailbreak, Thin Lizzy
- Lisztomania – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, Phoenix
- More Than a Feeling – Boston, Boston
- Positive Jam – Almost Killed Me, The Hold Steady
- An Introduction to the Album – Home, Like Noplace Is There, The Hotelier
- Twice as Hard – Shake Your Money Maker, The Black Crowes
- Hold On – Wilson Phillips, Wilson Phillips
- Rusty Cage – Badmotorfinger, Soundgarden
- Say Hello 2 Heaven – Temple of the Dog, Temple of the Dog
- Wide Eyes – Gorilla Manor, Local Natives
- Refugee – Damn the Torpedoes, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- Round Here – August and Everything After, Counting Crows
Tim’s Best Five-Song Stretches in Musicals
- Chess
- The Interview
- Someone Else’s Story
- The Deal/No Deal
- Pity the Child #2
- I Know Him So Well
- Les Miserables
- Look Down
- The Robbery/Javert’s Intervention
- Stars
- ABC Cafe/Red and Black
- Do You Hear the People Sing?
- Spring Awakening
- And Then There Were None
- The Mirror – Blue Night
- I Believe
- Don’t Do Sadness/Blue Wind
- The Guilty Ones
- Evita
- Charity Concert/I’d Be Surprisingly Good for You
- Another Suitcase in Another Hall
- Peron’s Latest Flame
- A New Argentina
- Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina
- The Last Five Years
- Climbing Uphill
- If I Didn’t Believe in You
- I Can Do Better Than That
- Nobody Needs to Know
- Goodbye Until Tomorrow/I Could Never Rescue You
- Hamilton
- What’d I Miss
- Cabinet Battle #1
- Take a Break
- Say No to This
- The Room Where It Happens
- Oklahoma
- Many a New Day
- It’s a Scandal! It’s an Outrage!
- People Will Say We’re in Love
- Pore Jud is Daid
- Lonely Room
- Sweeney Todd
- Pretty Women
- Epiphany
- A Little Priest
- God That’s Good
- Johanna
- Company
- Have I Got a Girl for You
- Someone Is Waiting
- Another Hundred People
- Getting Married Today
- Marry Me a Little
- Rent
- Out Tonight
- Another Day
- Will I?
- On the Street
- Santa Fe
- Aida
- Not Me
- Elaborate Lives
- The Gods Love Nubia
- A Step Too Far
- Easy as Life
- Cabaret
- Maybe This Time
- Money
- Married
- Tomorrow Belongs to Me (Reprise)
- If You Could See Her
- Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812
- Pierre and Anatole
- Natasha Very Ill
- Pierre and Andrey
- Pierre and Natasha
- The Great Comet of 1812
- Fiddler on the Roof
- To Life
- Miracle of Miracles
- Tevye’s Dream
- Sunrise, Sunset
- Bottle Dance
- The Book of Mormon
- You and Me (But Mostly Me)
- Hasa Diga Eebowai
- Turn It Off
- I Am Here for You
- All-American Prophet
- Jesus Christ Superstar
- Heaven on Their Minds
- What’s the Buzz
- Strange Thing Mystifying
- Then We Are Decided
- Everything’s Alright
- 1776
- Cool, Cool, Considerate Men
- Momma Look Sharp
- The Egg
- Molasses to Rum
- Is Anybody There
- Guys and Dolls
- Luck Be a Lady
- Sue Me
- Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat
- Marry the Man Today
- Guys and Dolls (Reprise)
- Kristina from Duvemala
- You Have to Be There
- Here I Am Again
- With Child Again
- Rising from Myth and Legend
- I’ll Be Waiting There
- A Little Night Music
- In Praise of Women
- Every Day a Little Death
- A Weekend in the Country
- Night Waltz I
- Night Waltz III
- The Sound of Music
- Edelweiss
- So Long, Farewell
- Climb Ev’ry Mountain
- My Favorite Things (Reprise)
- Something Good
- Next to Normal
- I’m Alive
- Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I’m Falling
- I Dreamed a Dance
- There’s a World
- I’ve Been
- Beauty and the Beast
- Home
- Gaston
- How Long Must This Go On
- Be Our Guest
- If I Can’t Love Her
- Follies
- Too Many Mornings
- The Right GIrl
- One More Kiss
- Could I Leave You?
- Loveland
- The Light in the Piazza
- Hysteria
- Say It Somehow
- Aiutami
- The Light in the Piazza
- Octet
Matt’s Top Forty Four-Song Starters
- Spoon – Gimme Fiction
- Beast and Dragon, Adored
- Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine
- I Turn My Camera On
- My Mathematical Mind
- Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
- Like Eating Glass
- Helicopter
- Positive Tension
- Banquet
- Queens of the Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf
- You Think….
- No One Knows
- First it Giveth
- A Song for the Dead
- The National – Boxer
- Fake Empire
- Mistaken For Strangers
- Brainy
- Squalor Victoria
- Brand New – The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me
- Sowing Season (Yeah)
- Millstone
- Jesus Christ
- Degausser
- Radiohead – Kid A
- Everything in its Right Place
- Kid A
- The National Anthem
- How to Disappear Completely
- The Darkness – One Way Ticket to Hell…And Back
- One Way Ticket
- Knockers
- Is it Just Me?
- Dinner Lady Arms
- Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand
- Jacqueline
- Tell Her Tonight
- Take Me Out
- The Dark of the Matinee
- Modest Mouse – Moon and Antarctica
- 3rd Planet
- Gravity Rides Everything
- Dark Center of the Universe
- Perfect Disguise
- The Killers
- Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
- Mr. Brightside
- Smile Like You Mean It
- Somebody Told Me
- Japandroids – Celebration Rock
- The Nights of Wine and Roses
- Fire’s Highway
- Evil’s Sway
- For the Love of Ivy
- Mars Volta – The Bedlam in Goliath
- Aberinkula
- Metatron
- Ilyena
- Wax Simulacra
- Mew – No More Stories Are Told Today…
- New Terrain
- Introducing Palace Players
- Beach
- Repeaterbeater
- Coheed – In Keeping Secrets
- The Ring in Return
- In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth
- Cuts Marked in the March of Men
- Three Evils (Embodied in Love and Shadow)
- Grizzly Bear – Shields
- Sleeping Ute
- Speak in Rounds
- Adelma
- Yet Again
- ASG – Win Us Over
- Right Death Before
- Dream Song
- Low End Insight
- Glow
- Decemberists – Crane Wife
- Crane Wife 3
- Island
- Yankee Bayonet
- O Valencia
- White Stripes – White Blood Cells
- Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
- Hotel Yorba
- I’m Finding it Harder to Be a Gentleman
- Fell in Love with a Girl
- Foals – Holy Fire
- Prelude
- Inhaler
- My Number
- Bad Habit
- Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am…
- The View from the Afternoon
- I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor
- Fake Tales From San Francisco
- Dancing Shoes
- Scissor Sisters
- Laura
- Take Your Mama
- Comfortably Numb
- Mary
- Car Seat Headrest – Teens of Denial
- Fill in the Blank
- Vincent
- Destroyed by Hippie Powers
- Drugs with Friends
- Florence and the Machine
- Dog Days Are Over
- Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)
- I’m Not Calling You a Liar
- Howl
- Death Cab – Transatlanticism
- The New Year
- Lightness
- Title and Registration
- Expo ‘86
- Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
- Sun it Rises
- White Winter Hymnal
- Ragged Wood
- Tiger Mountain Peasant Song
- Tune-Yards – WHOKILL
- My Country
- Es-so
- Gangsta
- Powa
- MuteMath – Odd Soul
- Odd Soul
- Prytania
- Blood Pressure
- Tell Your Heart Heads Up
- Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
- No One Loves Me & Neither Do I
- Mind Eraser, No Chaser
- New Fang
- Dead End Friends
- Ben Howard – Every Kingdom
- Old Pine
- Diamonds
- The Wolves
- Everything
- The Hotelier – Home, Like Noplace Is There
- An Introduction to the Album
- The Scope of All of this Rebuilding
- In Framing
- Your Deep Rest
- Say Anything – …Is a Real Boy
- Belt
- Woe
- The Writhing South
- Alive With the Glory of Love
- Angel Olsen – My Woman
- Intern
- Never Be Mine
- Shut Up Kiss Me
- Give it Up
- Beck – Guero
- E-Pro
- Que Onda Guero
- Girl
- Missing
- Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
- World Sick
- Chase Scene
- Texaco Bitches
- Forced to Love
- Black Mountain – IV
- Mothers of the Sun
- Florian Saucer Attack
- Defector
- You Can Dream
- Thrice – Vheissu
- Image of the Invisible
- Between the End and Where We Lie
- The Earth Will Shake
- Atlantic
- White Lung – Paradise
- Dead Weight
- Narcoleptic
- Below
- Kiss Me When I Bleed
- Young the Giant – Young the Giant
- Apartment
- My Body
- I Got
- Cough Syrup
- Avenged Sevenfold – City of Evil
- Beast and the Harlot
- Burn it Down
- Blinded in Chains
- Bat Country
- Margaret Glaspy – Emotions and Math
- Emotions and Math
- Situation
- Somebody to Anybody
- No Matter Who
[…] or the brief discussion of which of these bands will hold up best in posterity at the end of this podcast (which you should listen to in its entirety, because you care about us). I love healthy debate, and […]