Commonly seen as the ultimate upbeat summer festival party-goer, Kevin Michael "GG" Allin (August 29, 1956 – June 28, 1993) was an American punk rock singer-songwriter who performed and recorded with many punk-rock groups during his career.
Allin is best remembered for his notorious live performances that typically featured wildly transgressive acts such as Allin defecating and urinating onstage, rolling in feces and often consuming excrement, committing self-injury, performing naked, and committing violent actions toward the audience—often doing many of these things simultaneously. Although more notorious for his stage antics than for his wide body of music, he recorded prolifically, not only in the punk rock genre, but also in spoken word, country and Rolling Stones-influenced rock. His politically incorrect lyrics, which often covered subjects such as misogyny, pedophilia and racism, deeply divided opinions of him within the highly politicized punk community. Though he had a devoted cult following, Allin's music has received mostly negative reviews from critics.
Children of the Grave is a song by Black Sabbath from their 1971 album Master of Reality. This song just screams summer to me....The song lyrically continues with the same themes brought on by War Pigs and Electric Funeral from Paranoid. Two previously unreleased versions of this song will be released on the upcoming deluxe edition of Master of Reality. The first is a version with alternate lyrics, the second an instrumental version.
The song has been featured on several greatest hits and live albums. As well as being performed by Black Sabbath in concert, in its various incarnations, Ozzy Osbourne performed it in concert many times as a solo artist.
Cover Versions
Canadian rockers Jet Set Satellite covered the song on their 2008 album End of an Era. The song is the first ever cover recorded by the band and is presented on their third album, released summer 2008. "We had never really planned to include a cover on any of our albums but with 'Children of the Grave', something just clicked," said lead singer Trevor Tuminski. "Ozzy Osbourne really isn't credited for the brilliant lyricist he is. In our troubled times, the words to that song just seemed the perfect fit for the themes at work on the record, not to mention the doomsday feel of the music".
American band Racer X released a cover of the song that can be heard on the Japanese version of Technical Difficulties. The song has been covered by German power metal band Grave Digger. Also, hardcore punk band The Fartz covered it for their "Because This Fuckin' World Still Stinks" album. It has also been covered by the Finnish band Tarot on To Live Forever.
American straight edge hardcore band Earth Crisis covered the song for their covers album "Last Of The Sane."
The band White Zombie covered "Children of the Grave" for the Black Sabbath tribute album Nativity in Black. It was later released as a promo single in 1994. It is the first White Zombie release featuring Terry Date who would later produce the band's bestselling album Astro-Creep: 2000. It was also the last release to have Phil Buerstatte playing the drums as he would be kicked out of the band later that year. The song contains the following vocal sample: "In Los Angeles, 1969, they shot, stabbed, and bludgeoned nine people to death committing one of the most heinous crimes in history.", a reference to the Tate/LaBianca killings by Charles Manson and the Family in 1969.
Also at number two is the poetic masterpiece and the Beatles' last ever release as a quartet (what a way to go!), "Let it Be". Quite simply amazing. Enjoy.
"Let It Be" is a song by The Beatles, released in March 1970 as a single, and as the title track of their album Let It Be. Although credited to Lennon/McCartney it is generally accepted to be a Paul McCartney composition.
The single reached #1 in the U.S., Australia, Italy, Norway and Switzerland and #2 in the UK. It was the final single released by the Beatles while the band was officially considered an active group. Both the Let It Be album and the single The Long and Winding Road were released after Paul McCartney's announced departure and subsequent break-up of the group.
McCartney said he had the idea of "Let It Be" after a dream he had about his mother during the tense period surrounding the sessions for The Beatles (the "White Album"). McCartney explained that his mother—who died of cancer when McCartney was fourteen—was the inspiration for the "Mother Mary" lyric. McCartney later said, "It was great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing 'Let It Be'." He also said in a later interview about the dream that his mother had told him, "It will be all right, just let it be."
Critical reception for "Let It Be" has been positive. In 2004, it was ranked number 20 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. Allmusic said it was one of "The Beatles' most popular and finest ballads". Ian MacDonald had a dissenting opinion, writing that the song "achieved a popularity well out of proportion to its artistic weight" and that it was "'Hey Jude', without the musical and emotional release."
John Lennon also commented on "Let It Be". Prior to a take during the 31 January 1969 recording session, he asked, "Are we supposed to giggle in the solo?" (This is a similar quote to Lewisohn's "The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions" (p170) but Lennon says "during the solo" not "in the solo" as quoted here). In Lennon's Playboy interview in 1980, he disavowed any involvement with composing the song. He said,That's Paul. What can you say? Nothing to do with the Beatles. It could've been Wings. I don't know what he's thinking when he writes [sic] 'Let It Be.' I think it was inspired by 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters.' That's my feeling, although I have nothing to go on. I know that he wanted to write a 'Bridge over Troubled Waters.'
As MacDonald explained, Lennon is wrong about "Bridge over Troubled Water" being McCartney's inspiration: "Let It Be" was recorded approximately a year before 'Bridge over Troubled Water' was released. According to Allmusic, Simon and Garfunkel performed the song live in 1969 prior to releasing it, but it is unlikely that McCartney could have heard it before the recording session on 31 January 1969.
Interestingly, "Let It Be" knocked "Bridge over Troubled Water" out of the top spot as Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, 11 April 1970.
So there we have it, 20 down to 2. What on earth can better the likes of "Hey Jude", "Let it be", "All you need is Love", "Good Vibrations" or "California Girls"? Find out tomorrow...
Ever wonder how long the longest ever "Sssshh" was? Or perhaps what the longest two-person comment thread on a facebook status update is? You must have pondered, even for just a moment, how deep the deepest ever known cameltoe was, surely? The highest ever wedgie? The tallest ever shaving foam wig? The longest game of fecth with a cat? Fastest consumption of a 24-ounce bottle of breakfast syrup? The most trivial pursuit questions answered Incorrectly in one minute?
Well, if you want to know the answer to all these questions and many more, now you can. The Universal Record Database has landed!! Guiness and the McWhirters: you need to up your game!
Never again will you have to wonder what the most arm wrestling victories by a woman in her third trimester of pregnancy is, because it is all recorded down!
What's more, you can now measure yourself against the world's best and perhaps even become a record breaker yourself.
So, if you want to be the best and you want to beat the rest - ooooh dedication's what you need. If you want to be a record breaker - ooooooh!!!
I have had a little cheat at number two as I have had to accept that I cannot decide between two songs and no other song in this list deserves to go either. So number 2 is in two parts.
Both these songs are very similar in my mind and both are beyond just music: they are absolute epics. At number two is "Let it be" and "Hey Jude" by The Beatles.
When I listen to one of them I think that it is unsurpasable, then I listen to the other and think the very same thing. Intertestingly, both songs were written towards the bitter end of the Beatles' years and both were pretty much solo efforts by McCartney (a further reason in my mind as to why McCartney was the greater genius of the Lennon/McCartney partnership).
First up, "Hey Jude"...
"Hey Jude" is a song written by Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon/McCartney, and released as a single by The Beatles in 1968. Originally titled "Hey Jules", McCartney wrote the ballad to comfort John Lennon's son Julian during his parents' divorce.
"Hey Jude" was the first single from The Beatles' record label Apple Records. Over seven minutes in length, "Hey Jude" was at the time the longest single ever to top the British charts. It also spent nine weeks as number one in the United States—the longest run at the top of the American charts for a Beatles single. The single has sold approximately eight million copies and is frequently included on professional lists of the all-time best songs.
"Hey Jude" begins with a verse-bridge structure based around McCartney's vocal performance and piano accompaniment; further details are added as the song progresses to distinguish sections. After the fourth verse, the song shifts to a fade-out coda that lasts for more than four minutes.
In 1968, John Lennon and his wife Cynthia Lennon separated due to his affair with Yoko Ono. Soon afterwards, Paul McCartney drove out to visit Cynthia and Julian, her son with Lennon. "We'd been very good friends for millions of years and I thought it was a bit much for them suddenly to be personae non gratae and out of my life," McCartney said. Later, Cynthia Lennon recalled, "I was truly surprised when, one afternoon, Paul arrived on his own. I was touched by his obvious concern for our welfare.... On the journey down he composed 'Hey Jude' in the car. I will never forget Paul's gesture of care and concern in coming to see us."
Although McCartney originally wrote the song for Julian Lennon, John Lennon thought it had actually been written for him. Other people believed McCartney wrote the song about them, including Judith Simons, a journalist with the Daily Express. Still others, including John Lennon, have speculated that McCartney's failing long-term relationship with Jane Asher when he wrote "Hey Jude" was an unconscious "message to himself". In fact, when John Lennon mentioned that he thought the song was about him, McCartney denied it, and told Lennon he had written the song about himself.
"Hey Jude" was nominated for the Grammy Awards of 1969 in the Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal categories, but failed to win any of them. It did win the 1968 Ivor Novello Award for "A-Side With the Highest Sales". In the NME 1968 Readers' Poll, "Hey Jude" was named the best single of the year. In 2001, "Hey Jude" was inducted into the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2004, it was ranked number 8 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. It came in third on Channel 4's list of 100 Greatest Singles. The Amusement & Music Operators Association ranked "Hey Jude" the 11th-best jukebox single of all time.
Loads more on one of the greatest songs ever written at wikipedia.
In Thomas L. Friedman's 1999 book The Lexus and the Olive Tree the following observation was presented: "No two countries that both had McDonald's had fought a war against each other since each got its McDonald's". While that statement was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, his point was that due to globalization, countries that have made strong economic ties with one another have too much to lose to ever go to war with one another. While the observation may have been true, the conclusions to be drawn are unclear. The global expansion of McDonald's restaurants is a relatively recent phenomenon when put into the context of the history of warfare, and, with a few notable exceptions, has proceeded into relatively stable markets.
The 2008 South Ossetia war between Russia and Georgia is a counterexample to the theory, both countries having McDonalds at the time (started in 1990 and 1999, respectively). Other conflicts that provide possible counterexamples, depending on what one considers "a war", include the 1989 United States invasion of Panama, the bombing of Serbia, and the Kargil War along with ongoing skirmishes between factions of India and Pakistan over the Kashmir region.
The appearance of McDonald's does not end an existing state of war: the states of Lebanon and Israel have been under a state of war since 1973, with South Lebanon occupied until May 2000 and a significant flareup in 2006, which did not hinder the establishment of McDonald's franchises in Israel and Lebanon in 1993 and 1998, respectively. The two countries engaged in a brief state of warfare in the summer of 2006.
Five most expensive Big Macs (as of 4 February 2009)
1. Norway - USD 5.79
2. Switzerland - USD 5.60
3. Denmark - USD 5.07
4. Sweden - USD 4.58
5. Eurozone - USD 4.38
Five most affordable Big Macs
1. Malaysia - USD 1.70
2. Hong Kong - USD 1.71
3. China, People's Republic of - USD 1.83
4. Thailand - USD 1.86
5. Sri Lanka - USD 1.95
Ten fastest earned Big Macs
1. Tokyo, Japan - 10 minutes
2. Los Angeles, United States - 11 minutes
3. Chicago, Illinois United States - 12 minutes
4. Miami, Florida United States - 12 minutes
5. New York City, New York United States - 13 minutes
6. Auckland, New Zealand - 14 minutes
7. Sydney, Australia - 14 minutes
8. Toronto, Canada - 14 minutes
9. Zürich, Switzerland - 15 minutes
10. Dublin, Ireland - 15 minutes
Ten slowest earned Big Macs
1. Bogotá, Colombia - 97 minutes
2. Nairobi, Kenya - 91 minutes
3. Jakarta, Indonesia - 86 minutes
4. Lima, Peru - 86 minutes
5. Caracas, Venezuela - 85 minutes
6. Mexico City, Mexico - 82 minutes
7. Manila, Philippines - 81 minutes
8. Mumbai, India - 70 minutes
9. Sofia, Bulgaria - 69 minutes
10. Bucharest, Romania - 69 minutes
We really are at the business end now of the countdown - any one of these remaining songs are worthy of the top and all are truly great songs.
At number 3 it is the Beatles' classic "All You Need is Love".
The video is taken from the song's first public performance on the programme "Our World" in 1967. "Our World" was, at the time, the world's biggest live broadcast event ever attempted reaching 400m people world wide.
Each of the 26 countries participating had a short slot on the programme to show the world what their country was like. The Canadians showed a short segment of a rancher herding cattle, the Japanese showed a segment on the construction on their new metro system, the Australians talked about trams, while the Americans went for a shot of a building in New Jersey said to have President Johnson inside. Then the cameras turned to London and this happened...
"All You Need Is Love" is a song written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon/McCartney. It was first performed by The Beatles on Our World, the first live global television link. Broadcast to 26 countries and watched by 400 million, the programme was broadcast via satellite on June 25, 1967. The BBC had commissioned the Beatles to write a song for the UK's contribution. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at #362 in their 500 greatest songs of all time.
Asked to come up with a song containing a simple message to be understood by all nationalities, Lennon's "All You Need Is Love" extended the message he first tried in "The Word", from The Beatles' 1965 album Rubber Soul. "It was an inspired song and they really wanted to give the world a message," said Brian Epstein. "The nice thing about it is that it cannot be misinterpreted. It is a clear message saying that love is everything." Lennon was fascinated by the power of slogans to unite people and never afraid to create art out of propaganda. When asked in 1971 whether songs like "Give Peace a Chance" and "Power to the People" were propaganda songs, he answered, "Sure. So was 'All You Need Is Love'. I'm a revolutionary artist. My art is dedicated to change."
The Beatles decided the song should be their next single the day before the Our World broadcast. Released in the UK on July 7, it went straight to No. 1 and remained there for three weeks. It was similarly successful in the US, reaching No. 1 for a week (appearing on the American LP version of Magical Mystery Tour in November).
For the broadcast, the Beatles were (except for Ringo) seated on stools, accompanied by a small studio orchestra. They were surrounded by friends and acquaintances seated on the floor, who sang with the refrain during the fade-out, including Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Keith Moon, Graham Nash, and Kim McLagan. Lennon, affecting indifference, was said to be nervous about the broadcast, given the potential size of the international TV audience. Dissatisfied with his singing, he re-recorded the solo verses for use on the single.
At number four is a song that captures the anxiety and innocent hopes of youth, "Wouldn't it be nice" by the Beach Boys.
"Wouldn't It Be Nice" is the opening track on the 1966 album Pet Sounds and one of the most widely recognized songs by the American pop group The Beach Boys. It was composed and produced by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by Tony Asher and Brian Wilson, and the lead vocal was sung by Brian Wilson with Mike Love singing lead vocals on the bridge.
The layering of harmonies upon harmonies, and lyrics on top of harmonies make this one of the quintessential Beach Boys songs. In the Endless Harmony documentary, Brian Wilson described this song as "what children everywhere go through… wouldn't it be nice if we were older, or could run away and get married".
In a 1996 interview, Wilson stated, "'Wouldn't It Be Nice' was not a real long song, but it's a very 'up' song. It expresses the frustrations of youth, what you can't have, what you really want and you have to wait for it."
Wilson also used the title of this song for the title of his autobiography.