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You are here: Home / Music / I’m gonna send this one out to Lou and Rachel

I’m gonna send this one out to Lou and Rachel

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Not to get all John Cole on you, but I am in a funny mood. I could tell you a lot but it’s not in a gentleman’s code.

So before I head out, I’d like to start a thread on gritty-but-romantic urban songs, so I’ll have a fun list to read and listen to when I get back. Rules for your list: at most one song per artist (though you can count Lou Reed solo and VU separately). My list:

“Coney Island Baby”
“Suzanne”
“Waiting For The Man”
“Across 110th Street”
“Dirty Water”
“Sights and Sounds of Londontown”
“Shattered”
“Boogie Chillun”
“People Who Died”
“Eggs and Sausage”

I feel like there should be a lot of hip-hop songs in this mold too but none are coming into my head.

Reader Interactions

165Comments

  2. 2.

    Valdivia

    Just reading the list and imagining listening to that and I want a drink. I dig that you are such a gentleman DougJ. I am hoping I am not going to have to make use of this list while in Shanghai…

    May I suggest you also read some Neruda sonnets? Always works for me (though I usually accompany them with some boleros too).

  8. 8.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    Dire Straits: “Romeo and Juliet”


    A lovestruck Romeo sings the streets a serenade
    Laying everybody low with a lovesong that he made
    Finds a streetlight steps out of the shade
    Says something like you and me babe how about it?

  11. 11.

    Rex Everything

    I feel like there should be a lot of hip-hop songs in this mold too but none are coming into my head.

    “Renee” by the Lost Boyz! Damn!

  15. 15.

    FlipYrWhig

    How about Joe Jackson, “Steppin’ Out”? The song isn’t gritty at all, but the words sure are.

  16. 16.

    beltane

    @Violet: That is one of my favorite songs of all time.

    Is it OK to mention Patti Smith again? If so, I’ll go with “Dancing Barefoot”. Also Bruce Springsteen’s “4th of July Asbury Park”.

  20. 20.

    eemom

    I could tell you a lot but it’s not in a gentleman’s code.

    So he takes the ladder, steals the stars from the sky, puts on Sinatra and starts to cry….

  22. 22.

    beltane

    Beth Orton’s “Central Reservation”.

    In situations of severe emotional turmoil Joni Mitchell’s Blue come in handy.

  25. 25.

    Citizen_X

    Well, it’s not gritty-but-romantic urban, it’s more a gritty-but-romantic road song: Merle Haggard’s I’m a Lonesome Fugitive.

    I was just playing guitar, and I thought, “Hey, I should finally learn that song.” Turns out it’s real simple: just G, C, and D chords, though I feel like throwing a D7 in there.

  26. 26.

    Mnemosyne

    Technically I suppose it’s a Christmas song, but “Fairytale of New York” fits here, too, especially since the big fight in the song happens while she’s in the hospital recovering from a heroin overdose.

  30. 30.

    Joel

    “You Got Me” by the Roots qualifies as gritty, romantic, and hip hop. It’s better with Jill Scott, too.

    You could also make a case for “You’re All I Need” by Method Man/Mary J. Blige.

    Depending on your interpretation, I would say that “Thunder Road” is a bit gritty, romantic, and possibly urban.

  39. 39.

    eclecticbrotha

    Hmmmm. We must be adding to your list, not creating our own. In that case, I’d add “Go See the Doctor” by Kool Moe Dee to DougJ’s list.

    I would’ve picked a different Clash tune from the one already listed upthread, by the way. Guess I can use it for my own list…

  42. 42.

    Dennis SGMM

    Oh and “The Gift” – Lou Reed

    The mixture of John Cale’s matter of fact recitation on the left side and Velvet Underground’s rock on the right side still nails me to the wall.

  43. 43.

    Comrade Mary

    Sorry, Doug, but something in my previous comment put it into moderation. It did have some hiphop, though.

  45. 45.

    JCT

    @LanceThruster: Yes! #1 with a bullet on my spotify list and I *still* have my vinyl copy from when I left Los Angeles for college back in 1980. Must have worn out my cassette copy by the end of my first quarter. Only saw them live twice…

  46. 46.

    Maude

    I heard Only Love Can Break A Heart by Gene Pitney a few weeks ago. I’d forgotten how good it was.
    Not gritty, but after a few drinks, you could be bawling like a baby.

  52. 52.

    JWL

    No song title, much less the singer’s name; circa 1970-

    “You think I’m psycho
    Don’t you mama?…
    [Final stanza]: “Mama, why don’t you get up off the floor”?

  54. 54.

    eclecticbrotha

    Guess I can throw in my “little sis” as well, singing a song that should sound eerily familiar to NBC Sunday Night Football fans: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts “I Hate Myself For Lovin’ You.”

  55. 55.

    Pappy G

    Common People – Pulp
    Tonight The Streets Are Ours – Richard Hawley
    Independence Day – The Comsat Angels

    A Sheffield trifecta.

  58. 58.

    tmol

    other than almost the entire afghan whigs catalogue, their successors, the twilight singers’ annie mae…especially live versions or Decatur st. Yeah, so I broke the rules…why I have lurked since before Cole’s conversion. ha!

  60. 60.

    burnspbesq

    “Oldest Story in the World,” The Plimsouls
    “Dark Night,” The Blasters
    “Oil Man’s War,” Kathleen Edwards
    “Behind the Wall of Sleep,” The Smithereens
    “The Golden State,” John Doe (if you prefer the Eddie Vedder/Corin Tucker version, I won’t argue with you)
    The saddest, best song Springsteen wrote but never recorded, “Hearts of Stone” by Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes

  64. 64.

    Stuart Katz

    That word “romantic,” I do not think it means what you think it means. In what way is “People Who Died,” Waiting for the Man” and “Sights and Sounds of London Town” romantic?

    Here are some suggestions:

    “1952 Vincent Black Lightning”
    “Tattler” (Ry Cooder)
    “Debonair” (Afghan Whigs)
    “Waltz #2 (XO)” (Elliott Smith)
    “I’ve Been Wrong Before” (Dusty Springfield)
    “Green Eyes” (Husker Du)
    “Jailbird” (Jim White)

  66. 66.

    MikeJ

    Switchboard Susan by Nick Lowe?
    Kim the Waitress – Material Issue (or for the truly hip, Green Pajamas)

  74. 74.

    MikeJ

    Soft Serve by Soul Coughing
    Hell, add in Janine and I Miss the Girl and have an excuse to play the first three albums

    Phantom kisses buzzin’ like the insects
    Beads of sweat drippin’ down on the rent check
    My candy land melted down to syrup while I watch the water roll down

  75. 75.

    dedc79

    Wild West End, dire straits

    Tunnel of love, Bruce springsteen

    Kiss me on the bus. The replacements

    Lord I’m discouraged. The hold steady

  77. 77.

    snabby

    “Cosmic Slop” – Funkadelic
    “Am I Black Enough For You” – Billy Paul
    “I’ve Got A Secret (Shake Sugaree)” – Fred Neil
    “The Bottle” – Gil Scott Heron
    “Love’s In Need of Love Today” – Stevie Wonder (not really urban exactly, but sure is nice)

  80. 80.

    LanceThruster

    @Dennis SGMM:

    We don’t need to follow no stinkin’ rules (I don’t care if my songs fit – I just like throwing them out there on the chance they might).

    Ramones – 53rd & 3rd

    Gritty? Check!

    Romantic? Depends on your definition of romance.

    xD

  81. 81.

    melior

    Major points for “People Who Died” — that one sure brings me back.

    Both Lou and VU are really hard to pick only one…
    VU: “Oh Sweet Nuthin’ (Ain’t Got Nuthin’ At All)”
    Lou Reed: “(You Need A) Busload of Faith (To Get By, Baby)”
    … f*ck it, let’s just go with “all of them, Katie.”

    and cause that’s the kind of mood I’m in,

    B.B. King: “Nobody Loves Me But My Mother (And She Could Be Jivin’ Too)”

  82. 82.

    Onkel Fritze

    The Passenger – Iggy Pop
    Driver’s Seat – Sniff ‘N’ The Tears
    Soul Kitchen – The Doors
    That’s Entertainment – The Jam

  85. 85.

    melior

    Oh, and X mentioned upthread is perfect, I suggest their doubletime cover of the Doors’ “Soul Kitchen”

  86. 86.

    LanceThruster

    I can do gritty with urban, or urban without romance, or romance without gritty.

    Do gritty small town songs count?

    Do gritty romantic (w/o urban) count?

    I’m confused.

    Tonio K. – H-A-T-R-E-D

  93. 93.

    dance around in your bones

    @piratedan:

    Holly and the Italians – You better tell that girl to shut up

    I knew the girl this song was based on. Fer reals.

    Folks, ya gotta link!

    ETA: I was in India once when I saw a corpse being transported down to the Ganges for cremation….I broke into tears…my …ahem…partner at the moment said “Wait! Isn’t he just one of The People Who Died, Died?”

    Talk about laughing through my tears.

  104. 104.

    piratedan

    @dance around in your bones: I did before in my first entry and it’s STILL in moderation, so I just called out the references this time, but I had listed in my first pass….

    Summer in the City – Lovin’ Spoonful
    Rebel Rebel – david Bowie
    What do you got to do – Red Rider
    Driver’s Seat – Sniff n’ the Tears

  106. 106.

    ckc (not kc)

    It’s Hard to Kiss the Lips at Night That Chew Your Ass Out All Day Long – Notorious Cherry Bombs
    Far From Me – John Prine

  108. 108.

    RSA

    I don’t know if these quite fit, but here are a few possibiliites:

    Pretenders, Back On the Chain Gang.

    Wallflowers, One Headlight.

    Tracy Chapman, You Got a Fast Car.

    My Lou Reed entry would be Romeo Had Juliet, from New York.

  114. 114.

    gorillagogo

    Let’s do one song per decade starting in the 60s

    Killing Floor – Howling Wolf
    Another Man – Dr Feelgood
    Could You Be the One – Husker Du
    Summer Babe – Pavement
    Fell In Love With a Girl – White Stripes
    Calamity Song – Decemberists

  115. 115.

    skyway

    I wanna be your boyfriend — The Ramones
    Skyway — The Replacements
    Judy and the Dream of Horses — Belle and Sebastian
    True Love / King’s Crossing — Elliott Smith
    Going to Queens — The Mountain Goats Goats

    And, at number one —

    This Charming Man– The Smiths

  118. 118.

    eclecticbrotha

    The Romantics – Talking In Your Sleep
    Oran “Juice” Jones – (Walking In) The Rain
    Erykah Badu – Call Tyrone
    The Police – Can’t Stand Losing You
    Digital Underground – Freaks of the Industry
    LL Cool J – I Need Love
    Blondie – One Way Or Another
    Donna Summer – Love to Love You, Baby

  119. 119.

    Steeplejack

    Tyrone Davis, “Can I Change My Mind.”

    As I took those steps
    Toward that open door
    Knowing all the time
    Oh, Lord, I just didn’t wanna go
    But she didn’t give me no sign
    Nothing that would make me change my mind
    I would like to start all over again
    Baby, can I change my mind

    For gritty-romantic-urban, you can’t do better than mine the mother lode of early ’70s soul.

    How ’bout the Dramatics tearing it up on Soul Train with “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get”?

  120. 120.

    Raptor Fence

    “Downtown Train” by Tom Waits and
    “It’s Probably Me” by Sting/Eric Clapton (tho the Sting solo version has a cool jazz-club vibe to it)

  126. 126.

    The Moar You Know

    You’re Crazy – Guns N’ Roses
    Heartbreaker – Pat Benetar
    Barracuda – Heart
    Bitch is Back – Elton John

    I used to love sneaking these in at wedding gigs, but that’s just the kind of asshole I am.

  128. 128.

    Hawes

    Oh, crap, Downtown Train made it in three posts earlier.

    I guess I Hope That I Don’t Fall In Love With You by Mssr Waits.

    TB Sheets by Them/Van Morrison

    It’s kind of countrified, but Nebraska by Springsteen.

  135. 135.

    smintheus

    “I’ll Take Manhattan”. My favorite recording is by Dinah Washington.

    Well it’s very fancy
    On old Delancey
    Street you know,
    The subway charms are so
    When balmy breezes blow
    To and fro

  140. 140.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason

    And if you want really really gritty:

    “Atlantic City” – Bruce Springsteen

  148. 148.

    1badbaba3

    You’re Gonna Get Yours – Public Enemy
    Stakes Is High – De La Soul
    Fuck Tha’ Police – NWA
    Police Story – Black Flag
    Police Truck – Dead Kennedys

    Long on grit, to be sure. Romantic in a kinda pathological way. Fun as hell, though.

    Ah, youth.

  150. 150.

    Dennis SGMM

    @Onkel Fritze:
    It’s not to everyone’s taste, to be sure. I figured that you would recognize because IIRC it was contemporaneous with “Driver’s Seat.”

  155. 155.

    NewHavenGuy

    All this and More.

    Just realized “We Were Soldiers” is a far better film if you blast punk rock every time Mel Gibson starts speechifying. Honest, take that out and it’s a decent film treatment of a very interesting and Tragic battle.

  156. 156.

    NewHavenGuy

    Also, too: One Track Mind. Yes, I get the double entendres and I remember that Johnny Thunders was way in love with heroin. One of the great love songs* though, and with NYC grit to spare.

    *Love songs about a girl/guy I mean, as opposed to loving a drug. Reed and Laughner were better at that than Thunders. Dee-Dee, too.

  160. 160.

    Roy G.

    @jayackroyd: You and Lou for the win:

    Manhattan’s sinking like a rock, into the filthy Hudson what a shock
    They wrote a book about it, they said it was like ancient Rome
    Perfume burned his eyes, holding tightly to her thighs
    And something flickered for a minute and then it vanished and was gone…

  165. 165.

    Glyph_2112

    Romeo and Juliet by the Dire Straits. Yup. No question about this one. 5 stars in my iTunes library. Great call to the first poster.

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