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Last week I brought you three songs that I have a particular distaste for. Ranting about bad music may be fun but I like to focus on the positive. That’s why this week I’m looking at three songs that I love and trying to show you why they’re so great.

The Who – Baba O’Riley

Kicking off The Who’s magnum opus Who’s Next, “Baba O’Riley” is the ultimate opening song from any album. The Who were of course all great musicians who made a ton of fantastic songs, but nowhere did they all come together better than here.

As the opening chords come in, fist pumping just can’t be helped. One Direction got into some controversy for ripping them off on their song “Best Song Ever” but really, who can blame them? At least they ripped of a song that deserves to be called the best song ever.

What I love most about this song is how it builds up on itself. We start with the keys, which on their own are epic enough. Then we add drums and guitar, pumping up the song that extra bit. Then Roger Daltry’s vocals come in, some of the best he’s ever laid down. Finally we have a frantic violin solo as everything builds up into a crashing finish. This is what makes it the ultimate opening song, it just keeps upping the ante and getting the listener more and more pumped.

As I said, Baba O’Riley is the perfect opening song. It’s designed to get you excited and pumped for what’s to come. But even ignoring that it’s just a fantastic song in general. It manages to be the best of The Who’s extremely impressive collection of songs, a track where all four members came together perfectly.

Prince – Purple Rain

I’m not a huge Prince fan to be honest. This is through no fault of his, I definitely think he’s talented. It’s just that I’m not a big fan of his style. His voice has always put me off and many of his overly sexual lyrics cross the line into silly for me. That said, he’s a talented enough musician that many of his songs work for me despite all this. The entire Purple Rain album is a great example of this, but the title track in particular is something special.

I think the reason “Purple Rain” works so well for me is it has everything that makes Prince an incredible talent and none of the traits that usually annoy me about him. The song isn’t overly sexual and Prince sings much lower than he normally does. Still, it’s an incredibly well put-together song, as most Prince songs are. I’m a sucker for a powerful chorus and “Purple Rain” is the best of the bunch, building up each time to become more and more epic.

By far the best part of this song however is Prince’s guitar work. People often forget just how amazing a guitarist Prince is, but by god does he prove it here. The song has a fantastic guitar line throughout which moves into a stunning solo at the end of the track. “Purple Rain” is by far Prince’s best work to me, a song where all of his talents as a singer, guitarist and songwriter come together perfectly.

Blind Melon – Change

If I could point to one band that summed up 90s rock, it would be Blind Melon. They had the upbeat sunny nature of Weezer or the New Radicals but there was something a bit darker hiding underneath, more reminiscent of Alice in Chains. That’s not to say that Weezer or the New Radicals were incapable of putting meaning into their songs, just that frontman Shannon Hoon was clearly not the most stable person. And of course, like many of the big 90s rockstars, he died young at just 28.

I’ve always felt as though Blind Melon deserve more recognition. Despite “No Rain” being a hit, and one of the first the follow “Smells Like Teen Spirit” making it particularly memorable, and their mascot Bee Girl (Heather DeLoach), being somewhat of an iconic figure for 90s rock, they’re not as well remembered as many of their contemporaries. Sure, “No Rain” is likely to feature on any “Best of the 90s” compilation and Bee Girl has been referenced by other acts such as Weird Al and Pearl Jam, but as a whole the band is mostly forgotten.

It really is a shame to me that Blind Melon are seen as one hit wonders. Don’t get me wrong, I like “No Rain” as much as the next guy, it’s a fantastic song. But they had so much more to offer. That’s why today I’m looking at “Change” another single from their first album.

The song is a great example of what I was talking about earlier. While not as outwardly upbeat as “No Rain” or “Tones of Home,” the song does a lot to evoke a kind of summery feel. And yet beneath the surface it’s a song about, in my eyes, about depression and needing to make a change in your life. Despite the upbeat tone, lines like, “…when your deepest thoughts are broken,/Keep on dreaming boy, cause when you stop dreaming it’s time to die.” Are great at painting a picture of hopelessness and how difficult it can be to change when you’re stuck in a rut. From this, it seems Hoon is talking about his cocaine addiction, which he tried and failed to beat.

Often I dislike cheery sounding songs with depressing lyrics. There’s a time and a place for them, but often it seems like a cheap way of having your cake and eating it too. Songs like Ed Sheeran’s “The A-Team” are designed so that people can spout meaningless clichés like, “Ooh, it really makes you think, doesn’t it?” while still being pleasant-sounding enough for the average listener to not be put off. I prefer songs to fit the mood of their lyrics. But “Change” works for me, perhaps because it never feels like a compromise. In a weird way, despite the contrast, it suits itself. And to be fair, the song does seem to have a weird kind of optimism to it. Hoon is talking about a bad place in his life so of course the lyrics are going to be somewhat depressing, but he seems hopeful that he’ll get out of it. Assuming the song is about Hoon’s addiction then hindsight puts a more depressing light on it, given that we know he unfortunately failed to change.

Blind Melon are really a band that deserves more attention. Hell, I don’t really know why they’re not as fondly remembered as Alice in Chains or The Smashing Pumpkins. Their debut album is one of the best of the 90s and if it weren’t for Hoon’s overdose in 1995, I imagine they would have gone on to do great things. They’re a band to be that may seem simple on the outside, but really had a lot going on.