"THE END" THE DOORS (1967)

Exceptional soundtracks can make good movies great. They can also take on a life of their own, becoming a greater highlight than their respective films. In this series, I’m selecting some of my favorite soundtrack songs. While quite a few are well-known recordings, I’m also including a few that have flown under the radar over the years.

“The End” is the kind of anthemic creation that many bands hope to achieve once in their career. The Doors did it right out of the gate. It has incredible depth and maturity in both the songwriting and instrumentation. And it came off their self-titled debut LP, an album that would be another band’s greatest hits compilation.

“The End” was well-suited for the storyline and mood of Apocalypse Now. It does things musically that no other song has done. In rock history, you’ll be hard pressed to find another track that makes tambourine and hi-hat hits not just integral pieces, but the driving force behind the music. “The End” is also a vocal playground - leading us in a hazy psychedelic fog with Morrison’s slow meanderings and vocal spats and outbursts. The irony of it all is that “The End” isn’t so much a final statement as it is a beginning of new ideas and expressions.

“The end of our elaborate plans. The end of everything that stands.”

"GOLDEN - LIVE AT THE FILLMORE" MY MORNING JACKET (2005)

In my series “Long Live Live”, I’m highlighting some of the most revered live recordings of all time. You’ll see my musical biases, but there’s no doubt that each of these tracks played a pivotal role in shaping music history. I started Mental Jukebox last year because I needed another music listening outlet when there were no more live shows to go to. These songs remind me that nothing will ever replace the blend of atmosphere and performance captured in the live experience.

There’s a magical element to live shows that many of us have been missing since the pandemic began. That special aura that comes with quieter songs. Songs that transport us and immerse us well into the night. That’s “Golden”, one of My Morning Jacket’s slower, sleepier songs. The band’s live recording at The Fillmore is full of live magic—the kind of performance that makes you wish the concert never ends.

“Sure sometimes they thrill me. But nothin' could ever chill me. Like the way they make the time just disappear.”

"HEY JOE - LIVE AT MONTEREY" JIMI HENDRIX (1967)

In my series “Long Live Live”, I’m highlighting some of the most revered live recordings of all time. You’ll see my musical biases, but there’s no doubt that each of these tracks played a pivotal role in shaping music history. I started Mental Jukebox last year because I needed another music listening outlet when there were no more live shows to go to. These songs remind me that nothing will ever replace the blend of atmosphere and performance captured in the live experience.

At the time of Jimi’s legendary performance at the Monterey Pop Festival, “Hey Joe” was a brand new song. In many ways, it’s a microcosm of everything that’s incredible about Hendrix. It’s his effortless blend of blues, hard rock and ingenious ability to reinvent other people’s songs with incredible power. “Hey Joe”, more than any other Hendrix classic, is exactly the kind of song that I miss hearing live.

“Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand?”

"SPACE ODDITY" DAVID BOWIE (1969)

Bowie was a master at creating characters—and even at times embodying their personas—from Aladdin Sane to Ziggy Stardust. On “Space Oddity”, we met Major Tom, a fictional astronaut who launched into space with much promise, but ultimately faced his own demise by the end of the five minute song. “Space Oddity” was an imaginative story that pointed us to a universe where electric guitar rock can co-exist with a string symphony.

“This is Major Tom to Ground Control. I'm stepping through the door. And I'm floating in a most peculiar way. And the stars look very different today.”

"LITTLE WING" JIMI HENDRIX (1967)

It’s easy to appreciate the more sonic expressions of Jimi Hendrix’s guitar playing—from “All Along the Watchtower” to “Voodoo Child”. But in some ways, “Little Wing” was more impressive in its understated way. On it Hendrix demonstrated an amazing rhythm & blues-infused guitar style. It was an intricate and delicate display of the Stratocaster. But it was also an exercise in restraint. Proof that the guitar can have a prominent place in even a ballad.

“Butterflies and zebras. And Moonbeams and fairy tales. That's all she ever thinks about.”

"WHITE ROOM" CREAM (1968)

It’s such a classic that it’s easy to forget that “White Room” is a freak of nature. It was unlike anything else that was playing on the radio at the time. From Jack Bruce’s opening composition, it seemed to come from another land. And the amazing oddities just kept coming - with Clapton’s wah-wah pedal jamming and Bruce’s angelic falsetto interlude. “White Room” was a case in point that rock and roll could be whatever the hell you wanted it to be.

“I'll wait in this place where the sun never shines. Wait in this place where the shadows run from themselves.”

"SOMEBODY TO LOVE" JEFFERSON AIRPLANE (1967)

A song for the times if there ever was one. “Somebody to Love” boasts one of the most iconic choruses in music history. A proclamation belted from a young Grace Slick. When I think of Woodstock, one of the most memorable eras in music, this is one of the first songs that comes to mind. Jefferson Airplane took the stage on Day Three of the festival at Max Yasgur’s farm, and “Somebody to Love” was the second song on their setlist.

“When the truth is found to be lies and all the joy within you dies, don't you want somebody to love.”

"WAITING FOR THE SUN" THE DOORS (1970)

The Doors made music however the hell they wanted to. If it meant making the keyboard a bigger deal than the guitar, then so be it. If it meant taking psychedelic rock and drowning it in the blues, then so be it. There are so many Doors songs that are permanently enshrined in the classic rock canon. But I think the reason “Waiting for the Sun” always comes back to me is because it gave every signature Doors element its rightful moment in the spotlight.

“Waiting for you to come along. Waiting for you to hear my song. Waiting for you to come along. Waiting for you to tell me what went wrong.”

"ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER" JIMI HENDRIX (1968)

Throughout my middle and high school years, I lived next door to a Jimi Hendrix fanatic. My brother was fascinated with the sounds that guitars made, and Hendrix was one of the masters that inspired and influenced him and many other players. This Dylan cover has always been one of my favorite songs from a music catalog that was impressively deep given Hendrix’s brief life span. In “All Along the Watchtower”, he found a way to make rock, blues and jazz blend so effortlessly together.

“There must be some kind of way outta here, said the joker to the thief. There's too much confusion. I can't get no relief.”

"BOX OF RAIN" GRATEFUL DEAD (1970)

I’m pretty sure it’s universally accepted that non-deadheads will never truly understand deadheads. I’ve known a few, from high school, through college and beyond. I never got it. Then again, I’ve never seen the Dead live. The recordings take on new life in concert I’m sure. But I can still appreciate 1970 as a prolific era for this band, pumping out both Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty in a single year. And I can still appreciate “Box of Rain” for throwing in a few chord progressions that I didn’t see coming.

“What do you want me to do, to do for you to see you through? For this is all a dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago.”

"THE LESS I KNOW THE BETTER" TAME IMPALA (2015)

At one point in 2015, it felt like Tame Impala was the hottest band on the planet. And “The Less I Know the Better” was one of their staples. It’s a musical study in contrasts. Rock elements. Disco accents. Ethereal vocals and keys. Devilish guitar riff. It seems like it shouldn’t work. These things don’t belong together. But it’s the contrasts that grab you. The contrasts Form thIs song’s identity and make it one of the StroNgest tracks on Currents.

“She said, ‘It's not now or never. Wait ten years, we'll be together.’ I said, ‘Better late than never. Just don't make me wait forever.’”

"MURDER TO THE MIND" TASH SULTANA (2018)

A multi-instrumentalist who’s freakishly good at too many things. What can’t Tash Sultana do? Two of her best qualities—singing and guitar playing—are on full display on “Murder to the Mind”. But it’s the melody that shines. It’s infectious. It’s soulful. And it flows effortlessly. Tash delivers a mind-blowing performance of it in both the studio and live. “Murder to the Mind” also has one of my all-time favorite Tash guitar solos, with a little less than a minute to go on the track. It’s sonic and soul building off each other to the very last bar.

“Still wish sometimes in my life where I have to go to extremes. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't see the beautiful world that was in front of you. And I was back and forth forgiveness, but I couldn't forgive myself. And I was screaming out for help.”