Now that the influx of visitors who came all last week for the White Marlin Open have left, the roads are a little more open to cruise throughout Ocean City. And with the weather taking a moderate turn this week, this is the best time all summer to put down the windows and drive around town to enjoy the sights and sounds. While I’m cruising down the road, I normally like to play songs I can sing along to, but sometimes I get in the mood to listen to an instrumental jam (I also think people would appreciate not hearing me sing). Now I’d like to share with you my six favorite instrumental songs of all time in hopes that you’ll join me in this great weather as well by blasting your favorite instrumental tunes over your speakers.

 

“Storm: Lift Yr. Skinny Fists, Like Antennas to Heaven…”
By: Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Off the album: Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (2000)
    We start with every college kid’s favorite obscure band and one of the strangest band names you will ever hear. Named after a 70s Japanese documentary about a bike gang in the country called the Black Emperors, Godspeed You! Black Emperor is an instrumental post-rock band from Canada who has been playing essentially entirely instrumental music since the 90s. This song is the opening track of the album, which is lauded as one of the best albums of the decade. Although the band fell off the map in 2003, leaving fans to speculate they broke up, they surprisingly resurfaced in 2010 and released their first album in ten years just last year. That album – ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! – was the band’s first to officially chart, so hopefully this means we’ll have much more soothing and moving instrumental rock from them for years to come.

 

“Snow and Lights”
By: Explosions in the Sky
Off the album: How Strange, Innocence (2000)
    Keeping with the theme of instrumental post-rock, Explosions in the Sky has a very similar sound to Godspeed You! Black Emperor, but is more accessible in their songwriting style. This album, the band’s first, had an interesting release history. The band originally made only 600 copies of the album, half on CD and half on vinyl. The album was later reissued on a much grander scale in 2005, but the original release is a highly coveted collector’s item for fans. Thanks to the internet, you can go online and find the original album for sale; the CD is going for only around $250 and the vinyl can be yours for the low price of $400!

 

“Bron-Yr-Aur”
By: Led Zeppelin
Off the album: Physical Graffiti (1975)
    Yes, Led Zeppelin has a few instrumental songs that are much more epic than this, but since we’ve already covered them before in previous columns, I’ve decided to talk about what I think is one of the most peaceful songs the band ever wrote. Originally written by guitarist Jimmy Page during the recording sessions of the album Led Zeppelin III, this acoustic song wasn’t officially released until five years after its recording. The song is not to be confused with the song “Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp” from Led Zeppelin III, but both names were clearly inspired by the cottage in Wales (pronounced “Brawn-are-air”) where the band recorded their third album. The name is Welsh for “golden hill” describing the often beautiful sunrise seen every morning from the property.

 

“Any Colour You Like”
By: Pink Floyd
Off the album: The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
    Written for a concept album exploring the nature of human experience, “Any Colour You Like” is an interesting inclusion being that it has no words. How is there supposed to be a concept if there are no words telling us what it’s about? According to an interview from former frontman and bassist Roger Waters, the title itself is a hint towards the song’s meaning. Inspired by the famous quote attributed to Henry Ford that “you can have it any color you like, as long as it’s black,” and door to door salesmen offering no color variety to the items they are selling, the song explores the idea that oftentimes people think they are given a choice, when in fact there isn’t one.

 

“Frankenstein”
By: The Edgar Winter Group
Off the album: They Only Come Out at Night (1972)
    Since the last song on the list surprisingly did have a meaning, then this wild, synthesizer heavy song must have something to do with the classic literary character, right? Wrong. When the band originally recorded the song, it was much, much longer than the final version and it didn’t have much structure. After several alterations to the recording, the final track’s tape was made up of several sections that were spliced together literally by using a razor blade and tape. That, along with the fact that frontman Edgar Winter has called the song to have a “monster-like, lumbering beat,” the band chose the name “Frankenstein.”

 

“Green Onions”
By: Booker T. & the M.G.s
Off the album: Green Onions (1962)
    To me, this is the most flawless and amazing instrumental song recorded by man, and this song is one that will always help me get into a good mood. There are a few interesting stories going around about how the song was named. Guitarist Steve Cropper has said the song was named after a cartoon cat called Green Onions, of whose walking style inspired the classic keyboard riff. Meanwhile, Booker T. himself has said he named the song after wild green onions “because that is the nastiest thing I can think of and it’s something you throw away.” Obviously not satisfied by that answer, Peter Sagal of NPR show Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! asked Booker T. earlier this year why the song was called “Green Onions.” His response then was that the band’s bassist at the time, Lewie Steinberg, wanted to call the song “Funky Onions” because of its funky beat. Thinking the name was too low-class, they apparently decided on the name “Green Onions.” Whatever story is true, thousands of fans will continue to believe the song name is really a reference to a different green colored plant that also has a strong and unique scent.