A Prehistoric Playlist

Introduction

Vocal has a new challenge "Poemosaurus Rex" a poem about a dinosaur, so I thought I would create a playlist of dinosaur and prehistoric related popular songs most of which are in my collection.

The Move - "Brontosaurus"

This is an absolutely monstrous riff and appropriate for the title. I bought this when it came out, and it still sounds huge today.

Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers- "I'm A Little Dinosaur" from "Modern Lovers Live"

This is just too cute not to include, I don't know what else to say but if you listen to this it will put a smile on your face.

Was/Not Was - "Walk The Dinosaur"

This was a favourite of Juliet and Kirsty when they were young, and probably every dinosaur loving child and adult ever. I love the work of Don and David Was and this is just one of many great creations of theirs.

Brian Eno - "Sombre Reptiles" from "Another Green World"

While not mentioning a specific dinosaur, "sombre reptiles" makes me think of big lizards and the music makes you think of large lizards, which is what dinosaurs are. The video is some that I took at the Mouth of Tyne Festival in 2011 and the lizards and disaurs in this are still fairly amazing.

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band - "Water Beastie " from "Rockdrill"

This is about the Loch Ness Monster which is supposedly still living and haunting north of the border. "Nessie" is a plesiosaur like creature, if it exists, and for many people it really does.

Queen Latifah - "Walk The Dinosaur" from "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs"

This maintains the fun spirit of the original, but I didn't realise Queen Latifah had covered it, but it is remarkably great fun, as is the film that it is from.

Blue Öyster Cult - "Godzilla" from "Spectres"

Though Godzilla is not a real dinosaur, the design of cinema’s first Godzilla in 1954 was based on the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the Iguanodon with the spinal fins of a Stegosaurus.

The song has a ponderous riff that is suitable for the huge monster that it tells a tale about.

Alice In Chains -- "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here"

This is a brilliantly ominous piece.

It parodies the fundamentalist creationist notion that dinosaur fossils were put on earth by evil forces to fool humanity about the true age and nature of God’s planet. “Are we supposed to believe that some little mythical dude with cloven hooves cruised around the planet hiding bones that were millions of years old to fool us for some fucking reason?” drummer Sean Kinney asked Noisecreep. It was a rhetorical question, but no, we’re not.

King Crimson - "Dinosaur" from "THRAK"

King Crimson are archetypal progressive rock and always comprised of the most accomplished musicians, led by Robert Fripp (the guitar on Bowie's "Heroes" that is Bob Fripp). Some of their music is incredibly complex and may not be to everyone's taste.

Though the music is heavy the vocals remind me in part of David Byrne of the Talking Heads.

With the mellotron crashes and insistent police-siren riff, Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew were audibly inspired by The Beatles’ gibberish classic "I Am The Walrus"

Dagoba – "I, Reptile"

French Industrial Metal band Dagoba takes us on a full-on metal rampage lamenting the extinction of dinosaurs:

“Gigantic lizards ruled the world,

in a second disappeared forever,

Jurassic kingdom turned to ashes.”

A fitting song to close this playlist although it may frighten of off some people, just like a real dinosaur would.

Thank you for accompanying me through this prehistoric playlist.