Unless you live under a rock you know that the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is underway. In honor of March Madness, I present a Top Five Friday mix for the crazies in the crowd.
1. The World’s Gone Mad - Handsome Boy Modeling School
Handsome Boy Modeling School is a collaboration between Dan the Automator and Prince Paul. This track is off their second album, White People, and it features Del The Funky Homosapien, Barrington Levy, and Alex Kapranos (of Franz Ferdinand). It’s a really interesting mixture of genres: reggae, hip hop, rock.
2. I’m Going Slightly Mad - Queen
This was one of Queen’s last singles before Freddie Mercury passed away. According to Wikipedia, the song, though sounding jaunty and tongue-in-cheek, was written about spells of AIDS-induced dementia that Mercury was suffering from at the time. The video for this track is one of Queen’s best known.
3. Madman Across the Water - Elton John
Off his album of the same name, Madman Across the Water is one of Elton John’s heaviest rock tunes. From the off-kilter lyrics to the amazing instrumental break(down?) in the middle to Sir Elton’s creepy vocal, this track is among the best of his early work (which is the best of all his work).
4. Mad Tom of Bedlam - Jolie Holland
This track is one of those songs that I can listen to over and over again. When I hear this song with it’s haunting melody and it’s sparse instrumentation (just a drum kit!), I picture scenes from the 19th century. Jack the Ripper, maybe, stopping at the pub for a drink before he goes on his hunt. It’s a testament to the talent of Jolie Holland that she can rock a song like this with just her voice and a drum kit. One of my favorite songs of all time.
5. Our House - Madness
Know what isn’t one of my favorite songs? This one. But I couldn’t let a mix of songs about madness go without having a song by Madness. Seemed too apropos. That’s about all I have for this one. I’ll let the ’80s cheesiness speak for itself.
I don’t really follow college basketball during the season, but for some reason, I get into it at tournament time. So far, my bracket is looking pretty good. I picked Florida and Georgetown in the final, with Georgetown winning the championship. But I’d be happy if Winthrop went all the way.
