A little weekend music (Rock and Roll edition)

The neighborhood I live in used to be the halfway house area for Chicago. Most of those have been rolled up, but due to the social services that sprung up in their wake, it still has an inordinate number of addicts, recovering addicts, and generally unfortunate souls.

Most of the denizens are harmless and our encounters unusually involve them waving scraps of paper at me or informing me that my dog looks like a dingo. One of the benefits of living here is that on my daily dog walks, I can sing my favorite Stones songs out loud while imagining a choir of guitars behind me without attracting any undue scrutiny.

Herewith, my top five songs to sing while pretending to be a rock god — which are not coincidentally the greatest pure rock and roll songs of all time:

5) The Creation – Making Time

“The secret, I don’t know… I guess you’ve just gotta find something you love to do and then… do it for the rest of your life. For me, it’s going to Rushmore.”

4) Iggy and the Stooges – I Wanna Be Your Dog

There are girls out there who claim to find Iggy Pop sexually appealing. You should probably avoid these girls.

3) The Velvet Underground – What Goes On

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the 1969 live version, which will melt your face off if you listen to it all the way through.

2) The Who – Young Man Blues

I think you should be awarded some sort of badge of courage if you’re willing to play live onstage with Keith Moon.

1) The Rolling Stones – Can’t You Hear Me Knocking

From the opening riff to the conga-driven coda, this is the only song in the world that could make me want to be Keith Richards. Sadly, the only live footage I could find was shot recently and I’m not cruel enough to post it.