So why is Caesars’ Love For The Streets on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
In scouting around Ye Olde Interwebs while thinking about what to write about Love For The Streets, I came across this piece. It’s basically a teardown of the Caesars’ third album based entirely on its perceived weak lyrics.
I’m reminded yet again that lyrics are not my highest priority when it comes to music. They’re just not. On a fundamental level, I vibe with Dick Clark from the iconic old school TV show, American Bandstand: does it have a good beat, and can you dance to it?
Which is to say it’s the music, the energy, the attitude, the performance, the vibe, the hook, and the sound that speaks to me first, second, and third. If all of that stuff is clicking, then and only then do I truly start to care about the lyrics themselves.
As I discussed in the entry for Desire (#462 of best 1,000 albums ever), by Bob Dylan, there are cases where the sound and the lyrics gel together in a way that makes the whole far greater than the sum of its parts – such as on the incredible and shattering “Hurricane” – but it’s not at all critical to make for a great song.
Which brings us – and I’m smirking a little while writing these words – to the Caesars’ “Jerk It Out.”
It’s a great song, truly, all smirks aside. “Jerk It Out” is hooks for days, gorgeous melody, high energy, and catchy as all get out. This isn’t a song that’s supposed to be an epic and tragic tale of an aspiring boxer framed for a triple murder (see: “Hurricane”). It’s a song that’s perfectly contented to be about:
‘Cause it’s easy once you know how it’s done
You can’t stop now
It’s already begun
And what is the song title referring to? It can be… about whatever you want it to be about. Sometimes there’s power in that kind of songwriting too, I suppose.
Dig? Okay, let’s move on.
“Candy Kane” sounds a little bit like its song title, as sweet a poppy rock song as you can get. This song makes me think that Caesars sound in some ways like a much more pop version of fellow Swedish band The Hives (who I have enormous adoration for – we’ll be seeing a lot more of those wild pop punk lads down the best 1,000 albums ever line; this I can assure you).
And then “Let My Freak Fly,” between its (wonderful) reliance on the organ and its garage-y pop rock sound, reminds me of a relatively obscure band from the ‘80s called the Cheepskates. We’ll be hearing from them as well, oh yes.
Personal stuff that’s somehow related to Caesars’ Love For The Streets
As mentioned, the Caesars are from Sweden and apparently were originally known as Caesars Palace. In either case, I think for most Americans, when we think about Caesar as a singular we think Julius Caesar, but when we think about Caesars plural, we immediately think about Vegas.
As in Vegas baby, Vegas…
I’ve been to Las Vegas many times. Here are some thoughts:
- Short and sweet visits seem to work best. I’m not a big “crowds person,” and Vegas tends to be wall-to-wall people. And relatively quickly, the chimes, noise, and 24-hour party till you… something vibe gets old pretty quickly for me.
- On the whole, I’ve enjoyed myself most when I refrained from gambling entirely.
- It’s weirdly a great city for walking. Each modern casino is like its own indoor city, really. It’s kind of fun to simply take in the spectacle while getting your daily steps in. If I’m alone, I enjoy putting headphones on while doing this. I feel similarly about large airports too.
- The last few times I’ve been to Vegas, I’ve been really impressed with the restaurants.
- All of the above is pretty specific to the Vegas Strip. There’s lots of advice around, “You need to get off the Strip in Vegas,” which I haven’t had the opportunity to do as yet.
Pop culture stuff that has something to do with Caesars’ Love For The Streets
For an album called Love For The Streets, I’d be remiss to not remind everyone that Dr. Dre’s still got love for the streets as well.
And speaking of The Streets, here’s a bonus song which happens to be one of my favorite songs of all time, “Let’s Push Things Forward.”
Some stats & info about Caesars – Love For The Streets
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Swedish Bands, Indie Rock, Pop Music, Garage Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – not rated!
- When was Love For The Streets released? 2002
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #459 out of 1,000
Caesars’ Love For The Streets on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Caesars’ Love For The Streets that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Wind me up, put me down, start me off and watch me go.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.