Top Ten Dulli Songs

Indulge me. For those readers who simply dislike his music or have no interest in it -- I invite you to stop reading this post now. Otherwise, treat yourselves to my personal list of top ten favorite Greg Dulli - penned hits. Frontman of the band that consoled me through numerous lonely nights and heartbreaks, The Afghan Whigs (and later on The Twilight Singers and Gutter Twins), Dulli has voiced my both id and ego for my adolescence and the adolescent-esque adulthood. More than any other songwriter I've been a fan of (this includes Tom Waits, Springsteen, Dylan and Bono), Dulli has remained consistent -- true to himself in his brooding over the darkest end of our emotional spectrum, his celebration of the lost weekends (weeks, years) that we should feel guilty about as we climb out of our hangovers and his overwhelming love of the mash-up between crunching power chords, seductive slide, badass-motherfucker wawa, funkdified organ and soul-laced back-up vocals (in short, baby making music).

And the performances... oh the performances -- in the '90s, these were the only concerts where you could catch this would-be hipster dancing his ass off. It was okay to let it all hang out -- to not be offended if a stranger grinded up against you (or vice versa). These were like religious experiences -- going to the stadium to see Jerry Falwell for the faithful pilgrims -- albeit an NC-17 version with Dulli at the pulpit. I saw him when he was chainsmoking in a black suit, when he bloated up and was coked out of his mind (and crowd surfed at Boston's Paradise on Valentine's Day while slaughtering Pearl Jam's Alive) and when he sobered up to start writing the best rock of his life.

So here it is -- my personal top ten - and one should note that no covers have been included as that would need a top ten of its own (which is and should be contested as I'm sure I'll name you ten different songs next week):

1. When We Two Parted (Gentleman)


2. Bonnie Brae (Powder Burns)


3. Crime Scene, Part One (Black Love)


4. Faded (Black Love)


5. Miles Iz Dead (Congregation)


6. Teenage Wristband (Blackberry Belle)


7. Debonair (Gentleman)


8. Going to Town (Black Love)


9. I'm Ready (Powder Burns)


10. My Curse (Gentleman)


BONUS -- cause these guys are back and look and sound better than ever!