"Sad Days, Lonely Nights" by James Blood Ulmer

Whenever I want to feel like a real bad-ass, like a main character in a ’70s Blaxploitation pic or an early Scorsese film, all I need to do is play this song on my headphones while I’m walking down the street.

This is a bumping guitar, bass, and harmonica riff with soul and ‘60s psychedelic flavors mixed in. But Ulmer’s gravel-road voice never let’s you forget that this is the blues. The sound is relentless and cuts right to the bone. It’s a great song to clear your head and rev your engines at the same time.