It’s been four year since my first time and I’m still blogging. Seems longer somehow. Time once again to look back and revisit some of my favorite songs from the past year. Enjoy!
 |
| Columbo |
01. Classics IV – “Traces” (1969) from Oldies: Pass the Fritos IX
I know I’ve been watching too many Columbo episodes when the protagonist’s words in this song immediately raise my suspicions he may have committed murder. The song also has for me that certain California Sound- I can almost feel the sunshine and hear the Pacific Ocean (though Classics IV were apparently from Atlanta by way of Jacksonville). Still, the haunting melody, soothing strings, and above average sax solo- I’ll take it all, thank you very much. BTW- You already know their big hit, “Spooky”.
02. Cracker – “Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)” (1992) from New Faves 04/04/2021
I guess as a high school senior and lead singer for Twinkie Force I was not listening to radio much when this song hit number one on the modern rock charts (whatever that is) in the spring of ‘92. Was this a dig at grunge and how serious and mopey music was becoming in the early ‘90s? The singer laments he has more use for Frank Sinatra than whatever else was happening in music at the time. I hear you.
03. Alkaline Trio – “She Lied to the FBI” (2013) from New Faves 04/04/2021
Nothing fancy. Just a catchy title, catchy song, and voilà. It’s not that hard, people.
04. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band – “Night Moves” (1976) from Playlist: Classic Rock: Choice Cuts
Bryan Adams has reportedly said this Bob Seger classic was the inspiration behind “Summer of ‘69”. Why does it seem all the great love affairs take place in summer? Must be something deep inside us. Took me nearly 50 years but I am finally coming to appreciate the music of Bob Seger. Bob Seger!
05. The Beatles – “Eleanor Rigby” (1966) from In Search of Baroque Pop
“Ahhhh, look at all the lonely people.” I have this vision of long ago watching something about the Beatles on TV and “Eleanor Rigby” playing over disturbing black and white footage of Beatlemania with all the girls screaming, crying, and trying to get closer to the Fab Four. “All the lonely people. Where do they all come from?” “We’re more popular than Jesus,” John Lennon got criticized for saying at the height of Beatlemania. 14 years later, one of those lonely people found and murdered him.
Such a strange and lovely song. Cole recorded an earlier version in 1948 but I prefer this one.
 |
| Gordon Lightfoot |
07. The Doors – “People Are Strange” (1967) from Playlist: Psychedelic Laundromat
We don’t choose which music influences us- especially when we’re young- and, for better or worse, the Doors’ music was a big influence on me during my early teenage years. During some lame ninth grade superlatives ceremony at school, I was voted and awarded most original hairstyle (I had a shaved head) and when my female counterpart and I were called on stage to receive our awards (she had kind of a short bob hairdo), this song was playing. I grew my hair out. She later shaved her head.
08. Gordon Lightfoot – “Christian Island (Georgian Bay)” (1972) from Blue Jean Rock Poets V – Part 1
Lightfoot’s Canadian summer holiday fantasy with Silverheels (great name). You can almost smell the perfume and cigarette smoke and hear the empty booze bottles rolling around below deck.
09. Loudon Wainwright III – “Your Mother and I” (1986) from Playlist: Folkies
“Your mother and I are both feeling bad.” This is kind of like Raffi for adults. I could almost hear and imagine Raffi covering this song. Maybe?
10. John Gorka – “The One That Got Away” (1990) from Playlist: Folkies
Recorded more than 20 years before the Civil Wars song of the same name.
11. Manassas – “It Doesn’t Matter” (1972) from Classic Rock: Choice Cuts VII
Something kind of chilly and spooky about this song that makes me want to put it on a Halloween mix. To me the sound of this supergroup- led by Stephen Stills- well represents the apex of FM classic rock. Cool album cover- cold day at the Manassas train station, I guess. The front and back album covers are actually one photo. I’ve heard good things about this double album- might be worth a listen.
12. Harper and Rowe – “On the Roof Top” (1967) from In Praise of Sunshine Pop III
Nothing fancy, just straight ahead, catchy, exciting AM pop recorded back when you could write, record, and have a hit single in the charts all in a matter of weeks- and then be forgotten in even less time.
13. KC and the Sunshine Band – “Please Don’t Go” (1979) from New Faves 03/18/2021
One nice thing about living in the Caribbean is radio is still popular here, the DJs are entertaining, and you can hear everything, including local sounds, while driving around the island. I think I heard this ‘70s song for the first time while driving home from work a few months ago and it’s become a new favorite.
14. The Beach Boys – “God Only Knows” (1966) from Playlist: In Praise of Sunshine Pop
I think it was April 1996. I was going through a really tough time at college- away from home- and this album was one of the few things that brought me comfort. While it may be overrated, I think Pet Sounds is one of the best proper albums of the ‘60s (Brian Wilson advises people to listen to it with headphones in the dark). Also, I’ve always felt a sort of kinship with Brian Wilson since, among other things, we share the same first name- and my mom’s maiden name is Wilson. Recently, I got sucked into watching a guilty pleasure marathon of Big Love for which “God Only Knows” is the opening theme song.
15. Ween – “Boys Club” (1994) from What’s the Alternative? IV – Part 3
Ween were never known for having any taste which leaves me wondering why Gene and Dean left this one off their magnum opus, Chocolate and Cheese, before the song surfaced 10 years later on an outtakes compilation, Shinola, Vol. 1. Fun but weird (this is Ween after all), “Boys Club” makes me smile yet also fills my mind with creepy, yellowed images similar to the below Walker Brothers album cover.
16. Bruce Springsteen – “Thunder Road (Live)” (1975) from New Faves 04/04/2021
Bruce Springsteen was huge in the ‘70s- fans and critics saw him as rock’s savior- and it’s not hard to hear why on this live recording from a ‘75 concert in London. When news broke of Springsteen’s 2020 alcohol arrest in New Jersey, Twinkie Force was considering reuniting (virtually) to record an album of all new material and so I wrote a song called “Tequila Road” in honor of the Boss- which will probably never get recorded. “Call Little Steven, call Barack Obama, call Jeep, get me out of this.”
17. Loudon Wainwright III – “The Acid Song” (1986) from Playlist: Folkies
One of those songs everyone should hear at least once. LSD was legal in the United States until 1968 but just because something is legal does not mean it’s good for you. “Think twice before dropping acid.”
18. Neil Diamond – “Brooklyn Roads” (1968) from Channeling AM Pop – Part 1
In addition to sharing the same birthday, sounds like Neil Diamond and I shared a similar childhood. In this song, I can identify with the singer’s fond childhood memories of love, happiness, and family, and bad memories of school where exasperated teachers and administrators told my parents I was gifted, yes, but also dreamy and unruly. Yet even as a little boy I knew I was going places in my mind and imagination that my detractors could not even fathom. Looking back, I probably should have been in a Montessori school where I’ve heard the education is more student directed. Instead, to save me from boredom and daily indignity, I was removed from public school and placed in Catholic school.
 |
| Rosey Chan |
19. Lack of Afro – “The Basis” (2009) from New Faves 03/18/2021
I don’t know what this is, but more songs like it, please!
20. Rosey Chan – “Infinity” (2021) from Classical Music Faves V
I abandoned piano lessons while still in Catholic school but I still like to tickle the ivories on my mother’s piano. While I don’t know how to play, people say the melodies I produce on the piano are gloomy and dramatic. I can relate to what Rosey Chan is doing in this song. Moving from key to key, chord to chord, it may seem random at first, and you’re not sure what’s coming next, yet somehow it all works affectively.
Listen to the playlist on Spotify...
No comments:
Post a Comment