What’ll I Do?

The Year in Music: The Titular Playlist

Lately, I seem to be making a lot of excuses.  Many starts, few finishes. A lack of sticktoitiveness that may eventually call my birthright citizenship into question.

I could attribute this lassitude (it’s not quite yet sloth) to many things. But such musings seem to beckon me to a darker place I’m not in the mood to visit. Despite today’s Arctic temperatures, I think it’s important to acknowledge the good fortune I have. We all have struggles. And we all have blessings. It’s important to remember that and be as kind as we can to one another.

In the spirit of kindness, or completeness, or at least not-breaking-a streak-ness, the least I can do is wrap up, as I usually do, with a playlist drawn from the year’s post titles. I hope I’ve cast a wide enough net to include a song you already you like or a tune you didn’t know that catches your fancy. Paul Simon lamented songs that voices never share. I feel the same way about music in general, so I hope you find some pleasure in it.

Happy Listening! Have a great New Year!

1. Redemption Song-Bob Markey and the Wailers, 1980
2. I’m Gonna Go Fishin’–Ella Fitzgerald, 1962
3. Who Invented These Lists–Little Man Tate, 2006
4. He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother–The Hollies, 1969
5. My Spine is the Bassline*–Shriekback, 1983
6. It’s All in the Game–Freddy Fender, 1991
7. I Had a Real Good Mother and Father–Gillian Welch, 2003
8. Madman Across the Water–Elton John, 1971
9. Secret Life–The Corrs, 1996
10. Something Ain’t Right–David Byrne, 1992
11. Van Damien’s Land–U2, 1988
12. We Can Be Together–Jefferson Airplane, 1969
13. Only a Memory–The Smithereens, 1988
14. Lady With a Fan–Grateful Dead, 1977
15. A Working Man Can’t Get Nowhere Today–Merle Haggard, 1977
16. You Give Love a Bad Name–Bon Jovi, 1986
17. Summer Cannibals–Patti Smith, 1996
18. Man Out of Time–Elvis Costello & The Attractions, 1982
19. Spy–They Might Be Giants, 1994
20. If You Haven’t Any Hay–Skip James, 1931
21. Paradise City–Guns ‘N’ Roses, 1987
22. Never Say Never–Romeo Void, 1981
23. Tear My Still House Down–Gillian Welch, 1996
24. What’ll I Do?–The Nat King Cole Trio, 1947

* For some irritating contractual reason, the early studio recordings of Shriekback do not appear on Spotify. I’ve spared you the pale, live imitation from later years. It’s worth hearing the original if you can find it.

 

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Come On Let’s Eat

Independence Day 2022

I hope I’m not the only person exhausted by the incessant need to find things we can’t agree on. That, my friends, is a choice.

So rather than struggle to demonstrate commonality through song, allow me to indulge in something I hope we can easily agree on: food. I recognize food insecurity is real. I also believe meals serve many purposes. So let’s celebrate our country’s culinary bounty and agree that any country fortunate enough to sing about food is a pretty good place.

The link to the expanded playlist appears at the end of the post and, if you can’t wait, right here.

Gimme a Pig Foot and a Bottle of Beer—Bessie Smith (1933)

What better way to start than with the Empress of the Blues calling for some authentic soul food? As a kid, my grandfather would make “man lunch” a couple of times a year. Pig’s feet (and other nearby parts) figured prominently. Maybe all poorer people share soul.

Beans and Cornbread--Louis Jordan and His Tympani 5 (1949)

The clown prince of jump blues got more mileage out of food and eating as subject matter than anyone else I can think of. One suspects he was a man of large appetites. His good-natured story-songs inspired a Broadway show and New Wave‘s Joe Jackson to get us all dancing the Lindy again.

Watermelon Man–Herbie Hancock (1962)

There was a time in living memory–well, my living memory, at least–when the pop charts contained a much wider range of music than they now do. That included jazz. This piece, from Herbie Hancock’s first album as a leader, was a hit for Mongo Santamaria a couple of years later. If you’re interested, there’s a great video where Herbie explains how this song came together to, of all people, Elvis Costello, after which he plays it in two styles.

Coconut—Harry Nilsson (1971)

I’m a latecomer to the Nilsson party and, if I’m honest, I still find myself standing at the entryway debating whether I want to commit. None of that really matters because every party needs cocktail ingredients and in this summertime classic the man who rhymed his surname delivers.

Jambalaya—Professor Longhair (c. 1978)

Sometimes a classic jumps genres. I know the die-hard country fans will disagree with me about this (and I will profess my deep love for Hank Williams) but when ‘Fess took this tune down to New Orleans, he made it his own. I can’t hear it any other way and just looking all this up prompted me to make a pot of that Acadian stew for dinner last night. (And now my kitchen smells like Louisiana.)

RC Cola and a Moon Pie-–NRBQ (c. 1980)

I often forget that this band, whose fan base has always seemed to really heavily on frat boys and preppies living in the Northeast,  emerged from Florida. So of course they celebrated regional junk food. I dare you not to sing along with the chorus.

BONUS VIDEO AND PLAYLIST

I could go on all day so check out the playlist for extras including some original versions, cocktail songs, alternate versions, the song I nicked the post title from and, maybe, even some classic rock and antipodean pop. (I’m still debating what level of chauvinism I want to embrace this year.)

Enjoy the holiday. Despite being in a bit of a mess, it really is a great country and I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. So, let’s not screw it up.

Chicken and Honey—The LeRoi Brothers (1982)

My roots music fascination is long-lived, so I first heard the group that lured away Fabulous Thunderbirds drummer Mike Buck soon after it was released. It’s got guitars. It’s got twang. It’s got guitars and twang. Who needs anything else?

There’ll Be New Dreams, Maybe Better Dreams

The Year in Music: The Titular Playlist

My grandmother used to say, “Blessed are they that go in circles, they shall be called wheels.”

It’s always been a bit unclear what that last noun meant. Maybe it literally referred to a wheel. Maybe she was just poking fun at the Beatitudes. Maybe it was her own personal synonym for Lord-knows-what.

Yet somehow I think we’ve all become wheels these past 12 months, scurrying and fretting and endlessly hoping some semblance of normalcy will return–as if there’s an agreed-upon definition of that.

The wise thing, I think, is to dwell upon whatever good fortune we have. For me, that always includes music, now endlessly and bottomlessly available on-demand. I hope you find something to enjoy in this year’s playlist, all of which contributed in various ways as post titles.

And I hope you find a new normal that allows you the space to find enjoyment.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

1. I Think I’ll Just Stay Here And Drink–Merle Haggard, 1980
2. Language is a Virus–Laurie Anderson, 1986
3. Revenge of the Nerds–The Rubinooos, 1984
4. Roam–B52s,  1989
5. Candida–Tony Orlando & Dawn, 1970
6. A Theory–Tracy Chapman, 2008
7. Sketches of China—Paul Kantner, 1973
8. The Swamp–That Petrol Emotion, 2001
9. Libertango–Grace Jones, 1982
10. A New England–Billy Bragg, 1983
11. Lights Out–Michael Bloomfield, 1978
12. Magic Man—Heart,  1975
13. Picture of Matchstick Men–Camper Van Beethoven, 1989
14. It Must Have Been the Roses–Grateful Dead, 1980
15. And She Was–Talking Heads, 1984
16. Gimme a Pigfoot (and a Bottle of Beer)–Bessie Smith, 1933
17. Talk Talk–Talk Talk, 1982
18. Three Little Birds–Bob Marley, 1978
19. Mad Dogs & Englishman–Andy Caine · The Easy Virtue Orchestra, 2008
20. Here Comes the Rain Again–Macy Gray, 2012
21. Fables and Trouble–Amelia Curran, 2009
22. U.S. Blues–Grateful Dead, 1974
23. Sheep–The Housemartins 1986
24. Undertow–Lisa Hannigan, 2016
25. The Honesty’s Too Much–Dan Hill, 1978
26. On Saturday–The Clarks, 2002
27. Crossword Puzzle Blues–Steve Mardon, 2004
28. See You in September–The Happenings, 1966
29. See How We Are–X, 1985
30. Small Town, John Mellencamp, 1985
31. Hit it and Quit It—Funkadelic, 1971
32. Monkey Man—The Rolling Stones, 1970
33. Beat Surrender–The Jam, 1982
34. We Don’t Need This Fascist Groove Thang–Heaven 17, 1982
35. Harlem Shuffle–Bob & Earl, 1962
36. Tell Me a Story–Iggy Pop, 1979
37. Words–Missing Persons, 1982
38. Teacher, Teacher–Rockpile, 1980
39. Hold On-En Vogue, 1990
40. The Republic–Gang of Four, 1980
41. Oh, Tannenbaum–Vince Guaraldi Trio, 1965
42. The Circle Game–Joni Mitchell, 1970

See You in September

Labor Day 2021

Wistful. The word itself evokes the feeling. Just try to say it without sighing.

If months belonged to adjectives would there be any argument that September is the most wistful? I don’t think I’m alone in feeling this way. Some of the greatest songs ever written to convey that feeling put the month front and center

So let’s say goodbye to Summer 2021 by celebrating September and all the wistfulness it conveys. There’s an extended playlist available here and at the end.

(NB: Tending, as my lists do, towards older and less popular material, the below videos are, for the most part, not record company productions.)

September Song Johnny Hartman (1955)

Although not widely known, Johnny Hartman might have been the greatest male ballad singer of the 20th century. To the extent that he’s known at all, it’s because of his 1963 collaboration with John Coltrane. Here, on his debut, he delivers a mood-setting version of this Kurt Weill classic.

See You in September The Happenings (1966)

If this mid-60s staple reminds you of another New Jersey foursome you’ll be forgiven because The Four Seasons are of the same time and place. I’ll fess up:  until I went looking for it I’d always assumed this song was one of Frankie Valli‘s lesser vocal performances.  Doppelgangerness aside, it’s an emblematic classic. Jersey boys, it turns out, don’t just come from Newark, they come from Patterson, too.

September Girls Big Star (1974)

The most influential band most people have never heard of had their own take on the year’s ninth month and girls at school. This Alex Chilton-penned confection appeared on the band’s second record. If you ask me, Chilton hadn’t lost a step and even learned a thing or two after The Box Tops disbanded.

September–Earth Wind and  Fire (1978)

Among the sillier things ever said to me was the assertion by a recruited-jock-roommate at a large state university that, as college students, we were now free to listen to “other” music. The other music he had in mind was EWF. I didn’t need his permission. The band was always a guilty pleasure and this song has always delighted me.

September Skies Brian Setzer Orchestra (1994)

Recent readers may not be aware of my Long Island roots or my deep admiration of my near-contemporary, Bellmore‘s King of Twang, Brian Setzer. A triple threat in the playing, singing and songwriting trifecta, here, armed with just a guitar, Nassau County’s heppest cat demonstrates that he learned a couple of tricks from the masters of mid-century mid-fi. The song was written in the 1990s though the full-band version in the playlist sounds like it came from the era of the Rat Pack.

Flaming September Marianne Faithfull (1995)

What does one make of a singer whose earliest success is inextricably linked to the success of her boyfriend’s band and who then went on to release at least two masterful albums recorded a decade and a half apart? The residual sexism in that question aside, Marianne Faithfull more than earned her rightful place in the history of Anglo-American popular music, as demonstrated here in this deep cut from a later record.

Video Bonus and Playlist

Papa was a Rolling Stone The Temptations (1972)

This past Thursday was the 3rd of September so you didn’t think I’d let this one pass, did you? As Motown goes, it doesn’t get much better than this  A song written by Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield who also took the producer’s chair. Vocals by The Temptations, And every bit of studio magic they could muster. A dance tune that has earned its designation as a masterwork.

Here’s the link to the playlist. Enjoy it and the day off, if you have it off.

Wave it Wide and High

July 4, 2021

Puzzling out whether it should be 60 or 100 degrees on the eve of Independence Day seems about as fruitless a task as figuring out whether the country can make it five more years to celebrate its 250th birthday.

But I’m not letting myself give in to despair because, as always, I find some hope and the glimmer of

Here Comes the Rain Again

Memorial Day 2021

Unofficially the beginning of summer, here in the Northeast the Memorial Day weekend seems to have become the last gasp of April. At least it seems as though, in recent years, there have been more of these cool rainy weekends than not.

What if nature is trying to give us a pause to remember why we even have this holiday?

It Must Have Been the Roses

Easter 2021

Photo by David Bartus from Pexels

It strikes me as more than a bit ironic that the flower most associated with Easter–the Christian feast day celebrating the Ressurection–is also the one most likely to be encountered at a funeral.

Maybe lyricists noticed the same thing. Because when it comes to inspiration, there are only a handful of songs inspired by lilies,

A Hell of a Year

The Year in Music: The Titular Playlist

If you’re reading this, you made it.

In any given year some of us don’t. You may know someone who was here at the beginning of 2020 and who you never thought wouldn’t be here now. If that’s so, I wish you peace.

Amidst such a mess, maintaining a tradition might seem silly. But I’ve become a big fan of traditions, recognizing them as a useful

Gonna Sit Right Down and….

Early Fall 2020

Around here, autumn’s crispness has arrived right on schedule. And while I’ve often tossed around the idea of basing a playlist on my favorite season, I’m not quite ready to do so yet.

What I’ve been dwelling on recently are letters.  Despite email, text and other expedited forms, a physical letter–even better, a handwritten note–still stands out. Is

Workin’ for a Living

Labor Day 2020

As our pandemic summer nears its end I’m grateful that the people I know and care about are safe and healthy. And I’m thankful to be working when so many are not.

Here in the US we celebrate working with a last weekend of ease. And what’s