Here is a random sampling of the content on my personal, magic music box. Truly a life changing technology. One caveat, no podcasts, no comedy, no Xmas music. Yes, I have all of those on the Pod because I like to annoy my friends with mixes periodically. Think of this as a lame dj "Drop the Needle" experiment. Except here we're "Hitting the Shuffle." Okay, enough of a set up. Let's get to it.
#1) Celebration by Kool & the Gang from The Very Best of Kool and the Gang
An exceedingly silly song that never fails to lift my spirits. Also the worst covered song ever by many wedding bands. This also makes me happy. How can I revel in such crap? It's a gift. I also laugh hysterically at Abba.
#2) The Living Daylights by a-Ha from The Best of James Bond
Ugh. I remember buying this album just so I could get the bass guitar riff from the beginning of all the movies. There are actually a few good songs on this album. This isn't one of them. And if you don't remember, a-Ha is more well known for Take On Me with their swell little comic book video. This is ancient history of the video era and movie theatres would actually show that vid as a preview. Yes, Papaw, people actually wanted to watch videos on MTV and not reality series.
#3) When Rita Leaves by Delbert McClinton from Nothing Personal
Delbert rocks. Sometimes he's a little too country for me and this one is a little slow for my tastes. But when he's doing blues, it's awesome. This is about a woman leaving, taking his car, leaving a note in lipstick on a broken bathroom mirror. Just for spite, she leaves the dress he liked her in the most in the closet. Ow. If you've ever been dumped by a girl, you can relate. This song grew on me and now is one of my favorites of Delbert's work.
#4) The Blues Don't Bother Me by Matt "Guitar" Murphy from Blues Brothers 2000
A much better soundtrack than a movie. I had the luck to see Matt in a small club when I was in college. Matt is the lead guitar and has about 5 albums out. They all rock. Matt's supposed to be married to Aretha in the car dealership in the movie. If they really had kids, they'd have a lot of musical talent. If your nickname is guitar, you know he can play.
#5) Change It by Stevie Ray Vaughan from Greatest Hits
If you don't own this album, there's something wrong with you. With all the biopics about dead musicians being made, I can't believe they haven't done SRV yet. He goes clean and sober, then dies in a plane crash. Karma, like gravity, is a harsh mistress. SRV coming up right after Matt made this a guitar god lucky draw. If Clapton comes up next, the universe is getting it right.
#6) Everybody's Talking by Jimmy Buffett from Live in Las Vegas
No Clapton. This was a gift to the wife as we had gone to Vegas for Jimmy's show the year before. And while Jimmy's concerts are always a huge party, they ought to be outdoors. Nonetheless, the mix of a Japanese tour, Parrotheads and the Vibe Awards made for an eclectic mix of weekenders. I think the Japanese didn't think it at all odd that Americans seemed to dress either in suede suits or coconut bras. And those were the men. I'll confess to buying anything Jimmy puts out.
#7) Half Past the Blues by Michelle "Evil Gal" Willson from Tryin' to Make a Little Love
First, she can wail. Second, her nickname is Evil Gal. Third, I've seen her live twice and both times were free. Mostly blues but with some jazz and rock thrown in. I think she's from Boston because she used to be on Rounder Records. She can really wail. She has a 40's sassy, lounge singer feel but with amazing pipes. She has started to go by simply Michelle Willson and the Evil Gal Orchestra. Still a great name.
#8) Seven Angels by Bruce Springsteen from Tracks, Disc 4
I remember buying this entire set just so I could get Pink Cadillac. Again in the pre-historic era before iTunes and mp3 files. I like his faster stuff a lot more than his slower stuff. I maintain that if you listen to The River while driving across Nebraska in the winter, you'll kill yourself before you hit another state line.
#9) Wasted Time by The Eagles from Hotel California
An album probably everyone owns. Now that you own in CD, you won't scratch it up. But you no longer have the album cover to sort your pot on. I also proposed Wasted Time for our high school graduation theme. For some reason the administration and I did not see eye to eye on this great theme.
#10) Steamy Windows by Shemekia Copeland from Wicked
I had the luck to see Shemekia open for Susan Tedeschi at a small, outdoor amphitheater. I now own all her stuff. A big voice doing rocking blues. Her Dad is Johnny Copeland who played with Robert Cray and Albert King on one of the best blues guitar albums ever, Showdown.
More than ya'll ever wanted to know about my eclectic musical tastes.
1 comment:
You took the words right out of my mouth - eclectic. My favorite song from your list is Celebration - also because I didn't know any of the other songs - except for The Living Daylights and that's only because I used to have the entire James Bond movie collection on VHS (yes, that was back in the 90's). I love Kool & the Gang and I don't care who knows it - I'm the type of person that throws caution to the wind.
BTW, I wanted to let you know that I read "Thank You for Smoking" and it was very funny - very satirical. Now that I've read it, the movie is no longer plaing in the theatres. Oh, well, I'll just have to wait for it on DVD. Thanks for mentioning the book on your blog.
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