Call me crazy, but I personally feel that if more Jesus freaks would sing about masturbation, the world would be a better place. (Plus: Inconclusive evidence as to whether lead singer Gordon Gano is gay. But, come on now … Violent Femmes?)
Month: September 2015
Vince Guaraldi
So there’s a long story about how a pairs team was skating to this song at one of Mark’s performances, and it was a song I remember my dad liked, and nobody could tell me what it was, so I set up a Pandora station of 60s easy listening tunes (which is right in my dad’s wheelhouse), and I suffered through months of Ferrante & Teicher and the Percy Faith Orchestra, and I was so brain-dead that when the song finally did come on, it was almost 3/4 over before I realized, “Wait! That’s the song!”
I should probably not give Vince Guaraldi a list for putting me through all that (FYI, the song is “Cast Your Fate to the Wind”), but how can you be mad at the man behind A Charlie Brown Christmas?
Van Morrison
God bless Van Morrison. He settled into his musical and lyrical themes over 40 years ago, and he hasn’t budged an inch. And if God doesn’t bless someone who has lyrics like “You and I/And nature/And the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost/In the garden,” then the rest of us are really in trouble.
Van Halen
For many years, Eddie Van Halen was married to actress Valerie Bertinelli. They also could have passed for identical twins, which was kind of creepy. Valerie Bertinell is from Wilmington (Claymont, actually, but come on … Claymont?), so Van Halen and I are practically related.
U2
Best-ever review of a U2 album (for 1997’s Pop): “I’m glad they tried on a new sound. It’s just too bad the sound they picked was the Village People.” U2 were always half-amazing, half-ridiculous. At least until they decided that the way to look cool in middle age is to shill for Apple. That’s 100% ridiculous.
2Pac
In the true spirit of 2Pac, this list should contain one song that was released when he was alive, and nine “never before heard” tracks that were found in “the vaults” after his death. Although of course he isn’t dead. He and Elvis are alive and sharing a secret penthouse in Las Vegas. Which is a more disturbing image than seeing him onstage as a hologram.
Traffic/Steve Winwood
In the late 60s/early 70s, Steve Winwood and Traffic were all androgynous and artsy and singing about boys in high heels. Around 1980, Winwood’s amazing “While You See a Chance” helped me survive being a teenager. By the late 80s, he was singing “Roll With It.” Is there some rule that every British art rocker eventually has to sell out?
Too $hort
In the late 1970s, Oakland’s biggest musical export was the Pointer Sisters. By the late 80s, it was Too $hort (plus MC Hammer, but we’re trying to forget that). That difference tells you pretty much all you need to know about the changes in the city over those 10 years.
Tommy Boy
So not two days ago I was thinking, “I need to figure out a way to get Digital Underground on a list. They are too awesome to ignore.” And lo and behold, here’s what I had scheduled for the day. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of the awesomeness that was Tommy Boy.
Tom Waits
Poor Tom Waits. If it weren’t for Bob Dylan, and Lou Reed (and probably Leonard Cohen), he would be considered the #1 all-time best singer who can’t actually sing. If it’s any consolation, Tom, I think “Singapore” is hilarious and would rather listen to it than anything by the other three.
Playlist of the Day 