Gladys Knight seems like the happiest person ever—kind of the female equivalent of Al Green. Then again, she’s apparently a devout Mormon, so maybe happiness is a job requirement. (And Al is a reverend … I am spotting a trend here …)
Author: Joe
Girl Groups
Things I resent, part 1: Being born in the mid 60s, I was a couple of years too late to hear these songs on top 40 radio all the time. WOULD IT KILL SOMEONE TO WRITE A HAPPY SONG ONCE IN A WHILE? (Not you, Pharrell … you did your job … thanks.)
George Clinton/ Parliament/Funkadelic
George Clinton is part of that the lineage (Sun Ra, Yma Sumac, etc.) that makes a pretty good argument that at some point space aliens invaded earth and took the form of musicians in a variety of genres. Space aliens or no, if the British Empire had been run by Parliament (the group) instead of Parliament (the government body), the world would be a much cooler place.
Garage/Surf
Because I like to make things up, I always thought “garage” rock and “surf” rock were pretty much the same thing. Now that I am more educated, I know they are quite different—surf is more guitar-heavy, with generally no lyrics, while garage is more drum-heavy, with lyrics that don’t make any sense. I’m keeping them lumped together, though, under the category “Songs that were played at every frat party I ever attended.”
Frank Zappa
Given how much I like the weird and unusual in music, you’d think I’d be a huge Frank Zappa fan. Truth be told, the only Zappa song I know is “Valley Girl” from the 80s. At least I have the decency to be embarrassed about that.
Frank Sinatra
I originally wasn’t going to do a Sinatra post—sorry, I just don’t “get” him—but enough people whose musical tastes I respect said, “Dude, you really need to do a Sinatra post.” Plus, I was afraid his ghost might find out and send some cronies to tie me up and toss me in the Bay (I can make that joke if I’m Italian, right?).
Four Tops
There’s a gay joke to be made about how unlikely it is that a group made up of four tops has managed to stay together for 50 years. But I’ll just listen to “Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch” again, start tapping my toes, and shut up.
Folk Women
Given my love affair with Joni Mitchell, you might think I’d be a big fan of these other women folkies. On the contrary … Judy Collins takes interesting songs and turns them into boring mush, Joan Baez seems famous mostly for once being involved with Neil Young, and Melanie makes me want to stab myself in the ears. Buffy Saint-Marie I can’t take seriously because her name sounds like a character on Dynasty. Odetta gets a pass, mostly because with song titles like “God’s Gonna Cut You Down,” I’m afraid of making her mad at me.
Fleetwood Mac
The best part about Fleetwood Mac is that the two members the group is named for are the ones nobody’s ever heard of. Which goes to show that if you want hits, having a borderline genius/coke fiend, a pretty blonde, and a witch in your lineup beats two old guys with beards any day. On the other hand, Fleetwood and Mac (Mc?) are pretty smart: “You guys do all the work—we still split the money five ways!”
Fela Kuti
When the kids, the uncles, and I saw the musical Fela, I was completely blown away by the music—and hated the script. Based on the monologue, Kuti’s life was 90% weed, 5% women, and 5% music/politics/protest/ everything else. Then I found out that Will Smith and Jay-Z were the executive producers, and it all made sense.
Playlist of the Day 