Also known as, “the only reggae songs anyone knows that aren’t by Bob Marley.” And even that might be pushing it unless you are Jamaican, or possibly a very cool Brit.
top 10
Ray Charles
The most important thing about Ray Charles is that he once recorded an album of duets with Betty Carter. OK, I guess that’s my most important thing about Ray Charles.
Ravi Shankar
Believe it or not, I don’t usually go in for 10+-minute instrumental drones. But any friend of George Harrison’s is a friend of mine.
Rap Women
This list is a tribute to the women pioneers who broke through the extremely dude-centered genre of rap. The range is impressive: At one end, we have Queen Latifah, who I hope will be my best friend in my next life. She just radiates positive energy, and she probably has a lot of hot gay friends she would be happy to fix you up with. At the other end, MC Lyte scares the **** out of me.
Randy Newman
When people got all offended by the song “Short People,” I was like, “Come on, it’s obviously a joke. Look at how short Randy Newman is!” Randy Newman is six feet tall. Further proof that you should never assume I know what I’m talking about.
Ragtime
This list is dedicated to Mark’s friend Carmen, who—in addition to also being the adopted child of a single parent, because, of course—played a mean ragtime. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen an 11-year-old Asian girl busting out some Scott Joplin.
Radiohead
Here’s how you know you are old: You say, “I can’t give Radiohead a list, because I’m only doing acts that were around before 2000, and they’re only about 10 years old.” And then you find out that Radiohead released their first album in … 1993. That’s how you know you are old.
Queen
I suppose I should love the fact that such a big queen (pun entirely intended) became one of the biggest global superstars ever. But—”Bohemian Rhapsody” aside, because really, how can you hate something so ridiculously over-the-top?—I still can’t stand much of their music. On the plus side, they have enough hits that I don’t have to include “Radio Ga-Ga” on this list.
Punk
Believe it or not, when the Sex Pistols sang “God Save the Queen,” they were not being patriotic. It’s called irony. And in another ironic twist, tomorrow’s playlist is Queen—a band that I’m sure the original punk rockers would have bashed repeatedly over the head with their guitars, if given the chance.
Playlist of the Day 