There is a funny joke to be made about forming a music group and naming it “television.” And no, I don’t know what it is. Also: Many songs with one-word titles.
top ten
Techno Pop
When “Sweet Dreams” came out in 1983, it was my favorite song of the year by far. My sisters, who were more in the “rockin’ to REO Speedwagon” school, thought I was a weirdo. Thirty years later, not much has changed.
Techno
When they write the story of my life, and get to the chapter “When Joe Stopped Going to Clubs”: That chapter will be about when the clubs switched from house (which I already didn’t like) to techno (which I despise). That’s when Joe stopped going to clubs.
Talking Heads
When I was in college, a guy I knew said semiotics (is that a thing anymore?) was the best theoretical system, because all other systems were based on some kind of floor, and in semiotics, there was no floor. And I was like, “But if you say ‘there is no floor,’ isn’t that your floor?”
Oh yeah: He was a big Talking Heads fan.
Taj Mahal
In my next other life (clearly, I am planning to have a lot of them), I want a badass name like “Taj Mahal.” I figure, this one isn’t even Indian, so my odds are pretty good.
Swing
As you’ve probably figured out by now, I’m hardly the biggest fan of “white people jazz music.” But “Sing Sing Sing” is a great song no matter how you slice it.
Susana Baca
Based on my extensive sample of two (see also: Cesaria Evora), I have determined that the key to being a successful female Afro-Latin singer is a) having a first name that ends in “a”; 2) having a last name that also ends in “a”; and 3) performing barefoot. This one’s for Cedric, whose choice of Susana Baca tickets as a birthday present years ago introduced me to her awesomeness.
Supremes
I could have easily put this list under “D,” and I’m sure Diana Ross has already contacted her lawyers to come after me. But to me the group awesomeness was all about Mary and Flo, even if they weren’t so great in the romantic advice department.
Sun Ra
Of all the jazz legends I didn’t get to see in their lifetimes (Sarah Vaughan, etc.), I did somehow manage to make it to a Sun Ra concert. And I have to say: As someone who likes the weird edge of music, I think I met my match.
Sugar Hill
Round about 1979, on a family visit, my cousin Chris couldn’t wait to play “the best song he ever heard” for my older sister and me. The song was “Rapper’s Delight.” My sister and I, having just spent a summer singing along to “You Picked a Fine Time to Leave Me Lucille,” couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Who knew a white kid from Connecticut would turn out to be so ahead of the musical curve?
Old-School Rap AllMusic page
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