A few weeks ago, I took my family down to a train wreck of an event called the Great American Food and Music Festival in Mountain View, CA. It was supposed to be a day where you could eat regional foods from around the country, listen to music like Marshall Crenshaw, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Little Feat, and then watch cooking demonstrations from Bobby Flay and Guy Fieri of the Food Network. I won’t go into too much detail on why it hellish experience, but just to give you a sample (ha!) of why it was such a poorly organized event, I give you this: it was a day where you had to stand in line for three hours to get food — like a hot dog from Pink’s Hot Dogs. Anyway, as we were driving down, we were listening to the radio and “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie was on. This started a 10 minute discussion on duets and collaborations that started with UB40 and Chrissy Hynde’s cover of “I Got You Babe.” I kind of filed some of the duets in my mind with the intention of doing a Mix Six at some point in the future, and guess what? The future is now.
“Getting Away With It,” Electronic and Neil Tennant (Download)
This collaboration between Bernard Sumner of New Order and Johnny Marr from the Smiths lasted longer than I thought it would. And with Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys lending his distinctive vocals to the song, Electronic went from “side project” to almost a supergroup in the ’90s (I’m sure someone is going to argue that they were a supergroup, but I’ll leave that to a discussion in the comments section). The song sounds so much like New Order and the Pet Shop Boys, that Johnny Marr’s contribution sounds rather muted.
“Slow Train to Dawn,” the The and Neneh Cherry (Download)
Like many folks, I was a big fan of the The’s Soul Mining. I bought the cassette on a whim when it was released in 1983 and probably listened to it non-stop in my car for a two weeks. When Infected came out three years later, I immediately bought it because I heard/saw the lead single on MTV and just loved it. While I didn’t find Infected to be as quirky as Soul Mining, it had some great songs on side one. Side two was more of a “grower” side that included “Slow Train to Dawn” with Neneh Cherry doing co-vocals. This was, of course, years before she charted as a solo artist with “Buffalo Stance.” (more…)
Like most kids, summer used to be such a great time of the year for me. School was out, you had all day to spend with your friends, and it was just nice not having to get up and be at a place where a bell signals the passage of time. That first month of summer vacation was amazing! Sleeping in, staying up late, swimming, playing sports, BBQs, and that general feeling that you were free. However, as the months wore on, extreme boredom set in, you were broke, and suddenly going back to school didn’t seem so horrible.
Now that I’m an adult, it’s easy to forget how magical a season it could be. But maybe this mix can capture the spirit of the good, the bad, and the stupid of summer.
At first glance, this really isn’t a song about summer, but the fact that “sunshine” is in the lyrics and the Andrea True Connection loop of “More More More” is the hook has summer written all over it. There are allusions to heat, laying on the lawn, and a relationship that’s gone wrong — so yeah, it’s definitely a summer song.
“Summertime,” DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince (Download)
Even though I’m a California native, I did live in Philadelphia for a couple of years, and living in a city where there are actually four seasons instead of just wet and dry, I never really understood why people would say they loved summer since, well, California has many hot days throughout the year. But if there’s a song that reminds me of summer in Philadelphia, this would be it.
Hiya, kids! This week’s mix is brought to you by Jeff Johnson, who’s been a friend of mine since high school. Ever since I’ve known him, Jeff’s tastes in music have skewed toward the soundtrack side, specifically orchestral soundtracks. We attended film school together (I changed majors at the end of my junior year), and he went on to write and direct a feature film called Holly vs. Hollywood. Nowadays Jeff is happily ensconced as the online store manager at the ever-popular soundtrack store (and record label) Intrada in Oakland, California. Intrada is one of those rare record stores where they not only exclusively stock movie soundtracks, they also restore and reissue them. Jeff also cohosts the podcast Filmed, Not Stirred with his gal pal Lisa. It’s unique because they review a new movie and compare it with an older movie in a similar genre or director. So you see? There is life after film school! —Ted
You’re about to discover six pieces of music you’re not even really supposed to notice. So what is it about film-music geeks that makes it virtually impossible for them to watch a film without noticing its music? And even more curious, why would they want to listen to it on its own?
In coming up with this list of my favorite soundtrack cues, two things are obvious: 1) all the pieces are composed by either Jerry Goldsmith or John Williams, and 2) they were all composed between 1976 and 1982. I don’t know what that means, except to say that I discovered all of them when I was between the ages of 11 and 17. I had them all on vinyl and played them so many times as a kid that I wore out the records. These aren’t necessarily the best pieces of film music, but they are some of my favorites. (more…)
Okay, I fully admit that as a guy who loves progressive rock, I’m setting myself up for ridicule and taunts from the peanut gallery. I hear you derisively yelling, “Math rock geek,” or “Lover of unicorns, ferries, and 7/8 time.”
Whatever.
Progressive rock is a genre of music that has an odd cross-section appeal. On the one hand, there are geeks who are lured by the complexity of the music. On the other, there are stoners who just love a good trip — and need an appropriate soundtrack. Sometimes you get a combination of stoner/geek in one person — and they end up creating things like Second Life or Boohbah. Me? I love melody more than complexity, so my tastes in progressive rock lean more toward what’s presented here.
The first time I heard Yes was in my junior year of high school. I had just moved to a new school, and I met a guy who turned out to be a huge lover of what we now call classic rock. Led Zep, the Doors, Hendrix, and Yes. One day, he lent me an old 8 track tape he had of Close to the Edge. I had an old stereo that had an 8 track player, and I must have listened to that tape for three days straight. I wasn’t too taken by the songs at first, but by day two, something clicked and I was hooked. (more…)
On paper, it sounds like a moneymaking formula: take individual members from successful bands, put them together in a supergroup to make music, record the magic, and watch album sales go through the roof. Yes, the Supergroup can, at times, be seen as a crass money grab, and at times it is. However, there are other times when the result of these ventures bears some tasty fruit. Now, people’s taste being what they are, it’s going to be an argument without end as to which of the groups represented here are Supergroups or Superduds. I certainly have my opinions, but don’t let that dissuade you from defending or slamming the six in this mix.
Back when Asia made their debut in the early ‘80s, they were touted as the next big thing that would define rock music for the decade. Think about it: you take a little bit of Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and King Crimson, put them in a blender of sorts, serve up the contents and … what do you think you’re going to get? Go ahead and insert a 40-Year-Old Virgin joke here. (more…)
DOWNLOAD THE FULL MIX HERE
First off, let me say that “Y.M.C.A.” didn’t make the cut on this mix. Yeah, it’s a fun song, but chances are you’ve heard it a million times, and it’s such an earworm that it really belonged on last week’s mix — but I didn’t have the heart to do that to you. Clearly, I did have the heart to foist Billy Joel and Neil Diamond on you, but that’s because I have so much love in my heart.
This week, we’re spelling it! Yep, for some reason songwriters will often spell words in their songs, and sometimes it works, and other times, well … no so much. Oh, and for those of you who actually listen to the full mix you’ll get some humorous drops culled from the wilds of You Tube that just helps me state the obvious in this mix.
“C.I.T.Y.,” John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band (download)
This is the tune that started me thinking about songs where spelling seems to count for something. (more…)
Let me get this out in the open: I work in a dangerous place. No, I don’t work with nuclear materials, nor do I work at a restaurant where I train as a competitive eater on the side. Rather, I work in a place where earworm attacks happen, and, as of late, are happening more frequently. You see, I work at an Adult Contemporary radio station where some of the songs have an effect that I can’t seem to shake. Yes, some songs get trapped in my head and the lyrics, melody, and various hooks weave themselves into my cerebral cortex like those creatures did to Chekov and Captain Terrell in Star Trek II. Or as Khan so eloquently said about the worms of Ceti Alpha Five (but could easily been talking about the songs featured here): “You see, their young enter through the ears and wrap themselves around the cerebral cortex. This has the effect of rendering the victim extremely susceptible to suggestion. Later, as they grow, follows madness — and death.”
Oh, little earworm, how you have tortured me! And now, dear readers, I pass along the love. (more…)
I was writing up a track for a future White Label Wednesday piece (it’s set to run May 27) when I had a strange thought. Well, two strange thoughts, actually. (Expect some snarky one-liner from a Popdose editor to follow that last sentence.) [Get over yourself! -Ed.] The first thought was about how obsessed musicians were with nuclear war during the ’80s. From album titles (the Vapors’ New Clear Days) to lyrical one-liners (”You’re about as easy as a nuclear war,” “If it’s not love, then it’s the bomb that will bring us together”), the topic was always close at hand. The kids today surely roll their eyes at these songs, since they’ve spent most of their lives in the post-Cold War world, but it was a very real threat at the time. It was the Gen X version of terrorism, only you were allowed to be pro-peace without being labeled unpatriotic.
The other thought was about how many of those nuclear war songs were tunes that you could dance to. Seems inappropriate to dance on the proverbial graves of millions, but then again, what better way to get an important “message” across to the public than by putting it to a drum machine? And thus, this week’s Mix Six was born: nuclear war songs with a beat. Wait, do you hear something, like an air raid siren…?
“Two Tribes,” Frankie Goes to Hollywood (download)
“The air attack warning sounds like…” Yikes. Remember, this song was released the year after “The Day After,” so the idea of nuclear holocaust was still very real, and no one had made it seem as imminent, and yet as cartoonish, as Frankie did in this song and its accompanying video. And, as an added bonus, I give you my personal favorite of the six million mixes commissioned for “Two Tribes,” the eight-minute Carnage mix. Don’t be alarmed. (more…)
You know, of all the alcoholidays that grace us yearly, I would venture to guess that Cinco de Mayo is going to eclipse St. Patrick’s Day in the American Southwest very, very soon. It’s one of those days that certainly has a lot of cultural significance to Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in the U.S., but for those who just love a good celebration, Cinco de Mayo is a great one. The liquor isn’t limited to Tequila or Mexican imported beer, and the food is just sublime-or just meh depending where you’re eating.
So to get you in the mood for a good party, I’ve assembled a little mix while you eat, drink and be merry.
“Mas Tequila,” Sammy Hagar and the Waboritas (download)
Might as well start with a gringo tune that celebrates multiculturalism as the act of switching from Scotchy Scotch to Tequila. I’ve actually had one of Sammy’s Waboritas at a party once, and I gotta say that if you want to get drunk fast, try this potent cocktail. (more…)
“Every year is getting shorter/Never seem to find the time/Plans that either come to naught/Or half a page of scribbled lines.”
“Learning that we’re only immortal for a limited time.”
Maybe because my birthday is coming up, I’ve been thinking about time; about how when I was younger, I had years to burn, that there were, as Spock said in The Wrath of Khan, “always possibilities.” But there comes a point in life where you cross some kind of line of demarcation, and the idealism that once propelled you to try something new, is now met with a kind of sober pragmatism. I know, “Mid-life crisis much?” Perhaps. And perhaps you’re feeling a bit like me now. If so, then this mix is for you. If not, then enjoy these songs for what they’re worth.
“Robert Bradley’s Postcard,” David Mead (download)
It was Jefito who introduced me to David Mead’s music. Back at my old blog (which no longer exists), I had a small but steady readership who enjoyed the weekly Mix Six — Jeff being one of them. One week, I did a really easy contest, and Jeff won the prize: a chance to create his own Mix Six. The lead song was this one, and I liked it so much that I bought the CD (Yeah, I bought it). (more…)
