
Weekly Mix #2: Early Nineties Rock, Seventies Soul, And Dubious MessagesMarilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr. - You Don't Have To Be A StarThe purported message: "I love you as you are." The real message: "You may not be rich, famous, or remotely attractive, but at least you're faithful."
Buy
I Hope we Get To Love In Time.
Soul Asylum - Runaway TrainI forgot that this song has the ability to slowly, subtly, depress you over time. Use it wisely and infrequently.
Buy
Grave Dancer's Union.
Aerosmith - Cryin'Every so often, I remember that I used to like Aerosmith. Whenever I bother to listen to their music, I am reminded that I actually still love them.
Buy
Get A Grip.Eric Clapton - Lay Down SallyWhy doesn't anybody make songs like this anymore?
Buy
Slowhand.Frank Sinatra - That's LifeThis is as close as I think I can come to picking a favorite from Frank's work.
Buy
Sinatra Reprise - The Very Good Years.
First Class - Beach BabyHow come seventies summer music seems summerier than any other decade's summer music? Maybe it's just because that's when I grew up.
Buy
The Warmth Of The Sun: Songs Inspired By The Beach Boys.
Spin Doctors - Two PrincesI had a craving for it. I don't always have a craving for the hip stuff. Ok, I rarely do.
Buy
Pocketful of Kryptonite.Fats Domino - Have You Seen My BabyI read a lot of different music blogs myself, and when I get something from one that I fall in love with and it ends up on the mix here, I'll add it to the downloadables and show you to its place of origin. This song I found at
Home Of The Groove, which features New Orleans funk and R&B. This is a different sound for Fats, and it works. I'm only sad there isn't more of it.
Johnny Horton - The Battle Of New OrleansSpeaking of New Orleans ... yeah, I don't know. I was just in the mood.
Buy
Horton's Greatest Hits. TLC - WaterfallsI'm not entirely sure. Is the message of this one that you shouldn't go new places, try new things, or try to achieve your goals? Wow, how inspirational! I like it anyway, though. I do have to say that whenever I hear TLC now, I immediately think "Lisa Lopez died driving an SUV in her Paul Frank jammies." And in Honduras, of all the random places.
Buy
CrazySexyCool. Can you believe it's 12 years old?
Foo Fighters - Baker StreetYep, a remake of the Gerry Rafferty song. First things first, I found it at
Copy, Right? a blog that's all about cover songs. I really like this. It's just enough like the original to scratch the itch of wanting to hear it, different enough to be worth doing in the first place, and fun to listen to on its own.
Buy
Essential Interpretions, instead of the EP "My Hero." They're both only available through Amazon used, but
Essential Interpretations is a lot less expensive.
The Four Tops - Keeper Of The CastleAn early seventies appeal for men to take more pride in raising their families, the lyrics come off a little like a soul music version of Promise Keepers, but if you can get past that, it's yet another perfect Four Tops song. It
is early seventies soul.
Buy
Keepers Of The Castle: Their Best 1972-1978.Spin Doctors - Little Miss Can't Be WrongWhen I dragged out "Two Princes," I got this one out too.
Buy
Pocketful of Kryptonite.Junior Walker & The All-Stars - What Does It Take To Win Your LoveMotown, done with lots of sax and late-sixties languor.
Buy
The Millennium Collection: The Best of Jr. Walker & the All StarsThe Belle Stars - Iko IkoFrom the Rain Man soundtrack. I used to have the cassette single.
I still miss the eighties. I know you're shocked by the admission.
Buy
the Rain Man soundtrack.
Imagine Wild Music - LenlowThis one is a mashup; therefore, instead of a buy link, I will use the link to the blog where I got it. It's very much worth your while to visit, as they often feature interesting mashups. The song is also very much worth your while to download. Throw John Lennon's "Imagine," Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side," and G Love's "Blues Music" in a pot and this is the stew you get.
Visit
"Some Velvet Blog."Joni Mitchell - Big Yellow TaxiI never paid much attention to her until this spring, when I first heard "Carey," from her album
Blue. Now I'm looking up everything I can find by her, and realized that I've always liked this one. It's getting folded back into frequent rotation.
Buy
Ladies Of The Canyon.
And that's it.