smile
from The Lower East Side
This song is a favorite from my youth. Before Danny Elfman became one of the hottest film composers around, he was the front man for new wave outfit, Oingo Boingo. This track appears on their underrated third album, Good For Your Soul, as well as a few different movies. A later recording of this song can also be heard in […]
This is an interesting song. It’s a great little tune, written and performed by Lou Reed satirizing Bob Dylan. In Allan Arkush‘s 1983 comedy, Get Crazy, Reed plays Auden, a genius folk singer in a creative rut because success and fame have purged his life of tragedy and despair. Auden is coaxed out of his apartment after about a decade […]
This is the first single from legendary L.A. punk band Fear, released four years before they recorded their first album. It’s been one of my favorites for a large part of my life; whenever I hear it now, memories of my (possibly misspent) youth come flooding back. Happy Friday, people. If the embedded audio player doesn’t load, click to listen […]
The name of this song literally translates as The Creole Parrot, but the sentiment is really The Creole Rapper. Rapper’s Delight is widely acknowledged to be the pioneering rap record, but at the time, the genre hadn’t been named. Rap was still a slang word for talk or conversation, so when Rapper’s Delight was released in Venezuela, it was called […]
Marvin Hamlisch, the composer of the music to this Carly Simon hit, passed away yesterday, so this one is for him. I would have posted it here sooner or later anyway. It’s the theme from the James Bond movie, The Spy Who Loved Me, so it’s all about how great he is at fucking women, which is in a similar […]
In honor of NASA landing their most advanced Mars Rover, Curiosity, on the surface of the Red Planet, I’m posting David Bowie‘s classic song. At first listen, it seems to be a simple, understated track, but it holds up to repeat listening because of the depth and complexity of the arrangement. The lyrics make little sense, and are probably not […]
Often the simplest things are the best. This is one of The Mamas & The Papas best loved and most covered songs and their only Number One hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Have a great week people. If the embedded audio player doesn’t load, click to listen to Monday, Monday by The Mamas & the Papas at Grooveshark.
A mellow slice of uplift on this Sunday. This is the first track on Stevie Wonder‘s landmark, Songs In The Key Of Life. If you’re not familiar with this album, you should listen to it in its entirety from beginning to end as soon as you can. It will be one of the best experiences of your life. If the embedded […]
Whether I meant to or not, it seems I’ve been running a sophomore album theme the last few days. This track is the first single from De La Soul Is Dead, the group‘s second album. Q-Tip, Russell Simmons and Vinia Mojica also provide various vocals on this lighthearted ode to the simple pleasures of unwinding on the weekend. If the […]
I’m going to post one last track that sampled Stanley Turrentine‘s Sister Sanctified, from Ice Cube‘s second full length solo album Death Certificate. Since it’s Friday, some of you who don’t know this song might think Look Who’s Burnin’ is about smoking blunts or some shit like that. It’s not. It’s a cautionary track warning of the dangers of STIs. […]
Continuing with tracks that sampled Stanley Turrentine‘s Sister Sanctified, here is a track from 3rd Bass‘ debut, The Cactus Album. As an individual track, it’s probably not the best example of their work, but when heard in context when listening to the album, it adds to the kaleidoscopic feel of the greatly satisfying whole. If the embedded audio player doesn’t […]
As I mentioned yesterday, this is one of many tracks that sampled Stanley Turrentine‘s Sister Sanctified. For my money, it’s also the best. From Boogie Down Productions‘ second album, By All Means Necessary, My Philosophy sums up the transition KRS-One went through after the murder of his best friend, Scott La Rock; from defiant rebel to social commentator and later, […]
This is a classic jazz track by Stanley Turrentine, from his 1972 album, Cherry. Hip hop fans might recognize it, as it’s been sampled by artists including 3rd Bass, Grandmaster Caz, Ice Cube, and most notably by KRS-One on the landmark My Philosophy, which I’ll post tomorrow. If the embedded audio player doesn’t load, click to listen to Sister Sanctified […]
I’m putting the masturbation theme on hold for today, since it’s the birthday of someone very dear to me. I picked this song because last year we were doing karaoke or just at a bar or whatever and we were talking about Glee. I told her I was surprised they hadn’t raided this song yet. There’s a drum part for […]
Continuing with the masturbation theme, can you believe back in the 1980’s a racist euphemism for jerking off was totally acceptable subject matter for a radio friendly new wave hit? The Vapors‘ David Fenton swears it’s not about masturbation, but the lyrics don’t mention jack shit about anything remotely Japanese. Rather, the dude sings in lovingly perverse detail about his […]
This is a one hit wonder from 1960’s band The Count Five. It’s a really popular one hit wonder, though, and has been covered many times. On the surface it seems to be another “My girl done broke my heart, so I done some LSD mixed with Speed,” teen angst song, but you wanna know what I think? You can probably guess, […]
