In Praise of My Playlist

In praise of my playlist.

It's not just a playlist...it's the monster big daddy-O of playlists and includes practically every piece of music that I can claim as favorites, and it shouldn't surprise you that there are many. Very many. Like over 4000 songs/tracks. It's like a musical biography of sorts. The music I enjoyed best from before I was even 10 years old (which explains the inclusion of the Partridge Family). Almost 50 years of seeking and finding new music, this playlist is where I've stored all the treasures and it is a constant reminder of how versatile and varied my musical taste has been throughout the years.

I whip out this playlist and put it in shuffle mode to mess with my head a little (never know what's coming next and you have to prepare for the next song being potentially a buzz buster. It's hit or miss on that front.

But here's what I want to do here, and you can listen to all the music if you want, this next little bit are some thoughts I had about what the algorithm is picking tonight, as it's been good starting with Devo's "Wiggly World" and then reeeally slipping gears for John Denver's majestically beautiful "It Amazes Me". Denver is, in my opinion, the single most under-rated songwriter in popular music. He was so far ahead of his time with his activism, his love of nature. "It amazes me and I know the wind will someday surely blow it all away"...that line just knocks me right out it's so insightful.

Nazareth are up next with their micro-rock opera "Telegram" (from Close Enough for Rock and Roll). It's about the band in the hours leading up to a rock show they're headlining, the soundcheck and eventually the performance. More an action narrative than a philosophical libretto but it's to be expected with the harder edge to the music and the singer's gruff vocal. I actually like his voice and have since the days of "Love Hurts" and "Hair of the Dog".

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds step up to the plate with a ballad from The Good Son, "Foi na Cruz". "Love comes knocking, comes knocking on our door...but you, you and me love, we don't live there anymore". I don't know what "Foi na Cruz" means but I can sure relate to the rest. How can you not love Nick Cave? I should probably listen to a lot more of his stuff than I do. It's just that it leaves me with this impression that my soul has been soiled by getting in so deep with his bad seed clique. It's one of two songs from The Good Son that made it to this king playlist, the other being "The Ship Song".

Surely I'm the only one who remembers "Corporal Brown" by Toad the Wet Socket (still reigning champion of Band With the Most Idiotic Name)...you may not recall the song or even the band but it's worth checking out if you're into REM and that 90s Counting Crows Gin Blossoms sound. Worth 3 minutes.

Howza ya like my playlist so far? Well here's where it starts to get a tad trippy. The acoustic version of "China Doll" by the Grateful Dead on the Reckoning album is by far the best I've personally heard. When the band modulates into the major key after meandering in a minor for the duration of the song until that point it will give you goose bumps. The solos are on point, the band so relaxed you can bet it was Indica stuffed in that pre-roll they must have shared before taking the stage... Jerry's singing voice matches well the weary tale of the teller. Reckoning is an album worth having, especially if you like the acoustic Dead (the entire concert is all acoustic).

Next up... it's "Plowed" by  Sponge. Never was a huge Sponge fan but this one was fantastic and they had a song called "Molly" that I dug. And yes, it was about THAT Molly (Ringwald), perhaps you've heard them? One other song they did that was kick ass, "Rainin'", all of which made it to the list. Congratuations Sponge.

I used to have a higher tolerance for songs like the Moody Blues' "Ride My See Saw", it's still pretty cool, I couldn't leave it off the list. Two other Moody Blues songs on the list that I can recall, "Story in Your Eyes" and "New Horizons".

Next up, Lindsay Buckingham performing one of his more bizarre songs, "Bwana". I will not pretend that I could ever describe this song using any language which doesn't utilize a multitude of platforms, you see, it's just making me write silly things. If you've ever heard "Bwana" you'd understand what's happening here. But I'm sure most of you will not have heard it. Somehow made it onto the playlist with a handful of other great Buckingham songs.

I got all genres on this list. Including this Alan Jackson country hit "Someday". I know it well, having played it in a country band for over a year so there's a sentimental value attached that insures it's inclusion on this list. I do reserve the right to click through cuz I'm not in the mood for country...

"I Hear You Knocking" - Dave Edmonds. Holy Moly I was rocking to this song when I was a little kid, I remember it well. I was fascinated by the effect on the vocal and face it, it's the kind of song a kid SHOULD like.

To be continued