This is the start of a new (presumably) weekly series called 10 Songs. Each entry in this series will list ten songs that happen to be on my mind at the moment. Given my intention to usually write these on Mondays, the lists will probably be dominated by songs played on the previous night's edition of This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl. The idea was inspired by Don Valentine of the essential blog I Don't Hear A Single.
This inaugural edition of 10 Songs draws exclusively from the many fine tracks played on This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio this week: TIRnRR # 1008.
BONEY M: Painter Man
My relationship with disco is complicated. I hated it during its heyday, but began to re-think my position as it became clear that some (not all) of the Disco Sucks movement was built upon a foundation of tacit racism and homophobia. I further realized that a lot of the disco LP-burnin' Fascists hated my preferred punk and power pop almost as much as they hated dat ole debbil disco, so...enemy of my enemy is my friend. Eurodisco group Boney M was a breed apart anyway, willfully weird but extremely pop. The group is best-remembered for their smooth cover of The Melodians' "Rivers Of Babylon." My favorite Boney M song is their cover of The Smoke's '60s mod-psych classic "My Friend Jack," but props also to this cover of The Creation's power pop touchstone "Painter Man."
THE DODGERS: Don't Know What You're Doing
This 1976 U.K. single is so damned catchy, and it looks to be my song of the week. The Dodgers included two former members of Badfinger, Tom Evans and Warner Brothers-era addition Bob Jackson. In the category of Badfinger-related tracks, I might rank "Don't Know What You're Doing" just below "Baby Blue," "Day After Day," and "No Matter What," on a par with "We're For The Dark" and "Gotta Get Out Of Here," possibly even above "Come And Get It." And I love all of those songs.
EURYTHMICS: Would I Lie To You
Far and away my favorite Eurythmics track, sounding to me like Aretha Franklin backed by The Kinks and The Memphis Horns. I don't own any Eurthymics CDs, so the impulse to play "Would I Lie To You" on this week's show prompted me to borrow the band's Greatest Hits CD from my daughter. Thanks, Meghan!
MARY LOU LORD: Right On 'Till Dawn
A relatively obscure track from Mary Lou Lord's 2001 Speeding Motorcycle EP, "Right On 'Till Dawn" is a demo-recording duet by Lord and Nick Saloman (The Bevis Frond). Saloman wrote the song, and it's an underrated, unrecognized gem in both the Mary Lou Lord and Bevis Frond collections.
THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY: Somebody Wants To Love You
Listen: forget about the ephemeral TV show soundtrack and 16 magazine pinup pejoratives our oh-so-hip consciousness demands us to attach to something as crass and mundane as music from a sitcom about a fake family band. Although merely the B-side to a lesser song ("I Think I Love You") that, y'know, topped the charts, "Somebody Wants To Love You" is mature and accomplished, David Cassidy could really sing, and only a hopeless curmudgeon would deny the sheer groove and panache on display here.
SAM PHILLIPS: Baby I Can't Please You
Suffering from withdrawal during this long, long wait until the next season of Amazon Prime's TV series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, lovely wife Brenda and I have begun re-watching Maisel creator Amy Sherman-Palladino's previous series Gilmore Girls. Most of the scene transitions on Gilmore Girls are accompanied by exquisite off-screen la-la-lalala-laaaaas, all courtesy of singer Sam Phillips. That was sufficient motivation for me to grab one of my Sam Phillips CDs off the shelf and make room for Ms. Phillips on this week's playlist.
RUSH: Circumstances
The ceaseless parade of mortality that continues to claim our idols creates a risk that our radio playists can be transformed into morbid obituaries of the week. I very often find myself torn between an ongoing desire to pay tribute to artists we've lost and a fear of trivializing those passings. I was never really a Rush fan, but I've always liked the song "Circumstances," from Rush's 1978 album Hemispheres; that track managed to get through to this punk and power popper. The death last week of Rush drummer Neil Peart compelled me to play that song again, and it is definitely still a song buzzing pleasantly in my head this week. Respect.
TOOTS & THE MAYTALS: Reggae Got Soul
I first saw Toots & the Maytals name-checked in some magazine (either Rolling Stone or Playboy, possibly both) in the late '70s, though I wasn't conscious of the music until many years thereafter. I recall that Linda Ronstadt was among those praising the essential nature of Maytals LPs Funky Kingston and Reggae Got Soul, and if I couldn't quite fit reggae into my new wave rock 'n' roll world view at the time (The Clash notwithstanding), I did get there eventually.
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND: Sunday Morning
"Sunday Morning" was the Velvet Underground song most likely to be covered by The Monkees, and believe me, I mean that as a compliment. It was also the first VU song I ever heard, when I snapped up a (very) used copy of The Velvet Underground & Nico on my way to a lost long weekend visiting friends in the spring of 1981.
THE WEEKLINGS: Change Your Mind
We opened this week's show with a public service for rockin' pop fans, identifying for our listeners what will certainly be one of their favorite albums of 2020. The Weeklings' new album 3 is irresistible, a collection of confident, exuberant performances that draw equal, enthusiastic inspiration from the '60s British Invasion and '70s power pop. Covers of The Beatles ("Baby, You're A Rich Man") and The Easybeats ("Friday On My Mind," with lead vocals by Special Guest Bat-Weekling Peter Noone) are fab as fab can be, but the original tunes freakin' rule, especially "I Want You Again," "In The Moment," and "Change Your Mind." We will hear many terrific albums in 2020; The Weeklings' 3 is an early clue to the new direction, and an early lock on a berth in many a year-end Top Ten.
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| The Gilmore Girls approve of 10 Songs. |
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