favorite song friday: the triumph of world music

The song "(Habibi) I Need Your Love" by Shaggy, Mohombi, Faydee and Costi is a true world music hit, featuring the influences of the artists from many different backgrounds, including Jamaican/American (Shaggy), Cogolese/Swedish (Mohombi), Australian/Lebanese (Faydee), and Romanian (Costi). The song is in Arabic ["Habibi" means "My Love"], English, and Spanish. And to give it an even more global spin the video was shot in Spain. But mostly it is just a fun song to listen and move to.

favorite may day song friday

Today is May Day, which heralds the rites of Spring, but has also been designated as International Workers Day. I thought I'd share two fun, and in one case, funny, songs to celebrate and commemorate the moment.

favorite song friday: low budget

I've been listening to the Kinks album Low Budget lately and am struck by how Ray Davies's songs about how times are tough all over still resonates today — maybe even more strongly than when it was originally released in 1979.

Brothers Ray (L) and Dave Davies of The Kinks

I'm shopping at Woolworth and low discount stores
I'm dropping my standards so that I can buy more

...

Art takes time, time is money
Money's scarce and that ain't funny
Millionaires are things of the past
We're in a low budgetville where nothing can last
Money's rare there's none to be found
So don't think I'm tight if I don't buy a round

I'm on a low budget
What did you say
Yes I'm on a low budget
I thought you said that
I'm on a low budget
I'm a cut price person in a low budget land

The entire album is great, but "Low Budget," "Catch Me Now I'm Falling," "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman," "A Gallon of Gas," and "Misery" are favorites.

favorite song friday: lay me down

The Sam Smith song "Lay Me Down" was already a hit, but its recent remix with John Legend is over-the-top great.

Sam can certainly sing, and beautifully, but will someone please buy him a puppy? Enough with the heartbreak tunes already, guy.

These two men's voices do blend together beautifully.

favorite song friday: the ballad of lucy jordan

Flipping through my iTunes the other day I came across this oldie but goodie from Marianne Faithfull, "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan." Her album, Broken English, was huge with all of my art school friends and myself. I think I first became aware of the song when it was featured in a Swedish film, Montenegro. We had the album on nonstop rotation in the '80s. The ethereal tune also shows up on the soundtrack of Thelma and Louise.

... She could clean the house for hours
Or rearrange the flowers
Or run naked through the shady street
Screaming all the way

At the age of 37
She realized she'd never ride
Through Paris in a sports car
With the warm wind in her hair ...

The lyrics are written by Shel Silverstein (!)

favorite song friday: it's only rock 'n' roll

It's not summer yet, but whenever I hear oldies but goodies like this one on the radio I can't help but think of the summertime ...

If I could dig down deep in my heart
Feelings would flood on the page
Would it satisfy ya, would it slide on by ya

favorite song friday: middle of the road

I have always like Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, a true, kick-ass rock star. I've always liked this song, "Middle of the Road," too, but it seems to have even more relevance to my life these days.

The middle of the road is trying to find me
I'm standing in the middle of life with my plans behind me ...

The middle of the road is no private cul-de-sac
I can't get from the cab to the curb
Without some little jerk on my back
Don't harass me, can't you tell
I'm going home, I'm tired as hell
I'm not the cat I used to be
I got a kid, I'm thirty-three 

Baby, get in the road
Come on now
In the middle of the road
Yeah

favorite song friday: trouble

"Trouble" is a new song from Iggy Azalea featuring Jennifer Hudson. After hearing it, you might think it should be credited the other way around ...

favorite song friday : i wanna be loved by you

The incomparable, never sexier Marilyn Monroe, from Some Like it Hot.

favorite song friday: off to the races

I've been listening to Lana Del Rey's Ultraviolence on long-ish car rides. I love it so much. It's got a great mix of retro and what's happening right now. Her phrasing, quirky line readings. One of the most infectious, fun tracks is "Off to the Races," a Billie Holiday-esque song about modern, substance-soaked love. It's naughty and nice. I love it.

"Light of his life, fire of his loins
Keep me forever, tell me you own me
Light of your life, fire of your loins
Tell me you own me, gimme them coins

And I'm off to the races, cases of Bacardi chasers
Chasing me all over town
Cause he knows I'm wasted, facing
Time again at Riker's Island and I won't get out
Because I'm crazy, baby I need you to come here and save me
I'm your little scarlet, starlet singing in the garden
Kiss me on my open mouth

Now I'm off to the races, laces
Leather on my waist is tight and I am fallin' down
I can see your face is shameless, Cipriani's basement
Love you but I'm going down
God I'm so crazy, baby, I'm sorry that I'm misbehaving
I'm your little harlot, starlet, Queen of Coney Island
Raising hell all over town
Sorry 'bout it"

Here she is performing it live:

favorite song friday: michelle pfeiffer as the zeitgeist

Vance Joy in "Riptide" and Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars in "Uptown Funk" are praising and celebrating the lovely actress Michelle Pfeiffer in each of their current hit songs.

I just wanna, I just wanna know
If you're gonna, if you're gonna stay
I just gotta, I just gotta know
I can't have it, I can't have it any other way
I swear she's destined for the screen
Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen, oh

This hit, that ice cold
Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold
This one for them hood girls
Them good girls straight masterpieces
Stylin', whilen, livin' it up in the city
Got Chucks on with Saint Laurent
Got kiss myself, I'm so pretty

If you need a muse, Pfeiffer is definitely a good choice. And it's kind of cool that a 50+ year-old lady continues to inspire.

favorite song friday: bills

I love the retro sound of this song, "bills," by LunchMoney Lewis.

Gamal "LunchMoney" Lewis, image from 2 Paragraphs

I got BILLS I gotta pay
So I'ma go work work work every day
I got mouths I gotta feed,
So I'ma make sure everybody eats
I got BILLS!!

All these BILLS left on my desk
They looking like a mouth
All your little kids go 'round like you hear their stomachs growl
This one full moon now, and my girl just keep on howl
Says she won't need me if I don't come home with 50 thousand
God damn, god damn, god damn
Oh man, oh man, oh man
God damn, oh man, god damn, oh man

I think a lot of people can relate to the sentiment while also enjoying the fun rhythm. It's just pure fun, and we can all use some more music like that. I'm looking forward to hearing more from Lewis in the future.

favorite song friday: american punk

Continuing yesterday's CBGB punk theme, here are some favorite tunes that debuted in that club and that era.

Debbie Harry of Blondie

favorite song friday: fourfiveseconds

"... All of my kindness
Is taken for weakness ..."

The first single to be released from Rihanna's upcoming LP has been released. It is a laid-back emotional track that features Rihanna duetting with Kanye West and backed by rock legend Paul McCartney on acoustic guitar.

The video for the song, directed by fashion photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin is as stripped down as the music, and features the jeans-clad trio in striking black and white. Rihanna will debut "FourFiveSeconds" live on Sunday's 57th annual Grammy Awards, joined onstage by McCartney and West. Looking forward to hearing it performed live.

favorite song friday: style

The kid loves Taylor Swift, and as pop princesses go, she is definitely one of the best. Her latest album 89 has been topping the charts for weeks, the only grumbles coming from her recently being declared New York's global welcome ambassador. This last complaint coming from long-time New Yorkers, who despair at how New York has changed in recent years to a playground for the rich. Swift is hardly responsible for that, as New York and much of the rest of the country has been enamored of and catering to big bucks for more than just the last few years.

89 has also been declared her first pure pop album, but that seems wildly inaccurate, too. Swift's songs have had a pop sensibility for quite a while, just as 89's songs still show traces of her country roots. The first two songs released off the album, "Shake It Off" and "Blank Space" became instant hits. The latest offering, "Style," may be a little slower in its take-off, but it is the first one that seems to me from a more mature sensibility to me. Maybe that's why my almost 11 year-old hasn't taken to it as quickly as the other two songs.

So it goes
He can't keep his wild eyes on the road
Takes me home
Lights are off, he's taking off his coat
I say, "I heard, oh, that you've been out and about with some other girl, some other girl." 

He says, "What you've heard is true but I
Can't stop thinking about you," and I...
I said, "I've been there too a few times." 

'Cause you got that James Dean daydream look in your eye
And I got that red lip classic thing that you like
And when we go crashing down, we come back every time
'Cause we never go out of style
We never go out of style

Taylor's confessional tone is still engaging, and keeps her fans and critics guessing - exactly who is this song about, anyway? She gets far more flack for writing about her past and present loves than the equally anecdotal Ed Sheeran. Sexism is alive and well, as always. But mostly "Style" is a great song.

favorite song friday: vinyl makes a reappearance

Going through a closet the other day I found some old 78 records of my mom's and probably her mom's. Most of them are recordings of historic events, like coronations (my mother was born in England and she and my grandmother lived there for the first five or six years of her life). I realized I had nothing to play them on, and picked up a turntable that can also convert them to digital files, if I wanted.

As I was showing my daughter how to play a record on the turntable I realized that I really missed my old record collection. I gave them to my cousin years ago, when I moved from DC to NY. Through the years I have replaced a lot of them on CD and now those have been replaced digitally. But there are some whole chunks, like my Kinks collection, that have never been replaced. I realized the other day that I don't want to buy digital Kinks. I'd really like to hear some of those albums, scratches and all. Watch them spin on a turntable. So I guess I need to start hitting garage sales ...

favorite song friday: an unlikely hit

In the popular young adult movie franchise Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Jennifer Lawrence plays Katniss Everdeen, a reluctant symbol of a revolution. in one of the strongest (and most quiet) moments in the film the haunted Katniss sings an old folk song as she and her rebel crew are relaxing by a riverside. The song has a folk music sound to it, which is appropriate, as Katniss is supposed to hail from a part of her post-apocalyptic country of Panem that closely resembles Appalachia.

The lyrics to the song were written by The author of The Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins, and were included in her original Mockingjay novel. The music was composed by Jeremiah Fraites and Wesley Schultz of American indie folk band The Lumineers.

Katniss's song was one of the film's most powerful moments, so it is interesting that it is now climbing the charts as a dance remix. When I first heard it, the EDM beat spliced in seemed more than a little jarring. But the simple power of the song and its mood still shines through. "The Hanging Tree" seems to be the latest in a growing number of folk-inspired music. Neo folk?

Are you, are you
Coming to the tree
Where they strung up a man
They say murdered three.
Strange things have happened here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree ...

favorite song friday: ms. jackson

Today's song is a bit of a throwback, too. I guess the local Miami DJ and I like Outkast and André 3000, as it has been on fairly frequent airplay around these parts lately.

Me and your daughter
Got a special thang going on
You say it's puppy love
We say it's full grown
Hope that we feel this
Feel this way forever
You could plan a pretty picnic
But you can't predict the weather, Ms. Jackson

...

I'm sorry Ms. Jackson (oh)
I am for real
Never meant to make your daughter cry
I apologize a trillion times

favorite songs (of the year) friday

I will always be interested in popular culture, but having a ten year-old has also made me more aware and interested in popular music, too. It is fun watching her have favorites and swoon over current pop stars, as well as watch her come to appreciate some of my golden oldies (The Clash's "I Fought the Law" and Bowie's "Fashion" are favorites) when we give the car radio a rest. But for the most part I listen to the radio with her. I have to draw the line somewhere, however. I refuse to have to suffer some of the songs and artists that the music industry is trying to shove down our throats, like the marble-mouthed Ariana Grande. But there were some bright spots this year. Here are my Top Ten favorites of 2014, in no particular order.

The incomparable Pharrell

"Happy" Pharrell Williams — The song still makes me smile, and his 24-hour version of this video is a pretty amazing feat.

"Love Runs Out" OneRepublic — Just fun, fun, fun.

"La, La, La," Naughty Boy [featuring Sam Smith] — The first time I heard Sam Smith : )

"Night Changes" One Direction — The kid's favorite boy band has grown on me, and they have a folky edge that is coming more to the fore with each song they release. And yes, Harry is my favorite ; )

"Secrets" Mary Lambert — Quirky, clever fun.

"Uptown Funk" Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars — Look out, Prince ... this guy is the funk.

“All About That Bass” Meghan Trainor — Girl power music that is full of fun, too.

"Don't" Ed Sheeran — A twisted anti-love song that never seems to get old, even when you already know the story.

"Tennis Court" Lorde — The kid is talented, and this stripped-down song proves it.

"The Heart Wants What It Wants" Selena Gomez — Another artist inherited from the kid, but she sings this track with real emotion. I like it.


Honorable Mention: Awesome Mix Vol. 1, The Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack

Oh, and by the way, the kid compiled her own Top Ten. By next year I'll probably be guesting on her blog ; )

We did cross over on one song ...

favorite song friday: ho ho holiday songs

Here's a throwback post, from 2011, of some of my favorite holiday music:

It's so hard to avoid holiday music. Three local radio stations are currently playing tunes around the clock. Do we really need three? Or even one, considering that every retail establishment is also pumping out the nonstop tunes? Instead of driving myself mad when I hear the umpteenth version of Silver Bells, I decided to remind myself of some holiday music that I actually like and look forward to hearing — just once a year.

 Ray Charles — Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Dean Martin's version is also good ("Rudy the red-beaked reindeer"), but nothing can beat Ray Charles's delivery. His entire Christmas album is great, including a version of Baby, It's Cold Outside with Betty Carter.

The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl — Fairytale of New York

An amazing song from an amazing band.

"Happy Christmas your arse, I pray God it's our last."

Judy Garland — Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

The very best rendition of this song, from a great movie that is sentimental in the best way. A classic.

Thurl Ravenscroft — You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch

Ravenscroft had such a wonderful voice and his delivery of Dr. Seuss's lyrics have let people indulge in their inner Grinch for decades.

The three words that best describe you,
Are as follows, and I quote,
"Stink! Stank! Stunk!"

Bruce Springsteen — Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town


You can't beat Bruce for pure exuberance, and his version of this "kiddie" song manages to rock out, be fun, and let people know why he and the E Street Band have been such a hot ticket all these years.

Barenaked Ladies (with Sarah McLachlan) — God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen / We Three Kings 


This version is not afraid to play with a more traditional Christmas carol. Its casual vibe captures the mood of caroling and eggnog and Christmas cheer.

John Denver and the Muppets — We Wish You A Merry Christmas


This is just too much fun, from a television special Kermit and the gang did with John Denver in 1979.

There is a ton of holiday music out there. Some other favorites include:

Feliz Navidad — Jose Feliciano

Little Drummer Boy — Bing Crosby and David Bowie

Holiday Christmas: War is Over — John Lennon

The Christmas Song — Nat King Cole

I'll be Home for Christmas — the Carpenters

Santa Baby — Eartha Kitt

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year — Johnny Mathis

And of course,

White Christmas — Bing Crosby