FM dial scan highlights CCCXII

Today marks 12 years since I started this blog, and scanning the FM dial for compelling music is just as captivating to me as it was on September 1, 2014.  Here are five standout tunes I heard this morning:

WSIE 88.7 FM

• Digits-Clark Terry (An effective doubling up of a sunny melody from Johnny Griffin on saxophone and Terry on trumpet.)
• Bountiful-Kayla Waters (I'd play "Quiet Storm" by Ramsey Lewis before this because one pleasant jazz piano instrumental deserves another.)

KCLC 89.1 FM

• Black Is Black-The Verbs (This respectable cover of the 1966 Los Bravos hit, which used to be a staple cut of oldies stations, approaches the lyrics from a female perspective.)
• Get Down-They Might Be Giants (I never expected to hear this group's brand of cerebral rock detour into a '70s-style dance pastiche with horns, but it kind of works.)

KLOU 103.3 FM

• I Can See Clearly Now-Jimmy Cliff (As comforting as Johnny Nash's original version is, the backbeat on Cliff's faithful rendition gives the tune a bit more rhythmic vigor.) 

Persistent earworm alert CDLII

I have fewer ideas for blog posts some days than others.  When that happens, Pink Floyd's "On The Run" sometimes infiltrates my mind.

Even with a self-imposed deadline, a rhythm that indicates time slipping away can't help but motivate me to think of an idea and post it.

Persistent earworm alert CDLI

On sporadic Sundays, the Alan Parsons Project's "Don't Let It Show" enters my mind.  It has nothing to do with the lyrics.  No matter how many times I've heard the song, my brain hears the organ intro and thinks a hymn is beginning.

Even after decades of knowing otherwise, my mind still hears that intro and thinks, "This sounds fit for a church service."  I haven't been to church in years, but there's still the association that Sunday equals church.  I wonder if a church organist has ever played "Don't Let It Show" before or after Mass.  In my view, "Don't Let It Show" works as a warm-up instrumental or as leaving-after-Mass-ends music.

A function of age LIII

Recently, I listened to a radio air check tape I recorded 40 years ago.  It was a refreshing blast to hear various jazz and soft rock tunes played on a Friday in November 1986.  Although I enjoyed being reminded of various songs I hadn't heard in a while, I kept thinking, "November 1986...That was during my first semester as a high school sophomore.  So much had yet to happen in the world and in my life."

While I'd rather be an adult than the high school sophomore I was then, it was pleasant to think back to that Friday night decades ago.  So much of my life was still ahead of me--and that night, I was just focused on hearing the best music I could find.

Decades later, I still seek out the best music and radio stations I can find--but with more wisdom, I think, than I had 40 years ago.

Online radio sampler highlights CCCIX

Friday morning standouts:

KMMS (Bozeman, MT)

• Never Let You Go-Third Eye Blind (I appreciate the sing-along quality of the chorus more today than I did in 2000.  "Never Let You Go" was played frequently on the radio then, so I've come to like the tune more than when it was a hit.) 

KSBR (Mission Viejo, CA)

• Here's Where The Story Ends-The Sundays (To me, this has always been one of the more comforting, introspective songs about less than great times.  Harriet Wheeler's vocals waft over the guitar line effectively.  Thirty-six years after its release, I still like this song and its album as much as I did originally.)
• Cold April-Allison Russell (A heartwarming reminder to stay resilient during challenging times.)

WPKN (Bridgeport, CT)

• Flying Home-Illinois Jacquet (I'm used to hearing Lionel Hampton play this familiar melody on the vibraphone, but Jacquet shows how well it swings on the saxophone.)

WSMC (Collegedale, TN)

• Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 2 in B-flat major, D. 125: I. Largo-Allegro vivace (Dresden State Orchestra/Herbert Blomstedt, conductor) (This symphony's opening movement segues from a leisurely melody with trills suggesting birdsong into an invigorating steeplechase for strings.)

Context? CDLVI

This afternoon, a radio talk show host joked that "everything (played) on the banjo sounds like the theme from 'The Beverly Hillbillies.'"

Well...Not quite.  Granted, I might have thought so 40 years ago, but after years of listening to such artists as Bela Fleck, Tony Trischka, and Alison Brown, I'll admit that the banjo has more range than I realized initially.

Context? CDLV

I just caught the end of an underwriting mention on NPR today, so I'm not sure which sponsor thinks "AI should be optional," but I'm inclined to support them--whoever they are.