The allure of shuffle mode XCII

iTunes shuffle mode cultivated a fun 1940s vibe yesterday during two back-to-back instrumentals.  "Twice Shy" by Hot Club Of St. Louis flowed into Jon Rauhouse's version of Louis Jordan's "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie."  "Twice Shy" is from 2024, but the fiddling wouldn't have been out of place 80 years earlier.  Rauhouse then built on "Twice Shy"'s rhythm with a strong, uptempo guitar rendering of "Choo Choo..."

I wish WEW still played nostalgic music so I could segue both tunes on the air as a DJ--or request them as a listener.

The allure of shuffle mode XCI

One of iTunes shuffle mode's most valuable attributes is showing listeners how songs they've enjoyed separately can be paired in not immediately obvious segues.  That happened for me today when Natalie MacMaster's "Paddy LeBlanc's Set" ended up before "Afternoon In Paris" by Rebecca Coupe Franks.  I wouldn't have thought to pair Celtic fiddling with swingin' jazz trumpet, but to my ears, "Afternoon In Paris" builds on the energy of "Paddy LeBlanc's Set."

Persistent earworm alert CDXXI

If you prefer to acknowledge Valentine's Day without being overly syrupy, I recommend "Valentine" by The Elvis Brothers.  As I've written before, the band's name is misleading, as their sound is actually Beatles-influenced power pop.  "Valentine" is a high energy track suitable for cranking up while driving.  I used to play it on KCOU and have never heard it anywhere else.  Lyrically, it's a sound way of being direct with someone by saying, "Baby, let me be your valentine."  That directness, fortunately, doesn't have the melodrama that ballads often have.  It's an uptempo, forthright way of conveying, "Hey, I like you, so what would you think of us being together?"

A function of age XLV

Recently, a radio talk show host mentioned how strange he felt having guitar lessons with a 24-year-old instructor.  I understood what he meant.  Logically, if someone has a skill you don't have and is able to teach it well, that person's age shouldn't matter.  In an awkward way, it does, however.  A few years younger isn't a big difference, but when the teacher is decades younger than you are, it feels odd to regard that person as an authority figure. 

At age 55, this perspective is inevitable, I think.

Online radio sampler highlights CCXCI

Seven standout selections heard today:

KMFA (Austin, TX) 

• Robert Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129: I. Nicht zu schnell (Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Scott Yoo, conductor; Bion Tsang, cello) (A lyrical, somber interpretation.)

KQAL (Winona, MN)

• My Heart Is Full-Norah Jones (The echo on Jones's vocals and replication of a heartbeat give the song appropriate gravity, especially during its crescendos.)
• Too Late To Turn Back Now-Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose (I've always liked this oldie, as the lyrics express sentiments appropriate for Valentine's Day in a classy way often missing from today's pop hits.)

KUVO (Denver, CO)

• Sandu-Freddie Hubbard/Woody Shaw (A cool walking rhythm and excellent synchronicity between the trumpet and saxophone.)

WCBN (Ann Arbor, MI)

• Perdue A Paris-Clare And The Reasons (Unusual vocal harmonies, a swirling instrumental backdrop, and an unconventional use of trumpet make this indie rock track stand out.)

WUSC (Columbia, SC)  

• After All You Put Me Through-Joyce Manor (There's nothing like power pop guitar stylings to take the edge off of negative lyrics.)

WXNA (Nashville, TN)

• Slide-O-Mike Barone Big Band (The brass, winds, and piano swing the rhythm appealingly.)

Community Radio St. Louis highlights VII

Wednesday morning highlights:

Feel Like Going Home 

• Sadness As A Gift-Adrianne Lenker (A painful, realistic acknowledgment that a relationship has reached its end.)
• Work-Thelonious Monk (Proof that a jaunty melody on the piano doesn't have to be consistently sunny; with the right melody, there's room for dissonance.)
• Sunday-Yuck (Tuneful power pop with quietly confident lyrics about winning someone back.)

Shady Grove

• Look Down That Lonesome Road-Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands (One of the interesting tricks bluegrass music pulls off is pairing sorrowful lyrics with lighthearted instrumentation.  Somehow, that combination gels appropriately here.)
• Cricket On The Hearth-Bryan Sutton (If you're a guitarist who can stay in tune and in time at this brisk tempo, you ought to clean up financially as a session musician.  Fast instrumentals such as this are this genre's main appeal to me.)

Context? CDXXIII

In recent weeks, I've heard multiple live and recorded radio commercials for Collette, the travel company.  I keep hearing announcers saying things like, "Collette will take care of everything," and "Collette will handle all the arrangements."

Then, I look at my cat, Collette, who doesn't suffer fools gladly, and imagine a commercial in which the announcer says, "If everything isn't to your satisfaction, Collette will bite you."

It's probably best that my cat isn't a travel company employee.