SiriusXM highlights CLXXXII

This is as an enjoyable time of year for music listening.  Christmas music is starting to seep into my consciousness--but not completely yet.  Thus, my list of today's SiriusXM standouts includes seven holiday tracks and seven non-holiday tracks:

'70s/'80s Holidays

• The Christmas Song-The Carpenters (Leave it to Karen Carpenter to sing this with exactly the right amount of warmth and sentimentality.)

Classic Folk

• Masters Of War-Judy Collins (A haunting version of Bob Dylan's admonishment on the consequences of war.)

Hawaiian Vacation

• My Little Grass Shack In Kealakek-Lyle Ritz (The way this jaunty guitar melody started, I half-expected it to detour into "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow."  I also like that there's a hint of "Sweet Georgia Brown" in the vibraphone part.)

Holiday Chill-Out

• Troubadelles-Five Seasons (A floating uptempo groove.)

Holiday Instrumentals

• Santa Claus Is Coming To Town-Vince Gill (Some versions of this err on the side of being a tad too precious.  Considering the subject matter, that's understandable.  This version clearly isn't in that camp, however.  Gill plays this with considerable pep on the guitar, and the fiddling mirrors the guitar's energy.)

Holiday Pops

• Bring A Torch, Jeannette Isabella-Robert Shaw Chamber Singers (A stately, proper vocal rendering of this carol, with an effectively held final note.) 

Indie Sleep

• Funeral-Phoebe Bridgers (Sad, discomforting perspective that we all need to hear sometimes.) 

Luna

• Summertime-Kenia (The rhythm here might not be every listener's cup of tea, but vocally and instrumentally, this is a compellingly jazzy take on a Gershwin standard.)  

Real Jazz Holiday

• The Christmas Waltz-The Rob McConnell Trio (A tasteful trombone-led rendition.  I can easily imagine a jazz combo playing this as the last selection of an evening concert.) 

SiriusXM Pops

• Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92: I. Poco sustenuto-Vivace (Berlin Philharmonic/Kirill Petrenko, conductor) (This is a slightly faster tempo than I'm used to for this movement, but it's still a majestic performance of one of my favorite symphonic movements.) 

Sleep Christmas

• Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming-Eric Schrotenboer (Schrotenboer plays the melody reverentially before putting his own stamp on the carol with improvisational flourishes.)

Smokey's Holiday Soul Town

• Silver Bells-The Stylistics (A natural vocal fit for a group that has a way with polished ballads.) 

The Tragically Hip Radio

• Over The Hills And Far Away-Led Zeppelin (This has one of the best acoustic-to-electric transitions in a rock song, as far as I'm concerned, and rhythmically among Zeppelin tunes, it ranks second for me only to "Fool In The Rain.") 

Watercolors

• Lakeshore Drive-Art Porter (Porter's bright saxophone tone here reminds me of George Howard's comparably sunny tone.)

The pitfalls of shuffle mode XVI

Although it doesn't relate to my life lyrically, I purchased "Home Is Where The Hatred Is" by Esther Phillips through iTunes years ago.  The blue mood it establishes is appropriate for days when one has a sour disposition and isn't in a hurry to change it.  It was jarring, then, to hear it flow into the Lara & Reyes instrumental rendition of "Frosty The Snowman" today.

Such is the risk one takes when playing one's music library in shuffle mode.

FM dial scan highlights CCCXVI

One Monday night and four Tuesday morning standout tunes:

WSIE 88.7 FM

• Strollin'-Cindy Bradley (Smooth, easy-on-the-ears trumpet playing that segues with...)
• Breezin'-Joe Bozzi (...this pleasant vibraphone take on the Gabor Szabo tune, best known to many listeners through George Benson's excellent guitar rendition.) 

KCLC 89.1 FM

• It Can Happen-Yes (I was glad that KCLC reminded me of this tune I hadn't thought about in years.  "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" was the deservedly big hit from Yes's "90125" album, but this track's solid hook and floating-in-space feel is another example of how well the group pivoted from a '70s prog rock ethos to a more mechanical-sounding '80s style.)

KWUR 90.3 FM

• When I'm Thinking About You-The Sundays (Sensitively written and sung.  It's easy to go overboard lyrically in this type of daydream-centered song, but that doesn't happen here; that's no surprise, given the strong consistency of The Sundays from album to album.)

WFUN 96.3 FM

• Keep On Keepin' On (Instrumental)-MC Lyte featuring Xscape (A steady, somewhat ominous sounding loop.  Rhythmically, it reminds me of Kam Franklin's version of "(No Place I'd) Rather Be," but slowed down.)

The allure of shuffle mode XCIX

iTunes paired two classy, elegant jazz piano instrumentals from my library together this morning.  I was pleased to hear Teddy Wilson's version of "I Get A Kick Out Of You" flow smoothly into Count Basie's "Moten Swing."  That's a segue I wish I'd thought of during my time at WEW.  I was glad to hear it today, though, as both tunes command the listener's attention without being any showier than they need to be.

Segue suggestion XXIV

One free-spirited, near-bluegrass guitar piece deserves another, so I recommend playing Chris Proctor's "Over The Pass" before Jorma Kaukonen's "Downhill Sleigh Ride."  To me, both instrumentals conjure up the image of someone chasing someone else while pretending to be angry or trying to catch up with a cart that comes loose from its latch and starts rolling down a hill.

How many other song pairings elicit those images?

The spirit of which season? II

I'm conflicted.  KEZK will switch to all Christmas music on Friday morning, November 13.  It's comforting to savor the warm glow that favorite carols elicit, but at the moment...I just don't know.  Granted, temperatures plunged into the 30s overnight, making it feel like the Christmas season.  Still, we've had an especially muted Fall--"Autumn Light," really, in terms of foliage and general temperature ranges since last month.  Looking out the window, there are still red, yellow, and orange leaves on the trees, though, and I'm not ready for them to depart. 

Maybe, though, by next Friday, a few listens of "There's No Place Like Home For The Holidays" will put me in a more positive frame of mind.  Besides, by today's standards, November 13 is a semi-restrained start date for a radio station to play only Christmas music.  

I'll see how I feel about all this in six days.

Online radio sampler highlights CCCXIII

Standout songs heard this morning:

KLZR (Westcliffe, CO)

• Indian Hills-New Grass Revival (This fast bluegrass instrumental features deft interplay between the guitar, banjo, fiddle, and bass.  Nickel Creek's "Ode To A Butterfly" could flow into this.)

KTAL (Las Cruces, NM)

• Kokopelli Wind-R. Carlos Nakai (Haunting solo flute playing.)

WNCU (Durham, NC)

• Red Planet-Marian McPartland (McPartland anchors this combo on piano in a cookin' rendition of a John Coltrane tune.)
• Sankofa-Cassandra Wilson (Captivatingly layered a cappella vocals.) 

WPRB (Princeton, NJ)

• Leave Us A Message-Antique Seeking Nuns (This type of guitar style often draws me into an indie rock track.  I hear elements of Rush and prog rock in this tune.)

WVVY (Tisbury, MA)

• The Sea Of Love-John Fahey (The Honeydrippers had a hit with this, but Fahey's understated guitar rendition deserves its due.)
• Look Up (a.k.a. Whenever)-Irma Thomas (Perky pick-me-up vocals and piano.)