SiriusXM highlights CLXXVIII

Saturday morning highlights:

The Elevator

• Up On The Roof-John Fox (This flute, guitar, and strings rendition of the classic Drifters hit slows the tempo down, giving it a tasteful, easy listening sheen.)

B.B. King's Bluesville

• Every Step Of The Way-Keb' Mo' (An honest acknowledgment that not every decision we make in life will be perfect, but what we learn along the way helps us navigate life more gracefully.)

Lo-Fi Sleep

• Over The Moon-Team Astro (A warm piano riff with crackling vinyl sound effects.)

Luna

• Brigas, Nuncas Mais (Fights Never More)-Antonio Carlos Jobim & Elis Regina (Rhythmically, these vocals and keyboard accompaniment could segue with various versions of "One Note Samba.")

Piano Instrumentals

• Changing Winds-Alexandra Streliski (Fit for a soap opera scene in which a character contemplates a major life decision.)

SiriusXMU

• Knocking At The Sky-The Last Dinner Party (For lyrical contrast, Samia's "Spine Oil" would be an interesting tune to segue with this.)

Spectrum Discovery

• Haunted-Phoebe Bridgers (How do you regroup and soldier on after a setback, especially when it's one that's not visible to others?  This new release ponders this thoughtfully and takes a one-foot-in-front-of-the-other attitude toward recovery.) 

Stevie's Coolest Songs

• Casablanca-Susanna Hoffs (Hoffs has maintained an earnest sincerity in her vocals over decades, as this new release illustrates.) 

Online radio sampler highlights CCCVIII

Today's standouts:

KAFM (Grand Junction, CO)

• Dance Floor-The Apples In Stereo (I'm guessing that one or more band members intended to channel ELO here.  Also recommended: "Tidal Wave.")

KCSM (San Mateo, CA)

• My Whole Life Through-The James Carter Organ Trio (A slow, relaxed melody with prominent saxophone over a backdrop of organ.)
• Dolphin's View-Alex Sipiagin (The piano underscores Sipiagin's trumpet playing compellingly, giving the tune some dark turbulence.)

WQED (Pittsburgh, PA)

• Felix Mendelssohn: Paulus (St. Paul), Op. 26, MWV A14: Overture (City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Edward Gardner, conductor) (I'd like to have played any of the stringed instruments on this recording so I could say I pulled off the piece's inherent tension and its ultimately heroic conclusion.)  

WRUJ (Richmond, VT)

• I Know But I Don't Know-Blondie (This track has more of a freewheeling, punk rock vibe than the group's hits.)
• Burning Out-The Linda Lindas (As this June release conveys, we all have our going-through-the-motions days.)

A petty fixation LII

In retrospect, it amuses me how seriously I used to take radio station format changes.  In 1985, I thought, "A new soft rock station is making its debut.  I'd better listen to it often for at least the first week."

As I listened, I thought, "This is a pleasant selection of soft rock hits, but it's also a rather safe, predictable playlist.  The DJs sound alright, but there's nothing particularly innovative or unique about what they're doing.  This is a paint-by-numbers soft rock station in a city that already has multiple stations with this format."

I kept listening throughout the station's first two months, though, because it was new.  Initial curiosity doesn't guarantee that an audience will stay with a station, but it often gets them to give the station a chance, however short-lived.

Community Radio St. Louis highlights XIII

Wednesday morning standouts:

Feel Like Going Home

• See You Later, I'm Gone-Whitney (The subtle arrangement of this vocals-and-guitar track, released in May, makes its lyrics sound all the more sincere.)
• Rockets & Flowers-The Bamboos (This new release has a pleasant '70s R&B feel that could segue with  Greenflow's "I Got'cha'.")
• Beyond That Moon-Madison Cunningham (One of 2026's more heartfelt singer-songwriter tracks.  Cunningham's vocals acknowledge how painful the end of a relationship is when it's not your desired outcome.)
• Human Mind-Mavis Staples (Lyrically and vocally, "Human Mind" works on two levels; it speaks to the resilience one needs when grappling with a personal setback or loss and also to the coping mechanisms people need as a collective during unjust times.) 

Shady Grove

• Blue Moon Waltz-Roger Netherton (This tasteful fiddle piece could segue with Gloria Attoun's "Barefoot Waltz."  I'd be curious to hear Nickel Creek cover this.)
• Salt Spring-John Reischman (A sunny, steady mandolin melody.)

An atypical standout XVII

It escaped my notice for the longest time that Patty Griffin is the singer behind "One Big Love."  When I think of Griffin's singer-songwriter material, I typically think of such tracks as "Rain," "Making Pies," or "The Wheel."  Generally, her songs make the listener lean in and ingest the discomforting or heart-wrenching topics about which she sings.

Yesterday, I wrote about being reminded that Donna Summer sang "Love Is In Control."  As with "...Control," I remembered the rhythm of "One Big Love" for years without recalling its lyrics.  Given its fun, upbeat vibe, I was surprised to learn it was Griffin's song--and that I already own the CD that includes it.

It's amazing what you find when you delve into your own music collection thoroughly.

Persistent earworm alert CDXLIX

While listening to KLOU's August 21, 1982 rebroadcast of  "American  Top 40" yesterday, I exclaimed, "So, that's what that song is!"

I'd forgotten all about Donna Summer's "Love Is In Control."  I remember hearing it on KMJM when it was a hit but not after that.  Admittedly, I'd never paid much attention to its lyrics; after not hearing it for decades, I just remembered the rhythm of its fast chorus.  I've been making up for lost time, though, by thinking of the song frequently since Sunday. 

It's puzzling how only the rhythm of a song sometimes sticks with you over the years.

Persistent earworm alert CDXLVIII

During Thursday night's power outage, the first three words of Crowded House's "It's Only Natural," played on a mental loop for me.  I kept thinking, "Ice will melt," repeatedly.  

That earworm stopped when I realized that I would lose hardly any perishable food.  Ever since a three-day power outage 21 years ago, I've been careful not to get too far ahead on perishable food.  During a storm in 2005, I lost 90% of the perishable food I'd just bought, and I resolved not to let that happen again.

"I thought, 'Ice will melt?'  Ice cube trays can always be refilled," I reasoned Thursday, "and all I'm really losing while the electricity is out is two sticks of butter."