Persistent (Christmas) earworm alert CXVI

For the past hour, Dean Martin's version of "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" has stayed in my mind.  It must be due to the formality in the intro and chorus, with the backing singers saying, "Rudolph," that plays against Martin's relatively informal take on the lyrics.  After all, do you know of any other version offhand in which the singer refers to Rudolph as Rudy?

Inevitable aging

Apparently, my memory isn't what it used to be.  I can hear my high school orchestra director asking the ensemble, "Do you...know the difference...between a fugue and a passacaglia?"

I used to know the difference offhand.  Now, it escapes me.  I guess it's a function of my semi-advanced age.  Thank goodness for Wikipedia.

FM dial scan highlights CV

Five of the best tunes I've heard in recent days:

KDHX 88.1 FM

• Golden Ticket-The Bamboos (This release from July is a catchy blast of positivity; who couldn't root for someone who finds happiness this way?  This sounds like an early '70s R&B groove, to its credit.)

WSIE 88.7 FM

• Skating-Erin Bode (I've always enjoyed hearing Bode sing this in concert; one of many highlights from Bode's album, "A Cold December Night," it's suitable for any time of year, especially when you're relieved to be returning home.  Also recommended: "The Holly And The Ivy" and "The Star's Song.") 
• Soul Shadows-The Crusaders & Bill Withers (It's great to hear this tune get its due on the radio.  The lyrics pay tribute to the way well-performed music changes a person; it's a fine tribute to Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and Fats Waller, especially.  Other standouts from the excellent "Rhapsody And Blues" album: "Elegant Evening," "Last Call," and the title track.) 
• Winter Wonderland-Eric Reed (If you like the way Herbie Hancock acknowledges the theme of "Deck The Halls," juts off into a freewheeling improvisational jam, and eventually returns to the theme, you'll likely enjoy Reed's similar approach to "Winter Wonderland" on the piano.)

WSDZ 95.1 FM

• Go Tell It On The Mountain/Ain't No Mountain High Enough-Anita Wilson & Gregory Porter (An appealing approach for "Go Tell It...," making it sound simultaneously contemporary and giving a nod to "I Heard It Through The Grapevine."  Wilson and Porter segue it smoothly with "Ain't No Mountain...")

Blind optimism

It amused me when any conductor of a non-professional orchestra would advise, "In measure 80, change the fortissimo marking.  Make it only mezzo forte."

I'd often think, "You're conducting amateurs.  Getting them to play moderately loud instead of very loud is the least of your problems.  You'll be lucky if everyone plays the right notes in the proper tempo."

"We'll be back in just 10 minutes..."

Like everyone else, I understand that radio stations have to sell advertising to stay in business.  However, a station's commercial breaks shouldn't be so long that I can tune in at 10 random times during the day, hear long clusters of ads each time, and wonder if the station has switched to an all-commercials format.

Persistent (Christmas) earworm alert CXV

Although it's not one of my favorite songs, and I can't remember the last time I heard it on the radio, "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" has planted itself in my mind.  I'm not even thinking of one consistent version of it; its melody keeps springing to mind at random times.

I would say I'm going to drown it out with Christmas music I like, but writing about it will probably make it stay in my mind for at least a few more hours.

There are worse fates, admittedly.

Context? XLVIII

How do you fill time on the radio after a hockey game?  You ask one of your fellow commentators, "Have you tried the peanut butter and jelly hamburger?"

My stomach has felt queasy since hearing that suggestion last night.  Much like pineapple on pizza, some combinations aren't meant to be.

An artful acknowledgment of Christmas blues

In "Christmas All Alone," The Lettermen answer the question The Emotions pose in "What Do The Lonely Do At Christmas?"  Per "Christmas All Alone," those who can't spend Christmas with their beloved one reflect on how blue they feel about it.  Unlike most whiny versions of "Blue Christmas," however, "Christmas All Alone" conveys the feeling of loneliness tastefully.  (It helps that the protagonist knows he's going to eventually marry the woman he can't be with at Christmas.)  I haven't heard any local radio station play "Christmas All Alone" since 1991.  That's unfortunate, as it's one of the best-written and sung tunes about feeling wistful at Christmas.

Online radio sampler highlights LXXXV (Thanksgiving edition)

Noteworthy Thanksgiving-themed music heard today:

KQAC (Portland, OR)

• Ashokan Farewell-Jay Ungar & Molly Mason (A pastoral-sounding waltz, with added gravity from the Nashville Chamber Orchestra.)

WFMT (Chicago, IL)

• Frederic Hand: A Psalm Of Thanksgiving (Frederic Hand, guitar; Jayna Nelson, flute) (This duo handles the piece's birdlike rhythms deftly.)
• John Rutter: Now Thank We All Our God (Cambridge Singers, City Of London Sinfonia/John Rutter, conductor) (A regal interpretation, with an appropriate flourish of trumpets.)

WXPN (Philadelphia, PA)

• Dear Old Friend-Patty Griffin (Sorrowful yet cautiously optimistic lyrics about patching things up with someone, sung beautifully.)
• Going Home-Charlie Haden & Hank Jones (A warm, contemplative piece for piano and bass.)
• Comin' Home Baby-Booker T. & The MGs (Cool, sly organ and guitar riffs, fitting as a prelude to or playoff of Steely Dan's "Babylon Sisters.")
• You've Got A Friend In Me-Randy Newman (This 1995 Newman composition could pass for a '40s tap dance number.)

Thanking those who have thanked me

Whenever I've gotten to choose the music I've played on the radio, I've always appreciated listeners calling in to tell me how much they liked it.  In the spirit of Thanksgiving, thank you to every listener who has made my day--or any other DJ's day--by calling in with these compliments or similar ones:

• "That's a great song you just played.  It should be part of your regular format."
• "Do you choose the music yourself?  You do?  I like what you choose.  Every Saturday, I tune in to your show."
• "I enjoy your show each week.  I wish the rest of (the radio station) sounded like this."
• "You played (a particular band), and now, you're playing (a different band)?  You rock!"
• "Thank you for giving us credit for intelligence and going beyond the same old predictable songs.  You're bringing back a lot of memories." 

It's always gratifying to know that other listeners hear the same striking qualities in songs that you do and that they'll (hopefully) support those artists by buying their music.

Persistent earworm alert CXIV

Whether you think well or ill of "Long Train Runnin'" by The Doobie Brothers, you have to admit that its recurring guitar riff doesn't leave one's mind easily, and it's at least half of the reason the song was such a hit.

"Bear with us for 55 seconds..."

I was impressed recently to hear a DJ say to his audience, "I've got one--no, two--recorded promos to play.  One of them is 30 seconds, and the other is 25 seconds..."

Some listeners probably switched to another station during those 55 seconds and didn't come back.  I'd like to believe, however, that most listeners appreciated the DJ's honesty about how long the break would be and kept listening through it.

Context? XLVII

Recently, I tuned in during the middle of an interview, in which a guest spoke of a "prankster ghost" at an allegedly haunted mansion.

I didn't hear the full context, so for everyone's safety and civility, I hope that ghost doesn't do anything more sinister than rattle some chains and say, "Made you look..."

Not so long ago, or so I tell myself

A few days ago, I listened to an album from 1984.  One track, in particular, jumped out at me as sounding especially of its time.  The font on the back of the album also looked like what a computer would have generated in 1984.

It's a lie I like to tell myself: A song or album can't be that dated if it was released during my lifetime.

There's also a truism I like to tell myself: As long as I like the music, and I'm just playing it for myself, it doesn't matter if it's dated.  And, so it is with all of us.

Laudable Christmas jazz influences

What would have happened if Jimmy Smith, Herbie Mann, and Booker T. & The MGs had collaborated on a Christmas tune?  The result might have sounded a lot like Barbara Dennerlein's version of "Sleigh Ride."  This is definitely one of the cooler examples of Christmas jazz I've heard in several years.

Context? XLVI

"We got all the colors.  We got...red..."

No, that's not from Jay Mohr's "Saturday Night Live" impression of Christopher Walken promoting Skittles.  It's a casual enticement from a North Carolina radio station staffer in a promo about t-shirts and other items with the station's call letters.

Online radio sampler highlights LXXXIV

Five recent standout tunes:

KBEM (Minneapolis, MN)

• Ain't It Funky Now?-Grant Green (Yes...and I would expect no less from Green on the guitar.)

WDCB (Chicago, IL)

• Please Send Me Someone To Love-Cory Weeds (Classy tenor sax in a big band style, released in July.  Also recommended: "Canadian Sunset," in an interesting blend of bossa nova and walking rhythm line.)

WKNC (Raleigh, NC)

• Happy Unhappy-The Beths (Catchy power pop lead and backing vocals in this appealing tune for driving, released in August.  Cruiserweight's "Slack" could segue with this.)
• Born To Be Needed-Tennis (Alaina Moore's vocals float above their surroundings in this uptempo gem.)

WORT (Madison, WI)

• Waltz For Reannon-Rickie Simpkins (Simpkins pulls off this melody equally well on mandolin and fiddle.  This is a Wyatt Rice composition, but based on its style, I half-expected to read that Chris Thile had written it.)

Anyone for Yuletide dulcimer lessons?

Somehow, I'd overlooked a strong Christmas medley until tonight.  If you're looking for three instrumental Christmas carols performed with a wandering (or power walking briskly) through the forest quality, listen to Ensemble Galilei and Maggie Sansone's "Gloucestershire Wassail/Tomorrow Will Be My Dancing Day/The Sussex Carol" medley.  "Gloucestershire Wassail" is also known as "Wassail, Wassail," which you may have heard Mannheim Steamroller perform ably.  "Tomorrow Will Be My Dancing Day" segues naturally with "The Sussex Carol," due to a similar bounce in each carol's melody.  If these three carols don't make you want to learn to play the dulcimer, I don't know what to tell you.

Putting nerves in perspective

There's a nervous excitement in the moments before you go on the air professionally.  Before I did my first break on KNJZ, however, I reasoned, "Why should I be nervous?  As a kid, I did my own radio shows on tape, in which I had to remain silent between songs and creep quietly up to the microphone when it was time to introduce a song.  On KCOU, I chose multi-genre music that I played for up to four hours at a time.  On KBIA, I mastered the challenge of having to speak for exactly one or two minutes at a time.  I'm sure I can handle saying, 'Smooth Jazz, KNJZ 100.3, with music from Boney James; that's called 'Kyoto...'"

After that realization, the nerves went away.

The virtue of eventual patience

Usually, I like living near the sound of passing trains.  It's comforting to know they're transporting various items while I eat, read, and sleep.  Today, however, just for a moment, I became irritated. A train blew its horn while I was trying to listen to a David Russell guitar recording.

"The train is drowning out Vivaldi," I thought.  Shortly after that, I chided myself for being cross.  I thought, sarcastically, "Of all the nerve, warning people or animals who might be on the train tracks.  The nerve of that train's conductor, doing the right thing while transporting goods that need to be transported."

After all, starting the Vivaldi piece again wouldn't have been that difficult or inconvenient.

Stifling the sneezes and coughs

I've been fortunate never to have coughed on the air.  It's an odd phenomenon; you can be coughing, sneezing, and barely awake before doing a radio air break, but as soon as the microphone goes on, it's as though you've never been sick.

I think that's due to professional pride, needing something to go right when you don't feel well, and luck.

Giving your cereal its due

After telling someone years ago that Al Jarreau's "Mornin'" was one of my favorite songs, she scanned her memory before responding.

Eventually, she replied, "Is that the song where he says, 'Good morning,' to the Cheerios?"

It is.  It's interesting what lyrics from a song stay with us.  If I'd only had vague familiarity with the song and had been on the other side of the conversation, I probably would have responded the same way.  While there are many songs about greeting or facing a new day, Jarreau's greeting his Cheerios with such a bounce in his step gives the song a welcoming, relatable peg.

Only in college LX

A frequent radio station caller was known for asking DJs, "Did you hear that (an indie band) got a new drummer?  Do you think he'll be as good as the old one?"

I was never sure how to answer that, but I admired that the caller thought anyone who answered the phone would be familiar with the obscure indie band he'd mentioned, weigh the merits of two drummers, and render a verdict.

If nothing else, I had to admire what a fan of the music the caller obviously was.

A linguistic irritant X

When giving a weather forecast, there's no better word for cold than cold.  Freezing temperatures are predicted overnight, so I'm pleasantly surprised not to hear any radio announcer referring to the weather as nippy.  A word that sounds as silly as nippy should be reserved strictly for songs about Jack Frost.

A linguistic irritant IX

While listening to election night returns on the radio, I'm impressed that no commentator has leaned on the crutch, "We'll know more later."

In the past, when I've heard that, I've thought, "That stands to reason, considering only 12% of the precincts have reported their vote totals."

Context? XLV

Sometimes, someone will hit you with a song lyric you weren't expecting, as in this conversation I heard years ago:

Co-worker #1: Daniel, my brother, you are older than me.
Co-worker #2: I'm not older than you.

I wonder if the first co-worker ever explained to the second one that he was quoting Elton John's song, "Daniel."

Just introduce the music...

I gnashed my teeth one day during the '80s upon hearing a DJ say, "These are The Pointer Sisters, sounding like nice young ladies on this record..."

I thought, "No.  Don't do that.  It sounds patronizing." 

The DJ likely meant that as a compliment, but he shouldn't have phrased it that way.  A generic intro, such as, "These are the Pointer Sisters with 'Jump (For My Love),'" would have been better.

Stingray Music highlights LXX

Thursday and Friday highlights:

The Chill Lounge

• Across My Mind-Giacomo Bondi (A spacey instrumental, fit for late nights on a smooth jazz station.)

Cocktail Lounge

• Yesterdays-Cal Tjader (A sly, slinky melody for vibraphone; musty in a good sense.) 

Folk Roots

• Storm In A Teacup-Susan McKeown & The Chanting House (A haunting Celtic number, fit for acknowledging difficult times.  Also recommended: "Ce Leis e?")
• Walk Awhile-Fairport Convention (Spirited fiddling and vocals; a "Full House" album highlight.) 

Holiday Hits

• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen-John Tesh & The Christmas Symphony Orchestra (A stately rendition for brass.)

Jazz Latino

• Ponte Pa'L Monte-William Cepeda (An infectious blend of brass, guitar, and vocals.) 

Rewind--'80s & '90s

• Set Adrift On Memory Bliss-P.M. Dawn ("Set Adrift..." samples Spandau Ballet's "True" effectively, without letting it overpower the song.  Also recommended: "To Serenade A Rainbow," "A Watcher's Point Of View," and "Reality Used To Be A Friend Of Mine.")

Silk 

• You To Me Are Everything-The Real Thing (I hear why this was such a big British R&B hit in 1976; vocally and instrumentally, "You To Me..." shows how to execute a well-worn lyrical theme and catch the listener's ear.)

SiriusXM highlights CII

Recent standouts:

1st Wave

• Uncertain Smile-The The (This could segue with The Style Council's "Walls Come Tumbling Down.")

Chill

• Far Away Place Remix-Xinobi/Jody Wisternoff/James Grant (Four recurring sung notes set the tone for this uptempo, trance-based groove.)

Deep Tracks

• You Left Me Sore-Todd Rundgren (Something about the piano part makes me think this could segue with "D.W. Washburn" by The Monkees.)

Escape

• 'Deed I Do-Pete Fountain (A cool, bluesy, flute-dominated rendition; you don't usually hear a lot of New Orleans style in easy listening music, but you do here.)

Real Jazz

• Blues Samuel-Sammy Nestico And The SWR Big Band (Don't let the "Blues" in the title mislead you; this is actually an upbeat big band number that swings.)
• Fly Me To The Moon-Joey DeFrancesco (Smooth organ pyrotechnics and a cool walking bass line make this a strong cover version.)
• For Duke P.-Bobby Hutcherson (A vibraphone piece that cooks, thanks to Hutcherson.  It certainly doesn't hurt to have such luminaries as Joe Henderson on tenor sax and Grant Green on guitar.)

A linguistic irritant VIII

Record companies, while a recording artist is still alive, please don't jump the gun on declaring the artist's career, or at least the hit-making days, over.  I have a Dionne Warwick compilation titled, "Her All-Time Greatest Hits."  Upon closer inspection, however, it contains only her hits from 1962 to 1970.  Although Warwick released a lot of good music during that time, her career and hits extend far past 1970.  "All-Time Greatest Hits?"  No.  Those were her greatest hits during her early years.