Predictable for those in the know

Sometimes, when you've worked with people for a while, you get to know what amuses them.  At a previous job, someone mentioned Bolivar, Missouri.  I thought, "If I know this co-worker, he'll start singing in 5, 4, 3..."

As expected, he began singing to the tune of Jackson Browne's "Boulevard," "Down on the Bolivar, they take it hard..."

It still unnerves me that I was able to predict that.

SiriusXM highlights CVIII

Sunday and Monday standouts:

Chill

• Midnight-Alex Lustig (A haunting, ethereal groove, suitable underscoring for a cave exploration.)

Classic Rewind

• Little Too Late-Pat Benatar  (The tune builds well to a memorable hook.  I always thought this was one of Pat Benatar's more appealing hits, but I've almost never heard any radio station play it since it was a hit.)

Escape

• Daydream-Charlie Shaffer (This easy listening piano cover of The Lovin' Spoonful's hit transports a tune that was already a throwback into an even earlier era.) 

Real Jazz

• Nomad-Jared Gold (Sinister, foreboding organ.) 

Siriusly Sinatra

• I Wish You Love-Laura Fygi (Fygi's low, breathy voice suits the warmth of the lyrics well.)

Watercolors

• Berimbau Consolacao-Sergio Mendes featuring Stevie Wonder and Gracinha Leporace (Appealing, uptempo Brazilian flavor in Leporace's vocals and Wonder's harmonica.)
• True To Myself-Incognito (Sunny, forthright vocals and instrumentation; an ideal cut for heavy rotation in a smooth jazz playlist.)

Credibility from the depths

It's not unusual for contemporary hit radio stations to use deep voices in breakers between songs.  One Chicago station in the '80s took this a step further by slowing down the announcer's voice and adding reverb to it.  When I heard the slogan, "Nothin' but the hits," said in that voice, I thought, "That must be true.  If a swamp monster says it with that level of authority, who am I to question it?"

Stingray Music highlights LXXV

Friday and Saturday highlights:

Alt Country-Americana

• Maybe-Alison Krauss (Compellingly sung lyrics about a relationship that doesn't work.)

The Blues

• (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66-Charles Brown (The piano augments the vocals appealingly; you win much of your audience over from the start by choosing a melody like this that has been covered for decades.)

Cool Jazz

• Take Me To The Alley-Gregory Porter (Movingly sung vocals convey lyrics that work on a spiritual level.)

Folk Roots

• Dance In The Graveyard-Runa (One of the best songs I've heard in recent days; wonderfully warm, spirited vocals and Celtic-style fiddling make these lyrics about celebrating life while you can sink in.)

Jazz Latino

• Tin Tin Deo-Arturo Sandoval (A fine, raucous tribute to the spirit of Dizzy Gillespie.) 

Rewind--'80s & '90s

• Rotterdam (Or Anywhere)-The Beautiful South (The skipping-along-a-cobblestone road guitar arrangement suits the vocals well, especially on the chorus.  I never hear this group on the radio, and it's such a missed opportunity.)

World Carnival

• Ilha Vergem-Jovens Do Prenda (A seemingly ska-influenced guitar-based instrumental; the album cover to the "Angola" soundtrack lists "psychedelic merengue" as one of the styles represented, which describes the tune's hypnotic feel as well as anything.)
  

Not a quandary for the ages, but...

When a radio station's patrol team awards cash to those driving cars with the station's bumper sticker, should those drivers also have to be listening to the station when the patrol team spots them?  Ostensibly, the purpose of a bumper sticker is to say, "I listen to this radio station," but driving around with the sticker on your car might influence others who wouldn't have listened otherwise to tune in.

Everyone's a critic... II

Another reaction to one of my song ratings, from a high school friend: "An A minus for (Joe Jackson's) 'Steppin' Out?'  I can't believe it.  Ha, ha, ha!  An A minus for 'Steppin' Out...'"

Yes, I gave "Steppin' Out" an A-, and I stand by that grade.  In my opinion, it's instantly catchy right from the intro, lyrically smart, and has a solid sing-along chorus.  I gave few A-s and even fewer As, so my friend laughing that my grade was too generous surprised me.  Another friend put things in perspective when he told the laughing student, "I agree with you, but it's pointless to argue about it.  Music's very subjective."

Exactly.

Everyone's a critic...

In high school, I conducted music surveys.  I'd compile a list, usually of 50 songs I'd heard on the radio recently, and ask people I knew to rate them using letter grades.  Sometimes, I'd include my own grades.  One student, upon seeing I'd given REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling" a C, was incredulous.  "Andrew, you fool," he told me.  "That's a good song."

I'd entertain giving higher grades to two of the band's stronger songs, "Ridin' The Storm Out" or "Roll With The Changes."  I'd still give "...Feeling" a C, though.  It's relatable to almost everyone, so I understand why so many listeners like it.  For me, though, it's too paint-by-numbers.  My impression from 1986 still stands.

Only in college LXV

I should have known it was a trick question.  My college orchestra audition had been rescheduled to the following day, after I'd already schlepped the upright bass from the music building to another building.  The orchestra director asked me, "Do you want to leave the bass here overnight or carry it back to the bass room?"  I said I'd leave it there overnight.  "What?" he replied. "You're not going to practice?"

I left the bass there overnight, as planned, and played a strong audition the next day.  I'm defiant--yet prepared.  Future generations of music students at that college won't have this experience, however.  A new music building is being built that consolidates all the music rooms in one location.  I could say that the bass players will miss out on building up their character by lugging a bass from one building to another.  I won't say that, however, because it makes far more sense for all of the music facilities to be in one place.

My fault or yours?

There was a lack of precision during our pared-down college orchestra's rehearsal of Handel's "Messiah."  The choir director, who doubled as our conductor for the program, asked, "Is it something I'm doing?  I'll sure try and do it differently if it'll help us stay together."

I was stunned.  I'd never heard any orchestra director suggest that his conducting might need refinement.  I suppose that's the difference between a choir director and an orchestra conductor, however.  In my experience, a choir director who conducts an orchestra is more likely to wonder, "Is it me?"  A full-fledged orchestra conductor, however, is far more likely to convey, "It's you.  It definitely isn't me."

Fit for Easter Sunday's final hours

If you're looking for a rendition of a reverential hymn to play in the waning hours of Easter Sunday, I recommend the Charlie Haden & Hank Jones version of "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?"  It's a low-key bass and piano instrumental with tasteful embellishments that don't compromise the hymn's gravity.

A source of accessible hymns

While listening to the CD, "Hymns We Love," by The Mills Brothers today, it occurred to me that the organ accompaniment wouldn't be out of place at a baseball game.  That style of organ playing, combined with the group's uplifting, accessible harmonies, make the album worthy of one's time in an Easter music rotation.

"Sing out--within reason..."

Just before our weekly grade school religion class headed off to Mass, our teacher told us, "I want to hear all of you singing the hymns.  God gave each of you a voice with which to sing."

"True," I thought.  "God gave each of us a voice.  However, he didn't give each of us perfect pitch.  Hopefully, you--and he--won't object if some of us sing louder than others."

Persistent earworm alert CXXX

I reset the alarm three times today to get more sleep.  Each time when I woke up, I started thinking about a Manhattan Transfer tune, "Coo Coo U."  I don't have any grudges at the moment, so I'm wondering if my thoughts were just muddled or if I just expected it to be a hectic day.  The frantic nature of that tune makes it atypical of the group's work, and usually, I go entire years without thinking about it.  Today, however...

No one forced them to be there, but...

...I wonder how many people in the audience, outside of my family, when I was a high school orchestra student really wanted to hear me play that bass concerto.  I thought I played it well, but in retrospect, I don't imagine that too many audience members thought, "You know what would really hit the spot right now?  A concerto featuring an instrument that's meant to be in the background..."

Persistent earworm alert CXXIX

Having an angry thought?  Cheer yourself up with the end of today's persistent earworm; once you hear the calliope at the end of "Spinning Wheel" by Blood, Sweat & Tears, you might smile--or at least marvel how a pop hit in 1969 could end on such a refreshingly free-spirited note.

An unexpected musical source II

Since my last post about a microwaved potato's musical ability, I've learned that a potato has even more of a vocal range than I realized.  While hearing a potato whistling recently, I remarked, "That's the deflated balloon effect from the intro to Air Supply's 'Sweet Dreams,' just before the vocals come in."  Then, I listened further.  "My mistake," I thought.  "It's actually closer to the spaceship intro on Styx's 'Too Much Time On My Hands.'"

I guess everyone's ears are a little rusty now and then.

Persistent earworm alert CXXVIII

In Spring 1992, the most requested song I played on KCOU was Ween's "Push Th' Little Daisies."  The song entered my mind about an hour ago, after a long absence, and will likely stay there for at least a day.  Such is the power of a strangulated chorus.

In an increasingly impersonal world...

...it's refreshing to know there's still a radio show where a listener can call and ask a garden expert how to transport plants that have grown onto the sidewalk into a new flower bed.  Even though I don't plan to do this, it was nice to hear another listener ask how to do this with her own plants on KMOX this morning.

Obvious Classical cadence

One night in 1984, I was scanning the radio dial during a stay in Kansas City.  I heard an announcer say, "As we enter the evening hour...," and realized immediately that I was hearing a Classical station.  In what other format would you ever hear that phrasing?

Only in college LXIV

I never saw my rock history class instructor get upset when a student wasn't paying attention.  Instead, he'd address his concern politely to a student sitting next to the offender.  With no rancor in his voice, he'd say, "Excuse me, would you please wake up the person sitting next to you?  I don't want him (or her, but usually him) to miss this next point."

I thought that was considerate.  After all, students shouldn't be sleeping through a lecturer's explanation of how the title of Jefferson Airplane's song, "Volunteers," is ironic.

Context? LII

Heard yesterday on a local radio station: "Get your (concert) tickets today--or at least on payday."

I don't know whose concert the DJ was promoting, but it was a refreshingly realistic acknowledgment that concert tickets are expensive.

FM dial scan highlights CXIII

Five ear-catching selections heard this afternoon:

KDHX 88.1 FM

• L.A. Woman-Gumbohead (A clever idea for a cover: Take a well-known Doors tune, have L.A. stand for Louisiana instead of Los Angeles, and stay true to the song's spirit in the vocals while underscoring them with zydeco accordion.)

WSIE 88.7 FM

• Hero In Disguise-Erin Bode (I was glad to hear an interview with Bode in advance of her 2016 CD, "Here And Now,"'s release on vinyl.  Bode has sung this peppy, uplifting tune in concert for the last several years, so I was pleased to learn that it's a bonus track on the LP.)

WFUN 95.5 FM

• Square Biz-Teena Marie (I hadn't heard this 1981 dance track, with its fully committed vocals and precisely right amount of bass underpinning, in years.  The first half of the tune has aged better than the second half, but it's still a fun listen after all this time.)

KPNT 105.7 FM

• Bury A Friend-Billie Eilish (One of 2019's more attention-getting tunes so far.  The dark lyrics, with the memorable refrain, "I wanna end me," mesh well with Eilish's low-pitched vocals and a melody that skips along incongruously but appropriately.  Some reviewers have taken Eilish to task for the song's auto-tuned vocals, but they're fitting, in my view, for the song's deliberately cold outlook.)

K297BI 107.3 FM, a.k.a. KNOU-HD2

• Josef Suk: Fantastic Scherzo (Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Charles Mackerras, conductor) (A buoyant waltz gives way to a dramatic steeplechase, leading to a satisfying conclusion.)
  

For an archaic cure...

I was surprised to learn via a radio talk show host's guest today that old medical books are among the more popular items people contribute to book fairs.  This puzzled me because, as the host joked, "if you had a cough, (an old medical book) would have recommended Pall Malls."

Of all the fields in which it's ill-advised to be out-of-date...

SiriusXM highlights CVII

Friday and Saturday highlights:

The Bridge

• Hey Tomorrow-Jim Croce (Lyrically, Croce's resolution to make the best of his time is a good companion piece to Rosanne Cash's "Not Many Miles To Go," reviewed in the Outlaw Country section.)

Chill

• Novice Juggler-Joey Pecoraro (Midtempo techno with a tropical flavor.)

Escape

• Right Back Where We Started From-Starborne Strings/Arthur Greenslade, director (The Maxine Nightingale hit, slowed down and reinterpreted as a sunny easy listening shuffle.)

Margaritaville

• Wonderful World, Beautiful People-Jimmy Cliff (Idealistic lyrics about a striving for a harmonious world, undercut with a dose of reality.)

Outlaw Country

• Not Many Miles To Go-Rosanne Cash (Lyrics about appreciating the positive aspects of one's life while realizing that there's only so much time left.) 

Real Jazz

• Nutville-Horace Silver (This would be excellent percussion underscoring for a movie's chase scenes.  If Povo's "The Art Of Blakey" appeals to you, this likely will, too.)
• Silver's Serenade-Poncho Sanchez (Simmering synchronicity in the horns, piano, and percussion.)

Worldwide perspective--from one source

Credit to conductor Peter Breiner and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra for recording the "Complete National Anthems Of The World" series.  For reference, it's a good idea to have recorded renditions of each country's national anthem.  It's an ambitious project, however, with potential pitfalls.  I wonder if residents of some of those countries might listen and think, "They played the right notes, but that rendition is too slow (or fast, or academic, or overwrought.)"  Although it would have taken much longer to coordinate, it might have been better for each country to submit a recording of its anthem for the compilation.

An unexpected musical source

Today, I learned that a potato being microwaved in plastic wrap will, at various times, sound like bagpipes, a whistling tea kettle, and the singing sword from a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Who knew that potatoes had such wide vocal ranges?

Once a DJ, always a DJ?

After placing my food order at a drive-through recently, I heard a background voice on the speaker say, "Sounds like a game show host..."

I can't say the mystery voice was inaccurate.  A former DJ's radio voice still manifests itself, even during the most mundane times.

Stingray Music highlights LXXIV

Wednesday morning standouts:

Adult Alternative

• I'm Getting Ready-Michael Kiwanuka (Engagingly written and sung lyrics about knowing when you shouldn't give up on a commitment and having the wisdom to see it through.  A voice and guitar are all that's needed for these lyrics to sink in, without being the least bit heavy-handed.)

Brazilian Pop

• Rio Vida-Da Lata (Vocally and instrumentally, this is a spicy blend of uptempo pop, jazz, and trance styles.)

Canadian Indie

• Nothing's Ever Said-The Wilderness Of Manitoba (I was pleased to hear this tune from "This Is Us" turn up on U-verse.  Lyrically, it's a nice reminder that our lives are our own and that not every thought or emotion has to be spoken.  Musically, it pulls off the impressive trick of sounding grandiose yet subtle.)

Chamber Music

• Franz Liszt: 12 Lieder von Franz Schubert, S.558 : XII. Ave Maria (Valentina Lisitsa, piano) (A warm, lyrical interpretation, played with exactly the right amount of forcefulness during its crescendos.) 

Folk Roots

• Sing To Me-Luther Dickinson and Sisters Of The Strawberry Moon featuring Amy Helm (The bluesy organ underscoring serves Helm's vocals well.  I'd be curious to hear Bonnie Raitt cover this.)

Latin Lounge

• Carnaval Toda La Vida-Katherine Plump (On first listen, this struck me as a motley mesh of styles.  Listening a second time, however, I realized how effectively the techno underscoring blends with Plump's relaxed vocals.  The keyboard accompaniment brought "Fine" by The Cardigans to mind.)

South Africa Traditional

• Hambani-Amaryoni (The flute and vocals put this at the intersection of jazz and lounge music. It's easy for me to imagine a nightclub act performing Donald Fagen's "Walk Between Raindrops" in this style.)

SiriusXM highlights CVI

Sunday through Tuesday highlights:

'80s On 8

• Smoking Gun-Robert Cray Band (Still one of the band's most powerful tracks; with vocals and guitar work like this, it's not surprising this was the first Cray track that received widespread commercial radio airplay.)

The Coffee House

• The Eye-Brandi Carlile (Sincere lyrics about watching someone you care about make ill-advised choices.)

Enlighten

• Holy, Holy, Holy-Steve Green (Mighty vocals, augmented appropriately with trumpet.)
• How Great Thou Art-Hope's Call (Endearing, reverential a cappella harmonies.)

Escape

• Windy-Baja Marimba Band (A fun instrumental cover of The Association's hit, with brass and marimba covering the melody appealingly.)

Spa

• Breathing Room-Erik Scott/Jeff Pearce (The floating nature of Leo Kottke's "A Child Should Be A Fish" could segue into this.)

Tom Petty Radio

• Every Little Bit-Spencer Davis Group ("Every Little Bit" reminds me of the Blood, Sweat & Tears tune, "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know," but with a more optimistic tone.)

Underground Garage

• Got To Be A Better Way Home-Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes (The first time I played this on KCOU, I made a mental note to play it when I needed to add energy--and a Bruce Springsteen sound--to my playlist.  Strong guitar and horn backing instrumentation.)

An unexpected personnel switch

Although I've never cared for the concept of April Fools' Day, I thought two radio stations pulled a good stunt on April 1 years ago.  The KMJM morning team switched places with KPNT's morning team and did each other's radio shows.  You wouldn't typically expect an alt-rock morning crew to do mornings on an R&B station and vice versa, so I thought the switch worked.  That's what a good April 1 radio stunt should be--one in which no one gets hurt.