I wrapped up my junior year of college 27 years ago with the following musical picks:
1. Pataphysical Intro/A Concise British Alphabet (Pt. 1)-Soft Machine
("Good evening or morning," indeed. I wish I'd thought to play Part 2, in which the band sings the alphabet backwards.)
2. Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now-McFadden & Whitehead
(Still one of the most positive anthems for anyone who feels overlooked
or unheard. Soccer fans might remember this as the theme song of the
St. Louis Steamers.)
3. From A Million Miles-Single Gun Theory
(Still one of my favorite songs from my time at KCOU; Jacqui Hunt gives processed vocals a good name here. It's an interesting blend of techno and rock, with a chorus that's nearly impossible to forget. I wouldn't be surprised if a hip Netflix show used it as underscoring.)
4. Fly Like An Eagle-The Neville Brothers
(A solid cover of the Steve Miller Band tune.)
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5. Missouri Gal-Big Sandy And The Fly Right Trio (*)
6. Dark Road-Floyd Jones
7. Restless Situation-John Trudell
8. The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)-They Might Be Giants
(A fun remake that builds on the original Tokens rendition; having the lion play guitar was inspired.)
9. Blue Chair-Mind Sirens
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10. Handful Of Aces-Troy Turner
11. Texas Flood-Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble
12. Make Believe-Jules Shear
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13. Noah! Right!/And The Neighbor/Me And You, Lord-Bill Cosby
14. Deteriorata-National Lampoon
(Being a fluke of the universe shouldn't bother you...)
15. Everybody's Talkin'-The Sneetches
(...if you take these lyrics to heart. This excellent cover that stays true to the free-spirited nature of Nilsson's original.)
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16. Step Right This Way-Chuck Prophet & Stephanie Finch
17. Crackerbox Palace-George Harrison
18. Doing The Unstuck-The Cure
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19. Saving Grace-Ghost Of An American Airman
20. Grace-Steve Wynn
21. Miracle On 8th Street-American Music Club (*)
22. Way Out World-Pay The Man
23. Kool Thing-Sonic Youth
24. Bad Karma-Victim's Family
25. Morning In The Sub-Basement Of Hell-Steven Jesse Bernstein
26. Music And Politics-Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
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"Mellow Out" hour (Tracks 27-39; 4-5 a.m.) (During this semester, I used
this hour to play softer, generally introspective tunes that would be
underplayed or not played during the rest of the day.)
27. Only The Lonely-The Motels
(I never disliked this 1982 hit, but I appreciate it more now. Listen to how tastefully Martha Davis sings some of the better decade's better lyrics here. There's a level of taste and sensitivity in "Only The Lonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer" that makes those hits hold up better than certain other throwaway, best-left-in-their-era '80s hits.)
28. Up On The Roof-The Drifters
(Still some of the best lyrics and vocals for escaping the rat race of life.)
29. Diamonds And Rust-Joan Baez
(This would have segued better with "Only The Lonely," but I must have thought of that while playing "Up On The Roof...")
30. Eyes Wide Smile-Faith Over Reason
(...I salvaged things, however, by pairing one appealing, bleak, voice-and-a-guitar tune with another.)
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31. Dreamwalk-Peter White
32. In A Sentimental Mood-Hal Schaefer
33. Country Preacher-Roy Buchanan
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34. Close To You-Art Porter
35. That's Love-Jim Capaldi
(If you listened to KYKY in the late Spring or early Summer of 1983, you probably heard this. Its "You'll never change the world" refrain has stayed with me all these years.)
36. Ballad-Ed Thigpen Trio
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37. Distant Hills-Oregon
38. Airplane-Indigo Girls
39. Kim-Charlie Parker
(Admittedly, a tune this fast stretches the definition of mellowing out; Parker's dexterity on the saxophone deserves the airplay, though.)
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40. Flower Child (Hyper Dance Mix)-Parade
41. Bus Stop-Club Idol
42. Brand New Day-Basehead
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43. Redemption Song-Bob Marley & The Wailers
44. Mellow Down Easy-Paul Butterfield Blues Band
45. Touch Me-The Doors
46. Meet Me In The Morning-Bob Dylan
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47. Page One-The Charlatans
(I should have done a double play and segued the band's "The Only One I Know" with this.)
48. No Outlet-Juliana Hatfield
(Prior to her Olivia Newton-John tribute release, the first 14 seconds of Hatfield's voice and guitar on this track came to mind whenever I saw a reference to her.)
49. Love Goes To War-Southside Johnny & The Jukes
50. Ride Like The Wind-East Side Beat
(This Christopher Cross hit lends itself better to a techno remake than I would have guessed. Freddie Hubbard's trumpet cover is worth hearing, as well.)
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51. Running On Empty-Jackson Browne
(How most college students feel after finals, I'm sure...)
(*) indicates a listener's request.
--- indicates a station break between songs.
