SiriusXM highlights CXVII

Ear-catching selections heard today:

The Bridge

• Can We Still Be Friends?-Todd Rundgren (Aside from Carole King, not many pop artists convey plaintive sentiments with just a voice and a piano as effectively as Rundgren.)

Deep Tracks

• Still I'm Sad-The Yardbirds (Good lyrics for wallowing in self-pity.  The dirge-like background chanting reminds me somewhat of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," best known in its incarnation by The Tokens.)

The Groove

• Games People Play-The Spinners (One of my favorite hits of the '70s; universally relatable lyrics, sung by three markedly different lead vocalists.)

Lithium

• Everlong (Acoustic)-Foo Fighters (When played and sung with the right depth of feeling, a good acoustic version of a tune makes its emotional content all the more captivating.  I never disliked this tune, but I appreciated it all the more after hearing this take.) 

Real Jazz

• Equinox-Bobby Hutcherson (This is how you pay respect to John Coltrane.  Hutcherson takes command of the vibraphone in this gripping melody.) 

Siriusly Sinatra

• I'll Be Seeing You-Jo Stafford (An elegantly sung sendoff; I should have played Stafford's rendition more often on WEW.) 

SiriusXMU

• Kyoto-Phoebe Bridgers (Bridgers emotes convincingly; this track got my attention in much the same way "Motion Sickness" did.) 

Soul Town

• (I Know) I'm Losing You-The Temptations (If you've listened to album rock radio for any significant length of time, you've probably heard The Faces sing this.  If you like that version, give this earlier rendition a listen.  Lyrically, this conveys the end-in-sight portion of a relationship well.) 

The Spectrum

• Heavy Balloon-Fiona Apple (How do you keep up appearances when you're depressed?  This intriguing new track, from Apple's "Fetch The Bolt Cutters" release, shows what a heavy burden depression inflicts on a person.) 

Symphony Hall

• J.S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue in D major (Seattle Symphony/Gerard Schwarz, conductor) (It's interesting to hear how compellingly a piece composed for one instrument--the organ, in this case--translates to a full orchestral arrangement.) 

Tom Petty Radio

• Down To Zero-Joan Armatrading (An effective way of conveying what being rejected feels like.) 

Underground Garage

• Paper Sun-Traffic (The band's 1967 single straddles the line effectively between the "Rubber Soul" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" eras of Beatles influences.) 

Watercolors

• Ocean Blue-Earl Klugh (Klugh bridges the divide between easy listening and smooth jazz successfully with his guitar and light orchestral underscoring.)
• Aguas de Marco (Waters Of March)-Eliane Elias & Take 6 (A best-of-two-worlds vocal pairing.)