Online radio sampler highlights LIV

Seven of today's ear-catching standouts:

KBXR (Columbia, MO) 

• Alison-Elvis Costello (Comforting words, hopefully, from a friend.  Everything But The Girl covers the tune well.)
• My Emotions Are Blinding-Tennis (Elements of Carole King in the vocals and an appealing chorus make me curious about the rest of this band's "Yours Conditionally" release, due out March 10.)

KMHD (Portland, OR)

• Little Sheri-Stanley Turrentine (A sly midtempo saxophone groove, which Horace Parlan aids impressively on piano, that's ideal for an evening playlist.)
• Shelley's World-Eddie Higgins Trio (A beguiling waltz of a piano-anchored instrumental.)
• For Everyone Under The Sun-Jimmy Smith (Listeners can always count on Smith to deliver dazzling organ pyrotechnics.  This track has 1972 stamped all over it, as Smith and his band sound like they're underscoring an album rock tune from that era.)

WUMB (Boston, MA)

• I Never Cared For You-Alison Krauss (Krauss's voice fits this Willie Nelson tune compellingly, and this cover version is a highlight of her new release, "Windy City."  Check out her strong performance of it on last night's "...Late Show With Stephen Colbert.")
• No Matter Who-Margaret Glaspy (It's a tricky feat for any singer-songwriter to capture universal feelings in ways that sound original yet familiar.  Glaspy pulls that off here.  Her unusual voice, paired with engaging guitar backing, has grown on me the more I've heard this tune from last year.)

You think you know someone, but then...

Once you've been a student in a teacher's class for a while, you might think you know how the teacher will react in any situation.  Sometimes, however, the teacher shows a flash of personality you didn't expect.  Two examples from grade school:

Mrs. M., who taught vocal music when I was in second and third grade, had a low-key, grandmotherly presence.  Once, however, our class was singing Woody Guthrie's "I'll Race You Down The Mountain."  As Mrs. M. led the singing and played the tune on the piano, she suddenly sped up the tempo at the end, singing the last line as "We'llseewhogetstherefirst!"  "I win!" she exclaimed.  "I got there first!"

More surprising than Mrs. M.'s yelp of victory, however, was Mrs. S.'s portrayal of a character during fourth grade story time.  Mrs. S. was a stickler for proper behavior, insisting that her students show courtesy at all times, particularly by saying, "Please," and "May I...?"  She was the last teacher I ever expected to hear portray Sheila in Judy Blume's Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing in a childlike, singsong voice.  Assuming the role of Sheila getting on Peter's nerves, she sang, "Peter's got the cooties!  Peter's got the cooties!"  This startled all of us.  This was the teacher, after all, who reminded students sharpening pencils without asking, "You need to ask permission to do that!"

Just because a teacher has a low-key or a stern demeanor, don't assume that (s)he doesn't have at least an occasional whimsical side.

A scene fit for "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"

In my high school drama class, Mr. Z. asked a student to begin a scene nonverbally.  A girl walked to the center of the stage, pretended to turn on the stereo, and started to rock out to the music.  Mr. Z. then asked for a volunteer to walk into the scene and react nonverbally to what she was doing.  I walked in, pretending to be her disapproving father who switched the music to a Classical station; I started conducting in time to the music, for good measure.  Each of us kept running back to the stereo to change it to our preferred station.

In most classes, you're graded on your ability to solve math problems, write essays, retain the names and accomplishments of historical figures, or summarize lab experiments.  It was refreshing to have one class, however, in which I could elicit an A by pretending to clash over a radio station.  Not just any course gives you that chance.

Persistent earworm alert LI

The Clash's "Rock The Casbah" contained one of late 1982's more memorable driving melodies.  I don't hear it on the radio very often these days, but I've been thinking about it today.  Because I'm under the weather and had just purchased medicine when it came to mind, my recurring hope of what the medication will accomplish, i.e. "Thin the mucus, thin the mucus," is running through my mind to the tune of "Rock The Casbah."  I mean no disrespect to the song; bizarrely, however, my memory of the song and my desire to stop irritating sinus drainage intersected at the same moment.

A considerate compliment

After playing a bass concerto with my high school orchestra in the '80s, another student's father gave me a compliment I've always appreciated.

"Take a longer bow next time," he said.

I thought that was a considerate way of saying, "Good job."  If I'm ever in a situation in which it's appropriate for me to congratulate another musician, I hope I'll have the opportunity to say that.

Persistent earworm alert L

Sometimes, it's wise to start with the chorus.  Maxine Nightingale's "Right Back Where We Started From" does this, and it implants the song's hook firmly in the listener's mind.  The tune was a big hit in 1976, thanks to an easy-on-the-ears, uptempo hook that stands up to repeated listening.  I don't know what made me think of it tonight, but it's on a continuous loop in my mind--and that's OK.

FM dial scan highlights LXXVI

Wednesday night standouts:

WSIE 88.7 FM

• Like The Morning-Mulgrew Miller (Despite its title, this sublime piano/vibes/horns track from the "Hand In Hand" CD is ideal for late night programming on a traditional or smooth jazz station.  For a tasty, more uptempo sample of what this combo can do, check out the CD's title track.)
• All I Need Is You-David Sanborn (Looking back, I'm surprised this wasn't in KNJZ's regular rotation.  This 1981 track, with background vocals and Sanborn's forthright saxophone playing, is a natural fit for a smooth jazz station.)

KCLC 89.1 FM

• Dreams-The Cranberries (Dolores O'Riordan's lyrics and vocals from 1993 still hold up.  This is still a great song for driving, and it's one of the highlights of the CD, "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?"  Also recommended: "Linger" and "Wanted.")
• Vowels-Capital Cities (Released as a single last September, the tune's dance-worthy hook grabs the listener by the ears.  Its lyrics capture a universal feeling effectively; words fail all of us at one time or another, so it's understandable that we might sometimes want to resort to saying only vowel sounds.  I'd be curious to hear Field Music tackle "Vowels.")
• Anywhere-Passenger (Propelled by a tropical-style guitar riff, this is an earnestly sung vow of commitment to someone.  It would segue well with Heather Nova's "London Rain.")

KSHE 94.7 FM

• Runaway Train-Soul Asylum (The tune, which covers the grim topics of depression and homeless kids, is still worth hearing today.  The 1992 album from which it comes, "Grave Dancers Union," is an interesting mix of tunes that work in multiple eras, such as "Runaway Train," and tunes like "Somebody To Shove" and "99%," that were most compelling in their own time.)

WFUN 95.5 FM

• Rock With You-Michael Jackson (An "Off The Wall" standout that equals or surpasses the best tunes on the "Thriller" album, in my opinion.)

KLOU 103.3 FM

• For What It's Worth-Buffalo Springfield (Disturbingly appropriate in today's night-is-day/day-is-night political climate.)