FM dial scan highlights CXCV

Six of the better tunes I've heard today:

KDHX 88.1 FM

• J'arrive A Toi-Carla Bruni (Downcast and reflective; a tasteful vocals-and-guitar number acknowledging that life will attempt to break you sometimes.)
• Hey Hey What D'ya Say-Mike Plume Band (This is a different version of Plume's than the one I'm used to.  The instrumental backing is more sparse in this rendition, giving the vocals more prominence and making the tune sound more like a sing-along jig fit for a pub.)

WSIE 88.7 FM

• The Vibe-Roy Hargrove (A cookin' trumpet groove, as expected; multiple versions of "When The Saints Go Marchin' In" would flow well into it.)
• One Note Samba-Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd (The best, hippest version of this tune, thanks to Getz's airy, expansive tenor sax playing and Byrd's pleasant guitar work.)
• Yes-Kait Dunton (Joe Sample's "Sermonized" would sound smooth before this piano-centered instrumental.)

KSHE 94.7 FM

• Carolina In The Pines-Michael Martin Murphey (A thoughtful way of saying you know you're with the right person in the right place; the guitar, banjo, and piano enhance the vocals effectively.  I'm glad to know there was a time, i.e. 1975, when there was a place for this on the pop charts.)
  

Only in college XCIX

I'm not sure how our collective mindset failed us.  During the first rehearsal of a piece, the bassists and I came roaring in confidently after several bars of rests--only to realize that we were all playing twice as fast as we should have.

After bringing the piece to a halt, the conductor asked us to start again.

"Nice jazz," he remarked to the bassists.

It was nice jazz, actually.  Our speedy entrance would have served certain Duke Ellington numbers, especially "C Jam Blues," well.  Alas, we were playing Beethoven at the time.

Online radio sampler highlights CLXXVI

Six Friday highlights:

KBAQ (Phoenix, AZ)

• Maurice Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin (French National Orchestra/Eliahu Inbal, conductor) (Since playing this piece on the bass in 1988, I've always gravitated toward the fun recurring theme in the fourth movement.  Listening to this recording, however, reminded me that I haven't been giving the third movement enough credit for its lyricism.)

KOPN (Columbia, MO)

• I Mean To Shine-Linda Hoover (It's a shame this 1970 recording is only being released now.  Hoover's voice fit in well with the singer-songwriter vibe of its time and deserved its due long ago.  It's intriguing having members of Steely Dan backing up a singer whose voice brings Carole King to mind.)

KSDS (San Diego, CA)

• Samba Cat-Bill Heid (This May release chugs along with an appealing synergy between the organ and guitar.)
• I'll Be Seeing You-Cassandra Wilson (This bordering-on-new-age arrangement probably wouldn't appeal to everyone, but I like the effective, dramatic buildup to the vocals.  There's an appealing quiet intensity in the vocals and instrumentation.)

WUMB (Boston, MA)

• Dark Road-Sarah Jarosz (A realistic yet encouraging way to say, "Don't despair.  Things will work themselves out eventually.")

WXPN (Philadelphia, PA)

• Special-Shuggie Otis (A strong groove with a prominent undercurrent of bass.)
  

The allure of shuffle mode XIV

Determined to have things go your way, through witchcraft or forceful persuasion?  One of my iTunes shuffle mode sessions today paired "Need All The Help I Can Get" by The Cleopatras with Alice Merton's "Lash Out."

Actually, it's a suitable segue for simply fuming about a situation, as well.

A function of age IV

A week ago, I recommended the song, "I Learn," by Missy Raines & The New Hip.  Although I immediately interpreted New Hip as being with it, I then thought, "Then again, maybe that's the band's way of steering into the skid of one or more hip replacements.  If so, good for them."

That's not a very likely scenario, but it's one that wouldn't have crossed my mind just a few years ago.

The allure of shuffle mode XIII

Thanks to a random pairing from my iTunes music library Saturday, I realized how well the somewhat pensive guitar ending of William Tyler's "Alpine Star" flows into the beginning of Don McLean's "Castles In The Air."

Sometimes, a faster guitar-and-vocals tune benefits from a somewhat slower guitar lead-in.

The allure of shuffle mode XII

When you've reached the end of an invigorating fiddle workout but still want to press on, try this segue that iTunes created from my library today: Play Capercaillie's "Rose Cottage Reels," and follow it up with Regina Carter's "Kanou."

In both cases, the violin playing is energetic, to say the least.