Tag Archives: song

Kissing Other People

20 Thursday Feb 2020

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I was at a dance theatre concert the other day, and this was one of the songs they danced to in the program. I thought it was a cute pop song, and the accompanying official video by Lennon Stella even more cute.

More at Lennon Stella

Cupid: The Spinners

10 Monday Feb 2020

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Monday morning, an early Valentine’s Day song.

Sam Cooke’s “Cupid” had been covered by many artists but it was this 1980 version by The Spinners that scored in the Top Ten. (And imagine having not one but five of those powder blue suits in your closet!) Lead singer John Edwards does right by Sam Cooke, and the producers left in and enhanced Cooke’s idea of having the sound of Cupid’s arrow flying. Be sure to stay to the end to hear that last note.

More at The Spinners – Topic

Baby I Need Your Loving: The Four Tops

03 Monday Feb 2020

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” ‘Cause lately I’ve been losing sleep”

Monday morning, Levi Stubbs and the Four Tops in a TV performance of one of their classics. I thought it was fun to see them so uncharacteristically casually dressed, quite unusual for Motown performers of the period.

Thanks to YouTuber Irma0815007

 

Do You Know The Way To San Jose?

20 Monday Jan 2020

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Monday morning, Dionne Warwick contemplates chucking it all and heading home.

It’s hard to choose from all the great Burt Bacharach/Hal David/Dionne Warwick collaborations, but I always appreciated Hal David’s storyline in this one—I can’t think of any other pop song with a similar theme.

Thanks to YouTuber Petersmusic

Suite: Judy Blue Eyes

17 Friday Jan 2020

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When Steve Stills sung this paean to his about-to-be-ex, Judy Collins, it was one of the most audacious and brilliant love songs from a 60s folk rock band. This cover, by Josh Turner on six string guitar, Tanner Walter on 12 string guitar and Myles Pinder on the high parts, is frighteningly good.

More at Josh Turner Guitar

St. Thomas: Sonny Rollins

13 Monday Jan 2020

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Monday morning, as winter starts to creep up, “St. Thomas” with Sonny Rollins as the place to be is okay with me .

Tenor Sax : Sonny Rollins

Piano : Kenny Drew

Bass : Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen

Drums : Albert “Tootie” Heath

Thanks to YouTuber BluesBeBopper2000

The Tennessee Waltz

10 Friday Jan 2020

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Okay, so “The Tennessee Waltz” is a song I’ve hated all my life. When I would hear it on the radio or when somebody on a TV variety show would sing it, I would immediately turn it off. It seemed to me like an endless, very boring song. But…wow. This version by Reina del Cid and Toni Lindgren on guitar is just great. First time I really heard the lyrics, and Toni’s guitar playing is wonderful.

More at Reina del Cid

And Your Little Dog, Two

06 Monday Jan 2020

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Monday Morning, Nellie McKay‘s ode to her animal friend, “The Dog Song.” I’ve posted this song before, done when she was a young pup, and this much more recent performance of the song is even better. It cheered me up in the space of a few minutes.

Thanks to YouTuber Music and More Blog

Roomful Of Teeth

31 Tuesday Dec 2019

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Roomful of Teeth is an intriguing a cappella vocal ensemble devoted to expanding the range of the human voice.  At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, their debut album won a Grammy for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance and in 2013, group member Caroline Shaw won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for her vocal composition Partita For 8 Voices. 

I spoke with the founder and artistic director of Roomful of Teeth, Brad Wells, who talked about the company, the human voice, and more.

You can listen to the interview as broadcast today on the Arts Express radio show on WBAI 99.5 FM NYC and Pacifica affiliates across the country by clicking on the triangle above. You’ll also hear some of the extraordinary vocal work of the ensemble.

Ringo

27 Friday Dec 2019

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No, not that one. The ballad of the gunfighter song, done by Lorne Greene. It charted pretty high on the pop charts as I recall; I thought it pretty corny when I was a teen. But seeing this live performance, I had to admit that Lorne Greene was pretty affecting acting this song.

Thanks to YouTuber Allan Sherman’s Nutty Parody Channel

La Bamba: Playing For Change

23 Monday Dec 2019

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Monday Morning, Marisol Hernandez and a host of world class musicians megaphone to the world.

You probably know the Playing For Change deal: get musicians from around the world to collaborate on a song and then seamlessly splice (does anyone use that word anymore in the digital age?) the results into a knockout music video.

There are lots of great musicians (and instruments) on this song, but when “La Marisoul” of La Santa Cecilia takes her turn, the song skyrockets into the stratosphere.

More at Playing For Change