With the moon round his waist

If there is another playlist somewhere with Pere Ubu, Madonna, Shostakovich, Bettye Lavette, and Foreigner on it I’d like to see it.

So, okay: the Shostakovich. I have yet to venture into the Classical Music realm here, but of all the short Classical pieces I know, there are few that rock as hard as this crazy little piece from 1925. Do your best to give it at least 60 seconds, so you can see what happens when the strings really start driving it. If you don’t like the thing soon after that, well, that’s what the “skip” button is for. But hey, it’s the Eclectic Playlist Series, is it not?: ideally no music should be preemptively disqualified here merely for the matter of genre.

And, yes, Madonna. I always liked “Borderline,” a song that got quickly overshadowed by her impending Madonna-ness. I wish she hadn’t quite so quickly ditched the subtle musicality and low-key hookiness on display here. Yes it’s got an ’80s pop sheen but also some really nice melodic and harmonic moments. And this was so early in her career that I remember they played it on alternative rock stations. Those were the days.

“Frederick” – Patti Smith Group (Wave, 1979)
“Pony” – Charlie Hilton (Palana, 2016)
“The Trains” – The Nashville Ramblers (single, 1986)
“Run” – Kathleen Edwards (Asking for Flowers, 2008)
“Riding on the Back” – Francis Dunnery (Let’s Go Do What Happens, 1998)
“The Dark End of the Street” – James Carr (You Got My Mind Messed Up, 1967)
“Blue Morning, Blue Day” – Foreigner (Double Vision, 1978)
“Venus” – Anaïs Mitchell (Young Man in America, 2012)
“Oh L’Amour” – Erasure (Wonderland, 1986)
“Let Me Down Easy” – Bettye LaVette (single, 1965)
“Fix Me Now” – Garbage (Garbage, 1995)
“Sacred Heart” – Cass McCombs (PREfection, 2005)
“Bus Called Happiness” – Pere Ubu (Cloudland, 1989)
“Last Night” – The Mar-Keys (single, 1961)
“Keeps My Body Warm” – Abra Moore (Strangest Places, 1997)
Scherzo in G Minor – Dmitri Shostakovich (Two Pieces for String Octet – Opus 11, 1925)
“Unconscious Melody” – Viet Cong (Cassette, 2014)
“Borderline” – Madonna (Madonna, 1983)
“Darlin'” – Beach Boys (Wild Honey, 1967)
“John Saw That Number” – Neko Case (Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, 2006)