Category: playlist

You know the drill: it’s another mixed-genre, multi-decade playlist, inspired as always by the heyday of so-called “progressive” radio stations. Only think about how many more decades of music we have at our disposal than the DJs had back in the mid-’70s! Such opportunity here, once we break out of this fever-dream of separation and isolation. Give it a try, tell your friends, and stay strong. You may notice a bit of a netherworld-related interlude here; let it serve to remind us of Churchill’s famous piece of advice: “If you’re going through Hell, keep going.”

Random notes:

* “We All Go Back To Where We Belong” was the last official R.E.M. release and maybe we had a bit of R.E.M. fatigue at that point, still unconvinced that the Bill-Berry-free version was ever really any good, but I feel in retrospect this song was kind of just kind quickly heard and then forgotten. To my ears, it’s a fabulous song, with bonus points for the charming and somehow poignant video, which is just a black-and-white close-up of the actress Kirsten Dunst listening to the song in real time. (As the story goes, Michael Stipe was actually singing it to her live, a capella, which she found something of an overwhelming experience, as a long-time fan herself.)

* The Smiths were such a singular-sounding band that they couldn’t really influence anyone else without the influencees sounding merely like pale imitators. “The Headmaster Ritual” was I think the Smiths song that really turned my head around back in their heyday. Who writes these words? Who finds these melodies, and employs these chords? Still gives me goosebumps if I really stop to listen.

* “Presidential Rag” sounds kind of quaint now, huh? Being worked up over a president who didn’t admit everything that he knew? Now we have one who is too stupid to know what he doesn’t know, leading a cult of hatred and resentment whose members don’t give a fuck. Someone should write a song as good as this about *that*.

* Hadestown, now on Broadway, was just nominated for 14 Tony Awards last month. But the project has been around since 2006, when singer/songwriter Anaïs Mitchell first put it together as a community theater production in Vermont. Four years later, with the help of Ani DiFranco, Hadestown became a concept album, on DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records, with a number of stellar guest vocalists, including Justin Vernon, Greg Brown, and DiFranco herself. The song “Flowers” first came to my attention early in 2010 as a free and legal download, which was featured here in February of that year. Still a stunning piece of music. (Also stunning, especially in retrospect, is the song “Why We Build The Wall,” which you might want to check out here—https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sQ8R54C53o—and think about in conjunction with Arlo’s sense of righteous grievance.)

* Were Adam and the Ants, all the rage in the UK for a year or two, merely a novelty band? Probably. But a song like “Antmusic,” as silly as the words may be when simply read, was constructed with such great pop know-how that I find it irresistible still, nearly 40 years later.

* “In a Long White Room” is a fun example of a straight-laced standards-oriented songwriter doing their best to dive into the psychedelic vibe of the late ’60s. The end result is not really psychedelic at all, but it’s oddly engaging in the effort. The lyrics here came from Martin Charnin, whose career soon enough led him to Broadway, where he hit it big for having conceived, directed, and written the lyrics for the musical Annie. The music was written by Texas songwriter Clint Ballard, Jr., who also wrote the songs “Game of Love” and “You’re No Good,” among many others that were not big hits. As much as I appreciate talented singer/songwriters, I guess I remain rather entranced by the pre-singer/songwriter days, and connecting unexpected dots between who wrote what. On top of all this, kind of a weird song for Nancy Wilson, but it’s the one of hers, from my long-ago childhood, I recall most vividly.

Full playlist below the widget.

“Presidential Rag” – Arlo Guthrie (Arlo Guthrie, 1974)
“Pedrinho” – Tulipa Ruiz (TU, 2017)
“Angels” – Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey (Mavericks, 1991)
“To Be Gone” – Anna Ternheim (Halfway to Fivepoints, 2008)
“Antmusic” – Adam and the Ants (Kings of the Wild Frontier, 1980)
“Ask the Lonely” – The Fantastics (single, 1970)
“Come a Long Way” – Michelle Shocked (Arkansas Traveler, 1992)
“Heart Full of Soul” – The Yardbirds (single, 1965)
“The Headmaster Ritual” – The Smiths (Meat is Murder, 1985)
“Imposter” – Jonatha Brooke (Imposter EP, 2019)
“In a Long White Room” – Nancy Wilson (Nancy, 1969)
“Carolyn” – Steve Wynn (Kerosene Man, 1990)
“See No Evil” – Television (Marquee Moon, 1977)
“Flowers” – Anaïs Mitchell (Hadestown, 2010)
“Lucifer Sam” – Pink Floyd (The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, 1967)
“The Pharaohs” – Neko Case (Middle Cyclone, 2009)
“Caught” – Anna Domino (Anna Domino, 1986)
“A Hit By Varèse” – Chicago (Chicago V, 1972)
“Didn’t Cha Know” – Erykah Badu (Mama’s Gun, 2000)
“We All Go Back to Where We Belong” – R.E.M. (single, 2011)

Maybe it’s somewhat obvious to those who’ve been around here a long time, but I will say this out loud: when all is said and done, the Kinks are my favorite band of all time. Which maybe makes it a little strange that for this year’s presentation of a Kinks song in a playlist–and remember, no artist appears in a mix here more than once in a calendar year–I have selected a little ditty of a song of theirs that I have never really thought much of one way or another. They after all have so many many great songs, and over the decades found such deft ways to communicate via rock’n’roll. So, why did I choose “Monica,” among a multitude of others that I probably like more? I am not actually sure, except to note that these playlists are constructed as intuitively as possible. I can’t usually explain why I put any of these songs in here. But maybe, with the Kinks, an extra factor was this: because I can’t play all of my favorite-favorite Kinks songs in the context of these mixes, it’s easier to go for a left-field choice like “Monica”; in this case, all the favorite-favorite songs are treated equally–i.e., overlooked (for now). Another potential explanation: there’s no way to understand any musical preference, for anybody, when you get right down to it. This song just highlights the serendipitous beauty of what catches the ear and makes the world feel right, if for a moment or two.

Other random notes on this month’s playlist:

* I’m still happily absorbing Mitski’s well-regarded 2018 album, Be The Cowboy, and while I particularly like the single, “Nobody,” the song I ended up with here, “Why Didn’t You Stop Me?,” grabbed me after a few listens, with its insistent pulse, crunchy guitars, looney-bin synth motif, and remarkable conciseness. The whole album is a study in how to be succinct; only two songs out of 14 are longer than 2:36, and nothing is even four minutes long.

* Marvin Gaye would have been 80 earlier this month; instead, he died tragically, murdered by his own father, the day before he would have turned 35. This song is one of the many great unreleased songs of his that have floated around over the years. This year, at long last, a group of songs that had been recorded in 1972 and intended to be made into a follow-up album to What’s Going On had their long-awaited release as an album–it’s called You’re The Man, and while it might not represent exactly the album Gaye had planned, it’s good to hear this stuff.

* Leonard Bernstein, meanwhile, would have been 100 years old this past August. He died rather too young too, but at age 72 he at least had a pretty good run of it, and boy did he do a lot of things in the time he had. This little overture from the Broadway revival/reinvention of his musical Candide, in 1974, is super charming–a great example of music that can be both complex and accessible at the same time, which is my sweet spot in all genres.

* “Helpless,” by Kim Weston, is another one of those great lost Motown singles that for one reason or another didn’t really hit the big time, despite its terrific appeal. I’ve never wanted to dive too far into what went on at Motown and why some artists got more support than others but Weston appears to have been one of those who never quite got a fair shake there despite her great talent. This was her last recording for the label; she later sued them in a royalty dispute. I’ve previously featured another fine single of hers, “I Got What You Need,” back on EPS 4.11 in 2017, that one being her first post-Motown release.

* Matthew Sweet’s Kimi Ga Suki was initially released in Japan only, as a thank-you to his legion of Japanese fans. While it did get a US release a year later, it has remained somewhat beneath the radar, despite its actually being something of a reunion for the band with which he recorded his seminal Girlfriend album. He wrote the songs in a week and recorded without any initial demos. There’s something to be said, at least sometimes, for spontaneity.

* Bonus Kinks tidbit: lacking any successful single or chart position around the time of its release, The Kinks are the Village Preservation Society, where you’ll find “Monica,” has gathered a slow but steady following over the decades, and was just certified gold in the UK last year, at age 50.

Full playlist below the widget.

“Halo of Ashes” – Screaming Trees (Dust, 1996)
“Why Didn’t You Stop Me?” – Mitski (Be The Cowboy, 2018)
“I’m Gonna Give You Respect” – Marvin Gaye (previously unreleased, 1972)
“Loud and Clear” – The Last Town Chorus (single, 2008)
“King of the Bayou” – Joe Strummer (Earthquake Weather, 1989)
“The Rain, the Park & Other Things” – The Cowsills (single, 1967)
“The Conservation of Energy” – Vanishing Twin (Choose Your Own Adventure, 2016)
“Overture” – Leonard Bernstein (Candide – Broadway Cast Recording, 1974)
“Don’t Go” – Yaz (Upstairs at Eric’s, 1982)
“Helpless” – Kim Weston (single, 1967)
“Breakable” – Ingrid Michaelson (Girls and Boys, 2006)
“Corduroy” – Pearl Jam (Vitalogy, 1994)
“See The Sky About to Rain” – Neil Young (On The Beach, 1974)
“Joanna” – Southern Boutique (Southern Boutique, 2014)
“De Cared A La Pared” – Lhasa (La Llorona, 1998)
“Monica” – The Kinks (The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society, 1968)
“The Ocean in Between” – Matthew Sweet (Kimi Ga Suki, 2003)
“Known Better” – Meg Mac (single, 2013)
“Tell Me When My Light Turns Green” – Dexy’s Midnight Runners (Searching for  the Young Soul Rebels, 1980)
“Mister Magic” – Esther Phillips (What a Diff’rence a Day Makes, 1975)

Each month I feel inclined to introduce the new playlist with yet another harangue about the benefit of diversity in music (and everywhere else!). I do try to resist the urge; the exhortation after all is to show, not tell. So, putting aside all my cultural and socio-political theorizing (executive summary: diversity is beneficial!) here we are, yet again: a 20-song playlist featuring music from six different decades of rock’n’roll, incorporating a good variety of genres and sub-genres, this time including classic rock, new wave pop, art punk, rocksteady, jazz fusion, singer/songwriter music, R&B, and various stripes of alternative and/or indie rock. You know: the usual suspects.

If you just happen to be arriving at one of these playlists for the first time, you might want to check out the landing page for the whole series, here, which not only explains a little of the underlying intention, but offers up a link to all previous EPS mixes, of which there are 62 now, including the new one below.

A few notes:

* Revisiting the wonderful “Somerville” from the Pernice Brothers convinces me I really need to investigate Joe Pernice’s back catalog–with which, I admit, I’m entirely unfamiliar. So much music!

* I suppose I couldn’t give Jules Shear the only word on the disintegration of his relationship with Aimee Mann back in the day. That’s apparently what “If She Knew What She Wants” was about, which was featured here last month. Mann in turn wrote pretty much a whole album about the break-up: ‘Til Tuesday’s last release, the quite excellent Everything’s Different Now. Featured here is the final track, and hardly the only one about Mr. Shear.

* Jenny Lewis is doing a fine Stevie Nicks imitation all of a sudden.

* According to reliable accounts, “Hey Bulldog” was the last song recorded by the Beatles as an honest-to-goodness group, with all contributing in the studio at the same time. And, as luck would have it, there was actually a film crew on the spot. For a good time, check it out on YouTube–this was them as they actually recorded it, not staged after the fact.

* Portishead seem to exist in their own separate musical world. Their last album, released in 2008, still sounds as if we haven’t caught up to what they’re doing.

* Ellen Foley had a bit of a moment in the late ’70s into the mid-’80s, not least because she was going out with Mick Jones of the Clash for some of that time. So: do you have any idea what the Clash did after recording Sandinista!? They played as Foley’s back-up band on Spirit of St. Louis. All four of them. What’s more, Strummer and Jones co-wrote six of the album’s 12 songs (including the extravagantly titled “The Death of the Psychoanalyst of Salvador Dali”). The LP has kind of gotten lost over the years, probably because it didn’t make much of an impact at the time in the first place–but it’s a fascinating and often entertaining artifact. In the end, Foley ended up better known either for dueting with Meat Loaf on the rococo classic “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” (that’s her: “What’s it gonna be, boy?”) or for being in the cast of the hit comedy Night Court for a couple of years in the mid-’80s. She has at long resurfaced as a musician in the 2010s, releasing an album called About Time in 2014, and doing some touring since then.

Full playlist below the widget.

“Hey, St. Peter” – Flash and the Pan (Flash and the Pan, 1978)
“Future Me Hates Me” – The Beths (Future Me Hates Me, 2018)
“It Ain’t No Big Thing” – The Radiants (single, 1965)
“The Disappointed” – XTC (Nonsuch, 1992)
“Torchlight” – Ellen Foley (with Mick Jones) (Spirit of St. Louis, 1981)
“Somerville” – The Pernice Brothers (Live a Little, 2006)
“Twelve Thirty (Young Girls are Coming to the Canyon) – The Mamas & The Papas
     (The Papas & The Mamas, 1968)
“Ask the Angels” – Patti Smith Group (Radio Ethiopia, 1976)
“The Man Who Played God” – Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse (feat. Suzanne Vega)
      (Dark Night of the Soul, 2010)
“Cinnamon Girl” – Prince (Musicology, 2004)
“Right By Your Side” – Eurythmics (Touch, 1983)
“Baby Why” – The Cables (single, 1968)
“On The Inside” – Rosanne Cash (Interiors, 1990)
“Red Bull & Hennessy – Jenny Lewis (On the Line, 2019)
“Lovely Day” – Bill Withers (Menagerie, 1978)
“Magic Doors” – Portishead (Third, 2008)
“Pretend We Live Forever” – Chelan (Equal Under Pressure, 2015)
“Hey Bulldog” – The Beatles (Yellow Submarine, 1969)
“How Can You Give Up?” – ‘Til Tuesday (Everything’s Different Now, 1988)
“Beauty and the Beast” – Wayne Shorter (Native Dancer, 1974)

Did you like me associate “Wild is the Wind” with the late, great Mr. Bowie? He does astonish, with his version on Station to Station. But it was my friend George, from over at Between Two Islands, who alerted me a few years ago to the fact that the song is an old one–from a 1957 movie of the same name–and was originally sung by none other than Johnny Mathis. I should have known this but then again one can’t know everything when it comes to music (unless you’re George). The song, which was nominated for an Oscar in 1958, was composed by the Russian-born composer Dmitri Tiomkin, who specialized in scores for American Westerns. The lyricist was Ned Washington, perhaps best known for penning the words to “When You Wish Upon a Star” and–who knew?–“Town Without Pity.” (The rabbit hole of forgotten songwriters and their work is deep and compelling.) Bowie by the way was inspired by Nina Simone’s version, which she recorded live in 1959, and then on a studio album in 1966. It isn’t necessarily the easiest thing to mix Johnny Mathis into a playlist that also includes Björk, Taj Mahal, and Warren Zevon but that’s my job–easing out into Jane Siberry’s majestic “The Valley” certainly gave it a smooth landing.

Random bits:

* The Tourists were a British band, most notable these years later for being the band in which Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart first met and played together. They were active from 1976 through late 1980. Eurythmics emerged in the Tourists’ aftermath, and released their debut album in 1981.

* I am not notably either a blues aficionado nor a Billie Holiday devotee, but Cassandra Wilson’s album of jazz standards associated with Holiday, 2015’s Coming Forth By Day, strikes my ear as monumentally good. Working with producer Nick Launay (known for his work with Nick Cave in particular but with dozens of impressive credits), Wilson imbues these old songs with smoky atmosphere at once quirky and incisive.

* Warren Zevon is celebrated mostly for his early (’70s) and later (’00s) work but the stuff in the middle, in retrospect, isn’t too shabby either. I have particular fondness for the title track to this 1991 album, as full of humor, chaos, and melody as any of his most memorable material.

* Sharon Van Etten’s new album, Remind Me Tomorrow, is pretty great, in part because she’s just pretty great in general. Did you read about how she’s studying to be a psychologist? In addition to her being a singer/songwriter, an actress, and a mom? I was already very impressed by her and now all the more so.

* The Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose: two fantastic hit songs, and then a bunch of forgettable filler. How did this happen? Who knows. But now I’ve given you both of the good ones here, so their days populating the Eclectic Playlist Series are officially over.

* Speaking, earlier, of forgotten songwriters, or partially forgotten, or in any case under-appreciated, I give you Jules Shear, who has had a preternatural knack for pop-rock melodies. The Bangles made this one a hit a year after his version. Yup it’s very ’80s. And completely wonderful.

* Lastly: if you have somehow managed never to have seen the “Bachelorette” video, a classic directed by Michel Gondry, do yourself a favor and go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJnhaXwK86M. And this advice coming from a guy who never usually sees the video. What a sensational song this is, still.

Full playlist below the widget.

“O Lucky Man!” – Alan Price (“O Lucky Man!”: The Original Sountrack, 1973)
“So Good To Be Back Home Again” – The Tourists (Reality Effect, 1980)
“I Love You So Bad” – Ezra Furman (Transangelic Exodus, 2018)
“Treat Her Like a Lady” – Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose (single, 1971)
“How Soon” – Martha Wainwright (Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole EP, 2005)
“Billie’s Blues” – Cassandra Wilson (Coming Forth By Day, 2015)
“Bachelorette” – Björk (Homogenic, 1997)
“She Loves to Be In Love” – Charlie (Lines, 1978)
“Horse and I” – Bat For Lashes (Fur and Gold, 2007)
“If She Knew What She Wants” – Jules Shear (The Eternal Return, 1983)
“Kiss of Life” – Sade (Love Deluxe, 1992)
“I Scare Myself” – Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks (Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks, 1969)
“The Mountain” – Dave Carter & Tracy Grammar (Tanglewood Tree, 2000)
“Mr. Bad Example” – Warren Zevon (Mr. Bad Example, 1991)
“Part Time Love” – Ann Peebles (Part Time Love, 1971)
“Last Wave” – They Might Be Giants (I Like Fun, 2018)
“Wild is the Wind” – Johnny Mathis (A Certain Smile, 1957)
“The Valley” – Jane Siberry (Bound By The Beauty, 1989)
“Take a Giant Step” – Taj Mahal (Giant Step, 1969)
“No One’s Easy to Love” – Sharon Van Etten (Remind Me Tomorrow, 2019)

There’s no such thing as the “greatest song of all time,” right? I mean, you can’t possibly narrow it down to one song. But if you could (which you can’t), I might just elect “Don’t Worry Baby.” I’m always surprised to remember that this song came out in 1964; it seems to come from another universe of inspiration than, say, the lead track on the Shut Down Volume 2 album, which was the faddy, frilly “Fun, Fun, Fun.” Certainly it hinted strongly at the richness of Brian Wilson’s creative imagination, and greatness to come.

Favorite song of the year is at least a little easier to select, and for my money, I’m going with “Mistake,” from the Australian trio Middle Kids. This entire album, Lost Friends, is the kind of thing everyone would have been listening to and talking about in an age when people paid more attention to albums and had fewer cultural artifacts bombarding their senses by the hour. If you’re inclined to listen to an actual album in real time, go check it out (Bandcamp link, for your convenience: https://middlekids.bandcamp.com/album/lost-friends). There isn’t a weak song in the bunch.

A few more notes of note:

* Michael Penn doesn’t get enough credit. That is all.

* I had entirely forgotten about this Ultravox song until I heard it during a long stretch of 1980s programming on WXPN back in November. How had I let this one slip away? Lament was the last top-notch Ultravox album in their New Romantic, Midge Ure era, and it holds up pretty well.

* Todd Rundgren doesn’t get enough credit either, and by the way, for those who care about such things, belongs in the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame already, I mean sheesh.

* I’m pretty sure no one’s ever segued October Project into the Buzzcocks before, and maybe no one will again. RIP Pete Shelley.

* And how about that Laws family? You may possibly know about brothers Hubert (flutist) and Ronnie (sax); but there were also sisters Eloise and Debra, who both have had careers as vocalists.

Oh, and an overall logistical reminder: I operate under the self-imposed limit of not featuring any one individual artist on an Eclectic Playlist Series mix more than once in a calendar year. January wipes the slate clean; all artists are available. And yet, even so, 14 of the 20 artists on this month’s playlist were not before featured even once this past five years. Nature loves diversity; why shouldn’t we?

Full playlist below the widget.

“In Little Ways” – Let’s Active (Big Plans For Everybody, 1986)
“Mistake” – Middle Kids (Lost Friends, 2018)
“Love Factory” – Eloise Laws (single, 1973)
“A Violent Yet Flammable World” – Au Revoir Simone (The Bird of Music, 2007)
“Don’t Worry Baby” – The Beach Boys (Shut Down Volume 2, 1964)
“One of Our Girls Has Gone Missing” – A.C. Marias (One of Our Girls (Has Gone Missing), 1989)
“Some Birds” – Jeff Tweedy (Warm, 2018)
“Strange Season” – Michael Penn (Free-For-All, 1992)
“Smack Dab in the Middle” – Ray Charles (Have a Smile With Me, 1964)
“To The East” – Electrelane (No Shouts, No Calls, 2006)
“Love of the Common Man” – Todd Rundgren (Faithful, 1976)
“Love is to Die” – Warpaint (Warpaint, 2014)
“One Small Day” – Ultravox (Lament, 1984)
“From Out of Nowhere” – George Wydell (b-side, 1966)
“Gotta Get Back” – Shelby Lynne (I Am Shelby Lynne, 2000)
“Sunday Morning Yellow Sky” – October Project (Falling Farther In, 1995)
“What Do I Get?” – Buzzcocks (Singles Going Steady, 1979)
“Turbo” – Kenny Dorham (The Arrival of Kenny Dorham, 1960)
“You Tell Me” – Paul McCartney (Memory Almost Full, 2007)
“Titanic Days” – Kirsty MacColl (Titanic Days, 1993)

It’s hard to believe that after almost five years of these playlists, this is the first time I’ve managed to include a Neil Young song. Strange, but encouraging, as it goes to show how wide-ranging my concept here is, and how much, ongoingly, there is to explore. And yet the internet continues to force us into aural silos based on the reductive “if you like artist A, you’ll like artist B because they sound alike” model of listening. Then of course there’s the equally bankrupt “Listen to this because it’s got 49 million streams” model. Well, not here. As a matter of fact, reviewing this playlist, I realize that 13 of the first 14 tracks are from artists that haven’t had a song featured here previously. Music from the length of rock’n’roll history remains valid; you get nowhere in any pursuit either by acting as if the past doesn’t exist nor by denying the vitality of the present.

Some notes on this month’s mix:

* While I aim not to feature any one artist more than once in a calendar year, I’ve made no policy about songs, and as such, this month, I am featuring a song that was already on a playlist this year, performed by a different artist: that would be the fabulous and ever-relevant George Harrison song “Beware of Darkness.” George’s original landed in EPS 5.05, while here we get Marianne Faithfull’s nearly contemporary cover of the song, dating back to recording sessions she had in 1971, even as the tracks she made at that point didn’t see the light of day until 1985. Faithfull has always had exquisite taste in songs she chooses to cover, dating all the way back to her famous first hit single, “As Tears Go By.”

* If you don’t know Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club and have any fondness for rock’n’roll’s new wave moment, I’d urge you to check out the album. You can thank me later.

* A perceptive few of you may notice that I normally use the playlists to re-visit songs that have been previously reviewed on Fingertips; this month, there’s a batch of them, led by the Fauves marvelous, power-poppy “Dirt-Bike Option,” which was a 2000 EP track that resurfaced in 2007 on a compilation of this prolific Australian band’s B-sides and rarities and such. Another big-time Fingertips favorite is Shiv Hurrah’s “Oh Oh Oh,” a modestly-named tune combining DIY sensibility with one of the most satisfying melodies I’ve yet come across in my 15 years here.

* Gabriel Kahane’s song comes from his deep and touching 2018 album Book of Travelers. As a singer/songwriter who is also a contemporary classical music composer, his songs, however stripped-down instrumentally, employ musical complexities rarely heard in rock’n’roll. And what a fine singing voice he has, too. The album has a singular back story: right after the 2016 election, Kahane boarded a train and traveled nearly 9,000 miles over the course of two weeks, talking to people he encountered along the way, later turning their stories into a series of lovely if complex and often melancholy songs. Check it out via Bandcamp if you get a chance.

Full playlist below the widget.

“English Garden” – Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club (English Garden, 1980)
“Captain of Your Ship” – Reparata & the Delrons (single, 1968)
“Smart” – Nice Try (Nice Try, 2018)
“The Dirt-Bike Option” – The Fauves (Celebrate the Failure EP, 2000)
“Look Out For My Love” – Neil Young (Comes a Time, 1978)
“It Ain’t As Easy As That” – The Elektras (single, 1963)
“Oh Oh Oh” – Shiv Hurrah (Shiv Hurrah, 2010)
“When I Was a Boy” – Dar Williams (The Honesty Room, 1993)
“This Is The Day” – The The (Soul Mining, 1987)
“Body and Soul” – Erroll Garner (Gems. 1951)
“Bit of Tongue” – Mr. Gnome (Madness in Miniature, 2011)
“Window Pane” – The Real People (The Real People, 1991)
“Come Up” – Devics (Push the Heart, 2006)
“Long Away” – Queen (A Day at the Races, 1976)
“Love is Here and Now You’re Gone” – The Supremes (The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland, 1967)
“Absolute Beginners” – David Bowie (single, 1986)
“The Trick is to Keep Breathing” – Garbage (Version 2.0, 1998)
“Baltimore” – Gabriel Kahane (Book of Travelers, 2018)
“Beware of Darkness” – Marianne Faithfull (Rich Kid Blues, recorded 1971; released 1985)
“Balloon Maker” – Midlake (Bamnan and Silvercork, 2004)

With Fingertips operational again it’s time for the latest playlist, which as always features a wide mix of genres and decades of origin. A random preponderance of songs under three minutes this time makes this one of the shortest EPS mixes to date, for those keeping score—not much more than an hour total this time. Easy listening! And speaking of keeping score, with this playlist, both Kate Bush and the Kinks now tie for the top position as artists who have at this point been featured once a year for the five years that the EPS has been doing its artist-mixing, genre-mingling thing. David Bowie, Björk, and Elvis Costello may yet join them before year’s end. These are either my favorite all-time artists or I just like putting their songs in playlists. Or, probably, both.

Some random notes:

* Try as I might I can’t be exactly sure when Hattie Littles recorded this version of “Come and Get These Memories.” It’s a chestnut from Motown’s early days; as recorded in 1962 by Martha and the Vandellas, it was in fact the first hit produced by the legendary team of Holland-Dozier-Holland, charting in early 1963. Littles herself was on the Motown roster early on, but turned out to be one of those powerhouse vocalists who got overlooked and eventually dropped in favor of those considered to be more commercially viable. She recorded only one official single for Motown (and did open for Marvin Gaye on his first tour). After years out of the business, she was re-discovered in the 1980s and ended up releasing an album called The Best of Hattie Littles in 1996, which included a number of songs re-recorded from her Motown years, “Come and Get These Memories” among them. Let’s figure it was recorded in the vicinity of 1996, if not somewhat before.

* I have a lot of favorite Kinks songs but “Sweet Lady Genevieve” is one of my very favorite favorites, from the band’s otherwise troublesome Preservation Act 1 album (although not as troublesome as the seemingly related follow-up, Preservation Act 2). Apologies for the somewhat clunky segue from Sam Phillips here, I kept going back and forth between thinking it worked well and thinking it didn’t work at all, and by the time I figured it didn’t really work it was too late.

* Patti & The Emblems were from Camden NJ, and had this one hit, in 1964, which happened to be written by Leon Huff (one year before joining forces with Kenny Gamble). The group featured lead singer Pat Russell and three gentlemen backing vocalists. This is an unexpectedly great song, at once typical-sounding of the era and yet also somehow looser and grittier than the Brill Building fare that was still (but not for long) dominating the day.

* Véronique Sanson is a French singer, still active, who was married to Stephen Stills from 1973 to 1979. Her album Le Maudit was released in 1974, and recorded with a few members of Stills’ group Manassas.

* “For You To Do That” was a Fingertips featured song back in 2007, from an album that had come out a few years earlier. Mary Ann Farley only recorded two albums of music before veering off into a career as a painter. Still love this one.

* Speaking, earlier, of Holland-Dozier-Holland, we also dive here into the somewhat under-visited catalog of Mr. Lamont Dozier himself here. Dozier, now 77, has released a dozen or so solo albums over the years, all coming after the Holland-Dozier-Holland heyday of the mid- to late-’60s (and boy go look at the songs that team was responsible for if you want to be amazed, including 14 songs that went to number one on the Billboard chart). But he was no slouch on his own, if a good deal less commercially successful. One of my favorite semi-overlooked songs of his is “Invisible,” which was recorded by Alison Moyet on her first solo album, back in 1984 (and was featured on EPS 3.07 back in 2016, for those who, against all odds, are still keeping score at home).

* And if we’re talking about overlooked goodies, what about this entire album from T Bone Burnett? The Criminal Under My Hat is full of smartly-written, wonderfully accessible songs, but came out, in 1992, while Burnett was still laboring in obscurity, some years yet before the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack made him at least a little more famous. But he was from that point onward pegged as more of a producer than a performer, so much so that the next album he made, many years later, 2006’s The True False Identity, kind of just fell through the cracks without much notice, although also a good one. It’s not too late to pay attention, and give him his due.

Full playlist below the widget.

“Please Stand Up” – British Sea Power (Open Season, 2005)
“Billy Two” – The Clean (Boodle Boodle Boodle EP, 1981)
“I’m In Love” – Kate Pierson (Lost Songs of Lennon & McCartney, 2011)
“Come and Get These Memories” – Hattie Littles (The Best of Hattie Littles, 1996)
“Strawberry Blonde” – Ron Sexsmith (Other Songs, 1997)
“Rainbows” – Dennis Wilson (Pacific Ocean Blue, 1977)
“Cloudbusting” – Kate Bush (Hounds of Love, 1985)
“Everybody’s Happy But Me” – Cheryl Williams (single, 1964)
“All My Friends” – Lens Mozer (single, 2017)
“I Want To Tell You” – The Beatles (Revolver, 1966)
“Troubled Mind” – Everything But The Girl (Amplified Heart, 1994)
“Playing For Keeps” – Lamont Dozier (Working On You, 1981)
“World On Sticks” – Sam Phillips (World On Sticks, 2018)
“Sweet Lady Genevieve” – The Kinks (Preservation Act 1, 1971)
“For You To Do That” – Mary Ann Farley (My Life of Crime, 2002)
“Seems So” – The Apples in Stereo (Tone Soul Evolution, 1997)
“Mixed Up Shook Up Girl” – Patti & The Emblems (single, 1964)
“Pure” – The Lightning Seeds (Cloudcuckooland, 1989)
“Le Maudit” – Veronique Sanson (Le Maudit, 1974)
“It’s Not Too Late” – T Bone Burnett (The Criminal Under My Hat, 1992)

Fingertips is on hiatus for a little while longer but the Eclectic Playlist Series forges on, offering up a “Summer’s Over” playlist aimed to help you find a little bit of solace in a world gone wrong and wronger. We’ve got indie rock and classic rock, rocksteady and R&B, instrumentals and vocal duets, folk rock from the distant past and indie pop from the immediate present, and then some. Some random notes:

* Thanks to George from Between Two Islands for the opening track. I love the Bird and the Bee but had overlooked this song until hearing it in one of his inimitable playlists.

* Yet again illustrated here is the inscrutable difference between a hit and a miss from the classic Soul years—I mean, Diane Lewis, “Keep a Hold on Me”: shouldn’t this have been blasting out of car radios across the country?

* “The Devil Wears a Suit” sounds even more portentous now than when I featured it on Fingertips back in 2012. Kate Miller-Heidke is a force of nature, far more appreciated in her native Australia than here. (Answer to her musical question: We all do. We all need a hug.)

* “Anastasia” was a FM radio staple, at a certain sort of FM radio station, back in the day. You don’t hear much (i.e., anything) of Elliott Murphy these days but he’s been recording albums all these years, his latest in 2013. He’s had a career as a writer too, has been living in Paris for decades, and in 2015 had a documentary released about him. Lots of characters like Murphy have slipped through the cracks of our click-oriented culture, people you have to slow down to get into and appreciate.

* RIP Aretha. I sure hope she’s right, that we are, indeed, at long last, running out of fools. The country can’t survive much longer with so many of them in charge.

Full playlist below the widget.

“Witch” – The Bird and the Bee (Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future, 2009)
“Knocked Down, Made Small (Treated Like a Rubber Ball)” – Was (Not Was) (Born to Laugh at Tornadoes, 1983)
“Keep a Hold on Me” – Diane Lewis (single, 1968)
“Graffiti” – CHVRCHES (Love Is Dead, 2018)
“Island in the Sun” – The Paragons (single, 1967)
“Did You Miss Me” – Lindsay Buckingham (Gift of Screws, 2008)
“The Blacksmith” – Steeleye Span (Hark! The Village Wait, 1970)
“Orchids” – Monster Rally (Return to Paradise, 2013)
“I’ll Do Anything” – Doris Troy (single, 1966)
“Song Against Sex” – Neutral Milk Hotel (On Avery Island, 1996)
“Prime Time” – The Tubes (Remote Control, 1979)
“The Devil Wears a Suit” – Kate Miller-Heidke (Nightflight, 2012)
“Too Fast For You” – The Church (Too Fast For You EP, 1981)
“A Hard Day’s Night” – Sonny Curtis (Beatle Hits Flamenco Guitar Style, 1964)
“Frank Sinatra” – Cake (Fashion Nugget, 1996)
“Anastasia” – Elliott Murphy (Just a Story From America, 1977)
“Runnin’ Out of Fools” – Aretha Franklin (Runnin’ Out of Fools, 1964)
“Come Cryin’ to Me” – The Jayhawks (Back Roads and Abandoned Motels, 2018)
“No Guilt” – The Waitresses (Wasn’t Tomorrow Wonderful?, 1982)
“Walk Away” – James Gang (Thirds, 1971)

Yes, Fingertips is on hiatus. But here’s a playlist, which I had started previously, and just seemed to want to be released into the world. It’s suitably eclectic, as always, and manages to feature 16 artists, of 20, that have not previously been playlisted here, even as we are now in the middle of the fifth year of playlists. Some random notes:

* There are two 2018 songs on the list, from two albums that are likely to be among my favorites this year—Beach House’s aptly-titled 7, and the Arctic Monkeys’ strange but endearing Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino.

* There are two old songs I’ve only recently discovered:

1) The Northern Soul-reclaimed gem “Please Stay,” from a Chicago group called The Ivories (in its original pressing on tiny Despenza Records, the band was identified simply as “Ivorys”), another song that demonstrates the fine fine line between a huge hit and an ignored piece of vinyl.

2) The gorgeous Dylan song “Born in Time,” in a version that is far more successful, to my ears, than the one that was originally released, in 1990, on his puzzling Under the Red Sky album. This notably altered 1989 incarnation was recorded for the much more successful Oh Mercy LP, but left off it because, well, Dylan routinely left off some really good songs. That’s how he rolled. You can find it on the terrific Tell-Tale Signs compilation.

* Yes, that’s Twiggy, the model. The 1960s were known, among many other things, as an era when anyone who was famous for pretty much anything would eventually end up in a recording studio making an album. Occasionally the end result was a pleasant surprise, as this one is.

* Ian Hunter recently turned 79 and is still out there recording top-notch music. This one is from back in his relatively youth—he was 36 at the time, and had just left Mott the Hoople. The band petered out quickly without him; his solo career has been full of strong but overlooked albums, including 2016’s Fingers Crossed.

* Peter Case is one of those guys who will sometimes receive the ambivalent compliment of being a “songwriter’s songwriter.” I’m not always sure what that means but in his case it rings true, and in any event “Hidden Love” is one of my favorite songs ever.

Reminder: all songs on each Eclectic Playlist Series mix (including, now, this one) have been accumulated into a master mix on Spotify (minus the songs that Spotify doesn’t have); the link to that is:

https://open.spotify.com/user/fingertipsmusic/playlist/2EOYzqn90RRM8HB5R95ED3?si=UYBQKHApThKdKklxo_CdTw

Full playlist below the widget.

“Dark Spring” – Beach House (7, 2018)
“Once It Was Alright Now (Farmer Joe)” – Laura Nyro (Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, 1968)
“Black and White” – The dB’s (Stands for Decibels, 1981)
“Slimcea Girl” – Mono (Formica Blues, 1998)
“Floating Vibes” – Surfer Blood (Astro Coast, 2009)
“Yachting Type” – The Yachts (Yachts, 1979)
“Please Stay” – The Ivories (single, 1966)
“Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino” – Arctic Monkeys (Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, 2018)
“If I Had a Boat” – Lyle Lovett (Pontiac, 1988)
“Girl Anachronism” – The Dresden Dolls (The Dresden Dolls, 2004)
“When I Think of You” – Twiggy (single, 1967)
“Once Bitten Twice Shy” – Ian Hunter (Ian Hunter, 1975)
“World Made” – Land of Talk (Life After Youth, 2017)
“Mockingbirds” – Grant Lee Buffalo (Mighty Joe Moon, 1994)
“Born in Time” – Bob Dylan (recorded 1989, Oh Mercy sessions; released 2008, Tell-Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8)
“Apache” – The Shadows (single, 1960)
“Heard It All Before” – Emiliana Torrini (Me and Armini, 2008)
“Someone’s Looking At You” – The Boomtown Rats (The Fine Art of Surfacing, 1979) *
“Never Broken” – Cassandra Wilson (Traveling Miles, 1999)
“Hidden Love” – Peter Case (The Man With The Blue Post-Modern Fragmented
Neo-Traditionalist Guitar, 1989)