Take It Easy Tree

It's part three (or maybe even four or more) of the Take It Easy series if you include the Slow Down series. And I guess also related is the Life Is Good compilation. All of them are good, but this pick is a bit more easy. It's titled Tree instead of Three, so it appears in the right order in your folder directories. Again, Too and Tree. So probably no fourth one, unless we come up with a way to say four and stay alphabetical. Anything goes for the pun.

Take It Easy Tree

44 Cocoa Tea - Good Life

45 Beatles - Slow Down

46 Apples & The Three Oranges - Free & Easy

47 Hopeton Lewis - Take It Easy

48 Fishbone - It's A Wonderful Life (Gonna Have A Good Time)

49 Barefoot Jerry - Slowin' Down

50 The Peddlers - It's So Easy

51 The Soup Dragons featuring Junior Reid - I'm Free

52 Willie Hutch - Easy Does It

53 Röyksopp - So Easy

54 Green On Red - Easy Way Out

55 Barenaked Ladies - Easy

56 Cocteau Twins - Love's Easy Tears

57 Chris Isaak - Let Me Down Easy

58 Satyr - Free & Easy

59 Cake - Easy To Crash

60 Beth Hart - Take It Easy On Me

61 Y&T - Cheap And Easy

62 Jimmy Lindsay - Easy

63 Robin & the Hoods - Slow Down

64 Romeo Void - Just Too Easy

What's The Connection? Sucker 1

Lots of different meanings in these songs. This Connection is made up of songs with Sucker in the title. We got lollipops, people who believe anything and people who are blowing (although I might argue that involves sucking). I was starting with the Jonas Brothers since I just recently made their family pick (a week ago) and that started me to think. Betty Blowtorch, Stevie Wonder, Parliament, Xavier (listen for Bootsy) and Run DMC came soon after and the rest just filled in. So, don't be a sucker and just listen for yourself. The cover is interesting. Look closely and besides the lolly's there is an octopus in the background. Can't suck more than those tentacles.

What's The Connection? Sucker 1

01 Deep Purple - Bludsucker

02 Betty Blowtorch - I Wanna Be Your Sucker

03 Pop Will Eat Itself - Wise Up Sucker

04 Run DMC - Sucker MCs

05 LCD Soundsystem - Yr City's A Sucker

06 Parliament - Tear The Roof Off The Sucker

07 Stevie Wonder - All Day Sucker

08 Dimples D. - Sucker D.J.'s (I Will Survive)

09 Jim Reeves - Yonder Comes A Sucker

10 Xavier - Work That Sucker To Death

11 R.G.'s All Nite Funk Band - Go For It Sucker

12 Teena Marie - I'm a Sucker for Your Love

13 The Wolfgang Press - Sucker M.F.

14 Jonas Brothers - Sucker

15 Van Halen - Sucker In A 3 Piece

16 Erasure - Sucker For Love

17 Ministry - The Last Sucker

18 Red Hot Chili Peppers - No Chump Love Sucker

Chance To Trickle

Usually a pick of this name would mean to me, bathroom songs, but it isn't. Bathroom songs are songs long enough to to run so you have time to go to the bathroom and back before you need to change the song. Very handy to have a few of these if you are DJing somewhere and you have to go. As you get older, trickle could also mean prostate problems. This is also not what this compilation is about. Just a mixtape with the Manhattan Transfer on it and a bunch of mostly jazzy poppy songs. Actually a barrage of them. Much more than a trickle.

Chance To Trickle

01 Victor Feldman's Generation Band - Brazilia

02 Al Jarreau - (Round, Round, Round) Blue Rond A La Turk

03 Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good

04 Carole King - It's Too Late

05 Barry Manilow - Ready To Take A Chance Again

06 Marlena Shaw - Yu-Ma-Go Away Little Boy

07 Bing Crosby - Please

08 Annette Funicello - Ballin' The Jack (Studio)

09 Dean Martin - For Once In My Life

10 Bill Bruford's Earthworks - Thud

11 Dorothy Lamour - The Man I Love

12 Michael Franks - Popsicle Toes

13 Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox - Bad Romance

14 Weather Report - Harlequin

15 Manhattan Transfer - Trickle Trickle

16 Tom Jones - She's a Lady

17 John Klemmer - Touch

18 Nancy Sinatra - How Does That Grab You, Darling

19 Van Morrison - Precious Time

20 Tom Scott & The LA Express - Spindrift

Ik Ben Blauwe

Direct translation is I am blue, but it's more subtle than that. That is also a derogatory slur that I am calling myself. And that means I am punching down (see, self deprecating joke), which is really bad, I hear. Anyway it refers to an Indonesian of Dutch heritage, but in an offensive way. I have been researching slurs and working on a list of songs that are offensive to people and that may refer to illegal aliens. Of all races and countries of origin. If you know some put them in the comments. This pick, however, is not those songs. Just other songs I have listened to while researching and that I enjoyed and hadn't placed anywhere else. The cover is my Pop as a boy. He was never offended by anything (said it was stupid to be offended by someone else's opinion). He and my mom were in what was considered a mixed marriage. He would have hated all these songs, except for CCR and Kingtinued. Too bad, Pop, I like them.

Ik Ben Blauwe

01 Creedence Clearwater Revival - Keep On Chooglin'

02 Haim - Rock N Roll Rules

03 Butthole Surfers - The Shame Of Life

04 The Smiths - How Soon Is Now (12' Version)

05 Rockin' Billy and the Wild Coyotes - Gator Country

06 The Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running

07 Goldfinger - 99 Red Balloons

08 The Cure - Purple Haze

09 Dramarama - Anything, Anything (I'll Give You)

10 Asleep At The Wheel - Hot Rod Lincoln

11 Tim McGraw - I Like It, I Love It

12 Commander Cody - Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (That Cigarette)

13 Soft Cell featuring Pet Shop Boys - Purple Zone

14 Darkness - I Believe In A Thing Called Love

15 Switchfoot - Ba55

16 Barnstorm - Turn To Stone

17 Cerebral Corps - Pam's Purple Spyrograph

18 Fischer-Z - The Perfect Day

19 Kingtinued (Elvis Presley) - Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Top Pick Albums 1986

Yesterday it was the top pick of singles of 1986 and today it's the top albums of 1986. This was the last year that I allowed compilation albums into my top albums. This year I had a soundtrack and two compilations in the list. In 1988 I started a separate section of compilations (greatest hits, soundtracks etc) and did a top ten for them separate from the album section. Looking back at these choices, I think I would change my mind on some of them. In fact some of the top singles from yesterday may have come from better albums than some of these, But this is what I chose then, so I'm sticking with it. I'm choosing the Pretty In Pink soundtrack as the sample cover, because at the time it was an amazing album with not a single bad track on it. Like usual first ten tracks were the original pick and the second ten were added now to round it out to two per album.

Top Pick Albums 1986

01 Public Image Limited - Rise

02 XTC - Dear God

03 Beastie Boys - She's Crafty

04 George Clinton - Do Fries Go With That Shake

05 New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle

06 The The - Heartland

07 Psychedelic Furs - Pretty In Pink

08 The Cramps - Can Your Pussy Do the Dog

09 Laurie Anderson - Language Is A Virus

10 Robyn Hitchcock - Eaten By Her Own Dinner

11 The Cramps - What's Inside a Girl

12 The The - Infected

13 Beastie Boys - No Sleep Till Brooklyn

14 XTC - Grass

15 Public Image Limited - Home

16 Robyn Hitchcock - My Favourite Buildings

17 George Clinton - Hey Good Lookin

18 Laurie Anderson - Sharkey's Night

19 Echo & The Bunnymen - Bring On The Dancing Horses

20 New Order - Paradise

Top Pick 1986

Another of my Top Picks of the year. We're still going through the 80's with today's pick being 1986. I remember a few things specifically about this year. I went to the CMJ convention in New York and got to go the Apollo Theatre (beautiful) for their awards show. We went in busses. Sandra Bernhard and Ronald Reagan Jr. hosted it. Peter Gabriel played off his new album, as did Run-DMC. I missed my bus back to Manhattan because I was getting radio drop-ins from Run-DMC who were big dicks and racist as hell. And I was one of the early people to play them on the radio. I was disappointed to say the least. Ended up in Harlem after 2 AM unable to get a cab and walking several blocks to catch a subway. No issues except being told to get out of their neighborhood multiple times. It's cleaned up a lot since then. Most of these bands I saw live (not Kate Bush, unfortunately) and I loved these tracks.

Top Pick 1986

01 Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer

02 Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Love Missile F1-11

03 Blow Monkeys - Digging Your Scene

04 Run-D.M.C. - Walk This Way

05 Book Of Love - I Touch Roses

06 Kraftwerk - Boing Boom Tschak

07 The Residents - Kaw-Liga

08 Siouxsie & The Banshees - Cities In Dust

09 Eurythmics - Missionary Man

10 Front 242 - Quite Unusual

11 Shriekback - Gunning For The Buddha

12 Beat Farmers - Powderfinger

13 Gene Loves Jezebel - Desire

14 SPK - In the Dying Moments

15 They Might Be Giants - Don't Let's Start

16 The Fall - Mr. Pharmacist

17 Kate Bush - Experiment IV

18 Wall Of Voodoo - Dance You Fuckers

19 Toy Dolls - Olga, I Cannot

20 Tuxedomoon - Atlantis

Figures Of Speech

A mixtape of leftover songs that I've been listening to that all fit in the same camelot key (7A). I had to supplement with a couple of songs to fill it out, but that was the start of it. Funny how they all do sound good together and they progress in BPM as they go as well. The title of the pick was because of the Sparks song (I do love Sparks). There are a couple of songs here that are less available than others: Adam & the Ants was originally on a flexidisc only, for instance. And how many Other People tracks do you know of?

Figures Of Speech

01 Cake - Short Skirt, Long Jacket

02 Tones On Tail - The Never Never (Is Forever)

03 Donna Summer - Bad Girls (12'' Single)

04 Frank Zappa - I Don't Wanna Get Drafted

05 Todd Rundgren - We Gotta Get You A Woman

06 Charles Johnson - Never Had a Love So Good

07 808 State - Pacific State

08 Jethro Tull - Bouree

09 10cc - Art For Art's Sake

10 J Geils Band - One Last Kiss

11 Tuxedomoon - What Use-

12 ABBA - Lay All Your Love on Me

13 Other People (Dave Ball) - Have a Nice Day

14 Tubes - Don't Touch Me There

15 Sophie Ellis-Bextor With Fred Schneider - Supersonic

16 Stranglers - All Day And All Of The Night

17 Until December - Secrets (I Won't Tell)

18 Florence DeVore - Kiss Me Now (Don't Kiss Me Later)

19 Sparks - Metaphor

20 Adam & The Ants - Antmusic

Next Week's No Good For Me The Jonas Brothers Are In Town

I love the title of this pick. Obviously, it's all about the Jonas Brothers and what I normally would just call a family pick. But I was thinking of my favorite Jonas brothers quote in the movie The Hangover. But I digress. This pick includes some of my favorite Jonas Brothers songs, some of their side projects, guest appearances. For instance, my favorite of all of these is DNCE. That and I like their choices in wives. I was not a fan during the Disney days, but going back to listen to it objectively now, there are some decently good tracks. I'm sure a real fan would say I am missing some, but these are just the ones, I like best.

Next Week's No Good For Me

01 Jonas Brothers - Hey You

02 Jonas Brothers - Your Biggest Fan

03 Jonas Brothers - I Wan'na Be Like You

04 Jonas Brothers - Only Human

05 Jonas Brothers - What A Man Gotta Do

06 Jonas Brothers - Burnin' Up

07 Jonas Brothers - S.O.S

08 Jonas Brothers - Sucker

09 Jonas Brothers - Love Me To Heaven

10 Jonas Brothers - Tonight

11 Demi Lovato & Joe Jonas - This Is Me

12 Nick Jonas - Jealous

13 Nick Jonas - This Is Heaven

14 Kygo featuring Jonas Brothers - Healing (Shattered Heart)

15 DNCE - Toothbrush

16 Nick Jonas & the Administration - Who I Am

17 DNCE - Cake By The Ocean

18 DNCE featuring Nicki Minaj - Kissing Strangers

19 Nick Jonas featuring Tove Lo - Close

20 Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez - Send It On

21 Nick Jonas - Chains

22 Joe Jonas - See No More

23 Joe Jonas - Gotta Find You

What's The Connection? Rhinos

Once a year it's World Rhino Day and today is that day. I put a cute little Rhino and his rhinoceros mom on the cover to put you in the "awwh, cute mode" so you would look further into this day and how you can help the rhinos. Look closely at the cover! My favorite of this connection is the Adrian Belew (in fact I love that whole album it's on). The sounds he makes on his guitar. Whoa! Not many rhino hits, but several good songs, so help the rhinos and enjoy the songs as you do. Promote this one on your social media to spread the horny news.

What's The Connection? Rhinos

01 Soundgarden - Rhinosaur (Lp Version)

02 The Bad Plus - Rhinoceros Is My Profession

03 Paul Gilbert - The Rhino

04 King Crimson - Blastic Rhino

05 Adrian Belew - The Lone Rhinoceros

06 Gene Loves Jezebel - The Rhino Plasty

07 Linkin Park - Rhinocerous (2002 Demo)

08 Anvil - White Rhino

09 Utah Saints - Rhinoceros

10 Henri Mancini - More Rhino

11 Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Rhino Skin

12 Ginger Baker - Rain And The Rhinoceros

13 The Apples - Rhinocerize

14 Bonzo Dog Band - Rhinocratic Oaths

15 Dramarama - Baby Rhino's Eye

16 Juliana Hatfield - Rhinoceros

17 Ozric Tentacles - White Rhino Tea

18 Smashing Pumpkins - Rhinoceros

19 Stone Axe - Rhinoceros

20 Mike Post Coalition - Afternoon Of The Rhino

vs Texas Soul

This is the last of the vs series. Make sure you go back to the last five days or so and get the other picks. I made a playlist for each: Belgian Popcorn, Carolina Beach, Lowrider, Northern and now Texas Soul. I call it Brisket Beats. You can see the similarities and the differences in the sound and feel, although there are no doubles between the five different styles in the compilations I made. Texas is unique. Not just the state, but also the state of their music. It's a mixing pot. It's a regional style that mixes Tex-Mex, country, blues, rock and soul with some cumbias and rancheras. Where else do you see German and Polish polkas mix with the above? And yet there are some similarities. I hope you enjoyed this series as much as I did in compiling it.

vs Texas Soul

01 Freddy Fender - Before the Next Teardrops Falls

02 Sam Price And His Texas Bluesicians - Rib Joint

03 George Jones - He Stopped Loving Her Today

04 O'Jays - Back Stabbers

05 Roger - I Want To Be Your Man

06 Ned Miller - From A Jack To A King

07 War - Why Can't We Be Friends

08 Lightnin' Slim - I Ain't Got No Money

09 Selena - Como La Flor

10 Johnny Cash - I Walk The Line

11 Flaco Jimenez - Ay Te Dejo En San Antonio

12 Vicente Fernandez - Que Bonito Amor

13 Grupo Fantasma - Cumbia De Los Pajaritos

14 Four Tops - Ain't No Woman (Like The One I've Got)

15 Isley Brothers - This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)

16 Ritchie Valens - La Bamba

17 Asleep At The Wheel - Boogie Back To Texas

18 Blake Shelton - Austin

19 Cornell Hurd Band - Texas Me

20 Buddy Holly & The Crickets - That'll Be The Day

21 Sir Douglas Quintet - She's About A Mover

Origin: Texas
Tempo: Slow to mid
Dance Style: Two step, swing, line dance, polka
Musical Influences: Country, Tex-Mex,Cumbia, Soul, R&B
Cultural Context: Strong Texan culture mixed with a little Mexican. There is no singular Texas sound. Rather, there is a shared Texas musical spirit, one characterized by taking chances, trying new ideas, melding your neighbor's music with your own, all united by an attitude of "Why not?"

vs Northern Soul

I had to skip a day, yesterday (since it was so important of a day), but now you get this fourth in the "vs" series that compares Belgian Popcorn, Carolina Beach, Lowrider, Northern Soul and Texas Soul has the playlist of Northern Soul. You'll notice that these first four have tons of compilations out there, with hundreds of songs available. Northern Soul perhaps most of all and I did not include many of the "hits" (no Gloria Jones here) even though they are great songs. Just trying to get a specifically Northern Soul feel in this pick. This is a style that came from a British music scene that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, focusing on high-energy, rare American soul records, often played at a faster tempo. Like the others, it's got a whole record collector feel about the scene.

vs Northern Soul

01 James & Bobby Purify - I'm Your Puppet

02 Jackson 5 - I'll Be There

03 The Carltons - I'm A Man

04 Dusty Springfield - I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten

05 The Dells - I Need You

06 The Shangri-Las - Right Now And Not Later

07 Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive

08 The Delfonics - You'll Get Enough

09 Lou Christie - I'm Gonna Make You Mine

10 Helene Smith - Thrills And Chills

11 The Spencer Davis Group - I'm a Man

12 Yvonne Baker - You Didn't Say a Word

13 Frank Wilson - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)

14 Shirley Ellis - Soul Time

15 Lou Pride - I'm Com'un Home in the Morn'un

16 Bobby Lewis - Tossin' And Turnin'

17 Dobie Gray - Out on the Floor

18 Little Anthony and the Imperials - Better Use Your Head

19 The Vel-Vets - I Got to Find Me Somebody

20 The Contours - Do You Love Me

Origin: Northern England, 1960s–1970s.
Tempo: Fast tempo, energetic.
Dance Style: Acrobatic solo dancing.
Musical Influences: Rare American soul and R&B records, often obscure.
Cultural Context: Focused on rare groove collecting and high-energy dancing. Venues like Wigan Casino were iconic. The scene was fueled by a strong collector culture.

What's The Connection? Pirates 3

Avast Ye'all. ☠️  It be International Talk Like A Pirate Day! So here is part three of my pirate connections. For previous Pirate WTC's click here. If you don't yet know about this special day, please look this up. It's quite fun if you go all in. Your boss will love it! Play the songs here and the previous two to really get into it. More treasures this time. Another version of Yo Ho and the Theme to a great comic, cartoon and movie: One Piece! There are also a couple of songs that don't seem to be pirate songs, but are. Listen up for those. If ye be goin' to set sail a comment, set sail it usin' gentleman o' fortune talk. Seriously, only them be published. I find that mildly amusing, lad!

What's The Connection? Pirates 3

48 XTC - All You Pretty Girls

49 Beastie Boys - Professor Booty

50 CPR - Map To Buried Treasure

51 The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company - Pour, Oh Pour the Pirate Sherry

52 Jen Cass - Pirate

53 Mike Mennard - Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest

54 Russell Valsquez - One Piece Theme-Be A Pirate-You Can't Turn The Tide

55 Pointer Sisters - Yo Ho (Pirates of the Caribbean)

56 Erasure - Treasure

57 Tom Smith with Steve Jackson and Luke Ski - Talk Like A Pirate Day

58 Rickie Lee Jones - Pirates (So Long Lonely Avenue)

59 Don Drummond And Drumbago - Treasure Island

60 Sex Pistols - Friggin' in the Riggin'

61 Cocteau Twins - Treasure Hiding

62 Kansas - Point Of Know Return

63 The Cure - Treasure

64 Peter Tosh - The Crimson Pirate

65 Barry Gibb - Buried Treasure

66 Mad Professor - Treasure Isle Style

67 Kenny Chesney - Pirate Flag

68 Brothers Johnson - Treasure

vs Lowrider

This is number three of the vs series picks. Lowrider music. A music style from the United States (mostly the west coast, California), associated with car culture, featuring a deep, rhythmic bassline and a slow, sultry feel. Lots of doo wop and oldies. I was loosely associated (frequent guest DJ) on a program called Radio Aztlan that had three components which the middle section was probably closest to Lowrider. The first section was Mexican rancheras, conjuntos etc and the last section was freestyle. I usually guested on the first two sections. Escucha. All three are incorporated a little in Lowrider, the first also in Texas Soul (coming up), but mostly the middle. Lots of dedications! (BTW, if you like the band War, check out this site - I got to post there.)

vs Lowrider

01 Billy Stewart - Sitting In The Park

02 Smokey Robinson - Cruisin'

03 El Chicano - Sabor A Mi

04 Selena - La Carcacha

05 Ruben And The Jets - Dedicated To The One I Love

06 Santo & Johnny - Sleepwalk

07 Los Lobos - Cumbia Raza (English Version)

08 L.E.D. - Ridin' Low

09 Dicky Doo & The Don'ts - Click-Clack

10 Rene & Rene - Lo Mucho Que Te Quiero

11 Tower Of Power - You're Still A Young Man

12 Dr. Loco's Rockin' Jalapeño Band - Chile Pie

13 The Penguins - Earth Angel

14 Marvin & Johnny - Cherry Pie

15 Blue Magic - Sideshow

16 The Chi-Lites - Have You Seen Her

17 War - Low Rider

18 Ritchie Valens - La Bamba

Origin: Southwest United States, particularly among Chicano communities, 1970s–1980s.
Tempo: Mid-tempo, often with a strong bassline.
Dance Style: Smooth, low, and slow, often associated with car culture.
Musical Influences: Funk, soul, Latin jazz, and doo-wop. Often features orchestral arrangements and romantic themes.
Cultural Context: Closely tied to lowrider car culture and Chicano pride. The music often evokes nostalgia and romance (not directly covered in context, but inferred from general knowledge). Also has ties to prison culture.

vs Carolina Beach

This pick is the second of the vs series. I compared Belgian Popcorn (see yesterday's post) to today's Carolina Beach Music to Lowrider, Northern Soul and Texas Soul (all coming up) by making a playlist of each style and letting you decide. Beach Music is a regional style from the Carolinas (specifically South Carolina and Myrtle Beach), characterized by a mix of R&B, doo-wop, and rock and roll, with a lively, danceable tempo that people dance the Shag to. Listening to both yesterday and today, do you hear the difference? And yet track four on this pick could fit on any of the playlists in this series.

vs Carolina Beach

01 O'Kaysions - Girl Watcher

02 Al Green - Let's Stay Together

03 Stylistics - My Heart

04 Temptations - My Girl

05 O'Jay's - Used To Be My Girl

06 Cornelius Brother & Sister Rose - Too Late To Turn Back Now

07 The Embers - I Love Beach Music

08 Dion - The Wanderer

09 O.C. Smith - Brenda

10 Tams - What Kind Of Fool

11 Drifters - Under The Boardwalk

12 Grand Funk Railroad - Bad Time

13 Mary Wells - My Guy

14 Bruce Channel - Hey Baby

15 Fantastic Shakers - Myrtle Beach Days

16 Chairmen Of The Board & General Johnson - Carolina Girls

17 Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs - Sugar Shack

18 The Foundations - Build Me Up Buttercup

19 Band Of Oz - Shaggin'

20 The Showmen - It Will Stand

Origin: Carolinas, USA, 1950s–1960s.
Tempo: Mid to fast tempo, 4/4 "blues shuffle".
Dance Style: The Carolina Shag.
Musical Influences: R&B, soul, and early rock and roll.
Cultural Context: Developed along the beaches of Myrtle Beach and Carolina Beach. It played a role in breaking racial barriers in music and remains a regional dance favorite.

vs Belgian Popcorn

The vs picks are going to be an experiment, sort of. I looked at the differences and similarities of five different styles of music that were popular, but didn't have clear definitions. So I made a playlist for each and I will let you decide. I'm starting with Belgian Popcorn which started in a club in Belgium. It's characterized by slow, mid-tempo music, featuring R&B, soul, and obscure recordings from the 1950s to 1960s, often played at a slower tempos to accommodate a "slow swing" dance style. Each of these playlists are not the end all be all of the style, but should be representative of that style. BTW, here's another site that has some good popcorn comps that I like.

vs Belgian Popcorn

01 Peggy Lee - Sweetheart

02 Phil Colbert - Who's Got The Action

03 Gerry and The Pacemakers - Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying

04 Brook Benton - Kiddio

05 Mcguire Sisters - Banana Split

06 Jeff Lane - Carmelita

07 Mary Wells - You Beat Me To The Punch

08 Simone Dina - Now I Lay Me Down To Weep

09 Four Aces - Love Is A Many Splendored Thing

10 Major Lance - Crying In The Rain

11 Sammy Davis Jr. - That Old Black Magic

12 Hank Levine & Orchestra - Image (Part 1)

13 Walter Jackson - This World Of Mine

14 Jay Abbott - La Tanya

15 Temptations - The Way You Do The Things You Do

16 Alvin Cash and the Crawlers - Twine Time

17 Dick Baker - Heartless Lover

18 Martha Reeves And The Vandellas - Dancing In The Street

19 Supremes - Come See About Me

20 Little Willie John - Fever

21 Jackie Weaver - The Tingle

22 Millie - My Boy Lollipop

23 Gene Chandler - A Song Called Soul

24 Barney Kessel - TV Commercials

25 Mel Tormé - Comin' Home Baby

Origin: Belgium.
Tempo: Slow-tempo songs aften adusted for speed.
Dance Style: Swing, foxtrot - couples.
Musical Influences: R&B, soul, ska, Broadway, lounge, and obscure 1950s–1960s American and British records.
Cultural Context: Emerged from clubs like De Oude Hoeve (later The Popcorn) and DJs like Gilbert Govaert and Freddy Cousaert. The scene emphasized obscurity and slowed down records for a more atmospheric feel.

Differentiated Embryonic Stem Cell

Just a mixtape pick with a title that comes from the cover background picture which is a microscopic view of a human differentiated embryonic stem cell. I know, like me, it's something you have always wanted to see. Now listen to the songs that come from that inspiration (or was it the other way around). A couple of Dutch bands, the wife of Boomtown Rats' Bob Geldolf (Paula Yates) and I wish she had a lot more songs. Too bad she died. A couple o hits and mostly non-hits, but good tracks. Not sure where the Teddybears are from, but they have several tracks that I just love. This is one of them. Same with Cake, the Bongos and the Stranglers.

Differentiated Embryonic Stem Cell

01 Full Moon Tan - No Money, No Chick, No Car

02 Vapors - Turning Japanese

03 Paula Yates w-BEF - These Boots Are Made For Walking

04 Rembrandts - I'll Be There For You

05 Suzanne Fellini - Love On The Phone

06 Teddybears STHLM - Hey Boy

07 Soho - Hippy Chick

08 The Bongos - The Beat Hotel

09 Stranglers - Old Codger

10 Murray Head - One Night In Bangkok

11 Raining Jane - Big Girl

12 Cake - Rock 'N' Roll Lifestyle

13 Ringo Starr - No No Song

14 Tal Bachman - She's So High

15 REM - Shiny Happy People

16 Krezip - All Unsaid

17 American Jam Band - Jam Jam

18 De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig - Let The Tits Out

19 Pearl Harbor & The Explosions - Drivin'

20 Weird Al Yankovic - White & Nerdy

21 Todd Rundgren - Bang The Drum All Day

22 Martha And The Muffins - Cheesies And Gum

23 Partners In Kryme - Turtle Power

Coffee Crystal

Just a fun mixtape, named after a cool microscope photo of an espresso coffee crystal. That is what I am drinking daily. Yummy. The songs All range in the 9A to 11B area of the Camelot scale, but are all different BPM's and energy levels. Mostly they are songs I have been listening to recently. I just wanted to add them into one pick. A couple of Texas Soul songs, some rock, a couple of country tunes (does Jessica Simpson count as country since she was wearing daisy dukes for her video?) There's even some ska. Is the Partners in Kryme song a video game song or a comic book song? No idea, but probably both and who cares, it's kinda cool (in a nerdy way.)

Coffee Crystal

01 Sigue Sigue Sputnik - Love Missile F1-11

02 The Gap Band - I Don't Believe You Want To Get Up & Dance

03 Yello - The Race

04 Heatwave - Boogie Nights

05 Girls Aloud - Something Kinda Ooooh

06 Toy Dolls - Nellie The Elephant

07 Partners In Kryme - Turtle Power

08 The Farm - Groovy Train

09 Elvis Costello & The Attractions - (I Don't Want to Go To) Chelsea

10 Texas Tornados - (Hey Baby) Que Paso

11 Bachman-Turner Overdrive - You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

12 Keith Urban - Kiss A Girl

13 Stealers Wheel - Stuck In The Middle With You

14 Selecter - On My Radio

15 Devo - Whip it

16 Jessica Simpson - These Boots Are Made For Walkin'

17 Golden Earring - Radar Love

18 Joe Jackson - It's Different for Girls

19 Drifters - You're More Than A Number in My Little Red Book

20 Pretenders - Brass in Pocket

21 Electric Light Orchestra - Don't Bring Me Down

22 Colbie Caillat - Bubbly

Genetic Apex

Let me see, how long has it been since I made another wormhole mixtape? I think the last one was August 3rd and there were several before that. All pretty good, if I say so myself. I wasn't too sure when I was making these picks, but I listen back and they are nice mixes. This one has a little Texas soul on it. I am listening to quite a bit of that as I figure out the differences between Northern Soul, Popcorn, Carolina Beach music and Lowrider. They all have some overlap but are distinct. It's interesting. Anyway this has some pop prog, some yacht, some new wave and even some bossa nova. And yet it all seems to flow. Best of all, for you, it's not all hits. Some deep cuts that are quite good on here as well. I won't go into how I named these, look at previous posts to see that.

Genetic Apex

01 Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - So In Love

02 Caballo Dorado - No Rompas Mi Corazón (Achy Breaky Heart)

03 Alison Gold - Chinese Food

04 Yes - Going For The One

05 Agent Orange - Everything Turns Grey

06 Earth, Wind & Fire - Sunshine

07 Bowling For Soup - Gilligan's Island Theme

08 The Cure - Wrong Number

09 Talking Heads - Air

10 Maggie Estep - Hey Baby

11 Robert Fripp - You Burn Me Up I'm A Cigarette

12 Temptations - Ain't Too Proud To Beg

13 Corcovado Frequency - Start Me Up-Brown Sugar (Remix)

14 O'Jays - Love Train

15 ABC - When Smokey Sings

16 Four Tops - I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)

17 Steely Dan - Doctor Wu

18 Robin Thicke featuring T.I. & Pharrel - Blurred Lines

19 Kinks - Tired Of Waiting For You

20 Michael Oldfield - Heaven's Open

21 Hoodoo Gurus - Bittersweet

22 Texas Tornados - Little Bit Is Better Than Nada

Patat Met Pindasaus

I think I was craving this while I was making this mixtape pick. For those of you who have never had this tasty treat: It's Fries with an Indonesian peanut butter sauce. In some places Frites, in others it's Patat, but best served in a pointed cone of paper. Messy and a pain, but delicious and worth every bite. If it sounds weird, just get over that and try it. What does it have to do with these songs? Nothing. Although there is a song on here with Dutch lyrics. I can never get the fries to be just right at home. The sauce I have down. So all I can think of is eating this and it's just a few thousand miles away from me (about 5000). If you are in Nederland, just do me a favor and eat one of these today. Send me a picture if you can. I'll live vicariously through you.

Patat Met Pindasaus

01 Machine - There But For The Grace Of God Go I

02 Shriekback - Nemesis (Extended Mix)

03 Who - Won't Get Fooled Again

04 Siouxsie & The Banshees - The Passenger

05 Underworld - Born Slippy (Nuxx)

06 Earth Wind & Fire - Magnetic

07 Soft Cell - It's A Mugs Game

08 Siouxsie & The Banshees - Cry

09 Joe Jackson - Memphis

10 Madness - Baggy Trousers

11 Psychic TV - Good Vibrations

12 Kate Bush - Sat In Your Lap

13 Tones on Tail - War

14 Joy Division - Novelty

15 Met en Zonder - Meneertje Pils

16 Soft Cell - What

Act Your Age 3

For this solemn day in United States history (9-11) I decided to not do something solemn. I am posting part three of the immature pick I call Act Your Age. Earlier immature volumes are here. This volume has more of the Growing Up, Almost Grown and All Grown songs. I did put in a couple of Forever Young songs. I do have a Teen and Kid song and a couple of songs about growing old. Check out the previous ones (pull them out and listen to them too) and let's not dwell on catastrophes too much today. Mourn if you want to, reflect if you want to, but most of all be a little immature.

Act Your Age 3

45 Elvis Costello - All Grown Up

46 The Dixie Cups - All Grown Up

47 Roy Orbison - Growing Up

48 Fall Out Boy - Growing Up

49 Manic Street Preachers - Just A Kid

50 Rod Stewart - Forever Young (1996)

51 Blink-182 - Dammit (Growing Up)

52 Simple Plan - I'm Just A Kid

53 Sammy Hagar - Growing Up

54 MGMT - Kids

55 David Bowie - Growin' Up

56 Camera Obscura - Teenager

57 The Killers - When You Were Young

58 INXS - Stay Young

59 Alphaville - Forever Young

60 Garbage - When I Grow Up

61 They Might Be Giants - Hope That I Get Old Before I Die

62 Florida Georgia Line - Grow Old

63 Pretenders - Forever Young

64 Eurythmics - Grown Up Girls

65 Hall & Oates - I'm Just A Kid

66 Ruben And The Jets - Almost Grown

Shark Skin

It's sharp? Rough? Nah. I just found this cool closeup of shark skin under a microscope by accident and thought, that would make a cool background for a pick. A few leftover songs, a couple of covers I discovered I had (like Deee-Lite). A couple of Canadian bands. A song from Golden Earring that I hadn't listened to since Kooymans died. Look for my pick. DeanMartin. And the rest just songs I wanted to throw on and fit BPM-wise. It doesn't seem like it will flow, but somehow, it does.

Shark Skin

01 Burning Sensations - Pablo Picasso

02 Dean Martin - Standing On The Corner

03 Deee-Lite - You Sexy Thing

04 Jimmie Grier and His Orchestra - Object of My Affection

05 Redbone - Come And Get Your Love

06 Bananarama - Cruel Summer

07 Pointer Sisters - Yo Ho (Pirates of the Caribbean)

08 Urge Overkill - Girl You'll Be A Woman Soon

09 David Shire - Salsation

10 The Banana Splits - I Enjoy Being A Boy

11 Santa Esmeralda - Sevilla Nights

12 Lee Marvin - Wand'rin' Star

13 Electric Light Orchestra - All Over The World

14 will.i.am - Bang Bang

15 Brownsville Station - Smokin' In The Boys Room

16 Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)

17 Eddie Money - Two Tickets To Paradise

18 Golden Earring - When The Lady Smiles

19 Gino Vannelli - Jack Miraculous

20 Odds - Heterosexual Man

21 Shinedown - 45

Stopped Playing These

This was interesting to me, especially since I like many of these songs (ok, some not as much). This pick includes songs that these bands at one point or another stopped playing live at their shows. All for different reasons, too. Some because they hated the song and never wished it to become a hit or even a single (think REM). Some because the fans liked the song, but only because they misinterpreted what the song was really about (think Beastie Boys), some because they were ashamed of the lyrics in today's climate (think Rolling Stones). There are a couple who decided that they didn't feel it was a song they could stand behind anymore, because they changed and some because they changed vocalists and didn't want to tarnish the previous dead singer (think AC-DC). Most of these were decent hits, too. Can you think of any songs an artist stopped playing?

Stopped Playing These

01 Paramore - Misery Business

02 Allman Brothers Band - Ramblin' Man

03 Billy Joel - Tell Her About It

04 Radiohead - Creep

05 Heart - All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You

06 Arctic Monkeys - Mardy Bum

07 Weird Al Yankovic - Fat

08 Depeche Mode - People Are People

09 Madonna - Like A Virgin

10 REM - Shiny Happy People

11 Pat Benatar - Hit Me With Your Best Shot

12 Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar

13 Foo Fighters - Big Me

14 Beastie Boys - (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)

15 Bob Dylan - Hurricane

16 AC-DC - It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock'n'roll)

17 Eminem - Cleanin' Out My Closet

18 Led Zeppelin - Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman)

19 Ariana Grande - Put Your Hearts Up

What's The Connection? Shakes 1

I was inspired by a post on Butterboy's blog by Oniswa, so I made this connection. It has completely diferent tracks. Just my interpretation of it. Listen to both. I can't speak for the other one, but there were so many songs about the shakes (and I am pretty sure none of these have to do with Arby's Orange Creamsicle shakes, even though that's what's on the cover). When I started it, I wanted to use some of my favorites, but not duplicating any from the previous pick. I should say that KC was the first I thought of, but it really was The Cars. Not that it was my very favorite of these. It just popped into my head. The Limbomaniacs are probably the one band that's least known here. But this ep was produced by Bill Laswell. And this isn't even close to their best song, but it fits here.

What's The Connection? Shakes 1

01 The Cure - Shake Dog Shake

02 Gap Band - Shake

03 Limbomaniacs - Shake It

04 Beastie Boys - Shake Your Rump

05 Los Lobos - Shakin' Shakin' Shakes

06 Luke Bryan - Country Girl (Shake It For Me)

07 The Bar-Kays - Shake Your Rump To The Funk

08 KC And The Sunshine Band - (Shake Shake Shake) Shake Your Booty

09 George Clinton - Do Fries Go With That Shake

10 Depeche Mode - Shake The Disease

11 The Jacksons - Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)

12 Was (Not Was) - Shake Your Head (Let's Go To Bed)

13 The Time - Shake!

14 Cameo - Shake Your Pants

15 New Order - Shake It Up

16 Baauer - Harlem Shake

17 Pitbull featuring Oobie - Shake It Up

18 Cars - Shake It Up

19 Taylor Swift - Shake It Off

What's The Connection? Get Up 1

Lots of songs that could be included on a connection of Getting Up. I wanted to use Jorge Buccio's Napkin Song since the main lyric is Get Up repeated over and over. But it doesn't have it in the title. But that's what started this WTC. I kept these to songs that started with Get Up. Most don't have anything else in the title although a few include an "and" something. I did break that random rule at least once. Which of these Get Up songs gets you up?

What's The Connection? Get Up 1

01 Bone Thugs featuring 3Lw - Get Up And Get It

02 Dropkick Murphys - Get Up (Live)

03 Go-Go's - Get Up And Go

04 Dramatics - Get Up and Get Down

05 Silver Convention - Get Up and Boogie (12 Disco Version)

06 Mount Holly - Get Up

07 Freedom - Get Up and Dance

08 Alejo Aponte - Get Up

09 Disco Circus - Get Up And Dance

10 REM - Get Up

11 Digital Emotion - Get Up Action (7')

12 Prince - Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine

13 Bingo Players featuring Far East Movement - Get Up (Rattle)

14 Kinks - Get Up

15 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Get Up and Jump

16 Bramsam - Get Up And Dance Now

17 Skrillex & Korn - Get Up (Original Mix)

18 Van Halen - Get Up

19 John Oxford & Frank Syman - Get Up and Go

Pancakes From Heaven

As far as I am concerned Pancakes From Heaven are the pancakes from the Netherlands called Poffertjes. You can see some pictured on the cover. I made them at home. Not the same as you can get all over the Netherlands. It just tastes different when someone else makes them. But they still taste like a bit of heaven. Nothing to do with the music on this pick, although it is a little slice of heaven listening to these tracks. A little bit of all over and I think you'll like it. A couple of covers, a couple mashups, some pop, some quiet storm, some oldies, some newies.

Pancakes From Heaven

01 Bobby Caldwell - What You Won't Do For Love (Long Version)

02 Storm and The Balls - Anarchy En Espanol

03 Tom Jones - Delilah

04 Michael Franks - The Lady Wants To Know

05 Billy Joel - Scenes From An Italian Restaurant

06 Dean Martin - Everybody Loves Somebody

07 Paul Anka - Lovecats

08 Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse - Valerie

09 Linda Ronstadt - Rock Me On The Water

10 INXS vs Smokey Robinson - Need To Be With You Tonight

11 Tony Bennett - The Shadow Of Your Smile

12 Nancy Sinatra (with Lee Hazlewood) - Some Velvet Morning

13 Black Eyed Peas vs Frank Sinatra - I Got New York

14 Lydia Lunch - Spooky

15 Nouvelle Vague - I Melt With You

16 Manhattan Transfer - Operator

17 The Casualties of Jazz - Black Sabbath

18 Annette Funicello - Jamaica Ska

19 Van Morrison - Precious Time

20 Jorge Buccio - The Bullshit Song

Northern Soul Originals 1

First download yesterday's pick. It has all the same songs, but different artists. These are the Northern Soul classic originals. Not to say that none of them weren't done by other people and perhaps before these versions, but these are the versions that were played. Some were (or are) rarer versions. I mean everyone has heard the Rolling Stones and they wrote the song, but the Wayne Gibson version is the Northern Soul hit (I use the term lightly since they weren't hits except at thos Northern Soul clubs. Compare these versions with the covers yesterday and get an idea of what it was like. I do want help to find more of these songs that were covered by others (specifically I do not need more versions of these exact songs - I have enough). Some of these songs, I like the original version better, but for some yesterday's covers were way better. What do you think?

Northern Soul Originals 1

01 Showstoppers - Ain't Nothin but a Houseparty

02 R. Dean Taylor - There's a Ghost in My House

03 The Capitols - Cool Jerk

04 Gil Scott Heron with Brian Jackson - The Bottle

05 Dobie Gray - The In Crowd

06 The Four Tops - I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)

07 The Human Beinz - Nobody But Me

08 Freda Payne - Band of Gold

09 Fontella Bass - Rescue Me

10 Otis Clay - The Only Way Is Up

11 The Impressions - You've Been Cheatin'

12 Chairmen Of The Board - Give Me Just A Little More Time

13 The Elgins - Heaven Must Have Sent You

14 The Contours - Just A Little Misunderstanding

15 Wayne Gibson - Under My Thumb

16 Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Nowhere To Run

17 Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up

18 Gloria Jones - Tainted Love

19 Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons - The Night

20 Kim Weston - Helpless

21 Judy Street - What

22 Chuck Wood - Seven Days Too Long

Northern Soul Covers 1

I knew some of these songs in this pick were covers, but did not know much about a Northern Soul dance movement. Might have liked to go dancing at one of these clubs. Heck, I kinda feel like I want to see if there is a call for it in Texas. Would be kind of fun to set up dancing lessons and play these old songs. Well, these are not the originals, but rather the covers of some of these Northern Soul Hits. Although many of these songs were not originally hits and that was the point. Most everyone, by now has heard Soft Cell's version of the old Gloria Jones song, so I didn't include it. Instead you get the Scorpions. Tomorrow look out for the Northern Soul original versions of these songs. Most of these songs, I have multiple covers, but I am still working on other songs not here that I can use for a part two. So if you have suggestions, I'll take them.

Northern Soul Covers 1

01 The J. Geils Band - (Ain't Nothin' But A) Houseparty

02 The Fall - There's a Ghost in My House

03 Human Sexual Response - Cool Jerk

04 Christians - The Bottle

05 Cheap Trick - The In Crowd

06 Kid Rock - Sugar Pie Honey Bunch

07 The Dickies - Nobody But Me

08 Belinda Carlisle - Band Of Gold

09 Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - Rescue Me

10 Yazz and the Plastic Population - The Only Way Is Up (7 Edit)

11 Phil Collins - You've Been Cheatin'

12 Kylie Minogue - Give Me Just A Little More Time

13 Bonnie Pointer - Heaven Must Have Sent You

14 Busta Jones - Just A Little Misunderstanding

15 Ministry - Under My Thumb

16 The Knack - Nowhere To Run

17 The Flying Lizards - Move On Up (Single Edit)

18 Scorpions - Tainted Love

19 Lene Lovich - The Night

20 Manhattan Transfer - Helpless

21 Soft Cell - What

22 Dexys Midnight Runners - Seven Days Too Long

What's The Connection? Roller Coasters 2

Go back a week or so and find part one of this connection of Coasters. The first 22 tracks had some good ones, including the Ohio Players, This time I include that same song, but covered by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. A great version. I also have Robert Plant, Jonathan Richman, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, REO Speewagon as well as Neal Morse and Spyro Gyra among the bands today. A different feel today than the last volume, but that's good.

What's The Connection? Roller Coasters 2

23 Robert Plant - Rollercoaster

24 Sparrow - Roller Coaster

25 Jonathan Richman - Roller Coaster By The Sea

26 Wishbone Ash - Roller Coaster

27 The Fabulous Thunderbirds - Roller Coaster

28 Red House Painters - Rollercoaster

29 Chairmen Of The Board - Roller Coaster

30 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Love Rollercoaster

31 REO Speedwagon - Give Me A Ride (Roller Coaster)

32 Eric Church - Roller Coaster Ride

33 Belle & Sebastian - The Rollercoaster Ride

34 Ryan Adams - Rollercoaster

35 Little Walter - Roller Coaster

36 The Lilac Time - The Rollercoaster Song

37 Aimee Mann - Rollercoasters

38 The Mighty Lemon Drops - Rollercoaster

39 Merle Haggard with the Strangers - Roller Coaster

40 Neal Morse - Rollercoaster

41 Spyro Gyra - Rollercoaster

42 Sleater-Kinney - Rollercoaster

What's The Connection? Disco 5

As you probably surmised there are several previous volumes of this connection. You can find Disco on this blog by clicking there. These today are more of the tracks that are disco or disco feeling, plus have the word Disco in the title. See some of the previous WTC's for more info. Similar cover and the numbering continues. That's all today. I'm feeling lazy.

What's The Connection? Disco 5

71 Eddie Bo - Disco Party Part 1

72 David Shire - Night on Disco Mountain

73 Dexter Wensel - Disco Lights

74 Scotch - Disco Band (12 inch version)

75 Cosmic Hoffman - Space Disco

76 Eastside Connection - Frisco Disco

77 Disco Warriors - Cumbaya Disco

78 Casio Social Club - Rock The Discotheque

79 Universal Robot Band - Disco Boogie Woman

80 Kylie Minogue - Your Disco Needs You

81 Krishna Dharti Pe - Disco Dancer

82 Ritchie Family - I Feel Disco Good

83 Isaac Hayes - Disco Connection

84 Cyndi Lauper - Disco Inferno

85 Nightlife Unlimited - Disco Choo Choo

Sacramental Anathema

The title for this pick came from the juxtaposition of something being very important and hated. Not that any of these songs are hated, but just the idea that something could be, religiously, hated and revered at the same time. You don't see the two words used next to each other very often, so I liked that idea. I started with Brewer & Shipley and part of their lyrics of this song talks about marijuana in a generic sense and they talk about how it was a sacrament for them. That's what got me going on this tangent. The rest of the songs just fit within key mixing range. So it goes on the Camelot scale from 8A, 8B, 9A to 9B. The first track by Steve Miller and the last track by Billy Joel were recommended by a similar songs finder and the rest fell inbetween. I actually made several changes as I went along, ending with this mix of mostly rock and country hillbilly.

Sacramental Anathema

01 Steve Miller Band - Livin' In The USA

02 Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Breakdown

03 Dorothy Shay - (You'll Be Just) Another Notch In Father's Shotgun (Effen You Don't Marry Me)

04 John Mayer Trio - Try

05 Traffic - Paper Sun

06 The Zombies - She's Not There

07 Pete Townshend - Let My Love Open the Door

08 Knitters - Love Shack

09 Eagles - The Best Of My Love

10 Elvis Presley - Anyway You Want Me (That's How I Will Be)

11 Jackson Browne - Cocaine

12 Led Zeppelin - I'm Gonna Crawl

13 Chris Isaak - Only The Lonely

14 Electric Light Orchestra - Livin' Thing

15 Frank Zappa - Be In My Video

16 Ritchie Valens - La Bamba

17 Brewer & Shipley - One Toke Over The Line

18 Rolling Stones - Paint It Black

19 Jim Croce - You Don't Mess Around With Jim

20 Uncle Rainbow - Rock and Roll

21 J Geils Band - Give It To Me (single mix edit)

22 Billy Joel - Big Shot