Repost: Tax Day Connection

Tomorrow is the day that's most hated by pretty much everyone in the USA, except for IRS agents and Tax Preparers. If you voted me in to be King, I would get rid of the federal income tax and abolish the IRS. There. Everyone feels better. It's fair to everyone. No one pays. Then we could charge for use. The states could still do what they want, tax or not. But this is not about politics. This is about music. Here are some songs about taxes in this What's The Connection? Let me know how you feel about these songs in the comments below. I don't care what you think about taxes themselves. But if we have to pay taxes, please do yourself a favor and read the book Tax Free Wealth by Tom Wheelwright. Happy Tax Day!

Tax Connection

01 Don Henley - Workin' It

02 Celine Dion - Rain, Tax (It's Inevitable)

03 Guns N' Roses - I.R.S.

04 Relient K - Life After Death and Taxes (Failure II)

05 Monkees - Pleasant Valley Sunday

06 Tower of Power - Taxed To The Max

07 Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - What If We All Stopped Paying Taxes

08 Jimi Hendrix - Tax Free

09 B.O.B (Aka Bobby Ray) featuring Bruno Mars - Nothin' On You

10 Steve Howe - Success Story

11 Cheap Trick - Taxman, Mr. Thief

12 Ruder Than You - Tax Man

13 Blue Blot - IRS Blues

14 Toy Dolls - Lester Fiddled The Tax Man

15 Jethro Tull - Lap of Luxury

16 The Human Beinz - April 15th

17 Ultravox! - Life At Rainbow's End (For All The Tax Exiles On Main Street)

18 Kinks - Sunny Afternoon

19 Beatles - Taxman

20 The Who - Success Story

Racing Pick 1

I was messing about with Car songs and fitting them into categories for different Picks. Mostly starting with Yello. Which I really like, especially the 12 inch version. It's a more upbeat Kraftwerk. And had two other songs I wanted to use (but I didn't) Yes White Car and Queen I'm In Love With My Car. But they didn't quite make it to the end. And I couldn't put the Rush song with other songs about Super Cars, so I started thinking more about racing and came up with these. It kinda goes with my series On The Road Again and not quite my Cars series (although It came from looking at those.) The last track by Fred Penner doesn't quite fit, but I love the song and I used it anyway. We get all kinds of races and racers in here, but no Wacky Racers. Sorry...

Racing Pick 1

01 Bruce Springsteen - Racing In The Street

02 Kayak - Monte Carlo Rally (No Total Loss)

03 The Go-Go's - Speeding

04 Devo - Speed Racer

05 Mosaics - Let's Go Drag Racing

06 Badder Than Evil - Hot Wheels (The Chase)

07 Royal Crescent Mob - Stock Car Race

08 Yello - The Race (12'' Mix)

09 Naked Eyes - Pit Stop

10 Bill Nelson - Hot-Rod Racer

11 Cozy Powell - Formula One

12 Atsuko AsahI - Arms Grand Prix Official Theme Song

13 Rob Zombie - Demon Speeding

14 B-Boy Tronik - Sports Cars Racing

15 Mogwai - Mexican Grand Prix

16 Rush - Red Barchetta

17 Big Black - Racer X

18 Lynyrd Skynyrd - White Knuckle Ride

19 Fred Penner - Car, Car Song

What's The Connection? Naturally 1

This one came about because I was looking at something completely different and a side glance caught my eye. Nothing to do with what I was working one at the time, so of course it took my attention and I came up with this. A few originals and covers, but mostly not. Gilbert O'Sullivan is a guilty pleasure for me and hearing versions by Awolnation and the Pet Shop Boys, I couldn't resist putting all three versions on the comp. Same with Ringo (and the Beatles) with the original from Buck Owens. NRBQ and The Fabulous Thunderbirds is the last one. I couldn't decide which I liked better, so you got both. The cover was fun to make too. Naturally, I had been thinking of Groovy Library when I made it. Just my style of that.

What's The Connection? Naturally 1

01 Awolnation with Midland - Alone Again (Naturally)

02 Wilson Pickett - Let It Come Naturally

03 Rose Royce - Doin' What Comes Naturally

04 Beatles - Act Naturally

05 Dorothy Shay - Doin' What Comes Naturally

06 Van Halen - A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)

07 Heatwave - Naturally

08 Buck Owens and his Buckaroos - Act Naturally

09 Sheena Easton - What Comes Naturally

10 Gilbert O'Sullivan - Alone Again (Naturally)

11 Huey Lewis & The News - Naturally

12 Avant Garde - Naturally Stoned

13 Genes Loves Jezebel - Come Naturally

14 Selena Gomez & The Scene - Naturally

15 Al Stewart - If It Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave It

16 Katy Perry - Naturally

17 NRBQ - It Comes To Me Naturally

18 Debbie Gibson - Naturally

19 Fat Mattress - Naturally

20 Blackberry Smoke - What Comes Naturally

21 The Fabulous Thunderbirds - It Comes To Me Naturally

22 The Cult - Naturally High

23 Pet Shop Boys featuring Elton John - Alone Again, Naturally

Hit The Spot

This pick is just some songs that I was listening too and decided should be together. I had been relistening to some disco and realized that some good tracks never get played. And that I had some good remixes of songs that just hit the spot for me. Graham Parker was in there before I started down the disco-ish path and I kept him in. The Feel Fine mix of Right Said Fred fit in there and Labelle I had been trying to fit in somewhere (especially that remix). I put the Donna Summer track from Thank God It's Friday. The original by Serge Gainsbourg is sexy as hell and Summer doesn't mess about on it either. So far all songs about sexual situations so I added lesser known Rinder & Lewis because it fit in with subject matter and sonically. And the Cerrone track about a four way encounter always gets pushed aside for his other hits. The last two tracks fit together and almost no one knows Supermax (or at least not enough). So you get the two. together.

Hit The Spot

01 Donna Summer - Je T'aime (Moi Non Plus)

02 Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Relax (Sex Mix Edit)

03 Graham Parker - You Hit the Spot

04 Right Said Fred - I'm Too Sexy (Feel Fine Mix)

05 Labelle - Lady Marmalade (Disco Purrfection Version)

06 Rinder & Lewis - Lust

07 Cerrone - Love In C Minor

08 Supermax - Love Machine (12'' Version)

09 The Miracles - Love Machine

Midnight Star Family Pick

Not much of an intro here, because I am in a hurry, but Midnight Star is a fun band that has a few family connections. This pick outlines some of them. After my favorite Midnight Star songs, I included a few Calloway tracks. The Calloways left the band after some of their biggest hits and had a few more of their own on a couple of albums. They also had some production, writing credits and played on a few tracks from other artists. I included four. 

Midnight Star Family Pick

01 Midnight Star - Don't Rock The Boat

02 Midnight Star - Headlines

03 Midnight Star - Snake In The Grass

04 Midnight Star - Midas Touch (Extended Dance Mix)

05 Midnight Star - Operator

06 Midnight Star - Freak-A-Zoid

07 Midnight Star - No Parking (On The Dance Floor) (Extended Version)

08 Midnight Star - Slow Jam

09 Levert - Casanova

10 Calloway - Let's Get Smooth

11 Calloway - Sir Lancelot

12 Gladys Knight And The Pips - Love Overboard

13 Calloway - I Wanna Be Rich

14 Whispers - Contagious

15 Whispers - Rock Steady

16 Natalie Cole - Jump Start

What's The Connection? Spring April

To me Spring and April go together. So this Connection is both Spring and April. You could probably do an entire WTC on Springtime in Paris, but it's not in the cards today. All you get is Nina Hagen, which, granted, is enough. Where else can you hear the Beach Boys and Nina Hagen and the Blow Monkeys in one big moment? Only here. So enjoy your Spring this April! Now. I have tulips on the cover, but almost too late for tulip season.

What's The Connection? Spring April

01 Johnny Horton - When It's Springtime In Alaska

02 Michael Franks - Why Spring Ain't Here

03 Psychic TV - Wrongs Of Spring (Paul Raven Mix)

04 Dean Martin - April Again

05 Three Dog Night - Pieces of April

06 Prince & the Revolution - Sometimes It Snows In April

07 Santana - Spring Manifestations

08 Pat Boone - April Love

09 Queen - April Lady

10 Nancy Sinatra - Younger Than Springtime

11 Billie Holiday - Some Other Spring

12 Bebu Silvetti - Spring Rain

13 Blow Monkeys - Springtime For The World

14 Stevie B - Spring Love

15 Donna Summer - Spring Affair

16 Chet Baker - I'll Remember April

17 Igor Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring Sacrificial Dance (The Chosen One)

18 Beach Boys - Spring Vacation

19 Nina Hagen - Springtime In Paris

Repost: What's The Connection? Eclipse 1

Since there is an Eclipse today. And this time it is a total eclipse all over parts of the US (including Texas where I am), you might want to watch it (with your special eclipse glasses and then listen to this Connection of Eclipse songs. A few versions of Total Eclipse, although when I first posted this it was just a partial eclipse. Just a firey ring in most of North America. But still cool. Either way, not matter who else does it Klaus Nomi is amazing, but Nina Hagen and Marc Almond is pretty cool too. Same with Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler and Westlife all doing what I remember as Jim Steinman's Total Eclipse Of The Heart. Got some Floyd in here as well, Alan Parsons, even some country. Either way enjoy this on Eclipse day now and the future. We'll have more.

What's The Connection? Eclipse 1

01 Govinda - Eclipse

02 Stryper - Eclipse Of The Son

03 Holly Wilson - Eclipse

04 Easy Star All Stars featuring The Meditations - Eclipse

05 Beautiful South - Masculine Eclipse

06 Love And Rockets - Eclipse

07 The Alan Parsons Project - Total Eclipse

08 Robyn - Eclipse

09 Enigma - Total Eclipse Of The Moon

10 The Flaming Lips & Stardeath and White Dwarfs - Eclipse

11 Rosenstolz, Almond, Nina Hagen - Total Eclipse

12 Peter Banks - Last Eclipse

13 Enya - Eclipse

14 Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse of the Heart

15 Metric - Eclipse (All Yours)

16 Westlife - Total Eclipse of The Heart

17 Pink Floyd - Eclipse

18 Meat Loaf - Total Eclipse Of The Heart

19 Yngwie Malmsteen - Eclipse

20 Iron Maiden - Total Eclipse

21 Klaus Nomi - Total Eclipse

22 John Denver - Eclipse

23 My Bloody Valentine - Kiss The Eclipse

24 Buckethead - Ice Eclipse