Six songs (x5) that I am addicted to
pir8fancier, this post is for you! Since you asked so nicely.
Pir8 is doing all of the memes in the series, but I suspect I'll begin and end with this one because it took me hours! I got a bit carried away. I have a YouTube link for all 30 songs, so please try a few just so I feel like I accomplished a little bit, okay? And I bet it'll take me multiple times fussing with it to get it to post properly, so here goes:
1. Slippin' Into Darkness - War (1971) [funk] [http://youtu.be/6L-2IQMDwcA
There were some seriously cool songs during this period, and this marked the beginning of funk music
2. Joe Cocker - Hitchcock Railway (1969) [blues rock] [http://youtu.be/TW2y0MiH1hE
Leon Russell on piano and . George Harrison on guitar. 'Nuff said.
3. Hard Sun - Eddie Vedder (2007) [alt rock] [http://youtu.be/1ED2PZIYSEs
A cover of the band Indio; from Into the Wild soundtrack, by the vocalist of Pearl Jam.
4. Inspiration - Grace Jones (1982) [club dance] [http://youtu.be/j1hYX2iRslo
Grace was a strikingly beautiful model and singer that epitomized the 80s to me. She specialized in club dance tunes and covers; this one's a little slower.
5. La-La Means I Love You - Laura Nyro (1994) [singer/songwriter] [http://youtu.be/vKQKcYKc30E
Laura was a talented songwriter whose songs were hits for many 60s and 70s artists (Three Dog Night, Fifth Dimension, Barbra Streisand) but this one is actually a Delfonics cover, given a piano ballad treatment. Laura died way too young, at 49.
6. Eye of the Needle - Ten Wheel Drive with Genya Ravan (1969) [jazz fusion] [http://youtu.be/fgMNIY1JRo8
I first heard this driving to New Jersey in my cousin's car. it took me decades to find it again, and now it's on YouTube. Huh.
1. Hyeonshileui Hyeonshil (Reality of Realities) - Nell [Korean] [http://youtu.be/y_frG8x02w4
2. Vuli Ndlela - Brenda Fassie [South African] [http://youtu.be/1RvfDkzUOos
The queen of South African pop.
3. Kothbiro - Ayub Odaga [Kenya] [http://youtu.be/XdU9ODCV9ms
From the Constant Gardener soundtrack. Haunting.
4. Ailein Duinn - Capercaillie [Scotland] [http://youtu.be/rvqwH_mSZco
from the Rob Roy soundtrack. Karen Matheson, the vocalist, has one of the purest soprano voices I've ever heard, and I bought every Capercaillie album on the strength of it.
5. Calice - Chico Buarque and Milton Nascimento [Brazil] [http://youtu.be/26g1jQG-n4Y
This 1978 song has a lot of hidden political meaning during a time of military dictatorship in Brazil. From Wikipedia: in the song "Cálice" ("Chalice", or Jesus' Last Supper "Cup"), a duet written with Gilberto Gil and performed with Milton Nascimento, he takes advantage of the homophony between the Portuguese imperative "shut your mouth" --cale-se-and "chalice" --cálice-to protest censorship against freedom of speech by the dictatorship, disguised as the Gospel narrative of Jesus' Gethsemani prayer to the Father to pass from Him the chalice of bloody death.
6. Flora Purim - Cais [Brazil] [http://youtu.be/hod7yzelh84
Flora, a jazz-fusion singer, got her start with Chick Corea's band Return to Forever in the 70's.
1. Angel on Fire - Antony and the Johnsons [http://youtu.be/93avD8hqUqo
from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire OST. Antony Hegerty heads this Mercury-prize-winning group. She's a British MTF transsexual with an arresting voice, and I can't get enough of her ballads.
2. Elastic Heart - Sia (ft. The Weeknd) [http://youtu.be/KWZGAExj-es
also from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire OST; interesting video, with Shia LaBeouf & Maddie Ziegler. Maddie's a young French dancer who frequently visually substitutes for the cripplingly stage-shy Sia.
3. Take Me to Church - Hozier [http://youtu.be/MYSVMgRr6pw
A very disturbing video that doesn't exactly mesh with the humanist lyrics. Hozier's an Irish singer/songwriter who hit it big with this song on YouTube, and this song was up for a Grammy this year.
4. Set Fire to the Rain - Adele [http://youtu.be/xBcMKwbMEcQ
A great song from a stellar English songwriter.
5. The Ghost of Tom Joad (live) - Bruce Springsteen and Tom Morello [http://youtu.be/FhZF6tldTAw
A lush live version featuring the guitarist from Rage Against the Machine.
6. Radioactive - Imagine Dragons [http://youtu.be/iO_WxYC34eM
Last year's hit that's great to drive to.
1. Dress - Buck-Tick [http://youtu.be/X9lrgSb4edc
Atsushi Sakurai is So Pretty.
2. Yami ni Furu Kiseki (classical white version) - D'espairsRay [http://youtu.be/SkE86HNMyh0
J-Rock artists often release multiple versions of their songs. This is the "unplugged" version.
3. MAZE - lynch. [http://youtu.be/8rKnqShZ2Cs
Deep voice. Mmmmm.
4. Kimi no koto ga [light version] - Kiyoharu [http://youtu.be/K5nyHA4xX2c
Kiyoharu's voice is a bit of an acquired taste, and he is pretty bad at lip-synching his own songs, but I love him anyway.
5. Fukai no Yami - Girugamesh [http://youtu.be/g2fhs0v9wqM
Girugamesh has gone much more screamo metal these days; this is an older song.
6. I DEAL - 12012 [http://youtu.be/vJxlms9r65Q
You can say "one two oh one two" but it's really "ichi ni zero ichi ni".
1. Footprints - Wayne Shorter [http://youtu.be/3XvJFW0DHbU
Written by tenor sax player Wayne Shorter in 1966 with Herbie Hancock in piano. He released it both on his own album and also with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock a few months later. Probably his best known song, it's a 6/8 African rhythm.
2. Naima - John Coltrane [http://youtu.be/QTMqes6HDqU
A 1959 ballad by tenor sax great Coltrane, featuring Wynton Kelly on piano. It's from "Giant Steps," an awesome album. Coltrane is such an icon of jazz that there's even a church dedicated to his music (St. John William Coltrane Church in San Francisco, an African Orthodox Church)
3. Concierto de Aranjuez - Jim Hall [http://youtu.be/iD6k2E61ABY
The adagio from this classical guitar concerto by Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo was first "jazzified" by Miles Davis on his 1960 album "Sketches of Spain". I prefer this version by jazz guitarist Jim Hall, one of those understated yet brilliant guys who shows up on album after album if you check out the liner notes. Paul Desmond on sax, Chet Baker on trumpet, Roland Hanna, piano, Ron Carter, bass, Steve Gadd, drums. Just a terrific line-up, every single player.
4. You Make Me Feel Brand New - Yoshiko Kishino [http://youtu.be/ayZMYKS2cWA
A beautiful ballad arrangement of the Philly soul group the Stylistics' 1973 hit by a Japanese piano star. It's accompanied only by a mesmerizing acoustic bass.
5. So What - Miles Davis [http://youtu.be/DKNzdBNJ7Bg
This 1959 song stars off what is probably the most famous jazz album of all time, Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue." It features the stellar line-up of Miles on trumpet, John Coltrane on tenor sax, Cannonball Adderley on alto sax, Bill Evans on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums.
6. Four on Six - Pat Martino [http://youtu.be/kfAijL9hedU
A cover of guitarist Wes Montgomery's best hit. Pat Martino was a prominent jazz guitarist who suffered a serious stroke and had to relearn guitar all over again, which is a mind-boggling feat.
Pir8 is doing all of the memes in the series, but I suspect I'll begin and end with this one because it took me hours! I got a bit carried away. I have a YouTube link for all 30 songs, so please try a few just so I feel like I accomplished a little bit, okay? And I bet it'll take me multiple times fussing with it to get it to post properly, so here goes:
1. Slippin' Into Darkness - War (1971) [funk] [http://youtu.be/6L-2IQMDwcA
There were some seriously cool songs during this period, and this marked the beginning of funk music
2. Joe Cocker - Hitchcock Railway (1969) [blues rock] [http://youtu.be/TW2y0MiH1hE
Leon Russell on piano and . George Harrison on guitar. 'Nuff said.
3. Hard Sun - Eddie Vedder (2007) [alt rock] [http://youtu.be/1ED2PZIYSEs
A cover of the band Indio; from Into the Wild soundtrack, by the vocalist of Pearl Jam.
4. Inspiration - Grace Jones (1982) [club dance] [http://youtu.be/j1hYX2iRslo
Grace was a strikingly beautiful model and singer that epitomized the 80s to me. She specialized in club dance tunes and covers; this one's a little slower.
5. La-La Means I Love You - Laura Nyro (1994) [singer/songwriter] [http://youtu.be/vKQKcYKc30E
Laura was a talented songwriter whose songs were hits for many 60s and 70s artists (Three Dog Night, Fifth Dimension, Barbra Streisand) but this one is actually a Delfonics cover, given a piano ballad treatment. Laura died way too young, at 49.
6. Eye of the Needle - Ten Wheel Drive with Genya Ravan (1969) [jazz fusion] [http://youtu.be/fgMNIY1JRo8
I first heard this driving to New Jersey in my cousin's car. it took me decades to find it again, and now it's on YouTube. Huh.
1. Hyeonshileui Hyeonshil (Reality of Realities) - Nell [Korean] [http://youtu.be/y_frG8x02w4
2. Vuli Ndlela - Brenda Fassie [South African] [http://youtu.be/1RvfDkzUOos
The queen of South African pop.
3. Kothbiro - Ayub Odaga [Kenya] [http://youtu.be/XdU9ODCV9ms
From the Constant Gardener soundtrack. Haunting.
4. Ailein Duinn - Capercaillie [Scotland] [http://youtu.be/rvqwH_mSZco
from the Rob Roy soundtrack. Karen Matheson, the vocalist, has one of the purest soprano voices I've ever heard, and I bought every Capercaillie album on the strength of it.
5. Calice - Chico Buarque and Milton Nascimento [Brazil] [http://youtu.be/26g1jQG-n4Y
This 1978 song has a lot of hidden political meaning during a time of military dictatorship in Brazil. From Wikipedia: in the song "Cálice" ("Chalice", or Jesus' Last Supper "Cup"), a duet written with Gilberto Gil and performed with Milton Nascimento, he takes advantage of the homophony between the Portuguese imperative "shut your mouth" --cale-se-and "chalice" --cálice-to protest censorship against freedom of speech by the dictatorship, disguised as the Gospel narrative of Jesus' Gethsemani prayer to the Father to pass from Him the chalice of bloody death.
6. Flora Purim - Cais [Brazil] [http://youtu.be/hod7yzelh84
Flora, a jazz-fusion singer, got her start with Chick Corea's band Return to Forever in the 70's.
1. Angel on Fire - Antony and the Johnsons [http://youtu.be/93avD8hqUqo
from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire OST. Antony Hegerty heads this Mercury-prize-winning group. She's a British MTF transsexual with an arresting voice, and I can't get enough of her ballads.
2. Elastic Heart - Sia (ft. The Weeknd) [http://youtu.be/KWZGAExj-es
also from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire OST; interesting video, with Shia LaBeouf & Maddie Ziegler. Maddie's a young French dancer who frequently visually substitutes for the cripplingly stage-shy Sia.
3. Take Me to Church - Hozier [http://youtu.be/MYSVMgRr6pw
A very disturbing video that doesn't exactly mesh with the humanist lyrics. Hozier's an Irish singer/songwriter who hit it big with this song on YouTube, and this song was up for a Grammy this year.
4. Set Fire to the Rain - Adele [http://youtu.be/xBcMKwbMEcQ
A great song from a stellar English songwriter.
5. The Ghost of Tom Joad (live) - Bruce Springsteen and Tom Morello [http://youtu.be/FhZF6tldTAw
A lush live version featuring the guitarist from Rage Against the Machine.
6. Radioactive - Imagine Dragons [http://youtu.be/iO_WxYC34eM
Last year's hit that's great to drive to.
1. Dress - Buck-Tick [http://youtu.be/X9lrgSb4edc
Atsushi Sakurai is So Pretty.
2. Yami ni Furu Kiseki (classical white version) - D'espairsRay [http://youtu.be/SkE86HNMyh0
J-Rock artists often release multiple versions of their songs. This is the "unplugged" version.
3. MAZE - lynch. [http://youtu.be/8rKnqShZ2Cs
Deep voice. Mmmmm.
4. Kimi no koto ga [light version] - Kiyoharu [http://youtu.be/K5nyHA4xX2c
Kiyoharu's voice is a bit of an acquired taste, and he is pretty bad at lip-synching his own songs, but I love him anyway.
5. Fukai no Yami - Girugamesh [http://youtu.be/g2fhs0v9wqM
Girugamesh has gone much more screamo metal these days; this is an older song.
6. I DEAL - 12012 [http://youtu.be/vJxlms9r65Q
You can say "one two oh one two" but it's really "ichi ni zero ichi ni".
1. Footprints - Wayne Shorter [http://youtu.be/3XvJFW0DHbU
Written by tenor sax player Wayne Shorter in 1966 with Herbie Hancock in piano. He released it both on his own album and also with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock a few months later. Probably his best known song, it's a 6/8 African rhythm.
2. Naima - John Coltrane [http://youtu.be/QTMqes6HDqU
A 1959 ballad by tenor sax great Coltrane, featuring Wynton Kelly on piano. It's from "Giant Steps," an awesome album. Coltrane is such an icon of jazz that there's even a church dedicated to his music (St. John William Coltrane Church in San Francisco, an African Orthodox Church)
3. Concierto de Aranjuez - Jim Hall [http://youtu.be/iD6k2E61ABY
The adagio from this classical guitar concerto by Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo was first "jazzified" by Miles Davis on his 1960 album "Sketches of Spain". I prefer this version by jazz guitarist Jim Hall, one of those understated yet brilliant guys who shows up on album after album if you check out the liner notes. Paul Desmond on sax, Chet Baker on trumpet, Roland Hanna, piano, Ron Carter, bass, Steve Gadd, drums. Just a terrific line-up, every single player.
4. You Make Me Feel Brand New - Yoshiko Kishino [http://youtu.be/ayZMYKS2cWA
A beautiful ballad arrangement of the Philly soul group the Stylistics' 1973 hit by a Japanese piano star. It's accompanied only by a mesmerizing acoustic bass.
5. So What - Miles Davis [http://youtu.be/DKNzdBNJ7Bg
This 1959 song stars off what is probably the most famous jazz album of all time, Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue." It features the stellar line-up of Miles on trumpet, John Coltrane on tenor sax, Cannonball Adderley on alto sax, Bill Evans on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums.
6. Four on Six - Pat Martino [http://youtu.be/kfAijL9hedU
A cover of guitarist Wes Montgomery's best hit. Pat Martino was a prominent jazz guitarist who suffered a serious stroke and had to relearn guitar all over again, which is a mind-boggling feat.