Serendipity #4

Peace Tonight – Indigo Girls (1999)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLwB4MVTJ7g

Heard 1/17/2014 around 1:15, Wegman’s in Germantown

Search function now works

Some of you may have tried the Search box on the right of the blog and not come up with any results. Apparently there has been a problem with the built-in search widget for several months that the Google engineers have not been able to fix for some reason. 

I’ve replaced this with a scrap of HTML code that was suggested as a workaround in one of the discussion forums – seems to work fine now.

Retirement Party Playlist

This past Friday, my Westat colleagues sponsored a wonderful retirement party for me – many thanks to all of the organizers and participants! 

I had almost nothing to do with the event planning, but Linda Gowen did call me up a few weeks in advance and asked if I could supply some music for the party from my iPod. Naturally I couldn’t resist. A couple folks asked for a copy of the playlist, so here it is. 

Stayin' Alive -- Bee Gees (the #1 song when I started at Westat in February 1978)

Margaritaville -- Jimmy Buffett

One Fine Day -- The Chiffons

Freeway Of Love -- Aretha Franklin

Do You Believe In Magic -- The Lovin' Spoonful

I'm Alright (Theme from Caddyshack) -- Kenny Loggins

High Hopes -- Frank Sinatra (in honor of Harry Kalas and the Phillies)

Take On Me -- a-ha (in honor of Michael Morse and the Nats)

Drift Away -- Dobie Gray

Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) -- Bruce Springsteen

Down At The Twist And Shout -- Mary Chapin Carpenter

Barbara Ann -- The Beach Boys

Ramblin' Rose -- Nat King Cole (had to have this one …)

If I Had A Boat -- Lyle Lovett

Walking On Sunshine -- Katrina & The Waves

This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) -- Natalie Cole

Two Hearts -- Phil Collins

Twisting By The Pool -- Dire Straits

Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher And Higher -- Jackie Wilson

Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me) -- The Doobie Brothers

Dixie Chicken -- Little Feat

We Got the Beat -- The Go-Go's

Groovin' -- The Rascals

Wild Night -- Van Morrison

Bang The Drum All Day -- Todd Rundgren

Rock This Town -- Stray Cats

Having A Party -- Sam Cooke

Last Dance -- Donna Summer

Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight -- The Spaniels 

And here’s a link to the Stan Rogers version of Nigel Russell’s “White Collar Holler”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsDkmVo2fg4

Phil Everly

Terence McArdle of the Washington Post did a great article on the Everly Brothers on the occasion of Phil Everly’s recent death. Particularly notable was his nod to their great, but little-heard, Born Yesterday album from 1985.

When I first heard about Phil’s death, though, one of the first things that came to mind was a much older article in the Post. Back in March of 2000, David Segal got in touch with all of the presidential candidates to ask them about their favorite music – songs, albums, concerts, etc. (A version of the article is available online in the Post's archives, but you’ll need to pay for access.)

I was most impressed by the answer of one candidate, who listed his favorite artists as Van Morrison, the Everly Brothers, and the Neville Brothers. The selection seemed free of any political calculation and included some personal favorites of mine. (Both Van Morrison and the Nevilles show up on my Favorite 100 Songs list.)

So, had I been deciding on the basis of music, George W. Bush would definitely have gotten my vote in November of 2000. The inclusion of the Neville Brothers wound up being especially ironic, given the impact that Hurricane Katrina had on the family several years later.

Best Music of 2013 (Update)

I’ve updated my Best Music of 2013 lists to include where the songs and albums wound up in the WXPN and mvyradio countdowns.

Only one of my top 5 albums finished on mvyradio’s Top 25 list, and only one of my top 5 songs made the WXPN Top 200 list (although all of my #6-10 choices made it). I was particularly disappointed by the absence of K T Tunstall and She & Him from both lists – 3 Justin Timberlake songs made the WXPN countdown, for crying out loud. (Admittedly two of them are actually pretty good.)

Serendipity #3

This one is a little unusual, since Roy Rogers plays classic country songs and I had never heard this one before, but this is a great cover of a classic Steve Goodman song (with a shout-out to Steve in the middle).

You Never Even Called Me By My Name – David Allan Coe (1975)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYIrs1Dx4Ck

Heard 1/4/2014 around 12:15pm, Roy Rogers restaurant in Gaithersburg

Serendipity #2

Architects & Engineers – Guster (2010)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svugXFeZQnA

Heard 1/3/2014 around 2:00pm, Wegman’s in Germantown

#90 Substitute -- The Who (1966)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts9-4jbFWGg

This is the first song by The Who that I ever heard. Back in the mid-60s, WFEC (1400 on the AM dial) was the big Top 40 station in Harrisburg PA, where I grew up, so that’s what all of us kids listened to most of the time. At some point in the fall of 1965, I discovered that another local AM station (WKBO 1230) had a one-hour show every Sunday night that featured the music that was current in England at the time. I listened to that religiously every week and picked up on a lot of great tracks that were big across the Atlantic but never made it over here, including “Substitute.”

Somewhat unbelievably, The Who only had one Top 10 hit in the U.S. (This one wasn’t it.)

#91 The Walk -- Mayer Hawthorne (2011)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMrNn2azgQY

This is definitely one of the best retro, neo-soul songs from the current century. The album version can’t quite get played on the radio in its unedited form, which is why the link above goes to a David Letterman performance.

Postie #3

(from a 12/24 article on shootouts in the National Hockey League)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/capitals/nhl-shootout-isnt-going-anywhere-but-it-could-use-some-improvements/2013/12/24/6dbe3158-6c1c-11e3-b405-7e360f7e9fd2_story.html

“[The Caps’] overall record of 19-14-4 is buffeted by the eight shootout wins; two overtime wins and four post-regulation losses: one in overtime, three in shootouts.”

Merriam-Webster definition of “buffet”:
1 :  to strike sharply especially with the hand :  cuff
2 :  to strike repeatedly :  batter <the waves buffeted the shore>
3 :  to drive, force, move, or attack by or as if by repeated blows

This is a nice column by the always-perceptive John Feinstein, but somehow I don’t think this is the word he wanted here. Maybe "bolstered?"