Songs »Harper Valley PTA

Harper Valley PTA I always thought this was a Tammy Wynette song, well shame on me, because a little lady named Jeannie C. Riley actually made this country cross-over hit a wild success (the first female to top the pop and country charts).

The lyrics make a strong statement against hypocracy through the eyes of a kid whose scandalous single mom gets called out for “wearing your dresses way too high” and “drinking and a-runnin' 'round with men and going wild” by the local PTA (who have a few things to be ashamed of themselves). The song inspired a film and TV show starring Barbara Eden.

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Posted on January 22, 2007

Songs »Goodbye Horses

Goodbye Horses by Q LazzarusI never would have thought the “It puts the lotion in the basket!” theme song was sung by a mysterious, glitzy black lady. And I never would have thought the Silence of the Lambs people would have been so foolish as to not put it on the motion picture soundtrack–but there you are.

At least Jonathan Demme had better sense when putting together the Married to the Mob soundtrack, which, by the way (and oddly enough), was one of my favorite movies as a pre-teen. I used to have my dad put it on and I would dance to the opening song “Mambo Italiano” over and over. Demme has a gift for choosing songs, I'll give him that.

This is a spectacular, catchy and gloomy electro pop number that is equally at home playing on the juke box at the gay bar the Phoenix or from the all-in-one cd/radio player in a gothy college freshman's dorm.

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Posted on January 15, 2007

Songs »If Loving You Is Wrong, I Don’t Want To Be Right

If Loving You Is WrongNo one wins in this ode to infidelity and bad behavior especially the “wife and children that need him just as much”. Ostensibly this is a sexy song full of passion and lust, but it is also depressing and Jim and I usually remark on how it makes us think of how much of a pain in the ass an affair would be.

Sure, it starts romantically enough in a hotel corridor, but sooner or later it's straight to “Why do you have to spend Christmas with your family? If you don't make time to see me, I'll call your children and tell them what we did last Friday night.”

But bad images aside, this is an artfully sung R&B classic that Luther tears into with the kind of zest that made it a number one hit in 1972. The song was sung by several people before including Rod Stewart and Percy Sledge but this is the definitive version.

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Posted on January 8, 2007

Songs »Weird Science

Weird Science(First Music I Bought With My Own Money)
You can always remember the first things you buy because it was something you wanted so, so badly that you decided to make steps towards being an adult and spend your own hard earned money on it. I don't think I was even allowed to see Weird Science when it came out, but that didn't stop MTV from introducing me to the theme song. I loved Danny Elfman's arrangement so much, I still remember the day my mom drove me to the record store and we asked the salesman if he knew where we could find it. He said the artist was Oingo Boingo and my mom and I laughed about that in the store, again in the car, and the whole family laughed when I brought the EP home. My sister and I played it on her plastic record player and became even more excited when we put on the other side – The B-52's Rock Lobster. Ah, to be seven and listening to Fred Schneider for the first time!

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Posted on January 1, 2007

Songs »You Make Me Feel Like Dancing

leo sayer you make me feel like dancingThere seemed to be a trend in the late seventies where male singers sounded strangely female in disco anthems. You Make Me Feel Like Dancing is certainly one of those, so it's time for all you dudes to pull out your falsettos when you sing along to this effervescent hit. And it will get you singing and dancing just as it's name suggests.

Coincidentally this was performed on this weeks TV pick, the Muppet Show. A huge hit for Leo Sayer in both the UK and US, but I was surprised to find he was not a one hit wonder, he also found earlier success with the equally splendid songs “When I Need You” and “The Show Must Go On“. (The Muppets really really liked him, it seems).

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Posted on December 25, 2006

Songs »Marie

townes van zandt marieI thought I knew depressing songs and had several to choose from when compiling this list, but I made a last minute change to this Townes Van Zandt lament after just one listen.

Man, Marie is rough, and utterly depressing. This story of an unemployed man with a pregnant girlfriend who dies in the cold is also harrowing and plainly beautiful. I dare you to find a sadder song. Post it as a comment if you do.

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Posted on December 18, 2006

Songs »The Rain

oran juice jones the rainNot only is the man's name Oran Juice, and this song is catchy and fun, but the (possibly improvised) spoken part at the end is the most awesomest thing ever. Please to enjoy (but download the song to get the full affect of his smoooove voice–or watch this amazing video):
(I saw you)
Hey hey baby how ya doin' come on in here
(Walking in the rain)
Got some hot chocolate on the stove waiting for you.
Listen, first things first–let me hang up the coat
(You were holding hands and I'll)
Yeah how was your day today?
Did you miss me?
(Never be the same)
You did? Yeah? I missed you too–I missed you so much I followed you today.
(I saw you)
That's right–now close your mouth 'cause you cold busted.
(Walking in the rain)
Now just sit down here, sit down here
I'm so upset with you I don't know what to do…
(You were holding hands and I'll)
You know my first impulse was to run up on you and do a Rambo
(Never be the same)
I was about to jam you and flat blast both of you. But I didn't wanna mess up this thirtyseven hundred dollar lynx coat. So instead I chilled — That's right chilled. I called up the bank and took out every dime. Then I cancelled all your credit cards…
I stuck you up for every piece of jewelry I ever bought you!
Don't go lookin' in that closet 'cause everything you came here with is packed up and waiting for you in the guest room. What were you thinking?
You don't mess with the Juice!
I gave you silk suits, blue diamonds and Gucci handbags.
I gave you things you couldn't even pronounce! But now I can't give you nothing but advice. Cause you're still young, yeah, you're young.
And you're gonna find somebody like me one of these days . . .
Until then, you know what you gotta do? You gotta get on outta here with that alley-cat-coat-wearing, punch-bucket-shoe-wearing crumb cake I saw you with. Cause you dismissed!
That's right, silly rabbit, tricks are made for kids, don't you know that. You without me is like corn flakes without the milk! This is my world. You're just a squirrel trying to get a nut! Now get on outta here.
Scat!
Don't touch that coat…

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Posted on December 11, 2006

Songs »You Dropped A Bomb On Me

the gap band you dropped the bomb on meWho would of thought that Jim has a soft spot for computer aided dance anthems from the 80s? Well, believe it, and You Dropped A Bomb On Me from The Gap Band is the mother of them all. Fun and listenable for all five plus minutes without loosing it's “sounds like one guy with a lot of computer equipment and time on his hands” flavor.

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Posted on December 4, 2006

Songs »Gonna Raise Hell

Gonna Raise Hell - Cheap Trick One of the most rockin'est long songs from one of the oddest looking pop-punksters. Much better than the overplayed “I Want You To Want Me“.

Plus it's featured in the Halloween episode of Freaks and Geeks, so all sorts of good associations crowd my brain when I hear it. This is a fierce rock epic before “fierce” was associated with future Top Models.

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Posted on November 27, 2006

Songs »Thriller

Thriller Thriller isn't just a song, it was an event. I remember, as I'm sure most of you do, waiting for its debut in anticipation. I watched the making of video repeatedly in awe. As a young horror fan especially, I was not disappointed when it finally aired, I mean, it had a rap by Vincent Price and a phenomenally choreographed zombie dance.

Many artists have tried to replicate the excitement that this spooky video caused, including Jackson himself (several times) but none are as awesome. Thriller redefined the music video with it's high price tag, big time director (John Landis – of American Werewolf in London fame), and general over-the-topness.

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Posted on November 20, 2006