by The Searchers (1964)Been very into The Searchers’ catchy tune “Needles and Pins” lately.
Was surprised by all the covers I never knew existed: The Ramones, Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks?!
Also had no idea it was originally sung by Jackie Deshannon at a slower pace. All are worth checking out.
Not as much? The weird 1989instrumental “club remix”.
by Roky Erickson (1979)I have the feeling that I am just scratching the surface of the work of cult icon Roky Erickson with this catchy tune.
Night of the Vampire will not only add a much needed shaking up to your normal Halloween party mix, but probably give you some pretty cool street cred as well (depending on the street).
Erickson’s life has been rife with tragedy (and the subject of a pretty depressing documentary called You’re Gonna Miss Me).
This song is fun, lumbering, campy, and though it was originally recorded in 1979, feels like the rocking-est parts of the very early 1990’s.
By Elvin Bishop (1975)It’s Elvin Bishop’s birthday. Must play Fooled Around and Fell in Love at least three times.
By Christine McVie (1984)Got a Hold on Me is often mistaken as a Fleetwood Mac song but it’s pure McVie.
Shunning the spotlight for the past many years, she left is this lovely adult contemporary love song behind before taking the high road to peaceful living.
by The Sundays (1990)I was sitting in Mike’s apartment and suddenly – flash! I was twelve years old again: I was zoning out with my cd walkman, watching the rain from the back seat of my mom’s car and thinking of poetry about, hmmm let’s see, 7th grade, maybe it was Ralph Lowenstein Danny Jendral I had a crush on? (How soon we forget.)
Anyways – all it took to transport me to those olden days, where bands still looked like hangovers from the 80’s, was The Sundays hit, Here’s Where The Story Ends (now how long has it been since you heard this one?). It holds up pretty well, much better than similar artists like Cranberries and Belly in my opinion.
And since I am so old that kids these days now only know Star Wars as 3D animation on Cartoon Network, this ballad will be new to many of you younger folks, so do enjoy kids – maybe it will make you zone out with your iphone, watching the rain and thinking about poetry about the boy or girl you have a crush on. 
by Rockwell (1983)I am shocked I haven’t recommended Rockwell‘s Somebody’s Watching Me yet!
This catchy (sometimes too catchy – I’ll find myself with the phrase “Or maybe showers remind me of Psycho too much” repeating in my brain for days) ode to paranoia is a household favorite over here.
And no offense to Rockwell, but how did he manage to snag Michael Jackson for some backup singing? However it happened, from the photo below, it looks like the recording sessions were fun – and Micheal’s jeans, tee and band jacket – excellent.
BTW, I just read that Rockwell chose his performing name because he “rocked well”. Totally love it.
If you want to continue on Rockwell’s odeyssey of being messed with, watch and listen to his follow up number “Obscene Phone Caller“.
Once you’ve heard Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, there’s no way you could drive or walk by one without the song playing in your head. It’s such an absurdly catchy tune too, that you might find yourself walking by the local Pizza Hut Taco Bell a lot just to be reminded of it. Love that Das Racist brings humor to the often overly serious genre of hip hop. We love the Wallpaper remix.
by Tyrannosaurus Rex (1969)We all know and love Marc Bolan and T Rex as a glam band but I was pleasantly surprised when Pandora offered up some early folky stuff.
It’s stunning how contemporary this song sounds, and with a title like She Was Born To Be My Unicorn, echoing the rebirth of the kind of new, wealthy, witchy hippiedom that draws pretty girls to maxi skirts and tarot readings, I’d be less than shocked if this ends up playing the next time I am at a hip coffee shop/cocktail bar/tapas place.
It happened with Pentagle and I never expected to hear that outside our apartment.
Sadly I’ve found the album not easily available.
by Eileen Barton (1950)I swear there are little gnomes that add songs to my ipod in the night.
I have no idea where the Eileen Barton hit If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d’ve Baked a Cake came from but it suddenly came up on shuffle the other morning and brightened our day.
It’s been dancing around my head ever since. I think it may have seemed so familiar from an old Sesame Street episode with Ernie and Cookie Monster that you can see here.
Daughters of the nineties (and particularly sassy sons too), please don’t tell me I am the only one whose inner Funky Diva was let loose when En Vogue hit the airwaves.
With My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It), Something He Can Feel, and Free Your Mind, the Oakland foursome invaded suburbia and no girl was left without day dreams of herself sashaying down a disutopian runway in a push up bra top, or seducing dapper boys in a push up bra top, or denying boys your love in…a push up bra top.
Oh and sampling In Living Color? Hipster bands wish they had thought of it first!