Inspired by the November 17 birthdays of The Byrds’ Gene Clark, Jeff Buckley, Gordon Lightfoot, Foxygen’s Sam France, RuPaul, Ronnie DeVoe, The Moldy Peaches’ Kimya Dawson, Girls Aloud’s Sarah Harding, and Martin Scorcese; and the November 16 birthdays of Odyssey’s Lillian Lopez, Chi Coltrane, Arrow, Color Me Badd’s Bryan Abrams and Count Five’s John Byrne.
Your (Almost) Daily Playlist (10-25-20)
Inspired by the October 25 birthday of The Simpsons’ Nancy Cartwright, Yes’ Jon Anderson, Helen Reddy, Arrested Development’s Speech, Ciara, Katy Perry, Chris Norman, Divinyls’ Christina Amphlett, Starland Vocal Band’s Taffy Danoff, Art Brut’s Eddie Argos, and Pablo Picasso.
Your (Almost) Daily Playlist (5-27-20)
Inspired by the May 27 birthdays of OutKast‘s Andre 3000, TLC’s Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, Crowded House’s Neil Finn, Siouxsie Sioux, Spoonie Gee, Ramsey Lewis, Bruce Cockburn, Detroit Emeralds’ James Mitchell, and Vincent Price.
Your (Almost) Daily Playlist (4-16-20)
Inspired by the April 16 birthdays of Dusty Springfield, Soul Asylum’s Dave Pirner, Chance the Rapper, Henry Mancini, Bobby Vinton, Gerry Rafferty, Akon, Midnight Oil’s Peter Garrett, Roy Hamilton, Herbie Mann, Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner, Gabrielle and Gerardo.
Throwback Thursday – 1987 (Part II)
One of 1987’s most popular and critically-acclaimed hits began its life as a demo recording named after the duo who sang “It’s Raining Men.”
It’s by the band U2, who referred to the track as “The Weather Girls” or “Under the Weather.” Their guitarist, The Edge, told Rolling Stone magazine that the song sounded like a reggae band’s version of Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger.” Over time they developed the song. Instruments were added to the initial drum pattern. When it came time to come up with lyrics, The Edge gave singer Bono a piece of paper on which he had written a phrase that came to him earlier that day – “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”
That became the song’s title, with lyrics inspired by the gospel music Bono was listening to at the time. “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” was U2’s second consecutive #1 single, following “With or Without You,” which was included on part 1 of Tunes du Jour’s Throwback Thursday – 1987 playlist.
Here are twenty of 1987’s best, kicking off not with The Weather Girls, but with U2.
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My Birthday Advice: Don’t!
Today is my birthday. Over my 25+ years on earth, I’ve learned many life lessons. Most of them came from songs. My birthday gift to you is a playlist of 100 songs offering advice as to what not to do.
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Throwback Thursday – 1987
This week’s Throwback Thursday playlist is comprised of hits from 1987, a pretty nondescript year for pop music. The new wave music that dented the US charts earlier in the decade faded in popularity, while rap and alternative had yet to cross over in a major way. What we had was some good mainstream rock and pop. Here are twenty of that year’s biggest:
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It’s Björk’s Birthday And I Need To Dance!
“I think everyone’s bisexual to some degree or another; it’s just a question of whether or not you choose to recognize it and embrace it. Personally, I think choosing between men and women is like choosing between cake and ice cream. You’d be daft not to try both when there are so many different flavors.”
– Björk, Diva Magazine, October 2004
I love cake, but I prefer ice cream. I’m not into vanilla – it’s too…vanilla. I’ll eat it if there are no other options, but I prefer chocolate. I could eat a big dish of chocolate ice cream every night and never tire of it.
However, my favorite flavor is chocolate chip mint. Everything is better with a hint of mint. Chocolate and mint together? If one has that at home there is no reason to ever leave the house.
Dulce de leche is next on my list. Mmm mmm. That sweet caramel makes my tongue so damn happy! Throw a little hot fudge and whipped cream on top and it’s the perfect late night snack to enjoy before dozing off to sleep.
While I prefer ice cream, I enjoy going to a good bakery to check out the cakes. As with ice cream, I love the chocolate cakes. (“Chocolate Cake,” by the way, is the title of an underrated song by Crowded House.)
I like many cakes, but I don’t care for fruity ones. I’m not referring to fruitcake. I have no idea what a fruitcake is; it’s something I’ve heard used as a punchline on Christmas specials, but I don’t think I’ve ever encountered one in real life. I’m referring to cakes that have jelly in them, or strawberries or anything else that may be construed as healthy. It’s a friggin’ cake! Don’t be getting your healthy fruits mixed up in my cake. A banana is welcome, but that’s it. Chocolate and banana is a combination I love. Add a hint of mint and I’m all set.
Today Björk turns 49 years old. Celebrate with some cake and ice cream. Our weekly dance party kicks off with her first post-Sugarcubes single, “Human Behaviour.”
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