And yet still even more holiday music!
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Tunes Du Jour Celebrates Famous Dates In Pop Music
It was the third of September / That day I’ll always remember
It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
Early morning, April 4 / Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Do you remember the twenty-first night of September?
The theme of today’s playlist is dates referenced in song lyrics.
A date can do a lot of heavy lifting in a song. It can anchor a memory, mark a turning point, or drop us directly into a moment in history. Sometimes it’s deeply personal—Jay-Z naming his birthday in “December 4th”—and sometimes it’s collective, as in U2’s “Pride (In the Name of Love),” with its reference to April 4, 1968, the day Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
Songwriters also use dates to heighten mystery. Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe” begins on June 3, but instead of telling us what happened at the Tallahatchie Bridge, the lyric circles around it, making the day itself loom larger than the unexplained event. Similarly, the Temptations’ “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” ties the father’s death to September 3, a detail that sticks in the mind as much as the funk groove itself.
Not every date is somber. Earth, Wind & Fire turned September 21 into an annual celebration, and Chicago’s “Saturday in the Park” keeps the Fourth of July grounded in a snapshot of music, sunshine, and family fun. Bruce Springsteen’s “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” is more bittersweet, capturing the mix of romance and restlessness that defined his early work.
Dates can also mark social upheaval. Sublime’s “April 29, 1992 (Miami)” references the Los Angeles riots, while the Neville Brothers’ “Sister Rosa” pays tribute to Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her bus seat on December 1, 1955. Songs like these remind us that a single day can ripple outward into history.
Taken together, this playlist shows the many ways a songwriter can spin meaning out of the calendar. A date can be the start of a story, a marker of joy or tragedy, or just a sly joke. What matters is how it sticks in your memory, long after the last chord fades.
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Tunes Du Jour Presents The Prince Songbook
Prince’s genius as a performer is well-documented, but his legacy as a songwriter may be even more far-reaching. The songs he wrote—sometimes directly for others, sometimes borrowed or reimagined—traveled in unexpected directions, often landing in voices very different from his own. Sinéad O’Connor’s haunting version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” turned emotional restraint into a global anthem, while Chaka Khan’s take on “I Feel for You” transformed a tightly wound synth-funk track into a dancefloor juggernaut with help from Melle Mel and Stevie Wonder. The Bangles’ jangly “Manic Monday” showed his facility with classic pop forms.
Sometimes Prince gave away songs without credit. Stevie Nicks has said “Stand Back” wouldn’t exist without his impromptu help; he played the synth part that defined the track, and then slipped away, declining a formal writing credit. His fingerprints are on the Sheila E. hit “The Glamorous Life” and The Time’s “Jungle Love,” both written and produced by Prince but performed by his protégés. Even artists as distinct as Alicia Keys and Tom Jones found new depths and textures in his work, whether covering “How Come You Don’t Call Me” or reinterpreting “Kiss.” In many cases, he gave female artists some of their most complex and empowered material: see Sheena Easton’s risqué “Sugar Walls” or Martika’s spiritual “Love… Thy Will Be Done.”
What’s most remarkable is how well these songs hold up when refracted through other voices. Cyndi Lauper brought vulnerability to “When You Were Mine,” TLC made “If I Was Your Girlfriend” even more intimate, and even idiosyncratic takes like Sufjan Stevens on “Alphabet Street” or P.M. Dawn’s dreamlike “1999” as incorporated in “Fantasia’s Confidential Ghetto” show how flexible his songwriting was. Prince’s compositions had structure, hooks, and heart, but they were never rigid. That elasticity allowed other artists not just to sing his songs, but to inhabit them.
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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 9-12-24
Today is the birthday of Ben Folds. A handful of his tunes are included on today’s playlist.
Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 8-11-24
Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie and The Postal Service was born on this date in 1976. You’ll hear a lot of his music on today’s playlist.
My Favorite Songs Of 2023
Five years after then president of The Recording Academy proclaimed that women need to step up, the ladies have responded with “How’s this, jerkface?” Women dominate this year’s Grammy nominations. More importantly, all but two of the top 20 songs on my year-end list are led by female artists (with one guy showing up to provide guest vocals). That’s a record, I think, but don’t quote me on that. I’m too lazy to check. I don’t have a deep analysis for this phenomenon, but I do have a deep appreciation for the talent and diversity of these women (not that women have ever been underrepresented in my annual tallies). The highest placing male acts on my 2023 list are none other than The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. Yes, you read that right. The legends are back, and they still can show the young-uns how it’s done. With their song “Angry,” The Rolling Stones have achieved a remarkable feat: the longest span from first appearance to most recent appearance in my year-end surveys. In 1981, my first year of making such lists, the group placed with “Start Me Up.” The 80s are also well represented by Kylie Minogue and Madonna, each of whom made a triumphant return to my list after long absences. Welcome back, ladies! And last but not least, let’s give a round of applause to Megan Thee Stallion, who has been in my top five for five years in a row. That’s a record, I think, but don’t quote me on that. I’m too lazy to check. Now, without further ado, here is my list of the best songs of 2023. Enjoy!
- Ice Cream Man. – RAYE
- vampire – Olivia Rodrigo
- Kill Bill – SZA
- Bongos – Cardi B feat. Megan Thee Stallion
- Not Strong Enough – boygenius
- Flowers – Miley Cyrus
- Escapism. – RAYE & 070 Shake
- Paint the Town Red – Doja Cat
- Lipstick Lover – Janelle Monáe
- Nobody Gets Me – SZA
- Dance the Night – Dua Lipa
- Shirt – SZA
- AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM – Beyoncé feat. Kendrick Lamar
- What Was I Made For? – Billie Eilish
- Padam Padam – Kylie Minogue
- Cobra – Megan Thee Stallion
- Brenda Put Your Bra On – Ashley McBryde, Caylee Hammack & Pillbox Patti
- Angry – The Rolling Stones
- Now and Then – The Beatles
- Cool About It – boygenius
- RATATA – Skrillex, Missy Elliott & Mr. Oizo
- Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd – Lana Del Rey
- Calm Down – Rema with Selena Gomez
- Gorilla – Little Simz
- Seven – Jung Kook feat. Latto
- My Love Mine All Mine – Mitski
- bad idea right? – Olivia Rodrigo
- Jaded – Miley Cyrus
- Tropic Morning News – The National
- Someday At Christmas – Lizzo
- Used To Be Young – Miley Cyrus
- Pretty Girls Walk – Big Boss Vette
- River – Miley Cyrus
- Light On In The Kitchen – Ashley McBryde
- Out Alpha the Alpha – Megan Thee Stallion
- Bubblegum – Dawn Richard
- Rush – Troye Sivan
- It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody – Weyes Blood
- Weightless – Arlo Parks
- Psychos – Jenny Lewis
- The Sea – Romy
- Lil Boo Thang – Paul Russell
- Popular – The Weeknd & Madonna feat. Playboi Carti
- The Narcissist – Blur
- (It Goes Like) Nanana – Peggy Gou
- Tukoh Taka – Nicki Minaj, Maluma and Myriam Fares
- Freak Me Now – Jessie Ware
- Standing Next To You – Jung Kook
- Eyez – The Arcs
- What Now – Brittany Howard
- Thinking About You – Beck
- Wall of Eyes – The Smile
- Good Lookin’ – Dixon Dallas
- Girl Like Me – Dove Cameron
- Wild Flower – RM with youjeen
- Helmet – Steve Lacy
- Everybody’s Got to Learn – First Aid Kit
- Flip a Switch. – RAYE feat. Coi Leray
- Nothing Left To Lose – Everything But The Girl
- Say Yes To Heaven – Lana Del Rey
- Moonlight – Kali Uchis
- Bending Hectic – The Smile
- In My Head – The Lemon Twigs
- Snooze – SZA
- Attention – Doja Cat
- get him back! – Olivia Rodrigo
- Will Anybody Ever Love Me? – Sufjan Stevens
- Tux (Your Body Fills Me, Boo) – US Girls
- Lottery – Latto feat. LU KALA
- Bug Like an Angel – Mitski
- The Hands – serpentwithfeet
- A day in the water – Christine & the Queens
- Drummer Boy – Titus Andronicus
- Little Things – Jorja Smith
- Daydreaming – Harry Styles
- True Love – Christine & the Queens & 070 Shake
- Evicted – Wilco
- Got Me Started – Troye Sivan
- Eye For An Eye – Rina Sawayama
- Water Slide – Janelle Monáe
- Single Soon – Selena Gomez
- Odyssey – Beck & Phoenix
- I Don’t Know What You See In Me – Belle & Sebastian
- Seem an I – PJ Harvey
- Begin Again – Jessie Ware
- One of Your Girls – Troye Sivan
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