I am a huge fan of songs that make you feel something. A couple years ago I created a top 25 list of the sexiest songs out of frustration from looking on the internet and finding nothing. In the years that have passed, I've been lucky enough to amass an additional 20 songs on to the list of perfect songs to seduce your lover (or lovers) to. I can't say that it always works but add a glass of wine and a starry eyed glare in the right direction and you might have yourself a fantastic evening, courtesy of these touching tunes.
00The National - Lemonworld* 01 The Rolling Stones - Beast of Burden 02 Hall & Oates - One on One 03 Chicago - No Tell Lover 04 Sade - Sweetest Taboo 05 Michael Jackson - You Rock My World 06 Joseph Arthur - September Baby 07 Bill Withers - Ain't No Sunshine 08 Bon Iver - Skinny Love 09 Corinne Bailey Rae - Closer 10 Dwele - Weekend Love 11 Elvis Presley - One Night 12 Norah Jones - Sunrise 13 Paolo Nutini - Last Request 14 Mary Wells - You Beat Me to the Punch 15 Todd Rundgren - Hello, It's Me 16 Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats 17 Maroon 5 - Woman 18 Badly Drawn Boy - Silent Sigh 19 Sheryl Crow - My Favorite Mistake 20 The Shins - Sea Legs
*Lemonworld basically inspired this list. It is an otherworldy song.
I feel like it's been awhile since we had a simple playlist post so here it is.
On a muggy summer day with a tiny purple fan and a hot cup of raspberry coffee (for some reason), I sit here hoping you will enjoy this music as much as I do. Some songs are old, some new, some corny, some blue, but all will have you moving your feet to the interesting beat.
That was stupid and these songs are not. Enjoy.
01 Janelle Monae - Tightrope
02 Sia - Clap Your Hands
03 Jack Johnson - At or With Me
04 The Doobie Brothers - You Belong to Me
05 The Bird and the Bee - I Can't Go For That (cover)
06 The National - You've Done it Again, Virginia
07 Beyonce - Why Don't You Love Me
08 Josh Ritter - Southern Pacifica
09 Usher - There Goes My Baby
10 Hall & Oates - It's Uncanny
11 Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs - Beg Steal or Borrow
12 Norah Jones - Back to Manhattan
13 The Rolling Stones - Beast of Burden
14 The Black Keys - Howlin' For You
15 Leela James - Tell Me You Love Me
16 Kanye West - Flashing Lights
17 James Hunter - Carina
I never realized it before but this might be one of my favorite musical genres. It seems that everything I listen to lately can be combined under this title. My lovers Hall & Oates, Christopher Cross, even Todd Rundgren to a certain extent. My latest musical crush, Michael McDonald, is probably the king of this genre though. His ridiculous voice and absurdly smooth sounds make him the ultimate cheesy go-to guy. I can't say I know much about him and I'm too caught up in listening to his voice right now to read Wikipedia or some other unreliable internet source but I get a really big grin on my face when I hear him - and he has a great beard to boot.
"What a Fool Believes" is one of my all time favorite songs. I wish I wrote it.
"I Keep Forgetting" - another classic. I always try to stop myself from being a Lite FM jukebox but I can't control myself. It is my guiltiest pleasure. It might go along with my desire for 50 year old men. If you folks aren't actually clicking and listening to these videos you're seriously missing out.
"Tin Man" always drives me crazy as well. The sound is so different and really sounds a lot more innovative than most songs on the radio today.
My mother's old best friend would always sing this at karaoke nights when I was little. It has probably been stuck in my head for the past 18 years.
I am on a crazy Hall and Oates kick lately. I'm not completely sure of my obsession's origin but it's been growing for years.
Late last month it reached its peak when I took a trip to the Princeton Record Exchange and bought the album Private Eyes for $1 on vinyl. I'll be honest and tell you that I don't listen to my record collection as much as I should (especially for the amount of money I spend) but I put this one on immediately. Yes, this newfound interest in listening to them constantly was fueled by hearing them at The National's concert twice but it's more than that. I've been lucky enough to see them a few times in concert opening for Chicago and consider "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" one of the sexiest songs ever recorded.
In recent months, it also seems like they're popping up everywhere. From the independent film 500 Days of Summer that featured "You Make My Dreams" prominently in advertising to the band's guest appearance on the finale of this season's American Idol. If you go by Wikipedia's definition of Hall and Oates you may know them from their "six #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: "Rich Girl", "Kiss on My List", "Private Eyes", "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)", "Maneater", and "Out of Touch", as well as many other songs which charted in the Top 40." Well, that's a mouthful that you don't typically hear about a band. Last year marked the duo's 40th year together and they're currently on tour in the U.S.
At the risk of being the millionth person to critique their sound, I'd say they're much more soulful than poppy while still managing to make some of the greatest hooks in pop music history. Amazingly, they have also managed to stay relevant over the past four decades to the point that references to their music can be found regularly in television shows and magazines. Yet in my opinion they're similar to Chicago in the sense that they never receive the full respect that they deserve. They have 'lite radio' hits that we all know if we hear them but never delve further into the catalog to hear the deeper cuts and that's a shame. Unlike a lot of other bands, they have little filler on their full albums. Listening to Private Eyes, I was immediately drawn to the song "Mano A Mano" that has such a weird chorus I found myself humming it for days after (maybe too many days actually). This could have easily been another hit! If I were a musician I'd re-record and take it as my own.
Hall and Oates' music in three words: sexy, cheesy, lovable.
Music Maven's Top 10 Hall and Oates Songs (subject to change if I listen to more albums):
I learned a long time ago that it's not okay to say you like something because it's "good". I guess that means it's also not okay to say you like something because it's the best thing on earth.
Of course I'm speaking of The National. What else? I'm thinking of changing this blog's name to Music Maven: Because The National Sounds Good but it's a little corny - and not correct. They sound way better than good and I never want to listen to anything else. BUT, when I do get around to putting some other music in my ears, it helps if they're slightly associated with my favorite band in the world.
Enter The Rolling Stones and Hall & Oates.
So far I've been fortunate enough to catch two concerts on The National's official summer tour and both times the pre-show music (hopefully selected by the band?) was phenomenal. I wish I wrote down every song played but two standouts were "Beast of Burden" - Rolling Stones and "Out of Touch" - H&O. Particularly over the amazing sound system at Radio City Music Hall, these songs sounded so good I had to write them down and purchase them the next day. I should've already owned them. Both share a sexy, eerie quality that The National themselves master so well. "Out of Touch" particularly evokes this mood where the lights need to be low and shoulders need to be exposed if you know what I mean. It's an effortlessly cool sound that is perfect to open a concert like that.
I love pre-concert discoveries. I was really upset a couple years ago when I attended a She & Him show and the recorded music over the speakers was better than their real opening acts. It was this mixture of indie/classic country music that I desperately wanted to find out about. I went as far as googling some of the lyrics to one song and nothing came up. I searched online the next day to see if they had a list of the music they play before their set but no luck. If musicians have full official websites that give tons of information about their tour, their management, etc, the least they could do is add what music they play before their set! I know sometimes it's venue-chosen but when I hear the same music every time I see a band on tour, I start to grow fond of it and want to know who it is. John Mayer is another example of an artist who always has the best pre-set music but typically lame opening acts.
If you think about it, it takes a pretty bold musician to play something like The Rolling Stones before their own set. That's a lot to live up to. Once the audience who has been sitting (or standing) for two hours has "Beast of Burden" in their head, how can their songs measure up? The National has nothing to fear of course but other bands... on an unrelated note, in the film "Crazy Heart" Jeff Bridges' character is a country musician opening in a PNC Bank Arts Center-like venue for a younger, better known musician in one scene. During soundcheck, the sound guy is fighting with him saying that the sound is perfect while Bridges knows that his vocals are being drowned out. He then says that he'll stay on stage until the guy fixes it because he's been around long enough to know that technicians deliberately make the opening act sound bad so the main act sounds better. I don't know if that's true but it's something that is sort of stuck in my head now. Lately, I haven't seen many opening bands I've liked. Unfortunately.
But that pre-show music. Here's a sample of what I'm talking about. I'm now obsessed with these two songs. Next time I see The National I'm going to try to take note again and get some kind of full list of all the songs they play. Once again, I don't know who's choosing this music but they're rather remarkable. These songs fit the mood perfectly and get me into seeing a concert.
Photo courtesy of my Google image search. Sorry, don't know where it's from but I love it.
