Stevie Wonder - "Superstition"

There are less than 8 weeks left in the #YearlongMixtape so I'll do my best to cram in all the awesomeness!

I'm going to do a Stevie Wonder mini-thon, which may bust into a full week.  This is the funkiest song in the whole world!  The performance is from what appears to be a (West?) German TV show in the 70s, so please excuse the credits at the end.  I may have shared this before, but my dream is to be a backup singer who plays tambourine.  What a sweet gig that would be!

I also happened upon this little gem of Stevie and his band jamming on Sesame Street! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ul7X5js1vE

#YearlongMixtape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUXTG6ShYKk

Monty Python - "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life"

Here's a little blasphemy for your Sunday, from a fabulous film!

Whistle along, everyone!

"For life is quite absurd
And death's the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow
Forget about your sin
Give the audience a grin
Enjoy it, it's your last chance anyhow.
Annnnddddd......."

#YearlongMixtape

"He's not the Messiah!  He's a very naughty boy!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlBiLNN1NhQ

Indigo Girls - "Closer To Fine"

I was thinking about this song earlier and wondering why in the world I hadn't posted it on the #YearlongMixtape yet? It's a universal anthem about self-acceptance, written and performed by two very talented women who happen to be gay.  And then I thought, of course, TODAY is the perfect day to post it!  The video includes the lyrics - I think we are all, slowly but surely, getting there.  Enjoy! 

"There's more than one answer to these questions,

Pointing me in a crooked line..." 

http://youtu.be/ShiegA9UZYs 

Murray Head - "One Night In Bangkok"

When I first heard this song in the '80s, I didn't know it was from a musical - it was just really cool and weird and exciting.  Benny and Bjorn from ABBA wrote the music, and Tim Rice wrote the lyrics, which explains the awesomeness.  I'd love to see Chess - I think the political, Cold War story would still hold up.  Maybe there's a revival in the works?

"Not much between despair and ecstasy..."

#YearlongMixtape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9mwELXPGbA

Ghostland Observatory - "Sad Sad City"

I've shared this song before, but not yet on the #YearlongMixtape.  Ghostland Observatory is a totally amazing and kinda weird electronic-rock band from Austin.  I happened upon them by accident watching Austin City Limits on PBS in 2007.  Another band that I wanted to see (Bloc Party) was on, but when I saw GLO, I thought, "WHAT IS HAPPENING?  THIS IS THE COOLEST THING!!"  And I immediately bought all of their albums.

I also had the pleasure of seeing them live a few years ago in Philly​.  They are not for everyone, but if you like interesting sounds, a killer laser show, and great energy, please check them out!

Here's a little documentary about them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMPI8jJXdHc

In fact, they're so cool that Chris Cornell covered this song!  (in a more conventional, acoustic arrangement) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDv5lPwcw7E

#WeirdBandsThatILove

#YearlongMixtape

#YesHeIsWearingACape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vm6pBVK2SE

Public Enemy - "By The Time I Get To Arizona"

I've been thinking about this song a lot since last week.  Originally written in protest of Arizona not recognizing the federal Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday, it could be renamed "By The Time I Get To South Carolina."

Just this morning, I was driving behind someone in a pickup truck with a confederate flag decal covering the entire back window, with the words "In God We Trust" written over it.  What values do you think your "God" is supporting when you display a symbol of slavery on your car?

This video only aired on MTV once - apparently some folks had an issue with the violent images of the PE crew killing the elected leaders who refused to recognize the holiday.  I'm not sure if those same people had as much of an issue with the images in the video of peaceful black protesters being attacked by the police.

Here's a great interview with Chuck D on the 20th anniversary of the song, where he discusses the violence.  U2ers will enjoy the part about performing this song in Arizona when opening for U2 on the ZooTV Tour: http://www.spin.com/2011/11/public-enemy-look-back-20-years-time-i-get-arizona/.

#YearlongMixtape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrFOb_f7ubw

The Hold Steady - "Constructive Summer"

I'm not a fan of The Hold Steady, but I do love this song for two reasons:

1) The Springsteen influence - I mean, the piano solo in the bridge alone could be straight off of the Born To Run album.  The reference to the "savior" is, I think, a nod to Thunder Road.

2) I've always treated summer as a time to make way too many plans that I could never accomplish, and cram as much fun as possible into 3 too-short months.  When I was in school, it was a time to find myself and maybe grow up a little.  And even now, I feel the same way.  The lyrics describe that ambitious mentality, when in reality, we kind of end up goofing off and not really doing what we thought we would.  But I'm all stocked up on sunscreen, and I think this year, it's gonna be epic!

"Me and my friends are like
The drums on "Lust for Life"
We pound it out on floor toms
Our psalms are sing-along songs

This old town is lifeless
Been that way our whole lives, just
Work at the mill until you die
Work at the mill and then you die

We're gonna build something this summer
(Gonna build something this summer)

We'll put it back together
Raise up a giant ladder
With love and trust and friends and hammers
(This summer!)

We're gonna lean this ladder
Up against the water tower
Climb up to the top and drink and talk
(This summer!)

Me and my friends are like
Double whiskey coke no ice
We drink along in double time
Might drink too much but we feel fine

We're gonna build something this summer

Summer grant us all the power
To drink on top of watertowers
With love and trust and shows all summer
(Get hammered!)

Let this be my annual reminder
That we could all be something bigger

I went to your schools. I did my detention
But the walls were so gray that I couldn't pay attention
I read your gospel, it moved me to tears
But I couldn't find the hate and I couldn't find the fear

I met your saviour, I knelt at his feet
And he took my ten bucks and he went down the street
I tried to believe all the things that you said
But my friends that aren't dying are already dead

Raise a toast to Saint Joe Strummer
I think he might have been our only decent teacher
Getting older makes it harder to remember
We are our only saviours
We're gonna build something this summer"

Happy summer ya'll!

#YearlongMixtape

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgBfoOJR6Rs

Sting & The Police Week - "Fragile"

Wrapping up #StingAndThePoliceWeek with a devastating and powerful song from Sting's "...Nothing Like The Sun" album.  He had planned to perform and record a live concert in Italy on September 11, 2001, of course not knowing what was going to happen that day.  The concert still happened, and he released a DVD of the performance, along with a documentary of rehearsals and some incredible interviews with himself and his band as they were finding out about the attacks in the U.S.

Here's a link to the full Italy concert:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPoX4Lu9GeA

A prayer for nonviolence, I hope you enjoy it.

"If blood will flow when flesh and steel are one
Drying in the colour of the evening sun
Tomorrow's rain will wash the stains away
But something in our minds will always stay
Perhaps this final act was meant
To clinch a lifetime's argument
That nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could
For all those born beneath an angry star
Lest we forget how fragile we are

On and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star like tears from a star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are how fragile we are

On and on the rain will fall
Like tears from a star like tears from a star
On and on the rain will say
How fragile we are how fragile we are
How fragile we are how fragile we are"

#YearlongMixtape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubWucJtio0M

Sting & The Police Week - "Bring On The Night"

Andy really shines on this one - playing reggae and rock in the same song.  There's just a ridiculous amount of talent between the three of them. 

This might be my fave from 1979's Regatta de Blanc.  There's a lot of blonde hair on the album cover.  

#YearlongMixtape 

#StingAndThePoliceWeek 

http://youtu.be/9uIVC5WZD3E 

Sting & The Police Week - "Send Your Love"

This song is from Sting's 2003 album, Sacred Love.  It has a great beat, and it's about the power of love and a spiritual oneness in the universe.  There's a lyrical theme - "There's no religion but..." - that religion is not about a system of rules that you must follow, but something that's all around us.

"There's no religion but sex and music
There's no religion but sound and dancing
There's no religion but line and color
There's no religion but sacred trance

There's no religion but the endless ocean
There's no religion but the moon and stars
There's no religion but time and motion
There's no religion, just tribal scars

There's no religion but the joys of rhythm
There's no religion but the rites of Spring
There's no religion in the path of hate
No prayer but the one I sing

There's no religion but sex and music
There's no religion that's right or winning
There's no religion in the path of hatred
Ain't no prayer but the one I'm singing"

#YearlongMixtape

#StingAndThePoliceWeek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh13cm6lGuc

Sting - "All This Time"

This week is going to be extremely difficult to pick just a few of my favorites, so I'll try to include some less-well-known songs that everyone should hear.  This song is from Sting's beautiful "The Soul Cages" album, and was written about his father's death and Wallsend, the town they lived in.  It's also one of a few of his "older" songs featured in The Last Ship musical.  The video actually looks like a mini-version of the show.

I suppose this goes without saying, but Sting is such a gifted songwriter and lyricist.  And those eyebrows go straight to my heart :)

"Blessed are the poor
For they shall inherit the earth
One is better to be poor
Than a fat man in the eye of a needle
As these words were spoken
I swear I hear the old man laughing
What good is a used up world,
And how could it be worth having?

All this time
The river flowed
Father, if Jesus exists,
Then how come he never lived here?

Teachers told us
The Romans built this place
They built a wall and a temple on the edge of the
Empire garrison town
They lived and they died
They prayed to their gods
But the stone gods did not make a sound
And their empire crumbled
Till all that was left
Were the stones the workmen found"

#YearlongMixtape

#StingAndThePoliceWeek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LdUme7QZLY

Sting & The Police Week - "Driven To Tears"

Welcome to Sting & The Police Week!  I have to preface this by saying that The Police are one of my all-time favorite bands, and I by in no way mean to imply that they are just Sting and the two other guys.  Stewart and Andy are equally important and awesome!  I'm just running out of time in the #YearlongMixtape and don't want you all to get annoyed by having a separate Sting Week and Police Week, although I could easily do both!

"Driven To Tears" is one of their more political songs, from 1980's Zenyatta Mondatta (their funnest album title!).  It's about what not knowing what to do when you're overwhelmed by the terrible things happening in the world.  And that, really, we're all responsible, whether we want to be or not.

"How can you say that you're not responsible?
What does it have to do with me?
What is my reaction?
What should it be?
Confronted by this latest atrocity...
Driven to tears

Hide my face in my hands, shame wells in my throat
My comfortable existance is reduced to a shallow meaningless party
Seems that when some innocent die
All we can offer them is a page in a some magazine
Too many cameras and not enough food
'Cos this is what we've seen

Protest is futile, nothing seems to get through
What's to become of our world, who knows what to do"

#YearlongMixtape

#StingandThePoliceWeek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJK-fXBeJkQ

Led Zeppelin - "Trampled Underfoot"

My favorite Zeppelin song because it's so damn funky.  For some reason, I don't think the song is about a car. #wink

Fun fact: my friend Jenny and I went on an East Village Rock N' Roll walking tour in NYC a few years ago (very highly recommended!) and one of the stops was the building from the Physical Graffiti album cover.  It's also where the Rolling Stones filmed the "Waiting On A Friend" video. It's actually 5 stories high, but they made it a floor shorter for the cover.  If you're ever in the neighborhood, it's at 96-98 St. Mark's Place.

Here's the website for the walking tour - Bobby is awesome and he offers a few other tours too: http://rockjunket.com/.

#YearlongMixtape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBku3rJ0Xe0

Prince Week - "My Name Is Prince"

And closing out #PrinceWeek with his "Just to let ya'll know, I'm kind of Jesus" song.  I'm so glad he stopped using that symbol and went back to Prince.

"In the beginning God made the sea
But on the 7th day he made me
He was tryin' to rest y'all when He heard the sound
Sound like a guitar cold gettin' down"

I wish I could share all of his music, and you probably have your own favorite that I didn't get to. I hope you've enjoyed and thanks for sharing the love with me!

#YearlongMixtape

#PrinceWeek

http://www.chartsinfrance.net/Prince/id-101212952.html

Prince Week - "Love Bizarre" and other songs for female artists

Prince has a knack for writing songs for female artists, and has "discovered" more than I could share here.  But here's a quick sampling:

Sinead O'Connor - "Nothing Compares 2 U": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6MNvjrScyo

The Bangles - "Manic Monday" (because he had a crush on Susanna Hoffs): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsmVgoXDq2w

Vanity 6 - "Nasty Girl" (funktastic, but NSFW or children!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfLZfyphg0M

And, of course, Sheila E, who I love!!

#YearlongMixtape

#PrinceWeek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56gpwl6cohc&feature=youtu.be

Prince Week - "If I Was Your Girlfriend" & "Sign O' The Times"

So much amazingness with this song, I don't know where to start.  First of all, the way Prince elevates what would be a "normal" R&B song into a musically interesting and lyrically unique perspective on romantic relationships is genius and beautiful.  What's better than a love song that appeals to the mind too?

And his vocals - of all of his incredible talents, his voice is just... come on.

"If I was your girlfriend,
Would U let me dress U?
I mean help U pick out your clothes before we go out,
Not that your helpless,
But sometimes, sometimes
Those are the things that bein' in love's about..."

Also, I have to give love to the Sign O' The Times album, on which this song appears.  He gets socially conscious on the album, and I'm also sharing the title track: http://www.wat.tv/video/prince-sign-of-the-times-383q5_2hztv_.html.  So great!!

#YearlongMixtape

#PrinceWeek

http://www.zapkolik.com/video/prince-if-i-was-your-girlfriend-529550

Prince Week - "Kiss"

Probably my favorite Prince song.  Definitely the funkiest and most fun to dance and sing along to. 

And he's so pretty! 

#YearlongMixtape

#PrinceWeek 

www.video.naij.com/view=vgc5mdw4 

Prince Week - "Controversy"

Great great great song from Prince's 1981 album of the same name.  A lot of people don't know it because it was released pre-"1999" and before he became really famous.

The only video I could find is this low-quality live video from a show in NJ in '82.  He was only 23 and has the same confidence he has today.  And his band is so tight!  Incredible!

The lyrics are a little difficult to understand, but they're really powerful, so I've posted them below.  The song was written in response to critics who didn't quite "get" or know what to do with this weird looking kid.  So instead of focusing on his obvious and massive talent, they focused on what he looked like.  Some things never change...

The line "some people wanna die, so they can be free" is especially moving - I think it speaks to people who are bullied and don't feel like they can truly be themselves until they leave the physical restraints of this life.

"I just can't believe
All the things people say, controversy
Am I black or white?
Am I straight or gay? Controversy

Do I believe in God?
Do I believe in me?
Controversy

I can't understand
Human curiosity, controversy
Was it good for you?
Was I what you wanted me to be?
Controversy

Do you get high?
Does your daddy cry?
Controversy

Do I believe in God?
Do I believe in me?
Some people wanna die
So they can be free

I said life is just a game
We're all just the same
Do you wanna play?
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Our Father, who art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven

Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those
Who trespass against us

Lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom and the power
And the glory forever and ever

Love Him, love Him baby

Listen, people call me rude
I wish we all were nude
I wish there was no black and white
I wish there were no rules

People call me rude
I wish we were all nude
I wish there was no black and white
I wish there were no rules

Do I believe in God?
Do I believe in me?
Let me tell ya
Some people wanna die
So they can be free

I said life is just a game
We're all just the same
Don't ya wanna play?"

#YearlongMixtape

#PrinceWeek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0pewqF8POE

Prince Week - "Raspberry Beret"

This was my favorite song when I was 8-9 years old, in 1985. That means that I've been a Prince fan for longer than I've been a fan of anyone else.  He's always been there for me.  

I was obsessed with the video and his cloud suit.  It's pretty funny when People magazine also has to get their Prince videos from sketchy foreign websites.  Viva les illegal downloads!! 

#YearlongMixtape 

#PrinceWeek 

#andifitwaswarmshewouldntwearmuchmore

http://www.people.com/people/mobile/article/0,,20917435,0.html 

Prince Week - "Purple Rain"

I'm going to make this as much of a Prince Week as the Internet will allow! The key to finding Prince videos is looking at foreign websites. I'm sure that's not illegal or damaging to my computer AT. ALL. I'm thinking this website is Eastern European?

A song about lost friendship and the healing power of rain on this stormy evening. I am grateful to friends who haven't given up on me, and who listen and challenge me to strive for better than I think I deserve, because they know I'm worth the fight.

Thank you all!

"If you know what I'm singin' about up here, come on, raise your hand!"

#‎YearlongMixtape

#‎PrinceWeek

http://www.mojvideo.com/video-prince-purple-rain-1984-complete-video/192cc3f9a076974a3585

Genesis - "Land of Confusion"

I double checked the #YearlongMixtape archives and I have not yet posted this one, so here it is!  My other favorite Genesis song - awesome song, awesome video.  I remember not being old enough to really understand what was going on politically for most of the 80s, but just that we were always supposed to feel very scared of some bad thing happening, and Reagan was going to keep us safe (ha!).  It didn't make any sense to me - probably because it was senseless from the start.

And I remember watching the Spitting Image show (which the puppets in the video are from) that aired on NBC in the late 80s.  I'd love to see the original British version, if I ever get time...

"There's too many men

Too many people

Making too many problems

And not much love to go round

Can't you see

This is a land of confusion

This is the world we live in

And these are the hands we're given

Use them and let's start trying

To make it a place worth living in"

Hope you've all enjoyed the Phil Collins mini-thon! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pkVLqSaahk