It has been a while since I’ve added another post to this sequence (or should I say series?) So, I might as well do one of them now. Plus, it will get me another post within the week, since I think I should try to post something at least once a week when not in a post-a-day challenge. That way the blog does not appear to be dead.
1) Don’t Say You Love Me by Billy Squier. The first time I heard this song, actually, was not on the radio or in a “commercial” form. Instead, I heard a faster version of the tune as a bridge between the end of starting lineups and the tip-off for Southeast basketball games, as the band played the song. Frankly, I was a little disappointed when I heard the commercial version of the song, as it wasn’t as energetic as the band version!
2) Ohio by CSNY. This song was salient in the last week of my fifth grade year, as we did a skit on the 70s. I heard the song several times as we rehearsed for the presentation on the last day of the school year, and it was my cue to be ready to enter, as the part about the Watergate scandal came immediately following the playing of this song. (Who says that the presentation has to be in chronological order?)
3) Restless Heart by Chris Geith. It’s a “Weather Channel” CD song, and I like it with a smooth progression on the song. There are no particular memories associated with it, but as I have sometimes copped out in my descriptions, that need not be a reason for me to not have it on my MP3 player. I give all songs a chance when I have a full CD.
4) Bad, Bad Simba by Paprika Soul. Another “Weather Channel” CD song, but this time there IS a specific memory associated with it. The February after I got the CD for חנוכה (Hanukkah), I chose this song as my song for the Neihardt date auction, and developed a crazy dance for it, just like at the basketball games. (Unlike many of my basketball dances, though, this one has no video associated with it 🙂 )
5) Twisted by Keith Sweat. (Repeat, with not much to add…)
5b) Let The Spirit Soar by James Swearingen. Like many other Swearingen songs and songs that I played in band, I practiced them daily and really enjoyed the tunes. In particular on this one, it goes through several majestic phases, and really does sound like some sort of elevatory song.
6) Incense and Peppermint by Strawberry Alarm Clock. I heard this song on WLS on September 15, 2011 after a long day of preparing for the new student luncheon as a member of MGLC. Later that evening, I biked from Evanston to Chicago for the first meeting of the Noah-Mickey-Joe-Matt bridge group, and as I rode on the lakefront trail, this song was stuck in my head–the whole way!
7) Forever Man by Eric Clapton. I like this song because it’s pretty upbeat, but it turns out that it’s also liked due to the “kiss this guy” style mistake. The first few times I heard the song, not knowing what its name was, I thought that he was saying, “Won’t you be my poor little woman? I’ll try to be your poor little man.” Once I found out the name of the song, I realized I was way wrong!
8) Brown-Eyed Girl arr. by Catatonics. This seems to be a popular song for a-cappella singing, as I have heard it done by almost every a-cappella group, including the Catatonics. The harmony of the “instrumentals” sounds better than the radio version, although the Catatonics are not as flashy as, say, ShireiNU. Of course, graduate students don’t have as much time to devote to a-cappella practices!
9) Mr. Blue Sky arr. by Catatonics. Hmm… even though I have previously posted on this song, I would like to say that after hearing the radio version, it has its own merits and I actually really like both, because for the a-cappella version, it has the primacy effect for me. The radio version has percussion that is not well-represented by the Catatonics (they had a distinct lack of beat-boxing).
10) Zora’s Domain from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. One of my favorite songs from the game, as it is very peaceful, characteristic of an area of water and mermaids. It is also nice how, even when frozen over when Link is an adult, that the music is unchanged from earlier in the game. Perhaps even to ironic effect!
11) השכיבנו (Hashkivenu) arr. by Rabbi Mordecai Levin. This is on the CD of “Shabbat at Beth El Synagogue,” and is the “round” version (a-la Craig Taubman). Although it’s not my favorite musical version of this song (there’s a version that Danny Neiden sings that has the primacy effect), I do like it, as I enjoy rounds, and have ever since I started band and did “rounds” with scales. Interestingly, a few weeks ago, we looked at this prayer, trying to understand it from the viewpoint of the writer.
12) Give It Up by KC And The Sunshine Band. (Unmemorable repeat.)
12b) Night In The City by ELO. The repetition of the tune is quite appealing to me, and this is also one that I misheard the lyrics. I thought, “Night in the city, driving USA.” Sounds strange, and indeed, it’s actually “driving you insane.” It’s funny, how sometimes songs intentionally make grammatical errors or nonsense sentences, but not this time!
13) מרוץ החיים משרית חדד (Mirutz Ha’Hayim by Sarit Hadad) The instrumental introduction immediately got me hooked on the song, and she has a beautiful voice too. The title of the song roughly translates to “The race of life,” and in the chorus, the idea that we all need to slow down, but don’t really have the time. It’s a good message. (granted, I am not an expert in Hebrew yet, so I may be seriously butchering the message.)
14) For You I Will by Monica. The love-song aspect actually appeals to me, the “I will cross the ocean for you…” lines. Additionally, the slow pace of the song is pretty nice, as a change of pace from others that I like. I know that this song is probably best-known from “Space Jam,” but for some reason I don’t recall the song from that movie, despite it being one of my favorite movies from way back when…
15) One Step At A Time by Jordin Sparks. WHOOOOA–stop the presses! Noah has a relatively new song on his MP3 rotation!?! Yes indeed. I like this song, because of the background percussion and staccato voice resembling stepping. Furthermore, it got stuck in my head, but for whatever reason, I can’t remember where it was. It also seems to epitomize my general approach toward life!
Well, that was quite a compelling list. That was fun!
Never A Worry 