Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 10-1-23

In 1993, humor columnist Dave Barry surveyed his readers to find the worst song. The clear winner for Worst Overall Song and Worst Lyrics was “Mac Arthur Park.” Culture critic Joe Queenan disagreed with the results “because ‘Ebony and Ivory’ exists, as do ‘You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,’ ‘Baby, I’m-a Want You,’ ‘Feelings,’ ‘Benny and the Jets,’ ‘Witchy Woman’ and ‘Sussudio,’” adding “On a planet where somebody thought it would be a good idea to write ‘Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,’ the best ‘MacArthur Park’ is ever going to earn in the sucky-song sweepstakes is a tie.”

The late Richard Harris was born on this date in 1930. Celebrate his birthday with a piece of soggy cake and by listening to today’s playlist, which includes the song many hate.

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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 1-6-23

In his excellent autobiography Le Freak, Chic’s Nile Rodgers writes how his group’s record label wanted to capture the magic Rodgers and his music partner Bernard Edwards brought to their group to other acts on the Atlantic Records roster, such as The Rolling Stones and Bette Midler. Nile turned down the acts that were firmly established, as with them less attention would be paid to the song’s writers and producers. He wanted to work with a lesser known act. Atlantic Records president Jerry Greenberg suggested a group of sisters who “stick together like birds of a feather,” and so it came to be that Rodgers and Edwards wrote and produced the We Are Family album for Sister Sledge. I think you know what happened next.

Today’s playlist celebrates the birthday of Sister Sledge lead vocalist Kathy Sledge by including several tracks from that classic album.

Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 12-1-22

Today’s playlist recognized World AIDS Day and celebrates the December 1 birthdays of Billy Paul, The Doors’ Jon Densmore, Janelle Monáe, Basement Jaxx’s Simon Ratcliff, Blue Öyster Cult’s Eric Bloom, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s Alec Ounsworth, Gilbert O’Sullivan, Julee Cruise, Bette Midler, Sandy Nelson, Lou Rawls, Jaco Pastorius, Mary Martin, Matt Monro, Hair‘s Treat Williams, Sarah Silverman, and Jonathan Coulton.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/317bLVZ9l4SCaRFs3FCAjs?si=f87751b913934a94

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