Happy New Year! And New Rules! And New Wave! And New Bag! And New World Man! And….
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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 8-1-23
FUN FACT: Coolio is not the name on this rapper’s birth certificate. He was born Artis Leon Ivey Jr. and got his stage name from a nickname he had as a teenager: Coolio Iglesias. Of course that’s a play on singer Julio Iglesias, with whom Coolio performed a version of “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” in 1999. So next time you listen to “Gangsta’s Paradise,” remember that there’s a little bit of Julio in Coolio 😂
The late Artis Leon Ivey Jr. was born on this date in 1963. A couple of his best-known tracks are on today’s playlist.
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Throwback Thursday: 1994
Nineteen ninety-four was not one of rock and pop music’s pivotal years. I didn’t realize how lackluster it was until compiling this week’s Throwback Thursday playlist. I always begin such lists with a look at the pop charts of the year being spotlighted. What a sad state of affairs they were in 1994! I found around 15 good songs that peaked in the top 40 that year, and included all of them in this list (except for Ƭ̵̬̊’s “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” which is not on Spotify). A few great songs came close to making the Top 40, such as Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer” (peaked at #41) and The Breeders’ “Cannonball (peaked at #44). More great (mostly “alternative”) tracks would have made the Billboard Hot 100’s top 40 if not for Billboard‘s archaic rule that in order for a song to be eligible for the Hot 100, it needs to be commercially released as a single. Record companies stopped releasing many singles in the late 80s so as to force consumers into buying more profitable full-length albums. What that means is the Hot 100, which was supposed to represent the 100 most popular songs in the US, did not represent the 100 most popular songs in the US. And what mad the top 40 in 1994 was a lot of wussy drek. And Kurt Cobain died in 1994. Not a good year for music. Here are its gems:
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Your (Almost) Daily Playlist (8-1-20)
Inspired by the August 1 birthdays of Public Enemy‘s Chuck D, Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, Robert Cray, Coolio, L7’s Suzi Gardner and Luna’s Dean Wareham.
Throwback Thursday – 1996
Per the site WhoSampled.com, Joe Cocker’s “Woman to Woman” (1972) has been sampled 24 times. Joe Cocker! Twenty-four times! Who knew?
The best-known track to sample “Woman to Woman” is 2Pac’s “California Love,” which utilizes the instrumental riff from the beginning of the Cocker song as one of its hooks. Here is “Woman to Woman:”
“California Love” kicks off this week’s Throwback Thursday playlist, spotlighting the music of 1996.
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Throwback Thursday – 1994
Some years ago I played Beck’s “Loser” for my 94-year-old grandfather. He didn’t care for the lyrics. “I’m a loser, baby, so why don’t you kill me?”
“That’s why so many young people commit suicide,” he argued.
Hearing “Loser” and the rest of Beck’s major label debut album, Mellow Gold, didn’t make me want to kill myself. Quite the opposite. He brought and continues to bring so much joy into my life.
Beck’s “Loser” kicks off this week’s Throwback Thursday playlist, spotlighting the year 1994.
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Throwback Thursday – The Hits of 1995
This week’s Throwback Thursday playlist spotlights the hits of 1995, starting with TLC’s “Waterfalls,” a song that features backing vocals by Cee Lo Green.
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All the girls are on me cause I’m down with Mike D
Today Tunes du Jour celebrates the birthday of Beastie Boy Mike D. Originally a hardcore punk band, the Beastie Boys evolved into one of the most influential and longest-running hip hop groups.
Our playlist begins with “The New Style,” which hit the r&b chart a month prior to the Beasties hitting the pop chart with their breakout hit, “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!!!).” Both tracks appear on their debut album Licensed To Ill, which the Village Voice favorably reviewed under the headline “Three Jerks Make a Masterpiece.” The album came out in 1986, the year after the group opened for Madonna on The Virgin Tour, and was practically glued to my turntable. I didn’t think they’d be able to top such a perfect record.
Through the years they continued to surprise and innovate. Enjoy this playlist consisting of a handful of Beastie Boys tracks along with other hip hop favorites.