Music: December 2007 Archives

Somebody once explained to me that he liked two kinds of music: rock music that was on the radio when he was 10 years old, and rock music that sounded like the music on the radio when he was 10 years old. He's not the only one: witness the popularity of nostalgia-indulging stations the Bone and KFOG in the Bay Area.

It's also popular to say that modern music is by and large crap.

On the other hand, while rock of a certain vintage is quite good, it also has generally been played to death. Certain songs come on, and I have to switch stations. Because it's just one too many times.

So this playlist is for people who like early 1970s-era rock music, or people who are sick of rock music. Like me. You'll find some music by 70s band Big Star, who should be all over classic rock stations but aren't, as well as more recent acts like Spoon, Chuck Prophet, and the Raconteurs. I also threw in a couple of non-English language songs, because I thought they rocked. (Fans of Carlos Santana should really investigate Amadou and Mariam further.) Enjoy.

For this one, I pulled out the funkiest music in my collection. Of course it includes James Brown and Prince, but there's also lesser-known artists like Sharon Brown and Lee Fields, who do a great job of emulating the 70s, as well as Quantic, a British artist with a fondness for American soul of a certain era (and works with singers of a certain vintage.) And then there's Betty Davis — gee, think Macy Grey knows who she is? Enjoy.

This mix is for the six-year-old daughter of a friend who has discovered her mom's collection of 80s music, and particularly likes female singers. While not too strong on the 80s front, it is heavy on the estrogen. Hopefully she'll enjoy it, and other people will too...

I've wanted to do a music podcast. For many reasons, this isn't workable right now (lack of time, fear of being sued for unlicensed music sharing, etc.) so I've been looking at various websites that let you share your playlists. (That way, if anybody gets sued, it'll be somebody else!)

So I'm trying one called MediaMaster right now. I uploaded a mix I made for a friend's birthday. Give a listen and tell me if it works!

Edited to add: and this link is supposed to play in iTunes: