Author: mystro2b

Black Math by The White Stripes

TGIF and play along kids.

Burning Down the House by Talking Heads

“Burning Down the House” became Talking Heads’ highest-charting hit single in North America, becoming their only top ten single on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 9, as well as reaching the top ten in Canada.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_Down_the_House

Annie Waits by Ben Folds

When someone tells you a story about their life, no matter how tragic or inspiring, it can sometimes be difficult to relate. Sing that story with verses and a chorus that is melancholic, honest and heartbreaking and the dynamic changes. You hear that story with a new kind of empathy. Ben Folds is that kind of story teller with his ballads of every day people like Annie.

Before She Made Me Crawl by Redd Volkaert

I don’t listen to country music regularly, but when I do, I listen to Redd and his mellifluous voice and twangy Tele. Try it. It’s the perfect combination of a ballad about a man and his complicated relationship with a women set to straight forward lyrics= country poetry.

Messin’ With the Kid by Junior Wells Chicago Blues Band

I think I first heard this song performed by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as The Blues Brothers, a recurring musical sketch on Saturday Night Live during the late 70s and 80s. Fictional brothers Jake and Elwood Blues decked out in their ill fitting matching black suits, white shirts and skinny black ties, black fedoras, and Ray Ban sunglasses, were so popular that their musical shtick led to a couple of albums, a concert tour and a movie. Thanks to legendary band leader Paul Shaffer and the great SNL band, this was probably the first exposure to the Chicago Blues sound for many. But it’s this version by Junior Wells and his swinging sidemen, that is the original you need for your Blues Education.

Fisher’s Hornpipe by Wyatt Rice

It’s pretty depressing during these pandemic times. But some excellent flatpicking guitar by Wyatt Rice will turn that frown upside down.

Hero Worship by The B-52’s

White suburban boy loses it when he hears the range and passion of this girl’s voice. Boy=me.

Hungry For You (J’Aurais Toujours Faim De Toi) by The Police

Sting singing in French? C’mon! What is sexier than that…

Galliard Battaglia by Samuel Scheidt performed by Eastman Brass Quintet

A brass quintet is made up of two trumpets, french horn, trombone and tuba. A favorite musical memory is playing this song in college with these fellows:

In Repair by John Mayer

Johnny might make you crazy, but this video is a pretty cool look at the creative process behind this song. At about 2:01, “the worst sounding pedal of all time” was the first effects processor I owned.