24 March 2012 - Sir Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back

Sir Mix-A-Lot was a talented hip hop artist from Seattle, but he just wasn't getting any hits.  So he went highbrow.

Or not.

This song, a tribute to a woman's rear end that was clean enough to play on radio without editing - it didn't use the a-word even once! - has more double entendres than any I've ever heard.  Sir Mix-A-Lot was one of the last old school hip hop artists to get a chart hit, and he did it because he was - and is - a clever songwriter.  This very clever song is his magnum opus.

Also, I learned that red beans and rice go directly to the derriere.  Who knew?!

23 March 2012 - Kix - Cold Blood

It's Hair Metal Friday!!! Here's a classic video by Maryland's Kix.   

22 March 2012 - Los Del Rio - Macarena

Do they still play this song at weddings?  You know, before it was played at weddings, and before I learned that silly dance (although it beats the hell out of the Chicken Dance and the Electric Slide).  A big hit, that just kind of happened by accident to a couple of old lounge singers.  The version you all know is the remix as done by a couple of DJs called the Bayside Boys.

 

For the record, Vittorino is a brand of meat.  That girl's boyfriend is named Meat.

For those of you so compelled, here is the song before it was remixed.  It's still a beautifully done song by a couple of old lounge singers.  It's not quite the same song - at all.  There's no women and no boyfriend named Meat.  Just a girl named Macarena.... who's quite free to have fun with her body.

21 March 2012 - Counting Crows - Hanginaround

So while I've never considered myself a Counting Crows fan, I somehow have three of their cds. Not sure how this happened. I can only guess I acquired them after buying random people's cd collections. It certainly wasn't out of a curiosity to hear their inoffensive middle-of-the-road rock. Although, if I was forced at gunpoint (or a guilty pleasure blog) to name a Crows song I liked, it would have to be Hanginaround. It's got a nice groove to it.

20 March 2012 - The Kendalls - Heaven's Just A Sin Away

The Kendalls were a father-daughter country music duo from Pennsylvania. I always found it slightly strange that they were a father-daughter combination singing songs about couples, such as their minor hit "Pittsburgh Steelers", but that's not what we're talking about today.  Their biggest hit by far was a song with a great title, second only to "Dropkick Me, Jesus (Through The Goalposts of Life)", and one that was earnestly and, perhaps ironically, given the title, innocently sung.

And you can laugh at me, but as cheesy as this song was, even in the mid-70's, I always loved it.  I found it to be clever and fun.  Just don't tell my mother - she'll never let me live it down.



We have a bonus treat for you today. Those of you who are so inclined, we do have a blog dedicated to cover tunes, and today, we feature a cover of this very song. So, after you listen to it here, listen to it there, and let us know in the comments which you like better!

19 March 2012 - Depeche Mode - The Meaning of Love

I started listening to Depeche Mode around the time Music For The Masses came out. Of course I became a big fan and bought all of their previous records. While I loved the darkness of Masses and Black Celebration, nothing could have shocked me more than hearing the first two records. Bouncy synth pop? Really? To be honest, I'm surprised my teeanage mind didn't flip out and burn ALL of their records. However rational I may or may not have been, I kept those first two records (but didn't listen to them again). A few years ago I gave them another shot (after about 20 years...so I guess we can throw out the thought of me being rational). And sure, it's still all sorts of cheesy, but it's in a good guilty pleasure kind of way.

18 March 2012 - Jenny Toomey - Baby Would It Matter

Every musician wishes they had Jenny Toomey's career.  In addition to her solo work - which is brilliant and what we are showcasing today - she has led no less than five really cool bands - I'm going to try to list them from memory without looking them up - Tsunami, Geek, Choke, Grenadine, Liquorice.... I know I'm missing one, but no matter.   AND she founded her own record label - Simple Machines - which ended up being a major player in the DC punk/indie scene, along with Dischord and Teen Beat Records.

And she walked away from musical brilliance to join the Ford Foundation, where she is a Senior Program Officer.  She is sorely missed in the music world, but she is doing good work. (Editor's update: she's in a new role there and the link reflects that)

Here is a live performance of two of my favorite songs by her, "Baby Would It Matter" and "Artful Dodger".  In addition to the coolness of the songs, I love the cowboy hat.  I hope you enjoy the music.

 

Because I am doing this as a public service, I wanted to offer a 2nd performance, from the famed Fort Reno in Washington, DC.  Again, she opens with "Baby Would It Matter."  No cowboy hat this time but, in my opinion, a richer performance.



(Update: 15 May 2013) I just discovered this version of the same song from two years earlier, done by Jenny's band Liquorice.  It's a more melancholy interpretation, but it still is pretty damned awesome.  More organ on this version, but it fits the mood.

(Update: 19 January 2022) So Low.  That's the one I was missing.