One Of Us – Wire – This doesn’t sound like the arty Wire from back in the late seventies and more like alt rock than pretty catchy art rock as well.
What Goes Round – Justin Timberlake – Great song… a great song that’s four years old!! Justin has done precisely two albums in eight years.
Puttin’ On The Ritz – Judy Garland – From the Live At Carnegie Hall 1962 career high. Ever since Young Frankenstein it has been exceedingly hard to take this song seriously but Garland swings it pretty hard.
I Have A Dream – Abba – This song is the reason they put the musical Mama Mia on a Mediterranian Island -it is pop meditation with Greek instrumentation.
We’re Coming Out – The Replacement – It is a wonder Helen and I don’t name check the Replacements more often. I don’t think there is a modern punk band that doesn’t borrow liberally from them.
Blue Lips – Regina Spektor – From Far though this version is off the Boot from last years stunning Beacon set. Hasn’t weathered the past year too well though better stripped down than on the album
Ghost World – Aimee Mann – The best song off her best album, it is pop rock of such enormous power about a directionless girl who has just graduated from High School. Great lyric: “Everyone I know is acting weird or way too cool…” so she reads and rides her bike, worries about a summer job or staying at her dad’s place and ends up jumping off the dock “and watch the summer waste way”. A perfect song for a blizzard.
Lily Of The Valley – George Jones – From The Gospel Collection and as sweet a sounding love song to JC. Pure spiritual.
Rockin’ – Louis Armstrong – From the African concerts, low and tasty opening melody by Armstrong but Giddins opinion notwithstanding, Velma Middleton did this clowning with Armstrong much better than any one else.
N.A.S.A. Anthem – N.A.S.A. – Disco sample, kinda dayglow thigh high dancing boots: very late sixties strip clubby.
The Imposter (Live At Concert for Kumpuchea, 1979) – Adds zero to the recorded version, but nothing was really needed anyway.
Three Babies – Sinead O’Connor – My sister Marie McColl’s fave… it is the story of requited love.
Me-Jane – P.J. Harvey – From an obscure boot circa 1995, her To Bring You My Love and an awesome raging sexuality sprung from a hard acoustic ramble.
Easter Parade – Judy Garland and Fred Astaire – This is so evocative of the scene in the movie with Garland and Astaire hand in hand strolling down 5th Avenue.
Where It’s At – Beck – He had two turn tables and a microphone.