Link to my current playlist

Here it is. Currenly 109 songs. Most are from the past few years but it goes back to the mid 2000s. About half are songs I heard first on WFUV and the rest are songs I found on Youtube walks.

A song series

These three songs seem to me to carry a musical idea forward, from the early 80s to the late 80s to the near-present: Quarterflash - Harden My Heart (1981); written by Quarterflash guitarist Marv Ross Alannah Myles - Black Velvet (1989); songwriters: Christopher Ward and David Tyson Lissie - When I'm Alone (2010); songwriters: Lissie, Jim Irvin, and Julian Emery

Black Box - Ride On Time

The last link at onandbeyondsongs was to this song by Black Box but the link broke. Here is an updated link.

On Songs is back

Checking in after more than 4 years. I still exist. The blog that onsongs moved to, onandbeyondsongs, is still there, but I can't find the account I used for that blog. So I'm coming back to this one, which I can access. No need to go through history. Things have been OK here. I've been keeping up with music thanks to the eclectic sounds of WFUV and keeping up with shoegaze/dreampop thanks to the most excellent internet radio station in the universe: DKFM. I have a new playlist of favorites and if I can find the time, I'll talk about them here. Up All Night by Beck from his album Colors (2017) is one of my recent favorites. Beck knows how to put a pop song together and in this album he has crafted some pretty flawless dance-rhythm tracks.

On Songs is Moving

This blog is moving to onandbeyondsongs.blogspot.com
The themes will be the same.  The look will be slightly different. My friend Darren will be joining the blog.  And I'll ask Old Grimy to stay with us as well.
See you over there!

Gu Qin

Which brings me back to the Gu Qin. This instrument gets closest to the pure sounds of nature of any that I've ever heard. I hope to play one of these some day.

Shahi Baaja

I've been thinking about getting one of these for a long time. It would be a lot of fun.  I wouldn't be able to do what Pete List is doing in the video but I could do some good stuff of my own on it.

I Can't Wait - Nu Shooz

[link] The early synth pop era resulted in a good number of fairly eclectically produced hitting the top 40.  This one is great.  One of the best uses of gogo bells in history.

Intro of Disney's Jesse

[link] Ru-Jun was into this show for a while a couple of years ago.  She still sings the theme from time to time.  It's a charming show with kids that are fun to watch but with predictably bad and over the top writing and acting.  I have always liked the intro.

El Final de la Noche - SVPER

[link] Recommended by my friend Darren.  Very reminiscent of early 80s brit/euro new wave, but also very textured and atmospheric. I love the analog equipment in the video. Good stuff.

Planet Claire - the B52's

[link] Off their first album, this song kind of summarizes the retro-kitsch-camp aesthetics. It simultaneously utilizes imagery reminiscent of golden age science fiction as well as a statement about a certain kind of person (Claire) who seems to be an image of themselves, and eventually their fans. All aspects of the song feed into this: the lyrics, the spy theme rhythm track, and the sound effects. Claire is an alien because she is different. A lot of people I knew in the 80s found this very appealing. The B52s were on the ground floor of what became a standard trope of what are now called hipsters.

the episodic 3rd The Gamers movie

[link to first episode] This one is funded via Kickstarter.  The hilarity continues. These guys are idols in the con world.

The first The Gamers movie

[link] Microscopic budget.  Still quite fun.  The actors are quite a big younger.

Alcest - Délivrance

[link] Slowgaze with a pretty simple progression.  Going for big atmosphere here. Works pretty well.

The Gamers: Dorkness Rising

[link] I'm enjoying this immensely.  It's only a put-down of D&Ders in the self-deprecating title. Overall, I find it to be a loving tribute of the people and situations of gaming. Really really funny.  But there are also some honest statements about the sociology of gaming and perhaps larger things.  This deserves a wide cult audience.

Ernesto Lecuona's Malagueña on the Moog

[link]
Always great to revisit this music from my youth.  So powerful. Helps that it is a great piece of music to begin with.

Warcraft 2 music

I loved the original Warcraft (2 and 3, never played 1) real time strategy game, before they went to World of Warcraft.  Found the Human and Orc music online.  Brings back memories.

Two of my very favorites from ABBA

S.O.S. [link]
Chiquitita [link]
Sweet but complex harmonies.  This is as atmospheric as high pop gets. Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson write great pop. All the cliches about this band and their popular fandom are unfortunate. Really good music often is very popular.  There's nothing wrong with that fact.

Sade - the two original classics

Smooth Operator
The Sweetest Taboo

These songs were ubiquitous on Top 40 radio in the 80s and they deserved it. Was working out to them the other day.  They don't get old.

Sade - Never as Good as the First Time

[link] Another really great one from Sade.  I really like the keyboard-bass interplay in the main lick.  There are great breaks in this song as well.