Wendy DeCora.com

Nanette, Stacey, and Lisa have all put their iPods/playlists on shuffle and posted about the first ten songs that came up and their thoughts/memories about the song.

I haven’t been listening to my iPod today. Today I’ve been indulging in a little early Christmas music by listening to Sujfan Stevens’ Songs for Christmas albums online. Jeff got me the boxed set for Christmas last year. [Read more about it here.] There are originals, classic Christmas tunes, and other hymns. Its very folksy and homemade and brilliant. I love it so much, but had been good and hadn’t listened to it since probably February. Today I gave in and started listening to it online, as I don’t have my Christmas music on my iPod yet. Highlights include O Come , O Come Emmanuel on Vol. I, Come Thou Font of Every Blessing on Vol. II, and That Was the Worst Christmas Ever on Vol. III. Sujfan has some of the most entertaining song titles you’ll see.

I will now take a break from the Christmas and put my iPod on shuffle and see what comes up. I have 12,561 songs on my iPod right now. I bet I haven’t listened to half of those, so I doubt my list is going to be filled with specific NOLA fabulousness (it would if I just used my NOLA or Harry playlists), but this could be entertaining or very dull.

[List after the jump]

1. Someone to Watch Over Me as performed by Gertrude Lawerence from the musical ‘Oh, Kay!’ on the Best of Broadway: The American Musical album - This is from the big PBS mini-series about the history of the American musical. I know I enjoyed the mini-series a lot. I need to see more musicals. Obviously this song is a classic, Gershwin, part of the American Songbook and everyone and their cousin has recorded or performed it.
2. Overture from Man of La Mancha - I have a large collection of movie soundtracks and broadway cast recordings. I haven’t seen this show, but I know I got the album from Doogie because I think it is one of his favorite musicals. I know some of the music in the Overture because it is classic. Everyone knows ‘The Impossible Dream’, even if they don’t think they do. We also performed ‘Don Quixote sails the Volga’ in marching band one year. I remember the sousies having this great musical line and also forming a boat and rowing themselves across the field. Such are the random memories of my life.
3. Rat A Tang Tang by Papa Grows Funk from the City Life 2005 Local Music CD - PGF is a popular NOLA funk band. The track is groovy, but I’m not a huge PGF fan. I know I got the CD, that was in a NOLA magazine, from Stacey. I think Bonerama was on the same disc.
4. A Thousand Autumns on ‘The Dark Keys’ by Branford Marsalis - I have a lot of Branford tracks that I’ve never given a proper listen to. I’ve seen him perform with Harry once, but I don’t know if I’ve seen him on his own and I should sometime. Harry is on Branford’s label and they work together a lot, especially now with the Musicians’ Village. I remember the first time I was really exposed to Branford’s playing was on the Sneakers soundtrack. He plays mostly soprano on that album, but it is divine. Being a tenor sax player myself, there is always a special place in my listening heart for artists like Branford.
5. Autumn in New York by Frank Sinatra - Another classic song. I have so many Sinatra ‘greatest/classic hits’ albums, I can’t even keep them straight. I love Sinatra. I hate the comparisons of Harry to Frank.
6. Wannabe by The Spice Girls - How timely, how funny, how great. This song came out the summer after my freshman year at college. It was everywhere. How many times did I dance to this at the Fieldhouse? The other Spice Girls memory is that I was living in Wales when Geri left the group in 1998. The UK takes their pop music really seriously (for three weeks at a time) and it was like someone had died. It was everywhere. Like people were in mourning. So bizarre. I know Kristy got tickets to see their reunion tour in Vegas next month, now I see they’re coming to Chicago next year. I have to check if Scott wants to go to that. I think it would be a scream! Zig-a-zig-ahhh!
7. Sinking by Jars of Clay on their self-titled debut album - Love this album. I recently dug it back out for my car CD player. This came out my freshman year in college, but where I know it from is my last full summer working as a counselor at Summer Games, we listened to that album all the time. Used it in worship services. Performed songs from it. Its such a great album from top to bottom. The lyrics are great, the music is beautiful. I saw them in concert once. I know I have a Jars of Clay t-shirt somewhere in my vast collection. I have some of their follow-up albums, but I didn’t think they captured the same musical spirit as the first one, but I see they’re still putting out records, including a new Christmas album, I may have to check them out again.
8. The Girls, The Prince, and the Painting from the Ever After soundtrack - Like I said before, I’m a big collector of movie soundtracks, musical scores, the instrumental parts, especially. It took me awhile to find this one originally. I’m not usually a fan of romantic movies, but Ever After is really delightful and lovely without being too sappy. The music by George Fenton reflects that well.
9. Everything About It Is a Love Song on ‘Surprise’ by Paul Simon - Paul Simon is in my top five of favorite singers. Obviously he’s a living legend of the music industry. I started listening to him with the classic ‘Graceland’ album, several years after it came out. ‘Surprise’ is his latest studio album from a couple of years ago. What I love about Paul Simon is that for someone who has been putting out music for over forty years, is that he’s not resting on his laurels. I was really amazed at how great this last album was. I listen to it all the time. He’s on my short list of musicians I need to see live.
10. What If by Kate Winslet - And here’s the example of a completely random song I thought I would pop up earlier. Listening to it, I realize I’ve heard it before in my iPod listening, but I have no idea where it came from. I didn’t even knew Kate Winslet (yes, Rose from ‘Titanic’ Kate Winslet) sang. Looking at wikipedia, apparently this was her one released single on a soundtrack album. Its not bad, just nothing special. She has a lovely voice.

I can blather on about anything, can’t I?

And because I was curious, here are the next ten songs that my iPod served up, sans commentary:

1. The March of the Siamese Children from ‘The King and I’ soundtrack
2. Honorable Hong Kong Rock by The Out-Landers from Ultra-Lounge, Vol. 8 : Cocktail Capers
3. An Introduction for the album ‘Simply Mad About the Mouse’
4. Attacking A Star Destroyer from ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ soundtrack
5. Stoic Revolutions on ‘Beyond’ by Joshua Redman
6. Honey Suckle Rose by Duke Ellington
7. Perhaps by Charlie Parker from ‘The Complete Savoy & Dial Master Takes’
8. Self-Portrait with Hair Down from the ‘Frida’ soundtrack
9. Mal Fights Niska / Back Home from the ‘Firefly: Original Television Sountrack’
10. Edwardo The Barber from the ‘Edward Scissorhands’ soundtrack

There are all the random soundtrack tracks I had been expecting. Nice to know my iPod was accommodating for my first ten shuffles.

Posted in Music, NaBloPoMo

Tags:Christmas.ipod.Music.playlist