Track 1: “Fake It” by Seether
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I love this song…not a little because I feel exactly this way on LOTS of days. Plus, the music has just enough edge without trying too hard to be grating or angst-ridden or creepy. Funny, I haven’t sought out more Seether – maybe because this song stands alone and I don’t want to sully it by hearing anything that might possibly fit the aforementioned description…
Track 2: “Dreamer” by Supertramp
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Yep, this is the same Supertramp from Breakfast in America fame…but this song came earlier – 1974, to be exact. I imagine the use of “Far Out!” as an interjection might have tipped you off that it wasn’t a new release. (What? Yeah, I’m old. I was seven at the time.) I’ve always loved Supertramp – there’s something about the Hodgson and Davies vocals that just works for me.
Track 3: “Candy” by Paolo Nutini
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Ahhhh, Paolo – Scottish Boy Wonder. Forget the fact that I’m old enough to be his mother - that voice with the accent melts me. (Looks don’t hurt, either.) He really is an old soul and a very versatile musician. Can’t say I’ve disliked anything I’ve ever heard of his! Yeah, must be that Italian connection we’ve got going…wink, wink, nudge, nudge, fahgeddaboutit.
Track 4: “Wooden Ships” by Crosby, Stills & Nash
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“If you smile at me, I will understand…’cause that is something everybody everywhere does in the same language.” Think about that – pretty powerful lyrics, especially for 1969 when this song came out – on their first album. Yeah, an album which spawned not only this classic, but “Suite Judy Blue Eyes”, “Marrakesh Express” and “Long Time Gone”, the latter being their response to the assassination of Robert Kennedy.
Maybe take a listen again with fresh ears and hear this not just as one of those songs you hear on the oldies radio station, but as the bold statement that it was meant to be from three young idealistic folk rockers just starting out in their career. In that context, it blows me away.
Track 5: “The Dead Parrot Sketch” by Monty Python
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Oh, like YOU don’t have any Monty Python in your mp3 collection! (…if you don’t, don’t tell me. I don’t want to be disappointed in you.)
