Holy shit, Steve. You’re 40?
Where has the time all gone to? Anyway, happy birthday, my man! Here’s to the 40s – may they constitute your best decade yet.
A few prefatory notes:
The tracks are in alphabetical order, not rank order. (Getting the list down to 40 was hard enough.)
I have pulled these tunes not from the entire universe of music, but just from what is already on my iTunes player. This is why you won’t see any Beatles or anything else that’s currently not downloadable.
While I call this my celebrity playlist, I am not a celebrity, and it is my fervent desire in life not to become one (although I’ll take rich).
So, without any further eloquence, here ‘tis:
1. 20th Century Fox Fanfare: Granted, this is out of alphabetical order, but it belongs at the start, no? It always gives me a frisson of excitement when I hear it. It builds a sense of anticipation that few movies can live up to. Never better than at the beginning of Star Wars.
2. A Case of You – Joni Mitchell: Its mixture of melancholia and generosity of heart reminds me of Deanna, my old girlfriend, who gave me this track on a CD.
3. Another Day – Paul McCartney: Paul at the pinnacle of his poetic and harmonic powers.
4. Any Major Dude Will Tell You – Steely Dan: Simple yet profound words of reassurance from Donald and Walter: “Any minor world that breaks apart falls together again.”
5. Baby Can I Hold You – Tracy Chapman: Brings me back to December 1988, a bittersweet time: first-semester exams were over (elation!) but everyone had already left for home (loneliness).
6. Canopy of Stars – Yoko Miwa: Since I discovered Yoko and her trio in Boston back in 2004 I’ve played her tracks so often I know practically every note by heart. This is among her most inspired compositions.
7. Cavatina – John Williams: My mother and I watched The Deer Hunter together one night on TV – uninterrupted and unedited. At the end, when Cavatina played over the credits, Mom put her head in her lap and wept.
8. Dead Flowers – The Rolling Stones: I just love harmonizing with Mick on the chorus.
9. Deadbeat Club – The B-52s: The best track off of Cosmic Thing, and that’s saying something.
10. Dhaka – From the Soundtrack of “My Architect”: Although named for the capital of Bangladesh, this piece is right up there with the best of Copland and Bernstein in capturing the nobility of the American spirit.
11. If I Loved You – Rogers and Hammerstein: A true showstopper – in the first act, no less.
12. La Rose Complete – Morten Lauridsen: A sublime setting of a Rilke poem. Who knew he wrote in French?
13. Sting’s cover of Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix: My classmates and I played Nothing Like the Sun constantly during our semester in Florence (and went to see Sting at the Stadio Comunale di Firenze). This track always transports me to Tuscan hill towns, Venetian bridges, and Roman trattorie.
14. The Long Day is Over – Norah Jones: Captures the gratification of a day well lived.
15. Melissa – The Allman Brothers Band: The “gypsy” may be living hard, drifting anonymously on freight trains, but he’s hanging onto something true.
16. Nuovo Cinema Paradiso – Ennio Morricone: From the movie that continues to occupy the top slot on my list of all-time favorites.
17. On and On – Stephen Bishop: Surprisingly complex vocal harmonies.
18. Eva Cassidy’s cover of People Get Ready: What a set of pipes she had – one of the best vocalists ever, male or female.
19. Phone Call – John Brion (from the Soundtrack of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind): Lush strings combined with what sounds like an old 78 rpm recording of a Puerto Rican cuattro. Ingenious.
20. Pink Moon – Nick Drake: A guy with a tragic genius for expressing the ineffable.
21. Ooh La La – Faces: Max Fischer knew just what to spin and when.
22. Power of Two – Indigo Girls: One of the songs that buoyed me during my year in Xiamen.
23. The Sound of Music – Rogers and Hammerstein: During my first month in Xiamen I came down with an awful bug – temperatures were in the 90s and I was under the covers with the chills. I think the experience left me a tad vulnerable emotionally. When I recovered I watched the beginning of The Sound of Music. The sight and sound of Julie Andrews singing on that mountaintop filled me with such a sense of awe at, and gratitude for, the beauty of the world, that I began to tear up.
24. Promenade – U2: A subtle, magical bit of work from the boys.
25. Red House – Jimi Hendrix: Pure sex.
26. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head – B.J. Thomas: This was MY song when I was a toddler; I used to sing it in my high chair. Nearly 40 years later I still love it – and I admire it.
27. Save Me – k.d. lang: Been there, believe me.
28. Sir Duke – Stevie Wonder: There’s a reason why he’s the Eighth Wonder of the World.
29. Some Other Time – Music by Leonard Bernstein: Our three sailors are due back aboard ship, and let’s face it: even if they survive the war, the possibilities of this moment will never return. What a poignant farewell this is. “Where has the time all gone to?”
30. Somebody’s Baby – Jackson Browne: Is there a more perfectly crafted pop song?
31. Something to Believe In – Shawn Colvin: Shawn’s music kept me company during the week I spent in a log cabin in North Carolina outlining my master’s thesis. This track features Bruce Hornsby’s inimitable pianism.
32. Summer Breeze – Seals & Croft: “Blowin’ through the jasmine of my mind” is downright Miltonic.
33. Surf’s Up – The Beach Boys: Try to find the version in which Brian sings this solo with piano accompaniment. This was perhaps his high point creatively. His instinct for where a melody could go was otherworldly.
34. Talk of the Town – The Pretenders: My college friend Jordan used to cover this song with her excellent campus band, Three Chicks and a Guitar.
35. Cha Cha from West Side Story – Music by Leonard Bernstein: That scene of the dance at the school gym is an American cultural treasure.
36. The Working Hour – Tears for Fears: My college friend Greg was addicted to TFF, and some of that rubbed off on me.
37. There She Goes – The La’s: What heights one can reach with four chords!
38. Voodoo Child – Jimi Hendrix: Listening to this, I’m thinking maybe he did sell his soul to the devil down at the crossroads.
39. We’ve Only Just Begun – The Carpenters: The Chinese love the Carpenters, and so do I.
40. Wouldn’t it Be Nice – The Beach Boys: I could probably make it on that desert island if I had this with me.
All the best, Steve.
Sam O’Neill
Where has the time all gone to? Anyway, happy birthday, my man! Here’s to the 40s – may they constitute your best decade yet.
A few prefatory notes:
The tracks are in alphabetical order, not rank order. (Getting the list down to 40 was hard enough.)
I have pulled these tunes not from the entire universe of music, but just from what is already on my iTunes player. This is why you won’t see any Beatles or anything else that’s currently not downloadable.
While I call this my celebrity playlist, I am not a celebrity, and it is my fervent desire in life not to become one (although I’ll take rich).
So, without any further eloquence, here ‘tis:
1. 20th Century Fox Fanfare: Granted, this is out of alphabetical order, but it belongs at the start, no? It always gives me a frisson of excitement when I hear it. It builds a sense of anticipation that few movies can live up to. Never better than at the beginning of Star Wars.2. A Case of You – Joni Mitchell: Its mixture of melancholia and generosity of heart reminds me of Deanna, my old girlfriend, who gave me this track on a CD.
3. Another Day – Paul McCartney: Paul at the pinnacle of his poetic and harmonic powers.
4. Any Major Dude Will Tell You – Steely Dan: Simple yet profound words of reassurance from Donald and Walter: “Any minor world that breaks apart falls together again.”
5. Baby Can I Hold You – Tracy Chapman: Brings me back to December 1988, a bittersweet time: first-semester exams were over (elation!) but everyone had already left for home (loneliness).
6. Canopy of Stars – Yoko Miwa: Since I discovered Yoko and her trio in Boston back in 2004 I’ve played her tracks so often I know practically every note by heart. This is among her most inspired compositions.
7. Cavatina – John Williams: My mother and I watched The Deer Hunter together one night on TV – uninterrupted and unedited. At the end, when Cavatina played over the credits, Mom put her head in her lap and wept.
8. Dead Flowers – The Rolling Stones: I just love harmonizing with Mick on the chorus.
9. Deadbeat Club – The B-52s: The best track off of Cosmic Thing, and that’s saying something.
10. Dhaka – From the Soundtrack of “My Architect”: Although named for the capital of Bangladesh, this piece is right up there with the best of Copland and Bernstein in capturing the nobility of the American spirit.
11. If I Loved You – Rogers and Hammerstein: A true showstopper – in the first act, no less.
12. La Rose Complete – Morten Lauridsen: A sublime setting of a Rilke poem. Who knew he wrote in French?
13. Sting’s cover of Little Wing by Jimi Hendrix: My classmates and I played Nothing Like the Sun constantly during our semester in Florence (and went to see Sting at the Stadio Comunale di Firenze). This track always transports me to Tuscan hill towns, Venetian bridges, and Roman trattorie.
14. The Long Day is Over – Norah Jones: Captures the gratification of a day well lived.
15. Melissa – The Allman Brothers Band: The “gypsy” may be living hard, drifting anonymously on freight trains, but he’s hanging onto something true.
16. Nuovo Cinema Paradiso – Ennio Morricone: From the movie that continues to occupy the top slot on my list of all-time favorites.
17. On and On – Stephen Bishop: Surprisingly complex vocal harmonies.
18. Eva Cassidy’s cover of People Get Ready: What a set of pipes she had – one of the best vocalists ever, male or female.
19. Phone Call – John Brion (from the Soundtrack of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind): Lush strings combined with what sounds like an old 78 rpm recording of a Puerto Rican cuattro. Ingenious.
20. Pink Moon – Nick Drake: A guy with a tragic genius for expressing the ineffable.
21. Ooh La La – Faces: Max Fischer knew just what to spin and when.
22. Power of Two – Indigo Girls: One of the songs that buoyed me during my year in Xiamen.
23. The Sound of Music – Rogers and Hammerstein: During my first month in Xiamen I came down with an awful bug – temperatures were in the 90s and I was under the covers with the chills. I think the experience left me a tad vulnerable emotionally. When I recovered I watched the beginning of The Sound of Music. The sight and sound of Julie Andrews singing on that mountaintop filled me with such a sense of awe at, and gratitude for, the beauty of the world, that I began to tear up.
24. Promenade – U2: A subtle, magical bit of work from the boys.
25. Red House – Jimi Hendrix: Pure sex.
26. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head – B.J. Thomas: This was MY song when I was a toddler; I used to sing it in my high chair. Nearly 40 years later I still love it – and I admire it.
27. Save Me – k.d. lang: Been there, believe me.
28. Sir Duke – Stevie Wonder: There’s a reason why he’s the Eighth Wonder of the World.
29. Some Other Time – Music by Leonard Bernstein: Our three sailors are due back aboard ship, and let’s face it: even if they survive the war, the possibilities of this moment will never return. What a poignant farewell this is. “Where has the time all gone to?”
30. Somebody’s Baby – Jackson Browne: Is there a more perfectly crafted pop song?
31. Something to Believe In – Shawn Colvin: Shawn’s music kept me company during the week I spent in a log cabin in North Carolina outlining my master’s thesis. This track features Bruce Hornsby’s inimitable pianism.
32. Summer Breeze – Seals & Croft: “Blowin’ through the jasmine of my mind” is downright Miltonic.
33. Surf’s Up – The Beach Boys: Try to find the version in which Brian sings this solo with piano accompaniment. This was perhaps his high point creatively. His instinct for where a melody could go was otherworldly.
34. Talk of the Town – The Pretenders: My college friend Jordan used to cover this song with her excellent campus band, Three Chicks and a Guitar.
35. Cha Cha from West Side Story – Music by Leonard Bernstein: That scene of the dance at the school gym is an American cultural treasure.
36. The Working Hour – Tears for Fears: My college friend Greg was addicted to TFF, and some of that rubbed off on me.
37. There She Goes – The La’s: What heights one can reach with four chords!
38. Voodoo Child – Jimi Hendrix: Listening to this, I’m thinking maybe he did sell his soul to the devil down at the crossroads.
39. We’ve Only Just Begun – The Carpenters: The Chinese love the Carpenters, and so do I.
40. Wouldn’t it Be Nice – The Beach Boys: I could probably make it on that desert island if I had this with me.
All the best, Steve.
Sam O’Neill
1 comment:
There's a lot of this music that I love, enough that it makes me want to hear the rest. The narrative was excellent as well...
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