Category: Monday’s Music Moves Me

Monday’s Music Moves Me: Unusual Instruments

Michele’s assignment for this week is “songs using unusual instruments.” As I see it, there are two kinds of unusual instruments: instruments that are just strange and instruments that you don’t usually associate with a particular genre of music. I think I managed to get a few samples of both.

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Monday’s Music Moves Me: WLS Survey From 1977

I went back and forth with what I wanted to do today as far as M4, and finally I decided to go with the old tried-and-true survey post. So, I spun the wheel and came up with 1977 (sorry, there’s disco) at WLS, by then heavily into their “Musicradio” phase. Let’s see what Larry Lujack was playing on this date in 1977.

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Monday’s Music Moves Me: Fall-ish Songs

Cathy has set as the theme for today “songs about things you like about autumn.” I put together a list of ten songs that more or less fit the theme. A lot of new stuff to me in here. Hope you like it.

  1. John Fogerty, “Centerfield” I have to start with this because, as of Saturday, THE ATLANTA BRAVES ARE NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST DIVISION CHAMPIONS! There will be October baseball in Atlanta! To quote Marie (a/k/a Xmas Dolly, who if she’s watching, get well and hurry back, we miss you), WHOO HOO!
  2. Eva Cassidy, “Autumn Leaves” Eva Cassidy was a jazz singer and guitarist who was only 33 when she passed away from melanoma (see, I told you, wear sunscreen!). Pretty much unknown outside of Washington, DC, her music became better known after her death. This is a timeless standard.
  3. Justin Hayward, “Forever Autumn” We all know Justin Hayward as the guitarist and lead singer for The Moody Blues. This is from 1978’s Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. Jeff reportedly wanted “the guy who sang ‘Nights In White Satin'” to sing it.
  4. Earth, Wind & Fire, “September” Released in 1978, from The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire Vol. I, this got to #1 on the R&B chart and #8 on the Hot 100 that year.
  5. Amy Winehouse, “October Song” Like a lot of songs that are named after months, it doesn’t mention anything about the month itself. But hey, it’s Amy Winehouse…
  6. The Brothers Four, “Try To Remember” I usually use Jerry Orbach’s version, and said, “no, let’s try someone else.” The Brothers Four (none of whom are actually brothers) are a folk-singing quartet from the Seattle area, known for their 1960 song “Greenfields.”
  7. Freddie Joachim, “Autumn Rain” Freddie is a devotee of hip-hop, jazz, and soul music who is also a performer and producer. This is from his second album, 2010’s Midway, which is all instrumental, meaning I like it already.
  8. Yerin Baek, “November Song” Another artist I will follow up on, Baek Ye-rin (Yerin Baek to the rest of us) is a South Korean singer who is also a member of 15& with Park Ji-Min (the name refers to their age when they started). Now 21, she recorded this a couple of years ago for her first EP, 2016’s Frank.
  9. Billie Holiday, “Autumn In New York” A classic song by Lady Day. Lord knows we need one by now…
  10. Nicole Westbrook, “It’s Thanksgiving” Nicole recorded this in 2012, when she was twelve years old. She’s an actress and singer in a world of adolescent actresses and singers. What more is there to say?

So, in summary: I like autumn because of the baseball postseason, the leaves, the rain, the cooler weather, and of course Thanksgiving. Not to mention the near-constant reminder that Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat… Really, fall just started Saturday, and I heard “Jingle Bells” on TV for the first time on Friday. It was still summer!!!

And that’s Monday’s Music Moves Me for September 24, 2018.

Monday’s Music Moves Me is sponsored by X-Mas Dolly, Callie, Cathy, Alana, Michelle and Stacy, so be sure and visit them, where you can also find the Linky for the other participants.