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Monday, July 12, 2004

Summer Upbeat Mix Volume 2

Here it is...as promised.

1) Cher -- "Dov'e L'Amore (Video Version)" (What a kickass version of this song. I had to use sound capture on the DVD to get this version. Surprisingly, it's not one of the remixes on the maxi-single.)
2) KWS -- "Please Don't Go" (This song always reminds me of my college roommate Kim. She loved all those house dance songs. It was almost disappointing when she pretty much went cold turkey on them toward the end of the time we lived together.)
3) Toby Lightman -- "Devils & Angels" (I heard this song for the first time on my way to Ankeny the day before I started my new job. While I'm not all that impressed by the rest of the stuff she does, this song is still pretty good.)
4) Prince -- "Sign 'O' The Times (Mr. Aurel's Loud Club Mix)" (This is undoubtedly a bootleg remix of this song, but it's a pretty good one at that. Those DJ remixes are pretty hit and miss, but every now and again you get a good one. Not super different from the original, but different enough.)
5) Heart -- "Make Me" (I always forget how much I like Heart until I listen to them again. This song is from their new CD, Jupiter's Darling, and sums up all that is good about Heart. The fact that Ann Wilson can still use her voice like she does after all the years she's been singing is amazing to me. That woman can truly belt.)
6) Carl Perkins, Duane Eddy and The Mavericks -- "Matchbox" (An odd choice, yes, but it's a fun little country-blues song that if from the Red Hot and Blue CD. I always thought that it'd be a good song for my former brother-in-law, Rad, to cover at his shows.)
7) Nellie McKay -- "The Dog Song" (I owe my friend Scott for introducing me to this song. I doubt that I'd have ever thought to listen to it if it hadn't been in his "Heavy Rotation" section on his blog. A great little summer song, even though my jazz vocal heart really does belong to Diana Krall [see below].}
8) George Michael -- "Flawless (Go To The City)" (Another last minute add because I was feeling like the mix was weighted a little bit more in the past. Of course, George Michael hasn't had a true hit in years, but it's a good dance song from his latest CD, Patience.
9) Loretta Lynn -- "Mad Mrs. Leroy Brown" (This song just makes me laugh--it's in the grand tradition of country story-songs that can only be done by the grand dames of country. I haven't listened to much of Van Lear Rose, but this is definitely a highlight. I predict that we'll be hearing about this album again come Grammy time.)
10) Bananarama -- "I Can't Help It" (Contains a classic mishear on my part. In the chorus, the girls sing "I'm captivated by you honey." My young ears heard "I got debated by your heartache." Yeah, like that makes sense.)
11) Celine Dion - "Faith" (I have a soft spot for Celine. Especially for the stuff since she came out of her "retirement." She doesn't seem to wail as much as she did before and her songs are more upbeat and fun. Taking a break was the best thing she ever did.)
12) Cyndi Lauper -- "Primitive" (Ever since I saw Cyndi open for Cher a couple years ago, I have new respect for her. She's doesn't have the world's greatest voice--exceptionally nasal--but she sang her heart out at that concert. I remember how surprised I was by the strength of her voice.)
13) Blondie -- "Shakedown" (There's something oddly credible about Deborah Harry's rapping. If it were any other 58 year old white woman doing this, it would just be laughable, but since she pioneered rap in pop songs with "Rapture", I'm inclined to cut her some slack. This song is very female Eminem and the vocabulary just kills me. "Mediterrnean lassitude?")
14) Dave Matthews Band -- "Grey Street" (As I've said before, I'm a bit of a fair-weather fan of Dave Matthews, but this song is definitely one of my faves.)
15) Maroon 5 -- "This Love" (This dang song gets stuck in my head so much recently that I figured it had to go on here. Usually, I'm not much of a fan of the Matchbox 20 style rock because it seems so homogenized and similar, but I do like this song.)
16) Diana Krall -- "Love Me Like A Man" (Diana covers a Bonnie Raitt song and succeeds. Her CD The Girl In The Other Room is one of my favorites of the summer. It was so refreshing to hear Diana ditch the orchestra and elevator music and try something like her early stuff, but yet completely different.)
17) Madonna - "Vogue (Live from the Re-Invention Tour)" (I just had to throw this on there. It was the first time Madonna's ever sung "Vogue" live--all the other times have been lip-synched, and her voice is in fine form. A great closer as well as a great memory from the summer or 2004.)

Well, that's it. Hope someone out there enjoyed reading it.

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