It's Sunday. Let's listen to some music. I tried to pick songs that people might not know, but would be happy to discover.
I hope you like them.
Take the A Train (Duke Ellington)
First, here's Duke Ellington's signature song, "Take the A Train," with Billy Strayhorn on the piano. Billy Strayhorn wrote the song. He wrote a lot of Duke Ellington songs. And he was a gay black man. In the 1940s that was double trouble. Strayhorn was a great composer and pianist. What I particularly like is the first note of the song, which lasts for five beats. 1-2-3-4-5-doo doo doo DOO doo.
Hello It's Me (Lou Reed/John Cale)
This video has French subtitles; I don't know why. After Andy Warhol died, Reed and Cale made a record about him. And this is a really pretty song. I hope you like it.
Highway Patrol (Junior Brown)
A basic country-western kind of song. "I got a star on my car and one on my chest, a gun on my hip and the right to arrest..." But check out his git-steel guitar. It's two guitars -- a regular one and a steel guitar. And he switches back and forth. He rocks that git-steel.
Brothers in Arms (Dire Straits)
The video is sort of impressionistic (and black and white). Mark Knopfler is a great guitarist. Plus, he's gay. Another pretty song. Admire the guitar work.
Leeds United (Amanda Palmer)
Who needs love "when the sandwiches are wicked and they know you at the Mac Store"? Wicked witches, get it? A vocal song with a big band feel. It makes me smile.
Splendid Isolation (Warren Zevon)
Warren Zevon died in 2003. He was one of the greatest song writers of the last 50 years. Poor, Poor Pitiful Me. Werewolves of London. Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead.
But I love this particular song because it has Georgia O'Keefe and Michael Jackson in it. And he plays a mean harmonica. Ignore the David Letterman stuff.
Smells Like Teen Spirit (Tori Amos)
This one is just brilliant. One woman, playing piano, doing the Nirvana song. And you can understand what the words are.
Urban Guerilla (The Suburbs)
Most people haven't heard of The Suburbs. They were sort of a new-wave band in Minneapolis in the late '70s and early '80s. I used to see them at the Longhorn. They were, uh, energetic.
Sail Away (Randy Newman)
"In America, you'll get food to eat. Won't have to run through the jungle and scuff up your feet." Why not sail away from Africa and become a slave in America? Randy Newman is another great songwriter.
National Brotherhood Week (Tom Lehrer)
The best line in this song is "And everybody hates the Jews." Don't HR me until you've watched the song.
I hope you liked these songs.