Music of the Day, 15 September 2024

a birthday indulgence

Well, I’ve made it to another natal anniversary, and this year I would like to give you a gift. At least I hope that a song or two here will be something new and/or enjoyable for you.

This is my second MotD playlist,¹ and I made this one rather more difficult for myself. This is a list of 10 songs I’ve loved at some point in my life, from a musician or group who hasn’t appeared in MotD already. That criterion curtailed the list severely, and it also strained my brain to try to remember great songs—especially from my youth and/or from performers who aren’t as well known. I also didn’t want the playlist to be very long,² and I think I succeeded better at this: the entire thing is a bit over 35 minutes. And rather than blather about each track, I’ll provide a Wikipedia link to the artist.

How many albums do you recognize?

1. Devo: “Through Being Cool,” from New Traditionalists (1981)

2. Social Distortion: “So Far Away,” from Social Distortion (1990)

3. Uncle Bonsai: “Penis Envy,” from The Inessential Uncle Bonsai compilation (1992)

4. Vicki Sue Robinson: “Turn the Beat Around,” from Never Gonna Let You Go (1976)

5. Stealers Wheel: “Stuck in the Middle with You” from Stealers Wheel (1972)

6. The Four Tops: “Reach Out I’ll Be There” from Reach Out (1967)

7. King Harvest: “Dancing in the Moonlight,” from Dancing in the Moonlight (1973)

8. The Devlins: “I Knew That,” from Drift (1993)

9. The Ozark Mountain Daredevils: “Jackie Blue,” from It’ll Shine When It Shines (1974)

10. Earth, Wind & Fire: “Shining Star,” from That’s the Way of the World (1975)

1. here’s the first

2. so sorry, Sugar Hill Gang and Soft Cell