The Shuffle the Music Tag #2

Way back in October 2017, I was invited to participate in the Shuffle the Music Tag challenge. Here are the rules:

THE RULES
• Mention the creator of the tag and link to their blog (created by https://stuffonablogblog.wordpress.com/about/)
• Thank the person that nominated you for this tag and link to their blog as well.
• Shuffle your entire music library (no matter how old songs the songs are) and talk about the FIRST FIFTEEN songs that come up (anything like why they are there, if they signify something, any story, why you like them etc.)
• Mention the songs as well as the artists.
• You’re supposed to tag people – but if you’re following this blog, and want to make your own list, go for it!

My site randomiser recently highlighted my original post from 2017, which featured these songs:

• Fat Bottomed Girls – Queen
• Delivering Maybes – Sloan
• Isaiah 45:23 – The Mountain Goats
• Middle Cyclone – Neko Case
• She’s Got A Problem – Fountains of Wayne
• September Night – Van Morrison
• The Dogs – T-Bone Burnett
• Grand Canyon – The Magnetic Fields
• We’ve Only Just Begun – Curtis Mayfield
• Recorder Grot (Rally) – Pavement
• Battle Hymn – Wild Turkey
• Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell – The Stooges
• The Blue – Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
• Aerial – Kate Bush
• One and One Make Five – The Pet Shop Boys.

I decided to generate a sequel with 15 new randomly generated songs. Improbably, three artists are repeated in this second edition – Van Morrison, The Stooges, and Queen all appear in the original list and the new one:

Grant McLennan – When Word Gets Around

from Watershed, 1991
Grant McLennan released his debut album in 1991, after the Go-Betweens split up. ‘When Word Gets Around’ isn’t a favourite from his solo career – it’s a little cheesy with the spoken sections. But it features a typically melodic chorus.

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The Stooges – Real Cool Time

from The Stooges, 1969
The Stooges were ahead of their time when they released their debut album,1969’s The Stooges. John Cale produced, while the band’s sound is primitive and forceful. ‘Real Cool Time’ isn’t one of the most celebrated tracks, but it still sounds menacing.

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Aretha Franklin – You Send Me

from Aretha Now, 1968
The Queen of Soul made a lot of great music in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This cover of a Sam Cooke classic made it to #28 on the R&B charts. It’s one of her lesser singles from the era, but Franklin puts her own stamp on it with her muscular piano playing.

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Queen – The Miracle

from The Miracle, 1989
Most of my favourite Queen songs from the 1980s and 1990s return to their ornate 1970s sound. There’s a sophisticated chord structure in the verse of ‘The Miracle’, with a chromatic shift to D after starting in C#. It’s a little saccharine, but still a great song.

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Earth, Wind & Fire – New World Symphony

from Gratitude, 1975
Maurice White wrote, “[We] decided to put together a live album with a few new studio cuts, to be released before Christmas of 1975. The two-record set Gratitude would be the result.” It’s a long, meandering instrumental, like the missing link between Duke Ellington and Prince.

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Kurt Vile – Pure Pain

from Wakin on a Pretty Daze, 2013
Guitarist Kurt Vile formed The War on Drugs with Adam Granduciel, before leaving to focus on his solo career. I like Rolling Stone’s description of the record: “The fifth LP from the resplendently mellow Vile is a beautiful sinkhole of meditative guitar mysticism.”

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Bruce Cockburn – Night Train

from The Charity of Night, 1997
Bruce Cockburn is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He’s known for tunes like ‘Lovers in Dangerous Times’, and his interests in spirituality and environmental issues. He recorded ‘Night Train’ in Bob Weir’s studio. It’s notable for the busy bassline set against Cockburn’s low-key delivery.

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Freedy Johnston – Seventies Girl

1997
Freedy Johnston is an underrated, but genius, songwriter. I wish the randomiser had thrown up one of my favourites from Never Home, like ‘One More Thing To Break’ or ‘You Get Me Lost’. In comparison, ‘Seventies Girl’ is understated, showing Johnston’s ability to create an interesting song with his minimalist lyrics and dark streak.

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Rilo Kiley – Breakin’ Up

from Under the Blacklight, 2008
Rilo Kiley’s final album was controversial. The four-piece indie band signed to a major label and moved to a more mainstream sound, like a Generation X take on Steely Dan and Fleetwood Mac. Jenny Lewis‘s pristine vocal and a great chorus hook ensure that ‘Breakin’ Up’ is a terrific song.

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The Eagles – Life In The Fast Lane

from Hotel California, 1976
Joe Walsh played the tough, bluesy riff to ‘Life in the Fast Lane’ during a rehearsal. Glenn Frey got the title phrase from riding on the freeway with a drug dealer named “The Count’. When Frey asked him to slow down, he responded “What do you mean? It’s life in the fast lane!” It’s one of the Eagles‘ most cynical songs, with a prickly Don Henley vocal.

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Parliament – Children Of Production

from The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein, 1976
Parliament worked similar soul-funk territory to Earth, Wind & Fire in the 1970s. But George Clinton and friends devoted their LPs to silly concept albums (an observation, not a criticism). ‘Children of Production’ was used in P Funk mythology to describe the Clones of Dr Funkenstein, designed to aid Dr. Funkenstein in his mission to funkatize the Earth.

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Van Morrison – Gloria (Live)

from It’s Too Late To Stop Now, 1974
Van Morrison toured with the Caledonia Soul Orchestra in 1973. The tour marked his peak as a live performer. It presents songs from influences like Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, while also spanning his career. ‘Gloria’ comes from his days as frontman of Them.

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Michael Jackson – Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’

1983
Michael Jackson’s Thriller was one of the highest-selling albums of the 1980s. Despite boasting the tacky Paul McCartney duet ‘The Girl Is Mine’, it’s full of great songs. The opener is my favourite, built around a monster groove, with Afropop textures.

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Stevie Wonder – Do I Do

from Original Musiquarium I, 1982
Stevie Wonder’s Original Musiquarium I features a new song at the end of each of its four LP sides. The new songs capture Stevie Wonder right before he slid into irrelevance with ‘I Just Called to Say I Love You’, and they’re all worthwhile. The highlight is the unadulterated joy of ‘Do I Do’, a ten-minute epic featuring jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet and built around a mind-blowing Nate Watts bassline.

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The Beach Boys – With Me Tonight

from Smiley Smile, 1967
The Beach Boys are one of my favourite bands, although I agree with Carl Wilson’s assessment that Smiley Smile was a bunt rather than a grand slam. But ‘With Me Tonight’ is charming, showcasing the band’s pretty singing.

Here’s a playlist – Grant McLennan isn’t well represented on Spotify, so I’ve subbed in another song from Watershed:

Anyone else want to play along at home? Feel free to post your own random selection of 15 tracks.