10/16/2007

My Green Monkey Music Selections...

Man, I am way behind. Splotchy already has his next mix up and I haven't even discussed my picks for the mix I selected. Here are my songs:

1 - Joe Williams - Goin' To Chicago Blues: I had to have a Chicago song in this mix, but I didn't want one of the typical ones like "My Kind Of Town" or "Sweet Home, Chicago". Joe Williams is an old school crooner with a rich, velvety voice. Some of you may recognize him as Claire's dad on The Cosby Show.

2 - Guster - Amsterdam: I have lots of fond memories of Amsterdam. This song was actually recommended to me by fellow blogger Johnny Yen in an old post of mine.

3 - Donovan - Sunny South Kensington: This is a fun, bouncy Donovan song. I always try to inject a little Donovan whenever possible.

4 - Fats Domino - Mardi Gras In New Orleans: I'm a big Fats Domino fan. I love jumpin' piano. Since I've been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, I thought this was appropriate.

5 - Lionel Hampton & Oscar Peterson - Indiana: More piano, but with the addition of the late, brilliant Lionel Hampton on the vibraphone. I got to see Lionel Hampton perform live at age 92 at a casino in Traverse City. Obviously he wasn't at his peak, but he still put on a hell of a show. I think I paid $10. It should also be known that I have hoosier blood. My dad's mom grew up on a farm in Crown Point, IN.

6 - XTC - It's Nearly Africa: XTC is one of my all-time favorite bands. This one is off of English Settlement, an album I had lost but that was kindly replaced by frequent commenter, Randy.

7 - John Linnell - Michigan: This one is off of John's State Songs album. John is one half of They Might Be Giants for those that don't recognize the name. The songs are absurdly fun. It seemed fitting to close with a song about my home state.

Thanks again for the opportunity, Splotchy!

2 comments:

Splotchy said...

Nice selections, man!

Haven't heard the Joe Williams tune -- it's lovely! A coworker of mine was telling me about Guster a couple months back, but I hadn't investigated them yet. I really like the song you included here. I have XTC's Skylarking, but don't have their earlier work (I have been told that English Settlement is one of their best). That's a nice song. I also gotsa pick me up that State Songs album. I really like John Linnell a lot (his songs are invariably my TMBG favorites).

I really like how over the monkey mixes you have been participating in, you mix the old and the new.

My inclusion of "Big Noise From Winnetka" was definitely influenced by your own mix choices in previous volumes.

Thanks a lot for helming the mix. I hope you had fun. As much as I like coming up with mixes, I think it's often more fun to try to think up songs for another's mix.

Looking forward to any future mixes you feel like signing up for!

Anonymous said...

Randy is sooooooooo completly gay for XTC.