Moosic meme swiped from Tuluum: First six tunes

1. Open up the music player on your computer.
2. Set it to play your entire music collection.
3. Hit the shuffle command.
4. Tell us the title of the next twenty songs that show up (with their musicians), no matter how embarrassing. That's right, no skipping that Carpenters tune that will totally destroy your hip credibility. It's time for total musical honesty. Write it up in your blog or journal and link back to at least a couple of the other sites where you saw this.
5. If you get the same artist twice, you may skip the second (or third, or etc.) occurrences. You don't have to, but since randomness could mean you end up with a list of ten songs with five artists, you can if you'd like.
6. Tell a story about each song.

Ok. PC's down at the moment, so no "music player on PC" part. Portable mp3 player has tunes, though, so I'll use that. No iPod love, because it's a cheap "George" player. Lotta happy happy joy joy super fun happy Rich music here, because I don't need stress when i going to work.

So let's go with the tunes. 20, huh? (I'll tidy it later, it's a long entry)

1) Central Line: Walking on Sunshine (12 inch version) A song from the day when there were 12" vinyl singles. One of the first records I ever purchased with my own money. Great song to let your worries go to. Clasiic dance R&B/disco-ishh vibe.
Random song lyric
"I gotta get away, gotta do it now, got to walk in to the sun, ha ha"

2) Kirk Franklin and God's Property - Stomp. Again a pretty decent song, which is weird, because I usually loathe gospel and worship music. One of three songs named "Stomp" on my player. I think the rap by Salt of Salt and Pepa is the little extra that makes the song good. Driving bassline, another goodtime song. I wonder if Kirk Franklin pay the folk they money yet.
Random song lyrics:
"We at the church, we ain't going nowhere" "I promise the stomp, the whole stomp, and nothing but the stomp".

3) Stomp - Brothers Johnson. A LOT of Quincy Jones-produced stuff on my playlist, because I'm a huge Quincy Jones whore. HUGE party song back in the day. Serious bass guitar work. Pity the brothers fell out and don't tour anymore.
Random lyric:
"Ev'rybody take it to the top, we're gonna stomp
All night
In the neighbourhood, don't it feel good
Yes, we're gonna stomp
All night
Wanna party 'til the morning light"

4) Keep On - "D"Train
Pure inspirational funk of the early 80s from here. Party music again. Duo, with very distinctive vocals. And synth work and arrangements! I blurbing here.

http://music.yahoo.com/ar-312369-bio--D-Train

"D Train, an innovative duo that consisted of James "D-Train" Williams (vocals) and Hubert Eaves III (keyboards, bass, drums, arrangements, productions), recorded a clutch of electrified dance/R&B classics in the early '80s. From the release of their first single onward, Williams' voice was instantly recognizable for its power-packed, uplifting nature. Eaves' instrumental backing and production were extremely complementary to Williams' deliveries, punching out bold, intricate arrangements that were often livened up for the dancefloor by remixer extraordinaire Francois Kevorkian."

random lyric:
"Sky's the limit and you know the truth, keep on, keep pressing on"

5) Shame - Evelyn "Champagne" King (12 " version). Waaaay too much "GTA: Vice City" fun here. Tommy Vercetti is the man.

Music to dance to. Early 80s disco again. Sometimes I skip this, but not tonight. Nice cheesy sax, guitar and piano work, but it's REAL instruments. MASSIVE hit. Again happy happy joy joy music.
Random lyric:
"Wrapped in your arms is where I want to be"

6) The Secret Garden - Quincy Jones. Featuring James Ingram, El De Barge, Al B. Sure! and Barry White~~~~~~~~~~~~!
Serious change of pace here. Quincy producing here again. Major twenty toes, childmaking music here. Barry W sings and talks, but you don't need more, because you're Barry White, beeyatch, with the rumbling bass voice.
Random lyric:

"And I never wanted anyone

( Error: Irreparable invalid markup in entry. Raw contents behind the cut. )

part 2, musioc meme

7) Roberta Flack - The first time I ever saw your face.

They played this at my sister's wedding. Dread!
Roberta works this tune in a way that nobody modern could. Well... apart from Mariah.

Random lyric:
"I thought the sun rose in your eyes
And the moon and stars were the gifts you gave "

8) Biggest part of me - Take 6
Remake of the old Ambrosia song.
Remember my dislike of teh gospel and worship acts? These guys are one of the few exceptions I will make. Voices like whoa! and they can rock it acapella style too. Brian Mc Knight's brother and some friends. The gospel reworking of the words are kinda obvious, but the voices~! make it work.

Lyric: "(For better) for me there's nothin' better
You're the biggest part of me"

9) Setembro (Brazilian Wedding Song) - Quincy Jones (featuring Take 6, Sarah Vaughn.
Quincy Jones again. One of Sarah's last recordings, I think.
No words, just harmonization. Magic.

10) Badiyah - Take 6.
Vocal drabble. Take 6 channel Phillip Bailey of Earth Wind and Fire scarily well. Harmony again.

Again, the mood changes.

11) Chris "Tambu" Herbert - The Journey Now Start. The "Charlie's Roots vocalist that was not david Rudder. Great singer in his own right. Was a theme of the early part of the 1989 World Cup campaign, after the 1-1 draw with the USA.

Big, big tune.

12) Des'ree - You Gotta Be.
I'll admit, this one I skip quite a bit. More inspirational again.

Lyrics:

"Listen as your day unfolds,
challenge what the future holds
Try to keep your head up to the sky
Lovers they may cause you tears
Go ahead release your fears
Stand up and be counted,
don't be shamed to cry
You gotta be..

You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold,
you gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough,
you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm,
you gotta stay together.
All I know, all I know
Love will save the day"

Part 3, song meme.

13) Stranger - LTD.
Jeffrey Osborne at the peak of his vocal powers. Very simple lyrical structure, powerful rendition. The definition of ballad.

14) I was a King - Eddie Murphy and Shabba ranks. Yes, THAT Eddie Murphy. Singing conscious lyrics about race relations. Wasn't a huge hit, but I like it. I'm still trying to figure out what Shabba says. I've figured it out.

Lyrics:
"I was, I was the first
Of all man, to walk on this earth
You're from I, or did you forget
Your father deserves some respect" That was Eddie, by the way.

15) Diamonds are Forever - Shirley Bassey.
From the eponymously titled James Bond movie. I really dig this now, I'm gettin' old!
Lyrics
"Diamonds are forever
Sparkling 'round my little finger
Unlike men, the diamonds linger
Men are mere mortals who are not
Worth going to your grave for"

(left out "Goldfinger" by Shirley Bassey)

16) Diamonds are Forever - Kanye West featuring Jay-Z.
Shirley hated that he took her tune. But which modern rapper will talk about the diamond trade in Sierra Leone? And make it sound so good?

"Though it's thousands of miles away
Sierra Leone connect to what we go through today
Over here, its a drug trade, we die from drugs
Over there, they die from what we buy from drugs
The diamonds, the chains, the bracelets, the charmses
I thought my Jesus Piece was so harmless
'til I seen a picture of a shorty armless
And here's the conflict
It's in a black person's soul to rock that gold
Spend ya whole life tryna get that ice
On a polar rugby it look so nice
How could somethin' so wrong make me feel so right, right?"

Fiddy what?

(Left out "Gold Digger" by Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx)

last four next...

Last four - music meme.

(left out the other version of (Diamonds are Forever, by Kanye West)

17) Om Shanti - Lord Shorty.
I like the tune, OK? This was when he was still creating sokah, which begat soca, which begat something resembling music... Mixing Indian mantras with calypso. Iremember listening to this as a kid and thinking "WTF" before I even had a concept for WTF. Total mindblow.
Lyric:
"To you my people I want to create a song
I hope it live on..."

18) Dead or Alive - Shurwayne Winchester.
Another song I like. Minor key composition, and technically interesting. Bridge and t'ing, oui.

Lyric:
"Dead or alive, we coming,
still we coming,
still we coming,
2005!."

Dotish boy turn it into a bmobile ad, oui. Dollars talking.

19) Poverty is hell. - Shadow.

Hemmingway of calypso. Spare lyrics that say more in fewer words than most others. Great great song. Imagery up the wazoo.

Lyric:
"Ten little children
Four dumpling
Mammy have to slice them thin thin thin" :(

(leaves out Shadow's "Long Time Carnival")

20) Labi Siffrie - Something Inside So Strong.

I used to hear Emmet Hennessey play this on the radio all the time. Great protest song.

Lyric:
"You can deny me,
You can decidse to turn your face away"

And a lagniappe:

21) Wee B Doinit! - Quincy Jones.

A vocoder, some acapella harmony, some body music. Lineup of artists include Ella Fitzgerald, Siedah Garrett, Al Jarreau, Bobby McFerrin, Take 6 and Sarah Vaughan. OMG.


I tired now. :(