Entry 710: Light Fare

I have this thing happen to me from time to time, and it happened this week. I get a yen to write a serious post on politics or culture in the middle of the week -- I start mentally formulating thoughts and opinions and takes on the various goings-on in our society -- and then when the weekend rolls around, and I actually have a moment to sit down and write something, I no longer have that serious post in me. I just want to write about bullshit, like movies or crossword puzzles or the number of combinations of a shuffled deck of cards. This isn't the worst thing in the world, but one thing I like about this blog is that I'm able to go back in time and remember what I was doing and thinking at given moments in my life. If I'm only writing about frivolous things then it won't capture my full range of thought and emotion.

But so it goes...

Since my last entry, I've gotten even more into the song "We Are the World." I did deep dives on all the artists and went down a YouTube rabbit hole watching reaction videos. This is my favorite one. They don't know like 90% of the artists. One of them thinks Lionel Richie is Richard Pryor; they call Kenny Rogers "Roger Craig"; they guess every Black woman is Whitney Houston; one of them calls Al Jarreau "OJ"; and they say Dan Aykroyd looks like Dwight Schrute from The Office. It's too funny. I mean, it's understandable. This song was recorded like 20 years before they were even born. If you showed me a video with a bunch of musical stars from 1957, I wouldn't know Paul Anka from Pat Boone or Sam Cooke from Jackie Wilson or Pattie Page from Brenda Lee. But still, it's too funny.

For the rest of this post, I'm going to list each of the soloists in "We Are the World" and tell you their best song (as determine by me). Then I'll be done with this song.

Lionel Richie: "All Night Long"

I loved him in the documentary, but I don't really know much of his music. Back in the day, my friend had that song of his "Hello... is it me you're looking for?" on his answering machine, which was hilarious. (Remember when funny answering machine messages were a thing? Remember when answering machines where a thing?) But "All Night Long" is clearly the best of his songs, at least among the five I know. "Brick House" is a close second, if we open it up to his work with the Commodores.

Paul Simon: "Late In the Evening"

So many great songs to pick from. Ask me on a different day, and not only would I have a different answer, I probably wouldn't even have this one in my top ten. That's the thing about your favorite musical artists. You don't have favorite songs of theirs. You have favorites songs right now. Then it totally changes. I'll give "Still Crazy After All These Years" a shout out, not because it's ever been one of my favorites (it's fine, but a bit too slow and maudlin for my tastes), but because I love the Curb clip where Larry sings it after he and Cheryl miss out on a Paul Simon concert due to a miscommunication by Larry.

Stevie Wonder: "Part Time Lover" 

I like his fast songs more than his ballads, and I give "Part Time Lover" the nod over "Superstition".

Kenny Rogers: "Just Dropped In"

This is the Big Lebowski song. It's one of two Kenny Rogers' songs I can name off the top of my head, and I wasn't going to pick "The Gambler" (great vocals, but way too played out). Plus, "Just Dropped In" legit rocks. The video I linked to isn't the best version of the song, but I picked it because of the video. It's like psychedelic country.

James Ingram: "Baby, Come To Me"

I didn't know who this was, but I do remember this song, a duet with Patti Austin -- total banger.

Tina Turner: "What's Love Got To Do With It"

"The Best" is great, but it's not the best. It's not even second best -- that would be "Proud Mary"-- but they are both clearly behind "What's Love Got to Do with It". The way she belts out the chorus is spine-tingling. 

Billy Joel: "Pressure"

I posted this entry, and then realized I forgot Billy Joel, so I'm adding him now. I'm not a diehard Joel stan or anything like that, but I do know and like most his songs. I guess you could say I'm a casual fan. I used to say "Only the Good Die Young" was my favorite song of his, and I still do quite enjoy it (my advisor in grad school who grew up near Billy Joel on Long Island claims to know the Virginia referenced in the song), but I moved towards "Pressure" because it's a great workout song. It's kinda corny, kinda haunting, and just a joy to listen to. It reminds me of the Nintendo game Castlevania. I'll also give a shout out to "River of Dreams". It probably doesn't crack my top-10 of Billy Joel songs, but I have soft spot for it. My parents owned it on CD, and for a semester in high school, I had late arrival, so everybody in my house was already gone when I got up, and I used to blast it while I got ready for school. 

Michael Jackson: "Billie Jean"

I should outsource this one to Lil' S2. He's obsessed with Michael Jackson right now. He was in a school play, in which he lip-synced a song by The Jackson 5, and even though he just had a bit part, he got really into it, and since then he's been watching all Michael Jackson's videos on YouTube. No, we haven't yet told him about all of Michael Jackson's controversies and weird behavior (e.g., dangling his baby over a balcony). I'm easing him into it. I told him today he had sons name Jermajesty and Blanket -- start small. Anyway, Lil' S2 is sleeping right now, so I'll just pick "Billie Jean." It's actually not my favorite song of his, but it is my favorite performance. The moonwalk is probably the single coolest dance move in human history.

Diana Ross: "You Keep Me Hanging On"

This one was tough because "Upside Down" is a totally bop, but I'm a huge sucker for Motown bubblegum pop. 

Dionne Warwick: "That's What Friends Are For"

I have to admit, I don't know any Dionne Warwick songs other than this one.

Willie Nelson: "Always On My Mind"

Also don't know many Willie songs, even though I love his voice. This one is great though.

Al Jarreau: "Mornin'"

Don't know any Al Jarreau songs -- this one was the first one that came up when I typed his name into YouTube. I had never heard of him before -- sounds like he's not really for me.

Bruce Springsteen: "Glory Days"

Never been a huge Springsteen fan. I picked "Glory Days" simply for its strange use of the term "speed ball". Why doesn't he just say "fastball"? What does it mean?

Kenny Loggins: "Danger Zone"

Delightful guilty pleasure song.

Steve Perry: "Separate Ways"

Journey is super cheesy (I mean, did you watch the video?), but Steve Perry can legit sing.

Darryl Hall: "Maneater"

Same goes for Hall & Oates and Darryl Hall.

Huey Lewis: "Heart and Soul"

I was a huge Huey Lewis and the News fan back in the day. I believe I owned both Sports and Fore! on cassette. I could have gone many different ways here -- "Power of Love", "The Heart of Rock & Roll", "I Want a New Drug" -- but I give the edge to "Heart and Soul". Hot lovin' every night... I heard and interview once with a famous rock & roll groupie, and she said Huey was the biggest and baddest. Hot lovin', indeed.

Cyndi Lauper: "Time After Time"

There was a part in Pulp Fiction, just the director's cut, I think, in which Uma Thurman's character Mia expounds to John Travolta's character Vincent about how there are Beatles guys and Elvis guys, and they are two distinct groups, even though Beatles guys can like Elvis and Elvis guys can like the Beatles. I feel like the same is true for Madonna and Cyndi Lauper. Their "rivalry" was mostly bullshit and driven by sexism (as if the music world wasn't big enough for two quirky, bawdy female pop divas), but, nevertheless, I think most people who liked pop music back then picked a side, even if subconsciously. I'm definitely a Madonna guy, so I don't feel totally qualified to make this pick.

Kim Carnes: "Bette Davis Eyes"

You can put this one in the "Only Song I Know" category.

Bob Dylan: "Tangled Up in Blue"

I kinda got into Bob Dylan. I like some of his songs, at least. I saw him once in concert, circa 1999. He was terrible -- the voice was shot, and he had no energy at all. I thought maybe I caught him on the wrong night, but I've had several other people tell me the same thing, unprompted. I guess he's just terrible live and has been for a long time. 

Ray Charles: "Hit the Road Jack"

I like "George on My Mind" very much, but "Hit the Road Jack" is one of the greatest songs of all time. The audio isn't great in the linked clip, but again I went with the better video -- it's a delight.

Until next time...