Today's tale of the iPod. I jotted down song titles as the day went along and then took time when I got home tonight to write a bit about 'em. So, here you go:
9:20AM: "Live Close By, Visit Often" by K.T. Oslin - title track of K.T.'s most recent CD (as far as I know or can tell). The main hook: "Why don't you live close by, visit often? That'll work, that'll work for me. Live close by, visit often. 'Save us both a lot of misery." Heh. Co-written by who? Raul Malo. Two great song writers. How could it possibly miss?
9:28AM: "This Shirt" by Mary Chapin Carpenter - off the "State of the Heart" CD, her first CD, released in 1989. One of my all-time favorite songs. I had a shirt like this in high school. I haven't been able to wear it in years. But, I still have it. In a box. Somewhere. 'Love that shirt.
10:27AM: "Black & White" by Three Dog Night. A favorite from my childhood. I would call the local radio station (we lived in Denver at the time) and request this and "Joy to the World" (also by Three Dog Night). I'd try to use different voices and call multiple times hoping the radio station would think they were getting lots of requests. I thought this was a terribly clever scheme. Since I was only about 10 or so, I'm sure they knew it was the same kid. And, I don't recall any of my requests ever being played. I always knew that it played right after I had to turn the radio off, though. You know it happened that way!
10:56AM: "A Better Man" by Clint Black. Another song from a debut CD. 'Hard to believe "Killin' Time" came out in 1990. It seems like Clint's been a favorite of mine for at least 10 years longer than that. Apparently, not so much. Back in the day, Clint used to come play in Austin at Aquafest. You'd pay for a discount pin before the festival started. The cost ran around $10 or so (maybe less...I can't remember for sure) and then you'd pay about $3 to get in on any given night. And, you'd hear the best music. It was great. I got to see Clint a time or two over on the Country stage. Amazingly, there would only be about 100 other people there. So, you could sit about 15 or 20 feet away away from him and just be happy that he was there. It was great. He was so darned cute. He still is. But, back then, it simply amazed me that there weren't thousands of people hanging around that stage. There's no way that could happen today.
11:02AM: "Shelley" by Dance Hall Crashers. I have no idea where I heard about this group. Maybe from my old launch.com days? I really don't remember. But, I do enjoy their "Lockjaw" CD. And, this is my favorite song.
11:26AM: "Everything Falls Apart" by Dog's Eye View. Lyric: "The devil's not in the details. No, the devil is in my pants." I was driving along about a year ago, I think, listening to the radio. I rarely listen to the radio anymore. I must've been driving the MearMobile or something. At any rate, I heard that snippet of lyric and had to have the song. I bought it from iTunes that day or the next. 'Dunno nuthin' 'bout anything else Dog's Eye View sings. 'Guess I should change that, eh?
11:31AM: "Coffee Shop Song" by Sarah Sharp. I heard Sarah do an in-studio interview on K-UT, I think. 'Bout a year and a half ago. I ordered her CD that day. And, I loved it. I've now seen her at the Cactus Cafe a couple of times (she did a fun show there just a couple of weeks ago!) and find her to be quite the intriguing performer. This is a great song she says is made up of stories told her by people walking up to her as she sat at a coffee shop on the Drag.
11:34AM: "Crime of Passion" by Ricky Van Shelton. I liked Ricky well enough. And, then I saw him open for Reba or someone at the Erwin Center at least 10 years ago. And that was the end of that. Hearing his booming voice resonate through the Erwin Center just blew me away. I love this song. Katie hates it. Too bad for her. Heh. You'd think with her love of "True Crime" books, she'd enjoy a song about a guy who's dragged over to the wrong side of the law by his passion for a woman...but, alas, apparently not.
11:38AM: "If I Left You" by Kelly Willis. Geesh! How many great songs in a row does that make? Wow. Kelly Willis is something else. This is a great song. Unlike many of the songs above, this one is not off her debut album. I think her debut ("Well Travelled Love") is out of print. It's still my favorite but, really, you can't go wrong with any of her stuff.
11:57AM: "Dead Skunk" by Loudon Wainwright III. Heh. Another from my childhood. For some odd reason, this song just won't let me be. Whenever I'm driving around and get a whiff of dead skunk, I cannot help but sing the refrain from this song. Oddly, it was not in my song collection until I recently downloaded it from iTunes.
12:00PM: "The Battle of New Orleans" by Johnny Horton. This came on just as I was getting ready to leave for lunch. A great classic from my youth. My mother did enjoy the occasional Johnny Horton song!
1:12PM: "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel - off their Greatest Hits CD. This always makes me think of Monique. She'd have this album (yes...an actual album) playing in her dorm room for hours on end. We would just listen to Side 1 over and over and over. I'm sure it drove Terry absolutely nuts! Geesh. That was during our freshman year in Littlefield Dorm. Nearly 25 years ago. How scary.
1:36PM: "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" by the bluehouse. Most of the stuff on their CDs is original. This remake is spectacular. The first time I heard it, I wasn't sure it really was the same song. But, it is. It's lots of fun playing this for folks. They listen. Their eyes narrow. They wonder if it's really that song. And, to a person, they all love it.
3:13PM: "Stolen Horses" by Ray Wylie Hubbard (off his "Growl" album). Esther stopped by for something and as she was about to leave I noticed the song was about to end. I had to rewind it to the beginning. She laughed at me and left. If you ever get the chance to see Ray Wylie perform, do it!
4:01PM: "Strangeness of the day" by Kate Campbell. Hard to make it through the day without some Kate Campbell. I'm just sayin'.
4:15PM: "Carry On" by Pat Green. A few years ago (back when I still had my Explorer), I was driving home from Bastrop on a Sunday evening and tuned my radio to 93.3. Back then, it was a country station. And, on Sunday evenings, they had a show featuring local artists. That night, it was Pat Green. I think Cory Morrow may have been doing the interviewing. I don't remember for sure but I think he was the regular host. I don't suppose it matters a whole lot who was asking the questions but...the interviewer would ask Pat about a song. Pat would tell a short story about the song, or the writing process, or what was special to him about the song. And, then they'd play the song. I was blown away. I'm pretty sure all the songs were from the "Carry On" CD. They were giving away copies during the show. I called in, won a copy, and picked it up the next day! I really like that CD. And, I've since bought copies for friends so they must've known what they were doing, eh? Heh.
4:30PM: "Sincerity" by Lisa Stansfield. Back in the dark ages before my iPod, I always (and I mean always) took Lisa's "Affection" CD with me when I flew. I'd put it on "repeat" and listen to it over and over. It got to the point that I'd get settled in my seat, start up my portable CD player, and everything would be right with the world 'cause I was listening to that CD. It's a great CD.
5:45PM: "First Sign of Spring" by Susan Gibson. She wrote the Dixie Chicks first big hit ("Wide Open Spaces"). I saw Susan play at the Cactus last summer. I bought her "Outer Space" CD at the show and like it a lot.
6:14PM: "Lonely Girl" by the bluehouse. A very good way to end the day!
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