My iTunes Shuffle Baker's Dozen 7-10-13

It's been a while for one of these, soooo...

It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - R.E.M.
Simple - k.d. lang
The War Is Over - Kelly Clarkson
She's Comin' Out Swingin' - The Simpsons
Changes - David Bowie
Say Goodbye - Dave Matthews Band
You Take Some Lentils and You Take Some Rice - Eurythmics
Here You Come Again - Dolly Parton
Two Hearts - Stephanie Mills with Teddy Pendergrass
You'll Never Get To Heaven (If You Break My Heart) - Dionne Warwick
This Love (Tricky Stewart Remix) - Maroon 5
Kill The Pain - INXS
Life Can Be So Nice - Prince and the Revolution

My iTunes Shuffle Baker's Dozen 4-12-13

Sadly, I continue to procrastinate at this blogging stuff. But somehow, someday, I'll do something more substantial than this...


Walk Away From Love - David Ruffin
All The Things She Said - Simple Minds
U Got The Look - Prince/Sheena Easton
Love Come Down - Evelyn "Champagne" King
Got To Give It Up (Pt. 1) - Marvin Gaye
Give It To Me - Timbaland feat. Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake
Only Happy When It Rains - Garbage
He's On My Team - Ari Gold feat. Kendra Ross
Smithereens - Annie Lennox
Gold - Spandau Ballet
It's My World - Ultra Nate
We Are Monkeys - Travis
Waste - Smash Mouth

My iTunes Not-Quite-Shuffled Baker's Dozen 3-16-11

It started with a radio playing at work on Friday, on a desk an aisle or two away from me. I only heard it faintly but it was enough for me to recognize the song...



That led me to take my iPod and let the DJ save my life, and then I realized that, technically speaking, I was my own DJ. So I started cherry-picking some songs from my 1980s playlist, many of them with an urban-contemporary vibe and all of them with a beat, at least to some extent. No out-and-out ballads. Nice for a Friday afternoon...

Last Night A DJ Saved My Life - Indeep
Funky Little Beat - Connie
One More Shot - C-Bank
Right On Track (Remix) - Breakfast Club
I Wonder If I Take You Home - Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam with Full Force
Thinking About Your Love - Skipworth & Turner
I Feel For You - Chaka Khan
Monkey - George Michael
Solid - Ashford & Simpson
Fall Down (Spirit Of Love) - Tramaine Hawkins
Nite And Day - Al B. Sure!
She Works Hard For The Money (LP Mix) - Donna Summer
Kiss - Prince and the Revolution

My iTunes Shuffle Baker's Dozen 8-15-11

I haven't done this in quite some time. Actually, more often I've been listening to either my summer playlist (still looking for suggestions to add to it, by the way) or a playlist of songs I've acquired recently, including Lady Gaga's album. And I haven't bought a whole lot of music lately. Very few full-length albums and not many individual tracks, either. There's a lot of new music I'm not getting exposed to, or at least not hearing right away. Not good. Not having spending cash sucks. Anyway...

Faithless - Insomnia
Bananarama - Once In A Lifetime
Mary J. Blige - Sweet Thing
Brandon Flowers - Crossfire
Soundtrack "The Nightmare Before Christmas" - This Is Halloween
Tevin Campbell - Round And Round (Soul Mix Edit)
Prince and the Revolution - Computer Blue
Angelo Badalamenti - Fire Walk With Me ("Twin Peaks" Theme)
Fleetwood Mac - Silver Springs (Live)
Various Artists (mashup) - Fixing Up for a Love Connection
The Chemical Brothers - Hold Tight London
Live - Pain Lies By The Riverside
Mama Cass Elliot - It's Getting Better

Return Of My Summer Playlist!

I stumbled upon a link to Billboard.com's compilation of their top 10 songs of summer (using a point system based on heir chart methodology) for every year from 1985 through 2009. Looking through their listings, I decided some additions to my summer playlist (Part 1 here, Part 2 here) are required. (I also am adding others to the list of songs I need to own.)

The following, however, are already in my iTunes library. Some I overlooked the first time around and others I've changed my mind about. I'm sure you will find some of them quite cheesy, but it could've been worse: I still left "MMMBop" off the list. Adding these songs and "Commander" (my song of summer 2010) to my original list, I now have exactly 100 summer songs.

Oh, and here's some pretty summer scenery: Hugh Jackman at the beach...


A View To A Kill - Duran Duran (1985)
Sussudio - Phil Collins (1985)
If You Love Somebody Set Them Free - Sting (1985)
Raspberry Beret - Prince and the Revolution (1985) - I can sing the hell out of this at karaoke.
Papa Don't Preach - Madonna (1986)
Invisible Touch - Genesis (1986)
On My Own - Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald (1986)
Higher Love - Steve Winwood (1986) - Also a killer karaoke song for me.
Venus - Bananarama (1986)

Whatever Happened To Kevin Seal?

The things you learn when reading Wikipedia. I was checking some things for my summer playlist (coming very soon to a blog near you) and found this humorous note:

Kevin Seal once introduced Sinéad O'Connor's music video of "Nothing Compares 2 U" (which was also composed by Prince) "for all those who missed her version of 'Batdance.'"

(Note: "Batdance," though it's actually so weird that I love it, is not on the summer playlist.)

Now, I don't remember seeing him say that, but I actually do remember Kevin Seal from his MTV days. This is all it says on Wikipedia about him:

Kevin Seal was an MTV VJ in the late 1980s, the host of the pilot of Club MTV (according to an MTV special) and one of the hosts of the influential alternative-music program 120 Minutes, which debuted in 1986. After leaving the program, he hosted MTV's Headbangers Ball from 1987 to 1988 and Kevin Seal: Sporting Fool in 1990. Since leaving MTV, he made occasional TV and movie appearances. In 2000, he was cast as voice talent for both the lead character and primary antagonist in the Cartoon Network series Sheep in the Big City.

So, seeing his name made me wonder where he went.

Michael Jackson: cardiac arrest?

Update: TMZ is now reporting that Michael Jackson has died.

TMZ is reporting that Michael Jackson was rushed by ambulance to a hospital, that he was in cardiac arrest and paramedics administered CPR on the way.

I badly want to find something snarky to say about this but I just can't. I still like his music, although it's difficult now to separate the music from the freak show his life has become. I don't think I'd ever pay to see him in concert again (I actually saw him with his brothers during the Victory Tour in 1984 -- at JFK Stadium, long ago torn down) and I might not even buy a new album, but I can't help but appreciate his brilliant work from the past.

With Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna all having turned 50 last year, it's just more proof that I'm soooo old.