Should Auld Acquaintance...

It's time to ring in the New Year, to bid farewell to 2013, when we: found out what a Reflektor was, saw the Twinkie make a sterling comeback, added "twerk" and "selfie" to our lexicon, rejoiced at comeback after comeback of artists from My Bloody Valentine to Daft Punk and Nine Inch Nails, and generally celebrated the first year post Mayan Apocalypse.To start 2014 off right, I thought I'd be extra generous and give some great songs to blast as 2013 gives way to 2014. Some are my personal favorites from the year, others just sound perfect to play as the ball drops. Enjoy, stay safe, toast to better days, and have a Happy New Year's Eve.

"Kool On"- The Roots

"My Last" ft. Chris Brown- Big Sean

"Grown Up"- Danny Brown

"Sweet Life"- Frank Ocean

"DoYaThing" ft. James Murphy & Andre 3000- Gorillaz

"Clique" ft. Jay Z- G.O.O.D. Music

"Last Donut of the Night"- J. Dilla

"Hands on the Wheel" ft. A$AP Rocky- Schoolboy Q

"We Can't Stop"- Miley Cyrus

"Suit & Tie" ft. Jay-Z- Justin Timberlake

"Get Lucky" ft. Pharrell & Nile Rodgers

"F***in Problems" ft. 2-Chainz, Drake, & Kendrick Lamar- A$AP Rocky

"Control" ft. Kendrick Lamar & Jay Electronica- Big Sean

"Hold On, We're Going Home" ft. Majid Jordan- Drake

"Forever"- HAIM

"When a Fire Starts to Burn- Disclosure

"Bound 2" ft. Charlie Wilson- Kanye West

"How Many Drinks? (Remix)" ft. Kendrick Lamar- Miguel

"Entertainment"- Phoenix

"Step"- Vampire Weekend"

"Reflektor"- Arcade Fire




"Afterlife"-Arcade Fire

"XO"-Beyonce

"Countdown"- Beyonce

"One More Time"- Daft Punk

"Fireworks"- Animal Collective

"My Year in Lists"- Los Campesinos

 

"Last Nite"- The Strokes

"Miss You"- The Rolling Stones

"This Year"- The Mountain Goats

"Last Year"- Best Coast

 

"Champagne Year"- St. Vincent

"New Year"- Beach House

 

"New Year's Eve"- Tom Waits

"New Year's Day"- U2

Look for the rest of the Top 40 Albums of 2013 list in the next day or two. Unfortunately I'm not a factory and can't churn something out everyday, but have no fear the last few rounds are on there way. 

  

"I Believe in a Thing Called L-O-V-E" Playlist

 Well for some of you reading this Happy Valentine's Day. For others of you, Happy Single's Awareness Day. Whatever your current life-station in love, I made a playlist for you. Wanna lay down next to your lover and let the soulful croon of Al Green do the rest? Be my guest. Need a playlist to give to crush that says more than you ever could? Then how about having the Ronettes take the leap and ask "won't you be my baby?" Or you can sit and stew today, wondering "why does love got to be so sad?" You have a million different ways to fall in and out of love, so choose. Today I say live, love, laugh, and listen to just a little bit of music. You'll be glad you did.

1. "Wouldn't It Be Nice"- The Beach Boys
2. "I Want You Back"- Jackson 5
3. "Be My Baby"- The Ronettes
4. "L-O-V-E"- Nat King Cole
5. "God Blessed Our Love"- Al Green
6. "Can't Help Falling in Love"- Elvis Presley
7. "What is This Thing Called Love"- Frank Sinatra
8. "Love Hurts"- Roy Orbison
9. "Cupid"- Sam Cooke
10. "When A Woman Loves"- R. Kelly
11. "Your Love Keeps Lifting Me"- Jackie Wilson
12. "Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad?"- Derek & The Dominos
13. "I Believe in a Thing Called Love"- The Darkness
14. "Something"- The Beatles
15. "Love Minus Zero/No Limit"- Bob Dylan
16. "This Love"- Maroon 5
17. "Letter Home"- Childish Gambino
18. "One in a Million"- Aaliyah
19. "Knock Me Down" ft. Ne-Yo & Kanye West- Keri Hilson
20. "Unrequited Love"- Lykke Li
21. "Love Song"- The Cure
22. "Is This Love?"- Bob Marley
23. "I Will Follow You Into the Dark"- Death Cab for Cutie
24. "You and Your Sister" (Acoustic Version)- Chris Bell

Playtime's Over

Italian-disco singer Sally Shapiro

Shapiro's behind one of the deep cuts on my show tomorrow.

So every Saturday from 4-6 PM I host a radio show called the TwoThouSounds on 88.7 FM in Kirksville (KTRM or online at ktrm.truman.edu). My friend and I played two hours every week of anything and everything from the 2000's. To me the 2000's was one of the greatest decades of "popular" music we have had yet, and it's now too young to be played on oldies, but also stuck "too far" in the halcyon days to "matter" anymore.

As part of the show, every Friday night I typically sweat over my hour of the playlist for hours on end. When I work on my playlist, I try to boil it down to not only what I think is great, but what I think people will want to hear.Maybe it's something they haven't heard in a long time or something completely  foreign to them. For example, on this show I'll be playing "Dilemma" ft. Kelly Rowland by Nelly (when's the last time you heard that on the radio?) and "He Keeps Me Alive" by Sally Shapiro (Modern Disco most have probably never heard before). An even greater struggle is putting the pieces together. You can't put the monstrous "Woman" by Wolfmother right after the acoustic acrobats of The Tallest Man on Earth. A good playlist has to wind like a river, if you zig-zag you leave the listeners to be drowned in a wave of confusion. So enjoy the playlist I've put together as you set sail down a tributary of tunes.

The TwoThouSounds (11/12/2011) Playlist

1. "The Middle"- Jimmy Eat World
2. "Woman"- Wolfmother
3. "My Doorbell"- The White Stripes
4. "Timorous Me"- Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
5. "All the Pretty Girls Go to the City"- Spoon
6. "Either Way"- Wilco
7. "The Kids Don't Stand A Chance"- Vampire Weekend
8. "Infinity"- The xx
9. "Dilemma" ft. Kelly Rowland
10. "He Keeps Me Alive"- Sally Shapiro
11. "Tightrope"- Yeasayer
12. "Xavia"- The Submarines
13. "Girl Inform Me"- The Shins
14. "The Gardner"- The Tallest Man on Earth
15. "I Will"- Radiohead
16. "Flint (For the Unemployed and Underpaid)"- Sufjan Stevens

"My Doorbell"- The White Stripes