Category: Music

Mark Isham: Men Before the Mirror (1983)

I haven't heard this in years. Tonight I was reloading my iPod and felt compelled to add it to the playlist. I have it playing in the background at the moment and it literally feels like a cool mountain stream washing over the very fiber of my being, recharging my core.

What pieces of music recharge you?

David Bowie: Let's Dance (1983)

This song is bringing me such unbridled joy; the likes of which I haven't felt in years. Tears streaming down my cheeks!

And here's the extended mix for those so inclined…

Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

I discovered this album late in life and my first thought was, "Where have you been all my life?!"

Prompted by a musical offering on Mostly Words, I went down another rabbit hole this morning. The version of Sparks' Tryouts for the Human Race there was different from the one I had in my collection, so I put on my headphones and took a listen to the version I'd ripped from vinyl in iTunes after listening to Doug's linked version. That led me for some reason to looking for the lyrics online and then I started searching for lyrics to other Sparks cuts and I eventually ended up at Music That You Can Dance To.

I haven't played Music That You Can Dance To in years, but it still holds a special place in my heart because it is forever tied to a very specific memory from shortly after I arrived in San Francisco.

One Saturday morning, I was out exploring The City, and found myself driving south on Lincoln Drive out by the Golden Gate Bridge. At the time I was still staying with friends, and needed to get out and see this strange new place I'd decided to call home. This was also the first time I'd gotten to listen to  a mix tape I'd made from records in their collection. It was a crisp August morning, but I had the sunroof open and I was letting the music rip at angelic volume. Music That You Can Dance To came on just as I was rounding a curve that presented a beautiful vista of the Pacific Ocean off to my right.

It was as if the stars aligned and I was in the zone. I shall forever remember it.

Definitely in the top 5 of my favorite Sylvester cuts. It's one of those songs that—as we used to say back in the day—just plays me.

Sumeria: Golden Tears (1978)

This was one of the more…bizarre…releases from Alec Costandinos. It tells the story of an alien traveler who lives until he finds true love and then dies by crying gold tears.

Hey, it was disco. It was 1978.

Pet Shop Boys: Being Boring (1990)

This is not a simple song.

This is a defining moment in our lives. This is the friends and the lovers we lost through the AIDS epidemic. This is the dreams we had. This is the youth that slipped our hands. This is the Pet Shop Boys and we are very lucky to still have them in our lives.

As of 2018 (the most recent data I could locate), about 700,000 people have died of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, and nearly 13,000 people with AIDS in the United States die each year.

A few weeks ago I posted this collection's sister, Sleaze. Like Sleaze, Encore is a multi-disk compilation of disco and dance tunes from the 70s and 80s that those of us of a certain age undoubtedly danced our asses off to when we were "young and beautiful." While a few of the transitions are absolute train wrecks, it's a stellar collection and highly recommended if you can find it.

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Yes, I'm one of those Philip Glass people.
You're surprised?
Seriously?

Definitely years prior to my arrival in San Francisco, but what I happen to be listening to at the moment.

Right now, Don't Shut Me Down is my favorite track, and what an earworm it's become!

Grace Jones: Living My Life (1982)

My Winter 2009 Playlist

To those of us of a certain age and musical taste, this is manna from Heaven. I received this compilation from a friend (a collection of 12 albums—156 songs—for a total of 13 hours) several years ago when we were living in Denver but for some reason it's been languishing in iTunes all these years with me scarcely paying it a second glance.

A few weeks ago I was looking for something I could just put on in the background while working from home as I'd grown weary of the offerings of our FM jazz station. Sleaze is a collection of disco and dance tunes from the late 70s to the early 90s that encompasses all the various sub-genres. While a few of the transitions are absolute train wrecks, it's a stellar collection of the music I used to dance my ass off to. It's become my go-to commute and working-from-home background soundtrack because I can just put it on and it will run all day without repeating.

I mean, look at this playlist!

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Highly recommended if you can find it. A cursory internet search returned squat.

Donna Summer: Once Upon a Time… (1977)

Her masterpiece, and as I have written of many times before, an album that holds a very special place in my heart.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Welcome to the Pleasuredome (1984)

Grace Jones: Slave to the Rhythm (1985)