Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Turn off? Naaaa !


I put the radio on in the car yesterday;  Procol Harem's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" came on. 
There are many old and new songs I really like that I only listen to for a few bars and then switch to see if something even better's on another station;  I've always done that and it works for me!

But, Procol Harem's "Whiter Shade of Pale" I can never turn off.  I love it, it evokes so much from my past, etc etc...HERE it is.......bliss, utter bliss.

Is there a song you just couldn't turn off?

I have more, but not that many.  I'll share mine if you'll share yours :-)

Have a great Tuesday!

Z

51 comments:

Always On Watch said...

"Riders on the Storm" and "Pink Cadillac."

Always On Watch said...

BTW, I typically listen to audiobooks when I'm driving. Traffic jams here are incredible and unpredictable.

Anonymous said...

Fruitckes by Jimmy Buffet

Ducky's here said...

Generally jazz vocals:

Billie Holiday -- Autumn in New York

Blossom Dearie -- I Won't Dance

Sarah Vaughan -- Jim

Johnny Hartman -- Lush Life

... the Harvard station plays a lot of jazz and they come on from time to time. But I'll go for jazz vocals over rock every time.

I'd also I'd have to have the iPod plugged in.

sue hanes said...


Z - I also like A Whiter Shade of Pale but don't hear it very often.

There are so many songs I would not turn off - Bob Dylan's early songs are an example.

Tenmei said...

;-)

~ Will

Z said...

FROM ZZZZZZZZZZZZ


Will...no answer? Just a smile!? :-)
Come ON..what song can't you turn off!?

Sue...I was switching channels this morning before getting ready for work and Peter Yarrow was on some cable show...he sang the first verse of Blowin' in the Wind with just his guitar; I was never a huge Dylan fan (but did like his early stuff) and it really was nicely nostalgic to hear that.
I think the Dylan magic is that we were at such vulnerable, impressionable ages when he came out, don't you? I mean, nobody can accuse him of being a good singer!
But, then, Leon Russell is one of my very faves and nobody could accuse HIM of having a good voice, either!

Jen said...
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Waylon said...

I like The Eagles a lot almost anything by them including Hotel California.

Went to see ex-Eagle Don Felder last week at Niagara Falls Casino. Better than I thought it would be since he was with a different group.

Z said...

Was just in the car listening to PEACEFUL EASY LIVING by The Eagles...that was hard to turn off, too, because I can't help but enjoy singing the harmonies with them.

Jen, I love ANYTHING by Super Tramp! GOOD CHOICE.

Waylon..HOTEL CALIFORNIA..terrific. There's a place called that on State Street in Santa Barbara; kind of a white stucco'd VERY old hotel with restaurant and pool room...my husband and I played pool there from time to time when we went to Santa Barbara, which we did frequently...VERY cool place; kind of a dump, but I like 'atmosphere!'


Speaking of atmosphere, I wish you could have all been with me just now in VEnice...driving up Abbott Kinney Blvd....the COOLEST shops you can imagine..near the ocean. It's gray today, but the ocean's always so beautiful no matter what the weather.

Waylon said...

Is that the place from the song, Z? The type of place that once you check in you can never leave?

Z said...

Waylon, I don't know, we never actually stayed there but that very well could be the place where you can never leave!

I was thinking we'd get a LOT of songs on this post and was looking forward to hearing peoples' favorite music!

I hope we get more...come ON, people.............!


I'd never turn off:

THE BAND
LEON RUSSELL
SUPER TRAMP
TEMPS
FOUR TOPS
NEIL YOUNG
MARVIN GAYE

and more...depending on my mood; many more.

Anybody ever heard of the Decembrists? One of our kids here just walked by with ear buds and she told me she loves the band.
I've got to YouTube 'em.

Scotty said...

Anything that Tower of Power does, but you'll be hard pressed to find them played via the airwaves.

I'll also hang out at B.B. Kings Bluesville on Sirius...

And a bit of Reggie too. Don't spend any time on FM anymore.

Most the time I am a talk show junkie. All sides of the fence.

Z said...

Scotty, I usually have talk radio on in the car, too, but lately I'm so sick of it I listen to a lot of Classical music just to get 'away' from it all!
But, I have radio station buttons geared to those talk shows on AM...hard rock, soft rock, jazz, classical and faith on FM.

Thersites said...

Z,

How insulting that you picked the "radio" version of that wonderful song to post... and not the full version, complete with the unsung "second verse".

For the entire meaning of the song is not revealed without it.

*shakes head disapprovingly*


;)

Thersites said...

Here's what you normally MISS...

She said, Im home on shore leave,
Though in truth we were at sea
So I took her by the looking glass
And forced her to agree
Saying, you must be the mermaid
Who took neptune for a ride.
But she smiled at me so sadly
That my anger straightway died

If music be the food of love
Then laughter is its queen
And likewise if behind is in front
Then dirt in truth is clean
My mouth by then like cardboard
Seemed to slip straight through my head
So we crash-dived straightway quickly
And attacked the ocean bed

Bob said...

Well, that was an enjoyable four minutes.

I like pretty much anything Elton John, like "Saturday Night's For Fighting", and "Rocket Man". I never did the dope, but I am sure there are those who can fill me in.

Love jazz, too. I love to peruse my son-in-law's 1500 CD jazz collection.

For classical music, my favorite Symphony is Tchaikovsky's 6th, The Pathetique. The is a Beethoven sonata by the same name I love, primarily because my daughter played it.

I think there's some good country music, like Hank William's stuff. http://youtu.be/WkztDzpTHKA. Don't forget Willy Nelson.

Last week,we were entertained at the Monte Vista Hotel in Black Mountain, NC. The three member local band played what they called, "Old Timey" music. It was a mix of gospel and other music they loved when they were growing up. Everybody was tapping their toes and snapping their fingers. My American Express bill reflects a $100+ bar tab for that evening.

Other than that, I can't think of anything I want to listen to.

FreeThinke said...

Are you aware that this is a direct steal from Johann Sebastian Bach?

Take the percussion out, turn the vocal line into an oboe or clarinet solo in straight rhythm and it's practically pure Johann Sebastian.

I'm afraid my tastes just don't venture into areas of this sort. The only popular music I like could best be described as antique" by now. ;-)

Oddly enough THIS song -- A Whiter Shade of Pale -- was a favorite with MY MOTHER'S BEST FRIEND when it first came out. Can you believe that?

Mother and all her friends would be about one-hundred years old, if they were still alive today.

Z said...

Bob, I've become more and more a jazz lover lately. I've always loved Oscar Peterson, Ella, etc, but lately I'm REALLY loving this very good jazz station here in LA that plays 'harder' jazz than that.

I love Beethoven's Pathetique and play it quite well. My husband played it even better because it was one of his favorites. As a matter of fact, the first night he came to my home on a date, I asked if he'd heard the Adagio from the Pathetique and played it for him as I'd just mastered it. He looked at me very seriously and said "They played that at my mother's funeral." Odd, huh? Lovely connection somehow. Of ALL the pieces I could have played for him!

I LOVE good country...I adore fiddlin' by Mark O'Connor, Scruggs, Waylon, Willie...etc...FABULOUS!!

Maybe I'll blog an O'Connor video soon..it's FABULOUS.

FT..there's something about the organ in this piece that's amazing. And, you had to love rock "in the day" to love that particular piece.

I forgot to mention, and am almost embarrassed to!, that I love the Saturday Night Fever album!! Again, great memories of dancing to that, Kool and the Gang, etc. Disco was SUCH SUCH FUN....
People can pooh pooh it all the want; it just means THE WEREN'T THERE because they'd have loved it!

Z said...

When I was about 25, I took a bunch of NY cousins to The Whiskey A Go Go.......we were all dancing when I looked at the drummer of this big group of Black musicians..kind of like a Black Blood, Sweat and Tears type band...horns, etc...

The drummer looked back at me, and I suddenly thought he looked familiar and I looked back again probably quizzically and he made a very cute face and I realized "My GOSH, that's BILL COSBY!" And we kind of made faces at each other the rest of the dance and, when the music stopped, the announcer said "The Whiskey welcomes Bill Cosby ..." apparently, he loved to play with this group whose name I don't remember anymore.

That was pretty surprising that night!

I also went to The Comedy Club about 15 years later to hear some comic and he announced a guy who was just starting out...Arsenio Hall! All of us were asking "What the heck's an ARSENIO?" but he was HILARIOUS.
I swear, the next day, his face was EVERYWHERE. On buses, on TV ads,...that was cool. Fun to see him the day before he became known!

Z said...

Cesar Chavez has died at 58.

God rest his soul.

No other comment.

Z said...

Venezuela's accusing of us having poisoned Chavez.
Never mind that he's had cancer treatments for at least the last two years.

I suppose they'll pin it on Bush, though they've identified some American named something like delMonaco. holy cow

Our Left will say it's Sarah Palin's fault and that she should have poisoned Cheney instead.


:-)

Pris said...

This is an easy one for me. I could never turn off "In the Still of the Night" by the Five Satins. For Mr. Pris and I, it was our song.
We danced our first dance to it, at our 50th Anniversary party.

Wow, it sure brings back sweet memories.

Z said...

Pris! YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!! That was ONE ABSOLUTELY GOOOORGEOUS SONG, you're right.
God, that was definitely a sexy thing to dance to!

Oh, and that reminds me of so many great songs of the Fifties...yes, I'm a little young to have experienced them AT THE MOMENT, but I sure do remember their second and third and fourth times around as Golden Oldies!

PUT YOUR HEAD ON MY SHOULDER... delicious song, remember?

what a song...

BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY came a little later and that was a fun one!

Lisa said...
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Lisa said...

too many. Sounds of Silence,Pretty Woman,Brown Eyed Girl,Love Shack,of course all Billy Joel songs,I'm partial,I'm a Long Islander

Ducky's here said...

The three member local band played what they called, "Old Timey" music.

-----
Old Timey or Bluegrass?

Difference is that the fiddle is always the lead instrument in old timey.

The old timey bible is Harry Smith's "Anthology of American Folk Music". You won't hear "Train on the Island" get much radio play. Pity, there's a raw beauty to people just making music out of the need to make music.

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

"Home By The Sea (pt 1 & 2)" by Genesis

"Red Barchetta" by Rush

"Always With Me, Always With You" by Joe Satriani








Z said...

Lisa, I love SOUNDS OF SILENCE but I'm not huge on the rest of those :-) Or Billy Joel, sadly.
I don't know why Roy Orbison always leaves me cold; I know he's very popular among musicians and lay people.


Ducky, I think most arts are the best when the artist just must do the art.

Beam..I've got to check those out; am not familiar, at least not with the titles.

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

I like to rock out in the car ;)

Trekkie4Ever said...

I do prefer older music, as well, I still listen to Christian metal and Christian Goth, but I love classic rock and Jazz.

Ducky, I LOVE Billie Holiday. I bought her greatest love songs. Because my favorite song is, "The Very Thought of You." She has such a powerful voice.

Big Fat Tio Mike said...

Metal: Metallica (Creeping Death, Four Horsemen, Master of Puppets, One)

Euro-Metal: Rainbow (Stargazer, 16th Century Greensleeves) Iron Maiden (Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Revelations)

Early Metal: Led Zeppelin (Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Dazed and Confused, Since I've Been Loving You)

Classical: Albinoni's Adagio, Handel's Messiah, Bach's Siciliano, Beethoven's 9th (and 5th and 7th)Pavarotti singing Nessun Dorme (among others)

Guilty Pleasure: Most of ABBA Gold

-bftm

Kid said...

1st, I love Whiter Shade of Pale because the lyrics make no sense, and I'm a music rather than a lyrics person. So, it's perfect. But there are a few lyrics in the tune that add to it. Annie Lennox does a real nice version of it.

As far as a tune I can't turn off, there are more than one, right now, I'd pick

Moonlight Sonata
Liza
I Saw Her Standing There"

And hundreds of others...

Z said...

Leticia..THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU...I used to sing that in a club and LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!! But, of course, I can name 29823987234 songs from the Forties I LOVE...

YOU'LL NEVER KNOW
TEACH ME TONIGHT
I CONCENTRATE ON YOU
BLUE MOON
NIGHT AND DAY
oh, this is stupid...I love them ALL from that era.

Mike..I LOVE Nessun Dorme SO MUCH. Did I ever tell you I got to meet Placido at a function years ago? My girlfriend threw all the big events for Occidental Petroleum and knew I played piano and asked if I'd play for the cocktail hour (I nearly fainted when I looked in one direction and realized I was playing piano in front of Henry Mancini!)...Placido and Yo Yo Ma performed but I never got to meet YoYo.
Placido and I found ourselves standing next to each other with nobody else around...he was fabulous..and NERVOUS. He told me he wasn't nervous when he sang in an opera but singing art song as "himself" was horrifying to him!

Ducky's here said...

Yeah, Leticia, she had such an expressive voice, impeccable phrasing.
She could take even a mediocre song and make it special.
Give her something like "God Bless the Child" and she could be transcendent.

Lisa said...

Oh well Z we all have different tastes.
I'm open to all kinds of music though. Been to so many concerts I lost count.
Going to see Franki Vallie next month.
I like all kinds of music mostly rocK though. we actually saw Procol Harum in 2010

Jen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Z said...

Lisa! You saw them? that is GREAT!
And yes...we can't all love the same stuff but I don't think there's a genre I don't like at least some of.
Not a huge mariachi or hawaiian music fan :-)

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

I crank that new-ish Mumford & Sons song "I Will Wait" every time I hear it. I'm not one for folk / bluegrassy sounds, but I really dig it.


Z said...

beamish, I just listened to it for the first time..pretty good.

Have you heard of The Decembrists?
VERY interesting stuff. A student at the school today told me about them

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

Decembrists! Mariner's Revenge!

But still not enough to get me into folk.

I heard "Mexican Radio" by Wall of Voodoo on a "alternative oldies" show the other day and I was like "Oldie? I was in 8th grade!"




elmers brother said...

Any U2...I can worship God to their music

Love Etta James, the Stylistics

Love Opera ...especiallly Carmen but just saw a performance of Il Trovatore

Albert King, Van Halen and Rush

Benny Goodman, Miles and Charlie Parker

Frank, Dean and Kitty Kallen

Louis Prima, the Baja Marimba Band and Creed

elmers brother said...

And don't get me started on country....then there's Les Paul and Mary Ford

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

I'm probably the only one here with both Sepultura and Britney Spears on an Ipod playlist.

Ducky's here said...

Interesting combo Beamish but strictly minor league.

My iPod scares people.

Pris said...

Oh yes Z,
I do remember those other songs.

How about:
Unchained Melody
Unforgettable by Nat King Cole

These days I listen to K-Earth when I'm in my car. It's a breather from all the bad news. Nice break!

sue hanes said...


Z - You are right about that. No one ever accused him of being a good singer. : ]

You are also right that we were at an age when we were impressionable.
But I've always remained a fan of Bob Dylan due to that early music.

Of course there are many others I wouldn't turn off. One of them is
The House of the Rising Sun.

elmers brother said...

Not enough Chavez speeches?

Lisa said...

Yes it was a small venue ,also playing that night was Leslie West and Mark Farner

Trekkie4Ever said...

Z, I would love to hear your rendition.

Ducky, I absolutely agree. Such a talent.

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

My iPod scares people

It's the pink Otterbox on it, Ducky.