Thursday, March 29, 2007

In Rotation - List of 7 Songs (Part V)

There is this "List of 7 Songs" challenge going around the blogosphere (courtesy of African American Dad by way of DJ Black Adam). I've been thinking about this for the past day or so, and came to the conclusion that there was absolutely no way in God's green Earth that I would be able to accomplish the feat of selecting my top 7 songs without alittle help. So I have decided to CHEAT! Yeah, that's right... if you're not cheating, you're not trying!

I have decided to let my iPod do the heavy lifting and with shuffle mode firmly in place, I have decided to grace my loyal readers with the first 7 tunes that pour into my brain.

  1. "Hope That We Can Be Together Soon" by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass
    This Sound of Philadelphia classic ushered in the sexy, soulful voice of one Teddy Pendergrass.


  2. "Sometimes It Snows in April" by Prince
    I often find myself humming this sombre song; I once witnessed an April snowfall while visiting Colorado Rockies about 10 years ago. This song is from the "Parade" album which served as the soundtrack for Prince's oft-forgotten movie: "Under the Cherry Moon."


  3. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" by Michael Jackson
    Michael broke onto the scene as a solo artist with his "Off The Wall" LP back in 1979. You gotta dance to this: "you're a vegetable, you're a vegetable, they hate you, you're a vegetable. you're the buffet, you're the buffet, they eat off of you, you're a vegetable"!

  4. "I'm Stone in Love With You" by The Stylistics
    OK... you can see that I'm pretty big on the 70's classics out of Philly! I just love the timbre of Russell Thompkins, Jr.'s falsetto! Just about song that they recorded between 1971 and 1974 was a hit; they only had one more hit after their songwriter (Thom Bell) stopped working with them in 1974.

  5. "The Star Spangled Banner (Live)" by Jimi Hendrix
    I'm not sure where this was recorded and cannot authenticate the amount of drugs that were consumed prior to hitting the stage, but this song ranks up there in the pantheons of pure guitar artistry! Jimi took our national anthem and defined an entire generation (the Love Generation, ya'll) with one performance.

  6. "I Want You, I Need You" by Bobby Brown
    I got this groove on his "Remixes in the Key of B" CD. Undoubtedly, the most talented of the old New Edition (and the new New Edition, as well)... it's a shame that he has continued to deprive us of his immense talent.

  7. "I Would Die 4 U" by Prince and The Revolution
    It's a trip that two songs from different soundtracks by Prince would be on this list (from "Purple Rain"), but if you know me, you know that it would be difficult to go more than 4 or 5 songs without a song by Prince popping up. I love the danceability and the "hidden meaning" of this song (he's singing about Jesus: "I am not a woman, i am not a man, i am something that you'll never understand... and if you're evil, i'll forgive you by and by... i would die 4 u!")

  8. "Y.M.C.A." by The Village People
    This BONUS CUT was added because (1) I love disco music - I was a teenager during the mid-70's, and (2) I was in the youth choir at my church and one of guys who would eventually join The Village People (who's father was the Pastor at the church - First Baptist Church in Elmsford, NY) was the director of our choir. He's the FIRST person I know who had a hit record!


Part two of the challenge was to "tag" 7 other blogs. Once again, I'm not one to follow the rules, so I decided to "tag" the blogs where I have posted comments in the past 7 days. Please take a moment to use the links below to view some excellent blogs:
Charcoal Link by Aulelia
Free Slave
Wandering the Ether
Anali's First Amendment
DJ Black Adam
African American Dad
Georgia Politics Unfiltered
Our Kind of Parenting
jaebrysonblog
Georgia Tech Sports Blog
Nat Turner's Revenge by Chris C.
Diary of a PhD Student by Anthony H.
The Field Negro
The State of...
Booker Rising

14 comments:

Lisa Johnson said...

Thanks for the shout out Plez! I'll do a post soon!

plez... said...

i'll be on the lookout for your list. thanks for stopping by plezWorld!

Dave J. said...

Thanks for the inspiration plez, list is up, sort of, I went with albums (songs was a difficult topic).

plez... said...

i'll have to check out your list of albums, dave!

Anonymous said...

Dude, that's 8 songs!

'Under the Cherry Moon" is one of my all time favorites. Who could forget that so-bad-it's-good crap? I remember thinking that it was a vintage film, and that I was cool because I was watching a black and white movie.

I saw Prince live at MSG two years ago and every concert since has seemed boring by comparison.

Good list!

plez... said...

keith,

you know that i don't follow instructions - i usually don't even read them before trying to put something together! plus i had to put "YMCA" on my list (the 8th song was a BONUS CUT).

re: prince
the last time i saw him in concert was about 8 or 9 years ago. great concert, i even wrote a review about it on a website, but i haven't been that thrilled to see him of late. i'm a bit of an originalist, so i like his pre-name change stuff the best.

Dave J. said...

Aha! I just got done posting a Radio.blog comment to you over on my site, and I see that you already know! Hehe nice. ^^

Lola Gets said...

Wow, I didnt get the whole Jesus reference in the Prince song; thanks!
L

plez... said...

Lola,

thanks for dropping by. come again and again! *smile*

CapCity said...

Ohhh, wow! this is a cool post! can u teach me how to post music, too? I loved your choices, too! Have ALWAYS loved HM&BlueNotes since I was a kid!!
thanx!

plez... said...

capcity,

glad that you enjoyed the post. yeah, i happen to be a big fan of old skool soul and r&b, especially that smooth sound of that Philly Soul (O'Jays, Stylistics, Teddy P., etc.)!

and if you want to add similar sounds to your site, go to RadioClubBlog. they have an albeit limited number of songs, but i find it functional. since i don't host my own site, i haven't been able to figure out how to post my own music there.

CapCity said...

Thanx for that info., Plez! When u get a chance, check out my most frequently updated blog: My IntimateSide. It'll be good to "hear" your feedback:-).

David Sullivan said...

I am going to steal your idea for a post in the future, but here are 7 random songs on suffle mode from my MP3 player:

Alison - Elvis Costello
Reasons - Earth, Wind and Fire
Shimmer - Fuel
I'll Be Around - The Spinners
I Was Brought My Senses - Sting
Foolish - Ashanti
Turn Your Lights Down Low - Lauren Hill & Bob Marley
Bonus Track: Sunday Morning - Maroon 5

plez... said...

David,

that's a cool list of songs... i'm a big fan of EWF & The Spinners! i also dig Maroon 5.

let me know when you "borrow" the list for your blog! i'd love to link to it!