Peace, Lowe and Understanding
Beginning to build a Nick Lowe article for The High Hat (maybe), bit by bit:
All Men Are Liars (Party of One, 1990) “I’m here to tell you that Dick’s a clown,” says the Voice of Wisdom, with vocal and lyrical command that indicate he’s paid enough dues to assume that role. “Dick” here being Rick (Astley, a “Voice of a Bright Young Britain” in 1988), being a dick who, like many a young musical idol before him, made smooth love promises in song that he couldn’t possibly keep. Lowe’s vision of the wicked world he wrote of in "What's So Funny 'Bout (Peace, Love and Understanding)" shows up in plenty of his songs, and on this one with bracing effect. Here we have girls in the major plural -– willing to be cruel to be kind, no doubt –- asked to come to the rescue, to pull the rotting tooth of male deceit (how’s that for a British metaphor?) with rusty pliers. All buoyed by a bouncy, Nashville-influenced guitar riff common in the late ‘80s-early ‘90s (but not sounding particularly dated here) that sticks to the mind, as does the solid Dave Edmunds production. This track's a prime example of Lowe being in that peculiar “casual zone” between anthem and throwaway that he mastered long ago.
American Squirm (Pure Pop for Now People, aka Jesus of Cool, 1978) With two Elvis C. albums under his belt as a producer, with the British New Wave scene in full flower, and with America the next big frontier as it was for an earlier generation of British rockers, this was go time for Lowe. He'd earned another chance at the pop stardom that eluded him in his early career with Brinsley Schwarz. The America that Lowe portrays here is fun and powerful –- a means to “spreading in the wonderful world” -- but also seems silly and inauthentic, the B-Movie Brilliant Mistake that Elvis (who seems to be singing backup vocals here) would write of. It's a culture that inspires him to create one of his best songs, built around what sounds like a nice double entendre: Is he moving with an “American squirm” or is he making an American squirm (interesting choice of words, “squirm”) deep, deep into the night...or both? In any event, the track has an outstanding pop production and feel; pure pop for now people, indeed. For all his youthful, rocking passion, this was still a relatively seasoned player who’d already been schooled by 10 years of biz experience.
Friday, March 16, 2007
A Message To You
It's pathetic that we've come to this, that the 2008 election is already Rudy Giuliani's to lose. He has enough personal vulnerabilities that he could yet snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but with the relative weakness of his competition (Barack Obama the lone possible exception), his frontrunner status in the polls makes last November seem more like a Donald Rumsfeld-created anomaly all the time.
Of course a long national campaign is more intense than even a New York City mayoral race, and he remains a notoriously thin-skinned politician. Also, in '08 he'll be more than a decade past the time of his last election win. So the challenge will certainly be greater than any campaign he's faced.
The sad thing is, the first-rate team and money he's put together, plus the potential problems his competitors will face (media bias or no), could make it fairly easy for him to stay in that "President of 9/11" bubble, enough to win the White House.
Rudy has the look of a Man of Destiny...you know, like Mussolini.
***
Karl Rove doesn't want most people to get how much God's Chosen President relies on magical thinking -- Jesus Power plus Super Capitalist Power equals the ability to triumph over any adversity, be it created by nature or greed or whatever -- because he still needs swing voters who maintain some connection to "reality," to maintain the probability of long-term GOP advantage. (Enter Rudy.)
But for those with eyes to see, Junior Bush is an economic and a religious radical. One who believes that, at most, all government owes the people is a push toward the Light of Amway's God.
***
An old, late acquaintance of mine ("Bad George" Conner, who appeared in Gus Van Sant's movies Mala Noche and My Own Private Idaho) wrote a great poem he used to perform, Bukowski-like, at local clubs. It started out:
Y'ever been poor?
Here's how it is...
You only smoke cheap dirt weed and you don't even have enough for that.
and later it said...
Ronald Reagan is right.
When a man's been beaten down as much as he can stand, he'll find work.
Unfortunately I don't remember the whole of the rest (I've been searching in vain for a manuscript in recent years), but the following is a very worthy substitute:
Being Poor
It's pathetic that we've come to this, that the 2008 election is already Rudy Giuliani's to lose. He has enough personal vulnerabilities that he could yet snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but with the relative weakness of his competition (Barack Obama the lone possible exception), his frontrunner status in the polls makes last November seem more like a Donald Rumsfeld-created anomaly all the time.
Of course a long national campaign is more intense than even a New York City mayoral race, and he remains a notoriously thin-skinned politician. Also, in '08 he'll be more than a decade past the time of his last election win. So the challenge will certainly be greater than any campaign he's faced.
The sad thing is, the first-rate team and money he's put together, plus the potential problems his competitors will face (media bias or no), could make it fairly easy for him to stay in that "President of 9/11" bubble, enough to win the White House.
Rudy has the look of a Man of Destiny...you know, like Mussolini.
***
Karl Rove doesn't want most people to get how much God's Chosen President relies on magical thinking -- Jesus Power plus Super Capitalist Power equals the ability to triumph over any adversity, be it created by nature or greed or whatever -- because he still needs swing voters who maintain some connection to "reality," to maintain the probability of long-term GOP advantage. (Enter Rudy.)
But for those with eyes to see, Junior Bush is an economic and a religious radical. One who believes that, at most, all government owes the people is a push toward the Light of Amway's God.
***
An old, late acquaintance of mine ("Bad George" Conner, who appeared in Gus Van Sant's movies Mala Noche and My Own Private Idaho) wrote a great poem he used to perform, Bukowski-like, at local clubs. It started out:
Y'ever been poor?
Here's how it is...
You only smoke cheap dirt weed and you don't even have enough for that.
and later it said...
Ronald Reagan is right.
When a man's been beaten down as much as he can stand, he'll find work.
Unfortunately I don't remember the whole of the rest (I've been searching in vain for a manuscript in recent years), but the following is a very worthy substitute:
Being Poor
DVD Haul
For Your Consideration -- I've enjoyed plenty of moments in Christopher Guest's four mockumentaries, mainly due to the wonderful ensemble of comic actors he recruited. But as a director, he's been on a downward curve since Waiting for Guffman, and his latest is his shallowest film yet. He's not quite into Mad TV territory, but he's getting there. (Memo to director: A little Fred Willard goes a long way.)
It was nice, however, to see Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey and Harry Shearer give what seemed close to fully fleshed-out acting performances, rather than just displays of hipster improv pyrotechnics. I smelled Oscar buzz.
***
The Science of Sleep -- Boy that really hit the spot. And my son liked it, too.
Would more mainstream "dream movies" be a good thing? Maybe without the novelty, they would quickly devolve into silly wankery, but I do respect director Michel Gondry's visions here.
It helps that the two romantic leads (Gael García Bernal & Charlotte Gainsbourg) are so gosh darned adorable, and in Paris. The male lead's dilemma is not quite mine, but close enough for jazz: how to keep the dream life (particularly the erotic aspects of it) from rudely imposing upon real life. He simply can't help but make it impose; I would rather keep it from doing so.
***
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man -- Featuring a quirky and eclectic group of musicians who are almost too quirky and eclectic, performing Cohen's songs at a concert at the Sydney Opera House.
One can't help but wish, looking at the photos and clips of the dashing younger Cohen, that more concert footage from the old days had been included. Cohen gamely whispers "Tower of Song" here with U2 at the end, but it is with an aged voice.
I sure like hearing him just talk about stuff, though. He's a comforting presence.
***
Marie Antoinette -- Surprisingly okay, I thought. If director Sofia Coppola's point is to say that people weren't all that different then than now, even though the traditions were different, then she succeeded fairly well at that, although she probably did go a little overboard with the New Wave musical accompaniment.
As in Lost In Translation, Coppola has a knack for letting the camera appropriately linger on beautiful things and interesting details. And she captures the maddingly tedious "All This Useless Beauty" aspect of royalty well. I don't know my history well enough to agree that Marie's the innocent victim that Coppola seems to say she is, but damn with a culture that suffocating, who wouldn't crack?
The movie's also clearly a cinematic love letter to Kirsten Dunst's face. This is problematic for me, not because I don't enjoy looking at Kirsten Dunst's face, but because Dunst herself doesn't seem to have developed much as an actor. Perhaps Coppola covertly tried to use that shallowness to her advantage in portraying the shallow Marie, yet I can't help but wonder what another beautiful actor, but a more skilled one, might've done with the role.
For Your Consideration -- I've enjoyed plenty of moments in Christopher Guest's four mockumentaries, mainly due to the wonderful ensemble of comic actors he recruited. But as a director, he's been on a downward curve since Waiting for Guffman, and his latest is his shallowest film yet. He's not quite into Mad TV territory, but he's getting there. (Memo to director: A little Fred Willard goes a long way.)
It was nice, however, to see Catherine O'Hara, Parker Posey and Harry Shearer give what seemed close to fully fleshed-out acting performances, rather than just displays of hipster improv pyrotechnics. I smelled Oscar buzz.
***
The Science of Sleep -- Boy that really hit the spot. And my son liked it, too.
Would more mainstream "dream movies" be a good thing? Maybe without the novelty, they would quickly devolve into silly wankery, but I do respect director Michel Gondry's visions here.
It helps that the two romantic leads (Gael García Bernal & Charlotte Gainsbourg) are so gosh darned adorable, and in Paris. The male lead's dilemma is not quite mine, but close enough for jazz: how to keep the dream life (particularly the erotic aspects of it) from rudely imposing upon real life. He simply can't help but make it impose; I would rather keep it from doing so.
***
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man -- Featuring a quirky and eclectic group of musicians who are almost too quirky and eclectic, performing Cohen's songs at a concert at the Sydney Opera House.
One can't help but wish, looking at the photos and clips of the dashing younger Cohen, that more concert footage from the old days had been included. Cohen gamely whispers "Tower of Song" here with U2 at the end, but it is with an aged voice.
I sure like hearing him just talk about stuff, though. He's a comforting presence.
***
Marie Antoinette -- Surprisingly okay, I thought. If director Sofia Coppola's point is to say that people weren't all that different then than now, even though the traditions were different, then she succeeded fairly well at that, although she probably did go a little overboard with the New Wave musical accompaniment.
As in Lost In Translation, Coppola has a knack for letting the camera appropriately linger on beautiful things and interesting details. And she captures the maddingly tedious "All This Useless Beauty" aspect of royalty well. I don't know my history well enough to agree that Marie's the innocent victim that Coppola seems to say she is, but damn with a culture that suffocating, who wouldn't crack?
The movie's also clearly a cinematic love letter to Kirsten Dunst's face. This is problematic for me, not because I don't enjoy looking at Kirsten Dunst's face, but because Dunst herself doesn't seem to have developed much as an actor. Perhaps Coppola covertly tried to use that shallowness to her advantage in portraying the shallow Marie, yet I can't help but wonder what another beautiful actor, but a more skilled one, might've done with the role.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Swaying To The Music
I've watched The Science of Sleep and Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man over the last couple days, so I'm feeling especially introspective at the moment.
My blog starts its fifth year this month, and yay for me. Somewhere in the archives I may've already mentioned that the title of my blog is a line from "Not Just A Pretty Face," a song I wrote in 1984, when I was in the first flush of believing I'd developed a special gift for songwriting. It's "young writing" (a term that Paul Simon came to use to dismiss much of the work he did in his mid-20s), but in retrospect I think it's still okay:
I talk about liberty
Wrapped around the present of history
Oh please won't you give us a break?
Don't break it up
Too many complications
Too many fake salvations
Have your money matters made you sick and confused?
I can take you dancing in the positive news
"I can take you dancing in the positive news"? As Jack Benny wouldn't have said (being dead at the time): "Well!"
From my grizzled "Cohen in 1979" perspective -- the field commander turned 45 that year -- I can see that this line was much too bold. Sure, I could take someone dancing in the positive news...on a rare good day, that is.
I hadn't mastered the fine arts of action and acceptance (both "ac" words, interestingly) enough to transcend or free me from my mental prison, a prison built on the pillars of paranoia, bitterness, self-indulgence and desperation. I was doomed to be a depressive and an outcast, and at least in this case, inauthentic as an artist.
Still haven't mastered those "ac" words, as a matter of fact. "Action" and "acceptance" are just words most of the time, ideals out of reach. But occasionally I grasp moments of being in a state of action, where fear is not paralyzing; and in a state of acceptance, where misfortune is simply part of a unindictable larger process.
These are moments that keep me going, and keep me looking for more of that. I don't know if in this lifetime I'll break through to the peace and composure that Cohen, now in his 70s, seems to radiate with, in the years after his stay in a Buddhist monastery. There's a reason I called my '80s band The Cellmates: my barrier, my prison, is one deeply rooted in my psyche -- and who the hell knows, may even be rooted in a centuries-old working out of bad karma. Whatever road this is that I'm on, I can say with fair assurance that it's not an easy one. But as I get older, I am getting more comfortable with the idea that I'm on the right track.
I've watched The Science of Sleep and Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man over the last couple days, so I'm feeling especially introspective at the moment.
My blog starts its fifth year this month, and yay for me. Somewhere in the archives I may've already mentioned that the title of my blog is a line from "Not Just A Pretty Face," a song I wrote in 1984, when I was in the first flush of believing I'd developed a special gift for songwriting. It's "young writing" (a term that Paul Simon came to use to dismiss much of the work he did in his mid-20s), but in retrospect I think it's still okay:
I talk about liberty
Wrapped around the present of history
Oh please won't you give us a break?
Don't break it up
Too many complications
Too many fake salvations
Have your money matters made you sick and confused?
I can take you dancing in the positive news
"I can take you dancing in the positive news"? As Jack Benny wouldn't have said (being dead at the time): "Well!"
From my grizzled "Cohen in 1979" perspective -- the field commander turned 45 that year -- I can see that this line was much too bold. Sure, I could take someone dancing in the positive news...on a rare good day, that is.
I hadn't mastered the fine arts of action and acceptance (both "ac" words, interestingly) enough to transcend or free me from my mental prison, a prison built on the pillars of paranoia, bitterness, self-indulgence and desperation. I was doomed to be a depressive and an outcast, and at least in this case, inauthentic as an artist.
Still haven't mastered those "ac" words, as a matter of fact. "Action" and "acceptance" are just words most of the time, ideals out of reach. But occasionally I grasp moments of being in a state of action, where fear is not paralyzing; and in a state of acceptance, where misfortune is simply part of a unindictable larger process.
These are moments that keep me going, and keep me looking for more of that. I don't know if in this lifetime I'll break through to the peace and composure that Cohen, now in his 70s, seems to radiate with, in the years after his stay in a Buddhist monastery. There's a reason I called my '80s band The Cellmates: my barrier, my prison, is one deeply rooted in my psyche -- and who the hell knows, may even be rooted in a centuries-old working out of bad karma. Whatever road this is that I'm on, I can say with fair assurance that it's not an easy one. But as I get older, I am getting more comfortable with the idea that I'm on the right track.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Wormhole
I've long had a radio station going in my head. Or maybe, to make me seem happening and groovy to the young people of today, I should call it "an MP3 player in my head."
Or maybe I should just admit that I'm powerless over my earworm problem.
I began the month of February deciding to write down every earworm, every song that intensely went through my head for any sustained period of time. I figured there'd probably be several, but even so the final number -- 108, in a short month -- startled me a bit. I mean, I know I really love music and all, but might not some of that mindspace time be better filled with something more practical and less dreamlike?
I'm not sure, and of course that begs the difficult question: Why can't I live a life where dreaming of music all the time is practical, is of the "real" world. Believe me, I've been down the "I wanna be a singer & songwriter & engineer & producer" road, and so far it's always led to a dead end.
But even as I near age 45, the dream of making a living from music persists, for better and worse. If I die without knowing how far my musical talents and passion could take me, were there not big roadblocks like lack of physical coordination, and a neurotic fear of rejection, then I will die at least somewhat unfulfilled. But hey, dying unfulfilled is a common story as old as time. Don't cry for me, Argentina.
Getting back to a lighter track, here are the 108 earworms from February '07:
Night On Disco Mountain - David Shire
True Love Travels On A Gravel Road - Nick Lowe
Spooky Girlfriend - Elvis Costello
Black or White - Michael Jackson
Three Days - Willie Nelson
Atlanta Blue - Statler Brothers
Set Adrift On Memory Bliss - PM Dawn
Funky President (People It's Bad) - James Brown
Boys Keep Swinging - David Bowie
Getaway - Earth Wind & Fire
Lipstick Vogue - Elvis Costello and The Attractions
Yea! Heavy and a Bottle of Bread - Bob Dylan and The Band
Pucca Theme - Plus-Tech Squeeze Box
Monkey Man - The Specials
Ragin' Eyes - Nick Lowe
Portland Town - Rick Uselton
The Mod Squad Theme - Billy May
Johnny Stew - Lindsey Buckingham
Tiny Montgomery - Bob Dylan and The Band
Million Dollar Bash - Bob Dylan and The Band
American Tune - Paul Simon
Was A Sunny Day - Paul Simon
Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady - Helen Reddy
Floater (Too Much To Ask) - Bob Dylan
Kiss - Prince and The Revolution
Purple Rain - Prince and The Revolution
Shelley My Love - Nick Lowe
In The Stone - Earth Wind & Fire
Walk Like An Egyptian - Bangles
Let's Hear It For The Boy - Deniece Williams
Only Yesterday - The Carpenters
No Better Place - Fountains of Wayne
Proud Mary - Ike & Tina Turner
Yes We Can Can - Pointer Sisters
White Riot - The Clash
A Whole New World - Brad Kane and Lea Salonga
Boogie On Reggae Woman - Stevie Wonder
Human Behaviour - Bjork
Spirit On The Water - Bob Dylan
Saturday Night - Bay City Rollers
Jump They Say - David Bowie
Green Acres Theme - Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor
Movin' On Up (The Jeffersons Theme) - Ja'net Dubois & Oren Waters
Lo and Behold - Bob Dylan and The Band
25 Minutes To Go - Johnny Cash
True - Spandau Ballet
The Delivery Man - Elvis Costello
Dance This Mess Around - The B-52's
Take The Money And Run - Steve Miller Band
Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2
This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) - Natalie Cole
God - John Lennon
Chelsea Hotel #2 - Leonard Cohen
3000 Miles - Greg T. feat. Andrew
Never Knew Love Like This Before - Stephanie Mills
Walking On The Moon - The Police
Silly Love Songs - Wings
What's Shakin' On The Hill - Nick Lowe
Maureen - Fountains of Wayne
Wanted Man - Johnny Cash
Under My Thumb - The Rolling Stones
Boomeraction Theme - Boomerang/Cartoon Network
Failed Christian - Nick Lowe
Cloudy - Simon & Garfunkel
Time, Love and Tenderness - Michael Bolton
Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
To The End Plus x - Greg T.
Tilt Full - Greg T.
A Tear A Day - Greg T.
Musical Awesomeness - Vicktoria
Focus and Forward - Andrew
Youn's Pre-Theme - Andrew
Streets - Andrew
Tech Match - Andrew
Hearts and Bones - Paul Simon
Evergreen - Barbra Streisand
A Little Less Conversation - Elvis Presley
Sing Me Spanish Techno - New Pornographers
Roller Derby Queen - Jim Croce
Lover's Cross - Jim Croce
Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
Love For Tender - Elvis Costello and The Attractions
Jive Talkin' - Bee Gees
Sure As I'm Sittin' Here - Three Dog Night
Chevy Van - Sammy Johns
36 Inches High - Nick Lowe
Do You Know You Are My Sunshine - Statler Brothers
Underneath It All - No Doubt
Pop-Up Video Theme - VH1
Oops! I Did It Again - Britney Spears
Fly Me To The Moon - Frank Sinatra
Summer Breeze - Seals and Crofts
Thursday - Jim Croce
Willie Nelson - Miles Davis
Get The Funk Out Ma Face - Brothers Johnson
Tradition - Fiddler On The Roof cast
The Main Event/Fight - Barbra Streisand
Love Machine - Miracles
Watching Scotty Grow - Bobby Goldsboro
The Stranger - Leonard Cohen
Do I Do - Stevie Wonder
The Best Country In The Country - Blitz-Weinhard Beer Commercial, 1970s
You Better You Bet - The Who
The Big Light - Elvis Costello
Talk To The Animals - Sammy Davis Jr.
Thunder Thumbs and Lightning Licks - Brothers Johnson
The Joker - Steve Miller Band
Sanford & Son Theme - Quincy Jones
I've long had a radio station going in my head. Or maybe, to make me seem happening and groovy to the young people of today, I should call it "an MP3 player in my head."
Or maybe I should just admit that I'm powerless over my earworm problem.
I began the month of February deciding to write down every earworm, every song that intensely went through my head for any sustained period of time. I figured there'd probably be several, but even so the final number -- 108, in a short month -- startled me a bit. I mean, I know I really love music and all, but might not some of that mindspace time be better filled with something more practical and less dreamlike?
I'm not sure, and of course that begs the difficult question: Why can't I live a life where dreaming of music all the time is practical, is of the "real" world. Believe me, I've been down the "I wanna be a singer & songwriter & engineer & producer" road, and so far it's always led to a dead end.
But even as I near age 45, the dream of making a living from music persists, for better and worse. If I die without knowing how far my musical talents and passion could take me, were there not big roadblocks like lack of physical coordination, and a neurotic fear of rejection, then I will die at least somewhat unfulfilled. But hey, dying unfulfilled is a common story as old as time. Don't cry for me, Argentina.
Getting back to a lighter track, here are the 108 earworms from February '07:
Night On Disco Mountain - David Shire
True Love Travels On A Gravel Road - Nick Lowe
Spooky Girlfriend - Elvis Costello
Black or White - Michael Jackson
Three Days - Willie Nelson
Atlanta Blue - Statler Brothers
Set Adrift On Memory Bliss - PM Dawn
Funky President (People It's Bad) - James Brown
Boys Keep Swinging - David Bowie
Getaway - Earth Wind & Fire
Lipstick Vogue - Elvis Costello and The Attractions
Yea! Heavy and a Bottle of Bread - Bob Dylan and The Band
Pucca Theme - Plus-Tech Squeeze Box
Monkey Man - The Specials
Ragin' Eyes - Nick Lowe
Portland Town - Rick Uselton
The Mod Squad Theme - Billy May
Johnny Stew - Lindsey Buckingham
Tiny Montgomery - Bob Dylan and The Band
Million Dollar Bash - Bob Dylan and The Band
American Tune - Paul Simon
Was A Sunny Day - Paul Simon
Ain't No Way To Treat A Lady - Helen Reddy
Floater (Too Much To Ask) - Bob Dylan
Kiss - Prince and The Revolution
Purple Rain - Prince and The Revolution
Shelley My Love - Nick Lowe
In The Stone - Earth Wind & Fire
Walk Like An Egyptian - Bangles
Let's Hear It For The Boy - Deniece Williams
Only Yesterday - The Carpenters
No Better Place - Fountains of Wayne
Proud Mary - Ike & Tina Turner
Yes We Can Can - Pointer Sisters
White Riot - The Clash
A Whole New World - Brad Kane and Lea Salonga
Boogie On Reggae Woman - Stevie Wonder
Human Behaviour - Bjork
Spirit On The Water - Bob Dylan
Saturday Night - Bay City Rollers
Jump They Say - David Bowie
Green Acres Theme - Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor
Movin' On Up (The Jeffersons Theme) - Ja'net Dubois & Oren Waters
Lo and Behold - Bob Dylan and The Band
25 Minutes To Go - Johnny Cash
True - Spandau Ballet
The Delivery Man - Elvis Costello
Dance This Mess Around - The B-52's
Take The Money And Run - Steve Miller Band
Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2
This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) - Natalie Cole
God - John Lennon
Chelsea Hotel #2 - Leonard Cohen
3000 Miles - Greg T. feat. Andrew
Never Knew Love Like This Before - Stephanie Mills
Walking On The Moon - The Police
Silly Love Songs - Wings
What's Shakin' On The Hill - Nick Lowe
Maureen - Fountains of Wayne
Wanted Man - Johnny Cash
Under My Thumb - The Rolling Stones
Boomeraction Theme - Boomerang/Cartoon Network
Failed Christian - Nick Lowe
Cloudy - Simon & Garfunkel
Time, Love and Tenderness - Michael Bolton
Don't Leave Me This Way - Thelma Houston
To The End Plus x - Greg T.
Tilt Full - Greg T.
A Tear A Day - Greg T.
Musical Awesomeness - Vicktoria
Focus and Forward - Andrew
Youn's Pre-Theme - Andrew
Streets - Andrew
Tech Match - Andrew
Hearts and Bones - Paul Simon
Evergreen - Barbra Streisand
A Little Less Conversation - Elvis Presley
Sing Me Spanish Techno - New Pornographers
Roller Derby Queen - Jim Croce
Lover's Cross - Jim Croce
Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
Love For Tender - Elvis Costello and The Attractions
Jive Talkin' - Bee Gees
Sure As I'm Sittin' Here - Three Dog Night
Chevy Van - Sammy Johns
36 Inches High - Nick Lowe
Do You Know You Are My Sunshine - Statler Brothers
Underneath It All - No Doubt
Pop-Up Video Theme - VH1
Oops! I Did It Again - Britney Spears
Fly Me To The Moon - Frank Sinatra
Summer Breeze - Seals and Crofts
Thursday - Jim Croce
Willie Nelson - Miles Davis
Get The Funk Out Ma Face - Brothers Johnson
Tradition - Fiddler On The Roof cast
The Main Event/Fight - Barbra Streisand
Love Machine - Miracles
Watching Scotty Grow - Bobby Goldsboro
The Stranger - Leonard Cohen
Do I Do - Stevie Wonder
The Best Country In The Country - Blitz-Weinhard Beer Commercial, 1970s
You Better You Bet - The Who
The Big Light - Elvis Costello
Talk To The Animals - Sammy Davis Jr.
Thunder Thumbs and Lightning Licks - Brothers Johnson
The Joker - Steve Miller Band
Sanford & Son Theme - Quincy Jones
