Songs I Didn't Skip (Part 38)

 Here ya go, kids!

"The Great Curve" (live version) by Talking Heads (1982)

Six+ minutes on one chord:  edgy!

"Black and Blue" by Van Halen (1982)

I guess this would be considered a "ballad" for this band.

"I'm Still in Love With You" by Al Green (1972)

In the same groove as, "Let's Stay Together" with that dry, boxy horn sound.

"Persuasion" by Santana (1969)

A cookin' second tier Santana song...still Santanic!

"Michael" by Franz Ferdinand (2004)

Another good example of 20-year old alternative rock and roll.

"Hey, Good Lookin'" by Hank Williams (1951)

I love the Ray Charles cover but the original version still gets the job done.

"Angel of the Morning" by Juice Newton (1981)

Despite its overuse in TV/movies, I had to laugh at how this was hilariously used in the opening of the movie, "Deadpool".

"White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane (1967)

A classic that became shorthand for drug trips, it's still a great hallucinogenic bolero of a song.

"Chimes of Freedom" by The Byrds (1965)

We stay in the land of the hippies with this Bob Dylan cover. I'm guessing the Dylan version is more well known today. 

"Fortress Around Your Heart" by Sting (1985)

The passage of time has reinforced the notion that Sting was smart to launch his solo career with an album featuring heavy-hitting jazz/session musicians which made his music sound familiar and yet distinct from his work with The Police.

"People Are Strange" by The Doors (1967)

I've become less fond of The Doors as I've gotten older but this song is still great. The 80s Echo and the Bunnymen cover is good, too but doesn't top old Jimbo's version.

"Revolution" (Esher demo version) by The Beatles (1968)

Like some, I grew up listening to the single/non-album version of this song find the slower version from "The White Album" the be inferior. This demo/acoustic version for me beats the LP version as it's a little peppier. The LP version seems to run out of steam.

"A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd Into Submission)" by Simon and Garfunkel (1966)

The longest song title on this list!

"P.Y.T." by Michael Jackson (1982)

This was VERY Disco for 1982. 

"Knives Out" by Radiohead (2001)

Radiohead around this time had passed its peak (OK Computer, IMO) but this is still good.

"Smoke Rings" by k.d. lang (1997)

Lang's version of a very old song mostly seems to pay tribute to the Les Paul/Mary Ford version but has its own coolness to it. There's a "real Corinthian leather" feel here.

"Don't Mess With Doctor Dream" by Thompson Twins (1985)

I think I have managed to hit every TT song in my library.

"The Things We Do For Love" by 10cc (1976)

This is pretty heavy on the cheese but it's still a catchy pop song.

"Arthur's Theme" by Christopher Cross (1981)

Huh, so the core lineup from Toto is on this track and the song credits Burt Bacharach as a co-writer. Does this make Bacharach, Yacht Rock???

"Funkytown" by Lipps Inc. (1979)

I hear musicians around here (Minnesota) talk about how the people who were hired to play on this song, recorded in Minneapolis, were offered a flat fee or a percentage of the profits. Needless to say, the flat fee wasn't NEARLY enough.