what song are you listening to right now? (lyrics, band, dance)
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Here with best friend's family of world lovers of peace and unity... large TV's showing CNN's Obama's Train Tour to Washington DC... This group of prior freedom riders/hippies/and a few "the establishments" (would never know this since they're a pretty powerful group of business/foundation people etc) who are varied in ages along with their kids and grand-kids.
All singing, clapping... screaming with joy any time Obama is shown waving at the people from the caboose, (Obama is talking now)... I get to DJ, 4-8 songs to this crowd of enthusiastic oldsters/teens/youngsters alike! (Then its someone else's turn to DJ... no more than 8 per DJer lol)... To think I was for mcCain... Here's a list of songs to be cranked, in their order....
Allentown by Billy Joel. No offense to anyone who lives in that area of PA. I always feel better after I listen to that song, given what I observed when I've been to Bethlehem and Allentown.
Cool that Billy Joel documented history of your area (for residents) in a great song. Not many can say the same.
MSR
I think New York and Detroit will lead in the songs about cities catagory.
Detroit songs I can think of (in a moments notice):
8 Mile - Eminem
Another Cycle in Detroit - Davie Allan & The Arrows
Black Day in July - Gordon Lightfoot
Detroit '67 - Sam Roberts Band
Detroit Breakdown - The J. Geils Band
Detroit Diesel - Alvin Lee
Detroit Michigan - Ronnie Love
Detroit Rock City - KISS
Detroit Special - Big Bill Broonzy
Don't Stop Believing - Journey
Hello, Detroit! - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) - Marvin Gaye
Motor City Is Burning - MC-5, John Lee Hooker
Motor City Madhouse - Ted Nugent
Motor City Serenade - Stewart Francke
One Piece At A Time - Johnny Cash
Panic In Detroit - David Bowie
Passport to Detroit - Joe Strummer
Rock & Roll - Mitch Ryder (replacing New York with Detroit in the Lou Reed song)
Taking It To Detroit - The Good Rats
Telegraph Road - Dire Straits
We Almost Lost Detroit - Gil Scott-Heron
Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot
Worse Than Detroit - Robert Plant
Need to help lower the pace of the music or some elders gonna have a heart attack with all the bubbly and excitement over Obama and the train stops lol.
And now for any Quakers in the listening audience... Do you remember helping the Blind Boys of Alabama find places to stay in California as they traveled the country?
My final pick (Go tell it on the Mountain) takes into consideration any "weighty" Quakers" needing to testify (or radical Anabaptist, urban Mennonites, etc) and any atheist needing to focus on something other than the word "Jesus". (the arrangement between voice and bass is sweet and jazzy!!! I'll play that song last)
I think New York and Detroit will lead in the songs about cities catagory.
Detroit songs I can think of (in a moments notice):
8 Mile - Eminem
Another Cycle in Detroit - Davie Allan & The Arrows
Black Day in July - Gordon Lightfoot
Detroit '67 - Sam Roberts Band
Detroit Breakdown - The J. Geils Band
Detroit Diesel - Alvin Lee
Detroit Michigan - Ronnie Love
Detroit Rock City - KISS
Detroit Special - Big Bill Broonzy
Don't Stop Believing - Journey
Hello, Detroit! - Sammy Davis, Jr.
Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) - Marvin Gaye
Motor City Is Burning - MC-5, John Lee Hooker
Motor City Madhouse - Ted Nugent
Motor City Serenade - Stewart Francke
One Piece At A Time - Johnny Cash
Panic In Detroit - David Bowie
Passport to Detroit - Joe Strummer
Rock & Roll - Mitch Ryder (replacing New York with Detroit in the Lou Reed song)
Taking It To Detroit - The Good Rats
Telegraph Road - Dire Straits
We Almost Lost Detroit - Gil Scott-Heron
Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot
Worse Than Detroit - Robert Plant
Plannine,
Impressive list for you to just recall. Reviewing the artists you've listed, some of whom I've never heard or heard of.............., it is interesting how influential Detroit has been on many in music. NYC is influential given Broadway, how many artists have contracts/agents or record/mix or re-mix music etc. in the NYC area. I suspect the L.A. numbers are similar to NYC's given the extensive numbers of people who work in the musical industry, recording studios, mastering, engineering etc. At least for me, it isn't a surprise to hear something about NYC or L.A. It's other cities or areas that surprise me.
For a non-NYC/ L.A. city, perhaps Detroit has the most mentions of a city than any other. I'm guessing that would be due to Motown, but I might be wrong.
What do others think..........why is Detroit mentioned so often?
I'm trying to think how, "Don't Stop Believing," by Journey is connected to Detroit. Will you (or someone) please help me out with that? Probably some info of which I'm not aware.
Thanks again for posting plannine. This is interesting to think about and try to remember some history of great bads/solo artists etc.
Impressive list for you to just recall. Reviewing the artists you've listed, some of whom I've never heard or heard of.............., it is interesting how influential Detroit has been on many in music. NYC is influential given Broadway, how many artists have contracts/agents or record/mix or re-mix music etc. in the NYC area. I suspect the L.A. numbers are similar to NYC's given the extensive numbers of people who work in the musical industry, recording studios, mastering, engineering etc. At least for me, it isn't a surprise to hear something about NYC or L.A. It's other cities or areas that surprise me.
For a non-NYC/ L.A. city, perhaps Detroit has the most mentions of a city than any other. I'm guessing that would be due to Motown, but I might be wrong.
What do others think..........why is Detroit mentioned so often?
I'm trying to think how, "Don't Stop Believing," by Journey is connected to Detroit. Will you (or someone) please help me out with that? Probably some info of which I'm not aware.
Thanks again for posting plannine. This is interesting to think about and try to remember some history of great bads/solo artists etc.
MSR
Sh*t....I forgot "Dancing in the Street - Martha & THe Vandellas"
Might have been a stretch for Jounrey but:
Just a small town girl, livin in a lonely world
She took the midnight train goin anywhere
Just a city boy, born and raised in south detroit
He took the midnight train goin anywhere
It helps having a large record/cd collection. You tend to know what you have when you just look at them. Dont get that when you look at a playlist on a i-pod.
... For a non-NYC/ L.A. city, perhaps Detroit has the most mentions of a city than any other. I'm guessing that would be due to Motown, but I might be wrong.
What do others think..........why is Detroit mentioned so often?...
Mtn. States Resident, I'll hazard a guess just based on my ears and love of all types of music... Motown for sure was influential, and I sometimes "hear" the musical voice of the Mississippi Delta in Motown's arrangements.... one had to be aggressive to leave the south, migrate to Detroit and work in factories for long hours. The continuous loud rhythms of machinery, the smooth long winding freeways, (meaning the sound of tires on concrete "humming" and the break of that sound hitting the seams only to start again). Its like a very soft soothing sound, unlike speeding down train rails; as well as the beautiful sensual curves, or love affair, with the car (romance). Combined, this I suspect had a lot to do with creating a sensitivity toward that "sound", called "The Motown" sound...
I'll be interested to read others comments as well. Great question! :-)
Last edited by MadAtMcCain; 01-17-2009 at 04:59 PM..
Now that I have a little bit of time, I can continue about Detroit...
Detroit also attracted a lot of jazz musicians who populated Motown's bands and produced the sound that is so recognizable... those back-up bands... jazz musicians. (Example, the Funk Brothers . Gordy was known to hunt for backup musicians in jazz clubs and lounges in Detroit.) Also it came to me that back then, Blacks had to live together (segregated) and therefore had more contact with one another than being all spread out in a multitude of suburbs. I have no proof just what I suspect.
So with wonderful singers and great, innovative back-up bands, it created a unique sound and place in history. (Jazz is just the flip side of classical... at least to me it is.) So if segregation had any sort of positive at all it was that it forced musicians to be together, and feed off of each other's creativity. Any place where people are forced thru circumstances to have to be together, (like the ghetto for instance), creativity seems to be a special way to express Freedom from those circumstances.
Again I've come to this conclusion from hearing/listening and not by study so am open and will appreciate any comments on the matter.
Talking about jazz musicians reminds me of a song... :chuckle:
Grace Jones - Victor should have been a jazz musician
A parody version of this tune was a recurring theme in a bit on Prairie Home Companion this evening. Now I can't get it out of my head, a time bomb stuck in this little kid's head fifty years ago
Now that I have a little bit of time, I can continue about Detroit...
Detroit also attracted a lot of jazz musicians who populated Motown's bands and produced the sound that is so recognizable... those back-up bands... jazz musicians. (Example, the Funk Brothers . Gordy was known to hunt for backup musicians in jazz clubs and lounges in Detroit.) Also it came to me that back then, Blacks had to live together (segregated) and therefore had more contact with one another than being all spread out in a multitude of suburbs. I have no proof just what I suspect.
So with wonderful singers and great, innovative back-up bands, it created a unique sound and place in history. (Jazz is just the flip side of classical... at least to me it is.) So if segregation had any sort of positive at all it was that it forced musicians to be together, and feed off of each other's creativity. Any place where people are forced thru circumstances to have to be together, (like the ghetto for instance), creativity seems to be a special way to express Freedom from those circumstances.
Again I've come to this conclusion from hearing/listening and not by study so am open and will appreciate any comments on the matter.
Talking about jazz musicians reminds me of a song... :chuckle:
Grace Jones - Victor should have been a jazz musician
I think that most of the musicians in the Detroit area, were 24/7 musicians. Nothing else. You'd find them somewhere making music every day and night. Not only the guys from Motown, but the rockers too. Even if they had a day job, all that they wanted to do was play. (I don't see that very much with todays performers....)
Luckily, there were many places to play in Detroit in the 60's...........
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Interesting Observation
