September 17, 2014
Miracler
Melissa Culross
Location
San Francisco
Welcome back to school, Freshman MC!
After 6 seasons, it's still such a pleasure to introduce brand-spankin-new Miraclers to the fold. Miraclers are a lot like snowflakes: No two alike! (They can also be flaky in the commenting dept, ahem.) Let's look into our latest Prodge Virdge, the lovely, friend-of-Stork MC, and see what makes her special.
Liner Notes:
The Happening (The Supremes). Far and away my favorite Supremes song, and the perfect song to begin any music mix. I love the pairing of happy-go-lucky music with lyrics about heartbreak.
Float and Fall (Meklit). I discovered Meklit Hadero...who now professionally just goes by the name Meklit...in late-2012 when a friend invited me to see her perform in a tiny space below a knick-knack shop on Valencia Street in the Mission. I'd never heard of her, but I like live music, so I figured "why not?" and went. To say that I was impressed with her talent would be a gross understatement.
Rue de Lis (The Essex Green). This band came to my attention one day by way of iTunes' "you bought this song, so try this one" music suggestions. Who knew Apple's shameless effort to get me to spend more money would be so fruitful.
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here (She and Him). Few artists these days seem to be as polarizing as Zooey Deschanel. Some people worship the ground her big eyes and vintage-style dresses walk on; others think she's an annoying hack with no talent. Personally, I like her just fine, despite being incredibly unimpressed after one-and-a-half viewings of that "New Girl" TV show. I find her musical collaboration with M.Ward to be charming without any hipster irony that I can detect.
For Pete's Sake (The Monkees). I have been beyond thrilled to see so much love for the Monkees in the Prodge. This Peter Tork number is one of my favorite Pre-Fab Four ditties.
Lighthouse Underneath (Jeff Desira). In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit that Jeff is a friend of mine, but that doesn't mean his music isn't good. This local singer-songwriter just released a new album called Weathervane that took him years to make. If Jeff had record company backing, he would be all over the radio.
I'm In Line (The Bangles). The Bangles have the distinction of being one of my favorite bands even though I hate almost all of their hits. Listen to this song from their 1982 self-titled EP, however, and you will hear nary a trace of the insufferable "Eternal Flame" or so-dumb-it's-offensive "Walk Like An Egyptian". (Forgive me if you like those songs.)
About A Boy (Monkeeman). Back when MySpace was a thing and fully grown adults too old to have MySpace pages had them anyway, I would peruse the site for music. That's how I stumbled upon Irish/German power pop outfit Monkeeman. This wistful reflection on childhood is both catchy and relatable.
Angel of Harlem (U2). 30+ years ago, all the cool kids liked U2. Now they have become as polarizing as...well, Zooey Deschanel. They're brilliant! No, they're washed up and pretentious! Why doesn't Bono ever take his sunglasses off?!? However you feel about them, I challenge you to sing along with this song at the top of your lungs and not feel at least a little bit happy about life. Billie Holiday was a treasure, and U2 had the good sense in the late-80s to write a song about her.
The Very Last Time (The Maydays). Another local music scene gem written by another friend of mine, Pat Johnson. I fell so fully in love with this song in 2005 that Pat would play it for me virtually every time I went to see him perform. However, he got married and had a kid a few years ago, and now he just moved to Nashville...So I have to be content with listening to the recording.
Everyday Sunshine (Fishbone). Fishbone needs no explanation.
They Ought To See You Now (The 88). Another act I discovered when a friend invited me to go see them perform. This L.A. quartet became one of my favorite bands the moment I saw them play at Slims in 2010. The words to this particular song are little vindictive, but who hasn't felt this way about someone at some point in their life?
(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding (Brinsley Schwarz). You know the Elvis Costello hit version. Perhaps you have even seen Nick Lowe, who wrote this song, sing it at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass or the Great American Music Hall. But have you heard the 1974 Brinsley Schwarz verson? Because it's the best one.
Special Bonus Track. I include this just because I like you all.
Mix is UP. To comment on this mix, click on the 'Comment' button below the post and write something. If you don't have/want to use your Google etc. accounts, just type your name in the "Name" box and you are done. See you back here or on our members-only Facebook page soon. XOK
16 comments:
A delightfully sunny mix to perk up the mood here as fall rolls in. I enjoyed all the new-to-me selections, most especially Rue de Lis, Lighthouse, and the Very Last time. Great call on the Brinsley Schwarz version of PL&U ad thanks for not swiping the Bangles track on my upcoming mix!!
Oh Melissa....a gal after my own heart. LOVE everything about this mix from the first bouncy note to the bonus track! Love the cover. Love the tunes. I've never heard of The Essex Green or Brinsley Schwarz but totally digging them.
And finally, I LOVE SCHOOLHOUSEROCK and I'm jealous you beat me to the punch with putting a track on here. {I got my son Wolfie into school house rock and I'm not too proud to say I burned all the songs on a CD and have been known to rock out by myself in the car!) Thanks for this Indian Summer nugget of awesome.
Also: Welcome to the Prodge!!
Milton Berle as "Fred"
Great mix – more comments to come. Thanks, Melissa!
Hello there and welcome to The Prodge. Love the cover photo! Love Schoolhouse Rock! But I am pretty sure it's not The Roches singing "The Preamble" -- as much as I wish it were (cuz I LOVE The Roches). Or am I totally misinformed?
Also: I've been on a Brinsley Schwarz kick for a while -- thanks for including them -- "Country Girl" is a favorite track of mine.
Aw, thanks you guys. This mix was SO much fun to put together, and frankly, I could have included at least 10 more songs. Yay!
Beth, you are right, it is not the Roches singing Schoolhouse Rock's "Preamble". Does the mP3 say it's them or something like that? It is Lynn Ahrens, who wrote and sang several of the Schoolhouse Rock songs.
When I play that song in your mix in iTunes, the mystery track says Name: "Special Bonus Mystery Track" Artist: "The Roches." At first I was like, how did I never know that was The Roches? But I did some Googling and realized that was probably not the case.
GREAT MIX! Love "For Pete's Sake" in particular. I used to cover that in one of my bands.
Oh crap--I was sure that was them (my ear SWORE it was!), so I typed in their name for all those Roches completists out there (and aren't we all?) Such hubris! Sorry for the mid-attribution there.
Love, Your Hostess
The title says it all. Love the bouncy, feel-good vibe throughout. And any mix that can work two monkey-themed bands in gets bonus points. If they ever make a sequel to 500 Days of Summer (must be the Zooey Deschanel track that's making me think about that movie), this should be it.
Having been friends with Melissa for (gulp) 30+ years, I can attest that this mix is SO HER! She and I certainly share a deep music history, so it was no surprise how many of these tracks directly hit my nerve love strings. (Fishbone track taking me back to junior prom)
As Melissa knows, that The Bangles EP is a favorite of mine (especially so relative to their later work) (and despite S Hoffs having been so distinctly unpleasant towards li'l high school me), and I admit I was hoping hoping hoping she'd include at least one track. Called it! Ditto For Pete's Sake (knowing wink). And Melissa's faves, The 88's.
Favorite new-to-me tracks: Jeff Desira, Monkeeman, The Maydays, Brinsley Schwartz
Hold on while I stretch my arm to pat myself on the back for knowing she'd be a STELLAR addition to the Prodge. And for those of you Bay Area folks, who may have wondered if she was THE Melissa Culross, KCBS radio personality...Yes she is! And so much more!
Love the Brinsley Schwarz and the Lynn Ahrens. What a gift that bonus track is. And is that a Michael Steele lead vocal on the Bangles track?
The Bangles song is from the pre-Michael Steele era when Annette Zilinskas was their bass player. It's Debbie Peterson singing lead. The Bangles actually are releasing all their early (and best, in my opinion) material on CD and, I assume, mP3 later this year or early next.
Lots of sweetness here. Some of my favorites are The Essex Green's Rue de Lis, and Jeff Desira's Lighthouse Underneath. I also dug Monkeeman and Brinsley Schwarz. The Preamble was one of my favorites from the Schoolhouse set.
Wow, thanks for the Bangles liner notes :) I'll hunt that stuff down.
Hello Melissa and welcome to the group! I'm a little late commenting, but pretty excited about this mix. Lots of gems. This is going onto iPhone for upcoming travels. Love the Jeff Desira ballad, and Rue de Lis among others. Most excellent. Thank you!
Love this mix. Lots to love here, but I will name the Meklit and The 88 tracks as particular favorites because they are new to me (and fabulous). A belated welcome to the Prodge!
Post a Comment