Never

Not my favorite Heart song, but we can't choose the earworms visited upon us. That is the essential beauty and randomness of the phenomenon. One might prefer Barracuda, but one does not get served up Barracuda. Nevertheless, these ladies certainly do rock.

Artist: Heart
Year: 1985
Rating: Warm

Believe

Bound to infiltrate your mental jukebox, too. You're welcome.

Artist: Cher
Year: 1998
Rating: Cold

Crazy Love, Vol. II

I don't want no part of this crazy love,
I don't want no part of your love.

Artist: Paul Simon
Year: 1986
Rating: Hot!

Sunshine Superman

Woke with a strong sense of the melody of this song, but only a very vague sense of the lyrics and no clue about the recording artist. I found it by googling the only bit of lyric I could conjure: "when you make your mind up." Now that I'm hearing it, of course it's Donovan. I thought maybe Turtles, Small Faces, but knew I couldn't quite get a bead on it. The magical internets also tell me that Jimmy Page (then of the Yardbirds) and John Paul Jones (later also of the Yardbirds; both soon after of Zep fame) play on the track. Kind of an epic song in the rock canon, it seems, and good trivia for a future pub quiz!

Artist: Donovan
Year: 1966
Rating: Warm

This Is It ("One Day at A Time" Theme)

One of the best TV themes, hands down. Love the show. Has anyone re-watched recently? Does it hold up?

Artist: Polly Cutter (written by Jeff Barry)
Year: 1975
Rating: Hot!

Don't Go Breaking My Heart

A song that really should be in everyone's head, all the time. I unabashedly, unironically, love it.

Enjoy the weekend!

Artist: Elton John and Kiki Dee
Year: 1976
Rating: Hawt!

Another great song from 1976!

Theme from Dynasty

Began whistling the Dynasty theme while making breakfast this morning. It flowed from my face like no time had elapsed between myself now, nearing 40 years old, and myself sitting in my living room in San Jose, a teenager, watching the show with my mom every night in reruns. It was one of the only crossover shows we had, that and M*A*S*H. (Mom liked mystery and procedural dramas; I near exclusively watched sitcoms, until "Dynasty.")

Happy Mother's Day, Roberta. I miss you. Tomorrow's gonna be hard.

Artist: Bill Conti
Year: 1981
Rating: Warm

I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (Coke version)

I'm a bit backlogged in updating the blog. I woke a few days ago with this classic ditty from the 70s: but, to be sure, it was the commercial jingle and not the adapted pop song that arose in my mind that day. If you hadn't known this before, the song is a rare instance in which the commercial came before the later radio hit. True fact!

Artist: The Hillside Singers
Year: 1971
Rating: Warm

Colt 45 Beer Jingle

Wow. That is quite the sustained (implied) orgasmic burst from our friends at the National Brewing Company (now owned by Pabst).

Just the tiniest snippet from this 80's malt liquor commercial entered my consciousness in the wee hours this morning. No known mental antecedent for it.


Artist: unknown
Year: c. 1980s
Rating: I'll pass. But do check out their Billy Dee Williams ads!

Louie Lime Green

Yesterday at work, I was whistling to myself all afternoon. I do this a lot (it helps that my Friday bookkeeping gig is at an awesome local music school). Working down column upon column of credit card transactions, the mind can automatically conjure up tunes and still manage accurate data entry. I thought I'd share with you the sequence of songs I was whistling. The thematic progression: roots rock, prog rock, Elizabethan minstrel music. Somehow it flowed. It helps that Rush is like, totally, Ren Faire.





Louie, Louie
Artist: Richard Berry (writer); The Kingsmen; etc.
Year: 1957; 1963; various
Rating: Warm

Limelight (Redux; last in my head on July 13, 2010.)
Artist: Rush
Year: 1981
Rating: Warm

Greensleeves
Artist: various; unconfirmed origin.
Year: c. 1580
Rating: Warm