Playlist for 6/21

Katie Pruitt - Mantras

Tyla - s/t

Luther Vandross - Luther (1976)

Pearl Jam - Dark Matter

T Bone Burnett - Other Side

John Mayall - Sun Is Shining Down

Charley Crockett - $10 Cowboy

Will Kimbrough - For The Life of Me

St. Vincent - All Born Screaming

Immediate Family (2022 Documentary) 

Best Father’s Day Songs (Updated 2024)

 Great Father's Day Songs: (Updated 2024)

Alan Jackson - Drive (For Daddy Gene)
Beyonce & Chicks - Daddy Lessons
Brad Paisley - He Didn't Have To Be

Bread - Everything I Own 

Bruce Springsteen - Independence Day

Bruce Springsteen - My Father's House
Cat Stevens - Father and Son

Conway Twitty - That's My Job

Dallas Burrow - My Father's Son

Dan Fogelberg - Leader Of The Band
Dolly Parton - Daddy's Working Boots
Drive-By Truckers - Outfit
Elton John - Last Song
Elvis Presley - Don't Cry Daddy
Eric Clapton - My Father's Eyes
Everclear - Father of Mine

George Strait - Best Day

George Strait - So Much Like My Dad

Harry Chapin - Cat's In The Cradle

Holly Dunn - Daddy's Hands

Jack Ingram - Measure Of A Man

James Blunt - Monsters

James Brown - Papa Don't Take No Mess

Jerry Jeff Walker - My Old Man

Jimmie Rodgers - Daddy and Home
John Lennon - Beautiful Boy
John Prine - Paradise
Johnny Cash - Boy Named Sue
Keith Urban - Song For Dad
Loudon Wainwright III - Father and A Song

Luke Combs - My Old Man Was Right 
Luther Vandross - Dance With My Father
Madonna - Oh Father
Madonna - Papa Don't Preach
Marc Cohn - Silver Thunderbird
Mike & The Mechanics - Living Years
Nas - Daughters
Paul McCartney - Put It There
Paul Simon - Father and Daughter
Queen - Father To Son
Reba McEntire - Greatest Man I Never Knew

Rod Stewart - Touchline
Simon & Garfunkel - Silver Haired Daddy of Mine

Slaid Cleaves - Welding Burns

Steve Goodman - My Old Man
Temptations - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone
Tori Amos - Winter

Waylon Jennings - Between Fathers and Sons
Will Smith - Just The Two Of Us
Winstons -Color Him Father

Zac Brown Band - My Old Man 

Playlist fo 6/12

Will Hoge - Tenderhearted Boys 

Connie Smith - Love, Prison, Wisdom & Heartaches 

Zach Top - Cold Beer & Country Music

My Kind of Country: Songs of Alice Randall - Various

Maggie Rogers - Don't Forget Me

Jon Savage's The Secret Public 55-79 - Various (Ace) 

Jessica Pratt - Here In The Pitch

Adeem the Artist - Anniversary

Lemon Twigs - A Dream Is All We Know

Music Years Of My Life: 1999/2000 (Napster & File-Sharing) (Updated 2024)

 Updated June 2024

  I originally wrote this piece in 2016.  Now after the release of the documentary, When Music Was Free (based on the book of the same name), I've updated the text for 2024).

Who gets the blame for the file-sharing epidemic of the early 00's?  At the time I pointed the finger right at the Record Companies.  And guess what?  I still think I'm right.  I'm going to come clean here:  I stole some songs from Napster.  But I have an excuse.  The songs I downloaded were hard-to find tracks that at that time never made it on to a CD reissue/compilation, etc.  Napster appeared in the summer of 1999.  But only lasted two years.  There were many copycats, but Napster was king.  Two years later in July 2001 it was shut down.  Copyright infringement lawsuits by record companies killed it. 

  The genius of Napster.  You could find everything.  Once I found one forgotten Top 40 hit, I couldn't believe that others were showing up. There was a giddiness to the hunt.  My attitude at that time was that if no one wants to put these out there for completists like me, then I'm going to find a way to get them.  Remember YouTube wouldn't appear until 2005.  Pandora also started in 2005. Others like Spotify followed.  But Napster showed that consumers were tired of high priced CD's and were willing to find their music cheaper elsewhere.  The Record biz dragged their feet.  Blamed consumers but eventually found their way into the streaming world.

  I should also point out that unlike some people who used Napster to download everything and anything, I continued to buy albums in those years  This was a problem, though. Even though the Now series of compiling the latest hits on a compilation had finally hit the U.S. in 1998, before that record companies stopped releasing singles.  Now was an eye-opener.  Suddenly I didn't need to buy full albums to get a couple of good songs.  I could wait for another volume.  Also,  Itunes wouldn't premiere until early 2001. All in all, consumers were tired of buying albums when they only one song.

  Then came the Ipod in October 2001.  Integrated with Itunes and the consumer was finally in command.  No longer did you have to purchase CD's for $15+ when you could get that one track you only wanted.

But my buying habits have always been different than most.  Throughout the Napster/Itunes birth, I was still buying CD's.  But more carefully.  One couldn't deny the rise of Amazon how buyers spent their money. Comparison shopping became key for me.  And this is where the end was near for Borders, Tower Records, Circuit City and many other record store chains. How often did I go into Borders to check out the price of a CD and then go online to see what Amazon or a used retailer was selling it?  All the time.  And to the point where I rarely bought anything at the big box stores anymore.  

  Napster started the firestorm.  Artists got ticked because people were stealing their songs.  Then along comes Lars & Metallica suing Napster in 2000,  and a year later the file-sharing giant is dead.  It didn't stop people from downloading.  They went elsewhere and the RIAA continued to threaten the most extreme abusers.  But the RIAA still couldn't figure out that the problem lay in one thing: price.  

  The roots of Napster are still being played out today.  Streaming services like Spotify, which offer and all-you-want deal are still a problem for some artists. Minuscule streaming royalty statements have made some acts rebel against Spotify, but not for long.  Most big name artists are streaming.  They have little choice. You would think that in 2024 everything would be available to stream.  Nope, hat's not the case.  Many of the songs I downloaded off Napster are still not available on Spotify.  But you can find all of them on YouTube. 

  I still buy Now volumes, still stream and still buy albums, but not like I did before. Yet, while I'm sympathetic to artists who want a fair payday for their recordings, I have little sympathy for the record companies.  Album sales are never coming back to pre-Napster era times.  Occasionally, an artist like Taylor Swift will come around and defy those odds. But she's a once in a generation name.  

Poll: May 1986 Songs

  I turned 22 in May 1986.  As I'm writing this that was 38 years ago.  No, it doesn't seem that long ago.  I still hear many of these across Sirius' various channels that play 80's music.  

  For this latest poll 34 songs were picked to vote on. Here are my rankings.  Listen to this countdown at popgoldradio.com

"West End Girls", Pet Shop Boys : 1
"Kiss", Prince & the Revolution : 2
"Manic Monday", Bangles : 3
"Live To Tell", Madonna : 4
"I Can't Wait", Nu Shooz : 5
"Something About You", Level 42 : 6
"Saturday Love", Cherelle with Alexander O'Neal : 7
"On My Own", Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald : 8
"Addicted To Love", Robert Palmer : 9
"What Have You Done For Me Lately", Janet Jackson : 10
"What You Need", INXS : 11
"Let's Go All The Way", Sly Fox : 12
"Take Me Home", Phil Collins : 13
"If You Leave", Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark : 14
"(I Don't Wanna Lose) Your Love (Tonight)", Outfield : 15
"Never As Good As The First Time", Sade : 16
"A Different Corner", George Michael : 17
"I Have Learned To Respect The Power Of Love", Stephanie Mills : 18
"Rock Me Amadeus", Falco : 19
"All I Need Is A Miracle", Mike + the Mechanics : 20
"Nothin' At All", Heart : 21
"There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)", Billy Ocean : 22
"Secret Lovers", Atlantic Starr : 23
"A Little Bit Of Love (Is All It Takes)", New Edition : 24
"No One Is To Blame", Howard Jones : 25
"Be Good To Yourself", Journey : 26
"Crush On You", Jets : 27
"Why Can't This Be Love", Van Halen : 28
"American Storm", Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band : 29
"Greatest Love Of All", Whitney Houston : 30
"Is It Love", Mr. Mister : 31
"Bad Boy", Miami Sound Machine : 32
"Harlem Shuffle", Rolling Stones : 33

"Move Away", Culture Club : 34 

Playlist for 6/3

Stax: Soulsville USA. (2024 Documentary)

Pernice Brothers - Who Will You Believe

Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams - All This Time

Mark Knopfler - One Deep River

Maggie Rose - No One Gets Out Alive

Alice Russell - I Am

Leyla McCalla - Sun Without The Heat

Marcus King - Mood Swings

Favorite Summer Songs

 Consider this a never-ending list of my favorite Summer songs.  I've also included songs that may not be about Summer, but have the feel of the season.

All Summer - Little Big Town

All Summer Long - Beach Boys
All Summer Long - Kid Rock

Beach Baby - First Class
Beautiful Morning - Rascals

Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy 
Boys of Summer - Don Henley
Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
California Girls - Beach Boys
California Sun - Rivieras

Constructive Summer - Hold Steady

Cool For The Summer - Demi Lovato
Cruel Summer - Bananarama

Cruel Summer - Taylor Swift 

Cruise - Florida Georgia Line
Crystal Blue Persuasion - Tommy James & The Shondells
Dancing In The Moonlight - King Harvest
Dancing In The Street - Martha and the Vandellas
Daydream - Lovin' Spoonful

Doin' Time - Lana Del Rey
Everybody Loves The Sunshine - Roy Ayers
Fourth of July - Dave Alvin
Fun, Fun, Fun - Beach Boys
Good Times - Chic
Good Vibrations - Beach Boys
Grazing In The Grass - Friends of Distinction
Groovin' - Rascals

Heat Wave - Martha & the Vandellas

Heat Waves - Glass Animals 
Hot Fun In The Summertime - Sly & The Family Stone

Hot In Herre - Nelly
I Live For The Sun - Sunrays
In The Summertime - Mungo & Jerry
Island In The Sun - Harry Belafonte
It's A Great Day To Be Alive - Travis Tritt
Lazy Day - Spanky and Our Gang
Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffett

Melting In The Sun - ELO
Miserlou - Dick Dale

Mr. Blue Sky - ELO

Night Moves - Bob Seger

No, Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems - Kenny Chesney

One Summer Dream - ELO

Other Side of Summer - Elvis Costello
Palisades Park - Freddy Cannon

Pontoon - Little Big Town

Rock Lobster - B-52's
Rockaway Beach - Ramones

Saints - Breeders
Saturday In The Park - Chicago
Sealed With A Kiss - Brian Hyland
See You In September - Happenings
School's Out - Alice Cooper
(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay - Otis Redding
Sitting In The Park - Billy Stewart

Sleep All Summer - Neko Case & Eric Bachmann 
Sleepwalk - Santo & Johnny

Smooth - Santana & Rob Thomas
Soak Up The Sun - Sheryl Crow
Southern Nights - Glen Campbell
Steal My Sunshine - Len
Stoned Soul Picnic - Fifth Dimension

Suddenly Last Summer - Motels

Summer and Lightning - ELO
Summer Song - Chad & Jeremy
Summer Wind - Frank Sinatra
Summer Nights - John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John

Summer - Bobby Goldsboro
Summer - War
Summer Breeze - Isley Brothers
Summer Breeze - Seals & Crofts

Summer Looks Good On You - Cheap Trick
Summer In The City - Lovin' Spoonful
Summer Madness - Kool & The Gang

Summer Means Fun - Bruce & Terry
Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams
Summer Rain - Johnny Rivers
Summertime - Billy Stewart

Summer's Comin' - Clint Black
Summertime - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Summertime Blues - Eddie Cochran

Summertime Girls - Y&T
Summertime Sadness - Lana Del Rey
Summertime Summertime - Jamies
Sunny Afternoon - Kinks

Sunroof - Nicky Youre & Dazy

Sunshine On My Shoulders - John Denver
Surf City - Jan & Dean
Surfin' U.S.A. - Beach Boys

That Summer Feeling - Jonathan Richman

Theme From "A Summer Place" - Percy Faith

Theme From "Summer of '42" - Peter Nero
Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer - Nat King Cole
Thunder Island - Jay Ferguson

Toes - Zac Brown Band

Under The Boardwalk - Drifters

Vacation - Connie Francis
Vacation - Go-Go's
Walking On Sunshine - Katrina & The Waves
Watermelon Sugar - Harry Styles

Wipe Out - Surfaris