You reallyreally thought the Beast Who Just Can’t Help Himself would pass up this opportunity? Even though ‘bulo wants Jason back, there are some bridges too far. No, not Jason’s return, but the featuring of Player’s “Baby Come Back, aka the Swifter Mop Song” here. Besides, JMY has already used that one:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0zgwVZtlUU&feature=related[/youtube]

Ray Charles: Baby Please Don’t Go

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfyFI-4ZsaE[/youtube]

Temptations: Ain’t Too Proud to Beg

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhgdsxtNNUw&feature=related[/youtube]

Smokey Robinson & the Miracles: What’s So Good About Goodbye?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuiu9KYk1Fs&feature=related[/youtube]

Bonnie Raitt/Jackson Browne: My Opening Farewell

Here’s the inside story about why Jason had to leave: “Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right…”:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OJ7QQqaYKA&annotation_id=annotation_578474&feature=iv[/youtube]

Stealer’s Wheel: Stuck In the Middle With You

But don’t worry. ‘Bulo hopes and suspects that pretty soon the gang’ll be back together and singin’ this one into their Twin Lakes longnecks:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FmPhJkdTwU[/youtube]

Thin Lizzy: The Boys Are Back in Town

Promise/Threat to Jason: Don’t make El Somnambulo wait too long for your return. Otherwise, he might be forced to bring that Swifter Duster song out of the, um, broom closet.

‘Bulo must genuflect at the feet of JMY. Brilliant choices, completely on topic, exactly what you’d expect from someone who always colors within the lines.

The Beast Who Slumbers has never colored within the lines (he’s tried, but…). Accordingly, while his choices are informed by the topic, they tend to drift from it. Sometimes far from it. But he did have lots of fun putting this medley together, as if you couldn’t tell:

The diagnosis:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNLfQkHQlE8[/youtube]

Robert Palmer: “Bad Case of Lovin’ You”

Doctor-Patient consult:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iw35z8qp-Q[/youtube]

Little Feat: “Rock ‘n Roll Doctor”

Steve Marriott prefers self-medication:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZMmV6xXYFw[/youtube]

Humble Pie: “I Don’t Need No Doctor”

El Somnambulo’s preferred recovery regimen:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbSh9AcCEn0[/youtube]

Graham Parker: “Lady Doctor”

The Queen of Soul has a different preference:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LktuatDj6m4&feature=related[/youtube]

Aretha Franklin: “Doctor Feelgood”

The inevitable result of inadequate healthcare: 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBk3jwNSteo[/youtube]

Cab Calloway, Betty Boop, and the genius of Max Fleischer: “St. James Infirmary”

A medley dedicated to the dream of universal healthcare for all:

Jill Sobule covers the master: 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1SvHwzl3x4[/youtube]

Anyone need a Doctor? 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnymKLIopw0[/youtube]

Definitely NSFW but a classic treatise on aging and doctors: 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHDdqubE7zQ[/youtube]

The lyrics on this 80s track sure seem to apply to Washington DC as it struggles to afford us a basic human right: universal healthcare: 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNmm4En7Ce8[/youtube]

One must-see cartoon song: 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNuCfD5bICQ[/youtube]

For those that stand in the way of Health Care..a stern warning for not supporting the common good from the Man in Black: 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e0EQlQXoEo[/youtube]

John Young

http://transparentchristina.wordpress.com

Tomorrow, El Somnambulo takes on his musical arch-nemesis JMY as they give dueling musical takes on health care reform with two separate Music for the Masses. 

Yes, JMY is a talented and fearsome foe, and his selections are inspired. But, be advised, the Beast Who Cuts and Pastes intends to kick JMY’s bony butt clear back to elementary school. Or is that reform school?

He has been warned.

It is their 50th anniversary AND it’s Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday. And the whole thing is being streamed via NPR of all places. I had no idea until just now, but Pete Seeger is up at 6PM, and other sets from earlier in the weekend are being archived here.

On July 21, 1925, the ”monkey trial” ended in Dayton, Tenn., with John T. Scopes convicted of violating state law for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution. The conviction was later overturned.

84 years to the day later, it is once again time to ponder those eternal verities:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpNoQaB2LT0[/youtube]

Chris Smither- “Origin of Species”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_EyXPs2_Jk[/youtube]

Elvis Costello- “Monkey to Man”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP865F7Xf9g[/youtube]

Major Lance- “The Monkey Time”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrzRNLIZEIk[/youtube]

Smokey Robinson & the Miracles- “Mickey’s Monkey

By Guest Contributor John Young from http://transparentchristina.wordpress.com:

I can’t speak to the fashion, but great songs stand the test of time and this version is raw and pure:  

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnVXIUyshng[/youtube]

Lou Gramm and mad synthesizers always make sweet music: 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ja1i5TsMyQ[/youtube]

Carole King knocks it out…:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoHuxpa4h48[/youtube]

One of the best songs from 1982, little known, but by the fiercest lyricist to EVER live, Warren Zevon…this song is dedicated to Philip Habib of the Carter Administration:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ZVFOkx2fc[/youtube]

This song is unique:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_sEQtwNHmc[/youtube]

Check out these lyrics:

She was a systems analyst
For a dot com company
She said, “You think because we’ve kissed
I’ll be yours eternally
I’ll sign another pre-nup
And we’ll merge our P.L.C.s
That’s why most girls go belly-up
In this economy

But when it comes to a jump start
Your forecast’s pretty bleak
The NASDAQ goes by dips and starts
Like Macgillycuddy’s Reeks
The NASDAQ goes by dips and starts
Like Macgillycuddy’s Reeks

Smoothness just oozes from Player (‘Bulo comment: Say, isn’t this that mop song?):

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn-enjcgV1o[/youtube]

And finally: a funny series commemorating the early days of 70s smoothness, episode 1 of Yacht Rock:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMTI8vg7A5U[/youtube]

A major El Somnambulo Tip of the Sombrero to John M. Young for bringing his unique musical vision to DL. ‘Bulo, who also has a picket fence that needs painting, welcomes other contributors as well. Just e-mail DL and, if the Beast Who Slumbers doesn’t despise your musical tastes (Don’t be bringing that Jack Johnson or Tori Amos or Dar Williams over here…), you too can be famous for 15 minutes. Or, at least, semi-famous.

“Hey-y-y, baby, it’s the 4th of July”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BtzpaCZnjA&feature=related[/youtube]

Dave Alvin-  “4th of July”

“What a waste of gunpowder and sky…”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S7HAvibdvc&feature=related[/youtube]

Aimee Mann-  “4th of July”

“Sandy, the fireworks are hailin’ over Little Eden tonight…”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Usb9N2czOO8[/youtube] 

Bruce Springsteen-  “4th of July,  Asbury Park (Sandy)”

And, because the Beast Who Slumbers was into Bruce from the beginning, and b/c he wants to show all you doubting youngsters out there that the Boss really was ‘all that’, he will close with two of his all-time fave Springsteen songs that were performed back to back at a memorable concert in Passaic, New Jersey in September of 1978. The segue from the first song into the second (he’ll keep it a surprise) never fails to send chills through ‘bulo’s body:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NltljcANCFs&feature=related[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf61K6ZKu_4&feature=related[/youtube]

Robert Christgau probably said it best about the Bruce of this era: “He may not be God yet, but his sleeveless T-shirt is in the ring.”

Happy 4th, everybody!!

Look at these vids and you come to 2 conclusions: (1) He was every bit as talented as everyone has said (even the song about the rat) and (2) The poor kid never had a chance to be a kid:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4VCUbL7jsc&feature=related[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfJu_Bom2sA&feature=related[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehal1eUG1jk&feature=related[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRTJ2xVr0PA&feature=related[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GveM_95x56k&feature=related[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-blEgMyJwU[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zpTQCQEFhg[/youtube]

‘Bulo’s lost track. But he is now unearthing nuggets from his personal faves of the ’80’s. So, until he completes this nostalgic musical wallow through the Reagan/Bush Years (it’s what kept him more or less sane), he will (a) add the El Somnambulo Definitive Album Ranking for each cut he features and (b) when warranted, and when the Youtubes permit it, he may play more than one song from the exalted album.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKEqGcES4Xw[/youtube]

The dB’s- ‘Amplifier’ from “Stands for Decibels” (‘Bulo’s Ranking: #23 Album of the Eighties) 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hffcyJ1GAg[/youtube]

Michelle Shocked- ‘Anchorage’ from “Short Sharp Shocked” (#30)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bd0Bt0hFJg[/youtube]

Beat Farmers- ‘There She Goes Again’ from “Tales of the New West”  (#25)

And here’s another great Beat Farmers song from an album that didn’t make ‘bulo’s Top 100. The song sure would’ve, though:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlE968mydp4[/youtube]

Beat Farmers- ‘Riverside’ from “Van Go”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRWunSUmEm4[/youtube]

X- ‘Johnny Hit & Run Pauline’ from “Los Angeles” (#26)

Two unforgettable songs by Nanci Griffith, and yes, on the first one, that’s Lyle Lovett singing background:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v24M9xQXaGk[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjQLGVQZI9I&feature=related[/youtube]

Nanci Griffith- ‘Last of the True Believers’ and ‘Love at the Five & Dime’ from “The Last of the True Believers” (#19)

‘Bulo closes this session with three songs from Los Lobos. This remains one of the great bands of the ’80’s, and they’re still both active and relevant today. ‘Bulo also considers David Hidalgo perhaps the greatest unappreciated singer of the era. Judge for yourselves:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeumL4J3NG8&feature=related[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxf-IqdjOG4&feature=related[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2TGbCIfbFs&feature=related[/youtube]

Los Lobos- ‘Evangeline’, ‘A Matter of Time’, and ‘Will the Wolf Survive?’ from “How Will the Wolf Survive” (#13)

Join the Beast Who Slumbers again next week. Who knows where his time machine will take him then? Certainly not ‘bulo…