The March 2017 Playlist: ’80s R&B

Between 1980 and 1990, I aged from ten to twenty years old. The ’80s were the years I was most keenly tuned into radio and MTV, which was all we had back then. (I didn’t get into the alternative scene until I got to college.)

Much of what I loved in my teens was the R&B dance/pop music coming out then. I was a closet disco queen, which was unusual for a white boy in a very white suburb. And much of the music I was attracted to came from black artists, with some of the music appearing on Top-40 charts while some of it was slightly more esoteric, only to be heard on Cleveland’s “black” station WZAK, which was my favorite at the time. And I was a freak for the stuff coming out of Minneapolis from Prince’s little purple/paisley universe.

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The February 2017 Playlist

My apologies for the late arrival of this month’s playlist, but it’s here at long last. While it’s the usual genre/decade mess, there are some choice love-themed Valentine’s Day selections, like Dorothy Ashby’s gorgeous 1968 arrangement of “Come Live With Me” from Valley of the Dolls, the beautiful “Simple Song #3” from Paolo Sorrentino’s exquisite film Youth, and “Sometimes I Wish I Had a Gun” by Mink Stole. Enjoy.

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The January 2017 Playlist

Peppered among my usual lot of new and old discoveries is an appreciation of the brilliant George Michael.

I was never a huge Wham! fan, though I did have my favorites from their brief bright time. (“Everything She Wants,” “Careless Whisper” or “Last Christmas,” anyone?) But when George emerged on his own, he demonstrated a masterful talent for pop song craftsmanship, writing, performing and producing his own material. His post ’80s output wasn’t necessarily prolific or platinum in its appreciation or sales, particularly compared to the massive success of his debut smash Faith, but it was a meaningful and often poignant catalog to the more “talented listener.”

His personal and professional challenges are stuff for other articles. (Read Aja Romano’s cutting piece in Vox on George and the cultural shaming that plagued him.) I will say that “Freedom ’90” from his underappreciated 1990 album Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. 1 was a liberation anthem that gave many closeted gay folk – myself included – the occasion and permission to say “fuck it.” I was so looking forward to more from him, but his path turned a different corner.

For now, let’s apppreciate the music. It was fantastic.

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The Christmas 2016 Playlist

The Christmas 2016 Spotify playlist is here! I’ve been maintaining this playlist for many years now. It has favorites from Christmases of my childhood as well as more recent discoveries both new and old. I’ll probably add even more between now and New Year’s Eve. So enjoy some fun, frivolous and fabulous music for what I hope is a joyous and safe holiday season for all of you!

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November 2016 Playlist

The November 2016 Spotify playlist is up! While the last few playlists have had themes to them (“Rocktober” and “The Get Down”), this one is back to the original formula, which is no formula. It’s a happy three and a half hour mix of genres and eras, including tracks from Burt Bacharach, Drake, Bette Midler, Massive Attack, Tom Jones, Michael Kiwanuka, Radiohead, Dusty Springfield and many more. Enjoy!!

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Falling In Love (again) with the Comedy Album

This is a great time for stand-up comedians and their fans. With more and more comedy specials arriving in the Netflix library by the boatload, as well as the legendary HBO comedy specials, comics have more opportunities to expose more fans to their wares and, thus, entice them to buy tickets to their live shows, which will always be the best way to see stand-up comedy.

When I was growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, our only way to hear about comedians was from Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show or in the early days of cable with Caroline’s Comedy Hour and An Evening at the Improv on A&E. From there, we’d learn about our favorites and buy their comedy albums on vinyl or cassette. I had tapes from Eddie Murphy, Sam Kinison, Dennis Miller (when he was still funny), Sandra Bernhard, Joan Rivers, early Comic Relief specials and many more. That was how it worked. It was all about the comedy album.

As much as I love a comedy special on Netflix or HBO, it’s good to get an audio-only comedy fix when you can’t watch, like when you’re driving, cutting the lawn, working out or whatever.

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September 2016 Playlist: The Get Down

“The Get Down” was a warm breeze of late summer fun on Netflix. Against the backdrop of a broke (and broken) Bronx in the summer of 1977, “The Get Down” tells a story at the crossroads of disco and hip-hop. This was a time when New York City was severely in debt and was denied federal assistance to avoid bankruptcy under President Gerald Ford, yielding the famous New York Daily News 1975 headline: “Ford to City: Drop Dead.” The Bronx and its residents were really suffering.

The show was created by Baz Luhrmann, who also directed the pilot. I’ve heard from a few friends who had lukewarm feelings after watching the very densely packed first episode, which I completely understand, since watching a Baz Luhrmann project is like eating a really rich, over-sweetened layer cake with frosting made of ecstasy and sprinkled with cocaine, then washing it down with Red Bull. You almost need to chase a Luhrmann movie with an Ingmar Bergman film just to come down. He starts off his new Netflix series, “The Get Down,” with a similar three-ring circus fervor, though it’s not his usual boisterous pageant of bells and whistles. Fortunately for “The Get Down,” the remaining five episodes are helmed by other directors who allow the story to breathe with more finesse and nuance. And it’s a pretty fabulous story.

One of the best best features of the 8-episode show was the music. Wow. Like, fuck me wow. It’s an early-to-mid ’70s aural orgy of soul, R&B, disco and even some rock in a beautiful blend of the popular and the more esoteric. My September 2016 playlist is a curated selection of some of my favorites that appeared in the series.

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