The sampler from the July issue of Uncut is just wonderful, full of terrific tracks like Little Willie John's seldom heard cover of "Fever" (my favorite version ever!), Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)," Sam Cooke's "Chain Gang" and Bill Dodgett's "Honky Tonk (Part 2)."  Most of the songs can easily be found on other cds, but all of them gathered together on one disc make this extra awesome...worth the rather hefty cost of the magazine...whether you read it or not! :)

Here are some tidbits from the sampler write-up accompanying it:

-Sam Cooke joined the Soul Stirrers at the age of 15 in 1950...and seven years later would hit it big as a solo artist with "You Send Me."

-Smokey Robinson's "Shop Around" was Motown's first chart-topping, million-dollar selling single.

-Ray Charles would often perform "What'd I Say (Parts 1 & 2)" at the very end of his concerts, saying after it was over: 'That's the end for me. There ain't no encore, no nothin'. I'm finished."

 

The problem with cleaning and sorting trash from recycling is when you discover your old magazine collection and end up slumped in a corner reading things you missed the first time around. In the September 2010 issue of Nylon there's a small blurb about an album I had never heard of before called Forget by Twin Shadow.

I like the way Juliet Linderman refers to it: "It's a very rare record that makes you want to simultaneously dance on a rooftop in your underwear and sit in a corner of a dark bar making sexy eyes at strangers, but that's exactly what Twin Shadow's debut Forget inspires."

The man behind Twin Shadow is Dominic Republican-born George Lewis, Jr., who was raised in Florida and now lives in Brooklyn. Grizzly Bear member Chris Taylor, after hearing his amazing voice, signed him to his label, Terrible Records.

And the rest is music history...something incredible to listen (and dance) to while you revel in the wonderful sounds:)

One of my favorite ways to spend Sunday is to catch up on my newspaper and magazine reading. And my favorite magazine is Q, which has a "50 essential tracks section to download," both online and in print.

June's issue has a lot I really enjoyed listening to, though I could only afford to pick three or four:

Q the music Top 50

 I especially like #31...a slow and sad cover of  "You're the One that I Want" (yes, the one from "Grease.")

hear it here

Two songs from the past caught me by surprise this week and sent a flood of memories coursing through my mind that I'd rather forget. Still, once the pain went away I realized how pretty both of them are. The first ("Make It Real" by The Jets) used to sort of annoy me when I was younger, but now I realize it's one of the saddest and most heartfelt songs ever...

The second song ("Somebody" by Depeche Mode) never ever fails to make me fill up with tears, especially if it's not something I put on my iPod, but a song playing on the radio when I least expect it. I think a lot of people might feel this way about "Somebody," even if they're not Depeche Mode fans. The song is so vulnerable and sincere and full of the kind of yearning that only comes with longing for a kind of love that is true and eternal. Of course, it's also the kind of love that's almost impossible to find.

Oh, boy, I'm in a corny and cynical mood at the same time..never a good combo!!:)

so excited Ally Walker is returning to tv in a starring role in another crime show (though, thankfully, this time a crime show with a lighter side!!):

read here

Don't get me wrong, The Profiler was terrific and ahead of its time in exploring the darker side of crime shows, but it could often be a draining experience watching it and Ally Walker (who did such a great job on it) played a woman with a tortured past and present.