It’s the last weekend of the summer of 2021. My new music folder seems a bit light at the moment, so we’re going to get a little nutty this week. I hope you find the nuttiness pleasing to your ears.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/playlist\/2LMxMwJjAazetSKaJ4GakS?si=bb12595a2fb14cb0<\/p>\n
“Red Hill Mining Town” – U2<\/p>\n
Through hands of steel
\nAnd heart of stone
\nOur labor day
\nHas come and gone<\/p><\/blockquote>\nNot about our American Labor Day, but still seems appropriate for the weekend.<\/p>\n
“C’mon C’Mon” – The Von Bondies
\nThis has been sitting in my Friday Playlist pool for months and I never got around to throwing it into a list. I believe this was the first song I purchased on the iTunes Music Store after I bought my first iPod back in 2004, so it’s kind of significant.<\/p>\n“Hayfever” – Trashcan Sinatras
\nA great, great song that never got enough attention when it came out in the mid-90s. The Trashcan Sinatras have a whole swath of great tracks that really didn’t get much attention here in the US.<\/p>\n“Top Gun Anthem” – Harold Faltermeyer, Steve Stevens
\nI heard this a few weeks back on SiriusXM’s Road Trip Radio station and it made me smile. When I was 16 and I was watching Top Gun<\/em> like six times a week, I wanted nothing more than an edited version of this song that just played those opening, ominous seconds over and over. After not hearing this for 30-35 years, it still sounds pretty bitchin’. I bet Johnny Lawrence still loves it, too.<\/p>\n“Fletch Theme” – Harold Faltermeyer
\nSure, “Axel F” was a jam. But this movie theme is also pretty great. Harold had a good 18 months or so in the mid-80s.<\/p>\nJamaican music legend Lee “Scratch” Perry died this week. Let’s celebrate his life and work!<\/p>\n
“‘Dr. Lee, PhD'” – The Beastie Boys with Lee “Scratch” Perry
\nThe next-to-last track on the last great Beastie Boys album, this kind of blew all our minds when we first heard it in the spring of 1998.<\/p>\n“Police and Thieves” – Junior Murvin
\nPerry co-wrote this classic track. The Clash later covered it. Murvin hated their version, saying they had “…destroyed Jah’s work.” There are varying reports that Perry both hated it and loved it. More about that in a sec…<\/p>\n“Complete Control” – The Clash
\nOne of the absolute greatest Clash songs – hell, one of the greatest punk rock songs – ever. No matter what his true feelings about “Police and Thieves,” Perry admired The Clash’s early work and agreed to produce this track. You’re my guitar hero!<\/p>\nRIP to Lee.<\/p>\n