Friday Fifteen

(Link at left)
Fifteen Top Artists on My Launchcast Station

1. Alison Moyet. I love her voice! There aren't many altos out there recording who can hit the highs and the lows with as much power as she does. And she sings in my range, so I can pretend to be her a little more realistically. She also picks good tunes to sing, and does them emotively without being maudlin.
   
2. Transglobal Underground. Weird. Dancy. World. Frankly, I'm not that deep, so this is just good music to have playing alongside my work.
   
3. Eddie Izzard. Not music (although he always has good background "walking onstage music")--this is pure comedy. His take on The Great Escape makes me cry with laughter EVERY time I hear it, especially his time-out to castigate a heckler ("...fuckin' MOVE ON!").
   
4. Melissa Etheridge. What can I say? She is the quintessential rocker; I think she can hold her own against virtually any other rock musician out there, from Eddie Van Halen to John Lennon. Good lyrics, good guitar, great voice...and she looks good, too. ;-) I have almost all of her CDs.
   
5. The Housemartins. This is all Amy's fault. She introduced me to them, and then sent me a couple of their discs...good, boppy stuff that actually has some depth. What a concept!
   
6. U2. Well, yeah, they do have to show up after all! I have almost all of their albums. While I will readily admit that Bono is a huge poser, he at least does put his money meaningfully where his mouth (constantly) is. I like the whole band, though, each of the people in it make the band more than they would be individually--and they are exceedingly aware of that detail and never let themselves get too wound up in being stars.
   
7. Angelique Kidjo. Great voice, fun to listen to, and she hires great engineers to make her songs sound amazing. She can do a capella and electronica, and make it all sound good, and after you're done with the song you realize she's actually slam-banged her point into your head. Oh, and she's drop-dead gorgeous, too.
   
8. Billy Joel. Yeah, I know. But I have almost all his albums and CDs too. I purely love the man in spite of his incredibly finanical dopeyness, not to mention his giant blind spot about women. He writes good tunes though. Every time I listen to something of his, I get a different perspective. His voice is absolutely honey, and he's become aware of his goob-headedness as he's aged, which just makes him more charming.
   
9. John Lennon. Do I really need to explain? Further, do I need to explain why he's on the list and Sir Paul is not?
   
10. Miriam Makeba. The easy version is that she is Angelique Kidjo's twin. She's not, not at all: for one thing, she just has more depth to her career. She can do "classic" swing tunes in ways that make them sound like brand new pop songs. And you know, if she'd never done anything besides "Pata Pata," I'd still love her!
    
11. Rich Mullins. The link is not to his homepage, or a fan page. It is to an organization founded after his death to continue his mission. Mullins' music brought me into the fold of praise music and Christian rock. So, there's your warning: if you don't want God-talk, don't go here. He's so good, though.
    
12. Queen. Go on laugh. Then go listen to some of their not-quite-as-popular songs, and try to ignore the hamminess (hard as that is). They really crafted some fine musical arcs in their music. Yeah, campy. Yeah, poppy. But listening to Freddy sing "Barcelona" with Montserrat Caballé, or his rendition of "Too Much Love Will Kill You" after he knew the ironic truth of that song...wow. And Brian May gives good guitar, too.
    
13. The Proclaimers. You all remember that song about walking 500 miles, right? Well, surprise: they did other songs. Quite a few, and they are good. My favorite is "D.I.Y."
    
14. Pete Seeger. Dude, the guy is STILL SINGING! He's the same age as my mom--87--and he's been working now for...almost 70 years! Great songs, lovely personality, someone who stood up for his beliefs and kept his and our spirits up, and has never been afraid of using reason to combat stupidity. I don't agree with everything he supports, but listening to him sing is like curling up on a beloved grandparent's lap for a cuddle.
    
15. Big Head Todd and the Monsters. I went to high school youth group with Todd. And their songs are good, too. ;-) Actually, I didn't know that "BH Todd" was "Todd from youth group" until about three years ago. He didn't really have a big head then; I think he still doesn't.