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Adam Freeland Extended Mix.

The rain has not let up all day, expected to keep up through the weekend and into next week.

Back in its heyday, KSFO’s night guy was Bobby Dale. When he was depressed, which was often the case, he would put on some Mickey Newbury. Especially if it was raining, because Mickey had those rain songs. Even now, I can’t think of Bobby without remembering Mickey.

For a short time, I worked at the station, and while I met the other DJs, I never saw Bobby since he only came in when most of the staff had gone home.

Back then, I didn’t know Bobby’s DJ history, nor was I aware of Mickey’s prolific songwriting abilities. Kris Kristofferson said that he could never have written Bobbie McGee had it not been for Newbury’s influence.

You won’t find Mickey Newbury at iTunes, but he’s at Amazon.

Here is An American Trilogy, which Newbury didn’t write, but arranged. He put three diverse, classic, Southern-flavored songs together in a stunning whole. Elvis and Tom Jones both had hits with their versions, but it’s this one I like the most:

Aha! With hundreds of albums sitting around the house, surely there’s a suitable one. Stay tuned. With endless rain predicted, one finds entertainment where one can.

Note: the linked weather page info is updated each day (today being 1/25/08), and if you are viewing this in July, it will not be pertinent.

At her site, a poem called Souvenance.

She uses a Land 250, and the show will be at the Fondation Cartier in Paris. Here are some sample shots taken from an earlier exhibition.

All Right Now - Bad Company
It’s All Right - Huey Lewis and the News
Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right - Bob Dylan

then there’s the other spelling:
It’s Alright - Ray Charles
It’s Alright - Van Morrison
It’s Quite Alright - Rancid
It’s Alright - Pet Shop Boys
It’s Alright For You - The Police
It’s Alright - Trisha Yearwood
It’s Alright - Shania Twain
It’s Alright - Queen Latifah
It’s Alright With Me - Harry Connick, Jr.

If you still need comforting, here’s Sting singing Little Wing with help from Branford Marsalis and others:

When I was very small, someone read to me a story of either a mountain king or an elf king. The hero of the story was a small boy who somehow got into the great hall, and had to escape. I’m not sure of the origin, there seem to be several variations of this story. At the time, it scared the daylights out of me.

Many know the music from Edvard Greig’s Peer Gynt, but Peter Lorre’s character whistles it in the movie M, and that is a most haunting version. He can scare the daylights out of me too.

Out of the blue tonight, sorta, I’m watching Apocalyptica’s video.

Over at Musical Warfare, Chris can discuss Apocalyptica much more intelligently than I, when he is not talking about other metal groups. They’ve been around for awhile, but cello metal is very new to me.

It was an idea waiting to happen: Spanish Fly by Will Ferguson comes with its own soundtrack.

The lyrics refer to mashed potatoes and leftovers washed down with pie. A terribly depressing song about loneliness, but with redeeming food. The YouTube video that features the song as sung by Rufus Wainright and Dido from the Bridget Jones film has only the movie ad as a visual. Disappointing, but the song is intact. And if you’re a Colin Firth fan, as I am, you can gaze at him during the singing.

I handed the CD to the receptionist, following the dental assistant in right away (even though I was really early), since this is the office that feels sitting and reading magazines will make patients more nervous.

This visit would consist of extensive, serious, no-nonsense, deep cleaning. I had crowns put in previously, and it is hard to floss, so there were lessons on the proper way. First, the polishing. In the background, very faintly, I could hear bits of songs, some apparently being rejected, although with the sounds coming from the instruments, it was hard to tell. I was reminded of chain saws in the distance taking care of downed trees in the recent storms.

When the dentist arrived, out came the tiny, sharp things that made me jump. She promised that if I took better care of my teeth, next time would be much better.

On the way out, Queen Latifah was wishing she was in California on such a winter’s day. Short appointment, much better than the three-hour kind. I wanted to dance down the steps because I won’t have to be back till July.

Here Comes the Sun (Francois K remix) - Nina Simone
Quando, Quando, Quando (with Nelly Furtado) - Michael Buble
This Never Happened Before - Paul McCartney and Wings
South of the Border - Chris Isaak
Your Love is Mine - The New Mastersound, featuring Corinne Bailey Rae
California Dreamin’ - Queen Latifah
Waters of March - Al Jarreau and Oleta Adams
I’ll Fly Away - Sphere
Dindi - El deBarge and Art Porter
Primavera - Ludovico Einaudi
Here, There and Everywhere - Emmylou Harris
Fields of Gold - Eva Cassidy

The inner workings of songs from Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead, John Lennon, Queen and Amy Winehouse, among others.

Using chord variations to manipulate listeners’ emotions is also discussed at length in This is Your Brain on Music: the Science of a Human Obsession, by Daniel J. Levitin, which I got for Christmas. Thanks, Chris!

Something about a linkup with Amazon and the Super Bowl early in February. Via The Register.

The list includes Tim Burton, Robin Williams, Buzz Aldrin, Robert Downey, Jr., Francis Ford Coppola, Ted Turner and many musicians. Nina Simone is not listed here, but there is mention in her wikipedia entry that her diagnosis was kept a secret.

Haven’t you always wanted an instrument you could play just by waving your hands over it?

It’s always interesting to see whose music is used again and again in ads. I happened on Regina Spektor’s catchy Hotel Song yesterday, and found that Vodafone is not the only company using her songs. Microsoft, British Sky Broadcasting, JCPenney, KPNand XM Satellite Radio also use her voice to help pitch their wares.

Here’s the video to Fidelity. As far as I know, the song has not been used in any commercials, but is one of her most popular videos.

How Bill Nguyen plans to make lala.com the ultimate music site by offering free music. Via Wired.

Kind of tough getting back into the work routine, but these smooth the process a bit:

See-Line Woman - Verve Remixed
Feelin’ Good - Joe Claussell Remix
Here Comes the Sun - Francois K Remix