This week’s early edition of Saturday Night Shut-In, our weekly turntable chat and podcast, is episode 100! For the occasion, Mr. Moderator puts aside his multiple extracurricular activities of late and delivers a playlist and thoughts that reflect exactly where he is at this moment, man: sexy and spiritual! Enjoy, and stay tuned for future episodes from your fellow Townspeople.
I wouldn’t describe myself as a black and white guy, but often in our music debates we are called upon to either love or hate something. Yet sometimes we struggle with taking a side. And it’s not indifference. It’s fence sitting. Tonight I present 2 bands and 2 guys who’ve had me on the fence for too long. Also stay tuned for a Six-pack or Shotgun segment. Thanks to The Professor for his continued guidance and enlightenment.
Full disclosure: For good or ill, this episode of Saturday Night Shut-In was put together under the influence of some serious sinus medication.
[Allowing the seasonal theme to roll forward and to bolster your Moderator’s powers to survive playing a double-header baseball game on Sunday, let’s kick off the first of TWO Saturday Night Shut-Ins! “Game 2” of this day-night double-header should appear late tonight. – Mr. Moderator.]
I put this mix together with 2 things in mind:
To group together some of the also-rans of the Sixties, the things I grew up on the radio with. These are some of the songs that shared the air with The Beatles and The Stones, The Doors, Motown, all the bigger hit makers…but they’re often one-hit wonders,, ones that got lost in the Summer of Love, and they’re the kind of songs you hear, and you go “exactly who the hell did that, anyway?”
My Sunday-themed episode of SNSI was already in the chute and ready to go before the events of last Monday afternoon. In the aftermath, I decided to postpone that episode in favor of a tribute to the great city of Boston. As the week went by, I questioned whether to go ahead with the Boston episode in case there were those still affected by the events or those that might be overwhelmed with the deluge of constant media updates. With the city and surrounding areas still healing I thought that the tribute episode might be “too soon.”
So, I’ve decided to return to my Sunday-themed episode and graft the tribute to the end of that episode. So if you wish not to listen to the Boston episode simply stop the show after the RTH “bumper” following the Etta James song. I chose not to talk and simply play some great songs. The Boston episode is by no means complete or definitive and should not be taken as such. It draws heavily on songs and bands that are familiar.
It isn’t unusual to make some personal connection when tragedies like this happen. Perhaps you have lived in Boston, or walked down some of the streets where the bombings took place. Maybe you know someone who was there on Monday. For me it wasn’t simply that I am a marathon runner, but rather that my wife is always waiting for me at the finish line. I’m even more determined in the future to one day cross that finish line in Boston and see her waiting there.
Life is fragile, but our common resolve to make this world worth living will forever be strong.
For this mix, I really didn’t feel like speaking over the tracks, or putting down bed music in order to list songs with my tinny laptop microphone. I’ll let the list below suffice, and happy listening!
