MAKING THE MAGICAL MUSIC MIX: THE SCIENCE OF THE ART
By JOHN YOUNGREN
A friend of mine named Tom Carlson and I have long engaged in kind of a friendly rivalry. Whether we do it for posterity – by laying it down on tape, or now burning it to CD – or simply do it to make a party, we both enjoy adding to whatever festivities are taking place by choosing the appropriate music, or pulling a song for the "mix."
This isn’t particularly uncommon, by the way. Whole Web Sites and CD lines and books are devoted to "the art of the mix," and you’ll often find party hosts trying to sway the mood of any given gathering by their choice of music.
But Tom and I – we both consider ourselves to be music buffs, with a wide range of eclectic tastes – take it a step further: For us, it’s as much science as it is art. We’ve seen festive gatherings break up because somebody put on the wrong song, or album. We’ve seen snoozy dinner parties wake up because we found the right beat.
Like the perfect golf swing, finding the right song to throw on at a gathering of people is ever elusive, and repeatedly coming up with the right choices – to match mood, crowd, time of evening and so many other factors – is like playing a perfect round.
And unlike a recorded mix -- where one can influence the pace and choice of songs, listener be damned -- in a live situation it all comes down to crowd reaction, retention and participation. Finding the right combination of group, familiarity, nostalgia, beat, pace and type of music to throw on at a party is the key.
Then picking the song that will follow, because you’re never as good as the last cut, is the next challenge.
That said, I thought I’d use this space to present my personal Top 10 "party mix" songs, culled from my own experience at festive gatherings throughout my recent life. As I’m fond of saying, these aren’t always the critically acclaimed wonders, or the No. 1 hits. But, when the right crowd is in place and mood is in the air, these are a few songs that can turn a party on.
Yes, they are. Try them:
1) "Philadelphia Freedom," Elton John. Actually, almost any older Elton John song has its place at a beer-drinking, CD-playing fest. But "Philadelphia Freedom" remains a particular favorite of mine, if only for its easy-to-sing chorus, insistent, memorable riff and "I love, love, love you … yes I do…" harmony.
2) "What It Takes," Aerosmith. One of the great break-up songs of all time, Aerosmith’s balladic rocker is always a party pleaser. One theory for its popularity may be the theme of losing love and then wanting to get away from all memories of the relationship, but my hunch is that it has more to do with its Steven Tyler-crooned-then-whining chorus ("Tell me what it takes to let you go/tell me how the pain's supposed to go/tell me how it is that you can sleep/In the night, without thinkin' you lost/everything that was good in your life to the toss of a dice/tell me what it takes to let you go…") which everyone is convinced they can sing, especially if alcohol is involved.
3) "Borderline," Madonna. We are children of the MTV generation. Madonna’s "Borderline" was her first major hit, an early-80s MTV staple that established the artist and has one of those incessant hooks impossible to remove from your long-term memory. A singalong favorite at nearly every party I’ve ever attended – yes, even among all the guys.
4) "Tumbling Dice," Rolling Stones. By his own admission, Mick Jagger’s singing – particularly on the verses – of "Tumbling Dice" is all but unintelligible; the lyrics mush together in a kind of scattered alphabet soup. That’s why it works. Nobody knows what Mick is really singing, making the song (with one of the great rock and roll riffs) a party favorite for those who insist on croaking along, but don’t like to be called on it when they blow a line.
5) "Foreplay/Long Time," Boston. Put it on. Let me know if anyone – particularly the guys in the crowd, who are genetically pre-programmed to play air guitar – doesn’t strum and whine along.
6) "The Chain," Fleetwood Mac. Yearning, churning, relationship turmoil – courtesy of one of the great popsmiths of all time, Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham. People will only be able to kind of hum along to the verses, but when you hit that "If you don’t love me now, you will never love me again" chorus, somebody better be friends with the local cops, because chances are they’re going to be ringing the doorbell any time.
7) "R.O.C.K. in the USA," John Mellencamp. Much like early Elton John, John Mellencamp from nearly any era is always an ace in the hole for yours truly when scrambling for the next song "pull" during an impromptu live party mix. And much like Madonna’s "Borderline," this definitive mid-‘80s Mellencamp rocker has a kind of seminal appeal that will make even the most jaded judge of popular music clap along with the beat.
8) "Forever in Blue Jeans," Neil Diamond. Neil, oh Neil. The cheesy, sparkling shirts. The funny haircut. The fact that he hasn’t had a real hit since "America" in what, 1981? No matter. Pop some Neil in the disc player – particularly this little number, written around its easy-lovin’, ain’t-life-simple sensibility – and watch people (grown people, people who would never admit to liking Neil under any other circumstances) melt.
9) "Something So Strong," Crowded House. I’m partial to sliding this acoustic-edged wonder into the equation, again mainly because of its chorus, which generally causes grown men and women to whine like schoolchildren at the end of recess. Trust me.
10) "My Sharona," The Knack. The Knack had exactly two hits about two decades ago. This is one of them – far and away their biggest. From its opening to its shuffling, anyone-can-keep-it beat, "My Sharona" has been a party starter since I started going to parties, in roughly 9th grade.
So, the weekend has arrived. Maybe you’ll find yourself at a casual gathering this Friday or Saturday night. Maybe someone will start playing CDs. Maybe someone else will, and then someone else will join.
Now it’s your turn. Take this list. Knock ‘em dead.
# # #
That’s it for this time. Tune in again soon for another exciting edition of the one and only, award-winning "Pop Stew!"
Tuesday, March 19, 2002
A POP STEW POTPURRI: BUSH BOOK, CROWE MOVIE, KOPPEL OBSOLETE?
By JOHN YOUNGREN
In the interest of full disclosure, let me first reveal my bias. To do so, I’ll reprint here a letter I wrote that ran in USA Today last summer:
Editor:
With whom does George W. Bush clear his vacation time?
I suspect I'm like many Americans. I'm not going to get much more than a week off this year -- and no time this summer. I've got more important things to worry about. My new job is hectic, I can't afford the vacation I'd like to take and my $300 IRS check still hasn't turned up.
But the President of the United States gets to take a month off to kick around his Texas ranch? Never mind that he's only been on the job a little more than six months (he and I started around the same time). Never mind that he took several weeks off when the election was still being decided. Never mind that he's getting daily updates while in Crawford; that's basically akin to me checking my e-mail when I'm on the road. I'm sure the Bush White House is nervous the President will appear out of touch with the American public. He is. He's even out of touch with his own Vice President -- who has to rush back to work in two days every time he has a heart procedure.
Give me a break. Literally.
John Youngren
Salt Lake City, Utah
I liked to think, because it ran in a national newspaper, that it probably got under President Bush’s skin a little bit. You know, tweaking him about his vacation was quite popular in the mainstream media at the time, and Letterman and Leno and the like were having a field day.
I also thought the last line of my letter was quite hilarious, but USA Today edited it out because they obviously didn’t agree.
Nevertheless, that anti-Bush, always-mocking attitude was what I took into "Ambling into History," a new book by former New York Times writer Frank Bruni covering Bush’s campaign and his first 8-10 months in national office, including the events immediately before and after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
Bruni’s book (Harper Collins Publishers, $23.95) is interesting because, by his own admission, the author isn’t writing about complicated policy decisions or complex government issues. Instead, what he chooses to focus on are things like Bush’s vacation time, his propensity to mangle his grammar, his addiction to exercise and the rest and recreation he seems to fit in while the rest of the world works. In short, Bruni writes about the whole host of human foibles that go into the makeup of the 43rd President of the United States.
Bruni, who enjoyed a one-on-one dialogue with Bush many times, keeps a kind of running diary of many of the shenanigans on the Bush campaign trail – and what he ends up offering is a personal, slightly bemused, extremely flesh-and-blood portrait of the soon-to-be President and his various handlers, family members and friends.
I will admit that, like so many things in the past six months, Bruni’s profile of Bush had me liking the President much more than I once did – at least as a human being. He comes across as a rather eager-to-please, cagily charming good ol’ boy, if one goes by Bruni’s description.
Still, despite its price and subject matter, at 278 pages, "Ambling into History" feels awfully thin – but maybe that’s because the material Bruni is working with is awfully thin to begin with.
Yes, Bush’s campaign might seem like it took place 10 years ago, only because the events of Sept. 11 put everything through a new prism of perspective. But in reality, we’re still only dealing with a couple of years here, which certainly don’t lend the perspective needed for Bruni to offer anything more than a fleeting glance.
"Ambling into History" is a book that may need a few more chapters written before it can be considered finished.
* * *
JUST SAY YES: "Say Anything," writer/director Cameron Crowe’s seminal look at teenage love, lust and life, has just been released on DVD, and the film Entertainment Weekly called "the best romance movie of all time" has made a surprisingly smooth transition.
With star John Cusack playing one of the defining roles of his career (his Lloyd Dobler would inform teen characters for years to come), "Say Anything" (Crowe’s directing debut, originally produced in 1989) is like a "best of" recitation of great scenes from – if not the best romance movie of all time – at least a pretty decent teen movie.
See if these scenes/lines spark memories:
--The object of Cusack’s desire, the great Diane Court (played by Ione Skye), gives him a pen to remember her by when they break up (her idea). "I gave her my heart and all she gave me was this lousy pen," Lloyd says.
--Lloyd talking about how to approach Diane with two of his platonic female friends, who offer: "Don’t be a guy, Lloyd. The world is full of guys. Be a man."
--Lloyd asking a bunch of male buddies how they’d go about winning Skye back, then countering their loopy, contradictory advice: "If you guys know so much about women, what are you doing sitting here alone (in a convenience store parking lot) on a Saturday night?"
--Cusack waving the very-80s, cinder-block size boom box over his head as Peter Gabriel’s "In Your Eyes" drifts through Skye’s window … one of the great iconic scenes in any teen movie, any era.
Still, what makes the DVD version of "Say Anything" (20th Century Fox, about $20) so much fun is the audio commentary provided by the thoughtful, always-dependable Crowe (who would go on to achieve even greater success with "Jerry Maguire" and "Almost Famous"), Cusack and Skye. Recorded on a relaxed Sunday afternoon, the three banter about the scenes in the movie and the history behind doing the film in such a relaxed manner it’s like they’re sitting on your couch with you as you happen to stumble upon "Say Anything" on cable.
Though some of the styles and attitudes seem a bit dated, "Say Anything" has really aged pretty well. Maybe that’s because a great – if not the greatest -- love story can always stand the test of time.
* * *
GOODNIGHT TO ALL TED: This isn’t going to make me popular among all my former journalism cronies, who probably see me as a sellout anyway. And I know my father and some of my other journalistic mentors will disagree: But I can’t help but offer this, in all the uproar about David Letterman maybe replacing Ted Koppel’s "Nightline" on ABC:
Um, is anybody actually watching "Nightline" anymore?
Forget the ratings and really think about it. The show has been on nearly 23 years. Koppel has been long regarded, and justifiably, as one of the best television has to offer. But what once made "Nightline" so appealing – the live aspects of the show, Koppel’s trademark taskmaster interviews, the lengthy focus on the issue of the day – has become fairly standard in the television industry.
In fact, I’d argue that the "Nightline" timeslot hurts Koppel. Unless he truly has something new to offer on a given breaking story – and he quite often does not, particularly as the show relies more and more on substitute anchors and taped reports – chances are good he’s already been aced (repeatedly, in some cases) by all-day cable news channels and network prime-time newsmagazines.
Even on huge news days, Koppel comes off seeming a bit dated by time he turns up. His reporting on Sept. 11, for example, seemed terribly behind the events of the day.
This isn’t a pro-Letterman rant. I’m happy he’s staying at CBS. And I think ABC mishandled Koppel, who deserves much better.
But let’s be honest about his show. Its time might have come – and gone.
# # #
That’s it for this time. Tune in again soon for another edition of "Pop Stew!"
By JOHN YOUNGREN
In the interest of full disclosure, let me first reveal my bias. To do so, I’ll reprint here a letter I wrote that ran in USA Today last summer:
Editor:
With whom does George W. Bush clear his vacation time?
I suspect I'm like many Americans. I'm not going to get much more than a week off this year -- and no time this summer. I've got more important things to worry about. My new job is hectic, I can't afford the vacation I'd like to take and my $300 IRS check still hasn't turned up.
But the President of the United States gets to take a month off to kick around his Texas ranch? Never mind that he's only been on the job a little more than six months (he and I started around the same time). Never mind that he took several weeks off when the election was still being decided. Never mind that he's getting daily updates while in Crawford; that's basically akin to me checking my e-mail when I'm on the road. I'm sure the Bush White House is nervous the President will appear out of touch with the American public. He is. He's even out of touch with his own Vice President -- who has to rush back to work in two days every time he has a heart procedure.
Give me a break. Literally.
John Youngren
Salt Lake City, Utah
I liked to think, because it ran in a national newspaper, that it probably got under President Bush’s skin a little bit. You know, tweaking him about his vacation was quite popular in the mainstream media at the time, and Letterman and Leno and the like were having a field day.
I also thought the last line of my letter was quite hilarious, but USA Today edited it out because they obviously didn’t agree.
Nevertheless, that anti-Bush, always-mocking attitude was what I took into "Ambling into History," a new book by former New York Times writer Frank Bruni covering Bush’s campaign and his first 8-10 months in national office, including the events immediately before and after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
Bruni’s book (Harper Collins Publishers, $23.95) is interesting because, by his own admission, the author isn’t writing about complicated policy decisions or complex government issues. Instead, what he chooses to focus on are things like Bush’s vacation time, his propensity to mangle his grammar, his addiction to exercise and the rest and recreation he seems to fit in while the rest of the world works. In short, Bruni writes about the whole host of human foibles that go into the makeup of the 43rd President of the United States.
Bruni, who enjoyed a one-on-one dialogue with Bush many times, keeps a kind of running diary of many of the shenanigans on the Bush campaign trail – and what he ends up offering is a personal, slightly bemused, extremely flesh-and-blood portrait of the soon-to-be President and his various handlers, family members and friends.
I will admit that, like so many things in the past six months, Bruni’s profile of Bush had me liking the President much more than I once did – at least as a human being. He comes across as a rather eager-to-please, cagily charming good ol’ boy, if one goes by Bruni’s description.
Still, despite its price and subject matter, at 278 pages, "Ambling into History" feels awfully thin – but maybe that’s because the material Bruni is working with is awfully thin to begin with.
Yes, Bush’s campaign might seem like it took place 10 years ago, only because the events of Sept. 11 put everything through a new prism of perspective. But in reality, we’re still only dealing with a couple of years here, which certainly don’t lend the perspective needed for Bruni to offer anything more than a fleeting glance.
"Ambling into History" is a book that may need a few more chapters written before it can be considered finished.
* * *
JUST SAY YES: "Say Anything," writer/director Cameron Crowe’s seminal look at teenage love, lust and life, has just been released on DVD, and the film Entertainment Weekly called "the best romance movie of all time" has made a surprisingly smooth transition.
With star John Cusack playing one of the defining roles of his career (his Lloyd Dobler would inform teen characters for years to come), "Say Anything" (Crowe’s directing debut, originally produced in 1989) is like a "best of" recitation of great scenes from – if not the best romance movie of all time – at least a pretty decent teen movie.
See if these scenes/lines spark memories:
--The object of Cusack’s desire, the great Diane Court (played by Ione Skye), gives him a pen to remember her by when they break up (her idea). "I gave her my heart and all she gave me was this lousy pen," Lloyd says.
--Lloyd talking about how to approach Diane with two of his platonic female friends, who offer: "Don’t be a guy, Lloyd. The world is full of guys. Be a man."
--Lloyd asking a bunch of male buddies how they’d go about winning Skye back, then countering their loopy, contradictory advice: "If you guys know so much about women, what are you doing sitting here alone (in a convenience store parking lot) on a Saturday night?"
--Cusack waving the very-80s, cinder-block size boom box over his head as Peter Gabriel’s "In Your Eyes" drifts through Skye’s window … one of the great iconic scenes in any teen movie, any era.
Still, what makes the DVD version of "Say Anything" (20th Century Fox, about $20) so much fun is the audio commentary provided by the thoughtful, always-dependable Crowe (who would go on to achieve even greater success with "Jerry Maguire" and "Almost Famous"), Cusack and Skye. Recorded on a relaxed Sunday afternoon, the three banter about the scenes in the movie and the history behind doing the film in such a relaxed manner it’s like they’re sitting on your couch with you as you happen to stumble upon "Say Anything" on cable.
Though some of the styles and attitudes seem a bit dated, "Say Anything" has really aged pretty well. Maybe that’s because a great – if not the greatest -- love story can always stand the test of time.
* * *
GOODNIGHT TO ALL TED: This isn’t going to make me popular among all my former journalism cronies, who probably see me as a sellout anyway. And I know my father and some of my other journalistic mentors will disagree: But I can’t help but offer this, in all the uproar about David Letterman maybe replacing Ted Koppel’s "Nightline" on ABC:
Um, is anybody actually watching "Nightline" anymore?
Forget the ratings and really think about it. The show has been on nearly 23 years. Koppel has been long regarded, and justifiably, as one of the best television has to offer. But what once made "Nightline" so appealing – the live aspects of the show, Koppel’s trademark taskmaster interviews, the lengthy focus on the issue of the day – has become fairly standard in the television industry.
In fact, I’d argue that the "Nightline" timeslot hurts Koppel. Unless he truly has something new to offer on a given breaking story – and he quite often does not, particularly as the show relies more and more on substitute anchors and taped reports – chances are good he’s already been aced (repeatedly, in some cases) by all-day cable news channels and network prime-time newsmagazines.
Even on huge news days, Koppel comes off seeming a bit dated by time he turns up. His reporting on Sept. 11, for example, seemed terribly behind the events of the day.
This isn’t a pro-Letterman rant. I’m happy he’s staying at CBS. And I think ABC mishandled Koppel, who deserves much better.
But let’s be honest about his show. Its time might have come – and gone.
# # #
That’s it for this time. Tune in again soon for another edition of "Pop Stew!"
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