Friday Random Ten, now with 200% more commentary!

Well, i thought it might be nice to provide some context here. At no extra cost, too!

1. Marvin Gaye--Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler). The Moody Closer to the "What's Going On" album. Initially Berry Gordy was not happy about Gaye doing this angry funk stuff. It sold, though, so he learned to live with it.

2. Fats Domino--Jambalaya (On the Bayou). I bought a Fats Domino compilation a while ago, both because I had always loved "Ain't That a Shame" and because of the cover art. It's got some gems though, and this is one of them. While Hank Williams' original sounded very young, the still living Domino brings a more mature poignancy to the partying.

3. Sly & the Family Stone--Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey. I've had "Stand" in ye olde iPod for a few weeks, but the songs tended not to come up much, especially on days I was compiling these lists. So I made a point of loading "There's a Riot Goin' On" too. This song is actually from the former, but has a pissed off feel (duh) people more associate with the latter.

4. The Kinks--Have a Cuppa Tea. Ray Davies rocks on his grandma. Hallelujah, Rosa lee!

5. Annie Lennox--Little Bird. Note to "American Idol" fans. This is what vocal gymnastics sound like when the song actually means something to the singer.

6. Scissor Sisters--Laura. Opens up their first album, and is totally catchy. They're still fairly fringe here in the states.

7. Beth Custer--Sixes. In the running for the most obscure cut I've ever included. Custer is a San Francisco-based composer, and this percussion based track is one of the pieces she wrote for/with dance company The Joe Goode Performance Group. Nifty.

8. Nat "King" Cole--Lush Life. Nat captures the despair in Billy Strayhorns song with a theatrical yet convincing ennui. Or something.

9. Milt Jackson--I Should Care. Good vibes, with a nice vocal by Kenny "Pancho" Hagood.

10. The Veldt--I Couldn't Care Less. Another kind of obscure one. The Veldt were a 90's Black rock group from NC, one that tapped into a kind of Echo and Bunnymen/My Bloody Valentine sound. Their debut ep (which I used to have on tape) captured some ears, and they recorded a major label debut called "Afrodisiac." Then they hit a wall, but the music is still good.

I think there was other stuff I wanted to blog about, but that'll be coming in the next couple of days. Nighty night.