#wyep

The radio station I listen to in the car, WYEP, has for the last few years collected listener's picks with each song entry gaining one vote. Then they crunch the numbers and order the favorite songs for a week long count down to the top ten.

It's the station's fiftieth year. I remember when the station began because I lived in the neighborhood where the studio was located. "Studio" is probably a bit grandiose, the space was a slightly converted two-car garage. The theme this year is : best songs of the last fifty years.

I'd be a terrible DJ. I'm not sure any of the twenty songs I've contributed to past countdowns ever made the list, which is saying something because the list of songs numbers over a thousand. I do admire the DJ craft. And I liked the notion of thinking about music of the last fifty year. It's the music of my adult life.

One thing about being old is knowing a lot about bad habits and ruts. Trying to avoid obvious habits, I decided to make a list of songs by women artist and order the songs according to decade. Then I picked fout songs from the five decades to make a list of twenty songs. I mixed up the songs to make the playlist as I used to do with mix tapes.

Here's the list (The link is to a YouTube playlist of the songs):

My Adult Life

She's a Rainbow Molly Tuttle (2021)

I'm Digging You (Like Old Soul Record) Mechell Ndegicello (1993)

If I were a Boy Beyonce (2008)

I Can't Make you Love Me Bonnie Raitt (1991)

Sharkey's Day Laurie Anderson (1981)

On and On Erickah Badu (1997)

Rapture Blondie (1981)

Makeba Jain (2015)

Pull Up to the Bumper Grace Jones (1981)

Fast Car Tracy Chapman (1988)

Deeper Well Emmylou Harris (1995)

Sea Lion Woman Fiest (2007)

People Have the Power Patti Smith (1988)

Black Myself Amythyst Kiah (2021)

Revelator Gilliam Welch (2001)

I'd Rather Go Blind Black Dub-Trixie Whitley (2010)

I Used to Love Him Lauryn Hill (1998)

You KNow I'm No Good Amy Winehouse (2006)

Chuck E's in love Rickie Lee Jones (1979)

I was intrigued by the notes to Esperanza Spalding and Milton Nascimeto's collaboration. In the notes there's a story of how Spalding first heard Milton Nacimento in the early 2000s when a visiting musician played Wayne Shorter's album Native Dancer. She wonders: “How could I have not known about this before?”

Last month I wrote about how a local radio station is celebrating fifty years on the air by encouraging listeners to send in up to 20 songs between 1974 and now. It's a fun excess. So I thought I'd try to put together 20 songs through a loosely defined notion of World Music. I cheated and added "Funky Kingston" from 1973 to make the list 21 songs.

As in my previous playlist i selected a bunch of songs and ordered them chronologically and then choose 4 songs for each of the 5 decades. I mixed up the songs from the decades in the previous playlist, but in this one kept the chronological order.

Here's the playlist at Youtube.

50 Years World Music

1974 1984

Funky Kingston ~Toots and the Maytals (1973) Water Get No Enemy ~Fela Kuti and Africa 70 Band (1975) Redemption Song ~Bob Marley and the Wailers (1979) Stimela ~Hugh Masekela (1980) Biko Peter ~Gabriel (1980)

1984 1994

Free Nelson Mandela ~The Specials (1984) Sun City ~Artists Against Apartheid (1985) Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes ~Paul Simon (1986) Sidi h'bibi ~Mano Negra Live (1992)

!994 2004

Maracatu Atômico ~Chico Science e Nação Zumbi (1996) Chan Chan ~Buena Vista Social Club (1997) Clandestino ~Mano Chao (1998) La Negra Tiene Tumbao ~Celia Cruz (2001)

2004 2014

Panic in Babylon ~Lee Scratch Perry & The White Belly Rats (2004) Fuego ~Bomba Estéreo (2008) No Parking ~Fat Freddy'd Drop (2009) Ave Cesaria ~Stromae (2013)

2014 2024

Lapwony

Geoffrey Oryema - Topic

One afternoon about thirty years ago I heard this song on the car radio. I was so curious I went the National Record Mart by the grocery store to try to find it. That wasn't something I normally did as I never have seemed to have any money. The record store had 2 copies of Beat the Border and I bought one.

The late Geoffrey Oryema's music is worth exploring. There are a number of dance remixes too.

On Pittsburgh radio there have been some DJs on the radio for a really long time. When I was younger I didn't quite see the attration. Now that I'm old understand better.

It's the fiftieth anniversary of WYEP the local independent radio stations wheere I first heard Lapwony. I attribute hearing it to long-time Dj Rosemary Welsch, becasue she's introduced me to so many songs I love. Lapwony certainly never made it into heavy rotation, but that it was played at all is a good reason to cherish radio stations where the DJs play a big part in making their playlists.

WYEP wound up a week of a listerner countdown. Listeners were asked to send in up to 20 of their favorite songs from the 21st Century so far , each song was a vote. They selected over 1,100 songs. These are the 20 songs that got the most votes.

I was happy to see that 4 of the 20 songs I sent in made the list of over 1,110 songs : "NPWA"-- Billy Bragg, "You Are Not Alone"-- Mavis Staples, "We Were Vampires"-- Jason Isabell, and "You Want It Darker"-- Leonard Cohen.

Squat That Rabbit - Taj Mahal

clotho98

"Squat That Rabbit," by Taj Mahal.  The animation is from the 1925 classic "Alice Gets Stung," by Walt Disney (pre-Mickey Mouse)