Throwback Tracks -- March 15, 2018
David R. Smith
Beware the Ides of March indeed. Once again this damned day just snuck right up on me like it always does. (Both the ides of March and Thursday. But mostly Thursday.) I'm in the middle of a tech week and just realized I still have to do this week's TBT. It looks like it's going to be another month where you get the February and March playlists at the same time. It's just the way it goes sometimes. Life, am I right??
So here's what I have for you this week. Happy listening friends!
The Guys From do not hold the rights to any of these songs, it is more our hope to expose our readers to new (*cough*) and different retro music, or re-expose them to things they may have forgotten about.
At the top of each section, will be the song name, followed by the artists' name linked to their website (if possible...which is totally hit and miss with oldies), so you can fall down the rabbit hole, finding and supporting what you dig.
Steppin' Out - Joe Jackson
Last night I had referenced a song and I was trying to remember what the title was. Knowing it was something festive, I thought for a second it might be stepping out. So I googled that song and this came up. It definitely was not the song. But then I remembered how much I like this song anyway. I think I mostly remember it from its usage in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. I played that game so often with Shaun and our other pal Derek. And like all GTA games, there was a terrific rock station which is naturally the one I would always switch to when it was my turn to play.
As I listened to this song last night, I got a rush of "Oh yeah!! I remember this song" and it then made me want to track down a version of Vice City so I could go kick ass 80s style.
Oh. Incidentally; the song I was trying to remember? In The Mood by Glenn Miller. Not even close.
Sinnerman - Nina Simone
I mostly know this song because of the remixed techno version that was getting quite a bit of love in the mid 10's. I think it was even used in commercials. I can't remember which commercial(s) it was used for, definitely some kind of technology. But I remember that piano.
I also didn't know the original version of this song was 10 minutes long! Had I known, I could have saved it for my month of epicly long songs. (Oh yes, that is absolutely happening. When I get to the playlist, it stands to be about 3 hours long. It's going to be amazing.)
I don't know a lot about Nina Simone. I do know this song kicks ass and she sings with some hella-emotion. And it's great.
Maneater - Hall and Oates
Remember last week when I put April Wine on here because we hadn't featured them since December of 2016? Guess who else we haven't featured in the same amount of time? Yeah. Some good old Hall and Oates.
This is one of those bands that I definitely grew up with but also wouldn't have been able to tell you what songs they sang. On a whim, and after hearing one or two of their songs, I bought their greatest hits because I wanted to hear more. My god they have some killer hits. We've only featured them one other time on Throwback Tracks and we've just scraped the surface of their hits. Stay tuned for many more of their songs (not necessarily immediately, but soon enough. Hopefully not over 15 months!
You're So Vain - Carly Simon
Not sure how we have never had ANY Carly Simon on here. I searched her on our website and the only time her name is even mentioned is in the same paragraph with James Taylor and Carole King. I figured for sure we'd have featured her already and especially this song.
I fuggin' love this song.
One of the best parts about this song is the ambiguity that comes along with it. It's such a scathing commentary on somebody that everybody wanted to know who the hell she wrote it about. I do believe she's finally admitted it was actually about Warren Beatty but here's a fun little website discussing all the different people it could actually be.
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is - Chicago
Speaking of things I wasn't familiar with; I've never heard the beginning piano part to this song! I've only ever heard the radio single which just starts with the big band feel. This is way cooler. I love songs that have that beginning part that helps with the flow. Sure, it could get axed, because it doesn't really have any real relevance to the song, but I am always of the opinion that if the artist put it in there, it should stay. (It's one of the reasons why I'm so opposed to radio stations cutting verses, guitar solos, etc.)
We've featured Chicago on here a number of times. Because they're awesome. It's no secret that I love their sound and their lyrics. There's something so cool and fun about horns in rock music. And this band does it better than anybody (in my opinion.)
I have their double CD of greatest hits and it's one of those ones that certainly warranted a double disc. I feel like there are sometimes when they add a second CD and a lot of it is filler, but I would argue that's not the case with Chicago. And that's terrific because it means there's so many more songs to be able to listen to!
Yes, the following part is basically going to be a cut and paste of last week's because all the info is still the same. So why change anything, right? Right.
1) I still haven't gotten to last month's list. Are you at all surprised? But here's the other playlists for you!
2018
January 2018 TBT Playlist (or the January 2018 Spotify)
2017
December 2017 TBT Playlist (or the December 2017 Spotify), November 2017 TBT Playlist (and the November 2017 Spotify), October 2017 TBT Playlist (and the October 2017 Spotify), September 2017 TBT Playlist (and the September 2017 Spotify), August 2017 TBT Playlist (and the August Spotify list), July 2017 TBT Playlist (and the July Spotify List), June 2017 TBT Playlist (and the June Spotify List), May 2017 TBT Playlist, April 2017 TBT Playlist, March 2017 TBT Playlist , February 2017 TBT Playlist
2016
Throwback Playlist for Dec 16/Jan 17, October 2016 Throwback Playlist, September 2016 Throwback Playlist, August 2016 Throwback Playlist, July 2016 Throwback Playlist, June 2016 Throwback Playlist, May 2016 Throwback Playlist, April 2016 Throwback Playlist
2) There's still room for requests if you want to get a particular song in the hip hop month of Throwback Tracks. I've already had 2 requests, so it's a legit thing! Leave a message, or hit me up on Twitter. Whatever!
-D (@davidronn)