Blog Posts by Robert of the Radish

It's impractically hard to find people willing to argue against David Bowie's iconic status. He's one of those rare artists who have not only stood the test of time, but have found both critical and commercial success. And no matter how you slice it, that's something really hard to achieve. Pop hits and commercial success can be produced like a product, and critical darlings can have a hard time making an impact on the mainstream. Bowie made both seem effortless.

As with any artist of Bowie's stature, his impact on the work of younger artists is palpable, even today. I have already published a playlist of David Bowie cover songs about three years ago, but for this playlist I've looked for songs that call him out by name in the song title.

Some of the songs in this playlist honor David Bowie, some of them poke fun, and some are only a passing reference to the man. But they are all an example of just how much Bowie's work has influenced popular culture.

And at 65, I'm afraid future Bowie albums are a limited commodity.

Let's Take It To The StageNext to James Brown there doesn't exist a more sampled funk act than the mighty Funkadelic. Their grooves are legendary, and the nasty, infectious beats they've created have been cut up and re-assembled into a myriad of hip-hop hits. Funkadelic is directly, and indirectly responsible for more booty shakin' than most other whole genres can claim.

For this playlist we're examining tracks that sample parts of Funkadelic's classic 1975 album Let's Take It To The Stage.

The album peaked at #14 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart and #102 on The Billboard 2oo, but important samples from the record have reached the top 10 multiple times. Let's Take It To The Stage continues to live on as young producers discover it, and use it to create brand new art.

This playlist is an excellent collection of old skool hip-hop. Take note of how Funkadelic has left their footprint.

Women have inspired so many songs that it would be impossible to classify them all. In fact, you could probably make a pretty decent playlist for almost every female name known. Songs inspired by men are abundant too, but the female gender wins for being  the top inspiration for songs about love, whether it's good love, love gone bad, or even just admiration from across the room.

We've done a good deal of playlists based on first names here at the Y! Music Playlist blog, including: Songs About Girls Named Melissa, Songs Inspired By Women Named Jenny, and even a playlist of the Top Baby Names For Girls.

For this playlist I've chosen to do compile a collection of songs about women named Mandy -- inspired by the Barry Manilow hit, which was originally a hit by Scott English in the UK, but was titled "Brandy".

The name "Mandy" is of Latin-American origin and it means "worthy of love", so it's really a great name for a love song.

Mandy is a nickname for Amanda, or Miranda and thus could be included as part of a more comprehensive playlist, but for this list I'm only using the nickname "Mandy".

What would you add?

front-porchWhen I think of uniquely American imagery a lot of things come to mind. But the ultimate American image for me is a row of  houses, all set behind small green patches of grass and white picket fences, and all with large front porches -- American flags hanging proudly from each home. It's a comforting ideal; the American dream. Neighbors sitting on the porch together watching the children play, telling stories, or maybe even picking some string instruments.

And when you think of the music that might be coming from an American front porch you think of acoustic blues, bluegrass, country or maybe some folk.

Let's just call it "Americana"

For this playlist I've found ten Americana songs that all have something to do with the front porch, so you'll get both a lyrical and musical infusion of the iconic American front porch.

What would you add?

LuciferI've been on a heavy metal kick this weekend since putting together an Egyptian gods metal playlist. So I'm continuing with the metal theme here.

I don't know about you, but when I think of metal, I think of the devil. After all, Satan is the unofficial mascot of heavy metal music, and this fact doesn't show any signs of slowing down. I've already done a bunch of playlists around metal's evil themes, but this will be the first that focuses specifically on the name "Lucifer".

Historians mostly peg the name "Lucifer" as being synonymous with Satan in the third century. Although not mentioned by this name in the new testament, Satan is referred to as the morning star (lucifer in Latin), and it refers to the devil in the form of a fallen angel.

For this playlist I've searched out thirteen songs that mention Lucifer by name in the song title. Each one is a metal song, "Lucifer" songs by bands that I would consider hard rock and not metal (i.e.: The Cult) were not included. While Lucifer songs can be found across many genres, I wanted to keep this one a purely metal experience.

What would you add?

I've been fascinated with ancient Egyptian culture for quite some time. Last year,  I was on my way to Giza for the very first time. Unfortunately, my trip was cut short en route due to the Egyptian uprising, which literally broke out while I was on a ship into the port of Alexandria.  Today, I had some time to see a documentary on the mysteries of the Sphinx, which raised questions about whether the iconic monument is actually much older than most believe. I was completely engrossed as usual. There's just something about ancient Egyptian civilization that I find irresistibly interesting. We know enough to understand the periphery, but not nearly enough to truly understand the culture fully. I suppose that's why Egyptology continues to be the career of choice for many budding archaeologists.

Egyptian gods are a big part of understanding ancient Egyptian culture, and they're about as cool as gods can get. Ra, Horus, Anubis, Sekhmet, Osiris, Isis and others, are part human, part animal deities that could not have been more interesting if created by the very best Hollywood storytellers.

These Egyptian gods have not gone unnoticed by songwriters, and metal bands seem to have a fond attraction to them. Well, with all the embalming, over-the-top tombs, and freaky, half-animal representations I suppose it makes sense that metal heads are fans.

For this playlist I've selected metal songs, or metal bands that are in some way linked with an Egyptian god.

What's your favorite Egyptian god heavy metal song?

I live smack dab in the heart of NASCAR country.

The new NASCAR Hall of Fame is just a 25 minute drive, and races are easily accessible. Ever since I moved to the Charlotte, NC area I've been promising myself that I would see a race. Well, it's 9 years later and I still haven't seen a single race. Sure, they have a reputation as being a drunken, redneck fests, but I still want to experience one, at least once in my life.

My home is not too far away from a red dirt track and on race nights we can hear the engines roaring.  Tonight is a race night. As I sat down to come up with a playlist I could hear the engines and I knew instantly that I must do a NASCAR playlist. Maybe tomorrow I will actually look at the race schedule and buy some tickets so I can experience NASCAR for myeslf. Even if I don't like it, something tells me my son will love every minute.

This playlist includes 10 songs that include the acronym NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) in the song title.

Are you a race fan? If so, what's your favorite NASCAR song?

DaffodilsLike many flowers, the daffodil is of great use to artists due to its strong symbolism. The daffodil is one of the first signs of spring that we see.  I've already said "hello" to the ones that live in my yard, as they've popped up with the arrival of  unusually warm weather.

Daffodils symbolize beauty, newness, rebirth, or new beginnings, and are also representative of the end of winter, warmth and prosperity. Receiving a bunch of daffodils is said to bring good fortune, but never give your lover a single flower as this traditionally means misfortune will befall the receiver.

Songwriters have taken to using the daffodil in song to represent many of these things, and for this playlist I've selected ten tracks that use the word "daffodil" in the song title.

What's your favorite "daffofil song" and what's your favorite "flower" song?