Blog Posts by Robert of the Radish

If you're a good Scrabble player, you've probably memorized a long list of rarely used two-letter words that give you a competitive edge. Those of us who are not good Scrabble players only have a handful of two-letter words that we can recall-- to, is, it, of, in, on, an, am, so, no, go. Of these popular two-letter words, "No" is not only the most used, but also the most powerful. But if I had to choose a runner up, it would be "Go". The word "go" has many positive connotations. In its most basic form "go" means to move from one place to another, but it can also be used if you are sick of someone (Please go!), or if you're cheering someone on (Go, baby go!). The tone and context are everything for this small, but expressive word. This playlist includes 17 tracks that all have the title "Go".

Go! Songs   

1. Go! - Letters to Cleo

2. Go - Indigo Girls

3. Go - Ella Fitzgerald

4. Go - Pearl Jam

5. Go - Hiroshima

6. Go - Colony

7. Go - Vandals

8. Go - Zebrahead

9. Go - Jerry Vale

10. Go -

Friday the 13th is a holy of day for the superstitious. There is no agreement on what transformed Friday the 13th into the ultimate bad luck day, but the most sensible answer is that numerology counts 13 as unlucky, and Friday has been considered an unlucky day since the 14th century. It's my opinion that those who truly believe Friday the 13th is "unlucky" are not the best spokespeople for human intelligence. But Friday the 13th is not the only wacky superstition people have contrived. Some more popular ones include the belief that bad luck can be brought on by breaking a mirror, crossing the path of a black cat, walking under a ladder, or lighting three cigarettes with the same match.

This playlist includes 10 tracks about superstition, what would you add?

Superstition Songs

1. Superstition - Stevie Wonder

2. Ain't Superstitious - Howlin' Wolf

3. Superstition - The Kills

4. Only Superstition - Coldplay

5. Superstitious - Europe

6. Superstition Mountain - Dick Weissman

I took some time today to check out the brand new Cars release, Move Like This, which is the first true Cars album since 1987. One of the songs, "Keep On Knocking" caught my attention, and started me thinking about how successful the image of knocking on a door has been in rock and roll. Classic tracks by Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney instantly entered my brain. I thought it would be interesting to explore the theme in a playlist. Knocking on a door is a great device that a songwriter can use to describe someone looking for entry, or acceptance, or love.

For this playlist I've selected the first 10 door knocking songs that came to mind. What would you add?

Door Knocking Songs

1. Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan

2. Can't You Hear Me Knocking - The Rolling Stones

3. Let 'Em In - Paul McCartney & Wings

4. Knocking At Your Back Door - Deep Purple

5. Who Can It Be Now? - Men at Work

6. Keep On Knocking - The Cars

7. I Hear You Knocking - Dave Edmunds

I've been pretty busy lately and haven't had the time to listen to as much new music as I usually do. But today I had a day free of meetings and distractions, so I was able to get a lot of work done while catching up on a bunch of new albums. It's easy to do this with my Rhapsody subscription since I can stream any album I wish without having to buy it. I liked a lot of what I heard today, so I thought I'd build a playlist. Rhapsody also keeps a record of the songs you listen to, so it was easy to go back to all the new albums I heard today and create this playlist. I just picked a single track from each of the 10 albums I was able to stream. If you haven't heard them yet, I can highly recommend most.

What's your favorite new album?

New Music Playlist for May 2011

1. French Exit - The Antlers

2. I Am A Wanderer - Steve Earle

3. New Cannonball Blues - TV On The Radio

4. Battery Kinzie - Fleet Foxes

5. You Can Count On Me - Panda Bear

6. Getting Ready For Christmas Day - Paul

Doo-wop was born on the street corners of major American cities like New York, L.A., Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in the 1950s. And as with most popular musical art forms, African-Americans get the credit for inventing doo-wop. It formed when groups of R&B singers combined complex vocal harmony, and  different vocal ranges to reproduce various instruments. It eventually evolved to have a very distinct and easily recognizable sound. Today, you'll be hard-pressed to find modern pop artists capable of creating the type of complex vocal parts that doo-wop music requires. Some of the very best doo-wop songs combine this distinctive vocal style with unforgettable hooks that have stood the test of time. 

The 10 tracks in this playlist are the most successful doo-wop songs of all time according to Billboard magazine.

Top 10 Doo-Wop Hits of All Time

1. At The Hop - Danny and the Juniors

2. Come Go With Me - The Del-Vikings

3. Blue Moon - The Marcels

4. Duke of Earl -

Thin ice is a great metaphor that songwriters can use to express danger, or being very close to disaster. Thin ice usually comes with some kind of warning, but there is always someone who refuses to take heed and ends up finding themselves falling through and drowning, or freezing to death. This kind of imagery is irresistible for lyricists who want to convey tension and danger. We often use the metaphor in everyday life as well. For example, when a child continues to misbehave a parent might say, "you're walking on thin ice", to which the child usually responds with better behavior. This playlist includes 12 songs that use the metaphor of thin ice to great effect.

Thin Ice Songs

1. The Thin Ice - Pink Floyd

2. Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of A New Day - Jethro Tull

3. Walking On Thin Ice - Elvis Costello

4. Thin Ice - Robin Trower

5. Thin Ice - Ozark Mountain Daredevils

6. Thin Ice - Lenny Kravitz

7. Thin Ice - Little River Band

8. Skating On Thin Ice - Procol Harum

9. Thin

The phrase "chain gang" paints a picture in the minds of most as the ultimate punishment, second only to the death penalty. Sure, no one wants to spend years in a 7'X10' prison cell, but it's a lot better than breaking rocks all day, every day, in the hot sun while chained to a bunch of similar sweaty criminals. Songwriters have not allowed this perfect image of punishment go unnoticed. Musicians have used the chain gang to describe hardship, pain, oppression, and even being tied to a love gone bad. For this playlist I've chosen 15 songs that are good examples of how songwriters have used the chain gang to help tell a story. Many of them are classics and some you probably haven't heard before.

What songs could be added to the list?

Chain Gang Songs

1. Chain Gang - Sam Cooke

2. Chain Gang (The Work Song) - Nina Simone

3. Back On The Chain Gang - Pretenders

4. There Ain't No Good Chain Gang - Johnny Cash

5. I'm Free (From The Chain Gang Now) - Jimmie Rodgers

6. Chain Gang Special -