Blog Posts by Robert of the Radish

As you may have noticed, the Y! Music Playlist blog has been on hiatus for a while. This is actually due to some good news! As you may have heard, Yahoo! has a new partnership with Spotify, the music streaming service from Sweden that is taking the world by storm.

As you would expect, the playlists included here will now be Spotify playlists. This is great news since I can now embed a Spotify player right in each blog post, and you'll even be able to listen without being a premium Spotify member. Although as a premium member you won't be presented with ads between songs.

I'm getting ready for a trip to Germany this week and so it is Germany that's inspired this, my first Spotify playlist for the Y! Music Playlist blog. I decided to build a playlist of all the #1 songs in Germany on the year is was born. I was surprised to see more English language songs than those sung in German.

Now, who can make some local food and site suggestions for the Rhine Valley?

#1 Hits In Gemany: 1968

Follow

happyLast week, I published a playlist of "Happy Songs". To build it, I selected popular songs titled "Happy".  This week I wanted to continue with the theme.

Music has a powerfully ability to connect with people on an emotional level.  But the most moving songs usually have nothing to do with the lyrics or even the skill of the musicians. Emotionally powerful songs hit hardest when the performer is feeling it. Emotions can indeed be transmitted through sound waves with the right broadcaster and receiver. This is pretty incredible when you think about it.

The gambit of human emotion has been expressed through song, and if I had to pick the emotion that is most difficult to convey I would have to go with happiness. It's just hard create a "happy" song without coming off as sappy. But when your feeling good nothing can compliment a positive moment better.

For this list I thought about songs with a happy theme, but I chose to use the top 10 most sickeningly happy songs that came to my mind first. These are songs that, without any doubt, are tapped into good feelings.

There are a lot of positive vibes to go around in this playlist. If you're in a good mood, you'll love it. If you're not, you may find it "sickening".

I hope it's the former.

What would be on your list of Sickeningly Happy Songs?

No American city has been hit harder by the current economic downturn more than Detroit. But the resurgence of the American automobile industry is offering a glimpse of hope for this iconic city.

In addition to being an automobile city, Detroit is also a huge music city. From the blues, to jazz, to rock and roll, to its world famous Motown sound, the Motor City is one of the most important music cities in the world. Some of the artists who were born in, or emerged from Detroit include Aretha Franklin, Cece and BeBe Winans, Milt Jackson, Suzi Quatro, Madonna, The Four Tops, The Spinners, George Clinton, Mitch Ryder, Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, Jack White, MC5, Bob Seger, Ted Nugent and Kid Rock. And this is just a smattering of the talent Detroit has given us.

For this playlist I have included 26 songs that pay homage to Detroit. May she rise to her former glory as soon as possible.

What would you add to your Detroit playlist?

2918901_170x170From time to time I check to see what the current most critically acclaimed albums are according to Metacritic, and I give them a listen. Metacritic is my go to review site. But they don't do their own reviews. Instead, they collect new album reviews  from across the web and average them. This way you can easily see which records have a consensus of critical acclaim.

I find Metacritic's top album list one of the best anywhere, and I can always refer to it to find something new.

For this playlist I looked at the site's top rated albums and selected a single song from the first 10 that are available for streaming on Rhapsody. This way you can check out what the critics are buzzing about for yourself.

I did not include reissues.

After doing a playlist of songs about sad songs, I thought I would reverse course and put together something a bit more upbeat.

Of course, there are millions of happy songs to choose from, which means that you could spend a lifetime doing nothing but creating "happy" song playlists. I don't have that kind of time.

The best happy songs are not just lyrically happy, but also incorporate upbeat rhythms and chord progressions that make you smile. But for this playlist, instead of sifting through millions of happy songs, I looked for songs named "Happy".  Songs with the word "happy" in the title were excluded if any other word appears, I did this mainly so I would not have to hear "Don't Worry, Be Happy" or "Shiny Happy People" again. It took me a decade to get over those songs.

Instead, you will find a rather interesting 10 song playlist that includes only "happy" songs.

What did I miss?

Most men abide by the "man code".  And while there is much debate about specific sections of the code due to regional differences or varied social statuses, there are some man code rules that simply cannot be broken. No matter what.

One of these universal man rules is that you are to never to date, or even think about dating a friend's girlfriend. This goes for the present time, and any time in the future. This rule extends until death and there is no statute of limitations. All men know this rule as it's programmed into the genetic code that makes us men. Any man who breaks this rule does so willingly, so forgiveness is not required.

With this man rule in mind I've crafted a playlist of songs about men who've been perpetrators or victims of this horrible man code violation. In some cases these songs are true stories, which is  really hard for me to believe. Not only would a man break the code, but write a song about it!

I'm looking at you Eric Clapton.

Yet here they are, 10 songs about a friend's girlfriend. What have I missed?

Everyone has at least one song that reminds them of a painful breakup, or some sad event in their life.  And while sad songs can stir up painful emotions, there is something strangely comforting about them. I think it's because sad songs remind us we are not alone, and that other people have gone through the same things we have. When a sad song connects with you it can feel like a shared experience.

Sad songs are so popular in fact, that they have inspired songs about themselves!

For this playlist I didn't want to simply throw together a bunch of melancholy ballads. Instead, I wanted to create a list of songs about sad songs. How's that for meta?

Below you will find ten tracks, each one a song about sad songs.

What would you add?

The black snake has a significant history in music, especially in the blues. The symbol has become a legendary symbol, or innuendo, depending on which blues historian you ask. Although Blind Lemon Jefferson's 1927 recording "Black Snake Moan" is probably the best known, it was Victoria Spivey who penned the song "Black Snake Blues" the previous year. Jefferson's use of the song caused tension between the two.

Blues fans will probably be arguing about the meaning of "Black Snake Moan" until the end of time, but to me the strong sexual innuendo is clear as a bell. This is absolutely consistent for the blues, and although some would have you believe otherwise, you'll never convince me.

I thought I would put together a playlist of 10 "black snake" songs so that you can hear for yourself how the symbol of a black snake fits in popular music mythology.

So tell me..... what do you think Victory Spivey and Blind Lemon Jefferson were talking about?