The Y! Music Playlist Blog

  • The average American spends two to three years of their life waiting in line. If you add in the time spent waiting for a phone call, a job offer,  your wife to get ready, etc. -- you're now talking about a hell of a long time spent waiting. Let's face it, waiting is no fun, but today we can be connected with mobile devices and actually get work done, or entertain ourselves. There are even new mobile apps that may make waiting in line a thing of the past. Just queue up virtually and arrive at the time specified, no physical presence necessary.

    That day cannot come soon enough.

    But in the meantime, ease the pain by listening to this kickin' playlist of songs about waiting.

    This playlist features 31 songs that are the perfect addition to your iPod. You can listen the next time you find yourself with a delayed flight, at the DMV, or waiting in line at the Apple store.

    What would you add?

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  • I was listening to the new Keane album today titled Strangeland. And I must admit, it hasn't done anything for me yet, but one track reminded me of the softer side of Radiohead. The track is called "Black Rain" and the song title made me think of some other "black rain" songs.

    Namely, "Black Sheets Of Rain" by Bob Mould and "Black Rain" by Ozzy Osbourne. This made me wonder what else was out there.

    The term "black rain" paints images of something unpleasant. Rain is depressing enough, but if you dress it in the color black it has even more impact as a melancholy backdrop. Black rain was a term used by the Japanese to describe the nuclear fallout that fell after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. So it has its roots in something very negative for humanity. It's also sometimes used synonymously with "acid rain". And although acid rain is bad, I'll take it over black rain every day of the week.

    This playlist includes ten songs that all use the term "black rain" in the song title.

    What have I missed?

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  • Joseph is a really popular name. It happens to be my brother's name, my middle name, and every year it can be found in a list of the most popular baby names for boys. Joe was the 7th most popular name in 2003, but has been in losing ground each year. In 2010, the name Joseph was the 20th most popular, which is still a respectable place to be, but not as popular as it once was.

    The name "Joseph" is of Hebrew origin and means "God will increase".

    When I think of famous Joes in music I think of Joe Strummer, Joe Cocker, Big Joe Turner and Joey Ramone, but the name also has been featured prominently in song.

    For this playlist I looked for songs that use the nickname "Joe" in the song title. I did not include songs that use "Joeseph" or "Joey" in order to keep the list concise, but if you did want to include all forms of the name you could build yourself a very long list.

    What would you add?

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  • People are still trying to come to terms with the death of Adam Yauch, known as MCA in the highly influential rap act the Beastie Boys. It's always a tragedy when someone dies, but for a musician to die so young (47) and not due to self destructive acts is like a punch in the stomach from many. Adam was a Buddhist, husband, and father. Not the stereotype of a rock star you would expect to die young.

    The Beastie Boys were not only highly influential, but critical components in bringing rap music to the masses. This is a band that was doing rap before most people even knew what it was. They never stopped, and their full body of work still holds up today. It's quite an accomplishment.

    Cancer sucks ass.

    The death of MCA had me thinking back to all those early rap songs that I discovered through a local college radio station. I remember clearly the first time I heard "Rhymin & Stealin". I was instantly pulled in, and I ran out to buy Licensed To Ill. I wore that album out.

    This playlist includes a cover version of the Beasties' "Paul Revere" along with 9 other classic rap songs as redone by different artist.

    Props to the pioneers.

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  • If I had to pick a favorite cartoon show from my youth, I would have to say it was The Flintstones. I watched this the Hanna—Barbera produced show in syndicated reruns, but  The Flintstones originally ran on ABC from 1960 to 1966, which was well before I was born. But this prehistoric family, loosely based on The Honeymooners, continues to be popular today. It was so closely modeled after The Honeymooners that Jackie Gleason considered suing Hanna—Barbera at one point, but decided against it. After all, the backlash for being the guy who had the Flintstones pulled off the air could have been severe.

    Many musicians grew up with the Flintstones, just as you and I have, so it makes sense that you can find references to this wacky stone age family in popular music.

    For this playlist I've found 10 tracks that mention the Flintstones somewhere in the lyrics, or the song title.

    What have I missed?

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  • Although not as deeply influential or as famous as The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds helped forge rock and roll into what it is today. This English outfit had some big hits like "For Your Love", "Over Under Sideways Down" and "Heart Full of Soul" in the 1960s. And although they left a fine musical legacy behind, they're more well-known among music circles for the work created by individual members after the Yardbirds called it quits.

    This is a band that included three members who have all gone one to become legends in their own right: Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton.

    The Yardbirds are a no-brainer for a family tree playlist. To create it I included a selection of songs released by members of the band as solo artists, and from bands that members would join after The Yardbirds broke up. The list contains some lesser-known acts like Upp, Renaissance and Medicine Head, but it also includes bands that far surpassed the success of The Yardbirds including Led Zeppelin, Cream and Blind Faith, just to name a few.

    So if you're a fan of The Yardbirds, or of the bands that would be formed from their ashes, this is a must listen playlist!

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  • In the visual arts, untitled works are commonplace. Many painters work from emotion or without a set theme in mind during the creation process, and they choose to let the viewer decide the meaning. These works are sometimes simply labeled "untitled". Popular music has its fair share of "untitled" work, but far less so than visual art. There are two reasons for this fact: 1. Most popular music has lyrics from which a title can easily be derived. 2. It's more important for a musician that fans can identify their work by a title than for a visual artist. A painting is immediate, the image itself is an identifier, but for a song you need a way to visually identify it. Thus titles for songs are more important.

    Many untitled songs are filler, or instrumental tracks, while others are full-blown songs that just haven't been named.

    For this playlist I've included only untitled songs by alt/indie bands.

    What have I missed?

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  • Max Norman got his big break in music when he was asked by Ozzy Osbourne to pick up the production duties on Ozzy's solo album Blizzard Of Ozz, an album that went on to become wildly successful and an iconic release. Ozzy was unhappy with the work of Chris Tsangarides, so Max stepped in from his house gig with Ridge Farm Studio where the album was being recorded.

    Max's career was off and running.

    He ended up working on many more Ozzy albums after Blizzard and graduated from a knob-turner to a full-fledged producer. Max became known for a big, chunky, clean sound, and he went on to produce albums by many well-known metal acts in the 1980s and 1990s. But none of them would reach Ozzy-level heights of stardom. Old metal heads may remember B-level metal acts like Grim Reaper, Savatage, Loudness, Malice, Armored Saint and Dangerous Toys. These are all bands produced by Max Norman. If you listen to them in a playlist the Max Norman sound will reveal itself.

    Max is supposedly retired from the music business, but wherever he is, and whatever he's doing I'd like to say, "Thanks Max".

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  • As election season approaches I've starting thinking of appropriate playlists, and the first song title that popped into my head was "Ship Of Fools". It seems that every election season some musician publicly announces their disdain for a politician who dared use a song without permission during a campaign event.

    Wouldn't a playlist of songs titled "Ship Of Fools" be perfect for a political event?

    The allegory, "ship of fools" has a long history in literature. Before the days of the automobile, train and airplane the main transportation for covering long distances was the boat. And piloting a ship is dangerous business for those that do not know what they're doing. In medieval times, the image of a group of deranged people on a ship came to represent people who followed the crowd, oblivious to their direction, and to danger.

    The allegory of the ship of fools has continued in modern culture, and songwriters have embraced it. This playlist includes 14 songs all titled "Ship Of Fools", and I must say it's a pretty fine list!

    What would you add to this armada of fools?

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  • April Fools' Day is not an official holiday, but it's celebrated all over the world. The day is reserved as a time when it's socially acceptable for people to play all types of practical jokes on one another. Last year I was taken by a practical joke via social media when a friend posted an image of  his swollen arm asking if he should see a doctor. Of course, it was just a photo lifted from the web. I saw the same joke again this year and I wasn't fooled a second time.

    This is one of the great things about April Fools' Day. You need to put some thought into your practical jokes if you want them to work. But enough people are often unaware that it's April 1st, so if your joke doesn't work on your first victim just keep trying.

    I was pretty slack this year and did not play a single April Fools' Day joke, but I was inspired enough to build this playlist of songs with the title "Nobody's Fool".

    So keep it safe for next year, and when someone tries to fool you, just click play.

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