NELSON RIDDLE ORCHESTRA . . . . . Route 66 Theme (opening theme) . . . . . Route 66 and Other Great TV Themes/More Hit TV Themes
THE JACKSON 5 . . . . . I Want You Back . . . . . The Ultimate Collection
THE JACKSON 5 . . . . . ABC . . . . . The Ultimate Collection
THE JACKSON 5 . . . . . The Love You Save . . . . . The Ultimate Collection
JAMES BROWN . . . . . I Got You (I Feel Good) . . . . . Star Time (4CD)
THE MIRACLES . . . . . Going To A Go-Go . . . . . Motown: The Classic Years
MARVIN GAYE . . . . . Too Busy Thinking About My Baby . . . . . The Best of Marvin Gaye (Motown Anthology Series)
THE TEMPTATIONS . . . . . Ain’t Too Proud To Beg . . . . . The Ultimate Collection
STEVIE WONDER . . . . . He’s Mistra Know-It-All . . . . . Innervisions
MICHAEL JACKSON . . . . . Rock With You . . . . . Off the Wall

RANDY NEWMAN . . . . . A Wedding In Cherokee County . . . . . Good Old Boys
THOSE DARLINS . . . . . Glass To You . . . . . Those Darlins
THE MINUS 5 . . . . . Dark Hand Of Contagion . . . . . Killingsworth
THE ROLLING STONES . . . . . Dear Doctor . . . . . Beggars Banquet
THE LEMONHEADS . . . . . I Just Can’t Take It Anymore . . . . . Varshons
THE BYRDS . . . . . I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better . . . . . The Byrds
TEENAGE FANCLUB . . . . . Save . . . . . Man-Made
JOHN DOE & THE SADIES . . . . . Husbands And Waves . . . . . Country Club
NICK LOWE . . . . . Bygones (Won’t Go) . . . . . The Convincer
CAMERA OBSCURA . . . . . Forests And Sands . . . . . My Maudlin Career

THE BEATLES . . . . . When I’m Sixty Four . . . . . Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Remastered)
THE REAL TUESDAY WELD . . . . . I Loved London . . . . . The London Book of the Dead
THE CLIMAX BLUES BAND . . . . . Mole On The Dole . . . . . All You Are Is A Human Sir
ALL SMILES . . . . . All You Are Is A Human Sir . . . . . All You Are Is A Human Sir
ELLIOTT SMITH . . . . . A Passing Feeling . . . . . From a Basement on the Hill
VIC CONRAD & THE FIRST THIRD . . . . . Enough Of This . . . . . Vic Conrad and the First Third
JARVIS COCKER . . . . . Leftovers . . . . . Further Complications

THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET . . . . . Take Five . . . . . Time Out -50th Anniversary (2 CD/1 DVD Legacy Edition)
GRIZZLY BEAR . . . . . Southern Point . . . . . Veckatimest
RAYMOND SCOTT . . . . . Powerhouse . . . . . The Music of Raymond Scott: Reckless Nights & Turkish Twilights
THE BONZO DOG BAND . . . . . Mickey’s Son And Daughter . . . . . Cornology [3CD Set]
TODD RUNDGREN . . . . . Onomatopoeia . . . . . Hermit of Mink Hollow
VAMPIRE WEEKEND . . . . . Oxford Comma . . . . . Vampire Weekend
THE 1910 FRUITGUM COMPANY . . . . . 1, 2, 3 Red Light . . . . . The Best of the 1910 Fruitgum Company: Simon Says
DAVE SITEK . . . . . With A Girl Like You . . . . . Dark Was the Night
THE MAGNETIC FIELDS . . . . . I’ll Dream Alone . . . . . Distortion

My initial reaction upon hearing of Michael Jackson's death was one of great sadness—in a complex world his was a particularly complicated life, and it seems another example of the strange ratio that seems to exist in the entertainment world between innate talent and sorrow and pain. However, I was quickly overcome by a strong sense of nostalgia, and that's because generally I'm not particularly fond of Michael Jackson's music, at least his output as an adult. The Jackson 5's music, however, is something else. It brings me right back to a place where my musical tastes were expanding and changing beyond the Top 40, which ruled the airwaves in the '60s and featured most of the best stuff in pop music that came out of that decade (at least until the final years). The Jackson 5 coincides with the end of that era, for me and for Top 40 radio. Motown was a big part of that decade, so we heard a selection of tracks from that label's artists, starting with the first three Jackson 5 singles; I still find them irresistable, and all went to the top of the charts in first six months of 1970. The one ringer in the group was James Brown's second big hit from 1965; even back in the day it was clear to me that eleven-year-old Michael Jackson was doing a killer James Brown imitation. And we finished with the one Michael Jackson tune from his solo work that has always worked for me; for some reason it hooked me in from the first time I heard the track, and I still enjoy it to this day.

The next section began with Randy Newman and my favorite love song ever, which led to new music from Those Darlins with a tune that's set in similar environs. The Minus 5 followed with another new one that immediately conjured up an old Rolling Stones track when I first heard it. From there we heard the Lemonheads covering a Gram Parsons tune followed by the Byrds from their early days (before Parsons joined them) into one from the last Teenage Fanclub disc that has a bit of that old Byrds feel. John Doe & the Sadies covering Roger Miller fed nicely into Nick Lowe on pretty much the same subject, and then it was Camera Obscura from their excellent recent disc with one that has a slight country touch, which made it fit in quite well with all that preceded it.

Even though he passed by 64 several years ago, Paul McCartney's recent birthday was the inspiration for the Beatles track that opened this set. The Real Tuesday Weld followed with a tune that shares an old-time music hall sensibility, and then we had the Climax Blues Band with a kind of shuffling blues with a clarinet that wouldn't have sounded out of place on either track that preceded it. A new one from All Smiles had a similar beat even as JIm Fairchild's vocals brought to mind Elliott Smith. The mood grew more meloncholy with Vic Conrad & the First Third before Jarvis Cocker indulging his fondness for mixing science with rock 'n' roll finished up.

The 50th anniversary of Dave Brubeck's masterpiece has seen a re-release of the disc with added tracks from various Newport Jazz Festivals as a bonus. Here we began with the tune that for a time was ubiquitous 50 years ago, which seemed to feed quite well into one that's become a favorite from the new Grizzly Bear disc. From there we went back even further in time, some 70 years to the period when Raymond Scott was recording with his quintet. If the track we heard sounded familiar, it probably means you're a fan of Warner Brothers cartoons; the studio licensed Scott's music and used it for decades in many of its classic shorts. The Bonzo Dog Band followed with what sounds to me like a cartoon in musical form, and then it was Todd Rundgren with another track that always makes me think of my favorite animated bits, even if it really is a love song at heart. The English grammar aspect of that one led to Vampire Weekend, and something about the keyboards in that track brought to mind the '60s bubblegum music of the 1910 Fruitgum Company. Dave Sitek offered his remake of an old Troggs tune from around the same time period, and then the Magnetic Fields brought down the curtain with one from their last disc.

Here's another one from James Brown