"1999" PRINCE (1982)

A great title track is par for the course when it comes to great albums. If the title track doesn’t cut it, what does that say about the album itself? This month, the Mental Jukebox will be playing some of my favorite title tracks – inspired by @NicolaB_73’s music Twitter challenge, #TopTitleTracks.

Prince is one of those artists that’s more impressive to me in retrospect. Looking back, it’s simply mindblowing how much ground he covered musically. He ruled in so many different genres, from synth pop to funk to rock to R&B. And, in many cases, he was a pioneer, being the genius behind many music firsts. “1999” is one such song, pushing the lyrical boundaries of pop and paving the way for the Minneapolis sound.

This was a song that I heard and viewed constantly on MTV. The video simply didn’t give it justice because it only reinforced the fact the musicians indeed wanted to “party like it’s 1999”. But the impressive thing about this early hit was that it was a protest against nuclear proliferation. It was a politically charged piece, but people saw it as a party song. On the entire 1999 album, Prince played almost all of the instrumental tracks — and his synth work on the title track was especially impressive on two fronts. First, it sounded like nothing else out there. Second, it helped create a divergent synth pop path away from new wave and into a new genre that bared Prince’s hometown name: the Minneapolis sound.

“War is all around us. My mind says prepare to fight. So if I gotta die I'm gonna listen to my body tonight.”

"SOUL FINGER" THE BAR-KAYS (1967)

This month, I’m looking back at movies and tv shows to rediscover songs that graced the screen. The scenes and the music are inseparable. They’re engrained in our heads and our hearts. And they’re proof that the best music we have doesn’t exist in isolation. It attaches itself to a moment or an experience. #SceneSongs

Movie: Spies Like Us

If you’re an 80’s child, chances are you can’t think of Soviet missile control personnel parties without remembering this song. Spies Like Us’ unforgettable scene went back a couple of decades to uncover this instrumental soul fest from the late 60s. The movie itself featured some of the decade’s best comedians on the silver screen: Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd. “Doctor, doctor, doctor, doctor.” The campiness of the acting, the film sets and the movie at large certainly extended its way into the soundtrack, which is most known for “Soul Finger”.

Overly simple and repetitious, “Soul Finger” checks two boxes for likability. First, it’s infectious. The kind of song you can’t get out of your head even if you tried. Second, it’s nostalgic, whether you grew up in the 60’s or in the 80’s. The electric guitar has its moment, but the soul of the song is the trumpet and saxophone. The two instruments are thoroughly irritating and whiny throughout the song, yet strangely irresistible. The band doubles down on the brass in later renditions, adding a trombone. The song is about as ludicrous as having a dance party at a missile control site, which makes it a perfect accompaniment for the iconic Spies Like Us scene.

"CANNED HEAT" JAMIROQUAI (1999)

This month, I’m looking back at movies and tv shows to rediscover songs that graced the screen. The scenes and the music are inseparable. They’re engrained in our heads and our hearts. And they’re proof that the best music we have doesn’t exist in isolation. It attaches itself to a moment or an experience. #SceneSongs

Movie: Napoleon Dynamite

Quirky movies need quirky soundtracks. And that’s what Jamiroquai did for Napoleon Dynamite. The soundtrack had a heavy 80’s flavor, accentuated by acts like Cyndi Lauper, When in Rome and Alphaville. Just when we thought the movie might’ve been set in that decade, “Canned Heat” came out of nowhere in the “Vote for Pedro” dance sequence. It was a 70’s-influenced funk fest a la Jamiroquai that came out in the late 90’s.

“Canned Heat” and Jamiroquai’s entire Synkronized album prove that there are still artists out there that just do whatever they want to do, without caring what the public thinks. At its worst, it’s recycled disco funk. At its best, it’s a case in point that the artist performing the song should have just as much fun as the fan who’s listening to it.

“Nothing left for me to do but dance off these bad times I'm going through.”

"THE LESS I KNOW THE BETTER" TAME IMPALA (2015)

For the month of October, I’m taking the #OctAtoZBandChallenge challenge. The premise is simple. Pick a band starting with the day’s assigned alphabet letter and then choose a song from that band.

Day 20

At one point in 2015, it felt like Tame Impala was the hottest band on the planet. I remember listening to Currents nonstop that year – at home, on the go, in the office. I was working in a creative bullpen atmosphere that year, and Currents was one of the few albums we could all agree on. “The Less I Know The Better” was one of the staples from that album which introduced me to the world of Tame Impala. The video was weird and perverted. The musicality was distinct.

“The Less I Know The Better” is a musical study in contrasts. Rock elements smashed together with disco accents. Ethereal vocals and keys hand in hand with that devilish guitar riff. It seemed like everything it was trying to do musically couldn’t and shouldn’t work. These pairings don’t inherently belong together. But it’s their juxtapositions that make the song so gripping and infectious. It’s the contrasts that form the song’s identity.

“She was holding hands with Trevor. Not the greatest feeling ever. Said, "Pull yourself together. You should try your luck with Heather."

"LOW RIDER" WAR (1975)

This month, the Mental Jukebox revisits the movie soundtracks of the nineties. The music I’m highlighting are some of my personal favorites. In many cases, the movies themselves were huge for me as well. But the focus will still be on the music – as always. Let’s bring on the throwback classics, the grunge, the gangsta rap, and the indie gems. #31DaysOf90sMovieSongs

Movie: Dazed and Confused

Ever notice how some songs’ riffs instantly make people break out into whistling and humming? There’s magic in their notes and the way those notes are strung together that bring out the endorphins. They’re also instantly recognizable by everyone else around you – for better or for worse. Clapton’s guitar riff on Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love”. The bass line in Queen’s “We Will Rock You”. And then, of course, there’s the alto sax hook in War’s “Low Rider”. But, look. There’s so much more to the song than just that one riff that we all hum along to.

Charles Miller’s alto sax riff is the defining element of the song. The element that probably contributes the most to the catchiness. But to ignore everything else would be like only talking about Michael Jordan – and discarding the rest of his team. The Scottie Pippen of the song is the impossibly low bass vocals – also handled by Charles Miller. They’re all-star vocals. The Rodman factor is handled by B.B. Dickerson’s stalwart bass line. Steady and strong. The Steve Kerr role is played by the percussion, featuring cow bells, congas and timbales. Each percussion element is like that occasional three-pointer, assist or hustle play that keeps the team in the game. A team is rarely successful because of a single player. Same goes for the hero element of a song. People might think of Charles Miller’s alto sax first, but they would be remiss to ignore the other parts of this song.

“Take a little trip with me.”

"SOUL FINGER" THE BAR-KAYS (1967)

After spending an entire month looking back at the 80’s, I realized one thing. I need more. Luckily, a couple of fellow music fans on Twitter came up with the brilliant idea to highlight #30DaysOf80sMovieSongs during the month of April. I couldn’t resist at the opportunity to keep going, to keep listening, and to keep celebrating the decade that has meant more to me than any other from a musical standpoint. Each day I’m playing a different soundtrack favorite on the Mental Jukebox.

Movie: Spies Like Us

If you’re an 80’s child, chances are you can’t think of Soviet missile control personnel parties without remembering this song. Spies Like Us’ unforgettable scene went back a couple of decades to uncover this instrumental soul fest from the late 60s. The movie itself featured some of the decade’s best comedians on the silver screen: Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd. “Doctor, doctor, doctor, doctor.” The campiness of the acting, the film sets and the movie at large certainly extended its way into the soundtrack, which is most known for “Soul Finger”.

Overly simple and repetitious, “Soul Finger” checks two boxes for likability. First, it’s infectious. The kind of song you can’t get out of your head even if you tried. Second, it’s nostalgic, whether you grew up in the 60’s or in the 80’s. The electric guitar has its moment, but the soul of the song is the trumpet and saxophone. The two instruments are thoroughly irritating and whiny throughout the song, yet strangely irresistible. The band doubles down on the brass in later renditions, adding a trombone. The song is about as ludicrous as having a dance party at a missile control site, which makes it a perfect accompaniment for the iconic Spies Like Us scene.

"WHEN DOVES CRY" PRINCE (1984)

After spending an entire month looking back at the 80’s, I realized one thing. I need more. Luckily, a couple of fellow music fans on Twitter came up with the brilliant idea to highlight #30DaysOf80sMovieSongs during the month of April. I couldn’t resist at the opportunity to keep going, to keep listening, and to keep celebrating the decade that has meant more to me than any other from a musical standpoint. Each day I’m playing a different soundtrack favorite on the Mental Jukebox.

Movie: Purple Rain

Is there a more quintessential soundtrack from the eighties than Purple Rain? I’m not so sure there is. Pretty In Pink and Footloose both deserve to be part of that conversation. But Purple Rain gets the nod because it covered so much musical ground. On it, Prince explored numerous tempos, genres, instrumentation and lyrical themes. “I Would Die 4 U”, “Purple Rain”, “Let’s Go Crazy” and “When Doves Cry”. They’re all classics. Each one with its own distinct personality. But “When Doves Cry” is the track that pushed musical boundaries the most. It’s the one track that packed the most punch, but never felt excessive at any given point. Prince may be considered one of the greatest pop artists of our time, but he did it by going against the mainstream, which is the essence of the song.

Play back “When Does Cry” and you’ll hear a myriad of genres. No one blended them better and so effortlessly than Prince. There’s the hard rock-infused guitar solo in the opening, the dance pop and funk blend fueling the rhythm from beginning to end, and even a classical music-inspired synth solo at the 5:00 mark. Structurally, “When Does Cry” also veered from the expected — becoming one of the few songs in pop history to be recorded without a single bass line. I love bass, but I really love what Prince did by stripping it out entirely from this recording.

“Why do we scream at each other? This is what it sounds like when doves cry.”

"BOOGIE SHOES" KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND (1975)

The decade in which I was born has given me a strange perspective on its music. I discovered pretty much all of the 70’s sounds – from prog rock to punk to disco – well after they came into the world. It wasn’t until the late 80’s that I discovered what I was missing. I would characterize the decade as one where budding genres leaped off their inspiration pads and came to fruition. For the month of February, Mental Jukebox will feature some of these gems with a different 70’s song each day. #28DaysOf70sSongs

Few soundtracks defined the decade better than Saturday Night Fever. It’s like a musical encyclopedia of the 70s. Every single track is a cultural icon, from the heavy dose of the Bee Gees (“Stayin’ Alive”, “More Than A Woman” and “Night Fever”) to Yvonne Elliman’s “If I Can’t Have You” to The Trammps’ “Disco Inferno” to Walter Murhpy’s “A Fifth of Beethoven”. More than halfway through, the album gets interesting with a song that’s not just pure disco: “Boogie Shoes”.

KC & The Sunshine Band released the song three years before the soundtrack. But back then, it was just a b-side. Saturday Night Fever really helped put “Boogie Shoes” on the map. Trumpets and saxophones adorn this fun, two-minute song. Those horn arrangements are legendary. “Boogie Shoes” has a little disco heart. and a lot of funk mixed in there as well. What makes the song less expected, however, is that these other genres make these sneaky entrances through the back door of the song, including elements of doo-wop and rockabilly. There’s simply nothing else like it.

“I want to put on my my my my my boogie shoes.”

"SEPTEMBER" EARTH, WIND & FIRE (1978)

The decade in which I was born has given me a strange perspective on its music. I discovered pretty much all of the 70’s sounds – from prog rock to punk to disco – well after they came into the world. It wasn’t until the late 80’s that I discovered what I was missing. I would characterize the decade as one where budding genres leaped off their inspiration pads and came to fruition. For the month of February, Mental Jukebox will feature some of these gems with a different 70’s song each day. #28DaysOf70sSongs

Music plays such an integral role at weddings. Yet, there’s so much bad wedding music out there. You’ve heard ‘em. You probably danced to them. “Macarena”, “Electric Slide”, “Kung Fu Fighting”. They’ve somehow become wedding classics. But we know there are the real classics that seem to get everyone onto the dance floor. That’s something Earth, Wind & Fire knows a thing or two about. How to get your butt up off the seat. Your spirits up in the air. Your cheesiest dance moves out there for the world to see. They know all this because of the song “September”.

This is the song that launched a million wedding dance floors. It’s universally loved. 8 years old or 80 years old, Single or married, Everyone can appreciate it. As far as disco falsetto vocals and horn arrangements go, it doesn’t get much better. Maurice White added the unforgettable “bah-dee-ya” refrain to the song, When one of his co-songwriters questioned the inclusion of that gibberish, she quickly learned not to let lyrics get in the way of groove. “Bah-dee-ya” just works. The moment “September” plays, you’re in the moment. Ready to celebrate. Ready to cut a rug. Ready to let loose. And, if you’re not, well maybe you should’ve just stayed home.

“Do you remember the 21st night of September? Love was changing the minds of pretenders while chasing the clouds away.”

"SIGN 'O THE TIMES" PRINCE (1987)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

For my last rock block pick for Prince, I thought it would be appropriate to choose the one Prince song that has grown on me more over time. This is the one that I was least drawn to growing up. It was the one Prince single that I was too dismissive of because it was way too simple, way too minimal, not melodic enough. But the thing about “Sign ‘o the Times” is it’s actually full of hooks. It just happens to be more psychedelic and more blues than pop.

Over the years, “Sign ‘o the Times” has become more and more intriguing to me because it shifts in and out of different worlds. It goes from spoken word verses to a beautifully sung chorus. It traverses across funk, blues, electronic and minimal like a thief in the night. And it covers a gamut of socio-political ills, from AIDS, to gang violence to natural and manmade disasters. While it was truly a sign of its own times, it has held up remarkably well and is as relevant as ever today — both musically and thematically.

“You turn on the telly and every other story is tellin' you somebody died.”

"LIVING FOR THE CITY" STEVIE WONDER (1973)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

I can’t think of another music artist in all of history that intermingled different genres better than Stevie Wonder. The thing that often occurs when artists attempt to fuse disparate styles is a sense of disjointedness. But that’s never been the case with Stevie’s music. All of his multi-genre compositions are highlighted by a sense of cohesion and unity. I love the Innervisions album because this was the recording where Stevie’s crossover tendencies were at their height. And “Living For the City” is my favorite example.

It starts with funk. Then it slides into R&B with a side of soul and a sprinkle of rock. As if that wasn’t ambitious enough, “Living For the City” then slips into a momentary jazz exploration before getting back into its funk grooves. Just before the song ends, Stevie crosses over one more time with a gospel choir-inspired harmony. While “Living For the City” chronicled the story of a Mississippi boy’s journey to New York City, the musical styles cleverly reflect back the city’s rich and diverse soundscape.

“This place is cruel, nowhere could be much colder. If we don't change, the world will soon be over. Living just enough, stop giving just enough for the city.”

"CANNED HEAT" JAMIROQUAI (1999)

Exceptional soundtracks can make good movies great. They can also take on a life of their own, becoming a greater highlight than their respective films. In this series, I’m selecting some of my favorite soundtrack songs. While quite a few are well-known recordings, I’m also including a few that have flown under the radar over the years.

Quirky movies need quirky soundtracks. And that’s what Jamiroquai did for Napoleon Dynamite. The soundtrack had a heavy 80’s flavor, accentuated by acts like Cyndi Lauper, When in Rome and Alphaville. Just when we thought the movie might’ve been set in that decade, “Canned Heat” came out of nowhere in the “Vote for Pedro” dance sequence. It was a 70’s-influenced funk fest a la Jamiroquai that came out in the late 90’s.

“Canned Heat” and Jamiroquai’s entire Synkronized album prove that there are still artists out there that just do whatever they want to do, without caring what the public thinks. At its worst, it’s recycled disco funk. At its best, it’s a case in point that the artist performing the song should have just as much fun as the fan who’s listening to it.

“Nothing left for me to do but dance off these bad times I'm going through.”

"HIGHER GROUND" STEVIE WONDER (1973)

This was Stevie’s funk statement. The clavinet, wah-wah pedals, Moog synthesizers, overdubs and drums were all saturated in the sounds and attitude of funk. And it was all orchestrated and recorded by the one-man band known as Stevie Wonder. He took the song about as far as anyone possibly could, and then the Red Hot Chili Peppers found a way to bring it rest of the way with a potent and explosive cover.

“Powers keep on lyin' while your people keep on dyin'. World keep on turnin' 'cause it won't be too long.”

"FIGHT THE POWER (PARTS 1 & 2)" THE ISLEY BROTHERS (1975)

The Isley Brothers may be known more for smooth, soul-induced records. But with “Fight the Power”, they showed they were more than capable of flipping the switch. This was their foray into funk. Power grooves. Power lead vocals, sung in unison by Ron, Rudy and Kelly. And a powerful statement, sent and received. When asked why he uttered “bullshit” in the recording, Ron’s response was this: “because it needed to be said.”

“Time is truly wastin'. There's no guarantee. Smile's in the makin'. You gotta fight the powers that be.”

"SEPTEMBER" EARTH, WIND & FIRE (1978)

No better track to play on Sept 21st than this one. This is the song that launched a million wedding dance floors. It’s universally loved. 8 years old or 80 years old, Single or married, Everyone can appreciate it. As far as disco falsetto vocals and horn arrangements go, it doesn’t get much better. The Moment “September” plays, you just celebrate with it.

“Do you remember the 21st night of September? Love was changing the minds of pretenders.”

"MOVE ON UP" CURTIS MAYFIELD (1970)

It’s hard to believe that when “Move On Up” was first released as a single, it failed to chart. Couldn’t even crack the Top 100. Now it’s a soul classic. We hear it in stadiums. In movies. In presidential campaigns. This song shows us what music can do when you take it as far as you possibly can in every regard. The horn arrangements. The soulful vocals. The poetic lyrics. That rollicking percussion. It’s hard to not feel positive after hearing it.

“Hush now child, and don't you cry. Your folks might understand you, by and by. Move on up, toward your destination. You may find from time to time, complication.”