I was raised in two churches with strong musical traditions. I'm no longer religious, but I still have a deep love of hymns, especially
a capella hymns. I want to make a CD featuring some lovely religious music. One song I've found that typifies what I'm after is Hayley Westenra's version of "Whispering Hope". Can you suggest other songs of this kind? (They don't need to be
a capella, but lugubrious Mormon Tabernacle Choir stuff generally bores me.) Pop is okay, as long as it's pretty. iTunes availability preferred.
posted by jdroth
on Oct 12, 2008 -
20 answers
I'm looking for mid-century pop songs with sexist lyrics. Think Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin singing about how nice it is to have a "girl" cooking dinner at home. Or about all the pretty "girls" out on the street. The lounge feel is what I'm after, though anything jazzy ought to work.
Please help me annoy my wife! [more inside]
posted by jdroth
on May 10, 2007 -
73 answers
I'm looking for sites related to American popular culture from the early 20th century: books, films, radio, magazines, music, dance, comic strips, celebrities — you name it. I'm particularly interested on the period between the wars, but open to great stuff from before (and during) World War I, as well. Little Nemo, Keystone Kops, the Lindy Hop, Enrico Caruso, Fatty Arbuckle, Al Jolson, Clara Bow, Flash Gordon, Alice blue, Teddy bears, etc. These are all the sorts of things I'm after, especially as they're represented on the web.
Bonus points for sites with RSS feeds. [more inside]
posted by jdroth
on Nov 3, 2006 -
10 answers
I love 80s New Wave synthpop in a completely non-ironic way. I came of age with this music, and it's still a big part of my life.
What contemporary music has that mid-80s synthpop vibe? I'm looking for both individual artists and songs. (For example, I think Kylie Minogue's "I Believe in You" has an 80s vibe, but not everything of hers does. But The Postal Service would be right at home in 1984.) Here are some examples of what I'm looking for:
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posted by jdroth
on Jul 14, 2006 -
63 answers
What a surprise: I'm working on another music mix and would like suggestions. This mix features folk/bluegrass/country songs that tell stories. The less production, the less instrumentation, the more acoustic the better.
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posted by jdroth
on May 27, 2006 -
44 answers
I'm looking for songs that you associate with Liberal ideals. (Or "progressive" ideals, if you prefer.) Examples: "Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen,
"If It Were Up to Me" by Cheryl Wheeler, "I'm Not the Man" by Natalie Merchant/10,000 Maniacs, "War" by Edwin Starr, etc. I'd prefer the songs weren't blatantly "Republicans suck and Bush is mean" (though "When the President Talks to God" is a fine song); I'm looking more for songs about social activism and progressive ideals, about the things that Liberals typically hold important. (Songs about the general state of the world are fine, too: "Ball of Confusion", etc.)
posted by jdroth
on Apr 12, 2006 -
82 answers
The Final Frontier:
I'm looking for music with a sci-fi feel, the kind of music you might have heard at a planetarium display when you were a kid.
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posted by jdroth
on Mar 5, 2006 -
48 answers
On the PC, I used Easy CD Creator 5 to create CD mixes. I loved the ability to create custom transitions between tracks: cross-fades, fade-ins, gaps, etc.
What is the best CD mix-making software for Macintosh? (iTunes is sadly lacking in these sorts of features.) A downloadable shareware app would be great, but I'm willing to consider something like
Toast, even though it costs $80. (Is Toast a good product? Will it let me do cross-fades? The reviews make me wary.) I suppose the best option would be some sort of iTunes add-on to let me do cross-fades, etc. Does such a beast exist?
posted by jdroth
on Nov 9, 2005 -
6 answers
Lately I've been fascinated by "smart" songs: songs with witty, intelligent lyrics, especially if the lyrics are literary. Can you recommend more music of this sort? [samples inside]
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posted by jdroth
on Oct 31, 2005 -
100 answers
I enjoy early American popular music (say up until the late 1920s), and especially period recordings of the same. I have about a dozen CDs compiling this music, and have downloaded other songs from alt.binaries.sounds.*.
I'm looking for other sources of free mp3s of early American popular music. (Don't fret about copyright issues: the stuff I'm looking for is old enough that it's in the public domain.)
I'd also love recommendations for modern(ish) recordings of these old songs. I know Garrison Keillor performs some from time-to-time (and just did on his last broadcast, for example), and I know of Joan Morris/William Bolcome and Jody Dall'Armi.
posted by jdroth
on Oct 2, 2005 -
19 answers
My sister-in-law has purchased a
Creative Labs Zen Touch 40gb music player. She'd like advice on how to fill it with music. I'm a Mac user who uses iTunes and an iPod, so I don't really have a good answer for her. Can you help?
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posted by jdroth
on Apr 20, 2005 -
10 answers
I need a good lyrics site, something reliable that doesn't want to spam me with popup ads, doesn't want to install spyware all over my computer, doesn't want to give me worthless e-coupons. Googling for lyrics always leads me to slimy dens of crap. Any recommendations for lyrics sites that play nice?
posted by jdroth
on May 19, 2004 -
9 answers
I'm making a "Piano Rock" mix. What songs should I include? [current list inside]
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posted by jdroth
on Apr 15, 2004 -
71 answers
