Live Set: The Enlightenment of Soft Music

 


Stream the Show

Download the Songs

This DJ set is in tribute to one of my most favorite musical artists. Brothers John and Frank Navin are The Aluminum Group. You have likely heard me mention The Aluminum Group before. Up until 2022, their output was contained to the 90s and aughts - but after 14 years they are back with a new album. It is fantastic and they are firmly in my all-time top 5 bands. I have thought much about why I like them so much and it is really quite simple. Like a lot of the musicians I enjoy, they are about my age and dig a lot of the same songs from their youth as I do. It informs and influences their music, and these are the artists we celebrate here: Bacharach, Carpenters, The Free Design...

We go back to the late 60s and early 70s for many of these songs - familiar territory for my mixes, for sure - but this time with a particular focus on Baroque Pop and AM Pop. There is also some Sunshine Pop, a bit of Horn Rock and even a few 60s Brit Girls! The show title is from a conversation with the Navin brothers, also included here, where Frank explains their transition from punk rockers to the deans of 90s Chamber Pop... Enjoy!

Track Listing

(intro) Burt Bacharach - Walk On By
01 John Navin (interview excerpt)
02 Carpenters - (They Long to Be) Close to You
03 The Free Design – Bubbles
04 Claudine Longet Broomstick Cowboy
05 Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Like A Lover
06 The Sandpipers – Guantanamera
07 Dionne Warwick - Do You Know the Way to San Jose-
08 Johnny Rivers - The Poor Side Of Town
09 Dusty Springfield - Wishin' and Hopin'
10 Glen Campbell - Dreams Of The Everyday Housewife
11 Bee Gees - How Can You Mend A Broken Heart
12 Frank Navin (interview excerpt)
13 The Association – Cherish
14 The Spiral Starecase - More Today Than Yesterday
15 Merilee Rush - Angel Of The Morning
16 The Walker Brothers - The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore
17 Nilsson - Gotta Get Up
18 The Beach Boys - In My Room
19 Sonny & Cher - Baby Don't Go
20 The Aluminum Group – Chocolates
21 Chicago – Beginnings
22 The Moody Blues - Tuesday Afternoon
23 Lighthouse -  Sunny Days
24 Lulu - To Sir With Love
25 Petula Clark - A Sign of the Times
26 BJ Thomas - Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head
27 Neil Diamond – Shilo
28 The Cowsills - The Rain, The Park & Other Things
29 Claudine Longet - L_Amour Est Bleu
30 Serge Gainsbourg - Initials B.B. 
31 The Aluminum Group - The Bait
32 Aretha Franklin - I Say a Little Prayer
33 Doris - Wouldn't That Be Groovy
34 Keith - 98.6
35 The Stone Poneys - Different Drum
36 The Buckinghams - Don't You Care
37 John Navin (interview excerpt)
38 Stereolab - Three-Dee Melodie
39 High Llamas – Nomads
40 Tortoise - Six Pack
41 Jim O'Rourke - Something Big
42 Carpenters - Top Of The World
43 The Free Design - If I Were A Carpenter
44 The Mamas & The Papas - Words Of Love
45 Roberta Flack - Where Is the Love
46 Sandy Shaw - (There's) Always Something There to Remind Me
47 The 5th Dimension - Wedding Bell Blues
48 The Zombies - Care Of Cell 44
49 The Walker Brothers - Deadlier Than The Male
50 High Llamas - Sparkle Up
51 John Navin (interview excerpt)
52 The Aluminum Group - Girl's Bike





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Live Set: Proto-Punk (1963-1975)

Image
  Stream the Show Download the Songs With your host, Shlep. 1 Bo Diddley - 1963 - Road Runner (live) : You might not associate Bo Diddley with garage rock, but listen to that guitar. Not only that, this song was covered by the likes of The Pretty Things, The Zombies, The Animals and The Who. 2 The Kingsmen - 1963 - Louie Louie: Not many bands were investigated by the FBI for obscenity, but this Seattle band was.. And that’s about as punk as can be. The FBI didn’t catch it, but there is a “fuck” faintly yelled in the recording 3 The Surfaris - 1963 - Wipe Out: This was actually a b-side. Surf and garage weren’t just musically the forefathers of punk, but the lifestyle as well. A true don’t give a fuck attitude. I hope I come back in the next life as a surfer. 4 Link Wray and His Ray Men - 1963 - The Black Widow: Another b-side instrumental. Mark E. Smith of The Fall said “The only people I really looked up to were Link Wray and Iggy Pop.” Wray’s earlier hit “Rumble” holds the distin...
Read more

Live Set: Listen With Looch

Image
  Stream the Show Download the Music I am lucky enough to have a great radio station in my town: 89.3 The Current. It is a public radio "Adult Alternative" station, similar to KEXP Seattle. I listen several hours a day and the highlight was always the 2pm to 6pm shift, occupied (until recently) by Mary Lucia (The "Looch") One of the nice things about The Current is that they (unlike most radio stations) let their hosts choose some of their own music. After listening to Mary for a few years, I can always tell when a song is one that she added to the mix. She is a rocker and a 70s kid, like (most of) us. So for example, between songs by Billie Eilish and Father John Misty, she drops in AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" Those are the surprises that made her show so fun to listen to... I decided a few weeks ago to assemble an SMC music set made up of those songs. About a week later, in a sad twist of irony, Mary has decided to leave the station that sh...
Read more