Round 6
1. Brandon Jenkins - Down in Flames
(I heard some song recently that name-dropped a bunch of red-dirt country artists. All of them I was familiar with except Brandon Jenkins. Decided to look him up and I've loved what I've heard so far. There's no re-invention here, just tried-and-true, Southern-bred, authentic, earthy country. I had no idea he was dead until I saw the comments on this video. Apparently he died of some heart condition at age 48. That sucks, but he had a 20-year career and multiple albums, so there's still a ton of music for me to comb through. Curious to hear if @
jiraffejustin is familiar with him and, if so, which songs/albums he recommends the most.)
2. Swedish Hitz Goes Metal - Money, Money, Money
(Well, that was fun. Goofy and entertaining, but very technically skilled as well. Quite the vocal range by the young blonde Shampoo Commercial Meat Loaf.)
3. Bobby Womack - Across 110th Street
(Feel like this has been nominated a ton of times before, but it's a fantastic song, so who cares. Always think of
Jackie Brown when I hear it.)
4. Big Pun - Twinz (Deep Cover '98) ft. Fat Joe
(Some of the rhymes in this made my head spin.)
5. Dope Smoker - October
(Ride the fuzz.)
6. Junior Kimbrough - I'm Leaving You Baby
(About three years ago or so I became really interested in traditional blues, immersing myself in the music of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf and Lightnin' Hopkins and the like. For whatever reason I haven't been listening to that stuff lately, but this has caused the itch to flare back up. Simple song, not a lot to it, yet like all the best blues music, there's something so genuine and cathartic about it.)
7. Dvorak - Symphony No. 9, Movement 1
(Not crazy about the length, especially as it gets so quiet at times, but it's obviously a fantastic piece of music. As I keep saying, I'm not into classical music, but I do seem to enjoy these pieces that are very dynamic, very dramatic, going through multiple highs and lows and basically providing a movie for the imagination.)
8. Ricky Van Shelton - Living Proof
(A bit vanilla for me, but the dude has a smooth voice.)
9. José Feliciano - California Dreamin'
(There seems to be something about this song that lends itself easily to reinterpretations. Love the Mamas and Papas original, and I've heard multiple covers that I've really enjoyed as well, but not a huge fan of this version.)
10. Tears for Fears - Head Over Heels
(Never cared for this band.)
I'll be out of town this weekend, so I'm going to skip the next round. I'll jump back in early next week.