• Jon Bon Jovi
    Daily Life

    “Gospel Truth” playlist

    I started a new playlist the other night, “Gospel Truth,” which currently contains the following songs:

    Alison Krauss: Down By The River To Pray
    Kansas: Wayward Son
    Rufus Wainwright: Hallelujah
    Zulu Tradition: Hallelujah
    Cole Porter (Kevin Kline, De-Lovely): Blow Gabriel Blow
    Bon Jovi: Keep The Faith, Captain Crash & the Beauty Queen From Mars
    Jon Bon Jovi: Bang A Drum
    Guys & Dolls: Siddown You’re Rockin The Boat, Luck Be A Lady
    Taylor Swift: Wildest Dreams (this may go, not sure yet), Out Of The Woods

    Queen: Who Wants To Live Forever, The Show Must Go On
    Hozier: Take Me To Church
    Guns N Roses: Knocking On Heaven’s Door
    Heart: Stairway to Heaven
    Amazing Grace (bagpipes)
    Meat Loaf: For Crying Out Loud
    Bon Jovi: Living On A Prayer
    Leonard Cohen: Hallelujah
    Take That: Rule The World

    I’m looking for other recommendations for the playlist! Favourite covers of Amazing Grace and Hallelujah are particularly welcome, as it’s impossible to have too many versions of those songs (someone’s recommended John Cale’s Hallelujah but I haven’t downloaded it yet). Nor have I gone through the rest of Alison Krauss and/or Union Station to pick up what’s best from them, but as you can see, the vibe here isn’t meant to be so much actual gospel (although that’s obviously good too) as a certain vibe that I think the above songs generally encompass. So I’m looking for songs that speak a truth to your soul, basically. Hit me with your best shot. :)

  • Fandom

    don’t tell me truth hurts

    …little girl
    ’cause it hurts like hell

    I wouldn’t have thought I’d have two posts to make about David Bowie, but then, I wouldn’t have really thought I’d have *one* post to make about him, so what do I know?

    I’ve spent most of the last two evenings, when I’m not writing, going through my FB friends’ list and listening to all the Bowie songs they’ve linked to. Or rather, that was my plan. What actually happened was that on Monday evening a friend posted, “So I’ve been working on this list all day. One song from every Bowie album that, for one reason or another, is my choice today. Believe me, it wasn’t easy,” and I’ve actually spent the last two evenings listening to those 25 songs.

    I knew *one* of them: Heroes. I’d heard two, possibly three, but although I own The Next Day I haven’t listened to it enough to *know* any of the songs, and I haven’t even finished listening to Blackstar yet. I fell in love with about half a dozen of them (Silly Boy Blue, Aladdin Sane, Be My Wife, Absolute Beginners, Beat On Your Drum, Strangers When We Meet, Slow Burn, nevermind, it must have been twelve or fifteen of them that really struck me), and listening to how each album was entirely its own thing, and the influences of the year/era on each of them, was just so cool.

    Anyway, so I’m planning on seeing if I can get FB to cough up those individual songs people have posted (and still are posting), because I don’t think I saw a single repeat out of the dozens posted. Not even from Labyrinth, which, given the kinds of people I’m friends with, is sort of amazing. So I want to listen to as many of the songs as I can, the ones that were what people reached for the day that particular bit of music died.

    David Bowie’s Walk-Off Grand Slam is what I was reaching for on Monday when I posted, except I would neither have gone with the sports metaphor or the essay-length introspection (because I didn’t :)). But it’s what I wanted to say.

    Here’s Swan River Press’s full David Bowie playlist (YouTube links):
    Blackstar (2016) – “I Can’t Give Everything Away
    The Next Day (2013) – “Boss of Me
    Reality (2003) – “Pablo Picasso
    Heathen (2002) – “Slow Burn
    “hours…” (1999) – “Thursday’s Child
    Earthling (1997) – “Dead Man Walking
    Outside (1995) – “Strangers When We Meet
    The Buddha of Suburbia (1993) – “The Mysteries
    Black Tie White Noise (1992) – “Jump They Say
    Never Let Me Down (1987) – “Beat of Your Drum
    Tonight (1984) – “Absolute Beginners
    Let’s Dance (1983) – “Criminal World
    Scary Monsters (1980) – “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
    Lodger (1979) – “Look Back in Anger
    “Heroes” (1977) – “Heroes
    Low (1977) – “Be My Wife
    Station to Station (1976) – “Station to Station
    Young Americans (1975) – “Somebody Up There Likes Me
    Diamond Dogs (1974) – “Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (Reprise)
    Pin Ups (1973) – “Port of Amsterdam
    Aladdin Sane (1973) – “Aladdin Sane
    Ziggy Stardust (1972) – “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide
    Hunky Dory (1971) – “Quicksand
    The Man who Sold the World (1970) – “She Shook Me Cold
    Space Oddity 1969 – “Janine
    David Bowie 1967 – “Silly Boy Blue

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