the Inclement Weather Playlist

Now that I have an iPod dock in my car, I have created and put into action the terrifically handy "Inclement Weather Playlist" It used to be my practice, when driving in foul road conditions, to put in some kind of Broadway compilation CD. But since I have the Taurus (with NO CD player) I have been (or had been) at the whim of whatever was playing on the radio. But no longer. I now have the aforesaid "Inclement Weather Playlist" which is primarily showtunes, but also with a dash of lighthearted easy listening thrown in.

Here is my silly reasoning behind this ritual of mine....

I'm looking at my life as if it were a movie. I'm thinking... if I were to score a scene of some terrific fiery car wreck---what sort of music would I use? Angry thrashy death metal would work in that regard...also super dramatic thundery classical (think Orff's Carmina Burana ) Conversely, it doesn't seem like anything bad can transpire with the main theme to Oklahoma! as its soundtrack. It just wouldn't sync right, y'know? Get what I'm saying, Vern? Anyways, this same idea extends to all the songs chosen for the inclement weather playlist, and it just works out that the bulk of these cannot-possibly-be-the-soundtrack-to-anything-awful songs are showtunes. With (as I said) a few lighthearted easy listening tracks. It has also occurred to me that nothing bad can happen to "Whoomp! There it is!" but I have yet to add that to the playlist.

Here is that playlist. Not really in this order since I've always got it playing in "shuffle" mode. I have put a * next to songs I heard on this morning's commute (because it was crappy freezing rain this a.m. and I availed myself of the I.W. Playlist...hence it being on my mind..)

1. All I Care About * (from the Chicago soundtrack--the movie, not the show.. Richard Gere vocals)

2.Roxie (Chicago movie soundtrack/Renee Zellweger)

3. Mister Cellophane (Chicago movie soundtrack / John C Reilly-- he was awesome in this movie...totally the cat's jammies in most everything he does..but methinks I shall forever think of him as Dr Steve Brule now. LOVE you, Dr Steve!)

4.Razzle Dazzle* (Chicago /Richard Gere)

5.Heigh-Ho (dwarf chorus from Snow White)

6.Let's Go Fly a Kite (Mary Poppins soundtrack)

7.In the Jailhouse Now (O Brother Where Art Thou? movie soundtrack/ Tim Blake Nelson. He actually did his own singing in the movie, y'know. Tim Blake Nelson is one of the "Unsung Awesome" . By "Unsung Awesome" I am referring to this categorical heading in my mind where I file people (Tim Blake Nelson for instance) who I judge to be thoroughly awesome but in a below-the-radar way.
Anyways, I absolutely love O Brother & have probably seen it 50 or so times but I never fail to crack up when Nelson is yelling into the toad's face going "PETE-- IT'S ME DELMAR! IT'S ME DELMAR!" Soooo f***ing terrific!! I also have this movie Cherish that he was in. It's this obscure-ish indie from a few years back . I dig it. It's at least worth a rental... so put it in your g.d. Netflix queue..like now, bitch.)


8.I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow (O Brother Where Art Thou? movie soundtrack / Soggy Bottom Boys; I love this song even if it is rather "country-ish" and I love-LOVE the Soggy Bottom Boys even if they don't have the dryest of bottoms and happen to be fictional)

9.There Once Was A Man* (Pajama Game/Broadway soundtrack) I was so loving this this a.m. It's probably my favorite song from that show...and P.G. has beaucoup awesome songs in it!! I just had to hit YouTube and provide you with the following..







Forgive me...it plays a bit choppily but I couldn't find anything w/ better quality. You know how sometimes when you think of certain songs the same snippet of lyrics invariably pops into your noggin? I mean probably for most songs you think of the titular lyrics or the chorus, but for some songs just this arbitrary couplet stands out to you? For instance, you say "Hotel California' and the bit that drifts through my mind is "..stab it with their steely knives but they just can't kill the beast!" (dark, I know) Anyways for the song "There Once was a Man" the "Standout Line" to me is "It rocks my whole solar plexus, it's bigger in Texas". Cunning rhyme, that. How can ya not love it??

10. I'm Not at All in Love ( Pajama Game -Broadway soundtrack)

11. Steam Heat (Pajama Game -Broadway soundtrack)

12.Hernando's Hideaway (Pajama Game -Broadway soundtrack)

13. Try to Remember (from some Broadway compilation or another/ it's from The Fantastiks, which I have never seen. But this song is just really sweet somehow, and I've always really loved it. I have the best version ever-- sung by the late Jerry Orbach (Dr Houseman from Dirty Dancing. Oh and, speaking of Dirty Dancing alum, I was deeply saddened to read THIS)

14. She Loves Me ( from some other Broadway compilation/sung by Daniel Massey. This is from the show "She Loves Me" which I've never seen but I do know it's based on The Shop Around the Corner (a terrific movie...which I own..it's set in Budapest, you know. I would love to check out Budapest. In sort of relevant news, I made chicken paprikash for dinner tonight) so I get the basic plot. This particular song is pretty comical. Also in this musical there's some song about the library that I'd like to download.

15.Consider Yourself (from some Broadway compilation/ this is from "Oliver!" (duuh) I actually have the entire, excellent Oliver soundtrack but I can't find it. I have a CD wallet that is MIA and the only CDs that I am certain that are in there {& consequently MIA with it} is the Oliver! soundtrack and the equally rad Music Man soundtrack. Such a pisser!!)

16. Happiness (from some Broadway compilation/ from the musical "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown" KICKASS!! We learned this song in music class in grade school and I KNOW one of the lines was "Happiness is...finding your skate key" I remember this distinctly because even back in the mid 80s all us kids were like: "Skate key?? What the @#$%@ is a skate key??" But strangely,this skate key line is not in this recording of "Happiness". Oh, yeah and speaking of keys... I watched The Skeleton Key tonight (am I or am I not the queen of the damn segue??) It's definitely worth a look. The absolute CREEPIEST damn thing was that record. Yyyikes!! That alone might gimme dem bad cartoons*! I need ta work some hoodoo spell against da bad cartoons!!)

17. Coconut (Harry Nilsson)

18.The Trolley Song ( sung by Judy Garland--from Meet Me in St Louis; I have never encountered an actual trolley firsthand, but I know if ever I do, I shall fully expect the thing to CLANG)

19. The Best Things in Life are Free (June Allyson from Good News)

20. Let's Face the Music & Dance (sung by Fred Astaire in Follow the Fleet; I have another version elsewhere on my Pod that is performed by Nat King Cole. I like that one lots better... I should put that on the I.W. Playlist...)

21.There's No Business Like Show Business (from Annie Get Your Gun ; this one's from the movie musical with Betty Hutton. Ethel Merman was the quintessential Broadway Annie Oakley and.. well, don't get me wrong -- I love Ethel. But if any voice is going to send me careening into a ditch, it'd be Ethel Merman's-- nothing soothing about that broad.)

22.Puttin' on the Ritz (Clark Gable; No idea what movie he sang this in. I've always loved this song..ever since I first heard it {Taco's version, back in the 80s} I am particularly fond of THIS rendition of it)

23. Give My Regards to Broadway (Joel Grey; from some musical or another. I don't particularly like his voice. It's kind of cackly and fey...which works well when he sings "Wilkommen" but I don't like it here. Hey, I don't want to disparage Mr Grey. He did an ep of The Muppet Show and any Muppet Show special guest star is a-okay in my book. Plus, he couldn't be all that fey in the sack.. he did, sometime in the 60s beget Jennifer Grey. Jinkies, I can't seem to shake this inadvertant Dirty Dancing motif my blog has developed today
"Give My Regards.." would be my 2nd favorite song about Broadway...the first fave being "Lullabye of Broadway" which I love. I dig this one too--though maybe not so much the Joel Grey version. 3rd ranked would be "On Broadway" by George Benson. That one only made rank because I only know 3 "Broadway" songs**. I actually dislike that 3rd one. I can't say why precisely, but it irks me.)

24. Anything You Can Do (from Annie Get Your Gun )

25.Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend (so, so true. Sing it, Carol Channing!!)

26.The Lonely Goatherd (from The Sound of Music)

27.Edelweiss (from The Sound of Music; LOVE this song. This version is the one sung solely by Cap'n VonTrappe. Have I 'fessed up to having a mini case of the hots for Cap'n VonTrappe?? It's probably unnecessary to clarify that I mean here Christopher Plummer as the Cap'n and *NOT* the actual Cap'n. I've seen pics of that guy and ...mehh. Real life Maria certainly was no Julie Andrews either for that matter.)

28.Oklahoma! (from...GUESS which show?? You'll never ever guess..)

29.Getting to Know You (from The King and I)

30.Seventy Six Trombones (from The Music Man but ripped from some Broadway compilation-- see parenthetical rant for #15 . GRRRrrr! How I miss that damn soundtrack!!)

31.One (from A Chorus Line)

32. Camelot (from Camelot. The line I love best: "In short there's simply not/ a more congenial spot / for happily-ever-aftering than heeeere in Caaaamelot" The rhyme is pretty fierce, for uno thing. It's awesome how they verb-atized "happily ever after". Also I just plain dig the word congenial. Too bad there's probably beaucoup royalties to be paid to the estates of both Lerner and Loewe or else I would recommend appropriating it for some tourism propaganda. Can't ya just hear it in your head? "In short there's simply not / a more congenial spot / for happily ever aftering than heeeeere iiiin Pettis County Missouri!!" Right??

Another thing about this song... I am such a nerd, my word association reflex for the cue of "Camelot " is either "we eat ham and jam and spam a lot" or, even more often it makes me think "I. have. to . push. the . pram a loooot" (delivered in a deep bass of course)

*bad cartoons = nightmares That's what I've called 'em since age 3 or so, anyways.
** I since remembered the BeeGee's "Nights on Broadway" which I really dig and that would bump "Give My Regards.." outta the #2 slot. Also I am reminded that my beloved BeeGee's greatest hits CD is another one gone missing with that infamous MIA CD wallet.