An excellent cut, with wailing big band brass and cool vibes. The song is quite familiar - musically it is an early draft of the standard 'Black coffee', sounding similar, but slightly sped-up. The percussion is also excellent - lots of bongos. Overall, the sound recalls some of Mancini's best 50s work, but somehow sounds even more vital and brilliant to me. Milt's work on the vibes also seems to have influenced Angelo Badalamenti (his David Lynch soundtrack work, anyway), and the solo work of Barry Adamson.

The sweet soft voice of joanne Robertson makes a really cool contrast with the graspy and kinda dark voice of Dean Blunt plus the classical guitar playing chords that sounds like the end of a movie or a sunset. IDK it just sounds pretty cool, one of my favorites songs of my life.

A smooth jazz-funk groove with Rhodes and synths playing melodically against each other. It sounds like Azymuth. In fact, it is Azymuth. Conversation, glasses clinking, a girl laughs in the distance. And Silvio's voice comes in, nice and mellow, describing what it's like to have a bunch of friends over for a get-together. Although he's one of Brazil's hippest crooners, a man who specializes in somewhat cliched yet mysteriously cool and affecting love songs, he lays back here and lets the country's greatest jazz-fusion outfit do its thing. How many romantic crooners ever do that?

Cool in the Xxtreme !
Sixties dance jazz funk instumental from harpist Dorothy. Complete with organs, flutes and bongos it is driving classy joyful music .

The album also contains the awesome "Action Line " which is weirdly atmospheric and deeply strange

This is one of my favorite songs of all time. Very cool soul-jazz, with vicious, biting lyrics. "Money can buy you silk and sable/false religion/fame and fable". Young and Holt even manage to get a dig in at their former boss Ramsey Lewis by mockingly quoting from his big hit "Wade in the Water".

I don't know why I like this track so much. I'll admit that Do You Realize? is the better track from the album. But this song just always makes me stop in my tracks and listen. It's an interesting song, about a man meeting himself from the future. It's really cool.

I really love Slowdive. I guess it's fair to say they're the most under-rated band of all time (yeah, I know you all have your own opinions but you're wrong and I'm right - okay? ).

So imagine my surprise when electronica masters Morr Music decided to compile a Slowdive tribute record last year, featuring luminraies such as Icelandic beauties Mum.

The album is a sheer joy - and highlights the quality of Halstead's original song-writing (before the layers of reverb and delay were added).
The stand-out track is Altogether, taken from Slowdive's second Creation release 'Souvlaki'. An astonishingly pretty but achingly mournful track is turned, by Morr's Styrofoam, into a trippy work of blissed-out happiness. Cool.

A staple Northern Soul fave ,though not a dancer its cool breezy rhythym has been loved and revered by everybody from Dusty Springfield to Joss Stone ,.A relentless verse chorus onslaught boosted by fantastic brass and clen drums with a melody to sit down for .One of this over exposed genre.s unsung artists who is well worth a second look .

The song I have been eager to get since I saw a movie "Barbarella" about 6 years ago. Finally I got the soundtrack CD. I do love the theme tune, Barbarella, too, but this somehow makes me feel "America", the place I have been longing for.
What mekes me feel so? Bob Crewe's sexy and gorgeous vocal? Cool horn and brass arrangements? widely spreading atomosphere? Everything is attracting reminding me of the scene where Pygar is flying after getting his new wings!

Barbara Lewis was famous earlier in the sixties for 'Hello Stranger.' This is simple, soulful pop music with a very cool production: crisp drums and nicely orchestrated woodwind on top of rhythmic guitars. Somehow the charm of the recording overrides any feeling that the chord sequence is slightly obvious. Barbara's voice is beautiful here: emotional, yet understated. A small female choir comes in to accompany her at various points. The song is remarkably tight and catchy, with a prominent bass part driving it on. The producer at Stax for this record was Ollie McLaughlin, and I'm now looking out for more stuff that he worked on.

This is one of my favorite Bacharach-David songs. It would be difficult to top Dionne Warwick's original, but Anita Kerr's jazzy cover comes awfully close. Kerr's arrangement is more muted and pretty - and when the drums kick in between chorus and verse, the results are breathtaking. Real cool!

A song about personal body space. I know that this doesn't exactly sound electrifying, but the song itself does. In fact the whole album this is from is filled with fantastic lyrically unorthodox songs, most of which are extremely good.

During this very skilfully constructed song, we hear some of the most lyrical, expressive sounds ever to be played on synths. We hear that slightly strange vocal performance style that makes a virtue out of sounding uncool - but it's always very musical.

Tony Mansfield is an absolute musical genius and innovator. After the three new Musik albums, he went on to produce A-ha's first album and a few records for other artists, but never seems to have had the recognition Trevor Horn recieved. I wonder what he's doing now...

This song has a very tender vocal, which I believe is by either Carl or Dennis, a super-cool reverb-laden piano and sweet handclaps that cue up organ and trumpets. As fully-realized a piece as anything on "Pet Sounds".

Beautiful summery easy-bossa arrangement of this Villa-Lobos orchestral piece. The tempo floats along at a lazy pace, augmented by gorgeous piano and flute solos, then comes to an abrupt end with a very cool bass riff. Apparently, Schifrin recorded another version of this song in 1996 on the "Gillespiana" album, and that features Karlheinz Stockhausen's son Markus playing trumpet!

Romanian gypsy music at its best:
- fast rhythm and chord progressions that make you listen in anticipation
- singer's voice (singing in Romanian/Gypsy?) rough sincerity reminds me of an old black delta bluesman
- the coolest violin riff ever.

Great track. Entirely scat-sung, steady midtempo funky groove, with that distinctive Odeon Studios sound, and the bridge breaks into a waltz-time section, with Claudia's high-pitched vocal effects strongly reminiscent of something off the Vampyros Lesbos soundtrack album. Claudia's a big collector's favorite among Brazilian femme singers, since her stuff's consistently strong, she's got this great strong expressive voice, cool material choices including a number of exclusive Marcos Valle songs, and NONE of her early 70s Odeon sides have been issued on CD.

An amazingly warm and funky cover of the Chicago song 'feelings'. I know that doesn't sound like a recipe for success, but it really is very cool. The song degenerates into a huge jamming session at the end and carries on for 9 minutes. But it's storming stuff!

An addictive and perfect track, which fuses several of my obsessions (vocal groups, Ennio Morricone-style chord sequences, Brazilian pop) with incredible power. The song is a Brazilian standard, written by Baden Powell, but this version is very different to any other I've heard. This recording opens feverishly with brass and strings, maintaining a doomy and very serious mood throughout. All the same, it manages to be extremely groovy, with rock drums and a twangy guitar accompanying the strings and harmonizing vocals. The arrangement is quite brilliant and never sounds crowded, with a stark feel produced by the different parts dropping in and out. The part of the track which to me is pure genius is the instrumental break in the middle, which sounds like it's excerpted from one of the coolest of Morricone's late 60s B-movie soundtracks - honey smooth strings, blended with some excellent drums and a cool trumpet part. The vocals are also rather gripping - always very serious sounding, and often wordlessly chanting the melody.

From the 1986 concept album "The Formula" by Rupert Hine, this is an excellent mid-eighties dnace number which received no radio or MTV rotataion but deserved to. Highly dancable, cool, European and memorable. Rupert Hine is famous as a producer for badns such as The Fixx, Howard Jones, Tina Turner, Eight Seconds, Rush, Stevie Nicks and more...
Don;t let that throw you off though. His solo material is ofetntimes very dark, futuristic, apocolyptic and just plain catchy.

Lewis Taylor is a major musical talent, and his first album stands as a landmark among modern soul / R&B productions. Imagine Prince on a roll, with the Beach Boys on backing vocals and Jeff Beck adding psychedelic guitar. He does it all. Sweet falsetto vocals, funny lyrics and a worldwide groove. You'll want more.

Just a perfect, perfect pop song. Makes you wanna dance and groove along, but at the same time it's soo unbelievably sweet and a just a liitle melancholy. It starts with a drum beat, and then there's this bass-and-drums groove for a few seconds. Then a little sweet electric piano line enters, just before the voice begins singing the melody: "I'm drinking stars up in the sky, you know where you are / I'm driving cars around your house, it seems so fun". When it's time for the chorus ("So listen to my bubble go pop / I'm coming in, I'm coming over the top"), the main voice sings over a backing vocal doing an "ooh" harmony, and then there's absolute genius backing vocal, where the word "pop" becomes "papapapa". After that, a little guitar riff/solo, along with a very cool electric piano line. Then it just repeats everything all over again one more time, for infinite happiness. The time for a middle break has arrived. A new funky bass groove with lots of different "papapa"s harmonizing together. Now, go back to the first bass-and-drums groove, with a jazzy, relaxed guitar solo, and then it's just grooves and grooves and heavenly harmonies, "Blowin' bubbles".

Kind of like a drole walk through rainy streets in Europe somewhere. Light, jangley echoy guitar reminds me of Ocean Blue, The Smiths and more but in a more mello mood. No one seems to know who Brandi Ifrgray is... he sang for Shadowplay before releasing two very cool CD's "Le Mutant" and "Stargazer".

This is part of the De Wolfe library collection. A good library collection has just been reissued in Japan that includes some of the better selections that this catalog has to offer. Now that most of the great music libraries have found snug homes, this CD is an easy way to avoid the price gouging and hassle of scoring a song you just want to listen to. I like this song because it has a unique cool and light tone, while being somewhere in between bossa and uptempo dancefloor jazz. Something to listen to in the shade at the beach. It only clocks in at 1:41, but you couldn't ask for more or less.

Great loungey beat that's dying to be sampled. This is early Brigitte Fontaine and it reminds the folks at Dusty Groove of early Serge Gainsbourg. I agree. Cool upbeat jazzy beat with emotive singing. Wish I spoke French. The only problem with this song is that it's too short.

This song grabs you and doesn't let go. Catchy, melodic and flowing... It's very hard not to listen to this song without bobbing your head along with it. The slurred southern drawl of the lead singer, and the sparkly melody really put you in a specific place and time. A very cool track, and one that's perfect for drinking to.

OMG i love everything, like this song is so much fun to play on the bass and stuff, and the vocals are cool idk.

A great track, sung in spanish by Nancy Ames. It opens with pulsating horns, a wall of strings and an insistent latin beat. Everything quietens down in the middle, and Nancy sings accapella before the song explodes into action again. The way the brass, strings, flute, bossa guitar and fiery pop vocals are all crammed into two minutes is pretty cool. The whole thing is extremely catchy and intoxicating.

In 2004 this album, along with Spiced with Brasil, finally made it onto CD.

This is a rather ridiculous but super–catchy take on this theme to the 1967 spoof Bond movie. Performed by German session musicians, it ends up being a rather groovy mix, with viola d’amore, flute, female wordless vocals, harpsichord, and that other staple of the Baroque era, funky drums. It’s short and sweet and really very cool. The late sixties were cool for many reasons, but one of them is that they could accomodate TWO albums called 'Bacharach Baroque' - this one, and the other great Snuff Garrett-produced one by 'The Renaissance'. Both are superb.

"I'm gonna put on an iron shirt/
An' chase Satan out of Earth.
I'm gonna put on an iron shirt/
And chase the Devil out of Earth.
I'm gonna send him to outer space/
To find another race.
I'm gonna send him to outer space/
To find another race.

Satan is the evilest man/
But him can choke sit on a man.
So when I check him my life's in hand/
And if him flip I gone with him hand.

I'm gonna put on an iron shirt/
An' chase Satan out of Earth.
I'm gonna put on an iron shirt/
And chase the Devil out of Earth.
I'm gonna send him to outer space/
To find another race.
I'm gonna send him to outer space/
To find another race.

Him have to drop him fork and run/
Him can't stand up to Jah Jah's son.
Him have to left here with him gun/
Take off with him bomb."

gotta love a bit of max romeo. great trippy reggae song. wonderful production by lee "scratch" perry, too.

Goldsmith's score to this (supposedly forgettable) action film is mainly in a Lalo Schifrin/John Barry bag. This track even recalls Les Baxter's best work of the era. It begins with the main theme reminiscent of Barry's "Ipcress File." I think they even use the same instrument, the cymbalum. The main them then breaks out into this beautiful, lush orchestration topped with electric organ, a funky electric bass, and a very nice backbeat. It totally sounds like "Que Mango"-era Baxter. Anyway, this track and really the entire score are very cool in their own right.

What a wonderful gem of a song. It gives a "Shaft" type of feel with an fresh air feel to it. A great underated masterpiece written by the late great Curtis Mayfield for this movie. Apparently this is a forgotten track on this album and overshadowed by the sublime on and on. Break this song out during a party and you become the definition of hip. Enjoy!

It's in waltz time, with a strummed electric guitar intro followed by female vocals, bass & drums. There's a short female vocal counterpoint part, then the louder chorus. Towards the end the song changes key with a solo guitar figure, joined then by bass, then the the synth & drums enter in a musical explosion that's really cool.
I did'nt like this song at first, liking the rest of the album("Winds Take No Shape") better but the song has grown into one of my favorites on this record.
The full album is one of my favorites of the decade, second only to "Flying Saucer" by Astronaut Wife.

A surprisingly accurate slice of new wave from Wyman,s solo album which contained his only hit "Je Suis un Rock Star" ,this was the follow up.While the Stones moved towards an increasingly stodgy over produced sound at this time ,Wyman was happy to acknowledge the prevalent new wave sounds ."Suzzane" is an upbeat and catchy vignette not a million miles away from Squeeze,s "Cool for Cats".This confirms a lot of peoples opinions that Wyman was always the most quirky and inventive Stone.

This track wasn't what I expected. My previous favorite version of this song (although I have many) was probably the one by Mel Torme on his 1962 album 'Right Now'. And since that version was arranged by Ogerman, I had expected this version to be simply an instrumental version like Torme's recording - a cool, finger-clicking, jerky pop number. In fact, there's something much cooler and more sophisticated about this version.

The tune is picked out first by an organ, and then by the brass and woodwinds before returning to the organ, which then jams around the main tune. A really beautiful string section comes in early on, creating some unusual chords that really add to the song and work very well alongside the 'cool' effect of the organ and rhythm. I wish Claus had recorded more songs with this mixture of percussion, jazzy instrumentation and lovely thick string parts. A few tracks on one of his other 60s LPs, 'Latin Rock,' come close, but I'm not sure any of them are as nice as this one.

A cool song, I like the style.

This is by no means a new release, but I've recently gotten back in to it. Most people have a misconception about The Misfits. Yes they have recorded some very 'crap' songs, and the newly re-vised band and almost everything Danzig has done lately is complete garbage in my eyes, however the original Misfits early recordings, circa 1975-77 are simply amazing. 'Cough/ Cool' is a Hammond/ Fender Rhodes driven, atmospheric masterpiece. Danzig croons like Jim Morrison in this emotionally charged ballad(?). Granted, the lyrics are kind of dark, "scent of blood when you cough, cool, cool, cool, cough, cool ", and most of the other words are relatively indeciphrable, yet shockingly 'pretty'...at least in their tonal quality. The song is very scaled-down and under produced (organ, electric piano, bass and drums), but this is a good thing, it's part of its charm. The amount of reverb and slap-back echo on Glenn's voice is brilliant. So, I urge anyone who has never listened to The Misfits due to the forementioned reasons to get off their collective 'high horses' and give it a listen, they have some really great songs. Other good tracks from the same era include; "Return of The Fly", "She", "Hybrid Moments", "Come Back", "American Nightmare", etc...

just a cool song

The album that this track is taken from was one of those strange albums that acquired mythical status in my mind. Based on a mixture of rumor and personal imagination (I could never actually find a copy), I convinced myself that this must be the coolest album ever made, a perfect fusion of moog, latin and mod sounds. A few years later I picked up the album very cheaply on ebay. Beautiful and interesting as it is, many of the tracks go slightly over the line for me.

'Dansero' is the only track on the LP that captures the blend that I was looking for. It's nice and short at under 3 minutes, and features a delightfully kooky introduction that sounds like the Jean-Jacques Perrey moog flourishes that the group Stereolab sampled on their 'Transient Random Noise Bursts...' album. The drums and moog then join up for a nice pop instrumental, catchy and bouncy. Different moog effects are piled on, but always quite effectively, making this one of the most enduringly successful moog-pop tracks in my collection.

I'm surprised to find I haven't recommended this song before. An enchanting piece of futuristic pop written by Ennio Morricone, this great tune was part of the score for the wonderfully stylish Mario Bava movie 'Danger: Diabolik'. Christy, who also sung on some Piero Piccioni scores, was (is?) a heartfelt 'belter', and here she sings the italian lyrics, which are peppered with English phrases, especially passionately. There is a cool echoey effect on her voice, giving the whole affair an other-worldly, underwater feel. Musically, it's a very catchy psych-pop track, with a twangy, rocky guitar. It's quite short, but extremely powerful.

Featuring a strange assortment of melodic percussion instruments, brass and punctuated with animal calls which are only equaled by those of Roger Waters on Pink Floyd's Umma Gumma, this is BY FAR the strangest (and coolest) version of this song ever recorded. The Residents must have developed their whole series of Mark of the Mole albums after hearing this recording. "Diga Diga Doo" was originally a show tune for a Broadway review called The Blackbirds of 1928.

This is pure fun, a track with that 'easy cheesy' sound which many people love to hate. But wait, this is brilliant! Although rather clunky and an extremely 'square' take on 'hip', this is quite magnificent, honestly. Backed by a relentless beat, Ronnie plays the tune on 2 pianos, while for the bridge section the superb harmonies in the Beach Boys original are played out beautifully by the London Festival Orchestra. Although it's something of a guilty pleasure, I have to recommend this track very highly. Listening to it now on headphones, I notice that it even has that stereo effect having each piano come out of a different channel, an effect used to great effect on his version of 'soulful strut'.

A great instrumental by Pete Moore, which is laid back yet gently funky at the same time with nice brass and a cool wah-wah guitar sound. The production and arrangement is typical of his other work - clean sounding with a slow introduction and a superb rhythm section. Check out what is probably his best known track - Catwalk, which was featured on the Inflight Entertainment CD.

I know very little about Hal - I just picked up this LP for a dollar on a hunch that it might be good. It's pretty great. There are two or three very strong 'mod' tracks, and then this, an example of my favorite kind of easy listening cut. It's very pretty and reasonably slow, with nice strings, good piano and solid percussion. There are some vocals, but their involvement is minimal. If I have a complaint, it's that the piano becomes slightly overbearing. But it's a cool track all the same.

Basically any song off his album Dragonfly is good...but I especially liked this one. Upbeat and mellow, like any Ziggy Marley song. Very cool.


"We're on a ride that never stops..."

More first rate synthesizer music from the 1980s. The album also features a remixed/re-recorded version "Jewel". Catchy. Unfortunately this line-up only recorded this one "proper" album plus an album of remixes before splitting up. The album is excellent almost throughout, the band's slightly artsy aesthetic conveyed lyrically and through mixing atmospheric chordal writing, inventive instrumentation/production and some almost industrial-sounding beats. Kraftwerk were never remotely this musically interesting. Propaganda were also better looking...

"Dr. Octagon" is actually Kool Keith, who must have had something on the brain when this record was produced. This is my favorite song on the album, and it is a good representation of the the cool, controlled beats and inane, yet infectious lyrics present throughout. Dr. Octagon's words are on the same level as Eminem's in that they are not to be taken literally. Eminem took the gangsta/mysogyny route, Dr. Octagon took the thirteen year old boys immature babble about god-knows-what route. In any case, this song is fresh, and you can't help getting that little bob of your head going when you listen. When you catch yourself singing along, realize you sound like an idiot though.

This song is a song everyone should hear. Beginning with African drum beats and chants, it has a tribal feel to it. Really cool, upbeat...great to listen to while driving. Check out the live version too.

"I think you could answer all the questions of the world in just one word..."

A very cool and swinging jazzy pop vocal. Michel's range is quite remarkable, and there are some cool backing vocals too. About halfway through of the song, some completely over the top scat vocals kick in, and two different vocal Michels carry out a nonsensical scat 'conversation' until the end. Definitely an unusual way to complete a song, but it works fantastically.

Jazz music for a hazy dream. Clean and simple arrangement with nice moments of well-articulated soloing. Altogether beautiful, with a cool and detached sound.

It's a shame not everyone can be into this type of music, because this is really one of the best, most incredible songs I've ever heard in my entire life! It's good for all the right reasons...everything about the music is amazing, from lyrics, guitar, bass to drum and all the cool instruments they've used.

This song is REALLY long (about 10 minutes I think!) so it's a real musical odyssey and worth listening to. It's one of those great works of art that needs all your attention because it won't let your mind stay idle while you're listening to it. The guitar riffs are so breath-taking and the big instrumental break halfway through the song makes it outstanding.

Taken from his exquisite Latin American Suite, this is an unusual sounding track to me. Mid-tempo, with an unrelenting bossa nova style beat, the action is shared between the piano and various horns and saxophones. I guess it's the strange discordant tones that take this track higher for me. They remind me of some chords I've heard in the more adventurous Brazilian pop music of the late 1960s - basically taking what is fundamentally a sweet sounding, warm chord, and overlaying notes that provide a darker, more forboding feel.

Adding to this, the punctuating horns and reeds give the whole thing a gently groovy feel that's reminiscent of quirky 60s soundtrack music. Really cool stuff, and I recommend the whole album.

I can't get enough of cool electronic beats, guitar strums and whispered vocals. This track is a good example, it's from an album by the keyboardist from Luscious Jackson and bassist from the Breeders.

A cool turntablism track about a minor accident... the sounds of the scratch are actually two creatures arguing. You can find the filmclip around. That scratch is making me itch...

Not everybody remembers this, but the "other" side of the famous "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" album featured five rather terrific songs. And this one has "cool passion" written all over it, because the lyrics are straight-ahead I'm-in-love-and-I'm-almost-tongue-tied-about-it but within a medium-paced 6/8 framework rather than a frantic groove. Meanwhile the organ and the choir-like backing vocals give it a lot of warmth. So it sounds like what I'm saying is that it manages to be both cool and warm at the same time. That may not make sense, but it's a great song off a classic LP.

Incidentally, rock writer Dave Marsh in one of his reviews said "It's now garbage" about this LP. Bullfeathers! It's still a classic. It makes me wonder what Marsh thinks is not garbage these days -- misogynous rubbish about ho's and bitches perhaps?

An incredibly perfect easy listening piece, this opens with an other-worldly, John-Barry-ish synth sound, and then leads into a groovy, lightly funky piano riff, with shimmering strings. Francis Lai's signature organ sound carries the tune as the song builds into a dramatic orchestral pop masterpiece. A standout track, with superb wistful, lazy, summer day feel, rather like some of the best tracks on the 'Sound Gallery' compilation of a few years ago.

A wickedly funky and twangy take on this classic Morricone theme. The beat is very cool - funky and surprisingly insistent, reminiscent of some of the best tracks on Howard Roberts's albums of the time on capitol. This track is from the interesting LP 'King Guitar', which also yields a Vinnie Bell-esque 'watery guitar' take on 'Sleepwalk' and a version of 'Tiny Bubbles' done in Latin boogaloo style.

The deep and catchy voice again...plus kinda cool lyrics...check it out. The beat is a bit more of a dark and repetative type sound, really the vocals in this are what the song is all about. Plan to have them get old really fast though as they do repeat the same thing over and over many times.

A truly incredible vocal/jazz pop track which really has everything. Os Tres Morais were (are?) a mysterious Brazilian vocal trio. Here they tackle a great Marcos Valle song, and do such a storming job of it that this may be one my very favorite tracks EVER in the whole world ever! Honestly. Until I put a sound sample up, please accept these measly words of explanation:
1. It's bouncy and smooth and has warm strings
2. It's actually quite funky as well
3. The vocal harmonies are fantastic. I don't think there are any actual words - it's all just beautiful interwoven sound
4. Someone starts playing a scratchy electric guitar rebelliously at end of the song, completely out of context with the rest of it. It sounds cool.

A punk band that made the progress limited to just a few like the Jam and Killing Joke.This is guitar shaped power pop with a healthy slice of mod swagger and a fantastic chorus .A kind of Bowie esque tribute to wasted cool and what should have been a sure fire top tenner .This came from a buried gem of an album produced by Mott the Hooples Ian Hunter and listening now with hindsight that makes perfect sense ,the group and producer managing to crytalise glams optimism and punks negativity.

Freakishly cool jet-set jazz from the great Benny Golson. A Gary Mcfarland tune that he wrote for his "In Sound" LP, and I must say his version seemed pretty hard to top,until this. A mindblowing mix of styles from the period are included in this one track:Gary Mcfarland's easy-latin swing(complete with whistles),The elecrtrified sax sound of Eddie Harris, and a swirling vocal ensemble thats almost in a Hugo Montenegro mode! Wild!!

A smart, funny rant -- half talking, half singing. Political as any of her music, but less angry and more mocking. Very cool. Even if you don't like Ani, this one deserves a listen.



"...all the radios agree with all the tvs, and the magazines agree with all the radios and I keep hearing that same damn song everywhere I go! Maybe I should put a bucket over my head and a marshmallow in each ear, and stumble around for another dumb, numb week for another humdrum hit song to appear."

Piero sings in a soothing, breath-y tenor... More italian in tone than latin, although,the best comparison i've found is Luiz Henrique.His phrasing reminds me of Luiz as well,but there is no real relation.The backing has a nice spaghetti -western kind of vibe ala' Moriccone,which gives the whole thing a kind of high planes drifter setting,with plucked electric bass, strummed acoustic guitar,and occasional female chorus with a light string arrangement,Very cool.The whole record is really good,and a lot of the songs have a distinctly latin ballad feel.

essential listening. psychedelic rockabilly doesn't get much better than this. check out the chanting in the background! the bells! the sitar-guitar sound! the drum pattern! wanda jackson's vocals! love it to death. can't believe i hadn't recommended it yet...

I first heard this song on MTV, back when nobody knew who Longview were. The music (guitar, bass, drums) is great and the melody is awesome. The lyrics are simple and poetic at the same time and I get really nice images in my head when I hear this song, partly because it's very vivid and also due to the fact that they made a really cool video for it. Some people think this is a religious song just because it mentions God, but that's completely irrelevant. I can't say I know what it's about but I know it's a good listen.

From their criminally overlooked album 'Beats Rhymes & Life', "Get A Hold" features Q-Tip over an extremely smooth production from a young J. Dilla (aka Jay Dee of Slum Village, Pharcyde, and Jaylib). Better reasons to nod your head just don't exist.

wicked beat... cool ass clarinets... sounds of people going off... lots of good energy.

I really like the vocals on this song, and the other stuff is kinda cool too idk.

cool high speed clean guitar instrumental with a 1950s tonalizer sound. I feel like I'm watching Sputnik in orbit while hearing a jet break the sound barrier when I listen to this. Deke and the Ecco-Fonics are noted for a phenomenal period-style production on albums, retro but never wistfully nostalgic songwriting, and exceptional virtuosity at live performances. The rest of this CD is loaded with great vocals and hip tunes.

A rock-y love song. Shane in good voice - maybe the last time he has been in such good voice, I dunno. The voices go together brilliantly.

Its a nice contrast with 'Fairytale of New York'. Sample lyric 'you were so cool you could have put out Vietnam'

It was originally recorded with original Pogues bass player Cait O'Riordan (forgive the spelling - I'm crap at Irish names) which I heard at the time but not since - it was on the soundtrack to Sid and Nancy

strutty hammond teaser. the singer sings in dutch i think. a cool song.

This is the first song I heard by Lene Lovich and I imidietly fell in love. Probably one of the coolest new wave-tracks from that time. Very fast and groovy beat. Lene's voice is icy and deep and really on top. A great song from a great album

I'm surprised this hasn't been recommended already! "Hot Wind" is a breakbeat classic that's been sampled by the likes of DJ Shadow. Unlike a lot of breakbeat sources, however, this is a great little number in itself. It begins with a desolate harmonica, then those killer drums, fuzz guitar and quasi-Blaxploitation horns kick in. I could picture it backing a raunchy scene with some biker dude peeling out into the desert, spreading dust everywhere. Cool.

A beautiful, lush masterpiece with a bossa nova beat (hmm, is there a pattern to the songs I'm submitting?), 'how to open...' is one of my top tracks ever. It opens quietly with a slightly cheesy flute sound over a gentle guitar. A great wordless vocal then comes in coupled with strings. Superb. If you never listen to music like this, what I'm saying probably doesn't exactly make it sound cool. But it really is cool, very very cool indeed.

pop hip-hop rap pop beat

This is a perfect cover in every way, arranged by Daniel Janin. The heavy, driving bass, long whine of the horns, and thick drumming make a monster instrumental. Nothing like the Bacharach version. Nancy Holloway does an outstanding rendition of the lyrics, delicate in some places, husky in others, bleeding and pleading the whole way through. The slow, pained delivery of the lyrics almost seem to be off pace with the tempo of the beat, but the horn melodies punctuate and hold this song together. There are qualities about this song that I find impossible to describe. All that's left to say is that this song is so cool and mesmerizing that it's hard not to close your eyes, and let yourself slip into the textures of this song. I never get tired of it.

To me this is the coolest recording of the loungey soul pop classic. Dusty's performance is as excellent as ever and it puts a lot of weight on the lyrics that contemplate what to do with an unfaithful man. Saint Etienne built their track "Nothing Can Stop Us" on a sample of the main flute and horn riff.

An emerging Palmer covers a song from the fully emerged Gary Numan ,who also plays on this ,a great time capsule instance of what was once considered cool.The droning single not synth line occasionally errupts into a somewhat clumsy chorus which dates the track beyond belief ,but if you can recommend a track on the premise of interesting then this would qualify.

There must be tons of songs that follow this format. I'll call it the 'Tequila' form. Cool instrumental punctuated by someone speaking the name of the song. There are so many songs like this I'd guess that no one could pull off this kind of tune nowadays- without it sounding hopelessly retro. But this tune does it for me. Perfect summer groover. Sound like a bedroom recording, kinda lo-fi.

This song is from my favorite musicals, Guys and Dolls. Blossom Dearie's version of this song is, in my opinion, the best. It's because of her voice. She's a musical marvel.

A stunning piece of pop, one of a few great and really hip sounding tracks Hildegard Knef recorded around this time. This sounds like a Bacharach song made even cooler, stripped down to its essentials. Knef�s smoky, detached vocals add to the effect to make this a real winner.

Chris Botti is an accomplished musician in the worlds of Jazz and Smooth Jazz. His style is reminicent of Miles Davis but with a more melodic approach. This song incorporates an ultra-lounge feel with a cool jazz vibe. Botti's trumpet playing here approaches Miles Davis' minimalist playing style.

The late eighties wasn�t the ideal time for Mark & The No-Marks� deranged hybrid of English folk, free jazz and ghost puppetry, but there never has been an ideal time. Exclamation Mark, dressed up in his ridiculous David Crosby-esque green cape, refused to pander to contemporary fashions and trends, and even seem to resent any acclaim or approval, as if it was a sign that he was doing something wrong. This may explain why he hated this live favourite, scornfully introducing it at shows as �our sell-out�.

I chose the track not only because it�s the only thing that was ever officially released (along with its b-side, an utterly spastic reworking of the Monkees� Theme called �March of the No-Marks� replete with Tube station announcements- �this is the Bakerloo line service to Elephant & Castle�- and girls yelling, �Mark NO! No MARK!!!� at the singer) but it is also by far the best thing they ever did. And it was still far, far from sell-out material (it barely sold any). It is the only No-Mark record you need to hear. All of their less grating eccentricities are here, the schizophrenic dialogues, the lyrical obsessions with pylons and German bunkers, the shoddy jazz drumming, the demonic chanting, the cackling, the mewing (!), but this time it�s all held together by an ace nagging riff, and a supremely warped and swashbuckling chorus where an increasingly unhinged mark sneers, �it�s cooool not to care, sooo cooool not to care�� before he eventually loses all sense entirely and barks breathlessly, �NOT NOT, it�s not sooo care! COOL!!!�

Mark of course was incensed that their label released it as a single and vowed never to �bow to the pound� again. And as a result retired to his studio cave, muttering that their forthcoming album, �a didactic concept album about animal reincarnation� would be their most progressive work yet. And disastrous. If the rumours are true �My Family Are Other Animals� was abandoned after a record company executive visited the studio, described the tapes as �utter utter shit�, and then tried to throttle Mark with a microphone cable.

This song of this crazy girl's is really cool. She's like playing during the whole song. Very soft song but at the same time full of energy. Very eclectic, very original, very surreal, very Björk!!

A very cool track, but not in the way I normally find Walter Wanderley's quick-draw hammond organ technique cool. This is a simple, bluesey number on which he is joined by the Brazilian singer Luiz Henrique. Luiz doesn't sing though, he just contributes some nice scat vocals, rather like the work Marcos Valle does on 'Garra'. In my experience, this is about as close as Walter gets to 'funky', and this version from the 'Popcorn' album is a great improvement from the 1967 'Kee-ka-roo' LP version.

Superb Mike Curb production of a Schifrin theme to an absolutely terrible WW2 action-comedy. Militaristic drumming and a very cool whistling chorus (reminiscent of Quincy Jones' theme to "The Italian Job", which came out the previous year) make this a piece of extremely groovy soundtrack work. The same album also yields a horribly sappy Hank Williams, Jr. song and the much-sampled "Burning Bridges" by the Mike Curb Congregation.

Distortion, hair metal era but it doesn't sound typical of that style. It's hard to describe. Cool sounding vocals, pretty sweet guitar hook.

A highly enjoyable song on many levels. Firstly, the words are ridiculous. 'Don't you know I understand you're a man, and you've got to have your kinky love' is pretty funny, but that's nothing compared to 'baby take me inside, and let the honey slide'. Musically, it's really rather charming as well, opening with just Nancy's voice and a cool watery guitar sound, building beautifully with some great strings. Even though I find myself laughing at the lyrics, she sounds very vulnerable and serious; her voice seems to break at certain points. All in all, this is really every bit as enjoyable as her superb 60s material.

Although I'm very interested in the batch of cool Italian soundtracks from the 60s and 70s which have recently been reissued, I often feel pretty overwhelmed by the volume of stuff out there. So I was pleased to find a used copy of Piero Umiliani's 'Angeli Bianchi...Angeli Neri'. It really is an intoxicatingly brilliant record, and this track is one of the highlights. The musical setting moves around a lot over four minutes - the opening sounds almost like fairy tale music; this then fades out, and some spooky and very cool sounding wordless vocals come in, accompanied by a slick, hip easy listening-style sequence with strings, bass and drums. As this builds, the wordless vocals continue, backed by increasingly beautiful and unexpected chord changes. I'm not doing a great job of describing this record, but happily in this case you can hear the whole song (streamed, real audio) at the excellent 'atrecordings.com' site. Anyway, it's a wonderful track, up there with my absolute favorite soundtrack pieces.

This is an extremely atmospheric soundtrack piece, with a wordless vocal melody from Edda Del Orso. Strings, electric harpsichord and some subtle electronic effects set the scene. There are also some beautiful Bacharach-style twists with brass. Overall it's a deadly serious and delicate number, incredibly intense, while still sounding very 'cool' (whatever that means...).

I used to be such a boy,but I have seen the terror of my ways.The Strokes have cornered a few hooks and terrorized them into submission,using them to tantalize testosterone top-heavy lads,making them dance like innocents caught in American/Iraqi crossfire;but I'm past that age where testosterone tampers with my thought processes.

Vitamin C,real name Colleen Fitzpatrick,ex-singer of Eve's Plum,has made Last Night,by blending it with Blondie's Heart of Glass,into the pop song it always wanted to be.Gone is the nasal whine of the original replaced by cool clear vocals that caress rather than puncture the ears.

On the 12" you get three versions.If you want a good dance work out you'll pick the A side.I favour track two,not so hurried I think it's slightly more reflective tenor illuminates where other versions obfuscate.

No doubt will be on every forthcoming Ibiza summer 2002 compilation but I do have a small spot for this top house record. First heard it on Danny Rampling's show on Radio 1 and it really grabbed me. It is a simple repetitive tune (which constitutes most 4/4 house records) but its the vocals that do it for me. That awkward sounding vocalist is none other than David Byrne, pop music's official cool eccentric. Due out officially in the UK on March 25, 2002, it can be heard out in clubs and on aforementioned radio stations. X Press 2 is the collaborative effort between Ashley Beedle and Rocky & Diesel, London based electronica/dance producers who have had success in their solo efforts. Love it or hate it it's nice to hear David Byrne do something different.

Cool song and video, i love it.

I love the background to this song. I like it because I think it's a thoughtful song

A surprisingly hip easy-listening orchestral version from the decidedly unhip Kirshner. Very funky drumming and a cool girl chorus make this my favorite version of this song.

This is so wrong; it ends up being right somehow. On paper, this cover is a car wreck. Barbara takes on Bowie�s brilliant, epic ballad of camp surrealism � his homage to big, theatrical female belters like Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey and�Streisand, herself � and the song escapes her utterly. Her delivery sound like she learned the lyrics phonetically. (She might as well be singing in Cantonese.) And Jon Peters� production/Tom Scott�s arrangements bring to mind the cool, �L.A.-sound� of Joni Mitchell�s �Court and Spark� LP � minus all the clever bits Joni brought to the table. Yet it spite of all of these faults � this version works. The song is just too good, and Babs� charisma is just too powerful. It�s a [Space] oddity you�ve got to hear to believe.

This lovely late 60s pop track is wistful and atmospheric. The instrumentation is exquisite (vocal group with a delicately strummed/picked acoustic guitar, strings), and there is a cool false ending. The result is a very rich sound, evocative of lost summers. A sound which I'm very fond of...

The Fleetwoods were an excellent vocal group from the late 50s and early 60s who are best known for 'Come Softly to Me' and 'Mr. Blue'. Both of these are 'classic' oldies tracks, evocative of the late 50s.

'Lonely is as lonely does' came late in their career, and actually sounds much more modern than its 1964 recording date would suggest. This is really a prototype of the 'soft pop' style that would become popular later in the 1960s. The composer, Chip Taylor, went on to write 'Wild Thing' and 'Angel of the Morning'.

The track opens with a nice picked guitar introduction. As in many of my favorite Fleetwoods tracks, Gary takes the lead vocal, with Gretchen and Barbara singing backing vocals. Gary has a very sincere voice. At the beginning the song sounds very routine, but there are some clever chord changes and some cool lyrics. My favorite line is 'As your tears fall, remember this: you're just a kiss away from happiness'.

Another awsome but forgotten vocal group from 60's California that deserves a proper re-issue!The Collage were a vocal quartet(2 boys & 2 girls)with a very cool sound.Not enough to set them apart from the pack,but very groovy out of their context.The sound is as good as re-discovered groups like Free Design, or Millenium.In fact,Curt Boettcher wrote one of the songs on the LP,as well as Roger Nichols!
This song has a kind of"love awareness" message that seems just as relevant in today's troubled world: "...Look at a baby,what do you see?What do you see,lookin' at a baby?/I can see the world the way that I would like the world to be!..."This song,as the opener on the LP,has a lot of power, with that great 8th note stomp and a big,boomy,bass line with harpsichord.The arrangements are by the great Perry Botkin Jr.,and he gives the whole record a nice swirling,magical quality.And the rest of the album is just as impressive, and should be worth the high price for any lover of the genre.

this song is probably one of the best songs eminem has written, although everything he writes is amazing :) its more emotional and serious than his other songs which is cool. plus, i really like the beat, backround music,and of course, the lyrics

This reminds me of Portishead but it's not as downright depressing. There's a really cool whistle/mellotron hook in it.

This song just sounds cool and it's about making love not just having sex.

Idk it's really indie and cool and stuff. It's the best.

Cumbia folk music from Colombia with really cool modern arrangements. An amazing fusion of Carribbean with electronica with a very unique Afro-Colombian style.

This Neo-Swing Song from the American Pie soundtrack. Kinda blues, kinda rock... Pretty cool. And John Bunkley's voice!! Wow it's really something. This song cheers me up a lot.

A very cool sunshine pop style number from the soundtrack to the Brazilian soap opera 'selva de pedra'. This two-minute track has an irresistable groove and some nice harmonized group vocals. The vocals are mostly gentle and smooth, like strings, but there are also some jazzier scat phrases thrown in. The entire soundtrack is highly recommended.

One of my favorite soundtracks, with several reoccuring motifs utilizing different instrumentation in each incarnation. My selection of one track was based as much on the cool title as anything else. If you find this vinyl in good shape for less than thirty dollars, it would be worth considering.

From DJ Shadows latest CD, a cool driving tune, that's really catchy. I'm a sucker for spoken word over beats. This sounds a bit like theme music for a driving video game - complete with other motorists cursing at you.

Moody, cool and smooth. A great track from a great album.

What a strange and beautiful song! Cool-toned organ melodies played against a thick, warm, bass vein running through the entire song, complex drum backing, and the oddly distant, yet personally reflective lyrics of Karin Krog, combine to create a dream-like sound.

Stunning melancholy and wonderously modern opener to Gainsboroug's concept album about jailbait love, road accidents & brightly coloured rolls-royces - a masterpiece...

I love this Spanish version of the Stevie Wonder classic because it the new instrumentation. It is still very Stevie Wonder with a new, latin flair. The vocals are absolutely amazing, this guy can really sing.

I love the sweeping introduction of this track so much that I would almost recommend it based on that alone. A brass flourish leads into a really cool, jerky beat. It continues with nice multitracked guitars that produce a harpsichord-like effect. Very cool.

Another recent rediscovery from a record I bought long ago, and another song I'm not normally crazy about. But the arrangements are too outrageously groovy for me to ignore here. I'm a sucker for beaty late 60s instrumentals, and I can forgive the lack of musical variation when the production is as cool as this.

What can one say that hasn't already been said about this much sought after library track by Norwegian composer Sven Libaek? It's elegant, replete with cool tones, beautiful arrangement, and the feeling of longing. I've listened to this song countless times, and the mist still gives me the chills.

Back with yet another Ashley Park number. This one is bit more Floyd-ish, but of course the Beatles sound is a bit of an influence. Used on Felicity. Very cool.

Released in 1969; peaked in the US in 1970. I always thought it was by Stevie Wonder, but as it turns out, it's by a white California group. You've probably heard it: "I love you more today than yesterday / but not as much as tomorrow..."

A great combination of upbeat lyrics and music with a slight tinge of melancholy, as if the singer is recognizing that tomorrow isn't quite here yet and there's always the chance that his plans will be derailed...

Great horns on this and several of their other singles (e.g., "No One For Me To Turn To"), but I read somewhere that the band's lack of a concert horn section led to their demise... apparently Pat Upton (writer of this track and lead singer) has also blamed poor management or record-comany politics. Too bad.

Also check out a cool Ska version by Goldfinger on the WATERBOY (late 90s) soundtrack.

Good track. Quite catchy actually.

"Mrs. Bluebird" by Eternity's Children is one of the great songs I carried away from the now-defunct LuxuriaMusic. This version is from a "children's record" produced by Richard Preston & Louis Philippe. The arrangement is pretty faithful to the original, maybe a little longer with subtle but important differences. Philippe's singular vocal style compliments the song suprisingly well. Very cool.

Cool and groovy latin soul

It's an absolutely over-the-top hard soul dance tune. I first heard it on a soul compilation and recently, against all odds, I found the 45! Really cool mid paced groove with amazing guitar sound.

Such a ludicrously sentimental depiction of one party's feelings after a relationship breakup that I can imagine few would admit to liking it. However, it's a beautifully-crafted and wonderfully performed song with a superbly effective arrangement. I admit to liking it despite its total sentimentality and lack of any kind of coolness.

A cool portion of that underated genre, easy soul. Bradford's vocals (a less roaring Shirley Bassey is the nearest comparison I can think of) complement the light arrangement perfectly. Fits in with that whole John Schroeder Orchestra vibe. Sometimes you just want a lovely vocalist singing a nice song.

The best version of My Way I ever heard. Unfortunately I haven't heard it for thirty years or more. Never been able to find it since I had it as a single when I was a teenager.

This is ABBA's best song. The syncopated drum-track in the verse is smart and the general feel of the song is cool. But the best part is the harmonised singing in the chorus. The background harmony which drops down a tone or two (imagine Jonny Marr shifting his guitar down two bars in a chord progression and you're there) is total class.

Electronic.
Extremely catchy. And cool lyrics.

Nice music video, too. xD

The DIY ethos of punk served to liberate performers from the obligation to have a great deal of technical ability. The unfortunate corollary was that any display of already-acquired virtuousity instantly marked one as part of the Uncool Wankerage, forcing nascent guitar gods like Andy Summers to play as though suddenly arthritic. Possibly the first artist to successfully bridge Old World training and New World raucousness was Nina Hagen. "New York New York" is the East German-trained singer's signature tune. Over a clipped, dry Morodor techno-dystopia background, the verses present Hagen recounting her then-current regimen of glamourous excess in a harsh, metallic raven's shriek. Then, as though descending from the heavens at the end of a Wagnerian opera, comes the chorus -- a meltingly warm (yet uncomfortable) wave of minor chords, then a soaring, yearning, superbly modulated mezzo-soprano...which, after a jolt of realization, is understood to also belong to Nina Hagen. And so on.

Billie Ray Martin under a briefly fashionable electroclash pseudonym. Our Germanic techno-soul diva sonically revisits and updates her underrated Electribe 101 days for a foray into what almost becomes disco metal. This quirky 12" is on lurid pink vinyl, and features a blistering remix by her old mate Mark Moore (of S-Express fame) on the B-side.

Nick Drake's style is probably catagorized under British folk rock. This song is smooth with the happy keys jumping around and the organ in the background. Best if played while driving with the windows down on a cool morning.

Here's a really cool one. This is Lesley Gore doing a cover of the Mindbenders' stomping mod classic "Off and Running", which originally appeared on the "To Sir, With Love" soundtrack. This version completely outpaces the original, in my opinion.

A great soul jazz track with one of the most beautifully spare and groovy introductions I've ever heard. Featuring Bernard 'pretty' Purdie on drums, Ray Brown on bass, and Quincy Jones on Fender Rhodes, it really is irresistible. The track explodes with a huge vocal choir about half way through; it ends up sounding almost like a gospel song, before slipping back into the cool funky instrumental sound from the introduction

I love the Clash. I love the way they were four disparate individuals each bringing their own stuff to the mix. Topper's excellent drumming, Simonon's cool, Mick Jones musicality and street smarts, and Joe Strummer's....umm...Strummer-ness.

I love the fact they didn't play Top of the Pops. I love the fact that Strummer admitted that this was mainly 'cos he was crap at miming rather than out of any significant political stance or anything.

I love how gooood they were live. And I love the fact that I was lucky enough to see them.

I love the fact that Strummer picked 'Crawfish' as his favourite Elvis song. I also love the fact that sometimes, to my mind, they got things badly wrong, sounded a bit gauche or wrongheaded or worse. I'm thinking of Red Brigade t-shirts, using Belfast as a photo opportunity, and maybe singing about ghettos and Brixton, for the 'romance' of it when they weren't necessarily the closest to either. I dunno. That side makes me feel uneasy at times, but that's fine - makes me think.

This song is great. Reggae influenced rock, Strummer belting out 'one more time in the ghetto...'.

Its been so sad losing Joe, Johnny (Cash) and John (Peel) over the last couple of years. Good men, you feel.

This track sounds better to me every time I hear it. Ironically, I had a copy of The Association's Renaissance LP for years, but for some odd reason didn't get as far as listening to this song until recently.

It's a very accessible but powerful late 60s pop song with a psychedelic edge. It can't have taken long to write, but the production is excellent, with a nice effect on the vocals, and a wonderful use of early 70s Beach Boys-style swelling vocal harmonies over the vocal phrase 'and all that's left for me to do...is cry'.

Musically, it's an upbeat track with a slightly claustrophobic arrangement. But it's cool - that's all part of the effect! As well as drums, vocals and upbeat guitars, they employ the koto, which adds an unusual edge to the sound.

Guitar strummin', laid back tune from Fran�oise Hardy. Cool, bluesy.

really good brazillian singer, even though nobody really enjoys her in brazil, still an amazing talent. Her band is pretty cool too. Sounds like a mix between Os mutantes with a some samba in it.

I'm really blown away by this song (and this entire album), it's simply a masterpiece to my ears. A possible comparison might be to Oba, La Vem Ela by Jorge Ben (who Verocai arranged for), as the guitar chords and lush, cool tones are quite similar. This song however moves with a much greater sense of urgency, and right from the start, it a spills out like a mournful plea. As a listener, the attention to detail in the arrangement and instrumentation is obvious. The song is packed densely with sound and great short soloing, all played skillfully by a large band of famous contemporaries, whom Verocai personally recruited. There's something very magical about how the vocals and instruments combine, and how the song plays out. It feels as though you are witness to a uniquely perfect and possessed performance that would be impossible to reproduce. A beautifully moving and perfect song that leaves you craving more.

One of a few especially jazzy and hip tracks by France Gall, I enjoy this one even more than I enjoy her more sugary pop tracks like 'Christansen'. The arrangement is quite spare - basically just France singing with a groovy small jazz combo. She also gets into some very cool scat vocals. Very, very cool.

Poppy Rocky Indie. This song is kind of funny but also kind of sad. Power-pop instrumentation with lots of harmonies. Great lyrics and melody, very cool arrangement.

Dreaming speedy bossa for the upcoming summer.
The album is cool for all you brazilian based heart.

Both shocking and extremely cool, this has to be heard to be believed - a 'rock' adapation of Rachmanninov's Prelude in C# minor which really does rock. Cy Coleman lays a huge funky breakbeat and a heavy bassline on top of the beautifully dark, doomy theme. A jazzy guitar comes in and out as the track builds. I've never heard anything quite like it (I mean that in a good way). I am now unable to hear the original piece without Cy Coleman's breakbeat!

This song will probably be very hard to find. They are kind of a local band and not that well known. But they are really cool--unique, passionate, free spirited. Basically hippies. In Premonitions they express concern over the state of the planet but remain upbeat and optimistic.

"Let's be creative with our destinies..."

To be honest, I have little idea of what this song is about, but it certainly sets an intoxicating mood - rather intense and dramatic, but very cool. It's a sprawling, majestic pop song, opening gently with a faint trumpet solo and a picked guitar, and then building up nicely with strings soon after the vocals come in. The chorus is simple and catchy, and the orchestration is lush and beautiful, and the vocals are tender. There is a nice cinematic instrumental section in the middle, with some nods to Burt Bacharach. I don't get the impression this is the most coherent song ever, but there are poignant moments lyrically, such as 'You know that when we met, there were fireworks in the sky...sparkling like dragonflies', set against the moody chorus. It feels kind of nice to be really enjoying a new, 2001 song for once. The new album is really quite good. There are some duff songs, but overall I'd say it deserved better reviews than it received.

Update, ok, I've now figured out this is about the Clinton/Lewinsky furore. I guess I'm just not primarily a lyrics person...

cool old R&B version of purple haze. The singer doesn't get the lyrics quite right, but there's a lot of soul and horns on this track.

Super Cool Jazz jam from a group based in Eugene, OR.
Interesting instrumentation too: Trumpet, Sax, DJ, Drum, Guitar, Bass, Keys, FXs. Good stuff.

unbelievably cool track, one of my top ten gainsbourg compositions. great jazzy sex beat, smooth vocals.
it's one of his more agressive songs, similar to the also recommended "un poison violent c'est l'amour".
there seems to be a bit of a bit of a prog vibe going on (in lack of better words, i'm not exactly an expert in the technicalities of music).
nice guitar hook. though the track is pretty repetitive, it's by no means boring. the repetition only helps to make it more intense and interesting.
taken from the film le pacha. i think a lot of gainsbourg's soundtrack work is pretty interesting stuff, though some of it often seems a bit rushed or too similar to other cool compositions from the same era (hey, i'm a sucker for plagiarism...)
the soundtrack to cannabis comes especially recommended.

A super cool french vocal with an excellent organ sound running through it. Serge's jazzier output (showcased on the excellent 'du jazz dans le ravin' CD compilation) really blew me away when I first heard it, and this track is probably my favorite from this period.

lots of bass, kind of dubstep-ish, its just a cool song to listen to

One of the more famous song-poems, this is sung by the man with a thousand names, Rodd Keith. Being English, I had never really heard of the song-poem concept until an article in (I think) Cool & Strange Music magazine. Then this compilation CD came out and, wow, pinch my cheeks and call me a convert.



Anything that encourages the bizarre side of human nature gets my approval and song-poems certainly do that. Especially the right wing freaks, who seem to be over-represented in the genre. This is one of those very over-zealous numbers, stating (pre-Watergate) that Nixon is "a man of priceless worth".



What I love about Rodd Keith is that, no matter how banal or weird the lyrics kicked out by some Arkansas dweller are, he gives a sterling performance. This is no different. The spirit in which the song is written is strictly adhered to by Keith, adding of course to its overall charm.

The Carpenters have become like Abba were for me about 15 years ago - I can lose hours at a time just listening to their best songs with the volume up high. I actually never really dared to venture beyond my favorites from Abba's hits, but with the Carpenters I have a few LPs and recently picked up a 5-CD reader's digest set, allowing me to hear some less famous tracks by them.

This track is a bit of a revelation for me. Highly produced, early 70s. Piano-led, with strings, guitar, bass etc, and Richard providing some backing vocals. Karen's singing is beautiful as ever, although her voice sounds a bit funny - she over-pronounces words like 'goes'. The verse is plaintive and moody, while the brief chorus is funky in that glorious way tracks from the early 70s can be funky. This section is reprised with pretty sick flute playing!

In all, a really beautiful track that for me showcases all the best things the Carpenters have to offer. The band are still stigmatized by many, for reasons I'm not exactly clear on. I understand that this kind of highly produced, clean sounding music might not be for everyone, but if you've just been put off listening to them because they're not very cool, maybe give this track a try!

A cool, catchy song. i see the junior as the small male and the senior as the large male.

my favourite tune on the newest issue of dusty fingers. the dusty fingers series is a compilation of rare and obscure tunes mostly from the 60s and 70s. the styles cover funk, jazz, krautrock and tunes like this one. it's a bombastic pop song with strings and a huge brasssection, which i come to admire more and more in the last time.
the intro is sooo cool. bitter spoken words by nancy about love and pain.
well, take a listen yourself.
last words: check out the dusty fingers series, there are a lot of true gems on them...like this one!

A superbly catchy mood music piece, with a gentle bossa rhythm and Claus Ogerman-arranged strings. Very cool, and from the same album which featured strongly on the superb 'Snowflakes' CD compilation of the best mood music from the German MPS label. This track arrived in my head after I woke up this morning and demanded to be played. Very sleek and cool.

Lord knows that I would never recommend a McKuen vocal, but this tight, jazzy little soundtrack instrumental is quite another matter. This cut moves along rather nicely, with a cool taut rhythm. The arrangement was written by Arthur Greenslade, a longtime collaborator of both Serge Gainsbourg and Alan Hawkshaw.

Interpol are a great band... This track stands out for me because it's fairly uptempo. It's angry and sad and menacing all at once. That's kinda cool.

There's an instrument in the background (harp? xylophone?) that really appeals to me. The song is pretty mellow which is cool. Corgan's voice tends to be screechy at times but the magic instrument (in the background) along with some nice (well timed) bass evens it out.

I'm on such a kraftwerk tip these days that I could recommend loads of their tracks, but this one is a real classic - there they all are, looking super-geeky on the cover, and then they serve up an ice-cool 8 minutes complaining about the horrors of fame. It's the normal kraftwerk thing - robotic beats, beautiful, simple melodies, and heavily accented singing, and going on for a LONG TIME.

My favourite bit is when one of the guys counts in the song - ein, zwei, drei, vier! As if - as if! - the machines need telling the tempo...

What can I say! I always imagined there would be a vocal version of this classic Santo and Johnny instrumental, but I had never located one until I found this recording. This track remained unreleased until the mid-1980s, was recorded in March 1965.

I can't deny that much of the appeal of this song for me lies in the novelty factor of hearing lyrics sung to this classic tune. If you're interested, the lyrics go something like this:

Sleep walk, instead of dreaming I
Sleep walk, cause I lost you and
Now what I am I to do;
Can't believe that we're through
(I don't care how much you tell me)

Sleep talk, cause I miss you I
Sleep talk, while the memory of you lingers like a song;
Darling I was so wrong
(but I'll be right some day)

Night
Fills me my lonelyness;
I see your face
Spinning through my brain

I know
I miss you so
I still love you
And it drives me insane

Sleep walk, every night I just
Sleep walk; and when
You walk inside the door,
I will sleepwalk no more

If you're having trouble imagining how these words would fit to the tune, I think the Supremes did too; this may explain why the track remained unreleased. Don't get me wrong - the overall sound is very cool, and the verses work quite well. But I think the tune is so well-known that they didn't feel they could change a note, and so some of the vocals are a bit laboured.

Still, a great track, which seems to hold up to repeated listens!

This 1974, 12-minute electric-jazz masterpiece starts with an attractively sexy, slinky soprano melody and sneakily mutates into blistering solo sections played at a blinding tempo. Recorded before the word "fusion" became a tag for a tired genre this track comes from the seminal album, Headhunters. If you have ears for Hancock's cool Fender-Rhodes shadings and the Headhunter's blazing rhythmic kinetics this could be the very strongest music of this period. Harvey Mason drums brilliantly, forging new rhythms that are peculiarly unique to this recording. I don't know where he comes up with this shit; brilliantly inventive, his energy is unflagging set amidst ascending levels of white hot, mercurial tempo. Paul Jackson plays electric bass with concentrate funk phrasing, his coolly repeated ostinato line is a satisfying compliment to the hyperactivity of the chattering drums and clavinet. The track builds and as it sheds its skins each level is slightly more intense. This is a great record, ignore all the amateur web critics and get this track now!
Note: Many people seem to prefer the sequel album THRUST with the decent Mike Clark on drums. I wish it was as good or better than HEADHUNTERS but it is not.

I've been in love with this tune since I heard the superb instrumental version of it on 1990's 'Wild at Heart' soundtrack. I'm a big fan of Les Paul and Mary Ford's records - the combination of immaculate multitracked guitars and spooky, clear vocals is a real winner for me. I only found out about this recording quite recently. It really is stunning. It's slow, plodding along while Les's intricate but very cool guitar lines twinkle around over the top. This song makes me feel very nostalgic, although I'm not sure exactly what for. The lyrics really add something to the atmosphere - 'tell me where do they go/those smoke rings that blow each night'. Anyway, please ignore my inadequate description and listen to this exquisite, perfect recording.

I just heard this for the first time and was completely bowled over. Summer Samba, which in its famous Walter Wanderley organ version sounds like a not-particularly-hip roller-rink tune, is here given a funky treatment with organ and guitar. The guitar gets a little noodley, but in a cool way. Most of Howard Roberts's capitol albums have just been re-released as 2-on-1 CDs; I hope they are all as good as this one.

Looking at these three girls on the cover of their album (and the two shadowy, deadly-dull string-pulling guys on the inside) you'd never think that something so chock-full of bubblegum Brooklyn attitood could produce the smart, sexy sound that is this marvellous track.

It's class in a glass. Sidestepping the cuteness factor and packaged cool (both of which, to their credit, they also do very well) of other tracks on the album, So Stylistic bombs along with a real old-skool hip-hop feel. This is balanced nicely by more than a smattering of electropop and gratuitous use of the vocoder, making it seem relentlessly contemporary. This is a band so up-to-date that they don't bother sampling any of that old jazz or funk nonsense, but go straight for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (on Things, another album highlight).

A rare example of a band manufactured down to the last pendant and all the better for it.

Cool sounding by the Beastie boys, one of their best i think. Always pumps me up

Only someone with the Eclectic curiosity of Bowie could conjure up a "rock smaba" it sways like the Girl from from Ipanema but bristles with a mod-ish cool and English edginess.

This bizarre Morricone pop tune sounds as if it came from a parallel universe. With an instrumental mix of guitar, harpsichord, bass and drums, it achieves the same kind of spooky, melancholic atmosphere as 'Deep Down', another Morricone film song from the same year. But in contrast to Christy's passionate vocal in 'Deep Down', Peter Bloom's delivery is light-hearted and much more low-key. Both tracks feature classic Morricone wordless vocal effects and some truly ridiculous lyrics. I haven't seen Partner, but I'd be interested to see how this song fits in to the story:

"I want to be your dazzling white knight
I'll splash you sizzling cool with bright light

I'll kiss your cleanliness
...Your soft, silkiness
Oh what happiness:
It's biological...

SPLASH
DASH
FLASH"

Ridiculous words, but the arrangement makes the track genuinely powerful. Shame Ennio didn't bring this one out for the crowd at the Royal Albert Hall last year.

If anyone could improve this Classics IV ditty, it's the adorable Mr. Montez!

Although the arrangement doesn't change much, (it didn't need to) Nick De Caro did add some nice little "effects" that really set the mood. Like a cool bit of "spooky" delay/filter effecting after the refrain...nice.

Montez's voice just seems to add to the story of the song. Like a guy like him could get spooked by a chick more than your average dude... he's sensitive.

Great Grusin-like organ solo too... That just nails it for me!

One of two astounding percussive cuts on the soundtrack 'No way to Treat a Lady'. The film is apparently a light-hearted look at murder. This cut has a solid beat, which sits behind a church organ sound. This is soon joined by a dirty-sounding guitar. The effect is trashy, but very cool. This track reminds me of the John Schroeder cut 'Soul Trek' (aka 'Astra Nova Orchestra's 'Soul Sleeper'), with a feel that is slightly 'rock'.

This song helped turn me on to Alt-Rock. There was a homemade-looking video that MTV aired a few times. It was kinda grainy and unfocused, which suited this song well as it sounds like it's coming from far away. Still rocking, though. There are moments of shimmery clean guitar that compliment the grunge perfectly. The intro is also shimmery & cool. It takes it's time washing over you before the drums come in. A classic. This whole album is a classic. Only one misfire on it, Bandwagonesque was Spin Magazines record of the year for 1991, eclipsing Nevermind and a host of others in that magical year.

I'd actually never heard of this band, but after having heard the song over the speakers in a bookstore I was in I went to one of the cashiers and asked her the name of it. She passed me the CD case...now it is one of my favourite tunes (to listen to and to sing!).

Very catchy reggae, simple but meaningful lyrics. And though Willie Nelson has never been tops on my favourite singers/bands list, I veyr much like the way he sings this song...and surprisingly he doesn't sound so out-of-place doing reggae. I'd like to know what other recordings of this song exist. In the meantime, listen to this version!

The percussion is VERY cool.

"Still Is Still Moving To Me"

Still is still moving to me
And I swim like a fish in the sea all the time
But if that's what it takes to be free I don't mind
Still is still moving to me
Still is still moving to me

And it's hard to explain how I feel
It won't go in words but I know that it's real
I can be moving or I can be still
But still is still moving me
Still is still moving to me

(Repeat)

A great kind of euro-surf discoteque tune. Trobbing percussion and a cool snakey guitar. Claus did a lot of these "Brass-ploitation" LP's for RCA in the mid sixtes. Some surf, latin , and a really cool soul one that i've been trying to track down. Very solid stuff from one of the best arrangers ever!

The first real signs of brilliance from this most under rated outfit .Once directionless and too eclectic "Suburban Berlin" is born into an electric piano intro and clipped guitars and grows into a fully formed performance soon after,Sylvians odd sounding voice begining to make more sense .Calm ,cool and collected