Random Sample

I think it was last year when I started subscribing to eMusic. They periodically send out spam important email to their subscribers. Usually, I just hit “delete,” but this time was different. This time, I actually took the bait and dove into their music quiz. I admit to a certain cringe factor when I finished and clicked the button for my score — mostly because I really didn’t know the answer to some of the questions. But since it was a multiple choice quiz, I had a 25% chance of getting a correct answer on the questions I was clueless on. 🙂

Whoever wrote the “results” section to the quiz at eMusic, certainly knows how to flatter people. My score wasn’t in the highest percentile, but I did get in the next highest bracket. When I say they know how to flatter, check out what they had to say about my score:

Mix-Tape Master (109-144 points)
You are a music evangelist: the person in your network of friends who always has the coolest new song, the one whose iPod gets picked to DJ every party. You understand the art of the segue, how the key to the best mix-tape isn’t just the songs you pick, but how they interlock with each other. You also know who the up-and-coming acts are and are quick to recognise where their influences lie and whether they will make it big. You work hard at the pursuit of this knowledge, scouring music blogs, magazines and record stores. Most importantly, you are generous with your passion – and your friends should be very, very grateful. Still, it’s always good to get new inspiration for your latest mix.

Of course the irony of it all is that I include this little snippet in the “Random Sample” feature — which, as the name implies, is just thrown together without any understanding of how songs “interlock” with each other. But hey, if you’re a fan of ye olde Mix Six, then you know I do put thought into those mixes. What follows, though, are some songs that I think you’ll enjoy listening to. Oh, and if you want to take the quiz, you can HERE.

“Love on the Rocks,” Neil Diamond (Download) He’s been known as the “Jewish Elvis!” But when I was growing up, his music was blaring from the console quite often, and by the 4th Grade I was playing “Sweet Caroline” on my Clarinet — yeah, I was a grade school band geek for one year. By the time he released this album (which did quite well), Neil was branching out into the world of acting (not good). Diamond’s Jazz Singer was a remake of the classic starring Al Jolson, but this was just embarrassingly bad. But that didn’t stop me from seeing the film 3 or4 times!

“The Silver Gun,” Robert Palmer (Download) They say you shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, but in this case I will. My co-worker used to work at the Circle Star Theater in San Francisco (noted for it’s rotating stage) and she told me a story of Robert Palmer that made me wince. I like a lot of Palmer’s music, but it seems when he came to SF to perform at the Circle Star, he was late getting the venue, and then threw a petulant fit because his favorite champagne wasn’t “cold enough.” While people were scurrying around trying to satisfy his request for “cold” champagne, he decided to celebrate his status as “Lord God Rock Star” by snorting a line of coke off his female companion’s breast — and then had hallway sex with her. Now, how likely are you to click the link and listen to a song that’s actually quite “progressive” for the time it was recorded (early ’80s)? Before Palmer got stuck in repeating the success of “Addicted to Love,” he tried his hand at a kind of electronic-world music hybrid with this song. He sings in Hindi while all around him are synths providing the rhythm track. It a cool song from a guy was a “Grade A Jerk.”

“King of 17,” John Wesley (Download) John realizes that in the downloadable world of mp3s, most artists who try and try to combat illegal downloading are pushing that proverbial rock up the hill. What to do? Well, why not just give your music away via compressed mp3s. If people like what they hear, maybe they’ll come to your website and buy a high quality CD. I’m not sure how this business model is working out, but this tune should hook you!