My Favorite Things
John Coltrane
My Favorite Things
If you liked Julie Andrews’ version in The Sound of Music, John Coltrane’s take on the Rogers & Hammerstein classic will blow your mind. Clocking in at nearly 15 minutes long, this recording is an example of Trane’s genius and marks the beginning of the soprano saxophone’s use in jazz. With his usual sidemen McCoy Tyner (piano) and Elvin Jones (bass) holding down the E modal chords, Coltrane comes in around the halfway-mark and lets loose with his ‘sheets of sound.’
Take It As It Comes
J. Roddy Walston & The Business
Essential Tremors
This Southern rock number has honky-tonk piano, background vocal harmonies, and a deeply satisfying groove. Perfect song for a long trip in the car when the open road starts to sap some of your energy.
I Put A Spell On You
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
Fans of Jim Jarmusch’s 1984 film Stranger Than Paradise will remember this spooky take on a blues ballad in which the singer best known for emerging from a coffin onstage at performances howls, grunts, and screams (naturally) to a waltz-like rhythm with operatic flair. The saxophone solo give the song its brief melodic respite before it descends into madness. Keep this one handy for Halloween…
Is There A Ghost
Band of Horses
Cease to Begin
This group of bearded hipsters can actually rock. A simple guitar intro turns into a crashing groove with the addition of bass and drums that doesn’t let up until the end of the song.. The surreal music video is visually interesting (don’t get any ideas, though), but their performance on Letterman should make one of that host’s top ten lists.
Eye Know
De La Soul
3 Feet High and Rising
With samples from Steely Dan’s “Peg” and Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” and production by Prince Paul (with whom they would later collaborate for Handsome Boy Modeling School), this record needs no further explanation.
They Want My Soul
Spoon
They Want My Soul
The elder statesmen of indie-rock from Austin, Texas are back at it again, with their first new album in four years. Frontman Britt Daniel’s signature vocals haven’t lost their charm, and while the rest of the album is hit-or miss, the title track is classic Spoon in the vein of 2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.
Readers can submit playlist suggestions to rexonian@kingsacademy.edu.jo
