Playlist 25

[stoutfellow]

This one marks the halfway point...

• Riders on the Storm, the Doors. Certain songs - "Bad Moon Rising" is another - have a feel of mysterious horror that appeals to me.


• The Way We Make a Broken Heart, Rosanne Cash. I'm not sure whether the singer's recognition of the consequences of her (and her lover's) actions makes her more or less reprehensible, but it's a beautiful song.


• Leaves That Are Green, Simon and Garfunkel. A melancholy reflection on the passage of time.


• Midnight Train to Georgia, Gladys Knight and the Pips. Probably their signature song; I file it between "500 Miles" and "It Never Rains In Southern California".


• Pow, the Lovin' Spoonful. Can you say "Joe Btfsplk"? Nah, me neither...


• South City Midnight Lady, the Doobie Brothers. A soft and cool song of appreciation.


• Twelve-Thirty, the Mamas and the Papas. This is one of those "oh, was that them?" songs; I like the brazen, echo-y quality of the chorus.


• Love Me Tender, Elvis. I'm not a big Elvis fan; I mean, very few of his songs really make me sit up and take notice. But this is one of his best, to my mind.


• God Bless the Child, Blood, Sweat and Tears. I have three covers of this song, and I suppose Billie Holiday's is really the canonical version, but this is the one I heard first and still like best.


• Witness, Sarah McLachlan. "Will we burn in Heaven / Like we burn down here?" A sung prayer; McLachlan has done more than one of those.