Some of you (1 of the 2 people who read this) may have read a recent post I wrote about Thura, a friend at school from Iraq. I initiated a music swap: I provide a few cds of ‘American’ music and he shows me some Iraqi tunes. He asked if I could separate the music into categories because there is so much to listen to in the US. I have created a few playlists that I am slowly adding songs to and will eventually burn to discs. I want to organize tracks by release date so that a listen to the disc covers some history of the genre. Then if he likes anything in particular I can help him dive into that deeper. I am looking for suggestions to add to the playlists which I lay out below.
POP
I think I might be all over the place on this list; it may be the most difficult.
- Beatles – She Love’s You, Sgt. Peppers LHCB (I should just give him the whole album)
- The Beach Boys – Sloop John B or Don’t Worry Baby (the lyrics may give him a hard time)
- Stevie Wonder – Superstition
- Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (he’s probably heard this but it’s on the list to stay)
- B-52s – Rock Lobster (maybe it should go on the Rock playlist but it’s good to dance to)
- Gnarles Barkley – Crazy (a newer giant pop hits)
This list could possibly add a song from The Police and definitely one from Elton John.
ROCK/BLUES
- Chuck Berry – Johnny B. Goode (just throwing this out there)
- Johnny Cash – I Walk the Line (not as hard as some of the others but it’s the foundation, and you don’t build on sand)
- Ray Charles – What’d I say (just throwing this out there)
- Led Zepplin – Communication Breakdown, Whole Lotta Love, Immigrant Song, Black Dog (may be going overboard with them but what can you do)
- The Rolling Stones – Paint it Black, Satisfaction (so difficult)
- David Bowie – Rebel Rebel (I have to admit my own naivety here and open it up to suggestions)
- Metallica – Fade to Black (want something to give a taste but not turn off)
- Stereolab – The Sound of Carpet
- Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit (keep it simple and save the other stuff for when he comes back asking for more)
- The White Stripes – Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
This list needs some Who, Radiohead (pop?) and perhaps another newer band whose name begins with the word ‘THE’ or have Warhol bananas on their album covers
That is enough to chew on for the moment. Get back to me, this is hard. I still have hip-hop and jazz to knock out.
VARGOCITY 
Cool. I am probably best with the hip hop and will provide a potential playlist. Are explicit lyrics OK?
The lists you have going are good, but heavy on old stuff. I think we should shoot for 20 tracks per list and add to the pop (Motown, 80s stuff, Madonna, Bobby Brown, Billy Joel, etc.) and the rock (All those Seattle bands (206 REPRESENT), Tool, Bruce Springsteen, Beck, G n R, Hendrix…).
Hmm, it’s easy to come up with names but difficult to pare. But maybe we don’t need to stress about paring. If Thura is like us, he wants as much music as possible, and then he listens to what we likes.
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Nice, I totally forgot about Madonna and Hendrix. We spent one whole small group session talking about Madonna’s adoption of a child from Malawi.
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And by “best with the hip hop,” I meant: “that is my best area,” not “everyone else sucks.”
What do you think about f-bombs and hoe-bombs and suck-bombs and glock-bombs and weed-bombs and…explicit lyrics yay or nay? I say yay.
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hehe!!! I found your blog. Yay! I agree. You have left out a major important category!!! HIPHOP!!! ie Tupac! n ludacris.
Love, Katy
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Oh matt you are so polite.
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from Chad:
the who – sally simpson (~track 20 on tommy) is a great tune, but it really is better when you hear the opera in its entirety. therefore I would also consider ‘water’ from who’s next (i think) – maybe a better representation of the who. who? peace.
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