Phil Maq

This will be a personal weekly Top Ten list of what I consider to be the best songs that I listened to the previous week. Most songs will be current, but there are no boundaries. I’ve already stated on this web site that I am obsessed with music. I am constantly hunting it down whether it’s online, on CD, from my personal collection, from a library (Yes, I think the library is a great source of music–especially for music that you aren’t sure about.), TV, or radio. Since most of these sources mostly emphasize new music, the odds are pretty good that most of the songs on this list will be new. But in my search, I don’t use any boundaries for the other sources. I am just looking for good music that I haven’t heard, or happened to forget about. Everyone, including myself, has forgotten way more great music than they can ever remember-even if they are also music fanatics.
Also, there will be no rules concerning songs on this list. A song can show up or drop off a number of times. This will be the most volatile of my lists. It all depends on how much music I am exposed to during the week and what I find interesting. On really obscure stuff, I will try to include the source, if I know it.
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Joanie Leeds jumps to the top knocking out Paul McCartney and Steve Martin with her smackdown ode to bloodsucking insects! Hiii-yaaah!!! That makes The Black Keys start to feel kind of “lonely” in the runner up spot. Other than that, plenty of songs have replaced others that have fallen off. The list appears to be kind of volatile these days…………
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Top Ten Songs for the Week of January 15, 2012

1. Mosquitoes—Joanie Leeds
2. Lonely Boy—The Black Keys
3. Best Love—Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers with Paul McCartney
4. In Your Arms—Kina Grannis
5. Hawaiian Boogie—George Bedard and The Kingpins
6. Lonely Blue Boy (Danny’s Song)—Jim Byrnes
7. The Victory—Steeleye Span
8. The Morning Mirror—The Twistin’ Tarantulas
9. Hippy Dance—Pat Bergeson with Dan Shapiro, & Tom Roady
10. Unlucky Lady—Trip Shakespeare

1) “Mosquitoes”—Mosquitoes are favorites for maybe the first time anywhere in the existence of the world—unless there was a list for things that you have to smack to protect yourself! This is a well deserving fun song! It’s just too bad that summer is so far away……………………..
2) “Lonely Boy”—The Black Keys have been patiently waiting while Paul McCartney and Joanie Leeds have topped the list. Let’s see if it pays off for them. I think this is their best song yet!
3) “Best Love”—Still a great song but it’s running up against some worthy competition….
4) “In Your Arms”—I like this song and video and I am truly disappointed that it isn’t catching on. It’s not the first time that musical preferences gravitate to a lesser choice…….
5) “Hawaiian Boogie”—This is another smoldering blues instrumental by George Bedard and The Kingpins taken from their second CD, “Hip Deep!” When the band does this song—and you know they’re going to do it because George plays it on his easily recognizable Hoffner guitar, you know that you had better hold on for a fun ride! Rich Dishman and Randy Tessier work together with George like a “steel drivin’ hammer,” to roll through a song that even people who claim to hate the blues have to love!
6) “Lonely Blue Boy (Danny’s Song)”—This blues artist’s vocals remind me of Eric Clapton or J.J. Cale. That’s really good company to be compared to as he effortlessly lays down a sad vocal. Play this one after The Black Keys’ “Lonely Boy” and you better have the number for a help line ready…………………………
7) “The Victory”—This epic group effort by Steeleye Span is probably my favorite song by them! It clocks in at 8 plus minutes and the subject is Lord Nelson’s Trafalgar battle. It is a song that lives up to the legendary fight! Maddy Prior’s vocal is exceptionally great as the song ebbs and flows with fluctuating moods that are sad and full of bravado within seconds!
8) “The Morning Mirror”—The Twistin’ Tarantulas are a band that sits right on the border between rockabilly and psychobilly. Since their songs are usually pretty melodic—and I’m not big on categorizing bands – I like to think of them as a high energy rockabilly group! They are fun to listen to and more fun to see live! On this song, the wry lyrics by Pistol Pete Midtgard, talk about getting older and wiser but not regretting the times that helped to create the wrinkles that he sees in the mirror! The music makes you think of what The Stray Cats might have sounded like twenty years after they started—if they had stayed together……..
9) “Hippy Dance”—Another Pat Bergeson entry! This time it’s the title track from his latest CD! It’s a New Orleans style of swamp-jazz that get’s into your blood!
10) “Unlucky Lady”—Alright, I almost hate to admit this “love song” got to me this week. The harmonies on this pop tune are very good and the song is melodic so I see why I could like it, but the lyrics are awful: “Oh unlucky lady/You are mine!” How many times did that work for you, dude!!??
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