Playlist 1/30/08

Theme: Dorm Room Intimacy Songs

(Song Title - Artist - Album)

Between the Bars - Elliott Smith - Either/Or
Pink Moon - Nick Drake - Pink Moon
Heartbeats - Jose Gonzalez - Veneer
Heartbeats - The Knife - Deep Cuts
Fade Into You - Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See
Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois - Sufjan Stevens - Come On Feel the Illinoise
Radio - Davis Jones - The Heartland
Sprout and the Bean - Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender
Painter in Your Pocket - Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
House of the Rising Sun - Cat Power - (cover)
She Sends Kisses - The Wrens - The Meadowlands
First Day of My Life - Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Atoms for Peace - Thom Yorke - The Eraser
Gotholympians - Andrew Bird - Fingerlings
This Bitter Earth - Dinah Washington - This Bitter Earth

After the show (random tunes):

I Wanna Be Your Dog - The Stooges - The Stooges
The What - Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die
I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor - Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Houseclouds - Liars - Liars
Mass Appeal - Gang Starr - Hard to Earn

Theme for 1/30

Wednesday's show:

Songs to Play in Your Dorm Room When You’re Trying to Show Her You’re Introspective, Sensitive, and Possibly the Singer-Songwriter Type, But Not in a Corny Dave Matthews/Ben Harper/Jack Johnson Kind of Way Because Then It's Obvious That All You Want Is to Get Laid, Which Is Partially True--You Do Want Intimacy--But the Wholesome, Soul-Searching Kind Set to Tasteful and Intellectually Invigorating Music That's Not Too Philosophical Because Then It Might Seem Dry and Defeat the Purpose of Your Easing Into Her Pants.

Requests to pickacategory at gmail.

Playlist 1/23/08

Theme: "You Put the 'B' in 'Subtle'"

(Song title - Artist - Album)

Get Out of My Life, Woman - Thad Jones & Mel Lewis Orchestra feat. Joe Williams - [?]
Nitemare Hippy Girl - Beck - Mellow Gold
Bitches Ain't Shit - Dr. Dre - The Chronic
Let's Impeach the President - Neil Young - Living With War
Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey - Gene Harris - Astral Signals
Saturday Night Live skit (1982) - "Ebony & Ivory" with Eddie Murphy & Joe Piscapo
Formed a Band - Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock 'n' Roll
Common People - Pulp - Different Class
My Cup - E-40 feat. Suga T - Grit and Grind
Big Bottom - Spinal Tap - This is Spinal Tap
Ddiamondd - Battles - Mirrored
So What - Anti-Nowhere League - B-side of "Streets of London"
Tent In Your Pants - Peaches - Impeach My Bush

After the show (random tunes):

Ambulance - TV On the Radio - Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes
Sexy M.F. - Prince - Love Symbol Album
The Final Comedown - Grant Green - The Final Comedown
Meat Grinder - Madvillain - Madvillainy
Shake It Off - Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
Just a Friend - Biz Markie - Weekend Warrior
Patti Lee - Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends
At the Bottom of Everything - Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
White People For Peace - Against Me! - New Wave
Is This Love - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!

Update: You Put the "B" in "Subtle"

Everyone seems to hate this theme. Too bad...we're still doing it.

To clarify, we won't be playing only bad songs. All of the pieces will, in some way, spell out their ideas and sometimes go overboard, whether by hit-you-over-the-head musicianship, barefaced lyrics, or ridiculous metaphors. This doesn't necessarily mean the songs will suck.

Listen and judge. Send barbs and violent threats to pickacategory.

You Put the "B" in "Subtle"

Theme for Wednesday, 1/23:

You Put the "B" in "Subtle": Songs That Suck at Tact, Finesse, Obscurity, Self-Effacement, Wordplay, Metaphor, Basically Anything That Requires Complex Thought.

Request away: pickacategory [at] gmail [dot] com.

Playlist 1/16/08

Theme: Best of 2007
Critical and personal favorites of last year.

Special Guests: Shay Azoulay

(Titles in Song-Artist-Album order)

1) "The Prayer" - Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City
2) "Keep the Car Running" - Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
3) "Us Placers" - CRS (Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Pharrell) - [Single]
4) "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" - Radiohead - In Rainbows
5) "St. Apollonia" - Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
6) "We Were Born the Mutants Again With Leafing" - Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna Are You the Destroyer
7) "In the Mood" - Talib Kweli feat. Kanye West - Eardrum
8) "Paper Planes" - MIA - Kala
9) "Lovesong of the Buzzard" - Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
10) "Shirin" - Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
11) "Innocence" - Bjork - Volta
12)"Declare Independence" - Bjork - Volta
13) "Don't Make Me a Target" - Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
14) "Fireworks" - Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
15) "Rehab" - Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
16) "Simple X" - Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
17) "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" - LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

After the show, random tracks (not necessarily 2007):

"Is There a Ghost" - Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
"We've Been Had" - The Walkmen - Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone
"The Warning" - Hot Chip - The Warning
Something by Sean Lennon
"Reckoner" - Radiohead - In Rainbows

Beginnings

Welcome to the Pick A Category playlist blog.

Pick A Category is a radio show on Washington Heights Free Radio (WHFR.org) featuring music that follows a different theme each week. Tune in Wednesday evenings at 10 p.m. Eastern here.

Click on the audio stream to listen.

Requests are welcome! Send in the title of the song, the artist, a brief explanation as to why it fits an upcoming show's category, and, if you want, an interesting tidbit about the song. Multiple requests OK. Send correspondence to pickacategory [at] gmail [dot] com.

Playlists will be posted here every week, following the show. Announcements of themes for the upcoming show will be posted Sundays (or Mondays).

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