Groovin' With Zesty

Since my Boss gave me a gift certificate for i-Tunes last Christmas, I’ve become obsessed. I’m always searching it for music, constantly having those “Oooooooooooohhh yeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhh, I remember THAT!" moments.

As I am watching my pennies of late, I try to restrict my purchases to a maximum of three songs per week. But late Wednesday, I “had an episode” and ended up purchasing a whole whack load of songs. I just don’t know what came over me. But as I am currently perusing and compiling songs for my Pudge Nudge work out mixes, it was only a matter a time before I went full monty and made a big purchase – well, big for little ol’ me anyway.

Here in no particular order, are the songs I purchased.

WARNING: CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN BEFORE READING THIS LIST. EXPOSURE MAY CAUSE ACUTE CHEDDAR-ITIS.

Mountains – Prince

A perfect driving song from the master, proof positive that he can rock out as well as he can funk.

Wanted Dead or Alive – Bon Jovi

A stellar power anthem that is the ultimate ode to a band’s life on the road. The West, goes tempo frommagio.

Tom’s Diner – DNA & Vega Remix

The song that started the furor over sampling. But DNA’s audaciousness served this song well, taking Vega’s brilliant a capella vocal to a level only a phat bass line could get it to.

It’s Not Right But It’s OK – Whitney Houston [Album version – Like any self respecting Houston fan, I also have the Thunderpuss mix]

This tight performance from The Voice takes one of the best “pack ya sh*t” songs ever written into the Bye Bye to Bad Love stratosphere. Her vocal prowess is bang on with this album version, with her trills, riffs and placements dancing effortlessly with a rhythmic xylophone that’s combined with an insistent shuffle beat and crystal ping hits along the top. In short, Houston brings home the bacon AND puts it in the pan.

Linger – The Cranberries

This song is like a Canada goose. It starts off just-a-ramblin along, suddenly picks up to a run, then hits the sky and soars. A simple chorded guitar structure, supported by an exquisite orchestral arrangement is what makes this song’s simplistic what-the-hell-happened-to-us angle even more poignant.

Just Like Jesse James – Cher

I know.

I KNOW!

Buffalo Stance – Neneh Cherry

This is the song that made me and every other girl I knew in highschool believe for one fleeting moment that hip hop superstardom could be ours. All we needed was attitude, a cool English accent and a certainty in the triumph of love over shallow romance. Sigh. In the end, Angie Stone's He's a Pimp said it so much better. But Neneh’s one of the few female artists [Latifah is another] that can seamlessly integrate and perform both rap and vocal in her songs. Most artists are really only good at one. It was also one of the first female shout backs to some of the more misogynistic roads rap and hip hop began to travel down in the 1990’s.

Dreamin’ – Vanessa Williams

When I was in high school, some bright light on student council decided it would be a good idea for our cafeteria to get a juke box. Ragdoll will remember this. We heard “Owner of a Lonely Heart” by Yes so many times it bordered on Chinese Water Torture territory. Dreamin’ was another song on the jukebox and was one of my favourites. It’s a classic quiet storm pop ballad that’s smooth as silk. I remember our caf-Lady Rita really liked this song and sometimes I’d put it on so she could hear it in the kitchen. She was a doll. She retired the year after this song came out after many shifts of hard sloggin over baskets of fries. I always think of her fondly when I hear this song.

Keep On Movin – Soul II Soul

A classic of the soul canon brought to us by the Brits, this song bridged the gap between 70’s style R&B and the beat heavy focus of rap. It was quite simply, unlike anything heard before it, containing the simple pop positive message of determination and possibility that at the same time changed the direction of modern R&B.

Flawless [Go to the City] – George Michael

This song makes me want to be a tight assed twenty something male in sky blue hot pants kickin’ it on a pole at a club. Don’t you think so? Mmmm. Maybe it’s just me. But I tell ya, when the beat kicks in at three times the potency at the “you got to go to the city” line, well George I’m already there.

This is the Right Time – Lisa Stanfield

After Dusty Springfield there was, in my mind, nobody who could make legitimate claim to the U.K.'s throne of blue eyed soul until Lisa Stanfield. She has a superb richness to her voice and you get a genuine sense of joy and fun from her performances. She’s still releasing albums in the UK but she deserves more prominence on this side of the pond. And hey, if there was ever a song created for Stairmaster, this is it.