OPEN REQUEST SUNDAY: Johnny Nash, "I Can See Clearly Now" (Live)

Overheard Wednesday on her way to the job site by... MAURA, who immensely enjoyed the impromptu performance by a guy unloading a truck the morning after a big rainstorm... but she probably would have been doubly impressed had he been dressed like this:

Blind Pilot, "I Buried a Bone"

Blind Pilot--out of Portland, OR--performing a couple of years ago at radio station WNRN in Charlottesville... Enjoy!

Noisettes, "Sister Rosetta (Capture the Spirit)"

Sometimes the iTunes single of the week is a worthless bucket of manufactured syrup.  And sometimes it alerts you to something really rad.  Learning of the Noisettes a couple of years ago was an emphatic example of the latter.  Make sure to watch (and not just listen)... the video effects on the chorus are gnarly.  Enjoy!

Pixies, "Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)"

Here's an alternate version of a great one from the Pump Up the Volume soundtrack.

Marissa Nadler, "River of Dirt"

Marissa Nadler graces the Mercury Lounge with her ethereal presence tonight at 6:30. Check her out. In the meantime, enjoy this one from Little Hells.

Gene Chandler, "Duke of Earl"

From one of the first cassettes I remember buying, Billboard Top Rock 'n' Roll Hits: 1962.  Rest assured, this won't be the last you hear from this (personal) landmark collection.

We'll walk through my Dukedom/
And the paradise we will share...

Bell Biv DeVoe, "Poison"

Now that Wade has brought up childhood memories of basketball camp, I haven't been able to get the song that made the most indelible impression out of my head. My first year (1990), it was on constant rotation on the jukebox of the dorm game room. This was the first time I'd heard it, and it smacked me in face as soon as the opening rim shots cut through the beep-beep-boop-boop-bang-bang of Pac-Man, Contra and Rolling Thunder. The center of the game room turned into an impromptu dance circle.  21 years later, I love it just as much... and I think I can say the same for Maura.  Imagine our delight, then, when--unprompted--the band who played our wedding three years ago broke it out mid-reception.  Thank you, Johnny Sketch.


Enjoy!

OPEN REQUEST SUNDAY: Blur, "Coffee and TV"

This week's ORS comes courtesy of... Wade! From his letter of recommendation:

"It's one of my all-time favorite music videos. It gets bonus points for me because it reminds me of meals in the Naismith Hall cafeteria during KU basketball camp--the one time each year when we could watch MTV."

Jack Johnson ft. G. Love, "Rodeo Clowns"

Tell 'em what time it is...

Radiohead, "Talk Show Host"

A B-Side, also featured (in a slightly different form) on the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack.  One of my favorite songs of theirs (of many)... love the lazy coolness of it.  Enjoy.

Arctic Monkeys, "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor"

From 2005's Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not...

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, "Home"

Holy moly, me-oh-my, you're the apple of my eye...

Lauryn Hill, "Final Hour"

Now I'm-a get the mozzarella like a Rockefeller...

The Zombies, "She's Not There"

Classic... particularly the fantastic solos on the Hohner Pianet.

OPEN REQUEST SUNDAY: The Irrepressibles, "In This Shirt"

We're starting a new tradition here at Tuna Day.  One of our (4) listeners, Bryce Hubertz, has requested a tunaday.  From this point forward, Sundays will be devoted to reader requests.  So I guess that means each of you get to pick a song every month!  Failing that, I suppose requests will start coming in from fictitious followers.  Either that, or Denmark, where Tuna Day apparently has amassed a sizable following.

Anyway, without further ado, I--Bryce presents a weird and creepy, melodramatic and operatic epic from The Irrepressibles.  Enjoy?

Boyz II Men, "Motownphilly"

Sitting in the park with Blue yesterday morning, I had the privilege of being whisked back into the same state of joy as 11-year-old me upon hearing "Motownphilly" for the first time.  It was blaring from the speakers in the café next door, and just as soon as I'd lamented the end of the song, I realized that the kitchen must have been thinking the same thing... as luck would have it, someone hit "repeat."  ABC-BBD... mm-mm-hmmm.

Bon Iver, "Skinny Love"

Here's one to ease you into the weekend... from From Emma, Forever Ago.  Bonus points for the band's Eau Claire (Wisconsin) origins.  Enjoy!

Tegan and Sara, "Walking with a Ghost"

As a White Stripes fan, I first learned of this song through them... simple, but extremely good at sinking its teeth into you. Enjoy!

Metric, "Gimme Sympathy"

From Fantasies...

The Subdudes, "Carved in Stone"

From the Cherokee Creek Music Festival in Texas last year, here's a nice one from New Orleans' very own... you can tell by the accordion :)

The Del Rios, "There's a Love"

An infectious trip, here's William Bell and Co. coming at you from Memphis circa 1956... Enjoy!

Peter, Bjorn and John, "Young Folks"

...with Victoria Bergsman of the Concretes.  If you're not one of the 20+ million people who already know this song, you might recognize it from a Kanye song, described kindly on wikipedia:

"Kanye West sampled this song for a track by the same name, and "Interviews (Interlude)" both on his mixtape Can't Tell Me Nothing. This cover is widely accepted as one of the worst things to ever happen to music, and should be listened to by no one who has any appreciation for taste."

Anyway, here's the original, which can be listened to by those who appreciate good taste...

Gossip, "Dimestore Diamond"

Beth Ditto and Co. with a straight-ahead, bluesy, Joan Jett-y thumper... Enjoy.

The Black Keys, "Tighten Up"

There's a reason this video has over 10 million YouTube hits.  There's also a reason those 10 million hits occurred before I even made my way to this song, courtesy of a friend.  If you're like me, the video will win you over by the time of the doughnut exchange.  Part 79 in an ongoing series: "Confessions of the Tragically Uncool."

Sam Cooke and Lou Rawls, "Bring It on Home to Me"

From 1962... for what it's worth, this is probably one of my 10 favorite songs of all time. What makes it? The cymbal.

Otis Redding, "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)"

Here's Otis, from Live in Europe, with one of his best--all the better because it's captured with the raw emotion of a live show.  I love the interplay with the crowd on the chorus...

M. Ward, "Epistemology"

From the album Hold Time...

King Harvest, "Dancing in the Moonlight"

The definition of a one-hit wonder, King Harvest nonetheless made it count. Lookin' good, feelin' good...

Suzanne Vega, "The Queen and the Soldier"

From Vega's eponymous 1985 debut...

Beck, "Sexx Laws"

From 1999's Midnite Vultures, a decidedly delightful romp... with Jack Black as a bonus!  Enjoy.

Nancy Sinatra, "Friday's Child"

What might be a distant ancestor of Monday's Greenhornes offering... chills.