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This week, we feature a compilation about work entitled Toil.
Whether their bitchin’ about traffic, low wages, being a bum,
discrimination, reeling from alcohol after work or finding
redemption, these songs possess rollicking humor, browbeaten
resignation and tinge of smoldering indignation. And of course, what
could entail more toil than romance? The selection of songs touches
upon several genres, with an emphasis especially intriguing
combinations of folk, blues and Caribbean influences.
1. “Sixteen Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford
How could you not love a song by a man
with a name like that? His gravely baritone bass voice, as powerful
as a locomotive, makes you want to picks up a load of lignite with a
shovel.
2. “Damn this Traffic Jam” by James Taylor
Lord bless my soul, It must be have been the end
of the world when Taylor, the king laidback radio-friendly
folk music, cussed like a dog.
3. “Mannana” By Peggy Lee
It’s extremely funny, if you don’t mind
racial stereotypes. Extremely versatile, this same classy lady sang
“Fever.”
4. “Jesus was a Cross Maker” By The Hollies
Originally written and sung by Judee Sill, this
song was resurrected by the English band. What could be more ironic
than a carpenter’s own work used to execute him?
5. “Day-O” by Harry Belafonte
A worker’s lament in an oppressive plantation,
it says “A beautiful bunch, a ripe banana, hide the deadly black
tarantula.”
6. “Work is a Four Letter Word” by The
Smiths
Morrissey portrays the trials of having a bum
for live-in partner.
7. ‘Boy Named Sue” by Johnny Cash
A rocker’s country singer, Cash popularized
this bust-your-gut-laughing-out-loud ditty penned by Shel
Silverstein. It was recorded live at San Quentin State Prison before
a live audience of criminals.
8. “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” by
Otis Redding
An eloquent and soulful song of resignation and
defeat, it cries, “I can’t do what 10 people tell me to do.”
9. “Blinded By the Light” by Bruce
Springsteen
Back when he was a skinny, leather-jacketed
freak in 1973, Springsteen was rapping! His postmodern lyricism
talks about the strange climb to success in a decadent music
business.
10. “Everybody Must Get Stoned” by Bob Dylan
Biblical and trippy at the same time, it’s
time to cast the first stone and get high. It’s for all the
misfits in the workplace.
11. “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” by
John Lee Hooker
The legendary bluesman offers the working man
the escapism of a night at the bar , drinking and “getting a
little busy in the head.”
12. “Mississippi Goddamn” by Nina Simone
This protest song masquerading as a show tune
has Simone—the diva of blues, jazz and soul—both raging and
joking about racial segregation in 1964.
13. “Curbside Prophet “(live from the Eagles
Ballroom) by Jason Mraz
Mraz shines brightest live. His genius with
wordplay goes extreme with improvisation. Artists know that very
little separates the traveling freelancer from the homeless
unemployed.
14. “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” by
The Smiths
Morrissey sings, “I was looking for a job, and
then I found a job. And heaven knows I’m miserable now.”
15. “Is That All There is?” by Peggy Lee
Written by lyrical geniuses Jerry Leiber and
Mike Stoller (who also penned Elvis Presley’s “Houndog”), this
classic puts existential angst into melody, with verses taken
directly from Thomas Mann’s novel Disillusionment.
16. “Heartbreak Hotel” by Elvis Presley
This early hit clearly shows clearly the
Afro-American blues roots of Elvis’ music. Anyone who’s been
booted out knows what he’s singing about.
17. “I Ain’t Got You” by Bruce Springsteen
Even with all the success in the world,
Springsteen laments it’s nothing without love.
18. “What a Wonderful World” by Israel
Kamakawiwo’ole
The late Hawaiian’s rendition of the song made
famous by Louis Armstrong is heartwarming and brings back the island
beat into this compilation.
19. “Keep on Hoping” by Raul Midon and Jason
Mraz
Ending the compilation about work and
resignation on a positive note.
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Do you make your own musical compilations? Send
us your list. If we like it, we’ll post it. Email to rome.jorge@gmail.com.
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