This Week in Playlisting

In playlist news this week, the Guardian’s music team selects songs or albums that they ”just can’t turn off”. From new indie sounds by the likes of Bonny Prince Billy, The High Dials and The Decemberists, to the classic soul of Al Green, to the exquisite African meanderings of Ali FarkaTouré and Toumani Diabaté.

Broadcast Newsroom comments on CNN anchor Anderson Cooper’s celebrity playlist, which reveals his good taste and sense of humor.

David Harrell talks about the overload of music available today and the lack of time people have to listen to it all, or for that matter, filter it. “The total volume of available music–old and new, from artists at all levels of success–just keeps expanding, faster than ever. Digital distribution makes it economical for record companies, from the smallest indies to the major labels, to re-release out-of-print albums, rarities collections and outtakes… I’m certainly not complaining about having more music to choose from, but at some point, something has to give–you can’t listen to EVERYTHING, even within a fairly narrow genre of music.” Of course, the playlist is the filter that overcomes this overload problem for the consumer.

And finally, Yahoo Music Unlimited and the Yahoo Radish got some press in the Washington Post this week. Staff reporter Yuki Nogushi’s article highlights big changes in the music industry, including an increase in the demand for music, driven by the Internet, as well as a sea change in how people discover music, away from radio and onto blogs and/or online music services. A quote by Yahoo Music’s own Ian Rogers sums it up nicely. When speaking about how technology is ushering in a changing of the guard in relation to music marketing he said, “You [no longer] end up consuming what’s marketed to you. With the Internet, you consume exactly what you want.”

For this week’s playlist category highlight I wanted to focus on the songwriter. As you know, not all songs are written by the artists known for performing them. In fact, some of the legendary, including the king himself, Elvis Presley, never wrote a song. Many songwriters choose to stay behind the scenes, either working for a label, a publishing house, or freelance. Playlists are a great opportunity to shine a spotlight behind the curtain. A chance to expose those composers who may not be household names, but whose influence on popular music is undeniable.

Below are some playlists that highlight the work of the unsung songwriter:

• The Songs of Leiber and Stoller – Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller are among the most important songwriters and music producers in post-World War II popular music, although they’re not well known because of their work in the shadowy back-stage of the industry. The songwriting team’s tunes have been big hits for the likes of Elvis Presley, Charles Brown, Wilbert Harrison, Buddy Holly, The Drifters, The Searchers, The Coasters, Dion, Peggy Lee, and many more.
• Songs Written By Allen Toussaint – David O came through with this week with this playlist of songs written by Allen Toussaint. Although Toussaint has a visible career as a performer, this New Orleans legend has also written songs performed by artists as diverse as Boz Scaggs, Robert Palmer, Devo, Otis Redding, Glen Campbell, The Rolling Stones, Art Neville and many more. This playlist includes a fine selection for you to get familiar with.
• Songs Written By Bert Berns – Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 – December 30, 1967) (a/k/a Bert Russell and Bert Berns) was one of the great American songwriters and record producers of the 1960s. A pioneer of sixties rock and soul, Berns’ contributions to popular music are among the most significant of his generation. His untimely death from heart failure at age 38 put a stop to a remarkable run of success as songwriter, producer and record label chief. [more]
• Songs Written By Will Jennings – Will Jennings is a prolific and highly successful American songwriter. Born Wilbur Jennings, he has written songs for a number of motion picture soundtracks and numerous popular singers including Steve Winwood, Roy Orbison, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton, and Céline Dion. Jennings was recently inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame on June 15, 2006 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
• Songs Written By Dan Penn – Not many folks know who Dan Penn is, but everyone has heard the songs he’s written. He’s a prolific songwriter who’s been crafting soul, R&B, rock, blues and country tunes for over 30 years. Dan’s songs have been recorded by the likes of Aretha Franklin, Solomon Burke, Otis Redding, The Box Tops, Wilson Pickett, Janis Joplin, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Irma Thomas, Patti Labelle, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Kris Kristofferson, Percy Sledge and many more. This playlist will give you a good overview of his work.

Some further playlist ideas from the past week:

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Winners

Play It! The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences was established in 1957 by musicians, recording engineers and producers and is best known to the public for the yearly awards they give out called Grammys. Honestly, the major Grammy awards (Record of the Year, Artist of the Year) do not interest me much. However, each year the Academy gives away lifetime achievement awards that are reserved for artists who are nothing less than legends. Of the 126 artists who have been awarded a lifetime achievement by the academy, 122 of them have music available on Yahoo Music Unlimited. This playlist includes a standout track by each of these 122. It’s over 8 1/2 hours in length and is a great overview of the best in popular music. A time capsule, that if found by aliens a thousand years after the human race is gone, would certainly reflect well on our civilization. From the very first recipient in 1962 (Bing Crosby) to the inductions of David Bowie, Cream, Merle Haggard and Robert Johnson in 2006, there is not much in this list that a real music fan could disagree with (although some omissions definitely come to mind).

The Best of 1969

Play It! 1969 was a big year. The most notable event being the landing of the first man on the moon. In addition to this gargantuan historical event, 1969 saw the last public performance by the Beatles on the roof of Apple Records, Yasser Arafat appointed head of the PLO, Mickey Mantle retire, Jim Morrison of the Doors arrested for “lewd and lascivious behavior” after exposing himself on stage, the battle of Hamburger Hill fought in Vietnam, John Lennon and Yoko Ono conduct their famous “Bed-in”, the Stonewall riots in New York City mark the beginning of the gay rights movement, Ted Kennedy drives off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island and his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, is killed, the Charles Manson murders are committed in California, the category 5 hurricane, Camille, devastates Mississippi and 248 people die, Monty Python airs it’s first “Flying Circus”, the Brady Bunch debuts on American television, the Woodstock festival takes place, Wal*Mart incorporates, and last but not least, ARPANET is created, which would eventually lead to the Internet. On top of all that, the music was incredible. This playlist features four hours of the very best 1969 had to offer.

Songs For A Friend’s Most Unfortunate Accident

Play It! Sometimes a playlist can tell a story, or capture a moment in time, much like a diary. And this includes the bad times as well as the good. Today, I offer just such a playlist, and needless to say, it was not a great day. A close friend was on his roof attaching a safety line so that he could remove some plastic from his chimney, which was left by a mason. He lost his footing and fell. The home he shares with his wife and two dogs is a beautiful three story brick Colonial in Charleston, SC, and unfortunately, the roofline is about 25 feet high. He landed directly on his feet which broke both of his ankles and inflicted a compression fracture in his back. When his head caught up, his face met his knee and broke a cheek bone, orbit and dislocated his jaw. Gravity sucks.

Robert Burke
Yahoo! Radish

Circuit City Sells Yahoo! Music Unlimited

I would like to start by first thanking Circuit City for re-introducing me to the 1978 Cars mega-hit, “Just What I Needed”. It’s a fantastic song they are using in their ads, although when you listen to the actual track, it takes too long to get to the cool chorus.

But that’s not why I’m posting today. I’m writing to you all today because virtually all of Circuit City’s 600+ stores, you will see a new tenant on the shelves – a CD selling Yahoo! Music Unlimited To-Go at a discount. For $23.99 you can get 3 months access to any song in the catalogue for your computer or MP3 player. After that time period, you can decide to re-up for an annual subscription ($9.99 a month) or keep going month-by-month ($11.99 a month).

We’ve been over this a million times, but let me give you my biased opinion once more. If you don’t go subscription, you can listen to 24 songs in three months for that price. That’s also half of what you might pay for a Superman iPod cover. Yes, you get to keep downloads for your burn-to-CD library and that’s great. But if a burn-to-CD library isn’t a part of your life, the download model shouldn’t be, either.

Again, totally biased.

The offline world is a very large and strange place for the Yahoo! Music marketing team, but the folks at Circuit City have been fantastic at teaching us the ropes. We’ve learned about security checkpoint tags, inventory management reports, sales training documents, end caps, weekly flyers, and much more. Hey, whatever we gotta do to get YMU to meet new friends.

Michael Cowan
Yahoo! Music

The Yahoo! Music Engine Bible

Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about the Yahoo! Music Engine, along comes the mother of all resources to further enlighten you – the Yahoo! Music Engine User Guide.

This monster is packed with tons of helpful tips and instructions for every YME feature and music service – from playing, ripping, burning, playlisting and sharing, to taking full advantage of YME’s suite of music services include Yahoo! Music Unlimited and LAUNCHcast Radio. Just download and print the guide and you’ve got the perfect YME desk reference – no more toggling between help files and the application on your PC.

Check it out!

Gary Brotman
Yahoo! Music

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