My Tunes

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This article was published 05/03/2011 (5564 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

‘INVASION of the iPod people.”

That’s the term consumer analysts used in 2001 to describe the invention of the iPod — a portable device that, overnight, allowed music buffs to carry a bazillion songs — or the full version of American Pie — in their back pockets.

To mark that achievement, and to toast the Apple product’s 10th birthday (which falls later this year), we polled Winnipeggers, asking for 10 songs they felt no Nano, Touch or Shuffle should be without. Caveat: each playlist had to be themed in some manner. Here’s what our participants came up with…

 

Leah Hextall

When sports reporter Leah Hextall travels around the province covering events for CTV or TSN, she stays plugged in to her iPod, thanks to her car stereo. Here are Hextall’s “Top 10 Guilty Pleasures” — each one guaranteed to send her in-tow camera person scrambling for his ear plugs.

The Lady in Red — Chris de Burgh

Never Surrender — Corey Hart

You Got It (The Right Stuff) — New Kids on the Block

Unskinny Bop — Poison

Ice Ice Baby — Vanilla Ice

Wannabe — Spice Girls

Karma Chameleon — Culture Club

Almost Paradise (Love Theme from Footloose) — Ann Wilson and Mike Reno

Said I Loved You… But I Lied — Michael Bolton

Dancing on the Ceiling — Lionel Richie

 

Free Ride

Free Ride has been performing as the Beatles for 31 years, appearing everywhere from Transcona’s Silver Spike Saloon to Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion. Founding member Wayne Hlady, right, says that all you need is love, and these Fab Four classics, on your iPod.

I Don’t Want To Spoil the Party

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Run For Your Life

Hey Jude

Yesterday

Because

Twist and Shout

Revolution

Getting Better

The Ballad of John and Yoko

You can catch Free Ride at the Norwood Hotel, March 18 and 19.

 

Romi Mayes

Romi Mayes’s sound has been described as “the Rolling Stones meet Ray Charles meets Joan Jett.” No surprise, all three of those artists show up on Mayes’s list of 10 songs she enjoys “havin’ with me, in the van, on the road.”

Honey Bee — Tom Petty

Bad Apple — David Wilcox

I’m Walkin’ — Fats Domino

The Things That I Used to Do — G. Love & Special Sauce

Barracuda — Heart

La Grange — ZZ Top

Light of Day — Joan Jett & the Barbusters

Tumbling Dice — Rolling Stones

Dixie Chicken — Little Feat

(Night Time is) The Right Time — Ray Charles

Romi Mayes & Co. will be at Times Change(d) High and Lonesome Club on March 11.

 

Gordon Mackintosh

Gordon Mackintosh, Manitoba’s minister of family services and consumer affairs, might want to add “Minister of Cool” to his portfolio. The former government house leader checks in with 10 Canadian tracks that are dominatinghis playlist in between question periods.

Pulling on a Line — The Great Lake Swimmers: “We got hooked, the whole family. The understated vocals are glorious.”

Come Fly Away –Jeremy Fisher:”A very special light and lively getaway tune.”

Bye Bye Bye –Plants and Animals: “First heard on our top TV show, Chuck.”

Toujours de Nous –Mario Pelchat

Half of Me –Chantal Kreviazuk:”‘Masterpiece’ comes to mind.”

Rococo –Arcade Fire: “Compelling, unexpected chord changes entrap you.”

Ordinary Miracle — Sarah McLachlan

3 Hours Away –Blue Rodeo

Today I’m Going to Try to Save the World — Johnny Reid: “Bagpipe solo puts it over the top.”

Swing Low Sail High — Wailin’ Jennys: “No wailin’ here with these harmonies.Do they drink from the same magic well?”

 

Kenton Larsen

Kenton Larsen teaches advertising and public relations at Red River College. His assignment? To hand in “10 Essential Songs to Have With You at School.” (Larsen includes a key lyric from each number, along with his comments.)

We’re Going to Be Friends — White Stripes (“Teacher marks our height against the wall.” Incidentally, if you try to do that at the college level, students file restraining orders.)

Work — Lou Reed and John Cale (Former members of the Velvet Underground pay tribute to the intense work ethic of Andy Warhol: “You won’t be young forever… It’s work — the most important thing is work!”)

Another Brick in the Wall, Part Two — Pink Floyd (“Hey, teacher: leave those kids alone!” Very hurtful.)

We Don’t Care — Kanye West (“Ain’t no tuition for havin’ no ambition.” Or for peppering your speech with “ain’t.”)

Handsome Devil — the Smiths (“There’s more to life than books, you know, but not much more.” Of course, there’s… nope, books are it.)

I Predict a Riot — Kaiser Chiefs (“If there’s anybody else in here, who doesn’t want to be out there… I predict a riot!” You’re not successful as a teacher until all the students are certain they’re smarter than you.)

Being Boring — Pet Shop Boys (“We were never being boring.” Whenever a student says, “School is boring,” I say, “Stop being boring.” Thanks, Pet Shop Boys.)

Jump — Van Halen (“You’ve got to roll with the punches and get to what’s real.” Can’t you see what I mean?)

Career Opportunities — the Clash (“Career opportunities are the ones that never knock.” In other words: make your own.)

The End — the Beatles (“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” If you find yourself asking, “Why am I surrounded by idiots?!” it may be time to face up to facts: it’s YOU.”)

 

Wind-Ups

The Wind-Ups aren’t your typical cover band. Instead of relying on chestnuts like Mony Mony to pack dance floors, the group leans on tunes made famous by groups like the Damned, the Yardbirds and XTC. These are 10 songs the Wind-Ups will never tire of playing, according to lead vocalist Andy Morton.

She Does It Right — Dr. Feelgood (“The first song we ever played live; our set opener for years.”)

Young Savage — Ultravox

Ace of Spades — Motörhead (“Even people who don’t like Motörhead dig this.”)

Clockout — Devo

That’s It, I Quit — Dr. Feelgood (“The early Wind-Ups template was based on these guys; consequently, we do a fair amount of their songs.”)

Next To You — The Police (“The very first Police song I ever heard; I think I’ve done this tune in every band I’ve been in.”)

Taste and Try Before You Buy — Savoy Brown

Is It My Body — Alice Cooper (“A great change-of-pace tune for us.”)

Five Foot One — Iggy Pop

Speedy’s Coming — Scorpions (“We don’t actually do this one, but we should. So should everybody.”)

 

John Einarson

Author and music historian John Einarson is an authority on Winnipeg rock and roll. Here are Einarson’s 10 indispensable anthems that fall under the category of Red River Rock.

Shakin’ All Over — Guess Who

Miracle — Orphan

Cinnamon Girl — Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Roll on Down the Highway — Bachman-Turner Overdrive

American Woman — Guess Who

Surrounded — Chantal Kreviazuk

Sweet Things in Life — Harlequin

I Love Myself Today — Bif Naked

Boneyard Tree — Watchmen

One Great City — Weakerthans

 

George McRobb

George McRobb compares buying music on iTunes to “a bad hook-up.” “It’s too cheap, too easy, and alcohol is sometimes involved meaning mistakes are often made — ugly mistakes,” laments McRobb, a member of the Winnipeg improv group ImproVision. In no particular order, McRobb lists his 10 biggest “iRegrets…”

Don’t Stop Believin’ — Glee Cast: “Proves I’m not to be left to my own devices when Glee is on. I get a lot of razzing from friends about it, but it’s still on my iPod because I’m too cheap to delete something that cost me 99 cents.”

Burn It To The Ground — Nickelback: “I only play this when I’m in Transcona so I’ll fit in.”

Iron Man — Black Sabbath: “I LOVE the opening. Then I get bored. Very bored. I’ve only listened to the entire song once and that was because my hands were unable to reach my iPod for the entire 27 minutes of the song.”

My Sacrifice — Creed: “Good grief. I may as well write emo-poetry.”

Turn Up the Radio — Autograph: “It seemed hilariously ironic at the time. The time being roughly half the length of the song.”

I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) — Me First and the Gimme Gimmes: “I love it, and the Proclaimers version is my partner’s favourite song. But why I thought she would enjoy a screaming punk rendition of it is beyond both of us.”

Escape from New York soundtrack: “OK, it’s the best movie ever (this point is not debatable) and there’s a bunch of cool tracks, but the entire soundtrack? That’s a lot of synthesizer.”

Santa Claws Is Coming To Town — Alice Cooper: “iTunes only gives you a 20-second preview of the song you’re thinking of buying. Just my luck, I got the only listenable 20 seconds.”

Code Monkey — Jonathan Coulton: “A timeless hit that’s filed away with my “Where’s The Beef?” T-shirt.”

Talk Dirty To Me — Regatta 69: “I think I downloaded the ska version of the Poison hit just so I could start conversations with, “I have a ska version of Poison on my iPod. Don’t you?”

ImproVision will perform its first non-Fringe Festival show “in years” at Aqua Books, 274 Garry St., on April 30.

 

david.sanderson@freepress.mb.ca