Jeff's Jukebox: D-6 and D-7

D-6: Simply Irresistible, Robert Palmer
D-7: Man! I Feel Like A Woman, Shania Twain

Continuing the "guilty pleasures" section of the jukebox, we bring you today two songs that never fail to make me turn up the radio when they come on. Hopefully, the reason for their pairing here will be obvious.

Jeff's Jukebox: D-5

We're now going to enter a little section of the jukebox that I'm calling the "Guilty Pleasures Section." Not that I feel particularly guilty about liking the songs, but because someone, at one point or another, has given me a hard time for liking the song. We begin with John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High," from the early 1970s. Truth be told, I never really had a big problem with John Denver. I could also have chosen "Thank God I'm A Country Boy," but since I always had my doubts that Denver really was a country boy, I'll stick with this one - which I think is a clear choice as his best original composition.

Jeff's Jukebox: D-4

D-4: Be My Baby, The Ronettes

Haven't done one of these for a while, so let's kick off the new year with a classic Phil Spector production, with Veronica herself taking the lead vocal.

Jeff's Jukebox: D-3

D-3: Mexican Radio, Wall of Voodoo

It's been a while since I've done one of these, but what the heck: the week is nearly over, the trial is over, and I'm in a Friday kind of mood.

So from 1982, featuring a twitchier-than-normal Stanard Ridgway, the Jukebox is proud to bring you "Mexican Radio." Maybe for lunch I'll go out and look for some barbecued iguana.

Jeff's Jukebox: D-2

D-2: "Mercury Blues," David Lindley

Let's start the week on an upbeat note. El-Rayo X, the debut album by genius instrumentalist David Lindley (Jackson Browne, Crosby, Stills and Nash, others) was in heavy rotation on the 2nd floor of Cheney Hall at UC Berkeley in the spring of 1982. The album belonged to Eric, and it was a surprising choice given his normal musical tastes - Brian Eno, Talking Heads, Psychedelic Furs...but it had a groove that was inescapable, and this song made the perfect party song, especially after a couple of beers.

Jeff's Jukebox: D-1

D-1: New Orleans, Gary "U.S." Bonds

Before I leave tomorrow afternoon, a special Jeff's Jukebox tribute to The Big Easy.

Jeff's Jukebox: C-8

C-8: "I Only Have Eyes For You," The Flamingos

A sense of magic. A sense of mystery. The best songs have both.

There have been few songs in the history of rock and roll with as much mystery and magic as this one.

Everything is perfect. The piano. The organ. The vocals.

So perfect, it's almost scary.

Jeff's Jukebox: C-7

C-7: Shame, Shame, Shame Shirley & Company

Boys and girls, we're in for a real treat today. One of the greatest disco songs of the entire era.

And a video that truly has to be seen to be believed. Now, if you or I was dancing like this guy at a wedding reception after a few beers or glasses of champagne, that would be one thing. But to preserve this on film, that takes some real confidence. And I must freely confess that I once owned a shirt very similar to the one he is wearing here - I'm guessing Qiana, but I could be wrong.

A great historical artifact. I actually own the vinyl album from which this song came, and sometime tonight I will be posting a photo of the cover - definitely one the all-time classics.

Get up and dance!

Jeff's Jukebox: C-6

C-6: My City of Ruins, Bruce Springsteen

A couple of weeks after 9-11, a telethon was held to raise funds for the families of the victims. Normally I find such events to be ripe for ridicule, but this turned out to be quite extraordinary. This time, I was able to believe that the artists had truly set aside their egos for a greater cause. The performances (even from the artists I don't normally like) were uniformly great, and even the in-between snippets of famous actors talking were sincere and heartfelt.

This was the song that led off the evening. It is a great song, but Bruce has never been able to surpass this performance of it.

Jeff's Jukebox: C-5

C-5: "Israelites," Desmond Dekker and the Aces

I can say with near certainty that this was the first reggae song that I ever heard, although at the time I had no idea what "reggae" meant. I'm not sure how high the song charted, but this was a big regional hit in Sacramento around 1969 or so, and was played on the radio almost constantly for a period of several months. Even my dad kind of liked the song, although I think he thought it was called "Mehezzer and I."

The song was produced by the legendary Leslie Kong, early reggae auteur who was honored with the album The "King" Kong Collection - a magnificent album that, to my knowledge, has never been released on CD (which is a crime). If anyone who reads this sees it in some remainder bin somewhere, be sure to drop me a line.

Jeff's Jukebox: C-4

"Love is the Drug," Roxy Music

It's been a while since we last visited the jukebox, so let's jump right in with a classic from the mid-1970s.

Roxy Music is one of those bands that you could say was more influential than they were popular (at least in the States). This song, off the brilliant 1975 album Siren, was their biggest hit, and it topped out somewhere in the high teens on Billboard's Hot 100. In the song, Bryan Ferry is at his shady hipster best, slithering his way onto the dance floor and (in all likelihood) into the bed of some young, unsuspecting soul. The song's intro, with the footsteps and the car starting leading into an insistent bass line, is one of the most notable in the history of rock.

When I was in high school, I had frequent arguments with a friend over whether Roxy Music or Styx was the better band. I chose the former, and I like to think that I chose wisely. But if you check my yearbook from my junior year in high school, you'll see, in large block letters, courtesy of my friend Thomas, the following:

ROXY MUSIC SMELLS

STYX RULES!!!

To this day, it's good for a laugh out of people who are seeing it for the first time.

Jeff's Jukebox: C-3

C-3: "Ode to Billie Joe," Bobbie Gentry

About as far from European synth-pop as you can possibly get. A southern gothic mystery novel, within the grooves of a 4:15 single.

Jeff's Jukebox: C-2

C-2: "Dance Hall Days," Wang Chung

The last European synth-pop for a while, I promise. I'm guessing a lot of people make fun of this band, but hey - this is a great song. They also did a great job with the soundtrack for To Live and Die in L.A.

Jeff's Jukebox: C-1

C-1: "Bizarre Love Triangle," New Order

Sticking with European dance pop. New Order has been around even longer than Pet Shop Boys, rising from the ashes of Joy Division after Ian Curtis committed suicide in 1980. It's probably fair to say that they ended up more popular than Joy Division ever had a chance to be. When their career began in 1981, they sounded a lot like Joy Division, but over the years they stretched out, melding a dance beat with post-punk and coming up with something that sounded both familiar and original at the same time.

I'd have to say this is my favorite song of theirs, although I prefer the album arrangement to this one.

Jeff's Jukebox: B-8

B-8: "Rent," Pet Shop Boys

And now for something completely different - time to get into a little 1980s European synth pop.

Pet Shop Boys have been spinning out dance hits for nearly 25 years now. They're probably best known for "West End Girls," but this is my favorite song of theirs, from the great 1986 album Pet Shop Boys, Actually. I suppose you could dance to it, but it's not a dance song per se. It's the song of a kept man, somewhat haunting and somewhat gorgeous, all at the same time.

You dress me up
I'm your puppet
You buy me things
I love it
You bring me food
I need it
You give me love
I feed it

And look at the two of us in sympathy
with everything we see
I never want anything, it's easy
you buy whatever I need
But look at my hopes, look at my dreams
the currency we've spent
I love you, you pay my rent
I love you, you pay my rent

Jeff's Jukebox: B-7

B-7: Let's Work Together (Part I), Wilbert Harrison

This songs sounds to me like it is coming from another planet. And I mean that as a compliment.

Video credit: The incomparable Thunderbird 1958.

Jeff's Jukebox: B-6

Leaving P.J. Harvey, let's take a little trip across the universe, and end up at Tammy Wynette.

B-6: "Stand By Your Man," Tammy Wynette

So far, country has yet to be represented in the jukebox, and it would be criminal to leave this song out.

The best jukebox I can remember was at Manuel's in Berkeley, which was one of our regular Thursday night hangouts. The breadth of songs in the box was pretty amazing - it had everything from this song to classic Otis Redding, to "Holiday in Cambodia" by the Dead Kennedys. We always tried to end the evening with this one - singing along, of course.

Jeff's Jukebox: B-5

B-5: "Rid of Me," PJ Harvey

It's amazing to me how so much power can be packed into such a small package. No doubt about it, PJ is one of the singular artists of the last two decades. And this song pretty much says it all.

Jeff's Jukebox: B-4

B-4: Angel Baby, Rosie and the Originals

It may have been released in December, but to me it is a classic summer song, one that should be listened to on a hot, sultry evening, preferably sitting on the front porch with the stars shining bright. Video credit: Thunderbird 1958.

Jeff's Jukebox: B-3

B-3: 96 Tears, ? and the Mysterians

Immortal. I loved this song from the first time I heard it, which if memory serves was sometime in the mid-sixties, sitting in the back seat of the car.

Video credit: capnquirky