Slumberland

OK, here’s another Random Ten:

1. “Beyond Belief” — Jon Auer, covering one of my favorite Elvis Costello songs.
2. “Casimir Pulaski Day” — Sufjan Stevens
3. “The Ghost that Feeds” — Ray Parker, Jr./nine inch nails — mashup by nathanchase.com. This is a mashup of “Ghostbusters” with “The Hand that Feeds”, and it’s hilarious. The two songs do fit perfectly together. Genius.
4. “Something About You” — Level 42. I don’t know why I love this song in all it’s 80s glory, but I do.
5. “So Sad About Us” — Steve Brown. This is from the Who’s Not Forgotten tribute album. A fairly straightforward cover, until the middle, when with a resounding “cello cello cello”, it suddenly kicks into an excerpt from the Who’s mini-opera, “A Quick One,” then back to “So Sad…”, ending with the bass riff from “Happy Jack.”
6. “All of My Heart” — ABC. This is actually a perfect segue from the previous song. We still hear “Look of Love” all the time, and sometimes “Poison Arrow”, but this song never gets played on 80s radio stations. But it’s great, if you like that lush, dramatic ABC thing.
7. “Coming Right Along” — the Posies.
8. “Walk — Don’t Run” — the Ventures. Well, now, that is an odd juxtaposition. The previous song: dark and slow. This one: not so much.
9. “If It’s Love” — Squeeze. Getting even more cheerful! This song is one of the greatest power-pop songs Squeeze ever recorded. The record company let it rot, as record companies do. It’s great anyway. You can’t help but bounce your head side to side like Ringo when you hear it. (If this wasn’t Random Ten, though, I would have put Glenn Tilbrook’s solo track “One For the Road” before this song, as the perfect follow-up to “Walk — Don’t Run”.)
10. “Look Sharp!” — Joe Jackson.