Sonic Bliss #24-24
June 16, 2024
SHOW #1000
My 37 favorite Sonic Bliss tracks
(40 didn't fit in 3 hours)
#37 JEFF BUCKLEY - Everybody Here Wants You
If Jeff Buckley hadn't died so young he would have reached superstar status. This song should have been a monster hit, but so few people in radio at the time were adding songs based on actually hearing them instead of image.
#36 FAITHLESS - Don't Leave
A quiet, desperate plea to keep a relationship together. Name dropping Joni Mitchell doesn't hurt. Rollo Armstrong's fingerprints are all over this list.
#35 FEIST - One Evening
This was the first song I ever heard from Feist, that I played over and over and over the first night I heard it.
#34 BOARDS OF CANADA - Aquarius
In 1998/99 I listened to internet stations from around the world and X-FM in Dublin played about a 3 hour loop of songs over and over, no announcers, and this weird little song caught my ear, but with nobody to identify it, I didn't know what it was. Stumbled across it a few years later and finally found the name
#33 ULRICH SCHNAUSS - Shine
Another song found while "music mining" for the show. Most of Ulrich's music is instrumental, but this one has vocals and I think it's him singing.
#32 SASHA DOBSON - Without You
She was once in a country band with Norah Jones called Puss N Boots, but this solo track blows any of that out of the water with it's simple, warm Bossa Nova rhythm.
#31 RADIOHEAD - Exit Music (For A Film)
Of course there was going to be a Radiohead track on the list. I went with this beautiful, but dark masterpiece that builds intensity until it's very dramatic crescendo and release.
#30 HNNY - Sunday
Not much to the lyrics and a repeating string section sampled from another song, but this may be just about the most dreamy and relaxing song on this list.
#29 DELERIUM & SARAH McLACHLAN - Silence
This song actually was a hit in Detroit, where we often get Canadian crossover thanks to the Windsor radio stations. This came out not long after "Sadeness" by Enigma, which took the world by storm. I want Sarah to do a whole album with this feel.
#28 SCIENCE FOR GIRLS - 14 Days
I don't know much about this artist, all I ever found was one album, but this was played on repeat on a long drive home right after stumbling across it.
#27 AIR - Cherry Blossom Girl
This isn't the only Air song on this list, there is another right near the top. They are touring their Moon Safari album in 2024 (October 10 in Detroit) and even though this is on another album, I sure hope they play it.
#26 KOOP - Waltz For Koop
This Swedish duo would cobble together pieces of other music (typically jazz) to make new songs and they have several gems, but to me this is the most memorable. Sad that they stopped making music.
#25 HANS ZIMMER - Time
From the Inception soundtrack, it's amazing what Zimmer does with 8 simple notes. Would love to see him live.
#24 EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL - Hatfield 1980
For a song about living in a crime-ridden slum, it sure has a fantastic chilled-out groove. Hatfield is much nicer these days.
#23 WEST INDIAN GIRL - Dream
I really don't know anything about this artist, but absolutely love this song. The band name comes from a strain of LSD that was around in the 60s. This song is a good trip.
#22 GOLDFRAPP - Drew
There are quite a few Goldfrapp songs in the Sonic Lunch library, but this one is stunningly, stirringly beautiful
#21 UNKLE w/THOM YORKE - Rabbit In Your Headlights
This extremely dramatic and dark song comes from the brilliant album Psyence Fiction. The spoken word part in the middle is actor Danny Aiello from the movie Jacob's Ladder. More from this album later on this list.
#20
VANESSA DAOU - Near The Black Forest
This
acid jazz song comes from the terrific album Zipless. I always
wanted her to release more music but it really doesn't happen often.
#19
ANDREA LINDSY - La Belle Etoile
While
music mining for a segment of French-language pop for Under The Radar, I
stumbled across this waltz-driven gem from this French- Canadian singer.
The Beautiful Star
#18
FIONA APPLE - The First Taste
This
sure doesn't sound like music from an 18 year old, with it's very swanky Bossa
Nova vibe. From her incredible debut album Tidal
#17
COCTEAU TWINS - A Kissed-Out Red Floatboat
Of
course they were going to make the list. Like many Cocteau Twins songs, I
have no idea what the title (or lyrics) mean, but it's easy to get lost in all
the shimmering guitar effects and Elizabeth Fraser's gorgeous voice,
which we don't hear much anymore, sadly.
#16
THIEVERY CORPORATION - Para Sempre
Saudade
is one of my favorite albums of all times and to me this is the song that
stands out. When it's cold and grey here in Michigan, I listen to this and
imagine driving on a sun-soaked road right along the ocean, like Pacific Coast
Highway, without the rockslides.
#15
HANDSOME BOY MODELING SCHOOL - I've Been Thinking
A
slinky groove with the voice of Cat Power and a very memorable chorus, and that
guitar hook sounding like a cat's meow.
#14
DOMINGUES & IVES - The Meditation from "Thais"
The
electronic interpretation of the intermezzo from Jules Massenet's 1894 opera
"Thais". This is from a 2004 album called Classics
Re-Grooved, with electronic covers of 15 classical pieces.
#13
UNKLE - Bloodstain
This
was another song that X-FM in Dublin kept playing (and never identifying) back
in 1998, but this one was easier to find. The singer is Alice
Temple, who was also the first female UK and Europe BMX bicycle champion.
#12
PORTISHEAD - Roads
The
dramatic show-stopper of a song from the album Dummy, which inspired a lot of
the music on this show that followed. This was also featured in the movie
Tank Girl. Too bad this group just stopped making music.
Geoff Barrow seems to be rather bitter about how Portishead has been received
as a "chill" band.
#11
MOODSWNGS - Spiritual High (State Of Independence)
The
same voice that gave us intense rockers by the Pretenders, Chrissie Hynde
absolutely shines on this stunning early trip hop track based on a Vangelis
song. This actually was a reason she decided to sing some more jazz
oriented music later in her career.
#10
KOSTARS - Red Umbrella
Vivian
Trimble and Jill Cuniff of Luscious Jackson came up with this side project
while touring with their original band. This lo-fi 70s inspired
album is called Klassics With A K and is the only thing they ever
released. It's a terrific album, which I liked better than any
Luscious Jackson album, and I really liked LJ.
#9
1 GIANT LEAP - The Way You Dream
This
song features Whirimako Black, Asha Bhosle and the instantly identifiable voice
of Michael Stipe of REM. This dream pop masterpiece made me hope
Michael Stipe would do an entire dream pop album. Maybe he
will...........someday.
#8
ESTHERO - That Girl
There
are a lot of great tracks on the album Breath From Another, but to me this is
the standout. There is some sort of spoken word bit underneath the
mix. Never could figure out what she's saying. I have emailed
Esthero about this and have yet to get an answer.
#7
ART OF NOISE - Moments In Love
I
call this an 80's backseat make-out jam, because that's what it was.
There are dozens of mixes of this song, I wish I could tell you what this
version is called.
#6
PAUL WELLER - Wild Wood
This
is a slightly-remixed version of this amazing song done by Geoff Barrow
of Portishead. If this remix didn't exist the original version
would still be on this list.
#5
MONO - Life In Mono
Mono
didn't last very long. As far as I can tell the album Formica Blues is
the only thing they released, but it gave us this Baroque Chill
masterpiece. (Used in the trailer for the 1998 film adaptation of Great
Expectations)
#4
HOOVERPHONIC - 2Wicky
The
entire space-age vibe of this song is based around the guitar sample of Isaac
Hayes' version of Walk On By. I'm not always big on sampling, but
obviously, I can make exceptions.
#3
AIR - Playground Love
The second song by Air on this list. From
the film The Virgin Suicides. It's that sax, man
#2
MASSIVE ATTACK - Protection
When
this came out I played it on our Alternative station in Lansing. By the
Autumn of 1994 the whole grunge thing was so tired and worn out. Everyone
was trying to sound like Pearl Jam and here comes this beautiful anti-grunge
Trip Hop song featuring the amazing voice of Tracey Thorne of Everything But
The Girl. The consultant couldn't understand why we'd play
this. He lacked a soul.
#1
ONE ESKIMO - Astronauts
Nobody
asks why you fall in love, you just do. Why do I love this song so
much? Couldn't tell you, I just do, it's absolutely beautiful and
stirring and peaceful and everything we wanted Sonic Bliss to be. A demo
of this song was actually the reason the One Eskimo project got off the ground,
so I'm not the only one that hears it. I know the term Eskimo has become
offensive to many, so from this point forward we'll credit this song to
Kristian Leontiou.
Thank you for supporting 1,000 weeks of chillin' out. Thanks to Darren Revell for Big Sonic Heaven - our inspiration. Thanks to Rob Walker for letting us fill a void. Many more weeks are planned.
