motel de moka

Billie Holiday & Lester Young - When You’re Smiling
Billie Holiday and Lester Young Complete recordings 1937-1946

If I had to choose only one Billie Holiday song, without question it would be “When You’re Smiling.” Everyone plays like a genius on this one. Benny Morton’s gutsy and smooth trombone to kick it off, Buck Clayton’s impeccable obbligato behind the singer, and Lester Young’s magnificent solo that starts at 2:05 and sends the song into stratosphere.

Nina Simone - My baby just cares for me
Little Girl Blue (Bethlehem Records / 1968)

So simple and effective. There’s some sort of vocal stretch she does from 2:42 through 2:52 that showcases her incredible vocal range and makes me lose my breath everytime I hear it.

Jacqueline Taïeb - Le Cœur au bout des doigts
Lolita Chick 68 (Mad French / 2000)

60’s french pop with a stunning horn section and an undeniably funky and infectious rhythm. Incredibly fun and sexy.

Norman Greenbaum - Spirit in the sky
Spirit in the sky (1970)

One of my favorite radio hits from the 70’s. Classic guitar riff and best use of rattlesnake percussion ever.

Tommy Roe - Sweet Pea
Sweet pea (1966)

It’s all about that drum break. Sweet pop that never gets corrosive and that in my humble opinion, stands out above everything else done in the genre at the time.

Marshall Crenshaw - You’re my favorite waste of time
Marshall Crenshaw (1982)

A lo-fi masterpiece and one of those songs that always brings back a collection of idyllic childhood memories. I think a big part of the charm of this recording is how the whole thing sounds like a beautiful accident, a group of friends jamming in a home studio after smoking a few joints and setting up everything in one simple take. There’s genuine happiness spread all over it.
I was delighted to read Sean’s post a year ago where he tells this was his favorite song ever (He’s actually referring to Owen Paul’s cover, mind you, but I’m happy about the coincidence).

Tom Waits - Alice
Alice (Anti / 2002)

A sensuous nocturnal ballad with violently beautiful lyrics. It’s hard to top all the imagery and sounds Mr. Waits manages to evoke with such little space.

Louis Armstrong - Hello Dolly!
Hello Dolly 7″ (1964)

I imagine that caught up in the political and cultural turmoil of the mid-sixties, ‘Hello dolly’ would have sounded a tad out of place: sappy, lighthearted lyrics and a simple acoustic jazz arrangement in a time when mainstream didn’t really care about jazz anymore. And yet, Armstrong presents this little piece of timeless ditty in such a charming and deliriously engaging way that it even managed to push the Beatles off their #1 perch on the charts when they were at the peak of their popularity.

Note: For the past weeks I’ve been spending a great deal of time doing a reinventory of every song in my collection. I tend to organize my music following mood rather than genre, so I’ve been spending full days categorizing, trashing and rekindling my love for some songs and albums that I haven’t heard in a while. Amidst all the nostalgia and surprises I made a 24 song playlist with songs that never fail to amuse me, some of which have been with me for more than 10 years, and which I’m splitting into 3 different parts to share with you. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. I’d love to read recommendations if you have any and your very own list of favorite songs of all time if you wish to share.

Images: Matte Stephens