Guest List: White Life

The Wake – Pale Spectrer

“Punk goes pop. It’s fun and guilt slowly dissipates. At the apex of the joy of “do-it-yourself” and the joy of pure pop, this song, its unintelligible lyrics, it’s giddy part-time-singer. “

Jackson 5 (Clifton Davis) – Never Can Say Goodbye

“This is Opera. Little Micheal brings the listener in somberly. As his emotions increase, so does the volume of the instruments, the intensity of his voice and the connectivity with the listener. A collision of genius, hard work, viability and undeniable performance. It’s my Mothers cell phone ringtone to boot. “

Mtume – Juicy Fruit

“Almost stream-of-consciousness, a freewheeling exercise in defying the expected within the confines of the best sounds available. Once the perfect beat is found, whatever else is done inside is permissible, and enjoyed. A song that perhaps was an experiment in creating sonic serotonin; a Petri Dish of the most pleasurable imaginable chords, sounds, words and melodies. ”

23 Jewels – Playing Bogart

“Where does this teenage romance meet the jaded singles game?” No, not a dance track, but raw raw raw lyrics and performance that leap out 30 years later. That’s power. I’ve listened to this song 300 times and it’s magic, still compelling. Anyone making songs should strive to this hugeness.

New Edition – She Gives Me A Bang

“What makes Zappa fringe and New Edition commercial? Get out of the context of Arthur Baker/NY electro-rap hipness/Jackson 5 revival, and this track is a very weird experiment in danceable bubblegum. Speed, key-changes, a universal truth, and a child guides us through. A near-perfectly composed headtrip. Evil genius Maurice Starr knows that we’re all vulnerable children, gettn “bangs,” and his ability to manipulate both his cash-cow performers as well as his listeners, while clearly questionable, is astounding. Is he in jail?”

Madonna – Borderline

“Modern folk music. My mother didn’t cook while humming Irish ditties, my neighbor wasn’t in the street playing fiddle tunes. Traditional folk music came to me later in life when I sought it out. The music that just arrived in my brain for the first 13 or so years of my existence was radio pop. Before my brain was fully formed I was hearing straight FM sugar. I knew Donny was my favorite New Kid On The Block before I had ever heard "Amazing Grace" (which I heard for the first time on a frequently running infomercial on cable TV). I wasn’t a conscious being when this song, or others much like it were popular or predominant, but between my sisters’ teeny-bopper music fandom of the period and my parents enjoyment of the radio, my unconscious brain learned this song, built connotations and stored them forever. Hearing this song has a very real neurological effect on me. I also like the bassline.?”