I would have a lot of Z bands to choose from. A few that Dan lists below: Zombies, Zutons, ZZ Top, Frank Zappa, Zola Jesus, an amazing Australian ambient composer named Zosh.P, Warren Zevon...I'm not on my home computer or I'd have a lot more.
But to your list...I will admit to not knowing much Lee Hazelwood other than 2-3 songs that most people would have heard. Always love Mazzy Star and Lenny. Lenny gets a bad rap, but his first two albums are fantastic and though there are a few duds in later albums, he's always got a couple fun songs on most every release. I need to hear the new one.
Big fan of Zero 7. Have you heard the album they did with Swim Surreal in 2024? In the Half Light? It's got that modern yacht rock vibe that I explored in my last playlist.
And you picked three classics with Gorillaz' "Feel Good Inc," Franz Ferdinand "Take Me Out," and Weezer's "The World Has Turned..." I was unfamiliar with Fila Brazilia, but I totally dug the song you shared. I'll have to look into them.
I think I've heard of Sister Hazel, but did not know that song. That's probably my least favorite in the list. It sounds like wannabe Counting Crows but with less interesting lyrics or vocals. Sorry if they're a favorite of yours!:)
Hope you had a lovely Christmas and will have a fantastic rest of the year, going into 2025! What are you gonna write about for next year?
I'm ready to be done with the best of stuff, but I still have four posts of favorite songs. Gotta buckle in and get'r done. Yee haw!
Most of those Z bands I’ve heard of but never had in my CD collection although I’ve never heard of Zosh. P. Ambient isn’t always my bag but I’m certainly open and will give him a listen.
I don’t have a huge knowledge of Lee Hazlewood but I definitely enjoy his music. I had this amazing compilation that I’d happily play from start to finish: https://www.discogs.com/release/2575219-Lee-Hazlewood-These-Boots-Are-Made-For-Walkin-The-Complete-MGM-Recordings. I first heard him on the French band Air’s installment of the Late Night Tales compilation series. That’s also where I discovered Scott Walker whose album Scott 4 ended up making it on to my list of Desert Island Discs.
I’m definitely a big fan of Zero 7 but missed that collab with Swim Surreal. Thanks for turning me on to it!
Fila Brazillia is worth a listen though I was much more a fan of their remix work. There’s a Spotify playlist of some of their mixes worth checking out: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2VTYGzeHGWojEr1WkCKf3Q. I think you’d enjoy it, especially the remix of Black Uhuru’s “Boof N Baff N Biff”
Sister Hazel was very much a one hit wonder for me. I rarely listened to the entire album. That particular song is very much a time and place song for me.
Our Christmas break in Bermuda wasn’t quite what we’d envisioned as my dad was in hospital with a broken hip after a fall. They needed a part for his hip replacement and he’s been lying in a hospital bed for two weeks waiting for it to arrive. Very frustrating (more so for him obviously). Thankfully the part arrived today and he’s scheduled for surgery tomorrow. We just flew to NC today - we’ll be ringing in the new year in a log cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains before heading to the UK to start our house search in the new year.
Hope the holiday season was good for you. Have you finished the move into the new place yet?
I have one more best of post left to publish. I really haven’t had time to write much, even on my top ten, so I may end up just going with music critic reviews for those as well. We’ll see.
I’m honestly not 100% sure what I’ll be writing about next year. I want to do one or two recap posts on Alphabet Soup with some observations and data. I have a *BUNCH* of ideas for next year and I may just bounce around for a while before settling on a regular cadence and topic. It’s gonna be fun experimenting!
I'm thrilled that you've got a lot of ideas bouncing around, as that's the best thing. The promise and the potential. I imagine you can find plenty of Z songs to choose from. One that popped in my head right now is "I Zimbra" from Talking Heads' Fear of Music. There's Scorpions' "The Zoo." There's The Fixx "Saved by Zero." I'm forgetting if the first word needs to be a Z. I don't know if any of these are in your collection.
I'm sorry to hear about your father's broken hip and hip replacement. That is so common with older people. All it takes is one fall. Glad he's finally able to get the surgery.
I'm amazed that my aunt who lives in memory care, has osteoporosis and falls all the time, never broke her hip. I think she's figured out how to fall, having done it more than a dozen times (I've written about this a while back). It makes me feel that maybe I might become a good faller when I get older. I certainly drop a lot of shit and knock stuff off tables and counters. I've always called myself klutzy, but after learning of the missing part of my brain (which I believe you've read about), I'm thinking maybe my life long klutziness was due to that brain condition.
I'll definitely check out that Fila Brazilia mix that you linked to.
I'm fully burned out on compiling and writing this 8 part favorite songs project. I don't know what I was thinking. And the fact that less and less people are reading and commenting proves that readers are burned out too. So I'm gonna do parts 6-8 as one long post. And share the playlist that has all 80 tracks.
I’m not familiar with most of the songs you mentioned from my artists - will have to check them out! I love that you picked Tomorrow People by Ziggy Marley! Conscious Party was such a phenomenal album!
In The Waiting Line was the first Z7 song I heard (having hurt my back and wanting to regain strength and long-term pain relief, I was in a yoga class). The yoga instructor played it, and I was blown away by it. I immediately bought the record and have since grabbed When It Falls and The Garden. I regularly play them in my classroom, and over the years, many of my students have asked me who I am playing.
Into Dust is also my favorite Mazzy song. I have seen MS twice and Hope Sandoval solo 3 or 4 times, and every time she sings it, the audience hangs on every note.
Congrats on hitting the end of this series! Happy holidays!
PS: My wife and I toured Nova Scotia in 1994. We drove all over the island and stayed on Cape Breton. We then drove back down to Halifax and took the 12-hour ferry from Yarmouth (?) to Portland, Maine. That was the most seasick I have ever been!
While I do enjoy the other Z7 albums, Simple Things will always be my favorite.
I would’ve loved to see Mazzy Star in concert. I’m sure Hope Sandoval must be compelling.
Nova Scotia is lovely. The ferry would definitely have been from Yarmouth. I had a bunch of friends from that area but never made it down that way. Cape Breton is certainly beautiful as well and my wife and I toured it about 20 years ago.
First off, huge congratulations on completing the series and, importantly, sticking to the schedule.
I’ve really enjoyed reading about the memories/events/places/people associated with each song, and I look forward to seeing what Joy in the Journey has in store for next year!
Lenny’s Mama Said is such a great album, and that song in particular is among his best work.
On that note, wishing you and Tina a happy, peaceful, restful Christmas. See you on the other side!
Thanks Andy, for being a consistent reader and supporter of Joy In The Journey, and a new friend! I agree with you, Mama Said is an incredible album, Lenny’s best IMO and that is indeed one of the best songs. Have a safe, happy and merry Christmas! I’m sure I’ll see you at some point in the new year.
I was surprised to find quite a few artists starting with a Z, that I love : Zucchero : "Diavolo In Me". I have a soft spot for ZZ Top's Gimme All Your Lovin' and Sharp Dressed Man. But the crown jewel of my "Z collection" is Zulema. An often overlooked Soul singer from the 70's who had three albums on RCA. Her song "Change" is one of disco's secret gems.
I’m not familiar with any of these artists except ZZ Top, which I never had in my collection. That Zucchero song is a lot of fun! I’ve never heard of Zulema. I listened to her song ‘You Changed Me’ which was lovely. I had to go to YouTube to find ‘Change’ which doesn’t seem to be available digitally and it was fantastic!!
When I wrote my reply I was wondering if Zucchero is even known outside Europe? Probably not but check out his work. He's one of the best Italian artists of the last 30 years. I've just decided to do an episode on Zulema. Such a talent but completely overlooked. I have the impression that it never was a priority for RCA.
I would have a lot of Z bands to choose from. A few that Dan lists below: Zombies, Zutons, ZZ Top, Frank Zappa, Zola Jesus, an amazing Australian ambient composer named Zosh.P, Warren Zevon...I'm not on my home computer or I'd have a lot more.
But to your list...I will admit to not knowing much Lee Hazelwood other than 2-3 songs that most people would have heard. Always love Mazzy Star and Lenny. Lenny gets a bad rap, but his first two albums are fantastic and though there are a few duds in later albums, he's always got a couple fun songs on most every release. I need to hear the new one.
Big fan of Zero 7. Have you heard the album they did with Swim Surreal in 2024? In the Half Light? It's got that modern yacht rock vibe that I explored in my last playlist.
And you picked three classics with Gorillaz' "Feel Good Inc," Franz Ferdinand "Take Me Out," and Weezer's "The World Has Turned..." I was unfamiliar with Fila Brazilia, but I totally dug the song you shared. I'll have to look into them.
I think I've heard of Sister Hazel, but did not know that song. That's probably my least favorite in the list. It sounds like wannabe Counting Crows but with less interesting lyrics or vocals. Sorry if they're a favorite of yours!:)
Hope you had a lovely Christmas and will have a fantastic rest of the year, going into 2025! What are you gonna write about for next year?
I'm ready to be done with the best of stuff, but I still have four posts of favorite songs. Gotta buckle in and get'r done. Yee haw!
Most of those Z bands I’ve heard of but never had in my CD collection although I’ve never heard of Zosh. P. Ambient isn’t always my bag but I’m certainly open and will give him a listen.
I don’t have a huge knowledge of Lee Hazlewood but I definitely enjoy his music. I had this amazing compilation that I’d happily play from start to finish: https://www.discogs.com/release/2575219-Lee-Hazlewood-These-Boots-Are-Made-For-Walkin-The-Complete-MGM-Recordings. I first heard him on the French band Air’s installment of the Late Night Tales compilation series. That’s also where I discovered Scott Walker whose album Scott 4 ended up making it on to my list of Desert Island Discs.
I’m definitely a big fan of Zero 7 but missed that collab with Swim Surreal. Thanks for turning me on to it!
Fila Brazillia is worth a listen though I was much more a fan of their remix work. There’s a Spotify playlist of some of their mixes worth checking out: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2VTYGzeHGWojEr1WkCKf3Q. I think you’d enjoy it, especially the remix of Black Uhuru’s “Boof N Baff N Biff”
Sister Hazel was very much a one hit wonder for me. I rarely listened to the entire album. That particular song is very much a time and place song for me.
Our Christmas break in Bermuda wasn’t quite what we’d envisioned as my dad was in hospital with a broken hip after a fall. They needed a part for his hip replacement and he’s been lying in a hospital bed for two weeks waiting for it to arrive. Very frustrating (more so for him obviously). Thankfully the part arrived today and he’s scheduled for surgery tomorrow. We just flew to NC today - we’ll be ringing in the new year in a log cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains before heading to the UK to start our house search in the new year.
Hope the holiday season was good for you. Have you finished the move into the new place yet?
I have one more best of post left to publish. I really haven’t had time to write much, even on my top ten, so I may end up just going with music critic reviews for those as well. We’ll see.
I’m honestly not 100% sure what I’ll be writing about next year. I want to do one or two recap posts on Alphabet Soup with some observations and data. I have a *BUNCH* of ideas for next year and I may just bounce around for a while before settling on a regular cadence and topic. It’s gonna be fun experimenting!
I'm thrilled that you've got a lot of ideas bouncing around, as that's the best thing. The promise and the potential. I imagine you can find plenty of Z songs to choose from. One that popped in my head right now is "I Zimbra" from Talking Heads' Fear of Music. There's Scorpions' "The Zoo." There's The Fixx "Saved by Zero." I'm forgetting if the first word needs to be a Z. I don't know if any of these are in your collection.
I'm sorry to hear about your father's broken hip and hip replacement. That is so common with older people. All it takes is one fall. Glad he's finally able to get the surgery.
I'm amazed that my aunt who lives in memory care, has osteoporosis and falls all the time, never broke her hip. I think she's figured out how to fall, having done it more than a dozen times (I've written about this a while back). It makes me feel that maybe I might become a good faller when I get older. I certainly drop a lot of shit and knock stuff off tables and counters. I've always called myself klutzy, but after learning of the missing part of my brain (which I believe you've read about), I'm thinking maybe my life long klutziness was due to that brain condition.
I'll definitely check out that Fila Brazilia mix that you linked to.
I'm fully burned out on compiling and writing this 8 part favorite songs project. I don't know what I was thinking. And the fact that less and less people are reading and commenting proves that readers are burned out too. So I'm gonna do parts 6-8 as one long post. And share the playlist that has all 80 tracks.
Need more “Z”? Take a listen to Zippers to Nowhere, probably not your jam by the above list, but ya never know!
I listened to their album ZTN - TAKE IT EASY on Bandcamp. Not something I’d listen to regularly but I enjoyed it.
Here are a few of my favorites by some of the artists you mention:
Franz Ferdinand - Michael
Lenny Kravitz - Ride
Gorillaz - Dare
Weezer - Beach Boys
Also:
The Zombies - She's Not There
The Zutons - Creeping on the Dancefloor
Ziggy Marley - Tomorrow People
ZZ Top - Sharp Dressed Man
Yaz - Situation
I’m not familiar with most of the songs you mentioned from my artists - will have to check them out! I love that you picked Tomorrow People by Ziggy Marley! Conscious Party was such a phenomenal album!
In The Waiting Line was the first Z7 song I heard (having hurt my back and wanting to regain strength and long-term pain relief, I was in a yoga class). The yoga instructor played it, and I was blown away by it. I immediately bought the record and have since grabbed When It Falls and The Garden. I regularly play them in my classroom, and over the years, many of my students have asked me who I am playing.
Into Dust is also my favorite Mazzy song. I have seen MS twice and Hope Sandoval solo 3 or 4 times, and every time she sings it, the audience hangs on every note.
Congrats on hitting the end of this series! Happy holidays!
PS: My wife and I toured Nova Scotia in 1994. We drove all over the island and stayed on Cape Breton. We then drove back down to Halifax and took the 12-hour ferry from Yarmouth (?) to Portland, Maine. That was the most seasick I have ever been!
While I do enjoy the other Z7 albums, Simple Things will always be my favorite.
I would’ve loved to see Mazzy Star in concert. I’m sure Hope Sandoval must be compelling.
Nova Scotia is lovely. The ferry would definitely have been from Yarmouth. I had a bunch of friends from that area but never made it down that way. Cape Breton is certainly beautiful as well and my wife and I toured it about 20 years ago.
First off, huge congratulations on completing the series and, importantly, sticking to the schedule.
I’ve really enjoyed reading about the memories/events/places/people associated with each song, and I look forward to seeing what Joy in the Journey has in store for next year!
Lenny’s Mama Said is such a great album, and that song in particular is among his best work.
On that note, wishing you and Tina a happy, peaceful, restful Christmas. See you on the other side!
Thanks Andy, for being a consistent reader and supporter of Joy In The Journey, and a new friend! I agree with you, Mama Said is an incredible album, Lenny’s best IMO and that is indeed one of the best songs. Have a safe, happy and merry Christmas! I’m sure I’ll see you at some point in the new year.
Thank you and likewise! Looking forward to seeing you in the new year!
I was surprised to find quite a few artists starting with a Z, that I love : Zucchero : "Diavolo In Me". I have a soft spot for ZZ Top's Gimme All Your Lovin' and Sharp Dressed Man. But the crown jewel of my "Z collection" is Zulema. An often overlooked Soul singer from the 70's who had three albums on RCA. Her song "Change" is one of disco's secret gems.
I’m not familiar with any of these artists except ZZ Top, which I never had in my collection. That Zucchero song is a lot of fun! I’ve never heard of Zulema. I listened to her song ‘You Changed Me’ which was lovely. I had to go to YouTube to find ‘Change’ which doesn’t seem to be available digitally and it was fantastic!!
When I wrote my reply I was wondering if Zucchero is even known outside Europe? Probably not but check out his work. He's one of the best Italian artists of the last 30 years. I've just decided to do an episode on Zulema. Such a talent but completely overlooked. I have the impression that it never was a priority for RCA.
I’d heard of but never listened to Zucchero
The first one that popped into my head was a pop Will Eat Itself’s “X, Y, and Zee.”a little off
Menu, but still.
Would also add ZZ Top’s “Move Me on Down the Line.”
Not a huge fan of ZZ Top but that’s a pretty good one!
BTW, I love the variety of festivities to choose from 😁. My choice isn’t listed, though 😂—we celebrate Saturnalia!
Io Saturmalia to you!