Music abounded at the Democratic National Convention last week, in the scattershot riff-a-thon by DJ Cassidy and in live performances by Jason Isbell, Stevie Wonder and a Prince cover band fronted by Sheila E and John Legend. Plus the usual walk-on songs of uplift that were well-known (Neil Young, Springsteen) and maybe lesser known (New Radicals, Norah Jones).
Speaking of Dems, Barack Obama released his annual summer playlist, from which we picked a sweet 16 of everything from Charles Mingus and Etta James to Bob Dylan and, uh, another Norah Jones cut.
And hey, it was the birthday of Keith Allison of the Raiders, Valerie Simpson, Bob Cowsill, Shirley Manson, Jimmy Rushing and Leon Redbone. So even if the prerecorded show didn’t go on at 1 p.m. Monday as promised, it’s all here and pretty much the same experience: internet radio posing as actual radio.
Here’s a link to the whole show; the setlist follows.
Capital Radio August 26, 2024. 1 – 4:25 p.m. www.cygnusradio.com
- “Capital Radio Two,” The Clash
- “Move on Up,” Curtis Mayfield
- “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher,” Jackie Wilson
- “Higher Ground,” Stevie Wonder
- “Let’s Go Crazy,” Prince & The Revolution
- “You Get What You Give,” New Radicals
- “We Take Care of Our Own,” Bruce Springsteen
- “Something More Than Free,” Jason Isbell
- “Beautiful Day,” U2
- “Rockin’ in the Free World,” Neil Young
- “American Anthem,” Norah Jones
- “Rewriting the National Anthem,” Albert Brooks
- “Come Away with Me,” Norah Jones
- “One of These Things First,” Nick Drake
- “Silvio,” Bob Dylan
- “Unsuffer Me,” Lucinda Williams
- “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Beyoncé.
- “Don’t Cry Baby,” Etta James
- “Golden,” Jill Scott
- “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat),” Digable Planet
- “I Love the Life I Live, I Live the Life I Love,” Hubert Sumlin & Keith Richards
- “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.
- “Them Belly Full (But We Hungry),” Bob Marley & The Wailers
- “Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting,” Charles Mingus
- “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” The Rolling Stones
- “Chihiro,” Bille Eilish
- “Where Did Our Love Go?” The Supremes
- “If You Love Somebody Set Them Free,” Sting
- “Fortress Around Your Heart,” Sting
- “Sent for You Yesterday and Here You Come Today ,” Count Basie
- “Good Morning Blues (The Real Tuesday Weld Clarkenwell Mix),” Count Basie
- “Action, Action, Action,” Keith Allison
- “Indian Reservation,” The Raiders
- “X-Files Theme,” Mark Snow
- “Good Lovin’ Ain’t Easy to Come By,” Marvin Gaye & Valerie Simpson
- “California Soul,” Marvin Gaye & Valerie Simpson.
- “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
- “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
- “Stupid Girl,” Garbage
- “Only Happy When It Rains,” Garbage
- “Talk to Me,” Southside Johnny & The Asbury Dukes
- “I Don’t Want to Go Home,” Southside Johnny & The Asbury Dukes
- “Largo Nights,” The Cowsills
- “The Rain, the Park and Other Things,” The Cowsills
- “Haunted House,” Leon Redbone
Capital Radio returns Sept. 2 at 1 p.m. EDT on www.cygnusradio.com, where this and other recent shows are posted. The show can also be heard via the cygnusradio.com app, available free at iTunes or GooglePlay. Older shows are available at Substack.com/@rogercatlin.