Poor Richard's Scorecard

The Friday Cheese Report: Gather 'Round, All You Clowns

Count me among those who have noticed the tendency of iTunes's shuffle function to be less random than one might expect. Today I have the evidence to prove it. Sprinkled among the repeats, though, is some delightfully cheesy music. Happy weekend, friends.

The Friday Cheese Report: I Look Like Robert DeNiro; I Drive a Mitsubishi Zero

1. "Sexuality," Billy Bragg | The clever British wordsmith puts aside his angsty socialism in place of a witty examination of lust; bonus points for Kirsty MacColl's backing vocals.
2. "Worn Me Down," Rachel Yamagata | The up-and-coming singer-songwriter has done the Grey's Anatomy thing; here's hoping it helps her find the bigger audience she deserves.
3. "On the Western Skyline," Bruce Hornsby and the Range | The lead track from the band's debut CD and a nicely lyrical, mandolin-driven tune from the days when Hornsby was more interested in catchy pop than experiments in jazz.
4. "Love Is the Seventh Wave," Sting | Hard to believe that the same dude who wrote "King of Pain" also gave us this piece of audio fluff.
5. "Here's Where the Story Ends," the Sundays | The strumming guitars and Harriet Wheeler's dreamy voice gel perfectly on a modern classic.
6. "Peaceful Easy Feeling," the Eagles | Before the up-and-down solo careers and bloated reunion tours, there was California country rock and driving at night with the windows down and singing as loud as you can to the sweet music pouring from the speakers.
7. "The Warrior," Scandal | Patty Smyth may not be the revered rock-poet/goddess that Patti Smith was said to be, but the band she fronted could sure produce a hit.
8. "Sometimes (Lester Piggott)," James | "Laid" got all the ink, but this nifty, soaring song from the Manchester band surpasses it.
9. "Seven Wonders," Fleetwood Mac | A tad overproduced, Tango in the Night wasn't the band at its best, but as this song showed, Mac's good was better than most bands' great.
10. "Left of Center," Suzanne Vega | The older I've gotten, the more I like Vega, and, boy, does this one still hold up after all these years. | PRS

"The Friday Cheese Report," a chronicle of the first 10 songs to be played randomly from my iTunes playlist "Of the Level," appears in Poor Richard's Scorecard every Friday.

The Friday Cheese Report: Thanks to You, Now I Get What I Want

I was hoping, of course, that at least one of the Michael Jackson songs in the playlist would pop up, but no luck. What a sad, sad, sad story--every aspect of it, from Jackson's unseemly fall from grace to the distressing deviance of his appearance to his untimely death. Regardless of whether the molestation allegations were true, he was chased for a long time by some seriously nasty demons. One wonders whether he's finally outrun them.

The Friday Cheese Report: She'll Give You Every Penny's Worth, But It Will Cost You a Dollar First

From emo heaven to '80s swagger, from classic '70s country rock to a collision between punk and alternative icons, this week's Friday Cheese offers some dairy for everyone:

The Friday Cheese Report: Listening Too Long to One Song

It's cold and chilly; I just had to put a sweater on, and it's June, for Christ's sake. What does it all mean? It means it's time for some Friday cheese. Pull up a laptop and soak in the first 10 songs chosen at random from my Of the Level playlist:

The Friday Cheese Report: I Wanna Publish Zines and Rage Against Machines

Fear not, dear reader: The successful launch of the Cheese's daily franchise does not mean the weekly collection of 10 goes away. Keep reading for this week's thoughts on the first 10 songs to be spit out of my favorite iTunes playlist:

1. "Tonight She Comes," the Cars | An original recording from the band's Greatest Hits CD, this is too slick and overproduced a work to stand with its seminal new-wave hits of the '80s, but it's still a fun listen.
2. "Red Light Fever," Liz Phair | Phair was pummeled by critics for daring, in her self-titled record of a few years back, to trade in her profane indie It Girl status for a more pop-oriented feel. Screw the haters, I say. Phair more than earned the right to make whatever album she damn well chose, and Liz Phair, while not terribly deep, is still good.