by Keller // David & Keller
This quarantine has been pretty special, folks. David and I are living our best lives. We don't miss anything or anyone. We aren't merely surviving—we are thriving. I know because the imaginary friends I've created over the past 10 weeks told me at 3PM this morning while enjoying breakfast that I've never looked better and my stories are all "ripping yarns" that demand retelling.
"Bravo!" yelled Holden.
Patty was whistling as if calling a dog back from the neighbor's yard!
Clancy and Sam were both in tears!
It was quite the ruckus.
So, yeah, the pandemic has sucked. But we are healthy and safe. So far. And we hope you all are doing well, too. I sure hope we can one day look back on mattress companies and hamburger joints comforting us with their platitudes and have a good chuckle. I mean, I was having a pretty rough day until Jim's Sunglass Shop reminded me on his marquee out front that we're all in this together! And, right now, you can get your second pair of polarized shades for half off! I feel better just typing those special words and equally special offer.
Aside from collecting imaginary friends, this pandemic has afforded us a lot of time to dive into pleasant distractions like books, shows and music. I've mainly found my comfort in music. Spotify has been great for that. However, the streaming service does have its shortcomings. For example, you cannot listen to Ben E. King's "Don't Let Me Down," which is one of the best Beatles covers you'll ever find. Overall, though, Spotify is convenient and has been a great distraction. The rabbit holes you'll find there are much less depressing or distressing than those you'll find on Twitter and many other online platforms.
I suspect a lot of artists might have a different take on Spotify and its ilk. I don't have a solution for that, but I do know that going back to hard copies of music is ludicrous. Artists need to figure out how to get paid properly in a digital world. There is not another world for the vast majority of listeners, and this is coming from someone with trunks filled with CDs and dozens of vinyl records scattered around the house. I guess what I am saying is, don't blame consumers for wanting a product that's easier and less expensive to get. They'll sacrifice one of those qualities, but certainly not both. I obviously don't have the answers. But I do have playlists. Lots of them.
The David & Keller Radio Show began a year or so ago, and we quickly settled into a "theme" format. Each week we pick a different theme and play songs built around that word or idea. With a few exceptions, the theme is addressed in the title of the songs we play. Pretty easy rules to follow. We've had shows featuring songs about mothers, booze, space, cars and food. Our genres are all over the map, but lean heavily toward older soul, country and indie rock. Big fans of the Numero Group catalog here.
One of the more popular themes we do (and by "popular" I mean it's popular with the two of us) is a covers show. We've done maybe four or five of them, so we thought we should kick this quarantine off with another one. For this week's show, we are focusing solely on Beatles covers (as well as covers of John, Paul, George and Ringo's post-Beatles ventures). It's always fun to hear an artist's interpretation of another artist's song, and we are especially fond of cross-genre covers, so you won't hear too many "faithful" covers on this or on any of our shows. That said, Todd Rundgren's cover of "Strawberry Fields Forever" on this playlist is, as its album title suggests, faithful to the original.
At any rate, I'll stop talking now. Holden, Patty and the gang are growing restless, and I guess you might be, too. Enjoy, stay safe and, uh, don't forget that we're all searching for incredible online deals together!
- Keller
P.S. Pro Spotify Tip: Go to your preferences, click "advanced settings" and select crossfade. Set it to around 10 seconds. Much smoother transitions. And pay the $10 per month for premium. Not only will you avoid ads, but the playlists can be played in the order in which they were meant to be played. Most playlists are curated and arranged in a particular way by design. When you lose that order, you lose a lot, in my opinion. So, if you can spare the ten bucks, do it. You'll be glad you did.