Tag Archives: Songs in the Key of Life

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Song of the Day #6,107: ‘Sir Duke’ – Stevie Wonder

Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1976…

#4 – Songs in the Key of Life – Stevie Wonder

Like Hotel California, this is a classic album with which I don’t fully vibe. But I certainly appreciate it more than that one.

Stevie Wonder’s double album is his top-selling and most critically-acclaimed work, a Grammy Album of the Year winner that is certified Diamond in the U.S. It’s a sprawling showcase of Wonder’s talents as a writer and performer, combing R&B, soul, jazz, and pop sounds in a 17-track suite.

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Song of the Day #4,650: ‘Another Star’ – Stevie Wonder

One of my great musical shames is my inability to appreciate Stevie Wonder.

I understand why he’s considered a genius, and one of the most influential and accomplished artists of all time. I hear the intricacy in his melodies and instrumentation, and I marvel that he often played all the instruments himself. I pay my respects to a man who once won three Album of the Year Grammys during a four year span in the mid-70s, a feat nobody else has managed.

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Song of the Day #3,246: ‘Knocks Me Off My Feet’ – Stevie Wonder vs. Talking Heads

I’m curious to see how this vote goes. Stevie Wonder, an unquestioned musical genius and living legend, against Talking Heads, one of alternative music’s most innovative and influential bands.

This isn’t a tough call for me. I appreciate Stevie Wonder’s music more than I like it (don’t tell Michelle Obama!). Talking Heads, on the other hand, works for me on every level.

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Song of the Day #1,450: ‘Ordinary Pain’ – Stevie Wonder

I’ve never liked Stevie Wonder as much as I feel I probably should. Certainly Songs in the Key of Life deserved consideration for my list of the best 70s albums, but I never gave it a second thought. As much as I appreciate this album, and Wonder’s music in general, I’ve never found it in me to love it.

Today’s Random Weekend selection is a perfect encapsulation of my feelings about Stevie Wonder — it’s brilliant right up until it stops being brilliant and starts being annoying.

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Song of the Day #278: ‘Isn’t She Lovely’ – Stevie Wonder

stevie_wonderI have a recurring thought that came to me once during an Academy Awards telecast… Stevie Wonder has no idea what Jack Nicholson looks like. I’m not sure why that rather obvious and trite concept struck me with such force.

I’ve always been fascinated and horrified by blindness… the thought of it scares the hell out of me, frankly. When I was a kid, we used to play those “Would you rather” games and “Would you rather be deaf or blind?” was an old standby. To me it was no contest. As much as I’d miss music and the sound of people’s voices, etc., it wouldn’t even come close to being eternally in the dark.

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