Beyond Radio is the place where music discovery and music nostalgia collide. It is your one-stop source for playlists, music charts, remembrances and recommendations. Our Podcast and music therapy playlists combine elements of nostalgia and discovery, while my blog entries reflect on our musical past through the lens of my personal charts from decades past. I weave a story that includes the connection between artists, chart facts and personal anecdotes that hopefully conjure a connection to the soundtrack of your own life. The current charts and playlists are updated monthly or bi-monthly (bi-weekly for the BR250) and are curated based on a passionate audience that produce their own personal charts weekly.
Today is my 15th wedding anniversary to my adorable husband John. It is also the 29th anniversary of our meeting. Today is a glorious (and gorgeous) day but 2 nights ago I had an emotional evening where a number of stress points came to a head and it plagued me all night. The next morning when I went out to do my Uber drive, I put on the Positively Happy playlist. I wanted to give you a few examples from that playlist. These were the first 3 songs that played.
The first was extremely appropriate as the name is “New Morning” from Austin, Texas band Alpha Rev. This song hit #100 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2010 and spent 3 weeks at #1 on my personal chart. If you were watching the VH1 top 20 countdown in 2010 (did they still show videos then?) the song spent 11 weeks on that list. It was a perfect way to start the day.
Next came the song “I Said I Love You” from the Mavericks’ lead singer Raul Malo’s first solo album from 2001. On this album he explored his Latin heritage as is evidenced on this effervescent song full of mariachi horns. We saw him live in Newburyport, MA that summer and it was party from beginning to end. This and another song from the album, “I See You”, both reached #1 on my personal chart.
This segued to another happy upbeat ditty by UK artist Olly Murs “Stevie Know”, a clear homage to Stevie Wonder. From the music to the lyric “soon as you come in this house I’m going to take you to Higher Ground. Stevie don’t wonder, Stevie knows” this is a truly happy toe-tapping song. Surprisingly this infectious tune which reached #5 song on my personal chart saw no chart action in the UK. When it was released in 2015.
The playlist in its entirety pushes great buttons and I believe can break you out of a down mood.
Some of the other music therapy playlists that I am working on and will debut soon include:
“Let The Cry Out” destined to push your emotional buttons
“I’m With Her” an homage to strong and powerful women
“Radical Remake Therapy” which should be easy to figure out
“Boy Band Therapy” and “Jazz Pop Therapy”
There will be many more to follow. I will be adding pages to the website in the next week to make it easy to find all the different playlists that I offer.
