On this week's edition of Mark Steyn on the Town we go Dutch and go Kenyan - plus Linda Ronstadt, the Ames Brothers and Paul Whiteman with a cavalcade of Number Ones, and Sinatra sings the great iconic love songs of the last century.
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~Thank you for your comments about last week's edition. Suzy says:
I'm still smiling at 'Come Back with Me Wife's Nightie'. Such unusual lyrics but hilariously catchy!
Fran, a New Mexico Steyn Clubber, agrees on that one:
That sure was some enjoyable listening. I laughed as soon as I heard the calypso song about the nightie as I never heard lyrics quite like those.
Instantly, the salsa and rumba dance steps I learned sort of came back to me and the out-of-joint painful hip I endured all week slipped right back into the joint. Your musical presentations have medicinal benefits, Mark, but I wouldn't recommend the hip moves at home for just everyone.
Graham writes re our opening number:
The song you played 'February brings the rain' surely relates to the old saying "February fill dyke".
Love your show.
Maybe, Graham, but I confess that, even as an old folk saying, "February fills the dyke/Be it black or be it white" is such an atrocious rhyme it always makes me a little queasy.
For Nicola, a member of The Mark Steyn Club from francophone Ontario, it was our Café Continental and Sinatra Sextet:
Keep those Sinatra songs coming. How many recordings did he do anyway? I liked the classical music by Alec Wilder - reminds me of Miklos Rozsa.
And of course those French chansons. Je suis comblée.
One more from Josh, a Massachusetts Steyn Clubber:
Forsooth, that may be my favorite Sinatra Sextet so far! (Pity Dean missed it. Drying out, was he? Or did he have a, er, Trio of his own?) Where substance demands, form must follow, and Francis Albert was in rarest form. Between the bobby-soxer crooner with the boyish charm and the finger-snapping hipster with a girl on either arm stands this confident if lovelorn fellow, hat pushed back, collar open, with a story or four to tell.
And does he, man, ever. I've known Alec Wilder only as a chronicler and critic of American popular song—and that through your references to him—but the Air for English horn is truly lovely. A little bit Delius, as you say, a little bit Finzi or Vaughn Williams. Potato potahto.
As for which side of the street, Café Imperial or Continental, I'm torn this week. My toes tapped to the calypso and mambo beats, my heart fluttered to the chantoozies. Can't stay in the middle of the road, however. J'ai cherché les femmes.
Thanks for all your comments - including the critical ones. On the Town is my weekly music show on Serenade Radio every Saturday at 5pm Greenwich Mean Time - that's 6pm in western and central Europe/12 midday North American Eastern. You can listen from anywhere in the world by clicking the button at top right here.
As you know, I'm a great believer in old-school appointment listening, and love the way Serenade's Saturday schedule flows through the day. However, we appreciate that many potential listeners are, at the appointed hour, shampooing the cat. So, as a bonus for Steyn Club members, we post On the Town at SteynOnline every weekend. You can find all our previous shows here.
We do enjoy your comments on our weekend programming. Steyn Clubbers are welcome to leave them below. For more on The Mark Steyn Club, see here - and don't forget our special Gift Membership.
Mark Steyn on the Town can be heard on Serenade Radio at the following times:
Saturday 5pm London time/12 noon New York
Sunday 5am London time/9pm Los Angeles
Steyn's Song of the Week continues on Sunday, Monday and Thursday at the usual hour.
