Kansas City Playlist: Shooting Or Gunfire?!?

The official start of Summer is next week but already locals have seen a preview of the next few months on local streets inasmuch as reckless driving and senseless violence have defined Kansas City life for at least a half decade.

Accordingly . . . This cowtown game has been around for awhile but our www.TonysKansasCity.com blog community defined the trend and popularized its use . . .

KANSAS CITY RESIDENTS NOW PLAY "SHOOTING OR GUNFIRE" AS JULY 4TH MOVES CLOSER AND SUMMER VIOLENCE IS ALREADY TRENDING!!!

It's not a fun game but something that helps gauge neighborhood danger and sometimes offers a modicum of respite amid otherwise turbulent times. 

For the record, both celebratory gunfire AND fireworks are illegal within city limits. 

Accordingly . . . 

All of this, along with our hope that the homicide count continues a downward trend this year inspires our playlist tonight on the topic of important distinctions . . .

Let's start with a bang and a bit of musical quandary that this old school song was never really that controversial: Originally written by Bob Marley, Eric Clapton's version of I Shot the Sheriff appeared on his 1974 solo album, '461 Ocean Boulevard.' It is the most successful version of the song, peaking at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Katy Perry has massive talents and not all of them are musical. Accordingly, her firework anthem released in 2010 is worth a mention if only because the video makes it clear SHE KNOWS why she's famous.

Forgive us for picking up the pace with one of our faves from 2002. We're not sure what this song from super group Audioslave means BUT the pyrotechnic clip was one of the last great hard rock music video productions before the social media era.

Songs about gunfire tend to glorify violence, and while this old school classic from Johnny Cash isn't exactly a public service message . . . The tune is a more thoughtful country music consideration of the cycle of violence.

To conclude because our TKC playlists are always about nostalgia . . . The original version of the song, "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)", was released by Cher in 1966 and was famously covered by Nancy Sinatra in the same year. Frank's daughter has the better version related to our consideration of acoustics, showmanship & totally preventable local violence.

As always, thanks for reading this week and have a safe & fun Saturday night.