Kansas City Playlist: Local Mixed Feelings

Tonight we start the "season of love" Kansas City wherein everybody happily joins the effort to manipulate emotions. 

It's too easy to complain about Valentin's Day, here's what we like about this time of season . . . 

Everyone with cupcakes. fancy dinners and/or life insurance to sell is openly tugging at heart strings and admitting that most decisions are powered by emotion and little else. 

Smug reactionaries deny the power of emotion if only to downplay the feelings of EVERYONE ELSE. Others, skilled by empathy might realize that humans are emotional creatures and understanding/respecting the feelings of customers, voters, neighbors & lovers is essential in a an increasingly interconnected world wherein we rely on each other more than we'd ever want to admit. 

Either way . . .  

Yet another season of love is all around us whether we like it or not.  

And so, tonight we dedicate our www.TonysKansasCity.com playlist to songs that acknowledge the emotional component in our lives . . .

Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" has started many a cinematic journey and tonight we indulge in nostalgia and remember the 1991 "phone love" video reboot for a song that was originally produced in 1975. 

Let's follow-up with Hootie & The Blowfish who penned the 1994 track "Let Her Cry" which, tragically, remains a college frat bro anthem for all "the feels" that the future middle-class must confront.

We'll try to stay a bit more current with a somewhat recent Miley Cyrus cover of the disco classic "Heart Of Glass" and a performance that is part burlesque and hard rock at the same time . . .

For the bridge we share 1984 "Sister Christian" from Night Ranger. The story is that is was written as a bit of brotherly advice from drummer Kelly Keagy to his younger sister &mdash'; The reality is that the song reached peak 80s "power ballad" status for so many tracks geard toward tweaking the emotions of loyal fans and providing an appropriate finale for so much disposable arena rock of the era.

Finally, we finish with massive and totally campy monster hit from the 70s that was completely fake. The tune "Feelings" dominated international radio from 1974 to 1975 & While credited to Brazilian singer Morris Albert, it was determined in 1986 that the melody was taken from Louis Gasté's 1957 song "Pour Toi". It's a truly horrible ditty but it serves and important purpose nevertheless . . . Even in the darkest hour, there is NO WAY any reasonable person can listen to this song and not dust themselves off and get on with their life in order to avoid the outlandishly insincere sentiments expressed by horrifically trite lyrics.

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