-Joe Raposo
Thank you for taking interest in "The Songs of Joe Raposo," a compilation that I have been producing for the past couple years after months of research and conceptualization . The short story for how this project came to be has to do with a revelation that I had a few years ago regarding pop music. I was overdosing on Beatles, Beach Boys and '60s sunshine/soft pop (5th Dimension, Carpenters, Free Design, etc), thanks in part to the giant rabbit hole of the internet that I fell into (such as The Smile Shop--a website dedicated to the investigation of the lost Beach Boys' "SMiLE album"--there seemed to be a way to find *anything* on the web!). What occured to me, probably twixt Jimmy Webb or Graham Gouldman listening sessions, was that so much of the best adult pop music from the '60s was full of childhood themes and images. Carole King sang, "every day can be my magic carpet ride." The Association told us about a girl named Windy "bending down to give us a rainbow." Why couldn't the opposite be true? Why couldn't the best children's music be good for adults?
Like the works of Rudyard Kipling or Shel Silverstein, the music that Joe Raposo created for Sesame Street certainly speaks to us as adults. Although I certainly watched Sesame Street as a kid and certainly have a lot of nostalgic feelings connected to the music, when I got reintroduced to it as an adult in soft-pop circles (and from people who had ripped obscure recordings off of Sesame Street records) I heard a lot of the touchstones of classic pop in full mastery. The pictoral arranging of Bacharach, the melancholy jazz of Jobim, the A&M friendly funk of Thom Bell, the breezy pop of the Beatles and Beach Boys. It's all in there.
The Autumn Defense - http://www.theautumndefense.com/
The Autumn Defense contribute a luminous version of the Raposo chestnut "Bein' Green," a song that Frank Oz personally told me was one of the three biggest songs of Raposo's Sesame St. legacy. Delivered here with an Abbey Road flair, John and Pat build skillfully off the Ray Charles version, adding their own spectral harmonies.
The Autumn Defense - Bein Green
BMX Bandits - http://www.myspace.com/bmxbanditsgroup
The Heavy Blinkers - http://theheavyblinkers.wordpress.com/
http://www.myspace.com/theheavyblinkers
Kelley Stoltz - http://kelleystoltz.com/
http://www.subpop.com/artists/kelley_stoltz
Laura Cantrell - http://www.lauracantrell.com/
Norman Blake/Euros Childs/Bill Wells - http://www.euroschilds.com/hear-the-jonny-album/
http://www.teenagefanclub.com/
Cotton Candy - http://www.teenbeatrecords.com/
http://www.myspace.com/cottoncandyteenbeat
Future Pilot AKA - http://www.futurepilotaka.com/
Harvey Williams - http://www.last.fm/music/Harvey+Williams
http://www.myspace.com/harveywilliams2
The Volebeats - http://www.myspace.com/volebeats
Brian Dewan - http://www.dewanatron.com/
Orwell - http://www.orwellmusic.com/
Paul Steel - http://www.paulsteelmusic.co.uk/
Milkyway - http://www.elefant.com/bands/la-casa-azul
http://www.myspace.com/guillemilkyway
Modular - http://www.elefant.com/bands/modular
http://www.myspace.com/modulantes
The Nimbleines - http://www.myspace.com/thenimbleines
The Brigadier - http://www.thebrigadier.co.uk/
The Green Fields - http://www.myspace.com/thegreenfields
Hope Chest - http://www.myspace.com/hopechest
Humberto - http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/hatq
The Joe Raposo House Band - myspace.com/joeraposo
Jon Hunt - http://www.blueskyblackout.com/
http://www.facebook.com/blueskyblackout
Mary Edwards - http://www.maryedwardsmusic.com/
Mercy James - http://www.mercyjames.com/
Paula Kelley - http://www.paulakelley.com/
Scott and Shelby Hunt - http://www.scottandshelbyhunt.com/
The Second Hand Orchestra - http://www.myspace.com/singasongfighter
The Simple Carnival - http://www.simplecarnival.com/
Universe Society - http://www.myspace.com/universesociety
Love - Norman Blake/Euros Childs/Bill Wells
Universe Society - Swing Up High/Starfish
Cotton Candy - City Alphabet
Second-Hand Orchestra - Seahorse
Paula Kelley - Little Things
Harvey Williams - Trying Song
Future Pilot AKA - Imagination
The Brigadier - Couldn't We Ride
The Autumn Defense - Bein Green
Kelley Stoltz - Easy Reader
The Nimbleines - Love
Humberto - Two
Joe Raposo House Band - Kids Playing In Snow
The Green Fields - Touch Hold Feel
Joe Raposo House Band - Green Snake
