Do as I say...

A Valentine's Day playlist for the love-lorn. Or a motivational playlist for anytime.

On her Christmas album “Child”, Jane Siberry makes a comment between songs about how she dislikes hearing songs about salvation and redemption without first presenting the need for salvation and redemption. This mix brings the same concept to Valentine's Day.

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It's a pretty personal mix I've been working on for a couple of years now, adding and subtracting until it came out right. First we wallow, then we move through longing and hope, to motivation for new beginnings, to realizing them. I've been through all these stages only to wind up back at the beginning. Maybe I'm at stage two. (which is why ...not as I do.)

I didn't make this an Unpopular Music episode proper, since, though it covers a lot of stylistic ground, it doesn't really fit the typical template of that program. Firstly there's no jazz to speak of. It's largely made up of pop songs in various styles, from introspective to rockin'. But there are also a few country ballads, Mozart and Handel, a few showtunes, and since I could probably make a whole show on this topic consisting entirely of Jonathan Richman songs, it is a compromise that there are only three.

artist	title	album	comments	label / date
Gary Lewis and the Playboys	The Loser (With A Broken Heart)	The Legendary Masters Series	song by Leon Russell and Don Nix hat tip to the Cool Kids Club	EMI - USA 1967
The Bobby Fuller Four	Love's made a fool of you	I fought the law	song by Buddy Holly and Bob Montgomery	Mustang Records 1966
Neil Young	Oh, Lonesome me	After the Gold Rush	Neil Young and Crazy Horse with Greg Reeves, Steve Stills and Nils Lofgren (and Jack Nitzsche) song by Don Gibson	Reprise 1970
Willie Nelson	You Don't Know Me	You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker	song by Cindy Walker and Eddy Arnold	Lost Highway 2006
Warren Zevon	Searching for a Heart	Learning to Flinch		Giant Records 1993
Sam Phillips	I Need Love	Martinis & Bikinis		Virgin 1994
Fritz Wunderlich, Berliner Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm	Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön	Mozart: Die Zauberflöte, K. 620	music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, text by Emanuel Schikaneder	Deutsche Grammophon 1964
Karin Krog and Dexter Gordon	Blues Eyes	Don't Just Sing: A Karin Krog Anthology 1963-1999	Dexter Gordon (ts) Kenny Drew (org) Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (b) Espen Rud (d) song by Berndt Egerbladh and Karin Krog originally from Some Other Spring, Blues and Ballads	Light in the Attic 1970
Neil Young & Crazy Horse	Love to Burn	Weld	Neil Young (voc, g) Frank "Poncho" Sampedro (g, voc) Billy Talbot (b) Ralph Molina (d)	Reprise 1991
Jennifer Warnes	Somewhere, Somebody	The Hunter	song by Max Carl, Andrew Kastner and Larry John McNally	Private Music 1992
The Clean	Someone	Anthology	song by David Kilgour, Hamish Kilgour, and Robert Scott originally from from Vehicle	Flying Nun 1990
Jonathan Richman	Our Drab Ways	Because Her Beauty is Raw and Wild	Tommy Larkins (d)	Vapor 2005
Vula Viel	Do Not Be Afraid	Do Not Be Afraid	Bex Burch (gyil, song) Ruth Goller (b) Jim Hart (d) Gwyneth Herbert (voc) hat tip to DJ Samantha	Vula Viel Records 2018
George Jones	Let A Little Lovin' Come In	The Essential George Jones, Volume 2	song by Leon Payne	Legacy Entertainment 1965
Peggy Lee	Watch What Happens	Big $pender	music by Michel Legrand English lyrics by Norman Gimbel arr. Bill Holman	Capitol Records 1966
Larry Kert	Something's Coming	West Side Story - Original Cast Album	with Max Hoberman and the Orchestra song by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim	Columbia 1957
The Smiths	Ask	Louder Than Bombs	Morrissey (voc) Johnny Marr (g) Andy Rourke (b) Mike Joyce (d) song by Johnny Marr and Morrissey	Sire 1986
Aaron Sheehan, Boston Early Music Festival Chamber Ensemble, Paul O'Dette, Stephen Stubbs	Air - Love sounds th'alarm and fear is a-flying	Acis and Galatea	music by George Frideric Handel	cpo 2013
The Modern Lovers	Someone I Care About	Precise Modern Lovers Order	Jonathan Richman (voc, g, song) Jerry Harrison (keys) Ernie Brooks (b) David Robinson (d)	Rounder Records 1972
Matthew Sweet	Girlfriend	Girlfriend	featuring Mr. Robert Quine and Mr. Richard Lloyd on guitars	Zoo Entertainment 1991
John Doe	The Real One	Meet John Doe	John Doe (voc, g) Jon Dee Graham (g) Richard Lloyd (g, slide) Tony Marsico (b) Jeff Donavan (d) song by John Hiatt	DGC 1990
Stars	Hold on when you get love and let go when you give it	No One Is Lost Tour EP		2014
Jonathan Richman	Surrender	Surrender to Jonathan		Vapor 1996
Beastie Boys	Time for Livin'	Check Your Head	song by Frontline	Capitol Records / Grand Royal 1992
Dick Gautier, Susan Watson, Teenagers	A Lot of Livin' to Do	Bye Bye Birdie! - Original Broadway Cast	song by Lee Adams and Charles Strouse	Columbia 1960
Beth Orton	Live as you dream	Trailer Park	song by Beth Orton, Ted Barnes and Ali Friend	Heavenly 1996
Heavenly	C Is The Heavenly Option	Le Jardin De Heavenly	Calvin Johnson (guest vocals)	K Records 1992
Yo La Tengo	Today is the Day	Today is the Day [EP]	Georgia Hubley, Ira Kaplan, James McNew	Matador 2002
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers	Angel Dream (No. 2)	Songs and Music From "She's the One"		Warner Bros. 1996
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau; Berliner Philharmoniker; Karl Böhm	Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen	Mozart: Die Zauberflöte, K. 620	music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, text by Emanuel Schikaneder	Deutsche Grammophon 1964
Nick Lowe	Hope For Us All	Quiet Please: The New Best of Nick Lowe	originally from At My Age	Yep Roc 2007
Tom Jones	To wait for love (is to waste your life away)	Chronicles	song by Burt Bacharach and Hal David b-side of It's Not Unusual	Decca 1965