Recession Rocks
Feel like grooving with the current economic funk or head-banging to today’s financial rock ‘n’ roll? We’ve put together a playlist of songs that just might help. Many of the songs we’ve played on our shows. You can add your suggestions below.
What music is good for a recession?
We asked people outside Hollywood’s Amoeba Music store which tunes get them through tough times.The Marketplace Playlist
Songs we play on our shows, and others we just like. Titles link to Rhapsody.com, where you can also see the full playlist. (Rhapsody's restrictions apply.)- Under Pressure - (with Queen) - David Bowie
- Everything Counts - Depeche Mode
- Ghost Town (Re-Recorded / Remastered) - The Specials
- Earn Enough For Us - XTC
- Endless Shovel - Rogue Wave
- Fake Empire - The National
- It's A Mistake - Men At Work
- Cruel Summer - Bananarama
- When The World Is Running Down You Make The Best Of What's Still Around - The Police
- Deception - Blackalicious
- Mo Money Mo Problems (Featuring Mase & Puff Daddy) - The Notorious B.I.G.
- Party Out Of Bounds - The B-52's
- Wave Of Mutilation - The Pixies
- Guarantees (Amended) - Atmosphere
- Shake Your Moneymaker - Elmore James
- Shake Sugaree - Elizabeth Cotten And Brenda Evans
- Joe Hill - Joan Baez
- She Works Hard For The Money - Donna Summer
- The Last Mall - Steely Dan
- I Want To Hold Your Hand - The Smithereens
- The I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm Goin' Nowhere In A Hurry Blues - Steve Goodman
- The Bear Necessities - Anthony the Banjo Man and Musicale Mark and His Pedaling Piano
Guest D.J.'s
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Dan Ariely
Behavioral economist, Duke University “The Bear Necessities,” from “The Jungle Book” Read moreWhen we are realizing that maybe we over-extended ourselves it is time to think about what we really need and how to be happy with that.
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Amity Shlaes
Senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations “Telegraph Road,” by Dire Straits
“I Don’t Know Where I’m Going, But I’m Going Nowhere in a Hurry Blues,” by Steve Goodman. Read more“Telegraph Road” — “I used to like to go to work but they shut it down. I got a right to go to work but there’s no work here to be found.”
“I Don’t Know Where I’m Going, But I’m Going Nowhere in a Hurry Blues — Says it all doesn’t it?
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Heidi Moore
Business writer “Mo' Money, Mo' Problems,” by the Notorious B.I.G.
“Fake Empire,” by The National Read more“Mo' Money, Mo' Problems” — There's no better or catchier explanation of the ambivalence of being in a bubble: the riches so hard won, the expectation that they will last forever, the problems already creeping up around the edges as the maintenance of the bubble lifestyle gets more difficult.
“Fake Empire” — This song is great because it captures the half-awake, dreamlike state of living in a bubble — “tiptoeing through the city with our diamond slippers on.”
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Chris Farrell
Marketplace economics editor “Joe Hill,” by Joan Baez
“The River,” by Bruce Springsteen Read more“Joe Hill” — I heard Baez sing it at an outdoor concert in 1973 during that severe recession. Never forgot it.
“The River” — It came out in 1980. Springsteen captured that factory jobs weren’t there any more for high school graduates. The factories were closing their doors.
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Amelia Tyagi
Co-founder of the Business Talent Group “She Works Hard for the Money,” by Donna Summer
“I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” by The Beatles Read more“She Works Hard for the Money” — Women have always been working hard for the money, but it's true now more than ever before.
“I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” — Because we're all feeling a little insecure these days, and could use a hand to hold.
Comments
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From NC, 11/01/2009
46 minutes into the hour (Nov.1) right after the call-in segment, there was this instrumental song with banjo and snare drum. I've heard it on "This American Life," too. Does anyone know what it was? I've been searching for months...
From Chicago, IL, 10/29/2009
Gettin Tough,
Just My Luck,
I was born in the land of plenty,
Now there ain't enough
Good Ol' Boy...Steve Earle
10/29/2009
"Don't Worry, Be Happy"
Bobby McFerrin
Might as well laugh, as cry!
From brick, NJ, 10/28/2009
Funny, I was just thunking about making such a mix, curse you Marketplace for stealing my thinder. Some songs I was considering:
Low Budget, Gallon of Gas, and Superman by the Kinks; Strapped for Cash by Fountains of Wayne; Money by the Flying Lizards; Busted by Ray Charles: Nobody Loves You When You're DOwn and Out by John Lennon. If I think of any more I'll e-mail them.
From New Durham, NH, 10/28/2009
"Us and Them" by Pink Floyd
"Down and Out,
It can't be helped, but there's a lot of it about,
With, Without,
It's what the fighting's all about"
From Prescott, AZ, 10/28/2009
Don't Give Up, by Peter Gabriel.
"Though I saw it all around
Never thought I could be affected
Thought that we'd be the last to go
It is so strange the way things turn
...For every job, so many men
So many men no-one needs.
...Don't give up now
We're proud of who you are
Don't give up
You know it's never been easy."
From St. Paul, MN, 10/23/2009
"Can't Buy Me Love" (Beatles)
"Love Over Gold" (Dire Straits - tip'o'the hat to Amity Shlaes)
From New Durham, NH, 10/21/2009
"Low Budget" by the Kinks. Classic British rock, with lyrics to suit the times.
From Kingston, WA, 10/19/2009
King of Pain - The Police
These lines in particular:
"There's a rich man sleeping on a golden bed
There's a skeleton choking on a crust of bread"
From Rockland, WI, 10/16/2009
Boy....I'm older than I think!@
Try this one from the early 60's...
"Friendly Loans" by Marcels
Thanks!
From Ft Collins, CO, 10/15/2009
Money by Pink Floyd
just listen and you will see why!
From Tacoma, WA, 10/15/2009
"Voodoo Child" Jimi Hendrix
"Standing next to a mountain... Chop it down with the edge of my hand..."
From Traveling USA, CA, 10/13/2009
As my family and I drive around the country in our RV, I can't help but think of "The Long Run" by The Eagles. That thought might have kept us out of this mess. But, I don't see much evidence that people are thinking of the long run even now.
From NC, 10/09/2009
"Jump in the River" by Sinead O'Connor
"Lovely Rita" by The Beatles
"Rising Above Bedlam" by Jah Wobble
"'Cause Cheap Is How I Feel" by Cowboy Junkies
"Senses Working Overtime" by XTC
"The Other Way of Stopping" by The Police
"Lord Baker" by Christy Moore
"God Only Knows" by Joe Henry
and ... many ... more....
From Becket, MA, 10/09/2009
Pennies from heaven When Money became king
From Point Blank, TX, 10/08/2009
Song: Driving Away from Home
Performer: It's Immaterial
Song: I've got you babe
Performer(s): Sonny and Cher
I know this is too wishy washy for an economic magazine but, I just think they represent the up beat of all the down. When it seems you have lost it all, you still have each other and you can always find somewhere else to go, to start anew.
From reno, NV, 10/08/2009
"Lawyers, Guns & Money" - Warren Zevon
"Everything Is Broken" - Bob Dylan
"Throwin' My Money Away" - Wayne Hancock
From Culver City, CA, 10/07/2009
First, my pick: Career Opportunities by The Clash. Makes as much sense today as it did 32 years ago...
Second, my comment: Marketplace has the best selection of segment segue music of any radio show.
From Chicago, IL, 10/07/2009
Here's one of the best recession tunes i've heard in a long time:
http://scottyblog.blip.tv/file/2124087/
It's a cheery song about wanting to get fired versus getting laid off.
From MN, 10/06/2009
Still a great commentary:
(Every Time I Make my Mark) "Somebody Paints the Wall" by country artist
Tracy Lawrence
From MN, 10/06/2009
Does anyone else remember Elvis Presley's "Money Honey"?
From Ashburn, VA, 10/06/2009
Blinded Me with Science
From Irvine, CA, 10/06/2009
I Wanna Be Sedated by The Ramones. This song represents the best way to get through this crazy economy - on Valium.
From Abingdon, MD, 10/05/2009
Portable Man by Delmark Goldfarb
Blood Money by KING LEWMAN
Token Promises by KING LEWMAN
Easy Life by KING LEWMAN
Castles in the Sand by KING LEWMAN
From Highland, CA, 10/05/2009
Green Day: Dookie
Red Hot Chili Pappers: L.A.
From Hatfield, PA, 10/05/2009
'Wanderin' by James Taylor
'Nobody Know You When You're Down & Out'
'Mr. Businessman' by Ray Stevens
'There But For Fortune' by Phil Ochs
'God Bless The Child' by BS&T, Billie Holiday, etc.
'That Lucky Old Sun'
'Brother Can You Spare A Dime'
'Everything Is Broken' by Bob Dylan
From Simi Valley, CA, 10/05/2009
"Unemployed" by Michael McDermott
From Abingdon, MD, 10/05/2009
BTW- The Facebook event page for Balance the Bucks is http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=128001707550
Led by Portland, Oregon’s Delmark Goldfarb, a disabled Marine Corps veteran, the concert was a major effort to rally awareness of the issues relating to the effects of greed and economic disparity. In words and song, the group of activist-artists presented original works and traditionally relevant protest tunes.
Goldfarb’s own song “Portable Man,” a tune relating to homelessness, has gained international airplay and has been included on a compilation CD “Give Us Your Poor” which features works by others such as Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt and Keb’ Mo’.
From Abingdon, MD, 10/05/2009
A group of musicians gathered this year on September 6 at The Sylvan Theatre on the National Mall near the Washington Monument to share songs about greed, corruption, and the state of everyone's dough re me...
http://www.balancethebucks.com/
We're doing it again on September 5, 2010.
From St. Paul, MN, 10/05/2009
For starters I want to commend Marketplace for its witty use of music between stories. Arcade Fire's "No Cars Go" after a story about the auto industry or MGMT's "Time to Pretend" after a finance piece never fail to bring a smile.
I'll make one suggestion, but I first must mention the song played as the recessional at my MBA commencement: Matchbox 20's "How Far We've Come." It was obviously chosen for its title, otherwise why would we have marched out to such lyrics as "I believe the world is burning to the ground" and "I believe it all is coming to an end. Oh, well, I guess we're gonna pretend." All too true, perhaps, of the future prospects for 2008 business graduates.
Brice Springsteen's "Youngstown" powerfully illustrates what Schumpeter's creative destruction means to the working class people who played by the rules. Springsteen has many great songs about the impact of hard times, including "The River," but this is perhaps the finest of them.
From New York, NY, 10/05/2009
My song "Jacques: The Wall Street Tailor" won Brian Lehrer's "Satire Slam" on WNYC last May. It might fit your list...checkout: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcUUxwF99MA
If you like it I can forward you a sound file for your site.
From Crawfordsville, IN, 10/02/2009
Allentown by Billy Joel
From Burbank, CA, 10/02/2009
Great fun spot. More like this please. Oh, I like CSN "Suite Judy Blue Eyes" because it's 7 minutes long and by the time you get to the end I forget there's a recession and only care about the heavenly 3 part harmonies.
From Glendale, CA, 09/30/2009
"Jai HO" from slumdog millionare. If they can be happy- so can we.
From los angeles, CA, 09/30/2009
Great spot. FUN! Music heals.
From Memphis, TN, 09/30/2009
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life-Eric Idle-from "The Life of Bryan" Great job-Jeff! Should be a regular...is it on TV?
From LA, CA, 09/30/2009
My song? "Living in LA". Good job on this bit. When do we get to see more?
From LA, CA, 09/30/2009
My song? "Living in LA". Good job on this bit. When do we get to see more?
From Los Angeles, CA, 09/29/2009
Who is that hot, hot interviewer ? He makes me want to "Twist and Shout", if you catch my drift .... But srsly, my recession pick would be Monty Python's The Money Song : http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/m/monty_python/money_song.html
From san diego, CA, 09/28/2009
"I'm so Glad -- Trouble Don't Last Always" by San Cooke
"I'm Broke" by none other than "Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears"
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