Other Mixes By Rob Conroy
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Single Artist
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Mixed Genre
CD
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Mixed Genre
Cassette
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Single Artist
You've played your song for much too long.
| Artist | Song | |
| The Police |
Roxanne 
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| The Police |
Peanuts
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| The Police |
Can't Stand Losing You
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| The Police |
Next to You
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| The Police |
So Lonely
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| The Police |
Truth Hits Everybody
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| The Police |
Born in the 50's
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| The Police |
Message in a Bottle
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| The Police |
It's Alright for You
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| The Police |
Deathwish
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| The Police |
On Any Other Day
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| The Police |
The Bed's Too Big without You
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| The Police |
Don't Stand So Close to Me
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| The Police |
Driven to Tears
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| The Police |
When the World is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around
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| The Police |
Invisible Sun
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| The Police |
Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
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| The Police | Rehumanize Yourself | |
| The Police |
Secret Journey
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| The Police |
Walking in Your Footsteps
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| The Police |
I Burn for You
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Comment:
I hate Sting. He is my most-loathed figure in popular music (although Billy Joel gives him a run for his money). That said, I've got a weakness for a lot of pre-Synchronicity Police material, mostly because I liked it as a kid (I was 12 when Synchronicity was released) and because I can certainly appreciate the talents of Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers. So here it is--a collection of the most compelling reasons I can think of not to wring Sting's neck. Last tracks cut: "Every Breath You Take" (believe it or not), "Walking on the Moon," "Spirits in the Material World," "Fall Out," "Regatta de Blanc," "Does Everyone Stare" ... there were actually quite a few more. Thanks to Melanie for all but four of these tracks (which, in turn, were provided to me by my friend Rich).Feedback:
I concur with your sentiments on both counts, yes indeed he is an odious little f**ker that even a mother couldnt love but equally, as much as i'm loathe to admit it the tracks from the era documented here stand up very well, just dont tell him that.
Well said, Rob. I'd sooner shove hot embers in my eyeballs than listen to Sting, but those first few Police albums had a fair number of tracks that, even stripped of the nostalgia, hold up remarkably well. Copeland and Summers were gifted musicians (and, let's face it, Sting was no slouch on the bass). I think you hit most the high points here.
Nice collection. For a very brief time during the late 70s they were one of my favorite bands. Saw them play a tiny club in 78. They were a kick ass live band back when they were touring out of their van.
I suppose I should not be surprised that Sting provokes such loathing -- all that tedious championing of "this" cause and "that" philosophy, albums of odious "chill" and "jazz-influences" -- but I am. I really am. It's almost Bono-like. I cannot hide my liking for The Police of this period. So I would happily spin this disc without qualm.Now, if he were canadian/french-canadian (what's that all about?)and sang duets with Celine Dion -- that would give me pause.
I like.
exactly what you wrote, I did a police myself and find it pretty hard to do a full cd but some of the early stuff are great
this is a fantastic mix, and as soon as my roommate wakes up i'm digging out my police records and giving them a spin.
in 8th grade (2000!), i was made fun of because i liked queen and the police and rammstein and bon jovi instead of rap. poop.
in 8th grade (2000!), i was made fun of because i liked queen and the police and rammstein and bon jovi instead of rap. poop.
Once again - I don't get what's so reprehensible about Sting? But a "most loated figure"? What gives? His solo material is lame, but geez - how often does solo material really rise about the seminal band work? (See Paul McCartney for another example.) The Police were a great group that I was never really into - same as now. Great early songs, and pretty awesome band - I'm just not a big fan. I would save "most loathed figure" status for someone truly despicable. Like Paul McCartney. Oh, I kid. How about Phil Collins? That makes more sense. Or Stevie Nicks, even.... Or Steely Dan ;-)
I saw them at the Arena during the Synchronicity tour and I must say I prefer them in the studio. Some godd stuff here (and in the also-rans)
The only Police album I've ever listened to is a singles collection which i must admit to enjoying. I may have to seek out the tracks on here I do not know.
Well it's just personal preference, but I like The Police and am bored toothless by Sting. I save my active dislike for Bono... just cannot tolerate his voice. Now hold on... active dislike of Steely Dan is fightin words!!!
As always, Sean, let me point you to John Lennon's solo career (two fantastic albums right out of the starting gate, a lame album, an average record, a slightly-above-average record, and two unmitigated disasters to round out his career--this is, of course, while he was alive, as I'm not counting the posthumous collections) for the definition of "mediocre."
Think what you want of me, but I really like the Police and dig a number of Sting Tunes...though I agree his more recent output is friggin horrible. But, I do like the Soul Cages Album and one tune off of that Fields of Gold Album.
Anyhoo...A wonderful B-Side EP/Special Edition/Triple the Price for masses and squeeze every last penny out of everyone, possible CD (something STING absolutely seems to love doing)...I mean, how many f'ing best of/boxsets does this guy have out there?...
Ahem, where was I? Oh yeah other worthy additions...Murder by Numbers, King of Pain and Bring on the Night are old faves.
Anyhoo...A wonderful B-Side EP/Special Edition/Triple the Price for masses and squeeze every last penny out of everyone, possible CD (something STING absolutely seems to love doing)...I mean, how many f'ing best of/boxsets does this guy have out there?...
Ahem, where was I? Oh yeah other worthy additions...Murder by Numbers, King of Pain and Bring on the Night are old faves.
Rob, in reading your comments about Lennon's work, do you think it's tad unfair to judge an artist by his shortcoming or lowpoints and summize them as mediocre? I mean not to take issue with your comments, everyone's entitled to their opinion...and you make a case, but to say his output of John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band & Imagine and some very, very good (though spread out) material in his latter catalog, this after penning all of that work with the Beatles, as average...geez, I wonder what the criteria for being an excellent solo artist would be? I don't think there are any artists whom have distributed great works from beginning to end. Not Dylan, not Young, certainly not Wonder, nor Prince, nor Springsteen, nor Presley, nor Costello...but I would consider all of them as excellent in that their acheivements FAR outway their shortcomings. Just wondering what your take on that would be.
Sean hit the nail on the head. Although that stuff about tantric sex was pretty funny, you have to admit.
Rob---You clearly struck a nerve with this mix. And with me on the Steely Dan pan. Alas.
Can't say my feelings about Sting as a solo are strong in either direction. The Police, on the other hand, really cranked out good product. Nice mix.
Ooooh....someone's been a-pokin' that hornets nest. Such venom, such indignation, such firmness of opinion. Phew! good job no-one mentioned U. S. foreign policy or religion...Still like most of the songs on this one -- ho-hum.
god I love this place
Oh, Sean, just had to go and poke that Macca stick at Rob, didn't you? Personally, I think it's a draw between the John & Paul solo career (or at least the first decade of Paul's solo career; I stopped listening after Wings dissolved). Paul had Ram, Band On The Run, and the underrated London Town (sorry, Rob, no matter how hard I try, I can't find much of interest on Wild Life or Red Rose Speedway); John had Plastic Ono Band and parts of Imagine and Mind Games (plus the song "Imagine" alone is worth more than most artists' entire catalogs). Though I have to admit Paul's discs get far more playing time for me than John's.
As for Sting, I also don't know what makes him "loathsome" as a person (though I've read some negative bits); I just find his solo career utterly irrelevant. (For that matter, I'm not sure what would make Billy Joel loathsome, either -- while I can't stand most of his output, I just don't pay much attention.) I think I'd reserve the term "loathsome" to artists who are jerks to their fans or support Republicans.
As for Sting, I also don't know what makes him "loathsome" as a person (though I've read some negative bits); I just find his solo career utterly irrelevant. (For that matter, I'm not sure what would make Billy Joel loathsome, either -- while I can't stand most of his output, I just don't pay much attention.) I think I'd reserve the term "loathsome" to artists who are jerks to their fans or support Republicans.
Have you all forgotten how great he was in Dune?
I once saw something on the telly about Sting, and Trudy Styler told a story about their son coming home from school crying. Putting it into context, I believe she was talking about why they got married. Anyway, someone at school called the boy a bastard, and Trudy's response was something like, "Oh no, that's your father."
Trudy Styler is a force to be reckoned with.
Really great stuff on here,Rob. One of my early favorites as a youngster and leaning heavily towards the older stuff which is my preference, as well. Not ashamed to say that I dug his first two solo discs, but anything after that pretty much lost me. Oddly enough, my lovely wife was a HUGE fan of der Stingers solo work when we first started going out about 12 years ago. (We've got all of his special import, 2 disc cd singles up through "Ten Summoners Tales" to prove it...yikies!) :-)
and not just Dune. he was great opposite Kathleen Turner in Julia and Julia. he was... gratuitous.
Some good picks. Reminds me of the greatness of Stewart Copeland.
Oh. and who is Sting?
I commend you on your brave stand, Rob. I am in the same camp. I saw the Police on their first tour of the States for five bucks, stood in the front and asked Sting if he would play some Creedence Clearwater. He replied that he didn't have much creedence for the band and three people around me wanted to kill me. He was always a source of irritation to me because I felt the band stole the limelight from the bands that should have been getting airplay at the time. When Tom Robinson came to town, he asked me if I would show him around Dallas, and as we were driving around, we were talking about the radio and it asked me to turn it on. I said there was nothing good on it but turned it on just the same. The track that was playing as it warmed up was Roxanne. From the backseat, Tom said "What about that?!?" I yelled "Yeah, but it is just A&M marketing!!" And I turned the channel. But what I turned to was the fade out of "I Fought The Law" by the Clash and I shook and hung my head in the throes of misplaced shame as Tom started cackling. Being an absolute ongoing fan of Stewart Copeland and eventually saluting the efforts of his brother, Miles, I still could never bring myself to be a Police fan, preferring to always reference the Elvis Costello quote about Sting: "Someone ought to stick a clip on his neck." Yet, although it remains my opinion that A&M tried to capitalize a bit selfishly with the Police, everything worked out rather appropriately. And, again, I commend you on the effort. One of the greatest keys to great disc jockeying is playing the stuff one doesn't care about and doing it very well. You have exhibited that ability with this mix.
I don't have any strong feelings about Sting one way or the other. But I always liked that early b-side "Dead End Job."
elvis costello is so sassy it hurts.as for lennon, the only album of his solo career i own is "double fantasy". i think it's pretty fantastic, and it'd be a bit better with less yoko. she doesn't have a pretty voice.
Yes, Rachel, stick it to Rob! And just to back you, let me say that I find Double Fantasy to be something of a guilty pleasure -- sure, it's sappy pop music, but it's well-crafted sappy pop music. At least the John songs. As for Yoko -- well, saying "she doesn't have a pretty voice" is an understatement akin to "Bush's little venture in Iraq hasn't gone quite as smoothly as he anticipated."
Pop Kulcher, I'm curious: do you not even enjoy Yoko's "Approximately Infinite Univers"? I think it's insanely brilliant.
I actually think that the Yoko half of Double Fantasy is infinitely more enjoyable than the John Lennon half...
33 (now 34) comments on a Police mix? Bet you weren't expecting that! ;) I don't have much to contribute. I think their first two albums are great, especially the second one (Outlandos de something or other). There's also some good b-sides from that era as well. Now if Sting would only do a duet with Yoko...
I own a Gt Hits by The Police. I don't dislike them but I do dislike Sting. I dislike Sting more than I dislike McCartney or Lennon but I dislike The Police more than I dislike The Beatles, but I do like Roxanne more than I like a lot of The Beatles. I never liked The Police' fashion, it reminded me of John Lennon's. I don't know enough by The Police to know if I'd agree with the tracks you've chosen but I know that I would have to include Every Breath You Take.
Wow, this has become quite the party. Hmm, uhm, fine collection, though, just to be clear, the Police remain essentially irrelevant right? Sting's solo career has been fairly easy to ignore unlike, say, Phil Collins. Annoying but not quite loathesome I guess. Gotta say I have a soft spot for Lennon's "Double Fantasy." At the time of it's release, I was delivering pizza in a Chevy Nova with only an AM radio, so I heard a bunch of Christopher Cross and John Lennon. I preferred the Lennon.
Saw The Police Supported by U2 once sheesh! Have one Sting album (the one with Fragile on it) & I like that tho I haven't played it for about 18 yrs lol. What I would say tho is Dominic Miller is a fucking brilliant guitarist.
I grew up in the howling tornado that was punk and the Police were always sneered at. It might have been their white reggae buzz but hey the Clash did that too. Or maybe it was their pub rock sound but that could be said of many punk bands. Somehow thay just exuded smugness but that's a charge one could level at many rock stars. Despite that I did buy several of their early singles and one LP, none of which I have played for 15 years or more except for Invisible Sun which has some sort of mysterious appeal to me. Sting is insufferable if I judge him by his musical output....I mean Russians, what an insight that Russians love their children too, wow, they're not heartless commies who play spike the baby. But is he as pompous as Bono......?
this is all way too much fun. rob, i must take exception to your 'most loathed' characterization, personal taste notwithstanding. there are so many more loathsome figures out there - james taylor and jackson browne immediately spring to mind, and i could make a case for post-75 elton. of course we're leaving aside execrescences like barry manilow and yanni. and really, isn't lou reed loathsome in his way, albeit intentionally? as for billy joel, his loathsomeness is inextricably bound up with his lovableness, as a maladroit lightweight dork who can write a better hook even than sting. sting i rate with bono for his annoyingness and tom petty for his overratedness, and all three have their undeniable charms. sting's solo stuff is a snooze (tho the live double is pretty damn good) but the police were pretty fucking great. okay there weren't the clash, but they weren't the knack neither. your list of cut tracks, plus the likes of 'king of pain,' 'wrapped around your finger,' 'canary in a coal mine,' 'bring on the night,' 'man in a suitcase' and - omigod - 'de do do do, de da da da' show this could perhaps be a two-disc set. mediocre it isn't. and all props to copeland and summers, but this was sting's band. amazed no one mentioned his starmaking part in 'quadrophenia,' and altho it was not a good production, give him credit too for instigating a broadway revival of 'threepenny opera.' as for the macca/lennon sidebar, i've made my feelings known in recent mixes so there. gosh i feel better, thanx rob.
Every Little Thing She Does is Magic is the perfect pop song. Period. Hey Rob, told you this'd hit 40 comments!
Sting? Most-loathed? Billy Joel a close second? Barry, Elton, Yanni, et. al.? I looked through this entire comments section and was floored to not see one single mention of MICHAEL EDWARD LOVE! Hello!
Yoko: I like most of Yoko's stuff on "Double Fantasy" a great deal. Her music is pretty unfairly maligned (often by people who have never even heard any of it).
Solo Lennon vs. solo McCartney: comparing the two is a little misguided, considering Lennon only made records for ten years while McCartney is still going at it after 36. I've got pretty much everything by both and would have to say Paul has as much dross in his catalogue as Lennon, percentage-wise...if not a bit more (which is pretty inevitable, when you release 8 billion songs).
Bono: I'm not the biggest U2 fan in the world, but I'm still not sure why so many people slam him. Is it the voice? His demeanor? Surely it can't be his charity work and social acitivism...
Yoko: I like most of Yoko's stuff on "Double Fantasy" a great deal. Her music is pretty unfairly maligned (often by people who have never even heard any of it).
Solo Lennon vs. solo McCartney: comparing the two is a little misguided, considering Lennon only made records for ten years while McCartney is still going at it after 36. I've got pretty much everything by both and would have to say Paul has as much dross in his catalogue as Lennon, percentage-wise...if not a bit more (which is pretty inevitable, when you release 8 billion songs).
Bono: I'm not the biggest U2 fan in the world, but I'm still not sure why so many people slam him. Is it the voice? His demeanor? Surely it can't be his charity work and social acitivism...