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GREGORY WARNER, HOST: This is ROUGH TRANSLATON from NPR. I m Gregory Warner. And before we get to today s episode, I just want to celebrate a milestone for everybody here. We brought you more episodes of ROUGH TRANSLATION in 2020 than any year since we launched. We did that despite a pandemic but also I have to admit because of the pandemic. The thesis of ROUGH TRANSLATION, after all, is that the obstacles we face around the world are not so different. But we do see them through different lenses. We bring our own histories and cultures and sometimes politics to them. The pandemic has shown in these painfully stark terms how we all across the globe can face the exact same virus in such different ways with very different outcomes. And so this year, we took you to China and Ireland and Israel and South Korea and France
There’s no such thing as a perfect song, but certain songs might seem perfect to certain people. What are the reasons anyone might find a song particularly brilliant? That’s the simple question posed to musicians and music fans in this new Houston Press feature. The answer to that question is complex and diverse as those who’ve agreed to share their thoughts on the particularly brilliant songs they’ve selected.
Isaac Rodriguez is co-founder and curator of Tejas Got Soul. The Houston-based deejay crew devoted to Chicano soul music has expanded its offerings from regular Sunday sets at D&W Lounge on the east side to live concerts and conferences designed to preserve the music and showcase Houston’s pivotal role in brown-eyed soul. Rodriguez, a.k.a. DJ Simmer Down, didn’t have to search too far for his particularly brilliant song. It came from the city he loves. His choice is “T’Aint No Big Thing,” a 1966 gem from Houston’s own Rickey Vee and the Stardusters.