🎧Episode 117: Modern Jazz Soul, Accidental Shopping Music & An Original That Changed Everything

Derek sticks around for another round, and Episode 117 delivers one of the more unpredictable mixes yet—equal parts smooth sophistication, unintentional comedy, and deep-cut soul.Curtis opens with a sleek, groove-forward selection from Torsten Goods, blending modern jazz phrasing with pop sensibility and polished production. Derek follows with a curveball from Peter Howard Morris—a track that lands somewhere between earnest and unmistakably “shopping music,” and yes, that’s entirely the point.Jonathan brings things firmly back on track with a soulful, rhythm-driven cut from Lee Fields & The Expressions, delivering vintage feel with modern energy and conviction.In the category songs, Curtis highlights an Original Version from Gloria Jones, revisiting a track that would later take on a much larger cultural footprint in a completely different form.Smooth grooves, unexpected detours, and a reminder that sometimes the original hits just as hard—Episode 117 covers it all.Curtis Gross is a self-employed video editor.Jonathan Workman is an adult learning consultant based in Wichita, KS.---Make sure you are subscribed to Why Is This So Hard For You. Type Why Is This So Hard For You in your podcast provider, hit that subscription button, and leave us a five-star review. This will make it easier for other podcast listeners to find the podcast.---The intro music is the first 30 seconds of the Ornette Coleman tune "Song X" fed into AI software that attempts to output the song to a solo piano transcription. The outro music is the first 30 seconds of Sonny Rollins' version of the tune "St. Thomas" fed into the same software.