RandomPlaylist is a showcase for music I’ve just discovered, obscure songs you might not have heard before, or just good songs that I think everyone should listen to.

Seeing as how I’m a child of the 80′s, and I didn’t even really start paying attention to music until I was in my teens in the 90′s, I think it’s completely excusable that I’m only just now beginning to discover how great music from the 60′s is. So, to kick-off the RandomPlaylist feature, I’m starting with my most recent discovery: a song I swear I had never heard before happening across an oldies station in a strange, far-away land. The song is “The Tears Of A Clown” by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, and apparently it’s not as obscure of a song as I’d initially thought.

Co-written by Stevie Wonder (yeah, that Stevie Wonder), the song has a great contrast between an upbeat, calliope-driven melody and maudlin, depressing lyrics. Nothing too deep, but if you read the lyrics without ever hearing the song, you’d think it was emo 101. The song has a fantastic Motown beat driving it, a groovy chorus hook with circus music, and is endlessly re-listenable. Plus, how many pop songs these days drop references to turn-of-the-century operas?

You can grab “The Tears Of A Clown” from Amazon’s MP3 Store, DRM free and compatible with any digital music player.