Barely Breathing - Duncan Sheik

Barely Breathing - Duncan Sheik

4:15

Duncan Sheik, 1996

Written by Duncan Sheik

Duncan Sheik died a few days ago, way too young, of cardiac arrest,  In the mid-1990s, the era of grunge, wistful pop, and the one-hit-wonder, Sheik was beautiful, talented, and on top of the world.  I, being an angsty Dylan-loving curmudgeon, dismissed most everything on the charts by virtue of their existence on the charts, so this megahit never seeped into my consciousness.  I doubt I ever listened to more than a few seconds of it, despite being in college at the time of its apex.  The acoustic guitar and soft drums form an upbeat melody covering a melancholy mood; the narrator, like so many lost young men, can't explain even to himself his attraction to a damaged soul.  The lyrics are introspective and, if not exactly poetry, reasonably clever: "You really had me going, wishing on a star / But the black holes that surround you are heavier by far / I believed in your confusion, you were so completely torn / It must've been that yesterday was the day that I was born."  Sheik was cut down too early, but it's not a bad legacy to have created something people are appreciating three decades later.

Tradfather - Beoga

Tradfather - Beoga

3:25

Phases, 2025

Written by Beoga

Beoga is a fiddle-based Irish band that plays mostly instrumentals, so one might be forgiven for detecting a certain sameness in their repertoire.  This jaunty tune begins with some "Eye Of the Tiger"-evoking percussion beats before blossoming into a standard fiddle riff with some modern beats.  The only vocals are some "oh oh ey oh" chants in the final thirty seconds.  It's a fine toe-tapper, when taken in moderation.

Before You Go - Lukas Graham

Before You Go - Lukas Graham

3:36

Good Times, 2026

Written by Lukas Forchhammer, Scott Harris, Morten Ristorp

This gentle folk-pop song is apparently a departure for this Danish-Irish band (credited as a band, but in music media, often written up as one person, the vocalist), which typically plays a more grand pop-soul (their hit "7 Years" has 2.6 billion Spotify plays).  Vocalist Lukas Forchhammer (his father's surname was Graham) sings the lyric in a rapidfire falsetto, the words tumbling out from his mouth, with the backing vocals a familiar millennial whoop.  The song is about a dying friend and the injustice of having too little time: "So before you go, could we have a final night? / Let's talk about those summer days and open up that dumb champagne / We saved, but we don't even like."  It's a bittersweet carpe diem.

For Cryin' Out Loud! - Finneas

For Cryin' Out Loud! - Finneas

3:37

For Cryin' Out Loud!, 2024

Written by Finneas O'Connell, Aron Forbes, David Marinelli, and Miles Morris 

Billie Eilish's brother belts this out with a warm, inviting voice that conveys a bittersweet yearning,  The song has an upbeat groove, while the lyrics reflect the chaotic mess that love can be: "Sometimes I see the future / Sometimes I'm not so bright / Sometimes you're looking for a fight."  The song begins with a slightly eerie, solitary drum beat over a synth loop, before the band and vocal come in, with punchy horns giving the song a full, rich sound.

Hey Ma - Aaron Rowe

Hey Ma - Aaron Rowe

4:00

single, 2025

Written by Aaron Rowe

This soulful acoustic ballad is in the form of a telephone call to the narrator's mother.  He's in London, a city that he finds faceless and unfriendly, and wonders how the old hometown is doing.  "Hey ma, I crossed the street today / I said hello to a stranger, but he walked away / I'm sending love from a street where no one knows my name."  Rowe is an Irish sing-songwriter; this, his debut and to date biggest single, has lush instrumentation, the inevitable fiddle, and gorgeous, soaring vocals.

Hind's Hall - Macklemore

Hind's Hall - Macklemore

2:49

single, 2024

Written by Macklemore

Recent events having shown that Ed Sheeran is a disingenuous coward who takes his marching orders from billionaires named in the Epstein files, I thought I'd focus on this two-year-old protest song about the ongoing genocide in Palestine.  From Wikipedia: the song's title is a reference to pro-Palestinian activists' renaming of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University to "Hind's Hall" in honor of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.  Macklemore has always been an issues rapper, self-reflective and analytical to the point of turning some fans off, but here his lyrics are scathing and right on target.  "Who gets the right to defend and who gets the right of resistance / Has always been about dollars and the color of your pigment, but / White supremacy is finally on blast / Screamin' "Free Palestine" 'til they're home at last."

I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City - Harry Nilsson

I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City - Harry Nilsson

2:43

Harry, 1969

Written by Harry Nilsson

This song was written for, but not included in, the excellent film Midnight Cowboy.  Too bad, because it sits nicely alongside the beautiful, and similarly gentle, "Everybody's Talkin'."  Taking the lyrics at face value, it's an optimistic song, from the point of view of someone tired of being on the losing end, wanting his prayers to come true for once.  "Say goodbye to all my sorrow / And by tomorrow, I'll be on my way."  However, knowing how the movie ends casts a pall on the deceptively sanguine words.

New York Mambo - Johnny Colon

New York Mambo - Johnny Colon

2:34

Portrait Of Johnny, 1971

Written by Johnny Colon

Colon is a salsa musician known for his Latin fusion style known as boogaloo.  It's got a jittery, urban energy: all rhythm and infectious, hip-shaking percussion, riding along a soulful piano groove and a veritable river of brass that buoys the song along.  I am no Spanish speaker, but it's hard not to hear the joy with which Colon talks about his home city: "Oye, de Nueva York no me voy, porque, aquí fué donde nací."  

New York's Not My Home - Jim Croce

New York's Not My Home - Jim Croce

3:08

You Don't Mess Around With Jim, 1972

Written by Jim Croce

There are legions of songs proclaiming loyalty to or love for a geographical place.  Possibly the majority of those songs are about how great New York City is.  This song is the opposite: it's about disillusionment with the Big Apple, about its lack of warmth and conviviality.  "Though all the streets are crowded / There's something strange about it / I lived there 'bout a year and I never once felt at home."  A soft, folksy ballad, Croce delivers it with a gentle but firm finality.  Croce was from South Philadelphia, so he apparently isn't decrying urban landscapes in general, but New York specifically.  As a New Yorker, one might take that personally.

New York's My Home - Sammy Davis Jr.

New York's My Home - Sammy Davis Jr.

3:13

single, 1956

Written by Gordon Jenkins, 1946

Ray Charles did a celebrated version of this song, but as of this post, it's not available on Spotify.  In the song, the narrator puts down all the other places, imploring anyone who will listen that New York is the best place around.  St. Louis, he observes as an example, "has lots of shoes" (I learned today that St. Louis was once one of the greatest shoe manufacturers in the world), "But it hasn't got the opera in The Met / It hasn't got a famous string quartet."  Davis delivers most of the song in a hasty half-spoken patter as one might hear on a musical stage, with a chorus backing him for emphasis.