Let There Be Drums - Sandy Nelson

Let There Be Drums - Sandy Nelson

2:18

Let There Be Drums, 1961

Written by Sandy Nelson & Richard Podolor

I'm not much of an instrumental fan, but this early surf-rock drum-electrical guitar duet rocks.  Catchy, bouncy, wouldn't be out of place in many an arena rock drum solo of the 1970s.  Great stuff.  Dumb fact: I thought Sandy Nelson was a woman until I looked him up.  In 1963 he lost part of his leg in a motorcycle accident but continued drumming.  Impressive, but not quite as impressive as Rick Allen.

Letter From Belgium - The Mountain Goats

Letter From Belgium - The Mountain Goats

3:11

We Shall All Be Healed, 2004

Written by John Darnielle

I only recently got into the Mountain Goats, though several of the artists I admire have extolled their praises in print.  It is told from the point of view of a tweaker, sweating out a meth addiction, afraid to go outside, "Chewing our tongues off / Waiting for the fever to break."  Darnielle's impassioned, urgent voice and the stark, driving chords really sell this song.  Despite its rather narrow reach, lyrically, it's one of my favorites by this band.

I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan - Frank Sinatra

I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan - Frank Sinatra
2:24

A Swingin' Affair!, 1957
Written by Arthur Schwartz &Howard Dietz, 1929

The sad tale of a man who has discovered his love is already attached to another man.  Although the lyrics are melancholy, Sinatra sings here in an almost jaunty way, swingin' through the song as if it's of no concern to him.  He's the Chairman of the goddam Board, he is, and he can get another dame by snapping his fingers.  I love the sly lyrics: "Why did I buy those blue pajamas / before the big affair began?" And this great couplet: "My boiling point is much too low / For me to try to be a fly Lothario."  Interesting about the use of the African-American soul slang word "fly" meaning suave in 1929.  He's supa fly!

Zou Bisou Bisou - Gillian Hills

Zou Bisou Bisou - Gillian Hills

2:15

Zou Bisou Bisou, 1961

Written by Bill Shepherd, Alan Tew, & Michel Rivgauche

This song is a trifle, a silly sexy French song about kissing, but fun and catchy.  That 1960s bubblegum pop sound associated with miniskirts and flower pop, Frenchified and called yé-yé music.  "Les amoureux glissent à pas de loup / Comme les oiseaux, ils ont rendez-vous."  The lyrics might be from Brassens, except more come-hither and less arch.

You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift

You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift

3:51

Fearless, 2008

Written by Taylor Swift & Liz Rose

Catchy country-rock anthem for pick-me girls.  Girl declares she's just one of the guys, the perfect one for you, but you're distracted by the cheerleader princess.  Of course, as a songwriter, Swift can sing from any point of view she wants (you don't have to pilot a boat to write "The Downeaster Alexa"), but some might be struck by the vast disparity between the pretty, popular, talented Swift and the person she's inhabiting in the song.  If the script was flipped gender-wise, this would be about one of those guys who pretends to be a girl's friend, resenting her boyfriend the whole time and seething that she won't give him "a chance" despite his refusal to engage in the sort of self-improvement that might catch her eye.  For that reason I find this song just a tad off-putting.  But it is a nice singalong.

X - System of a Down

X - System of a Down

1:58

Toxicity, 2001

Written by Serj Tankian & Daron Malakian

Whiplash-fast nu-metal song about immigration.  "We don't need to multiply" is talking about multiplying numbers of people.  It also touches on the Armenian massacre ("Show your people how we died").  It's an important subject, but this song is not exactly the rallying cry that will bring the hordes to the cause.  It's too rbutal, too fast, lyrics too abstruse.  As for catchiness, it's no "Chop Suey!"  Great to headbang to, though.

Waitress In the Sky - The Replacements

Waitress In the Sky - The Replacements

2:02

Tim, 1985

Written by Paul Westerberg

In college I knew several people who were heavily into the Replacements.  I never saw the charm at the time, although I did listen to some Westerberg albums on repeat.  This song is from the point of view of a nasty, entitled airline passenger who thinks of the poor hardworking stewardess as "nothing but a waitress in the sky," comparing her derisively to a janitor.   Clearly Westerberg intends the narrator to be the bad guy, but I bet a lot of people have grossly misunderstood the song and identified with the flier.  "Uppity women amirite?!" 

V - Golden Smog

V - Golden Smog

3:12

Down By the Old Mainstream, 1995

Written by Gary Louris & Kraig Johnson

The alt-country supergroup that deserves a wider fanbase.  This is the opening track from their first album.  Sounding like the Flying Burrito Brothers meshed with R.E.M., this track is about a friendly bartender, V, whom everyone comes to advice and to soak up good vibes but one day just "up and went away."  Old school power pop and very catchy.

Ukulele Lady - Arlo Guthrie

Ukulele Lady - Arlo Guthrie

3:24

Hobo's Lullaby, 1972

Written by Richard A. Whiting & Gus Kahn, 1925

This song, nearly one hundred years old now (but a sprightly 47 at the time of recording), was first made famous by Vaughn De Leath, the "First Lady of Radio" who also had an early hit with "Are You Lonesome Tonight," made a huge hit later by the King.  Anyhoo, I like this jaunty version.  The jangling mandolin, the background singers (including Linda Ronstadt), the silly lyrics I'm a sucker for ("Where the tricky wicky wacky woo").

Ted Fucking Williams - The Baseball Project

Ted Fucking Williams - The Baseball Project

3:04

Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails, 2008

Written by Steve Wynn

I love Steve Wynn, one of the all-time overlooked indie greats.  Just a brilliant songwriter.  I love this whole album.  Written from the point of view of Ted himself, as he resents the praise Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and Duke Snider (whom I've never heard of) and wanting more glory heaped upon himself.  "I gotta give the Duke a hand / But there's nothing that he can do better than I can."  Only someone of Wynn's talent could take this simple idea and turn it into something catchy, a fun singalong, rather than a throwaway.

Small Dogs - Hoity-Toity

Small Dogs - Hoity-Toity

4:07

Not Your Kind, 2019

Written by Shelby Muniz, Kelsey Caselden, Tana Snyder, & Aria Hurtado

Fun fem-pop-rock with soaring vocals and shredding guitar.  What we used to call riot-grrl, but the sound is more refined: still hard and angry, but more polished, less garage.  An accusatory jeremiad aimed at, presumably, an old lover.  "You  left one piece behind and made a setback / Why  was I so stupid to believe that / You could fulfill all my hopes and dreams?"  Great catchy percussion, great swooping choruses.

The Real Damage - Frank Turner

The Real Damage - Frank Turner

3:37

Sleep Is For the Week, 2007

Written by Frank Turner

I love, love Frank Turner.  He's my favorite folk-punk anarchist rocker.  This song is entirely acoustic.  It's a first-person account of waking up hungover at an unfamiliar house, feeling guilty and sick, being judged by better-dressed people who know where they're going.  "It was about then that I realized I was half-way through the best years of my life."  Will the narrator make something out of the day?  Will the narrator change his habits?  Or is it an endless cycle?  Turner's songs don't usually offer pat answers, just urge you to think.

Queen - Shawn Mendes

Queen - Shawn Mendes

3:24

Shawn Mendes, 2018

Written by Shawn Mendes, Teddy Geiger, Scott Harris, & Geoff Warburton

I almost never listen to modern pop.  I know nothing whatsoever about this guy.  Was he in a boy band?  Or is he a lab-grown pop star, springing from the head of some Svengali like a songbird Athena?  No matter, I kind of like this song.  Syncopated, overly produced, slick, but still catchy as hell.  It's about someone who thinks they're better than everyone else.  Possibly about Britney Spears?  (There's a line that goes, "No, you're not that innocent.")  Mendes' breathy vocal is just the kind that the girl youths of today squeal over.  I'm too old to squeal, but this is a pretty good modern pop song.

Poison - Alice Cooper

Poison - Alice Cooper

4:30

Trash, 1989

Written by Alice Cooper, Desmond Child, & John McCurry

In this song, the narrator is torn between his urges for his paramour and his knowledge that she is no good for him ("I wanna kiss you, but I want it too much / I wanna taste you, but your lips are venomous poison").  It's an extended metaphor for true addiction, to a dangerous drug that is as toxic as poison.  Alice Cooper has never been my cup of tea, but this song isn't too bad.  It's catchy, generic '80s hair metal, sung at an intense falsetto, with wailing guitars.  A bit repetitive, relying, as so many mainstream pop songs do, on endless iterations of the chorus.  Four very short lines, a six-word chorus, four more lines, chorus, two lines, chorus, chorus, repeat to fadeout.  It's too much for me, but it's a winning formula for a lot of hits, so, you go, Alice.

Orange Blossom Special - Johnny Cash

Orange Blossom Special - Johnny Cash

3:06

Orange Blossom Special, 1965

Ervin T. Rouse, 1938

A bluegrass fiddle tune given the John R. Cash treatment and turned into a country train standard.  Who doesn't love a song about trains?  I love Cash's harmonica playing and his vocal train noises, and the spoken word dialogue.  "I don't care if I do, die, do, die, do, die, do, die."  (Sidebar: This dialogue would be evoked, or parodied, 26 years later by the Violent Femmes in their song "Hey Nonny Nonny," which also later borrows from "Sympathy For the Devil."  Those imps!)  And jarring as it is, I even dig the yakkety sax horn break by Boots Randolph.  This song was deservedly a big hit and apparently Cash, ever generous with his celebrity, helped bring the writer, Ervin Rouse, to the public eye.

Next September - The Flannel Attractions

Next September - The Flannel Attractions

3:44

The Flannel Attractions, 2013

Written by the Flannel Attractions

Americana, indie-folk, bluegrass.  Wistful, pretty, soaring harmonies.  Some very nice finger picking.  This band released five, count them, a full five, songs a decade ago and nothing since.  That's a real shame; they're very good.  I know several non-famous musicians who have released a handful of albums, so why not these guys?  I'd love to hear more.  Maybe they'll be discovered a hundred years hence, like Barbecue Bob.

The Mauritian Badminton Doubles Champion, 1973 - Hamish Hawk

The Mauritian Badminton Doubles Champion, 1973 - Hamish Hawk

3:38

Heavy Elevator, 2021

Written by Hamish Hawk

Holy shit.  Holy forking schnitt.  Mind blown.  Jaw dropped.  Ears exploded.  Who the hell is this mad genius and why have I never heard of him?  Like a non-acerbic Morrissey and Nick Cave had a baby and it grew up on Bob Dylan and the Divine Comedy.  A sweeping cathedral of a song, bewitching ornate lyrics, a lush gorgeous baritone voice.  I am seriously in awe.  It's rare, extremely rare, for someone of my age to be blown away by new music.  I honestly feel like I did at 16 when I first listened to Bob Dylan.

Last Night - Little Walter

Last Night - Little Walter

2:42

single, 1954

Written by Little Walter

Unfortunately, I'm confused on this one.  This track, the one I'm talking about here, is a slow, languid "baby gone and left me" blues song with Little Walter's signature harmonica sound and plaintive, hollow vocals.  It has a 2:42 run time, and I believe this is the original 1954 hit.  However, there's another "Last Night" by the same artist on Spotify, with a similar premise but quite different lyrics, more expressive vocals, and —possibly tellingly—no harmonica.  It has a run time of 2:54 and contains the line, "blues with a feeling," but is not that song either.  The original version is superior to what I assume is a later take.

Keep That Coffee Hot - Scatman Crothers

Keep That Coffee Hot - Scatman Crothers

2:52

single, 1955

Written by Basil Adams & Nita Corelli

The narrator is hitting the road, has some "troubles to lose."  But he'll be back!  He loves that coffee, and the pot it's in.  If this is an extended double entendre for something or a sexual metaphor, it's too subtle to make much of a difference.  It's a fairly stately number; Crothers' vocal is cheery and winking, but almost conversational.  In fact, the only time the song shakes itself awake is when the male chorus sings the second bridge.  That's my favorite part of the song.

James Dean - The Wrecks

James Dean - The Wrecks

3:19

Panic Vertigo, 2018

Written by Anderson, Emery, Irvin, Schmidt

Not the Eagles cover we all so desperately need (despite also having a band member named Schmidt).  Instead, a slinking, yowling song about being a dope-smoking loser who is no James Dean ("Not cool suits me / Girls won't date me / Guys all hate me"), busted by his momma while blasting Nirvana.  It doesn't have much to say; there's no turning point in the song, no character arc or moral.  Decent if generic radio-friendly hard pop-rock alternative, catchy, not bad.  This is the kind of music that always makes me imagine the front man grinding and posing like Jagger.

It's My Heart - Mano Negra

It's My Heart - Mano Negra

1:42

King Of Bongo, 1991

Written by Mano Negra

Mano Negra was a French-Basque-Cuban group active in the 1990s.  They sung in a multitude of languages and a dizzying array of musical styles.  This song is fairly straight ska, leaning heavily on the horns, with a simple driving beat; it would be indistinguishable from any others on an Interrupters album.  Short, sweet, punchy, to the point.  Maybe not representative of the group but a fun song.

Heart And Soul - the Cleftones

Heart And Soul - the Cleftones

1:54

single, 1961

Written by Hoagy Carmichael & Frank Loesser, 1938

This is a doo-wop version of the jazz standard (which I'm only vaguely familiar with).  "That magic night we kissed / Oh we kissed / There in the moon mist."  It's got a swinging beat and you can dance to it; the hep teens of today would dig it.  I'd rate this up there with the Marcels' version of "Blue Moon" for best doo-wop version of a standard.

Gone (That'll Be Me) - Dwight Yoakam

Gone (That'll Be Me) - Dwight Yoakam

3:28

Swimmin' Pools, Movie Stars..., 2016

Written by Dwight Yoakam, 1995

Dwight goes bluegrass!  I love the fast finger-picking showcased on this song.  I did not know that the album this song is on is a collection of previously released Yoakam tracks given the bluegrass treatment, so I can't compare this "Gone" to the 1995 version from Gone.  I just like it for what it is: a toe-tapping track performed by A-list players and with Yoakam's swooping hoot-n'-holler tenor.

Feelin' Good - Sonny Burgess

Feelin' Good [a.k.a. Feel So Good] - Sonny Burgess

2:18

single, 1957

Written by Junior Parker, 1953

A fine example of boogie-woogie rockabilly, a slurred reworking of the Junior Parker version.  Maybe not rock and roll's father but its uncle?  The original garage rock sound.  Lo-fi and proud.  You can still hear country's influence, but Jerry Lee Lewis boogie and Elvis strut are starting to overshadow the hillbilly twang.  What does this song proclaim?  It tells you we're going to boogie.  Does it have an overarching message?  Does it Speak for a Generation?  If that generation wants to boogie, yes.

Empires - The Electric Swing Circus

Empires - The Electric Swing Circus

3:10

It Flew By, 2017

Written by Electric Swing Circus

The musical descendants of the Squirrel Nut Zippers.  Ragtime swing with a modern electric feel.  It appears to be an anti-war song ("Can you tell me what's the point in building empty empires, now?").  As is typical with neo-swing, the horns do the heavy lifting. Don't get me wrong, "Empires" is a good song, a fun listen.  And look, I hate to compare, but I can't help it; the Zippers were a joyful and taste-shifting discovery for me thirty years ago.  James Mathus and Katherine Whalen, these guys aren't.  I'm just not moved by the novelty of it anymore.

Detroit City - Bobby Bare

Detroit City - Bobby Bare

2:48

"Detroit City" and Other Hits by Bobby Bare, 1963

Written by Danny Dill & Mel Tillis, 1962

I'm revealing vast ignorance here, but not knowing anything about this song but the title, I imagined a 1950s-style hot-rodder early rock track.  Instead it's an example of the smooth countrypolitan Nashville sound, a plaintive ode to the narrator's Southern home, a land-locked "Sloop John B." (with which it shares a refrain, as well as a shade of the melody).  The narrator isn't happy in Detroit City and wants to go back to his ancestral lands.  Many can relate.  The song was released one year earlier (as "I Wanna Go Home") by Billy Grammer, who had a hit with "Gotta Travel On."

C'est Magnifique - Peggy Lee

C'est Magnifique - Peggy Lee

2:04
Latin ala Lee!, 1960

Written by Cole Porter, 1953

Lee's breathy vocals give this lesser Porter composition some Gallic oomph.  I like the way she puts on French airs, giving the otherwise silent e at the ends of "tragique" and "magnifique" their own syllables.  It's set to a loosely Latin beat.  Lounge jazz given a bit of pep in its step and a wink in its eye.

Banana Pancakes - Jack Johnson

Banana Pancakes - Jack Johnson

3:12

In Between Dreams, 2005

Written by Jack Johnson

The narrator, inspired by the rainy weather, implores his baby to ignore any and all external responsibilities and stay in, sleeping late, making love.  "This song is meant to keep ya / From doing what you're supposed to / Like waking up too early."  As if the temptations of the comfy warm bed and the flesh were not enough, he might make you banana pancakes.  That's a pretty good food metaphor for this light, inoffensive, tropical folk vibe song, actually: sweet, not too daring, fun.  Two dimensional, but tasty.

After Hours - A Tribe Called Quest

After Hours - A Tribe Called Quest

4:39

People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, 1990

Written by Q-Tip, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Phife Dawg, & Jarobi White 

With a title from a sampled Richard Pryor line and a laid-back, lo-fi sound, this song is sort of an anti-Public Enemy track.  Not brash or loud, neither bragging nor raging, just telling a dreamy story about hanging out and rapping about music late into the wee small hours.  The album made many best of lists and is still celebrated.  Shoe-gaze hip-hop isn't really my bag, but I enjoy appreciate a good story song as much as the next guy.  The is probably the best ever rap song containing the nocturnal calls of frogs.

New Year's Day - Charlie Robison

New Year's Day - Charlie Robison

3:54

Good Times, 2004

Written by Charlie Robison

I never heard of this guy but based on this song, he's my kind of alt-country outlaw.  From the opening lines ("I woke up early Sunday morning, had myself a piece of toast / Had fifty dollars in my pocket, gonna chase myself a ghost") to the fascinatingly ambiguous final lines about an alleged transvestite bar (the Dallas Cowboys, in Laredo), this is not your typical Texas road trip tale.  Toe-tapping weirdness.

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? - Ella Fitzgerald

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? - Ella Fitzgerald
3:31
Ella Wishes You a Swingin' Christmas, 1960

Written by Frank Loesser, 1947

Interestingly, this song is not meant to be a Christmas-themed song, but is almost always included on holiday albums.  The lyrics are clear: the song does not take place in the holidays.  The song is from the point of view of a love-struck person going a bit overboard, asking his or her paramour to clear a date in the future, hoping fervently that they will still be together.  Ella's vocals, are of course, perfect, yearning and romantic.  Ella is one of the few vocalists who can make me appreciate a slow, languid number.  The horn interlude is just long enough.  What a great overlooked jazz gem.