New Year's Eve - Tom Waits

New Year's Eve - Tom Waits

4:28

Bad As Me, 2011

Written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan

A New Year's Eve party filled with hooligans and hard-scrabble ne'er-do-wells as only Waits can paint it.  There's fireworks and sirens and noise and fighting and curses.  "All the noise was disturbing and I couldn't find Irving / It was like two stations on at the same time / And then I hid your car keys, and I made black coffee."  And someone has drugs and might get arrested, and someone's planning to leave with just the clothes on his back and a bunch of records in a brown paper sack.  There's a confusion of proper names and it's all pretty vague and chaotic.  That's where Waits is at home.

Dream Lover - Bobby Darin

Dream Lover - Bobby Darin

2:31

single, 1959

Written by Bobby Darin

Two fun facts about this song: it features Neil Sedaka on piano, and it was kept out of the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 by "The Battle of New Orleans."  This song is about yearning for the right girl, even though the narrator hasn't met her yet.  Somewhere, she might be out there for you, is the hope here.  "Someday, I don't know how / I hope she'll hear my plea / Some way, I don't know how / She'll bring her love to me."  This reminds me of the Blues Traveler song "Conquer Me," the part that goes "Whoever she is now, and whoever she'll become / I'd like to ask her to hurry please and if she's walking could she run."  On this song, there's male and female backing vocals, rattling percussion, thrumming guitars, and silky strings.  As in "Beyond the Sea," Darin's crisp, clean voice here has a gravitas beyond his years.  

Don't Let Go the Coat - The Who

Don't Let Go the Coat - The Who

3:49

Face Dances, 1981

Written by Pete Townshend

This song is said to be about Townshend's guru Meher Baba, as in clutching to the hem of his robe, or hanging on to his teachings.  This, of course, brings to mind the famous scene in Mark 5:25-30 where a woman touches the hem of Jesus' robe.  But more generally, it seems to be a metaphor for finding comfort.  This is a song about loneliness and missed chances.  "No one locked me out because I failed to phone up / I can't bear to live forever like a loner."  He hasn't been frozen out by anyone, he's the architect of his loneliness.  "Every lonely wife knows the way I feel."

Dein viel zu lautes Leben - Treptow

Dein viel zu lautes Leben - Treptow

4:11

single, 2018

Written by Treptow?

Not sure if Treptow is a person or a band; either way, this is indie rock with pounding drums and raw, impassioned vocals.  It's another one of those songs that seems to be about grabbing on to life and living it to the fullest ("too loud life").  It describes a last day together on the beach with someone who may be a lover, or possibly a child; there's a line about growing up quietly.  They're escaping the noise of life and escaping to nature, becoming playful.  "Wir spielen Fange in den Dünen / und lachen uns die Nächte schön / du wringst dir Wasser aus den Haaren."

Dishwater Living - Matt Latterell

Dishwater Living - Matt Latterell

2:37

People You May Know, 2018

Written by Matt Latterell

A beautiful bit of operatic pop that grows to a crescendo, with finger snaps, soaring falsetto vocals and harmonies, and a bright, driving piano beat, plus some swirling guitar near the middle bit.  It's got hints of Ryan Adams, but also brings to mind a modern Queen.  Erudite, multisyllabic lyrics about the ennui of modern life tumble easily from Latterell's powerful pipes.  This Minnesota artist definitely deserves to be better known.

Deep River Blues - Doc Watson

Deep River Blues - Doc Watson

3:12

Doc Watson, 1964

traditional

A fatalistic low and slow folk gospel.  The narrator doesn't care how much it rains.  There's a hit of absurd humor when he says his gal reminds him of a water fowl when it rains, but mostly the song seems bleak.  "Now I'm gonna say goodbye, and if I sink, just let me die / 'Cause I got them deep river blues."  This song is a little-changed update of a 1933 song sung by the Delmore Brothers called "Big River Blues."

Christmas Morning - Loudon Wainwright III

Christmas Morning - Loudon Wainwright III

3:36

Social Studies, 1999

Written by Loudon Wainwright

A wry view of what Christmas really means by the master of deadpan skewering of social mores.  The song begins with a typical, perhaps overly hokey, description of Christmas morning, with presents and stores being closed.  It's almost a tender scene, via Wainwright's never-quite-serious pen: "He got a tie and she got a book / They weren't supposed to peek but they took a little look."  But soon the song turns to the problem of the homeless, bigotry, and war, juxtaposing society's indifference or hostility with the ostensible ideal of Christmas.  "And the Prince of peace was born on a Christmas Day / In the little town of Bethlehem not so far away / From where a multitude has gathered in a warlike way / On Christmas morning."

Christmas Island - Ella Fitzgerald

Christmas Island - Ella Fitzgerald

2:17

Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas (expanded edition), 1960

Written by Lyle L. Moraine

This song offers an odd proposition.  How'd you like to go to Christmas Island and spend Christmas there?  Apparently it's not ideal.  There aren't chimneys; how does Santa get there?  "How'd ya like to stay up late like the islanders do? / Wait for Santa to sail in with your presents in a canoe?"  But, on the other hand "You will never stray, for every day / Your Christmas wishes come true."  Ella's vocal is delightful, but this song just has something missing; it's not really justifying itself beyond the island's name connection.  Maybe if it described the romantic island life it would work better.  I don't know, I'm not some song guy.

Merry Christmas, Baby - The Beach Boys

Merry Christmas, Baby - The Beach Boys

2:26

The Beach Boys' Christmas Album, 1964

Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love

The narrator of this song has just been dumped.  She doesn't think he'll be loyal to her.  But, he whines, why did she have to dump him at the height of the holiday season?  "I made my mistake but / I'm willing to wake up / And never mess around anymore / Oh why did we break up?"  Well, sire, I guess because you were a cad.  It's too late for you to plead now.  To make matters worse, he says that he'd be willing to get back together "just for Christmas."  This is a guy who likes being in a relationship more than he likes his girl.  Great vocals on this song, of course, but the instrumentation is pretty basic.

Xmas Time Of the Year - Green Day

Xmas Time Of the Year - Green Day

2:17

single, 2015

Written by Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool

A track from the poppiest and most toothless era of Green Day, but given the subject matter, for this song the sweet, slick sound fits.  It's a whole optimistic song, without any performative sneering.  "The sleigh bells deck the halls with good will / Say a prayer for lost souls / Christmas time of the year."  It's not an essential track, but it's fun to hear the band's take on goodwill.

Swinging For Christmas (Boppin' For Santa) - Tom Archia

Swinging For Christmas (Boppin' For Santa) - Tom Archia

single, 1948

Written by Tom Archia

I notice that on the single provided at Discogs, it's listed without the parenthetical title.  This is apparently because it wasn't intended as one; rather, it was an alternate title on a later pressing in December 1950, credited to Gene Ammons with Tom Archia.  Anyhoo, this is a truly boppin' jazz interpretation of "Jingle Bells," at least at the beginning and close of the piece.  There's a hint of "White Chsitmas" in there too, I think.  Archia's tenor sax is the main attraction, except for a brief piano break; it's a fun track.

Profit - Sam Burchfield

Profit - Sam Burchfield

3:13

Scoundrel, 2022

Written by Sam Burchfield

This is a Steve Earle-style roots-folk-country protest song built on a steady, driving beat of bluesy acoustic guitar, percussion, and echoed vocals.   Burchfield’s weathered but earnest vocals carry the weight of disillusionment without bitterness, but without much hope either.  It's sort of a modern spiritual with teeth, calling out the greedy, fear-mongering, and divisive.  "We built a wall to keep heathens out / So we don't hear their wretched weeping."  It's quietly righteous, with just a hint of retribution.  "I'm digging a grave for the empty souls / Who chase greed and fear and destruction."  It's a "Masters of War" for the Trump era.

Pouring Water On a Drowning Man - James Carr

Pouring Water On a Drowning Man - James Carr
2:40
You Got My Mind Messed Up, 1967 (single released 1966)
Written by Dani McCormick and Drew Baker

I know this song, slightly, from the Elvis Costello cover.  This deep-friend southern soul slice is miles away from Costello's adenoidal vocal. Carr's powerful, raw, passionate, gritty vocals make this bittersweet love song into a classic. The juxtaposition between the driving brass and uptempo beat, and the palpable hurting in the vocal, helps gives this song its power.  The self-deprecation of the lyrics ("You bragged that I like everything you do / You put salt in my wound, it's sad but it's true") only heightens the pain of their message.

Pigs That Ran Straightaway Into the Water, Triumph Of - The Mountain Goats

Pigs That Ran Straightaway Into the Water, Triumph Of - The Mountain Goats

2:52

We Shall All Be Healed, 2004

Written by John Darnielle

I think the Goats are the first artist to appear four times on this blog.  I must be a superfan!  The song title, of course, references Mark 5:13.  "Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.  And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.  And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea."  It's a metaphor for the narrator and his meth addict "evil spirits."  Will he be sent back to the correctional facility where he came from, fitted for an orange jumpsuit?  "I come from Chino where the asphalt sprouts."  But his better angels want to go where dragonflies glide and magnolias bloom.

Pearl Pearl Pearl - Flatt & Scruggs

Pearl Pearl Pearl - Flatt & Scruggs

2:09

single, 1963

Written by Paul Henning

This laid-back bluegrass come-on is self-referential and genuinely funny.  The two singers compete for the titular girl's affections, casting good-natured hillbilly aspersions on each other.  "Pearl, Pearl, Pearl, come be my loving girl / Don't you marry Lester Flatt / He slicks his hair with possum fat / Change your name to Mrs. Earl Scruggs."  But then Flatt counters with, "This here man is such a sap / He won't hold you on his lap / Unless you are an old 5-string banjo."

Price Of Love - Bob Dylan

Price Of Love - Bob Dylan

4:15

The Bootleg Series Vol. 16: Springtime in New York 1980–1985, 2021 (written 1980)

Written by Bob Dylan

An outtake from Shot Of Love, this song is a Bo Diddley shuffle overlaid with rocking guitar and wailing sax.  The price of love is going up, the bard reflects.  And if you don't pay, there's always another sucker  who will.  As is often the case, the lyrics are rather recondite.  "Come down, baby, I'm bark to wood / Found a snake in the neighborhood."  And if that weren't enough: "Leave the valley, and across the ridge / Write up a note that I need your head."  Perhaps these were just nonce lyrics, like "Scrambled Eggs" for "Yesterday."

Treat Me Right - Norma Tanega

Treat Me Right - Norma Tanega

2:18

Walkin' My Cat Named Dog, 1966

Written by Norma Tanega?

Another artist I'd never heard of, Tangea was an experimental artist and apparently Dusty Springfield's collaborator and lover.  This psychedelic-folk song is immediately arresting due to Tanega's unusual, earthy, alto voice and her conversational phrasing.  It's like a warmer, less brash Nico.  At the chorus, the music jumps up and takes a revivalist hand-clapping gospel turn.  The lyrics describe a lover whose love is kind and gentle but still too much for the narrator.  Sometimes love gets dangerous.  "Smooth the wrinkles from my brain / Burn me up and slap me down / I know I shouldn't but I don't care."

That Day - Villagers

That Day - Villagers

3:11

Becoming a Jackal, 2010

Written by Conor O'Brien?

This "band" is, I read, the moniker of Irish musician Conor O’Brien, and the song is a delicate, melancholy slice of atmospheric pop. Echoing the emotional landscapes of Radiohead and early Coldplay, it blends lush acoustic textures of layered piano and gently jangling guitar with O’Brien’s clear, plaintive tenor. The arrangement builds subtly, with reverb-washed harmonies and restrained dynamics that underscore the emotional distance at the heart of the lyrics.  The song sketches a portrait of two people emotionally adrift, unable to bridge the silence between them: "He lies awake in his bed every night devising ways to conceal the strain / She never tells of her midnight fears or admits that she does the same." The elegantly muted instrumentation and intimate vocal phrasing mirror that quiet ache, making the tune feel both gorgeous and quietly devastating.

Take It Off - the Donnas

Take It Off - the Donnas

2:41

Spend the Night, 2002

Written by Brett Anderson, Torry Castellano, Maya Ford and Allison Robertson

I like the Donnas.  Their brash, dumb, in-your-face pop-punk hits the same spot that Green Day did back in the 1990s.  This breakneck-paced song is from the point of view of a woman initiating an encounter.  "Stop staring at my D-cup / Don't waste time, just give it to me."  Riot grrrls don't act demure!  With a hard guitar riff, driving drum, and powerful vocals, this is a quick guilty pleasure of a song.

Take Me (From This Garden Of Evil) - Jimmy Wages

Take Me (From This Garden Of Evil) - Jimmy Wages

2:25

single, 1957

Written by Jimmy Wages

Very early, primitive rockabilly, influenced by country gospel, with ominous one-note guitar work.  Incredibly, there is very little information about this song, or the singer, himself; he doesn't even have an English Wikipedia page!  Discogs has no information on his single.  Some say the single was unreleased in his lifetime.  The song is not quite as spiritual as it may appear; there's one that implies that the narrator's troubles are secular, not infernal.  "Well if you don't hurry, get away from here / This little girl is gonna set my pace."  He's being tempted by the flesh!

Toki's Theme - Dave Brubeck Quartet

Toki's Theme - Dave Brubeck Quartet

2:08

Jazz Impressions of Japan, 1964

Written by Dave Brubeck

A sprightly, toe-tapping melody, with, as the album says, vague hints of Eastern music here and there.  It also sounds like it could be the theme to a spy thriller on TV.  The alto sax is the main line here, highlighting Brubeck's elegant piano riffs.  It's lively, it's staccato, it's over too quickly, really.

Murder City Nights - Radio Birdman

Murder City Nights - Radio Birdman
2:24 

Radios Appear, 1979

Written by Deniz Tek

I'd never heard of this influential Australian punk band.  In this song the narrator is driving around the mean streets of an unidentified city (although he mentions a Woodward).  He's looking for some action.  He's bored with "the seventies stasis," which probably echoes how the band felt about the state of music at that point.  It's got a Springsteen feel, lyrically if not musically.  "Hanging on the edge of my self control / Looking in the mirror for the highway patrol."

Mona Lisa - Atlas Sound

Mona Lisa - Atlas Sound

3:05

Parallax, 2011

Written by Bradford Cox

A melancholy, lo-fi indie pop song, with high, ethereal vocals, piano, and gentle guitar.  It's a soft, ambient kind of sound, with hints of the Kinks in its yearning vibe.  The lyrics are rather abstruse.  "How many poverties / Were interrupted by / Learning how to read," Cox asks, then adds helpfully, "Mona Lisa's got you all."  This kind of shoe-gazing, swirling guitar sound isn't my cup of tea, but it's well done.

Make It Good To Me - Sharon Jones & the Dap-KIngs

Make It Good To Me - Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings

4:39

Dap-Dippin' With Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, 2002

Written by Bosco Mann

A slow-burn soul come-on.  The ultimate carpe diem, seize the moment song.  Over a chirping organ and pulsing horns, Jones sings it sultry, with some low and slow male chorus vocals behind her.  The narrator is brushing aside all fears of where you may have been, or what might happen tomorrow.  She doesn't want to hear any extenuating circumstances.  "Will you regret it tomorrow? / Tomorrow may not ever come / So you know you better make it good to me baby."

Mendocino - Sir Douglas Quintet

Mendocino - Sir Douglas Quintet

2:39

Mendocino, 1969

Written by Doug Sahm

A catchy pop tune with a laid-back blend of Tex-Mex flavor and stoner garage shuffle.  Spritely organ riffs carry the melody, with jangly guitars in the background, and Sahm's unique voice drawls the yearning lyrics with abandon.   "Teeny Bopper, my teenage lover / I caught your waves last night / It sent my mind to wonderin'."  Summer of '69 perfection!

Madison Blues - Elmore James

Madison Blues - Elmore James

2:23

single, 1960

Written by Elmore James

This a Chicago-style shuffle with bottleneck slide guitar, a tinkling piano, and a buzzy sax.  "All you cats talking about your Madison shoes / We do the thing we call the Madison blues."  Uh, who exactly is talking about Madison shoes?  And even better, what are Madison shoes?  It's unclear, but James' raw, gritty vocals give him a gravitas that makes me eagerly accept his non-sequiturs.

I Got a Sure Thing - Ollie & the Nightingales

I Got a Sure Thing - Ollie & the Nightingales

2:36

single, 1968

Written by Booker T. Jones and William Bell

This soul group was also known as the Nightingales and the Dixie Nightingales.  This song was also recorded by William Bell, but I prefer this version; it's got a little more punch.  It's a mid-tempo shuffler, restrained despite Ollie's impassioned, sometimes screaming vocal. The horns and the rising organ lines keep it bright.  I like how he yells "ha ha ha!" at about 1:50.

I Got a Name - Jim Croce

I Got a Name - Jim Croce

3:14

I Got a Name, 1973

Written by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel

A slightly funky folk melody, that burst out into a little folk-rock at the very end of the song.  The cheeriness of the music belies the lyrics, which are fairly poignant.  In the song, the narrator declares he has a name like all the plants and animals, but that he also has a dream.  "And I carry it with me like my daddy did / But I'm living the dream that he kept hid."  He's going to go and follow his dreams, and if he fails, he'll be proud he tried.  Unlike his father.

I Got To Get To California - Marvin Gaye

I Got To Get To California - Marvin Gaye

2:52

M.P.G., 1969

Written by Shena DeMell and Ivy Jo Hunter

This was Gaye's first Top 40 album.  The album's title is an acronym for his full name, Marvin Pentz Gay.  In this song, the narrator meeds to get out west.  The reason?  Well, obviously, for love.  "In the sunset I can see my baby's face just haunting me / Reminding me of the tenderness that heaven knows was in her kiss."  He was jealous, he was a fool.  Now he can't sleep and dreams of her every day.  He's got to hurry!  "I pray it's not too late, oh, I might have to catch a freight."  He might even have to hitch hike.  Gaye's confident but urgent vocals are perfect here.

I Got a Whole Lot Of Lovin' - Joe Simon

I Got a Whole Lot Of Lovin' - Joe Simon
2:28
Better Than Ever, 1969
Written by Allen Orange and Joe Simon.

Never heard of this soul singer, but what immediately stands out is his rich baritone voice, with what is clearly a deep gospel foundation, that can convey gritty Souther soul as well as R&B.  He has a smooth, emotionally resonant delivery.  Buoyed by a steady percussion and slick horn lines, his warm deep voice carries an understated but plaintive message of love.

I Got a Rocket In My Pocket - Jimmy Lloyd

I Got a Rocket In My Pocket - Jimmy Lloyd

2:22

single, 1958

Written by Jimmy Lloyd (as James Logsdon) and VicMcAlpin

This is pure rockabilly.  Look up rockabilly in the dictionary and this song starts playing.  "I got a rocket in my pocket and a roll in my walk / So, baby don't fuss me with that North Forty talk."  Boogie-woogie piano, a guitar twanging, and a yodeling, jittering hillbilly at the microphone.  You can practically hear the sly winking with all the innuendo in the lyrics ("I got a rocket in my pocket and a roll in my jeans").  This guy's fuse is lit.  Persoanlly I would keep a safe distance.