Nur Geträumt - Nena

Nur Geträumt - Nena

3:43

Nena, 1983

Written by Jörn-Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, Nena Kerner, and Rolf Brendel

Although most of the world only knows "99 Luftballons," Nena (the band and the singer sharing a name) has a couple of other catchy New Wave German synth-pop numbers.  On this one, her brash vocal rides synth percussion with some electric guitar.  The song is about someone who is always dreaming of a lover, caught in a state of confusion and hesitation; it has enough energy to engage even Anglophone listeners.  "Alles, was ich an dir mag / Ich mein' das so, wie ich es sag' / Ich bin total verwirrt / Ich werd' verrückt, wenn's heut passiert" ("I love everything about you / I mean what I say / I'm totally confused / I'll go crazy if it happens today").  

No Spitting On the Bus - The Steve Gibbons Band

No Spitting On the Bus - The Steve Gibbons Band

3:32

Down In the Bunker, 1978

Written by Steve Gibbons

This song begins with a Bo Diddley riff and schoolyard chant, then eases into a comfortable country rock groove, with Gibbons yelping out the lines in a Dylan-like cadence.  This is a novelty song with one joke: the bus driver demands no one spit on the bus.  "But it don't matter what you feel / You can beg you can borrow or steal / But as long as I'm holding the wheel / I don't want no spitting on the bus."  The verses, however, have a social-political literacy, however shallow, that elevates the song out of punchline territory.

Next Plane To London - The Rose Garden

Next Plane To London - The Rose Garden

2:31

The Rose Garden, 1967

Written by Kenny Gist Jr.

This is a pleasant folk-rock song.  The vocals are handled by Diana Di Rose, notable for her lower register, with the band joining in for three-way harmonies.  The song's narrator is on the way to London in search of fame, Hollywood having proved to be unhelpful: "Told him I was gonna be a star / But to do it I would have to go far away / But I'd come back someday."  Where a guitar solo might typically go, there's an airport announcement — a rather corny conceit that pushes an otherwise wistful song into near-joke territory. 

Nite Owl - Tony Allen & the Champs

Nite Owl - Tony Allen & the Champs

2:45

single, 1955

Written by Tony Allen

This is a mid-tempo soul doo-wop with a serene instrumentation, insistent piano lines over gentle guitar, by Specialty's house group, often credited as the Chimes. The backing vocals of "Ooh, night owl" follow every line. "Nite Owl" was a nickname that Allen's mother gave him due to his habit of staying out at night, but in the song, Allen applies the name to a former girlfriend.  With a fine, wailing vocal, he lets her know exactly how he feels: "Well, here come the night owl / Walking through the front door / Thought I told you, baby / I don't love you no more."

Northern Sky - Nick Drake

Northern Sky - Nick Drake

3:44

Bryter Later, 1971

Written by Nick Drake

"Would you love me through the winter? / Would you love me 'til I'm dead?"  I recognize the second line from "Is It Wicked Not To Care" by Belle & Sebastian, who, as I've mentioned, nicked quite a lot of their schtick from Drake.  Built around an opulent, lush piano melody, the song is nevertheless delicate, a song of love and longing and the desire for something permanent.  It is said to be about Linda Thompson, though this is just speculation.

Making Plans For Nigel - XTC

Making Plans For Nigel - XTC

4:13

Drums And Wires, 1979

Written by Colin Moulding

With syncopated, echoing synths, a tom beat and a keyboard-made cracking sound in place of a cymbal, this song has a repetitive, industrial feel.  The lyrics are told from the point of view of overbearing parents who map out their son Nigel's entire life.  "He has his future in a British steel / We're only making plans for Nigel / Nigel's whole future is as good as sealed."  I can see why it made an impression on the British people of the day (and caused some steelworkers to try an unsuccessful protest), but to me its unvarying beat detracts from the song's wit.

Mathilde - Jacques Brel

Mathilde - Jacques Brel

2:35

Ces gens-là, 1964

Written by Gérard Jouannest and Jacques Brel

Delivered in near-hysterical declamations as the music swirls to a mad crescendo, this song is about the return of the titular Mathilde, an event which apparently fills him with dread.  He knows that her presence means he will be lost again, even as he must go to her.  "Toi la servante toi la Maria / Va tendre mon grand lit de draps / Mathilde m'est revenue / Amis ne comptez plus sur moi / Je crache au ciel encore une fois."  Brel's vocal accurately captures the inner emotional turmoil of the man driven to despair by this kind of love that is akin to madness.  

A Marshmallow World - Dean Martin

A Marshmallow World - Dean Martin

2:44

The Dean Martin Christmas Album, 1966

Written by Carl Sigman and Peter DeRose, 1949

This song was previously cut by Bing Crosby, Vic Damone, Jo Stafford, and others, but Dean's laid-back, warm version has become the standard when it comes time to play Christmas songs on the radio.  Yes, it's a syrup-sweet silly song, but Dean's treatment makes it an irresistible confection.  Who can resist "it's a whipped cream day," "marshmallow clouds," and "the sun is red like a pumpkin head / It's shining so your nose won't freeze"?

Monkey Man - Toots and the Maytals

Monkey Man - Toots and the Maytals

3:44

single, 1969

Written by Toots Hibbert

I know this song from the Specials cover.  According to Toots himself, "Well Monkey Man is all about a girl, a very good looking girl!  I fell in love with her and then a monkey-looking man took her away from me but I thought she was in love with me. The guy was ugly and not good looking like me, ha ha!"  The line "See you, baby, you huggin' up the big monkey man" seems to support this.  However, the Genius website claims that the song is an affectionate dig aimed at The Maytal’s producer, Leslie Kong.  I suppose both could be true.

Monsters At War - Elliot Maginot

Monsters At War - Elliot Maginot

3:20

Young/Old/Everything.In.Between, 2014

Written by Elliot Maginot

Maginot is a Québecois who nevertheless records in English. This song is ethereal synth-driven dream-pop, with acoustic accents and shoe-gaze half-mumbled vocals, all broken syntax in the style of early R.E.M.: "And when the wind blows soft and water away / Summer cast its charms / Please don't be fooled."  The music is gentle and soporific, hypnotic through gentle undulating beats.  As near as I can figure, the lyric is the declaration of someone facing dissolution, asserting he won't wait for his interlocutor, as brittle as they both are: "Cuz we'll always be as we were made / Fragile weak and small and overrated most of the time."

Lay Your Love On Me - Racey

Lay Your Love On Me - Racey

3:18

Smash and Grab, 1978

Written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman

I've never heard of this pop-rock group, although the song was a big hit in several countries.  It's buoyed along by handclaps, bouncy bass, high organ notes, and piano combining to an infectiously catchy beat. It's a song of love and lust.  As with so many songs of the era (and the current one, I guess), the narrator notes that when he met the girl she was just seventeen; this doesn't necessarily indicate creepiness, as he could have been the same age as well.  "Now I've tasted your sweet lips / Ooh darling I know what I miss / You gave me more than I could ever take / With every word and every move you make." It's not exactly original, but the lads certainly could craft a catchy hook.

Laisse béton - Renaud

Laisse béton - Renaud

2:30

Laisse béton, 1977

Written by Renaud Séchan

The title is verlan for "laisse tomber," meaning let it go, or forget about it.  In this delightful fast-paced story song, the narrator is relaxing in various cool locales when tough guys keep coming up to him and demanding his clothes, leading to physical altercations.  It's a tongue-in-cheek bit of silliness with a tacked-on moral: "La morale de cette pauvre histoire / C'est qu'quand t'es tranquille et peinard / Faut pas trop traîner dans les bars/ À moins d’être fringué en costard."  Or, one supposes, have the ability to beat up people in your James Dean jacket and cool cowboy boots.

Let Me Down Easy - Gang Of Youths

Let Me Down Easy - Gang Of Youths

5:19

Go Farther In Lightness, 2017

Written by David Le'aupepe

Riding a persistent uptempo percussion track with catchy keyboard and strings, this song is an avalanche of words, a literate litany of one man's self-assessment in the face of aging, failure, and the ability to fight for  cause.  It's a wry mix of deadpan self-depreciation and humor.  "Honey, it’s no secret that I’ve been losing my way / In the weirdest of moments and the stupidest of ways / But hey, I’m still young and it’s gonna be okay / I got solipsism, baby, and I brought lemonade."  It's the human condition: longing, confidence, intensity, anticipation, all gliding over a pulsating rhythm.  It's over five minutes but I could easily have it twice the length.

Let's Go - Nikki and the Corvettes

Let's Go - Nikki and the Corvettes

1:14

Nikki And the Corvettes, 1980

Written by Nikki Corvette

This is a brief but blazing blast of snotty girl-power bubblegum punk, akin to the Donnas but preceding them by over a decade.  Lyrically it's simple and direct, recalling the adolescent angst of the Ramones, Nikki belting out brief lines in with a bratty, infectious sneer.  "Weekend's here and we're out of school / Tonight we're gonna break down all the rules / Let's go, oh baby, let's go."

Let's Get High - Rosco Gordon

Let's Get High - Rosco Gordon

2:40

single, 1955

Written by Rosco Gordon

This R&B hidden gem is a cheerful clarion call for partying, livened up with a very buzzy sax.  "High" here means drunk, probably, although there could easily be a knowing unsaid reference to the devil's weed.  "Let's start out on whiskey, let's let it be our ruin / Let's get so high 'til we won't know what we're doing."  The punchline of the song is that the alcohol has cost the narrator all his money and give him a headache, but he regrets nothing.

Kodachrome [live] - Paul Simon

Kodachrome [live] - Paul Simon

3:21

The Concert In Hyde Park, 2017 (recorded 2012)

Written by Paul Simon

At 76 years old, Simon still has a voice like gold. He doesn't jazz up this classic too much, just playing it more or less straight.  He has a talented band backing him up, and at the sped up "Mama don't take my Kodachrome away" part, he sings with as much gusto as on the studio version, before the band goes into an extended jazzy riff, with piano and horn intertwining lines.

Knees Of My Heart - Jimmy Buffett

Knees Of My Heart - Jimmy Buffett

2:43

Riddles In the Sand, 1984

Written by Jimmy Buffett, Michael Utley, and Will Jennings

This is basically a one-joke song built around a title, but Buffett is too gifted a songwriter to leave it at that. He turns the pun into an easygoing, genuinely sweet love song, dreaming of escape: "I'm gonna show you what my love can do / Out on the ocean all alone with you / We'll find a desert island on an ancient chart."  With steel drums doing most of the musical work, it's a bright little number that never aims higher than to make you smile, and succeeds.

Keep On - Portugal. The Man

Keep On - Portugal. The Man

3:23

Woodstock, 2017

Written by Portugal. The Man and Asa Taccone

This song's album received nearly universal poor to average-at-best reviews, citing clichéd lyrics and a newly affected, poppier sound.  I don't know anything about the band, so to me it just sounds like typical indie rock with a hip-hop influence.  It's true that the lyrics on this song seem to be a collection of unrelated brief phrases and bumper stickers, but I do like the silliness of "But I'm seeing a pattern / Falling from a ladder / Must be tripping like a cartoon / Slipping on a banana."

King Of Kings - Jimmy Cliff

King Of Kings - Jimmy Cliff

3:23

single, 1963

Written by Jimmy Cliff

I know this song from the 1997 cover by Prince Buster & the Skatalites.  Cliff's version is slower, more muted and more laid-back, and features the lion's roar sound effect less.  The song is a fable in which the lion declares his supremacy over all the other animals.  "The elephant says, I am king because I'm strong / Giraffe says, I am king 'cause my neck is long / There's no doubt that you are all wrong / The lion says, I am king 'cause I'm double strong."  Well, Aesop probably agrees with that.  I always wondered if the lyric was a Christian religious metaphor, but there's nothing in the song to indicate it.

Keep on the Sunny Side - The Carter Family

Keep on the Sunny Side - The Carter Family 

2:53

single, 1928

Written by Ada Blenkhorn and J. Howard Entwisle, 1899

I know this song from the version by the Whites on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack.  The Carters' version is probably definitive, with brash down-home vocals, harmonies, and minimal guitar accompaniment.  Ada Blenkhorn, the lyricist, was inspired by a phrase used by her nephew, who was disabled and always wanted his wheelchair pushed down "the sunny side" of the street.  The lyrics are written in the poetic syntax of hymns ("Tho' the storm in its fury break today / Crushing hopes that we cherished so dear").  In the Carters' countrified accents, "clear" comes out as "clurr."

Just Me Before We Met - Noah and the Whale

Just Me Before We Met - Noah and the Whale

3:37

Last Night On Earth, 2011

Written by Charlie Fink

Built on an irresistible melody, soaring violin, and a warm, communal chorus, this song captures an intimate moment in a relationship. The narrator's partner is leafing through old photos, laughing at the awkward, embarrassing person they used to be. Rather than bristle, the narrator meets it with wry self-awareness: "Well I've always had a wild imagination / And a see-through heart." Charlie Fink delivers the song with a gentle, almost bashful restraint that perfectly suits its affectionate nostalgia, turning what could have been a basic love song into a quietly charming portrait of the simple joy of being known.

Just a Dream - Big Bill Broonzy

Just a Dream - Big Bill Broonzy

2:48

single, 1939

Written by Big Bill Broonzy

A laid-back blues, with plenty of boogie-woogie piano.  Broonzy recounts a dream in which he has a date with an angel, and another in which he has a big family, but then he wakes up to find them gone.  Then, he has another dream: "Dreamed I was in the White House, sittin' in the President's chair / I dreamed he's shaking my hand, and he said, 'Bill, I'm so glad you're here'."  Of course, this fantasy dissolves when he awakes as well.  It could have happened, had he lived to see Obama in that chair!  

Joe Hill - The Dubliners

Joe Hill - the Dubliners

2:48

Revolution, 1970

Written by Alfred Hayes and Earl Robinson, 1936

As a lifelong worshipper at the Church of the Slightly Blemished Bob, the first thing that I notice about this song is that it gave Dylan his first lines of "I Dream I Saw St. Augustine," with the fourth-century saint replacing the IWW labor activist.  This is a song to rally workers, encouraging them to organize, and reminds us that police are, and always have been, weapons of the rich to keep working classes down.  "The copper bosses they shot you, Joe / They filled you full of lead / 'Takes more than guns to kill a man' / Says Joe, 'And I ain't dead.'"  It's a nice idea, but propaganda seems to have weighed down the masses.

Jigsaw Puzzle - Of Montreal

Jigsaw Puzzle - Of Montreal

2:45

single, 2014

Written by Kevin Barnes

A song of lost love, the cri de coeur of someone whose life has is now incomplete like the titular puzzle.  The narrator's love has found someone new, and he's not happy about it.  "Though I should be cool, you know I do wish them / Only misery and for all his pleasures to corrode."  The title metaphor, wrapped in a catchy chorus, beautifully captures the narrator's jealousy, resentment, obsessive thinking, and self-awareness.  If he could finish the puzzle, he could get a grip on life, but there's just too many pieces missing.  How many people have felt just this way — in the grip of ennui or depression, stuck on a mundane task or idea and unable to get past it, and thus by extension unable to get past anything?  It's a shambling alt-rock portrait of a mind that can't stop circling itself, drawing the listener in as well.

Jamestown Ferry - Charley Crockett

Jamestown Ferry - Charley Crockett

3:06

Lil' G.L.'s Honky Tonk Jubilee, 2017

Written by Bobby Borchers and Mack Vickery, 1972

This song was a hit for Tanya Tucker, but I've never heard her version.  It's a song of heartbreak; the narrator is left alone, wandering the bars and wondering why.  Crockett's loping, easy drawl is a nice fit for the song's stately pace.  The song's strength are its lyrics, making Crockett's work easy for him.  It opens with a blunt statement of fact and a wry recollection of a vow broken: "She just caught the Jamestown Ferry / It's not a hot day in January / Like she said it'd be / If she ever left me." Powerful, no matter who's singing.

I Can't Remember the Dream - They Might Be Giants

I Can't Remember the Dream - They Might Be Giants

3:12

Book, 2021

Written by John Flansburgh and John Linnell

In this surprisingly sad song, the narrator bemoans the fact that although he has a photographic memory in his waking life, which is "an ever-ending litany of pain and ennui," he can't remember his dreams, which are unfailingly good.  It's sort of like a "Twilight Zone" episode.  But one particular stanza gives a hint of optimism: "I can't remember the dream that I had last night / But the simple fact that my mind could concoct such a thing / As the incredible dream that I had last night / Is a clue to the key to a door to a world like that."  Hey, maybe things might get better.

I'm Going Down - Trampled By Turtles

I'm Going Down - Trampled By Turtles

3:40

Dead Man's Town: A Tribute To Born in the U.S.A., 2014

Written by Bruce Springsteen

Where the original is an explosion of frustration and ennui, disguised in a buoyant, organ-driven party atmosphere with a catchy sing-along title, this TbT version strips the song to its acoustic essentials.  The vocals have a slight echo, giving it a lost and lonely quality.  The bluegrass picking slows in the middle, emphasizing the narrator's doubt and sense of loss, continuing to a long fadeout.  Springsteen is noted for his bleak lyrics hidden in catchy anthems, and it's instructive to hear the music match the message.

I'm With You - The Midnight Dogs

I'm With You - The Midnight Dogs

2:22

Hotel Mango, 2019

Written by the Midnight Dogs

The is straightforward, down and dirty, alternative-edged rock of the kind they don't make much anymore, or if they are, people aren't paying much attention it.  There's a pure '90s guitar solo, woodblock percussion, and a vocalist who squeals and snarls like an Axl or Iggy.  You don't have to see him on video to know this guy struts around the stage and dances with his mike like it's the late '80s.

I Don't Care - The Big News

I Don't Care - The Big News

2:30

Welcome To the Weird Kids Table, 2017

Written by the Big News

This track from the Oklahoma band shows influences from British two tone and new wave ska revival, with some Rancid-style shout-along choruses.  Sadly, this is not a cover of the Ramones' classic, but an original about adolescent nihilism.  The vocalist sounds like a slightly more melodic Matt Freeman.  The horn section is the bright spot here, raising the song above the mass of otherwise unremarkable tossed-off punk songs.

I Like Bananas (Because They Have No Bones) - Hoosier Hot Shots

I Like Bananas (Because They Have No Bones) - Hoosier Hot Shots

2:16

single, 1935

Written by Chris Yacich

The original shellac ten inch of this country novelty record omits the parentheses in the title.  After a silly slide whistle intro, the singers proclaim, per the title, a strong preference for bananas.  I'm not too sure about their logical reasoning, though, since they also say "Don't give me tomatoes / Can't stand ice cream cones," and clearly, those don't have bones either.  I refute their foolish argument, thus!