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-of punk.

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!