Deep Sea Diving Suit - Magnetic Fields

Deep Sea Diving Suit - Magnetic Fields

2:05

Holiday, 1994

Written by Stephin Merritt

In this song, the narrator uses the metaphor of a diving suit to stand for estrangement and the lack of connection with a love gone wrong. "I'm sorry, but how can I get to you / Stuck in my fifty-pound lead boots / Stuck in my deep sea diving suit?"  It's a quintessential early Magnetic Fields track, where Stephin Merritt’s deadpan wit collides with deceptively buoyant melodies. Built around a spare, plinky synth-pop framework with drum-machine beats, the song has the feel of a toy orchestra gamely marching underwater. The arrangement is skeletal but charming: bright keyboard lines bob against a gentle, thumping rhythm, and the  Merritt's detached yet plaintive vocals lend the song a curious mix of irony and ache, his patented tongue-in-cheek melancholy, like he's too cool to feel real despair.

Dirty Paws - Of Monsters And Men

Dirty Paws - Of Monsters And Men

4:38

My Head Is An Animal, 2011

Written by Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar Þórhallsson

This indie-pop song, with orchestral baroque guitar and organ, describes a dream-like war declared on birds by bees, but won through alliance with furry, dirty-pawed beasts.  It's a precious folk-rock anthem with lots of "hey!"s and "la"s.  The arrangement builds steadily, adding percussion flourishes and overlapping vocal harmonies until it swells into something grand and slightly chaotic, then lingers longer than it perhaps needs to.  Musically, it sits in that turn of the millennium indie-pop lineage where Arcade Fire and The Decemberists blurred earnest storytelling with flamboyant instrumentation: part chamber ensemble, part basement singalong. What makes this song endure, I think, is a certain wide-eyed innocence, even in its over-twee imagery, that speaks to a certain strain of indie culture: a rejection of cynicism, an embrace of play-acting, and a love of communal energy, until even an old jaded grump like me can concede that the silliest conceits can become rallying cries when shouted together in harmony. 

Do the Pup - Steve Lucky & the Rhumba Bums

Do the Pup - Steve Lucky & the Rhumba Bums

4:10

Come Out Swingin', 1998

Written by Steve Lucky?

Another in the gaggle of neo-swing bands that proliferated in the late 90s, Lucky and company deliver the authentic goods, but with a wink and a smooth-voiced croon.  They're like a cross between Cab Calloway and Seth MacFarlane.  It opens with a cool sax and then Lucky's rich vocal begins, talking about a new dance called the Pup.  Whoever's tickling the ivories here is shouldering a lot of the weight, but the whole band keeps the uptempo, jumping blues party vibe.  

Disculpa los Malos Pensamientos - Panda

Disculpa los Malos Pensamientos - Panda

3:58

Para Ti Con Desprecio, 2005

Written by José Madero, Ricardo Treviño, Jorge Vázquez, and Arturo Arredondo

Apparently, this Mexican band's name is Panda, but since it's written with Xs on the albums, I thought it was PXNDX.  Panda sure is easier to say!  This song translates to "forgive the bad thoughts," and despite an emo skate-pop-punk sound reminiscent of Green Day and Sum 41, has a rather dark lyric about someone killing their lover in a dream ("These hands are stained red by / All the times in my dreams / I've killed you with such passion").  I read that the band has been plagued by plagiarism accusations, but hey, we can't all be innovators.

Dancing With Tears in My Eyes - X

Dancing With Tears in My Eyes - X

2:15

Under the Big Black Sun, 1982

Written by Al Dubin, and Joe Burke, 1930

This song is from the musical Dancing Sweeties.  It's a song about pining for the one you can't have, or maybe that got away.  "Dancing with somebody new / When it's you that my heart's calling to."  I haven't heard any of the standard pop versions of the song, but X play it pretty straight, not in any way screaming punk, with an almost tropical marimba figure to keep it light.

Strong Enough - Ray LaMontagne

Strong Enough - Ray LaMontagne

3:35

Monovision, 2020

Written by Ray LaMontagne

LaMontagne, a folk-rock, soul-rock singer-songwriter,  is clearly inspired by the Band and Ryan Adams.  Impressively, he did everything on the album — all instruments, engineering, and production.  This song, the single off the album, is a proud proclamation of growing up poor and with a father who left his family.  He praises his hard-working mother, takes stock of class disparity, and vows to do better.  "I left home with nothing but a dream I had / All I own I could roll up in a paper bag."  The brisk tempo, LaMontagne's impassioned, gravelly vocals, and clear narrative help set this song above most countrified "We're poor but alt of the earth" story songs.

Safer Space - Forever Emerald

Safer Space - Forever Emerald

3:56

Safer Space, 2019

Written by Forever Emerald?

This song is from a California-based power pop-punk group.  It appears to be describe a fiery relationship that is in the throes of what might be a breakup or a revelation.  The narrator comes off as aloof and jaded, but is deeply invested in the lover. "But I'm critical, and I'm cynical / You're the cure to my disdain / I might be livid / But I'm still listening."  The emo lyrics, driving drums, and Devin Papadol's pure but powerful and confident female vocals remind me of another young pop-punk group I enjoy, Meet Me @ the Altar.

Sparky's Dream - Teenage Fanclub

Sparky's Dream - Teenage Fanclub

3:17

Grand Prix, 1995

Written by Gerard Love

I don't know much about this band, but I read that this song, written and sung by the bassist, is considered among their best.  It's pure power pop, perfectly pleasant but to me nothing very special.  The lyrics are a far-out blend of imagery evoking nostalgia and lost love.  "I take a wrong direction / From a shooting star / In the love dimension / Fading fast from taking this too far."  Why, this could be the Byrds in the 1960s!  While it's a fine song, and the sort of thing I maybe ought to like, it doesn't do much for me.

Shit Kickin' - Indigo Girls

Shit Kickin' - Indigo Girls

3:53

Look Long, 2020

Written by Amy Ray

This track is presented like a memoir of Ray's rural tomboy days: riding horses and motorcycles, heading down to the ol' fishing hole, swaggering past the men loitering at Dean Brown’s gas store. "Get a load of that tomboy, kid." But it’s no misty ballad of the halcyon days; the song comes with grit. There’s a touch of Steve Earle's piss-and-vinegar defiance, wrapped in a moody echo that gives the whole thing a slightly darker edge. Musically, it rides a steady, earthy groove: twangy guitars, unfussy drums, and just enough atmosphere to keep it from sounding nostalgic or quaint.

Satyagraha - 7 Seconds

Satyagraha - 7 Seconds
3:09

Soulforce Revolution, 1989

Written by Kevin Seconds

With powerful drumming and layered guitars, this is still a powerful punk track, but Seconds' smooth anthem-ready vocals and a sing-along chorus of "na na na hey" make this a more accessible, melodic punk.  So what's that title?  Well, Satyagraha is a philosophy of determined but nonviolent resistance developed by Mahatma Gandhi, meaning "insistence on truth."  The song is a cry of despair at the state of the world and calling for divergence from the destruction.  "I wash my hands of this hate / I won't embrace this thing so blind."

Hit Or Miss - Odetta

Hit Or Miss - Odetta

3:54

Odetta Sings, 1970

Written by Odetta Gordon

A rousing, soulful track celebrating positivity and self-acceptance.  "Oh you see / I gotta be me / Ain’t nobody / Just like this."  It's a simple lyric and repetitive, but Odetta's rich, earthy voice rides confidently over a tight, funky band laying down an irresistible groove of snapping drums, punchy horns, and deep-pocket bass. What could feel slight in another singer's repertoire becomes a declaration of independence here, a joyous shout of selfhood that's both personal and universal.

Have Another Drink - The Kinks

Have Another Drink - The Kinks

2:42

Soap Opera, 1975

Written by Ray Davies

The album this song comes from is a concept album about a rock star who changes places with an ordinary bloke, settling down with the wife, working his 9 to 5 job, and drinking with mates in the pub.  The song enumerates various social ills ("Terrorist bombers on the left / Fascist plots on the right / Mass destruction and homicide"), and then the tedium of office life ("Facts and figures / Filling out forms"), ending with the chorus which tells us that only one thing cure your worries: having another drink.  It's got a country tinge to the pop, and while it's a bit repetitive with a simple message, it's enjoyable enough.

Hots On For Nowhere - Led Zeppelin

Hots On For Nowhere - Led Zeppelin

4:44

Presence, 1976

Written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant

This is a really pleasant surprise from the small batch of Zep songs I'm not familiar with!  It's a funky Zep track!  Of course the lads always experimented with a fusion of styles, from Middle Eastern to blues, but this song. I think, stands out as unlike almost all their word.  It's a stuttering, lurching track with start-stop rhythms, a great guitar solo with whammy work.  Bonham's drums start relatively restrained, but keep building in muscle and momentum.  The lyrics are reportedly about the anger Plant felt at the time about  drug use affecting the band's ascendance, and they reflect the starry-eyed poet he was: "As the moon and the stars call the order / Inside my tides dance the ebb and sway / The sun in my soul's sinking lower / While the hope in my hands turns to clay."

Harp [live] - Stiff Little Fingers

Harp - Stiff Little Fingers

3:40

Wasted Life, 2007 [recorded ????]

Written by Jake Burns, 1994

This is a mostly acoustic punk number from the Irish screamers.  It was originally released in 1994 on Get a Life, but I much prefer this live version.  Directed at England, the song points out how the country has treated Irish immigrants and now turns its attention on the new wave of immigrants, such as Pakistanis, who succumb to crime and crack in the face of a crumbling safety net.  "Don't pity this poor immigrant / My eyes were open when I caught the boat / All I wanted was your shelter, and maybe just a little hope / But you turned your anger on me for the courage that you lack / I don't want your half-assed freedom / You can have the whole deal back."  The lines are delivered with righteous outrage, but I didn't know "Harp" was a slur against Irish people.  But of course it is!

Have You Heard the News Today? - Earth To Eve

Have You Heard the News Today? - Earth To Eve

3:33

single, 2025

Written by Earth to Eve

A beautiful voice and a message that we mustn't give up on, although the fascists are doing their best to silence even the whispers of dissent of their evil hypocritical nanny-state fear-mongering agenda.  Ornate, lush pop with brains, and more importantly, a heart.  This "review" should just be the lyrics.  "Empathy becomes partisan / When rights get framed as politics / And born-again republicans / Start ditching what their scripture says / Oh Hate thy neighbor! Turn 'em in! / And burn amendments five and ten / The faithful bent the cross to fit / But heavy is the crown that sits / Atop his empty head / He'll only pledge allegiance / To self interest."  We should all burn with rage.

Glory And the Grace - Luke Bell

Glory And the Grace - Luke Bell

2:21

Luke Bell, 2016

Written by Luke Bell

I'd never heard of this artist, and upon hearing his music, I assumed he was active maybe around the 1950s.  But it turns out he released music in the 2000s, and died tragically young at 32.  This song is pure high spirited honky-tonk.  It's a modern day hobo's song.  There's a nod to Roger Miller's "King Of the Road" in one line ("I like the sidewalks / And the streets and the lights from the pawn shops / And the windows and the doors when they ain't locked"), and "Big Rock Candy Mountain" in another ("cigarette trees is what we need").  It's a paean to country life, trucking, pool halls, drinking too much, played with joy and delivered with a wink.

Gipsy - Jesse Cook

Gipsy - Jesse Cook

2:31

Gravity, 1996

Written by Jesse Cook

This is a flamenco fusion instrumental with a lively beat, rapid virtuoso finger-picking, a jazzy bass line, and some real shake-your-hips array of percussion lines, including steel drum.  It's fun, it's poppy, it's a terrific blend of world styles.  Cook is Canadian, but he's a master of this stylistic blend.  I could easily see this as the track for a Shakira or Santa vocal.

Green River - Eilen Jewell

Green River - Eilen Jewell

2:57

single, 2020

Written by John Fogerty

This is a pretty straightforward cover, slowed down a bit and with Jewell's languid, melodic drawl in place of Fogerty's impassioned faux-Delta yowl.  It's got a '60s country-rock vibe to it, with a little bluegrass, folk twang in it.  It's a very nice listen, but the CCR version is already perfect, so since it doesn't reinvent the song or cast it in a new light, this cover isn't much more than a curiosity, albeit a well-executed one.

Gabrielle - Ween

Gabrielle - Ween

3:29

Shinola, Vol. 1, 2005 (recorded 1994)

Written by Gene Ween and Dean Ween

A leftover Ween track in which the boys channel Thin Lizzy and the most spaced-out, funky Prince jams that ever were.  It's a song of devotion, sort of, as Ween does it ("I don't mean to be so insolent / But you know it's 'cause I love ya" — what?), with the charm and the energy turned to eleven.  It might be a very Thin-ly veiled homage, but it rocks and it's fun.

Glad You're Gone - The Mopes

Glad You're Gone - The Mopes

2:50

Accident Waiting To Happen, 1999

Written by the Mopes

Hey!  Recently some loser reaped what he sowed through his speech and actions!  Maybe more chickens will come home to roost.  Maybe, but probably not.  Karma isn't real.  ANYhoo, this gloriously primitive pop-punk song is a proud kiss-off to an old flame.  The narrator is over it, and no more love lingers.  "And now I put thoughts of you behind me / I realize that you were cold and slimy."  Well put, Mopes!  The Mopes were a short-lived band comprised of members of Screeching Weasel, the Queers, and Squirtgun.  Why this retro-surf-punk languishes in semi-obscurity while the extremely similar Green Day took over the world, no one can say.

Easy Does It - Supertramp

Easy Does It - Supertramp

2:18

Crisis? What Crisis?, 1975

Written by Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson

Rick Davies, founder and vocalist of Supertramp, died four days ago, and I guess I missed it,  While I only knew the songs they played on radio, I did enjoy them a lot, so it doesn't feel like saying goodbye to a stranger.  I think it's only logical to pick a song that gives a little bit of joy to remind us of all Davies' talents.  On this track, after over thirty seconds of ambient noise, a car horn, and idle whistling, the song begins.  Over raga-influenced synths and guitar, Davies softly croons a brief but beautiful song extolling listeners to be confident, grab life while they can ("And if we had the time / The time's so hard to find"), and take charge of their own destiny ("You are your own superstar / And only you can shape the movie that you make").

Even Here We Are - Shawn Colvin

Even Here We Are - Shawn Colvin

2:44

These Four Walls, 2006

Written by Paul Westerberg, 1993

I know this song extremely well, having worn out Westerberg's masterpiece of an album 14 Songs, on which it appears, throughout the Nineties.  Colvin does a terrific, urgent rendition, bringing a yearning feeling to the cynical yet serene words, more tossed off by Westerberg.  "Song of the bird lives in the sky / But the most beautiful by far / Scream of the man who never learned to fly."  Her melodic voice over the soft acoustic guitar and rich, mournful dobro (?) fits the lyric well.

Evening Train - Van Morrison

Evening Train - Van Morrison

2:51

Magic Time, 2005

Written by Van Morrison

A throwback blues shuffle, with a terrific chugging harmonica lines by Van and an impressive horn section.  The lyrics are all typical blues: "Love to hear that lonesome whistle blow / When I make my way on down the road."  This isn't Van the master songwriter, it's Van the consummate fan of authentic R&B and blues.  It's a high energy, infectious track that shows Morrison is at home in the blues as he is in moving, literate folk-rock.

Erase - They Might Be Giants

Erase - They Might Be Giants

2:49

Glean, 2015

Written by John Flansburgh and John Linnell

This song seems to be about the creative process.  The idea cited in the lyrics is akin to Pearl Jam's Backspacer, literally deleting old ideas to make room for new ones.  "When it's as it someday is / It always will have been the case / When your ever-searching finger / Finds the button marked erase."  But it might also be about, in a sort of science-fiction sense, erasing the memories of a loved one.  Internet sleuths with a sharper eye than I have noted similarities to The Eternal Sunshine Of the Spotless Mind, which is literally about this.  A lot of TMBG's songs are about this sort of time travel or fiddling with time, so it well could be.  I love near-robotic, choppy, rapid delivery of Linell's vocals.

Eye Ballin' - Chuck Higgins

Eye Ballin' - Chuck Higgins

2:17

single, 1955

Written by Chuck Higgins

The saxophonist and band leader proudly and defiantly defends his practice of gawking at women.  "Don't be mad at me / Eye ballin' ain't no crime / I gotta eyeball women until I go stone blind."  It's primitive and basic, but you can dance to it.  It's a raucous bar-room rhythm and blues, full of energy and what was then considered, I suppose, harmless humor.

Please Stay - The Drifters

Please Stay - The Drifters

2:17

Save the Last Dance For Me, 1962

Written by Burt Bacharach and Bob Hilliard

This is the ultimate in "don't go" songs.  The narrator says he'll plead on his knees, call out her name in the night, weeping, if maybe it would cause her to change her mind.  It's high drama.  It's raw emotion out there for everyone to see, the heart laid bare.  In fact it gets pretty melodramatic: "You took me away from the rest of the world / When you taught me to love you like this / Now I hang by a thread in the canyon of doom / But I still can be saved by your kiss."  It's a powerhouse performance by singer Rudy Lewis, but you can't help but wonder what heights Ben E. King would have taken it to.

People's Parties - Joni Mitchell

People's Parties - Joni Mitchell

2:15

Court And Spark, 1974

Written by Joni Mitchell

In this song, parties and laughing mask loneliness and estrangement.  "I'm just living on nerves and feelings, with a weak and a lazy mind / And coming to people's parties, fumbling, deaf, dumb, and blind."  With a beautiful piano melody, and lush atmospheric arrangement, the song uses vivid, specific details to create a universal portrait of unease and detachment at lavish social gatherings, capturing the hollowness of LA parties specifically ("I told you when I met you I was crazy / Cry for us all, Beauty / Cry for Eddie in the corner, thinking he's nobody") and the emotional disconnect between people in general. 

Peaches And Cream - Larry Williams

Peaches And Cream - Larry Williams

2:01

single, 1958

Written by Larry Williams

More Chuck Berry than Little Richard, this Williams rocker is, of course, about a rather inappropriately young girl whom the narrator is crazy for.  Sigh; it's best to assume that all these '50s (and onward) boogies about minors are written for, and from the perspective of, teenage boys.  Anyway, this is an archetypical example of the genre, with references to drive-ins on Saturday night, parking in the dark, and comparing the girl to a movie star.  "Great balls of fire, honey, I wanna be your man / I′m not jivin', it's understood / You′re the cutest in the neighborhood."  Rapid-fire piano tinkling and wailing sax give this song its fire.

Positive Charge - Gaslight Anthem

Positive Charge - Gaslight Anthem

4:06

History Books, 2023

Written by Brian Fallon, Alex Rosamilia, Alex Levine, and Benny Horowitz

A growling rock anthem about finding yourself again, whether youth, lost love, or something else.  Demons have been faced and now we're ready to step into the sunshine.  "It's hard to know when your mind declares a war on you / Like the thoughts inside my skull would do, like I was blind / And I'm sure I saw the signs but didn't know."  Now life seems precious, arms open wide, wanting to keep love alive as long as possible.  I love the songcraft and the lyrics, although to me the mix seems strangely muffled, dampening the message somewhat.

Pumping On Your Stereo - Supergrass

Pumping On Your Stereo - Supergrass

3:20

Supergrass, 1999

Written by Gaz Coombes, Danny Goffey, Mick Quinn, and Rob Coombes

A decently catchy Brit-rock song, even it leans too hard on titular repetition as chorus for my taste and the lyrics would be at home on a Spinal Tap album ("Well life is a cigarette, smoked to the end / But if you rock it a little bit / Then you burn all your friends" — wise words, David St. Hubbins!).  It's a groovy, silly, cheery glam-rock party song, tongue in cheek down to the "humping on your stereo" wink.  But as Nigel Tufnel wondered, "What's wrong with being sexy?"