Take On Me - The DeLorean Sisters

Take On Me - The DeLorean Sisters

3:29
The DeLorean Sisters, 2015

Written by Pål Waaktaar, Magne Furuholmen, and Morten Harket, 1984

It's Cover Time! 

I've heard many covers of this song and enjoyed them all, but this one stands out a bit.  It's a bluegrass take on (heh) the tune, with a stately pace and beautiful, overlapping female harmonies.  The vintage-folk style, the gentle interplay of banjo and guitar, the yodeling, drawn-out vocal lines — all bring the song into focus, and help the listener feel the real emotion behind the well-known words.

Big River - The Old 97's

Big River - The Old 97's

2:55
One More Ride: Old 97's Perform The Songs Of Johnny Cash, 2022

Written by Johnny Cash, 1958

It's Cover Time! 

Probably no one could hope to match the bass-baritone of Cash, an instrument that could be suave, commanding, earnest, and even humble.  But the 97's do a terrific job with this homage, playing to their own strengths.  Rhett Miller reins in his typically yelping vocal and brings forth a full-throated rockin' scream, and the band delivers a fuller sound, a driving backbeat, a modern rock guitar line, instilling in the song a propulsive power that grabs the listener.

Kids In America - Billie Joe Armstrong

Kids In America - Billie Joe Armstrong

3:08

No Fun Mondays, 2020 

Written by Marty Wilde and Ricky Wilde, 1981

It's Cover Time! 

I have gone my whole life largely unaware of the Wilde version of this song, so I don't know how reductive it is of hers, or the Muffs' punk version.  It's a great pop punk track taken on its own, with teen angst lyrics and sing-along choruses.  Of course, Armstrong has one of the greatest voices in rock.  In its historical context, Armstrong released this and many other covers to entertain his fans during COVID, which is yet another example of how endearingly generous and thoughtful he is as an artist.

Here She Comes - Ho-Hum

Here She Comes - Ho-Hum

3:12

Local, 1996

Written by Rod Bryan, Lenny Bryan, Kevin Kerby, and Dave Hoffpauir

Ho-Hum is a well-regarded band from Arkansas.  The vocalist's smooth delivery evokes Adam Duritz, over a confident burst of 1990s alt-rock, which in the final third ratchets up to near Pearl Jam levels of impassioned belting.  The song discusses a girl who has the power to make you love or be broken.  "What are you gonna do when she takes that love away from you?"  The narrator finds himself bewildered, lost.  "She could be in a trap somewhere and left for dead / You'd die looking for her yourself."

Hi Heel Sneakers - Tommy Tucker

Hi Heel Sneakers - Tommy Tucker

2:48
single, 1964

Written by Tommy Tucker

Despite decades of listening to Dylan's "I Shall be Free No. 10" and its lines "I sat with my high-heeled sneakers on / Waiting to play tennis in the noonday sun / I had my white shorts rolled up past my waist / And my wig-hat was falling in my face," I had no idea until recently that they were cribbed from this song's "Put on your high-heel sneakers, baby / Wear your wig-hat on your head." Dylan also took inspiration from this song for his "shadow boxing" verse on the same song. Tucker sings here, "Put on your red dress, baby / Lord, we′re goin' out tonight / And bring along some boxin' gloves / In case some fool might wanna fight," apparently referring to his early years as amateur prize fighter. This song also inspired Sugar Pie DeSanto's "Slip-In Mules."  In an unrelated note, Tucker's birth name was Robert Higginbotham, which I think he should have stuck with.

Here You Come Again - Millie Jackson

Here You Come Again - Millie Jackson

3:10

Get It Out'cha System, 1978

Written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, 1975

Dolly Parton had a hit with this song in 1977, but I come to this one fresh.  This one, a rousing soul number with disco grooves and gospel-tinged backing vocals, showcases Jackson's vocals.  Her voice isn't a towering powerhouse like those of Aretha Franklin or Irma Thomas, but she can definitely belt it out, and delivers her lines with precision and confidence.  The song is directed at a sly lothario who returns whispering sweet nothings when the lady's defenses are down: "Here you come again, just when I'm about to make it work without you / You look into my eyes and lie those pretty lies."  Despite the lyric, Jackson sounds powerful and enthused; maybe she wants us to know that she's more in control than she lets on.

Humbug Mountain Song - Fruit Bats

Humbug Mountain Song - Fruit Bats

3:04

Absolute Loser, 2016

Written by Eric D. Johnson

This gem of a song might be called alt-Americana, with poetic lyrics over uptempo, minor-key banjo, guitar, and drums. The lyrics evoke coming into being, knowing you're alive, maybe an epiphany born of being struck by love.  "The next thing I knew the stars were eyes up in the night / And the ocean breathing heavy like a beast."  There's an energetic wistfulness here, a melodic nostalgia for some unspecified moment freed from the bounds of linear time and space.

Going To Canada - Joe Louis Walker

Going To Canada - Joe Louis Walker

3:54

JLW, 1994

Written by Joe Louis Walker

This is a burning electric blues with hints of both Chicago and Delta traditions fused together.  It features some expert harmonica work by the great James Cotton backing up Walker's traditional blues guitar licks.  It's a sentiment that's all too easy to share right now.  Just get out, take Highway five up through Seattle.  They can't hold me here, at least for now.  "I gotta get on up outta here, peoples / Just to soothe my worried mind."  I agree; when can we leave?

Goodbye Don't Mean I'm Gone - Carole King

Goodbye Don't Mean I'm Gone - Carole King

3:33

Rhymes & Reasons, 1972

Written by Carole King

This is a gentle folk-rock song about an amicable breakup: "I'll never be what you think you see in me / If I can help you deal with what you see as real / That makes me glad to have known you."  It elegantly captures the time when two people realize they've grow apart, have different goals, or simply have found themselves on different paths.  There's still fondness, but the union is no longer possible.  King delivers the lines with a bittersweet finality; there's no room left for aches and regrets.  "It's all I can do to be a mother:"

Gonna Tell Your Mother - Jimmy McCracklin

Gonna Tell Your Mother - Jimmy McCracklin

2:37

single, 1955

Written by McCracklin and Saul Bihari

This is a bumping jump blues about a fellow whose lady has been treating him bad.  Instead of blustering or threatening, as in so many songs of this era, he vows instead to tattle to her mother.  There's an answering chorus in the lyrics: "Gonna tell your mama how you've been treatin' poor me / (Don't do that, she might get mad)."  Alas, the lighthearted moment passes, and we get to the requisite threatening: "If you done me wrong, well then you're six feet in the ground / (Don't do that, I might get mad)."  One line here jumped out at me because it evokes, in both words and in phrasing,  J.B. Lenoir's "Mama Talk to Your Daughter," from the same year: "Gonna talk to her daughter." I wonder if one inspired the other?

Girls - David Bowie

Girls - David Bowie

4:17

single, 1987

Written by David Bowie and Erdal Kızılçay

This song was written for Tina Turner, who released it a year earlier.  It's a lightweight, nonspecific ode to the mysteries of girls, how they "come and go" and cause pain.  Bowie paraphrases the famous Blade Runner quotation to describe his narrator's view of the ephemeral nature of these girls: "My heart suspended in time / Like you vanish like tears in the rain."  It's not one of his finer moments, and the keyboard and saxophone combine in a overblown yet watered-down neo-soul, but of course Bowie's magnificent voice carries this thing to the finish line.

Girl - Rhett Miller

Girl - Rhett Miller

2:59

This Bird Has Flown: A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul, 2005

Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

An entirely unnecessary but pleasant and genial cover of the Beatles classic, with a fuller instrumentation and Miller's earnest, conversational voice replacing the lads' Liverpudlian ache.  Also, he eschews, thankfully, the hissed intake of breath after the "girl" in the chorus, a production choice which I never understood in the original. As an affectionate, unpretentious interpretation, this song reminds you how sturdy the underlying composition really is.

Get Famous - Mountain Goats

Get Famous - Mountain Goats

3:19

Getting Into Knives, 2020

Written by John Darnielle

This song is a satirical jab at someone who puts ego and ambition above all else.  "Light up the sky like a comet / Make yourself want to vomit / Shine like a cursed star . Show everybody exactly who you are."   Darnielle delivers the words this one with more emotion than typical, and the song is punched up with sharp, bluesy brass lines, giving it a full sound.  The song references Wesley Willis, whom Darnielle explained he uses as inspiration to write second-person, accusatory songs.

Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand

Take Me Out – Franz Ferdinand
3:57
Franz Ferdinand, 2004
Written by Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy, Paul Thomson

This song starts out with about a minute of post-punk energy very much in the vein of the Strokes.  Then it stutters to a slow, until bursting out into an uptempo, sharp, stalking, danceable guitar riff.  The contrast of the two tempos and riffs is what grabs everyone's attention in print, although to me it's just a pretty interesting intro and segue; I didn't think much of it.  The lyrics are inspired by a sniper battle as metaphor for a kind of adversarial romantic situation: "And if you leave here / You leave me broken, shattered I lie / I'm just a crosshair / I'm just a shot, then we can die."  It's a strong song for a debut, all art-rock cool and pure pop instinct.  It's architectural in its precision, but still immediate and visceral.

That's a Pretty Good Love - Big Maybelle

That's a Pretty Good Love - Big Maybelle

2:35

Blues, Candy & Big Maybelle, 1956

Written by Fred Mendelsohn and Buddy Lucas

The uptempo rocking rhythm & blues song has stinging guitar, riffing saxophones and a rollicking drum.  A member of the band shouts out vocal prompts and questions like "Baby, my love will last (How long?) / Long as life in my body (You swear?)" between Maybelle's vocal, turning the performance into a live conversation, giving it an immediacy that draws the listener in.  But her raw, powerful, intense vocal is really what makes the song.  In a just world where "race music" wasn't pushed aside for watered-down white versions, Maybelle would have been bigger than Elvis.  The charisma, power, and emotional immediacy were all there. Records like this prove she didn’t need translation.

Le Temps de l'amour - Françoise Hardy

Le Temps de l'amour - Françoise Hardy

2:24

Tous les garçons et les filles, 1962

Written by Lucien Morisse, André Salvet and Jacques Dutronc

Sur une instrumentation minimaliste — un battement de tambour discret, quelques cordes feutrées, une guitare qui avance sans jamais presser — la voix de Hardy occupe tout l’espace émotionnel. Elle ne cherche pas à dominer l'arrangement, mais à flotter au-dessus de lui, avec une retenue qui donne à chaque mot un poids particulier. Son timbre est à la fois innocent et légèrement mélancolique, comme si elle observait déjà la fragilité du moment.  C'est une ode à la jeunesse, à cet âge où le temps semble à la fois infini et terriblement fragile, à l'envie d'aventure, au sentiment d'être le roi du monde, et où tout n'est que ciel bleu et amour.  Mais il y a aussi une conscience implicite, que cet état ne durera pas. Les vers « Quand le temps va et vient / On ne pense à rien / Malgré ses blessures / Car le temps de l'amour / C'est long et c'est court » résument toute l’expérience adolescente en une contradiction parfaite.

Try Me - Bob Luman

Try Me - Bob Luman

2:12

single, 1958

Written by Charles Singleton

With a teasing, brash style horn line, a male chorus echoing the title and providing a wordless "ooh" backing behind him, Luman fires out this short but sweet rockabilly number.  It's a braggadocio firmly in the '50s era: "Try me, you'll see / That I know something other lovers don't know / If you had some other kisses, but you ain't satisfied / Baby, I got kisses you ain't never tried."  It's delivered with a wink and swinging hip, not a sneer; Luman doesn't sound dangerous, just sly and sincere.

Tuesday Morning - The Pogues

Tuesday Morning - The Pogues

3:30

Waiting For Herb, 1993

Written by Spider Stacy

Andrew Ranken, drummer for the Pogues, died yesterday.  The Pogues' music flows in my DNA, at least until this album and their self-titled last, both of which are Shane-free and thus I didn't bother diving into.  What remains of the Pogues is simpler, cleaner, more restrained.  This song features a repetitive, simple chord progression, but the lyrics are pure Pogue-try.  "I fell through the window / And I found that I was still breathing / I thought of tomorrow / And the fear that you might leave me," the narrator tells the loved one he dreams of.  Ranken's drumming is patient and unshowy, propelling the yearning heartbeat of the song forward.  It's not the Pogues at their wildest, but it’s unmistakably them: bruised, romantic, and defiantly breathing.

Jealous Kind of Fella - Garland Green

Jealous Kind of Fella - Garland Green

2:53

Jealous Kind Of Fella, 1969

Written by Garland Green, Jo Armstead, Maurice Dollison, and Rudolph Browner

Soul singer Garland Green died yesterday.  This song, which reached number 5 on the Billboard chart, consists of the narrator apologizing and pleading with his baby.  It begins with the sound of a phone ringing, and the first verse is a hilariously straightforward recreation of that phone call begging for forgiveness would sound like: "Hello baby, please don't be too mad at me / Because I punched that guy last night / But let me explain, before you say anything / I know I was wrong, just like you said."  Despite the fella's candor, and Green impassioned delivery, it's unclear at the end if his inamorata is willing to give him a chance or hangs up on him.  This has got to be the greatest song to contain the line "because I punched that guy last night."

This was a fun one, but overall, it's been a morbid week.  Let's not do this again, and Lord, protect our musical idols little while longer.

Is This Love? - Cake

Is This Love? - Cake

5:19

Motorcade Of Generosity, 1994

Written by John McCrea and Greg Brown

Greg Brown, the founding guitarist of Cake (not the Iowan folk giant), died last Saturday. While Cake would generally sharpen and streamline their sound after his departure, Brown co-wrote "The Distance," their biggest hit, and deserves a nod during in memoriam week.  This is a "woman done me wrong" style of song, dressed up in Cake's style. Blaring horns jab and retreat while bass and guitar lock into an unusually funky groove. Over it all, John McCrea growls, croons, and half-talks his way through the lyric like a bluesman with irony.   The rhythm section keeps it moving with a loose, swaggering pulse, and McCrea’s vocal performance shows more range than his later, more minimalist persona would suggest. It’s a deep-pocket groove that clearly foreshadows the "The Distance" and "I Will Survive," while still sounding rawer and a little less self-aware.

Venus - Television

Venus - Television
3:49
Marquee Moon, 1977

Written by Tom Verlaine

Fred Smith, guitarist for Television, died a few days ago.  I could not have named the man before today, but he helped shape some of the most important and let's face it, downright cool music of the 1970s.  This brief but entrancing song pulls together everything great about rock of the era — surreal, image-driven lyrics and extraordinary, interlocking guitar lines — then filters it through the harder, cleaner lens of late-'70s production. Dreamlike, dislocated lyrics ("Broadway looked so medieval, it seemed to flap like little pages / And I fell sideways laughing with a friend from many stages") sit alongside an anecdote about "Ritchie" (Richard Hell) and the suggestion that they "dress up as cops."  That single detail grounds the song in an actual scene, even as the druggy imagery and spiraling guitars make it feel slightly out of this world. It's street-level and cosmic at once, which is exactly Television's sweet spot.  And in addition to all this, it's also a genuine pop song. Amid the bending riffs and nervous fire of Television's playing, there's a sense of structure and immediacy that gives the track lift. It manages to be a great rock song and a great pop song at the same time, without sanding down either quality.

Up, Up and Away - The 5th Dimension

Up, Up and Away - The 5th Dimension

2:43

Up, Up and Away, 1967

Written by Jimmy Webb

Lamonte McLemore, founding member of the 5th Dimension, died a few days ago.  This track, one of their big hits, is a love song that walks the line between silly and truly sweet.  The conceit is that the narrator describes how nice life would be if the object of his interest would take a ride in his "beautiful balloon."  The idea is kind of twee, but some of the sly lyrics would not be out of place in a Cole Porter torch song: "If by some chance you find yourself loving me / We'll find a cloud to hide us / We'll keep the moon beside us."  In addition to the group's beautiful harmonies, the track features the Wrecking Crew as backing band with some powerhouse horns punctuating the strings, and a piccolo providing a lighter-than-air line that evokes floating out into the sky.  The fantasy may be weightless, but the craft is anything but.

Good Time Living - Three Dog Night

Good Time Living - Three Dog Night

4:10

It Ain't Easy, 1970

Written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil

Chuck Negron, one of the three distinctive voices of Three Dog Night and the tenor behind classics like "Joy to the World" and "One," died a few days ago and it escaped my attention.  I'm a big fan of the hits but don't know much about their catalog.  RIP Chuck, and I hope you had a "good time living."  This song is a pure hippie artifact, extolling the wonders of nature and denouncing modern urban life: "Air pollution, revolution, you know I've had my fill / Advertisin', computerizin', don't understand it and I never will / Got to get back to some good time livin' / Got to get out where the air is sweet."  It's not exactly a heavy-hitting exposé, but it's an accurate vibe from the era, and a great showcase for the powerhouse vocals of Negron, Danny Hutton, and Cory Wells.  I like the fake-out fade-out-then-in at the end and the "Got to got got to back" overlapping chorus as the song really comes to a close.

Dancing On the Wing - The Felice Brothers

Dancing On the Wing - The Felice Brothers

4:28

Life In the Dark, 2016

Written by Greg Farley, Ian Felice, James Felice and Josh Rawson

The Band comparisons are inevitable.  With typically baffling, specific lyrics ("Probably call me in a year / Sobbing for a chandelier / Eating sherbet / In some sad suburbia / And dating a disturbing profiteer") and a shuffling, ramshackle Americana tune with scratchy guitar, fiddle, organ, and harmonies, it's as close to the Band as you get without going back in time.  Whether the song actually means anything is or just joyous nonsense, at least it's a merry hoedown.

Dry My Tears and Move On - The Del McCoury Band

Dry My Tears and Move On - The Del McCoury Band

3:20

It's Just the Night, 2003

Written by Richard Thompson, 1999

A song of proud defiance in the face of lost love.  The narrator's love no longer dreams of him; the spark has gone out.  But does he wallow?  Has his entire world ended, as in so many other songs?  No.  This guy's got shiny shoes and a nice suit and he can do better.  "If you don't need me there's someone else who needs me out there / She's kind and tender and one day I'll meet her I swear."  This song was first released by Thompson on his 1999 album Mock Tudor in a pathos-drenched slow burn, but here Del McCoury turns it into a fast-packed bluegrass romp.  Thompson sounds like he's trying to convince himself; the guy in this version means it.

Draggin' the River - Ferlin Husky

Draggin' the River - Ferlin Husky

2:10

single, 1959

Written by Vic McAlpine

I'm amazed that I haven't heard of this honky-tonk singer, who released dozens of albums over a seven-decade career, had 11 top ten hits, two dozen top 20 hits, and was inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame.  In this single, sounding like a countrified Elvis, he croons over a deceptively bright, bouncing melody a sad tale of being left, the spark of love now cold and dark: "Well, if things get worse, I can't shake this curse / Then start draggin' the river for me."  Grim!

Don't Look Back - The Remains

Don't Look Back - The Remains

2:38

The Remains, 1966

Written by Billy Vera

The Remains, often labelled garage rock although with tighter musicianship and clearer production than most bands filed under that rubric, were slated for great things.  They were getting good word of mouth in the 1960s and even opened for the Beatles in Candelstick Park.  Unfortunately, their drummer quit, they broke up, and their debut album came out a few months later with no tour or acclaim.  They rose to a kind of cult fame over the years, however, and released their second album in 2002.  This tough soul-influenced rocker, sounding a bit like Them, is a jagged track with a nice call-and-response chorus.  At about one minute in, the singer says, "All right now, hold it, hold it!" and delivers an impassioned half-spoken bridge.  It's a fun faux impromptu bit that makes the recording seem immediate and dynamic.

Dancing Lady - Teddy and the Rough Riders

Dancing Lady - Teddy and the Rough Riders

2:56

single, 2020

Written by Teddy and the Rough Riders

Teddy and the Rough Riders is a Nashville-based country rock duo.  Sounding like a cross between the Flying Burrito Brothers and Ween at their most earnest circa 12 Golden Country Greats, this song, with some solid steel guitar work, offers a deadpan but slyly weird neo-country ballad.  The narrator isn't doing well, but his infatuation with the titular dancing lady makes up for his troubles.  "This house is up for rent / Payment's overdue / Honey, I'm heaven sent / I wanna give it all over to you."