The Gardener - The Tallest Man On Earth

The Gardener - The Tallest Man On Earth

3:57

Shallow Grave, 2009

Written by Kristian Matsson

This neo-Americana love song disguised as murder ballad is an extended metaphor: the gardener is the first-person narrator, slaying a series of rivals (a spy, a runner) who might reveal to his love that he isn't quite the man he makes himself out to be.  "I know the runner's going to tell you / There ain't no cowboy in my hat / So now he's buried by the daisies / So I could stay the tallest man in your eyes, babe."  Matsson's high vocal yelp, what you might call a twang if he wasn't Swedish, brings to mind the backwoods bluegrass and ballad singers of the "old, weird America."

Gold Past Life - Fruit Bats

Gold Past Life - Fruit Bats
3:29

Gold Past Life, 2019

Written by Eric D. Johnson

Sounding like a fusion of Supertramp and the Bee Gees, this piano-based song with wavering falsetto vocals is a throwback of disco-inspired soft rock.  The lyrics are somber, contrasting with the bright poppy music, but mimicking the sonic blast from the past, the message is entirely about looking back at lost time and lost love: "You used to dance in the night / With a girl you loved so much / You used to look her in the eyes as the nightbirds sang."

Get Up Offa That Thing - James Brown

Get Up Offa That Thing - James Brown

4:10

single, 1976

Written by Deanna Brown, Deidre Brown, Yamma Brown

This song's credit is, of course, a boondoggle; James gave credit to his wife and daughters for tax reasons.  The story goes that Brown was inspired by an audience that remained seated during a funk performance.  Thus, this half-chanted, hand-clapping exhortation to "Get up offa that thing / And dance till you feel better."  A big bold brass section with saxes, horns, and trombones accompanies bass and drums, and the whole thing was recorded live in studio.  Sometimes I look back at this era and wonder at the sheet talent that today's artists can only dream of.

Greaze Mode - Skepta

Greaze Mode - Skepta

2:48

Ignorance Is Bliss, 2019

Written by Joseph Adenuga, Nathan Adams, Clayton Gavin, Andrew Mair, and Vonkeli Williams

A duet with some rapper named Nafe Smallz, this is the typical rap puffery, all boasting about ganja, being rich, and having girls.  The Nigerian-British Skepta does touch on his heritage in a couple of lines ("I'm gonna need some palm wine / I'm gonna need some pepper soup") but mostly this is about smoking, flexing, grinding, and partying.  It's a fun song with a catchy beat, but nothing essential.

Grand Salami Time! - The Baseball Project

Grand Salami Time! - The Baseball Project

3:21

Grand Salami Time!, 2023

Written by Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey

The title of this song is titled after a line that Seattle Mariners announcer Dave Niehaus would say when a grand slam was hit.  I like how the first line of the song is "Dying quails and frozen ropes," the title of the supergroup's first album.  This whole song is a statement of purpose, crammed as it is full of baseball terms of art, such as "Open the window, Aunt Minnie, here it comes!"  That's Pittsburgh Pirates radio sportscaster Rosey Rowswell's trademark salutation for a home run by a Pirate.  This would be followed by a sound effect of shattering glass.  The gays (and gal) in this band are so talented and exuberant, even a non-fan like myself can't help loving their sports-infused pop rock.

Hope - R.E.M.

Hope - R.E.M.

5:01
Up, 1998

Written by Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe, and Leonard Cohen

This song is not a collaboration between Athens' finest and the Greatest Canadian Songwriter, but, as becomes obvious as soon as you hear it, a credit was given to Cohen due to the song's similarity both lyrically and sonically to his "Suzanne."  Lyrically, the song is addressed to someone facing a medical scare: "You want to trust the doctors / Their procedure is the best / But the last try was a failure / And the intern was a mess."  The addressee looks to science and religion and salvation anywhere, any kind of deliverance, no matter how foolish the hope seems.  "You want to cross your DNA with something reptile."  I read this as having insane hopes, like wanting aliens to come save you with their advanced technology, to undergo a science experiment no matter how far-fetched, like the Lizard in Marvel Comics who wanted to regrow his arm with reptile DNA.  It's grim and terribly touching.

Hot For You - The Blades

Hot For You - The Blades

2:18

single, 1980

Written by Paul Cleary

This slice of crazily catchy New Wave power pop has a sound ahead of its time.  Sure, it evokes the jittery pop of the Buggles and even Elvis Costello, but it's also got the jangle power riffs of the Rembrants.  Lyrically, the song expresses rock's timeless theme of trying to get with the opposite sex, especially as the dreary winter months wane.  "The rain is gone, the sun is stronger now / So cast aside your inhibitions / And your raincoats too / The pretty gals are lying on the sand / They're trying their best to get their bodies tanned." They straddle the line effortlessly between tongue-in-cheek and earnest with that syllepsis and the corny rhyme.

Hellbound Train - Rancid

Hellbound Train - Rancid

1:26

Tomorrow Never Comes, 2023

Written by Tim Armstrong, Lars Frederiksen, Matt Freeman, and Branden Steineckert

This is a blistering old school punk track, powered by new drummer Steineckert's pounding drum line.  Armstrong tosses off a sneering vocal of a lyric that seems to be a summary of Reservoir Dogs: "Crooked people lie, reckless people die / Staying true to yourself 'til the end / Botched up heist, guns weren't nice / When you're shooting your way out of the end."  The lads have written a song about the quiz show scandals of the 1950s, so a Tarantino movie isn't beyond them.

Hit Or Miss - New Found Glory

Hit Or Miss - New Found Glory

3:22

New Found Glory, 2000

Written by Jordan Pundik, Ian Grushka. Chad Gilbert, Cyrus Bolooki, and Steve Klein, 1999

Chad Gilbert, the lead guitarist of New Found Glory, died a couple of days ago.  This song was originally released in the band's 1999 debut album; they re-recorded it for their eponymous sophomore album.  The vocals are pure pop punk of the era, akin to Tom DeLonge's nasal, emo delivery, with elongated vowels that give his voice a whiny tone.  The lyrics tell of a narrator reminiscing about a lost love ("Remember the time we wrote our names upon the wall / Remember the time we realized 'Thriller' was our favorite song"), reflecting that he's missed a lot of chances to repair what went wrong.  It's catchy, but as with so many pop songs, one verse and a chorus are repeated too often for my taste.

Barely Breathing - Duncan Sheik

Barely Breathing - Duncan Sheik

4:15

Duncan Sheik, 1996

Written by Duncan Sheik

Duncan Sheik died a few days ago, way too young, of cardiac arrest,  In the mid-1990s, the era of grunge, wistful pop, and the one-hit-wonder, Sheik was beautiful, talented, and on top of the world.  I, being an angsty Dylan-loving curmudgeon, dismissed most everything on the charts by virtue of their existence on the charts, so this megahit never seeped into my consciousness.  I doubt I ever listened to more than a few seconds of it, despite being in college at the time of its apex.  The acoustic guitar and soft drums form an upbeat melody covering a melancholy mood; the narrator, like so many lost young men, can't explain even to himself his attraction to a damaged soul.  The lyrics are introspective and, if not exactly poetry, reasonably clever: "You really had me going, wishing on a star / But the black holes that surround you are heavier by far / I believed in your confusion, you were so completely torn / It must've been that yesterday was the day that I was born."  Sheik was cut down too early, but it's not a bad legacy to have created something people are appreciating three decades later.

Tradfather - Beoga

Tradfather - Beoga

3:25

Phases, 2025

Written by Beoga

Beoga is a fiddle-based Irish band that plays mostly instrumentals, so one might be forgiven for detecting a certain sameness in their repertoire.  This jaunty tune begins with some "Eye Of the Tiger"-evoking percussion beats before blossoming into a standard fiddle riff with some modern beats.  The only vocals are some "oh oh ey oh" chants in the final thirty seconds.  It's a fine toe-tapper, when taken in moderation.

Before You Go - Lukas Graham

Before You Go - Lukas Graham

3:36

Good Times, 2026

Written by Lukas Forchhammer, Scott Harris, Morten Ristorp

This gentle folk-pop song is apparently a departure for this Danish-Irish band (credited as a band, but in music media, often written up as one person, the vocalist), which typically plays a more grand pop-soul (their hit "7 Years" has 2.6 billion Spotify plays).  Vocalist Lukas Forchhammer (his father's surname was Graham) sings the lyric in a rapidfire falsetto, the words tumbling out from his mouth, with the backing vocals a familiar millennial whoop.  The song is about a dying friend and the injustice of having too little time: "So before you go, could we have a final night? / Let's talk about those summer days and open up that dumb champagne / We saved, but we don't even like."  It's a bittersweet carpe diem.

For Cryin' Out Loud! - Finneas

For Cryin' Out Loud! - Finneas

3:37

For Cryin' Out Loud!, 2024

Written by Finneas O'Connell, Aron Forbes, David Marinelli, and Miles Morris 

Billie Eilish's brother belts this out with a warm, inviting voice that conveys a bittersweet yearning,  The song has an upbeat groove, while the lyrics reflect the chaotic mess that love can be: "Sometimes I see the future / Sometimes I'm not so bright / Sometimes you're looking for a fight."  The song begins with a slightly eerie, solitary drum beat over a synth loop, before the band and vocal come in, with punchy horns giving the song a full, rich sound.

Hey Ma - Aaron Rowe

Hey Ma - Aaron Rowe

4:00

single, 2025

Written by Aaron Rowe

This soulful acoustic ballad is in the form of a telephone call to the narrator's mother.  He's in London, a city that he finds faceless and unfriendly, and wonders how the old hometown is doing.  "Hey ma, I crossed the street today / I said hello to a stranger, but he walked away / I'm sending love from a street where no one knows my name."  Rowe is an Irish sing-songwriter; this, his debut and to date biggest single, has lush instrumentation, the inevitable fiddle, and gorgeous, soaring vocals.

Hind's Hall - Macklemore

Hind's Hall - Macklemore

2:49

single, 2024

Written by Macklemore

Recent events having shown that Ed Sheeran is a disingenuous coward who takes his marching orders from billionaires named in the Epstein files, I thought I'd focus on this two-year-old protest song about the ongoing genocide in Palestine.  From Wikipedia: the song's title is a reference to pro-Palestinian activists' renaming of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University to "Hind's Hall" in honor of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.  Macklemore has always been an issues rapper, self-reflective and analytical to the point of turning some fans off, but here his lyrics are scathing and right on target.  "Who gets the right to defend and who gets the right of resistance / Has always been about dollars and the color of your pigment, but / White supremacy is finally on blast / Screamin' "Free Palestine" 'til they're home at last."

I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City - Harry Nilsson

I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City - Harry Nilsson

2:43

Harry, 1969

Written by Harry Nilsson

This song was written for, but not included in, the excellent film Midnight Cowboy.  Too bad, because it sits nicely alongside the beautiful, and similarly gentle, "Everybody's Talkin'."  Taking the lyrics at face value, it's an optimistic song, from the point of view of someone tired of being on the losing end, wanting his prayers to come true for once.  "Say goodbye to all my sorrow / And by tomorrow, I'll be on my way."  However, knowing how the movie ends casts a pall on the deceptively sanguine words.

New York Mambo - Johnny Colon

New York Mambo - Johnny Colon

2:34

Portrait Of Johnny, 1971

Written by Johnny Colon

Colon is a salsa musician known for his Latin fusion style known as boogaloo.  It's got a jittery, urban energy: all rhythm and infectious, hip-shaking percussion, riding along a soulful piano groove and a veritable river of brass that buoys the song along.  I am no Spanish speaker, but it's hard not to hear the joy with which Colon talks about his home city: "Oye, de Nueva York no me voy, porque, aquí fué donde nací."  

New York's Not My Home - Jim Croce

New York's Not My Home - Jim Croce

3:08

You Don't Mess Around With Jim, 1972

Written by Jim Croce

There are legions of songs proclaiming loyalty to or love for a geographical place.  Possibly the majority of those songs are about how great New York City is.  This song is the opposite: it's about disillusionment with the Big Apple, about its lack of warmth and conviviality.  "Though all the streets are crowded / There's something strange about it / I lived there 'bout a year and I never once felt at home."  A soft, folksy ballad, Croce delivers it with a gentle but firm finality.  Croce was from South Philadelphia, so he apparently isn't decrying urban landscapes in general, but New York specifically.  As a New Yorker, one might take that personally.

New York's My Home - Sammy Davis Jr.

New York's My Home - Sammy Davis Jr.

3:13

single, 1956

Written by Gordon Jenkins, 1946

Ray Charles did a celebrated version of this song, but as of this post, it's not available on Spotify.  In the song, the narrator puts down all the other places, imploring anyone who will listen that New York is the best place around.  St. Louis, he observes as an example, "has lots of shoes" (I learned today that St. Louis was once one of the greatest shoe manufacturers in the world), "But it hasn't got the opera in The Met / It hasn't got a famous string quartet."  Davis delivers most of the song in a hasty half-spoken patter as one might hear on a musical stage, with a chorus backing him for emphasis. 

Going To New York - Jimmy Reed

Going To New York - Jimmy Reed

2:18

single, 1959

Written by Jimmy Reed

A beautiful 12-bar boogie shuffle, this song is a declaration to reach New York or bust.  Why?  Because of the big game show payouts!  "Goin' to New York, get on New York quiz show / Gotta win myself some alla that dough."  This song was written right after the uncovering of the scandals in quiz shows of the time (as documented in the 1994 movie Quiz Show), so maybe it was meant as tongue in cheek?  Terrific barrelhouse percussion keeps the song bouncing forward, with a nice harmonica solo by Reed.

54-46 Was My Number - Toots & the Maytals

54-46 Was My Number - Toots & the Maytals

3:24

single, 1969

Written by Toots Hibbert

Although this laid-beat rocksteady single is far better known, it's actually a reworking of a Toots song from a year earlier with a similar title, "54-46 That's My Number."  Built on a classic riddim, the lyrics describe his arrest for marijuana possession, and proclaim that he was set up: "Do you believe I would take such a thing with me / And give it to a police man? / I wouldn't do that, oh no."  The relaxed groove and Hibbert's soulful delivery make this one of the great early reggae singles.

30 Pieces of Silver - Prince Buster

30 Pieces of Silver - Prince Buster

2:59

single, 1964

Written by Prince Buster

Using the Biblical character as a metaphor, Prince Buster accuses someone of betrayal because he held the purse strings but got abandoned.  "The shoes you wore, I bought them / The pants you wore, I bought them / Judas, charmer is your name."  One might assume that this is directed at a an ex-lover whom Buster thinks of retroactively as a gold digger, but actually it's a shot in a musicians' beef his ex-friend Derrick Morgan, who left Buster's label for a more lucrative offer.  This is a classic ska riff with a nice harmonica solo in the middle, and some genuine reggae scatting at the fadeout.

99 Lbs - Ann Peebles

99 Lbs - Ann Peebles

2:19

Straight From the Heart, 1972
Written by Don Bryant

This slinky soul number was written by Peebles' husband.  It's a self-aggrandizing blues, with the narrator proclaiming herself "Now I'm ninety-nine pounds of natural goodness, y'all / Ninety-nine pounds of soul," adding she's "all put together in a fine wire frame."  She promises twenty-five pounds of sugar in every kiss, and twenty-five pounds of "something that I can't even name."  It's a blistering, sexy come-on, riding on a fantastic, uplifting horn section.  Why Peebles isn't as lauded as Aretha Franklin is beyond me.

36-22-36 - Bobby "Blue" Bland

36-22-36 - Bobby "Blue" Bland

2:50

Here's the Man!, 1962

Written by Deadric Malone

As the title indicates, this big band blues is a paean to a lady, the arrangement all slinky sax and brassy horn blasts: "She looks so good from her head to her feet / My girl can be tied / But she can't be beat."  Racy!  The title is shouted out by the band, in between Blue's crooning, sultry verses.  The titular (heh) measurements are never expounded upon in the lyric, which is just Bland being possessive of his lady: "You would steal her if you could."

1612 - Vulfpeck

1612 - Vulfpeck

3:20

Fugue State, 2014

Written by Jack Stratton

Featuring handclaps, keyboards, walking bass, and a falsetto vocal that would make any Philly soul man proud, this song is a slick neo-funk masterpiece.  The catchy hook and soulful vocals make you dance before you realize you're grooving to a song about the code to an apartment: "Sixteen twelve, that's the code to my heart / One six, one two, star."  As the song reminds us, sometimes it's easy to make up a little song about things we need to remember.  The opening line, "It's a tzimmes," means it's a big fuss, or it's important.  

Faraway You - Marah

Faraway You - Marah

3:31

Kids In Philly, 2000

Written by Dave Bielanko, Serge Bielanko

After a few foghorn-like notes (from a bagpipe?), the song explodes with harmonica, organ, piano, xylophone, banjo, and other percussion. Singer Dave Bielanko's ragged voice comes in, as he relates a tale of riding a bus, watching the filthy city go by ("I seen a rain-soaked mattress / 'Neath the apartment house of death / Strewn in a vacant mess / All watered-down and wet"), when he spies someone he loves kissing another person.  He goes white as he realized how far away she is.  As arena-sized "Ohhh" backing vocals come in, the song clatters along like Steve Earle with the Pogues, or a whole band of Bruce Springsteens.  This band is new to me; how could I have missed them all this time? 

A Friend Like Me - The Interrupters

A Friend Like Me - The Interrupters

2:52

The Interrupters, 2014

Written by Aimee Allen, Jesse Bivona, Justin Bivona, Kevin Bivona and Tim Armstrong

Very much a Tim Armstrong-influenced *cough* song, this has themes of loyalty, ground well-trammeled by Rancid.  "And if you ever need a savior / I mean now not later / I tell you I am the one."  With a sing-along chorus, a bouncing ska beat, and swirling guitars, it's the female-fronted Rancid that we all have to accept since the real thing has gone dormant.

Feel You Around Me - NRBQ

Feel You Around Me - NRBQ

3:31

Tiddlywinks, 1980

Written by NRBQ

This song, which starts off its album, has a playful, simple melody that evokes children's music; it almost sounds like it's being played on toy instruments, with chimes and bells accentuating the soft vocals.  Lyrically, it's a love song in which the narrators proclaims his need for a loved one: "Everybody does something in life / I do what I'm required to do / And I can take most anything / But I couldn't last a day without you."  All his friends mock him for this apparent change in im; perhaps they find his uxorious slant to be weak-willed and drippy.  But he doesn't care; his life has been turned upside down.  It's charming and warmly relatable.

Fine To Me - Pokey LaFarge

Fine To Me - Pokey LaFarge

3:58

In the Blossom Of Their Shade, 2021

Written by Pokey LaFarge

LaFarge is an interesting character.  His musical style is blend of, and influenced by, neo-swing, Americana, swing, jazz, ragtime, and Appalachian folk — that "old, weird America," as Greil Marcus put it.  Over boogie-woogie piano, walking bass, and handclaps percussion, LaFarge talk-sings in a nasal croon about someone in his life who is "the rock I cling to when there's a riptide in the sea," and "just like superglue."  It's a slinky, rocking, strut of a song that makes you want to get up and dance.  It feels fresh and new but with a familiar, old-timey feel.

Fast As You - Dwight Yoakam

Fast As You - Dwight Yoakam

4:48

This Time, 1993

Written by Dwight Yoakam

I've always really liked Yoakam's rock sensibility, and on this track he definitely rocks, throwing in recognizable rockabilly and Elvis-era guitar licks. I often think of Yoakam's material as rock with a country voice.  The song is from the point of view of someone who has been the vulnerable and uncertain one in the relationship, and now warns that he in turn might become the one who leaves people hurt and heartbroken.  "You'll control me, oh, so boldly / Rule me till I'm free / The pain that shakes me finally makes me / Get up off of my knees."  It's a muscular blend of roots-rock and country, and a fiery declaration of defiant pride.