You Shook Me All Night Long - Big & Rich

You Shook Me All Night Long - Big & Rich

2:43

Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace, 2007

Written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Brian Johnson, 1980

It's Cover Time! 

A fully countrified cover by one of my absolute favorite guilty pleasure songs.  Almost all AC/DC songs are deliberately juvenile, winking, and over the top; here, the duo's twangy double vocals and a rollicking barroom piano give the tale of an epic one-night stand yet another layer of cornpone goofiness.  Somehow, it works; the only way to ruin the song would be by taking it seriously.

Australia - The Shins

Australia - The Shins

3:56

Wincing the Night Away, 2007

Written by James Mercer

The lyrics of this track are addressed to an unspecified "you."  Image-laden and quite abstruse ("You're Himmler in your coat / You don't know how long I have been / Watching the lantern dim"), they're not about Australia but rather vaguely admonishing the listener to enjoy life before they (society, the government, your own fears?) break you down.  As with so many pop songs, the message is to seize the day: "You'll be damned to pining through the windowpanes / You know you'd trade your life for any ordinary Joe / Well, do it now or grow old."  Melodically, it's nervy and kinetic, built on a wiry, almost staccato guitar line that snaps and jitters rather than jangles. The rhythm section drives the song forward with a clipped urgency, giving it a restless, post-punk-adjacent pulse that feels familiar but not relaxed.

I Don't Wanna Stop - Ozzy Osbourne

I Don't Wanna Stop - Ozzy Osbourne

3:59

Black Rain, 2007

Written by Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, and Kevin Churko

Ozzy Osbourne died yesterday.  To borrow a phrase from that master wordsmith Elvis Costello, while I cannot pretend that Ozzy's records have been a fixture on my turntable, it's undeniable that he was one of the giants in his field, and he recorded at least three songs that even I consider great enough to cement his reputation alone.  I already know a few of his ubiquitous hits, so I went with this song today for its title and its unfamiliarity.  Its "party on" vibe comes off as affected or manufactured, but Ozzy's sneering vocal delivery and the heavy fuzzy sound at the bass (evoking Rob Zombie) makes it an enjoyable, if slick, ride.  Snort a line of ants in Ozzy's memory.  Rest in power king.

Hang Me, Oh Hang Me - The Deep Dark Woods

Hang Me, Oh Hang Me - The Deep Dark Woods

4:22

Hang Me, Oh Hang Me, 2007

Traditional

This Saskatoon country-rock band is clearly influenced by Gram Parsons, Son Volt, and traditional country bluegrass.  This song is a cover made famous by Dave Van Ronk, that came to more prominence when Oscar Isaak sang it in Inside Llewyn Davis.  Some sites claim the song is a Van Ronk original, but this site says it's much older, and points to a 1961 recording by one Sam Hinton.  Anyhoo,  this is the lament of a world-weary gambler or outlaw.  "Hang me, oh hang me / So I'll be dead and gone / I wouldn't mind the hanging, boys / I'll be waiting 'round here too long."  The guitar, harmonies, and drums are all pure alt-country sound.  The band puts their own spin on the lyrics, using fragments of the old ones and some apparently new.  I love the guitar work, but the whole band is masterful here. I always like to see the new young bucks (never you mind that this came out 18 years ago; I'm old) breathe new life into the traditional tunes. 

Free Time - The Aggrolites

Free Time - The Aggrolites

3:01

Reggae Hit L.A., 2007

Written by the Aggrolites

A decent ska-reggae track by a bunch of white Californians.  In this song, the narrator is really excited to see his lady ("I've done left things behind, oh / Oh, that always come and go / But not that little brown-eyed girl"), but finds, to his shock, that she has moved on without him and prefers it when he's gone.  Should have put a ring on it, buddy.  Anyway, it's a standard ska, nice background music for a levelheaded frat party or a barbecue.  

V-Neck Sweater - The Greyboy Allstars

V-Neck Sweater - The Greyboy Allstars

2:35

What Happened To Television?, 2007

Written by ?

A blend of old school funk jazz informed by modern hiphop sensibilities.  The band is apparently named after its founder, a DJ, but there's little of that sound on this particular track.  It's all horns and organ and wailing funk vocals that have a lot of soul but not much semantical content.  It's a decent song, but I'm a bit underwhelmed; it never really gets in your face like it seems it wants to.

Timebomb - Beck

Timebomb - Beck

2:49

single, 2007

Written by Beck and the Dust Brothers

This Grammy-nominated single sounds like a celebration with an apocalypse lurking underneath. Its playful, ominous duality is embodied in the mocking vocals.  Beck's desire to be Prince is prety palpable here as the song is propulsed by dumb party energy, synths, and shifting textures.  It's dynamic and throbs with motion and potential energy,  However, the key there is the potential.  It's all unresolved tension.  There's no climax when the countdown reaches its conclusion, only unanswered questions and the repeated "We got a time bomb / Na na na na / We got a warning light."  The repetition definitely burrows its way into your ear, but the bomb never explodes, the red alert fading away.

Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On) - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On) - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

3:32

Raising Sand, 2007

Written by Don Everly and Phil Everly, 1964

This collaboration is widely touted as being a bluegrass album, but this song, at least, might be called Americana folk.  There's little of the bluegrass sensibility or instrumentation.  This track is driven, in fact, by an insistent, powerful percussive line.  Plant and Krauss' voices, though are rightfully lauded: the blend is an ethereal harmony that grabs the listener, and Plant adds his own haunting backing vocals.

Gratitude - Paul McCartney

Gratitude - Paul McCartney
3:18
Memory Almost Full, 2007
Written by Paul McCartney

This is McCartney's "divorce album."  On this track he played all the instruments.  It's a farewell song, a goodbye to his ex, but he doesn't sound bitter.  Quite the opposite.  "Well, I was lonely, I was living with a memory / But my cold and lonely nights ended when you sheltered me / Loved by you, I was loved by you."  There are parts of McCartney's vocal here that are reminiscent of "Oh! Darling."  I like how he goes from gentle to full-throated belting.

Four Winds - Bright Eyes

Four Winds - Bright Eyes

4:16

Cassadega, 2007

Written by Conor Oberst

I love this kind of song, with an avalanche of words tumbling one after the other, imagery and references whizzing by among the torrent.  "The Bible's blind, the Torah's deaf, the Qur'an is mute / If you burned them all together you'd be close to the truth, Still they're poring over Sanskrit under Ivy League moons." The message seems to be a fairly pessimistic one, of a violent and turbulent world where meaning and peace are hard to discern.  "And I was off to old Dakota where a genocide sleeps."  You got that right.