Hurtin' (On the Bottle) - Margo Price

Hurtin' (On the Bottle) - Margo Price

4:12

Midwest Farmer's Daughter, 2016

Written by Margo Price, Mark Fredson, Jeremy Ivey, Caitlin Rose

Despite being something of a young'un (well, when she started), this is a classic country tonk song with steel guitar and lyrical sensibility that could come straight out of the pen of Hank Williams: "I put a hurtin' on the bottle / Baby now I'm blind enough to see / I've been drinking whiskey like it's water / But that don't touch the pain you put on me."  The delivery, though, is pure vintage Dolly, with a bright twang and an easy-going pace, as if she wasn't running from demons so much as chilling with them.

Freedom - Beyoncé featuring Kendrick Lamar

Freedom - Beyoncé featuring Kendrick Lamar

4:49

Lemonade, 2016

Written by Jonathan Coffer, Beyoncé, Carla Williams, Arrow Benjamin, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Tirado, Alan Lomax, John Lomax, Sr.

Let's celebrate Juneteenth

Hey, how did folklorist and ethno-musicologist Alan Lomax get in there?  Well, the song incorporates three samples, including elements of "Stewball," a traditional recording (performed by a prisoner) collected by the Lomaxes, though as usual I'm not sure this deserves writing credit,  Anyhoo, this song was used as Kamal Harris' official campaign song, and was an unofficial anthem of the George Floyd protests.  "I'ma riot through your borders / Call me bulletproof / Lord, forgive me, I've been runnin' / Runnin' blind in truth."  The song is one of the most powerful statements in Beyoncé's catalog, which I am admittedly not very familiar with. Built around pounding drums, distorted organ textures, and a relentless groove, it's a pounding anthem and a declaration, not a pop song.  The lyric is both a declaration of resilience and a refusal to accept limits imposed by others. Lamar's verse is an equally urgent protest. "Eight blocks left, death is around the corner / Seven misleadin' statements 'bout my persona" — a rejection of mainstream demonization of black victims of police violence.  Abolish ICE!

Dickie Betts - The Dean Ween Group

Dickie Betts - The Dean Ween Group

3:26

The Deaner Album, 2016

Written by Dean Ween

This guitar-led instrumental is an homage to the Allman Brothers sound.  A boogie-woogie piano line under the soaring Southern rock guitars gives the song its playful edge.  It's a little bit jazz, a little big jam band. It's probably also equal parts sincere admiration and goofy aping, like most of Ween's output.  Like the guitarist it honors, it's played with a relaxed swagger, but a pinch of silliness is added in as well.

Ever Fallen In Love - Nouvelle Vague

Ever Fallen In Love - Nouvelle Vague

3:29

Athol Brose, 2016

Written by Pete Shelley, 1978

The album title refers to a Scottish drink made by mixing porridge, honey, whisky, and sometimes cream.  That's all well and good, although this laid-back, cool '60s Euro-bossanova cover of the Buzzcocks is maybe more of a mojito or Old Fashioned vibe.  The clave percussion and high, tinny strings offer up views of a beach side bar.  This song was also covered ten years earlier on the band's album Bande à Part, sung by Mélanie Pain; this version is sung by Cuban-French singer Liset Alea, whose vocal delivery is, to my ear, delivered with more of a come-hither smirk.

Party Like You - Cadillac Three

Party Like You - Cadillac Three

3:05

Bury Me in My Boots, 2016

Written by Jeren Johnston, Jon Nite, and Jimmy Robbins

This is a fast-paced Southern country rocker, clearly influenced by the fusion stylings of the loathsome Kid Rock, a little slang taken from the hiphop community ("cut off blues like damn you know it").  The song is about a hard-drinking good old boy who finds a real hottie in a bar.  Is there a twist, or even a meet-cute resolution, like in Cory Branan's terrific "Prettiest Waitress in Memphis"?  No.  Simple minds, simple pleasures.  "Little bit of drink, little wink wink / Tell me what you think / I've been lookin' for a party like you / You get dancing, hearts get stolen / Love the way the night is goin'."  Still, the whiskey-soaked hick-rock-rap is a good time. 

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.

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.

Wonderful Crazy Night - Elton John

Wonderful Crazy Night - Elton John

3:13

Wonderful Crazy Night, 2016

Written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin

This is a pleasant, uptempo, cheery ballad that celebrates, as the title indicates, a memorable night with friends.  "And it feels like the clocks have stopped / Calypso moon just cast its spell / We grabbed that magic just because / We remember and never forget."  Producer T. Bone Burnett adds just a hint of country to the piano-based pop rock, resulting in a fun, melodic song — not one of John's greats, but definitely worth putting on a party playlist.

Rio Grande - Waldeck

Rio Grande - Waldeck

3:19

Gran Paradiso, 2016

Written by Klaus Waldeck

Klaus Waldeck is an Austrian musician and producer.  This catchy instrumental track begins with a plaintive, echoing harmonica, evoking the Western sounds of the title.  Then the beat drops, and a blend of reggae and trip-hop, with flourishes of neo-swing in the horns takes over.  In the final third, everything dissolves into a serene, almost classical piano passage while the harmonica drifts back in from the edges.  

Too Sweet - Dusk

Too Sweet - Dusk
2:50
single, 2016
Written by Dusk?

This Wisconsin band incorporates a variety and blend of musical styles.  On this song, shimmering guitars and a pounding organ line provide the backbone while powerful vocalist Julia Blair infuses '70s soul into a country-rock melody drenched in dynamite echoing backing harmonies.  It's got Motown sensibilities filtered through the Band's harmonies.  Lyrically, it seems to be a warning to someone blind to something holding them back.  "All the rubble you've been hauling around is a sight to see / So all the things you've done for him now are too sweet."

It Said Something - They Might Be Giants

It Said Something - They Might Be Giants

3:12

Phone Power, 2016

Written by John Flansburgh and John Linnell

A lunatic hears a voice and is astounded to find that the thing is talking, and not only that, what it's saying matches exactly what he was thinking!  He also protests too much, defeively asking why he might be recording, and "It said something new / That wouldn't come out of me / And I don't even dream about that kind of thing." He has to lay down and think things over, and also set some monkeys free.  A repeated keyboard beat, sounding something like an alarm, is a recurring motif, which I find a bit annoying, but gives the song an appropriately insistent, cramped, delusional vibe.

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.

Are You Serious - Andrew Bird

Are You Serious - Andrew Bird

3:38

Are You Serious, 2106

Written by Andrew Bird and Dan Wilson

The album was written after Bird got married and this song seems to be (if I were to hazard I guess; it's certainly not clear) about his moment of decision upon meeting the bride to be.  Bird's virtuosity, his great voice, and his erudite lyrics make him a favorite of mine.  I cannot resist a song that gets as playful with words as this one.  "I always was the one / You thought would never marry / Used to be so willfully obtuse, or is the word abstruse? / Semantics like a noose, get out your dictionaries."

Sex & Drugs - A Giant Dog

Sex & Drugs - A Giant Dog

2:16

Pile, 2016

Written by Sabrina Ellis and Andrew Cashen

"I can't even remember being young," Sabrina Ellis wails on this song.  It's a punk anthem about living fast and hoping you last.  "All the hearts that we broke / And all the liquor and coke / All the weed that we smoked / We were so hungry and broke."  Fun Kinks-style guitars, anthemic vocals, and a pulse-pounding, bouncing, almost vaudeville piano line over thumping bass.  It's short, swift, and energetic.

Burgundy Cars - Horace Greene

Burgundy Cars - Horace Greene

3:03

Early American Ice Cream, 2016

Written by Horace Greene

I don't know anything about this Wisconsin band, but I like the retro-ad vibe of their album cover.  They're billed as indie rock, but this particular song is a slinky groove, sliding around slick '70s funk riffs.  The lyrics contrast kids "with their burgundy cars and blacked-out windows down" with working people who pump gas and roam dangerous streets.  "Now the sun says sweat, and that's all he knows how to do / Work the finger 'til the bone shines through."

Still Standing - Michael Franti & Spearhead

Still Standing - Michael Franti & Spearhead

3:46

Soulrocker, 2016

Written by Michael Franti

Ever since Franti settled into his post-political message of peace, love, and good vibes through proud, individualistic strength (a transformation that was certainly earned, not calculated), he hasn't deviated much.  It's easy to dismiss, perhaps, his insistence on remaining optimistic amid struggle and suffering, but his sincerity can't be doubted.  Much of his material is hard-hitting and passionate, but here Franti seems a bit tired.  The production is flat, the vocals are desultory, and there's nothing of the agitpop fury of the Disposable Heroes days.  I don't think it's a bad song, but it's just a little too comfortable, and I expected more.

Hello Miss Lonesome - Marlon Williams

Hello Miss Lonesome - Marlon Williams

3:15

Marlon Williams, 2016

Written by Marlon Williams

This modern country-rockabilly number personifies loneliness as the titular woman.  Everyone from the king to the pauper knows her; none of the riches of the world matter when she's back in town.  The song goes from the abstract to the specific, as the narrator relates his troubles: "The longest night that ever did occur / Was when my darling said goodbye and took the boy with her / Now we all pick our poison, we dig our own graves / And Jesus is accountable for every soul he saves."

The Dogs - Justin Wells

The Dogs - Justin Wells

4:13

Dawn in the Distance, 2016

Written by Justin Wells?

A country roots singer, much in the mold of Steve Earle, down to the beard and the propensity for cursing.  This song is a self-referential tale of touring and making music: "I've pawned everything I've ever owned / Just to drive eight hours to this bar-room show / And to play these songs and pray for a friendly face / It ain't easy acting like it ain't personal."  The dogs of the title are him and his band ("We're the dog that crawled for miles on broken legs").

Ain't Got Love - Iron Skillet

Ain't Got Love - Iron Skillet

2:40

Carbonized Music For Frozen Amplifiers, 2016

Written by Iron Skillet?

Why didn't this band ever go places?  Terrific pop-rock that doesn't take itself too seriously, with throwback "ooh la la la" background vocals.  Veteran Tom Waits sideman Ralph Carney provides some wailing sax.   The lead vocals mug for the camera, playing with range and weight for effect.  This could have been a radio hit, if the music industry wasn't so artificial and controlled.

Dressing Room Walls - Western Star

Dressing Room Walls - Western Star
2:40
Desperate Times: Songs Of the Old 97's, 2016
Written by Rhett Miller, Ken Bethea, Murry Hammond and Philip Peeples, 1995

Western Star, apparently a Baltimore-based band (I know nothing about them and information is scarce online), covers the 1995 track and rocks the heck out of it, inserting Clinton for a more timely reference in the "Reagan was king" line and adding an expletive just to let you know they really fuckin' mean it.  It is a more intense version, musically.  The drums on this are like a machine gun and the guitars sear.  Not bad!