Harmony Hall - Vampire Weekend

Harmony Hall - Vampire Weekend

5:08

Father Of the Bride, 2019

Written by Ezra Koenig

This song is a shape-shifter, constantly reconfiguring itself without ever losing momentum. It begins in bright, crisp indie pop, all clean lines and forward motion, before loosening into a sunlit, almost loping country-rock groove. By the time the baroque touches of piano flourishes arrive, the song has quietly expanded into something more ornate.  Thus it keeps sparking my interest despite the length.  There's a clear lineage back to Paul Simon in the melodic phrasing and rhythmic buoyancy, but Vampire Weekend keep it restless; it never drags, each structural turn refreshing the ear.  As is often the case with Simon's best work, lyrical cynicism hides under the brightness here as well: "Anger wants a voice, voices wanna sing / Singers harmonize 'til they can't hear anything / I thought that I was free from all that questionin' / But every time a problem ends, another one begins."

Honey - Drugdealer

Honey - Drugdealer 

4:28

Raw Honey, 2019

Written by Michael Collins

Featuring the warm, golden folksinger vocals of Weyes Blood, this song is a warning to a wild, free spirit, possibly an artist, of charisma, surrounded by a coterie of people who whose love burns rather than warms.  It's a tale of lost innocence in the face of a corporate machine: "I know that you want to be free / And to be wild / And to be hugged just like a child / Money is the root of the game / The problem with fame / Is everyone going to lose their edge."  It's wrapped in a easy-going '70s soft-rock groove that belies the admonishing lyrics.

Get Down - Avi Kaplan

Get Down - Avi Kaplan
3:10

single, 2019

Written by Avi Kaplan

I'd never heard of Kaplan (he was a member of the well-known a cappella band Pentatonix before leaving in 2017 to pursue a solo career), but I heard this song on the TV show "Resident Alien" and I had to know more.  It's a folk-rock burner with gospel bones, built on heavy, stomping percussion and a warm bass voice. Kaplan leans into that register with real purpose, turning the whole thing into a gritty benediction of resilience.  Over that percussion evocative of handclaps, his powerful bass voice thunders out an affirmation of optimism.  "Ain′t nothing gonna take my fire / Ain't nothing gonna crush my soul."  It's a fun listen with an uplifting message; his voice does the lion’s share of the work, sure, yet the arrangement holds its own: earthy, pulsing, and sturdier than it has any right to be.

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.

We Get By - Mavis Staples

We Get By - Mavis Staples

3:35

We Get By, 2019

Written by Ben Harper

This is a duet with Ben Harper, who wrote this song (and all the songs on its album).  The lyrics are simple but forceful, a throwback to gospel-inspired protest songs of the 1960s.  The song proclaims a unity, a culture of support among friends and extended family.  The lines "Was just the other day, I heard from my old friend / She was going through changes once again" might refer to a friend down on her luck, but maybe also stand for America herself?  She's definitely going through changes, but sadly I'm not sure what ails her can be fixed by a community of the oppressed.

Ain't Got No Money - Justin Townes Earle

Ain't Got No Money - Justin Townes Earle

3:05

The Saint Of Lost Causes, 2019

Written by Justin Townes Earle

Like a hundred songs from pop, rock, country, and funk, this song is the voice of the downtrodden whose condition and attitude some cold hard cash would greatly ameliorate.  But where some songs, such as "Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash," play it for laughs, and some like "Why Don't You Do Right" come off as teasing, there is a real desperation in Earle's delivery.  This is a man who is wrecked.  Over a vaguely "Come Together" type of primitive blues-rock whose swagger belies the lyrical content, he sings, "I've been taken in pieces, I've been sold off cheap / I've been spread out all over the Southeast."  He needs to get to New Orleans.  Women don't tempt him, either.  "I don't want your honey / I can make my own / Well now, you keep your sugar / Well I, I'm plenty sweet, Lord / Give me some money / Or just leave me alone."  It's hard not to think of Earle's heroin addiction when you hear this single-minded urgency.

You Did Good Kid - The Hold Steady

You Did Good Kid - The Hold Steady

4:09

Thrashing Thru the Passion, 2019

Written by Craig Finn, Tad Kubler, Franz Nicolay, Bobby Drake, Steve Selvidge, and Galen Polivka

A somewhat murky, mood-setting track that doesn't quite reach the anthemic highs of their best work.  Of course, Finn's sotrytelling is as always on point.   which centers on drug-addled drifters and the seedy, tense atmosphere of their lives. Critics noted the song is a dark, atmospheric example of Craig Finn's narrative storytelling and the band's signature sound, The song is characterized by its up-tempo energy, gang vocals, and Thin Lizzy-esque riffs, providing a sound that is both familiar to fans and accessible to new listeners. 

I'm With You - The Midnight Dogs

I'm With You - The Midnight Dogs

2:22

Hotel Mango, 2019

Written by the Midnight Dogs

The is straightforward, down and dirty, alternative-edged rock of the kind they don't make much anymore, or if they are, people aren't paying much attention it.  There's a pure '90s guitar solo, woodblock percussion, and a vocalist who squeals and snarls like an Axl or Iggy.  You don't have to see him on video to know this guy struts around the stage and dances with his mike like it's the late '80s.

Chip Away - Duff McKagan

Chip Away - Duff McKagan

3:21

Tenderness, 2019
Written by Duff McKagan

In an interview, Bob Dylan called this a song that has "profound meaning" for him, seeing it as a analogy for creative acts like Michelangelo revealing the statue inside the marble block.  The lyrics show anger at then-current (and ongoing, really) political trends, the "chip away" implying that progressives should fight steadily against this encroachment.  I could see Dylan singing this, actually.  "Talking heads are making dollars / It's like doing crack day after day / Dropping taxes on business ballers / It'll work this time, they say / Gotta rise up, gotta keep fighting."  I like when Duff calls MLK and FDR "badass motherfuckers" and says they would put a stop to all this.

Thank God For Music - Ringo Starr

Thank God For Music - Ringo Starr

3:38

What's My Name, 2019

Written by Ringo Starr, Grant Michaels, and Sam Hollander

Yesterday was a McCartney track, so why can't it be Ringo's turn to shine?  This is just a positive pop groove.  It's definitely a Beatle's eye view of life.  "From the factory to a dream / From Liverpool to L.A / And all the world in between / So many sunny days."  Some might say it's a little bit too Polyanna in its rosy view, but I guess we can't be weeping about how terrible everything is all the time.  Not exactly an essential track, but you can roll your eyes at the corniness and tap along to it. 

Colors - Black Pumas

Colors - Black Pumas

4:06

Black Pumas, 2019

Written by Eric Burton

Eric Burton (not the famous English Animal, who spells his with a D) is an Austin-based musician.  I heard this song on several TV shows and loved it.  It's a neo-soul, bluesy song, a lovingly retro feel.  Over a beautiful interplay of guitar and organ, Burton sings positive vibes with an ethereal voice ("A good day to see / My favorite colors, colors / My sisters and my brothers").  

The Broom Song - Walt Hamburger

The Broom Song - Walt Hamburger
2:57
One Week Record, 2019
Written by Walt Hamburger

Over a rapid-fire acoustic guitar, the narrator lays out regrets about a life that did not meet his goals.  It's a bristling bit of introspective folk.  I wish I liked it more, but the song doesn't build up to anything, make any statements, or go any further than lamenting.  "Thought that I would be anywhere but here."  Sure, but what now?  Songs don't necessary require a resolution, but this one needs something more.  We have an assessment of a life; now we should have a conclusion of some kind.

Dreamin' On Overdrive - Erin Cassels-Brown

Dreamin' On Overdrive - Erin Cassels-Brown

3:52

Dreamin' On Overdrive, 2019

Written by Erin Cassels-Brown, presumably

O listen!

A singer-songwriter out of Vermont, entirely unknown to me.  He's got Springsteen vibes, and not just with the car-related imagery.  It's the passion in his voice, and the epic feel of the song.  The song starts out with a bang, drawing you in with Cassels-Brown's urgent, nasal vocals.  I dig it, but the song goes on a little long for my tastes, repeating the title or variations of it over an extended fade-out jam.  End it at 3:15 and you'd have a near-perfect rocker.

Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Antony and the Johnsons

Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Antony and the Johnsons

4:14

single, 2019

Written by Bob Dylan

These songs have Vs!

Antony is one of the great upper-register voices.  Not quite male and not quite female, but ethereal.  His take on the song is a slow dirge, and it is very haunting and beautiful, but I don't think he adds much to the crowded field of Dylan covers.  He does a terrific job, but he doesn't make the song into something else.  I do like how he uses the "wipe the blood from my face" lyric from the Before the Flood version.

Where Is the Machine - Jeffrey Lewis & the Voltage

Where Is the Machine - Jeffrey Lewis & the Voltage

2:34

Bad Wiring, 2019

Written by Jeffrey Lewis

Listen for the silent E!

This guy is a recent discovery for me and I love him.  His bleak, cracking, whiny voice is a great match for the multisyllabic, erudite waterfall of lyrics that flow from his pen.  Often he's introspective, pondering our place in the geopolitical arena or the universe.  This song asks why, if we have so much great technology, we can't use a machine to tamp down our feelings.  Lewis is one of the very few songwriters who will send me to Google: "We got blueprints for rockets that defeat gravitation / With combustion hydraulics and discrete calculation / Of where the Kármán line snaps and the sound wave convulses."  The Kármán line is the boundary pointe between atmosphere and space.  Bonus points for "discrete."

Come On Time - Willie Nelson

Come On Time - Willie Nelson

2:55

Ride Me Back Home, 2019

Written by Willie Nelson & Buddy Cannon

Listen for the silent E!

This song, from Willie Nelson's sixty-ninth (!) solo album, is, despite its title, not an exhortation to arrive early, but a gentle rebuke, in apostrophe form, to Time, the entity.  "Why did you leave these lines on my face? / You sure have put me in my place."  The rhythm section chugs along like a train, while Willie, with his usual wit and mild self-deprecation, asserts that he'll do his best to beat Time, at least this time.  There is a vanishingly tiny number of artists that continue to invent and create well into old age, and Nelson is up there with Bob Dylan in fusing mature wisdom and perspective with youthful skill.  Everything he sings immediately becomes his own, and he makes it seem easy.

Everybody's Talkin' - The Seldom Scene

Everybody's Talkin' - The Seldom Scene

3:16

Changes, 2019

Written by Fred Neil

It's Contraction Week! 

This song is from the Scene's (so far) last album, a collection of covers.  The band is one of the most famous bluegrass bands and has been recording since 1972, but I actually know almost nothing about them.  They really blue the heck out of this song, adding some lightning-fast fingerpicking and soaring harmonies.  I'm not sure they elevate it into something new, but it's definitely a terrific version, accessible while also being a showcase of serious musical skill.

Small Dogs - Hoity-Toity

Small Dogs - Hoity-Toity

4:07

Not Your Kind, 2019

Written by Shelby Muniz, Kelsey Caselden, Tana Snyder, & Aria Hurtado

Fun fem-pop-rock with soaring vocals and shredding guitar.  What we used to call riot-grrl, but the sound is more refined: still hard and angry, but more polished, less garage.  An accusatory jeremiad aimed at, presumably, an old lover.  "You  left one piece behind and made a setback / Why  was I so stupid to believe that / You could fulfill all my hopes and dreams?"  Great catchy percussion, great swooping choruses.