Crackin' Up - Bo Diddley

Crackin' Up - Bo Diddley

2:03

Go Bo Diddley, 1959

Written by Bo Diddley

The narrator of this song has been mistreated by his woman!  Now normally in a song like that, especially from this era, it means the lady in question has snubbed him.  But in this case, he really is being mistreated.  She's hollering at him, screaming, stealing his money!  And he does so much for her.  "I used to do your cookin', your laundry too / Now what more for a woman could a man like me do?"  I'm with Bo here!  That's progressive!  Why are you yelling at poor Bo?  This is pure Diddley beat, with some echo and reverb, giving it a full sound.  It's simple, but it's the groundwork of rock.

Coquet Coquette - Of Montreal

Coquet Coquette - Of Montreal

3:44

False Priest, 2010

Written by Kevin Barnes

Baroque indie-pop with a funk flavor.  The typical Barnes sexy come-on lyrics are on display here, a sort of poetic Prince.  "Coquet coquette, you know I won't forget / How you made me cry to prove I was beautiful / Oh, my coquet, my teenage lust for you is so pitiful."  Dramatic guitar stings and a thunderous percussion punctuate his high tenor as he delineates this beautiful breakup, or whatever it is.

Classical Gas - Mason Williams

Classical Gas - Mason Williams

3:04

The Mason Williams Phonograph Record, 1968

Written by Mason Williams

What's with that title?  The song was originally named "Classical Gasoline," as in metaphorical "fuel" for the classical guitar repertoire.  It peaked on the charts at number two, behind the Doors' "Hello, I Love You."  Those were the days when the charts were more organic and had a lot of variety, and music was warm and real and the streets were paved with gold.  This is an orchestral pop based around fingerpicked guitar, with lush arrangements and rhythmic urgency.  There are even hints of what would later be called disco (some of more intense flourishes on this song would be at home on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack).   

Come Out And Play - Hayseed Dixie

Come Out And Play - Hayseed Dixie

2:52

Grasswhoopin' Party Pack, Vol. 1, 2013

Written by Dexter Holland, 1994

This brings back memories.  The year was 1994.  Dookie was dominating music on TV.  The Offspring released this song and we all sat around on the couch, much like in Green Day's brilliant classic "Longview," watching the video, bemused and hesitantly disdainful.  Was this song a bit racist?  Was this a case of a young neo-con-cum-punk making remarks about the violent crime rate of certain demographics?  "Your never-ending spree of death and violence and hate / Is gonna tie your own rope."  Is that a racist trope or a stock image from the genre?  Later, "Get a Job" would further enhance these suspicions.  Anyhoo, Hayseed Dixie does a great job with this song.

Chirac en prison - Les Wampas

Chirac en prison - Les Wampas

2:55

Rock 'n' roll Part 9, 2006

Written by Les Wampas

A very pop-indie track from a punk band, with an uptempo go-go beeping melody and "yeah yeah" type background vocals.  It concerns a man whose friend really wants Chirac to go to prison.  "La seule chose qui lui ferait plaisir / Ce serait de voir Chirac en prison." Predictably the song was banned and censored, which makes these guys punk no matter how pop their songs might be.  Another song of theirs criticizes Manu Chao, the leader of Mano Negra whose song "It's My Heart" was covered on this blog.

Billy And Bonnie - Steve Earle

Billy And Bonnie - Steve Earle

3:38

I Feel Alright, 1996

Written by Steve Earle

A modern "Bonnie and Clyde," an outlaw "Jack and Diane" from that most take-no-nonsense outlaw of alt-country pioneers.  "So they knocked off a Texaco south of town / Blew down the highway with the ragtop down."  It's a tale as old as the highway itself, ground Springsteen has traveled as well.  "Now Billy wasn't sweatin' no APB / 'Cause they didn't leave a single soul alive to see."  Earle's lyrics have always been storylike and cinematic; this song could be turned into a movie. There's even a twist ending.

Big Me - Foo Fighters

Big Me - Foo Fighters

2:13

Foo Fighters, 1995

Written by Dave Grohl

A catchy indie pop-rock song off the Foos' debut.  It's a lot more pop-oriented than the typical, more aggressive sound I think of them as having.  I was never into the Foos, although I don't dislike the music, either.  This song's lyrics are fairly recondite: "When I talk about it / It carries on / Reasons only knew."  I see.  Some commentators affirm that they're about a breakup and others citing passages suggesting it's about getting over Cobain's suicide.  They could both be true, I guess, as both are a kind of heartbreak and being left.   

Beatnik Beach - The Go-Go's

Beatnik Beach - The Go-Go's

2:53

Vacation, 1982

Written by Charlotte Caffey and Belinda Carlisle

After a machine-gun drum fill, the Go's launch into a surf-rock beach party.  Heavy on the 1950s and early 1960s imagery, the song celebrates simple good times like in those Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello movies.  It's a bit tongue in cheek but still all in good fun.  "Groove on that groovy beat / It'll be boss keen neat, yeah."  There's some deliberate genre-blending as the song calls out paisleys and black berets, the beatnik part of the equation, although a bit out of place on a beach.  Most obscure reference, utterly unknown today: "The Lloyd Thaxton Show."

Black And White World - Suicide Machines

Black And White World - Suicide Machines

1:52

Battle Hymns, 1998

Written by the Suicide Machines

Unfortunately, this is not the punk cover of the Elvis Costello song that we all want and need, but an original.  It's more fast-paced hardcore musically and snarling vocally than their typical ska-punk sound, but the new approach fits the theme of this song.  The lyrics are a good-intentioned, if somewhat ham-fisted, declaration against racism.  "Some persecute their brothers because of the color of their skin, oh yeah / Well that's wrong." Seems pretty on the nose, but the people who need to hear it aren't known for subtlety, anyway.

Bru's Boogie Woogie - Dave Brubeck Quartet

Bru's Boogie Woogie - Dave Brubeck Quartet

2:27

Time Further Out, 1961

Written by Dave Brubeck

This song's album is supposedly a jazz interpretation of a Miro painting called "Calculation."  You could have fooled me.  This song is a upbeat number that swings with energetic rhythm.  I especially like the machine-gun piano run around the middle of the piece.  I don't know the first thing about time signatures and don't understand what Brubeck is doing when he plays with them, but I really like the results.