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.