Jizzney - A Giant Dog

Jizzney - A Giant Dog

3:16

Pile, 2016

Written by A Giant Dog?

Singer Sabrina Ellis, of this Austin-based band, has a great rock voice, and blended with the male voice it really elevates this song.  Sloppy post-punk pop, clanging along with triumphant major chords, belying the dour nature of the lyrics, about a former or perhaps only perceived lover who isn't around.  In fact, they're out with someone else!  I dig the irreverent humor: "Some people that I know / Are gonna track him down / And run him out."  But it's also nostalgic, and melancholy in its way, thinking back to a better moment in time.

Hell Yes - Beck

Hell Yes - Beck
3:17
Guero, 2005
Written by Beck, Michael Simpson, and John King

I haven't given Beck much of a listen past Odelay, just a few songs here and there.  This seems like a return to his "Loser" and "Where It's At Days" — mumbled surreal rap lyrics over blues harmonica and sampling.  The women's voice is Christina Ricci.  It may not be a triumphant reinvention of the self or an Important Art Work, but it's got a good beat and Beck's pretty good at disjointed stream of consciousness mumbling.

Keep A-Knockin' - Little Richard

Keep A-Knockin' - Little Richard

2:16

single, 1957

Written by Richard Penniman, Bert Mays, and J. Mayo Williams

An uptempo boogie with a screaming vocal interspersed with that great Penniman "woo!"  The drum fill at the very beginning is akin to the drums that start Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll," so much that I find that it's usually taken by commenters online to be a tribute.  Although this song is credited to the three songwriters above, it has a long history dating back to the 1920s; the version recorded by Milton Brown is basically the same song as Little Richard's, just in a bluegrass, jug band style.

Oh Well (Pt. 1) - Fleetwood Mac

Oh Well (Pt. 1) - Fleetwood Mac

3:24

Then Play On, 1969

Written by Peter Green

An early example of blues mixing with some folk elements, going electric, and inching its way toward hard rock.  Its a capella vocals coming in between guitar parts is very reminiscent of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog."  The lyrics are tongue in cheek,; probably not much thought went into them, though one part does remind me of Manfred Mann's "Don't Ask Me What I Say": "But don't ask me what I think of you / I might not give the answer that you want me to."

Kailee Anne - Michael Carpenter

Kailee Anne - Michael Carpenter

2:53

Hopefulness, 2001

Written by Michael Carpenter

I have never heard of this guy, but he certainly knows how to deliver a power-pop gem.  It begins with a few bass notes, then explodes into a wall of Who-like guitar and drums.  Then the Fountains Of Wayne type vocal comes in, and it's all busy drums and crunchy guitars.  Another comparison comes to mind here; Like Paul McCartney, Carpenter plays all the instruments on this track, including drums and bass.

Cool Drink Of Water - Houston Stackhouse

Cool Drink Of Water - Houston Stackhouse
3:17
single, 1967?
Written by ?

A minimalist blues, with Stackhouse's vocals crooning and fluttering into a falsetto and stretching out every ending vowel.  He clearly isn't a master guitarist, but the eerie singing style on this track gives it an authentic feel.  This guy definitely has had the real down home blues.  He asks for cool water, and gets gasoline.  "Lord, I asked the conductor, "Could I ride these blinds?" / Want to know, can a broke man ride the blinds, boy I ain't got a dime."  What's riding the blinds?  According to various sources, it's either riding between the cars (same as riding the rods, grabbing onto the ladder and hanging on, often fairly close to the tracks as the train zoomed by), or just hopping on any empty box car.  

Signal For the Assassins - Budapest One

Signal For the Assassins - Budapest One

3:19

This Town Just Gave You a Dreamer, 2003

Written by Budapest One, probably?

This Denton-based band made a sort of carnival-gothic rock, with hints of Bertolt Brecht or a particularly dour Elvis Costello.  The singer belts out the words like Spacehog's Royston Langdon, the piano pounding along behind him, telling a cryptic tale.  I enjoy bombast and can even take literary pretension in the right doses.  It's not for everyone, but this song revs my particular engines.

Fourteen Days - The O's

Fourteen Days - The O's

3:12

Honeycomb, 2016

Written by Taylor Young and John Pedigo

I absolutely love this Dallas-based two-man bluegrass folk band.  Harmonica, banjo, kick drum — what's not to love?  Their voices blend and it becomes something greater than the sum of its parts.  "Pick and choose your blues / Depending on the mood / All we got is three chords and the truth."  This song, like almost everything they put out, is a whoop and a holler, twice the energy of what some full electric five-piece bands have.

There Stands the Glass - Webb Pierce

There Stands the Glass - Webb Pierce

2:26

single, 1953

Written by Russ Hull, Mary Jean Shurtz, and Autry Greisham

In this honky-tonk hit (twelve weeks at number one), the narrator needs a drink to forget someone who's gone.  "There stands the glass / That will ease all my pain / That will settle my brain."  Then the not-so-funny punchline: "It's my first one today."  Pierce's voice, high, nasal, and full of twang, cuts through the mix with a sharp, almost crying quality.  The steel guitar provides a solid country shuffle, but Pierce's plaintive vocals are doubtless what made this song a hit.

A Summer Song - Chad & Jeremy

A Summer Song - Chad & Jeremy

2:38

Yesterday's Gone, 1964

Written by Clive Metcalf, Keith Noble and Chad Stuart

A wistful baroque-folk song about a summer romance.  "They say that all good things must end someday / Autumn leaves must fall."  Sounds like the Association at their quietest, like maybe if there were only two of them.  The melody is carried by soft string embellishments and subtly intricate guitar work. The song evokes the feeling, especially in the young and those given to flings, of the season's fleeting, bittersweet nature.