Saxophones - Jimmy Buffett

Saxophones - Jimmy Buffett

3:22

Living And Dying in 3/4 Time, 1974

Written by Jimmy Buffett

One of the many self-referential songs about songwriters and playing music, this charming boogie-woogie sees Buffett talking about how he grew up on New Orleans jazzy rock, Dr. John and Clarence "Frogman" Henry.  He's got a band, he's got a guitar, and they rock, but he can't get his record on the radio and the patrons at the local dive bar don't seem to care much.  Then he has an epiphany, one I myself had not very far off in the past as a musical listener: brass always improves rock.  "If we had saxophones / Big baritone cleaning up the muddy breaks / If we had saxophones / I could make that joint shimmy like a big California earthquake."

Mexico - Cake

Mexico - Cake

3:26

Prolonging the Magic, 1998

Written by John McCrea

I read that this album was meant as an attempt to make an album without the typical Cake irony and wry wit.  You could have fooled me,  This song, all trumpet and pedal steel, is an entry, or possibly a pastiche, of the genre of star-crossed love south of the border songs, but with tongue firmly in cheek.  "I don't know much about Cinco DeMayo / I'm never sure what it's all about / But I said I want you and you don't believe me."  This isn't a serious song, and that's why we listen to Cake.  The deadpan delivery and the trumpet.

Brixton - Rancid

Brixton - Rancid

2:26

Rock Stars Kill, 1994

Written by Tim Armstrong

This relatively lower-energy Rancid single imagines Oakland in a series of disasters — riots, police brutality, bombs, and tidal waves.  And out of the chaos and carnage, perhaps a reimagined society.  "Two-fifty dead the Tribune read / Oakland's going off like a bomb / I saw a new generation coming / Under the smoke over Oakland."  What does this have to do with Brixton, other than Tom Armstrong's Clash fixation?  He takes inspirations from British hooliganism.  "Thirty cops beaten, another one dead / The fight lasted on through the Brixton night / A thousand angry looters who knew they were right."

Mexico - James Taylor

Mexico - James Taylor

2:59

Gorilla, 1975

Written by James Taylor

A shaker, conga, and some salsa-infused vibraphone give this wistful country-rock song an appropriately Latin tinge.  David Crosby and Graham Nash provide backing vocals.  The song is a paean to Mexico, painted as a sweet-sounding paradise with "a sleepy señorita with her eyes on fire."  The joke of the song is that the narrator admits "I've never really been / So I don't really know."  It's little wonder that laid-back tropical jokester Jimmy Buffett covered it.

Boxer - The Gaslight Anthem

Boxer - The Gaslight Anthem

2:47

American Slang, 2010

Written by Brian Fallon, Alex Rosamilia, Alex Levine, and Benny Horowitz

Not getting the band any further from the Springsteen comparisons, this blazing rocker features chugging guitars, fist-pumping, sing-along choruses, and Fallon's working-class street poet lyrics.  The boxer is a metaphor for someone fighting to save a relationship that's, to continue the image, on the ropes.  "You took it all gracefully on the chin / Knowing that the beatings had to someday end / You found the bandages inside the pen / And the stitches on the radio."

Wargasm - L7

Wargasm - L7

2:42

Bricks Are Heavy, 1992

Written by Donita Sparks

This is the leading track off an album that is touted as one of the best "grunge" albums of all time, but I think it got that label simply be virtue of the era in which it was released.  This is white-hot punk rock, with clear vocals, machine-gun guitar, and breakneck tempo.  This is no mumbling, disaffected Nirvana, or a loutish, stumbling Soundgarden.  It's all snarling contempt and biting, even shocking lyrics: "Wargasm, wargasm, one two three / Tie a yellow ribbon 'round the amputee / Masturbate, watch it on TV."  Just like the Johnny Rotten of old, L7 are going to do their thing, state their case, and don't care if you don't like them.  

Why I Lie - Liz Phair

Why I Lie - Liz Phair

3:21

Somebody's Miracle, 2005

Written by Liz Phair

At one point, I thought Liz Phair was one of the greatest and most impressive, arresting, and original talents going.  Then she released her eponymous album, and it smacked of derivative teen pop, an attempt to grab onto some of that Avril Lavigne popularity.  Not my thing.  But this follow-up has the wry, brash, open lyricism of Exile in Guyville, but with a sturdier, more commanding vocal.  This song opens Phair's head and examines why she self-sabotages romantic relationships.  "I can't help myself / It's a special combination / Of predatory instinct and simple ill will."

Wilder Side - Carter Sampson

Wilder Side - Carter Sampson

4:34

Wilder Side, 2016

Written by Carter Sampson

Sampson, a country-Americana musician, has a beautiful voice with a warm tone.  Here, she belts this soft ballad out with both power and delicacy.  It's a farewell song and a bold expression of identity.  "I've got a lonesome heart / But you only need light when the daytime is dark / I'm always putting love together to take it apart."  It's the kind of song that's perfect for a ride in a convertible on a sunny day.  Obviously sheet talent doesn't lead to success in the music industry for a variety of reasons, but often I can't understand why some acts, like Sampson, "the Queen of Oklahoma," don't make it bigger.  

Watching Over Me - Green Corn Revival

Watching Over Me - Green Corn Revival

4:21

Say You're a Sinner, 2010

Written by Green Corn Revival?

This is rock with country roots, but as the song progresses, a more operatic, palatial sound develops.  It's got a Roy Orbison vibe, but with with soaring harmonies, a concert piano and pedal steel rising up behind him.  The song fuses a peppy, twangy '50s beat with modern, dark lyrics ("I believe in a heaven / But I'm not sure I want to go").  This band has been disbanded, which is a shame, because they really have chops.

We're Here To Save the Day - The Constellations

We're Here To Save the Day - The Constellations

3:30

Southern Gothic, 2010

Written by the Constellations?

This is a psychedelic hip-hop/rock fusion, unspooling over a bouncing electronic circus-like groove with playground-inspired chants as the chorus.  It features Asher Roth on guest vocals, but I don't know who that is.  The main vocals are delivered in a slinky whisper, giving the song, as the title indicates, an eerie, gothic vibe.  I's always glad to hear something original in hip-hop, and this song's weird brashness is refreshing.