I'm Not the One - The Gnomes

I'm Not the One - The Gnomes

2:54

single, 2025

Written by the Gnomes

A sharp blast of Australian throwback power-pop, this song races along like a Merseybeat rocker, all crisp drumming and a wall of twin guitars.  It's a breakup song, and the title, slightly misleading, actually comes from the one doing the leaving, not the narrator describing himself.  "What you're trying to say / Is I'm not the one / So what you're trying to say / Is that we're done."  Despite the sad situation it describes, the song buzzes with early Beatles energy, with an ebullient and possibly misplaced "oh yeah!" after the last chorus.  Maybe the Gnomes are too sad to sulk.

I Wanna Destroy You - The Soft Boys

I Wanna Destroy You - The Soft Boys

2:53

Underwater Moonlight, 1980

Written by Robyn Hitchcock

A surreal rocker possibly out of its time; you can hear the offbeat jangle and harmonies that would later define R.E.M., fused with the sci-fi weirdness and aural assault that prefigure the Pixies.   The lyrics aren't entire clear; while most rock songs that talk of destroying are aimed at an ex-love or an institution, some of the lines evoke an alien passing judgment on the entire human species and its cruelty.  "The way you treat each other really makes me feel ill / 'Cause if you wanna fight then you're just dying to get killed."  A late line about not having a single atom left may support this interpretation.  Whatever it is that the ire is focused on, it's a unique collision of punk rage and Byrds-like shimmer, equal parts venom and melody.

Indianapolis - The Bottle Rockets

Indianapolis - The Bottle Rockets

3:32

24 Hours a Day, 1997

Written by the Bottle Rockets

A solid alt-country lament about being stuck in the titular city due to a busted van.  The lyrics are amusingly quotidian ("If I get that van back, man, the road I′m gonna burn / Right now my future's in the hands of the boys down at Firestone"), but there's a real sense of loss behind the banal.  His girlfriend doesn't want to hear from him, he's forced to depend on the kindness of an ex-con, the jukebox won't even play anything good.  It's the kind of down to earth wit found in an Old 97's song (indeed, it shares a similar attitude toward the Midwest with "Champaign, Illinois"), but making it less of a self-deprecating joke than Rhett Miller might, more grit behind a blue collar and a touch more acerbity. 

I Am the Man Thomas - Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys

I Am the Man Thomas - Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys

1:56

Cry From the Cross, 1971

Written by Ralph Stanley and Larry Sparks

A fierce bluegrass rendering of John 20:24-29, in which the disciple Thomas Didymus refused to believe that Jesus is reborn unless he can actually touch the crucifixion scars.  "They pierced me in the side, Thomas, I am the Man / I died on the cross, Thomas, I am the Man."  This song has been covered by a variety of artists, including some great live versions by Bob Dylan around 2000.  It's easy to see why; Stanley's urgent, nasal vocal and rapid-fire banjo picking make it a short but powerful mountain gospel.

Imperial Hotel - Stevie Nicks

Imperial Hotel - Stevie Nicks

2:52

Rock a Little, 1985

Written by Stevie Nicks and Mike Campbell

This isn't the reworking of the Elvis Costello song "Imperial Bedroom" that we all crave and deserve, but rather a booming '80s-rock anthem about a couple who don't fully connect.  "He says to her why do you do it / She says to him why do you stay."  Nicks uses her powerful voice to great effect in the song, buoyed along by Benmont Tench's great organ lines.  The song itself, with its abstruse but intriguing lyrics about two people living on different wavelengths, is good, but the performance is all high energy and elevates it to great.

Slip-In Mules - Sugar Pie DeSanto

Slip-In Mules - Sugar Pie DeSanto

2:48

single, 1964

Written by Tommy Tucker and Billy Davis

This blues swing number was written as an answer song to Tucker's own blues classic "Hi-Heel Sneakers."  It's celebrating the comfortable low-heel shoe, which the narrator wears to match her beau's spats and calfskins.   "Ain't wearing no high-heel sneaker / Cause they hurt my toes so bad."  DeSanto's bluesy growl, the blues guitar lines, and tinkling piano all bring a lot of fire to this otherwise kind of silly song.  Her Fun fact: DeSanto's birth name was Peylia Marsema Balinton.  Imagine that on a marquee!

She - Starz

She - Starz

3:20

Attention Shoppers!, 1978

Written by Michael Lee Smith, Peter Sweval, and Richie Ranno

This isn't the type of music I'm usually drawn to, but it's a catchy, high-energy burst of power-pop.  Sonically, the band is usually thrown in with the likes of Kiss and Motley Crue, two bands I could not care less about.  But while there are some gunfire drum fills and anthemic guitar, this particular song is all polished pop and no real edge, so maybe that's why I don't mind it.  Lyrically, it's about this girl who brought joy into the narrator's weepy, drunken life.  "I never get that lonely / Ever since she first showed me how / My life is so much better / Nothing can take it from me now."

Skin Deep - The Stranglers

Skin Deep - The Stranglers

3:53

Aural Sculpture, 1984

Written by Hugh Cornwell, Dave Greenfield, Jean-Jacques Burnel, and Jet Black

This post-punk song is a smooth, synth-laced groove wrapped around a a hypnotic bass pulse.  It serves as a deceptively gentle warning to those who rely on the superficiality of others and how uncertainty can gnaw at you.  "Some days there′s things on your mind you should keep / Sometimes, it's tougher to look than to leap."  The detached vocal delivery and droning, cyclical melody serve the message perfectly, and the swooning background vocals give the song polished, urbane, almost sinister feel.

Southern Nights - Glen Campbell

Southern Nights - Glen Campbell

3:00

Southern Nights, 1977

Written by Allen Toussaint, 1975

The album this song is on went to number one on the country charts.  Yet again, what I hear is soft rock, or singer-songwriter like Randy Newman or Jim Croce.  This song, at least, is country by name only.  The song is inspired by Toussaint's visits to his childhood home in Lousiana, and Campbell adapted it to his hometown of Arkansas.  "Have you ever felt a Southern night? / Free as a breeze / Not to mention the trees / Whistlin' tunes that you know and love so."

Sure Feels Good - Elvin Bishop

Sure Feels Good - Elvin Bishop
2:48

Juke Joint Jump, 1975

Written by Elvin Bishop?

I thought I'd give Elvin Bishop another try after the first time.  This song is less soul and more laid-back country rock, evoking some of the soft rock of the 1970s, again relying on strong female backing choruses.  And, as with "Rock My Soul," there's a bright-eyed optimism here.  "I never seen such a beautiful day / Looks like everything is coming my way / Feel like a bird just leaving a cage." What I've heard so far from Bishop is pleasant, catchy enough, but ultimately lightweight. Certainly, neither of the songs I've posted here have any narrative punch.  Stoners would groove to it.