Sex & Drugs - A Giant Dog

Sex & Drugs - A Giant Dog

2:16

Pile, 2016

Written by Sabrina Ellis and Andrew Cashen

"I can't even remember being young," Sabrina Ellis wails on this song.  It's a punk anthem about living fast and hoping you last.  "All the hearts that we broke / And all the liquor and coke / All the weed that we smoked / We were so hungry and broke."  Fun Kinks-style guitars, anthemic vocals, and a pulse-pounding, bouncing, almost vaudeville piano line over thumping bass.  It's short, swift, and energetic.

Sugar And Stress - The English Beat

Sugar And Stress - The English Beat

2:55

Special Beat Service, 1982

Written by Roger Charlery, Andy Cox, Everett Morton, David Steele, Dave Wakeling, and Wesley Magoogan

A jittery jolt of ska-pop mixed with a bit of post-punk paranoia. Built on a skanking rhythm guitar and a brisk, driving beat, the song churns with tension.  The melody is brisk and sweet, but the mood is teeth-gritting anxiety.  "This world is upside down / The rights and wrongs don't get much wronger / Mistakes found in the past turn into rules protecting power."  Dave Wakeling’s vocals are quick and clipped, shooting out lines like a man trying to stay cheerful while clearly coming unglued. Sax stabs and dub lines keep the energy unpredictable, and there's a nervous edge to everything, like the whole song's on the verge of a panic attack.

Sittin' and Thinkin' - The Spencer Davis Group

Sittin' and Thinkin' - The Spencer Davis Group

2:57

Their First LP, 1965

Written by Spencer Davis

I know so little about these British R&B-influenced rock groups of the '60s.  This group had Steve Winwood on guitar and vocals as well as the titular Davis, who I guess only played guitar?  Maybe he did some vocals.  It was said, perhaps tongue in cheek, that the group was named after Davis because he didn't mind doing the interviews.  This song is a typical blues, very harmonica-heavy, with some real train-sound chugging harmonica near the end.  The lyrics are likewise primitive, standard blues fare.  "Just want to know yeah the reason / You treated me so unkind."  It's a fine blues shuffle, but nothing special.  There's only one reason why these guys became famous and their black influences didn't, and it's not the former's exceptional talent.

The Song Of a Hundred Toads - The Handsome Family

The Song Of a Hundred Toads - The Handsome Family

2:24

Singing Bones, 2003

Written by Rennie Sparks and Brett Sparks

This is a story song of the Old West, complete with echoing male vocals at the end of the verses, evoking the kind Marty Robbins sang, if a twisted alternate Robbins had been brought up by Nick Cave and had a grim baritone rather than a jolly one.  In it, the narrator is making his way to a gold man with a cart and his dog, but the horse and cart tip over, his dog runs, and he wanders on foot, presumably dying of thirst days later.  "In handfuls of dust from between the dying weeds / I laid down in the dirt as the sun lost her glow."  It could have been a chapter in Lonesome Dove.  

Selling Out - Tom Lehrer

Selling Out - Tom Lehrer

2:18

The Remains Of Tom Lehrer, 2003 (recorded 1953)

Written by Tom Lehrer

I've been a big fan of the satirist Tom Lehrer for many decades now.  He was a math professor who could have been his era's "Weird" Al, but shunned the limelight.   He put all his songs in the public domain.  He was a political progressive way, way before it was cool and he wasn't afraid to point at our society's hypocrisies and errors, and even name names.  So I know most of his brief oeuvre — but not every single song.  For example I don't listen to the spelling songs he made for "Electric Company."  So, while "We Will All Go Together" is a more appropriate send-off, this jaded look at artistic ideals vis-a-vis commercialism is a new one to me.  "I've always found ideals / Don't take the place of meals."  Wise words.  RIP to a genius.

Forty Days - Ronnie Hawkins

Forty Days - Ronnie Hawkins

2:15

single, 1959

Written by Chuck Berry, 1955

This song is a cover of Berry's "Thirty Days," with the titular deadline changed for some reason.  Hawkins pus a rockabilly spin on it with some echoing backing vocals, and a jittery guitar and boogie-woogie piano.  The narrator of this song affirms that he's going to get the judge, the sheriff, a gypsy to put a "hoodoo" on his lady, even the FBI and the United Nations, to help him get his woman back.  Mister, she's just not that into you.

Feels So Good - Chuck Mangione

Feels So Good [single version] - Chuck Mangione

3:32

Feels So Good, 1977

Written by Chuck Mangione

I became aware, looking through the social media, that Chuck Mangione died on the 22nd.  The Blizzard of Ozzy overshadowed this news, but I think he's worth a tribute, though I know virtually nothing about him.  The pop jazz trumpeter only reached my consciousness through his self-effacing appearances on "King of the Hill."  This version is the single edit; the album version is over nine minutes, and I don't think I could sit through many instrumentals that long that aren't by Miles Davis.  Anyway, this is an upbeat, poppy melody, very much of its smooth '70s era.  Yacht-pop-jazz!

Heart Tattoo - Them In Uniform

Heart Tattoo - Them In Uniform

3:34

single, 2025

Written by Them In Uniform?

This is bright indie pop with touches of swirling pop-punk guitar, a sturdy rhythm section, and what used to be called riot grrrl (an old reference from an old man).  Madeline Simpson, the vocalist, has a terrific, expressive voice that brings the angst and emotion of the lyrics to the forefront.  Those who have felt heartbreak or been betrayed in matters of the heart, which is everyone, can't help but feel those familiar chills when Simpson sings, "Did you forget about me when he touched your hair / Or when he took you home, or when you started to dance?"  

I Don't Wanna Stop - Ozzy Osbourne

I Don't Wanna Stop - Ozzy Osbourne

3:59

Black Rain, 2007

Written by Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, and Kevin Churko

Ozzy Osbourne died yesterday.  To borrow a phrase from that master wordsmith Elvis Costello, while I cannot pretend that Ozzy's records have been a fixture on my turntable, it's undeniable that he was one of the giants in his field, and he recorded at least three songs that even I consider great enough to cement his reputation alone.  I already know a few of his ubiquitous hits, so I went with this song today for its title and its unfamiliarity.  Its "party on" vibe comes off as affected or manufactured, but Ozzy's sneering vocal delivery and the heavy fuzzy sound at the bass (evoking Rob Zombie) makes it an enjoyable, if slick, ride.  Snort a line of ants in Ozzy's memory.  Rest in power king.

You Can't Divorce My Heart - Lefty Frizzell

You Can't Divorce My Heart - Lefty Frizzell

2:54

single, 1955

Written by Chuck Rogers

Despite the poor-lonesome-me sentiment of the lyrics, this genuine honky-tonk country song starts with a sting of jaunty strings and guitar, until settling down into a more appropriately subdued tempo.  Over gentle drum and tinkling piano, Frizzell honks out the typical barroom country tale of woe: he's been left by his wife, but he will always love her. "The judge gave you your freedom / But you can't divorce my heart."  He reminds her of the wedding, with the parson and rice, and tells her that she'll remember her vows. He chides her with "shame and harm" she brought to him.  Yeah, but what did he do first?  There's never any accountability in these songs.