Playlist #287

Happy Monday, folks! I know a lot of people are getting geared up for Halloween this weekend. I’ve never been one for dressing up for the holiday; it can often be tricky to find costumes that (1) I like and (2) fit. Anyway, here’s some music that will hopefully fit your mood.

  1. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “No Second Thoughts”: The thing I love about Tom Petty is how, just when I think I have a solid handle on his catalog, I can go back and listen to the second album (You’re Gonna Get It!) and discover a song I didn’t remember at all.
  2. Eddie 9 Volt, “Love Moves Slow”: It feels like lo-fi beats to study to had a baby with 90s R&B. I dig it.
  3. John Prine, “My God Thank You John”: Prine’s sense of humor never fails to amuse me and warm my heart.
  4. Indigo Elephant, “Don’t Wanna See It”: New indie pop-rock with plenty of the keyboards kids these days seem to love and some decent vocals.
  5. Charlie Sexton, “Burn”: Every day, I hope to hear an announcement that Charlie Sexton has recorded and is releasing a new album. And every day, my hopes are dashed to pieces. But hope springs eternal.
  6. Blackstreet, “No Diggity”: No diggity, no doubt.
  7. The Rolling Stones, “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”: The Stones at their most drugged-out, their loosest, their most harrowed and haunted. And damn, it kicks ass.
  8. The Wallflowers, “The Bleeders”: I love the little organ flourish thing that starts this song. I someday hope to have such a flourish at the beginning of one of my own songs.
  9. The Who, “Going Mobile”: If you asked people for their top ten – no, their top twenty – Who songs, I doubt this would appear in one of every ten people you asked. Most folks wouldn’t recognize the song at all. It’s not a big one. But a snipit of it used to appear, however briefly, in a radio promo for KRXO back in Oklahoma when I was in high school, and it is stuck in my brain like a brain worm.
  10. Jesse Malin, “Crawling Back To You”: Beautiful Tom Petty cover, and a great way to round out the set this week.

Playlist #31 – Loooooong

Happy Monday after Thanksgiving, AKA “Online Consumer Armageddon.” I posted a list of stuff you can buy that benefits me back on Friday, for those who are curious. And now here I am with this week’s playlist, a set that features songs that are all about being long (but most of them are actually quite short).

  1. The Beatles, “Long, Long, Long”: Off the White Album, this quiet George Harrison gem is gorgeous and simple.
  2. Bruce Springsteen, “Long Time Comin'”: Features two of my favorite Boss lines: “Let your mistakes be your own” and “I ain’t gonna fuck it up this time.” Good stuff.
  3. Counting Crows, “A Long December”: With one of the best opening lines in any song, “A long December/And there’s reason to believe/Maybe this year will be better than the last.” Your lips to God’s ears.
  4. The Doobie Bros., “Long Train Runnin'”: My brother and I used to try to perform this one back in college. I…could not sing it then, and maybe sorta kinda can now, just not the way they do it.
  5. Green Day, “Longview”: I love how this song is mostly about the bass.
  6. The Hollies, “Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)”: That one song that you always kinda thought was CCR but you weren’t 100% sure.
  7. Jars of Clay, “The Long Fall”: I’ve been a fan of these guys since I was back in high school dating a preacher’s kid. I kinda fell off for a few years, but their most recent stuff is still pretty darn good.
  8. Little Richard, “Long Tall Sally”: How do you not include Little Richard on this playlist, hmm? That’s the real challenge here.
  9. Bob Dylan, “Tomorrow Is A Long Time”: I originally had a different Dylan song here (“The Man In The Long Black Coat”), but I think this one fits the general vibe and intent of the playlist better.
  10. Charlie Sexton, “It Don’t Take Long”: The train horn at the beginning of this song always throws me off, but it’s still lovely and all that.