Playlist #231

Happy Monday, folks. A lot of new music came out last week that I really dug, and I’m still going through it and listening. But hey, the playlist waits for no man, except sometimes me when I forget that it’s Monday and I have to post one of these.

  1. Neko Case, “Winchester Mansion of Sound”: Case’s music continues to grow and shift; she’s never content to just coast by on what she’s done before. This is probably one of my favorites off the new album.
  2. Jeff Tweedy, “Cry Baby Cry”: Dude dropped a triple album on Friday. That’s wild. This is not, unfortunately, a cover of the Beatles song of the same name, but it is, fortunately, quite a good song anyway. The whole album is pretty good, honestly, though I feel like some of the lyrics could’ve used a second pass.
  3. Amanda Shires, “The Details”: I have never been divorced, as I’m sure most folks know. That being said, this song sounds like what I imagine divorce feels like, and it makes me uncomfortable and more than a little voyeuristic, like I’m listening in on a couple in the final throes of the inevitable end.
  4. David Gray, “Kathleen”: Sometime in the past few years, Draw the Line somehow became my favorite David Gray album, and this one of my favorite songs off that album. I can’t adequately explain the why of either of those, so instead I just accept them and continue grooving to the album and this song in particular.
  5. Bruce Springsteen, “Reason to Believe”: I always enjoy the work of Bruce the Storyteller. Here, it’s a series of vignettes with a common theme: at the end of a hard day, when the world wears you down and tells you to just give up, folks still find a reason to go on.
  6. Andrew Bird, “So Much Wine, Merry Christmas”: I learned the lead break from this song a few months ago, and it’s a great joy to play.
  7. Buckingham Nicks, “Frozen Love”: This album has finally appeared on streaming, so it’s okay that I left my copy in Oklahoma with my dad back in April.
  8. Doechii, “Anxiety”: It uses that one Gotye song (you know the one, he only did the one) as a basis for a very different tune.
  9. The Presidents of the United States of America, “Kick Out the Jams”: Who doesn’t love an MC5 cover? It’s suitably quick and jagged, and I kinda love it.
  10. Iron & Wine and Ben Bridwell, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”: Speaking of covers, here’s Iron & Wine and the dude from Band of Horses doing an U2 cover. It sounds exactly how you think that will sound.

Playlist #215

Happy Monday! We’ve finally made it: the last week of school. And not even really a whole week. Just three days with the students and two teacher work days, and it’s all over and done until August, when we start this whole bag of nonsense all over again. Here’s a playlist to count down the hours:

  1. REM, “Everybody Hurts”: I should probably be joyous at the end of the school year, but I mostly find myself exhausted. And thinking about this song a lot. Sometimes all we see are the things and the people we’ve lost. All we see is the loss. But there’s far more to life than that. Remember the good, forget the bad, and always choose love.
  2. Van Morrison, “Only A Dream”: I still tend to think of 2002’s Down the Road as a recent or even new Van Morrison album, even though it’s old enough to drink. But the military march of this song and that beautiful sax solo get me every time.
  3. Stereo MCs, “Connected”: Connection is important. If you stumble, you might fall.
  4. Townes Van Zandt, “If I Needed You”: I’d only ever heard the Andrew Bird cover of this one. Townes’ version is a little rougher, a little simpler, but just as heartfelt.
  5. Counting Crows, “Up All Night (Frankie Miller Goes To Hollywood)”: Wait, am I just going through a depressive episode here? I think I might be. Also, I’ve struggled the past few weeks with getting to bed and sleeping at a reasonable hour. Summer tends to screw up the sleep schedule even further. This could be a problem.
  6. David Gray, “Please Forgive Me”: Okay, we’re just leaning into this now.
  7. Rilo Kiley, “A Better Son/Daughter”: “Sometimes when you’re on/You’re really fuckin’ on” is one of the best lines in music.
  8. Jackson Browne, “Fountain Of Sorrow”: It’s a good story song. I like a good story song.
  9. Jay Farrar, “Feel Free”: I like Jay Farrar’s songwriting, I really do. He’s made some great songs, some great albums, both with Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt and all by his lonesome. What are those songs about? Damned if I know. He’s great, but his writing is rather…elliptical, let’s call it.
  10. The National, “Lemonworld”: If we’re going to put together what is, essentially, a playlist of sad bastard songs, we can’t leave the National off the list. I also like the fact that the little guitar sting – that two chord strum they do in this song – gets used as interstitial music on NPR all the time.

Playlist #200

Happy Monday, folks. We’re almost to the end of February, which means next week is March: the month of my birth! That’s beside the point, though. Here’s some songs.

  1. Joel R.L. Phelps & The Downer Trio, “Lost Continent”: Heavier than my usual fare, I’ll be the first to admit. I blame John Darnielle for this one, as he’s the guy who was talking about this album on BlueSky the other day. I kinda love the idea that love is a lost continent. It’s a brilliant metaphor, I think.
  2. Role Model, “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out”: This one isn’t my fault, either. Poppier than usual, but with a bit of twang and slide guitar, and a sing-along chorus that is pretty damn infectious.
  3. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “Room at the Top”: This is one of the most beautiful songs Tom Petty ever wrote, and it’s just heartbreaking as you get to that last verse. “Yeah, I keep doing those things on TV, I love you/Please love me, I’m not so bad/And I love you so.” And then the whole band kicks back in for that last chorus. Gets me every time.
  4. St. Vincent, “Broken Man”: St. Vincent does fantastical things with every new album, and I’m kinda here for it, honestly.
  5. David Gray, “A Clean Pair of Eyes”: I honestly can’t say why, but I really love David Gray’s Lost Songs collection. There’s just so much good stuff here.
  6. The Rolling Stones, “Honky Tonk Women”: Some days, you just need a little honky tonk in your life.
  7. Drive-By Truckers, “Everybody Needs Love”: Still one of the best songs the band has ever written, with such a simple message.
  8. Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Someday Never Comes”: How John Fogerty could write such a heartbreaking song, I’ll never know.
  9. Bob Dylan, “Song To Woody”: How do you tell your hero they’re your hero?
  10. Mavis Staples, “Eyes on the Prize”: This woman has lived through so much, has sung so many amazing songs, and her version of this old tune still grabs me and holds my attention every time.

Playlist #197

Happy Monday, folks! We finally made it through that nigh-unending January, sanity (mostly) intact. Here’s some songs to get us through the week.

  1. David Gray, “As I’m Leaving”: David Gray’s earlier stuff is much more striped down and folky. I kinda dig a lot of it, especially this piano ballad off the Lost Songs collection.
  2. You+Me, “From a Closet in Norway”: Maybe I’m just a sucker for acoustic-based folk-pop?
  3. Van Morrison, “Madame Joy”: This song is just so full of joy, it’s hard not to love. Van could rave it up sometimes.
  4. Wilco, “You Are My Face”: I love the breakdown in this song, where it totally changes tone and rhythm and becomes a completely different song for a couple of minutes. Great.
  5. Jackson Browne, “Downhill From Everywhere”: An actual environmental protest song, this time about the sea and how we’re all connected to it.
  6. Beck, “Lost Cause”: I know Sea Change is Beck’s big breakup album/Bob Dylan reference, and it’s good, and it sounds like he’s just being backed by the Flaming Lips the whole time (to the point that he took them out on tour as his opener and his backing band for the subsequent tour), but it does occasionally make me miss the whimsical, clearly-stoned-out-of-his-gourd Beck.
  7. Richard Thompson, “Beeswing”: Back on my folky acoustic bullshit, but it’s a damn good story song.
  8. George Harrison, “Not Guilty”: Solo George is the best George.
  9. The Gaslight Anthem, “Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts”: Early Gaslight Anthem, with the band showing they have a softer, more sensitive side.
  10. Aimee Mann, “Stranger Into Starman”: A subdued ender for this particular playlist, but a perpetual favorite. Aimee Mann somehow became one of my favorite artists over the past few years, and I’m not sad about that at all.

Playlist #196

Happy Monday, folks! It’s the end of the 2nd quarter here in Northern Virginia, which means I’m officially halfway through my 20th school year. Yes, I’m surprised it’s taken me this long to get through high school, too. Here’s a playlist to get us through the week.

  1. David Gray, “Singing for the Pharaoh”: New David Gray always makes my heart happy. This time around, there’s an emphasis on electronic beats, swirling keyboards, and fingerpicked acoustic guitar, which is pretty classic David Gray circa White Ladder. Very fun.
  2. Bob Dylan, “Boots of Spanish Leather”: One of the absolute saddest songs Dylan ever penned. Just the narrator begging and pleading for his love not to leave, and the eventual resignation to it. Gorgeous and sad.
  3. Nanci Griffith, “Across the Great Divide”: A lovely cover of an old Kate Wolf tune that ditches the corny harmonica for fiddle.
  4. Tom Petty, “To Find a Friend (Live)”: Already one of my favorite songs on Wildflowers, this version (from the Wildflowers box set) is beautiful and heartfelt and bittersweet.
  5. The Rolling Stones, “Let It Bleed”: Classic-era Stones just hits different. You forget that they’re now barely-animated corpses trotting out retreads of their greatest tunes and styles.
  6. The Pretenders, “Don’t Get Me Wrong”: I love Chrissy Hinde and the Pretenders. They had such a hard edge to some of their stuff, and then there’s the vulnerable songs like this one that show they’re more than just punky rockers.
  7. Nouvelle Vague, “Ever Fallen In Love”: Who doesn’t love punk songs covered as though they were actually bossa nova songs?
  8. Dolly Parton, “Seven Bridges Road”: Dolly’s read on this old song is absolutely gorgeous and actually brought Jason Isbell to tears when he listened to her sing it live once.
  9. Cat Stevens, “Father and Son”: Okay, I have a soft spot for Cat Stevens songs. He’s a good sad sack songwriter, and I’m a sucker for that.
  10. America, “Ventura Highway”: If you’re listening to this song while driving, don’t be surprised when you look down at your speedometer and realize you’re doing at least twenty over the speed limit. It’s good cruising music.

Playlists #164, #165, and #166

As you read this, I’m somewhere between Virginia and Oklahoma, headed back to the land of my birth for my grandfather’s funeral. He passed away this weekend, and it’s kinda left me gutted. I’m glad I got to see him over Father’s Day weekend, and that he was in good spirits at the time. It’ll be nice to remember him that way.

Anyway, I’m combining three playlists into one today, because I’m behind a bit and I put together a big playlist to get me to Oklahoma. Here’s thirty songs.

  1. David Gray, “A Clean Pair of Eyes”: Early David Gray just hits different. It’s folkier, more acoustic, and very introspective. I dig it.
  2. Louis Armstrong, “Mack the Knife”: There is no better moment in music than when Louis throws it to himself for the trumpet solo at the end.
  3. Bing Crosby, “Swinging on a Star”: One of the best songs about the importance of education ever committed to tape.
  4. Ryan Adams, “Desire”: Yeah, the guy has diarrhea of the recording studio, and some of the crap he’s pulled over the years is rather reprehensible, but he does occasionally write and record good tunes.
  5. Mavis Staples, “Eyes on the Prize”: Leave it to Mavis to turn a Civil Rights Standard into a bluesy banger.
  6. Greg Feldon, “Incoming”: On one of my (many) recent trips back from Oklahoma, I spent the better part of a day driving up I-81 listening to this song on repeat until I had it memorized. It’s a good song.
  7. The Rolling Stones, “Honky Tonk Women”: Poor Mick just can’t even have an easy one night stand, can he?
  8. James McMurtry, “Choctaw Bingo”: It’s something of a standard “driving to Oklahoma” song for me at this point. It pops up on lots of playlists, because it’s a good song and it’s kinda long.
  9. Mark Knopfler, “Cannibals”: There are no cannibals anymore, are there, Mark? I think some folsk would beg to differ with a knife and fork, sir.
  10. Rilo Kiley, “More Adventurous”: Such a beautiful, forlorn sort of song. I’ve always loved it.
  11. Big Red Machine, “Renegade (feat. Taylor Swift)”: I’d be okay with Justin Vernon and Taylor Swift doing more duets for the next decade or so if they’re up for it.
  12. Ben Caplan, “Down to the River”: Did you know you needed more klezmer-inflected folk music in your life before you heard this song? Because I didn’t, but I obvious do need more of that in my life.
  13. Hank Williams, “Honky Tonk Blues”: This man knew from hard living, not that you’d know it from his songs necessarily. If he were alive today, he’d put the rest of the country music scene to shame, I’m pretty sure.
  14. The Mountain Goats, “Training Montage”: An amazing song if for nothing else than the line, “I’m doing this for revenge.”
  15. Neil Young, “Downtown”: I do enjoy it when Neil, the godfather of grunge, rocks out with Pearl Jam in tow. It’s a good time.
  16. Van Morrison, “Give Me a Kiss”: Old school Van was always top notch, as this song proves.
  17. The Wallflowers, “Misfits and Lovers (feat. Mick Jones)”: If you’re gonna do an album that sounds heavily indebted to the Clash, it’s probably a damn good idea to get a member of the Clash to guest on it.
  18. Tom Waits, “Chocolate Jesus”: Sacrilicious.
  19. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “Angel Dream”: Can we talk for a minute about the run Tom Petty had between 1987 and 1999? He released Full Moon Fever, Into the Great Wide Open, Wildflowers, the She’s the One Soundtrack, and Echo, all bangers. All classics. Name me band in the past thirty-five years that’s had a string of records that good.
  20. Toad the Wet Sprocket, “Are We Afraid”: A quieter, more reflective moment from their odds & sods collection In Light Syrup.
  21. Pearl Jam, “Better Man”: I think I mentioned a few weeks ago how the Seven Mary Three song “Water’s Edge” is just a 90s rewrite of Richard Marx’s “Hazard,” and this song is just a rewrite of the final verse of Bob Seger’s “The Fire Inside.”
  22. Peter Gabriel, “Washing of the Water”: How does this man create such consistently interesting and provocative music? It’s wild.
  23. Paul McCartney & Elvis Costello, “My Brave Face (Original Demo)”: Two great tastes that taste great together, as it turns out. Elvis brought out the sharper side of McCartney (for a given value of sharper, since McCartney long ago filed off everything to smooth edges).
  24. Drive-By Truckers, “Everybody Needs Love”: An anthem for our time. Everybody does need love.
  25. Descendents, “‘Merican”: Another anthem for our time, this time about the true history of our country and how some folks just don’t want to see everything.
  26. The Dead Weather, “Hustle and Cuss”: It’s nice to see a Jack White project where he kind of takes a backseat to the proceedings, mostly just playing the drums and occasionally singing (like on this track).
  27. David Bowie, “Modern Love”: Dance-pop-era Bowie usually isn’t my favorite, but this song rocks.
  28. Calexico, “Guero Canelo”: Do I understand a word in this song? No. Does it still slap? Yes.
  29. Bob Dylan, “Song For Woody”: Another appropriate “traveling to Oklahoma” song. Woody is a state treasure, or damn well ought to be.
  30. Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Someday Never Comes”: One of the saddest songs that John Fogerty ever wrote, if you want my opinion. It’s dark and bittersweet and sad and longing, and it hits in just that right spot every time.

Playlist #154 – Eclipse Music

Happy Monday and happy eclipse day, folks. The moon is gonna pass in front of the sun today, freak a buncha people out, and maybe signal mankind’s final doom and destruction? At least the weather is nice here for it, where we’ll only get 80% occlusion instead of the totality that they’ll see in, say, Cleveland. Of course, you’d have to be in Cleveland for that, so…tossup?

  1. Bonnie Tyler, “Total Eclipse of the Heart”: Let’s go ahead and get the most obvious one out of the way first. Yes, this is gonna be on everyone’s eclipse playlist. Yes, it is very, very obvious. It’s still a good song, though.
  2. Pink Floyd, “Brain Damage/Eclipse”: The other most obvious choice. Well, half of it is, anyway. But I feel like you can’t really play “Eclipse” without first playing “Brain Damage.” It’s like playing “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2” without playing “The Happiest Days of Our Lives.” Y’know, I’m starting to think this is a specific Pink Floyd issue…
  3. Bruce Springsteen, “Darkness on the Edge of Town”: Now, we get into some less obvious tracks. Yes, it’s more of a sunset, metaphorical darkness in the Springsteen song, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t have also applied to a total solar eclipse. Springsteen’s songs are multifaceted, I tell ya!
  4. David Gray, “Red Moon”: While the occluded sun is the obvious star of the day (pun definitely intended), let’s not forget the one who’s making it all possible: the moon!
  5. U2, “Staring at the Sun”: Let us say a quick prayer for all the optometrists who will be seeing folks over the next few weeks who are complaining about not being able to see a damn thing ’cause they literally stared at the sun without any protection or forethought.
  6. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “Straight Into Darkness”: Again, a more metaphorical darkness than what we’re really dealing with during the eclipse, but do you know how rarely eclipses are the subject of songwriting? There’s not a lot out there, is what I’m saying, so you take what you can get, especially if it’s a kickass Tom Petty song.
  7. The Police, “Invisible Sun”: Replaced a previous Police song on the list, “Darkness,” because I think this song is way funnier to have on the list.
  8. The National, “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness”: Well, get ready, system, ’cause in certain parts of North America this afternoon for about three minutes, you’ll be able to dream!
  9. George Harrison, “Beware of Darkness”: Some folks do think the eclipse is an ominous omen (is that just saying an omen-like omen? I feel like it might be. I don’t care. I’m leaving it in) of ill things to come. I think George Harrison just wanted a nightlight left on so he could find his way to the bathroom.
  10. Bob Seger, “Sunspot Baby”: I think Bob Seger is a criminally-underrated songwriter who’s built like the Platonic ideal of “Dad Bod” and just put together the best bar band you’ve ever heard. And did you know that sunspots are cool enough that water vapor can exist in them? Isn’t that wild?

Playlists #147 and #148

Good morning and happy Monday, folks. I’m back from Oklahoma. We had to have a funeral for my grandmother who passed away on the 17th. Here are two playlists to make up for missing last week. The first is a selection of my songs, while the second is just a list of songs I’ve been listening to lately.

Playlist #147: A Whitman’s Sampler of Charlie Cottrell Songs

  1. “Unanswered Prayers”: I still love the slide guitar on this one.
  2. “Saint Joan”: Clif really likes how slightly off-kilter the piano on this one is, and I have a hard time disagreeing with him.
  3. “Complete Control”: One of my better rockers.
  4. “I Wish You Would”: I feel like this song could’ve been recorded anytime between 1967 and yesterday. Dig that Bakersfield guitar solo.
  5. “Oh, My Love”: The vocals on this one were overdriven a bit on purpose, and I’m probably most-proud of those guitar solos.
  6. “Dark On My Street”: Still one of the best-recorded songs I’ve ever done; Clif played all the instruments on this one.
  7. “Burnt Offering 2”: If there’s one song that illustrates how important it is to have a good collaborator working on your songs with you, it’s this one. Clif took what I’d recorded and turned it into a powerful, dare I say beautiful song.
  8. “My Head’s Not Equipped To Deal With This Bliss”: An older song that I recorded for the latest album. The new album, Middle Aged Heartthrob, is half old songs, half brand-new songs.
  9. “Losing Sleep”: Just me grappling with death, the passage of time, the collapse of American society, and my reading list.
  10. “The Ocean Just Gets In The Way”: This was originally going to be the closer for the new album, but then Clif went and recorded that little banjo bit at the end of “As Shadows Lengthen” and it just felt like the perfect way to end the album, so this became the penultimate song.

Playlist #148

  1. The Low Anthem, “Champion Angels”: I’ve spent most of this morning listening to Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, and this is one of my favorite songs on there.
  2. Martin Sexton, “Diner”: I blame the TV show Scrubs for this one.
  3. The Mountain Goats, “Fall of the Star High School Running Back”: Who doesn’t love a story of a high school football star who gets injured, starts taking pain medication, then starts selling pain meds for profit?
  4. Norah Jones, “The Long Way Home”: Not the Supertramp song, but the Tom Waits song of similar name.
  5. Ondara, “Torch Song”: I like the simplicity of the instrumentation on this one. Mostly just acoustic guitar and standup bass.
  6. Wings, “Helen Wheels”: McCartney rarely rocked out that hard, but this one rips.
  7. Brian Fallon, “Forget Me Not”: I still like the way he shouts the girl’s name, “Stacy!” at the beginning of the verse.
  8. Jars of Clay, “Reckless Forgiver”: I like the idea of reckless forgiveness. It takes a concept that is usually so carefully considered – forgiveness – and says just give that to everyone, everywhere, regardless of anything. It’s a nice idea.
  9. David Gray, “Easy Way to Cry”: I was on a David Gray kick on the drive home this weekend, listening to several of his albums back to back. This one always sits with me afterwards.
  10. Josh Ritter, “Monster Ballads”: I often wish I was a better lower-register singer. Songs like this make me rue that lack even more.

Playlist #135

Happy Cyber Monday, folks! That’s the Monday after Thanksgiving where everyone buys all their cybers for the coming year. I suppose you could buy one of my books if you were so inclined. Or you can order a CD directly from me! Anyway, here’s a new playlist for ya!

  1. Blind Melon, “No Rain”: Best video featuring a girl dressed in a bee costume you will ever see.
  2. Jason Isbell, “Relatively Easy”: The more I hear songs by this guy, the more I love him. The more I listen to particular songs by him, the more I’m convinced he’s probably one of this generation’s best songwriters.
  3. Adeem the Artist, “Dirt Bike”: Adeem the Artist has found ways to distill youth and youthful energy into each one of their songs and make it sound humble, playful, innocent, and nostalgic. It’s a good skill to have.
  4. Natalie Layne, “Grateful For (Piano Version)”: I didn’t realize this musician was a Christian ArtistTM until I had already downloaded the song. It’s a good song despite this fact? I dunno. Listen and judge for yourself.
  5. Iron & Wine, “Judgement”: Speaking of judgement…
  6. Gin Blossoms, “Just South of Nowhere”: Why do I like this song so much? Is it because it feels very much like a late-night drive where things are just starting to go off the rails and there’s very little you can do other than hold on and pray for dawn? Probably.
  7. Andrew Bird, “Frogs Singing”: I just love the harmonies and the rhythm of this one.
  8. The Avett Brothers, “Will You Return?”: Every time my wife hears them count in at the beginning of this song, she gets so excited that it’ll be OutKast’s “Hey Ya,” and every time she is disappointed.
  9. David Gray, “What Am I Doing Wrong?”: Sell, Sell, Sell is still the peak of early David Gray. I will not be taking any questions at this time.
  10. Pearl Jam, “Porch”: It’s hard to tell with Eddie Vedder’s singing what the actual lyrics are to any given song, but I don’t think this song mentions porches or sitting on them or even standing on them even once. Just a real missed opportunity, that.

Playlist #128

Happy Monday, or Indigenous People’s Day as we call it around here. If you wanna celebrate that Columbus guy, go get lost in the spice aisle at the Kroger.

  1. Wreckx-n-Effect, “Rump Shaker”: My wife was not familiar with this song, somehow. Even I know this song, and I spent the 90s in a virginal haze of video games and Pink Floyd music.
  2. The National, “Terrible Love (Alternate Version)”: I prefer this version because the drums are better than the original.
  3. The Mountain Goats, “This Year”: Never not good.
  4. David Gray, “Stella the Artist”: Somehow, over the years, Hold the Line became my favorite David Gray album. I know there aren’t too many people with a favorite David Gray album, but I have one. It’s Hold the Line.
  5. Richard Thompson, “Beeswing”: Just such a beautiful song.
  6. Glen Phillips, “Everything Matters”: A heartfelt love song that encourages me on dark days.
  7. Van Morrison, “Jackie Wilson Said (I’m In Heaven)”: The rave up we deserve. If more Van Morrison songs were like this, the world would be better.
  8. Murder By Death, “Creep”: You just have to listen to this one to full appreciate it. It’s not the Radiohead “Creep,” and it’s not the Stone Temple Pilots “Creep.” No, it’s the other one. The one you wouldn’t think a crusty-sounding white dude would sing.
  9. Moxy Fruvous, “Greatest Man in America”: Who doesn’t love a song that just gives the middle finger to Rush Limbaugh? Fuck that dude, even if he is dead already.
  10. The Who, “A Quick One, While He’s Away”: If I asked for an orchestra, and the suits told me no, I’d probably have just sung the word “cello” instead of hiring a cellist out of my own pocket, too.