drive-by truckers

Playlist #122

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Happy Monday, folks! Unless you live in Florida, in which case, um, have fun getting hit by a hurricane?

  1. The Gaslight Anthem, “Positive Charge”: This song has been stuck in my head for two or three weeks at least. Maybe this will finally dislodge it. Maybe.
  2. Charlie Sexton, “Regular Grind”: Of all the musicians I listen to, this is the one who needs to put out a new album the most. It’s been almost 20 years, man! Give us something new!
  3. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, “King Of Oklahoma”: This man, on the other hand, cranks ’em out like clockwork pretty regularly. And damn if this song doesn’t make me feel something.
  4. John Cougar Mellencamp, “Rumbleseat (2022 Mix)”: Generally speaking, I’m curious to hear what musicians come up with when they remix their old albums with modern techniques and studio trickery. This feels…unsuccessful on that front. The guitars are too muted, the drums are too loud and yet also lifeless, and it just feels like it was a huge missed opportunity to really punch everything up.
  5. Drive-By Truckers, “Used To Be A Cop”: The Drive-By Truckers can take even the most irredeemable character – in this case, a cop who had a nasty streak and has all sorts of misogynistic tendencies – and still make them someone you want to sympathize with. That’s impressive.
  6. The Head And The Heart, “Lost In My Mind”: “How’s that bricklayin’ comin’/How’s your engine runnin'”? is one of those couplets that seems innocuous when you first listen to it, but the stuff that follows – “Is that bridge getting built/Are your hands getting filled/Won’t you tell me my brother/’Cause there are stars/Up above” – and the way their voices soar in harmony is just…damn, it’s just really good.
  7. Mark Knopfler, “Hill Farmer’s Blues”: Speaking of musicians who can make downtrodden and misunderstood characters feel sympathetic, here’s Knopfler singing about a farmer going to town for supplies and making it seem freakin’ epic.
  8. Fall Out Boy, “Dance, Dance”: You get a pass this one time, Fall Out Boy, but only because you’re named after a Simpsons reference.
  9. The Beatles, “You Really Got A Hold On Me”: Michelle and I were listening to this song over the weekend and just commenting on how great a song it is. Smokey Robinson knew what was up, my friends.
  10. Van Morrison, “Magic Time”: Though it happens less frequently than it used to, Van Morrison can write a stunningly beautiful song. This one counts and makes me wish he hadn’t become some sort of weird Covid skeptic and conservative curmudgeon in recent years.

Playlist #118

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Happy Monday, folks! Hard to believe we’re already at the end of July. School will be starting again soon, as I’m sure your desperate and terrified children can attest to. Anyway, here’s a playlist to get you through those hot summer days.

  1. Andrew Bird, “Mancey”: “M, as in Mancy.”
  2. Jimmy Eat World, “A Praise Chorus (feat. Davey Vonbohlen)”: A song that references everything from “Crimson and Clover” to They Might Be Giants’ “Don’t Let’s Start.” All in just over four minutes.
  3. Elastica, “Stutter”: Punky song about Damon Albarn’s erectile dysfunction (it’s true!).
  4. Paul McCartney, “Every Night”: For every clunker or half-finished song idea that’s barely more than a demo on his self-titled, DIY album, there’s a gem like this one.
  5. Drive-By Truckers, “Danko/Manuel”: Who doesn’t love songs about the Band?
  6. Stevie Wonder, “Pastime Paradise”: Ever wonder where Coolio got the sample for “Gangsta’s Paradise?” It’s from this song.
  7. Simon & Garfunkel, “A Hazy Shade Of Winter”: I, for one, am done with this ridiculous heat and ready for winter to return.
  8. Rob Thomas, “Streetcorner Symphony”: I have a completely unironic love for this guy’s music. I can’t explain why.
  9. The Gaslight Anthem, “Say I Won’t (Recognize)”: From an early EP by the band, where they’re still trying to find their footing and figure out who they are as a band (they’re a punk band with delusions of Springsteen. That is as awesome as it sounds).
  10. Sinead O’Connor, “Nothing Compares 2 U”: Is it the obvious pick from this artist? Yes, yes it is. Is it still just an absolute stone-cold classic of a song that everyone should listen to and enjoy at every available opportunity? Yes, yes it is.

Playlist #112

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Happy Wednesday, folks. I was at the beach on Monday with family, and spent yesterday recovering from the beach, so you get a playlist today and you’ll like it.

  1. Spoon, “Sugar Babies”: These guys manage to stay creative and innovative even a couple of decades into their careers. It’s inspiring and awesome.
  2. X Ambassadors, “Renegade”: I think I’ve been writing songs like this lately. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.
  3. Tom Waits, “Looks Like I’m Up Shit Creek Again”: You an’ me both, Tom.
  4. Kris Orlowski, “Go (featuring Glen Phillips)”: I am just a sucker for any song that features Glen Phillips.
  5. Them, “Gloria”: G. L. O. R. I. A.
  6. Jack Johnson, “If I Had Eyes”: What if a regular ol’ Jack Johnson song, but with an electric guitar instead of an acoustic?
  7. Jake Blount, “Didn’t It Rain”: A modern take on a classic number from ol’ Sister Rosetta Tharpe. The electric guitar in this one makes the song feel much more eerie than the original ever did.
  8. Counting Crows, “Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby”: It’s epic in length and bittersweet in scope. It’s like the song was written just for me.
  9. Norah Jones, “Don’t Know Why”: How does Norah Jones crank out these beautiful little nuggets of pop brilliance?
  10. Drive-By Truckers, “Carl Perkins’ Cadillac”: Cadillacs are made out of fiberglass now, so maybe it’s time to give it up.

Playlist #78

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Wednesday is the new Monday, am I right?

  1. Vaydra, “Talk To God”: The new single from the lady who sings with my brother, except it’s not the band they’re in together but a different band she formed that plays psychedelia. It’s pretty good. Check ’em out.
  2. Jake Blount, “The Downward Road”: Heard this guy on a Vox video talking about the importance of the banjo in historically black music. The song itself is pretty cool, drawing from traditional African American folk music and contemporary rap and hip-hop. I dig it.
  3. Glen Campbell, “I’m Not Gonna Miss You”: Glen Campbell died in 2017 from Alzheimer’s, and he wrote and recorded this song just before that happened. It’s a stark look at what Alzheimer’s and dementia do to a person, erasing their personality and memories until there’s nothing left there. But it doesn’t really hurt them, it hurts the people around them who watch that person erode. It is one of my greatest fears that I’ll get dementia or Alzheimer’s and become a burden to those I love and not even know it.
  4. Rilo Kiley, “The Moneymaker”: I hadn’t listened to this album since the year it came out (which was . . . holy crap, 2007?!). This song holds up, I think, though the More Adventurous album is still my favorite of theirs.
  5. Stevie Ray Vaughn, “Pride and Joy”: Sometimes, you need some low-down, dirty, Texas blues (or “blooze”). This is one of those times.
  6. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “Straight Into Darkness”: Tom Petty is one of those guys who, even when he put out a mediocre album, it still has great songs on it. ‘Cause a mediocre Tom Petty song is better than about 70% of everything that comes out.
  7. Aimee Mann, “Looking For Nothing”: If you told me the only musician I was allowed to listen to for the rest of my life was Aimee Mann, I would not be entirely disappointed with that. You could do much worse.
  8. Drive-By Truckers, “Everybody Needs Love”: They do.
  9. Brian Fallon, “If Your Prayers Don’t Get To Heaven”: This dude absolutely loves the early ’60s girl groups and doo-wop and I am freakin’ here for it, yo.
  10. Led Zeppelin, “Fool In The Rain”: I love the drumming on this one.

Playlist #54

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Good Monday Morning, folks! Follow me on Patreon. I’m super excited about May’s song there. Meanwhile, here’s this week’s playlist:

  1. Dream Wife, “Hey Heartbreaker”: The chugging guitar is great, and I love the overlapping vocals at the end.
  2. Drive-By Truckers, “Outfit”: “Don’t call what you’re wearing an outfit,” the narrator’s father admonishes him, and I can admit that I have done that on numerous occasions. Oh well.
  3. Wilco, “Say You Miss Me”: A heartbreaker of a song. Love it.
  4. Tom Waits, “Goin’ Out West”: “Well, I’m goin’ out west/Where the wind blows tall,” Tom Waits begins, and things only get weirder from there. Because of course they do, this is a Tom Waits song.
  5. Spoon, “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb”: A reverb-drenched shot of adrenaline straight to the heart.
  6. SaraoMusic, “Coming Home”: Sunny So-Cal indie pop at its finest.
  7. The Rolling Stones, “Factory Girl”: Always imagined this as the mid-70s version of that Shakespearean sonnet, “My mistress’s eyes are nothing like the sun.”
  8. The Beatles, “Two Of Us”: If there’s a better song on Let It Be, make your case in the comments.
  9. Rhett Miller, “The El”: Who doesn’t love rattling along on the El in Chicago?
  10. Josh Ritter, “Hopeful”: Taking those first few tentative steps out into the wild after a relationship collapses can be terrifying, but you gotta stay hopeful.

Playlist #43: Presidents’ Day

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Happy Presidents’ Day, ‘Murica! Here’s some executive branch love in aural form. And hey, don’t forget I’ve got a Patreon, where February’s song is about to drop!

  1. They Might Be Giants, “James K. Polk”: Educational, entertaining, and a banger. Yup, it’s a TMBG song, alright.
  2. The Presidents of the United States of America, “Lump”: I get exhausted just typing out the name of the band. Thank goodness the song title is so short.
  3. Hamilton, “History Has Its Eyes On You”: The only song from the show I can play on the guitar, and a great vocal delivery from Christopher Jackson.
  4. Mark Knopfler, “Don’t Crash The Ambulance”: A changing of the guard. A handing over of the keys to the kingdom. And a brief explanation of just how things work around here.
  5. The National, “Mr. November”: “I was carried in the arms of cheerleaders.”
  6. Billy Bragg & Wilco, “Jesus Christ For President”: We could do worse, honestly.
  7. Molly Lewis, “Our American Cousin”: A three-part look at Mr. Lincoln’s infamous trip to the theatre. Funny and dark and heartbreaking.
  8. XTC, “Here Comes President Kill Again”: The ’80s? Subtle? No.
  9. Drive-By Truckers, “The President’s Penis Is Missing”: A damn tragedy, to be sure.
  10. Over The Rhine, “If A Song Could Be President”: Again, we could do worse. And I have a whole murderer’s row of talent in mind for the Cabinet.