Happy Monday, folks! We’re winding down the month of April and moving into what I think of as crunch time in the public schools, when all of the seniors suddenly realize that they need to pass my class if they want to graduate. The number of “what can I do to bring my grade up?” conversations I’ll have over the next few weeks is innumerable. Here’s a playlist.

1. The Gray Charlies, “The Twelve Lines That Didn’t Work”: I’ve probably said before how strange it is to hear someone else sing words I wrote twenty-some years ago. It remains strange, but supremely satisfying. It’s also weird when you remember that you had to write a few extra lines for the song because the singer ended up doing it differently than you or your brother had originally anticipated and there’s gonna be some dead air in there. You can check the song out here.
2. Khatumu, “blackout”: The more I listen to this woman’s work, the more I admire it. She’s really good at creating a gripping structure and writing compelling lyrics. The instrumental aspects are always excellent, well-produced with just that perfect hint of DIY.
3. Joan Armatrading, “Water with the Wine”: Damn, but this woman can sing. I would listen to her sing the phone book.
4. Patti Smith, “Gloria”: Ever wonder what would happen if Lou Reed recorded a Van Morrison song? It’d probably sound a lot like this.
5. Pearl Jam, “I Am Mine”: I remember when the album this song is from, Riot Act, came out in 2002. I was in grad school and bought it from the school bookstore. I also bought a couple of Star Wars trade paperback comics for Dark Empire, which I read and reread multiple times over the next couple of years because I only owned, like, six comic books.
6. Phosphorescent, “Tryin’ To Get To Heaven”: It takes balls to cover Bob Dylan at the best of times, and even more so when you’re covering one of his latter-day classics. Phosphorescent manages to pull it off with aplomb.
7. Pink Floyd, “Set the Controls For the Heart of the Sun”: Early Pink Floyd is still the weirdest Pink Floyd, and I kinda need that sometimes. Heaven only knows what they’re gonna do when they reach the heart of the sun, but I’m sure someone probably has a plan.
8. Aaron Neville, “Everybody Plans the Fool”: The little synth sting at the end of the chorus always gets me in this song.
9. Nanci Griffith, “Boots of Spanish Leather”: I am apparently in a Bob Dylan covers mood this week. I should probably put together a list of my favorite Dylan covers someday (if I haven’t already done that, which I probably have, but man that is a list subject to change).
10. Radiohead, “Bodysnatchers”: Whenever I’m working on a novel and have a fight scene, this is the music that I put on to help me write it. Works perfectly every time.