paul mccartney

Playlist #266

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Happy Monday, folks! I’m glad we’ve finally seen the back of May; that month had it out for me, I swear. But now it’s June, and the end of the school year beckons. Here’s a playlist to start your week.

  1. Paul McCartney, “Lost Horizon”: McCartney released a new album last week. It’s pretty good. It’s a McCartney album, which I feel like is a known quantity at this point in his career. His voice is still in fine form, even if there’s the occasional warble to it, and the man still crafts beautiful melodies like most people craft bowel movements.
  2. SUSS, “Sunset IV”: These guys do “cosmic Americana,” which is ambient music with pedal steel. This particular collection, Counting Sunsets, gets the closest they’ve actually been to composing what I’d think of as songs, but it’s all very pleasant music to listen to while you do your laundry on a rainy Sunday.
  3. nep, “A Big Brown Dog Named Bagel”: a musician I discovered via Facebook last week. Her first album, which this song is from, is mostly acoustic singer-songwriter fare, while her more recent album (last year’s Noelle) incorporates more modern styles and sounds. Both are pretty good, though, and this particular song is great.
  4. Billy Bragg & Wilco, “California Stars”: Could Mermaid Avenue be done nowadays? Could you get an anti-folk folkie like Billy Bragg and alt-country darlings like Wilco together, throw a bunch of Woody Guthrie lyrics at them, and get a masterpiece like this? I’m not sure you could, but I’m glad we did.
  5. Grateful Dead, “Touch of Grey”: It’s very difficult to ever actually say exactly what a Grateful Dead song is about (other than psychedelic drugs and overlong guitar solos), but I’m pretty sure this one is about trying to age gracefully, even when you fall on your ass or you, like, drop trou in front of your fiancée’s parents. I could be wrong, though, and this one could just still be about drugs.
  6. Mike Doughty, “Grey Ghost”: I just love the rhythm and feel of this song. It’s great.
  7. Drive-By Truckers, “Everybody Needs Love”: Is this contemporary southern rock’s answer to the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love”? Maybe. Is it a great song? Definitely.
  8. The National, “Bitters & Absolut”: Who doesn’t love a song about being an alcoholic?
  9. Bahamas, “Lost in the Light”: A lazy, laconic guitar riff helps this song lope along to those beautiful harmonies in the chorus.
  10. Camera Obscura, “If Looks Could Kill”: I love how bouncy and jangly the guitar part is in this song, and the vocals are just perfect. No notes.

Playlist #260

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Happy Monday, folks! It’s a weird week here in Northern Virginia (they’re really all weird weeks, if we’re honest), with no school for me tomorrow due to a special election. Here’s a playlist to get us through it all.

  1. Massive Attack and Tom Waits, “Boots on the Ground”: A collaboration I didn’t know I want that uses a great extrapolation of “The Earth Died Screaming.” Love it and want more.
  2. Paul McCartney, “Rinse the Raindrops”: Realized over the weekend that McCartney went through a pretty experimental phase in the early 2000s. This song is 10 freakin’ minutes long and only features one verse, but it never sits still and never gets boring.
  3. Thundercat, “Anakin Learns His Fate”: Dude fuckin’ rips it on the bass and writes some of the smoothest jams I’ve heard in a long while. Also, he’s clearly more than a bit of a nerd.
  4. The Pauls, “Beyond Bourbon”: Buddy from work’s band doing an original song of theirs. It’s a cool little barroom weeper.
  5. Gillian Welch, “Red Clay Halo”: I’m an Okie. I know from red dirt. So does Gillian Welch, apparently.
  6. Sting, “When The Angels Fall”: I always felt like this song was a suitably epic way to end the Soul Cages album. I also think the song meant more to me (or felt like it did) when I was in college, when everything feels like it means something more than it probably really does.
  7. Wilco, “Jesus, Etc.”: Still one of my favorite songs off of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, which remains one of the best albums of the past thirty or so years.
  8. Jars of Clay, “Grace”: I still go back to this album every so often, and everything from the way they structure the songs to the harmonies and instrumental solos gets me every time.
  9. Jimmy Reed, “Ain’t That Loving You Baby”: Sometimes, you just need a little dirty blues. Today is one of those times.
  10. Rilo Kiley, “I Never”: Hard to imagine this band would try to pull off some blue-eyed soul, but they do it anyway.

Playlist #181

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Wednesdays are the new Mondays, baby!

  1. Redbone, “Wevoka”: Monday was Indigenous People’s Day, after all, so what better way to kick off our playlist for this week than a song from the Native American rock band Redbone?
  2. Stevie Nicks, “The Lighthouse”: If you told me that, in her late 70s, Stevie Nicks would release a maximalist pop song supporting women’s rights just weeks before the 2024 presidential election, I’d have said that…sounds about right, actually.
  3. Juan Luis Guerra, “Ojala Que Lluave Cafe”: A Dominican Republic singer-songwriter writes about only being able to move home if it starts raining rice and coffee. It’s a beautiful, heartbreaking song that includes a children’s choir.
  4. Teddy Swims, “Lose Control”: This man’s got some pipes. There’s something about the big white guy with face tattoos who can really belt that I kinda dig.
  5. Tom Petty, “Won’t Back Down”: I’ve been immersing myself in Tom Petty again lately. This song will still remain long after America is a distant dream in some ancient textbook.
  6. Adele, “Rolling in the Deep”: Is it a four-chord pop song? Yes. Does Adele just whip ass at singing the hell out of it anyway? Oh my, yes.
  7. Soundgarden, “Black Hole Sun”: My favorite part of this song is the guy who does the backing vocals singing, “Black hole sun, black hole sun!” in the background towards the end of the song. I don’t know why, but the guy’s tone just cracks me up every single time.
  8. Bruce Springsteen, “Atlantic City”: Nebraska remains my undisputed favorite Springsteen album. Sure, it’s very spare and stark, but I kinda like that about it, and the way he plays the guitar on some of them – like “Atlantic City,” for instance – fills in the corners of the song in a way that make a full band treatment absolutely unnecessary.
  9. Paul McCartney, “My Brave Face”: No idea why McCartney wrote a song about trying to get back on the horse after a divorce while he was still married to and deeply in love with Linda, but it’s a decent one.
  10. The Wallflowers, “Sleepwalker”: Did they ever write a better song than this? I don’t think they did.

Playlist #163

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Haaaaappy last Monday of the school year! School officially ends here in Fairfax County on Wednesday, and I for one am more than ready for Summer Break. Here are some songs to get us there.

  1. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “Waiting For Tonight”: Heard this one late last week on Tom Petty Radio, and had forgotten the song even existed. Features one of the best lines ever sung, “And I’m wrestling with my overcoat/And I’m fighting with my thoughts.”
  2. Primal Scream, “Rocks”: Hadn’t really listened to these guys before, and while this song is pretty good, it wasn’t enough to get me interested in listening to any of their other stuff.
  3. Van Morrison, “Tupelo Honey”: It’s also Clyde’s birthday this week! Let’s listen to classic Van Morrison in his honor.
  4. Hank Williams, “Kaw-Liga”: My grandfather continues to kick around, though he’s currently in the hospital with pneumonia. But his spirits seem good, and he’s alert and responsive, so I’ll take those as good signs. This is one of his favorite Hank Williams songs, and one he used to sing to us when we were little.
  5. Wilco, “The Late Greats”: What is the greatest song most folks have never heard?
  6. Paul McCartney, “Brown-Eyed Handsome Man”: Great McCartney cover. Run Devil Run was such a good album.
  7. Linda Ronstadt, “When Will I Be Loved?”: Things don’t get much better than Linda Ronstadt singing this song.
  8. Sting, “We’ll Be Together”: The most 1980s song I could imagine, from the processed drum machine to the synth horns.
  9. Pink Floyd, “Fearless”: I’m weird in that I really dig the Pink Floyd album Meddle (it might even be my favorite of theirs). This song, right in the middle of things, is a good example of why it’s such a great collection of tunes.
  10. Alice Cooper, “School’s Out”: Of course it is. And good riddance until next school year, ya filthy animals!

Playlist #137: Weather, Frightful, Etc.

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Happy Monday, folks! It’s the last week before Winter Break, so it’s time for a Holiday-themed playlist! I promise there’s no Wham! on here. I’m not a monster.

  1. Paul McCartney, “Wonderful Christmastime”: Okay, I’m a little bit of a monster.
  2. Darlene Love, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”: Simply the best Christmas song ever written. I will hear no arguments.
  3. The Beach Boys, “Little Saint Nick”: Beach Boys harmonies just sound better when they’re telling reindeer to run.
  4. Bing Crosby, “Winter Wonderland”: I’m not against old-fashioned Christmas songs. I like a lot of ’em. Bing Crosby’s stuff is always a swingin’ good time, for instance.
  5. Elton John, “Step Into Christmas”: I’ve never fully understood the premise of this song. Is Christmas a physical location into which one can step? What are the boundaries of Christmas? Enquiring minds want to know.
  6. Robert Earl Keen, “Merry Christmas From the Family”: REK takes a slightly more cynical approach to the holidays than a lot of these others, but it’s still a good time to get together with family members and drink lots of spiked eggnog.
  7. Gayla Peevey, “I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas”: Who doesn’t, honestly? They’re way cooler than a puppy and they can eat a watermelon whole.
  8. Ringo Starr, “Come On Christmas, Christmas Come On”: If there’s one Beatle who seems well-suited to singing Christmas songs, which are inherently kinda cheesy and goofy, it’s the dude who sang “Yellow Submarine” and “Octopus’s Garden.”
  9. Frank Sinatra, “Mistletoe and Holly”: Another holiday classic, I think we can all agree.
  10. Chuck Berry, “Run Rudolph Run”: You need more Chuck Berry in your life, admit it.

Playlist #130

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Happy Monday, folk! This is moving week, the week where all of my sanity leaves my body in a sudden rush and I wake up on Friday, hopefully in a new place with all of my stuff there. If not, well, I know how to cry.

  1. Paul McCartney, “Brown Eyed Handsome Man”: I tell myself this one is about me. I’m not 100% convinced I’m wrong. My wife thinks I’m handsome, at any rate.
  2. HAIM, “The Wire”: I have heard exactly three (3) songs by this band in my whole life, and I’ve like all three of them. This one cops the drum rhythm from the Eagles’ “Heartache Tonight,” which is actually pretty dope.
  3. The Gaslight Anthem, “Our Father’s Sons”: It’s not a finished song. Bits and pieces of it end up in other songs off The ’59 Sound album. But the lyrics are fairly unique to this particular version, and I like those.
  4. Joe Cocker, “The Letter”: Oh, so a fast train ain’t good enough for ya, Joe? You gotta get on an aeroplane instead? I mean, I guess it makes sense, at least here in the States where high-speed rail just isn’t a thing. But if you were in Japan, you’d be rethinking that train.
  5. Amanda Shires, “Pale Fire”: I keep coming back to this song every few months. I love it. There’s a simplicity and honesty to it that I really appreciate and tend to look for in music.
  6. Patti Smith, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”: If you’d told me there’d be a version of this song that features stand-up bass and a banjo and that I’d love this particular version of the song, I’d…probably have believed you, that sounds right up my alley.
  7. The Beatles, “Two Of Us”: “On our way back home.” Yeah, this one is a stealth moving song!
  8. Muddy Waters, “Goin’ Home”: If it’s good enough for Muddy, it’s good enough for me.
  9. Moxy Fruvous, “Boo Time”: I will never, until the day I die, truly understand or maybe even be able to appreciate this band’s bizarre name, but I can get behind some of their stranger songs like this one. What the hell is “Boo Time,” anyway? Is this a Halloween song? Or is it the time when you cuddle up close to your boo? I honestly don’t know, and it keeps me up some nights.
  10. Electric Light Orchestra, “Roll Over Beethoven”: The pinnacle of early ELO. I will not be taking comments about it at this time, or ever.

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 #115

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Happy Monday to all the folks who celebrate it out there. And if you do celebrate Mondays, what is wrong with you? Do you just really like new playlist day?

  1. Murder By Death, “No Oath, No Spell”: There’s is something oddly compelling about this guy’s voice. He sounds about two centuries old on their best songs.
  2. Rufus Wainwright, “Harvest (feat. Andrew Bird and Chris Stills)”: Who doesn’t love a Neil Young cover? Who doesn’t love a Neil Young cover that features Andrew Bird prominently? Communists, that’s who.
  3. Van Morrison, “Sweet Jannie”: As weird as the dude’s gotten in recent years (and he’s gotten pretty freakin’ weird), I still love his old stuff. This song is a bop.
  4. Electric Light Orchestra, “Eldorado”: I’ve been thinking about it for a while now (especially since I listened to most of their discography a few weeks ago on a whim), and I think Eldorado might be my favorite ELO album. Sure, as a concept album it falls a little short of the mark Jeff Lynne was aiming for, but the song cycle is still one of the best he ever wrote, and this – the penultimate song on the album – is a good summation of what ELO could do at the height of their powers.
  5. Elk Eyes, “It Goes Dark”: Why am I listening to guys with whiskey-dark voices sing doom and gloom this week? I dunno, I just am.
  6. Family Familiar, “I Don’t Need You”: Did you know I helped write this song, back over 20 years ago? This is my brother’s band performing it. Did you know I get a small cut of the streaming revenue for this specific song? It’s true.
  7. George Harrison, “P2 Vatican Blues (Last Saturday Night)”: I know that what I need a lot of on a Monday morning is some George Harrison slide guitar. I’m sure you’ll agree it almost makes it worth waking up for.
  8. Paul McCartney, “Teddy Boy”: This version of this song is just as ramshackle as its appearance on McCartney would lead you to believe it would be. I kinda love it.
  9. John Prine, “Jesus, the Missing Years”: Was chatting with a friend on Facebook about “Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore” this weekend, which got me in a John Prine mood. That’s not a bad mood to be in.
  10. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, “St. Paul’s Autograph”: I swear to God, this album is just designed to make you wanna curl up on a rainy Sunday afternoon and block out the rest of the world.

Playlist #103

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Happy Monday. We’re in the 4th quarter of school out here in Northern Virginia now. The home stretch. Here’s some songs to get you through the week, at least.

  1. Adeem the Artist, “Books & Records”: A song about leveraging the things you love just to survive and the hope that you’ll be able to recover them someday. It’s so sad and heartbreaking and hopeful that I just can’t help but love it.
  2. Dion, “Runaround Sue”: The song itself is pretty good, yeah, but it’s the vocalizations at the beginning and end that really get me on this one.
  3. Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, “What I Am”: Someday, I’m going to put together enough songs for a philosophy playlist. This will be the first song on that playlist.
  4. The Elected, “I’ll Be Your Man”: Did you want a sad some about trying to win someone’s heart? Because here’s a sad song about trying to win someone’s heart.
  5. The Mountain Goats, “Woke Up New”: If you really want to twist the knife in your own guts, you listen to the Mountain Goats. Because that’s all those guys do.
  6. Roy Orbison, “Workin’ For The Man”: “Well, I’m pickin’ ’em up and I’m layin’ ’em down/I believe he’s gonna work me into the ground” is just a banger of a couplet.
  7. Robert Plant & Allison Krauss, “Killing The Blues”: What did we do to deserve not one, but two whole albums of these two duetting? What dark pact did we make? What price will we have to pay on down the road?
  8. Paul McCartney, “Ballroom Dancing”: I had the album this song is from, Give My Regards to Broad Street, on a tape that my uncle (I think) made for my dad back in the 80s. Damn near wore that thing out. Kinda giggle at the line “Big B.D.” now (it stands for “Ballroom Dancing,” FYI).
  9. The Flaming Lips, “Vein Of Stars”: “Who knows, maybe there isn’t/A vein of stars calling out my name.” Wayne Coyne just knows how to write a good song, eh?
  10. Fleetwood Mac, “Storms”: I’ve come to appreciate the album Tusk over the past couple of years.

Playlist #97: Songs About Songs

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For years, I’ve wanted to gather enough songs to put together a playlist of songs about writing/creating/singing songs. And finally, here we are.

  1. Wilco, “Someone Else’s Song”: Sometimes we sing covers. Sometimes our own songs. Who knows.
  2. Elton John, “Your Song”: “But the sun’s been quite nice while I wrote this song” is just a nice sentiment and one that I, at least, could do with more of.
  3. Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Wrote A Song For Everyone”: The song this whole list was built around! I have long loved this particular song and I especially appreciate the sentiment of it.
  4. Ben Folds, “One Down”: He was apparently once a professional songwriter, and they expected you to write 3.6 songs per week.
  5. Jason Isbell, “Songs That she Sang In The Shower”: Don’t we all sing in the shower? Aren’t the acoustics in there great?
  6. John Fullbright, “Write A Song”: It’s good advice. You should write a song. All of you. Like, right now.
  7. Dan Auerbach, “Waiting On A Song”: Sometimes songs just sorta come to you, fully formed and ready to go. Other times, you have to sit around and wait for them to arrive. And damn, do they take their sweet time.
  8. Jackson Browne, “Sing My Songs To Me”: Is it possibly the greatest display of ego to want to hear other people sing your own songs? Maybe, but I also have to imagine it’s the greatest honor you can receive as a songwriter: hearing someone else give their interpretation of your words and music.
  9. Paul McCartney, “The Song We Were Singing”: “And it always came back to the song we were singing/At any particular time,” is just one of the best lines you could ever hope to write. It’s so simple, but so evocative.
  10. Panic! At The Disco, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”: Do I know much of anything about PATD? No. No, I do not. Do I care when the song title fits into the playlist theme this well? Again, no. No, I do not.