ted leo & the pharmacists

Playlist #152 – Talk Singin’

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Happy birthday to me! And happy Wednesday, I guess. I’m currently in the heart of Oklahoma, visiting family. Anyway, here’s a playlist of songs that feature talk singing.

1. Bob Dylan, “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues”: A tongue in cheek look at the very real John Birch Society, an anti-communist group back in the ‘60s that was more than a little paranoid.

2. Beck, “Loser”: “In the time of chimpanzees, I was a monkey.” If that doesn’t speak to your soul, you probably weren’t in your teens in the ‘90s.

3. Butthole Surfers, “Pepper”: I’m not really sure what this song is about. A group of friends who all die horrible deaths? Maybe. Random word association? Far more likely.

4. Cake, “Never There”: The band that made the donkey call cool again.

5. Shawn Mullins, “Lullaby”: “She’d be a whole lot prettier if she’d smile once in a while” just comes off real creepy, Shawn. Maybe…maybe don’t say things like that in a song, yeah?

6. Soul Coughing, “Blame”: Sampling and bass & drums and repetitive lyrics, oh my.

7. Arlo Guthrie, “Alice’s Restaurant Massacre”: An 18 minute epic that tells the story of Thanksgiving, littering, getting drafted, and getting out of being drafted by telling the psychiatrist you can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant and then just walking out.

8. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, “Bomb. Repeat. Bomb.”: A raucous, punky song that rips.

9. Van Morrison, “And the Healing has Begun”: The featured spoken-word section really makes the song drag, but it’s still a fun tune.

10. Harry Nilsson, “Everybody’s Talkin’”: There’s no talk-singing in this song, but the title sure fits.

Playlist #144

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Happy Monday! And a truly happy Monday it is, too, for I just did something I haven’t been able to do in three months: take a hot shower in my condo! Sure, it cost a ridiculous amount of money to get it all fixed, but it’s a small price to pay to have water above room temperature when I step into the shower.

  1. Rufus Wainwright, “Harvest”: The one that features Andrew Bird on violin and guest vocals! It’s such a beautiful and simple rendition of the Neil Young tune.
  2. k.d. lang, “Constant Craving”: I, too, hope to someday be disentangled enough from my ego to ignore proper punctuation and capitalization when writing my name. Until then, I stick to the capital letter at the start.
  3. Sinead O’Connor, “Nothing Compares 2 U”: We could all use a little Prince tune to get us moving today, I think.
  4. Alannah Myles, “Black Velvet”: This song is about Elvis, right? Pretty sure it’s about Elvis.
  5. The Eagles, “After the Thrill is Gone”: One of the sadder Eagles songs out there, and one where Don Henley only kinda over-sings.
  6. Elliott Smith, “Christian Brothers”: Elliott Smith sounds like he could and would fuck you up really bad in this song. It’s great.
  7. Frank Turner, “Get Better”: Just a reminder that things can always improve, you just have to let them.
  8. Iron & Wine, “About a Bruise”: One of Sam Beam’s goofier songs, probably, at least based on backing vocals.
  9. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, “Bomb. Repeat. Bomb.”: Explosive.
  10. 10,000 Maniacs, “These Are Days”: Such a soaring song. Very uplifting. A great way to start the week, I think.

Playlist #37: Covid Edition

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So, as must come to pass eventually for all, I’ve gotten sick. I’ve gotten Covid. I blame Tennessee. But I have not forgotten you, and in my fever-hazed mind, I have put together a playlist for this week.

  1. Neko Case, “Fever”: So actually, I had a fever late last week, but it broke pretty quick and I’ve been fine since then. The Wife, on the other hand, keeps getting fevers of upwards of 103.
  2. MC Hammer, “U Can’t Touch This”: Please keep your distance, I might still be contagious.
  3. The Police, “Don’t Stand So Close To Me”: Did you not hear what I just said? Stay at least six feet away at all times. Further, honestly, if you don’t mind.
  4. AC Newman, “Miracle Drug”: I’ll admit, I think the vaccines are pretty damn amazing and I’m glad I got them. If there were something I could take right now to get rid of feeling like garbage, I would.
  5. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “Something In The Air (Live)”: What, another Tom Petty song, after last week? Yes. It’s on-theme.
  6. Toad the Wet Sprocket, “Something’s Always Wrong”: I’ve felt like crap since last Wednesday. It’s always something new.
  7. They Might Be Giants, “I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die”: There’s still lots I want to do before I’m ready to kick the bucket, and I hope I get old enough to do at least most of them.
  8. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, “The Pharmacist v. The Secret Stars”: I’ll be honest, I really like Ted Leo and I mostly chose this song because his backing band is called the Pharmacists.
  9. Spoon, “Everything Hits At Once”: I was fine last Tuesday. Woke up Wednesday feeling kinda meh. By Thursday, I was spending the entire day asleep because I felt absolutely awful.
  10. Van Morrison, “And The Healing Has Begun”: Given Van’s recent bizarre rants about Covid and lockdowns and whatnot, it seems a little silly to include him on this playlist, but I do feel like I’m on the mend now. Still definitely not 100%, but improving every day.