toad the wet sprocket

Playlist #184: Election Day

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Happy Monday, folks. Tomorrow is the day here in the United States: Election Day. Have you voted yet? You ought to. I’d tell you who I voted for and who I think you should vote for, but that seems crass. Besides, if you’ve talked with me or seen my comics from the past decade or so, you can probably guess how I voted. Anyway, here’s a playlist of songs to encourage you to vote!

  1. Radiohead, “Electioneering”: I definitely expect some shenanigans from at least one side of the aisle this year.
  2. Billy Bragg & Wilco, “Christ for President”: Could there be a better man for the job? No, there could not. Would be flip some tables? You bet your ass.
  3. The National, “Mr. November”: I kinda hoped they’d release an updated version of this called “Mrs. November” this year. Alas, it was not to be so.
  4. Molly Lewis, “Pantsuit Sasquatch”: An ode to former candidate Hillary Clinton, who after the 2016 election fucked off into the woods like the mythical Bigfoot, only wearing a pantsuit.
  5. Toad the Wet Sprocket, “Old Habits Die Hard”: I know this election cycle has flipped a lot of voters from one party to the other, or at least away from one slightly orangish candidate.
  6. The Byrds, “I Wanna Grow Up To Be A Politician”: No, guys, you really don’t.
  7. The Doubleclicks, “President Snakes, Part 1”: A president who is nothing but a bunch of snakes? Wouldn’t be the worst we’ve dealt with.
  8. Drive-By Truckers, “The President’s Penis Is Missing”: It very well might be, guys. It very well might be.
  9. Over the Rhine, “If A Song Could Be President”: I find it amusing that they name check Neil Young in this song, a famously Canadian songwriter.
  10. The Presidents of the United States of America, “Lump”: Like I wasn’t going to include a song from this band.

Playlist #179

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It’s another rainy, gray Monday here in Northern Virginia. But we’ve got some tunes and we’ve got a bit of caffeine in our systems, so let’s go!

  1. Kris Kristofferson, “The Best of All Possible Worlds”: I know four things about Kris Kristofferson, who passed away over the weekend. (1) He was pretty badass in the Blade movies. (2) He stood beside Sinead O’Connor at the Concert for Dylan’s 30th Anniversary in solidarity with the singer while the crowd booed her (she’d just torn up a picture of the Pope on Saturday Night Live, like, a week earlier). (3) He once threatened to beat Toby Keith’s jingoist ass into the ground at a 9/11 benefit concert. (4) He was a damn good songwriter, and he’ll be missed.
  2. Jimmy Eat World, “The Middle”: Uplifting and danceable.
  3. Sabrina Carpenter, “Please Please Please”: Maybe I’m just showing my age here. Maybe this music isn’t for me, no matter how ELO-inflected the instrumentation may seem. But when did pop singers get so horny on main? I’m no prude, and I definitely don’t want to yuck someone else’s yum (especially since I think she’s pretty talented and a decent-enough songwriter), but I just don’t think I’m the target audience for this, and that’s okay.
  4. Chappell Roan, “Red Wine Supernova”: Speaking of pop singers I’m not the target audience for…
  5. Bruce Springsteen, “She Don’t Love Me Now”: A Springsteen cover of a Jesse Malin song? Yes, please! The sax solo fits perfectly.
  6. Billy Idol, “Bitter Taste”: A 21st century Billy Idol song that’s actually pretty good? It’s more likely than you’d think!
  7. The Gaslight Anthem, “Stay Lucky”: If ever there was a song that got the blood pumping while you speed down the highway doing way too many miles per hour over the speed limit, it was probably this one.
  8. Pearl Jam, “Hail Hail”: Maybe I’m just in a mood this morning and need to be pepped up, I dunno.
  9. Toad the Wet Sprocket, “Nightingale Song”: I love the harmonies on this song.
  10. JD McPherson, “The Phantom of New Rochelle”: A surfy rock instrumental from the Okie guitarist. Fun and reverby.

Playlists #164, #165, and #166

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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 #162

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Happy Monday, folks! The school year is winding to a close as we speak; this time next week, I’ll only have a day or so left before I’m free for the summer! Here’s some songs to tide you over until then.

  1. Tom Petty, “Casa Dega”: Why this never received an official release on an actual album, I’ll never understand. It’s a classic Petty song, and Benmont Tench’s keyboards feature heavily. An absolute classic.
  2. Soul Asylum, “Runaway Train”: This playlist initially started out as a list of songs that I like to play but cannot play and sing at the same time (or at least, can’t sing well). I enjoy playing this one immensely, and I love singing along to it on the radio, but I struggle to put the two together.
  3. Onnu Josu Son, “True Love Will Find You In The End”: Quite possibly the simplest song on this playlist, and one of the most heartfelt and beautiful.
  4. Pearl Jam, “Wreckage”: I…really enjoyed the newest Pearl Jam album? Like, legitimately? I dunno, man. It’s weird.
  5. Counting Crows, “Hanginaround”: It’s a great way to kick off an album or start a party, I think. And the way it melts into “Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby” on the album? *Chef’s kiss*
  6. Toad the Wet Sprocket, “Whatever I Fear the Most”: Somewhere along the way, this turned into “songs Chuck likes from the ’90s” and, to be honest, it kinda got away from me.
  7. Josh Ritter, “Monster Ballads”: Okay, maybe now we’re back on firmer, “I can’t sing and play this well” footing? Maybe. This one is juuuuuust a little too low for my vocal range.
  8. Waxahatchee, “War”: I have abandoned any premise or presupposition of a theme for this playlist. It’s just damn good songs now.
  9. Dr, Dre, “Forgot About Dre”: And also this song about how Dr. Dre feels forgotten and, instead of being forlorn about it (as I would’ve done), he gets rapper snippy.
  10. Blind Melon, “No Rain”: Who among us hasn’t danced as a bee girl in a field?

Playlist #109

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It’s a rather gloomy Tuesday here in Northern Virginia, or maybe that’s just my interpretation of things. I’ll admit I’m currently looking at the world through shit-colored glasses, but that has less to do with the weather than it does some family stuff that’s going on. That being said, I’m headed to Oklahoma this afternoon, and it’s not a fun or pleasant trip that I’m embarking on.

  1. boygenius, “True Blue”: “When you don’t know who you are/You fuck around and find out,” is one of my favorite couplets this year.
  2. Adeem the Artist, “ICU”: Another in a string of thoughtful, heartfelt country songs from Adeem the Artist. I love their work. Songs like this always come around right when I need them.
  3. Bjork, “Army of Me”: “And if you complain once more/You’ll meet an army of me” sounds no less menacing given Bjork’s adorable accent. She really sounds like she could fuck you up if she wanted to.
  4. The Offspring, “Come Out And Play (Keep ‘Em Separated)”: Yeah, it’s a little left-field, given the general tenor and tone of the songs on this playlist so far, but I like to change things up from time to time.
  5. Peter Gabriel, “Love To Be Loved”: Whenever there’s a rough situation, I turn to Peter Gabriel, not so much because he speaks to the human condition (thought he does), but because he speaks so elliptically about things that are universal and deeply, deeply personal.
  6. Ray LaMontagne, “Trouble”: I dig this guy’s stuff, though I think I dug it more before I found out what a tremendous asshole he apparently is. How are all the sensitive singer-songwriter types just absolute jerks?
  7. Steve Earle, “Hard-Core Troubadour”: It’d be hard to imagine 2023 Steve Earle, with his almost-bald head and the long, long fringe of hair that hangs around that shiny peak, being considered a sex symbol and an iconoclastic rebel, but 1996 Steve Earle could get it.
  8. Taylor Swift, “Style”: She’s sold more records than I’ve had hot lunches. She could release an album that’s just her making fart noises with her armpits and it’d probably go platinum at least. The woman knows what she’s about.
  9. Toad the Wet Sprocket, “Last To Fall”: Latter-day Toad is kinda hit-and-miss, I think, but when it hits, it hits good and hard.
  10. Tom Waits, “Ice Cream Man”: With summer just around the corner, the ice cream guy has started coming around again. We’ve heard his truck playing “Turkey in the Hay” two or three times just over this past weekend. So I asked if our ice cream man was maybe Tom Waits, and my sister-in-law just gave me a weird look. She does that a lot.

Playlist #74

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Happy Tuesday, folks. Got sick over the weekend, and took yesterday off to recover. Still feeling under the weather, but good news! It’s not Covid this time.

  1. Kate Bush, “Running Up That Hill”: We finally got around to starting Stranger Things season 4 over the weekend, and it’s quite good. The use of the Kate Bush song is perfect. I’m not ashamed to say I haven’t listened to much Kate Bush over the years; her stuff always struck me as too weird for my tastes. But this song slaps and deserves the attention it’s getting.
  2. Glen Phillips, “Held Up”: Sorta went through a Glen Phillips thing over the weekend, and this song especially spoke to me. Sung to me. Whatever.
  3. Bear Cub, “Hey B”: My brother used to play with this guy way back in the day (back when both of us had full heads of hair). He and his current singer, Kelly, did a cover of it about eight years ago. It’s quite good.
  4. Michael Penn, “No Myth”: Man, does this guy know how to write a bad song? No, no he does not.
  5. The Mountain Goats, “Wage Wars Get Rich Die Handsome”: Speaking of great songs, this one’s title tells you everything you need to know about it and then some.
  6. Paul McCartney, “Beautiful Night”: I rather liked McCartney’s Flaming Pie album, with its Beatles allusions and smooth early aughts production values and him obviously playing most every single instrument on the thing. Plus, it frequently featured Steve Miller (Mr. Space Cowboy himself), who is coincidentally still alive and still touring, God bless ‘im.
  7. Rhett Miller, “Terrible Vision”: I dig the Old 97s, and actually found them through the backdoor of lead singer Rhett Miller’s first solo album, The Instigator. This is the closer from that album, and it’s beautiful and flawed and wonderful.
  8. Jars of Clay, “Frail”: The re-recorded version of this song from the Furthermore collection. Their second album left me rather underwhelmed, compared with their debut and their third album, If I Left the Zoo.
  9. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, “Hope The High Road”: I don’t think anyone else out there writes songs like this right now, and that’s a shame. Isbell is great at the hopeful, rocking anthem, and we could use more of those in these dark days.
  10. Toad the Wet Sprocket, “Enough”: Sounds like a classic Toad song with modern production, which is exactly what new Toad the Wet Sprocket albums should sound like.

Playlist #66

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Happy Monday and welcome to August, everyone! As always, you can back me on Patreon, and there’s still that GoFundMe for my wife. We’re woefully underfunded for the month of August, so any little bit helps.

  1. Simply Three, “Dance Monkey”: The podiatrist my wife goes to always has some interesting music playing in the waiting room. This was playing there last week, and I kinda dig it.
  2. Jackson Browne, “Jamaica Say You Will”: Jackson Browne is just hands down one of the best songwriters of the 20th century, and this song – which opens up his self-titled album – is a good example of his songcraft.
  3. Aerosmith, “Big Ten Inch Record”: Aerosmith are the masters of what Nanny Ogg would call “single-intenders.” They’re not quite double entendres, because there is no subtlety to them whatsoever. But my, are they fun.
  4. The Wallflowers, “I’ll Let You Down (But Will Not Give You Up)”: Oh, Jakob. You know what a Wallflowers song sounds like, and you hit so close on most of this album. Letting Rami Jaffe go was a mistake, though.
  5. Toad the Wet Sprocket, “I’ll Bet On You”: The chord changes and melody for this song are based on a Lapdog song (made up of half of the band while Toad was on hiatus back in the early oughts), but then Glen Phillips came in and said, “Hey, this sounds great, but you know what would sound greater? If I wrote new lyrics for it and sang on this one instead of one of you other yokels.” And then they did that.
  6. Three Dog Night, “Shambala”: Shambala is a mythical place, rather like El Dorado or that Tibetan monastery where the Iron Fist trained. It’s also a pretty good song.
  7. Billy Bragg & Wilco, “When The Roses Bloom Again”: Yeah, the third volume of Mermaid Avenue was a collection of diminishing returns, but even in among all the fair-to-middling stuff on there, you find the occasional gem such as this one. It’s a gorgeous song and Jeff Tweedy’s vocals are perfect.
  8. Radiohead, “Ill Wind”: It’s an ill wind blows no man good, or something like that. Hey, I wrote a book with a title very similar!
  9. The Regular Joes, “Restless”: Found an email from my uncle the other day that he wrote back when I first moved out to Virginia (some 17 years ago now). It has the chord changes for this song in there, ’cause I wanted to learn to play it on guitar. It’s a very simple song, chords-wise, so I’ll probably be playing it later today.
  10. The Allman Brothers Band, “Midnight Rider”: They are just determined not to let the midnight rider catch them. Nosiree, not those Allman boys.

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.

Playlist #26 – Spooooooky Tunes

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Happy Monday, folks! As you probably known, this coming Sunday is Halloween, so for this week’s playlist I’ve put together songs from (mostly) 90s horror and Halloweenish movie soundtracks! I mostly wanted an excuse to put Toad the Wet Sprocket’s cover of “Hey Bulldog” on a playlist.

  1. Toad the Wet Sprocket, “Hey Bulldog”: From the I Know What You Did Last Summer soundtrack. Who doesn’t love a good Beatles cover?
  2. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, “Red Right Hand”: From the Scream soundtrack. Who doesn’t love a song about the devil?
  3. D Generation, “Helpless”: From The Faculty soundtrack. This was the band Jesse Malin was in before he went solo. They’re very punk and snarly and sneering. It’s fun, but it’s not a Neil Young cover.
  4. Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble, “Willie the Wimp (And His Cadillac Coffin)”: From the From Dusk Till Dawn soundtrack. Vampires and Texas electric blues go together better than you’d think.
  5. Nine Inch Nails, “Dead Souls”: From The Crow soundtrack. Part of the impetus for this playlist was just a glut of fantastic 90s soundtracks. This one is more specific than it could’ve been, since I could have added stuff from Empire Records, or Reality Bites, or any other seminal Gen-X soundtrack.
  6. Stabbing Westward, “Torn Apart”: From the Spawn soundtrack. Y’know what’s super-nineties? Spawn. Like, the comic, the movie, the whole thing. So 90s.
  7. Danny Elfman, “What’s This?”: From The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack. It’s classic Danny Elfman from a movie that, I’m ashamed to admit, I’ve never actually seen.
  8. Roger Daltrey, “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”: From The Lost Boys soundtrack. Now, this one is a bit of a cheat, since The Lost Boys came out in 1987, but it’s Roger Daltrey and it’s my playlist, so deal with it.
  9. The Wallflowers, “Heroes”: From the Godzilla soundtrack. Soundtracks in the 90s were often an opportunity for a band to play cover songs. This isn’t the best David Bowie cover out there, but it is pretty solid.
  10. Heather Nova, “I Have The Touch”: From The Craft soundtrack. Who doesn’t love a Peter Gabriel cover? No one, that’s who.

Playlist #4

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The end of the school year is fast approaching. Here’s some songs to ride out this week:

1. The Pixies, “Where Is My Mind”: The Wife loves the Pixies. I’m pretty okay with them most of the time.

2. Toad the Wet Sprocket, “Inside”: Most ridiculous name for a band ever? It’s definitely in the top ten. Awesome song? Also definitely.

3. 2Pac, “Keep Ya Head Up”: Uplifting rap about respect for women. A good ‘un.

4. XTC, “Stupidly Happy”: It’s a goofy song that I just love to pieces.

5. William Elliott Whitmore, “Diggin’ My Grave”: This guy does more with a banjo and a stomp box than most bands do with a full ensemble. He also sounds like he’s had a few packs of cigarettes too many.

6. Traffic, “The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys”: If there’s a stinker on the list this week, it’s probably this song. It’s too long and pretty repetitive. The only reason I put it on is because I read that one of the Mussel Shoals Rhythm Section (who play on the album this is from) passed away this weekend.

7. Tom Waits,”Sixteen Shells from a Thirty-Ought Six”: If there’s a more sinister line than “I’m gonna whittle you into kindlin’,” I don’t think I’ve heard it.

8. Tom Lehrer, “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park”: First heard it many years ago on the Dr. Demento Show, and the tune holds up. Can’t help giggling every time I get to the line, “And maybe we’ll do in a squirrel or two.”

9. Tennessee Ernie Ford, “Sixteen Tons”: Sure, it’s predominantly about how awful the blue collar worker’s life is, but there’s also that verse about how you shouldn’t mess with him because he’ll kill you. And that’s pretty baller.

10. Filter, “Take a Picture”: For about two months during my freshman year of college, I was completely obsessed with this song. I even bought the CD that it was on (this is what we had to do back before you could just download whatever songs you wanted onto your phone, back in the distant 1990s). It was…not at all like the rest of the album.