Winter/Spring iPod shuffle: I find doing these relaxing

“Look What They’ve Done To My Song” – Miley Cyrus. Every song in “The Backyard Sessions” has a purity of emotion and expression that GETS to me.

“Jordon River” – The Raunch Hands. In my parents’ record collection. We were OBSESSED with it, knew every word, sang along lustily. They only came out with 1, maybe 2, albums. Some years ago, Mum transferred the album to CDs for all of us. Best gift ever. My brother Brendan’s gorgeous essay about the Raunch Hands is here.

“The One in the Middle” – Sarah Jones. This is a feisty pissed-off song. “The one in the middle” refers to the middle finger – as opposed to the ring finger. “Now I’m givin you the one in the middle…” I love country music.

“Happiness is a Warm Gun” – The Breeders covering The Beatles? Is this heaven?

“The Wild One” – Link Wray. So heavy.

“Stray Cat Strut” – The Stray Cats. It wasn’t until much later that I learned more about Brian Setzer – they may have seemed like a gimmick. But they were part of the rockabilly subculture, which – improbably – broke through into the mainstream when I was a teenager. Girls were wearing poodle skirts at my school, to give an example. They were a gateway for me into rockabilly. Setzer taught me a lot. I’ll follow him anywhere.

“If It Ain’t Easy” – Steve Carlson. I love his voice!

“Wonderboy” – Tenacious D. The song is such an epic. Ridiculous, and in the sweet spot for me, comedically. “With nothin’ but a motherfuckin’ MIND BULLET.”

“Feeling Good” – Michael Buble. He kicks it here. Not ashamed to say it.

“Monsoon” – Robbie Williams. Boy does the man know how to write a pop anthem.

“Hitchin’ A Ride” – Green Day. From International Superhits. Meaning, pre-American Idiot. But this is great, one of my favorites off of Superhits. Harsh huge sound.

“I Was There (And I’m Told I Had a Good Time)” – The Monkees. From their new album, and just saying “The Monkees’ new album” makes me happy. This is fantastic. The title alone …

“About a Girl” – Nirvana. There’s something about them that makes the hair on my neck stand up.

“Sweet Jane” – Metallica and Lou Reed. When this happened I couldn’t even believe it. It seemed too good to be true. Also it’s wild to hear Metallica play (relatively) slow.

“Can’t Find My Way Home” – Nathan East (featuring Eric Clapton). This is an absolute dream. Nathan East is the most in-demand studio musician working today. His credits are miles long. He’s a genius. I met him at the Albuquerque Music and Film Experience, where he was the featured guest (my film screened at the fest). Incredible man and artist.

“If Drinking Don’t Kill Me Her Memory Will” – George Jones. This is a pitiful story, George!

“That’s How Strong My Love Is” – The Rolling Stones. Who can quantify or describe “personality” and how it travels or translates? I try. Mick has it. Keith has it. They all have it.

“Wearin’ That Loved On Look” – Elvis Presley. So sexy. Grown-up sexy, not adolescent sexy. A man who knows there’s been some carryin’ on.

“As Long As I Have You” – Pat McCurdy. An old friend, although we never see each other. In 2017, we talked about Elvis.

“My Babe” – Dale Hawkins. His stuff roils with wild sex. It’s off the rails. The guitar solo. The tight drums in the background. The guttural bassline. Keeping us in track. But the ENERGY. The energy is completely wild.

“One Night” – Elvis, his absolutely ferocious performance during the “sit-down” section of the 1968 comeback special. He had done the song 10 years before. But he was just a kid then. He’s a MAN now and this version shows that. At one point, women in the audience start screaming. And not just from lust. But from fear. I cannot begin to imagine what it must have been like to watch that performance up close.

“Kyrie Eleison” – Nóirín Ní Riain and the Monks of Glenstal Abbey. I love penduluming wildly between the secular and the divine.

“The Alcohol of Fame” – Jerry Lee Lewis, in his country-star-ascendant phase (a phase I love).

“A Long Hard Time’s to Come” – Gangstagrass. The Justified theme song. Ahhhh.

“Bye Bye Bye” – Jellyfish. They are a very time-and-place band for me. Chicago. 90s. I had this on cassette tape, and was completely unaware that there were other albums. I have since tracked them down. I love everything they did. My love is uncomplicated. These are bouncy beautiful ELO-ish pop songs, with beautiful harmonies and chord changes.

“Puttin’ on the Ritz” – Robbie Williams. I love him so much. Send help.

“Johnny Get Angry” – Joanie Simmons. Oh boy. Joanie, Twitter’s gonna drag you for this one.

“No Particular Place to Go” – Chuck Berry. The man was a genius lyricist. Among other things. But the pictures he paints, the narratives, the characters, the plot twists even (“Memphis, Tennessee”), the rhymes he pulls out … just brilliant with the English language and American vernacular.

“Ain’t That Peculiar” – Marvin Gaye. It is impossible to listen to this and not start dancing around.

“From Home” – The Troggs. So fucking good. Have they had a better Poet Laureate than Lester Bangs? Has any band?

“Everybody Loves Somebody” – Dean Martin. You can hear him smiling when he sings. It’s so relaxing. You don’t have to do anything. He’s got this. And he loves doing it.

“Gone, Gone, Gone” – The Everly Brothers. Their harmonies are so tight that sometimes it seems like it’s perfect mostly for ballads, for delicious crooning. But they were wider than that, versatile, their harmonies remained tight no matter the tempo (part of the thrill). Like this. It’s wild.

“May Queen” – Liz Phair. From Whip-Smart. I love the build on this one. It’s so exciting when the chorus kicks in. I love her. She wasn’t a “role model.” She was my peer, telling it like it was. I already was LIVING my “exile in guyville” life when her album came out. Something had been loosened from the 80s, something else was rising up … not that I would have put it that way. But that whole 90s-grunge-riot-grrrl thing hit right at the perfect moment. I was in the zeitgeist, for the first and last time.

“Revolution” – Jim Sturgess, from Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe. You know. In certain circles, carrying around a picture of Chairman Mao very WELL might get you laid. Not circles I’d want anything to do with, but you do you.

“Eight Days a Week” – The Beatles. That fade-in opening … how do they even decide to do something like that?

“Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” – Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. Glorious. I don’t care who you are, if you have covered this song I want to know about it.

“Rockin’ Years” – Dolly Parton and Ricky Van Shelton. Thank God another woman showed up. This has been pretty much a sausage party thus far. Not that there’s anything WRONG with it. There’s nothing like a man and a woman harmonizing in a beautiful romantic country song.

“I Wanna Be Loved” – Ricky Nelson. I’m not sure what his reputation is, what has filtered down. Teen idol? Squeaky-clean 1950s teen idol? This is pure sex, though. I can’t imagine being a 15 year old girl listening to this back in the day. I would have lost my ever-loving mind.

“Search Me Lord” – Little Richard. His gospel stuff is transcendent. Almost creepily so. It’s like he’s got a direct line to some other level of consciousness.

“Armpit No. 6” – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. He is out of his damn mind and I love him so much. This song is insane. He’s got his nose in someone’s armpit, taking gigantic sniffs and then shivering in ecstasy. He’s got so many different personae he can’t restrain any of them. He giggles, moans, groans, snorts …

“Caledonia Mission” – The Band. There’s an ache in their music. It makes me nostalgic for something, but I don’t know what it is. I feel like Griel Marcus’ chapter on them in Mystery Train is definitive, and I have nothing to add.

“Don’t Tread On Me” – Metallica. Epic macho-ness, somehow not a cartoon of it but an actual representation of it. An icy wave of it. Stomping, militaristic, pissed. “TO PREPARE FOR WAR … SO BE IT … SETTLE THE SCOOOOORE …” You tell ’em boys.

“Paddy’s Lament” – Sinéad O’Connor. From Sean-Nos Nua, an album I love. I will stick with her. Fan for life.

“Say Goodbye Hollywood” – Eminem. Off of The Eminem Show, an album which took over my life and what felt like my whole family’s life (I remember being at a huge family wedding, sitting at a table with a bunch of cousins. Were we discussing the happy nuptials, the food, the beautiful venue? No. We were discussing The Eminem Show.) It was a wild time. Followed quickly by 8 Mile. Dominance.

“Waiting for my Real Life to Begin” – Colin Hay. I know the feeling, Colin.

“Nil Desperandum” – The Monks of Glenstal Abbey. It’s … spoken word, I guess you’d say? I love these monks. One of their songs/prayers come up, and it’s like my blood pressure stabilizes. Accepting and open to whatever they’re sharing.

“Friends” – The Beach Boys. It’s so sweet. It’s sincere. Disarmingly sincere.

“When You Laugh the World Laughs With You” – Tracy Bonham. I love her. I have loved her ever since I walked into the Virgin Records on … Diversey, I think it was … in Chicago, and heard this woman SCREAMING on the speakers. The hair on the back of my neck rose. Who is that?? I asked an employee and he told me it was Tracy Bonham’s “Mother Mother.” Which reached the air riiiiiight before female anger vanished, with the rise of the sexed-up teenage Lolitas. She’s been around ever since. She’s not really prolific, but she plays out all the time. She’s an amazing songwriter/singer. I was so psyched to see her song “Devil’s Got Your Boyfriend” featured in Dirty John. Suddenly Tracy Bonham was everywhere. It made me happy.

“Bruise Violet” – Babes in Toyland. Talk about pissed off women. YES.

“I’m So Blue – Katie Thompson. Female sadness to counteract the rage.

“Walking On Sunshine” – Katrina & The Waves. And now for some female JOY.

“Maybe” – Garth Brooks. As Chris Gaines. Oh my God, who remembers Chris Gaines? Did that really happen??

“Funny How Time Slips Away” – Jerry Lee Lewis, from the beautifully bitchy-titled Country Songs for City Folks. I love this song so much. Everyone covered it. It’s a great monologue. Here, Jerry Lee Lewis takes a country song and basically makes it a blues song. He slows it way way down. Love it. It’s sexy.

“I Want to Hold Your Hand” – The Beatles. The hand-claps … thrilling.

“Wanted Dead or Alive” – Bon Jovi. lol. jk. luv.

“Role Model” – Eminem. Slim Shady at his brattiest.

“Better Together” – Jack Johnson. I’m too cynical for this shit.

“You Can’t Make Love to Somebody” – Carl Perkins. Carl gets it.

“Gone Insane” – Lucius. A new-ish discovery of mine. I love them. Instantly recognizable sound.

“Haunted” – Evanescence. I love her voice.

“Thunder” – Prince. Finally. I was wondering where he was. Off Diamonds and Pearls. I love this one, I love the a capella opening, and then where it goes. It gets NUTS. I’m in denial that he’s gone. Still feel a pang when he comes up. Somehow I’m still not “getting it.”

“Rings of Gold” – Waylon Jennings and Anita Carter. I love his voice in combination with another’s. I love his voice, in general, but there’s something so beautiful about him harmonizing, blending, with another strong voice.

“She’s In Love With the Boy” – Trisha Yearwood. The “narrative” of this song is effective, I won’t deny. But it’s this kind of nostalgic horseshit … beat-up Chevy, one-horse town, etc. – that sinks so much contemporary country. Also, how long do we give Katie and Tommy? At least Billy Joel admitted that Brenda and Eddie weren’t destined to last. See? Cynical. I prefer “realistic.”

“Movies of Myself” – Rufus Wainwright. This has a propulsive energy I really love. I treasure the memory of seeing him on Valentine’s Day at Town Hall in nYC, 2002. It’s almost impossible to describe to people who are not New Yorkers how traumatized we all still were from 9/11. It was in the air we breathed. It weighed us down. Rufus felt it. Nobody even had to speak it or name it. But he felt it in that room. At one point, he said, out of nowhere, to all of us, “It’s going to be okay.” I’ll never forget that.

“The Heart of the Matter” – Don Henley. It’s too much. I try to forgive. I do the best I can. I’m not perfect.

“It’s Sweet” – Liz Phair. I have nothing to say to the “Liz Phair sold out” people. I was a fan from the jump. I continue to be a fan. Whatever the hell she wants to do is a-okay with me, even a Bollywood-musical-inspired album (which she … did). I love the “sellout” album. To me, it just reiterates and underlines how amazing she is. If all she had ever done was Exile in Guyville, she’d be remembered. But that she then moved on and continued to work and create … even to come out with this perfect pop album … I think it’s genius.

“Tomorrow’s Gonna Be Another Day” – Pat McCurdy. Off of an album he put out for Katrina relief (if I recall correctly). I love it. It’s not on any of his other albums.

“The Beautiful People” – Marilyn Manson. Must be played as loud as possible, preferably as you drive to the beach down the Garden State Parkway, wind in your hair, iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts in the cup holder. Crank that shit up.

“Let Her Go, God Bless Her” – The Louvin Brothers. Man, I love these two maniacs. Perfect harmonies. Total lack of irony.

“Daydream Believer” – The Monkees. Why does it work so well? Why does it never get old? (Side note: one of the WORST parts of the Internet is the slow dawning horrified realization that you can no longer use rhetorical questions because boring people see a question mark and think: Oh! She’s really asking! I must help the damsel out with providing an answer! Y’all ruin everything.)

“Louisiana Land” – Ok Go. Hey, what have these guys been up to lately? I was super into them for a hot year or so. Still love them.

“Lewis Boogie” – Jerry Lee Lewis. From “Live at the Star Club, Hamburg”, one of the best concert recordings ever. The feeling in that room – onstage and off – is FEROCIOUS.

“Rockin Alone (In an Old Rockin Chair)” – Billie Joe Armstrong & Norah Jones, in their beautiful album of Everly Brothers covers. What a great idea. I love people who just do the shit they want to do. Who say “Hey, wouldn’t this be a great idea” and then just go out and do it.

“At Last” – Etta James. Definitive.

“That’s How Strong My Love Is” – The Rolling Stones. The band creates this solid container where Mick can go OFF where he needs to GO. I like how raw this is.

“Girl from the North Country” – Link Wray covering Dylan. It’s too much awesome for me.

“Kentucky Rain” – Elvis Presley ELVIS. I’VE MISSED YOU IN THIS SHUFFLE. This is a wonderful song for you to re-assert your kingly-ness.

“My Generation” – The Who. When I was a kid, the stuttering made me nervous. I wanted him to just come out with it.

“You’re All I Need to Get By” – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell. This is one of my favorite songs ever written. I have so many versions of it. I love how he backs her up during her sections … (“come on baby” and etc.) Beautiful collaboration between two singers.

“Spread Your Wings” – Queen. This is so emotional it feels like my heart will burst. I wrote a whole thing once about the damn music video. Here it is.

“Searching For the Truth” – Brian Keith Nutter. I love his voice. Great country song voice.

“Purple People Eater Meets the Witchdoctor” – Big Bopper. This is some super stupid shit. And yet I own it.

“Ya Had Me Goin” – Bleu. If you are not aware of this man, what are you waiting for? I went to go see him play during a dangerously suicidal month. I should have been hospitalized. He didn’t give me hope to carry on or anything but I do think that writing about seeing him at least got me through the next day. Then some dude left a comment saying, “I love your stuff but you need an editor.” I deleted and blocked his ass. Fuck you. You read the whole thing to the end though, didn’t you? So who wins? Me. Be mindful, people. You never know what others are going through.

“Saint Brigid’s Prayer” – Nóirín Ní Riain and the Monks of Glenstal Abbey. I am loving how much these monks are showing up in the shuffle.

“Steal Away” – Mike Viola. Covering the lite-rock classic. Friend and sometimes collaborator with Bleu. He’s amazing. One of my favorite singer-songwriters today. He wrote all the songs for That Thing You Do and then got stiffed on getting credit.

“Bad Things” – L7. These girls are so fucking tough. Heavy heavy heavy sound. Of all the “girl bands” in the riot grrrl era … L7 was my favorite.

“You Know Me” – Air Traffic Controller. I love them! I got into them because the aforementioned Bleu produced this album and promoted them heavily. They’re amazing.

“Black Velveteen” – Lenny Kravitz. I’ve been a fan since “Fields of Joy.” I wrote about this somewhere. I got so obsessed with this song it was basically a life raft. Not a good time. I still shiver when “Fields of Joy” comes up, remembering that time. But I’m still grateful for that song.

“Pontoon” – Little Big Town. One of my favorite current country & western bands. They’ve got an edge. And, of course, along with hip-hop artists, country & western songwriters have FUN with the English language. Puns, internal rhymes, connections, metaphors, analogies … they’re all over it. Thank God. Keep that shit inventive, it’s a great language.

“The Sweet” – Bleu. Bleu can do it all. Sometimes his songs are so bittersweet you wince. Sometimes he writes pop anthem dance tunes. He can sing anything.

“Los Ageless” – St. Vincent. She completely rules.