My New Life Music Shuffle

This has been going on for two months. It’s been a very busy and yet very strange time. Lots more driving than I normally did in my “old” life. Music has helped me stay grounded.

“I Can’t Stand the Rain” – Tina Turner. Stone-cold classic. That keyboard/xylophone accompaniment? Makes the song instantly recognizable from the first second. See the Tina doc. I reviewed for Ebert.

“Auntie Purple’s House” – Pat McCurdy. Talk about a stone-cold classic. A regular feature in Pat’s repertoire. (Pat and I are old OLD friends. We talked about Elvis once. I performed with him at Milwaukee Summer Fest: here I am backstage. I could write a novel surrounding this one moment. And then there’s this.)

“Happy Song” – Leftover Cuties. I am so happy I discovered them. I love everything they’ve done.

“I’m Looking Through You” – The Beatles. What an icy-hearted diss. “Love has a nasty habit of disappearing overnight …” When shit is over, it’s over for good!

“Ordinary Girl” – Mike Viola. He’s been a long-time fave of mine, both with his band The Candy Butchers and his solo work. An amazing songwriter.

“Rumble” – Link Wray. One of the reasons why it works so well is because of his genius. Think of the structure. It’s a handful of chords. It’s what he MAKES of them. It was just his birthday: here’s my yearly post of tribute.

“Please Don’t Stop Loving Me” – Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner. Their partnership is so iconic, so important. I love all the stuff they did together. I am hoping you all saw the Drunk History about this relationship:

“Well Did You Evah” – Debbie Harry and Iggy Pop, covering Cole Porter. YES. Off the goldmine album Red Hot + Blue, a compilation of artists covering Cole Porter, all proceeds to AIDS research. I’ve owned this album on cassette tape, on CD, and now digital. It’s such a good album!

“Flying Blind” – Pat McCurdy. This is off his latest album, recorded during the pandemic: Now Is Not the Time for Sad Songs. He’s been doing Facebook Live concerts every Friday night for the duration, from his home. One of the shows was basically a Hello Message to Yours Truly. He spoke about me for a second (lol), telling people who I was to him, and he also played what he knows is my favorite of his, “Paris When It Burns”. I mean, this dates from decades ago and he remembers. The past is complicated but I do find comfort in a continuum that is not broken, albeit forever changed. He remembers. I got a couple of texts from friends during the show: “Jesus, this is the Sheila Show.”

“Dum Dum” – Brenda Lee. THIS SWINGS.

“Renegades” – Eminem [feat. Royce da 5’9″] No, not the monster version Eminem and Jay-Z did – this is an earlier version, never released – for a variety of reasons, but of course it’s now leaked. The song has a complicated history, if you feel like digging into it. The version with Jay-Z is known as “when Eminem killed Jay on his own shit.” Sometimes I think stans are like “Eminem wins in every collab ever end of story” and … come on, calm down. But in that particular case, it’s true. Em obliterated Jay. But this is really interesting, particularly since the one with Jay-Z is so well-known.

“Milk Cow Blues” – Lucky Devils, off a crazy fun album called A Psychobilly Tribute to Elvis.

“When I Get You Alone” – Robin Thicke. I love him, it’s sexy and provocative.

“Chase Around the Windmill” – The Chieftains. The music I grew up surrounded by.

“Traveling Riverside Blues” – Robert Johnson. It’s haunting, pure, raw, and true.

“Medley: Jailhouse Rock / Don’t Be Cruel” – Elvis, live at The International Hotel, Las Vegas, NV – 8/23/69 Dinner Show. Been waiting for him to show up! This is off the extraordinary box-set-type release of all of his 1969 shows at the International, his first live performances in 9 years. He was on FIRE. He had no idea he would be locked down in Vegas for the next decade … Vegas gave him a lot, gave him a home, a place to spread his wings and lift off out of the ’60s … it became a trap, as so much else did, and does. But in the meantime, it’s so fun to hear these shows, to hear how much fun HE is having. Incomprehensible that he would be dead in less than a decade.

“Oh Susannah” – James Taylor, off Sweet Baby James. Hearing this it is so hard to believe the difference between this and his performance in Two-Lane Blacktop (the same year, I think). I just wrote about Monte Hellman (RIP) for Film Comment (click through past the pop-up). Now I love James Taylor, I grew up with him, I’ve seen him many times in concert. But in my opinion, who he is in Two-Lane Blacktop is closer to the essence of Taylor, his chilliness, his remote-ness, his … anger? I think his folk-singer thing is true, too, but … not AS true as what we see in Two-Lane Blacktop. Two-Lane Blacktop is less socially acceptable, less ingratiating, rough edges, self-possession to the point of not needing anyone else. It’s a fascinating dichotomy.

“Intruders” – Jessie Reyez. I’m a HUGE FAN and you should get this album. Wrote about her here.

“Road to Shamballa” – Three Dog Night. I love them. Classic.

“Turn It Off” – cast of Book of Mormon. I can’t believe Broadway is ‘coming back’ but it is. It fills my heart. I also can’t believe that this show even exists.

“Dyers Eve” – Metallica. It’s so fucking HEAVY and FAST.

“She Know How” – The Box Tops. Soooo groovy. And what one might call sex-positive. Horniness, thirst, pleasure. Let’s hear it for pleasure.

“Like Everyone She Knows” – James Taylor. See above comments about Two-Lane Blacktop. This feels disloyal but I like Two-Lane Blacktop JT better. This is what life has done to me. lol No more illusions.

“East Jesus Nowhere” – Green Day, off 21st Century Breakdown. My fave track on the album.

“I Don’t Care if the Sun Don’t Shine” – Elvis, January 22, 1955 – on the Louisiana Hayride. Not my favorite Elvis song. But you can hear in these rough Louisiana Hayride recordings the sheer MAYHEM he caused at these shows. By this point, early 1955, he was already “too big” for the show.

“Parasite” – Nick Drake. Allison introduced me to Nick Drake early on in our friendship. I always think of her when I hear his songs. We would lie on her bed in her apartment, and just listen to the album, floating around in our own thoughts.

“I’m Going Bananas” – Madonna. From I’m Breathless, the Dick-Tracy album which – in my opinion – is peak Madonna. Her best album. Fightin’ words, maybe.

“Tomorrow” – Andrea McArdle. My reaction to Annie, when I was 10 years old, was so intense that I still instinctively shy away from this music. It was near-madness. I love my younger self, though, for loving things as much as I did. It meant for a very tough road ahead. My first Broadway show! Sarah Jessica Parker was playing Annie!

“Let It Will Be” – Madonna. Okay, I lied above. I loved Confessions on a Dance Floor too!

“Baby What You Want Me To Do” – Elvis, live at International Hotel, 8/24/69 Dinner Show. A song Elvis loved and never got sick of. It was a go-to for him. He could keep going all night and never “get sick” of the song.

“You Like Me Too Much” – The Beatles. From Help! If you listen to the lyrics, the song sounds overtly threatening.

“Sticks and Stones” – The Pierces. I tripped over this track one day, can’t remember how, but I really dig it. Should look deeper into their stuff.

“Killer” – Eminem off Music to be Murdered By, Side B, the one that “just” came out, his second album of 2020. I like Side B better than the first one – it’s got some songs with killer BEATS (not usually Eminem’s thing). This is one of my favorites off the album (and he just released a remix, with a whole new verse, and guest spots by Jack Harlow and Cordae). I can almost recite it word for word. I love the dumb immature joke of:

Call her Cinderella. (Why?)
She loves balls.

So dumb. But it makes me laugh. Oooh, what a sick BURN, Marshall.

“Don’t Blame Me” – The Everly Brothers. Perfect harmonies. You just swoon into them.

“Fools Rush In” – Elvis. It’s…. toothless.

“Fuck and Run” – Liz Phair. The anthem of my 20s. And clearly many people in their 20s. She was our avatar. Her observations are so CUTTING, and honest. The title makes it sound like it’s going to be some “whoo hoo for sexual freedom and female sexual liberation!” but the lyrics tell a different story. She doesn’t feel ashamed about fucking and running – it’s how she’s lived since she “was twelve” – but she does feel regret and loneliness in this kind of activity. This kind of thing is no longer really allowed. Phair does not portray herself as a victim of the man in these hookup scenarios. This is not Cat Person. She’s just … aware of the emptiness of it. The chorus goes: “What ever happened to a boyfriend? The kind of guy who tries to win you over?” OUCH. “I want a boyfriend. I want a boyfriend. I want all that stupid old shit like letters and sodas.” This is SUCH a Gen-X line. (In the original version of the song, much longer, included on the Girly-Sounds tapes … the song flips, so it’s from the guy’s POV and he too says “I want a girlfriend. I want a girlfriend.” I understand why this part was eventually cut, but I like the egalitarian equal-opportunity-loneliness-yearning that this expresses.) The bridge happens twice, in the first she says: “I can feel it in my bones. I’m gonna spend another year alone.” The second and last time, she says: “I can feel it in my bones. I’m gonna spend my whole life alone.” This kind of honesty is what grabbed me by the throat when this album first came out.

“Black Tears” – Tracy Bonham. God, I love her. This is her fifth studio album. I’ve told the story before about how I discovered her. Well, along with everyone else discovering her at the same minute. I was in the Virgin Records on … Diversey in Chicago? I think it was Diversey. And over the speakers came this SHRIEKING voice, absolutely vibrating with white-hot rage, “I’m losing my mind, everything’s fine…” only it was “EEEVERYTHING’S FIIIIIIINE”. It went through me like a lightning bolt so I walked directly over to an employee and asked, “Who is that singing right now?” “Tracy Bonham.” I went straight to the bin, pulled out the cassette, bought it, and became a fan for life. That whole first album is great. “Mother Mother” is clearly the “keeper”, but every song is good. I’ve followed her ever since.

“House of the Rising Sun” – Hole. A live version. It’s insane. Courtney Love is howling to the moon in a raspy voice from the depths of hell. Seriously. It’s great. Primal. Feral.

“The Hills (remix)” – The Weeknd (ft. Eminem). This is kind of crazy: “The Hills” (the original) was a massive hit for The Weeknd. You heard it out of car windows. You heard it everywhere. It’s associated with him. The lyrics are personal. It’s his. So then comes this remix, with Eminem featured on it. Featured heavily. What is extraordinary about this, outside of Eminem’s storytelling (in high gear here – this is one of his best relationship songs) – is how Eminem fits himself into an already-established song. This is something that he doesn’t get enough credit for, what he does in his “features”: he doesn’t just blaze on and do his crazy thing, showing up the competition. I mean, sometimes he does (see: his guest spot on Yelawolf’s “Best Friend”, generally agreed to be one of Eminem’s best features ever) – so there’s definitely a pounding-the-chest thing that happens on features. It’s the fun part of hip-hop. Debates rage over who has the best verse, etc. It’s fun. What Eminem does – and this is a prime example – is tailor his verse, and also his subject matter, to what is already there. It’s The Weeknd’s song, not his – and so Eminem doesn’t just go off on random stuff, showing off his abilities. He has thought hard about what to say and how to say it so that it fits in with this already-established song. This is true with the subject matter as well, AND the seamless way he leads his verses into the chorus (he is SO good at that). The Weeknd sings that he only calls her when it’s half past five, he only calls her when he’s fucked up – it’s a booty call. And so Eminem takes that and runs with it. Eminem has a lot of songs about relationships, where he reveals all – including his own neuroses and jealousy and what a nightmare he is – and this is one of his best. You just get the whole damn story. And there’s an arc to it too: Here is who we are as a couple, here are my feelings about it, and here is me saying Fuck this, I don’t want this anymore.

“Music to My Eyes” – Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, from A Star is Born. A friend and I were just discussing this film and how much we loved it. We decided we want to watch it together so we need to get right on that.

“Trouble’s Coming”- Royal Blood. Now…how did I hear about them? It doesn’t matter. I love it. It’s loud and tough and rousing. It’s rock, but … pop …with …metal-ish influences – also disco. I love his voice too.

“Band on the Run” – Foo Fighters. Beth and I were just talking about them – as well as Wings – the other day. The similarities in re: Dave Grohl’s improbable journey … which seems inevitable now but back then as it started happening it felt like a miracle, like …who could SURVIVE Nirvana and build something else? So of course they would cover this song.

“Puncha Nazi” – Doll Skin. These girls are tough as shit. The real deal. They’re a new discovery for me – they came up as recommendations in comments sections throughout YouTube as a real alternative to the fakey-fake Tramp Stamps (here’s a primer: it’s been a very interesting debacle.) The mockery was INTENSE but many people were like, “Yes. These girls are totally fake. But they’re getting so much press right now, whereas bands like Doll Skin – who are REALLY doing what those girls are faking doing – aren’t getting any press.” I got curious enough, liked what I heard, and bought a couple tracks. I like what they’re about.

“Sway” – Michael Bublé. I love his voice. I used to be apologetic about it. Fuck that noise.

“I Will Follow” – U2. My favorite U2 era. I’m not ready to make some kind of statement about their later stuff … because basically I stopped paying attention. Some of it felt a little bloated. But their early years? Untouchable.

“All Over Now” – Eric Hutchinson. I forgot about him! I love him! One of the many MANY awesome recommendations from my sister Siobhan. Great songwriter.

“Power of My Love” – Elvis Presley. It’s so sexual I’m almost embarrassed listening to it. Almost.

“Swimming” – Brendan Benson. Been a fan for years, ever since his song was in the very first commercial for the iPod, and it made me go, “WHO IS THAT.” I am so thankful he’s prolific. So much to discover.

“What a Man Gotta Do” – Jonas Brothers. I’m a total convert. Well, I didn’t have any feelings about them one way or another – I just didn’t pay attention to them and that is MY BAD. I have rectified this situation. I follow them all on Instagram. They’re fabulous and this is a real banger.

“Computer Blue” – Prince. “Wendy?” “Yes, Lisa.” “Is the water warm enough?” “Yes, Lisa.” “Shall we begin?” “Yes, Lisa.” SOOOOOO HOT.

“Chemical Love” – Johnny Cummings. This is a jam. His voice is gorgeous.

“Crazy Little Thing Called Love” – Queen. How many times have I heard this? 1000s of times? It’s never not fun, I never “skip” it. It’s just perfect. I love the Elvis flourishes Freddie does with his voice, paying tribute to this Elvis-influenced song.

“Big Wheel” – Tori Amos. I love Tori. I’ve been “in” from the start, even though I have found a lot of her recent stuff very repetitive, especially the ballads. “Big Wheel” though? It’s one of her best songs, period.

“Majesty” – Nicki Minaj [feat. Eminem]. I love their pairings (and I love them separately, too). There’s a whimsical quality to this – almost a doo-wop sound initially. Eminem comes on and tells a story of a relationship that’s classic Marshall: he’s cheating on his “wifey”, he goes over to this woman’s “condo” and they get it on, and so it’s fucked up but all is going fine until she makes the mistake of saying “All that old school hip-hop is so fucked.” Oh no no NO, missie, you said the WRONG thing. This gives him an opportunity to go OFF on ignorant opinions on hip-hop as well as declare his dominance. But it’s all put together so cleverly – and then, like I said above, he loops in his stuff to the subject set by Nicki Minaj – it’s HER song, not hers – so he brings it back with a little “monarch” scheme (connecting to the title):

Two things shouldn’t be your themes of discussion
The queen and her husband
Last thing you’re gonna wanna be is our subjects, yeah

“Moratorium” – Alanis Morissette. “I declare a respite from the toils of liaison.” Oh, Alanis.

“Spun” – Babes in Toyland. This is so fucking HEAVY. Eerie. Ominous. Threatening. Love them so much.

“Milk It” – Nirvana, live in Seattle. I will always regret never seeing them live.

“Suspension Without Suspense” – No Doubt. Who could have predicted Gwen Stefani would still be around so many years later? I’m glad she is! I was a big No Doubt fan. As a matter of fact, I listened to them too much back in the day – like, over and over (Tragic Kingdom, especially – and so … I kind of got it out of my system. I never listen to them now, outside of these shuffles. It’s always good to hear from them though.

“Only You” – Little Richard. Taking the lullaby-sweetness of The Platters’ 1954 version and turning it into a soul-slash-big-band groovy tune a decade later. His falsetto is crazy.

“Tuttie Frutti” – MC5. This is why Shuffle rules. MC5’s jamming cover of Little Richard’s monster-hit. Showing how far this shit travels. That’s what music and art is all about. TRAVELING. Across time and space, communicating between eras, leaving connecting threads that anyone can pick up. It’s hard to believe that anyone actually WROTE “A-Wop-Bop-A-Loo-Bop-A-Lop-Bam-Boom …” Someone thought that up? It feels like it’s always been there, inherent in the music, in us … it just took Little Richard to actually put it down.

“Turn Me On” – Nina Simone. The loneliness in her voice … the blunt honesty of her expression … and how the song builds … it’s so intense.

“Chimes of Freedom” – Bob Dylan. The chimes of midnight. The images … of darkness penetrated by flashes of light … the darkness lessening, the mist rising … the light coming into the darkness … not so much in a hopeful way but as a way to reveal the reality of what’s out there … it’s all very potent. “And for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe …”

“I’m Moving On” – The Rolling Stones covering Hank Snow. Live. It’s mayhem.

“Job of Journeywork” – The Chieftains. Magical and peaceful.

“Night and Day” – Doris Day. Her voice is creamy perfection. Every choice she makes, every note she elongates, every pause, every vowel – her vowels! … is perfectly considered. Her version of “Night and Day” is so slow, soooo sloooowwwww, and she feels no hurry. LISTEN TO HER. She is in total charge of this track.

“Angie Baby” – Helen Reddy. This has to be one of the strangest #1 hits in history. LISTEN to the story. I love story-songs and I love her voice so much.

“Bluejean Bob” – Gene Vincent. This was the title song off his debut album. 1956. The Elvis-explosion happened that same year but it had already filtered down to such a depth the impact can be felt. Carl Perkins, too – maybe even more so Carl Perkins (Vincent’s voice sounds a lot like Perkins’). There’s a great energy to this but you can already tell – even from the title – that the whole thing became “meta” almost immediately. That’s one of the most fascinating aspects of that era.

“Let’s Burn Down the Cornfield” – Randy Newman. Let’s hear it for Ry Cooder. This song of arson and sex is frightening. Just was looking around on the Internet and found out that this is one of Dylan’s favorite songs.

“St. James Infirmary Blues” – Tom Jones and Rhiannon Giddens. I snagged this off of YouTube because it is so fantastic and I need to have it in my library. This is such a great pairing. I wish there was more of it.

“Choo Choo Train” – The Box Tops. They’re so fucking GROOVY.

“Girls Just Want to Have Fun” – Cory Monteith (RIP) on Glee, a slowed down sad and melancholy rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s anthemic original. (Here’s an interesting article on the fallout from that release.

“Rag and Bone” – The White Stripes. I was so damn into this album. I couldn’t get enough of it.

“I Need” – L7. These girls are so MACHO. They SPEAK to me. Their sound is so so heavy.

“Love Field” – Elvis Costello. Haunting. That chord progression goes right through you. Sexy lyrics.

“On My Knees” – Charlie Rich. Early Charlie Rich, from his Sun days. His voice is so smooth and THICK.

“I Know There’s An Answer” – The Beach Boys. Longing distilled. That’s what they sound like to me.

“Divorce Song” – Liz Phair, from the “Girly-Sound Tapes”. Exile in Guyville is raw as it is. The “tapes” are even more raw. It’s PURE. So stripped-down it kind of pins you in one spot. It’s just a woman, her guitar, singing these songs that would ROAR into the world eventually … creating a ripple effect still felt today. It’s wild to listen to these tapes.

“Oh No Not Susan” – ELO. Jeff says “fucking”!

“Flower On My Grave” – The Revenants. I love this band. Some of this reminds me of Pat McCurdy. It sounds like a traditional folk song, but with a twist to it.

“Up n’ Down” – Britney Spears. All her songs sound the same. Listen, if it ain’t broke …

“Hellbound” – The Breeders. Off the debut album. It’s so … gnarly. Rough. Filled with feeling, aggression. I remember this album. 1990. A time of great change. Exciting. It’s still exciting to listen to.

“Satisfied” – Martha Carson. I’m such a weirdo and I’m happy about it. You literally want to clap along with it.

“Rock & Roll High School” – The Ramones. From Martha Carson to The Ramones. lol

“A Mess of Blues” – Elvis Presley. For me, this is peak Elvis. That whole album really (Elvis is Back, released when he came out of the Army.) This is one of his best bluesy tracks. It’s easy to get swept away by him, by his ease, and just be entertained by him. But it’s fun to actually listen to what he’s doing, the choices he makes – “Look there goes a tear drop-UH” – the “UH” making it primal – and the shivery thing he does with his voice on “I gotta get myself together” … it’s sexy as hell. How did he do it? He was both conscious and unconscious – simultaneously. All great artists are. They just know what to do.

“Shake That Thing” – Gwyneth Paltrow. From Country Strong, a very entertaining movie which Ebert referred to as “one of the best movies of 1958.” lol. I’ve said this before: something happens to Paltrow when she sings. She’s sometimes freer singing than when she’s an actress. I’d love it if she’d take time off from Goop and put out an album. I’d buy it.

“Rockhouse” – Brian Setzer, covering Roy Orbison on his wonderful two-volume tribute to Sun Records artists, Rockabilly Riot.

“My Dark Side” – the Glee cast cover of Kelly Clarkson. I like the verses better than the chorus. The harmonies, chord progressions … they really grip your ear, and then it all dissipates in the chorus. But still, it’s a good song.

“Finders Keepers” – Elvis Presley. The mid-60s were a dark time for him. There’s nothing wrong with this song. It’s just that … it’s 1965, and the Beatles are taking over, and the Stones are taking over, and he – who inspired them all – is doing this. Like I said, there’s nothing wrong with this – it’s just in context that it’s irritating. Also, it’s off an album called Elvis for Everyone, a Colonel-inspired title if ever there was one.

“Soldier” – Eminem. Off The Eminem Show – and this is basically his explanation for how he got the reputation he did, after assaulting the bouncer who kissed his wife. One of the best tracks off the album. I know it by heart, and if it comes up when I’m driving, I chant along with him. Which is rather amusing considering the violent crazy lyrics. But still. Peak Eminem. Or, at least, peak Eminem at this particular period.

“Just Pretend” – Elvis. 70s Elvis. Gorgeous 70s Elvis. He gets to go really low in his register, something he loved to do – although he couldn’t go as low as he wanted to. He was a baritone, after all. He was in awe of JD Sumner’s extraordinary voice. But this is beautiful Elvis. Country-ish, but also power-ballad-ish, ushering in a new phase.

“Hey Brother, Pour the Wine” – Dean Martin. The DRAMA. The male chorus … they’re basically just saying “pour the wine” but it sounds like they’re marching to a battle. I love it. And him. Forever.

“God’s Gonna Cut You Down” – Johnny Cash. It’s terrifying. Sung like a sinner. He knows. He’s not messing around.

“Future Sex/Love Sound” – Justin Timberlake. If you were unaware of this song at the time of its release, then perhaps you walked around wearing ear plugs. Because it was everywhere. If you hated the song, you’d scream to the heavens, “STOP PLAYING THIS SONG.” Here’s a tip: if you’re at a sluggish uptight wedding, pop this on. People will flock to the dance floor and lose their shit.

“Get Your Shit Together” – Beth Hart. I’m always a little surprised that she isn’t bigger. Her voice … in our era where so many people sound alike – same style, same trills, same TONE even … her voice – and it’s a real INSTRUMENT – is unique, screaming out of the void of her pain and anger – it’s the kind of voice that can really TAKE the strength of her emotions. She’s got that rasp, that scary little vibrato, the screams – big range – and her songs are honest. Her life has not been easy and she writes about it. I love her. I discovered her years and years ago – i somehow tripped over one of her songs and then bought the album (on cassette tape!) and have followed her ever since. Phenomenal live performer too. Here she is performing the song. She’s wild, man. And FREE.

“Numb” – Rihanna [feat. Eminem] My sister and I went to see them on their short “Monster” tour. It was amazing. I love their collabs. She’s so …. chill. And he’s so …. NOT chill. It makes for an interesting energy. This song is kind of a drone of repetition, the whole thing is a lead up to Eminem. Eminem just goofs off in his verse. I like goofball Em.

“Diet Pill” – L7. Did I mention how MACHO their sound is? I wish this was the mainstream sound of women now. Again, their sound is so heavy, so METAL. Love it.

“Good Rockin’ Tonight” – Wanda Jackson. Off her wonderful album I Remember Elvis, where she covers all “his” songs. They dated way back in the day. This song, by Roy Brown, dated from 1947, and was covered by everyone. Link Wray’s version is my favorite – very different from Elvis’ – both have their fine points, but Link Wray taps into the danger of the song, the threat of what it would mean if everyone answered that call.

“You Don’t Have to Go” – Jerry Lee Lewis and Neil Young. YES. Off of Jerry Lee Lewis’ 2006 album of collaborations with legends, Last Man Standing. And … now that Little Richard and Lloyd Price have died … Jerry Lee Lewis really IS the “last man standing”. Love this album.

“Go Let It Out” – Oasis. I just never got into them. I like two of their songs, this being one of them. His voice is fantastic, you could pick it out of a lineup. The songs just lacked something for me. I know I’m in the minority. Sorry.

“Both Sides of the Line” – Jesse Dalton, off a fantastic album paying tribute to Wanda Jackson. I love albums like this, mainly because it introduces me to so many new artists. I love this guy. He sounds a lot like Carl Perkins. Great rockabilly guitar. Country-swing.

“Cool Love” – Wanda Jackson. Loving the Wanda Jackson cluster. “You’re acting like a square,” Wanda complains to her boyfriend. You tell ‘im, Wanda.

“Pine Me” – Kim Lenz. Recently I decided to check out current-day rockabilly, just to see what was going on. Who were the players? I came across Kim Lenz and fell in love.

“A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” – Bob Dylan, live, from The Rolling Thunder Revue. This was from the concert in Boston, November 1975. The energy in these shows emanate from the speakers. The sound of that band, the togetherness of it, the ease, but also the vital life-force – a track comes on from this particular tour, and you can clock it immediately. It’s just a very specific sound. I wrote about Martin Scorsese’s documentary Rolling Thunder Revue for Film Comment.

“Same Ol’ Story” – Cyndi Lauper. I love the disco-jam sound of this. And I love her tough-ness. “It’s the same ol’ fuckin’ story all around.” You said it, Cyndi.

“Little Sister” – Elvis Presley. Elvis is great, and sexy, and corrupt, but Hank Garland’s lead guitar is off the charts.

“Lonely Weekends” – Jerry Lee Lewis. I mean, I’m gonna be honest here, I love every single track he did. There’s no filler. It’s all just … him. Here, he speeds up Charlie Rich’s song, throws in the boogie-woogie piano, adds these hyper background singers, and it’s all just so HIM. Adore him. Last man standing. I will always ALWAYS regret never taking the chance to see him live.

“Chantilly Lace” – Big Bopper. “Ohhhhh bab-ee you KNOWWW what I LIKE.” RIP.

“Pop Life” – Prince. I kind of can’t believe how fortunate I was to “come up” in a time when he arrived, like a purple lightning bolt from the snowy north. It was an unbelievable experience. He was the music of high school/college, and of course beyond, but those years, boy … when he arrived and suddenly you couldn’t imagine your life without him. It felt like: Where have you BEEN all my life, THANK YOU for getting here just in time!

“The Sharpest Lives” – My Chemical Romance. I was too old, really, to get swept away by them in the same way “the kids” did, but I did like them! I saw them perform at the New Year’s Eve ball-dropping ceremony one year and … they really didn’t register “live” – like, at ALL – They had zero stage presence. But this album is really good! I can see why they were so huge.

“Reason or Rhyme” – The Bryan Ferry Orchestra, from the Babylon Berlin soundtrack. I was SO INTO Babylon Berlin. I wonder if the series will continue. I got very invested in those characters.

“Right For Me” – Eminem. Off Shady XV – he’s really on another level on this album. People who say nobody listens to Eminem first of all don’t look at his numbers, and also often what they mean when they say that is that his songs don’t play in the clubs. No shit. He never wrote “club” songs. He’s only got a couple of songs you can dance to. It was never his thing. People listen anyway. But … listen to this. WHAT THE FUCK.

If you listen to that, it sounds like … nothing. But what he’s really talking about is his pill addiction, and also how he’s still standing, despite all the naysayers, etc. You know, the usual for him. But … his imagery is just nuts. Like:

I’m tore up, demolished, a fuckin’ stone like Oliver
Like I looked Medusa in the eyeball to seduce her
The thoughts I produce are loony tunes
The box of usable latex gloves and the socks and the shoes
To replace next up Veronica’s boobs
And paycheck stubs that were stuffed in the glove box
In a blue Honda with used condoms were clues

CALM DOWN.

“I’m Gonna Walk Dem Golden Stairs” – Elvis, off one of his gospel albums. He put out so much gospel and I have a couple of favorites (although it’s all good). This is one of them. He does solemn holy-sounding hymns, reverent and solemn, and then he revs it up for a revival, like this one. At one point, you can hear him start clapping along, and it brings me to tears.

“Beautiful Woman” – Charlie Rich. Superstar. I love his early Sun Records stuff – it’s more raw – but I do love the smooth countrypolitan superstar Charlie Rich too. What a voice.

“So Much Better” – Mike Viola. This is a happy song but it makes my heart hurt. I’ve never had the experience of this song.

“Hound Dog” – Big Mama Thornton. Her voice cuts right through you like a chainsaw. She’s HAD it. And then the crazy feral howls at the end. So great.

“Hangin’ Around” – Eric Church. ERIC. Where have you BEEN. He’s such a bad bad boy. I mean, yes, I know, he’s married with kids … I’m just talking about as a songwriter. He’s very in touch with that let’s-raise-hell-and-get-naked part of himself.

Make me sweat, sweat
Breaking out a fever, I get cranky
Get so hot, hot
Damn hot, shake it like you shake, shake

Oh, yeah.

“Please Mr. Jailer” – Wynona Carr. I adore her. She only put out one, maybe two albums. She was primarily a gospel singer, on the gospel circuit (she shows up in Peter Guralnick’s bio of Sam Cooke), and then – inspired by Cooke’s example – she moved to secular music, and this is off her first (and only) secular album. There isn’t a bad track on that album. And her VOICE, that rough throaty knowing sound … fantastic. Her gospel stuff is great, too, although the production value isn’t sophisticated – some of the tracks sound like they were recorded in an echoey church … She died in obscurity. Praise Jesus, her “Baseball for Jesus” song played over the end credits for ’42 – I was so excited! Again, there isn’t much Wynona Carr out there, but – to quote Spencer Tracy – “what there is is cherce.”

“How I Roll” – Britney Spears. FREE BRITNEY. FREE HER NOW. Always been on her side. So proud of her for speaking her truth. This nonsense has got to END.

“Heavy Metal Heart” – Sky Ferreira. This album was on some Best Albums of the Year list, whatever year it was released, so I decided to check it out. It’s so good. I love her lyrics, her sound, her honesty, her disinterest in being ironed-out conventional pop – even though she totally could go that way. She’s darker than that. (I mean, the album cover is her in the shower, but … she looks smudged and miserable. A deconstruction of the norm. She’s smart.) I was so psyched when she showed up in one of the “roadhouse scenes” that closed out the Twin Peaks “revival” – she was the one who looked like shit and kept picking at her skin, her armpits, arms, everything.

“Born in the USA” – Bruce Springsteen. I will never ever ever NOT find it funny that dummy right-wingers think this is a xenophobic anthem. It’s been going on for decades. Clearly these dum-dums have only listened to four words in the song, and that’s “Born in the USA”. That’s it. That’s all they hear. It’s hilarious.

“Beautiful City ‘Cross the River” – Dave Alvin. “Now I’m in some trouble it’s kinda hard to explain …” lol

“Little Earthquakes” – Tori Amos. I guess I just have to acknowledge that I listened to this album too much when it first came out. I listened to it every single day for a year and a half. I just … I listened it OUT. I’ve written about this before: I read an interview with her Interview magazine, right before the album came out. I had just moved to Chicago, and saw in the Reader that she was playing the Park West so I bought a ticket and went. I’ll never forget that show. It was right before she became a star. I was living in a tiny studio on the lake shore, I had no furniture besides a mattress – just a mattress – not even a box spring, I was temping down in the Loop – I got a cat (Sammy!) – I was already fucking around with this guy – early stages, it would be three years before he started climbing through my windows – I had no money, I didn’t care, I was FREE, I was eating a lot of Cracklin’ Oat Bran – don’t ask me why I remember this – but every time I think of my first 4, 5 months in Chicago, I think of Tori Amos, that apartment, and Cracklin’ Oat Bran. Sensory memory. That’s how it works. So this album is a real time-machine for me.

“Rape Me” – Nirvana. Have a hard time picking a favorite Nirvana song, but this is definitely on that list. SAVAGE song.

“Shattered” – The Rolling Stones. Off Some Girls. It’s got that Some Girls sound. Like … the party is still in high-gear and the city is just one big decadent playground but … it’s starting to get a little old. The excess is starting to be a little … boring, maybe? I love this album.

“Ain’t No Man” – Angaleena Presley. (No relation.) I adore her. She’s part of The Pistol Annies (whom I love), but she’s got an interesting solo career too.

“Grigio Girls” – Lady Gaga. I love this album. I remember reading some “what the hell is she doing” comments about it. I love it. If she didn’t grow and change as an artist, and kept doing the same thing, she’d have been a flash in the pan. She’s growing up. She’s got a LOT of music in her. She clearly loves music, all music, all kinds. She became famous with a certain kind, and she keeps experimenting. She’s got the voice. Good for her.

“Seek & Destroy” – Metallica. Listening to this you can see why head-banging exists. There’s really no other way to respond.

“Kentucky Woman” – Deep Purple. I like the crescendo at one point and then the scream. Looking forward to heavy metal from the vantage point of 1968.

“Frenzy” – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. Nobody like him. Thank God he found his way center stage. Can’t imagine not having him in our collective unconscious. A genius. Sui generis.

“My Happy Place” – Jasmine Ash & Bleu. BLEU. I sing his praises as often as I can. He’s so busy and prolific he’s hard to keep track of. So many different projects, with different collaborators. I miss stuff. Sometimes I go searching: “What is he up to now?” That was how I discovered that he just came out with an album of songs for children, collaborating with Jasmine Ash. And it’s WONDERFUL.

“Stick That In Your Country Song” – Eric Church. I admire him so much for this. He didn’t write this – a change-up for him – Jeffrey Steele wrote it. Released in 2020, a terrible violent year. It may seem like a small thing, but for a country star of his magnitude to … “break ranks” like this? It’s a powerful statement. You can feel his anger, and that title … basically calling out the whole country industry. Here he is performing it last year at the ACM awards.

“Extraordinary” – Liz Phair. This is off her so-called “sell out” album. (Don’t get me started with this bullshit.) I love this album, not a bad song on it. This is one of the best tracks. (Speaking of Liz Phair: she has a new one out. It’s been years! I’ve been busy absorbing it over the last week. One song in particular made me cry, surprising me, since I was driving, and I was not prepared to start weeping. It’s all about Chicago, and falling in love in Chicago, and it was like … I mean, it was like my first time hearing Exile in Guyville – when I was actually living in Chicago. I got this really weird creepy feeling: How did this woman get access to my diaries? I had never heard anyone – ANYONE – speak my 20something experience so perfectly. PLUS, we were both in Chicago. She just nailed it.) Anyway, loving her latest. Maybe I’ll write about it eventually. We Gen-Xers have to stick together. Every generation has a vibe, an energy, an outlook. And “checking in” with your generation is important, especially as you grow older. How are YOU doing? How are you managing? What’s it like for you now?

“Jack the Ripper” – Link Wray. You’d never mistake his sound for someone else.

“Jefferson’s Torch” – Johnny Flynn. Late to the party, as I often am, I discovered Johnny Flynn when I saw Emma. (and reviewed it). I have since done the necessary catch-up (I devoured Love Sick!), and also discovered his music. He sang a little bit in Emma., and wrote the song playing over the end credits. He has a couple albums out, and he writes songs that sound like traditional English folk songs, or sea shanties, but … they’re original compositions. He’s so so talented.

“Beautiful Dream” – Everclear. The Bad Times blur together but this album helped me hang on for dear life during either 2009 or 2012, I can’t remember. I don’t know why it hit so hard, I don’t know what this album said to me, how it expressed what I was going through, how it provided a light at the end of the tunnel … I don’t know. I can’t imagine myself back to that point, it was so bad. This song is so happy, an explosion of happiness and joy but … it’s a dream. The whole song is his dream of getting out of his bad time. I still feel the swoon of hope and longing I felt back then when I listened to this song over and over and over as I drove up and down the Hudson Palisades, endlessly … I drove just to drive, to be out of my apartment, to move, to lose myself in the music, to escape. This was what I listened to.

“Funny How Time Slips Away” – Elvis, from the evening show at Madison Square Garden, 1972. I absolutely love it when he sings this. He takes it so easy. It’s like he’s speaking. He’s so RELAXED and he’s onstage at freakin’ Madison Square Garden.

“Forward” – Beyonce [feat. James Blake] He has such an incredible voice, and this song – off Lemonade – is haunting and sad. That whole album is fire-emoji.

“Do What You Gotta Do” – Dove Cameron & Cheyenne Jackson – off Descendents 3: my nieces and nephew are obsessed with this series, and they got me into it, in a totally unironic way. Great pop music, charming cast, super fun choreography (great dancers), good stories. I love Cheyenne Jackson, in general. This is a very funny angry scene between a father and daughter. It rocks.

“Bon Voyage” – Jane McGarrigle, Kate & Mary Garrigle, from The McGarrigle Hour. I love the McGarrigle sisters (Kate was mother to Rufus and Martha Wainwright). This album is wonderful, featuring many guest artists (including Loudon Wainwright, Emmylou Harris, and Rufus and Martha). The harmonies are perfection.

“Cannonball” – The Breeders. This ALBUM. I had it on cassette tape. I wore it OUT.

“For One Day” – Paul Chesne. Great guitar. Who knows how I find these people.

“Lucky You” – Eminem [feat. Joyner Lucas]. Off Kamikaze, the album Eminem released without any warning, announcing it on Twitter. He was in a RAGE about the critical response to his last album, Revival, and this was his reply. He collaborated with a couple of cool people – up-and-comers, new-generation – anyone who says he’s “out of touch” legit does not know what they’re talking about. The video is pretty cool too. It’s a big-concept video but it underlines the theme of the song – we’re original and everyone else is copying us. It’s a funny video.

“Stratford-On-Guy” – Liz Phair. This is the second to last track on Exile in Guyville. Side note: Isn’t it wild that we used to know the order of albums by heart? Because you listened to it start to finish. I still try to do that, at least initially. Listen to the album. The artist put it together specifically, and I owe it to them to experience it that way. I love love love the lyrics to this and again … at the time this album came out, I was living in Chicago, and flying home a couple of times a year to see my family – and they were like two separate lives, and descending to Chicago had this very distinct feeling. Vivid, almost painfully so. This song captures that. Liz Phair is a magician.

“Levi Jacket and a Long Tall Shirt” – Carl Perkins. Elvis got the credit for the explosion, but Carl Perkins, arguably perhaps, was even more important. He wrote “Blue Suede Shoes” after all. And he “crossed over”. Big time. “Blue Suede Shoes” made it onto every chart, regardless of genre. Unprecedented. I love his songs about clothing – it’s this weird meta moment, where he helped create rockabilly – and then it took over – and suddenly he’s trying to describe it, and he zeroes in on the clothes, and how the clothes mark you as “one of them”. Put your cat glasses on, and etc.

“Salva Nos” – The Mediaeval Baebes. I only have the one album but … had it on cassette (broken record) and once technology changed, I’d upgrade. I kept them in rotation the whole time. I was always really into them.

“Save Me For a Day” – Amanda Jenssen. I can’t remember how I tripped over her but I’ve loved every song I’ve heard.

“There’s a Meetin’ Here Tonight” – Bob Gibson. My parents had this album, and we were obsessed with it as kids. I still know all the words. We all do. Great banjo.

“You Are My Sunshine” – Ray Charles. The song is unrecognizable from the original. The whole tempo has been adjusted, and now it SUH-WINGS.

“Tears of Rage” – The Band. I love the deliberate pace of this song. It’s a slow and steady progression, giving you a chance to absorb the lyrics.

“Railway to Heaven” – Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, during that brief era where they were recording, touring, together as “The Class of 55”, from Sun Records. Jerry Lee is the main show here. I think I hear Johnny Cash doing harmony? I love it when Jerry Lee takes us to church.

“The Quiet Room” – Babes in Toyland. Such an eerie epic instrumental. Led Zeppelin-y. Metallica-y. Those chord changes, the guitar. This whole album … I know I keep going on and on about it, but whatever. This is my era. My generation’s era. There was a lot more going on than grunge – and I was into much of that too – but when albums like this started coming out – early 90s … it stopped you in your tracks. You could FEEL that something was going ON. I suppose it was more apparent because we didn’t have as many distractions, you couldn’t “hole up” with just the things you loved – radio still was a force – and college radio stations were essential to cracking open the monoculture. So … it’s rare to be in the middle of a zeitgeist shift and to actually perceive what was happening as it was happening. Felt the same way in the late90s, with the rise of 1. Britney/Christina/Boy bands – alongside the rise of Eminem. You HAD to ask: “WHAT is going ON?”

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” – Nirvana. See above comment.

“Ode to Somethin’ to Cry About” – Bleu and Mike Viola and Ducky Carlisle, off Aquavia, one of their collaborations. Mid-2000s. I bought this back when it came out. It’s not only hard to find, but you have to basically be on their newsletters to even know it exists. They said that this was the album they always wanted to make. Their influences are multiple, and the tributes are everywhere. Harry Nilsson, Paul McCartney … somehow, though, they don’t parody their faves. They weave it all in, creating their own sound. There are other collaborations. One is strictly an ELO-inspired album. I love these guys. This song is on Soundcloud if you want to check it out.

“Soda Pop” – Robbie Williams and Michael Buble. Robbie Williams kind of stole Michael Buble’s spot, which is a pretty niche spot, resurrecting the Rat Pack, their stylings, their songs. Williams is more Rat Pack-ish in actual sensibility – a gorgeous bad boy – but when they finally came together for this … it was a thrill. (If you’re in tune with either of these artists, that is.) It’s a banger. And, if I may say so, Robbie’s energy loosens Buble up – they’re great together. I wish they would do a whole album together. Also: there is nothing like the sound of two men singing together. It used to be a “thing” back in the day. I wish there was more of it now. It’s so pleasing.

And just for fun and to close this out: Here’s Robbie, performing it live, in Hungary. There’s a whole Anything Goes theme here. He’s such a showman.