Every now and then, I compile a playlist that's just too good to keep to myself. This is one of them. If you can pull together these songs, give them a listen. {Most are available on
iTunes.} Hopefully you'll find them as infectious and eye-opening as I have. If not, well, at least maybe you heard something new.
1.
Harvey Danger - Cream and Bastards Rise“…Yeah, you can see it in their eyes.” Great kickoff song full of vim and vigor, and one of those songs I always catch myself yelling along to at the top of my lungs in my car. “And you know what that means. It means someone’s got to lose. It’s probably you.” Underdogs have an anthem.
2.
Peter Bjorn and John – Young Folks“We could stick around and see this night through.” Any song with bongos. I’m serious. …This song is a slow burner. Give it a couple listens and let it soak. That chorus is infectious, and there’s something so calming about those easy, whatever-happens lyrics. “All we care about is talking, talking only me and you.” Recommended for: anyone who’s had someone they could just talk to.
3.
Matt Costa – Sunshine“Someday, you will get the best of me.” Misleadingly uptempo acoustic number. Helps cleanse the palate without added sugar. Listen to the words and contemplate the quiet sadness of relenting or hear only the music and feel at one with the Jack Johnsonish vibe. Either way, it works.
4.
The Rapture - Whoo! Alright – Yeah… Uh Huh“People don’t dance no more. They just stand there like this.” Say what you will. Dance music has its place. For me, there’s no better than this place right here, inside some percussive guitar/cow-bell beat beneath half-yelled lyrics bemoaning a stagnating scene. Ultimate fun rewards come to those who wait and give this groove a chance. If you’ve passed the 2:20 mark and have felt no urge whatsoever to move your body, you may be beyond help.
5.
Metric – Police and the Private“Never expect to be sure who you’re working for.” Delicately-crafted pop beauty with thoughtful lyrics and Emily Haines’ heartbreaking vocals. I don’t know what else to say. Within 3 days of acquiring this song, I’d listened to it 10 times. Fantastic.
6.
Laura Veirs – Galaxies“When we kiss, bears and boulders vibrate through the air.” Taking it a notch down further, Laura Veirs provides the soundtrack to some 2am drive or stolen moment. It feels almost like a love song for people who are above love songs. …Yeah, and possibly the hardest to describe of all the tracks on this playlist.
7.
I’m From Barcelona – We’re From Barcelona“Love is a feeling that we don’t understand, but we’re gonna give it to you.” My sister told me once that this song sounded a bit cultish. You know what, though? If your cult sings upbeat hand clappers with “la la” vocals, sign me up, because this just makes me smile.
8.
Camera Obscura – Hey Lloyd, I’m Ready To Be Heartbroken“I can’t see further than my own nose at this moment.” Full of nostalgia and hard-to-place emotions. Quiet and demanding. Around 2:25, guitar gives way to horns backed by simple strings. And then you’re returned to that sweetly lilting voice asking for heartbreak. I love this song. Camera Obscura’s best work.
9.
Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine“Be kind to me, or treat me mean. I’ll make the most of it. I’m an extraordinary machine.” Like Fiona herself, you’ll either love this song or hate it. I happen to love every second of this oddly-instrumented proclamation of self-worth and individuality. “If there was a better way to go, then it would find me. I can’t help it. The road just rolls out behind me.”
10.
Fujiya & Miyagi – Collarbone“Got to get a new pair of shoes to kick it with her, not kick it with you…” I think when this song’s not out working as an anatomy professor's assistant, it spends its time in dimly lit, smoky clubs slow-bouncing with the ladies. Just relax and let it happen.
11.
Infadels – Love Like Semtex“You’ve got a love like semtex. Bring it to me.” What is it with me and moving lately? It’s an affliction, and the only cure is groovy little tunes like this one. By the way, semtex is a highly malleable plastic explosive. Just thought I’d save you the time. Oh my God, is this chorus fun to sing along with. “You make the floor move in all of my hallways.”
12.
The Hussy’s – We Expected“We expected great things from you, but you let us down.” Saturday morning love song to all those people who grew up, moved on, and left you sitting in the same place you've always been. An indie pop tribute to Catcher Holden’s lament that “certain things should just stay as they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone.”
13.
Travis – Love Will Come Through“Don’t look da- da- da- down…” It’s midnight. Windows down. 72 degrees. This is the song you need with you in the car on some deserted street. Trust me. Now put your hand out that window and let it ride.
14.
The Wildlife – Burning Plastic Man“…Don’t want nothin’ to do with you.” This is an odd duck of a duet. It creates and invites a certain indescribable mood. Not sad nor happy, loved nor scorned. Simmering, but not too slowly. Just electronic undercurrent with acoustic embellishment and slow-flowing vocals, thick as honey.
15.
Barenaked Ladies – Maybe You’re Right“It was often talked about. It was often raised. But nothing was ever done about it.” My favorite number on their newest album. Dripping with regret and building with every line, until it finally crescendos and leaves you thinking of every moment that you could have done differently, every word you would have taken back. “Maybe you’re right, maybe you’re right, maybe you’re right but I don’t think so.”
16.
The Killers – Sam’s Town“Have you ever seen the lights?” Living a quarter of a mile from Las Vegas Blvd at age seven made me feel that no other town in the world could feel more like home. Then I grew up and realized that many, many places were infinitely better, more creatively-embracing, and happier than Vegas. …Our hometown boys, though, they make me wish I had never peeked over that wall. With every thing that Vegas isn’t… it’s still home. “Nobody ever had a dream ‘round here, but I don’t really mind that it’s starting to get to me.”
