19 March 2015 - Juliana Hatfield - I See You

I'm not going to tell The Story again.

I am going to post this very chipper and slightly sad song that she did not perform in 1995... probably because it sounded very Blake Babies-like.   Which I would have been OK with.... except at the time, she was trying to distance herself from that period.

And if you haven't read her book, When I Grow Up, you should.  Really good book.

Anyway, the song is still sweet, more than 20 years later.   It remains an enduring favorite of mine.  At the time of its release - around about 1992, when I was still mourning the end of the Blake Babies - I remember liking her whole Hey Babe album, because it gave me hope that the classic sound would live on.  This song was a surprise (to me) single choice, but a solid one, and one that still endures for me, so many years later.

17 March 2015 - Denis Leary - Traditional Irish Folk Song.

This always made me laugh.  Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Have fun getting drunk, America.

16 March 2015 - Letters To Cleo - Here And Now

I cannot believe I never posted this.

I mean, this song just OOZES mid-90's music.  It's happy and angry at the same time.  And, let's face it, Kay Hanley has an amazing and unique voice. And she can sing FAST.

I have to admit - I saw them live.  Water Street Music Hall, Rochester, NY, September 1995.  They were OK.  I was happy I saw them.  I wish I still had my Letters to Cleo t-shirt.

"The comfort of a knowledge of a rise above the sky above could never parallel the challenge of an acquisition in the here and now."

12 March 2015 - Britney Spears - Toxic

I remember when I had a co-author.

He used to post a Britney Spears song every year on my birthday.

Which happens to be today.

So here, Scott.  Doin' your work for you. 

10 March 2015 - Journey - Lights

This post is by a band I thought I would never post.  Ever.  (And I still will never post THAT song.)  This band (and THAT SONG particularly) is one that I have particularly disliked. 

As many of you know, I worked at a Xerox call center, where I was both the IT Manager and a DJ. 

9 Mar 2015 - Carly Rae Jepson - I Really Like You

I kept hearing that this song was more earwormy than "Call Me Maybe".  And from this blog's standpoint, that's a big deal.  That song was the first one of our posts to crest 100 page views.  (We've done better since).

I like the song.  Let's be clear.  It's sweet and inoffensive.  But to call it with such high praise....well, that's just throwing a wish in the well.  

4 March 2015 - BANKS - Before I Ever Met You

This might be the only artist on here who wants you to have her phone number...

By the way, it's (323) 362-2658.

And yes.  She answers.  Sometimes.  It's a cell phone.   So you can text her.

Bet let's not stalk our favorite buzzy musicians.  Let's talk about their great music, instead.  She didn't make a video for it or release it as a single.  But the song is so emotion-filled that I couldn't not post it.  The pain in BANKS's voice is tangible, like you can touch it, grab it with your hands.  It's a rare talent that can do that.  So, discover and enjoy.

2 March 2015 - James Newton Howard (featuring Jennifer Lawrence) - The Hanging Tree

So, here it is.

The song that blew everyone away with Jennifer Lawrence's untapped abilities.  But here's what you don't know....

If you've read the book, you know that the lyrics were written by author Suzanne Collins.  Two guys from The Lumineers did the music.  And, of course, Jennifer Lawrence provided the vocals..... but she didn't want to.

No.  She wanted Lorde. 

We're glad it's Jennifer who sang this.  It gave the song a less polished feel that fit the movie better than Lorde's voice would have there, and suited the intention of the song in a far greater way than Lorde could have....

No offense, Lorde.  We still love you. 

24 February 2015 (A Guilt-Free Extension) - Tanya Donelly - New England

It's June.
And I'm still wearing my boots.

Pretty much how you're feeling this year, right, New England?

Actually, this song just perfectly captures the dichotomy of life in the United States Northeast - New England and New York can probably be lumped together here.  Winter is hard, but the rest of the year.... just lovely and welcoming.

And, with the harsh winter New England is getting, I figured y'all needed a tribute.

(And yes, I did just mention Tanya Donelly.  Why do you ask?)

20 February 2015 - Throwing Muses - Counting Backwards

It was only a matter of time, people.  I was going to break this seal eventually.   I just needed to find the right way and the right time.

On March 12, 1991, Throwing Muses released The Real Ramona, two weeks ahead of schedule.  I walked into that record store with the full intention of purchasing R.E.M.'s Out of Time, which was also released that day.  But, as Throwing Muses was my favorite band (still is), I had to go see if, maybe, just maybe, there was a schedule change.

19 February 2015 - Mary's Danish - Don't Crash The Car Tonight & It'll Probably Make Me Cry

Totally had to do a double today. But I had a good reason.  Mary's Danish was one great band with two amazing voices.  Gretchen Seager's voice was clearly well-suited for straight-ahead rock music.  Her voice was - is - raspy and powerful.  Take her lead vocal (with Julie Ritter taking background here) on their first single, "Don't Crash The Car Tonight", a drunk driving PSA waiting to happen....

Julie Ritter's voice, on the other hand, has a more bluesy feel.  Their 2nd single featured her voice (with Gretchen on background here) on a meloncholy ballad with a countryish - cowpunk, maybe - feel.

In both cases, their harmonies made the songs work, but it made for a versatile band.  Sadly, they broke up under label pressures in the early 90's, but their music lives on.

18 February 2015 - Angel Olsen - Forgiven/Forgotten

So far this week, I have given you music from the 80's and called it guilt-free.  Well, guilty is in the eye of the beholder.

So I had to bring you back to today.  Well, really, last year.  2014.

Angel Olsen's album Burn Your Fire For No Witness was, inarguably, one of the best of 2014 (on my list, it tied for #1).  It is criminal how ignored by radio - country, rock, whatever - this album was.  It was certainly in my heavy rotation all year long, and it will remain there for years to come.  

The entire album reminds me a lot of another classic album - Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville.  Both are angry and brilliant and occasionally profane.   Both are lo-fi masterpieces.  Both vacillate between electric fuzz and acoustic melancholy.

This was Angel Olsen's first full-band album (and only her 2nd overall).  Who knows what brilliance is to come?  

As an added bonus, here is Olsen, performing the song live in 2013, before her album was completed.  It's a little sparser, but it is amazing, still.

17 February 2015 - Concrete Blonde - Still In Hollywood

You might wonder how I selected the songs for this Guilt-Free week. 

I put my iPod on Shuffle.

And Track #2 was this song, the first national single for Los Angeles band Concrete Blonde.  No one knew who they were, and then they disappeared for a few years.  This song is angry, and brilliant, and paints a much different picture of Hollywood - a more true one, if you've ever been - than you see in the movies.  

16 February 2015 - The Cars - Just What I Needed

I don't mind you coming here

And wastin' all my time

'Cause when you're standing oh, so near

I kinda lose my mind

Who among us have not felt this way?  Rik Ocasek is just singing your feels.  So, I've decided to kick off Guilt-Free Week with a classic by The Cars.

13 February 2014 - Special Guilt-Free Friday Edition - Blake Babies - Brain Damage

Many of you don't know who the Blake Babies are.  But you do know who Juliana Hatfield is.  Well, if you were paying attention to the cover of Sassy magazine in the 90s, you know who Juliana Hatfield is. 

Or this blog, I guess.

Before she was Juliana Hatfield, she was lead singer of a band called the Blake Babies, featuring John Strohm and Freda Boner (who recruited Juliana) and occasionally their buddy Evan Dando, who later went on to found The Lemonheads (who occasionally had Juliana and John as members).  The Blake Babies broke up in the early 90's, but the four of them (not the well-received three-piece) got back together in 2001 for one last hurrah.

By far, the best song on God Bless The Blake Babies was this duet featuring Juliana and Evan. It's a dark, cool, angry, sad song that will worm its way into your ears and hook itself into your brain.  It isn't a typical Blake Babies song - it's much darker and more mature, to be sure - but it's close enough that you know it's them. 

The song was so good, and the chemistry between the two singers so strong, that they toured together as solo acts without the rest of the band and reprised this song. Check out the ad lib in this one!!!!!!

9 February 2015 - Charli XCX - Need Ur Luv

You all wanted a Charli XCX post.

You aren't getting the one you expected.

This isn't yet a single.  I really hope that it is.  The song that closes Sucker, it is, in this writer's opinion, the best song on the album.  It is full of ache and angst and hurt and love. It deserves to be a gigantic hit, and I hope it is.

This live performance from The Late Show With David Letterman begs two questions:

1. When did Charli stop getting dressed for public appearances?

 

2. Why did Dave give Charli a Cat Paw?

4 February 2015 - T.I. feat. Iggy Azalea - No Mediocre

On the surface, this song is hugely misongynistic.  Gee, T.I. has pretty high standards in women...

....until Iggy Iggy turns it into a brilliant call-and-response rap.   There are few people who T.I. would allow to knock him down a few pegs.  Iggy Azalea is one of them.

3 February 2015 - Meghan Trainor - Lips Are Movin'

I was NOT a fan of "All About That Bass", which was a body shaming song against body shaming wrapped up in some back pride.

I AM a fan of "Lips Are Movin'", which has a lot of the same do-wop sensibilities, white-girl rapping.... and a kitty cat dress.  Let's face it.  We all love the kitty cat dress.

Truthfully, it's an angrier song, but it's a lot more fun.  And I am truthfully happy to see someone with a lick of songwriting talent become more than a 1-hit wonder.
 

2 February 2015 - Sam Phillips - I Don't Want To Fall In Love

It was a brilliant idea.

Get an unsung, excellent musician to score the TV show Gilmore Girls. Best show ever, by the way.  But that's for another day;

Sam Phillips was that musician.

This song is from her first album as Sam (her real name is Leslie, under which moniker she performed as a Christian artist), and it is brilliant and quiet while still conveying the ache of the song.
 

30 January 2015 - The Pierces - Secret

Let's just open right up with a fact:

This song is the theme song to the television series Pretty Little Liars.

That's pretty much the only reason these two ladies are on this blog.  This song, away from the context of the show (the song predates the show), is dark and sinister and devilish.  It's got a different feel - different harmonies - than some of their other work.

And it's delightful fun.  So enjoy it.

29 January 2015 - Guided By Voices - Hold On Hope

I started off writing this not knowing exactly what song I would choose.  It's the first time I knew I wanted to do a blog post, but I didn't know what I wanted to write.  You see, it's been a tough day. I had a lot on my mind today.

But I came out of today with one thing, and that was hope.  And this song, which might be the most beautiful thing Guided by Voices ever did.... this song popped in my head.  It was on an episode of Scrubs, so it totally counts.   And if I am being honest... it makes me teary, every time.  I hope you enjoy it, too.

26 January 2015 - Taylor Swift - Shake It Off

Sigh.  Yes.  I am posting this.

I can't help it.  The song is damned catchy.  Admit it.

22 January 2015 - Luscious Jackson - Citysong

When I'm about to go crazy, 'cause I'm still livin' here
I just get my friends together and we dance, dance, dance.

I find it slightly ironic that Kate Schellenbach left The Beastie Boys, over creative differences surrounding the hip hop direction that band was taking, to join Luscious Jackson, a group that's for more hip hop than punk.

I mean, I'm glad she did.  First of all, I like Luscious Jackson a hell of a lot more than I ever liked The Beastie Boys.  The contrasts in this song between Gabby Glaser's cool verses and Jill Cuniff's frantic chorus are not atypical in Luscious Jackson's style.  Even through there's a significant Curtis Mayfield sample here, Kate's drum beat is important. 

(I am not discounting Vivian Trimble here.  Don't worry, keyboard fans.  She's important, too.)

Anyway, this is a group that sat in the shadow of the Beasties for a very long time, and didn't get proper recognition.  Today, we are here to give them proper recognition.

21 January 2015 - Gordon Lightfoot - Sundown

It's a cheap throwaway song about getting high and being in a bad relationship.  And it's an instant classic.

20 January 2015 - Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories - Do You Sleep

Part of the point of this blog is to shine a light on all that music that we really do like, whether we want to admit it or not.

A lot of my friends really like Lisa Loeb.  Almost all of them are afraid to admit it.  So, this post is my duty, a public service to all those friends.

But let's talk about this song, a clear breakup song, which is most likely the 2nd song you every heard by the band (I mean, we keep talking about Lisa Loeb like Nine Stories isn't in the room), after the huge, HUGE hit song "Stay".  This song is far more complex than that one, as is the video - no one-take wonders on this one.



What many of you do not know, however, is that this song predates "Stay" by a fair bit.  It appears on their self-released Purple Tape, which was literally a purple cassette tape demo (reissued years later, of course, because that's how things go).  That really was Lisa Loeb, and here it is.