"FLOAT ON" MODEST MOUSE (2004)
“Float On” defined a new generation of music. Within the first 20 seconds, the two iconic guitar parts converged and modern musical history was made. Listening to it all over again, I’m swept by a wave of nostalgia, remembering all the great bands that were popping up at the time, each with a distinct sound. Modest Mouse had a more rough and raw approach compared to their peers, achieved often by mic’ing up every band member and letting them spew words in unison.
“Bad news comes, don't you worry even when it lands. Good news will work it way to all them plans.”
"WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN" THE WHO (1971)
Not many people have the patience to listen to an 8 minute song. But “Won’t Get Fooled Again” isn’t a typical 8 minute song either. It somehow gained massive appeal despite its girth and the weird nerdy qualities that Pete Townsend & co. were obsessing with in the background. Like recording audio pulses representing human brain waves for the iconic synthesizer part. At a time when most songs were either brainy or brawny, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” was both.
“I'll tip my hat to the new constitution. Take a bow for the new revolution. Smile and grin at the change all around. Pick up my guitar and play just like yesterday. Then I'll get on my knees and pray we don't get fooled again.”
"OTHERSIDE" RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS (1999)
In 1999, my art director/creative partner and I would spend late nights at our agency coming up with ideas for ads. The guy was fun to be around and he had great taste in music—and that counted for something. Together we listened incessantly to Californication, and “Otherside” was my favorite track. Never a huge fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, I was swayed by the more melodic and introspective side to the band that I hadn’t heard before.
“I heard your voice through a photograph. I thought it up and brought up the past. Once you know you can never go back. I gotta take it on the other side.”
"EVERY TIME THE SUN COMES UP" SHARON VAN ETTEN (2014)
So much of music is originality and attitude. Two things that Sharon Van Etten has pulled off unapologetically. Doing it her way. There’s nothing flashy about her music. But there’s also no one quite like her. Half the time, Van Etten’s vocals sound like she’s either sleepwalking or she’s three sheets to the wind. “Every Time the Sun Comes Up” might be the epitome of this. Incredibly gripping and visceral in its simplicity.
“Every time the sun comes up, I'm in trouble. Imagine when every time the sun comes up, I see double.”
"CACTUS TREE" JONI MITCHELL (1968)
Known more as one of the great singer-songwriters, I think an underrated side to Joni Mitchell is her role as storyteller. Her songs are like stories put to music, not just lyrics. They involve you. They immerse you. They paint a picture for you, like all the great novels do. “Cactus Tree” paints the portraits of five characters with exceptional musicality and just enough ambiguity to make you wonder if their lives are somehow interconnected.
“There's a man who's been out sailing in a decade full of dreams.”
"WICKED GAME" CHRIS ISAAK (1989)
In 1989, girls wanted Chris Isaak. And boys wanted to be like ChRis isaak. This song delivered a single punch in the gut to all the other love songs. In under five minutes, Isaak raised the standards for ballads. Pushing his rockabilly agenda into the mainstream radio consciousness, “Wicked Game” grips you with those lingering, sliding guitar notes and one of the greatest male vocal performances ever. Quietly delicate, yet strangely powerful.
“What a wicked game you play, to make me feel this way. What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you.”
"JOEY" CONCRETE BLONDE (1990)
Maybe we forgot about this little gem that launched a new decade of music in 1990. It sounded nothing like the typical Concrete Blonde canon. When you listen to “Joey”, you want to sing along to it. But there’s also a lingering sense of remorse here. It’s about Johnette Napolitano losing her husband (Marc Moreland of Wall of Voodoo) to kidney failure. While “Joey” almost didn’t get recorded, the music world was better off with it.
“I know you've heard it all before. So I don't say it anymore. I just stand by and let you fight your secret war.”
"ONE BIG HOLIDAY" MY MORNING JACKET (2003)
This is the kind of song you blast in your car. The kind of song that makes you think about getting new headphones. It’s the kind of song that’s final encore-worthy, often the one My Morning Jacket chooses to close their live sets with. You feel every note. The opening high hat barrage. The unmistakeable intro guitar solo. And Jim James’ soaring vocals. It’s an emotional lift from beginning to end.
“From this town, we'd escape. If we holler loud and make our way, we'd all live one big holiday.”
"SEPTEMBER" EARTH, WIND & FIRE (1978)
No better track to play on Sept 21st than this one. This is the song that launched a million wedding dance floors. It’s universally loved. 8 years old or 80 years old, Single or married, Everyone can appreciate it. As far as disco falsetto vocals and horn arrangements go, it doesn’t get much better. The Moment “September” plays, you just celebrate with it.
“Do you remember the 21st night of September? Love was changing the minds of pretenders.”
"UNDER THE MILKY WAY" THE CHURCH (1988)
A simple acoustic guitar strum sets off one of the greatest mid-tempo Tracks of the 80’s. ThE iconic intro is later joined one by one by vocals, drums. bass, electric guitar, keys and eventually the Synclavier masquerading as bag pipes. “Under the Milky Way” builds up and doesn’t let down. A majestic, multi-layered masterpiece, like the galaxy itself.
“Sometimes when this place gets kind of empty. Sound of their breath fades with the light. I think about the loveless fascination under the Milky Way tonight.”
"FADE INTO YOU" MAZZY STAR (1993)
I first heard “Fade Into You” on Boston’s WFNX. It was a welcome departure for me from Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana and Pearl Jam. It meant that I could simply bask in a melody, instead of get thrown up and down and around by it. Listening to a Mazzy Star album was like stepping inside an atmopsheric bubble. And that bubble never popped whenever “Fade Into You” was playing.
“Fade into you. Strange you never knew.”
"ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC" CHUCK BERRY (1957)
This is one of rock’s legendary pioneers. Without Chuck Berry, who knows where we’d be. You can’t go wrong with any of his songs playing on your mental jukebox, but today I’ll go with “Rock and Roll Music”. A simple, melodic hook. Eruptive electric guitar playing. Berry’s signature rhyme delivery. And a heavy dose of old time rock and roll nostalgia.
“Just let me hear some of that rock and roll music. Any old way you choose it. It's got a back beat, you can't lose it. Any old time you use it. It's gotta be rock and roll music. If you want to dance with me.”
"SONG FOR ZULA" PHOSPHORESCENT (2013)
When I first heard “Song for Zula” playing over the speakers at a Jose Gonzalez show, I thought it was gorgeous. With the melodic cadence of Bette Midler’s “The Rose”, but much more atmospheric and expansive. But when I heard it again later, I had time to examine the lyrics and realized this wasn’t a typical love song. It’s a song written by someone who’s been burned. “Song for Zula”, in its quiet introspection, is one of the best ballads of the 21st century.
“You see the moon is bright in that treetop night. I see the shadows that we cast in the cold clean light.”
"LEFT OF CENTER" SUZANNE VEGA (1986)
I’ve seen Suzanne Vega twice. Once while she was signing autographs at the old Tower Records near NYU and another time just a few blocks away while she was performing at Joe’s Pub. I was less than 10 feet away from her and She was pErforming “Left of Center”, over 30 years after she wrote it. Musically it sounded the same, but somehow it felt wiser. It has AgEd well in the live setting. Another sign of a great song.
“If you want me, you can find me left of center. Off of the strip. In the outskirts. In the fringes. In the corner. Out of the grip.”
"SULTANS OF SWING" DIRE STRAITS (1978)
On the surface, “Sultans of Swing” is just another catchy, well-known pop song. But the genius of it is revealed when you listen more carefully to the combination of great songwriting and great guitar playing. What Knopfler did no one else was doing at the time. He took Dylan-esque vocals and paired it with ambitious, yet understated guitar riffs, melding rock, blues, country and even flamenco so effortlessly together.
“You get a shiver in the dark. It's a raining in the park but meantime-south of the river you stop and you hold everything. A band is blowing Dixie, double four time. You feel alright when you hear the music ring.”
"CARING IS CREEPY" THE SHINS (2001)
This is the song that launched The Shins into orbit. But even more significantly, it’s the song that set the new standard for movie soundtracks. Garden State wouldn’t be the same without “Caring is Creepy” and “New Slang”. What made it so significant? I think it’s the perfect Blend of three things: the unIque melody, James Mercer’s UNUSUALLY high tenor voice and the echo-heavy effects. theSe things just seemed to align perfectly on one of the greatest soundtrackS eveR.
“I think I'll go home and mull this over before I cram it down my throat. At long last it's crashed, its colossal mass has broken up into bits in my moat.”
"SABOTAGE" BEASTIE BOYS (1994)
Pretty much everything the Beastie Boys ever produced sounds like the stuff you would record with your buddies inside a garage. The kind of music you make for fun, not for FAME or money. That’s what makes songs like “Sabotage” that much more awesome. while these guys were just having fun, they were reinventing music. “Sabotage” unleashes a barrage of drums, turntable scratches and distorted bass riffs like we’ve never heard before.
“I can't stand it, I know you planned it. I'mma set it straight, this Watergate. I can't stand rockin' when I'm in here. 'Cause your crystal ball ain't so crystal clear.”
"THE GHOST IN YOU" THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS" (1984)
Listening to Mirror Moves so many years later, it sounds to me like a near-perfect musical interpretation of the times. The baritone delivery of Richard Butler is one of the period’s most ownable voices. And “The Ghost in You” was one of the album’s best. While “Pretty in Pink” got all the soundtrack glory, this minor hit, in many ways, captures the essence of the Brat Pack 80’s era better than any other Psychedelic Furs song.
“A man in my shoes runs a light. And all the papers lied tonight.”
"EX'S AND OH'S" ELLE KING (2015)
This was a song that was impossible not to tap your foot to underneath your office desk. In 2015, “Ex’s and Oh’s” came in fast and furious. New artist. New voice. New sound. Elle King crossed country with alternative, blues with rock, the literal with the figurative. It was a new, clever take on old lovers. It was infectious in its lyrics and its attitude. And it’s a song that flipped gender roles on its head.
“I get high, and I love to get low. So the hearts keep breaking, and the heads just roll. You know that's how the story goes.”