"SAVE THE NIGHT" JOHN LEGEND (2013)

One thing I’ve never been able to do is write a song. It feels like an impossible task to me. But it seems almost effortless for a guy like John Legend. I don’t mean to say he can do it in his sleep, but he’s clearly able to get into a zone. That’s why his albums are loaded. They’re practically the length of a concert and show very few weak spots. Love in the Future is stacked from top to bottom—but “Save the Night” was always a highlight for me. It starts with funk. It keeps going with swagger. It finishes with a simple, yet unforgettable melody.

“I see the night flashing before her eyes. Resuscitating, bring it back to life. And it's on tonight. How about we go and save the night.”

"RUNNING UP THAT HILL (A DEAL WITH GOD)" KATE BUSH (1985)

When I visited my cousin in England during the Live Aid years, she was raving about Kate Bush. But she was barely a known name in the States. I was happy enough with my Duran Duran and Simple Minds. In many ways, the music world just wasn’t ready for Kate Bush when she entered it. But her progressive approach and foresight have made her a powerful influence. We hear aspects of her in everyone from Tori Amos to Fiona Apple to Lorde to Florence. And “Running Up That Hill” is Kate Bush at her best. The never-ending struggle between man and woman. The original, melodic pop elements. And gripping, emotional storytelling.

“And if I only could, I'd make a deal with God. And I'd get him to swap our places. Be running up that road. Be running up that hill.”

"HOTEL CALIFORNIA" GIPSY KINGS (1999)

Even if you hate The Eagles, you have to thank them for giving the Gipsy Kings the chance to record this brilliant cover. And even if you don’t care for the Gipsy Kings, you have to give this cover a chance. That bowling scene with John Turturro in The Big Lebowski would not be the same without this song. “Hotel California” has always been a place. But these guys made it a state of mind. And they made this rock classic unmistakably their very own.

“Bien venido al Hotel California. Such a lovely place. Such a lovely place.”

"NEIGHBORHOOD #3 (POWER OUT)" ARCADE FIRE (2004)

Funeral put to death the traditional rock quartet and birthed the rock ensemble. It was full of amazing, epic musical moments. Funeral gave us glimpses into different people’s stories, lives and neighborhoods. My favorite neighborhood is still #3: Power Out. Because it captured the eerie magic of what it feels like when the lights go out. It’s anything but dormant. While many of Arcade Fire’s hardest songs still take on a slow, prodding pace, “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)” has a sense of urgency to it that I’ve always loved.

“I went out into the night. I went out to find some light. Kids are swingin' from the power lines. Nobody's home, so nobody minds.”

"JOLENE" DOLLY PARTON (1974)

You couldn’t grow up in the 80s without hearing the Dolly Parton jokes. What a shame though, because it colored the way I saw her musically. It’s why it took me so damn long to see that she made a masterpiece back in 1974. There are many great songs on this album. Songs that others have made their own. But “Jolene” will always be hers. There’s an attitude here that we don’t often associate with country music. This tense plea to Jolene is held together tightly by a killer guitar riff, a gorgeous string arrangement and an emotionally charged performance from Dolly.

“He talks about you in his sleep. And there's nothing I can do to keep from crying when he calls your name,
Jolene.”

"HALLELUJAH" LEONARD COHEN (1984)

I’m not a huge fan of Leonard Cohen. And I admit that I probably haven’t taken the time to appreciate what fans love most about him. But I loved “Hallelujah” from the very first time I heard it. Cohen reminds us of the power of the word “Hallelujah”, but gives it his own honest interpretation of it, colored and blemished by all the conflicting thoughts and actions that humanity has shared throughout history. Jeff Buckley, Dylan, Bono, K.D. Lang and countless others have all covered this classic, but the original is and always will be my favorite.

“Now, I've heard there was a secret chord that David played, and it pleased the Lord. But you don't really care for music, do you? It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift. The baffled king composing Hallelujah.”

"IS THIS IT" THE STROKES (2001)

The first time I heard this album I was riding up from S.F. to Lake Tahoe with an old high school buddy. We had nonstop tracks blasting in the car and fresh tracks waiting for us on the mountain. The music was cranked up to the point where you almost felt a little nauseous. This is the album I’ll always associate with that trip. And the title track is the thesis statement to the whole masterpiece. It wasn’t the biggest hit by any stretch. But it was the introduction to the raw, minimally produced garage sound that is The Strokes.

“Oh dear, can't you see? It's them it's not me. We're not enemies. We just disagree.”

"ESTOY AQUI" SHAKIRA (1995)

Before crossing over in the States and recording multi-platinum albums, Shakira put together a beautifully innocent album written completely in Portuguese. There are many great songs on Pies Delscazos, but “Estoy Aqui” will always be the banner song. You can hear the authenticity and the simple earnestness in it even if you don’t know a lick of Portuguese. “Estoy Aqui” means “I’m here”, and, in many ways, this was Shakira’s letter to the music world announcing that she has arrived.

"LOST IN THE SUPERMARKET" THE CLASH (1979)

About halfway through London Calling, we come up on a song that doesn’t sound anything like The Clash. What’s going on here? Is that a disco rhythm I hear? This isn’t the anti-establishment, Brit punk outfit we know and love. Instead, “Lost in the Supermarket” showcases a band that’s going beyond its comfort zone, stretching itself musically. It’s a wry commentary on suburban alienation. The lyrics and the way that they are sung are unforgettable.

“I'm all lost in the supermarket. I can no longer shop happily. I came in here for that special offer. A guaranteed personality.”

"THE LESS I KNOW THE BETTER" TAME IMPALA (2015)

At one point in 2015, it felt like Tame Impala was the hottest band on the planet. And “The Less I Know the Better” was one of their staples. It’s a musical study in contrasts. Rock elements. Disco accents. Ethereal vocals and keys. Devilish guitar riff. It seems like it shouldn’t work. These things don’t belong together. But it’s the contrasts that grab you. The contrasts Form thIs song’s identity and make it one of the StroNgest tracks on Currents.

“She said, ‘It's not now or never. Wait ten years, we'll be together.’ I said, ‘Better late than never. Just don't make me wait forever.’”

"WAVE OF MUTILATION" PIXIES (1989)

Just when the 80’s were about to wrap up, Doolittle made its way on to modern rock radio stations, including my beloved WDRE. I played the album over and over again, soaking in one edgy two-minute song after another. The third Track was one of my favorites. Like many songs from the pixies, “wave of Mutilation” took you on a triP. The guitar scorchEd, waiLed And didn’t waste a second getting warmed up. And instead of screaming into our ear drums, Black Francis was practically whispering inside secrets to us Verse by verse.

“I've kissed mermaids. Rode the El Nino. Walked the sand with the crustaceans. Could find my way to Mariana on a wave of mutilation.”

"SAVE ME" AIMEE MANN (1999)

Sometimes the stars align where a brilliant film goes hand in hand with a brilliant soundtrack. That’s what happened with Magnolia, and Aimee Mann was the brainchild behind the music. “Save Me” captured the personas of those tortured souls we got to know in the film. The bass hovers uncomfortably high. And some of Mann’s notes linger uncomfortably long. those are the things that I love most about the song.”

“If you could save me from the ranks of the freaks who suspect they could never love anyone.”

"GLORIA" THEM (1971)

This song gave a group of terrible musicians some hope. The hope that maybe they can play a song from beginning to end, and even call themselves a garage band. Those musicians were me and a few friends back in high school. Only one of us was musically trained. Our drummer couldn’t keep a beat. And we barely ever rehearsed. But we had fun together. And we could play “Gloria”. Three chords. And one hard rocking number from the annals of classic rock.

“Like to tell ya about my baby. You know she comes around. She about five feet four. From her head to the ground.”

"SYNCHRONICITY II" THE POLICE (1983)

This is a rock song. And it’s not a rock song. “Synchronicity II” is written and performed as if it came from an opera composer. Sting, Summers and Copeland were always intelligent rockers, but they made something here that elevated new wave, post punk and all the other labels that we wanted to attach to them. “Synchronicity II” cannot be categorized. It can just be appreciated for what it is. A brilliant commentary on a bleak, mundane suburbia with a sound we’d never heard before.

“The secretaries pout and preen like cheap tarts in a red light street, but all he ever thinks to do is watch. And every single meeting with his so-called superior is a humiliating kick in the crotch. Many miles away something crawls to the surface of a dark Scottish loch.”

"BIRIMA" YOUSSOU N'DOUR (2019)

On a spring day in 1992, I had the pleasure of seeing Youssou N’Dour perform live at Foxboro Stadium for Earth Day. I had heard limited doses of him before, but I didn’t know much about HiS music. But even back then, N’Dour was already considered a crossover mastermind. Over the years, he has collaborated with hundreds of artists, including Sting, Tracy Chapman, Peter Gabriel and Neneh Cherry.

N’Dour is a rare talent in the music world because he’s able to glide in and out of many different genres so effortlessly. Last year, he re-recorded one of his most well-known songs, “Birima” with Seinabo Sey. This version is beautiful, invigorating and, in my opinion, even better than the original.

"TONIGHT, TONIGHT" THE SMASHING PUMPKINS (1995)

“Tonight, Tonight” brings me back to the summer of 1995. Up until then, The Smashing Pumpkins were rocking hard and raw, but were pretty much characterized by Billy Corgan doing everything. But then Mellon Collie came out and the rest of the band started to take on larger roles. “Tonight, Tonight” was the ultimate example of this band suddenly opening up, democratizing their sound, and being better for it. It doesn’t sound like one guy laying down 8 different tracks. It’s an epic Smashing Pumpkins anthem with even the Chicago Symphony Orchestra taking a turn in the recording booth. While Siamese Dream leaned grunge, this song leaned head first into grand.

“We'll crucify the insincere tonight. We'll make things right, we'll feel it all tonight. We'll find a way to offer up the night tonight. The indescribable moments of your life tonight. The impossible is possible tonight. Believe in me as I believe in you, tonight.”

"THIS MUST BE THE PLACE" TALKING HEADS (1983)

This is one of my all-time favorite Talking Heads songs. And it’s a very unusual approach for the band. First off, “This Must Be the Place” is a love song. And Talking Heads doesn’t write love songs. They write about burning houses, psycho killers and insomnia. Second, it’s sort of musically unadventurous to put it mildly. It’s the same beat and hook over and over again. No progression at all. But it’s so addicting and almost hypnotic in its understated approach.

“Home, is where I want to be. But I guess I'm already there. I come home, she lifted up her wings. I guess that this must be the place.”

'MY GIRLS" ANIMAL COLLECTIVE (2009)

If Merriweather Post Pavilion is the Pet Sounds of the 21st century, then “My Girls” is Animal Collective’s equivalent of “God Only Knows”. No other song in my mind crosses the experimental with the accessible so effortlessly. This is a beautiful, synth-soaked soundscape. There’s nothing else like “My Girls” out there. The lyrics are so un-rock & roll. The song lacks a definable progression. And, at times, it feels like we’re listening to art more than music.

“I don't care for fancy things. Or to take part in the freshest wave. But to provide for mine who ask. I will, with heart, on my father's grave.”

"I FEEL THE EARTH MOVE" CAROLE KING (1971)

Tapestry is textbook songwriting. Carole King’s songs have the distinction of helping us to feel what she’s feeling and to make those feelings our own. “I Feel the Earth Move” is one of my favorites on the album. There’s aggression with soul. A harshness and a rare set of emotions that are missing from the rest of the album. I also love the rawness of the production. You can hear the pounding of those piano keys as if you were lucky enough to have King play it in your own living room.

“I feel the earth move under my feet. I feel the sky tumbling down. I feel my heart start to trembling whenever you're around.”

"YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL" LANA DEL REY (2013)

Is this another case of the soundtrack outshining the movie? Tabbing Lana Del Rey to write and sing this song for “The Great Gatsby” just made total sense. Lana’s voice feels like it belongs in the roaring twenties. And she sang it like she could’ve been Daisy Buchanan herself. Except Lana escapes West Egg and shoves the narrative into a 21st century dystopian L.A. An unexpected interpretation of the film’s storyline. That’s the mark of a great soundtrack song.

“Dear Lord, when I get to heaven please let me bring my man. When he comes tell me that you'll let him in. Father, tell me if you can.”