Spring is here so of course it’s snowing like Narnia. It’s been that kind of year. But the more I dive into the music, the more I root around, pick up a little of this and a little of that, the more I figure out (usually by accident) that these two songs sound pretty good together, and then this next one too–well, the more I do this, the calmer I get. There’s hope buried in here somewhere. Obscure Northern Soul singles are good, and so are big Madonna hits (sometimes) and semi-forgotten Grateful Dead album tracks and extended drone-y 21st-century electronic tracks with indomitable melodies, and so is Joni with her special chords and so is the first track we ever heard from Fountains of Wayne and so is a dollop of yé-yé to finish us up this time. RIP France Gall, who died in January. The young grow old, the old pass on, the music remains, and maybe that’s where the hope is buried. Don’t let them tell you that guitars are through, don’t let the people who bend over backwards to find art in interchangeable pop radio fodder hypnotize you into overlooking the actual artistry of songwriters who sing and singers who write songs and melodies that nourish you even when it’s the first day of spring and there’s still this shoveling to do.
Full playlist below the widget.
“Information” – Dave Edmunds (Information, 1983)
“Hurt the One You Love” – David Ruffin (single, 1990)
“Bitchenostrophy” – Rickie Lee Jones (The Evening Of My Best Day, 2000)
“Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde” – Ezra Furman (The Year of No Returning, 2012)
“Hope You’re Feeling Better” – Santana (Abraxas, 1970)
“Blue Rondo á la Turk” – The Dave Brubeck Quartet (Time Out, 1959)
“Live To Tell” – Madonna (True Blue, 1986)
“Only Shallow” – My Bloody Valentine (Loveless, 1991)
“Doctor Blind” – Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton (Knives Don’t Have Your Back, 2006)
“Remember Russia” – Fischer-Z (Word Salad, 1979)
“Compared to What” – Roberta Flack (First Take, 1969)
“Carlo What Do You Dream” – James Irwin (Shabbytown, 2017)
“Victoria’s Secret” – Lisa Germano (Excerpts From a Love Circus, 1999)
“Skin Deep” – The Stranglers (Aural Sculpture, 1984)
“See You Sometime” – Joni Mitchell (For the Roses, 1972)
“One of Us Should Go” – Heidi Gluck (The Only Girl in the Room, 2014)
“Radiation Vibe” – Fountains of Wayne (Fountains of Wayne, 1996)
“Keep It Clean” – Camera Obscura (Underachievers Please Try Harder, 2003)
“Estimated Prophet” – Grateful Dead (Terrapin Station, 1977)
“Nous Ne Sommes Pas Des Anges” – France Gall (single, 1965)
Fingertips 