Since June 2019, Craig Wright has tracked a standout song that he listened to every day. So each week (or so, give us a break) our editor will release a playlist of songs that have nothing to do with each other, make no sequential sense, and lack any overlying theme. Some are brand new discoveries, others are long-ingrained favorites; some will be completely unfamiliar, others completely inescapable. No matter what, each song is worth praising and one that ruled his day.
These songs were selected during the week of Jan. 1-7, 2021
“Try Again” — Big Star #1 Record (1974)
The acoustic guitars on the back half of Big Star’s debut, #1 Record, provide a sense of tranquility like few records. In addition to having voices that mesh perfectly together, Alex Chilton and Chris Bell make their guitars unite for such a crisp sound. I don’t know of better sounding acoustic guitars than on this song and “Watch The Sunrise.” They’re bright, warm, and capture the perfect sound of fingers sliding across the strings. Though naming their first album #1 Record may have jinxed them in the short term, it’s a safe argument that Big Star is more influential now than they’ve ever been. They had a Velvet Underground-type effect where the people who bought their records went on to make their own and name checked Big Star as an influence in a classic case of “your favorite band’s favorite band.” They sing in “Try Again” that they’ve been feeling the pain of trying to be understood, a battle they will continue to fight against the odds. Chris Bell didn’t receive the recognition he deserved in his own time and died too young, but time has proven Big Star’s influence has not waned. Their efforts to be understood will continue to pay off for future generations who are fighting the same fight to just be what they should.
Purchase on Bandcamp or Amazon
“The Father And The Son And The Holy Ghost” — John Coltrane Meditations (1965)
No matter what direction John Coltrane goes, his explorations are endlessly innovative and intriguing. With two drummers — Elvin Jones and Rashied Ali — “The Father And The Son And The Holy Ghost” is powered by a motor that keeps kicking into higher gears. At times it feels like three songs are trying to emerge simultaneously, but as you focus on what each instrument is doing, you hear the underlying cohesion as they each tug and nudge in various directions. The veins of the song chart separate courses, but they’re all of one body. By zooming in on each aspect, the overlying structure becomes clear, like a reverse zoom on a map. McCoy Tyner lays a rigid foundation on piano with percussive strikes as Jimmie Garrison anchors the song on bass. Pharoah Sanders plays a semi-foil to Coltrane with melodic sax lines that counter the bandleader’s impossible forays. Coltrane’s saxophone squeals, yelps, and reaches moments of sheer ecstasy. Ask anyone what the best Coltrane recording is and you’ll get a different answer from everyone who doesn’t default to A Love Supreme. Coltrane was a musician who could play anything, and Meditations finds him pushing his and his band’s own limits for a product that could only result from this group.
Purchase on Amazon
“Apologies” — Fastbacks Very, Very Powerful Motor (1990)
Eddie Vedder has talked about the injustice of which bands made it big out of Seattle during the grunge era, and The Fastbacks are at the top of the list for bands who coulda/shoulda been huge. The recent release of a full 1986 live performance on YouTube and Bandcamp finds them in all their glory. Kurt Bloch is my favorite living guitar player, and seeing him live — as a Yes Master, a Filthy Friend, or a Young Fresh Fellow — is an experience that cannot be replicated in a recording studio. He brings classical melodicism face to face with fret-flying divebombs. Though Bloch has become a sharper dresser as he’s aged, this video captures him in short shorts and kicking high as can be. Kim Warnick and Lulu Gargiulo are the steady foils to Bloch’s explosive energy — they calmly walk the lengths of the stage while Bloch jumps on amps and runs in place. “Apologies” is a classic Fastbacks track. It comes from their masterpiece, Very, Very Powerful Motor, an album that I urge you to throw on right now if you’ve never heard it.
Purchase on Amazon
“Just For You” — Sam Cooke Portrait Of A Legend: 1951-1964 (1961)
Few singers have ever had as delicate of a timbre as Sam Cooke. His voice maintains that balance between strength and sensitivity, and on “Just For You” he’s perfectly accompanied by a ’50s pop minimalism that centers his vocals and allows the song to accentuate his every move. The brushed snare drum is all the percussion it needs to flourish with soft guitar chords and upright bass to round out the sound. The backup singers repeat the title phrase “just for you” dozens of times, and while intuition would say it should get old at some point, it serves as a percussive or cyclical chant. With so few elements to the song, anything excessive would stand out, and here, it all meshes well enough to believe Cooke when he says that a romance seems worthy of working a day job for.
Purchase on Amazon
“Bikers From Hell” — The Gruesomes Tyrants of Teen Trash (1986)
In Dirty Windshields, Grant Lawrence’s tour diaries of his time leading Vancouver B.C.’s The Smugglers as frontman, he spends a solid portion describing not only who the bands were who made him realize being in a band was possible, but also what he took away from other bands as people. As a teenager his parents allowed him to invite his favorite band, The Gruesomes, to stay at their house when he hosted one of their shows with Nardwuar. If the album title Tyrants of Teen Trash isn’t enough to make you seek out The Gruesomes, just know that Lawrence was blown away by their politeness when they left and did their own dishes. Imagine a Canadian Ramones gone surfing. The band’s huge, fuzzy guitar chords are the driving force of “Bikers From Hell.” The band members may have been clean and polite, but their songs are at their best when you can feel a layer grime trailing behind after the track ends.
Purchase on Amazon
“Canadian Ambassadors” — The Smugglers In The Hall of Fame (1993)
As mentioned in the above entry, Grant Lawrence’s book Dirty Windshields tells the tale of The Smugglers’ journeys across the U.S. and Canada trying to make it as a band. It follows the highs (signing with Lookout! Records and witnessing the Young Fresh Fellows destroy a dressing room with the best of intent), the lows (a venue-wide bar fight and a fire-sprinkler-flooded show), and the forgettable nights (like when no one showed up to an concert that wasn’t promoted thousands of miles from home). The Smugglers’ official outfit consists of suits and rain boots, which has made for a memorable and useful (did I mention the sprinkler flood?) outfit for our “Canadian Ambassadors.” The song is a list of activities they like to do as puritan, patriots of rock. It quickly moves from riding bikes and eating chocolate to chasing girls with rockabilly-like guitar solos soundtracking their global outreach efforts. Their humor pushes the songs, but at their core is a solid argument for rock ’n’ roll as an energy driven outburst of chaotic fun.
I was fortunate to see The Smugglers open for the Young Fresh Fellows in Seattle in 2019. They host dance offs with trophy awards, and it’s a safe bet to say it’s the only show where I’ll see a guitar player do a front flip and land on his feet all while still playing the guitar. They’re true to their word and remain good ambassadors of good time rock ’n’ roll music.
Purchase on Bandcamp or Amazon
“Allergy” — The Petticoats Normal (1980)
I stumbled across this song in my iTunes library without any knowledge of who The Petticoats are or how the song arrived there. I was happy to hear what sounds roughly like a proto-White Stripes — think “Let’s Shake Hands” if it was sung by The Raincoats. It was a find that benefited from the mystery. The guitar on “Allergy” has a serrated attack and the vocals are equally sharp. The Normal single is the only release from The Petticoats, a one-woman project by Stef Petticoat of Germany. Petticoat plays guitar, bass, drums, and sings everything herself, though it sounds like a seasoned punk band sharing a single lo-fi take in a basement. Petticoat also released it herself on Bla-Bla-Bla Records. Songs like this rarely pop up when you’re searching for them. They’re the type that randomly find you and work their way into your head and make you question hi-fi recordings as a whole. Some songs are best when it sounds like they were captured on gravel, an environment this whole single — which includes a great cover of The Who’s “I’m Free” — thrives in.
Find on Discogs
Read Certain Songs Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4
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