Craig’s Friday Countdown 2015 iPod Additions
Not saying these are the best songs of the year, or the biggest songs (I hear that nice young lady from London has a new record). I’m not even saying these are from this year, though most are. I am saying these are my favorite fifty(ish) additions to the iPod in 2015. Enjoy or discard, as you see fit.
50. Brothers In Arms, Junkie XL – Something different to start off. From the Mad Max score. Reminds me of the winter percussion circuit.
49. Louisiana Rain, Tom Petty – Off the “Through The Cracks” collection. My favorite song off the seminal “Damn The Torpedoes”, it’s interesting to hear this version.
48. A Wonderful Life, Brian Fallon – Simple song, gravelly sung. R.I.P. Gaslight Anthem.
47. Throwaways, Beach Slang – Forty slots down, another Beach Slang tune awaits.
46. Fossils, Circa Waves.
45. Bag’s Groove, Albert “Tootie” Heath – A jazz percussion Master, at work.
44. The World Ender, Lord Huron – Spooky / groovy.
43. Dreams, Beck.
42. Carnival of the Animals: XIII The Swan, Yo-Yo Ma & Kathryn Stott – The most beautiful composition on the list? Yep (don’t tell Billy Gibbons).
41. Hell To Pay, Boz Scaggs & Bonnie Raitt – Two cool guitar-slinging cats, together. That has to make the list.
40. The Way I Tend To Be, Frank Turner.
39. I Need Never Get Old, Nathaniel Ratcliff and The Night Sweats – SOB was a bigger hit. Just like this song more.
38. Hate To Say I Told You So, The Hives – Cruising through the iTunes library and realized this didn’t make the jump from CD to mp3. Fixed that.
37. Brand New, Ben Rector – Such bubble gum pop, I’m a little embarrassed it’s on the list. But something has to go between 36 and 38.
36. Can’t Leave The Night, BADBADNOTGOOD – Most difficult thing to describe on the list? Think so.
35. (tie) Left of the Dial, Alex Chilton, Can’t Hardly Wait – Children’s lullabies from Twinkle, Twinkle Little Rock Star – Interesting concept. Think I’ll just turn down the originals a bit when the grandkids (or me) need to nap.
34. Space Song, beach house – A lullaby for adults, as near as I can tell.
33. (tie) That Old Flame, Don Henley (and Martina McBride) and Surrender (live, and somehow not from Budokan), Cheap Trick – Two old faves. Henley’s verse at 3:05 is particularly good. Meanwhile, the best band ever from Rockford, Illinois is getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Bout time.
32. Let The Good Times Roll, JD McPherson – Been a fan since "North Side Gal" played at a Cubs game. Rockabilly, done right.
31. River Towns, Mark Knopfler.
30. Everybody Out, Al Scorch – What if the Soggy Bottom Boys were a real band, from Chicago?
29. If You Want Blood, You Got It, AC/DC – Was thinking about using it as a testosterone-infused soundtrack to a Bulldog Baseball end of season photo compilation, but went with a fond farewell to the seniors instead, (here).
28. Sleep, Rinse, Repeat, Ona – Sort of a Wilco / Eagles mix.
27. Hold Back The River, James Bay.
26. The New Cool, Bob James & Nathan East – Late night, jazz club.
25. Tearing Me Up, Bob Moses – Sultry.
24. Recorda-Me, SF Jazz Collective – Late 2014 take on Joe Henderson’s Blue Note classic.
23. Shake, Gary Clark Jr. – From the immensely talented Mr. Clark’s sophomore album; The Story of Sonny Boy Slim.
22. Sedona, Houndmouth – Shiny.
21. Lost in the Dream, War on Drugs – Saw them at Lallapalooza. Hit the “complete my album” button on iTunes when I got home.
20. Long White Line, Sturgill Simpson – Two in the top twenty. I’m telling you, they’re the best band currently touring.
19. She Loves You, Gaslight Anthem.
18. Pedestrian At Best, Courtney Barnett – Melbourne’s Liz Phair, so that can’t be bad.
17. I Want You Bad, The Long Ryders – 1987 comes back for a visit.
16. Wilder Mind, Mumford & Sons.
15. Tavares, Reggie Quinerly – Bright young jazz drummer / composer.
14. Treat Her Right, Billy Gibbons and the BFGs – Billy Gibbons goes to Cuba. So that’s gonna be interesting.
13. Cuchifrito, Carlos Henriquez – From Mr. Henriquez’s debut album. Mr. Henriquez goes to Puerto Rico, figuratively. The whole album’s excellent.
12. Ship to Wreck, Florence and the Machine.
11. The Underground Man, Desaparecidos – Upper Midwest punk (for my money, the best punk). Maybe it’s a propinquity thing. Propinquity Thing … that’s a good band name.
10. Fool For Love, Lord Huron – Best meter of any song. By best I mean it’s the skip along meter in my head, more or less constantly.
9. (tie) Ex’s and Oh’s, Elle King & Jackie and Wilson, Hozier - One about the non-keepers. One about the keeper, and what comes after.
8. You Can Have The Crown, Sturgill Simpson – The Bro-Country hacks don’t stand a chance against this hook, hook, hook, joke, hook some more songwriting.
7. Bad Art & Weirdo Ideas, Beach Slang – Heart on your sleeve. There may be other ways. There is no more authentic way.
6. Let Us Love (live), NEEDTOBREATH – A half dozen live NEEDTOBREATH songs got added. This one’s my favorite.
5. Wherever Is Your Heart, I Call Home, Brandi Carlile - Hippie chick. Big voice. True heart. Gonna be a fan (see also, below).
4. Sweet Jane (live), Maria McKee – Long a McKee fan, not sure if I’m more smitten with hearing her confess this is her favorite rock and roll song, or how she goes at it.
3. Wherever I Go, Mark Knopfler (and Ruth Moody) – The slower, late at night version of #5. Quite lovely.
2. Burning Love, Elvis – Elvis sings Burning Love with the Royal Philharmonic. How did I not know of this until now?
1 and seven eighths. The Next Storm, Frank Turner - Not the most intricate songcraft, but I rather like how it ends.
1. 24 Frames, Jason Isbell – For three years running, Jason Isbell tops the list. Maybe it’s because I’ve had a year. Maybe it’s because he’s the best songwriter currently in practice. Probably, both. The official video (here), not that it needs a video.
Update - #5 is hereby #1, and #48 is more like #10.5
