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 Feb. 2, Apr. 26-29, and May 12-13, 2022
“Game Is My Middle Name” — Betty Davis Betty Davis (1973)
The queen of funk passed away in February of this year, and it was a relief to see her recognized first and foremost as an absolute badass pioneering funk powerhouse rather than as Miles Davis’s ex-wife, as the narrative often read previously. They say she was different, a proud Nasty Gal, and her debut album is a walloping force where she both predicted and cemented her legacy. “Game Is My Middle Name” is pushed by a super staccato rhythmic drive that explodes in the chorus around her snarling vocals. Many try to sing like Davis, but I can’t think of anyone who can pull it off with such authority. Her band, always tight, is particularly locked in on this track. The choppy rhythm of the verses blossoms into a slower on-the-beat riff that the lead guitar wails over the top of. It’s a shame that live footage of Betty Davis is basically nonexistent. All reports say that her stage presence was every bit as powerful as her vocal delivery is on record, with outfits that probably can’t ever be convincingly replicated. Those silver boots were made for rockin’ and no one could wear them quite like Betty Davis.
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“Strange World” — The Majestics Strange World (1963)
I’ve already sung the praises of Strange World on Certain Songs, but everything about this compilation is engrossing and magnetic. This cosmic doo-wop and soul record has been on heavy rotation lately. To pick a single standout track is impossible, so by an advanced scientific process of elimination, here’s the song the record draws its name from: The Majestics’ 1963 song “Strange World.” The obvious standout in this song is the group harmony on vocals, but each instrument is also perfectly placed and deployed. The upstroke guitar is the driving force of the song, but the rapid-fire piano chords in the chorus and later piano solo provide its vitality. “Strange World” is a perfect single: In 139 seconds it blasts through two singalong choruses, it tackles unrequited love and the weirdness of feelings, and the end leads so perfectly into the intro that it could play on an endless loop. We teased irresistible songs in the series introduction, and “Strange World” is exactly that.
Find Strange World on Discogs
“25 Minutes To Go” — Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison (1968)
Johnny Cash will never be forgotten as a country legend. But his funnier side does often go unheralded. When he wanted to grab a laugh, he could with ease. A few of his funniest recordings appear on At Folsom Prison — his Jack Clement covers of “Dirty Old Egg Sucking Dog” and “Flushed From The Bathroom Of Your Heart” come to mind — where he harnessed the tension of taunting the prison runners and giving the inmates an unforgettable show. Shel Silverstein wrote “25 Minutes To Go” (and “A Boy Named Sue”), and in it Cash stares down his final minutes as a man on death row with the gallows already constructed, and working just fine, right outside of his cell. It’s perfectly delivered at Folsom, with cheers from the inmates about spittin’ in the sheriff’s eye balanced out by the harsh reality that it’s the last time the man on the gallows will be seeing the beauty of mountains and skies of Earth. Like many of Cash’s best songs, it’ll make you laugh, contemplate what comes next, and it’ll get a hell of a roar from the inmates he loved to sing for.
Purchase on Amazon
“She’s Got You” — Patsy Cline Sentimentally Yours (1962)
Patsy Cline has a magical voice. You don’t need to speak the same language to experience what she is singing about. On “She’s Got You,” she knows exactly when and how to crack her voice to break your heart. There isn’t a wasted moment, and just 22 seconds in we’ve already hit the first chorus. Cline weighs the dilemma of whether memories and mementos of an ex-lover are a gift of a time past or a stranglehold by which she can’t let go. She feels the comfort of remembering the good times while also realizing that they’re totems of times that will never be again, and that someone else is now accruing items from the same guy in a new relationship. Johnny Thunders would later sing that “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory.” Cline lives that realization out in real time, and we feel every aching twinge with her and that magnificent voice.
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“The Dripping Tap” — King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Omnium Gatherum (2022)
The 18-minute lead off track on the newest King Gizzard record, Omnium Gatherum, is everything I’ve missed from this band since their five-record streak in 2017. It’s a masterful jam track that harnesses the metal energy of recent records with a free-flowing jazz structure that finds them covering more ground on a single track than they ever have. The detours between solos are hook-laden and surprisingly catchy, with every twist leading to some new highlight. I wish I could say the rest of the album follows suit, but, anyway, for now, this song is the best thing they’ve released since Murder of the Universe and is on par with Nonagon Infinity and Quarters, the best of their rapidly expanding catalog.
Purchase on Amazon or Bandcamp
“Cold Hard Times” — Lee Hazlewood Cowboy In Sweden (1970)
I can’t aptly describe what it is about Lee Hazlewood’s voice that makes him so likable in song. Maybe it’s his low, slow, reverb-laden “cowboy in Sweden” drawl, but something about it exudes a warmth, even when the punchlines cross over to the dark side. Cowboy In Sweden is a huge, heavily orchestrated record that spins tales of a lovelorn cowboy in the land of the midnight sun. By the chorus Hazlewood’s voice eclipses the orchestration as he bellows, “It’s a cold, hard world, love / These are cold hard times.” They’re songs delivered with a smirk and a sense of humor, and even the occasional chime slide, but they never come across as jokey. Hazlewood brings these songs to life, and every word arrives as if brought in on a cloud that lingers just long enough before moving along. His singing style gives so much care to the lyrical delivery that I often find myself sucked into the reverb tail rather than the actual meaning of the words. Regardless, the cold hard times are delivered so smoothly that you barely recognize how bad they’ve actually become.
Purchase on Amazon
“Are You Leaving For The Country” — Karen Dalton In My Own Time (1971)
Karen Dalton stands in a long line of artists unjustifiably forgotten in their time who have received a new wave of attention thanks to reissue labels — this time courtesy of Seattle’s Light In The Attic. Dalton knew what her songs were supposed to sound like and refused to play by record labels’ demands. I can’t imagine a better representation of her work than In My Own Time. She has a way of enmeshing her words with the guitar sound. Listen to the chord changes into the chorus of “Are You Leaving For The Country” and how her voice becomes both complimentary and contradictory as they move in parallel. The brief sense of tension builds up just enough for the release back into the verse to reveal how gently stacked the guitars are. It feels like three musicians sitting in a circle as they record, each bringing a new layer as they enter. The bass and lead guitar are the only accompaniment this song needs as they all plod down separate roads with the same destination in mind. Songs like this force you to wonder what current music is hidden in the terabytes of Bandcamp that may someday surface as great lost works. For now though, we’re still catching up with the past and Karen Dalton is worth the time.
Purchase on Amazon or through Light In The Attic
Read Certain Songs Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3
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