Friday 8-Track

Once again short on ideas and/or inspiration, this week's playlist is a mish mash of songs that have been running through my head lately. Maybe you can connect the dots because I sure as hell can't. At least it makes for an interesting sonic Rorschach test.

Smoking Popes - "Pretty Pathetic" - Destination Failure

Josh Caterer has a knack for sounding absolutely pathetic in the midst of a good rock song. And now in that awful emo kind of way. The guy in this song is indeed "pretty pathetic" but the big kick at the end tells you why. And the song is funny to boot. I caught myself singing it out loud on the way home from the gym yesterday to the amusement of several other pedestrians on Wilson Blvd.

Tommy Keene - "Carrie Anne" - Sing Hollies In Reverse

I can't remember how I first came across this version of the Hollies classic. Covering a song is a tricky thing (not for a cover band -- because they don't really count -- but for a legitimate artist releasing the material of someone else) and I believe you either have to stay absolutely true to the original or go way off of the map. Keene opted for the former on this take and given that his "stylistic legacy" is right in line with the Hollies, it works. The song does lose some of its bounciness as Keene's baritone is heavier than Allan Clarke's and Grahm Nash's lilting tenors, but the drive of the tune is still there. Meta Power Pop. Good stuff.

Concrete Blonde - "Joey" - Bloodletting

Johnette Napolitano's voice has a way of just hanging around for me, and the same is true of Chrissy Hynde. Anyway, I went with the obvious "hit." You know who didn't get enough credit? James Mankey. Good guitar player...

Neil Finn - "She Will Have Her Way" - Try Whistling This

A beautiful pop song about being a sucker. Yeah, I can relate.

The Allman Brothers Band - "Little Martha" - Eat A Peach

Now I know how this one got in my head. I was driving home the other day and it was used as interstitial music on All Things Considered. A pretty song, it is one of the first songs I learned how to play when first discovered open-tunings. I'd be hard-pressed to play it off the top of my head but I think it is tuned in open-E and played in the key of A (capo 5). Now I have something to work on this weekend.

Prince - "I Wanna Be Your Lover" - Prince

This one I heard somewhere recently. I think I was out somewhere, most likely drunk, and ever more likely, falsetto'ing along. This is one of my favorite Prince tunes even though it is from a stage in his career when he was still working out his own style. I mean if you heard someone else playing it, and had never heard the song before but were familiar with Prince's oeuvre, you probably wouldn't think it was a "Prince song." At least I wouldn't. But that doesn't change the fact that it is a nice jam.

Bob Dylan - "Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again" - Blonde On Blonde

"AAWW, Mama, Can This Really Be The End...Down And Out In Vegas With Amphetamine Psychosis Again" What a great chapter title. This song and that book will always be linked in my mind. As far as I am concerned, this album represents Dylan's crowning musical achievement and this song is the standout.

Hollies - "On A Carousel" - any one of a thousand different compilations

More Hollies. I like the fact that this song sort of sounds like a carousel ride and those high harmonies are sweeeet.