Monthly Music Fix: 2023 06
My sixth monthly installment of my new(ish) music playlist of 2023 | 10(ish) awesomely curated new songs
“Thank you, sir, just let me call. I'll give you my blood alcohol. I'll rot with all the burnouts in the cell. I'll change my faith, I'll praise the flag. Just wait, I swear she'll call me back. Oh, son, are you a danger to yourself? Well, fuck that sir, just let me call. I'll give you my blood alcohol. I'll rot with all the burnouts in the cell. I'll change my faith, I'll kiss the badge. Just wait, I swear she'll call me back. Son, why do you do this to yourself?”
I’ve got a number of older songs on this list. In large part because these older songs are newly available somehow. But, this is a great playlist. One of my favorites. We have three songs in a row that bring me to tears every time I hear them. The whole playlist is great and I am super psyched to listen to every song on it. I will miss listening to this playlist.
Dial Drunk - Noah Kahan
This dude is talented. I am a fan of his work. He just keeps producing awesome stuff full of lots of realness and emotion. And, I love he sings things and puts words together. This song is just an excellent song with so many great moments. At its core its about feeling abandoned by a former lover who is still your emergency contact.
“I gave your name as my emergency phone call. Honey, it rang and rang. Even the cops thought you were wrong for hanging up.”
You can feel the abandonment throughout the song. Lots of great lyrics in this song. Starting with the first verse:
“I'm rememberin' I promised to forget you now. But it's rainin' and I'm callin' drunk. And my medicine is drowning your perspective out. So I ain't taking any fault. Am I honest still? Am I half the man I used to be? I doubt it, forget about it, whatever. It's all the same anyways.”
The chorus is super fun and you can hear the audience singing along in the live versions below.
“I ain't proud of all the punches that I've thrown. In the name of someone I no longer know. For the shame of being young, drunk, and alone. Traffic lights and a transmitter radio. I don't like that when they threw me in the car. I gave your name as my emergency phone call. Honey, it rang and rang, even the cops thought you were wrong for hangin' up. I dial drunk, I'll die a drunk, I'll die for you.”
And, that bridge is just awesome. I can not wait to sing a long to that bridge:
“Thank you, sir, just let me call. I'll give you my blood alcohol. I'll rot with all the burnouts in the cell. I'll change my faith, I'll praise the flag. Just wait, I swear she'll call me back. Oh, son, are you a danger to yourself? Well, fuck that sir, just let me call. I'll give you my blood alcohol. I'll rot with all the burnouts in the cell. I'll change my faith, I'll kiss the badge. Just wait, I swear she'll call me back. Son, why do you do this to yourself?”
I’ve two great live versions of the song to check out with excellent crowd sing alongs.
Also, check out this version with Post Malone.
Dawns - Zach Bryan (feat. Maggie Rogers)
I can not wait to see Zach Bryan in Oakland in July. If I am being honest, I am probably anticipating that show more than I any other show this year (even moreso than Pearl Jam!!). I am told that his shows can be life changing revivals. I am looking forward to the emotional experience of singing along to so many of his great songs. I just hope that I am not in tears in every song and can actually sing. Anyway, another great song that captures the essence of a relationship ending. So many great lyrics in here.
“I'm on your front porch beggin' for my dawns back. Give my goddamn records and my clothes back. 'Cause I'm through.”
I think the contrast between Zach’s lines and Maggie’s lines is awesome.
Zach's:
“And by the time she wakes. I'll be halfway to my mama's home. It just dawned on me. Life is as fleeting as the passin' dawn. And it was my mistake. 'Cause she never said a thing about Jesus. I miss my mother's southern drawl. And her prayin' through the walls in the evening.”
Maggie:
“And by the time he wakes. I'll be halfway to my best friend's home. It just dawned on me. Life is as fleeting as the passin' dawn. And I shoulda told him twice. I believe in somethin' bigger than both of us, I miss goin' out to bars, shootin' stars, Not worryin' 'bout what's left of us.”
But, I love how Zach screams these words:
“I got fucked up just 'cause I'm scared. Love's just another drug I have grown a victim to. What do I do? Oh, what do I do?”
And here’s a live one with all the singing a long.
Phone Went West - My Morning Jacket
The actual song is not new and the recording is actually not new, but the release of this recording is new. And man… Man… The soul the band brings to this song is just outstanding. Just so full of so much…everything… There is happiness, sadness, connectedness, loneliness, and hope, lots and lots of hope. Jim James is professing his love to someone in his lyrics and the deep and driving strumming of guitars emphasize the emotion behind his vocals. I love just the powerful emotion behind screaming over and over:
“There'll be a knock on your back door.”
And then how the guitars follow to the build; that moment feels similar to Pearl Jam’s Present Tense in this live version.
I love these lyrics:
“Tell me I'm wrong, tell me I'm right. Tell me there's nobody else in the world.”
Puppy and a Truck - Jenny Lewis
This is a fun and witty song and its hard for me to pin down my favorite lyrics from this song. I support checking out Jenny Lewis’ new album, Joy’All. It’s fully influenced by Nashville and full of middle aged existential dread with lots of wit and humor. Lots of great lines throughout the album. This song is full of awesome lyrical plays. And its effectively about contemplating all the crazy shit we all did in response to the pandemic. Every one did some crazy shit. I suspect it hit middle aged people surprisingly hard as middle age leads to lots of existential dread and the pandemic seemed like our worst existential fears were coming true. I love how she starts off the song:
“My 40s are kicking my ass. And handing 'em to me in a margarita glass.”
This is exactly the sort of wit I am talking about. It’s not just the lyrics. Its the way she sings them. Like how she sings,
“If you see us rolling up. Thumbs up. Puppy and a truck.”
If you dig Jenny Lewis, you should check this out. If you dig Jenny Lewis and you’ve wanted her to be totally influenced by Nashville, then this is for you.
“So, I'm 44 in 2020. And thank god I saved up some money. Time to ruminate like, "What the fuck was that?’”
DOWN BY LAW - Killer Mike, CeeLo Green
Killer Mike opens his opus, MICHAEL, with this song. It sets the stage for the entire album and what you’re in for. This not a Run The Jewels album. El-P is featured on only one song (that song sounds like an RTJ song). This is Killer Mike presenting to you the audience who he is. And I feel connected to it. At first it felt weird to me, then a good friend explained how this is about maturing into middle age. I’ll add its about processing all the stuff that you need to process as you begin to mature into middle age. This song captures that essence quite a bit.
“Maybe God gave up on us. Maybe She angry we worshippin' all these false idols, so devils just preyin' on us.”
Kimosabe - DOPE LEMON
This song grooves. The mixture of spoken word with singing is pretty cool. There are a variety of different voices throughout the song and it adds to the overall mysterious nature of the song. I can imagine this song being on a mid-nineties Quentin Tarantino movie soundtrack. It just sounds like that. It sounds like a mid-nineties college radio song.
“Oh, no way Kimosabè. You're gon' fuck with my vibe. Oh, no way Kimosabè. You're gon' fuck with my high.”
Baby, I’m A Big Star Now - Counting Crows
You may remember this song from the end of the movie Rounders. The Rounders soundtrack is not available on streaming platforms. If you wanted to listen to this song, you needed to have had downloaded an illegal mp3 of it at some point. Because of the TV Show The Bear, its now available. I’m super psyched about this. This has probably been a top 10 Counting Crows song for me. I was one of the few people with an mp3 of it and I loved putting it on mix CDs I would make for people. This song is awesome for so many reasons. It captures, what is likely a peak era of the Counting Crows: the late nineties. Its sounds darker and heavier and is full of great lyrics. These especially connected with me in my late twenties. As you’re coming up and becoming a star. And, taking risks to make it happen. But, there is a darkness behind the whole song. The outro is awesome.
“All these seasons. All this time. Spinning past 'til they leave you far behind. Lay me down in the circle where the spotlight shines. Turn the back on the people who draw the lines. Put your faith in the answers that you can find. Hit the ground hard. Running down that highway line. Say a prayer for the ones you have left behind. Because all this pleasure gets them high.”
But, this is my favorite line of the song:
“Well, even the best years leave a lot to be desired. And then they pass you by.”
Your Needs, My Needs - Noah Kahan
Another Noah Kahan song. This is not even from a new album. This is like mid-album cycle for Noah. He is just creating and putting out awesome stuff right now. Or this is left over from Stick Season. Unclear to me. Regardless, its awesome, so I am going to share it.
The bridge, again, is just outstanding:
“To spiral out, to try and float. To see a friend, to see a ghost. Bitter-brained, always drunk. Rail-thin, Zoloft. Subtle change, shorter days. Dead-eyed, dead weight. Your life, your dreams. Your mind, your needs. My needs. Your needs, my needs.”
But, this line crushes me:
“It was a work of art. That's the hardest part.”
Napoleon’s Hat (Companion Version) - Bright Eyes
I once wrote a post about my favorite Conor Oberst/Bright Eyes show. Full of heavy and emotional music throughout the night, some of my party left due to the overall heaviness. Conor opened with this song. This is for sure not a new song, but this specific version is. This is coming from the Companion Version Series that Bright Eyes is doing. They are basically going through older albums and rerecording a few songs in typically a very different arrangement. Oftentimes adding more instruments and vocals to the mix. I’ve shared other songs from this series on this substack and blog.
This original is sparse and therefore sounds even darker and heavier. Connor’s voice quivers throughout. The newer version actually enables you to focus more on the themes of the song as opposed to the overall darkness.
This is a great Bright Eyes song and captures a lot of what makes Conor Oberst such an amazing writer. This is basically a song written in the good times. The theme throughout is that bad things don’t exist when times are good. Obviously said with sarcasm because we tend to ignore the bad things in our life and the world. And that you need to remember the bad stuff in the good stuff.
“Napoleon's tailor dressed him in a giant hat and funny platform shoes. Saying anyone can be a hero you just got to force people to look up to you. So when you're talking on a hotline to a suicidal soul. Don't let your voice sound like hot coffee more like a scented pillow. And strive for understanding over being understood. Just don't let yourself forget when the times get good. When the times get good.”
All I Do - Bully
I dig Bully. Their new album Lucky For You is an excellent, fast paced, punk influenced album. If you’re looking for something that is more punk influenced, you can find it here. I love the driving drums and strumming guitar.
“I wanna feel the way I used to”
Bonus Songs…
Expert in a Dying Field - The Beths
This is from a widely heralded 2022 album of the same name from New Zealand band, The Beths. I am just now starting to feel this album. I think I picked this song up on SiriusXMU, who continues to play the song. I love how the expertise she is talking about is being an expert in this specific relationship. Lots of great plays on words. Its great 90’s alt, guitar-driven, rock music.
“And I can close the door on us. But the room still exists. And I know you're in it.”
Letting Someone Go - Zach Bryan
Did I mention how excited I am about seeing Zach Bryan. I am listening to him quite a bit. This is an excellent one off of early album, DeAnn. This is another one about relationship ending with someone that he thought was his savior (turns out we are only saviors). And the letting them go is killing him slowly. There are so many great emo lines in this song.
“You can't lie to yourself after lovin' somethin' true. And I've never loved a soul quite the way that I love you. You told me you despise everything that I've become. How we always turn into everything we're runnin' from.”
The chorus is also awesome:
“Take it slow as you leave me. Don't you go home this evenin'. With someone that you're actin' like is me. And I will try my hardest darlin'. Wait on a star that's fallin'. And I will wait so desperately. One thing I have quickly come to know. Nothing kills you slower than lettin' someone go.”
SHED TEARS - Killer Mike, Mozzy
There are so many great lyrics in this song. The gospel feel adds a heaviness to this already heavy song, that follows the lead song I shared above. I just love his lyrics and how he vocalizes the lyrics in flow. Here is some awesomeness from the first verse:
“Left her a single mother. No malice since I was younger. Barely filled with that hunger. Barely could help my mama. How could I be a father? Daily, keep gettin' harder. Have mercy. Every week, somethin' hittin' me adversely. I remember dropping my babies off at the church nursery. I remember sittin' hurt all alone in the church service. Asking God to reveal me a plan and a higher purpose. Was a boy, now I’m grown. Immaturity gone. Lying, scheming, and dreaming in queue is gettin' your own. Ask anybody that know me, I suffered slowly for years. And now I'm like Kobe grippin' that trophy closely and I shed tears.”
And here is some awesomeness from the second verse:
“I shed tears every morning in the bathroom mirror. Face to face with fate, had to face my fears. It was me, I'm the reason that I fell. That was hell, locked in self-guilt like jail. Lord, I cried, almost died, empty inside. The devil whispers in your ear, you contemplate suicide. I tell you I know, promise, honest, been there before.”