GOT MY FIRST REAL SIX-STRING

So, on my MP3 player I have a bunch of albums and a folder of podcasts but I also have a folder called "Other" which contains a bunch of random songs that I don't have the full album of. The contents of this folder change pretty frequently so, in what I will try to remember to make a recurring feature, I'm going to go through the folder and talk about some of the songs and why I like them. This time, I'll discuss all of them but in future installments I'll only cover the new stuff:

Cold Days From The Birdhouse - The Twilight Sad

One of the more unfortunately named bands of the past decade, but no less great for it. Their album, Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters, was one of my favourites of the year it came out but this song, the opening track has an appeal all its own. The way the Twilight Sad combine these seemingly disparate elements (folky slide guitars and accordions, shoegaze guitar swirls, U2-esque hammy choruses and staunchly Scottish vocals) is inspiring and I love the way the song goes from bubbling whisper to strident scream in its four-minute run time. It isn't in a rush, it takes its time going where it needs to and it's all the better for it.

Feel Good Drag - Anberlin

This is one of those songs where you kind of have to ignore the lyrics; which are a jumble of emo narcissism and off-hand sexism with one kind-of clever line ("Everyone in this town is seeing somebody else"). Focus instead on that chunky, heaving guitar riff that makes this whole thing work. It carries this through those lyrics, the overly shiny production and the singer's melodramatic delivery. The bridge is also kind of wonky, but it leans hard on the immortal "quiet verse, loud chorus" formula which will, when done well, never get old for me.

Hot Revolver - Lil Wayne

Already dedicated an entire post to talking about how great this song is.

Ironic - Alanis Morissette

Yeah, yeah, none of those lyrics are truly "ironic" (rain on your wedding day just sucks, for example) but that isn't why this is good. It's essentially a grunge song given a layer of high-pop gloss and while that may sound like the worst idea ever, Alanis cuts through that shininess with that defiantly untrained voice of hers and makes it all great. I also particularly love those little wordless vocal runs at the song's beginning.

You Learn - Alanis Morissette

Once again, the words are kinda iffy; depending on what sort of mood you're in they can seem genuinely inspiring or like motivational speaker crap. But some things here aren't so malleable; that hip-hop-ish drumbeat, the heavy bass groove, Alanis' endearing vocal ticks and the ghostly back vocals are always there.

Like Eating Glass - Bloc Party

The yelping vocals might put a few people off, but this one of those songs that I think almost anyone could get into. The choppy dual-guitar attack, the nervy rhythm section, the gigantic chorus, the abundance of hooks; Bloc Party could have made a million more albums just like Silent Alarm and I would've bought every single one but, unfortunately, they didn't. They went off, discovered electronic music and made one decent album and one terrible one. Oh well, we'll always have a record full of their nervy post-punk-meets-arena-rock anthems. Best part: the moment the second verse kicks in with "I can't eat, I can't sleep" and the second guitar coming in.

Summer Of '69 - Bryan Adams

I propose that this be the new Canadian national anthem: it's made by a Canadian, pretty much everyone knows all the words to it and it's infinitely catchier than "O Canada". Moreover, this thing just explodes with energy and life; yeah, the lyrics are dopey, working in every teenage cliche, but they're also kind of endearing for that dopiness. And that thick guitar riff, Adam's husky vocals and basically every part of the song being a hook should erase that anyways. Whenever this comes on the radio, I crank it up; it's one of those songs.

Boys Of Summer - Don Henley

I fucking hate the Eagles and this is the only song even vaguely associated with them that you'll ever hear me say a positive word about. The sound is, in a lot of ways, the embodiment of 80's cheese, but that's kind of intentional to create a disparity with the nostalgic lyrics. And the song really does sound like summer, too: full of empty space and possibility but also sort of foreboding. Henley's vocals do get a bit whiny on the chorus, but I can forgive that. Bonus points for the really good video. Avoid the pop-punk cover by the Ataris at all costs, as it replaces all that masterful empty space and varied instrumentation with a grinding guitar attack that does the song no favours.

D.O.A (Death Of Auto-Tune) - Jay-Z

Has Jay-Z become hip-hop's grumpy old man? Maybe, as he's dissing the most popular technique in current rap, calling out Lil Wayne and Young Jeezy and making Frank Sinatra references all on the same track. He gets in some good digs, although I think the message is wasted effort, and drops some really good lines ("This ain't a number one record/this is practically assault with a deadly weapon") but the real star here is No I.D's beat. Combining stomping drums with wailing funk guitar and saxophone honks, he's given Jay the perfect base for his rant. And, it might just be me, but I think this is the type of beat (lots of live instruments, rock-influenced) that Jay-Z sounds the best on (think "99 Problems", "Threat", "Pray" or "Success").

When You Were Mine - Prince

Probably my all-time favourite Prince song, and not just for the way the lyrics tie sexual freakiness in with genuine emotion. The herky-jerky new wave rhythm remains oddly funky, the chipping guitars, while paper-thin, are a nice addition, the keyboard that comes in for the chorus just ups the catchiness. It's particularly impressive when you consider that prince himself played all the instruments and did all the vocals (including the masterful backups) on this thing. Best part: When the song drops to just the guitar and Prince's voice after the instrumental bridge. (Sorry about the crappy quality live video, it was all I could find. It's a pretty good performance, though.)

A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke

I'm not huge on soul music (though, strangely I love when rap songs work in soul samples) but this song is really something special. A million people have written a million times about how good this song is, so, I'll share a personal anecdote. The first time I heard this song was over a crappy portable radio that was half-tuned to the station, in shitty ear bud headphones, while walking knee-deep in a river. It was awesome.

Danger Zone - Kenny Loggins

I think that Top Gun is kind of sucky but it has one of the more amazing soundtracks of its era, full of cheesy 80's goodness, of which "Danger Zone" is the pinnacle. It's basically the perfect "pump you up" song, great for workouts and such; I listen to it every morning to get ready for the day.

Weighty Ghost - Wintersleep

This song hits a lot of big, obvious buttons for. The strummy guitar, the big hand claps, the poetically meaningless lyrics, the softly delivered lead vocals, the massed backups; it's like it it was made specifically for me. Also, they're Canadian group, and they opened for Pearl Jam! I wish all of their songs (most of which are not folky at all) were like this, they might be my favourite band of all time then.