Screw It, I'm Just Gonna Talk About Music Or Whatever

Today's playlist contains songs with numbers 1-10 in the titles! Kind of a flimsy theme but they're all good songs so I guess deal with it.   Songs discussed in this episode: The Lemon Twigs - The One (2020) Frank Black - Two Spaces (1993) Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney - 3 Legs (1971) Masumi Hara - 4 X A Dream (1984) David Bowie - Five Years (1972) The Cure - Six Different Ways (1985) Nancy - 7ft Tall Post-Suicidal Feel Good Blues (2021) Hüsker Dü - Eight Miles High (1990) Kitty Craft, Bonnie Koloc - Devil's Nine Questions (2020) XTC - Ten Feet Tall (1979)  

Today my friend Mel Cowan joins me to talk about a sampling of our favorite album openers! We didn't have time to play and talk about every possible entry in this list, but we mention a ton that weren't discussed and you should check out.   Songs discussed in this episode: The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers (2014) Orange Juice - Rip It Up (1982) Beastie Boys - Sure Shot (1994) Portishead - Mysterons (1994) The Pogues - The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn (1985) Radiohead - Everything In Its Right Place (2000) Courtney Barnett - Elevator Operator (2015) Carole King - I Feel The Earth Move (1971) Marnie Stern - Vibrational Match (2007) The Stone Roses - I Wanna Be Adored (1989)

Today we're talking about time signatures - what are they, and why are songs with non-traditional time signatures so cool sounding? This is not super math heavy or expert-level analysis, but in it I share some of my favorite songs with weird time signatures and/or meter changes.   Songs discussed in this episode: The Beatles - I Saw Her Standing There (1963) (snippet only) OCS - Memory Of A Cut Off Head (2017) The Beatles - We Can Work It Out (1965) The Mad Capsule Markets - 公園へあと少し (1994) Wipers - Taking Too Long (1981) Ben LaMar Gray, Finom - Sometimes I Forget How Summer Looks On You (2021) Robert Palmer - Woke Up Laughing (1980) Genesis - It's Gonna Get Better (1983) Rihanna - Desperado (2016) Basement Jaxx - Distractionz (2009) The Stranglers - Golden Brown (1981) Pentangle - Light Flight (1969) Animal Collective - What Would I Want? Sky (2009) Ty Segall - To You (2024) The Chills - Don't Even Know Her Name (1989) Kassa Overall, J. Hoard, Angela Davis - Show Me A Prison (2020)  

This week we're exploring one facet of how stupid the written system of English is by featuring songs that feature words containing various pronunciations (all 6!) of "ough".    Discussed in this episode: Fleetwood Mac - Although The Sun Is Shining (1969) Stephen Stills - Thoroughfare Gap (1978) The Beatles - I'm Looking Through You (1965) The Creation - Through My Eyes (1967) Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers - It's Not Enough (1977) Beastie Boys - Tough Guy (1994) Misfits - Cough/Cool (1977) Butthole Surfers - Cough Syrup (1996) X - I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts (1983) Alanis Morissette - You Oughta Know (1995) Beyonce - Love Drought (2016)

Today's theme is doing something more than once, so all titles reference that concept. Musically repetitive songs will be a theme for another time!   Discussed in this episode: Grizzly Bear - Yet Again (2012) Ty Segall - Repetition (2024) Robert Palmer - Not A Second Time (1980) Roger Fakhr - Gone Away Again (197?, released 2021) Michael Kiwanuka - Home Again (2012) Daft Punk - One More Time/Aerodynamic (2007) Badly Drawn Boy - Say It Again (1999) The Durutti Column - Requiem Again (1989) Fiery Furnaces - Benton Harbor Blues (Again) (2006) Hot Chip - Over And Over (2012)

Today's theme is geography, so these are all songs with geographical names in the titles. And - get this - the songs are all good.   Discussed in this episode: Sufjan Stevens - Flint (For The Unemployed and Underpaid) (2003) Parquet Courts - Berlin Got Blurry (2016) Foxygen - San Francisco (2013) Brazilian Girls - St. Petersburg (2008) Ric Wilson, Terrace Martin, BJ the Chicago Kid - Chicago Bae (2020) Bob Marley, The Wailers - Zimbabwe (1979) Fugazi - Turkish Disco (1999) Stereolab - French Disko (1995) Amanaz - Africa (1975) The Psychadelic Furs - Sister Europe (1980) Wilco - Impossible Germany (2007) Sufjan Stevens, Angelo de Augustine - Fictional California (2021) Frank Black - (I Want to Live on an) Abstract Plain (1994)  

Here are a bunch of songs that would have been from my childhood if I had been born 40 years earlier. I say in the episode that the songs are in chronological order and now that I'm typing it out I see that that's only mostly true, please forgive me.   Songs discussed in this episode: Odetta - Santy Anno (1956) Buddy Holly, The Crickets - It Doesn't Matter Anymore (1956) The Del-Vikings - Come Go With Me (1957) The Everly Brothers - Bye Bye Love (1958) The Fleetwoods - Come Softly To Me (1959) Little Willie John - I'm Shakin' (1958) Chuck Jackson - I Keep Forgetting (1959) The Coasters - Poison Ivy (1959) Martin Denny - The Enchanted Sea (1959) The Melody Mates - Enchantment (1960) Brenda Lee - Wee Wee Willies (1960) Wanda Jackson - Funnel Of Love (1961) Patsy Cline - She's Got You (1962) Horst Jankowski - A Walk In The Black Forest (1964)

Today I'm joined by Will Hines (Screw It We're Just Gonna Talk About the Beatles, Comedy Bang Bang) to talk about the 2007 Of Montreal album "Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?"! Other Of Montreal songs played during the episode are "So Begins Our Alabee" (2005) and "Lysergic Bliss" (2004).

Here is a large handful of great songs that are not in English!    Songs discussed in this episode: Özdemir Erdoğan - Gurbet (1989) Marina Herlop - La Alhambra (2023) Volta Jazz - Bi Kameleou (1977) Emillia Contessa - Malam Minggu (1982) Cafe Tacvba - La Bas(e) (2024) Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle - Intaha Ho Gai Intezar Ki (1984) Françoiz Breut - Si tu disais (2000) Yat-Kha - Karangailyg Kara Hovaa (Dyngyldai) (1995) Fabrizo De Andre - Un ottico (1971) bob hund - Helgen v. 48 (1998) La Femme - Si un jour (2013) The Lijadu Sisters - Come On Home (1979) Kim Jung Mi - Blow Spring Breeze (1973) Gilberto Santa Rosa - Vivir Sin Ti (2010) Kourosh Yaghmaei - Ashiooneh (1973-79)  

I'm back! We're back! We all made this happen! Kicking off season two with a return to the theme of movin' and groovin'.   Songs discussed in this episode: Jorge Ben Jor - Africa Brasil (Zumbi) (1976) Yellow Magic Orchestra - 手掛かり (Key) (1981) Jean-Claude Vannier - La horse (1969) Incredible Bongo Band - Apache (1973) Shigeru Suzuki - パッション・フラワー (Passion Flower) (1978) Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - How Do I Let A Good Man Down? (2005) Cerro Verde - I Lost A Game (1977) Baby Huey - Hard Times (1971) Letta Mbulu - Mahlalela (1970) Funkadelic - You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks (1971) Blackrock - Blackrock "Yeah, Yeah" (1972) Yard Act - Dream Job (2024) Happy Mondays, Paul Oakenfold - W.F.L. - Think About The Future Mix (1993)