What I Listened To On My Way To (And From) Work Today (and Yesterday)

Latest in an occasional series...

Morphine, "Wishing Well"
Typically moody and lush, the kind of tune that Mark Sandman could practically toss off in his sleep back then.

Big Dipper, "Nowhere To Put My Love"
Previously unreleased track which escaped the major-label dungeon that ended Big Dipper's career, and finally surfaced on the great Supercluster anthology on Merge Records. Terrific song, one of several should-have-been-a-hit songs that the band had.

Tom Waits, "Little Drop of Poison"
Dark and eccentric tune which I can imagine being performed by the piano player in the bar scene of Shrek 2 (the character which, indeed, performed Waits' contribution to that soundtrack).

Smog, "I Feel Like the Mother of the World"
"...with two children fighting." Bill Callahan's being metaphorically opaque here, and I like it.

Billy Bragg, "Which Side Are You On"
Another pro-union rouser from the incomparable Bragg.

Joel R.L. Phelps and the Downer Trio, "Chaplin's Radiotelephone"
Uncharacteristically brisk tune from the fine but nearly forgotten album 3.

Death Cab For Cutie, "A Movie Script Ending"
Earlier Death Cab effort, when the band was still flying under the public radar and their songs were more simple than now.

Red Red Meat, "Gauze"
Bunny Gets Paid has to be the most unlikely album to get the deluxe-reissue treatment that I'm aware of. Terrific song - long, slow, langorous, indie-white-boy blues.

Yo La Tengo, "Pablo and Andrea"
Probably my favorite Yo La Tengo song - midtempo and gentle, with Georgia's lulling vocals yet also Ira's shimmering guitar work.

Pylon, "Crazy"
As discussed previously.

Gordon Gano and the Ryans, "The Man in the Sand"
Gano's voice has matured, but in doing so seems to have lost the boisterous whine that made it so distinctive back in the Violent Femmes glory days. I'd also rather hear the old acoustic guitars instead of the electric band here.

The Feelies, "Higher Ground"
Intricate, tight, controlled. Only Life isn't my favorite Feelies album - as it mostly abandoned the exhilirating guitar interplay of The Good Earth for a more conventional lead guitar/rythym guitar pairing - but is still a very good one overall.