Saturday Songs - Aug. 13

1. “Ethylene” – John Hiatt

What an odd song. Who names their child after a gaseous compound? Oh, well…such is life. Hiatt fills this ode to girlfriend/lover Ethylene with some fantastic imagery—including what might be one of my favorite verses of all time in which he (successfully, in my mind) pairs existentialism with male buffoonery:

“Now some men will drive

to the edges of nothing

so they can take a peek at the great abyss.

Some men avoid love

like it was a plague or something,

just so they can leave the seat down when they piss.”

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2. “Ohio” – Damien Jurado

A favorite song of mine, “Ohio” features some neat Travis-style picking and a haunting tale of love and/or obsession…the trick to the song is that it’s hard to tell. Narrated by a lovelorn city resident, it is a tale of his love for an Ohioan woman who longs to return home. Wistful and sad, it sounds a lot like the farmlands of Ohio look.  

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3.* “Under Control” – Cary Brothers

A singer-songwriter (not, as you might be lead to think, a singer-songwriter duo) hailing from Nashville, Brothers writes poppy folk songs with a somber edge. His biggest hit so far, “Blue Eyes,” was featured in the Zach Braff film Garden State. A link to the free download of “Under Control” as well as three other tracks including “Blue Eyes” is below.

Noisetrade download 

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4. “Favourite Colour” – Tokyo Police Club

 

Falling somewhere between the angular punk sound of the Strokes and the epic bombast of Phoenix, the second track from Tokyo Police Club’s 2010 album Champ is the highlight of the album for me. Try listening to it with the window down going about 60 mph on the highway…it worked for me!


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5. “Peggy Sang The Blues” – Frank Turner

From the latest collection dropped by Turner (whom, as longtime readers might recall, I discovered on Facebook, about which I made a big brouhaha), this song features everything good about him: big acoustic guitars, a catchy melody, fun (but slightly acid) lyrics, and his curious manner of singing/shouting that seems to come right out of a British pub.