Saturday Songs – Dec. 31

1. “Hotel Song” – Regina Spektor

Borrowing the famous melody line from Doris Troy’s “Just One Look,” Spektor’s song wrings out any of the lovely sentiment that may have traveled along with the appropriation. Unlike Troy's tune, Spektor’s song is a celebration of confusion and inscrutability. The only realistic interpretation of the song is as a coked-up dream; otherwise, the lines about orca whales and wading downstairs don’t make much sense. Either way, Spektor pursues a brilliant melody—adding to Troy’s original line—but exercises brilliant vocal restraint.

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2. “Tina Goodbye” – Stephanie Finch

The lead track off Finch’s debut solo album Cry Tomorrow, “Tina Goodbye” is a classic pop song in the tradition of the Velvet Underground. Gritty and angular, this song truly sounds like a relic of the late ’60s. If this is to your liking, then you ought to check out the rest of Finch's album.

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3. “18 Wheels” – Fred Eaglesmith

When he was a teenager, Eaglesmith hopped a freight train out of his native Ontario and joined the tradition of roving singer-songwriters, writing and performing songs as he worked his way across Canada. Decades later and a dozen or so albums into his career, Eaglesmith has become a force in the world of Canadian country music. He is recognized for his songwriting style, which often borrows elements of short-story writing.

“18 Wheels” paints the story of a lovelorn trucker in short, precise details. There is a temptation to dismiss the lyrics as simplistic, but their brevity conveys the desperate existence of the long-haul trucker. Everything lies under the surface with this trucker narrator: “Lightning flashing / Standing in a phone booth / I called her number / I got a machine.”

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4. “If You Want (the buh bah song)” – The Jinxes

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A sweet, sentimental song that has “The Weepies” stamped on its forehead, “If You Want” centers around a “buh bah” section that has an affinity with Yo La Tengo’s excellent cover of “You Can Have It All.” Buoyed by dreamy cello and exceptional melodies, The Jinxes strike gold on this tune.

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5. “American Nomad” – The Apache Relay

I’ve had one song by The Apache Relay sitting in my iTunes for months now and left it unplayed save for a cursory listen after downloading. It turned out that “State Trooper” deserved a closer listen than that which I had given it…not to mention the rest of The Apache Relay’s debut album. “American Nomad,” the title track of the album, is included on the free sampler currently being ladled out via their website. 

The energy of the performances on this album separates them from other folk/rock acts out there right now. In my mind, the power of “American Nomad” and the aforementioned “State Trooper” sets them right up alongside more popular acts like Mumford & Sons.